JPRAB Op DINE reN WB paleira ete or AWAKENED INDIA PVCU eeu CL tru kel. s Be EAC bane gree aaa F Pirate ETL) January 2016 Vol. 121, No.1 aK)THE ROAD TO WISDO SWAMI VIVEKANANDA ON Reason versus Religion—IX hat is the effect of accepting such an Impersonal Being, an Impersonal Deity? What shall we gain? Will religion stand as @ factor in human life, our consoler, our helper? What becomes of the desire of the human heart to pray for help to some being? ‘That will all remain, The Personal God will remain, but on a better basis. He has been strengthened by the Impersonal. We have seen that without the Impersonal the Personal cannot remain. [F you mean to, say there is a Being entirely separate from this universe, who has created this universe just by His will, out of nothing, that cannot be proved. Such a state of things camot be. But if we understand the idea of the Impersonal, then the idea of the Personal can remain there also. This universe, in its various forms, is bitt the various readings of the same Impersonal. When we read it with the five senses, we call itthe material world. If there be a being with more senses than five, he will read itas something else. tf one of us gets the electrical sense, he will see the universe as something else again. There are various forms of that same Oneness, of which all these various ideas of worlds are but various readings, and che Personal God Is the highest reading rhat can be attained to, of that Impersonal, by the human intellect, So that the Personal God is true as much as this chair Is true, as much as this world Is true, but no more. [cis not absolute truth. That is to say, the Personal God is that very Impersonal God and, therefore, it Is true, > AiR RP- Sanjiv Goenka Group Growing Legacies just as [asa human being, am true and not true at the same time, (am not the being that you take me to be. You can satisiy your reason as to that, because light, and various vibrations or conditions of the atmosphere, and all sorts of motions inside me have contributed to my being looked upon as what | am, by you. If any one of these conditions change, [am different again. You may satisfy yourself by taking a photograph of the same man under different conditions of light. So fam what [ appear in relation to your senses, and yet, In spite of all these facts, there is an unchangeable something of which all these are different states of existence, the impersonal me, of which thousands of me's are different persons. Every day of my life, my body and thoughts are changing, but In spite of all of these changes, the surm-total of them constitutes a mass which is a constant quantity, That is the impersonal me, of which all these manifestations form, as it were, parts, From The Complete Works of Swamt Vivekananda, (Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama, 2013), 1387-8. yp cescVol.121,No.1 January 2016 Managing Editor Swami Tattwavidananda Editor Swami Narasimbananda Associate Editor and Design Swami Divyakripananda Production Editor Swami Chidekananda Cover Design Subbabrata Chandra General Assistance Swami Vimobananda Swami Vibbatmananda Circulation Indrajit Sina ‘Tipas Jena EDITORIAL OFFICE Prabuddha Bharata Advaita Ashrama PO Mayavat, Via Lohaghat De-Champawat- 262.524 Unrarakhand, India Tel: 91- 96909 98179 prabuddhabharata@gmail.com ph@advaitaashrama.org Printed and Published by Swami Atmalokananda PUBLICATION OFFICE Advaita Ashama 5 Dchi Entally Road Kolkata-700 or West Bengal, India Tel: 91-33-2289 0898 2284, 0210 / 2286 6450 / 6483 mail@advaitaashrama.org INTERNET EDITION wwrkadvaitashrama.org. JPRABUDDHA ‘BuARATA or AWAKENED INDIA A monthly journal of the Ramakrishna Order started by Swam! Vivekananda In 1896 Contents ‘Traditional Wisdom Editorial: The Phalaharini Kali What Is Tantra? Swami Chetanananda ‘The Ramakrishna Movement and Tantra Swami Atmarupananda Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda Revisited in the Light of Tantra Swami Atmapriyananda ‘Why Mother Kali? Pravrajiha Shuddhatmaprana ‘The Method and Significance of Tantra Swami Kritarthananda Shaki, the Supreme: Mother Goddess in Hinduism TS Rukmani On Tantra Prof Arvind Sharma Light on Abhinavagupra’s Contribution to the Advaita Shaiva Spiritual Philosophy of Kashmir Dr Debabrata Sen Sharma 56 67 79 8896 Tantric Mysticism and Some Issues of Religious Authority June McDaniel 109. Reflections on Tantra Yogind Shambhavi Devi 1 Sri Aurobindo’s Approach to Tantra Prema Nandakumear 126 Sri Ramakrishna Tantra Darshana and the Dialectics of Desire Prof’ M Siusnembrishna 157. ‘Tantra: A Much-Misunderstood Path to Liberation Jeffery D Long 168. Tantra: Embodied Enlightenment Rite D Sherma 178 Vaishnava Tantra As Outlined in the Bhagavata Krishna Ksheera Sarai 191 Abhinavagupta’s Tantric Theology of Becoming and Contemporary Secularism Lorilias Biernacks 205 Givenness versus Cultivation on the Religious Path: Philosophical and Historical Reflections on Linji Yixuan and Abhinavagupta David Peter Lawrence“The Secret and the Revealed —Miantea and Meaning within Bhaskararaya’s Gupravati Caleb Simmons ‘The Psychology of Tantra Venerable Robina Courtin Of Experiential Tantra: Being With a Tantric Subbasis Chattopadhyay Creation As Explained In ‘The antra Mr Justice} G Woodrofft Is Shakti Force? Sir Jobn Woods af Realityin Maya-Vada and Shakti-Vada SirJobn Woodroffe Review in Retrospect: On ‘The Conning Tower Start Saradananda Review Article: Sti Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play Swami Chetanananda Reviews Manana Reports 215 227 238 244 264 267 272 276 285 290 292Subscribe to Prabuddha Bharata * Become a Patron Subscriber and support the rich legacy left to all of us by Swami Vivekananda; patrons’ names are published in Prabuddha Bharata. * Prabuddha Bharata subscribers receive 10% discount on all Advaita Ashrama Publications. * Send remittances in favour of Prabuddha Bharata by bank draft or money order to Advaita Ashrama, 5 Dehi Entally Road, Kolkata 700 014, India. Or, subscribe online at www.advaitaashrama.org. * Please note that we do not accept cheques. 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B or AWAKENED INDIA TO LIBRARIES PRABUDDHA BHARATA UBRARY INITIATIVE Tet many more benefit from the thought- provoking contents read by you every month in Prebuddha Bharata. Join the Prabuddha Bharata Librery Initiative by gifting a life subscription toc library. You can either gift it to the librery of your choice or to the librery selected by us. Come, sponsor as many libraries es you con and spread the ethos of Indian Culture. Prabuddha Bharata Library Initiative: Name of Sponsor Beneficiary Library 470.Gopal Chandra Bhar, Hooghly. Presidency University, Kolkata Prabuddha Bharata Patron Subscribers: 593. Radhika Dwivedi, Bilaspur, 594. Dr Raguram Ganesamoni, Nagercoil, Send my gift subscriptions to: PLEASE PRINT IN BLOCK LETTERSLe ee aa CCU BLLESIRE CREATES DISTRESS, But many D consider it to be bleakeand distressing to have no desices. This convoluted world view leads to complications that keep one con- founded in the world, How to transcend desire or atleast its clutches has been the conundcum haunt- ing humanity for ages. Some have found solace in altogether demonising desire and by labelling all things desired as profane. This has led to a dichot- omy of divinity anda pursuit of solace in negation. ‘Thousands of years ago, this problem of desire was tackled in a novel approach, the approach of cre- ating a “dialectics of desire. Nothing was demon- ised but everything was divinised. There was no God and Demon but only God and God alone. ‘This retelling of the paradigm of the desired de- veloped into holistic spiritual path called the tantra, Much like its etymological origins, cantra created the warp and woof of one’s life including within its fold, both the mundane and the divine, When we are being chased by ephemeral dreams of desire in this burgeoning age of con- sumerism, we need new tools and the reread- ing of the old ones, to counteract the flood of unbridled temptations to the senses. Instead of being victims to the fancies of the foes that are the senses, it would only be wise to act maturely and bring sense to the senses by channelising them and theiraims tothe achieving of the divine at every moment of our lives. We begin the year of 2016, the 12ist year of Prabuddie Bharata with Reecdons on Tenéne by erudite monks and scholars from different regions and faith traditionsacross the world. With this issue we increase the emphasison ancient scriptures by translating them into Eng- lish in an accessible idiom. We also start a new column, ‘“tadi#onal Tales, retellings of ancient Sanskrit stories. Every month, you will be treat ed to newer vistas of ancient wisdom through the pages of this journal, ‘We thank onr subscribers and readers for having supported us for these 120 years, We giving their feedback, and also expressing their views on issues that find place in the pages of this journal. We thank the staff of the journal for ensuring a smooth ride, We are grateful to all the authors, reviewers, photographers, artists, publishers who have sent their books for re- view, reviewers, proofreaders, copyedirors, ad- invite them to send us letters or emai vertisers, patrons, donors, web page designers, and well-wishers. Their support and encour= agement has ensured that gems of wisdom and insights of depth have reached the minds of countless, month after month, year after year.TRADITIONAL WISDOM sfaea ara set aerate | Arise! Awake! And stop not till the goal is reached! Tripura Upanishad eae oy ‘trae, fra: yen ferent saree stern: afaferen: | SATS ST YT Aa AeA TATA | kL Tisrah purasiripatha vishuacbarshant atrakatha aksharsh sanniotshrah. Adbishtayaina shara prrand mabaitara mabinoa devatanans. i) She rules over three cities [or abodes of moksha, which are attained by the Divine Mother's grace by], three paths [or this Sri Chakra, for her) children of the universe. [Hence, she is called ‘Tripura, She has as her forms, the letters starting with] 2, Ac, [and] #2 [representing, ‘owelve vowels and thirty-two consonants—a total of forty-eight letters], [in which she is] fully present. Sheis present in these leteers [as three points, Srzdus, im three groups of letters and thavis why she is called Tripura]. She is ageless, birthless, the greatest [among gods and goddesses), [and] she is the glory of all gods [and worshipping her will please all the gods and goddesses], @) aecitriercemtin set wae stn ae ars | wert ai sere: SAT Ta Ys Aa aT HAT 11 Nanzyomiv-navacchakrani didhire navaiva yoga nava yoginisheha. Nasanam chakre adhinathah syona nava reudra nava bhadramabinam. @ PB January 2016 I12 Prabuddba Bharata [From each of dhe three points, dirzdus, come three centres, and], nine yonis created nine centres, [and thtee centres together form atriangle and there are totally nine linesin these three tuiangles], nine yogas [or chakras],nine yoginis, the nine rulets of dhe nine centres [having nine differert planes, one on top of the other, forming the 2's of Sri Chakra], [and Chakresh- Vari] the cause ofhappiness [and misery], ninemudeas [the saméshodbin mudra, the varavané mndra, the zkarshint mudra, the vashankari mudra, the sarvonmadind mudra, the rsahanku- sharmudea, the Rhechari mudra, the Aja mudra, and the yon mudral, nine Sbadivas [merit sin, ‘Atman, the indwelling sonl, the Paramatma, the all-knowing Self, the knower, the object of knowledge, and knowledge], [and] for each base of the triangles [on the StiChakral. (2) aT aidteeen a rardteraaseraaser| arnftyea fre: after seritita arnt mn fererqi) 311 ha sa asitprarhana sa navadidawnavimshadasnatrinshat Chatwarinsharatha torah samidba ushatiriva reataro rea vishante. 6) PB January 2016Traditional Wisdom She was alone [in the beginning}, the primal [cause of the universe], [she was the indwelling power of and] she became nine [yonis], she became nineteen [nine yoris and ten internal ‘yonis], she became twenty-nine [nine yonis, cen internal yonis, and ten external yonis}, then tion, five organs of knowledge, mind, intellect, ego, and chitta). [She] is glowing intensely, as if desirous. Let the Mothers, [identified with the Sri Chakra] enter me [or my body through mantras and rituals because my body is a form of the Sri Chakra]. G) [was born] forty-three [nine yonis, ten internal yonis, ten external yonis, five organs of: sebarssrrsaea wat & freveitrt waits qT wre tied safaftite 3 & wser WesafT 11 x 1 Undhva-joalaj-jvalanacjyotiragre tamo vai sivashchinamajaram tadrajo bbut. Anandanam modanam jyotirindoreta u vai mandala mandayanti. () [There is] a flame rising up [in the chakra to the north of sthiti-chakra] the circle of light [called] jralana, indeed having the cloud of tamas on the top. [‘Then], the horizontal ageless circle of light, was born out of rajas. [Then] the circle of radiating light, [producing] sense enjoyment [was born out of ] sattva. Thus, [these three] circles beautify [the Mothers associ- ated with chem]. (4) frag ta: wortt qafafrentaqontarare: | Wat Tes Year wat WET TET & 1 Tisrashcha rebhah sadanani bhuanes-tvivishtapas-trigunas-triprakashah. Exatpuram purakam purakanamatra prathate madano madanya. (3) On the substratum of the three lines [or spheres of light, are], the three worlds, che three gunas, and the three sources of light—the sun, the moon, and fire. This city [the Sri Chakra, the abode of the Divine Mother along with her attendants, which] is the fulfiller [of the desires, even of gods like Shiva and Vishnu, who fulfil the desires of countless devotees], of Shiva and Parvati, who play their divine sport here. () were weet age aT QT a at ed Yara! riser afreqhetter a yer cresttenr ciferar creat H&L Madantika manini mangala cha subhaga cha sa sundari shuddhamatta. Lajia matis-tushtiv-ishta cha pushta lakshmir-uma lalita lalapanti. (6) PB January 201614 Prabuddba Bharata “The Divine Mother] is variously known as Madantika, joyous; Manini, proud [of Kedarnath }; ‘Mangala, auspicious [of Sri Lanka]; and Subhaga, prosperous [of Assam]. And she is Sundari, beautiful [of Ttikuta]; Shuddhamatea, pures Lajja, modest [of Amaravati; Mati, intelligents Tashti, satisfied; Ishta, desired [of Srinagar]; Pushta, nourished [of Jageshwar]; Lakshmi, wealthy [of Kolhapur]; Uma, splendorous [of Mithila]; and Lalita, eloquent [of Prayaga].(6) wat faara qe wet oftgae ahaa: eadtey! Wael OS ved cata cen qt ase 11 Imam vijnaya sudbaya madanti pavisruta tarpayantah svapitham. Nakasya prishte mahato vasanti parandbama traipuram chavishanti. 0) Knowing [through proper spiritual initiation and instructions from the guru] this [supreme goddess as residing within] one’s own seat [the body, which is not different from the Sri Chakra] they [the attendants of the Divine Mother] please [her] by being completely absorbed by [consecrated] nectar-like substances and live in heaven [enjoying the fruits of the first three goals of life—dharma, artha, and kama] and attain the highest abode of moksha. (”) ert af: amen amnfonfer gar wafears wtirs: | yale ween aaa o yeeter fara stefani 2 11 Kamo yonih kamala vajrapanir-guha basa matarishva bbramindrah, Punargubasakala mayaya cha puruchyesba vishoamatatdividya. (s) [The Sri Vidya mantra is revealed secretly through the words] kama, desire [the syllable of the four-faced god Brahma}; yoni, womb [indicating the vowel ¢]; kamala, lotus [indicating, the vowel i]s vajrapanih, one who holds the chunderbole [indicating Ja]; giha, cave [indi- cating the bija, seed, mantra of Bhuvaneshvari, brim]; [followed by the letters] hay [and] sa, ‘matarishva, the wind [the syllable of the four-faced god Brahma]; abhra, cloud [indicating the letter ha; [and] Indra [indicating /a]. Again, [the mantra contains the letters denoted by the words] guha, cave [indicating the bij seed mantra of Bhuvaneshvari, brim]; [and the letters] sa, ka, /a, and maya [indicating che bija, seed mantra of Bhuvaneshvari, hrim|—this is the primal mantra, original knowledge, the Mother of the universe, the ancient. (8) ws aang afganfaren yetramages: | ae aff acrd annie qeaidl aga wrt 11 @ 1 PB January 2016Traditional Wisdom Shashiam saptamannatha vabnisarathimasya moulairikamaveshayanial, Karhyate havin: halpakam kamansisbame sushsuuaraso anaritattuann Dhajante (9) Of this [the mantra described in the previous verse], removing the [first] three root syllables, {the letters As, sand Az represented by the words], sasha, six; sapnavna, sevens and nbn, fire; have to be added [and it will form the Lopamudramantea}. By praisingand praying the Lord—who is described in the Vedas, the substratum of the imagined universe, [and] who is described in the scripcures—they awain immoruality. (9) midi aS €) a fafaed frpa frerpiaten: wrod watt | gafreittementetren a ets gered fraft i go 11 ‘Thivichtapam minnukh.am vishvaveatur-navarekhah-susramadhyare tadile. Bribastthir-dashapanchadinitya ta shodashi puremadhyans bibhartth (10) I praise the Mother of the universe [who resides in] the three worlds, on the three sides [tri angles], having nine lines [formed by the nine yoris], with visarga [24] in themiddle [of the central triangle of Sri Chakra, which is the place of her worship}. She shines in the primal eternal sixteenth in the centre of the city [that is, Sri Chakra, she who is] great [and the cause of] the fifteen siziis [or dates, who are the fifteen deities of the fifteen lunar days ofa month, beginning with Kameshvari and ending with Chiera). (0) PB January 20166 Prabuddha Bharata Ween a een featie Ye aera Yet weaty ent wot errant fate Tt sat BATTS GMA 11 ke Dut mandala dea tana bimbamekam mukbam chadhastrini guba sadanani. Kamim kalam kamyarupam viditva naro jayate kamarpashcha kamyab. (x) [In Kamalakala meditation], the two circles [of the nahmi-mandala, fire circles and surya- mandala, sun circle] are the two breasts, one reflection is the face and half [the letter his the female organ and also refers to the bbupura chakra in the outermost gateways of Sri Chakra]. ‘The three [limbs of human body divided into three sections: from the head to the throat, from the throat to the breasts, and from the heart to the anus] are the secret houses [identi- fied with the outermost three lines of the bhugriha chakra within the Sri Chakra]. Meditating upon the desired [and transforming oneself into] the aspect [of che consciousness of Shiva and] that which has a desirable form, a person [the worshipper] is born as the embodiment of desire [who creates a disturbance in the minds of onlookers because of one’s beauty]-(11) uftad arm uct ao went at: quitepata facta wet eaattge qed fafatir i 21 Parisrutam jhashamadyam palam cha bhaktani yonih suparishlritani. Nivedayandevatayai mahatyai svatmikvitya sukriti siddhimeti. (2) [The ritual offering and consuming of, in the stipulated order], madya, wine [or the intoxi- cating bliss of meditation]; palam, meat [or the control of taste]; jhasha, fish [or the control of breath]; bhaktani, cooked food grains [or meditations on the guru]; and yonis, wombs [or attaining the knowledge of the Divine Mother in all her manifestations], have to be done properly, Offering food to the great Goddess, the expert performer [of the external sacrifices] should consume it oneself [and] attain fulfilment [of the sacri (2) guia fara feaadiin: ors ufraeacavitenrs | saft: vatidge a faercnfemtacoon fear) 93 it Srinyeva sitaya vishvacharshanih pashena pratibadbnatyabbikan, Ishubbib panchabbirdhanusha cha vidhyatyadishaktiraruna vishvajanya (3) [She] has, as it were, [because in reality she is beyond name and form), a white [elephant] PB January 2016Traditional Wisdom goad and is the Mother [‘Tripurasundari] of the universe. [She] binds persons having desires or a passionate nature [by the rope of their own desires]. She strikes down the [desires] with a bow and five arrows [one arrow each for the five senses]. She is red and is the primal power, the Shakti, from whom the entire universe is born. (3) am: wradirarart So sur araratas aha | waver area waite: arent ferraAa: 11 kx 1 Bhagah shaktir-bbagavankama isha ubba dataraviba saubbaganam Samapradbanau samasattvan samotayoh samashaktirajara vishvayonib. (04) ["The Lord] having the qualities of power, righteousness, fame, prosperity, knowledge, and discernment is the blessed Shakti, who is both the Lord [or Shiva] and desire. [Shiva and Shakti), both are givers of prosperity. Both are of equal importance and are of the same es- sence, completely identical, and have the same power. [She is] ageless [and] the womb of the universe [or from her the entire universe is born]. (14) uftgar efamt watt meate aft 4 wre: | wd: adea srt faenat eat wat fereuraifa 1) e411 Parisruta havisha pavitena prasamkoche galite vai manastah. Sarvah sarvasya jagato vidhata dharta harta vishvaruptvameri. (1s) Purified [by rituals and mantras], by what remains after offering [in the worship of the Goddess], by drinking [in the bliss of meditation on the Goddess}, by [what is] born out of contemplation, [and] the obstacles {to Self-realisation] being dissolved [by inactivity]. [‘The Self of] all is [called] the creator of the universe, the sustainer, [and] the destroyer [and by practising complete detachment, one] attains the form of the universe [that is the form of the Lord]. (as) ea agafrafaqaan amet ued iterate und: wired aiaranaddaran @ faeaTI1 84 ll se Bt oe Pifiequiraqs Iyam mahopanishat-tripuraya yamaksharam parame girbhiritte. Eshargyajuh parametachcha same-vayamatharveyam-anya cha vidyo'm. (as) Om, Hrim, Om. Hrimityupanishat PB January 20168 Prabaddha Bharata ‘This is the great Upanishad [explaining the secret meaning] of Goddess Tripura [chrough various statements]. The supreme indestructible [Brahman] praises that [Upanishad], which is the highest knowledge, [that] this Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, Atharva Veda, and other sciences [that is, the rest fourteen branches of the total eighteen traditional branches of knowledge, contain]. Om. ‘Om. Hrim. Om. Hrim. Thus ends the Upanishad. (1s) “Translated into English by Swami Narasimhananda PB January 2016EDITORIAL The Phalaharini Kali HIS IS A DISCUSSION ABOUT KALI and her relevance in our lives and also the sig- I nificance of the Phalaharini Kali puja day, which is observed on a new moon day and has gained popularity because it was on this day that Sri Ramakrishna offered all che merits of his spi itual practice at the feet of his consort, Sri Sarada Devi. The word phalaharini means ‘the female, who takes away the fruits of our actions: Phala means fruit, the fruits of actions. Whenever we do something, it creates a fruit in the form of ten- dencies in the mind and that fruit leads us to do another action. Suppose one listens to something, PB January 2016 good, it leaves a good tendency in the mind and ir makes one listen to more good things. This cycle makes you come back over and again co this world, because one has to exhaust one’s men- tal eendencies, Phalaharini removes all chese ten- dencies by caking away the fruits of one’s actions. Hearini means afemale who takes away. One con- tinues to get the results of one's actions because of the thoughts ‘I am the doer and Lam the enjoyer. ‘The goal of spiritual life is to remove this thought. “This process is hastened by Phalaharini Kali. All of us are here in this world because each one of our actions produces an impression on our20 Prabuddba Bharata minds and that impression propelsus to do more actions. LFI doa good action it leaves a good im- pression on my mind, which is called samskara— itis also called kanma or karma-phale—and thac would make me do another good action and this goes on and on till T understand that T am not the doer. Till I have the sense of doer-ship this samskara or karma-pha?a is generated. Kali is called—particularly in the context of Phala- harini Kali puja—phalabarini, because she has the power to destroy all the karmas or samskaras of our lives. She has the power to give you and I liberation from the cycle of repeated births and deaths, repeated comingand going. So itis quite significant that Sri Ramakrishna surrendered all, the fruits of his spiritual ansterities on the Phala- harini Kali puja day, at the feet of his wile. 10 ‘Thisis not only significant butitis unpreced- ented and unparalleled in spiriuual history. Never ‘has any spiritual personality, a prophet, or an ava tara given so much importance to his wife, to the extent that he has surrendered all the spiritual austerities to her. This was not awife with whom jhe had some kind of supernatural or miraculous connection, burshe wasa wife very much in flesh and body, whom he was married vo; and to this ‘person he surrendered all his spirieual austerities, In the life of Sti Ramakrishna, we see astrong connection with the Goddess Kali. Later on we see the same connection in the life of Swami Vivekananda, and for many reasons it was very important for Sri Ramakrishna chat Swamiji ac- cept the divinity of Kali and that is why when Sti Ramakrishna saw thac Swamiji had accepted the divinity of Kali, he was extremely overjoyed: hestatted clapping his hands and singing songs. The Form of Kali ‘What is the general form of Kali? Kali is a god- dess whose complexion is completely black. "There are songs which say thatshe is blacker than the colour blackitself. She is pitch-black. In San- skrit the word for divinity, deve or devs comes from the root iu, which means light. And that is the reason why most of the gods and goddesses are very beantifil. But hereis one goddess, who is very black. However good granite or marble you. may use to make the image of Kali, it has to be black. The form of women or the form of a deity, particularly a female deicy, is conventionally sup- ‘posed vo have wharis called the feminine grace. IE you take the forms of Lakshmi or Sarasvati, their forms are very graceful, full of femininity and feminine grace, And one thing which is avery im: portantaspectof feminine grace is the dress. That is why wesee that in the past, queens gave—and even today, social queens give—much impore- ance to their dress, However, Kali does not wear PB January 2016anything, She is absolutely inv the nude. She is stark naked. First, she strikes at the conventional sense of beauty by being pitch-black and second, she strikes at the conventional idea of feminine grace or femininity by being completely nude. According to the conventional norms of womanly grace, itis expected thacawoman talks softly. Society associates a woman with a soft sound, a soft gesture, and a gracious gait. But in Kali isa woman who has her tongue put out of hermouth, When do yon do that kind of thing? ‘When you want ro insule somebody ot when. you ate in a frivolous mood, and you are trying tomake fun of someone. Both of these actions are not considered good in society. There are nu- merous interpretations of why Kali puts ont her tongue, bucthe image of feminine divine form, which is nude and black, and with the tongue put out, is quite shocking, But the shock does nor stop here. She wears a garland of heads. Another thing which is com- monly associated with a wornan are ormaments. We find that Sri Sarada Devi was supposed to be given some ormaments at the time of her mar- riage, bucafter the marriage these ornaments were removed. And Sri Ramakrishna funnily remarked that now the bride's family could do nothing; the amartiage was already over. In the present times that incident would probably not have passed. off so simply bur char was a remark made in those Jong gone times. However ater Sri Ramakrishna ‘got some ornaments made for Sri Sarada Devi ber canse he said thar awomten love omaments. Even today women love omaments, may be theform of the ornamentshaye changed. Women today may not have that same love for golden ornaments bur there are new kinds of ornaments like nail extensions or nail overlays. Nonetheless women always love ornaments. Even men love bodily ac- cessories, only they are not conventionally seen as ornaments by society. PB january 2016 ‘This is the conventional idea of a feminine form and thacis why we find goddesses Lakshmi or Sarasyati decked with ornaments like nose tings and eartings. In the temple of the virgin Goddess in Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, how- ever far away one stands from the main deity, you will see a lamp glowing on the nose of the image of the Goddess. That is not a lamp buta nose ring with a gem so powerfal that it emits such a strong light as if it were a great lamp. Le- gend has ic chat in the past, when the temple was not coyered and the image was in the open, ships used to navigate by seeing the light of the nese ringof the Goddess, which acted as a lighthouse. So, every female form is associated wich some ornaments, And here we have the form of Kali who is wearing a garland of heads as an ornament, not just a garland of heads, but alse a garland of fingers, Whatever she is wearing as an ornament cannot be considered one even by the wildest stretch of the imagination, This is a stark con- trast to our sense of decorum and aesthetics. Most upeople, who are grounded in traditional ideas of feminine beauty and grace—like the Greek or Enropean notions of a goddess or someone com- ing from parts of the world not familiar wich the image of Kali—are greatly shocked when they first see the form of Kali. They are totally shocked because they havenever ever imagined a deiry like this: a black woman in the nude, protrudingher tongue, and having garland of skulls. Of course, it still does not stop there. To top it all, the icing on the cake is thac she isstanding on the chest of Shiva. Here you have a feminine form which is standing on a masculine form, Ic is the greatest shock possible to all conventional ideas of beauty and femininity. All these aspects of Kali have a great ramification and significance, We do not generally see the image of Kali in that light, Most In of us just goin front of her image and say: ‘Please provect me’ We just pray in fear. ‘The iconography and symbology of Kali’s image hasa great importance. The positioningof the female form over the male form isof particu- lar importance. In the case of Lord Narasimha, we see that Goddess Lakshmi issittingiin his lap. In the case of Lord Vishnn, we see that Goddess Lakshmi is sitting at his feet. We do not see a feminine form other than Kali standing on top of amale deity. And who is that male deity? Shiva, a mendicant. He is a sadhn, Shiva is the deity of all sannyasins. His marriage too is the highest demonstration of renunciation in the world. Be- cause he doesnot bother about where he stays, he does not bother about what he wears, he doesnot bother abourwhache eats, and he is ever-blissful. ‘That is why he is the Lord of the sannyasins. In Sanatana Dharma, everything is deified. Sana- tana Dharma does not have any dichotomy of divinity. Whacis dichotomy of divinity or dual- ity of divinicy? Ieis the belief that there is some- thing divine and chac there is something that is not divine, ‘That there isa God and that there is a Devil. Sanatana Dharma does not believe in that, All che aditions of Sanatana Dhamma pro- fess that everything that we see is the manifest- ation of the One divine principle and so there is no problem worshipping Kali, becanse Sana- tana Dharma has deified destruction and death. In some regions of India, Kali worship is pro- hibived for the householders, However, in some other placesin India, Kali is worshipped daily in several homes. Sameis the case with the worship of Chinnamasta. Kali is the deification of the terrible. Byen the word ‘Kal’ could denote the terrible, Kaliis the terrible or terror incamate Kali and Tantra How did this form of Kali evolve? Move likely, this form evolved just after the early Vedic times, B January 2016 iTewas not there in the early Vedic times. Ir came after the early Vedic times and this form, for all we know, is not so pronouncedly found in the Vedas. Though a couple, or may bea little more, references to Kali can be found in the Vedas, none of them are ftom che early Vedic times and even these references are not really clear. However, we do know that Mother Worship or worship of the female divine principle was quite prominent in the Vedas. Tt is found throughout the Vedas. But, the form of Kali is not so dis- tinct in the Vedas. The form of Kali originated in India and has spread through different pares of the world. ‘This form was also adapted into Buddhism. Kali went into Buddhism and came back in a different form to India, as a Buddhist goddess like the Vajra Devi. Kaliis one of the principal forms or goddesses associated with tantra. There is aloc of confusion regarding tantra, ‘Today tantra is considered a li- cense to indulge in the sensual but tantra is any- thing bur that. Tantra is thechannelling of hnman weaknesses by ditecting them towards God. Sti Ramakrishna used to say that if you want to cry, cry for God; if you want to desire something, desire God; and if you want to love, love God. Channelise or direct your impulses and instincts towards God. That is tantra. Tantra has various streams, but the goal of all the streams is wo chan- nelise all desires towards God. The basic philoso- phy of tantra is the divinisation of desite—albeit inadifferent way—not by acceding wo desires but by superseding them, by divinising them. Desire creates problems. You take this desire away and channelise ie cowards something di- vine, something godly, something ennobling, and something that will elevate you. That is tan- tra. But what are people doing now? They are holding on to desire and bringing oneself down to the level of desire, to dhe level of che body. ‘Thatis not tantra. Kali has been one of the main PB january 2016 Image of Goddess Kali at Telo Bhelo deities in tantric practices. Kali has also been the deity of thugs. There is much literamnre on thugs in India, particularly from the colonial or the British period. Many British historians have ‘written books on Indian thugs. They were con- sidered w be a different class of people, mainly dacoits, who lived in India, and worshipped Kali. Sri Sarada Devi came across group of da- coits and saw them worshipping Kali. Kali is seen as the non-Brahminical goddess. She is che goddess of the common person just, like Lord Jagannath of Puri is seen as the god of themasses. In most placesin India—except some places, particularly the southem states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka— anybody can go into a Shiva temple and even embrace the Shiva linga. That isnorthe case with the other gods and goddesses. Kali has evolved. Btt Kali Puja at Remateishna Math, Voindaban as a goddess for the common people, for people who are supposed to be of lower classes and were deprived entry into temples. Even today, in many pares of India, chey are deprived access w the worship of gods and goddesses, For them Kaliis there, she can be worshipped by anyone. ‘The form of Kali has also been adapted into different forms. In. many parts of India, the form of Kali does not go well with the psyche of dhe local populace. They are unable w accept a fe- smale goddess, feminine divine form in che nude and so they have covered her up with dress and changed her name. Hence, we find female god- desses similar to Kali in various parts of India, but they are all well dressed up and there are some such other changes in an effort to tame and domesticate the divine feminine! SriRamakrishna and Kali Kali also has prononnced feminist underpin- nings of her form and advent. That Sri Rama- krishna chose Kalias his principal deity and that 14 he chose the temple at Dakshineswar ashis place of sadhana in this Kali Yaga also have deep im- portand implications. The Bhavatarini temple at Dakshineswar was built by Rani Rasmani, who wasof the caste of fishers, who could not worship the Goddessin the temple. A woman of the fisher caste brought a Brahmin of the highest order, che very incarnation of God, as the pujari of her tem- ple. This was one of the various actions by which. Sri Ramakrishna established this age as the age of Mother Worship. Rani Rasmani was a great woman and a great administrator. Even today in Kolkata there are huge properties thac belong to the Rani Rasmani Estate. That is a great tes- timony to the power and skill of Rani Rasmani. While there could be various theories, guesses, and conjectures as wo why Sri Ramakrishna chose the Dakshineswar Kali temple for his sadhanas, we gettheanswer inaletter written by Swamifiin reply toa complaint that was sent to him by one of his brother-disciples. When Sri Ramakrishna’ birch anniversary was celebrated in the Dakshineswar B January 20168 Kali temple garden, many people of supposedly lower classes, many public women and many other people of questionable character or mor- als attended the celebrations. Many ‘gentlemen’ took offence to the presence of these people and complained to the brother-disciples of Swamiji eho was away in Switzerland. ‘The complaint was thar such people who are not the ‘gentry’ should not be allowed to attend the celebrations. When Swamiji heard of this complaint, he strongly ob- jected through a lewer that Sti Ramakrishna did noc come for the gentry’ and that if no members ‘of the ‘gentry’ attend such celebrations, so be itt ‘Swamiji said that ler more and more thieves, rob- bers, prostitutes, and other such people who are denounced by sociery attend the celebrations be- causeivis for them that Sri Ramakrishna made his advent. Swamiji said that Sti Ramakrishna came for thedowntrodden, the ignorant, and the wicked and if anyone had any problems with such people attending the celebrations, let them not come. In this letter of Swamiji lies the answer as to why Sti Ramakrishna chose Dakshineswar to be the main seat of his spitienal practices. The great advantage with Sti Ramakrishna is that we have historical documentation of everything, unlike other avataras like Chaita~ nya Mahaprabhu, about whom we do not have such documentation. Sri Ramakrishna practised tantra, Vaishnavism, Vedanta, Islam, and Chris- tianity and realised the ultimate goals of all these disciplines. However, healso practised all the dis- ciplines of tantra, Hedid thar to anthenticare the path for Kali Yaga, He said thatin the Kali Yoga, our bodies are dependent on food. We are de- pendenton material comforts, we are dependent on our desires, and ic is our desires that propel us in our daily lives. So if we know how to con- trol desires or to channelise them, then and only then, can we go wwards our goal in life: God- realisation, Sti Ramakrishna showed us a path PB january 2016 Gocldess Kali where you can actnally channelise desires and that path is tantra, There are numerous in-depth studies in tantra and there is still much yet 10 be understood. ‘The acknowledgement of human desire and its transformation by various spiritual, practices including Kali worship is tanta. Deification of the Terrible Kaliis the worship of the terrible. There is a very significane difference between the Easvern and ‘Western psyche regarding the divine principle, In che West, generally, anything terrible is con- sidered mholy; devilish, or ungodly. Generally, a snake is not considered holy in Western faith- traditions, where anything having terrible form econsidered unhol donotfind the deifi ons where such worship is prevalent. In India, Kali worship is prevalencmainly in eastern India and parts of Kerala. And in these places, we see the matriarchal f most other places to: to the patriarchal. The worship of Kali influenced the position of women in society or it could also be that the supremacy of the feminine brought about a prevalence of Kali worship. The Fulfilment of Sri Ramakrishna’s Kali Worship Sri Ramakrishna actually fulfilled the worship of 16 surrendering the fruits of all his spiritual practices to Sti Sarada Devi and establishing her divinity, He also told her that he had done not ‘much in the name of spiritual ministry and that she would have to de much more. That is what happened Sri Sarada Devi gave spirivual w wo countless people. Sri Ramakrishna’ di were only a handful but we do not have even a rough esdimae ofthe number of Sx Sarada about a revolution in religious history by accord- inga Swamiji says that many of the abominable practices going under the name of tantra in Hin- duism are essentially corrupt forms of Buddhist Sri Ramakrishna says that just like there are different doors wo a house, some from the frontand some from the back, similarly there pract B January 2016The Phalaharini Kali 7 are different paths to God, and some paths, like some tantric sects, are the backdoor entries to God. He calls them backdoor entries because they give much importance to the body and en- gage in sensual bodily enjoyments. There are many goddesses in Buddhism, many of them very similar to the goddesses of Hinduism; some of them like Vajrayogini are similar to Kali. Devotees of Kali like Ramprasad and Ka- malakanta had an intimate relationship with the Goddess. The songs they have composed re~ veal the closeness these devotees had with their chosen ideal ‘The lyrics of these songs could be considered heresy by many who are believers of God, but are new to the form of Kali. The devo- tion and the expression of the devotee transcend the boundaries between the serene and the ob- scene. Graphical descriptions of the Goddess and an intimate interchange through insinua- tions, allegations, abuse, quarrel, and calling of names, much of which qualify as crass slangs— all of these show that even the worship of Kali defies all norms and questions the mainstream by encompassing the marginalised. Most of these songs, which are called ‘Kali Kirtan are set to tune in the Dhrupad system of Hindustani clas- sical music, which system Swamiji was very fond of, and which allows every vowel, note, and beat to grow into you and take you into the same ethos and the fervour that the devotee might have had when the song was originally sung. Even Shiva is taken to task in these songs. This kind of intimacy is a difficule thing to practice. ‘Thus, Kali worship has two important aspects: One worships the terrible knowing her to be the allin-all of the universe and at the same time has a very intimate relationship with her. She is the Mother of the universe, she is the only God- dess—one may know all these and yet you can scold her, call her mad, drunk, and whatever else one can think of. One can keep on scolding her PB January 2016 and also her husband! ‘That is the privilege the worshipper of Kali has. Transcending Abhorrence ‘There are certain pertinent aspects of the spirit- ual practices of Sri Ramakrishna that we talk of, bur fail co understand their import and therefore fail to emulate them. As pare of his spiritual prac- tices, Sri Ramakrishna once went to the toilet of a person and cleaned the toilet with his hair. We need to remember that the toilet in ques- tion was not like the modern toilets, spick and span, where one could actually sleep; there is no visible filth anywhere. ‘The toilets during those days, particularly in India, were tremendously filthy places with big containers to hold the filth that were emptied periodically. One could not go anywhere near these places without suffering. aterrible stench. Till recently, such toilets were in use in some parts of rural India. It was to such a place thar Sri Ramakrishna went and cleaned it with his hair. Many people cannot even clean the blocked sinks of their kitchens and so, many of us cannot understand what Sri Ramakrishna did, When we read of this incident in the life of Sri Ramakrishna, we do not understand its total significance and impact. One had to transcend abhorrence to do what Sri Ramakrishna did, For most people, a lizard is the threshold of their tol- erance of abhorrence. Sri Ramakrishna did not just transcend abhorrence; he accepted it and cleaned the toilet. Kali worship and tantra require us to accept the abhorrent. Sri Ramakrishna had co touch with his lips corten human flesh, while doing tantric practices. He had to do many such things to remove abhorrence. This is integral to tan- tric practice because there is no dichotomy in divinity and there is nothing that is not divine. ‘The One divine principle exists in the pleasant as well as in filth. It has no limits in space, time, 178 Prabuddha Bharata or causation, Even filth and the abhorrent is a wrong reading of Brahman, Tn its essence, itis non-different from Brahman, From this stand- point the worship of Kali is the worship of the One immanent divine principle. Bu how do we worship Kali? We offer her in- cense sticks, adorn her with flowers, decorate her to our heart’s content and bring her down to our straitjacketed norms of beauty and femininity. “That is not the way to worship Kali. Kali is the embodiment of the terrible. To worship het, we should worship the terrible. She should be wor- shipped in the forest. She should be worshipped in the cremation grounds. She should be wor- shipped in the mortuaries. She should be wor- shipped in the hospitals. These are the places of Kali worship; she is the embodiment of destrnc- tion and death, However, we do not remember this when we worship her. Most of us are terribly afraid of death, Even if one were vo refer to one’s impending-death in the passing, in a conversa tion, people around that person get perturbed and start denouncingany reference to death. We are inundated with statements about this transi- toryuniverse and how death is the only thing cer- tain in ont lives. Yet, we seldom act accordingly: Yudhishthira said chat the greatest wonder in this world was thar while all see people die aronnd them every day, they are quite convinced of their life as though they were immune to death. ‘The very concept, talk, or even a slight mention of death frightens us. With this mindset, can we worship death, can we celebrate death? Death could be seen asa form of Kali. Death is perceived differently by different societies. Some sections of the so-called lower classes of so- ciety make a big celebration of the death of a per- son and have dances, music, drums, and drinks when someone dies. They have a huge proces- sion of people dancing wo drums and drinking around the dead. This is the celebration of death. Some Buddhist monastic sects practice medita- tion on the cremation of'a person. They meditate on various stages of the destruction of the deadThe Phalaharini Kali 29 body—its burning, the cracking up of the skull, and so on. In this manner, they strengthen their knowledge of the impermanence of the body. In tantra, there is a practice of doing spiritual practices sitting on a corpse, shava. It is called shava-sadhana. This is practised by some tan- trics, even today. Beauty in the Terrible ‘Tantra is about seeing goodness or divinity in the terrible. A person becomes bad because of par- ticular circumstances. Swamiji says chat every- one is potentially divine. Good or bad qualities are just coverings on one’s true nature. One does not become good simply because one has the money to buy a good dress. One may have the karma to be born ina respected family and get a good education. However, that person will be- come good only by her or his actions. Swamiji says that if one keeps doing good things, good things alone will come to that person. Ifa person kkeepson doing bad things, bad things alone will attract that person. One person becomes good and better, and the other person becomes bad and then worse. Kali worship is the worship of the terrible. Why should this worship be done only in the temple? True worship of death and the terrible should be the worship of the immanent. If one seesa drunkard, a rogue, or actiminal, should not one worship them? Are they different from the immanent conscious divine principle? But, we do not worship them, Instead we abhor them. People expect others to wear dresses according to their preferences, We have structured notions of beauty and gentleness. In most parts of the world, to be considered beautiful, one has to be fair-complex- ioned. This insistence on fairness is completely unfair. The worship of Kali should enable us to see beauty everywhere, even in things that are conven- tionally considered to be fierce, ugly, and repulsive. PB January 2016 We usually associate conventional ideas of ugliness with evil. Ifa person is not good look- ing, people question that person's character. Ifa person is not well-dressed, people are not com- fortable approaching that person. The external is always considered a vital key to the internal. Bur is ic true? Even if chere is any truth in that belief, an unpleasant exterior cannot be different from God. Also, logic or empirical evidence does not support the belief that a pleasant exterior points to an integral interior. And if the dress of a person, particularly that of a woman, does not conform to conventional norms, that woman is ridiculed and her character is questioned. This is the mental make-up of most people. And that is where the form and worship of Kali becomes all the more significant. The form of Kali robs the physical body of ts sensuality and establishes its divinity. Thar is why Kali is in the nude, She di- minishes the importance of clothing. The female physical body, which is commonly associated with the snare of maya, has been robbed of its seductive power by the form of Kali. She trans- forms the wifein the female body to the mother. Seeing the Divine Mother in every woman is one of the important spiritual practices for a man. ‘Thus, it does not matter if the person is clothed or not. The worshipper of Kali does not see the sensual in the feminine but sees only the divine in all forms. The worship of Kali is done in images chat are made according to the conventional stand- ards of beauty with ‘perfect’ looks. Instead Kali should be worshipped in the most ‘jarring’ of images: fat, ugly, and disproportionate. Because, itis the worship of the terrible. Also, there are a lot of gender stereotypes and misogyny around the places of che annual Kali worship where the puja pandals thrive on anti-women consumeris- tic practices. The female form is insulted, ridi- culed, and made a source of consumerism. And 19we conveniently ignore the aspect of Kali tha: women are held in high regard in society. The stands on Shiva—the supremacy of the femi- worship of Kali is noc widespread. ‘This form of, nine over the masculine. Places in India associ- Kali is the form which we need to worship. She ated with Kali worship are mostly places where _ is the epitome of women empowerment and that 20 PB January 2016The Phalaharini Kali x is why Sri Ramakrishna offered the fruits of his spiritual austerities at the feet of Sri Sarada Devi on the day of Phalaharini Kali puja. He wanted this women empowerment tobe implemented in present-day society with Sri Sarada Devi in the centre. It is in her name that the Sarada Math and the Ramakrishna Sarada Mission has been founded, arguably the first monastic organisa- tion in the world to be completely owned, con- trolled, and managed by women, by sannyasinis. Generally, around the world, and across major world religions, monastics are considered to be the highest section of society—even the king has to go and bow down before a monk. Usually, itis the woman who manages a house- hold, gives birth to children, and gives them a good upbringing. Nobody else can do that. That is why the Divine Mother controls the universe and that is why she stands on the chest of Shiva. ‘And whenever we think of Kali, we should think of the terrible, we should think of al such people who have been deprived of proper cit- cumstances, food, clothing, shelter, education, and a decent livelihood. The worship of these people will be the true worship of Kali. Sti Ramakrishna brought che wonderful concept of serving God in living beings with the knowledge that they are God. It could also mean that one should serve living beings, know- ing them to be Kali. ‘Then, one would not run away from the terrible and the unpleasant and would serve the suffering. I recount an incident that happened in a hospital of the Ramakrishna Mission located in a place of pilgrimage. People have alot of faith in this hospital and whenever someone seesa homeless person suffering on the roads, they bring them and leave them in the car- ing hands of the hospital staff. Some times, they do not even wait for the hospital authorities to arrive. They simply put the patient in front of the hospital and go away. That is the faith of PB January 2016 people on this hospital. In such manner, one day, someone brought a monk, who was lying by the roadside, to this hospital. This monk had many ailments, but the main one was that he had a gaping hole in his head and the hole had gone considerably deep. The monk had not got any medical attention for days and the hole in his head was infested with maggots. He had been lying in dirt for a long time and his entire body and clothes were emitting an unbearable stench and it was difficult for people to go near about twenty feet of this person. When this monk was brought to this hospital of the Ramakrishna Mission, a nurse took him into the open lawn and made him lie down on a big wooden bench. Herself sitting on a chair, this nurse took surgical instruments and started removing the maggots one by one, apparently oblivious to the terrible stench. She did this for many hours till all the maggots were removed, and then dressed the wound, took the patient inside the hospital, gave him a long and complete bath, put new clothes on him and took him to his hospital bed, as fresh as new: That is true worship of the terrible. If one can do such service, one does worship of Kali The traditional worship of Kali where one distributes prasad after the puja is much easier to do, We need a different kind of Kali worship today; a worship that can make us assimilate the fact that there is nothing terrible in this world, everything is divine. We need the abhorrent as much as the pleas- ant, Offen we are put off by the terrible or ab- horrent, But just as one watches humorous movies as also horror movies, we need to ac- cept the terrible with the pleasant. It makes us strong. In this context, we need to remember Sister Nivedita’ statement halfin jest that what we need today is ‘Kali and chutney’ Apparently, it is a harmless humorous comment but on re- flection, one senses some deep meaning here. 213 Prabuddha Bharata Kali is the embodiment of all that is abhorrent and terrible and chutney is a spicy condiment. With a little chutney of proper deification and channelisation we can gulp and assimilate the Kali of the unpalatable. ‘The scriptures of the Sanatana Dharma are replete with references to the Divine Mother, worship of the feminine as divine. But in India, wwe see unspeakable atrocities being perpetrated on women. A woman who is ‘beautiful’ in che conventional sense of the term has a tough life to live and the life of a woman who is not so beautiful’ is also full of pain. Ie is ironical chat people want every woman to be ‘beautiful’ but a woman's life becomes miserable if she turns ont to be ‘beautiful. Hence, our ideas of beauty and grace need to be completely changed. Every- thing in this universe is beautiful and divine. Even the very concept of obscenity has been engineered from the male perspective. It is the ‘male gaze’ that decides what is obscene. Only the ‘inappropriate’ portrayal of the female form is considered obscene, but not such a portrayal of the male form. That which disturbs the male psyche is obscene and that which disturbs the female sensibilities is ignored. Unless we tran- scend such narrow constructs, we will not be ready to worship Mother Kali. Much hute and cry is raised about the clothes a. woman can wear. If we are truly the worship- pers of the Divine Mother, if we are truly the worshippers of Kali, it should not at all matter if a female form is clothed or unclothed. Because a devotee of Kali would see only Kali in all forms, masculine or feminine. Itis the height of hypoc- risy to worship the divine feminine on the one hand and to denigrate and oppress women on the other. There are no ‘proper’ or ‘improper’ clothes; the only cloth creating all misery is the cloth of ignorance and delusion. As worshippers of Kali, we should worship 22 the terrible. We should accept the terrible. We should embrace the terrible. We should worship the female form and the female person. It would not do to restrict our worship only with the feminine divine in an image, but we should wor- ship the female person too. We should worship women. Swamiji used to repeatedly tell that a country where women are not held in high regard comes to doom. Finally, we should not only worship women but accept their superior- ity over men. In society, men and women should go about like the two wheels of a chariot; com- plementing one another. However, that does not mean that men and women are equals; they are not. Women hold a much greater position and play an important function than men. That is why Kali stands on the chest of Shiva. No man ever gave birth to a child; that is biologi- cally impossible. Nature has entrusted a woman with much more responsibility chan a man. If we worship and accept women, as the superior among equals and if we embrace the terrible, we would be worshipping Kali. Phalaharini Kali takes away all our karma, but we have to be alert and vigilant not to increase her work. We have to be conscious of not adding to the good and bad tendencies that we carry. It is easy to give up the evil but itis very difficule to give up the good. Sri Ramakrishna did that: he gave up all that was good and all chat was bad with him. He just kept the Truth with him. He held on to the substratum and gave up all that is projected on it. So, as worshippers of Kali, we need to give up the good and bad results of our actions. Worship of Phalaharini Kali means to concentrate on accepting the terrible, the ugly, death, and destruction. Every time we see Kali, we should remember these things and not try to change the female Goddess Kali into a conven- tional female goddess conforming to the conver tional sense of beauty and grace. oe PB January 2016What Is Tantra? Swami Chetanananda Tn the Lomas of my heart do T contemplate the divine intelligence, the Brahman without dis- tinction and difference, who is the object of reai- sation to even the creator, protector, and destroyer of the universe, Whom the yogis attain through meditations who destroys the fear of birth and. death; and who is existence, intelligence,and the seed of all che worlds; I bow down to that su- preme Reality. Om Peace. Peace. Peace.’ ‘Swami Chetanananda is the minister-in-charge of the VedantaSociety of St Louis. PB january 2016 The Meaning of Tantra’ ANTRA IS AN IMPORTANT, practical, | and popular religious path of Hindu- ism. The word ‘tantra’ is derived from the Sanskrit root 2am, tanyate, meaning ‘to spread’ "Tantra means the scripture by which che light of knowledge is spread: “Tanyate wistaryate jranam anena iti tantra! The suffix tra de- notes ‘trayaze, which means ‘to save. Tantra teaches thar knowledge, which saves souls from the trap of maya. 23is Prabuddha Bharata In one standard Tantric text, the Kamikagama, Tantra is defined as a class of texts “which promulgates profound matters concern ing fatto and mantra (tanoti vipulan arthan tattvamantra-samanvitan). The two words tattva and mantra have a technical sense: tat- tva means the science of the cosmic principles, while mantra means the science of the mystic sound, Tantra therefore concerns the applica- tion of those sciences with a view to the attain- ment of spiritual ascendancy.” Tantric Scriptures ‘The goal of all spiritual paths is to destroy our ignorance and make us happy. The purpose of tantric scriptures is the same. Like the Vedas, Smritis, and Puranas, cantra plays an import- ant role in the Hindu religious tradition. The Vedas have two parts, one concerning ritual and the other philosophy. We generally teach the philosophical part of the Vedas, which is called Vedanta. Tantra, however, originated from the ritualistic part of che Vedas. According to the Kularnava Tantra, a par- ticular scripture has been predominantly taught and practised in a particular yuga or age. In the Satya Yuga, Golden Age, the ritualistic portion and philosophical aspects of the Vedas were taught. In the Treta Yuga, the main scripture was Smriti, which consists of ethical and moral virtues. ‘The ancient sages taught the moral con- duct by setting some rules. In the Dvapara Yuga, the Puranas were emphasised. Ie taught dharma and duties of human beings. And in the Kali Yaga, the agama or tantra scriptures were taught. ‘Those who cannot understand the Vedas or the Smritis will understand the Puranas, which con- tain marvellous, colourful stories of the kings and of righteous people, so that people can emu- late their lives. ‘Those who have renunciation and purity, they can reach the ultimate reality by the path of discrimination of Vedanta. And those 24 who have not sufficient purity of mind and re- nunciation, they follow the path of tantra and ultimately reach the goal. I do not mean to imply that other scriptures are not necessary in this Kali Yuga. However, because people have no longer the capacity, lon- gevity, means, and moral strength required to carry out the Vedic rituals, the tantric scriptures prescribe a spiritual discipline of the soul for the attainment of the common aims of all the scrip- tures—thatis, abhyudaya and nibshreyasa, pros- perity in this world and liberation. Sri Ramakrishna says: ‘In the Kaliynga the life of a man depends entirely on food.” Human beings now have very little stamina, patience, and time to do sadhana. In ages past, people could fast for days, months, and even years. Now if one does not have breakfast, by noon, one gets dizzy. In addition, our span of life is short in this Kali Yuga. For these reasons, we need an expedi- ent way to attain liberation. Tantra in the Kali Yuga Sri Ramakrishna says: “Truthfulness in speech is the tapasya of the Kaliyuga’ (749). Truthfulness is austerity in this age. Ifone practises the truth, that is enough. Charity is the path of the Kali Yuga. Give in charity, and charity will purify your mind. In this Kali Yuga, chanting the name of the Lord is very helpful, says the Chaitanya Char- itamrita: ‘In this age of Kali there is no other ‘means, no other means, no other means for self realisation than chanting the holy name, chant- ing the holy name, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari." In this Kali Yuga, chanting the Lord’s names is the spiritual discipline. Spiritual practices have changed over the ages. In ancient times we find the rishis immersed in meditation. In the Treta Yuga, we find people practising sacrifices and expecting boons from PB January 2016What Is Tantra? 8 gods and goddesses. In the Dvapara Yaga, we find people practising severe austerivies to atcain fullilmenc. In this Kali Yuga, however, only pure love and devotion are needed. Chanting god’s name is the main spiritual discipline. Origin of Tantrie Teachings “The tantric sctiptures are in question-and-answer form so thac ordinary people can easily under stand them. There are two branches in tantric teachings: agavazand mgama. Agemameans the great teachings that come from the lips of the teacher, In 2720s, we find Shiva as the teacher and Parvati, his wife, as the student. She asks questions and Shiva answers them, However, nigama is just the reverse: Parvati, the Divine Mother, is the teacher, and Shiva is the student. According to tradition, the tantra scriptures ori- ginared from the fifth face of Lord Shiva. 1 once saw the image of Shiva in Nepal, Pashupatinath, “That deity has five faces, one facing each of the four directions and one on the crown of the head. ‘The five faces of Shiva are named Sadyo- jata, Vamadeva, Aghora, Tatpurusha, and Tsh- ana. ‘Tradition says that Shiva tanghe the Vedas through the lower four faces, and from the fifth face, he taught tantra. Three Schools of Tantra “Thete are three schools of tancra: Vishnukranea, Ashyakranta, and Rathakranta, Vishnukeanta is prevalent from the central part of India to the northeastern part. Ie is practised from centeal India, Vindhyachal, ro the northeast, Assam and Manipur, including Bengal. Ashvakranta is practised in regions that stretch from Vind- hyachal co dhe great ocean, apparently includ- ing the rest of India. Rathakranta is practised from Vindhiyachal up vo Nepal. Each branch of tantra, each freed, has sixty-four sadhanas ot spiritual disciplines—for a total of one hundred Pp january 2016 and ninety-two. "Tantric sadhanas and spiritual instructions are recorded in these small treatises. Sti Ramakrishna practised sixty-four sadha- nas of Vishnukranta.” This is an amazing accom- plishment, An ordinary person would spend one’s whole life—even life after life—to attain, perfection in even one sadhana. Sri Ramakrishna practised all sixty-four sadhanas in twoyears. Tantra does nov only mean Mother worship, although most people understand that way. There are five schools, each devoted toa dif- ferent deity: Shaiva tantra is devoted to Shiva, Shakta cantra wo che Divine Mother, Vaishnava vantra to Vishnu, Saurya tancra to the Sun-ged, and Ganaparya tantra to Ganesha, When we speak of tantra, we think primarily of the sacred books of the Shaktas, worshippers of Shakti, the Divine Mother. ‘The philosophy of tantra and Vedanta are anore or less the same. In Vedanta, we address Pashupatioath in Nepal6 Prabuddha Bharata Brahman and maya, In tantra, we address Shiva and Shakti. In the Shakta tancra, God is wor- shipped as Mother. T quote. sentence from Sir John Woodroffe: “The Saktais so-called because he isa worshipper of Sakti (Power), that is, God in Mother-form as the Supreme Power which creates, sustains and withdraws the universe’S Those who follow the Judeo-Christian and the Islamic traditions do not accept God as ‘Mother. In those traditions, God is amale prin: ciple, In Hindnism, however, God can he both father and mother—or even neuter, as Brahman. You can't assign a particular gender to God. Those whe follow tantra have a good reason to say that God is Mother, but this is for wor- ship. God is no more female than male or neu- ter: God is beyond sex. God is thought of as ‘Mother in the mind and is so fele by the heart of the spirivual practitionet, the sadhaka, who worships her lotus feet, the dust of which can create millions of universes. This divine power— the immanent, active aspect of God—i Shakti, At the heart of tantra, the static, tran- scendent aspect of Mother is Shiva, Shiva is all auspicious, Philosophically speaking, Shiva is unchanging Consciousness and Shakti is its dynamic power appearing as mind and matter. Shiva and Shakti are, therefore, Consciousness and its Power. In the static wanscendent aspect, Shiva, the one Brahman, does not change. In the kinetic immanenc aspect, Shakti, it does. ‘There is the changelessness in change, The indi- vidual soul is one with the transcendent spirie, the Paramatman, ‘Vedanta is similar in this respect: the indi- yidual soul, your soul, my soul; this Atman and Brahman are the same. Individual Consciousness and cosmic Consciousness are same. The room- space and the cosmic space, both are the same. Jn tantra, however, there isa beauty: There isa little difference between tantraand Vedanta. Let me explain what tantrics say. In the Vedantic tradition, we say that Brah- man alone is the reality. This world is illusion, unreal. Ie is nor permanent. It has an apparentreality, not absolute reality. We say again and again: ‘Den't take this world seriously’. It is changing, Every day and every minute, this world is changing. Your body is changing; your mind is changing, But behind this changing realicy there is an unchanging reality that is che ‘Atman, which never changes Now, in tantra, sadhakas look upon this world as the manifestation of Shakti, the Di- vine Mother. It is real—not absolutely real, of course, But consider this comparison: Ved- ana says, ‘Get away from maya, get ont!” Tan tra says: ‘No, no, worship maya. Don't get outs don’t throw it away; don’t discard it’ This is the Deanty of tantra. Te doesn’t deny the world; it says, “The world is beantiful; it is trnes it is the playground of the Divine Mother, and we are all her playmates? According to tantra, we have to realise Brahman through this world, not by negating this world. People are often confused by and fearful of the world, but God did not cre- ate the world to frighten people, There must be apurpose of this creation. Whatis the purpose? Play, However, what is play to God is death for us, and we suffer, In desops Fables we read the sory of some children who are throwing peb- bles at frogs. One of the frogs asks the children, “Whatare you doing?” The children say: “Weare playing? The frog responds: “What is play to you is death for us; we are dying.” Sri Ramakrishna’s spiritual experiences bore witness co the taneric attitude that God is in all. ‘When he went to the shrine to offer food to the Divine Mother, he saw a mewing cat. He said to the cat: ‘Mother, do you want to eat food? ‘Come, come, eat’ Instead of offering the food to the deity on the altar, he fed it vo the cat. The temple officials were enraged by this heresy. However, Sri Ramakrishna saw the Mother in the cat? Another time, he was coming back vo hisroom from the Panchayati when hesaw a dog. PB January 2016 He approached the dog and asked it, ‘Mother, do you want wo speak something? He wasseeingthe ‘Divine Mother in the dog (267). Once when Sri Ramakrishna was in Calcutta, he saw courtesans standing on the street. He remarked: ‘Mother are you dressed np and waiting here in this form?” ‘He saw the Divine Mother in everything. That is the beanry of the tantric tradition. Can yon imagine what would happen if you saw God in everything, in every being? (432) ‘You would experience, ‘the Kingdom of heaven is within you; the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” You would be floating in bliss. ‘We see Devil, Satan, in everybody bur we do not see Godin everything—our outlook must be changed. How? By practising sadhana, spiritual disciplines. When your insides are wanstormed, your outside is transformed. ‘That is called spir- itual life—transformation comes from within, It does not come from outside. 278 Prabuddha Bharata In this Kali Yaga, Sti Ramakrishna demon- strated how to realise God, His first vision came through his yearning, his longing for God. Then came his guru Bhairavi Brahmani, a woman adept in tancra, Under her guidance Sri Rama- krishna practised sixty-four sadhanas of tantra and achieved perfection. Afterwards he practised Vedanta and attained Nirvikalpa Samadhi Tantric Sadhana and Occult Powers ‘When one practises tantric sadhana, one can de- velop occult powers. Once Sri Ramakrishna called Narendra into the Panchavati and said: “Lock, as a result of practising ansterities, | have long since pos- sessed all the supernatural powers, Bur what woulda person like me do with such powers? I can’t even keep a swearing-cloth tied around my own waist! So I'm thinking of asking Mother to transfer them all to you. She has told me thar you will have to-do much work for Her. So if these powers are transmicted to you, you SriRamatshna with Narendra 28 can use them when necessary. What do you say?’ Narendra had scen various divine powers in the Master since their first meeting, so he had no reason to doubt him. But his deeply rooted love of God did nor allow him to ac- cept those powers without careful consider- ation. After serious thought, Narendra asked, ‘Sir, will they help me co realize God?” The Master replied: ‘No, they won't help you t do that. But they might be very useful once you have realized God and have started doing His work. To this, Narendra said: ‘Sir, | don’t need them. Lecme realize God first; after that, there will be time enough to decide whether I need ther. If I get these marvellous powers now, T sight forget the whole purpose of my life and use them to gratify worldly desires. Then they ‘would only become my ruin? We cannot say whether the Master was actually ready to trans- mit those powers to Narendra or was simply testing him. But we de know chat the Master ‘was extremely pleased when Narendra refused his offer (827-8). Sri Ramakrishna was overjoyed that the fu- unre Swami Vivekananda was noc tempted by these powers, He could have done anything by means of occult power, but he refused. He is a great soul. Bhairavi Brahmani had two disciples in add- ition to Sri Ramakrishna—Chandra and Girija Each of them had occult powers, Chandra had gueika siddhi, meaning that he could take a minnte form and fly. Once he flew throngh the window of a rich man and fell in love with his daughter, and then he was caught and beaten up. Girija could generate a supernavural light. One darknight Sri Ramakrishnaand Gitija were coming from Shambhunath’s garden house co Dakshineswar, They could not see the path, so Girija said, ‘Do you want to see the path? Tean show you’ He touched his forehead and from there emanated a light chac revealed che path up to the temple gate (524~6). B January 2016Tantra Sadhana In tantra, we find the harmony of dualism and non-dnalism. Accord- ing to tradition, Shiva says that some practise ducite or dualism, and some practise Advaita, non-dualism— bur whoever wishes to understand the real tantra must transcend both duaica and Adyaita. Our goal is to at- tain illumination, for that purpose we practise sadhana, The Mehanirvana Tantra says chat when we accain that illumination, all actions cease to func- tion and all spirimnal disciplines are no more needed. The Méhansrvana Tanra farther says: “The highest worship is to think of oneself as Brahman; the second method of worship is meditation on God; the third method is japa, prayer, and glorification of Gods and the last. method is extemal, ritualistic worship’ Human beings vary in cempera- ments, Tantra classifies humankind pric marily within three dispositions: ivy bhava, divine; v7 bhava, heroics and pashs. bhava, ani- mal. These dispositions correspond to the divine plane, the mental or intellectual plane, and the physical plane, respectively. The animal person can hardly be expected to see beyond the macer- ial aspects of things. In the heroic person, there is an urge wo reach the plane beyond mawer—the tre heroic person is one who is fighting the six enemies, the passions that obstruct the path of one’s spiritual advancement. ‘The goal of tantra sadhanais to be established in divine disposition Do you know what we really do in spiritual Tifé2 We fight. An unseen warfare is constantly going on inside us. We fight against the six enemies who are hidden in our minds: Lama, lus; Srodhe, anger; lobha, greeds maha, delusions PB january 2016 made, egotism; and mattary4, jealousy, These are the six enemies hidden in human minds that we want to overcome by practising spirit- ual disciplines, ‘The man of aivja disposition is, as a result of his practice in previous births endowed with qualities which make him almost divine. The Kareathya Tansra says that the man of divpa disposition is the beloved of all and is sparing in his words, quiet, steady, sagacions, and atten- tive to all, His all is contented and is devoted to the feet of his gar (teacher). He fears no one, is consistent in what he says, and is experi- enced in all matters. He never swerves from the path of truth and avoids all thar is evil. He is good in every way and is Sivas very self, The viraisa man of fearless disposition, inspires fear in the man of fase disposition, and is pure in 29.0 Prabuddha Bharata his motive. He is gentle in his speech and is al- ways mindful of the five ¢atsvas (principles). He is physically strong, courageous, intelligent, and enterprising, He is humble in his ways and is ever ready to cherish the good. The pasi is a man whose inclinations are like those of an animal. He is a slave to his six enemies—lust, anger, greed, pride, illusion, and envy... Closely connected with the three bhavas are the seven 4caras or rules of conduct."® Achara, means ‘conduct’ Your conduct, your behaviour, your style of portant. If religion cannot bring about trans- f are extremely im- formation, what good is there in it? If you achieve illumination, you will not grow two heads, eight legs, and four hands—your body will remain the same as itis now. Transformation will come within. There are seven rules of con- duct described in the Kularnava Tantra: veda, vaishnava, shaiva, dakshina, vama, siddhanta, and kaula. The aspirant rises step by step through these different acharas till she or he reaches the seventh and the highest state, when Brahman becomes an experiential reality. In the first stage, cleanliness of the body and mind is cultivated. You must be clean physically and mentally. A person whois always suspicions, and is full of doubts and desires, has a soul that is very unclean. ‘The second stage is chat of devotion, bhakti. You must have love and devotion for your teach- ers, for your disciples, and for God. The third is knowledge. Dakshina isthe fourth stage in which the gains of the previous stages are consolidated. “This is followed by vama, the phase of renun- ciation. The word vama can mean ‘women; so some people mistakenly believe that vamachara sadhana involves practising tantra with women and wine.I shall later explain panchamakara, the five elements of tantric practice. However, the word also means ‘left Here, rama implies that 30 up to this stage, you have established yourself in the spiritual path: now you have to renounce all worldly things and move towards the Atman, the Selfor Brahman, or Shiva or the Mother—who- ever is your chosen deity. Ifa woman is at all associated in this practice, she is there to help in the path of renunciation and not for animal gratification. A woman as such is an object of great veneration to all schools of Tantrika sadhakas (seekers). She is considered to be the embodiment of this earth, of the supreme Sakti who pervades the universe. he should therefore be revered as such and even if guilty of hundred wrongs, she is not to be hurt even wich a flower. Ic is a sin to speak disparagingly of any women (60). ‘The sixth stage is siddhanta, “in which the aspirant comes to the definitive conclusion afier deliberate consideration as to the relative merits of the path of enjoyment and that of re- nunciation’ (ibid.). And the last stage is kanla, when Brahman becomes a reality ¢o the spirit- ual aspirant. The Five Elements of Tantra Sadhana Unfortunately, a large number of tantric enthu- siasts, in both the West and the East, mistakenly identify tantra as the yoga of sex, black magic, witchcraft, seduction, and soon, Some misguided people use some tantric sadhanas to satisfy their carnal desires. One can find al sorts of wrong in- formation about tantra from the Internet. ‘Tantra describes five elements, called the pancha-makara, to be used in sadhana: madya, wine; mamsa, meat; matsya, fish; mudra, silver coin; and maithuna, sexual union. These five categories have different meanings for different classes of worshippers—bur in all cases it is im- portant to understand that what one is required to offeris the principle or essence, not the article itself. Iris impossible to chink that Shiva would PB January 2016What Is Tantra? “ have advised people to have al five experiences and assured them illumination. Many people enjoy these things, Are they illumined? People don’t need to practise tantric rituals t9 have sez and enjoy wine. Some people with animal nature want to spiritualise their self-indulgence, and “Westemers sometimes portray tantric rituals in this wap. Sir John Woodroffe, who was « British judge of the Calcutta High Court tried to re- move this misunderstanding by writing several books on wntra, ‘The paricha-mabant should be understood from a spiritual perspective. First, madya; do you know what ‘vine means? When you meditate, from the bralmarandbre chakra, a sweet nec tarflows—that iscalled ‘wine’ A spir- itual seeker thinks of that nectar and is intoxicated. Mazasa means taste— that meansgreat taste on your tongue. Aspire waniewapinne dhould beve full control over her or his tongue; a real tantric is passive and practises silence, By matsya, fish, the tantras refer to the jiva, the individual self, The ida and pingale—the two nerve channels on either side of the spinal cord—are lik the rivers Ganga and Yarnuna, and the jiva, like a fish, plays in these channels as the tantric prac- titioner breathes in and out. The con- trol of this breath and focusing on that power and putting that power through the shushumna channel, is called massya, Mudra, ‘silver coin’, refers to meditation om the guru in the sabasrare—the place of Shiva in the seventh chakra—which is compared tw melted silver. As for maithuna, Secual union’ it canbe understood in this way: Aicrepresents the male and PB January 2046 space represents the female. When airenters into space—meaning thatwhen webreathe, air enters into the space of our hearts and a yogi attains Humbbaka—the mind stops and one attains il- lumination. This is maithwna or union. Gua and Disciple in Tantra In the eantric tradition, one must have a sad- guru oriddba-guru, that isan enlightened guru. Initiation is extremely import. Before one takes inidation, however, one must dewrmine Goddess Kalia Prabaddba Bharata she whether the guru is the right one and the guru must determine whether the discipleis the right one. Ifthe disciple is nov attracted to the guru, she or he will not make progress. On the gnru’s part, she or he must show love and affection to- ‘wards the disciple, Icis a spiritual relationship. Th tantric scriptures we find a long list of the qualifications of a gum and the characteristics of a good disciple. A good teacher is defined w be a person of pure birth and pure disposition ‘who has the senses under control. One whois a guru should know the true meaning of dhe tan- ras; always do good wo others; and engage in the repetition of God's name, worship, medita- tion, and the offering of oblations in fire. One should have a peaceful mind and must possess the power of granting boons. One should know the Vedic teachings; be competent in yoga; and 32 beascharmingas a child. Icis very difficult vo get aguru like thar. ‘Thereis a funny story inin the Vedantic trad- ition, A guru told his disciple: ‘Go, chop wood, bring water, cook, serve me—that is the duty of the disciple? Then, the disciple said: ‘Sir, whac is che ducy ofaguru?” ‘The guru replied: “Well, che guru will relax and give advice to the disciple? Upon hearing this, the disciple asked: ‘Sir, why don'tyou make me aguru first? I'd like to be aguru!’ Nowadays nobody wants to be a disciple. ‘The characteristics of a good disciple are as follows: He should be of good parentage and guileless disposition, and be a seeker of the four- feldaim of human existence. He shouldbe well read in the Vedas andbe intelligent. He should PB January 2016What Is Tantra? 8 have his animal desires under complete control, always be kind towards all animals, and have faith in che next world, He should nor associ- ate with non-believers (nastikas), but should be assiduous in his duties in general, alert in the discharge of his duties cowards his par- ents in particular, and free from the pride of birth, wealth, and learning in the presence of his teacher. He should always be willing to sac- rifice his own interests in the discharge of his duties to the teacher, and be ever ready to serve him in all humilicy (61). Water gathers in low land, not on the top of the mountain. If you have abig ego, if you do not know how to be humble, you will never learn anything. Be humble. Initiation is that which, gives knowledge of things divine and destroys ll that leads to fall. "The guru gives initiation. In the Vishuasara Tantra, we find a hymn on the guru: ‘The guru is Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver) and Maheshvara Shiva (the des- troyer). The guru is truly Brahman Isself. I bow to the divine guru. I bow to the divine guru, who by the appli- cation of the collyrium of knowledge, opens the eyes of one blinded by the disease of ignorance. I bow to the divine guru who reveals to one the divine Being that encircles and permeates the moving and the non-moving."’ “This is che way the guru has been eulogised in tantra. So the real guru is God and his power manifests in illumined human gurus and they transmit that power or shakti to the disciples. ‘That power is divine power; the human guru is only a channel or conduit. Electricity comes through a channel of wires to power a light. ‘The human guru is just like that. When you are thirsty do you run to the Mississippi river? No, you go to the kitchen, turn on the faucet and fill a glass, then drink. The guru isjust like the faucet in this example and the Mississippi River is God. PB January 2016 Ifyou havea cataract what do you do? You go to the eye surgeon, who will check whether the cataract is ready to operate on and then will do laser surgery and you get clear eyesight. Similarly, the guru uses the sharp sword of knowledge to cut through the thick layer of ignorance so that the disciple can see God everywhere. Ordinary souls have three kinds of impur- ities. The first is anava-mala, ignorance: each soul is pure, perfect, free, and divine, but one feels that one is bound, limited. The second is harma-mala, desite—both good and bad. Be- cause of desire, a person has to go through births and deaths, experiencing happiness and misery. ‘The third kind of impurity is bahya-mala, mean- ing the external world and the sense objects that bring impurities and cover the soul. Diksha, initiation, helps to clean all im- purities. According to tantra: ‘Diyate jnanam Ashiyate pashuvasana iti diksha; Diksha or ini- tiation imparts knowledge and destroys ani- mal propensities. It also is of various kinds. In shambhavi diksha a true guru like Sri Rama- krishna, Jesus Christ, or Buddha can change a person’ life with one glance, one touch, or one word. These great teachers could give religion. In shakei diksha a guru transmits power to her or his disciples. For example, Sri Ramakrishna transmitted power to Swami Vivekananda be- fore his death. He told him: ‘O Naren, today I have given you my all and have become a Fakir, a penniless beggar. By the force of the power transmitted by me, great things will be done by you; only after that will you go where you came from:"? Swamiji later used to say that he con- qnered the whole world with his guru's power. In mantra-diksha, the guru gives the disciple a mantra and instructions for prac the result. Although tantra has these various kinds of initiation, the object of initiation is to lead the disciple to God realisation. git to gee 33a Prabuddba Bharata Kundialio\, The Serpent Power "The chosen ideal is very much necessary for practising sadhana. We must learn the alphabet and grammar before we study literavare. If L tell, you ‘You are'Thar or “You are Brahman’you will not understand immediately. Oneneeds wemen- dons purity of mind to understand this truth, ‘One must have zero body idea to experience ‘I am Brahman. That is why tantra says that the deity of the ritualist is in the fire in which one offers oblacion while that of the contemplative isin the heart. The person who is novawakened sees Atman in the image, bur the person who ows the Atman sees ic every where, Beginners need something vo focus on, a divine form on which to concentrate. As one progresses, the di- vine form vanishes and merges into the infinite, Hindus are not idolaters—those divine forms help in practising contemplation. Mantras have power; all mantras are as old as creation. ‘The individual self is a spark of the infinite 34 light. The aim of worship is to free the individual self from all that separates her or him from the cosmic Self so that the individual self merges into the divine. The tantric dictum is: ‘Devo Shntoa devar yajer, by becoming God, worship God? But what does it mean wo become God? Imbibe these divine qualities so chat you will be like God. How does one perform mantra sadhana so that the power of the di- vine name is manifest and the di- vine name can be conscious? The mantra takes the form of the deity. ‘The moment I say ‘Jesus, then Jesus's form comes to my mind. IFT say ‘Sri Ramakrishna, Sti Ramakrishna’s form comes w mind. The sound, the name, and the deity are identical. So if'you call on Sti Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna will appear to you. Ifyoucall on Jesus, Jesus will appear before you. However, you must practise that mantra according to your teacher's instructions. Kundalini Shakti in Tantra Kundalini is a special subject of tantras. Sti Ramakrishna relaved his experience about the awakening of the six centres of kundalinic Just before my attaining this state of mind, ie had been revealed to me how the Kundalini is aroused, how the lotuses ofthe different centres blossom forth, and how all this culminates in samadhi. ‘This is a very secret experience. I saw a boy twenty-two or twenty-three years old, exactly resembling me, enter the Sushumna nerye and commune with the locuses, touching them with his tongue. He began with the centre at the anns and passed through the centres at the sexual organ, navel, and so on. The differ- ent lomuses of those centres—fonr-peralled, six- petalled, ten-pecalled, and so forth—had been drooping. Athis couch theystood erect. When he reached the heart—I distinctly remember PB January 2016it—and communed with the lotus there, touch- ingicwith his tongue, the twelve-peralled lorus, which washanging head down, stood erect and opened its perals, Then he came to the sixteen ppetalled lonus in the throar and the two-per- alled lotus in the forehead, And last of all, che thousand-peralled Jomusin the head blossomed, Since then I have been in this state.” ‘Weknow hat practice leads to perfection, Tan- trashows how tw practise and attain perfection. Te also demonstrates how every action can be trans- formed ino worship. In his hymn to the Divine ‘Mother, Acharya Shankara says: ‘O Lady Supreme, :may all the fanctions of my mind be Thy remem- brances may all my words be Thy praises may all my acts bean obeisance unto ‘Thee’ of Notes and References 1. Mabaniveana Taner. 2. PC Bagchi, ‘Evolution of the Yantras’ in Srudies onibe Tantras (Calcutta: Ramalktishna Mission Institute of Culture. 1989), 7. 3. M., The Gespel of Sri Ramakrishna, trans. Swami PB January 2016 m 1. 1% 14 Nikhilananda (Chennai: Ramakrishna Math, 2002),648. Chaitanya Charitamrita, AdicLila, 17.21. A list of the various disciplines of tantra sadhana under the Vishnukranta branch has been mentioned in Principles of Tantra: The Tan- inttartoa of Shriyubta Shiva Candra Vidyarnava Bhattacharyya Mabodaya, ed. Arthur Avalon (fadras: Ganesh, 1952), 88, Sir John Woodroffe, Sakti and Sakta (Leeds: Gelephais, 2009).8. See’ The Boys and the Frogs’ in Aesop's Fabies. See Swami Saradananda, Sri Ramabrishra and His Divine Play, trans. Swami Chetanananda(St Lonis: Vedanta Society af St Louis, 2003), 247. See Matthew 3:2. and Luke 1720-1 Atal Behari Ghosh, “The Spirit and Culture of the Tantras’ in Studies om the Tetras (Calcutta Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, 989), 59» Gurn-stotram, Vishoasara Tantra. His Eastern and Western Disciples, The Life of Swami Viochananda, » vols (Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama, 2008), 1-182. Gospel, 830. Studies on she Tatras, 65. 35"The Ramakrishna Movement and Tantra Swami Atmarupananda HE ‘RAMAKRISHNA MOVEMENT’ and ‘tantra’ are words one doesnit expect to find in the same sentence, especially conjoined by and: ‘Sri Ramakrishna’ and ‘tantra’ together don'tseem incongruous, because Sri Ramakrishna practised tantric disciplines; buc the incongru- ity begins, it seems, with the Movemencafter Sti Ramaktishna’s passing. From Swamiji’s time for- ward, the Ramakrishna Movement is identified as a Vedanta movement, largely in the Acharya Shankara tradition, but with its own galaxy of incegraved ideas, including a strong bhakti elen- ene and an emphasis on service, cogether with a unique historical perspective and world vision and modem organisational methods. Buctantra? Swami Aumarupanandais a monk at Ramakrishna, ‘Math, Belur Math, 36 ay ene Sra Yes, there are tantric elements, generally un- recognised, to the tradition. Iv is the purpose here wo highlight those elements. Why Tantric Elements Are Not Recognised There are ewo main reasons why the tanericin- fluences are not recognised, and ic would be helpful to examine them first, before examin- ing actual influences. ‘The Ramakrishna Movement became identi- fied as a Vedanta movement through the public teachings of Swamiji, When Sti Ramakrishna speaks of Vedanta, he is usually speaking—as most people did in those days—of the path of knowledge according to the Advaita Vedancins, a path in which the world is rejected as a mere dream, work or karma is renounced, and the per- sonal God itself often holds little importance B January 2016“The Ramakrishna Movement and Tantra a because it operates only within maya, which is interpreted as ignorance. Brahman alone is real, the world is unreal, and I am that Brahman; God, therefore, can be practically ignored. This is Vedanta as Sri Ramakrishna usually speaks of it, notalways positively. But when Swamiji speaks of Vedanta, he is speaking of the Upanishads—the original mean- ing of ‘Vedanwa’. ‘I preach only the Upanishads, hesaid.' ‘Yes, he sees non-dualism, Advaita, as being the heart of Upanishadic teachings, bt heseesa richer world of thought in the Upanishads chan the strict, traditional, orthodox interpretation of the Advaitins, a world of thought sufficiently ‘vast to provide anew foundation for world civi- lisation, sufficiendy rich co inspire and nourish all fields of human endeayonr for the coming ‘Ages including the arts, sciences, religion, social institutions, and everyday life, There are reasons for this emphasis on Upa- nishadic Vedanta, That is a subject in itself, but for now, lec us scate briefly, rather categoric~ ally, the following: Starting wwe thousand five hundred years ago, the tremendous influence of Buddhism swerved Indian civilisation away from its original Vedic trajectory. The Buddhise influence remained dominant in India until the eighth centary cb. Then, starting with Shankara, the work of bringing India back to its Vedic tra- jectory began, Shankara was followed by other teachers and by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, all of whom continued the work of reviving the ‘Vedic roots of Indian civilisation, a work that has now been carried on for more than one thousand two hundred years. Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda, it seems to some of us, came to continue this work of re-establishing the original trajectory of Indian civilisation. This they did, not by destroying everything else, but rather by embracing the whole of Indias past, including PB January 2016 its Buddhist and Islamic past, and pucting the whole on a Vedic foundation, or, better, find- ing the Vedic threads woven through the whole cloth of Indian civilisation and history, and strengthening them, emphasising them, making them visible and vital. Another reason for not emphasising tantra isnot adistaste forie, bua recognition that the tantric moyement in India—which for perhaps two thonsand years swept through Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, through the Shai- vasand Shakras and Vaishnavas—was avast phe- nomenon that included every thing from demon worship and black magic and the most hortid rites, all the way to the highest, most abscrace, non-dualistic truth. Therefore a deliberate em- phasis on tancra carries a danger that emphasis- ing the Vedanta does not: opening the door to the dark side of tantra. Si Ramatrishnaand Bhairavi Brah mani Duriog Taw ra Saghana 37Panchamundi Asana of SriRamainishnaat Dakahineswar Swamiji recognised that even in the nam achare or lefichand tantra, there were some great truths, and that by such means some had attained to God, but he forbade the members of the Order from ever introducing its practice, in the serong- est terms possible, Why forbid what also could be a path? Because ideas have individual conse- quences andalso social consequences, For certain, individuals it might lead chem higher—chough for many more it led to degeneration—but for society the consequences are devastating: For these and other, lesser reasons, the Ramakrishna Movement has become identi- fied asa movement within the Vedanta tad- ition, not the tantric. But let us now examine the tantric elements, Sri Ramakrishna and Tantra First, lec us: mention the obvious and well- known elements. 38 Sri Ramakrishna himself practised tan- wic sadhana. Bhairavi Brahmani—an expert in the Vaishnava and Shakta tantras—was his guru wholed him through the disciplines. That formed a significant part of his twelve years of sadhana and profoundly influenced his life and later teachings. ‘Much later, Sri Ramakrishna’s disciple Swami Saradananda undertook tantric sadhana, with the blessings of Sti Sarada Devi, long after the passing of Sri Ramakrishna, He wrote a small book in Bengali as a result, entitled Bhsrare Shakti Pje, Shakti Worship in India. Much less generally known, even within the Orden, there were a few among the disciples of the direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, who for- mally practised tantric sadhana with the bless- ings of the direct disciples. Tantric Rites ‘Next, let us mention elements of tantra that are obvions to the religiously well-informed, but not so well known by the general public. The worship done in the Ramakrishna temples— both daily worship and special worship—are tantric. Mantza iniiation given to beth menas- tics and lay devotees—mantra diftha—is also a vantric rite, Sannyasais, of course, Vedic, but the oma fire in front of which iv is performed in the Ramakrishna Order is first worshipped in the tantric way, identifying itwith Sri Ramakrishna. ‘None of this should be surprising. The wan- tric influence is pervasive in modem Hinduism, including the tradition of Acharya Shankara's ‘Vedanta, Tradition has it that Acharya Shankara was the author of Saundarya-lahari, Anandarha- hari,and Shivanand-Lahari, three tanttic works. Even if his authorship can be doubted, it can’t be doubted that he established tantricworship athis four monasteries at the four corners of diamond- shaped India. ‘The Shankaracharyas—upholders PB January 2016“The Ramakrishna Movement and Tantra 49 of the tradition of Acharya Shankara’s Vedanta— spend much of their time performing tantric rites such as worship. Some of the Sanskrit hymns at- tributed to Acharya Shankara also show tantric influence, That there are tantric elements in the Ramakrishna Movement shonld therefore not come as ashock, nor is it an outrage to the ‘pur- ity’ of the Vedanta tradition bur a namnral com- mingling of traditions cypical of the synthetic genins of Hinduism. Principles of Tantra and SriRamakrishna Let us now move to the less visible, the harder to recognise, the more difficnle to document. To facilitate the discussion, let us first look ac an underlying principle of tantra. We are not pretending hereto give an exhanstive caralogue: that is beyond the scope of this article and be- yond the allowed space. What we are interested in are general principles that we find at work in the life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and his followers. Sti Ramakrishna used co say char the eantras are not for reading, but for doing; ‘Thacis, an underlying principle of tantric Hinduism is to reduce principles to tangible practice, so chat the principle becomes worked out throngh the nerves, not just the surface of the mind, so that it transforms habits of thought and speech and action and even perception, and doesn’t remain simply a matter for intellectual understanding. This we see embodied profusely in Sri Rama- krishna, When he wanted to overcome attach- ment to money, he didn'e juse think: ‘Money cannot buy Ged realisation; it can only buy ma- terial goods and comforts; but God realisation is the only aim of life, and therefore let me give up all awachmencto money’ No, he took money in one hand and aclod of earth in the other, told himself thar both were equally useless in theit ability vo further God realisation, and repeating PB January 2016 that several times he threw both into the Ganga. Admittedly, as the story has come down to us, he did this only one time, which certainly would not be enough for us to give np attach- ment to money, Most of us would throw both, away after first making sure that we still had plenty of money lefi in our bank account. But swe must remember the extraordinary strength of his mind which allowed him to do iv once, and forever after act on that. The poine is that he re- duced the idea to a physical practice, ‘When he wanted to overcome the idea of caste superiority, he wastied the latines of the lowest people of society, using his long hair to serub the places he didn't just think: ‘Thaye no pride of birth: all are my superiors? When he Acharya Shankara Praying to Goddess Tripurasencari 3950 Prabaddha Bharata wanted to impress on himself thar all beings aré images of God, he took from the leavings of people’s abandoned plates as if it were holy sacramental food. When thinking of himself as a handmaid of the Divine Mother, he changed his dress, hismannerisms,everythingin order to embody the feminine. So also, when he thought of himself'as Hanuman, the servant of Sri Rama- chandra, So with his practice of Islam. We could continne with such examples, but this is enough toshow that hereduced everything toa tangible practice aimed ar changing his thinking, behav- ing, and perceiving, “And then there are his teachings which show a profound tantric influence, including his con- stant affirmations about the oneness of the nity.z and the 4/s, the Absolute and the relative, vo which we will return in amoment. Vishishtadvaita or Tantra? Some followers of Sti Ramakrishna have claimed that his teachings are closer to ‘Vishishtadvaita chan to Advaica Ved- anta, becausehe doesn’t deny the reality of the world and itsliving beings. And indeed, he does make statements thar seem to indicate Vishishta- dyaita more than Advaita, such asthe Following: Taccept all— Brahman and also maya, the universe, and its living beings, IFT accepted less T should not get the full weight [of the fruit]... Whena man speaks of the essential part of the bel-fruit, he means its flesh only, and noe the seeds and shell. Buc if she wants to speak of the toual weight of the fruit, it will not 40 Bronzelmage of Ramanuia do for him to weigh only the flesh. He must ac- cept the whole thing: seeds and shell and flesh. ‘A close examination of Sri Ramakrishna’ teach- ings, however, shows that, thongh heappreciated all paths and spoke highly of Sri Ramanuja, his teachings have a non-dualistic basis. ‘What Sri Ramakrishna seemed to like about Sri Ramanujas philosophy is its acceptance of the world: icdoesn’t deny the reality of the world. As Sri Ramakrishna says, one must take the weight of the whole fruit, At the same time, Sri Rama- krishna never denied the truth of Advaita, which Sri Ramanuja did. And there are other problems with tying Sri Ramakrishna’s philosophy to Sti Ramannja’s, bur noc with eying ic w some form of Advaita. As we've pointed ous, a conseanc theme in Sri Ramakrishna teachings is the identiry of what hecalled the nity and the filz—the transcenden- tal Realicy of Brahman and relative realy often known as Shakti. But for Sri Ramakrishna, the ‘Hla or relative reality is teal as he mani- poration or play’ of the Absolute, That is, the relative reality is not real in itself; but real because is it che play of Shakei, and Shakti is not different from Brahy man. He would use the beantifal illusceation of the snake at rest— Brahman—and the snake in movement—Shakti; itis the same snake, in two states. How apt! Relativity és mover ment, nothing is still, all is changing: buc vis the same Reality, the same ‘snake just inmotion. Theillustration is all the more apt be cause the snake moves ina wave-like pattern and everything in the relative universe PB January 2016The Ramakrishna Movement and Tantra st at all levels can be reduced to wave-like, vibra- tory motions. The illustration is similar to Shiva in meditation and Shiva dancing—when Shiva comes out of meditation and begins to dance, the world comes into being—another tantric idea. ‘There is not space enough to go into a thor- ough philosophical explanation of why this fits with some form of Advaita and not with Vishishtadvaita, but the poine will be obvious to those who know even a little about the ewo sys- tems. Simply put, Sri Ramakrishna saw all as the nonedual consciousness itself, whether dynamic as the /ilzor transcendentas the nity, whereas Vish- ishtadvaita sees an eternal distinction between matter, individual conscious beings, and God. Tantric Advaita and Acharya Shankara’s Advaita One way in which tantric Advaita differs from Acharya Shankara’s Advaita is that the tantras don't deny the reality of the world. But neither do they say that the world is real in itself, as an un-illumined person experiences it. No, itis real because it is the dance of Shiva, who is Reality itself, or because it is the dance of the Divine Mother who is one with Shiva, or because itis the dance of the Divine Mother who herself is both the nityaand the fill. And that, as we've seen, isa constant refrain of Sri Ramakrishnas, expressed in many ways. Speaking of God as the nitya and the lila, he say’ still or in waves. The snake is a snake whether it is coiled up motionless or wriggles along. A man is the same man whether sitting still or en- gaged in action.” Such statements are closer to tantric Advaita than to Vishishtadvaita because they identify the universe with Shakti, which is in turn identified with the Absolute. And they are closer to tantric Advaita than to Shankara ‘Advaita because they speak of the reality of the world as a manifestation of Shakti. “Water is water whether it is PB January 2016 One might point ont that none of this ne- cessarily contradicts traditional Advaita. No, it doesn't, and that’s important to recognise. ‘The difference we are pointing to is one more of em- phasis, not of absolute difference. The Upani- shads themselves say: ‘All this is verily Brahman’® Advaitins also accept that, but tantra makes aspe- cial point ofr, and says that therefore the world is not unreal, Instead, traditional Advaita Vedanta emphasises that ‘Brahman is true, the universe is false\* based on its definition of truth.’ In con- frontation with each other as opposing philo- sophical schools, they harden their respective positions into absolutes. And thereby the differ- ence is stark. If, however, we soften our philo- sophical stance, we can see that the difference is more one of emphasis. And that is how the great Acharya Shankara could be both an Advaita Vedantin and a tantric.* Historical Purpose to the Tantric Movement There is a historical aspect to the tantric move- ment that is important to discuss, before we speak about Swamiji, Tantra is often seen as non- Vedic, even asa revolt against the Vedas. Part of this is internal to the tantras themselves: certain tantras exult in independence from Vedic trad- ition, exult in shocking the orthodox, though many others, like the Mahanirvana Tantra, see themselves as integral parts of the Vedic trad- ition. And part of it is external, traceable to ‘Western scholars who excel at analysing, separ ating, and isolating into impermeable categories. But are the Hindu tantras really anti-Vedic or even non-Vedic? An objective examination shows that they are not at all. There might have been non-Vedic influences, certainly, but the core of tantric thought and practice is clearly traceable to the Vedas. Anda very strong case can be made thar the Hindu tantras are an important 4152 Prabudaha Bharata part of that effore to bring India back to ies oti- ginal Vedie trajectory. First of all, the Atharva-Veda seems to have been a major source of tantric traditions, and there are Jinks with the other three Vedas as well. Secondly, much of what wesce in the tantras isa reincerpreta- tion of Vedic symbolism. This is important. ‘The symbolism which was alive and vital dur- ing the Vedic petiod was largely lost afterwards. Iwas probably fading from the Hindu mind even before the birth of Buddha, buc after che spread of Buddhism it was dealt an all-but-faral blow. A new symbolic world was born with the Puranas and Itihasas, starting before the birth of Buddhism and continuing to the present day. But what do we find in the tantras, more than in the Puranas and Itihasas? A reinterpretation of Vedic symbolism. The ritualism of che karma- anda, the section of the Vedas dealing with ric- uals, whose symbolism was becoming obscure by the time of the Buddha, was replaced by a tantric ritualism where the spiritual symbolism ‘was transparent. ‘The tantric Aomse fire, ritually identified with the deity being worshipped, re- placed the Vedic fire, Yantras replaced the sac- red geometry of the altars. Images replaced the Vedic deities worshipped through the me- dium of Agni, the fire god. The worship was de- veloped as a means for making real and tangible the teaching, “Thou art Thar’—a means, in fact, ‘A Bralinin Boy Reciting Scriptures for driving that reaching of identity invo the very nerves and blood. The different disciplines of the ‘Vedas and Upanishads, whose method of prac- tice was lost, were replaced by varions types of tantric worship and meditation, Even the Vedic sandbya-vandanc, ewilight devotions, was re placed bya tantric version. The Vedic fascination with grammar and the divine power of speech continued in the cantras in various ways. The most sacred and universal of all Vedic symbols— indeed the most universal of all religious sym- bols anywhere in the world—the sacred Om, became the foundation of the vast science of mantras in thé tantric traditiony and it became: the basis of rzada-yag, the yoga of sound, ‘This process of reinterpretation was carried into detail. Every Vedic mantra has a presiding deity, the sage who revealed it, and the poetical metre in which it is expressed. ‘The tantras used this to give a symbolic—as opposed to a literal, historical—interpretation of mantras. For in- stance, the mantra used in tantric worship for purifying the seat or ascne says thar Mern-prish- thais che sage who revealed the mantra, uta is themewe in which itis written, and Kurmaisthe presiding deity, Well, from a literal sandpoing that’s absurd; the sage was not Meru-prishtha, the metre is not sseialz, and that makes us doubt whether the presiding deity is indeed Kurma, But symbolically itis deeply meaningful. ‘Meru prishtha’ means ‘he whose backis [steady, unmoy- ing, and strong.as] Mount Meri, the central axis, of che universe. ‘Sala’ means ‘the foundation of alarge building’. And Kurmais the tortoise incar- nation of Vishnu who supports the world on his back. So, all three are connected to the idea of a steady, immoveable seat. In this and other ways, thetantras gave a new, spiritually transparent in- terpretation wo a Vedic symbolism which had be- come obscure and therefore devoid of the power to inspire later Hindu life and culture. PB January 2016The Ramakrishna Movement and Tantra 83 ‘The tantras can thus be seen as an important part of that effort to redirect India to its ori- ginal path, a vast effort lasting perhaps two thou- sand years that included the tantras, the great teachers, and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and that culminated in the lives and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda,’ Swami Vivekananda, Tantric Advaita, and Advaita Vedanta Coming to Swamiji in relation to tantra, we find, as mentioned at the beginning of this art- icle, that he emphasised Vedanta, but it was an ample, comprehensive Vedanta, a non-exclusive Vedanta, a Vedanta that provided the new foun- dation needed for the modern world, a Vedanta that embraced the whole of India’s past, includ- ing its Buddhist and Islamic past. And if that is so, then itcertainly embraced India’s tantric past as well, asitdid. This isa big subject, and we will only sketch its barest outline here. ‘The Upanishads taught brahma-vada, the doctrine of Brahman, or atma-vada, the doctrine of the Self, not maya-vada, the doctrine of maya. ‘Though Acharya Shankara developed the idea of maya philosophically, he emphasised Reality, not ignorance or illusion. But some later Advaitins found maya more fascinating than Brahman. Afier all, what can one do with non-duality? But maya is a different story—neither real nor unreal, it makes the impossible possible, itis nei- ther different from Brahman nor the same, nei- ther within Brahman nor outside of it, it hides that which cannot be hidden, it casts a shadow on luminosity itself; maya, in other words, gives usa lot to play with. But, like the Upanishads, Swamiji taught the doctrine of Reality. Yes, he spoke of maya and gave some very important lectures on it. But there he says that maya does not mean illusion: “Te is a simple statement of facts—what we are PB January 2016 and what we see around us""—the facts of the contradictions inherent in all our present ex- perience. Rather chan emphasise ignorance or illusion, Swamiji says that Vedanta points to the Reality within the illusion. ‘Do not seek for Him [God]; he says in his inimieably forceful way, ‘just see Him (7.29). And yet Swamiji did teach that the world is unreal and that God alone is real. He was an Advaita Vedantin, and held that in the Advaita lay the highest truth. But like Sri Ramakrishna, he emphasised that God is the reality within everything, the purpose behind all actions, the goal of all longing, the perfection sought by all striving, the dissolution of all contradictions, the end of primordial ignorance, And in this his emphasis was in tune with the tantras as well as the Upanishads. ‘There is a problem with the statement, “The world is unreal: Only an illumined soul who has experience of Reality knows whatit really means. For the rest of us, itis an intellectual conceptand therefore inaccurate, because ll such conceptsare themselves part of the unreal. Without experience of the Real, we can't know what it really means. However, ‘Everything is God, all is Brahman’ is also problematic: that also is just a concept, nota realisation: we don't see God or Brahman, just the world, so we can't at present know the trie mean- ing of that statement either. What then are we to do? We seem trapped in contradiction. Of the two statements, the second state- ment gives us a handle, whereas the first state~ ment takes away all handles. The world is all chat we know at present, and so ‘the world is unreal, Brahman alone is real’ takes away all that we know and gives us an abstraction of the Abso- Jute in its place. Bue ‘all this is Brahman’ leaves us with ‘all this, and just asks us to reinterpret it. Yes, our reinterpretation will be conceptual also, but itis taking us in the right direction, because, 43