Impact of Tantra on Religion and ArtWith its roots (perhaps) in the prehistoric times, Tantra is a unique, highly complex spiritual tradition of India. Which is hard to define and still harder to be grasped by the non-initiated - largely because of its occult and mysteriously ritualistic elements, often accompanied by equally mysterious mantras, yantras, kriyas and even sexual practices. As a religious philosophy, this esoteric cult of Sakti: the female principle, seeks to discover the source of cosmic power within the human body through intensely specialized yogic activity. And, like yoga, it transcends religious boundaries. Introducing this non-Vedic, esoteric cult in an altogether fresh perspective, the book looks at tantra: both as a philosophy and as a spiritual tradition in its own right, and how tantrism has, in the past, been an irresistible influence not only on major Indian religions (Brahmanical Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism), but on arts as well. Dr. Mishra authenticates his findings with evidence from numerous Vaisnava, Saiva, Sakta, Buddhist, and Jaina texts on religion, philosophy, art and iconography. The author, who has had long, personal interactions with some of the living tantrics, also tries to dispel certain distortions woven around tantric religion to contextually offer an unbiased account of its evolution, cultic variations, culture, philosophy, mysticism, and cardinal concepts and tenets. Together with relevant visual material, Dr. Mishra's work will, thus, evoke as much interest in discerning readers as in the scholars of Indian religions, traditional philosophy, arts and art history. |
Contents
List of Illustrations | 11 |
Introduction | 17 |
Religious Mythology | 23 |
Copyright | |
7 other sections not shown
Common terms and phrases
ānanda aspect aspirant Atharvaveda attainment Bharat Kala Bhavan bhūta bindu bliss Bodhicitta brahman Brāhmaṇa Buddha Buddhist cakra Calcutta centre century conceived concept consciousness cosmic creation cult culture deity Delhi denotes depiction divine elements energy erotic motifs esoteric female principle gods Gopinath Kaviraj gross highest Hindi Hindu human body Indian art Jainism jñāna Kāma karuṇā Kaula Kaviraj knowledge known kriyā kundalini linga literature mahāsukha maithuna makāras Male Principle manifestation māyā means mind mokṣa moon mūlādhāra mystic nāda Nath nature nerve nirvāṇa non-duality parā perfect philosophy practices prajñā prakṛti realization religious represents Rgveda rituals sādhaka sādhanā sahaja sahasrāra Śaivism Sākta Śakti salvation samarasa sculptures semen sexual siddhas Śiva Śiva and Śakti soul sound spiritual subtle śūnya supreme symbol symbolised Tantra Tantric religion Tantrika Tantrism tattva temple triangle truth Ultimate Reality union universe Upanisad upāya Vajrayāna Varanasi Vedic viśuddha woman worship yoga yogic yuganaddha