Tantra Illuminated: The Philosophy, History, and Practice of a Timeless Tradition

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Excellent, possibly best spiritual book I've ever read. I have many takeaways, most prominent are that all desire is ultimately a desire for the divine, which explains why attempting to satisfy it with material things is ultimately unsatisfactory. On this path there is no such thing as negative emotions, emotions I don’t like or I shouldn’t be having. Cast away the notion that this state of mind is better and you should be feeling this or that. We accept what is we work with what comes. All emotions are energy and all energy can empower you. A spiritual movement originating in Northern India that reached its peek in 9th to 12 centuries primarily characterized by: This is a highly detailed and incredibly well researched history and explanation of Shiva Tantra, an ancient religion of India which informed Buddhism and many other Eastern philosophies. I found the book completely engaging and really interesting and was charmed by the author's narration and his chanting of the Tantric verses. Another good one was that when making a positive version of a negative statement have to integrate the divine to make it more powerful.

Limites power of knowledge. Vydia. When we believe we know what life is like but in fact we are seeing a tiny slice. All desire boils down to the fundamental desire for the fullness of being; in other words, all longing is longing for God.""The intensity of this desire has the power to shatter the confines of the constructed self, for it is not satisfied until it is connected to everything. In this way, desire does become a vehicle for your liberation. You discover that what the mind really wants is to stop wanting. And that will never happen until you realize and experience the whole of what you are"

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Spiritual practice is most successful when you enjoy it for its own sake, experiencing it as a celebration of the Divine you nature rather than as a means to an end." In my opinion I find Christopher Wallis is too conservative in his defence of Nondual Śaiva lineages in the west as legitimate, and of the guru worship as an ultimate truth in Śaiva Tantra. He also uses the scriptures to promote a solipsistic worldview. It's propably a symptom of the original texts themselves. That "everything is in the mind" and "everything is consciousness". I think these claims must be critiqued and not just taken literally, very similar claims are made by Sam Harris in his propounding of Mindfulness. Wallis when he remarks on the supremacy of the guru has no proof outside of the religious scriptures, and anecdotal evidence of "irresponsible" students going to gurus and having bad experiences. Unfortunately, Wallis in his conservative defence of the Western Śaivism religion has placed the blame on irresponsible students as opposed to the recruitment tactics of cult members and the abuse of power by charismatic gurus. Do not take his spiritual advice or guidance seriously. Intro to Mantra Science: Explore what a mantra really is. Learn about different kinds of mantras, how they work and how you can utilize them. Includes an introduction to the 50 phonemes of the Sanskrit language and how to pronounce and write them (which is also a basic requirement if ever you intend to study Sanskrit in any form). I highlighted so much of this book it's difficult to narrow it down to a few quotes, but if these resonate with you I'd recommend giving Tantra Illuminated a read: Tantra stresses sensual meditations - meditative savoring of food and music, as well as slowed down and ritualized acts of refined awareness like the Japanese tea ceremony - that allow us to cultivate our ability to let the senses meet their objects fully. In nondual Śaiva Tantra, this is called 'feeding the goddesses of the senses'. When fed properly, the 'goddesses' reward you by suffusing your awareness with aesthetic rapture ( chanakara), increasing your capacity to experience beauty. The whole world becomes more vivid and real, more radiantly lovely, more full of life-energy..."

Ultimately, when the ego expands infinitely, you experience all things in yourself and yourself in all things. There are no more boundaries to selfhood. You have acquired an all-encompassing 'I'. When you experience all beings as part of yourself, you naturally act with compassion and wisdom." layer - vastu? - stuff around you, like you car or possessions, suffering comes by attaching yourself to this stuff. I found this book deeply satisfying on a personal level, because I have explored quite a bit of spiritual/metaphysical territory, and NŚT mirrors my own personal conclusions almost exactly. What a strange relief to be reminded I'm not alone in my view of the world, and so eloquently. This fullness of being is not accomplished by a quantitative accumulation of good experiences, it is your natural state. It is a esses by finding the primal root of your desire far deeper than any particular wanting and letting it explode with the realization that ultimately you simply desire to be the whole of what you are. Another is that we all go through cycles of expansion and contraction, where we can expand our self definition loving more of creation or contract refine and limit our scope of entaglement.

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But the ego is essentially a fiction, because all that really exists is the flux of phenomena in each present moment." Heart mind-Chita?: thoughts and feelings. “I am smart, I am stupid, happy or sad”. When we identify only with our mind excluding the other dimensions, we suffer, for the kind changes even more rapidly than the body. Realize the mind is one of many sources of input, taken note of it as a part of its whole being. For people who want to understand cult indoctrination, which is real by the way (contrary to how guru worship proponents tell you what to believe) please read Michelle Haslam's PDF on the Kadampa Buddhist religion. Literally the most important book in existence right now, period. Why? Because it is an introduction (and way way way beyond that) to the most profound, complete, and relevant way of Knowing, Doing and Being there is, period. That is, from my unique perspective, and so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so So so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so many other unique perspectives. For many or most of these, including myself, this book has been literally THE most life-changing book. Grace has been falling through like a waterfall since I first read it last year. It is possibly even better/more helpful (long-term) than a psychedelic break-through experience. I can't express my infinite gratitude to Christopher Wallis (Hareesh) for doing this sacred work. And I can't even provide a summary of this book. That would be like trying to summarize the universe in all its aspects and levels. Hinduism is recent, is a grouping made by Europeans of different religions of that area. It is now seen as all religions that regard the Vedas as the spiritual authority.

Also good to know was that originally the only sex related to tantra had to do with a small aspect about overcoming aversion so could more easily have forgiveness and compassion for all beings. The 7 Facets of the Tantrik Path Overview Webinar Series: An introduction to the seven main facets of the Tantrik Path as presented on this learning platform. Includes introductions to the View, Awareness Cultivation, Energy Body, Living in the World, Deity Yoga, Mantra Science and Yogic Lifestyle. Pure mantra wisdom. Shuda vidya. Not intellectual knowledge but various phases of shiva shakti self awareness expressed in the form of the 70million mantras. Mantras are conscious beings, analogous to angels in western traditions. The two different experiences of the Divine represented by Śiva and Śakti are the enstatic, in which we turn within, surrender everything, and reach the quiescent and transcendent ground of our being; and the ecstatic, in which we express our divine nature in creative, dynamic, outward-going and embodied ways. Both modes are necessary to fully know the Divine, and a harmonious balance of both is the only true spiritual liberation."The benevolent one. Shiva. Not the name of a god, rather the peaceful quiescent ground of all reality. The infinite silence of transcendent divinity. While shakti is extroversive,manifest, omniform and dynamic, shiva is introversive, transcendent, unmanifest, formless and still.

Budhi is not localized in the brain but extends trough the body so sanskaras of different kinds are distributed throughout the body and can be released by physical as well as mental practices of yoga. Without the practice of yoga, the gut instinct in we place so much trust my in fact be based in fear and lead us astray. Christopher (Hareesh) Wallis has written THE definitive, modern day work on classical non-dual Saiva Tantra (NST). This book is simply masterful. The author manages to write with a scholarly breadth, but in an easily accessible and engaging style. Many books on Tantra fall into two unfortunate categories. Either they are written in a dense, academic prose that does not lend itself well to the non-scholar, or else they are purporting the bastardized version of "Neo-Tantra" with its overt and almost exclusive emphasis on sexuality. The author manages to avoid both of these pitfalls and the result is an easily readable and enjoyable ride that delivers accurate, scholarly, and practical information on one of the most profound religious philosophies ever developed. Eminent=Shakti; perceivable trough the senses and the mind, personified as female devinity. The entire manifested universe is the Godess and therefore aught to be revered as such. Hareesh teaches classical Tantric philosophy and Tantric practices, meditation, Sanskrit, and mantra-science to an engaged online community of practitioners. He is the Founder of tantrailluminated.org, an online learning portal where all his courses and teachings are available. He also offers workshops, retreats and classes in person in Portugal and around the world. This is the key teaching that shortens the duration of the process more than other single teaching.Shiva is the ground of being that which gives reality its coherence. In the essence of the Tantras, shiva is described as the coherence and unification of all the various shaktis, shaktiman, the one who olds the powers or olds space for their unfolding. Special types of meditation that aim to transform the individual to an embodiement of the divine after a short span of time A karmic action is a morally charged action motivated by a desire to attain or avoid a particular result. When we learn to perform actions as service or sacrifice, investing in the process but letting go of our attachment to the final outcome, those actions have no karmic charge and therefore do not bind us, whatever the result may be." What makes a practice indisputably tantric is that it envolves diades and their mantras that are revealed in explicitly tantric scriptures. Subsequently, he engaged in fourteen years of formal education in Sanskrit, South Asian Studies, and classical Indian religions.