Tantra - eastern wisdom, modern confusion
Following on from my last blog about dualism, Patanjali and Hatha Yoga…I had a lot of questions around what Tantra really is. This is a topic that I LOVE, and devote many hours to in Breath of the Heart (BOTH) 100 hour Teacher Training. For now, I’ll take the challenge of explaining very briefly about some of the confusion around our modern understanding of Tantra…
In Tantra the idea of duality or separateness as Purusha & Prkriti are discussed as Shiva & Shakti and represented as the two opposing forces of God & Goddess, masculine & feminine (this is an energetic understanding & has nothing to do with gender) - most simply described as consciousness (Shiva) & power (Shakti) - consciousness is vast and unchanging - absolute, and, power is the lifeforce that is constantly changing, growing, disolving and reforming. The Sanskrit word Tantra means “loom” as in “to weave”. Imagine the Loom - there are 2 sets of strings…we could see the unchangeable (Shiva) are the tied/bound strings, and the strings that are added are changeable & have infinite possibilities (Shakti). According to Tantra, we have ability to consciously create/choose the threads that will come together, the Shakti that weaves the fabric of our existence. Of course if we do it without consciousness (which is normal!) the fabric will still be made, but it will be shaped on reaction, impulse and unconsious responses to our circumstance as opposed to a REAL co-creation between your highest self and the divine. This is the potential of Tantrik consciousness.
The Tantric understanding is that divine consciousness is what is beyond the eye, and everything that the eye experiences, and at the same time it is the eye itself. In a nutshell, divine consciousness is everything, and you are included.
From around the 8th Century CE, Tantra revolutionised Spiritual Practice by providing a system that was for everyone - regardless of gender, status, education, caste etc, and influenced not only Yoga & Hinduism, but spread and integrated with Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism and beyond.
Tantra opened up the path of Yoga to householders - regular folks not interested in renouncing the worldly pursuits of family & work - and this spread like wild fire…the hunger for “every day PRACTICAL spiritually” was palpable - as it is still today! That is why, I believe, we have so enthusiastically embraced Yoga in the West. But now that the initial explosion has happened, we need to refine it and understand our roots.
All of what we do today “modern postural Yoga” takes its roots from Tantra because Hatha Yoga comes from Tantra. Unfortunately, Tantra is mostly associated now either as Neo (modern/western path associated with ecstatic sexuality) or, Left Handed (the path that grew alongside “right handed tantra” and is associated with black magic and other dark practices).
We are now seeing an uprising within the Global Yoga Community in understanding the genuine philosophy of (right handed) Tantra, and the incredibly accessible gifts it brings. It can be extremely confusing, and I am constantly finding myself explaining that I do not teach or practice anything to do with sacred sexuality. At the same time, as Modern Yogins I believe we have a responsibility to be a part of that understanding, especially seeing as the appropriation and transformation of Western Modern Tantra has happened as a result of Brittish Colonialism. It’s time we did better…
We can begin to address some of the confusion by naming Western/Sexuality infused Tantra as Neo Tantra (as Tantric scholar Christopher Wallis does). Neo Tantra has been around for about 120 years, with its roots in the Victorian era. That means that people who are teaching & practicing have teachers, who had teachers, who had teachers - so it’s a legitimate lineage of it’s own, but it does not have roots in ancient Eastern scripture - some further confusion arises as more recently some creative teachers have begun to weave in Eastern teachings to the existing Neo-Tantra…it’s certtainly not all black and white!
Sacred sexuality, or spiritual realisation through sexual intimacy is its own (potentially) wonderful thing, and is not to be discredited necessarily for the sake of understanding Tantra. The creation of Neo Tantra is fascinating, and something I dedicate some time to in the BOTH 100 Yoga History modules. In an attempt at a very brief explanation, we could say that basically, the imagery of Shiva and Shakti in union was misunderstood & hungrily reinterpreted by the West. So often we see the symbol of Shiva & Shakti in rapturous, intimate union - representing consciousness & power uniting to unveil the unity/oneness - essentially embodied non-duality.
Having lived in radical denial of pleasure & desire for so long, people of the Victorian Era were starving for both Sexuality & Spirituality. So, when Aleister Crowley (a magician and Occultist) amongst other prominent figures of the time came across these images, they were inspired, and created something new and exciting.
With no ability to really understand or interpret associated texts, Neo-Tantra was completely made up from a very ignorant understanding of the symbols & imagery of True or Eastern Tantra. And now, as these teachings have grown and developed over time we see some very interesting, as well as (potentially) expansive and healing practices and teachings.
As Modern Yogins, its important that we understand these as part of the New Age Spiritual movement rather than Yoga itself, and with this understood we can practice with greater understanding, reverence and respect to source traditions, teachers & culture.
Uma
If this is interesting to you please reach out with your interest to join BOTH 100…we have a lot of fun exploring these topics