Some basics about Tantrism

Tantra is (it would be more accurate to say «are») the making of a series of texts elaborated in past centuries; the most important are almost a thousand years old. The word Tantra comes from the Sanskrit root «Trayati», which means letting go, not working. Accordingly, the ultimate goal of tantra is to free people from their limitations.

 

Tantrism contains a number of methods; we can also say accurate methods aimed at transforming energies at work into human being.

 

Let us explain this.

 

The yogi-experimenting (which means that we are not talking about faith, so this is not a religious postulate), is whether man is made up of several «levels», from the grossest levels of the body to the most subtle levels.

 

These levels or layers are called Kosha in Sanskrit. We do not intend to discuss the inherent existence or nonexistence of the soul here. Not least, this concept leads to some confusion when compared with the superconscious states experienced by the great yogis (we do not talk about the students of a yoga class ꟷ even those with a high level of sophistication).

 

An «ordinary» person is guided by his passions: he has no control over his body, his breathing, his reactions, his mental activity, etc. He is only conscious of his body and, in the best cases, of his gross aspects of his breathing. He also knows nothing about the Prana ꟷ the energy of life ꟷ which is subject to breathing. And he is the toy of his «mental-psychic body» ...

 

Let us try to understand why.

 

Traditional yoga teaches that the whole universe is energy. This root force is controlled by the three Guna. The word Guna kann, in the absence of something better, can be translated by «mode of existence», «position that characterizes everything».

 

For a human being, excessive Tamas leads to collapse, melancholic, excessive Rajas brings turmoil, anger, greed, and so on.

 

Tamasic and rajasic energies circulate in the body, giving it the current turn of the mind. The subtle channels that contain these energies are called Nadi.

 

These brief explanations will be understood (assuming that the glossary for the Sanskrit words has been consulted ꟷ if necessary), one can understand that the purpose and practice of the yogi is to balance the Tamas and Rajas energies and the Sattva energy to develop and improve. To achieve this goal, there are a lot of techniques. The yoga (codified by Patanjali) consists of eight levels that are not necessarily in an order, but it would simply be unwise to skip the preparatory stages:

 

➳ Yama or social behavior: ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truth), asteya (honesty), brahmacharya (sexual control), aparigraha (absence of obsession)

➳ Niyama or moral rules in personal life: shaucha (cleanliness), santosha (contentment), tapas (restriction), svadhyaya (self-observation), ishvarapranidhana (surrender to God)

➳ Asana: Positions

➳ Pranayama: Control breath, Prana, and other energies mentioned above (the Prana is the life energy, carried by the breath)

➳ Pratyahara: Withdrawal of the senses

➳ Dharana: Concentrating on a visible or mental meditation aid

➳ Dhyana: The deep state of meditation

➳ Samadhi: The deepening into the super-consciousness

 

The yoga path follows more or less this way. However, everyone (with the help of a capable teacher) has the framework of the techniques that best suit them: Hatha Yoga, of course, and Raja Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Kriya Yoga, Antar Mauna, Mantra Yoga, Jnana Yoga etc ... Each lesson emphasizes this or that aspect, but in any case it has to satisfy the compulsory and preparatory cleansing of the disciples energies before they can be adequately transformed.

 

In this regard, Tantrism offers a more direct route, which is expected to bring faster results (just a span of a few decades of careful and regular work). To be simple, one can say that the goal is to awaken the sattvic energy of the Kundalini, sleeping in the Muladhara Chakra, and to carry that energy through the Sushumna Nadi to the Sahasrara Chakra, traversing each Chakra.

 

Here we do not want to explain more about the chakra symbolism; in fact, this seems to be a very complicated affair. In addition, there are practices that are irrelevant on this site. We will only keep in mind that tantric practices emphasize the importance of Shakti.

 

Hatha yoga is fundamentally a Tantric way; therefore it can be practiced in this full expectation. However, as Hatha Yoga emigrated from India to the western countries, it grew weaker. Anyway, remember that the word Hatha means effort and strength, and that it is a trap in the meaning of that word effort: the yoga teachers tell their students not to force themselves ... The popularization of Hatha yoga led most people to know only the physical branch of the Asana (postures). From there, anti-stress yoga appeared for overworked yuppies, exhausted housewives, depressed, unmarried men and women. It's not that bad, it's not really nice either, but it's the very basic yoga.

 

On the other hand, tantra practice in Western countries can lead to unfortunate delusions. Calling and awakening the Shakti energy requires a very rigorous life training, an eager practice of advanced forms of yoga (Asana, Pranayama) and meditation sessions, paired with a continuous specific mantra repetition (Japa). Everything in this connection must be under the control of a competent yoga teacher (Guru) and is reserved only for adequately trained yoga students.

 

In addition, a «sexual» positioning of tantric yoga has been developed in western countries. It can be assumed that this tendency is therefore a priority issue.

 

It is true, for many centuries, the specific forms of Tantrism have been oriented toward sexuality, more specifically, to the mastery of this very powerful force.

 

However, Tantrism, adapted to European people, has sometimes distorted the way of this very complex and secret science. Secretly we can say that this science requires a high level of skill from the practitioner because of real dangers, both mental and physical.

 

In fact, sexual intercourse, as practiced in Tantrism, is the culmination of a long partner workout. Moreover, this act is not allowed to end in ejaculation. The orgasm energy must be directed voluntarily through the Sushumna, from the bottom chakra (Muladhara) into the Sahasrara chakra ... Adding the fact that the Shakti (in this case, the word points to the sexual partners) orgasm should not be expected, most amateurs should be discouraged ...

 

In our countries, we are all too often debating the «sexual» aspects of Tantrism, or even with a dubious complacency from a pseudo-guru teached to yoga students, greedy «powers» and feelings to reach. If these do not have a valid form of sexual intercourse, these questionable practices generally end in disappointment. At best, Tantra students have to be content with unusual energy signs (colors, visions, warmth, trembling, etc.). These experiences can reinforce their ego (self-gratification), leading them on an opposite path to the yoga path ...

 

In any case, we can underline that eventually, in Tantrism, sexual aspects need only be addressed on a permanent basis, after completing a deep work on energies, control over working with the purified chakra opens up.

 

 

Ganesh and Tantrism

Ganesh is the Lord of the Muladhara Chakra, this is the first chakra, the chakra from the base. The Muladhara chakra corresponds to the element earth (Prithivi). It is represented by a yellow-colored square figure in which the root mantra (Bija-Mantra) LAM is written; this square is bounded on the four sides by four petals. Inside the square figure, under the Bija mantra, usually the Shiva Lingam, black-colored, is located in a peak turned down to the top. The serpent that represents the sleeping Kundalini energy is wrapped around this Shiva Lingam. Each Bija mantra communicates with a bearing animal (Vahana). The Vahana of LAM is the elephant.

 

Therefore, in Tantric practices, Ganesh is called as the force capable of awakening the Kundalini Shakti.

 

In fact, the goal of tantric practices is to awaken the sleeping energy in the Muladhara chakra and make it ascend (once the context is properly estimated and the aforementioned precautions have been adjusted), crossing each chakra as far as the Sahasrara. Let's emphasize this point: this practice is difficult and somewhat risky if the student expects to walk too fast across the steps. It is easy to understand why: in every chakra there are blockages (energy nodes, Grantha) that indicate the lack of yogic preparation of these chakra energies.

 

For example, if excessive rajasic energies are vigorously set in motion by intense Pranayama, this can be blocked in the Svadishthana chakra and generate excessive sexual needs (nice result!) or in the Manipura chakra irritating the person who does not understand what happens and why she feels so bad.

 

In practice with Ganesh, we must not forget that divine power is used to transform our negative forces into positive forces. We know that Hindu gods are in any case universal forces that perform various functions.

 

Gods act through the mantra that calls them. In fact, a mantra is a very powerful phoneme. We talk about the Bija mantra, which are the true vibrations of the deity.

 

It is absolutely necessary for a number of reasons that working with the Kundalini involves the use of a Bija mantra under the effective supervision of an experienced teacher and in some circumstances. So it's really not very interesting to learn about Bija mantra from books.

 

On the other hand, a Vedic mantra used in exoteric rituals is not dangerous and always yields a very beneficial result.

 

 

Ganesh Mantra

There are many types of tantric mantras. Some are a personal mantra, used for a Japa practice, others fulfill certain purposes.

 

A mantra brings powerful psychological, therapeutic and spiritual results. LAM is the Bija mantra of the earth element. Therefore, it is related to the Muladhara-Chakra. GAM is also connected to the earth element; this is the reason why it can be said that it is a Bija mantra of Ganesh. GLAUM is another Bija mantra in connection with Ganesh. On the other hand, OM is a universal mantra that must be pronounced before any other mantra. However, we have found that Ganesh is the OM itself for his followers.

 

For example: OM GAM Ganeshaya Namaha

Please note: the A at the end of the word NAMAHA is not pronounced.

 

As the embodiment of the three virtues Buddhi, Siddhi and Riddhi, known as Wisdom, Spirituality and Prosperity, Lord Ganesha is the personification of Buddhi himself. The other two virtues are personified as goddesses and Lord Ganesha's concubines. Although there are divergent opinions about his marital status, both Puranas ꟷ Mudgala and Shiva Purana, who are considered to be authority, speak about the marital life of Lord Ganesha.

 

After the Shiva Purana, Lord Ganesha had two sons called Shubh and Labh genannt wurden. Shubh and Labh are the personification of the promise of fortune and the advantage. Shubh was the son of the goddess Riddhi and Labh was the son of the goddess Siddhi.

 

Representations of Ganesha show big differences and different patterns that change over time. He may be standing, dancing, heroically advancing against demons, playing as a boy with his family, sitting on the floor, or standing on a raised place, or engaging in a range of contemporary situations.

 

It is characterized by its mystical appearance ꟷ the trunk of an elephant, a human body and a roundish belly. It is usually presented with four hands and carries a Pascha (noose) and a Goad ax) in the upper hands. One of Lord Ganesha's lower hands is depicted in the Abhay Mudra while holding a bowl of Modaks in the other lower hand.

 

The image of Ganesha, which shows that he turns his trunk strongly to his left side to taste the sweets in his lower left hand, has a particularly archaic function. The mount or Vahana of Lord Ganesha is a mouse.

 

So we can see that Ganesha is the power of knowledge, of success and of fulfillment. To invoke this divine being, some mantras are sung in his name. These Ganesha mantras are also known as Siddhi Mantra (the one with perfection). Each mantra is filled with the energy and power of Lord Ganesha. It is believed that his mantras, when recited with genuine devotion, yield positive results. They defy all trials and tribulations, and grace the followers with every part of the success he desires.

 

Mantra purposes are many:

 

OM SHRI GANESHAYA NAMAHA

the most classical Ganesha mantra; This is a good mantra for young people (among others) to support success in school.

 

Basic Ganpati Mantra

OM GAM GANAPATAYE NAMAHA

used to clear all obstacles before you start something.

Meaning: It means bowing to the almighty Ganpati with our entire existence and accepting his great qualities in our own being.

Benefit: It repels all negativity in our lives before starting any activity. The singing of this mantra secures the success in the new ventures that one wants to take over.

 

 

Vakratunda Ganesh Mantra

One of the most important and also one of the most commonly used Ganpati mantras is the Ganesha Mantra for Wealth and it is dedicated to Lord Ganesha, Goddess Riddhi (Hindu Goddess of Wealth) and Goddess Siddhi (Hindu Goddess of Spiritual Enlightenment).

 

VAKRATUNDA MAHA-KAAYA SURYA-KOTTI SAMAPRABHA
NIRVIGHNAM KURU ME DEVA SARVA-KAARYESHU SARVADAA

 

Meaning:

VAKRA – means the one who is not straight
VAKRATUNDA – means crooked trunk
MAHAKAYA – means big body, when we see that in some divine way this means the most powerful.
SURYAKOTI – means 'Surya' or Sun and Koti means 10 million.
SAMPRABHA – means: PRABHA – Aura, zoom in, SAMA - like
SURYAKOTI SAMPRABHA – means whose aura is like the light of 10 million simultaneously composed suns
NIRVGNAM – free of obstacles
KURUME – give me
DEVA – means God
SARVA – means everything
KARYESHU - work
SARVADA - always

 

Full meaning: Oh God with crooked trunk and big body, whose aura is like the light of 10 million suns, please make my whole work forever free from obstacles.

 

Benefit:

Singing this mantra chant calls Lord Ganesha to remove every obstacle between us and wellbeing, helping to achieve wealth, wisdom, happiness, prosperity, and success in all endeavors.