One Of The Most Significant Characteristics Of Tantra

With so many religions and the world getting smaller every day, intricacies of a religion can easily be lost and with the taboo of discussing religion and politics in public, often times, these religions only come up when they are under fire. This holds true for Islam more than any other. To the outsider, Muslim traditions can seem strange, such as the call to prayer, but to the billion practitioners worldwide, it’s an invitation to accept Allah as God and Muhammad as his messenger (Prayer). Other, mainly Eastern religions, lose some of their potency in translation to the West. Practices like yoga in the Western world are mainly seen as exercise and a way to unwind but to religious practitioners, yoga literally means “to yoke” life, divinity and reality. The contemplative nature of the practice is lost on the West (Philosophical Hinduism).

In the Hindu culture there is a variety of gods and ways of life, differing greatly from the Western monotheistic thought. Instead of just one god for all, there is a god for whomever this particular god appeals. However, the Hindu way of life is set inside a parameter of steps that eventually lead to a state liberation from Samsara, the cycle of life within karma. These steps relate to the age of the person and duties prescribed. These life station are Kama, Artha, Dharma and Moksha. Kama is the pursuit of pleasure, Artha is the pursuit of worldly success, Dharma is to seek righteousness and perform sacred duty and Moksha liberation from Samsara and the cycle of life. In each of these the ideas there is a “do what you want till your desire

Evidently, all of the religions in the world have different beliefs. Beliefs are the basis of one’s behaviour. Everything an individual does, traces back to the beliefs they have about the world. Hinduism and Buddhism are two religions that originated from the same nation, India. Both religions share beliefs on different paths to enlightenment, beliefs on reincarnation, and both believe in the spiritual practices of meditation. The purpose of this paper is to further discuss these beliefs, along with their similarities.

Hinduism is a religious practice devoted to the three paths and four human goals. The three paths include action, knowledge (the primary path of renouncers), and devotion (the primary path of renouncers). Dharma, artha, kama and moksha are the four human goals of Hinduism. Kama is associated with physical desire, such as sexual desire and other emotional attachments. Artha is the political and financial value associated with you and your family. Moksha or spiritual liberation is the goal of the sannyasi’s; this goal is to attain knowledge, similar to the path of knowledge aforementioned. The primary human goal of this particular discussion is dharma, the religion, and mortality of a person. There are significant tensions between householders and renouncers as to what is the proper way to practice Hinduism and the most appropriate way to go about doing so. With a world revolutionized by technology and an ever-changing society, it is hard to find an absolute way to preach theology; reality makes it difficult to isolate the perfect way to practice and meet the goals desired by families and individuals themselves.

Anatman is the idea of “no permanent soul” 3. A common misconception is that Anatman means people have no soul. In reality it describes the constant change of the soul during its time on earth. Buddhism holds that while there is no soul, the five elements that make up an individual orient themselves to form a new individual. With each cycle of rebirth, these aggregates, which include mind, consciousness, body, impulse, and feeling, will combine differently to form distinct individuals 4. While Buddhists believe in karma, a summation of positive and negative actions, they

Hinduism is an extremely old and methodical religion. The Hindu religion has been changed and contorted many times over its existence. Hinduism teaches about discovering one's true self, or Atman. Hinduism does not give specific directions, but gives guidelines that help an individual become enlightened. To be successful in achieving Atman it is not required to do any amazing physical feat, or to demonstrate untethered deviotion, but rather to look inward and be spiritually fulfilled. As it is shown in Easwaran's “A Dialogue with Death” as well as “Katha Upanishad” we can see that to attain true self one must look in ward to themselves.

This is quite distinct from nirvana which is a state that is acquired even as an individual lives. In the Hindu religion, achieving moksha removes one from the cycle of life and death which is the state of reincarnation as one moves from one life to the next. In essence, moksha is a state of unification of one’s soul with that of the creator, therefore achieving oneness of atman and Brahman. However, this unity is described in two different ways according in Hinduism; the first descriptions which is referred to as the adveitaVedanta is understood to mean that one’s own soul is part of the creator’s own soul. An example is given of a single leaf of grass which is part of a wide field of green field hence the small individual leaves on the field constitute part of the field which in this case would be god’s soul. This approach is also known as the non-dualism; hence the two souls exist as one.

The story, myth, and background of Kali can be interpreted in many different ways. There are three strands of yoga that have developed over the past centuries. The tree strands are Classical Yoga, Advaita Vedanta, and Tantra Yoga. Classical Yoga is a dualistic model in which purusha and prakriti are completely separate. Everything has an equal and opposite counter-part in this strand of yoga. Advaita Vedanta Yoga was a response to dualistic, Classical Yoga. This strand of yoga is monistic and is a view that affirms the unity of all things. Everything is one. The divine consciousness is everywhere and in everything we see. Tantra Yoga is non-dualistic while also realizing and accepting that there is diversity in the world. Each of these strands of yoga looks at Kali’s story differently and its significance is different in each view.

The mysterious mixture of god within god and the way to follow to attain the highest devine is quite phenomenal. The several dimension of Brahman, the supreme god and its manifestation owe the imagination. The complexity of the whole system intertwine gods and nature, rituals and belief to explain what is many in one, the way to get to him and the steps to take to attain the goal. Through the sacred philosophical texts of The Upanishads and The Bhagavad Gita, the following paragraph will develop the dimensions of the hindu spiritual

The ancient traditions of Buddhism and Hinduism go far back in history and are both very revered and followed even up to today. They are similar in many ways but also very different in their worldviews and theology. The world is full of suffering and both Hinduism and Buddhism discuss ways to end that suffering through enlightenment. Buddhists believe in a place called nirvana, where suffering does not exist, and Hindus follow a path to reach liberation, or moksa. They both are a way to escape the suffering found in this world. This paper will discuss both these traditions and their history in detail and will also look at the ways both of these religions reach liberation from the endless cycle of suffering.

In the Buddhist religion, there is a concept called tathagatagarbha. The tathagatagarbha is the womb and/or embryo of the Tathagata . The tathagata has wisdom, vision and body. The tathagata’s tathagatagarbha is eternally unsullied and has virtues similar to the Buddha itself, which is important to note as it has an important purpose. The tathagatagarbha is man’s eternal and true nature, which ultimately means every person can obtain Buddha-hood. A person seeking tathagatagarbha is seeking it on a soteriological manner versus a theoretical one . This means that it must be sought purposefully by the person seeking it.

Anatta means "no self" and that there is no ultimate reality or permanent self. It contradicts the Hindu concept of Atman, which says that an essence underlies existence.

The TANTRA seeks to weave it into every detail of life, give a different meaning to each of man’s activities by making all of them means of effectuation and expression of the inner yoga of progression from the human into the divine” – Kularnava TANTRA Chapter

Tantric Buddhism reevaluates the body, based on the early Buddhist insight that nirvana is realized through bodily practice. The Guhyasamaja Tantra advocates sexual yoga, including pleasure as the path to Buddhahood (enjoying desires without attachment requires a far more rigorous discipline than simple abstinence). Sexual yoga is mostly practiced in the first Tibetan Buddhist school, the Nyingma, founded by Padmasambhava in the 8th century. Only partners who have years of physical training may practice sexual yoga. The seminal fluid, symbolizing the bodhicitta, is retained and visualized as ascending through an energy channel

Life can be stressful with no end in sight. To some that can put them over the edge and need an out for all of their frustrations. An abundant of options are out there in today’s culture. One of those options is Transcendental Meditation. This technique involves one to become fully immersed in the spiritual world. It takes People out of the physical realm and allows them to “spirit walk.” Many may see this meditation as a solution to the stress and problems in their lives. The hard truth is that this New Age religion is insufficient for one looking for redemption and freedom.