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DEVOTION - its Purpose and Power in Tantra and Yoga

1/31/2017

1 Comment

 
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One fundamental aspect of Tantra and of Yoga that I see often being discarded, diluted or approached with little understanding in the neo-tantric and gym-yoga versions is Devotion - devotion to the Divine.

There is a tendency either for westernised Tantra and Yoga to focus on cultivating more personal independence... which sounds like a good thing, right?

This personal independence is sought either by trying to be more 'sophisticated' and doing away with worship of the divine, saying it is only a symbol for the inner Self, or we go to go to the opposite extreme and become relatively sentimentalist when it comes to devotion, both in relation to the 'deities' of the tradition and also towards the guru.

We can see this sentimentalism also affecting the use of sacred sound in tantra, in the way traditional mantras, slokas, stotras are now being turned into pretty melodies, instead of sung in the traditional metre, a rhythm that influences the life currents and that was considered so essential in traditional teachings..


In Tantra, and in Yoga, Devotion to the chosen form of the Divine (the Ishtadevata), and to the Guru, is not just wishy-washy sentimentalism, it is a science of opening the heart, staying in the flow of Grace, and ultimately of embodying Divine Power and Divine Intelligence. 

Devotion, regardless of how literally we believe in the chosen 'deity', is a practice that prepares us for the ultimate surrender, the surrender of all attachments and identifications, that allows us to wake up to our true Liberated condition, a flow of Unconditioned Beingness - that has been described in some traditions as 'Sahaja Samadhi'.

Unfortunately, seeking wholeness through personal independence is fighting a losing battle. 
It is an approach that will tend to pamper the ego-centric feeling of being a separate self. 
​

Wholeness requires not only empowerment but also a dissolution of the familiar sense of self.

That wholeness - that we could also call being 'Free' or 'Liberated' (because until we feel whole we will be constantly seeking fulfilment) - requires a balance between absolute humility together with receptivity to Grace, and absolute Power/'Siddhi'.


It is a seemingly impossible balancing act, that only total renunciation of the self can accomplish.


- Peter Littlejohn Cook
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1 Comment
kavita
8/23/2019 03:16:52 pm

Devotion in an intense state brings a physical guru who controls rather locks cognitive skills reasoning and vital being the life forces and the devotee is made to have sex and lie nude during such meetings where they pierce with their nails across the entire back and is made to eat 5 fruits before sex...
Many will commit suicide unable to cope or surrender during the process! Few who escape have to fight the endless battle for the rape!
Wish people highlight devotion is enjoyed by the Male Gurus while it's a torture for walking the path of devotion.
This is hidden secret and hence the scandals surface wherein someone dares to complain!

Else it is told it's not the physical guru but the shakti!

I wonder why these Gurus r so obsessed with sex with devotees

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  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • ABOUT GRACE
    • IS TANTRA ABOUT SEX?
    • WHAT IS THE PURPOSE?
    • WHAT IS TANTRA, REALLY?
    • ABOUT ANCIENT TANTRA
    • ABOUT TANTRIC YOGA
    • PETER'S MISSION
    • ABOUT PETER + HIS TEACHERS
    • ABOUT YOU
  • TRAINING
  • TESTIMONIALS
  • CONTACT
  • RESOURCES
    • free meditation
    • free resources for therapists, teachers, and coaches