The Yoga Of Netra Tantra

The Netra Tantra "Tantra of the (Third) Eye (of Siva)", also called Mrtyujit (Conqueror of Death), is one of the fundamental scriptures of non-dualist Kashmir Saivism or Trika. It is the only Tantra having the Third Eye of Siva as title and theme, and it contains three important chapters on Yoga, relating to three ways of overcoming death. This book, besides giving an introduction to the Tantra, contains an interpretation of the three chapters; Chapter 1deals with the Eye of Siva, Chapter 7 with subtle Yoga, and Chapter 8 with supreme Yoga. The same texts are presented in Devanagari, transliteration and translation, including the eleventh-century commentary of Ksemaraja, illustrious disciple of Abhinava­ gupta . The Appendix contains illustrations of the theme of trinetra from different sources, mainly connected with Kashmir, as well as a comparative study on "The spiritual eye in the Christian mystical traditions". This book is an important contribution to the studies on non-dualist Saivism or Trika, and especially to its Yoga.

Illness and Immortality examines a medieval Sanskrit text, the Netra Tantra, which is devoted to health and healing through a yogic practice dedicated to the chanting of mantras, the building of mandalas, and meditation. Patricia Sauthoff examines the role of such ritual elements in rites to alleviate illness and death. She includes analysis of the various forms of the deity Amrtesa or Mrtyuñjaya (Conqueror of Death), the nature of mantra, and the relationship between the tantric practitioner and the patient. This work explores what is meant by immortality within the medieval context and how one goes about attaining it. It asks how ritual alleviates illness, what role the deity plays in health and healing, and finally who has access to the rites described within the text. Central to this study is the conception of a body vulnerable to demons and reliant on deities for continued existence, and how the three yogic bodies (sthula, suksma, and para) play a role in physical and spiritual well-being. Featuring new translations of large sections of the Netra Tantra, the book offers readers various points of entry into the text so that tantric practitioners and scholars alike can access the influential and important concepts and practices found within this long-revered but under-studied work.

Spiritual discipline or Yoga constitutes an inseparable partof the philosophy of every school, and especially the Tantricones, in which spiritual practices or sÈdhana kriyÈ dominate.This book opens with an account of the nature, origin anddevelopment of ’aiva-’akta Tantras, their classification underdifferent schools, the wealth of literature available belongingto these schools, etc., and sheds light on the principal metaphysicaltenets of ’aiva and ’Èkta Tantras. The book dealsalso with the concepts of divine Grace or aktipÈta, guru andhis different kinds, the process of initiation (dÏk È) and itsvarieties, mantra s nature and place in sÈdhana kriyÈ, etc.This book also attempts to remove the misconceptions widespreadin the academic world about the theory and practice ofTantra Yoga, which have been deliberately kept secret by thepractitioners to prevent their misuse by unscrupulous persons.Dr. Debabrata Sen Sharma is a well-known scholar of theAdvaita Shaiva thought of Kashmir.

This thesis examines the rites of protection as laid out in the Netra Tantra and its accompanying commentary by Kṣemarāja. This text and commentary help us to understand the ontological role of the court priest, who acts to preserve and improve the health and well-being of the monarch through constant ritual observance. This also leads to a discussion of power as religious, ritual, and social experience. I first examine ritual components, such as mantra, maṇḍala, and iconography to understand how the mantrin builds and maintains the tantric world. Within the iconography of practice, the Netra Tantra, allows for and even encourages the worship of its main deity, Amṛteśa, through the worship of a host of other deities. This brings about an examination of the conflict between public and private practice, especially within the tantric sphere. To further examine this conflict, I then explore initiatory rites, during which the practitioner finds himself reborn in both body and consciousness. Further, his rebirth forces him to reconsider his social place, with his caste now supplanted by his position as an initiated member of the religious group. I engage with both ideas of the body and identity to question how the newly initiated practitioner navigates the world with this new perspective, including his involvement, real or visualized, with the transgressive ritual behaviors so often associated with tantric practice. Finally, I consider specific practices, examining the technicalities of the rights and the meaning assigned to various ritual elements within this and related texts. The rites of nīrājana and those meant to conquer death, directly involve the mantrin who performs them on behalf of the monarch. This allows for an examination of what exactly is intended in such rites and what purpose they have for both the monarch and the mantrin.

Le Vijnânabhaïrava tantra, écrit au début de notre ère dans l'école shivaïte du Cachemire, présente la « quintessence de tous les tantras ». Il se situe d'emblée sur le plan de la réalité absolue et touche aux racines les plus profondes de l'esprit. Ce « tantra de la connaissance suprême » qui permet de « regarder Brahman les yeux ouverts », est probablement la somme la plus extraordinaire des moyens yoguiques jamais réunie. Il expose un yoga qui utilise le spectre intégral des pensées, des émotions et des sensations comme voie mystique. Ce texte universel, source vive d'une des écoles majeures de la mystique indienne, est traduit et commenté par Daniel Odier, spécialiste du tantrisme shivaïte dont il donne aussi dans ce volume une présentation éclairante. Ce yoga de l'action dans le monde des sens fait découvrir au yogin une liberté sans bornes et lui fait voir le divin comme son propre Soi libéré de toute limitation conceptuelle, de tout dogme, de toute croyance.

What would it be like to know that you are indeed immortal, that your physical body is but the outward form taken by your own eternal inner form or soul body? What would it be like to dissolve the bodily boundaries that seem to separate you from the souls of others, learning to feel your soul in their body and their soul in yours? What would it be like to see and feel your partner as the embodiment of a god or goddess, and to experience the bliss of 'soul body sex' - an intensely sensual intimacy and intercourse with their divine soul body? The New Yoga is a yoga of the soul body - that body with which we can intimately sense, feel and touch others - independently of physical contact. The New Yoga is also 'Tantra Reborn', giving rebirth to the tantric tradition known as Kashmir Shaivism through a wholly new understanding of its sexual symbolism and of 'tantric sex' - seen not merely as a heightening or spiritual elevation of bodily sex, but as an expression of the sublime sensuality and divine sexuality of the soul and its body. 'Tantra Reborn' explains in detail the anatomy, nature and powers of the soul body, its relation to gender and sexuality, to tantric initiation and to the traditional tantric symbolism of 'Shiva-Shakti' and 'Kundalini'. It also offers a practical guide to experiencing the bliss of soul body intercourse through new and original forms of tantric pair and partner meditation.

Hinduism cannot be understood without the Great Goddess and the goddess-orientated Śākta traditions. The Goddess pervades Hinduism at all levels, from aniconic village deities to high-caste pan-Hindu goddesses to esoteric, tantric goddesses. Nevertheless, the highly influential tantric forms of South Asian goddess worship have only recently begun to draw scholarly attention. This book addresses the increasing interest in the Great Goddess and the tantric traditions of India by exploring the history, doctrine and practices of the Śākta tantric traditions. The highly influential tantric forms of South Asian goddess worship form a major part of what is known as ‘Śāktism’, and is often considered one of the major branches of Hinduism next to Śaivism, Vaiṣṇavism and Smārtism. Śāktism is, however, less clearly defined than the other major branches, and the book looks at the texts of the Śākta traditions that constitute the primary sources for gaining insights into the Śākta religious imaginative, ritual practices and history. It provides an historical exploration of distinctive Indian ways of imagining God as Goddess, and surveys the important origins and developments within Śākta history, practice and doctrine in its diversity. Bringing together contributions from some of the foremost scholars in the field of tantric studies, the book provides a platform for the continued research into Hindu goddesses, yoga, and tantra for those interested in understanding the religion and culture in South Asia.

Yoga, tantra and other forms of Asian meditation are practised in modernized forms throughout the world today, but most introductions to Hinduism or Buddhism tell only part of the story of how they developed. This book is an interpretation of the history of Indic religions up to around 1200 CE, with particular focus on the development of yogic and tantric traditions. It assesses how much we really know about this period, and asks what sense we can make of the evolution of yogic and tantric practices, which were to become such central and important features of the Indic religious scene. Its originality lies in seeking to understand these traditions in terms of the total social and religious context of South Asian society during this period, including the religious practices of the general population with their close engagement with family, gender, economic life and other pragmatic concerns.