Buddhist Gems 79 - final

[Dharmadeva]

The Tantric influence exists in all the Indian languages;** it is also
prominent in observances and ceremonies. The non-Aryan and Tantric
influence is prominent not only in social functions, but in religious
ceremonies as well, due to the influence of the Tantric gods and
goddesses. In eastern India, particularly in Bengal, popular gods and
goddesses such as Shiitala' (the goddess of smallpox), Manasa' (the
goddess of snakes), Niila T'ha'kura and Bat'uka Bhaerava [a Buddhist
Tantric deity] are all Tantric gods and goddesses but are nevertheless
worshipped in Hindu temples as Hindu gods and goddesses. (Bat'uka ->>
Bar'ua ->> Bar'uya' ->> Bar'o - in the rural areas of Bengal, Bor'o
Shiva or Bur'o Shiva.***)

** Author's note: The people of eastern India make common use of the
Tantric mystic syllable phat'. For example, Se phat' kare bale
phelle . . . , "He said all of a sudden . . ."; or Lokt'a'r bar'a
phat'phat'a'ni, "That person is very verbose."

*** Editors' note: "Old Shiva".

...

We observe the emergence of a new civilization in Bengal, out of the
Austrico-Mongolo-Dravidian combination, at about 1000 B.C.

This civilization, though similar to other civilizations in India, had
its own customs and rites, language and mode of pronunciation, manners
and behaviour, religious and social systems, rights of inheritance and
disinheritance under the Da'yabha'ga code of law, and dress and food
habits. Proud of its own speciality and uniqueness, it never agreed to
be a part of the A'rya'vartta [northern India dominated by the Aryan
culture]. In order to keep itself free from Aryan subjugation, Bengal
rebelled again and again. The northern Indian orthodox Aryans, full of
Aryan chauvinism (actually they too were Tantrics, but outwardly
displayed an enamel coating of Aryanism), were reluctant to accept the
highly Tantric areas such as Aunga [Monghyr and its adjacent
areas], Vaunga [Bengal],* Kaliunga [Orissa], Mithila and Magadha
[Bihar] as parts of their A'ryavartta. For them Ka'shii [Benares]
served as the eastern border of the A'ryavartta.

These orthodox, but internally Tantric, people could not avoid being
influenced by the Tantric civilization of eastern India even in their
external life. The predominance of the Bengali script of east India
(Shrii Hars'a Lipi) extended up to Praya'ga in the far west. Most
Sanskrit books on Hindu and Buddhist Tantra were written in this
Bengali script. After the Muslim invasion, the influence of east India
upon north India began to wane gradually. At about that time some
Nagar Brahmans from Vedic Gujrat went to northern India to propagate
the Vedas and the Sanskrit language. They used Na'grii script for
writing Sanskrit, and under the Brahmans' influence the Na'grii script
too gradually became popular in northern India. The use of Bengali
script became confined to eastern India only. It is worth noting that
many of the Na'gar Brahmans of Gujrat were followers of Tantra,
particularly Vaes'n'ava Tantra.

The greatest difference between the Aryans and the non-Aryans was in
their outlook. The Aryans wanted to establish their dominance on the
basis of their racial superiority, whereas the non-Aryans, following
the precepts of Tantra, did not recognize any distinction among
people. The identity of everyone was the same: all belonged to the
same family, the family of Shiva. In the first stage of
sa'dhana' (spiritual practices), everyone is an animal. To merge in
Brahmatva [Cosmic Consciousness], after first elevating themselves to
devatva [god-hood], was their sa'dhana'. But in the first stage, while
still rising above crude animality, their adorable Shiva was known as
"Pashupati", "Lord of Animality".

* Editors' note: The va sound was later changed to ba under the
influence of Muslim pronunciation, so the letter was changed as well.
In modern Bengali there is no difference in pronunciation between ba
and va, but the difference in spelling persists.

Here it is necessary to remember that Tantra is not a religion, but a
way of life, a system of sa'dhana' (spiritual practices). The
fundamental goal of this sa'dhana' is to awaken the dormant
jiivashakti [unit force], known as kulakun'd'alinii, and, after
elevating it stage by stage, to merge it in Brahmabha'va [Cosmic
Consciousness]. Tantra is a science of spiritual meditation or
sa'dhana' which is equally applicable to anyone no matter what their
religious affiliation might be. Tantra is certainly older than the
Vedas. Just as the shlokas or mantras of the Vedas were handed down
from guru to disciple in a genealogical tradition, the Tantra
sa'dhana' of the Mongolo-Dravidian society was handed down from guru
to disciple hereditarily. The Vedas are theoretical - full of
ritualistic ceremonies and formalisms. It would be incorrect to regard
Tantra as a more recent version of those Vedic rituals: Tantra's
esoteric practices had long been known in the society of sa'dhakas
(spiritual aspirants). Its theoretical portion was not as elaborate as
that of the Vedas, which took years and years to memorize.

When the Aryans came to India, roughly during the period of the
Atharvaveda, they learned Tantra sa'dhana' to some extent after coming
in contact with the Indian Tantrics. This resulted in the Atharvaveda
being pervasively influenced by Tantra. Even if the orthodox Vedics
try to reject the many Tantra-influenced portions of the Vedas as
later interpolations, they will not be too convincing, for Tantra has
now infiltrated into the marrow of the so-called Aryans. Although
during the post-Vedic Buddhist era as well as the post-Buddhist
Brahmanical era changes in the religious outlook of the people were
apparent, the process of sa'dhana' remained Tantric as it does even
today, for without Tantra spiritual sa'dhana' is impossible. Yoga,
which is the paramount factor in spiritual practices, is itself based
on Tantra. The great Tantric Vashis't'ha, when he returned from China
after learning the Chinese techniques of sa'dhana', brought about a
great improvement in Tantra sa'dhana'. He was widely acclaimed as a
great yogi. His book Yogava'shis't'ha is a philosophical exposition of
the subtle spirituality of Tantra sa'dhana'.

There are many who try to make a distinction between Hindu Tantra and
Buddhist Tantra. This is absolutely wrong, for as I have said earlier,
Tantra is one and only one. It is based on one sentiment, on one idea.
The Buddhist and Hindu Tantras express the same thing in different
words. For example, Hindu Tantras use the word kulakun'd'alinii for
the dormant unit force and id'a, piungala' and sus'umna' for the three
psycho-spiritual channels. They state that the kulakun'd'alinii
pierces through the six cakras - (1) mu'la'dha'ra [situated above the
perineum], (2) sva'dhis't'ha'na [in the region of the genital organ],
(3) man'ipura [in the region of the navel], (4) ana'hata [in the
region of the heart], (5) vishuddha [in the region of the vocal cord]
and (6) a'jina' [between the eyebrows], and finally unites with
Paramashiva at the seventh cakra, the sahasra'ra cakra [at the crown
of the head], giving the sa'dhakas, or intuitional practitioners, the
bliss of Cosmic Consciousness. The Buddhist Tantras say the same thing
in different words. They have named the man'ipura cakra, nirma'n'a
cakra, the ana'hata, dharma cakra, the vishuddha, sambhoga cakra, and
the sahasra'ra, us'niis'a kamala or maha'sukha cakra.

Some have named the mu'la'dha'ra, man'ipadma. In both the Buddhist and
Hindu Tantras, hummm is the acoustic root of the unit force, the
kulakun'd'alinii, lying dormant in man'ipadma. The so-called Buddhist
Tantrics also say, Onm' man'ipadme hummm. To them id'a', piungala' and
sus'umna' are lalana', rasana' and avadhu'tika'respectively. So where,
in reality, is the ideological difference between the Hindu Tantras
such as Maha'nirva'n'a Tantra, Kular'n'ava Tantra, Ajina'na-bodhinii
Tantra, Jina'na-sam'kalinii Tantra, Rudraya'mala Tantra, Bhaerava-
ya'mala Tantra, Niila Tantra, etc., and the Buddhist Tantras such as
Hevajra Tantra, Vajra-va'ra'hii Kalpamaha' Tantra, Ekallaviira
Can'd'aros'an'a Tantra, D'a'ka'rnava Tantra, Advaya Siddhi Tantra,
etc.? Kaunkalama'linii Tantra cannot be called either a Hindu Tantra
or a Buddhist Tantra with any clear certainty.

Even the popular assumption that the Hindus borrowed idolatry from the
Buddhists is totally wrong. Although there was a conception of gods
and goddesses among the Aryan Vedics, there was no custom of modelling
images for worship. But in the lowest stratum of Tantra
sa'dhana' (that is, the lowest of the low grade) idolatry was
prescribed:

Uttamo Brahmasadbha'vo
Madhyama' dhya'na dha'r'an'a';
Japastu'ti sya'dhadhama'
Mu'rtipu'ja' dhama'dhama'.
- Kula'rn'ava Tantra

[Ideation on Brahma (God) is the best, dhya'na (process of meditation,
the principal practice of bringing your mind to ideate on Oneness) and
dha'ran'a' (concentration, or extended mental focusing, fundamental to
yogic meditation) are second best, repetitious incantation and
eulogistic prayer are the worst, and idol worship is the worst of the
worst.]

The word uttama in the first line of the shloka is interchangeable
with sahaja'vastha'. Sahaja'avastha', the "tranquil state" of the
Buddhists, is no different from the ideation on Brahma of the Hindus.

According to their respective intellectual strata, the primitive non-
Aryan Tantrics utilized all the practices, from the lowest-of-the-low
image worship to the highest-of-the-high Brahma sa'dhana'. Thus
idolatry is as much a part of Hindu Tantra as it is of Buddhist
Tantra. Neither has borrowed it from the other.

I have just referred to the ideological unity of the Hindu and the
Buddhist Tantras. So far as the goal is concerned, the ultimate object
of both is to merge the unit force in the introversial force and the
introversial force in Parama Purus'a (Supreme Consciousness). In
various places in the Hindu Tantras, Parama Purus'a has been called
Paramashiva, Purus'ottama and Krs'n'a, and Parama' Prakrti has been
called Ka'lii, Ra'dha', etc. In the Buddhist Tantras Parama Purus'a or
Bhagava'n Sarveshvara has been called Shriiman Maha'sukha, Vajrasatva,
Vajradhara, Vajreshvara, Heruka or Hevajra - or in places
Can'd'aros'an'a - and the Maha'shakti of Maha'kaola has sometimes been
called Bhagavatii Sarveshvarii, sometimes Vajrava'ra'hii, sometimes
Vajradha'tviishvarii, sometimes Prajina' Pa'ramita', and sometimes, in
sandhya' bha's'a',* D'ombii, Can'd'a'lii, etc.

* Editors' note: A "twilight language" of dual meanings.

In both the Hindu and Buddhist Tantras, men and women are permitted to
do sa'dhana' (spiritual meditation) together. In the Hindu Tantras,
males are advised to ideate that they are Bhaerava, and sa'dhika's
[female spiritual aspirants] to ideate that they are Bhaeravii.
Buddhist Tantras prescribe the same thing. There the sa'dhaka is
Vajradhara and the sa'dhika' is Vajrayos'ita.

Nara'h Vajradhara'ka'ra'h s'os'itah Vajrayos'itah.
- Ekallaviira Can'd'aros'an'a Tantra

[The male aspirants are called Vajradhara, and the female aspirants
Vajrayos'ita.]

Actually Tantra is one. Therefore it is as much a mistake to
distinguish between the Hindu and the Buddhist Tantras as it is to
grope in vain for any differences in the inner import or final goals
of the Hindu Tantras such as Shaeva Tantra, Sha'kta Tantra, Saora
Tantra, Ga'n'apatya Tantra, Vaes'n'aviiya Tantra (Ra'dha' Tantra),
etc.

The similarity between the gods and goddesses of the Hindu Tantras and
those of the Buddhist Tantras is also particularly noteworthy. Each
Tantra has either absorbed or discarded the other's gods and goddesses
according to its own convenience. Ta'ra' is one of the famous deities
of the Buddhist Tantras. The worships of Bhra'marii Ta'ra' in China,
Ugrata'ra' or Vajrata'ra' in Mongolia, and Niila Sarasvatii Ta'ra' or
Ekaja'ta' Devii in Tibet, date from very ancient times. Tibet's Niila
Sarasvatii Ta'ra' has been absorbed in Hindu Tantra as the second
Maha'vidya' of the Ten Maha'vidya's, and today those Hindus who
worship idols do not regard Ta'ra' as a non-Hindu deity.

Ka'lika' Devii, the first Maha'vidya' of the so-called Hindu Tantras,
has been accepted by Buddhist Tantra. Clad in betel leaves (parn'a
means "betel leaves" or "turmeric leaves"), Parn'a Shavarii Devii of
the Buddhist Tantra is one of the names of the goddess Durga' of Hindu
Tantra. Prajina' Pa'ramita', the Buddhist deity, continues to be
worshipped in post-Buddhist India as Sarasvatii. The bull-mounted
Sarasvatii of the Vedas has not even a hint of similarity with the
swan-mounted Sarasvatii, either in appearance or in nature.*

* Editors' note: There was a Vedic Sarasvatii in existence before the
Buddhist Prajina' Pa'ramita', but the swan-mounted Sarasvatii modelled
after Prajina' Pa'ramita' is not the same goddess.

There are some goddesses whose sources - Buddhist or Hindu - are
impossible to determine. That is to say, they are deities common to
both schools of Tantra, such as Va'ra'hii, Kaover'ii, Bhiima',
Kapa'linii, Chinnamasta', etc. Goddesses of the Hindu Tantras such
as D'a'kinii, Ra'kinii, La'kinii, Ka'kinii, Sha'kinii, Ha'kinii, etc.,
have been accepted by the Buddhist Tantras.

The savikalpa sama'dhi [trance of determinate absorption - or vacuity]
of the Hindu Tantras is the prabha'svara shu'nyata' [luminous vacuity]
of the Buddhists. The Hindus' nirvikalpa [trance of objectless or
indeterminate absorption - or vacuity] is the Buddhists' vajra
shu'nyata' [complete vacuity]. And the goddess of vajra shu'nyata', of
the unmanifest Prakrti, is Vajrava'ra'hii, D'ombii, Naera'tma Devii or
Naera'man'i in the language of the Buddhists. The different stages of
savikalpa sama'dhi related to the upward movement of the
kulakun'd'alinii are called sa'lokya [within the same loka], sa'miipya
[closest proximity], sa'rupya [identity], sars't'hi [the stage between
savikalpa and nirvikalpa], etc., in the Hindu Tantras; and in the
Buddhist Tantras, vis'a'ya'nanda [objective bliss] in the nirma'n'a
cakra, parama'nanda [supreme bliss] in the dharma cakra, vira'ma'nanda
[intermittent bliss] in the sambhoga cakra and sahaja'nanda [absolute
bliss] in the maha'sukha cakra. In this maha'sukha cakra, Naera'tma
Devii is Bhagavatii Prajina' Sarveshvarii, an embodiment of
sahaja'nanda [bliss]. This sahaja'nanda is the Brahma'nanda [absolute
bliss] of the Hindu Tantras.

Shrii Shrii Anandamurti
May 1959, Muzaffarpur, RU
A Few Problems Solved Part 1
DISCOURSES ON TANTRA VOLUME 1
TANTRA AND INDO-ARYAN CIVILIZATION