Ra-Hoor-Khuit Network's
Magickal Library
Yoga
Ecstasy to Enlightenment
by Keith Hall & Bodhi Avinasha
What is it with Americans and sex? We appear to crave it, are fascinated by it
and simultaneously fear it with every fiber of our being. We use it in
advertising to sell everything from automobiles to zucchini, yet often prohibit
our children from learning about it, our teachers from teaching it, and
ourselves from discussing it publicly in any truly meaningful way. Movies with
extremely graphic violence and gore receive an R rating; depictions of erotic
play between mature consenting adults often receive an X. Yet the fascination
remains. What issue of Cosmopolitan doesn't promise new ways to attract and keep
your lover, to have bigger and better orgasms, to cook, clean, and dress for
sexual success? What neighborhood bar isn't rife with the boys alternately
telling ribald jokes and creating a swaggering sexual mythos about themselves?
Our fascination and fear stem from the fact that the energy of eroticism is the
most powerful primal force within ourselves. The Ancients of all cultures
revered and worshipped this force particularly in the form of the Goddess.
Lilith, Astarte, Parvati, Isis, Hecate, Venus, Kerridwin, Freya, Ixchel, Tara,
the Virgin Mary - all are Goddesses revered in antiquity for bringing forth
life, divinity, and wisdom through the mystical power of sexuality.
Historically, Tantra arose from the worship of these Goddesses and woman's
innate link with the energies of creation. As Tantra evolved in India, Tibet,
Egypt, and China, adepts of yoga and meditation tapped into increasingly
powerful and efficient techniques for safely accessing the cosmic forces
inherent in sexual energy. What had begun as awe and mystery became a science.
Schools arose to instruct initiates in precise methods to awaken this primal
life-force and master it's use for healing, ecstasy, and enlightenment. Later,
as war and other forms of technological manipulation increasingly arose in
civilization, patriarchal societies developed and Man's awe of Woman's fertility
and cosmic sexual capacity turned to fear. Out of the desire to dominate rose
the need to subjugate and control that which they could not understand - Woman's
overwhelming power to create the Universe as Goddess, her tremendous and
mysterious connection to " the starry dynamo in the machinery of
night".
As this Age of Darkness descended on the world, persecution of those who
possessed the secret of the erotic/divine connection soon followed, and
continues to this day. From the 13th century Moslem invasion of Tantric temples
that resulted in the wholesale slaughter of Tantrikas and destruction of
manuscripts, to the burning of the books of Wilhelm Reich in 1957 New York, our
left-brained patriarchal paranoia has until recently succeeded in suppressing
this knowledge. The resultant war between our higher selves and society's
prejudices in this regard has led to our psyches being badly fragmented and the
entire planet's survival threatened.
Fortunately, the ancient prophecy that the full knowledge of the Tantric path
would once again surface in the time of our most urgent planet-wide need seems
to be unfolding. Interest in Tantra is growing exponentially and many forms of
this age-old wisdom are being taught all over the world as the Yogic masters
agree that Western culture is now mature enough to understand and integrate this
esoteric practice. As a spiritual path for attaining union with God, Tantra
accepts the body, senses, sexuality, and emotions to help us evolve spiritually.
Tantra does not force us to make a choice between being spiritual or sexual and
encourages us to fully enjoy the world we live in as a way to discover our
higher nature. As we begin to realize our own Divinity, we can see the Divine in
our beloved, in all people, in all of life.
Paramahansa Yogananda, in Autobiography of a Yogi, relates accounts of the
Mahavatar Babaji and his disciples. Recently revealed in its entirety, Babaji's
Tantric Kriya Yoga is probably one of the most advanced and powerful spiritual
discipline available on the planet. The central practice of this rich tradition
is the Cosmic Cobra Breath. As it prepares the body for the conscious movement
of Kundalini (Life-force), this ancient breath technique was long held secret
because of its great power. Ipsalu Tantra is the most accessible form of Tantric
Kriya Yoga that is taught in this country. In this lineage, the focus is on
Self-Realization, attention to emotional clearing, in addition to techniques for
safely activating Kundalini. Methods are taught to amplify and transmute sexual
energy, to learn true intimacy, to balance our male and female polarities,
rejuvenate the body, clear old patterns, and live in the present moment while
being profound, yet playful.
Our sexual relationships can become fuller vehicles for intimacy,
self-knowledge, and spiritual evolution. As you make love, look deeply into the
eyes of your beloved. Feel the electric heat of your union rippling upward with
your breath, transforming into Divine Ecstasy as you gaze upon the face of God.
Practicing sacred sexuality primes the mind and body to accept and amplify the
creative life-force and ecstasy that is slumbering within us.
Stanislav Grof, in Beyond the Brain, speaks of this Tantric ecstasy as being
"characterized by extreme peace, tranquillity, serenity, and radiant joy.
The individual involved...experiences a blissful, tension-free state, a loss of
ego boundaries and an absolute sense of oneness with nature, with the cosmic
order, and with God. A deep intuitive understanding of existence and a flood of
various specific insights of cosmic relevance are characteristic for this
condition." In Tantra, we know that this ecstasy derives from Love, and
Love is sex energy transformed. To know the elemental truth of love, we must
first accept the divinity of sex and learn to worship through the senses. Total
acceptance and surrender to natural energies leads to the most sublime
experience.
"The Universe does not have laws. It has habits. And habits can be
broken."
- Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume
Dance. Sing. Breathe. Laugh. Experience pleasure. Above all else, Love. These
are the keys to unlock the gates to the Kingdom of God. Our dysfunctional habits
have prevented us from experiencing life and our own ecstasy in its manifold
fullness, deadening us so we live a pale shadow of the Life that has been
offered to us. Eventually, a time will come when we grow weary of the gray,
robotic lives we lead. That time is the Eternal "Now", the keys are in
our hands and hearts.
This page last updated: 02/27/2018