The Art of Tantra And The Seven Chakras

In the ancient tantric scriptures, the word ‘chakra’ signifies a conscious spinning-energy wheel. A tantra teacher will reveal that there are seven such spinning-energy nerve centers located along the spinal column, and that every chakra corresponds to a specific area of our body. Further, each chakra represents a specific set of behavioral characteristics associated with that specific area of our body, and the various phases of our spiritual growth through them.

When you practice authentic tantra under the guidance of an experienced tantra master, you will learn to correctly focus your energies with specific positions/postures. This will help you to align the chakras, and to induce them to spin in their proper direction and velocity. Learning how to energize, focus and control the chakras through tantra meditation will help establish physical equilibrium and peace of mind, body and spirit.

The chakras are essential components of tantra courses. It is essential to understand the seven chakras and how each  of them relates to a distinct part of our body along the spinal column, from the perineum to the crown of the head. All seven chakras pertain to a particular set of organs, distinct colors and sounds, specific emotions and/or behavior, and also control certain other personal aspects – including personal identity, goals and attitudes.

The seven chakras are:

•    Muladhara – located at the base of the spine
•    Svadhisthana – located around the abdomen, genital organs, lower back
•    Manipura- located at the solar plexus
•    Anahata – located in the heart area
•    Vishuddha – located in the throat region
•    Ajna or Agyna – located in the eyebrows region
•    Sahasrara – located at the top of head and the cerebral cortex

When your tantra teacher guides you through certain tantra positions and yoga postures, you will be able to focus your conscious awareness and prana shakti (energy) on the chakras. This will allow you to correct specific areas of your body that are out of sync with or inactive in correlation to your body.

By balancing the prana shakti among all seven chakras, complete emotional, physical and mental balance is attained. This spiritual energy (or shakti) attained is better known as Kundalini shakti. In its sleeping state, it is pictured as a coiled-up serpent resting at the base of your spinal column, around the Muladhara chakra.

Because the chakras behave like valves influencing the flow of energy, the postures and techniques your tantra master teaches you are extremely beneficial in realigning the chakras to bring about complete harmony of mind and body.

Do not attempt any Tantra techniques without the close guidance and supervision of an experienced Tantra teacher if you wish to derive optimum benefits. Without proper guidance and supervision, most Tantra exercises can cause physical and emotional harm as they influence our mind, body and soul simultaneously.

Copyright (C) Subhojit Dasgupta.

Subhojit Dasgupta is a Tantra teacher and offers Tantra lessons to select pupils.

Kundalini Tantra and Kundalini Shakti

In my role as a tantra instructor, I have spoken extensively of kundalini tantra to those I instruct in this ancient tantric art. Kundalini tantra, which gives rise to Kundalini shakti, is the superpower that lies inactive within the uninstructed in the form of a coiled-serpent.

Specifically, the power of kundalini tantra dwells in the Muladhara Chakra, which is the first of the seven chakras. (The other six are Svadhishthana, Manipura, Anahata, Visuddha, Ajna and Sahasrara, in order of magnitude of higher consciousness.)

Together with the Vedas, the Agama Shastras are the origins of the ancient tantric arts, and they offer elaborate descriptions of tantric life. One must familiarize oneself with these to gain a proper comprehension of kundalini tantra.

The original Agama shastras/sastras are twenty-eight in number, and are acknowledged as Saiva Agamas. Their primary focus is on building a relationship with (and finally realizing) the superior devotee Shiva, or Siva. There are some other names such as Vira signifying Hero, Siddha implying Perfected and Swayambhuva implying naturally revealed.

The Agamas have four parts known as padas or lessons. The first two padas address Chariya (or good demeanor) and Kriya (or external worship of Goddesses) and includes all details of personal life, home planning, city planning, personal worship in temples, the architectural designs for temples and sculpture in addition to the elaborateness of temple puja.

The final two padas – Yoga (or internalized worship and union) and Jnana (or enlightened wisdom) give elaborate descriptions of the techniques and phases of kundalini tantra yoga, and the super high consciousness experienced while Tantric Samadhi is attained. In the actual shastras, the padas are sequential with Jnana first, Yoga second, and then Kriya and Chariya.

The Agamas comprise tens of thousands of verses, so much more prolific than the Vedas. Especially the Yoga and Jnana Padas are indeed advanced and omnipotent. Any student should strive to peruse and understand them. They can be complicated, so be sure to avail of the guidance of an accomplished tantra master.

Do not attempt any Tantra techniques without the close guidance and supervision of an experienced Tantra teacher if you wish to derive optimum benefits. Without proper guidance and supervision, most Tantra exercises can cause physical and emotional harm as they influence our mind, body and soul simultaneously.

Copyright (C) Subhojit Dasgupta.

Subhojit Dasgupta is a Tantra teacher and offers Tantra lessons to select pupils.

Three Hindu Tantra Positions

This article describes a number of Hindu tantra positions, including the Tantra Cobra Position, Tantra Stretch Position and Tantra Extreme Stretch Position.

Tantra Cobra Position:

1) To begin this tantra technique, lie down in a prostrate position, keeping your legs tightly together and stretched to the rear.

2) Position your hands under your shoulders, palms facing down.

3) Inhale and raise your head, stretching your neck to the rear and using your hands to stretch your trunk upwards until you form a graceful arc from the lower back to the back of your neck. Do not proceed beyond this if you experience strain; however, if you have the flexibility, straighten out your arms altogether, bending the legs at the knees and dropping your head back to touch your feet. If your head does not reach feet, drop it back as far as you can and maintain the position with deep breathing.

4) Emerge from this tantra posture gradually, returning to the prostrate posture.

5) Relax with your head to one side, then repeat the exercise.

Tantra Stretch Position:

1) Lie down prostrate on your exercise mat. Ensure that the mat is properly cushioned if you are very lean.

3) Inhale deeply, bending your knees upward. Stretch your arms to the rear and grab your ankles, keeping fingers and thumbs together.

4) Breathe in and simultaneously raise your head and chest, pulling in at your ankles and lifting your knees and thighs. Breathe normally and try to lift your legs higher upwards, simultaneously lifting your head as if to meet them. You will wind up in a bent bow position, focusing the weight of your body on your belly. You can stop at this stage if you cannot proceed further, but can also stretch further and slide your hands down your legs, lifting them higher. Keep the knees together and pull back as much as you can.

5) Maintain this tantra posture for the duration of a couple of deep breaths, then return to the prostrate position with head to one side.

Tantra Extreme Stretch Position:

1) Sit down with both legs stretched out in front, keeping your back straight.

2) Reach forward with both hands and hold your feet, grabbing the right foot with the left hand and the left foot with the right hand.

3) Breathe in, bending the left knee and drawing your foot across your body and around your chest, maneuvering the elbow up and twisting your body slightly to the right. The left hand continues to firmly hold the right foot. Maintain this tantra position with normal breathing, the release it slowly and relax

4) Repeat the posture. Initially, it is adequate to clasp the bent left leg with the right hand. When this is comfortably achieved, stretch down and clasp the left foot with the right hand. Continue pulling the left foot, lifting it higher as you breathe out in sequence.

Do not attempt these Tantra techniques without the close guidance and supervision of an experienced Tantra teacher if you wish to derive the optimum benefits. Without proper guidance and supervision, many Tantra exercises can cause harm.

Copyright (C) Subhojit Dasgupta.

Subhojit Dasgupta is a Tantra teacher and offers Tantra lessons to select pupils.

Bhairav Tantra And The Tantric Wisdom Sutras

Bhairav Tantra encompasses several facets of our life. It prescribes a systematic conduct for structuring our learning of Tantra techniques, and on achieving reunion with Supreme Consciousness. In instructing you on Bhairav Tantra, your Tantra teacher aims to help you realize your true Self by focusing your attention to any physical or non-physical object. You will then meditate on this object to the exclusion of everything else.

The art of Tantra is not just about a bunch of postures or meditative techniques; ancient Tantra is, in fact, a way of sadhana or self-realization. Bhairav Tantra addresses the eight steps to awakening or Nirvana, as authoritatively declared by Rishi Patanjali. The eight astangas or subdivisions of awakening our inner consciousness through Tantra practices are yamas, niyamas, asanas, pranayamas, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi.

The Tantric yamas teach us conscientious and interpersonal behavior. While instructing you in these, your Tantra teacher will direct you to avoid untruthfulness, thieving and avarice. Ahimsa (or non-violence and kindness towards all living beings) is the first step towards self-realization. Communicating what is right and moderation in all the Tantra sadhanas is revered and sublime.

The Tantric niyamas teach us what inner values we should have towards ourselves: flexibility, cleanliness, peacefulness, devotedness and austerity. They teach us to always abide by discipline and accept the Supreme Intelligence that exists beyond ourselves, and to accept our limitations in relation to this Supreme Intelligence (or God).

In the Tantric asanas, the Tantra master has us focus on Tantra posture practice session, aligning the body and integrating tantric breath to attain higher consciousness of mind, body and soul. The mind needs to be conscious and at ease, without stress, and must be able to observe the responses of the body and breath to varied Tantra positions. These minimise the dietary and climatic influences on the body.

Pranayama in Tantra is highly advanced in its restraint and control of the tantric breath, dynamically stimulating and balancing our mind and body.

Pratyahara through Tantra is the relaxation of our sensory faculties so that nothing can disturb or unfocus the mind.

Tantra Dharana is the power to channel the mind towards a preferred objective and center in on that exclusively.

Tantra Dhyana (or meditation) is the power to evolve concentrated interactions on what we attempt to realize in Tantra.

Finally, Tantric Samadhi constitutes the supreme state of Self-realization in Tantra.

Copyright (C) Subhojit Dasgupta.

Subhojit Dasgupta is a Tantra teacher and offers Tantra lessons to select pupils.

The Story Of Christ In Tantric Scriptures

The world has known many saints and prophets and as the central figure of Christianity, Jesus Christ is one of the most popular personalities. Who doesn’t know the story of his birth, persecution, death and subsequent resurrection? However, there is a relationship to ancient Tantra to his story, as well. Do you wonder at this? Read on…

From the age of 13 to 29 years, Jesus’ life is mostly unaccounted for by Christian history. There are, in fact, elements of a resurrection or ‘rebirth’ even to this part of his life. Allow a Tantra teacher to explain the message of this obscure fact to you.

The scriptures of Tantra list Jesus as one of the 84000 avatars of the Almighty. An avatar, in Sanskrit, means a divine being sent down to pursue a certain spiritual mission.

Jesus Christ, in fact, belonged to this hierarchy of saints and prophets, sent down by the Almighty to chalk out a specific path of spirituality for the people of the pre-Biblical period ruled by King Herod. He had to chalk this path out from the vast eternal knowledge, also known as the ‘Sanatana Dharma’ in the Tantric Scriptures.

The three wise kings of Bethlehem, or the Magi, knew of his coming, and followed the bright star to the stable where the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus. The scriptures of Tantra, however, have a different take on their journey; they tell us that it was the full moon that led the three wise kings to their destination.

According to Tantra, a divine being or a messenger of God always chooses to ‘descend’ on earth at the time of a full moon – an auspicious time for all divine beginnings. Thus the full moon is always a signal to those who know how to read the signs, like the Magi.

Christ’s spiritual awakening began during his childhood, when his purpose on earth dawned on him. He had visions of a land awaiting him … a land that held the promise of vast eternal knowledge or ‘sanatana dharma’ for him. These led him on a long and arduous journey that ended in the land of ‘sanatana dharma’ or India – the birthplace and stronghold of ancient Tantra.

For sixteen years, he lived and studied in India under the tutelage of various teachers who were ready and waiting for him, just as his visions had foretold. It was from them that he learnt all the streams of philosophy and wisdom that would be required for the success of his earthly mission.

Of everything that he learnt, there were a few things that are particularly noteworthy. He learnt a sacred Tantra kriya that enabled him to project his life-force or ‘prana’ onto an inanimate object, an ancient tantra skill that he utilized at his crucifixion to eliminate all consciousness of bodily pain even as his soul lived on. This Tantra kriya is called ‘Kaya Pravesham’ or Projection of Life-Energy onto an Object.

After crucifixion, when his body was left in a cave and found to have disappeared on the third day, even his persecutors had to admit that he was no ordinary being. His resurrection, in fact, is further proof that he had mastered this tantra kriya completely.

The Vedas talk about him as Ishu which became, by popular spelling, Jishu and subsequently Jesus to the world. ‘Ish’ means the Almighty; add ‘u’ to that and the word immediately signifies one who is a part of Him.

It is a known fact among Tantra masters that Jesus Christ spent a large portion of his life in India -at a divine place called Jagannatha Dhama, meaning The House of God. It is God Almighty’s abode on Earth, according to the Vedic scriptures. Jesus, too, believed it to be the earthly abode of his Father in Heaven. This was the very place that taught him the intricacies of Hinduism and all the allied branches of religious and spiritual wisdom.

Interestingly, during this period, he also visited another divine place called Banaras (Varanasi) for advanced learning of some aspects of philosophy and spiritual logic. During that period not a soul – not his father nor his mother – knew where he was… a prerequisite for all saints-in-the-making so that spiritual missions are not disrupted.

Tantra scriptures give an account of Christ’s journey to India and his studies there. Jesus Christ came to India and was instructed to preach Christianity derived from the Eternal Truth or ‘Sanatana Dharma’ from which all religions evolve.

Christianity is what the people of that time period needed, for they belonged to a certain category of spiritual consciousness. They needed something to give them respite from King Herod’s dictatorial reign. Christian spirituality restored their faith in the Divine and helped them fight the repressive and destructive forces of King Herod.

Yet, all that we know of Christ has come to us from the Church. This particular phase of his life (from the age of 13 to 29 years) may be unaccounted for by Christian institutions, but the scriptures of Tantra provide us with richly detailed accounts of it. The earthly lives of the Messengers of God hold many a wondrous secret and a treasure trove of wisdom, but to understand them one must go to the right people.

One must refrain from relying on a few authors who may never have had access to the original Tantra scriptures; most have isolated their personal research from the base source. One must go to the few who have made good use of their access to the original scriptures.

In recounting this, my only aim as a Tantra teacher has been to clear the state of confusion that surrounds a portion of Christ’s life in the present generation, and to preserve it for those to come…

Copyright (C) Subhojit Dasgupta.

Subhojit Dasgupta is a Tantra teacher and offers Tantra lessons to select pupils.

A Tantra Goddess Called Rani Laxmibai

Most would not attribute any elements of ancient Tantra to Rani Laxmibai – the Queen of Jhansi – who brandished her sword during India’s First War of Independence. However, an experienced Tantra master cannot fail to see a Tantra Goddess behind the warrior.

At a time when women seldom found a place at the forefront of politics, this unmistakeable spiritual goddess gave her heart, body and soul to her country. This divine aspect is a side of her that history has overlooked. A Tantra teacher will not fail to note that the Queen of Jhansi was a woman of immense sensual power… a power that she channelled into warfare.

History may have overlooked her great beauty, her cascading hair that fell to her thighs – hair that was kept at bay as she took the male mantle of a ruler upon her shoulders. However, an exponent of Hindu Tantra will recognize and bow before the Tantra energy of this woman.

She is the woman who proves that feminism then was not the same concept as we know it today. At that time, this Tantric avatar of a woman did not charge in battle to prove anything to anyone about her abilities as a woman. She did what she, a woman of great responsibility and innate Tantric power, knew she had to do – fight for her people. This is true power … the power that does not need to be shown, but shines through of its own accord. It is the very essence of ancient Tantra in powerful, fluid and dynamic motion.

Yes, Rani Laxmibai was a true Tantra Goddess, fuelled by largely unfulfilled desires that she translated into a flawless act of Tantra love onto the battlefield. She had only just been married when her husband passed away, leaving her unloved and childless.

According to Tantra philosophy, a virgin is to be worshipped – and not without good reason. A woman can best utilize her power if her sensual divine is left untapped. A virgin girl who has never had relief from her erotic desires has the power to transform those desires into whatever she wants. For Rani Laxmibai, her untapped erotic power turned into zeal to protect her kingdom and country.

When left without any semblance of a family life, Rani Laxmibai turned to those considerations that could keep her life together – her kingdom and her people. It would not be completely accurate to say that her life at that time was devoid of any intimate relations, but fulfilment was elusive. Her maternal core adopted her people and ruled them with love and care.

In Tantra philosophy, it is understood that a woman is a passive-active force, while a man is active-passive force, and so they balance out very well. The degrees of intensity vary from woman to woman – but for Rani Laxmibai, it was high … and that is this intensity she displayed on the battlefield.

Tantra philosophy shows how sensual energy – the strongest manifesting energy we have – can create a Tantra Goddess out of any woman and bring a man in touch with his creative feminine side. If you need an example of true Tantra manifestation – the epitome of a sensual Goddess coming into her own with her power – look no further than the Rani of Jhansi, Rani Laxmibai.

Copyright (C) Subhojit Dasgupta.

Subhojit Dasgupta is a Tantra teacher and offers Tantra lessons to select pupils.