Tantric Ritual - Connecting with the Divine
Viewed as living personalities, the gods and goddesses of India are the prime governors of events and the directors of cosmic, societal and individual fate. As the distributors of karma, they smile and frown upon us, either bestowing great blessings or teaching painful lessons. In everyday culture they are praised, adored and celebrated in a multitude of ways.
Daily care may be as simple as placing flowers at the feet of the image of the deity, with a short prayer or mantra (sound vibration that invokes the deity). More elaborate religious rituals can involve many complex elements, such as constructing the image of the deity over several days, appeasing and worshipping the deity with fragrant and delicious offerings such as flowers, incense, fruits and sweets, making offerings to a fire, and the seemingly endless repetition of the names of the deity.
Actual images of the deities are meditation tools. Meditating on the form of a deity is said to give intuitive knowledge and access to subtle realms of existence.
The aim of Tantra is to use meditative process and ritual to gain knowledge and control over all forces (internal and external) that impact upon our lives. Every aspect of Tantric ritual is a means to consciously contact and liberate Shakti, the creative power, personified in the Goddess.
Tantric ritual uses several means to contact, awaken, heighten and shape Shakti. The main tools of Tantric ritual are mantra and yantra.
Mantra and Yantra - Connection and Transformation
Mantras are words of power and sound vibrations. Each syllable of a mantra represents a deity. By exerting delicate yet powerful pressure through the mind and body, mantras are said to awaken aspects of us that have lain dormant and undeveloped. Mantras carry consciousness (the all-seeing eye) deep into subtle areas of mind and body, and as such, have the effect of awaking unknown talents, skills and personal power.
Yantras are devices used to connect to subtle cosmic forces. They are visualized as physical symbols that represent the mantras. Yantras can be drawings or three-dimensional sculptures made of wood, stone or metal. They are complex weaves of geometric shapes, circles, squares, triangles and flower petal shapes that form balanced intricate patterns.
Both mantra and yantra function as objects for the mind to rest upon as it undergoes transformation. This contemplation is considered to purify and liberate the mind of its tendency to engage in excessive thinking. Focused contemplation of mantras (sounds), and yantras (images and symbols) that represent Gods and Goddesses, awaken their essence in us – higher consciousness and creativity.
Masters of the art perform the most potent and effective Tantric rituals. The Tantric master, having dedicated his or her life to understanding the creative forces, functions as the conduit of the higher forces.
A chorus of voices joins Brahman priests in reciting the chosen mantras. The priests build the physical form of the deity with hundreds of flowers, fruits and seeds, placing each element one by one. Yantras surround the main deity for protection and alignment of the divine forces. Using the power of mantra and yantra, a highly charged, sensual atmosphere is created. The aim is to draw down the benevolent energies of the deity for a time, creating a fusion between the divine and human beings.
This is an excerpt of the knowledge I have gained and depicted in the DVD, Yoga of the Heart. See an authentic Tantric ritual and learn more of its transforming power upon personal life and within society.
About the Author(s):
Jayne Stevenson is a communicator, filmmaker and producer with a deep interest in art and spirituality.
Jayne’s greatest interest is originality and the fostering of creativity. Over her life she has pursued her interest in communicating ancient authentic wisdom and creativity to the modern world, in accessible and meaningful ways.
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