Tantra and Shaktism in the spirituality of Sri Aurobindo Ghose by Michael Stoeber

[Christopher Linwood Gray]

Introduction: Features of Tantra

 

Andre Padoux observes “that it is practically impossible to define ‘Tantra’ or, at least, to agree on its definition.” This is partly because Tantra is such

a diffuse and wide-ranging phenomenon. Some features of Tantra are

found in non-Tantric Indian traditions and it is a category that was developed

by outsiders from the West, not by Tantrikas themselves (2002: 17,

23, 22). Sri Aurobindo Ghose (1872-1950) himself presumed a distinctive

tradition of Tantra, even though he did not define it in a systematic way

and he did not directly cite his sources for it. However, his view ofTantra

corresponds generally to that given in recent scholarly characterizations.

Very generally, Tantra can be understood as “a complex assortment of

ritual procedures oriented towards manipulating cosmic powers” (Rodrigues

2005: 378). These ritual actions can involve certain antinomian practices

within a sctdhana (practice or path) that aims to transcend traditional distinctions

between the sacred and profane. Tantric rituals are in some cases

presented as alternatives to Vedic ritual procedures and are drawn from textual

authorities other than Vedas or Vedangas. Tantric theory and practice

can also include occult elements that are thought to support one’s acquisition

of siddhis (spiritual powers or perfections). Tantra typically stresses the

empowerment of the body in the movement toward deification. Though

sometimes accessible to men and women from all social strata, Tantric ritual

action and theory are generally framed within a context of secrecy that

includes initiation by a guru and the use of code language (Flood 2006: 11;

Goudriaan 1979: 7-9; Rodrigues 2006: 381-84, 391 ). These features-the

occult, empowerment, secrecy and guru-initiation-are all present in some

form in the earlier stages of Aurobindo’s spirituality.

 

Aurobindo’s spirituality includes Sakti as a major component-where

the creative source and animation of the cosmos is regarded as a feminine

power or energy that is manifested in various forms as the Goddess.

Although Aurobindo’s Saktism leans heavily towards bhakti (devotional

worship), there are elements in it that appear to correspond with features

of Sakta Tantrism. The Goddess is often associated in Sakta Tantrism with

a male deity, within traditional conceptions that identify the masculine

principle as spirit/consciousness while the feminine principle is the active

and creative principle of the Divine (Padoux 1987b: 276). Aurobindo conceived

of the Godhead generally along those lines, and he stressed the

divine Mother as a fearsome and empowering figure in his early political

teachings and the secret revolutionary societies he founded.

Tantric traditions also typically stress the human body, both as a microcosm

of the Goddess which interacts with her and as a potential manifestation

of her divine power. In that regard, Kundalini Yoga has traditionally

been associated with Tantric traditions. In focussing on embodied experience

and transformation, Aurobindo explicitly drew out the theory, sym295

bols and practices associated with this aspect of Tantra, especially in exploring

the relevance of the cakra (spiritual energy) system to his spirituality.

Despite these correspondences, Aurobindo’s view of Kundalini Yoga also represents

a point of contrast in the creative dialogue between his mature spirituality

and Tantra. Moreover, his later view did not include more

transgressive elements usually associated with Tantric practice. This paper

explores these comparative contexts between Tantra and Aurobindo’s Saktism,

as they evolved historically over different phases of his life. Aurobindo

tones down and marks off his Saktism from more antinomian forms of

Tantra. However, this paper will illustrate that Aurobindo’s mature spirituality

was shaped in significant ways by his understanding of Tantra, and

that its tenor and vision remain to some extent Tantric. I begin by framing

briefly Aurobindo’s life and spirituality.

 

Aurobindo’s spirituality

 

Born in Calcutta in 1872, Aurobindo was sent at the age of seven with his

two older brothers to study in England. Their father, Kristo Dhone Ghose,

had been educated as a medical doctor at Aberdeen University and was at

the time stridently pro-British. He hoped his sons would eventually be able

to enter the Covenanted Civil Service of India. Following five years of tutoring

by an English couple with whom he lived in Manchester, Aurobindo studied

for six years at St. Paul’s school in London (1884-90) and then entered

King’s College, Cambridge with a senior classical scholarship, where he

studied Classics and Literature as well as the curriculum for the Indian

Civil Service. By all accounts he was an exceptional student, but his failure

to attend a horseback riding exam meant he did not complete the ICS

requirements. Returning to India in 1893, he entered the State Service of

Baroda, employed in various administrative positions by the Maharaja,

Sayajirao Gaekwar. From 1897-1901 and 1904-05 he taught at Baroda’s

government college and in 1906-07 he worked as principal of the Bengal

National College in Calcutta (Heehs 1989: 6-27).

 

Aurobindo turned positively towards Hindu spirituality only at the age

of 21, after his return to India, following this formative period of studies

in England from 1879-93. From 1893 to 1910, Aurobindo became deeply

involved in Indian politics, especially by writing revolutionary material for

journals and speeches, and by initiating sayrtitis (secret societies) that would

work towards swarajya (Indian independence). Kees Bolle, suggests that as

a political leader in this period Aurobindo was “second in importance perhaps

only to Tilak” (1971: 80). Also during this time Aurobindo immersed

himself in some of the major Hindu scriptures and he reported a number

of spontaneous mystical experiences (Ghose 1972b: 50). By 1904 he was

committed to the practice of Yoga ( 1972b: 18, 77). In 1908 he was arrested

and charged with terrorist activities. About a year later he was acquitted of these charges and soon moved to French India, settling in Pondicherry in

1910. There he retired from political life and immersed himself in a relatively

isolated spiritual practice. An ashram formed around Aurobindo in

Pondicherry, where, over the next 40 years, he developed a widely synthetic

spiritual view, drawing mainly upon Hindu scriptures and traditions.

However, his spiritual perspective can be outlined generally with little reference

to specific Hindu theory and practice.

 

In his mature thought, Aurobindo classified reality into four major

planes or levels of existence: the supramental (or spiritual), mental, vital

and material. Each of these planes has various gradations and aspects and

is constituted by particular beings, powers and movements, which can function

independently or interact with aspects of other planes, in supportive

and integrative ways. So, for example, at one level the human person is physically

constituted by gross matter and can be analyzed as such solely in

terms of forms or aspects of the material dimension, as in the case of a dead

human body. However, when a person is alive, she or he is also a spiritual,

mental and vital being, and able to participate in the forces, movements and

powers of these other planes of reality, at least to the degree to which she/he

is open and capable. Moreover, these higher planes of reality act upon and

are affected by the material plane in various ways, through a person’s

thoughts, feelings and actions in relation to the external environment.

Aurobindo proposed a hierarchical schema in this context, postulating

an evolutionary movement of creation that is spiritually transformative.

Historically, physical being and consciousness gradually evolved to manifest

life-activity or the underlying vital plane, which has come to dominate

the realm of gross matter. Then life gradually evolved to the point of man-

. ifesting thought or the underlying mental plane, which in turn came to dominmate

the vital and physical planes. The third movement in the series

involves the integration of a higher spiritual dimension with these lower

three planes of reality, what he calls the descent of “supramental Truth-Consciousness&

dquo; into physical consciousness (Ghose 1966: 244, 81). According

to Aurobindo, humanity is now potentially able to cooperate in this radical

shift, in opening to a transcendent spiritual “Supermind” and allowing

it to penetrate these lower planes of reality, where eventually it will transform,

influence and direct them. He writes:

 

[T]he higher precipitate their influence on the lower, the lower react to the higher

and develop or manifest in themselves within their own formula something that corresponds

to the superior power and its action. The material world has evolved life

in obedience to a pressure from the vital plane, mind in obedience to a pressure

from the mental plane. It is now trying to evolve supermind in obedience to a pressure

from the supramental plane. (1966: 186)

 

Aurobindo developed a synthesis of traditional Hindu practice and

belief that he thought most appropriately supported this general framework

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of spiritual integration and transformation. As we shall see, he tended to

emphasize Saktism in his spirituality. He encouraged his devotees to work

to become more and more open to supramental Reality and to draw it into

material consciousness. This means one must aspire towards the dissolution

of the ego. The ego is a self-separating and isolating faculty that serves

one well in the advancement and refinement of personal emotional-intellectual

consciousness, but it acts negatively in masking one’s underlying relation,

dependence and ultimate unity with the Divine. The ideal is to

co-operate with the divine Mother in the spiritual transformation of mental,

vital and physical consciousness-to become more and more aware of

and open to the divine presence and movement (Ghose 1970c: 734). One

strives to surrender to Sakti, and to embody and express this Reality in

physical life. He writes, “The Supramental Yoga is at once an ascent towards

God and a descent of the Godhead into the embodied nature.” (Ghose

1966: 258).

 

For Aurobindo, this supramental power corresponds in many respects

with Sakti, as She is characterized in some Hindu Tantric texts and schools.

He suggested that Hindu traditions that stress the realization of the Divine

in and through nature tend to focus on feminine aspects in their devotion

to the Divine, because the feminine is conceived as providing the creative

and formative energy for life. He writes: “the Tantric tradition leans on the

Shakti or Ishwari aspect and makes all depend on the Divine Mother

because its object is to possess and dominate the world-nature and arrive

at the supreme realization through it” (Ghose 1975b: 72; 1972c: 65-66).

The conception of Sakti appealed to Aurobindo relatively early in the development

of his spirituality, perhaps in part because of its suitability to his

interests in transforming the political situation of India.