Shiva Shakti Mandalam: Tantrik Home Page

Time 2020-09-20 14:05:53

Web Name: Shiva Shakti Mandalam: Tantrik Home Page

WebSite: http://www.shivashakti.com

ID:53452

Keywords:

Mandalam,Shakti,Shiva,

Description:

None of this material may be reproduced, apart from purely personal use, without the express permission ofthe WebmasterWeb pages designed by Mike Magee. mike.magee@btinternet.comOriginal artwork is Jan Bailey, 1996-2018 Translationsare Mike Magee 1996-2018 The UK Main Siteat www.shivashakti.comHosted byRegister.comonline for twenty yearstradition of the Indian sub-continent. Although in recent years, in the Western world, it has become almost exclusively associated with sex, in reality this is oneaspect of what is a way of life. In India itself, tantra is now, nearly always, associated with spells and black deeds. Neither of these views is correct, and each wildly underestimates the wide-ranging nature of the different traditions. Further, there remains an ocean oftantrik and agamic literature still to bediscovered and translated, spanning a period of time whichat least reaches back to the 10th century of the common era (c.e.).The tradition, or perhaps better, the traditions, underwent many phases and schools over thisperiodof time, ranging from an extremely heterodox viewpoint to, in somecases, a very orthodox standpoint. Refer to this page to see the vast diversity of thoughts and practices subsumed under the word "tantra". Much of the material on this site is related to the Kaula tradition in many of its guises. Thework kaula is cognate with clan and the communitiesvenerated a huge number of gods (devas) and goddesses (devis). Although some tantras appear at first glance to be straightforward, most, if not allof them, employ a type of language which can be taken on many levels. According to the tradition,everything has a gross, a subtle and a supreme meaning and as the Devi is the goddess of letters, she canbewilder with her Maya as well as enlighten.Many terms used in the tantrik tradition have meanings which canbe taken at face value but do not always have this meaning, thus making themdifficult to understand to the literally-minded. The mentality of the pashu, or a person with a herd-disposition, issaid to predispose him or her to misunderstand the meaning.This cryptic way of speaking pervades many of the texts. Shoulda cremation ground, for instance, be understood as the yoni, as the real place wherecorpses are burnt, or as a symbol for the Absolute? The answer may be all three. Is a crossroad a symbolof the five elements, the place where roads meet, or four centres within the human body? Again, itmay have one or any of these meanings. And is the union of Shiva and Shakti the symbol of sexualintercourse, the union of vital breaths within the body or an eclipse?We can probably find the answers to these questions by going tothe root philosophy of the tantrik traditions. There is no Shiva without Shakti and yoga is arealisation of the unity of all things. That is not to say that everything in tantrik texts is figurative; manydescribe practices which are said to bring about this realisation. If you are new to the subject, we suggest you visit the glossary page,where many of the terms on this site are explained in a simplemanner. The headingsbelow each open out into sub-pages where you can samplemany of the mysteries of this ancient tradition.The sections and the topics left also needsome explanation. Very broadly speaking, tantras fall intotraditions belonging to greater or lesser schools. TheKali tradition, for example, has a large literatureand there are specific areas in India where her worshipis concentrated. The Lalita, or Shri Vidya tradition, also has a very extensive literature, much of which isstill unplumbed.The Natha Sampradayas or lines relate tosects said to have originated mostly from Matsyendranathand Gorakhanath, and occupy an important position inthe yoga schools of the mediaeval period.Under other topics, we have included a selection oftantrik topics, each of which could form vast topicson their own. Tantrik ritual is included because above all elsethe adepts of these schools insisted on practical work. Manytantras are practical manuals and this section will beexpanded in the future. We have also included some translations of parts ofthe tantrik literature along with abstracts of othertexts to give a feel for the whole subject. If thereare mistakes in the translations, please forgive us. Also, let us know, and we will fix them.The Sanskrit texts section will also be expanded inthe future to include material hard to find, out ofprint and also out of copyright.To ludicrous charges that in some way we have breached rules about publishing mantras and the like, we can only respond that a great deal of this information is available in Hindi and Sanskrit books which are not hard to obtain, and also in manuscripts available to anyone who takes the time to dig them out of libraries.Suggestions, corrections and comments about the site are very welcome.

TAGS:Mandalam Shakti Shiva 

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