Tantra Yoga and Meditation

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Real life experience shows that there never was any advanced Tantra practitioner

that did not practice the yoga meditation as well. You cannot do Tantra and not

do meditation. But what is this so called MEDITATION and what is it good for ?

 

In sanskrit meditation is called dhyana. It is defined as a constant flow of

mind towards an object. Meditation is also a union of the mind with one and only

one single object of concentration and avoiding any secondary objects and

thoughts. It is a discipline of the mind.

 

Many people practice prayer, but they might not know that prayer is very close

to the yoga meditation; a prayer is focusing the mind and the emotions of a

person to a specific point exactly like the meditation. We can say that

meditation is a prayer without words; meditation is listening to God, beyond

words.

 

The yoga system prescribes many stages that precede the actual state of

meditation. First of all there are the basic rules of moral and ethics and self

discipline (yama and niyama). Then, the discipline of the body (asana) and the

rythmation of the breath (pranayama). After that there is the so called

retraction of one's senses (pratyahara), in fact a separation from any kind of

distraction. After this stage we continue by focusing the mind to a single point

- the object of your meditation. When all these preparatory stages are

completed, you enter into meditation. When meditation is perfect, there is no

distinction between the subject (you) and the object. This is called SAMADHI,

the yogi ecstasy.

 

Another description of the same process, based on notions of energy and

resonance and attention : first of all, attain an upright position (sitting or

standing) and close your eyes. Be sure to keep your spine perfectly straight and

vertical and relax your muscles. Forget all your other concerns and daily

problems and focus your mind on the object of your meditation, for example the

state of unconditional love. You will begin to perceive it and identify with it,

you will feel the correspondent energy of the object of your meditation and

concentrate on this energy. By focusing your attention you create a process of

resonance between you and the energies of the object of your meditation.

 

Gradually, you begin to amplify the energy by RESONANCE, attracting it from the

universe (MACROCOSM), until you create a huge sphere of energy around yourself.

This energy will help you stay focused on the object of your meditation and will

stop all your other thoughts. Gradually you become IDENTIFIED with the object of

your meditation thanks to the intense field of energy that surrounds and

pervades you. The state of perfect unity with the object of your meditation,

when the thought process is stopped, is called SAMADHI.

 

Meditation is a state of mind, it is a state of consciousness. When meditating

you open your consciousness to energy and with this energy you expand the limits

of your perceptions. Every person in this world perceives the subtle energies of

his aura. You don't need to have a special birth gift to be able to have subtle

perceptions and to meditate with the energies of your body.

 

Futhermore, you must know that the human being contains seven energy centers

called CHAKRAS. These seven centers correspond analogically to seven plans of

energy in the universe. Each of this types of energy has it's own function

inside the human body and outside, in the universe. The difference between

interior and exterior is just a matter or quantity, not of quality. An old yogi

maxim says " What is below is also above. " Everything that is in the human being

(MICROCOSM) is also in the MACROCOSM (Universe). Nothing that does not exist in

the MICROCOSM (interior) exists in the MACROCOSM (exterior). Of course this

correspondence functions on a proportional scale. So, we argue that by perfectly

understanding the subtle energies of your body you get to know the whole

universe.

 

Tantra sees the human body as an extraordinary tool. The body is surrounded by

many subtle energies and these energies are gateways towards any aspect of the

universe. By being aware of these subtle energies of the human body the Tantra

adept can gradually discard all the human limitations and achieve the supreme

spiritual liberation.

 

Many spiritual traditions reject the physical body in order to achieve the union

with the spirit. They think that matter is an obstacle in their pursuit for the

spirit, but Tantra has a different approach. In Tantra we do not repel the body,

we do not mortify it, we do not condemn it in any way, we do not even ignore the

body but instead we use it in such a way that it becomes the fundamental tool

for us in the spiritual journey.

 

As we explained before, the meditation is the key to your subtle energy body.

When you meditate, you do for the " subtle " body (i.e. your aura) the same thing

you do to your physical body when practicing body building ... you increase the

benefic energies, you expand the limits of your consciousness. But unlike the

physical body which is limited in size, the energy body is not limited at all -

you can make it expand until it is infinite.

 

Consciousness is closely related to the subtle energies of the body. The

consciousness will expand when your aura expands and it will contract itself

when your aura contracts. The consciousness will become more and more elevated

and subtle as your aura (energy body) becomes more and more elevated and the

vice versa is also true.

 

Meditation is a divine tool, it can be your best friend. You can enjoy subtle

energies (which correspond to different feelings, emotions, sexual impulses,

vitality, and other functions of your body) and you can control the energies

like you do when practicing sexual continence. You can project benefic energy to

heal someone or you can use spiritual energy to identify with God experiencing

the state of absolute transcendence, beyond any mental concept.

 

TantraMag will publish a lot more about meditation. This practice will be the

basis of our Tantra yoga training lessons as we will present them to you. You

will be able to develop powers and abilities you never thought possible. This

practice was a secret science transmitted for many millennia from master to

disciple, but now it is available for everyone.