Tantra ( Skt. तन्त्र , tantra IAST , “thread, sequence, rule”), tantrika , tantrism - in Hinduism - a combination of esoteric unorthodox schools, practices and methods based on tantric texts (actually tantras related to Shaktism, Shaivism and Vishnuism agama , and the Puranas are mainly Vishnuite texts) [1] .
The basis of the tantric tradition is an attempt at self-realization of a person through certain religious rituals based on the relationship between the gods Shiva and Shakti , their unity: only in unity with Shakti Shiva receives the power to create.
Content
History of Tantrism
A number of researchers believe [2] that tantric movements in Hinduism arose on the crest of the pre-Aryan cults of the Great Mother - the goddess personifying the great universal feminine (personified later in Shakti / Parvati ), through which the creature power of the masculine principle (Shiva) is realized. At the same time, as noted by other scholars, tantrism is not only something unorthodox, but a logical result of the development of the interpretation of the Vedas regarding cult and liberation with its help [3] .
Tantrism in Hinduism has the following features [4] :
- a large proportion of non-Aryan tribes in schools;
- the extreme esotericism of schools and the rites held in them;
- widespread use of yoga methods;
- incompatibility of the main rites with the Brahmin ritual and moral standards of the Brahmins;
- assignment to the sexual energy principle, which is represented in the form of the gods of Shiva and Durga.
Hindu Tantric Traditions
In the representations of tantra, the world is the product of two opposites: static (shaktiman) and dynamic (shakti) principles. Shakti - the principle of energy, strength or creativity, which is personified with the female image of Shakti. This energy is inseparable from the "holder of power" and the masculine principle - shaktiman ( Shiva ). The primary driving force in Tantra is desire (ichcha-sakti). Unlike other spiritual teachings, Tantra does not recommend avoiding desires, considering them to be the natural driving force inherent in man. The more actively desires are suppressed, the stronger they become.
In Tantra, desires are associated with six psychic centers - chakras . The seventh chakra is beyond desires. Most of the desires are focused on the physical body and its amenities, and their classification is carried out according to one or another chakra. To overcome desires, we propose a way to raise energy ( kundalini ) from the lower root chakra to the highest, seventh chakra. Practical methods of raising the kundalini energy include breathing exercises ( pranayama ), meditation , contemplation, meditation, and reading mantras .
Kundalini energy spreads through the energy channels ( nadi ). There are three main channels located along the spine: pingala, ida, sushumna, through which the solar, lunar and fiery streams of energy pass, respectively. The teachings of Tantra create a bridge between matter and mind, body and spirit [5] [6] .
See also
- Tantras (texts)
- Agamas (Hinduism)
- Pancharatra
- Shaktism
- Tantra (Buddhism)
Notes
- ↑ Pyatigorsk A.M. Tantrism // Philosophical Encyclopedia : 5 Vol. / Ed. F.V. Konstantinova . - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia . - 1960-1970.
- ↑ Dandekar R.N. From the Vedas to Hinduism. Evolving Mythology / Per. from English K.P. Lukyanenko . - M .: Eastern literature , 2002 .-- 286 p. - ISBN 5-02-016607-3 .
- ↑ Tantrism / Paribok A.V. , Androsov V.P. // Social Partnership - Television. - M .: Big Russian Encyclopedia, 2016 .-- S. 659-660. - (The Big Russian Encyclopedia : [in 35 vols.] / Ch. Ed. Yu. S. Osipov ; 2004—2017, vol. 31). - ISBN 978-5-85270-368-2 .
- ↑ Pyatigorsk A.M. Tantrism.
- ↑ Arthur Avalon. Snake Force / Trans. from English - K .: Bookplate, 1994. - ISBN 5-901875-06-0
- ↑ Sri Bhavavsenahu. Vamachara: The Path of the Left Hand in Tantra. - Bombay; Calcutta; M .: Satya-Veda, 2007.