"The Earth Path" by Starhawk

"Phantom Parks: The Struggle to Save Canada's National Parks" by Rick Searle

Interesting Links:
Utne Reader
David Suzuki Foundation
New Scientist
Discover Magazine
The Medical Post Online
Ad Busters!
New Internationalist
Mother Jones.com
Salon.com
NOVA On-line
The Book of Zines
Killing the Buddha
London Review of Books
American Council on Exercise
Runner's World
The Great Illusion


Recent reads:
"A Deepness in the Sky" by Vernor Vinge

"Celtic Folklore Cooking" by Joanne Asala

"Power Spellcraft for Life" by Arin Murphy-Hiscock

"Reinventing Medicine" by Larry Dossey

"Wicca: A Year and a Day" by Timothy Roderick

"The Science of the Craft" by William H Keith

"50 Years of Wicca" by Frederic Lamond

"The Magical Life" by Vivianne Crowley

"Which Witch is Which?" by Patricia Telesco

"Perdido Street Station" by China Mieville

"Cyberhenge: Modern Pagans on the Internet" by Douglas E. Cowan

"An Ye Harm None: Magical Morality and Modern Ethics" by Shelley Rabinovitch

"Crystal Ball" by Sibyll Fergusen, revised and expanded by Witch Bree

"Gaia Eros: Reconnecting to the Magic and Sprit of Nature" by Jesse Wolf Hardin

"A Century of Spells" by Draja Mickaharic

"Evolutionary Witchcraft" by T. Thorn Coyle

"Witching Culture: Folklore and Neo-Paganism in America" by Sabina Magliocco

"Kundalini for Beginners" by Ravindra Kumar

"Ka: Stories of the Mind and Gods of India" by Roberto Calasso

"Magical Tattwa Cards" by Dr. John Mumford

"WitchCraft Today (Expanded edition)" by Gerald B. Gardner

"Self-Initiation for the Solitary Witch" by Shanddaramon

"The Second Circle: Tools for the Advancing Pagan" by Vanecia Rauls

"Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard" by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart

"Black Magick Woman: The Sinister Side of the Song of Solomon" by Janet Tyson

"Everyday Moon Magic" by Dorothy Morrisson

"Advanced Witchcraft" by Edain McCoy"

"Handfasting and Wedding Rituals" by Raven Kaldera and Tannin Schwartzstein

"Joing Hearts and Hands: Interfaith, Intercultural Wedding Celebrations" by Rev Susanna Stefanachi Macomb

"Handfasted and Heartjoined" by Lady Maeve Rhea

"Handfasting: A practical Guide" bu Mary Neasham

" Goddess in the Grass: Sperpentine Mythology and the great Goddess" by Linda Fourbister

"Theories of the Chakras: Bridges to Higher Conciousness" by Hiroshi Motoyama

"The Knife Thrower" by Steven Millhauser

"Schizophrenia: A Very Short Introduction" by Christopher Finn and Eve Johnstone

"Schizophrenia: The Facts" by Ming T. Tsuang and Stephen V. Faraone

"A Community of Witches" by Helen Berger and Colleagues

"American Gods" by Neil Gaiman"

"Scherzo" by Jim Williams"

"Goddess in the Grass: Serpentine Mythology and the Great Goddess" by Linda Fourbister

"The Forest of Souls" by Rachel Pollack

"Wiccan Roots" by Philip Heselton

"A User's Guide to the Brain" by John J Ratey, MD

"A Goddess Arrives" by Gerald Gardner

"A Community of Witches" by Helen Berger

"Nature Spirits" Selected lectures by Rudolf Steiner

"Fatal Majesty" by Reay Tannahill

"Myths to Live By" by Joseph Campbell

"The Secret Life of Germs" by Philip M Tierno Jr, PhD

"Adam, Eve, and the Serpent" by Elaine Pagels

"Whiteout: Melt" by Greg Rucka illustrated by Steve Lieber

"Whiteout" by Greg Rucka illustrated by Steve Lieber

"Queen and Country-Operation: Crystal Ball" by Greg Rucka illustrated by Leandro Fernandez

"Tunnel in the Sky" by Robert Heinlein

"The Sex Chronicles" by Zane

"The Black Man's Guide to Good Health" by Reed, Schulman and Shucker

"The Withdrawing Room" by Charlotte MacLoed

"Queen and Country-Operation: Morningstar" by Greg Rucka illustrated by Brian Hurtt

"The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2000" edited by David Quammen

"The Bourne Identity" by Robert Ludlum

"Gerald Gardner: Witch" by J.L. Bracelin

"Queen and Country-Operation: Broken Ground" by Greg Rucka illustrated by Steve Rolston

"The Ferryman Will Be There" by Rosemary Aubert

"Philosophy of Wicca" by Amber Laine Fisher

"Wilderness Tips" by Margaret Atwood

"Origins of Modern Witchcraft" by Anne Moura

Saturday, January 04, 2003

Left-Handed Tantra

I was in a discussion recently about Tantra in Hinduism, particularly Left-Handed Tantra. Since I promised to pull something together on this topic for one of the folks involved in the discussion, I thought I might as well post it here as well.

The Tantras were the third major development of the medieval period (600-1800CE) and seem to have arisen out of the elite Brahmin tradition. Tantrism assumes that each individual is a miniature of the macrocosm, and that by learning the sacred geography of the body and through various ritual techniques is is possible to bring one's own spiritual fulfillment, thereby achieving liberation or moksa.

The Tantras do distinguish between right-handed and left-handed paths. The right-hand path is for adepts and consists primarily of the use of mantras, mandala and ritual techniques based on Tantric sacred body geometry. The left-handed path centres upon a particular ritual in which the adept partakes of five forbidden things, thereby transcending the tension between the sacred and the profane and gaining liberation. The left-hand path is considered appropriate only for warrior and those of special heroic temperament, and has been greatly criticised by the Brahmins.

Left-handed Tantrism is believed to have arisen among the village practices, by ordinary folks who did know or who were not permitted to perform Brahminic rituals. The quests of let-handed Tantrism are generally undertaked alone or under the guidance of a guru is an isolated location. One's place in society is unimportant to the the success of the quest and as such many followers of left-handed Tantrism show disregard for societal values or norms. This is also shown in how left-handed Tantrism "ranks" success. The lowest ranked individuals are the practice of social confirmity and the practice of prescribed customs, while in the highest rank confirmity to social norms is a matter of indifference. Adepts who have achieved this stage recognize the underlying unity of all realty and as such have no need for the artificial rules and disctinctions made by the unenlightened.

The central act in left-handded Tantrism is that of "pancha tattva" or the five forbidden things. In this ritual, the seeked partakes in five of the most bodily and spiritually polluting things to traditional Hinduism: wine, fish, parched grain of some kind (probably dung), meat and illicit sexual intercourse. For many traditional Hindus, the undertaking of this ritual by the followers of left-handed Tantra is seen as an excuse for libertinism under the guise of religion.

The reason for this ritual is based on the idea that Brahman pervades everything in this world, even the forbidden things. The "pancha tattva" ritual is an attempt to shock the seeker into realising this truth. By partaking in the five forbidden thigs, the seeker affirms their own sacredness and also dissolves all preconceived or societal notions, prejudices, habits and other barriers that cause them to see the world as fragmented and compartmentalised instead of the unified whole that it is.

Left-handed Tantra may be considered a criticism of traditional Hinduism and particularly those aspect that emphasize conformity to social norms and customs as being something that brings spiritual merit to to practitioners.

More reading:
Hinduism - A cultural perspective by David Kinsley (1982)
The Tantric Tradition by Agehananda Bharati (1965)
Tantra of Great Liberation (Mahanirvana Tantra) translated by Arthur Avalon
(1972)

Amanda 12:39 PM
E-mail your comments to: ramblingraven@cosmic-muse.com