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.As man changes, so do the forms of his beliefs.Anancient feature of this faith and one belonging to the ancient Mysteries is the distinction which it drawsbetween the initiate whose Shakti is awake (Prabuddha) and the Pashu the unillumined or "animal," and,as the Gnostics called him, "material" man.The Natural, which is the manifestation of the Mother ofNature, and the Spiritual or the Mother as She is in and by Herself are one, but the initiate alone trulyrecognizes this unity.He knows himself in all his natural functions as the one Consciousness whether inenjoyment (Bhukti), or Liberation (Mukti).It is an essential principle of Tantrik Sadhana that man ingeneral must rise through and by means of Nature, and not by an ascetic rejection of Her.A profoundlytrue principle is here involved whatever has been said of certain applications of it.When Orpheustransformed the old Bacchic cult, it was the purified who in the beautiful words of Euripides "wentdancing over the hills with the daughters of Iacchos".I cannot, however, go into this matter in this paperwhich is concerned with some general subjects and the ordinary ritual.But the evidence is not limited tomysteries of the Shakti Puja.There are features in the ordinary outer worship which are very old andwidespread, as are also other parts of the esoteric teaching.In this connection, a curious instance of theexistence, beyond India, of Tantrik doctrine and practice is here given.The American Indian MayaScripture of the Zunis called the Popul Vuh speaks of Hurakan or Lightning, that is (I am told)Kundalishakti; of the "air tube" or "Whitecord" or the Sushumna Nadi; of the "two-fold air tube" that isIda and Pingala; and of various bodily centers which are marked by animal glyphs.Perhaps the Pañcatattva Ritual followed by some of the adherents of the Tantras is one of the maincauses which have operated in some quarters against acceptance of the authority of these Scriptures andas such responsible for the notion that the worship is modern.On the contrary, the usage of wine, meat,and so forth is itself very old.There are people who talk of these rites as though they were some entirelynew and comparatively modern invention of' the "Tantra," wholly alien to the spirit and practice of theearly times.If the subject be studied it will, I think.be found that in this matter those worshippers whopractice these rites are (except possibly as to Maithuna) the continuators of very ancient practices whichhad their counterparts in the earlier Vaidikacara, but were subsequently abandoned.possibly under theinfluence of Jainism and Buddhism.I say "counterpart," for I do not mean to suggest that in everyrespect the rites were the same.In details and as regards, I think, some objects in view, they differed.Thus we find in this Pañcatattva Ritual a counterpart to the Vaidik usage of wine and animal food.Asregards wine, we have the partaking of Soma; meat was offered in Mamsashtaka Shraddha; fish in theAshtakashraddha and Pretashraddha; and Maithuna as a recognized rite will be found in the VamadevyaVrata and Maravrata of universally recognized Vaidik texts, apart from the alleged, and generallyunknown, Saubhagykanda of the Atharvaveda to which the Kalikopanishad and other "Tantrik"Upanishads are said to belong.Possibly, however, this element of Maithuna may be foreign andimported by Cinacara (see Ch.V).So again, as that distinguished scholar Professor Ramendra SundaraTrivedi has pointed out in his Vicitraprasanga, the Mudra of Pañcatattva corresponds with the Purodasacake of the Soma and other Yagas.The present rule of abstinence from wine, and in some cases, meat isdue, I believe, to the original Buddhism.It is so-called "Tantriks," who follow (in and for their ritualonly) the earlier practice.It is true that the Samhita of Ushanah says, "Wine is not to be drunk, given orhttp://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas06.htm (2 of 25)07/03/2005 16:02:38Chapter Six: Shakti and Shaktapkmishra1961@rediffmail.comFor Learning Meditation , Kundalini Yoga etc.--> CONTACT :->> PH : GSM : +91-9990 90 8228taken (Madyam apeyam adeyam agrahyam)" but the yet greater Manu states, "There is no wrong in theeating of meat or the drinking of wine (Na mamsabakshane dosho na madye)" though he rightly adds, asmany now do, that abstention therefrom is productive of great fruit (Nivrittistu mahaphala).The Tantrikpractice does not allow extra-ritual or "useless" drinking (Vrithapana).Further, it is a common error to confound two distinct things, namely, belief and practice and the writtenrecords of it.These latter may be comparatively recent, whilst that of which they speak may be mostancient.When I speak of the ancient past of this faith I am not referring merely to the writings whichexist today which are called Tantras.These are composed generally in a simple Sanskrit by men whoseobject it was to be understood rather than to show skill in literary ornament.This simplicity is a sign ofage.But at the same time it is Laukika and not Arsha Sanskrit.Moreover, there are statements in themwhich (unless interpolations) fix the limits of their age.I am not speaking of the writings themselves butof what they say.The faith that they embody, or at least its earlier forms, may have existed for manyages before it was reduced to writing amongst the Kulas or family folk, who received it as handed downby tradition (Paramparyya) just as did the Vaidik Gotras.That such beliefs and practices, like all otherthings, have had their development in course of time is also a likely hypothesis.A vast number of Tantras have disappeared probably for ever.Of those which survive a large numberare unknown.Most of those which are available are of fragmentary character.Even if these did appearlater than some other Shastras, this would not, on Indian principles, affect their authority.According tosuch principles the authority of a Scripture is not determined by its date; and this is sense.Why, it isasked, should something said 1,000 years ago be on that account only truer than what was said 100 yearsago? It is held that whilst the teaching of the Agama is ever existent, particular Tantras are constantlybeing revealed and withdrawn.There is no objection against a Tantra merely because it was revealed to-day.When it is said that Shiva spoke the Tantras, or Brahma wrote the celebrated Vaishnava poemcalled the Brahmasamhita, it is not meant that Shiva and Brahma materialized and took a reed and wroteon birch bark or leaf, but that the Divine Consciousness to which men gave these and other namesinspired a particular man to teach, or to write, a particular doctrine or work touching the eternallyexisting truth.This again does not mean that there was any one whispering in his ear, but that thesethings arose in his consciousness.What is done in this world is done through man.There is a profounderwisdom than is generally acknowledged in the saying "God helps those who help themselves".Inspiration too never ceases.But how, it may be asked, are we to know that what is said is right andtrue? The answer is "by its fruits." The authority of a Shastra is determined by the question whetherSiddhi is gained through its provisions or not.It is not enough that "Shiva uvaca" (Shiva says) is writ init.The test is that of Ayurveda.A medicine is a true one if it cures.The Indian test for everything isactual experience.It is from Samadhi that the ultimate proof of Advaitavada is sought [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]