A Feminist Viwe of Tantra and Shakta

[Guest guest]

Here is an excerpt from an interesting article on a feminist scholar's

take on Tantra. It was published in "Hinduism Today" in November '95.

The fill text can be found

at http://www.hinduismtoday.com/1995/11/#gen82

 

TANTRA: FEMINIZING DIVINITY, by Shikha Malaviya, New Delhi

 

God is not "He!" nor fully "She" for that matter, notes Tantra scholar

Dr. Madhu Khanna, co-author of the popular, beautifully illustrated

book on occult Hinduism, "The Tantric Way: Art, Science and Ritual." I

had seen her book in bookstores, but was always a little afraid to

look inside. After all, wasn't Tantra Hinduism's black magic world -

sexual-religious sorcery rites and esoteric initiations into

all-powerful mantras?

 

I tracked [Khanna] down at the Indira Gandhi Centre of the Arts in New

Delhi, where she holds a post as associate professor.

Cosmopolitan, youngish, very attractive, clad in a bright cotton sari,

her jet-black hair tied in a knot, with kind expressive eyes, composed

and self-confident - she instantly destroyed all my preconceptions

about Tantra. ***

 

According to Dr. Khanna, Tantra views the whole universe as a

composite of two principles - the so-called "male," Siva, representing

the quiescent transcendent, and the so-called "female," Shakti, "the

kinetic verb of creation," as she terms it. I asked her bluntly how

this admittedly beautiful, but dizzyingly lofty concept relates to me

and other women, in a visceral way.

 

"Shakti assumes the form of Goddess in every single woman of this

world," resounded Dr. Khanna, eager that I didn't leave her office

thinking Shakti was just some exciting bedtime fiction frolic for

matronly book-worms. She continued, "Not only is each woman a physical

incarnation of Shakti, but the very fact that she is born a woman

automatically empowers her." This brought a shiver down my spine -

that a woman could be considered Shakti-empowered just because of her

female body and psyche. ***

 

In Tantra transmission of spiritual knowledge from a woman is

considered especially potent and sacred. It is called yogini mukha and

a classic example of this is Sri Ramakrishna's learning kundalini yoga

from a young yogini. "In tantra," Dr. Khanna shared, "any woman can

become a priestess. In fact, there are less codes for women following

the Tantric path than for men." So I asked the obvious. What about our

monthly menses and the idea that it makes us "impure?Actually,

there are reasons that minstream Hinduism called the menstruating

woman 'impure,'" Dr. Khanna said. "A woman's body needs a rest amidst

so many strong fluctuations and the excuse of impurity was one way of

guaranteeing that rest. However, Tantra views every aspect of the

woman's reproductive cycle as sacred and pure! Women should not be

ashamed of their bodies. Women have to recognize, acknowledge and

harmonize these forces." ***

 

Before I left, I wanted to find out how this yoga-practicing soul got

so deep into Tantra. "I became interested in Tantra at a very young

age," she said. "At first, it was the images that attracted me

- yantras, similar to modern art, and very geometrical. One day, I saw

this yantra in a book and said, 'Wow, this is what I want to do. I

want to know more about these images. So I started reading and writing

on Tantric aesthetics. Eventually, I realized Tantra was so much more,

a whole world view, a holistic, enlightened style of life. I

then became very excited and studied Sanskrit so I could translate

Tantric manuscripts and also completed my PhD at Oxford University,

England, where I worked on Goddess tradition in Tantra."