Tantric Yoga and the Wisdom of the Goddesses. David Frawley

Introduction
Today, tantra is perceived throughout the world as a popular version of Eastern spirituality. Modern neotantra is represented both in India and in the West in various forms. Tantra, as a universal system, has a great potential for freedom, which is what the modern mind is looking for, thirsting for creative initiative, love of diversity, and which has such a stimulating effect on the general public. And yet, tantra is still one of the most difficult yogic disciplines. The spiritual and meditative essence of tantra is difficult to explain to the Western mind from the positions of Hinduism, fertilized by many different tantric teachings. Therefore, it is necessary to look at the ancient science of tantra from a new perspective.
Tantra is a spiritual path that uses energy techniques such as mantra, yantra, ritual, pranayama, meditation and more to approach the service of the Goddess and Her Lord Shiva with a pure heart. This ancient culture directs us to self-realization and comprehension of the Absolute and represents a complex of systems or rather an integral system) of the development of consciousness for those who really aspire to the Truth.
This book elucidates the most typical meditative and mantric realm of tantra throughout India. The book includes both theory and practice of tantra with a focus on Ayurveda (Vedic medicine) and does not aim for academic research and fundamental analysis. Compositionally, the book is divided into three main sections and ends with the fourth - "Appendix".
The first part deals with traditional and modern tantra, the different levels of tantric teachings and their unity.
The second part is the heart of the book. Here the reader will be able to get acquainted with the Dasha Mahavidya, i.e. with ten Divine Forms of Wisdom personified as ten Goddesses.
The third part is devoted to specific yogic practices associated with Ayurveda (traditional Indian medicine). In it, the reader learns in more detail about the process of developing consciousness and the practice that promotes this. It will be of interest especially to those who practice yoga.
Tsrmlozhetshere reveals the organic connection between Hinduism and Buddhism from the point of view of Tantrism, offers a dictionary of Sanskrit terms and bibliography.
Kavyakantha Ganapati Muni
Многое из той информации, которая представлена здесь, и особенно знание о десяти Божественных Формах Богинь, восходят к трудам Kavyakantha Ganapati Muni (1878-1936), кото-рьй, вероятно, был учеником Ramana Maharshi, выдающегося гуру и мудреца современной Индии. It was Ganapati who called his teacher Maharshi, while he was given the name Brahmana Swami, for from childhood he discovered a craving for wisdom. Ganapati and Ramana in India are considered incarnations of Ganesha and Skanda (children of Shiva and Parvati). I was fortunate enough to receive almost the entire legacy of Ganapati Muni from the sole custodian of his treasures and his devoted disciple K. Natesan. All works are written in Sanskrit, many of them are undated or represent the only copies of the Ganapati manuscripts, copied by the hand of K. Natesan.
Ganapati Muni was a great tantrika and described his own experience. In addition, he was one of the greatest Sanskrit poets who comprehended the entire ancient tradition, starting with the Vedas. He described everything related to tantra, starting from the external, ritual side and including the highest, spiritual, going back to the roots of the Vedas. In his personal life, Ganapati Muni experienced a unique yogic experience of higher self-realization, when, after many years of yogic practice, the sutures of Brahmarandha (the suture at the top of the skull) parted and he was blinded by a bright light and a powerful flow of energy. It was in this state of transcendence that he lived, being a living experience of transformation, and not just a connoisseur of the idea of ​​transformation.
Ramana Maharshi
Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950) известен как джнани и безмолвный мудрец, хотя многие его называют тантрическим учителем. He installed the Sri Chakra as the most important tantric symbol on his mother's grave, and subsequently his ashram grew around the Chakra. Вместе с Ганапати Муни Ramana Maharshi регулярно проводил служение Чакре, и однажды, когда Ганапати Муни сочинял стихи, посвященные Уме Сахасрам, Махарши открыл глаза и промолвил; “Would you like to end the verses with the words that I dictate to you?”. Thus the legacy of Ganapati Muni became intertwined with the thoughts and sayings of the Maharshi himself.
It should be noted here that it is important to learn from such great gurus as Anandamaya Ma, Ramakrishna (God incarnation and a great devotee of Kali) and many, many others, for they can inspire us to search for what this book.
There are two of the most prominent books that discuss in detail the meaning and significance of the ten Wise Divine Forms: The Means of Tantra by Haresh Johari and The Ten Great Cosmic Powers by Shankarnarayanan. In the first study, one can learn more about the various meditative forms and yantras of the Goddesses, which relatively recently began to be depicted in color, and in the second, the reader will get acquainted with extensive information about the inner, hidden meaning of the personified Goddesses. Both authors creatively used the ideas of Ganapati Muni and Sri Aurobindo.
Shankarnarayanan, for example, like my friend and teacher M.P. Pan-dit, was a student of Kapali Shastri, who himself was a close student of Ganapati Muni, and later of Sri Aurobindo. MP Pandit, who left his body in 1993, has been a constant source of inspiration for me in my work on the Vedas and tantra, as he left behind several profound studies on tantra.
Tantric Yoga and the Wisdom of the Goddesses is just one of a series of books I have written about the great enduring glory of Vedic wisdom. Previous works have dealt with the relationship between Ayurveda, Vedic astrology, culture, history, the Vedas, Upanishads and Hinduism in general. This work examines the fundamental principles of Hindu Tantrism.
It is interesting that this book was not planned at all, but was born spontaneously as an integral focus of three factors: my long service to the Goddess and Lord Shiva, my relatively recent acquaintance with the works of Ganapati Muni (as mentioned above) and the ever-increasing interest in tantra in the West. Therefore, there is an urgent need to give people more solid and profound information about the meditation tradition, which many are not properly aware of.
And finally, thanks to the causeless mercy of the Divine Mother (in Her form of Rajarajeshvari, or the Supreme Queen of the Universe), this book was published. The main text of the book was ready in February 1992, but some additions and corrections were made in July. The book is free from subjective fabrications and abundant detailed original material included by the author so as not to clutter up the presentation and simplify it. For this reason, texts devoted to Hinduism were removed. tantra, tantra and the Vedas, tantra and Vedanta, tantra and astrology, tantra and other spiritual traditions of the world. It is possible that I will publish this additional information later, when interest in tantra grows even more.

The main inspiration for me was K. Na-thesan, now living in Ramanasramam in South India. His only desire was to help spread the teachings of his great master, Ganapati Muni. I am also indebted to J. Jayaraman of the Ramanasramam, for he showed me how to properly chant many of the great hymns to the Goddess in Sanskrit, through which I was able to deepen my tantric discipleship. Margo Gael has beautifully illustrated this book by including images of the ten Wise Goddesses, reflecting the highest traditions of South Indian art. Ken Johnson assisted in the research and critical analysis of the manuscripts. Tantra Vidya Pidham from Elway, Kerala provided images of the chakras.
I sincerely wish that this work would help people to become more familiar with tantra and to interest them in the great art of tantric meditation. I also hope that this book will help to understand that there is an organic and inseparable connection between tantra, yoga, the Vedas and Ayurveda, since all these components represent different aspects of the same tradition, complementing each other.
Perhaps, on our entire planet, one cannot find a more unifying and perfect system of spiritual development than the one discussed in this book...
David Frawley (Вамадева Шастри) Санта Фе, Нью-Мексика, июль 1992г.

II
REVIVED TANTRA

The goddess said: “Before the creation of the universe, there was only one Self and nothing but Me. This Essence is called consciousness, wisdom and the Supreme Brahman.
Devi Gita IV. 3

I created the Progenitor of the Universe at the top of the worlds. My source flows from the cosmic waters of the universal sea. From there I extend to all the worlds and reach the boundless Heavens.
I fly like the wind, penetrating all universes. All spaces BEHIND Heaven and OUTSIDE this earth are saturated with my greatness.
Vak Ambhrini, Rig Veda X. 125. 7-8

1. TRADITIONAL AND MODERN TANTRA

O Goddess and Lord Shiva, who created the sixty-four tantras, you do not despair because the whole world has become dependent on external forces. Through your Word, tantra descended again into this world, so that people would believe in themselves and be able to fulfill all their desires.
Shankaracharya, Soundarya Pahari 31

In this section, we will look at the distinctive features of tantra before approaching its foundations - deep and high - technologies. We explore how tantra is related to modern cultural currents and how it is understood from the point of view of traditional Indian culture. When we get acquainted with the multifaceted and universal ancient science, we will see that most of what is called tantra today is just a delusion