The Masculine Principle In Tantra – Shiva
The Hindu pantheon considers Shiva as one of the Gods in the Supreme trinity. The Divine Trinity is composed of Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva himself. Each of the parts stands for one of the three facets of the Creator, the Divine, and the Sustainer, respectively. Shiva or the destroyer of the Universe is believed to reside in Svarloka, the sphere in which demi-gods and gods live and are ruled by Indra who is the greatest amongst them all.
Shiva corresponds to the exposure of the Supreme reality, which is pure subject, pure consciousness, pure self- without even a minute regard given to self, such as “I am this”, “I am” or “I am here”.
Abhinava Gupta, in his Tantra-Loka, considers Shiva as ‘the Father and Mother of the Universe’. Shiva is the origin or seed of the multidimensional universe which gives birth to all the other ontological classes. Yet, Shiva does not possess any dual nature as he is wholly immersed in an ecstatic alliance with Shakti.
However, to gain a proper understanding of the basic notion of Tantrism, which is Shiva- the masculine principle, we must gaze back at the genesis of Tantra.
Tantrism reaps the benefits of immense fame among theologians and philosophers and practitioners such as ascetics, yogis, etc. which takes its prestige to the folk strata.
All the prominent Hindu religions have manifested Tantra in one aspect or the other. This procedure originally originated several years ago during the period of Arian civilization and during the combining of several transitions which are already co-existing such as the Dravidian.
The legends narrate that when the inflaming period of going on, an admired man was born who was named ‘Sadashiva’. The meaning of his name says ‘the one who devoted his life towards the welfare of his fellows”. Sadashiva, also known as Shiva, was an excellent spiritual educator or Guru. He was the one credible for offering humanity in the form of a systematic presentation of an utter spiritual concept. As the legend continues, he is considered credible for laying the foundation of spiritual music and dance in India. This is the reason why he is also called ‘Nataraja’- the God of Cosmic Dance.
Furthermore, the actual founder of ancient Hindu medicine and also, the one who introduced knowledge and system in which field is nonetheless Shiva, which bears him the name ‘Vadyak Shastra’.
Shiva portrayed an immense character in the social area as well. He created the system of marriage- a system in which both the partners take equal responsibilities irrespective of community or caste. Shiva himself belonged a mixed family and via his marriage to an Arian princess, he aided a lot in bringing together the warring factions which prevailed in India during that period. Sri Shankar, the Hindu sage, who is an expert in research and studies on Tantrism regards Shiva as the actual father of human civilization.
Moreover, the most important contribution of Shiva is the development of a truly spiritual civilization which symbolizes the idea of Dharma. Dharma is a word of the Sanskrit language which means ‘innate characteristic’. What do we refer to as the innate characteristic of a being? Shiva explained that beings yearn and seek for happiness which has its genesis beyond the satiation of senses. This unquestionable goal of all beings, whether conscious of this or not, is to gain absolute freedom and peace, spiritual beatitude, and infinite knowledge.
Initially, the ideas of Shiva were transmitted verbally than in a written manner. His wife, Parvati used to question him on topics which arose from the spiritual practice taught by him.
The Tantras (writings, texts which render the tantric practice and philosophy) are the dialogues amidst his wife Parvati and Shiva- the dialogues in which Parvati questions on spiritual matter Shiva gave supreme answers.
The tantras are categorized into two classes-
1. The theoretic principles- Tantric conceptions and philosophy on different matters which are written in the form of writings called “Nigama’.
2. The practices via which the proposed motives may be achieved- the different techniques, methods, and procedures are found in the texts called as ‘Agama’.
Several of these antique manuscripts were lost for a noble purpose, others got damaged with time while the others are unreadable by common folks due to their coded texts which hides the tantric secrets from the reach of unknowledgeable. This is the major reason why the fundamentals and conceptions of Tantra have not been decoded yet.
Some of the parts of original teachings of Shiva were lost, other parts were preached, being manifested in distinct forms and ways in the local schools and traditions. Every Hindu believer follows his route, as per his inner aspirations while choosing one spiritual notion which involves the adoring one of the three Gods.
Thus, Yoga and Tantrism adore Shiva and are referred to as Shivaits, and the Spiritual notion is called Shiva. Others have given regards to the cult of Vishnu, called Vaishnava.
Nonetheless, we must carefully differentiate amidst different opposing spiritual currents and spiritual currents- which is not the case of Vaishnavism and Shaivism. Some western studies committed the mistake of sustaining the notion that there were competitors, antithesis, and quarreling amidst the two spiritual currents. The Western explorer must know that for the Hindu, Vishnu and Shiva stands for the two complementary forms of The Creator, Brahma. The first of these two gods, Vishnu, represents the conservative and animating principle which hold the creation in its whole while the latter, Shiva stands for the reiterating, destructive, and transforming principle of the infinite creation.
Unfortunately, in the current times, tantra is treated by the people as an unbreakable, tenebrous, and controversial mystery which owns to the multitude of misconceptions and misunderstandings which occurs in the minds of some of the well-known explorers of Tantra.
The Tantrics of the people who practice Tantra, and the Yogis or the people who practice Yoga are a part of the Shaivist current. The form of the Ultimate Reality in the aspect of the Transformer, the effervescent Creation and the renewer of an immortal vivacious suited best to their spiritual ardor and quest.
Shaivism shows Shiva as an endowment of Supreme Divinity and thus, considers Him as the Supreme Creator. His symbolic manifestation in which he performs the mystical dance of creation is a renowned theme rich in symbolism offering ideas about the synchrony of life of the entire creation, and its destruction.
The name Shiva stands for ‘the kind and the good’. Contradictally, he is also symbolized as the God of destruction. This does not imply that he is destroying beings, instead, he is the destroyer of corruption and ignorance in human nature. Therefore, he is a benevolent power as he quickly eliminates all the restraining ignorance while allowing humans to contemplate his might.
Tantra Nectar is a world-famous provider of Tantra workshops and retreats. Check our website https://tantranectar.com to know about our offerings and upcoming workshops.
