Sivananda on Tantra Yoga Sadhana

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OM spiritual travellers

 

Below are some comments by Swami Sivananda on Tantra

Yoga Sadhana. Swami Sivananda's language can be, shall we

say, 'forthright', so please appreciate his intention and his high

regard for Shaktism and disregard the language he uses to

express himself.

 

"Tantra Yoga Sadhana

 

"Tantra Sadhana bestows tremendous Siddhis or powers. It

should be learnt under a Siddha Tantric Guru. The Tantric

student must be endowed with purity, faith, devotion, dedication

to Guru, dispassion, humility, courage, cosmic love, truthfulness,

non-covetousness and contentment. Absense of these qualities

in the practitioner means a gross abuse of Shaktism.

 

"Shaktism had been one of the potent powers for the spiritual

regeneration of the Hindus. When practised by the ignorant,

unenlightened and unqualified persons, it has lead to certain

abuses, and there is no denying that some degraded forms of

Shaktism have sought nothing but magic, immorality and occult

powers. An example of the perverted expression of the truth, a

travesty of the original practices, is the theory of the five Makaras

- Madya or wine, Mamsa or flesh, Matsya or fish, Mudra or

symbolic acts and Maithuna or coitus.

 

"In the Shakti doctrine Siva is the supreme unchanging eternal

consciousness and Shakti is His kinetic power. Universe is

Power. Universe is a manifestation of Devi's glory. This is the

affirmation of the Shakti doctrine, Shakti being the Power of God,

Shakta is one who possesses Shakti.

 

"Sadhakas are of three kinds, viz. Pasu, Veera and Divya. It is

only the Pasu Sadhaks who practise the Pancha Makaras, viz.

Matsya, Mamsa, Madya, Mudra and Maithuna. The esoteric

meaning of these five Makaras is "kill egoism, control flesh, drink

the wine of God-intoxification and have union with Lord Siva".

This is the divine practise of Divya Sadhaks who lead the life

Divine. Give up Pasu Vritti, the tendency of animals and raise the

Divya Vritti or the divine nature.

 

"Just as the fruit of is hidden in the seed, butter in milk, virility in

boyhood, so also various Shaktis remain latent in man, veiled by

ignorance. If you purify your mind and practise concentration and

meditation, all these powers will shine forth.

 

"The highest fruit of meditation or Upasana is the identity or

non-distinction with the object meditated upon. The meditator

and meditated become one. The devotee of of Devi attains

realisation of oneness with Devi through intense Upasana or

worship.

 

"The classification of aspirants is made thus: a Sattvic man is a

spiritual man. He is endowed with Divya or divine qualities. He

has Divya-Bhava. He is calm, pure, dispassionate, wise,

passionless, egoless, compassionate, kind, pious, devoted.

Sattva Guna predominates in him.

 

"If Tamas predominates in a man, he has Pasu-bhava. He is

Pasu or animal. He is endowed with ignorance, error,

carelessness, inertia, sloth, etc.

 

"If Rajas predominates in a man, he is a Veera. He has

Veera-bhava.

 

"Divya-bhava is the best, the Veera the next best and the Pasu

the lowest. From being a Pasu a man rises in this or some other

birth to be a Veera. Divya-bhava or Devata-bhava is awakened

through Veera-bhava."

 

 

 

Swami Sivananda continues to describe Shava Sadhana which

is not the sort of Sadhana that should discussed in this forum.

 

Om Namah Sivaya

 

Omprem