The presiding deity of tantra shastra is Devi, the so-called feminine deity to whom all mantras, mudras and other elements of worship are devotionally dedicated. The act of bathing, dressing, sitting for worship, offering various ingredients, sacrificing animals, cohabiting with husband or wife or companion, accepting the offered foodstuffs and many other acts are performed in the spirit of total dedication and devotion. The sixty-four tantras are thus designated to suit the various temperaments of individuals walking, faltering and advancing on the different levels of human evolution. The purpose of all tantric systems is one, and that is to evolve and express the mother aspect which is probably the nucleus and centre of total consciousness in living beings, the central sphere of individual awareness which is shakti or energy. Tantra shastra does not confuse this with the so-called maternal instinct, nor does it develop an emotional mother complex. The term ‘matri’ symbolizes the greatest power in man; it does not symbolize the mother in the ordinary sense. Tantrics are worshippers of shakti even in the case of those who worship Shiva or Vishnu. What is shakti? Shakti is the great process lying almost restless at the deepest sphere of individual consciousness which is capable of creation, progression and destruction. It is that powerful awareness which is lying dormant at present. Where is shakti? It is in all. It is the left half of shiva. Shiva is consciousness; shakti is energy. Shiva is the tongue; shakti is the power of speech. Shiva and shakti live together, but shiva cannot materialize and become active without the active co-operation of shakti. Therefore, shakti is the subject matter of tantra shastra, whether shakti tantra or shaiva tantra. Although shakti is depicted by a feminine frame, termed as a goddess, described as a beautiful lady, the tantras unanimously declare that shakti is the all-pervading and all-embracing existence in a saint and in a sinner, in a man and in a woman, in a believer and in a nonbeliever.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 11:27:46 +0000
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