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Vijnana Bhairava Tantra
"I offer my salutations to Shiva, the auspicious one who is the Source of All and the form of my own self, who constantly performs the five great cosmic functions of manifesting, maintaining, dissolving, concealing and revealing through his active grace, whose nature is a mass of consciousness and bliss, who is the highest knowledge and the highest state."
Journey to the heart of Tantric Meditation practice. Our guide is the revered manual of self-realization called the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra "The Mystical Wisdom of the Ultimate Reality."
Open the gateways to wonder and delight, to ecstasy and fright. Live in embodied bliss. Vijnana Bhairava Tantra is a conversation between the Goddess who is the creative power of the universe and the god who is the consciousness that permeates everywhere. They call each other Devi and Bhairava, or Shakti and Shiva. As lovers and inseparable partners, one of their favorite places of dwelling is the human heart, in Holy Love.
The Vijñāna-bhairava-tantra (VBT) is one of the early teachings on yoga and meditation. The name, loosely translated, means “the terror and joy of realizing oneness with the Soul.”
It is only about three thousand words in the original Sanskrit, or 40 minutes of chanting. It is astonishing that in so few words it describes the essence of many of the world’s meditation techniques. Also referred to as "The Radiance Sutras" because it is so luminous.
The Vijñāna-bhairava-tantra (VBT)is a Shaiva Tantra, of the Kaula Trika tradition of Kashmir Shaivism. A tantra is not poetry, although it may sound that way in the original and in translation. A tantra is a manual of practices. This one is a book of yoga meditation instructions, set as a conversation between lovers, framed as a discourse between Bhairava (the "tremendous one", or "the terrifying", the fierce manifestation of Shiva representing Supreme Reality, synonymous with Para Brahman) and the goddess Bhairavi or Devi("Bhairava's consort", -also a name for a Kundalini Yogini adept, whie also associated with Parvati), in 163 Sanskrit anuṣṭubh stanzas (a quatrain of four lines). It briefly presents around 112 Tantric meditation methods (yuktis) or centering techniques (dhāraṇās) in very compressed form.
The focus is on full-body spirituality and accepting every breath, sensual
experience and emotion as a doorway into deep and intimate contact with the energies of life.
The text feels as though it was composed by a couple, a man and a woman who sang the verses to each other as they co-composed. They lived this teaching. The techniques that are described here occurred to them naturally, as an evolution of the questions they were asking of life, and their explorations of the body of love.
As was the convention of the time, they frame the conversation as the Goddess and the God in them speaking. Their inquiry is about how to enter into the vibrant essence of the world with the dual balance of passion and detachment.
These practices are supposed to lead to the recognition of the true nature of Reality, the "tremendous" or "awesome" consciousness (i.e. vijñāna-bhairava). These include several variants of breath awareness, concentration on various centers in the body, non-dual awareness, Mantra Practice, visualizations and contemplations which make use of the senses.
We invite you to dive into the deep seas of the Infinite Divine and learn to access your own luminous consciousness, your inner portals to bliss. The being who is the teacher of the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra is Shiva. Everything in this manual is based on a profound recognition that is at the heart of Tantric Philosophy, that once you train your consciousness to expand through the practices, it will naturally recognize itself as one with the Ultimate, the Absolute, Bhairava, Shiva.
Recommended books: Sri Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, The Ascent by Satyasangananda Saraswati and The Radiance Sutras by Lorin Roche (inspired by VBT).
We also highly recommend Sally Kempton's audible, Doorways to the Infinite and Christopher Hareesh Wallace's course on the VBT as excellent sources.
Tantra-Âloka~Tantrasara
“Light on the Tantras”, Tantra-Âloka is Abhinavagupta's magnum opus, his most important body of work. 
On account of its size and scope it is a veritable and masterly encyclopedic survey, a treasure text containing the synthesis of the 64 monistic āgamas ("that which has come down", texts which describe cosmology, epistemology, philosophical doctrines, precepts on meditation and practices, four kinds of yoga, mantras, temple construction, deity worship and ways to attain sixfold desires) and all the schools of Tantra of the whole of Śaiva Tantra at its peak (c. 1000 CE).
Of the entire 5800 verses, the first chapter of the Tantra-Âloka is 333 verses and contains all the essential teachings of the work in condensed form, and thus is the most important one to study for someone learning the Tantrik path.
Abhinavagupta (fl. c. 975 - 1025) was one of India's great literary critics and philosophers. He was a master of the Kaula school of Shaivism, but wrote commentaries elucidating various texts and schools of thought. His ability to clarify the meaning of ancient texts through the application of reason and logic, and through his personal experience of religious practice, helped to popularize Kashmiri Shaivism.
The Tantra-Âloka appears to have been written after Abhinavagupta had attained enlightenment and is one of the great accomplishments in Indian religious thought and has greatly influenced the understanding of the inner meaning of ritual in the Shaiva and Shakta schools for centuries afterward.
The Tantra-Âloka weaves together citations from dozens of authoritative scriptures, into a monumental twelve-volume encyclopedic work. The many quotations in the Tantra-Âloka appear to have been cited from memory. Its discourse moves among the realms of rigorous logical philosophy, scripturally-grounded theology, and personal mystical experience.
Tantrasara is a brief prose summary of Tantraloka, which is written in metrical form. Both are based on Malini Vijayatantra, belonging to the Agama school. (The Agamas are believed to be ancient revelations emphasizing the doctrine of liberation through Jnana (knowledge) and Kriya (action).) For our purposes, we will explore this book in our Training and we will lean towards Christopher Hareesh Wallace of Illuinated for the deeper understanding and digestible interpretations.
The Rigveda
The Rigveda is the oldest compilation of human wisdom. This Samhita (Collection) is unique in its nature. In fact, it is not a book, but a compilation composed of several books which can be individually distinguished from each other. The present from of this Samhita clearly indicates that the collection is not a single work, but consists of older and later elements. Various indications of language, style and ideas prove this point. Different hymns of this Samhita were composed long before they were systematically arranged. Being a compilation of different stages, there is something which stamps the Rigveda with an individuality of its own. It is much more natural in character and form than other Samhitas.
The Rigveda represents the earliest sacred book of India. It is oldest and biggest amongst all the four sacred Vedas. All the features of Classical Sanskrit poetry can be traced to the Rigveda. In it we find the seeds of India’s religious and philosophical development. Thus, both for its poetry and its religious and philosophical importance, the Rigveda should be studied by one who wants to understand Indian literature and spiritual culture. The value of the Rigveda today is not confined to India, for its well-preserved language and mythology have helped a better understanding of languages, literatures and cultures of a whole world.
The depth of the Vedas texts in the canonical is called the Rigveda Samhita. This is a collection of over a thousand hymns known as suktas and well above ten thousand verses which have been created into ten mandalas or books. The hymns and verses circulate around the praise and worship of deities and have other thought-provoking and philosophical context. These issues are addressed in the hymns that tackle societal questions of the time. The compilation is considered to be sacred and pious to this day and holds extreme importance in the Hindu culture. It is the precedence of all the religious text that was written in the centuries to come.
Cultural Appreciation
You might ask yourself, “What is the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation?”
"The Petals of the Lotus, they are many, but the Flower is just one. Philosophies, Religions, they are many, but the truth is just one."
At Holy Love Institute of Tantra Yoga, we honor the petals, the lineages and branches of the Tree of Yoga in which we owe the full richness to today. Our Institute is committed to serving the highest truth and highest good, attuning to be in right alignment with the Flow of the Sacred River. While this River flows directly from Source, we take great care to honor all the channels to which it has traversed to make its way to us in the here and now.
We believe that we can learn to be living embodiments of the BALANCE between HONOR, respect, historical understanding, cultural appreciation, cultural acknowledgement, and giving back, while also walking the path as modern day shamanic yogis/yoginis, as intentional channels receiving the plant soma of divine guidance through our bodies as divine instruments.
What was, is. As it once was, so it is now. The roots of the Tree of Yoga are Stone-age Shamanism. We too have the same ability to receive the direct transmissions from Source through Shamanic plant medicine as they once did (the original siddhas). This is not to say each person is meant for the direct path of Source Transmission, just that it is also possible and makes itself available to those called to that path.
The above image is titled, "Dakini of Peace", painted by Mariela De La Paz. The painting portrays the "Goddess Invocation for the Unity and Reconciliation of All major Religions in the World. Arising from the Lotus flower, centered between the tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life, Peace on Earth arises from the Lotus born in stagnant waters. Showered by the light of Creation and God’s Divine Blessings of our Evolutionary Journey encoded in our DNA".
In the Spirit of "Giving Back" to the traditional Indian Yoga culture, we are currently exploring ways we can platform and support others through making a meaningful, direct and positive impact on their lives and livelihood through this website. We are open to ideas!
My husband devoted ten years of his life to co-creating a school, Mother Miracle in Rishikesh, India for primary school children, educating the impoverished children there to be leaders in the digital era. It is a non-profit in the U.S. & India providing education free to K-12. We invite you to Sponsor a Child.
We explore and unpack the topic of Cultural Appropriation and Cultural Appreciation in our Teacher Training. Our aim is to not just enjoy the fruits of the Tree of Yoga, but to also give back, in Holy Love.
Plant Medicine & Yoga
The Queen of the Forest & the Wish-fulfilling Jewel Flower
by Sharene Shamana Ma
"Rei Jagube e Mamae Rainha - From the Forest across to the Sea.
I am the Flower of the Waters and all wishes fulfilled through me."
I have never been to Brazil or Peru, yet I first did Ayahuasca 25 years ago. Back then, people only whispered about it and it was not commonly known about as it is today. Generally then it was said that once you had heard about it three times, she, the grandmother spirit "Queen of the Forest" was calling you. I hadn’t been “called” to do it the first few times I had heard of it. It wasn’t until I had a serious ‘health opportunity’ that I said yes and took the dive.
In this first medicine journey, I was taken up to higher vibrational realms, up to the Fountains of Bliss & the Flood of Ineffable Light, through powerful shockwaves that ripped through me as I vibrated and spoke a different language.
In these higher realms, I found the Source Creation Light that I had been in Soul Communion with several years before in my Near Death Experience(1989). Except this time, (differing from my NDE) instead of being fully immersed into the full body orgasmic(x1000 voltage) heavenly light from crown to toe, blinded and bathing in pure light by the Absolute, this time in the medicine journey I could open my eyes into the light and see into the most wondrous visions that I had ever hoped to behold.
I gasped. I shook. I wept tears of great joy as I communed with the Light once again. I was shown indescribable beauty and color. I longed to stay in this place and never leave. I received ineffable transmissions of Holy Love.
I would then be suddenly brought back to the place where I began, the human perception plane that I had come to know, and it seemed a shadow realm by comparison.
I would plead to be brought back “up”, and I was told that I must imitate the ecstatic energies, the breath and sound that had ripped through me to bring me up before. I was told I must vibrate “like a Hummingbird”.
So I did. I gasped, energetically convulsing by body in wave-like motions, heaving my chest upwards, breathing a very particular way and imitating the strange soul language that had come thru me before…and I ascended back to that plane. This happened again and again and again.
So I continued down the path of Ayahuasca, hand-in-hand with the Queen of the Forest the plant medicine’s Queen Teacher, for many years and over a hundred journeys. She was in me. She is in me. She is a part of my deepest Soul. She is encoded in my cellular DNA. She is the true “Mother/Mama” in me.
As I have many Soul parts, it was she who I had needed back in place in my field, that I may truly live and feel alive and in joy. Truly now, “I am at play in the fields of the Goddess.”
She taught me Yoga, pranayama, mudras, asana, Soul Language, healing modalities, deep prayer and patience.
She offered me visions and transmissions as she brought me to the Holy Love Source again and again.
When embarking upon my first Yoga Teacher Training in 2003, I realized, “Oh, you call this that I am doing ‘pranayama’ or ‘this is what you call mudras’ and ‘this is what you call kundalini yoga’ and so on. The outside world already had names for that which she had already imparted upon me.
I learned that makes perfect sense because at the base of the Tree of Yoga, where all schools of yoga and their modern day branches emerged from is Stone-age Shamanism.
That means, once upon a time, people just like us, ate & drank the plant medicines and their eyes were opened, their souls revealed. They also had deep Tantric and Yogic transmissions showing them the ancient ascension ways to reach the stars and heavenly realms. These Stone-Age Shaman & Shamana transmissions would be passed on orally and then written down and passed on. All fruit of the Tree is for our timely understanding.
We explore the Shamanic Roots of the Tree of Yoga and also embody practices that have been received from medicinal past ceremonies and transmissions. Those interested in partaking in Shamanic Ceremonies (private weekend workshops), should send an application with their interest and experience with such.
I wrote this piece fresh out of a medicine ceremony:
The Universe is my Temple and the whole of existence, my church. In each breath I give thanks and with every beat of my heart I am driven by Truth. In fear and with desire, in agony and in ecstasy, I am inspired by the magnificent brilliance of Being.
I honor my body as a vessel for Cosmic Christ communion, Shiva-Shakti Union, experiencing my sacred reality granted me as a gift. Bit by bit, I clean and shine the many facets of my diamond, that I may radiate and sparkle in divine perfection.
I choose for Existence to use me in whatever ways serve my highest alignment. I am available. I am here to learn. With humbleness I pray to be of purpose, to live a life that is justified.
I pray to illuminate and create through me pure love, that I may be worthy to sit at thy lotus feet of the Mother, to drink the nectar of her compassion and be immersed in the well of living waters.
I free myself of my past that I may press “pause” and slip out of time awareness into the larger vastness of divine truth, into the majestic oneness of all that is eternal.
I surrender up myself to this Light which burns a holy fire in my heart: guiding me toward divine union, Holy Love.
I give credit to the Father of Creation, to the “Pa”, I honor him.
Grandmother I drink your medicine, the vines with the tender grape, and I heal myself. I reclaim my innocence. I reclaim my inner sense. I accept myself as pure and whole forever. I embrace Bodhichitta, the excellence of the awakened heart.
The time of the singing of birds is come. We, children of the divine tree, children of the Sun and of the stars, are converging to call together our tribe under the Universal umbrella of Holy Love. We are all Love recreating itself.
I listen to all the members of my divine family tree.
The answers will come. I must not rush. We are here, after-all, in Eden. The petals of the flower open slowly. Fragrant, full of mystery from the dark depths of which that flower was seeded. All people have divine beauty seeded in their flower. We must be good gardeners.
In the infinity of space where the presence of God vibrates on Hummingbird wings, the divine beings illustrate through the visions as I am shown to live in the heart, not mind. I am shown to look in all directions.
I am a part of the infinite I am. I create my fate through the irresistible power of divine magnetism. With the silent vibrations of my mind, I invite the Master Light Current to carry me in a Holy Ark toward the manifestation of my highest dreams.
Let whatever needs to come come, give and be given, take and be taken, that I may realize my existence.
Rei Jagube e Mamae Rainha - From the Forest across the Sea.
I am the Flower of the Waters and all wishes fulfilled through me.
I look forward to exploring the shamanic-tantric-yoga connection with you very soon!
In Holy Love, Sharene Shamana Ma
I stumbled across the article below which I feel conveys my feelings around the relationship between Yoga & Plant Medicine...
My intention in writing Yoga & Plant Medicine is not to graft ayahuasca or psychedelics onto the tradition of yoga as another limb. Rather, I wish to illuminate and bring forward an aspect of yoga that’s been there from the beginning but has been largely suppressed due to cultural puritanism in both India and the West.
Plant medicines have always been considered a valid method for healing and self-realization within the yoga tradition, and because of this, I feel that yoga offers the perfect context for working with psychedelics like ayahuasca. Likewise, psychedelics can be utilized by the sincere yogi to gain insight and help move the healing process along.
The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali (c. 500 BCE), the most definitive and arguably most important text on yoga, says that siddhis, which are deep insights into the nature of reality, can be obtained not only through meditation, austerities and chanting, but also through the use of medicinal plants, which Patanjali calls aushadhi. The term aushadhi (alt. oshadhi) refers to a plant or herb that is used to cure diseases of the body and mind, and maintain physical, mental and moral health.
Digging into the etymology reveals that another quality of aushadhi is “to make known, or reveal something that is surprising.” We could say that another word for aushadhi is “psychedelic,” a term coined by Dr. Humphry Osmond in the early 1950s to describe substances that reveal hidden aspects of the mind or psyche. So, while the term aushadhi is usually translated simply as “herbs,” it seems to point more specifically toward psychotropic plant medicines like ayahuasca.
The Sanskrit root of aushadhi is osha, which means “light bearing” — a term that draws another parallel to ayahuasca. The ayahuasca brew is traditionally made by combining two plants, the ayahuasca vine itself (banisteriopsis caapi), and the DMT-containing chacruna leaf (psychotria viridis), which the ayahuasqueros say brings light to the visions. The Santo Daime tradition says that the vine is the force and the leaf is the light.
Going back even further than the Yoga Sutra to the most ancient text of India, the Rig Veda (c. 1700 BCE), we find many descriptions of the use of Soma, a sacred drink concocted from plants that had curative and revelatory properties.
Interestingly, the preparation of Soma involves pounding or crushing the stalks of a plant, similar to the preparation of the ayahuasca brew in which the tough, woody vine must be pounded before boiling to help extract the active alkaloids. Furthermore, like ayahuasca, Soma was both a healing medicine and a spiritual sacrament. In the Rig Veda we also find references to Soma as a “light-bearer” which connects it to the aushadhi mentioned in the Yoga Sutra.
These passages from the Rig Veda describe the qualities of Soma as both a sacrament and a healing elixir:
“Pay reverence to King Soma born the sovereign Ruler of the plants. We have drunk Soma and become immortal; we have attained the light, the Gods discovered. These glorious drops that give me freedom have I drunk. Let the drops I drink preserve me from disease. Make me shine bright like fire produced by friction, give us a clearer sight and make us better.”“Bruised by the press-stones and extolled, Soma, thou goest to the sieve, giving the worshiper hero strength. This juice bruised by the pressing-stones and lauded passes through the sieve, slayer of demons, through the fleece.” “He (Soma) covers the naked and heals all who are sick. The blind man sees; the lame man steps forth. Let those who seek find what they seek: let them receive the treasure. Let him find what was lost before; let him push forward the man of truth.”
There has been much debate about the identity of the plants used to concoct Soma, but as Ayurvedic doctor and scholar Robert Svoboda says:
“People used to ask (my teacher) Vimalananda: ‘Where can we find the Soma that’s mentioned in the Veda?’, and he used to say that you’re never going to find Soma, because you can only locate it if you are already immortal, because it’s immortal already. So forget it. What you can do though is you can find something that is not Soma but will have a similar effect inside you. And then you can use that. It will not transform you the way that Soma does, so completely and totally, but if you work with that, it will progressively transform you as much as you can be transformed. For him he used whiskey, for me I like very much ayahuasca, taken with some other things to alter the effect slightly. Different people have different things that they use. Some people will use cannabis; some people will use other substances.”
While at least one scholar has argued that Soma could have been ayahuasca (or at least an ayahuasca analogue), it is perhaps more accurate to say that ayahuasca can be Soma because, in the right context and with the right intent, it can fulfill all the promises of that mythical elixir: clearer insight, physical healing, divine knowledge, spiritual freedom and a taste of immortality. For the yogi, using Soma or another aushadhi is just one way to achieve these siddhis.
It’s worth noting that in the Yoga Sutra the use of sacred plants is seen as a less preferable method than meditation, because ultimately, the goal of yoga is total freedom and relying on a plant or other substance to achieve a state of wellbeing or gain spiritual insight is considered a hindrance. While a psychedelic can give us a temporary taste of the freedom that’s possible, it can easily become just another way to escape reality and avoid dealing with the psychological issues that keep us from experiencing greater freedom on an ongoing basis.
A Shipibo shaman’s pipe from the upper Amazon and a carving of yogic sage Patanjali, both depicted as half man, half serpent. The serpent is a symbol of creative life energy and transformation that is found in many cultures around the world. (Illustration by Debbie Stapleton.)
To learn more, visit brianjames.ca ψ संघ
Yoga History Videos
We present these videos to you on the History of Yoga. Clearly, it is an elaborate topic which we will explore more and learn about in in our Teacher Training. These videos do a good job presenting a brief (yet comprehensive) over-view.
Shivakti Tantra Yoga
"Namaste, I want to once again express my deepest gratitude for your guidance to a beautiful far away space of such spiritual enlightenment. You have indeed drawn upon the vast pallet of metaphysical consciousness from the ancient world to compose a beautiful new world ritual that magically unifies all elements of its diverse origins. Through your enlightened presence and creative improvisations at each sacred enactment, this beautiful ritual appears to evolve and lyrically transition through so many memorable experiential phases. You certainly have opened the door to a magical world beyond. I would be so deeply honored to be invited to explore further..." :RA
“Shall Time’s best jewel in Time’s chest lie hid – or who its’ beauty shall forbid?”
Here at the Holy Love Institute of Tantra Yoga, we are on a path of devotional embodiment. We are lovers of love for the Divine, a rapturous love with God as the ocean of pure Holy Love or prem. We see the whole world as our Beloved.
"Shivakti" is the inner alchemy sacred union of Shiva & Shakti, the dance of the divine, which we aim to awaken, embody and integrate through our full range of practices. We bring awareness to breath, asana, movement and stillness. We shine the light of our own experience on the ancient sutras, teachings and transmissions, while exploring how they are relevant for us today and what is revealed through our own bodies as divine channels.
We will explore from the roots of the Tree of Yoga, Stone-age Shamanism, on up through the ages and stages of the sacred journey. We will be learning about the “Soma”, and integrate this into our understanding that all truth is found within and always has been. We will open ourselves to be the vessels and holy instruments of Source Wisdom.
Shivakti Tantra Yoga is inspired and guided by the Saiva tradition of the Tantras on the Kaula lineage left hand side, yet goes deeper into the esoteric and shamanic roots that focus on the Divine Feminine as Supreme.
Shivakti is the Union of Shiva and Shakti, that which could never be separate from the whole of itself and functions as a dynamic One, comprised of Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine Unity with its driving force that creates a complex whole of existence, or Trika("Threefold").
At its fundamental core it is comprised of a trinity, plus 1. 3+1. When the trinity is complete and balanced, it creates One. It is the sum whole of the Divine Union of Holy Love, Fullness, or Purna.
You can split Purna into as many pieces and fractals as you can compartmentalize, yet Purna, IS fullness and completeness; this holiness ALWAYS still remains. This holiness can never be depleted, cut in half, reduced, separated...none of that. This awareness, this force that encompasses both reflections – IS the observer and the observed in a complete and complex experience of itself. A reflection of all that came before, and an echo of that which will come.
In the Shivakti Tantra Yoga asana classes, we will experience through yoga practice and discussion of the anatomical and physiological dimensions on a gross or dense level through all the various levels of existence, including the subtle body energies, chakras and dimensions. We will contemplate and experience in our own unique journey on this path how everything is interconnected at some point, creating the fullness of Shiva and Shakti right here within ourselves.
We will look into historical content, various lineages and "styles" and/or "brands" (and the ancestral lineages thereof) with a compilation of many great philosophical and sacred works throughout the ages to guide this dance. Through lecture, discussion and practice we will experience various poses originating in various lineages - with special focus (though not limited to) discourse on Patanjali, and the yoga sutras. More specifically the 8 limbs of yoga, the Yamas and Niyamas.
As may be expected in a holistic and organic garden of possibilities, Shivakti Tantra Yoga highlights these great teachings in layers of classes. Each class yields its' special amrita of knowledge. Through Asana we will embody the teachings of those before us, the written words of the scholars, and the individual experience as reflected by the whole of the immersive intensive to contemplate the resonance of any lineage in sacred ceremony of life.
We will contemplate in our daily functions, the moment to moment and subtle layers of existence, as described by the sages and rishis who originally illuminated this path. We offer ourselves up as divine channels to be illuminated in the same ways as the original yogi & yoginis. After-all, we ARE the vessels and holy instruments of Source Wisdom.
We weave Intention, Ritual, Pranayama, Kundalini Flow Yoga, Tantra Yoga Movements, Anusara Principles of Alignment, the interplay of Dynamic Vinyasa & Passive Deep Yin Yoga, Temple Dance, Mantras, Mudras, Meditations, Ayurveda, Ecstatic Expression, deep inward reflections, Artful embodiment, Deity Yoga, Sound Healing, Vibrational toning, Loving Communication, Tantric Philosophy and more, all into the ceremonial tapestry of the eternal dance as Shiva and Shakti. May we brilliantly shine the light of Holy Love in our Divine Presence of Radiant Being.
Deity Yoga
‘Deity yoga’ is one of the least-understood aspects of Tantrik Yoga. The term refers to the quintessentially Tantrik practice of invoking aspects of the One divine Consciousness and identifying yourself with them. In other words, the One energy that alone exists expresses as countless different ‘vibrations’, some of them very ephemeral and others eternal (or lasting as long as this universe does, anyway). The ‘eternal’ vibrations are intrinsic parts of the overall Pattern, and so they last as long as the Pattern exists. Some of these eternal vibrations of conscious energy we call ‘deities’. The word deva in Sanskrit (or the feminine form, devī) comes from a Sanskrit root √div, meaning both ‘shine’ and ‘play’. So the devas are the shining playful ones – playful in the sense that they want to play with us! As it were. These patterned forms of consciousness exist both within us and as energetic patterns of flow in the wider universe (of which you are, of course, a microcosm). Therefore they are not reducible to either ‘gods’ (divine persons) or to ‘archetypes’ (aspects of our psyche), though in a sense they are both of those things (and more). They are archetypes insofar as they are paradigms or patterns within the collective unconscious (to borrow Jung’s phrase), and they are divine persons in the sense that you can have an ‘encounter’ with a deity in which you simultaneously feel the presence of a Divine ‘Other’, and yet realize that this ‘Other’ is not separate from you. (By the way, I’m using lots of ‘scare quotes’ just to indicate that words can only clumsily approximate these experiences, which necessarily transcend any mental or verbal representations we can create of them.) When you experience a ‘visitation’ from a deity, it feels ‘Other’ only because you have not yet realized your total Being, which encompasses all forms the One consciousness can wear.
The Tantrik tradition teaches that each deity has an ‘essence-nature’ (svabhāva) which can inhabit the ‘bodies’ (mūrtis) that are representations of it. Most deities have three ‘bodies’: the sonic body (mantra), a geometric pattern (yantra or maṇḍala), and an anthropomorphic represention (whether sculpted, painted, or visualized). A given body, such as a statue of a deity, is considered ‘dead’ (jaḍa) unless the energy of the deity is installed into it (this is called prāṇa-pratiṣṭhā), usually by means of mantras articulated within a space of heightened & devoted awareness; when this has happened, the deity’s mūrti is said to ‘alive’ or ‘conscious’ (chaitanya). This is why the British in the colonial period (and the Baptists and Muslims today) were wrong to call Indians ‘idolators’ – when the prāṇa (life-force) is removed from a statue and placed in a temporary receptacle (like a water-pot with herbs and leaves in), then the statue is summarily discarded and the water-pot is treated as a deity! –Until the energy can be installed in a new statue or other substrate. To be an idolator is precisely to mistake a symbol for its referent, which is explicitly not happening here—the energy is venerated, not its vessel or touchstone.
What distinguishes Tantrik practice proper from the temple culture that it influenced is that Tantrikas prefer to invoke the energy of a deity into a visualized substrate rather than a physical one. This practice necessarily entails honoring oneself as the expression of the deity, because according to the Tantrik maxim, ‘Only God can worship God’ (śivībhūtvaiva śivaṃ yajet). Having invoked the deity’s energy into the visualization (Tantrik Buddhists describe this as summoning the jñāna-sattva or ‘wisdom being’ into the samaya-sattva or ‘symbolic being’), the practitioner honors the deity’s power/energy, while striving to see the deity as an icon of her own essence, a reflection of an aspect of her true Being.
Even the mantra of a deity, it must be noted, can be ‘dead’ or ‘conscious/alive’. The former cannot grant mantra-siddhi, the fruit of mantra-practice. The best way to ensure that a mantra you receive is ‘living’ is to receive it from someone for whom it is alive. A teacher possessed of awake awareness transmits a mantra saturated with that awareness—but no attempt to discern whether a given teacher is ‘enlightened’ is necessary, because even a fellow practioner, who is in love with that mantra and has worked with it deeply, can pass it on in an alive state (as sometimes happens in kīrtan sessions).
In performing Deity Yoga, one must distinguish between ‘enlightened deities’ and all the rest. Enlightened deities are those invoked as part of a spiritual practice aiming at liberation and awakened awareness (mokṣa and bodha), whereas other deities are invoked for specific limited goals – like increasing financial abundance, attracting a partner, pacifying an enemy, etc. Doing the sādhana of a specific deity means invoking that deity daily with mantra, yantra, and visualization (three out of four of the key elements of Tantrik Yoga, the fourth being the breath). Such a sādhana can result in both inner and outer shifts – you may get ‘signs’ that you have connected with the energy of that deity, such as elements of that deity’s constellation of attributes repeatedly showing up in your life. - From a blog post, DEITY YOGA: A TANTRIK TECHNOLOGY by Scholar, Author, Teacher, Practitioner, Initiate & Guide, Christopher Hareesh Wallace of Tantrika Institute.
In the yogic traditions, the Goddess is considered the embodiment of power and of energy—the energy "Adi Shakti" that enlivens the world, and our own bodies and minds. Whether we encounter the Goddess spontaneously or explore her deliberately, as a practice, the energy can open us to our own inner source of empowerment. Deity meditation can assist to unsnarl psychological knots by calling forth specific transformative forces within the mind and heart. It puts us in touch with the protective power within us, and can change the way we see the world.
Ancient texts mention about "Dasha(10) Mahavidya", who are worshipped to seek all sorts of powers. Mahavidya worship is known as Sadhana in which the worshipper concentrates on a single Goddess to please and to seek her blessings. In any Sadhana, Yantra and Mantra are considered very effective mediums through which worshippers can reach their target and fulfill the motive to perform it.
Dasha Mahavidya - 10 Forms of Goddess Shakti: Kali, Tara, Tripurasundari, Bhuvanesvari, Chinnamasta, Bhairavi, Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, Matangi, Kamala. The highest spiritual truth is that reality is One. That reality, when personified as the Divine Mother, expresses itself in countless ways. The ten Mahavidyas, or Wisdom Goddesses, represent distinct aspects of divinity intent on guiding the spiritual seeker toward liberation. For the devotionally minded seeker these forms can be approached in a spirit of reverence, love, and increasing intimacy. For a knowledge-oriented seeker, these same forms can represent various states of inner awakening along the path to enlightenment.
There is a deep quintessential need in the human psyche for a mother. It is said; the Goddess was humankind’s earliest conception of divinity. Among the Shaktas who worship Mother Goddess, the source of all existence is female. God is woman. She is the principle representation of Divinity. She is that power which resides in all life as consciousness, mind, matter, energy, silence, joy as also disturbance and violence. She is the vibrant energy that makes everything alive, fascinating and wonderful. She is inherent in everything and at the same time transcends everything. Her true nature is beyond mind and matter; she is not bound by any limitation. She is Arupa(formless). When she is represented in a form, her intense representation is a Bindu the dimensionless point about to expand immensely. The Bindu symbolizes her most subtle micro form as the universal Mother, womb, yoni, creator, retainer and also the receiver of the universe.
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