Essay name: Shaiva Tantra: A way of Self-awareness
Author:
L. N. Sharma
Affiliation: Banaras Hindu University / Department of Philosophy and Religion
This essay studies Shaiva Tantra and Tantric philosophies which have evolved from ancient cultural practices and represents a way of Self-awareness. Saiva Tantra emphasizes the individual's journey to transcendence through inner and external sacrifices, integrating various traditions while aiming for an uncreated, harmonious state.
Chapter 17 - The importance of Rite in accomplishing the Path
25 (of 25)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
Download the PDF file of the original publication
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
1
- 370
The tantric corollary of this myth is the well-
known sadhana of reabsorption. The poison means one's own karma which
is swallowed by the sadhaka when ne identifies himself with the supreme
Lord who in this way bestows his grace; it symbolizes self-destruction
as an individual and the immersion into the great consciousness (TA,
XXXVII, 120-13a). Therefore, I think that Abhinavagupta was right when
me asserted that the essence of all Hindu tantras was found in Saivite
tantra and Saivism (TA, AXXVII, 250-29). A superficial comparison of
Saiva tantra with the other tantric branches still in ashion nowadays
reveals to us a simplification and schematisation of Saivite practices.
Perhaps it has lea to the loss of the primordial meaning of certain
sadhanās or to their reinterpretation. On the other hand, modern pandits
and tantric practitioners do not recognize many of their practices as
belonging to and being originated in classic Saiva tantra. They consider
it obsolete and very complicated.
..
when
Nevertheless, the grand endeavour of tantric
practice can be seen as
one of the most formidable goals ever found in
the history of human knowledge. Sooner or later, a time will come
man's universal concern will be the penetration of his own latent
structures in order to discover the austruse mechanisms which force him
to act in a particular way. The mastery of these structures through the
reunification and interpenetration of one's consciousness and subconscious
will pull the human being out of the realm of blind necessity, conferring
upon him his much-longed-for freedom.
