Tantra – the Serpentine Ascent
Tantra – The Serpentine Ascent – Part I
Occult Vibratory Chemistry existed in India by the name of Tantra.
Tantra is derived from two Sanskrit words – Thanoti ( to expand ) & Trayaten ( to liberate). This Science has the power to expand and liberate !
Expansion means to grow beyond one’s boundaries. Expansion upto Infinity. Thanothi means the expansion of Consciousness ad infinitum.Individual consciousness should expand to Universal Consciousness for mergence in
the Supreme Self.
Trayate means to liberate, to liberate man from bondgage, from the Seven Deadly Sins which bind him to the sublunar world. The purging of mortal dross is a must for Self-Actualisation and the ” inner enemies of man ” Lust, greed, anger, jealousy, sloth, covetousness & attachment ) are the real blocks in the way of Self Actualisation
Liberation is not possible without expansion of Consciousness. When our individual Consciousness expands to Cosmic, we feel whole & are liberated from the thraldom of matter.
The Upanishadic Philosophy was based on the Five Concentric Sheaths known as the Five Koshas. The outermost concentric Sheath, the Anna Maya Kosha, is known as the Material Sheath. It envelopes the other four sheaths – vital, mental, intellectual & bliss.
Tantra, on the other hand, speaks about the Six Chakras, dynamoes of Cosmic
Energy in the human body.
These Chakras are ( in ascending order)
1. Root Chakra ( Muladhara )
2. Anal Chakra ( Manipura )
3. Solar Plexus Chakra ( Swadhistana )
4. Heart Chakra ( Anahata )
5. Throat Chakra ( Vishuddhi )
6. Eyebrow Chakra ( Ajna )
The Five Great Elements ( Earth, air, water, fire & ether ) & Mind reside
in the Six Chakras.
Earth-Principle resides in the Root Chakra
Water-Principle resides in the Navel Chakra
Fire-Principle resides in the Solar Plexus Chakra
Air-Principle resides in the Heart Chakra
Ether-Principle resides in the Throat Chakra
Mind-Principle resides in the Eye Brow Chakra.
The Microscomic representative of the Macrocosmic Shakti ( Cosmic Power ), the Kundalini, sportest as the Six principles in the Six Chakras in Her Cosmic Play.
O Infinite Power ! Thou art the Mind-principle in the Eye brow Chakra
In the Throat Chakra , Thou sport as the Ether-principle
In the Heart Chakra, Thou sportest as Air- principle
In the Solar Plexus Chakra, Thou art Fire-principle
In the Navel Chakra , Thou exist as Water-principle
In the Root Chakra, Thou art the Earth _Principle, O Mighty Mother !
And in the Crown Chakra, Thou sportest blissfully with thy beloved Consort !
She lies coiled in human beings as the Coiled Serpent Power ( Kundalini). She rises during Mediation and Yogic processes.
Her rise can be felt by the meditator. When She rises, a subtle warmth will be felt in the body. Voice changes. Voice becomes musical, ” propertied as the tuned spheres”. The personality of the native becomes very attractive due to the influx of Jupiterian energy. Wisdom and learning grace the individual. When She rises furthur, torrential bliss will be felt. And when She reaches the Crown Chakra, it is Cosmic Consciousness for the native !
She sports as Universal Power in the Macrocosm; and in the microcosm as the coiled Serpent Power!
Infinite Power of the Absolute art Thou!
The Cause of the Universe as Maya
The entire Creation is Thy Play
Thy blessing is Bliss Absolute !
The essence of all sciences art Thou
All women Thy manifestations !
The visible Universe Thou art
And the dormant Serpentine Power !
One of the pioneers in Tantra Research was Sir John Woodroffe , who had written many scholarly treatises on the subject. His magnum opus is the “Serpent Power”, which is a scientific treatise about the Kundalini. His
practice of Tantra endowed him with personal magnetism. He became the cynosure of all eyes. There was a special lustre on his face, he possessed the Golden Tongue of Good Report & there was a spiritual halo around him. He had developed his Auric Field ( the human electro-magnetic field ) due to Tantric techniques and bacame a dynamo of spiritual energy. His masterly book is a scientific diagnosis about Tantra.
The heart and vocal nervous centers are intimately related physiologically. Bhava Shuddhi or purity of Heart makes the voice innocent and musical. The true Initiate is he whose voice is true and who possesses the Golden Tongue of Good Report!
The Cosmic Shakti is the Force behind the Universe & the entire Universe is her play & display. Kundalini is Her microcosmic representation. She has been depicted as the Mother Goddess in Pagan philosophies.
Nature is visible Intelligence; Intelligence is invisible Nature. The Spiritual & the Natural are not different. That which is spiritual is natural in its ascent & cause. That which is natural is spiritual in its descent and being.
She is the female component of the Ultimate and all systems deal with the male and the female components of Reality. The male component is He ! Consciousness and Force, the Supreme Self and Nature, Matter and Spirit, Being and Becoming, the One and the Innumerable, the Formless and then a delirium of Forms – She and He, two in one, inseparable ! He, outside Time, outside Space, pure Being, pure Consciousness, the Great White Silence wherein everything is contained in a state of involution, contained, yet formless !
She flings forth from Him in an outburst of joy, again to find Him playing in Time, She and He, two in one , inextricable! Can Nature exist without her Lord ? Can He exist without Nature ?
This is the Purusha and Prakriti of Sankhya, the Brahman and Maya of Vedanta , the Sive and Shakti of Tantra !
Without Him, I exist not
Without Me, He is unmanifest ! – The Mother of Auroville
It is due to Her Grace that a man becomes a material success. It is She who gives the successful man the indomitable Will Power needed for success.
On the other hand, it is also Her Grace which giveth spiritual success. It is She who gives the devotee the necessary Self-knowledge, makes him do altruistic acts & leads him to Self-Actualisation. In other words, She has two aspects, material & spiritual and Her Grace is absolutely necessary for success in both the spheres. .
It is said that She, as the Prakriti ( Nature ) of Purusha ( Supreme Self), is the base of the Universe & when She becomes supremely pleased with the devotee, confers on him Self-Actualisation !
She is the Creatrix, She is the Mediatrix, She is the Dispensatrix and the Executrix of the absolute mechanism of Universal Justice.
Power is Divine and not to be condemned
It is this Power aspect of Consciousness which India has depicted as the Divine Mother. It is a mistake of the ethical and the religious mind to condemn Power as something unworthy because it is in its very nature corrupting and evil. Despite arguments to the contrary ( Power corrupts and absolute Power corrupts absolutely), Power, Shakti, Will is the mover of the worlds and basically is spiritual in origin and divine in character !
A Power to call Eternity into Time
And make the body’s joy as vivid as the soul’s !.
The highest philosophic concept is that of the Philosopher-King, he who possesses powers both eternal and temporal. They were known as Raja-Rishies in India. Lord Rama, Lord Krishna, King Janaka were all Raja-Rishies. Marcus Aurelius & Augustus Caesar in the West were also reputed Philosopher-Kings. They did not renounce power !
Tantra as related to Astrology
Tides are caused by the Moon. The human body is 65% water. ( Even the Archbishop of Canterbury is 65% water ). If Moon can effectuate tides, what effect will he have on the human body which is predominantly water? And what about the effects of other planets ?
More information about Mundane Astrology & Transit Forecast can be had
from http://www.eastrovedica.com/html/transat.htm
The New Age Movement
New Age – A Paradigm Shift to Divine Consciousness & a Universal Philosophy
The New Age Movement (NAM) is a revival of spiritual and divine values and can be called as a Divine Regeneration Movement. New Age Philosophy has conquered the West intellectually and Western culture is currently experiencing a phenomenal shift – sociological, spiritual & ideological. It’s a secular, multi-cultural, multi-religious synthesis, of the Oriental mystical philosophies, mainly Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism & Western Occultism, emphasising Holism, the doctrine that Reality is organically One ( now taught in American Universities after Einstein’s Theory of Relativity ).
Behind the evolution of the species, there is an evolution of Consciousness. The aim of Life is Self-Actualisation, to evolve to the level of Unity Consciousness, defined as the 7th state of Consciousness in Transcendental Philosophy.
The social disturbance caused by the Vietnam War, the threat posed by AIDS, the disillusionment with materialistic ideas and the erosion of faith in Morality & Ethics brought a sense of futility & meaninglessness in the Western psyche.The limitations of the Western system of Chemotherapy & adverse side-effects of antibiotics, sedatives and certain other drugs and the disillusionment with the promises of science & technology made millions turn to Oriental philosophies, occult practices & systems of therapy.( Interest in Alternative Medicine developed to such an extent that there are now more than 180 systems of Alternative Medicine.
Exponents of New Age Philosophy in Europe and America include Transcendentalists like Thoreau, Emerson & Walt Whitman, Wordsworth, Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), , & Theosophy introduced by Madame Helena Blavatsky (1831- 1891) & Col Olcott & the philosopher, Annie Besant. As the world witnessed a Consciousness Revolution, Transcendental Meditation, Yoga ,Zen, Carlos Castañada, the Beatles, Holistic Medicine ( both Western and Ayurveda ), Tantra, Astrology ( both Western & Vedic ) all became popular .
There are 6 million New Age sites on the Web and the NAM consists of a massive & well organised network consisting of thousands of groups, trusts, foundations, clubs, lodges, and spiritual groups whose goal and purpose is to prepare the world to enter the coming Aquarian Age. ( The Age of Aquarius ). In astrological symbolism, Aquarius represents Spirituality and Pisces Rationality. The Piscean Age, an age of Computer and Cybernetics revolution, will be followed by an Age of Consciousness Revolution or a Spiritual Revolution, the Aquarian Age.
Some New Age Organisations are : California New Age Caucus, New World Alliance, World Goodwill, The Church Universal and Triumphant, The Theosophical Society, Amnesty International, Zero Population Growth, the Forum, Planetary Initiative for the World We Choose, the Club of Rome, Church Universal & Triumphant, Christian Science, and the Unity School of Christianity.
New Age believes in the essential goodness of Man and the Divine Spark in Man and the New Age movement is not a unified cult system of beliefs and practices, even though its roots derive from Vedic Philosophy. There is no central authority, no official leader, no headquarters, nor membership list, but instead is a network of groups working toward World Peace and Universal Love. There are millions of worldwide followers of various New Age practices and the world is moving from Chaos ( Disorder ) to Cosmos ( Order ) ! This is a Phase Transition from Entropy ( Disorder ) to Order !
Significant influence has been gained by NAM affecting almost every area of Occidental culture—Sociology, Psychology, Medicine, the Government, Ecology, Science, Arts, Education, the Business Community, the media, entertainment, sports, and even the Church. Organised spiritual forms such as Christian Science, Unity and even forms of Witchcraft ( from the German ‘ Wicca’ meaning the Wise; Witchcraft means the Craft of the Wise ) are all its expressions. Various Human Potential Seminars, Transcendental Meditation, Zen Meditation and some Alternative Holistic Medicine practices are also its manifold manifestations.
Some popular New Age publications and journals are New Age Journal, the Z Files, Clarity, Body Mind Spirit, Yoga Journal, Gnosis, East West, Noetic Sciences, the Millenium Being and Omega. The new tendency of people now is to view everything from a New Age perspective
The major goal of the New Age Movement is to prepare Man for entering the Aquarian Age and to bring world peace in an already bruised world. “All is wrong with the world” said Shaw & some of the other goals of the NAM are to establish an entirely New World Order in the fields of Economy & Government. The idea of a World Government was proposed by Bernard Shaw earlier and was implemented by Mahesh Yogi and occurs in the writings of the foundational apostle of the New Age Movement, Alice Bailey.
The word ‘Initiation” is derived from the Latin “In ire” to go within and Initiates were termed by the Great Master as the salt of the Earth. The mystic Ward defined Reality as “Within and within and within and within” . Another mystic described it as “It is hidden, it is hidden and it is hidden”. To the mystic, self evolution is the means and only by changing and correcting ourselves can we change others . The primary goals of the movement then, are to prepare the world to receive the Divine Consciousness and to enter the Age of Aquarius, thus establishing the New World Order.
New Age Philosophy believes that human evolution can be accelerated, if not in the entire mass of humanity, at least in suitable individuals. Human nature is perfectible, through an intensive process of purification and Initiation.
The New Age Movement is secular & universally diffused over the earth’s surface & its basic underlying philosophy emphasises Gnosticism and Occultism. (Gnosticism is an ancient philosophy stating that Divine essence is the highest reality, and that the Self of man is actually this Essence. Behind the phenomenal world is the Transcendent Reality which Intuition alone can see ). It bears a remarkable resemblance to the Universal Religion that H.G. Wells predicted would one day take over the world.
The six main characteristics of New Age thinking are: (1) All is Unity; (2) All is Divine (3) Humanity is divine (4) A change in Consciousness; (5) All religions are One; and (6) Cosmic Evolutionary optimism.
Basically Dialectical Integralism, New Age Philosophy unites both Matter and Spirit.
Spirit shall see through Matter’s gaze
Matter shall reveal the Spirit’s face !
The 13 main principles of New Age Philosophy are:
(1) One Global Order – One World Governement, One Currency, One Universal Being.
(2) Universal Energy, Universal Matter, Universal Life, Universal Soul As God
(3) An Eternal Universe – Uniform in Space and Unending in Time
(4) Divine practices ( Astrology Yoga & other esoteric arts)
(5) Syncretism ( Unity of all Religions ).
(6) The need for Meditation ( for generating altered states of Consciousness );
(7) Life is Cyclical- Everything is cyclical, subject to the cyclical upheavals of Time.
(8) Holistic Medicine & Vegetarianism (The patient is more important than the Doctor & Alkaline diet)
(9) Pacifism ( Anti-war activities);
(10) Reincarnation; ( The Law of Conservation of Soul )
(11) The Evolution of Man into Divinity; ( The latent Life Force evolving naturally to the Divine )
(12) The Union of Man with the Divine; ( Merger of man into the Infinite )
(13) Matter’s Illusoriness; – Esse est percipii – Perception is Essence; Mind is Substance.
The practices of the New Age are psychic practices like : Astrology, Reiki, Bioenergy, Chi energy, Chakras, Nirvana, Christ- Consciousness,Spiritualism, Native American Spirituality, Prajna, Out-of-body/near- death experiences, Reincarnation, Yoga, Meditation and the occult disciplines, as well as psychotherapeutic techniques and scientific applications of the healing powers of crystals and pyramids.
Some commonly used New Age terms are: Quantum Healing, Transmutation, Transfiguration, Guided Imagery, Reincarnation; Positive Thinking; Human Potential; Holistic; Holographic; Synergistic; Unity; Oneness; Transformation; Awakening; Networking; Communal Sharing; One-world/globalism/new world order (i.e., One language, One Government, One currency, One religion); Cosmic Consciousness; Zodiac, etc.
Some New Age practices are: Transcendental Meditation, Parapsychology, Inner healing; Biofeedback; Yoga; I Ching; Reflexology; Therapeutic Touch; Transpersonal Psychology; Witchcraft; ; Magick; Tai Chi; Shamanism; Hypnotherapy; Acupuncture/Acupressure; Martial arts; Zen; Relaxation; Silva Method (formerly Silva Mind Control); Visualization; etc.
Some prominent New Agers are: Jeremy Rifkin, Norman Cousins, Elizabeth Clare Prophet, John Denver, George Lucas, Norman Lear, Alice Bailey, Alvin Toffler, Dr. Barbara Ray, Benjamin Creme, Levi Dowling, George Trevelyan, Fritjof Capra, Abraham Maslow, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Ruth Montgomery, Shirley MacLaine, J.Z. Knight, Marilyn Ferguson and David Spangler.
Soothing audio environments are created by New Age musicians and they believe rightly that Music has psycho-therapeutic properties. ( This concept is derived from the Vedic Philosophy that All music is Samaveda, the 4th Veda of the Indians ). Born of an interest in spirituality and healing in the late 1970s, it is often used as an aid in meditation.
Essentially meditative, New Age Music is soothing to the Soul. Isnt Music defined as the food for the Soul ? Harmonic consonance, uplifting themes, contemplative melodies & nonlinear song forms are the characteristics of New Age music. Even natural sounds or sounds from Nature and traditional electronic instruments are used by New Age musicians. With roots in classical music or Eastern Music, New Age music is often meditative. Prominent New Age musicians include vocalist Liz Story; harpist Andreas Vollenweider, electric violinist Jean-Luc Ponty , electronic-music pioneer Brian Eno, multi-instrumentalist Kitaro & solo-piano artist George Winston.
New Age practices have almost conquered the world. Athletes are using guided imagery. Graduate schools of business are invoking T M, Yoga, and Tarot cards in teaching courses on creativity in business (e.g., Stanford Graduate School of Business). Based upon Astrology, the Science of Time, stock market gurus employ Fibonacci numbers and “Wave Theory” in their forecasting.
We can summarise that the term New Age is an innovative term derived from the mother of all sciences, Astrology, indicating that this earth is undergoing an evolutionary transitional phase from the Piscean Age of Scientism to the Aquarian Age of Divine Wisdome, Cosmic Consciousness , Knowledge and Love.
Since the New Age is a conglomeration of spiritual practices, let us analyse the basic principles of N A M
1. The Divine Source of Authority. New Agers do not claim any source of authority—Only Inspiration by the Divine. By the Divine we mean a principle within, the Divine Spark or the Self and many are there who receive the revealations of the Self within or the intuitive insights of the Self.
2. The Lord. – Since Matter and Energy can neither be created or destroyed and the sum total energy in the Universe is an absolute constant ( Universal Being ), the Lord did not create the world, He became the world. Monism—( “All is Unity” ) averrs that there is only One Essence in the universe, everyone and everything being a part of that essence. The Self is an utter Being and all these are its Becomings. New Agers view God as an Impersonal Life force, Consciousness, or Energy (e.g., the “Star Wars Force”) mainly but they also believe in His personal aspect, as the Ocean ( which is Formless ) can take the form of an iceberg! They averr that every human has a divine spark within him because all created beings are reflections of the Divine Idea. The eternal state is called by various terms among different New Age groups, i.e., God-consciousness, Universal Love, Self-Realization, the I AM, Higher Self, Brahman, Nirvana, etc.
2. The Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Christ Consciousness or the Divine Consciousness is what the New Age advocates mean by Christ. . In other words, Christ is a Divine Principle rather than an individual, such as Jesus. This idea of Christ Consciousness asserts that Jesus was only one of the Christs, but that He equipped Himself to receive the Christ Consciousness (i.e., He was a great Master who attained Christ Consciousness), as did other prophets like Buddha, Krishna, and Mohammed. New Agers believe Dr Paul Brunton who stated the Jesus spent 18 years in India absorbing Indian Mysticism and that he was initiated into the highest esoteric doctrine.
3. Human Destiny. Man is the measure of all things and is more divine than the animals & hence the salvation of the world depends upon Man. Cleansing the negative elements from the collective subconscient should be the aim of humanity. Once Negativity is cleaned from the collective subconscient, the human positive energy will shine forth and the noble ideals of the New Age will be actualised in an era of Enlightenment. Since man is intrinsically divine and perfect, his only real problem is ignorance of that fact. Gnosis means experiential knowledge and Salvation in the New Age is for man to become enlightened through this Divine Gnosis. New Age groups offer various spiritual techniques to enable individuals, and ultimately the world, to evolve into this Unitive Consciousness . These techniques may include psychotechnologies for attaining altered states of consciousness – Transcendental Meditation, Yoga, Zen, Attunement , Channeling (Spirit guides), Psychics, Acupuncture, etc.
4. The Ethical Opposites, Good & Evil – Believing in the Oriental philosophies, New Agers make the distinction between good and evil. All wickedness is weakness and Evil is imperfection. By the method of Trial and Error, we come to know what is good and what is bad for the world and we have to transcend the dualities.
5. Reincarnation. New Agers believe in the ancient Vedic philosophic concept of Reincarnation—that through a long process of rebirths, man can eventually attain Divine perfection. They also teach the Universal Law of Karma -(( The Law of Cause and Effect ( Every effect has a cause ), the Law of Action and Reaction, the Law of Retribution )) that what a person sows , he shall reap. This is also the doctrine of God’s non-responsibility, that the Self is not responsible and it is the Ego which experiences bitter & sweet mental experiences due to its own Karma.
6.Salvation is Self-Actualisation and Sin is Ignorance – SSome theoreticians taught the concept of Man’s Original Sin. New Age exponents teach the concept of man’s essential goodness. Instead of systems which emphasised the human negative aspect and sin, New Age highlights that every man is essentially divine and it is a sin to call man a sinner ! However, New Agers speak of troublesome desires which are natural impulses which retard human evolution and make the Ego move away from the Self. Sin is merely ignorance of man’s essential divinity. The atrophied spiritual consciousness of the normal man who lives in ignorance of his Divine Self is Sin. Like the Law of Conservation of Energy which states that Energy cannot be created or destroyed, the Law of Conservation of Soul states that the Soul can neither be created nor destroyed. Matter exists in 3 states, liquid, gaseous and solid and matter cannot be created or destroyed. Nothing ever begins to be. Similarly Life does not at physical birth begin to be. It merely enters physical conditions and assumes physical guise. It merely undergoes a parallel transformation into conditions which preexisted in other conditions. The Soul is reincarnated in different bodies in a continous succession of lives. The good or bad Karma earned in the present lifetime determines one’s subsequent incarnation. Attaining higher states of Consciousness should be our aim.There are many different paths to the goal of Divine perfection and we should be tolerant of other paths.
The divine Aurobindo predicted that spiritual influences from India will trigger off a global spiritual movement.There will be Mass Incarnations ( many people divinely inspired ) who will work for World Peace and Universal Love !
I saw them cross the twilight of the Age
The massive barrier breakers of this world
The sun-eyed children of a marvellous dawn
The architects of immortality
Carrying the magic Word, the mystic Fire
Carrying the Dionysian Cup of Joy !
The four systems of Philosophy which triggered the N A M are Hinduism, a product of 5,000 years of development, Buddhism, circa 560 B.C., Taoism, circa 500 B.C & Druidism, circa 300 B.C, the religion of the Celts, which extended upto the Middle Ages.
Article by G Kumar, Astrologer, writer & programmer of www.eastrovedica.com. Recently he was awarded a Certificate by the Planetary Gemologists Association Global ( www.p-g-a.org ) as a Planetary Gem Advisor. He has 25 years psychic research experience in the esoteric arts. To subscribe to his free informative Ezine, the Z Files mailto:info@eastrovedica.com?subject=SubscribeZF. His blog is up at http://www.zodiacastrology.blogspot.com Mobile 091 9388556053
G Kumar
http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/tantra-the-serpentine-ascent-61389.html