An Unified Theory of Consciousness

Yoga and Tantra form the primitive lode of the Indian spiritual tradition, a foundation deeply connected to universal philosophies. Much has been written and discussed regarding these studies, but due to their profoundness and hidden symbolism they remain opaque. A secret throughout the centuries, Tantra remains diffuse, mysterious and puzzling yet constantly present in the diversity of yoga techniques, especially in its Tibetan forms.

With purposeful investigation, it presents a genuine science of man where cosmic forces mingle with physiology, psychology, magic and spiritualism. Tantra offers a practical, multi-leveled vision of the human being, a unified theory that explains the most intimate aspects of man's behavior which have evaded current research. A detailed, sincere study and practice of Tantra would contribute to the enrichment of contemporary science and psychology in a manner not as yet conceived.

A WAY FOR OUR AGE
Tantrism recognizes in Kundalini the source of a mysterious energy -- an energy still not properly defined by modern science but of paramount importance for a complete spiritual emancipation. If we add that the Ageless Wisdom defines Tantra as the spiritual system best adapted to our era of Kali Yuga, where spirituality is declining even as man and woman are desperately trying to reintegrate themselves into a creative and spiritual cosmic center, we realize the significance of these techniques. Today we are bound to an "objective" knowledge which is becoming more and more mechanical and inhuman. Abstract thinking is linked less and less to real life yet defines most of our activities. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to practice Tantra, a highly accurate, subjective knowledge which is accessible to everyone, through personal experience and validation.

THE WEB OF LOVE
Tantra envisions the Universe as an extremely complex, multi-dimensional web of invisible energies. This Science permits the controlled expansion of consciousness beyond the web of illusory appearances and thus liberates us from ignorance. Tantra is also called Vama Marga, i.e. The Left Hand Path, due to the fact that women, who are of lunar influence, negative polarity or the left, play an essential role in this Science.

However, The Way which is recommended here is not at all made of negations or austerities as in most other spiritual systems, but of pleasure and beatitudes. Tantric tradition puts forth clearly that the state of harmonious integration and spiritual freedom can be obtained only through direct experience and living of everyday life. The inferior levels of consciousness cannot be effortlessly controlled and surpassed unless fully and frantically, intensely and totally, lived in the whole plenitude of their power.

THE WAY OF PLEASURE AND FULFILMENT
In this respect, Tantric texts say that nobody will be able to obtain spiritual perfection using difficult and boring techniques. Perfection can be realized easily using the fulfillment of all wishes. The very same processes that for others could cause decay or death, venom or evil, can be used wisely and firmly for spiritual uplifting and transformed into a miraculous cure of the soul.

In the Tantric tradition, Yoga (union with God) is simultaneous with the passionate yet detached living of worldly delights, leading to the state of enlightenment through the supernormal powers (Siddhi-s), which are obtained through practical application of these special procedures. These powers serve a definite purpose in the way of attaining the Supreme.

THE HUMAN TEMPLE
The human body, with all its biological and psycho-mental processes, is only an instrument in which and through which the cosmic forces operate. The individual human structure and the outer macrocosmic manifestation, or Universe, are similar. Therefore all that exists in the Universe should also exist in a certain form and proportion in the microcosm, i.e. the human body.

SANCTIFIED SEXUALITY
The Tantric philosophy itself includes in its theory all the levels of the Universe and gives a paramount importance to astronomy, biology, parapsychology, anatomy, meditation, medicine, music, art and even sexuality. In fact, the sexual experience, considered to be a unification of the Everlasting Male (+) and Everlasting Female (-) principles, has a very important place in Tantric techniques and procedures which are often profoundly erotic.

In NATHA's vision, Tantra is a complex discipline, an accurate method and a profound analysis based on rational foundations, it is a Meta-Science dealing with the different aspects of the Supreme Consciousness and ways to experience it. Here, sexuality forms only the basal, prima facie of its techniques, and in this School, it is subjected to a rigorous discipline, because it is known that the secret of Life lies in controlling the sexual energy.

To understand the Tantric attitude toward sexuality requires a totally open mind and a reversal of perspective. Accustomed as we are by a puritanical mentality to seeing sexuality as a "sin" to be avoided and ashamed of (or, in any case, to keep it "secret" because of its "impurity"), we have all the chances to consider Tantric Love as being a defiant assault on conventional morality and thus to miss completely the tremendous spiritual value of such a perspective.

In order to understand it, we must first come to view the human dimension as vibrating in identity with the sacred, divine aspects of Creation. From this sacred perspective, sexuality is seen as re-producing, at a smaller scale, the continuous and beatific interaction of a Cosmic process which is manifesting the entire Universe from the Absolute Reality. In this new vision, "sin" disappears (it never existed, anyway!), being replaced by pure beatitude and total love. Sexual union is thus a form of meditative discipline with profound psycho-mental and spiritual effects.

The male worshipper has an attitude toward the woman which is different from that of an ordinary person performing the sexual act. The woman is transfigured into a living symbol and earthly manifestation of the Divine Mother of the Universe - Parashakti. Likewise, for the woman, man represents a vital embodiment of the Everlasting Male Principle - Shiva. The sexual beatitude raised at the transcendental level of an extraordinary psychic experience with a spiritual character reflects, then, the ineffable happiness of a subtle cosmic nature, known in Yoga as Ananda (i.e., cosmic beatitude) and in Tantra as Samarasa (i.e., the savor of equality).

Yearning tirelessly to grasp the enigmatic silence and the fascinating mystery of the Cosmos, the Tantric practitioner becomes an integral part of this mystery in the bosom of which he absorbs and identifies himself. For this, the external practice and the internal mutation are both indispensable because they make it possible to understand within themselves (through identification or Samyama) the phenomena, leading to an authentic and sometimes ineffable understanding of the cosmic forces that surround us. Modern scientists are still making weak attempts to decode them, but for the Tantric practitioner these subtle forces are everyday realities.

EXPERIENTIAL DUPLICATION
Tantra relies upon the practical realization of its teachings. Here we are not dealing with endless talking and argumentation but instead with engaging ourselves fully and thoroughly in an exceptional practice which can lead the practitioner to Freedom, Pure Existence, Super-Consciousness, Beatitude and super-normal powers (Siddhi-s).

In the same way that benefits can be obtained only by using a remedy, the truth of the Tantric Science can really be proved only through successful practice. However, it is necessary to stress here that the Tantric practitioner develops and perfects his Siddhis only for the purpose of raising himself at the level of the Supreme Being and from there to fuse eternally with the Absolute. The Siddhis have no value per se; they are only a modality. But all these powers cannot be obtained by only talking about Tantra, for tireless practice and direct experimentation only can lead to such unusual achievements. About this, there is no doubt.

THE LIBIDO — THIRST FOR UNITY
Another important aspect in Tantra Yoga, which is stressed out in the teachings at NATHA, is that the libido, when manifested as sexual drive, is not at all considered to be only sensuality but, at the innermost levels, as the soul's ardent yearning for spiritual perfection. Here the erotic impulse appears as the psyche's abyssal thirst to reach perfection through unity of complementary polar opposites. In this way, re-born as a genuine Androgyne of the Secret Tradition — magical child of Shiva and Shakti — the Individual Spirit will have access to the highest levels of Consciousness.

THE MAGNETIC WOMAN, THE ELECTRIC MAN
Tantra teaches that, energetically speaking, woman is magnetic, passive, lunar, receptive and charged with power of negative polarity (Yin). In multiple ways, she attracts, absorbs and stores subtle energy which remains latent. When connected in a proper way with the male electric, dynamic and positively charged subtle energy (Yang), the female energy undertakes a complex alchemical reaction and thus the couple generates an energetic power station. This is very easy to verify. Certain Tantric techniques enable the practitioner to verify that the bioenergetic differences of polarity between man and woman are energized to the highest extent through the love play and that a mutual exchange between these two forms of energy (Yin/female, Yang/male) takes place during sexual intercourse in which the two partners harmonize themselves on multiple levels. Performed in the Tantric way (successive orgasms without ejaculation) these unions can intensify and develop the latent extra-sensorial capacities and the mental power of both partners beyond any expectations. The couple who practice Tantric sexual union use the subtle energies of the man's body and the complementary energies of the woman's body for attaining the state of harmony with the Absolute.

RETENTION — THE UNTOLD SECRET
It is important to emphasize that Tantra substantiates its techniques of spiritual development on the perfect yet effortless control of the sexual energy. Here the point is to return to the practitioner the enormous amount of raw sexual energy contained in semen and in the correspondent female orgasmic emanations in such a way that this subtle energy may be sublimated and its efficiency used for higher purposes, i.e. psycho-mental and spiritual.

Being in perfect physical, emotional and mental health is a must for approaching any of the sexual practices of Tantrism taught in this School. Modern civilization leaves its mark upon our integrity, so we need to open up and to re-learn to experience as intensely as possible our senses. While it is true that cultivating the sensory awareness, here being included different techniques of amplifying the sexual pleasure and of opening up to experience deep sexual orgasm, can be a useful preparation for Tantra, these incipient techniques are not Tantra yet if they are not accompanied by a total, yet effortless, control.

Tantra, in accord with the Science of the ancient Sages (Siddhas) teaches that the sexual reproductive power (the Life Force) can be transmuted into superior forms of energy called Ojas and Tejas. The practitioner causes his seed to rise up to his crown center (Sahasrara), where it becomes transformed into Soma, the Nectar of Immortality. Through the Tantric procedures, the semen is took over by the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system consists of the fluid (lymph) that bathes the tissues, being similar in composition with plasma. The lymph contains white cells involved in the immunity system of the body. These white cells produce antibodies, special substances which attack the foreign organisms (microbes, etc.) and render them harmless. Through the lymphatic system, the semen reaches the brain (Corpus Callosum) where it is processed into extremely subtle energies (Ojas and Tejas) used by the higher mind. As the physical brain needs oxygen and proteins to function properly, the higher mind (superconsciousness) needs big quantities of Ojas and Tejas energy. The Tejas energy is that energy which produces the halo around the saints' head. The Ojas energy is that energy which confers an extraordinary vigor, power and virility.

The transmuting of the semen's energy into Ojas and Tejas does not take place only in men. Women who practice Tantra Yoga realize the transmutation of that energy which produces the ova and the menstrual cycle. These energies are transformed into Ojas and Tejas exactly as in the men's case. As a result, the menstrual cycle becomes scarce or even disappears completely, and the ovulation process slows down or even stops. Nevertheless, when the conception of a baby is desired, the energies are permitted to accumulate at the pelvic area, the ovulation returns to normal and the menstrual cycle appears again.

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