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INTRODUCTION
THIS work, by an Indian Pandit, is a presentment, the first of its work, by an Indian Pandit, is a presentment, the first of its kind, of the principles of that development of the Vaidika Karmakanda which, under the name of the Tantra Śāstra, is the scripture (Śāstra) of the Kālī age. This Śāstra, together with its accompanying oral tradition, is the voluminious source of the greater part of the Hindu ritual, Hathayoga, and the various forms of spiritual training which pass under the generic term "śadhana." In fact, both popular and esoteric Hinduism is, in its practical aspects, largely Tāntrik.
Recently an increased interest has been shown in the Hindu beliefs. Hitherto, however, attention has been chiefly directed to those great Vedantik principles, which, subsumed, to a greater or less degree, in the beliefs and practices of all the Hindu sects are yet, in their conscious realization, the very end only of the highest spiritual effort. Little has been done to present the practical application of those principles in the particular form which they assume in the various divisions, methods, and rituals of the Indian worshippers. This side of practice, though neglected, has both intrinsic value and helps to a clearer and deeper understanding of the general principles than can be gathered from any bare theoretical statement of them. Ritual and spiritual exercise are objectively considered their pictorial statement, as they are subjectively the effective means of their realization. The knowledge of hymn, and legend, of worship and śadhana, will alone give that full knowledge of the Hindu spirit without which its religious and philosophical conceptions are likely to be but poorly understood. The present development of Upāsana (worship) and śadhana can only be learnt from the Tantra, which is the Mantra and śadhana Śāstra
Some years ago, Professor Cowell wrote, "the Tantras form a branch of literature highly esteemed, though at present much neglected"; yet,
1 "Indian Wisdom," p. 522 el seq. more recently pointed out, none of the numerous Tantras had, when he wrote,' been printed in Europe or investigated or translated by its Orientalists.
The account, which the work last cited gives of them, itself affords, by its meagre character and inaccuracies, evidence of the lack of information on the subject of which its author speaks. Thus the mudrā of the Panchatattva does not, as there stated, mean "mystical gestures," but, in the case of the rajasika and tamasika panchatattva, parched cereal of various kinds as defined by the YoginI Tantra.2 In the sattvika śadhana it has another and esoteric meaning,3 equally dissimilar from the sense of the term "mudrā" as that word is employed in ordinary Upāsana and hathayoga. "Nigama" is not the name of a "sacred book appealed to by Dakshināchārins" as opposed to "Agama," but is that form of Tantra in which the Devī is guru instead of sisya, as opposed to "Agama," in which the Devī is slsya and Śiva is guru.4 It follows, therefore, that Agama does not mean "a sacred book appealed to by Vāmāchārins" as opposed to Nigama of the followers of Dakshinachara. Nor is the term Vāmāchārin itself a synonym for Kaula, for a person may be the first without being the second.5 The Mahānirvāna Tantra is not the only Tantra "attributed to Śiva," but all
1 I have since published an English translation of the current Sanskrit version of the Mahānirvāna Tantra entitled "The Great Liberation," and have in preparation a translation of the Kularnava. 2 Chap, vi: Bhrishtadanyadikang yad yad charvaniyang prachakshate, Sa mudrā kathita Devī sarveshang naganandini. The same and other errors occur in Encyc. Brit., xiii, pp. 511-512. 3 See Āgamasara; Kaivalya Tantra, and the Tantra passim, and Introduction to Tantra Śāstra. 4 See the Agamadvaitanirnaya, cited post. On the contrary, the Nigamas are said to be Purnarahasya. Agama and Nigama are also applied to the Veda, but Agama as applied to the Tantra has the above signification, though, as Professor Whitney says, it etymologically means "that which has come down" (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia, vol. ix, p. 978). 5 The Kaula is a member of the highest of the several divisions of worshippers (Achara), of which Vamachara is one. It is only after a Sadhaka has fulfilled all preceding Dharmas that he is qualified for Kauladharma. Śāstra so called has Him as its Revealer and Ganesa as its scribe.1 The Śāradātilaka and MantRāmahodadhi are not Tantras, but Tantrik compendia and commentaries. The Tāntrik rite called Bhtltasuddhi does not mean "removal of demons."2 but the purification of the elements (earth, air, fire, etc., and the tattvas of which they are derivatives) in the body of the sādhaka, and so forth.
As might be expected, errors abound in accounts given by authors claiming less expert competence, whether European or Indian. Thus an Indian writer3 explains the Mudrā of the Panchatattva to be "gold or coins." It is true that "coin" is one of the meanings of the term "Mudrā," but even in the absence of special information it might have reasonably been surmised that "Tāntriks" do not worship with a gold mohur or rupee. Nor is the Śākti, which is by these and other rites worshipped, material force, as was supposed by the founder of the Bharatavarshlya Bharmāsamaj, who wrote some years ago of the European materialists of his day as "Śāktas offering dry homage to force victorious over the European Bhaktas, worshippers of the God of Love."4 Nor is it the fact "that Śāktas divide themselves into the Dakshina and Vama classes according to whether they attach the greater importance to the male or to the female principle respectively"5 and so forth. Misconception of the teaching of Tantra, together with abuses committed by one of the communities of Tāntrik worshippers,
1 See Gāyatrī Tantra, chap. I. Professor Whitney (tor. cit.) says that their authorship is sometimes ascribed to Dattatreya. Of this I have never heard, and if such ascription is made it is incorrect. There is a work dealing with Indrajala Vidya called the Dattatreya Tantra, as also a Yāmala of the same name, and Dattatreya is a Rishi said to be particularly revered by the NakulSvadhuta Sect. The Tantras generally were, as stated in the text, revealed by Śiva. 2 See same author's (Monier Williams), Sanskrit Dictionary, sub voce "bhuta," where also are given some inaccurate definitions of the Satcakra, 3 "Country and Temple of Kamakhya," Calcutta Review, October, 1911. 4 "The New Dispensation," pp. 103, 109. Nor, it may be here noted, is it correct to say that Tāntriks believe the universe to have been developed by the inherent power of matter, as stated in the "Cyclopaedia of India," vol. v, p 72. Nor is-it correct to speak, as H. H. Wilson did ("Essavs," p. 241), of the "worship of the female principle as distinct from the Divinity." 5 "The Soul of India," by G. Howells, p. 320. led a Bengali apologist of the Śāstra, when writing some twenty years ago on the subject of Tantra, to say:' "Unfortunately, however, their intentions have been so grossly misrepresented in our days that the very name of Tantra shocks our nerves; yet two-thirds of our religious rites are Tāntrik, and almost half our medicine is Tāntrik."
The causes of this neglect of the Śāstra in the country of its origin and in the West are several. Their consideration will also explain the standpoint from which this book here translated is written. In the first place, in the case of India, must be reckoned the effects of English education. This, when first introduced, not merely struck at faith in all Indian Śāstra, but was in a particular manner adverse to that form of it which was then current, and with which we here deal. Tāntrik Hinduism is in its more common aspect, essentially of a sacramental and ritualistic character. Those who first introduced and gave English education were for the most part Protestants, with no sympathy with, or understanding of, a mode of religious thought and practice which to a considerable extent, both in its inner spirit and outward forms, bore resemblance to that which in Europe, Protestantism, in its various sects, had arisen to oppose. Their general attitude is illustrated by a passage in a recent work2 (containing a singularly ignorant and unjust estimate of Hinduism), in which the author says that, when standing before a Buddhist shrine, he felt as if he was before that of St. Carlo Borromeo at Milan, adding: "But the chief feeling that one had was of the extraordinary close similarity of Latin Christianity and Pre-christian Buddhism—the feeling and sensation of the same immemorial superstition persisting through the forms and ritual of two religions so diametrically opposed." As this matter presented itself to the English teachers, so it did to the Indian students, who (to use a Bengali expression) "held their tail." This the latter did the more readily both because of the abuses for which some of the followers of the
1 "Lectures on the Hindu Religion," by K. Chakravarthi (1893), itself an inaccurate, though well-intentioned, little book. 2 "The Light of Asia," by Harold Begbie, p. 148. Śāstra were responsible and of the unintelligent and mechanical formalism of the worship of others. To the Hindu so educated the Tantra was in all its parts as much superstitious "mummery" as it was to his English teachers. This education did not, however, from the religious point of view, bear the results which were expected of it. For while many Hindus were led through such teaching to reject their ancestral belief, but few were found who were willing to accept the form of faith which was offered to them as its substitute. Possibly to some extent different results might have been achieved had there been more points of contact between the two faiths, for these might have served both to guard the common religious sentiment and to afford some sort of foundation upon which a Christian structure might have been raised. Such had been the thought, in earlier times, of Jesuit missionaries both in India and China. Many of the Hindus whose faith had been unduly disturbed commenced (so far as Indians can—a matter for them of fortunate difficulty) to question the validity of the religious sense itself. A period of scepticism then followed, which, of course, has not wholly passed away in India any more than it will wholly pass away elsewhere.
Theories stale in the West, but new in the East, were adopted by some with the same indiscriminating fervour as were the discarded fashions of English "art" and articles of commerce. Some there were who, judging all things by a narrow test of "utilitarian" principle, found every historic religion, whether of East or West, to be the outcome merely of the deceit of priests, whose "highest achievement" in all lands has been "abomination worship." And of this in India1 the Sakta and other cults were cited as the worst examples.2
The use of this strong language applied to all the religions of East and West suggests the observation that, while grounds
1 As regards the West, the author of the work cited is of opinion that the system of auricular confession made further priestly efforts in the direction of "abomination worship" supererogatory. 2 "Hindu Castes and Sects," by J. N. Bhattacharji. I cite this apparently nastika work as one of a type only, it being fairly well known and read. The author writes down even the Buddha as an ambitious schemer. for adverse judgment may have existed, we must examine the criticisms by Hindus of the beliefs of their countrymen as we would any other, in order to see whether the author knows that of which he speaks, and, if so, whether he is free (which the author cited was not) from prejudice against "religion" in general, or the sectarianism which exists in India, as elsewhere.1 Nor is the language used in such cases to be always taken literally. If, for instance, we can imagine the astonished mind of an otherwise uninformed Hindu, after the perusal of the stanza of the 'Orange" hymn cited below,2 it is not improbable to suppose that a too literal understanding of its words might give him notions as to the "obscenity" of the tenets and practice of the Catholic Church which would appear exaggerated even to the inflamed judgment of the author of the "hymn" in question.
In the West this raw philosophizing has for some time past been appreciated at its true value. More mature views will find a deeper source for the religious instinct than the machinations (even though they exist) of priests.
The following passage from another writer,3 purporting to give the verdict of "New India on Religion," is, in its blustering crudities, reminiscent of our own cheap rationalism of the second half of the last century:
"The world is passing from faith to reason. The future is for reason. When reason is established the problem of the world will be easy of solution. Reason will stand no miracles, no humbug, no special incarnations or exclusive revelations. It will elbow out all creeds, and admit nothing which cannot be demonstrated to the intelligence. Forms of worship are excrescences of religion. Belief in the supernatural and transcendent is getting into a discount. The element of mystery
1 Particular animosity used to exist, and amongst the sectarian-minded still exists, between Śāktas and Vaisnavas. 2 Sink thou to the deep abyss, To the orgies of obsceneness, Where the Hell-bound Furies hiss, Where thy father 3 Hails thee, hellish Popery." " The Indian World, once believed to be an inseparable factor of religion is disappearing," and so forth.
They are but weakly met by such mawkish presentments of the "Religion of the Future" as those of which the following passage is a vaguely-conceived and worded, however well-intentioned, example: "No priest can lead us by the nose and make us believe in meaningless practices which profit no one but the professional priest!1 Free thought will be the watchword of the churches of the future. Religion will be a real being, becoming. Growing in life from within like an endogen; drawing sustenance also from without. Religion is to be in tune with the infinite. It will be the budding forth of the lotus of the heart; the correspondence with the environments of the soul; the opening out of the fountains from within; the setting aflow of the waters of life proceeding from the throne of the Most High. Religion will not be a theorem, a Q.E.D., but a problem, Q..E.F."2
A more definite attempt to reconcile religious tradition and "modern thought" was made by the Bharmāsamaj, the doctrines of which, as also of the Secularist school, are combated in this book. The Adisamaj, which preceded it, more closely adhered to orthodox Hinduism, being distinguished from the latter by the rejection of some of its beliefs and practices. In the Bharmāsamaj the doctrines became of a more syncretistic character. There was a further divergence from orthodoxy, and an attempt was made to incorporate alien forms of thought and ritual. The Bharmāsamaj describes itself in the words of one of its prominent supporters as "a humble gleaner of the truth wherever found." The resulting eclecticism possesses its share of the weaknesses of all such systems.
1 This and the rest of the quotation are, of course, inspired by a type of Western thought. To the Hindu mantra is not mere aksara, nor guru a mere man, but the manifestation of the Supreme and only Guru, the Adinatha Mahākāla. The revolt, however, is supported to some extent by the fact of the incompetence of many of the gurus. 2 "The Religion of the Future," by Hemendra Nath Sinha, b.a., pp. 38, 39. The last sentence is like the rest obscure, but perhaps indicates the workings of the pragmatic bacillus even in the East. All these influences, the outcome of English education— whether they be of the Secularist type, abandoning all ancient forms of beliefs, or of that which claims to reform but as often destroys them, or of the more modern kind which seeks a belief which shall be freed of form—led away from the standpoint of orthodox form, which is that of the Tantra. The process was accelerated by the decadence of many of the followers of the Vamacara community governed by the Śāstra.
In the general neglect of Śāstra, and repulsion caused by abuse, no attempt was made to ascertain what in fact were the true teachings of that portion of it which governed this community. No distinction was made between such doctrine and the abuses of it, nor between the particular portion of the Śāstra prescribing and regulating Vamacara ritual and those other portions which governed other divisions of Sadhakas or the community in general. The Śāstra was, generally in its entirety, condemned as useless where it was not considered morally harmful. To some extent these conclusions may have influenced European Orientalists, but probably in much less degree; for scientific investigation of Human activities in whatsoever sphere is not (without closure of all historical inquiry) to be thwarted by the fear that what may be found on investigation is not that which is likely to be approved. Nor are the difficulties of a linguistic character, the Tantras being written in comparatively simple Sanskrit. The reason is rather to be found in difficulties of a different kind.
The Tantra in some of its aspects is a secret doctrine (gupta-vidya) to be gathered, not from the written record, but verbally from those who hold the key to it. So with Eastern allegory it is said: "Verily, verily, and without a doubt the Veda Śāstra and Puranas are like a common woman, free to all, but the doctrine of Sambhu (i.e., the Tantra) is like a secret house bride, to reveal which is death."1 The key to the method has been with the initiate.
1 VedaŚāstrapuranani samanyaganika iva Ya punah sambhavl vidya gupta kulabadhuriva PrakaSe pranahanih syat satyang satyang na sangsayah. So also the TantRāsara (Ed. R. M. Chatterji), p. 691, which says: '"Kadachid-deliahanistu na chagupti kadachana, varam puja na karttavya na chaa vyaktih kadachana." Next there are two special difficulties as regards the record; firstly, its fragmentary character and its existence in manuscripts which are not easily procurable, and then the technical character of the terminology. Next, the ritualistic character of the Tantra requires as a preliminary for its exposition at least some general knowledge regarding the subject, which does not ordinarily exist except among Hindus. In the case of certain Tantric doctrines and practices, the more ordinary difficulties have been increased owing to the complex and esoteric character of the rituals, and, as some allege, to the existence of higher and lower traditions (āmnāya), which to-day have become confused. Lastly, while the Śāstra provides by its various acaras for all types, from the lowest to the most advanced, its essential concepts, under whatever aspects they are manifested, and into whatever pattern they are woven, are (as Professor de la Valleé Poussin says of the Buddhist Tantra) of a metaphysical and subtle character. This is particularly so as regards Śāktitattva, Mantratattva, and Yogatattva, though there are others. It is claimed that the true Tāntrikacarya is the master of Veda, and that its esoteric teaching can only be fully understood from the Śāstra and its accompanying traditions, and the personal experiences which are the practical fruits of its śadhana.
Since this work was first published the so-called "progressive" movement has been followed by a reaction in the orthodox Hindu world, which is not without its own defects.1 The spread of Theosophical ideas first renewed an interest in the teachings of India's great past, and an awakening national spirit has done the rest. The Tantra has had a share in this interest as is manifested in the fair number of Tantras, Tāntrik compendia such as the PranatosinI,2 and other works on the
1 To those, for instance, whose supposed "Hindu" sentiment would revive the practice of Sati may be recommended the words of the Mahānirvāna Tantra: "O Kulesani, a wife should not be burnt with her dead husband. Every woman is thy image. Thou residest concealed in the forms of all women in this world (tava svarupa Rāmani jagatyachchhannavigraha). That woman who in her delusion (moha) ascends the funeral pyre of her lord shall go to hell" (chap, x, verses 79-80). 2 From the same source comes the Pranakrisnasabdambuddhi, which I hope to publish. Śāstra (of which that now translated is one), which have been first published or reprinted in recent years. It is a sign of the times to find even a Bharmā publication on the Satcakra.' This interest is due in part to the general religious revival in progress, and also to the increasing recognition of the necessity of śadhana (practice), as distinct from mere philosophizing, if any practical result is to be attained.
According to orthodox views, the Tantra will continue in force until the close of the Kālīyuga, when the golden age (Satya yuga) will reappear, governed by its appropriate Śāstra. The India of to-day is, however, not in the same sense as of yore the "Śrī Bharata, adored of the Devas" (Surirchitabharata), to which the book now published makes salutation.
The author has many a lament over the changes occurring in what appears to him to be a darkening time.
"If to-day men had the strength of faith of Kamadeva Tarkika, hero most powerful in the field of austerity, or of Ganesa Upadhyaya, whose life was one long surrender to the Mother; or of RāmapRāsada,2 who was, as it were, a bee intoxicated with the honey of the lotus feet of Śākti,3 should we in that case have to sing in Tantra Tattva4 the song of all these evil designs (against the Śāstras). But the day is now lost to us. That unflinching faith in Tantra, the śadhana-Śāstra, has been shaken."5
"Alas! the lion-hearted heroes, pillars of Sanatana Dharma! where are you to-day in this dismal time? That resplendent lustre of yours hallowed by śadhana, is mingled with the Mantra Śāstra itself. Do ye to-day shed that lustre in every letter, in every accent. Let the Śāstra of Bharata be again resplendent with the fire of the Tapas6 of Bharata's sons."7
1 Gāyatrīmulaka satcakrcrvyakyana o śadhana, a publication by the Mangala Ganga Mission Press. 2 The celebrated Bengali poet and Sakta. 3 Sakri is Devī—that is, both the power of God and God Himself. Each of the Devas has His Śākti or power worshipped under the form of His spouse. 4 This book. 5 See post. 6Austerities, etc. (see Inlioduction). 7 See post.
But his cause is not wholly lost to him, and he continues to defend it—with a certain spacious splendour of imagery and feeling which belong to a passing world.
"Reasoning, aargument and inference may be the work of other Śāstras, but the work of Tantra is to accomplish superhuman and divine1 events by the force of its own Mantras. Destruction, driving away, and establishment of control,2 and such other powers, are still to be daily seen. Hundreds of thousands of great and accomplished Sadhakas still illumine all India with the glory of their austerities.3 In every cremation ground 4 in India the refulgent and divine halo of Bhairavas and Bhairavis5 is yet to be seen mingling with the light of the flames of funeral pyres, rending apart the waves of nocturnal darkness and illuminating the wide expanse of Heaven. Dead and putrefying corpses submerged6 near cremation grounds are still brought to life by the force of the Sadhakas' Mantras and made to render aid to śadhana and Siddhi. Whilst still living in this mortal world Tāntrik Yogis even now obtain, through the potency of Mantras, direct vision of the supersensual activities of the world of Devas. She, with dishevelled hair, the dispeller of fear from the hearts of Her devotees, still appears in great cremation grounds,7 to give liberation to Her devoted Sadhakas who, made afraid by the fear of this existence, make obeisance to and supplicate Her. Sadhakas still merge themselves in the Self of Bharmān by laying their Bharmārandhra8 at those lotus feet of Bharmāmayi,9 which are adored by Bharmā and other Devas. The throne of the Daughter of the Mountain10
1 Daiva. 2 Maranam, Ucchatanam, Vasikaranam. 3 Tapas. 4Smasana, where Savasana, Mund&sana, Lataśadhana and other Tāntrik rites, are practised. 5 Adept Tāntrik men and women. 6 Before and whilst awaiting burning, the corpse is placed in the sacred stream. 7 Mahasmasanas, where some of the most difficult forms of Tāntrik śadhana are practised. The auspicious Kālīka is thought of as with dishevelled hair (vigalitachihura),and so is the hair of the devotee (see Karpflradi stotra, verses 3, 10). 8 The cavity of Bharmān at the top of the head, here used for the head generally. 9 The Devī. 10 The Devī as daughter of Himavat. is still moved by the wondrous, attractive force of Mantras. This, in the eyes of Sadhakas, is the ever broad and royal road upon which they travel untiring to the city of liberation."1
The same forces, however, against which this book, as also other orthodoxies, protest, are in conflict both with Hinduism in its present Tāntrik form and with Christianity of the older type. In the present mingling of East and West, each is providing a ferment for the other, which, when all is said, is as much a divine product as the Revelations which it sometimes appears to threaten. The embodied Atma, however, must ever seek itself revealing its search to us in that which we call the "religious spirit," clothed though It must also be in forms new or renewed2 —its changing expression in a world of unceasing change.
* * * * *
For the understanding of the Tāntrik, or, indeed, any other beliefs and practices, the usual dry-as-dust investigation of the savant is insufficient. In the first place a call should be made upon actual present experience. The primary inquiry should be addressed to the ascertainment of the present belief and practice of those whose religious history is under investigation. It is obvious that the course of time effects changes. But whatever these may be, present beliefs are the descendants of those of the past. Much, therefore, which was in the parent will be found in the child. A study of the present will help to an understanding of ancient documents which, if made the sole basis of research, often prove the source of error. For these reasons I have selected a modern exposition of the general basis of Tāntrik doctrine by one who, as its adherent, has inherited its tradition, (vaktradvaktrena). We are now recommencing to value tradition, which everywhere provides the key to truth. It is in all religions of equal if not of greater truth than the imperfect and sometimes falsified documentary evidence we at present possess of their origin and history.
Whatever may be the case upon the purely historical questions which have been raised in
1 See post. 2 Hinduism is already taking on a new life. with respect to doctrine and practice, the first and simplest course is to learn from the lips of its living adherents what in fact they are, and, in so far as they can be given, the reason of and authority for them.
Mere book-learning (pustake likita), will not carry the student the full way without error. It must be supplemented by information derived from the Tāntrik Acaryas and Gurus. The truth of learning so gained can only be tested by personal experience.
Hindu beliefs, to be understood aright, should, if possible, be learned both of those who have not, as also of those who have, received an English education. The latter—in the past, at any rate—has generally involved the neglect of, and (prior to the recent national movement) often resulted in a contempt for, all that is ancient and specifically Hindu, whether in Religion, Literature, or Art.1 In its tendency it is not only—under its present conditions, at any rate, and whether for good or ill— destructive of tradition, but also in varying degrees of the mentality which originally produced the beliefs, and by which alone they may be completely apprehended. Even in cases where competency assumes a favourable attitude towards the ancient teaching, there is often to be found a tendency to read modern ideas into it.
A modern Indian publicist and author2 makes upon this matter seme very just observations. In treating of the concept "mother" as applied to India by her children, he says that there is no mere metaphor behind it, though most modern educated Hindus understand the word in a poetical and metaphorical sense. "But this is," he says, "because their education and environment have more or less completely diverted their thought and imagination frcm the ancient realities of their language and literature. There are, indeed, numerous words in common use amongst us to-day that have entirely lost their
1 As regards the two former, see the observations in Babu Dinesh Chandra Sen's valuable "History of Bengali Literature," published by the Calcutta University. As to Art, a limited residence in India will afford distressing proof. 2 Bepin Behary Pal, "The Soul of India," p. 145. original sense, owing to the loss of the genuine thought-life of the people in the wilderness of un-understood and un-assimilated foreign words and concepts accumulated by our present system of education. With the Europeanization of our minds and modes of thinking, even our words have been perceptibly Europeanized." This criticism has a very extensive application, and one is reminded of it at every step in reading the works of English-educated Hindus on Hindu life and thought, which their prudent reader will in some instances do well to peruse, bearing the above well-founded remarks in mind. As regards his countrymen, the author, in the second part1 of this work, observes: "Nowadays, most of those who represent the ideal type of a learned man in society are considered ignorant and devoid of all sense in the community of the Religious (Sadhakas)." It is also to be remembered that amongst the English-speaking Hindus who have attained success and even distinction there are many who, being of other castes, have neither inherited the traditions of the Bharmāna nor had the benefit of his teaching. Interpretations coming from these classes are likely (though exceptions may exist) to suffer by reason of their ancient disabilities.
The Tantratattva (Principles or subject matter of Tantra), of which the first part is here translated, is, so far as I am aware, the only considerable modern work of its kind. It was written in Bengali by Pandit Śiva Chandra Vidyarnava Bhattacharya,2 and first published some twenty years ago, being now in its second edition.
The present work is a defence of the Tantra, of which Śāstra the author is an adherent and a polemic, undertaken in the interests of Hindu orthodoxy in its Sakta and Tāntrika form against Secularism on the one hand, and on the other the
1 Sec chapter on Gurukula and Kulaguru. 2 Editor of the journal Saivi, and author of several other works—"Gitan-jali," "Ma," "Svabhava o abhava," "Vidyarnaver durgotsava," "Karta o Mana," "Pithamala," "Gangesa." religious eclecticism and various "reforming" movements, of which, when the book was first written, the Bharmāsamaji was a leading type. In fact, in parts the book reads like an orthodox Catholic protest against "modernism," and is thus interesting as showing how many fundamental principles are common to all orthodox forms of belief, whether of West or East.
The author of the Tantratattva is a well-known Tāntrik Pandit, preacher, and secretary of the Sarvamangalasabha. of Benares, who, happily for our purposes, knows no English. His work, which is written in Bengali, may therefore be taken to be an accurate popular statement of modern orthodox views on the subject treated of by him. The word "Tattva" is a very comprehensive one, which it is by no means always easy to translate. I have rendered the title of the book as "Principles of Tantra," though, maybe, as a friend has pointed out, it should be "Subjects of Tantra." The work deals, it is true, with chosen topics of Tantra. This, however, also involves a statement of certain fundamental principles which govern Sastrik teaching on the subjects dealt with, and this as well as the contents of possible future volumes must be my justification for giving the book a more ambitious title.
The author is both a poet and a preacher—a circumstance which accounts for the rhetorical style and popular devotional character of the work. Apart from such intrinsic merits as it may possess, it is of value as a document which records the thought and workings of an Indian mind affected but little, if at all, by the current notions of the day. In deals in the main, and in a popular way, with the philosophical and religious grounds of the orthodox system in its Sakta form. As regards some of its practical aspects, the author has considered that this was a subject fitter for the reader's Guru than for a book addressed to the public at large. It may therefore have proved a disappointment to those who, at the mention of Tantra, always expect to hear of rituals with wine and women, the midnight circle (Cakra), black magic in the cremation grounds, and so forth. The constant desire to hear of such things is not evidence of a true interest in the Śāstra, but a confession of personal weakness.1 To such it may come as a surprise to learn that the Tantra also concerns itself with matters of undoubted respectability even to its critics, and of universal, if less sensational, interest. It is commonly assumed by such persons (though altogether erroneously) that the Tantra Śāstra
As Professor B. K. Sarkar has well said, the encyclopaedias of India known under diverse names, such as Samhitas, Puranas and Tantras, are really generic terms under which the whole culture of certain epochs in Indian history found expression and currency. He adds that, while it is difficult and sometimes impossible to assign to such storehouses of information respecting the national life the names of any particular authors or compilers and the question of their dates may never be solved satisfactorily, they furnish undeniable, though sometimes conflicting accounts, of the manners and customs, rites and ceremonies, sects and Sampradayas, sentiments and traditions, which prevailed among the Hindus for epochs extending over hundreds of years.
The translation isprimarily the work of my friend Babu Jnanendralal Majumdar, himself a Bengali. My own part has consisted in its revision. The translation may read rather cumbrously in parts, but this is due to our desire to keep as close as possible to the somewhat discursive and rhetorical form of the original. I have added some explanatory notes to the text. I should have liked to have made the notes fuller if it could have
1 Inquiry as to these matters is, to use a chess term, a common though bad "opening" for 2 In "Non-Christian Religions," by Howard, pp. 77-78. The author, after a statement that the "Tāntrik System" originated with the Buddhist monk Asanga, says: "Further than this we must decline to plunge, even with the parts of the Tantra accessible to English readers." I am unaware of any parts "accessible to English readers" when this statement was made, and the author was evidently ignorant of any other. been done without overloading the text. I have, however, referred in the notes to the Introduction written for my edition of the Mahānirvāna Tantra,1 where I have explained at greater length such terms as "yantra," "mantra," "mudrā," "nyasa," "panchatattva," the "satcakra," and others, and have in a general and summary way dealt with śadhana, Upāsana, and hathayoga. I have retained certain technical Sanskrit terms in the ,text, as there is no corresponding English word which accurately gives their meaning.
The following pages deal with certain general aspects of the Śāstra, which were either not then treated of or were more summarily referred to. If upon some of these topics, such as the age of the Śāstra, I have not presented sufficiently certain and detailed conclusions, it is because, for want I am unable to do so. The subject is a novel one, and possibly many years of inquiry into Indian, Chinese, and Tibetan records2 will have to be made before opinions of any finality can be formed as to many matters in and touching the Śāstra.
* * *
Current definitions of Tantra as "Sacred writings of the Hindus," "Scriptures of Śāktas," "Collections of Magical Treatises," and the like, are either inaccurate and insufficient, or by their generality useless. A type of such inaccurate statements characterized by the usual vagueness and indecision says that: "The Tantras are a later development of the Puranic creed. They are the writings of Śāktas or votaries of the female energy of some Divinity (sic), mostly the wife of Śiva. Such ideas are not altogether absent in the Puranic works. But in the Tantras they assume a peculiar character, owing to the admixture of magic performances and mystic rites of perhaps
1 The references to the Introduction are, unless otherwise stated, to that work, since published as Introduction to Tantra Śāstra. 2 Indian tradition connects China and the Tantra, and both Chinese and Tibetan records are reputed to contain Sanskrit works which have long since disappeared from India. an indelicate nature. Amarasinha knows not of them." 1 In passing, it may be noted that this reference to the Amarakosa is a common one. It is true that the word Tantra is not mentioned in the svargavarga of the book. On the other hand, those who so cite it omit to state that some other ancient Śāstras, including the Atharvaveda, are not there mentioned; and in the Nanar-thavarga reference is made to Agama Śāstra, which is one of the names of Tantra. An anonymous author who writes on what he calls "Transformed Hinduism"2 says, after a description of the Puranas, "Another literature of a still more degrading type has been incorporated in the modern Hinduism, and this is the religious books called the Tantras, of which there are sixty-four volumes.3 These books are mostly manuals of mysticism and magic, written otherwise very much on the same lines as the puranas. The religion advocated in these books is the exponent (sic) of Śāktism, the wife of Śiva (sic), under her various manifestations." Whilst the Indian author last quoted rather vaguely refers to "mystic rites of perhaps an indelicate character" the book now cited more definitely affirms: "It is a licentious worship, and leads to cruelty, self-indulgence, and sensual gratification. Hence it is a blot upon the 'Modern Hinduism.' This sect goes under the name of the Bahm Marges (sic), or the secret sect."4 The Accounts of these and other uninformed authors treat the Tantra as a Śāstra of the Śāktas only where they do not as in the last cited quotation regard it merely as the Śāstra of the Vamachara community of Sakta Sadhakas.
The word Tantra has various meanings, and amongst others Śāstra generally, and therefore does not necessarily
1 "History of Classical and Sanskrit Literature," by M. Krishnamacharya, m.a.b.l., p. 34. 2 P. 180. 3 The author, in speaking of these "volumes" as he calls them, is thinking of the 64 Tantras assigned to each of the three Krāntas, which make them, however, so far as such divisions are concerned, 192 and not 64. 4 The author means the vama marga, or vamacara, as it is ordinarily called. The Tantra does not only deal with this "sect," which is one only of its acaras, the tenets of which the author does not understand. Daksinacaras and others are also followers of Tantra. The work is incorrect both as to the Tantra and other Śāstras and practices of the Hindus which it proposes to "transform." denote a religious Śāstra. In the sense, however, in which the term is most widely known and is here used, it denotes that body of religious scripture (Śāstra) which is stated to have been revealed by Śiva as the specific scripture of the fourth or present Kālī age (yuga). This is the definition of the Tantra according to the Śāstra itself.
There are our such ages (Mahayuga)—namely, the Satya yuga, or golden age; the Treta yuga, age in which righteousness (dharma) decreased by one-fourth; the Dvapara yuga, in which dharma decreased by one-half; and the present Kālī yuga, the most evil of the ages, in which righteousness exists to the extent of one-fourth only. At the close of this last age the Kalki Avatar a of Visnu, "the rider on the white horse," will destroy iniquity and restore the rule of righteousness. Each of these ages has its appropriate Śāstra, or Scripture, which is designed to meet the requirements of the men of each age.
The Hindu Śāstras are classed into Sruti, Smrti, Purana, and Tantra. The three last all assume the first as their base, and are, in fact, merely special presentments of it for the respective ages. It has been said that the Tantras "are regarded by those who follow them as a fifth Veda as ancient as the others and of superior authority."2 No Śāstra is or can be superior to the Veda. That practical application of its teachings, however, which is prescribed in the Tantra is to be followed in preference to the vaidikacara in the Kālīyuga. The relations of the Veda to the Tantra has been compared with that of the Jivatma to the PaRāmatma. The Tantra is said by its adherents to represent the inner core of the former. Professor de la Valleé Poussin says3: "Si Ton veut instituer une comparaison qui d'ailleurs n'est pas sans danger on sera frappe des ressemblances inapercues
1 Thus in the SabdaŚāktipraka&ka it is said: "Tarkangtantranchavidusha vidushangtoshakarika, kriyate jagadlshena"; where Tantra means the theory or science of argument. So the Paflchatantra, which the so-called "Tāntrik Order of America" includes in its International Journal amongst the Sanskrit and Tibetan Tantras, is not a Tantra in the sense here dealt with at all, but a book of fables. 2 Beveridge, "History of India," ii. 77. And to the same effect "Biblical, etc., Encyclopaedia," McClintoch and Strong, xii, 864. 3 Bouddhisme Etudes et Materiaux. qui permettent de rapprocher ces deux manifestations si differentes de la pensee Hindoue, le Vedisme et le Tantrisme." These resemblances which struck the learned author are, of course, due to the fact that there is a base common to the Veda and the Tantra, the latter being, according to orthodox notions, a branch of the Vaidik tree. It is only those who would altogether dissociate the Tantra from the Veda who will experience any surprise at finding resemblances between the Śāstras for the respective ages. As the Kularnava Tantra says, for each age (yuga) a suitable Śāstra is given—namely, in Satyayuga, Sruti; in Treta, Smrti; in Dvapara the Puranas; and in the Kālī age the Tantra.1 The truth to be taught ever remains the same, though the method of inculcating it varies with the ages. Current definitions, when not incorrect, fail to bring out this character of the Tantra as a Yuga (age) Śāstra and its relations to the other Scriptures. As, however, our author well says2 it is by no means impossible that now towards the end of the Kālī age a few parasites should be found growing on some of its branches.
The original and highest source of dharma is Sruti, or that "which has been heard," and which is the ipsissima verba of divine revelation. The Vedas are apauruseya (without any personal composer), manifested to the Rsis who were not their authors, but only their Seers (drasTārāh). The term "Sruti" is sometimes used in (what is to some) an extended sense, as where Kulluka Bhatta speaks of Tantra (which has sometimes been described as the fifth Veda) as Sruti (vaidiki Tāntrikichaiva dvividha. kirttita Srutih). Popularly, however, the term is limited to the four Vedas—Rk, Sama, Yajus, and Atharva—and the Upanisads, of which, Professor Paul Deussen says: "Die Upanisads, sind fur den Veda was fur die Bibel das neue
1 Krite srutyuktacharastretayyang smrtisambhavah Dvapare tu puranoktang kālau agamakevalam. See also Mahānirvāna Tantra, chap, i, verse 28, and Kubjika Tantra, where Sruti, Smrti, and Purana are assigned to the first three ages, and Tantra to the fourth. 2 See post. And as to the relation of Agama and Veda, see Mahabhaga-vata cited, post. Testament ist."1 In its primary signification the term "Vedanta" means the latter part of the Veda. The Jnānakānda of the Vedas is therefore the Vedanta in the original sense of the word. As such it is Sruti, and therefore in this sense the Vedanta is identical with the Upanisads, which teach as the gist of Vaidik doctrine the knowledge of the Absolute Being (PaRāmatma) and union with It. The Devas worshipped in the Mantras of the Karmakanda are, as well as the whole visible universe, but manifestations of It—the "Tat Sat," or the Reality. Based on Upanisad is the Vedanta Darsana, or philosophy embodied in the Vedanta Sutras ascribed to Vyasa, which have again been the subject of the commentaries known as Sankarabhasyam (of Śańkarācārya), Śrī bhasyam (of Rāmanuja), Madhvabhtsyam (of Madhva), and the less important Govindabhasyam.
Smrti is "that which is remembered," and has been handed down by Rsis. It is regarded as the expression of the Divine Will conveyed to mankind by inspiration through the agency of human beings. It is divided into the Srauta surras, dealing with Vaidik ceremonies, and the Grhya sutras, concerning the household rites; the prose Dharma sutras, which lay down rules of law properly so called (of which there are various caranas or schools, such as those of Gautama, Baudhayana, Apastamba, Vasistah, and others), and Dharma Śāstras, or metrical versions of previously existing dharma-sutras, such as the Code of Manu (Manusmrti), the Yajfiavalkya, Narada, PaRāsara Smrtis, and other fragmentary Dharma Śāstras and secondary Smrtis of later periods. On these Smrtis there are various commentaries, such as those of Medhatithi, Kulluka Bhatta, and others on the Manu Smrti; the commentaries on the Yajniavalkya Smrti by Vijnanesvara (known as the Mitaksara), and others; commentaries on the PaRāsara Smrti; and other commentaries such as those on the Mitaksara. These commentaries have given rise to various schools of law, such as the Mitaksara, Dayabhaga, Mithila, and others. Smrti provides for pravritti dharma, as the Upanisads had revealed the path of nivritti, or, as it is loosely called, "renunciation."
1 "Die .Geheimlehre des Veda" (1909). The third Śāstra, that of the Dvapara yuga, is that contained in the Puranas, the principal of those now extant being eighteen in number.1 They by myth and story convey in an exoteric manner the doctrines of the Vedas to the declining intelligence and spirituality of the men of the third age. Like, however, the Tantra, they deal with nearly every subject of knowledge— theogonies, cosmogonies, genealogies, chronology, the astronomical, physical, and other sciences. In addition to the Mahapuranas, there are the secondary Puranas or Upapuranas.2 Both of these are referred to in the Mahānirvāna Tantra, when dealing with the Śāstra of the different ages, as Samhita. This word, which literally means "collection," and, according to the Sabdaratnavali, includes Dharma Śāstra, Smrti, Srutijivika, also comprises 3 Purana, Upapurana, Itihasa (history such us Mahabharata and Ramāyāna), the work of Valmlki, Vasistha, and others.
The specific Śāstra for the fourth or Kālīyuga (according to orthodox views, the present age) is the Tantra. Though there are Āgamas or Tantras which are called Śiva and Sakta or Devī (according to the particular form of the One which is regarded therein as Istadevata), it is, according to orthodox notions, a mistake to regard the Tantra generally as if it were a petty Śāstra of any particular division of Hindu worshippers. It is said, on the contrary, to be a universal Śāstra governing all men in the Kālī age, though particular provisions in it may have reference to particular divisions of worshippers. Thus, while certain communities who perform the rahasyapuja make use of wine in worship, others do not, and it is, in fact, forbidden to them by the Tantra itself, as is the specific Śāktipuja associated with such use. So the Nitya Tantra prohibits the latter in the
1 The Visnu Bhagavata (it is a matter of dispute whether this is the Śrī -madbhagavata or Devī Bhagavata, both of which are largely quoted in this book); Naradiya; Garuda; Padma; Varaha; or Vaisnava Puranas; Śiva, Linga, Skanda, Agni (or, according to other accounts, Vayu), Matsya, Kurma; or Saiva Puranas; the Bharmā, Bharmāņda , Bharmāvaivarta, Markandeya, Bhavisya, and Vamana Puranas. 2 Kālīka, Sanatkumara, Narasingha, and others. 3 See Bharmāvaivarta Purana, jñānakharida, chap. cxxxii. case of the Pasu1 (ratrau naiva yajeddevlng sandhyayang vaparanhake). On the other hand, other portions of the Tantra govern the whole orthodox Hindu community. So not only the Śākti mantra, but also the Visnu and Śiva mantras are Tāntrik. The Tāntrika Sandhya may be said by all, and the Śāstra is the source of the bulk of the generally current ritual. A remark of a friend who read the first part of this book, "that he could find little of the Tantra in it,"2 is typical of the general misconceptions which prevail as to the nature of the Śāstra.
It is true that the so-called "Sakta" Tantras prescribe, in the case of one of the Acaras, a form of śadhana peculiar to this acara known as the Panchatattva,3 or worship with wine, meat, fish, grain, and woman (Śākti): and not uncommonly the Tantra is associated with such worship only, with the result that a "Tāntrik" has come to connote, in the minds of many, merely a Hindu who practises this śadhana. Less narrow and crude notions popularly associate the Tantra with the Sakta cult only, though they would include all forms of worship within the Sakta community, and do not limit the scope of governance of the Tantra to the community of Vamacarins worshipping with the rajasika Panchatattva. The reason for such views appears to be this: Though there may have been Saiva Tantras, as there have been what are called Saiva Puranas, and there are Tantras such as the Rādhā Tantra, which deal with the Visnu cult; and though in ordinary worship there is adoration of the "Five Devatas"4 (Panchopasana), yet in those scriptures which are more usually referred to when the Tantra is spoken
1 Because such worship connotes maithuna, which is not for the pasu on the path of pravritti, and who is still in the heavy bonds of desire. 2 Because it does not deal with those portions of the Tantra which are concerned with the Panchatattva, viracara, etc. 3 This is the term used by Tāntriks themselves in speaking of the conjoined elements. Vulgarly, they are called the "five M's" (panchamakara), because each of the ordinary names of the elements commences with that letter (madya, mangsa, matsya, mudrā, maithuna). Some of these have, however, esoteric names used by Tāntriks amongst themselves. "Lata śadhana" is a better and in some cases more accurate description of the fifth tattva than the word 'maithuna" with its vulgar implications. 4 Śiva, Visnu, Surya, Ganesa, and the Devī. of, the worship of Śākti assumes a more special form. All such notions, however, as regards Tantra, though popular, bespeak according to its followers a fundamental misconception of the scope of the Śāstra.1 Properly speaking, a Tāntrik should be defined as one who is governed by and follows the provisions of Tantra which are applicable to his particular case. In 1881 Dr. Rajendra Lal Mitra2 wrote that the followers of Tantra might be reckoned by the hundreds of thousands, and that the life of many an Indo-Aryan (he might have said, in one way or another, practically all) was that of "bondage to its ordinances." As a Yuga Śāstra, the Tantra claims to govern all orthodox communities of worshippers in the Kālīyuga. But this does not mean that all its provisions are applicable to each one of them. The contrary is the case. There are some matters, such as Mantratattva, which are of common applicability to all such communities. There are other matters which are peculiar to, and govern only, a particular community or section of it. But both the common and special provisions have the same Śāstra as their source. It is, however, not here meant that every practice followed by the orthodox3 communities is of Tāntrik origin. Some rites, such as that of Homa, have descended from Vaidik times. Others are of modern origin. Thus, to take one instance from amongst others: the Vaisnavas sing and dance and recite the name of Hari (Visnu) in Kirtans which are of a popular and emotional character. This mode of worship was introduced by the great Chaitanya Deva to meet the needs of his time, and has nothing in common with the formal and intellectual character of the Tāntrik ritual. As to this, the
1 According to the views (whether historically justifiable or not) of Tāntrik Pandits with whom I have discussed this matter, it is not as though there were separate and conflicting Śāstras, but one Śāstra—the Tantra with different sections appropriate to the various divisions in the community of Worshippers. So, again, the Puranas constitute one body of Śāstra, though any particular Purana may appear to give support to a sectarian hypothesis by reason of its emphasizing the cult of some particular Devata. 2 "Indian Aryans" (1893). vol. i, p. 404. 3 I thus exclude all the little sects, some of a very peculiar and original character, with which India abounds, though sometimes loosely affiliated, or claiming to be affiliated, to the larger one; such as, apparently, the Chaliya Pantha of Jodhpur, which Sellon, in his Annotations, calls "Kauchiluas." author says:1 "When Chaitanya Deva deluged all Bengal with huge waves of the name of Hari, he observed that Bharmāna, Ksatriya, and Vaisya families were on the verge of ruin. He thought that in the then state of society, full of middle-class (Navasakha) Śudras, incompetent for either the Vaidik or Tāntrik dharma, Harinam sangkirtana2 was the best form of dharma (religion), and consequently he preached that dharma." Though some may nowadays be disposed, through ignorance or other reasons, to dispute their connection with the Śāstra, the matter may be put to some very simple tests. If such a disputant be orthodox (whether Saiva, Vaisnava, or Sakta), he might, if he would answer such a question, be asked whether he has been initiated, and, if so, in what form —what mantra he then received, and where that mantra comes from.3 And then, when worshipping before an image 4 in Sakaia Upāsana, with the sixteen articles of worship (sodasa upacara), inquiry may be made as to the authority for such image-worship, and in what Śāstra this ritual and the rules relating to Nyasa, Bhutasuddhi, and so forth, is to be found. The answer in all these and similar cases will be the Tantra. On the other hand, as above stated, certain provisions of the Śāstra may have no applicability to a particular Sadhaka. As the Istadevata of the various religious communities differs, so in some respects does the puja and śadhana. The Basil leaf (tulsi) is sacred to Visnu; the Bael (bilva) to Śiva; the Scarlet hibiscus or China Rose to the Devī. Whilst animal sacrifice is made to Kālī, it is forbidden in the worship of the aspect of the One which is named Visnu. The use of the rajasika pancattatva is prescribed for Sakta initiates in Vamacara. It is forbidden to the Sakta non-initiate, and to
1 See post. 2 The singing of Visnu's (Hari's) name with music and dancing. Among the Vaisnavas there is a good deal of worship of a congregational character. 3 Thus in the Visnu mantra "Kling kling Gopala," Kling is a Tāntrik bija which is to be found in no other Śāstra but the Tantra. In the same way, in the Kŗşņa mantra, given in the notes (see post), Aing and Shring are Tāntrik bijas. 4 I include under this term not merely the image strictly so-called, but also the jar (ghata) in Devī worship, and the lingam and salagRāmain Saiva and Vaisnava Upāsana, respectively. other communities of worshippers. But both the injunctions and the prohibitions have as their authority the same Śāstra,1 which governs in some way ot other all orthodox communities.
In short, it is considered an error to regard the Tantra as the petty Śāstra of any religious sect only, and a still greater mistake to limit its operation to that which is but one only of its particular methods or divisions of worshippers (acaras).
As mentioned later, the Tantra deals with all matters of common belief and interest, from the doctrine of the origin of the world to the laws which govern kings and the societies which they have been divinely appointed to rule, medicine and science generally. The Tantra is not only the basis of popular Hindu practice, on which account it is known as the śadhana Śāstra, but it is the respository of esoteric belief and practices, particularly those relating to yoga and mantra-tattva. Indeed, as regards the last, which is one of the most peculiar, and at the same time most profound, aspects of Hindu teaching, the Tantra is to such an extent the acknowledged repository of this spiritual science that its other name is the Mantra Śāstra. Its claims to such a name could not have been made good were there not some ground for its assertion that it is a Yuga Śāstra for the Kālī age. As to which Tantras, however, are authoritative there appear to be differences of opinion, such differences being due either to a mistaken sectarianism, or possibly to real divergences as regards doctrinal thought and historical descent.
The Tantras are referred to as Āgamas. An Indian author2 and student of the Saivagama expresses the opinion that the Āgamas have branched out from the same stem of the Vaidik tree which produced the earlier Upanisads, and were at one time as widespread in India as the Upanisads themselves; that, like
1 This is overlooked in the common, though erroneous, appellation—"right 2 Dr. V. V. Rāmana Sastrin, the Upanisads, the Āgamas also became in course of centuries the basis of a number of "creeds" which, unanimous in accepting the essentials of the Agamic teaching, were divergent as regards rituals, observances, and minor essential details. He says: "The Āgamas contend that they constitute the truest exegesis of the Vedas, and their origins are certainly as ancient as those of some of the classical Upanisads. If the Fire worship be regarded as the ritual inculcated in the Vedas as the outer symbolism of spiritual truths, the temple worship may, on its side, be also said to assume a similar importance in regard to the Āgamas. For the rest, it will be seen that in India at the present day there is hardly a Hindu who does not observe some kind of temple worship or another, which points to the conclusion that the Āgamas have had, in one form or another, an universal hold upon the continent of Hindu India, and that their influence tells." The principles and ritual of Saivaism are said to be determined by the Āgamas or Tantras, which are twenty-eight in number, from Kamika to Vatula.
According to some, the Vedas, issued from four out of the five mouths of Śiva and the Tantra of the "higher tradition' (urddhvāmnāya) from His central or fifth mouth. The other Tantra is said by some to have proceeded from the current issuing "below the navel"1 of the Deva. According to another account, all the mouths of Śiva gave issue to those Tantras which spring from the "upward current", and the others are the produce of the downward current" "below the navel".2 According, however, to both versions a distinction is made between the two classes of tradition. In the Lalitha Sahasranama, Bhaskararaya, commenting on the Sloka in which the Devī is addressed as Nijajna-rupa Nigama, (the "Nigama are the expression of Thy commands"), says:3 "Athava santi vedanuyayini saivatantrani kamikadinyastavingsaih vedaviruddhani4 kapalabhairavadini
1 See post. 2 See as to the meaning of these expressions post. 3 Verse 67. 4 As to whether the rahasyapuja of the Tantra is opposed to the Veda, see post. In similar fashion Aufrecht (see Adikarmapradipa) says: "Subbagama appellata a via Vedis praescripta non descendunt ideoque samāyāchara appellantur. cha tesu vaidikani nigamapadavacyani paramesvarasya mukha-dudbhutatvadajnarupani napunarnabhyadho bhagadutpannani vedaviruddhanltyarthah." He there, referring to the Devī Bhagavata and Skanda Puranas, states that there are twenty-eight Saiva Tantras commencing with. Kamika which adhere to the Vaidik injunctions, as there are others commencing with Kapala, Bhairava, etc, (assigned by him to the "downward current"), which do not, and the reference in the Lalita to Nigama is, according to his views, to the former class. As they sprang from the mouth of Paramesvara, they are said to be the form of the Devī's commands. The five Tantras, commencing with Kamika sprang from the sadyojata face of Śiva. From the other four faces— viz., the vamadeva, aghora, tatpurusa, and liana— sprang respectively the five Tantras, Dipta, and others of its class, the five Vijaya and others, the five Vairocana and others, and the eight Tantras Prodgita and others. These tewnty-eight are said to have sprung from the "upward current", and the and the others from the current issuing "below the navel".1 The Kamika identifies these twenty-eight Saiva Tantras or Āgamas with various parts of the body of the Devī, Her ornaments and garments; and all other auxiliary and supplementary Tantras with the hair on Her body. For the body of the great Īśvarī, who is one with Isvara Her Lord, is contemplated upon under the form of all the Tantras (Sarvatantrarupa). The same commentator,2 citing the Kurma Purana, observes:
In another place Devī says to Himavat: "Whatsoever Scriptures are found opposed to Sruti and Smrti devoted to dualism—viz., Kapala, Bhairava, Sakāla, Gautama, and similar ones—exist
1 Orddhasrotobhava ete nabhyadhasrotasah parah; the former existing in the chaste (urddharetas), whose "stream of life" (retas) tends upwards. 2 Lalita, verse 137. for the purpose of bewilderment.1 Those who are confused by false scriptures also confuse the world. These were all created by me for the sake of bewilderment."2
In the passage cited from the Lalita, Bhaskararaya refers to the SaivĀgamas or Saiva Tantras, and, according to his apparently sectarian view, the other Tantras are those which proceed from "below the navel".
There are, however, what are called Sakta Tantras, and to these the term Tantra is more commonly applied, because in this form they have been perhaps more known and spoken of. According to the view of the author cited, the "SaivĀgamas are not related to the Sakta Tantras by any organic community of thought or descent".3 Whatever be the historical basis of this conclusion, which is not stated, it is to be noted (for the thought is profound) that in the passage from the Lalita, though different types of Tantra are said to have sprung from different currents, they are yet both represented as issuing from the body of the God. Śiva is represented as the author of all Āgamas. There is, in fact, but one source whence all forms of religion, as all else, come. If the ray of pure sattvik light appears to be variously coloured, or even at times clouded or obscured, it is not by reason of the alteration of its nature, but of the disturbing and darkening qualities of the other gunas constituting the Devī's substance manifesting in the Jiva. It is not without reason that Śiva, the Friend of all, is represented as surrounded by Bhuta and the demoniac hosts. If the Devī, as Vidya, liberates, by Hermāyā (from which the religious sense no more than any other is free), She also binds. The sectarian, whether a Saiva or other, naturally discovers abundance of this mayik play in the creed of his neighbour which he condemns. I doubt myself whether there exists at present material for conclusions of any degree of certainty
1 The Devī is, while the great Liberatrix, also the "all-bewildering" (Sarva-mohinl). When devoid of Her grace, men are bewildered by Hermāyā. 2 Similar language is used as regards the Atheistic School in chap, lxxvii of the Kālīka Purana, which says: "Vamah kayoBharmā nopi mangsa-modyadibhuktaye, kritomāyā. mohanaya charwakadipravarytakah," The reference here is to the nastika doctrines of Charwaka and his followers. 3 Dr. Rāmana sastrin, loc. cit. See ante. as to the historical origin of the so-called Sakta Tantras. Certainly no one has yet collected such as may exist. They are, however, I believe, at base (whatever may be the accretions they are said by some to have received) an outcome from the same Vaidik source, the Mother of all Dharma, as the Saiva Tantras, though, having regard to the difference of acara, they may derive from this common source in different form.
That which is commonly regarded as telling against this conclusion is the vIracara ritual with the Pancatattva. It is said1 by a modern Saivite that the SaivĀgamas prohibit drink and the eating of flesh. Though we may recall both Vaidik usage and the curse of Bhrgu on those who follow the rites of Bhava: Visantu Śivadiksayam yatra daivam suRāsavam;2 this prohibition is in accordance with the provisions of the "Sakta" Tantras, which limit the ritual use of wine and flesh to the worshippers of Śākti initiate in vamacara.
That the provisions of Tantra which relate to the Pancatattva are opposed to the Veda is a notion which is declared by the Indian Tāntrik pandits to be erroneous. Manu says:
"There is no wrong in the eating of meat, nor in the drinking of wine, nor in sexual intercourse; for these things are natural to men. At the same time abstention therefrom is productive of great fruit."
He is doubtless there referring to those enjoyments which belong to the Pravrtti Marga—the use of meat and fermented liquor
1 Saiva Siddhanta, 315, v. ante. 2 Bhagavata Purana, cited in Muir, S.O.T., 377 - 382. 3 So also the Mahānirvāna Tantra says: "Eating and sexual union, O Devī, are desired by and natural to men, and their use is regulated for their benefit in the ordinances of Śiva." " Nrinang svabhavajang Devī priyang bhojanamaithunnm Samksepaya hitarthaya saivadharmme nirupitam." (Ullasa ix, verse 283). Śāstras are relied on as authorities by Tāntrik Pandits in support of the Vlracara ritual. It is unnecessary to deal with this ritual here, as its discussion forms no part of the author's work. Not improbably (in part at least) originating in a doctrine intended for the detached non-dualistic initiate,1 and kept closely secret,2 it may have been perverted by the vulgar, to whom some portions of it became later known. The abuses of these commoner people, as time went on, developed such proportions as to ultimately obscure all other matters in the Tantra, thus depriving them of that attention which is their due.
The objections, however, which have been made to the Tāntrik rahasyapuja, have probably been the chief cause of the attack made upon the age and authority of the Śāstra. It would be beyond the limits of a general Introduction such as this to enter at length into this difficult and debated question. As the view which is to be found more commonly stated is adverse to the Śāstra on both these points, it may be shortly pointed out that the Tantra is referred to in works of acknowledged authority such as the Śrī madbhagavata, the celebrated Vaisnava Śāstra, the Devī Bhagavata (which in the ninth skanda speaks of it as a Vedanga), and in the Varaha, Padma, Skanda, and other Puranas. In the first-named work Bhagavan says: "My worship is of three kinds, Vaidik, Tāntrik, and mixed (misra)," and in the fifth chapter of the eleventh skanda of the same work it is said that Kesava assumes different forms in the different Yugas, and should be worshipped in different ways, and that in Kālīyuga he is to be worshipped according to the Tantra. The great Sankaracaxya recognizes the Śāstra in his Ananda Lahari and Saktamoda, as does Ananda Tirtha, the commentator of Purna-prajiiadarsana. The Śāstra is frequently quoted in the celebrated work on Smrti, the Astavimsatitattva of Raghunandana, which
1 Thus, as regards worship with woman (Lataśadhana), it is said that it is not possible for one who is a dualist devoid of the knowledge of Kula, and addicted to sexual intercourse, to duly follow Śiva's mandate. Hell follows lust. As the TantRāsara says, "Lingayonirato mantri rauravang narakang brajet" ("The Mantrin addicted to lust goes to the Raurava Hell")—that is, the hell in which the qualities of the fiery tejas tattva exist in painful excess. 2 Matriyonivat, as it is said. is itself universally accepted as an authority throughout Bengal. In short, as the Veda issued from the mouth of Bharmā, so the Agama Śāstra is said to have come from that of Sadaiiva.1 Current objections to the Tantra on the ground that it lacks the authority of Sruti, Smrti, or Purana, and is of more recent date, are based, according to orthodox views, on a misconception. According to those views, all Śāstras are without beginning and eternal as indeed in one sense they are, though their phenomenal appearance may be successive. Letters or sounds are the sensuous manifestation of words, the essence of which resides in the sphota or conception which existed from all eternity before ever these sounds or words were uttered. The phenomenal appearance of Tantra postdates the other Śāstras in the same sense as that in which the Kālīyuga is said to succeed to the earlier ages of the present Mahayuga. There is, in fact, but one truth variously presented to the respective ages. So the Tantra has been said to exist in the Veda as the perfume exists in the flower. While the theoretical portion of the Gāyatrī Tattva is contained in the Vedanta, the practical and ritualistic portion is in the Tantra. Both the theoretical exposition and practical application of universal principles varies with the needs of the ages and the JIva living therein. It is said of the Devī: "Many are the paths which vary according to the Śāstras but all leading to fruition (siddhi) merge in Thee alone, as all rivers merge and are lost in the sea."
For orthodox views on this matter I will here refer the reader to our author and to a recent essay on the "Antiquity of the Tantra," by Mahamahopadhyaya Jadavesvara Tarkaratna.2 The Pandit prefaces the matter by a notice of the views generally entertained by what are called "educated" Indians, which he summarizes as follows: They hold, he tells us, that the Tantras are of recent production; that to the Vaidik age succeeded the Upanisadik. Then followed the Pauranik age, and then, quite
1 Some other authorities will be found cited in the later pages of this book; and I summarize in the following pages the opinion of Mahamahopadhyaya JadavesVara Tarkaratna, in his article on the antiquity of Tantra (Tantrer-prachinatva) in the Sahitya Samhita of Assin. 1317. 2 See preceding note. recently, that of the Tantras. But even then the latter Śāstra was not of general authority, having neither governance nor influence in other parts of India than Bengal, where alone it was predominant. There it was created by Bengali Pandits upon the model of the Buddhist teaching and practice of the Mahayana sect.' These Bengali Pandits are also alleged to have incorporated therewith the worship of Śākti, the goddess of the aboriginal barbarian inhabitants of Bengal. The date of many of the Tantras is said to fall within the last three hundred years, and, amongst other proofs of this, reference is made to the fact that the Yogini Tantra mentions the name of the founder of the Coochbehar Raj, which was established within that time.
These objections are then classified under four headings: (1) The Tantra is not an ancient Dharma Śāstra of the Aryan race having effect in all parts of India, but was in force in Bengal alone, being, indeed, an invention of the Bengalis, who naturally honoured their own creation. (2) Amongst Mahayana Buddhists there is worship of Tārā, Vajrayogini, Ksetrapala, and the use of mantras, bijas, and japa, in the cult of such Devatas. There is similar worship in the Tantra, which must therefore be derived from Mahayana Buddhism. (3) Aboriginal tribes are worshippers of Śākti, ghosts, snakes, and trees. The Tantras also deal with such worship, and have therefore adopted the worship of such aborigines. (4) A book which relates an incident which took place not more than three hundred years ago cannot itself be older.
To these objections the Mahamahopadhyaya replies as follows: As to the first, he rejoins that Tāntrik influences are to be found, not only in Bengal, but throughout India. Just as the Bengalis of the higher castes are divided into Śāktas, Vaisnavas, and Saivas, so it is with the peoples of KamarQpa, Mithila, Utkāla, and Kālīnga, and the Kashmirian pandits. The Śākti mantra, Śiva mantra, and Visnu mantra, are each Tāntrik. Amongst Daksinatyas,2 Mahamahopadhyaya SubRāmanya Sastri, and many others, are Śāktas. The late Mahamahopadhyaya
1 See post. 2 Pandits of Southern India. Rāma Misra Sastri, Sastri, Mahamahopadhyaya Rāma Sastri Bhaga-vatacarya, and many others, were and are Vaisnavas. Mahamahopadhyaya Śivakumara Sastri, and a number of others, are Saivas. In Brindavan there are many Sakta as well as Vaisnava Bharmānas, though amongst the higher castes in Maharastra and other Southern Indian countries, Saivas and Vaisnavas are more numerous than Śāktas. Followers of the Pasupata and Jangama cults are Saivas whereas those of Madha-vacarya and Rāmanujacarya are Vaisnavas. Many in the North-west are initiated in the Rāma mantra, which is to be found only in the Tantra. It is still more remarkable that, according to this author, the pandas of Śrī Purusottama1 are all Śāktas, and the priests of Kamakhya Devī2 are all Vaisnavas.
Passing to the second argument, he denies that similarity between two doctrines and practices is necessarily proof that the first is borrowed from the second. It may equally be argued the other way. If, because the Buddhists worship Tārā, Haya-griva and others with Dhyānas and bijas similar to those in the Tantra, it is contended that the latter is derived from the former, it may equally well be urged that such Buddhist worship is taken from the Tantra. If the Hindu mind was moved by and drawn to the touching teachings of Buddhism, why, he asks, should it concern itself with the externals, and not with the fundamental principles of the religion to which it is so attracted ? Why should the Hindu, instead of striving for Nirvana, stand before Buddhist images, fashioned after Buddhistic models, and with folded palms pray for beauty, victory, glory, and the destruction of foes ? There is obviously a great difference between yoga undertaken for the extinction of all desires, and such prayers to the Deity for wealth and the destruction of foes, as form part of the Vaidik religion. The Bhagavadgita preaches niskama karma,3 which, with the pursuit of spiritual knowledge leads to the acquisition of such knowledge, and thereafter to Nirvana; and on this account the "educated" say that the Gita is influenced by Buddhis-
1 Jagannatha at Puri. 2 At Kamrup in Assam, a great Tāntrika centre. 3 The performance of work selflessly, without desire for its fruit. tic ideals. . In the Tantra there is performance of work with desire, which is contrary to Buddhist teaching. Hinduism alone, of all religions, provides different forms of religious teaching for persons of differing religious competence (adhikara). Buddhism does not. How, otherwise, is it possible to account for Buddha-deva's vairagya,1 his loss of faith in Hinduism, and his discovery of the new path whereby man shall escape the infirmities of old age and death ? Buddhism, out of pity for all living creatures, forbids the sacrifice of animals. It is, he thinks, an astonishing proposition that Tāntrikas followed such a religion, when at the same time they are supposed to have invented a novel Śāstra, enjoining the sacrifice of goats, buffaloes, and other animals, before images of Devas and Devīs, also drawn from Buddhism. While it is not to be expected that all will understand the complexities of Buddhist philosophy, pity is a virtue which goes with humble minds. If there be anything which might prove attractive in Buddhism to men in general it is its prohibition against the slaughter of animals—an ordinance which melted the hearts of a large number of the Hindus and made them Buddhists. It is scarcely probable, then, that Hinduism should omit that which is fundamentally attractive in a religion which (in his view) denies the existence of God, and should inaugurate a new Śāstra (the Tantra) providing for the worship of Devas and Devīs, according to the tenets of the Buddhist Mahayana school. It is modern Vaisnavism, on the contrary, which, in its prohibition of animal sacrifice, is inspired by the Buddhistic principle that "cessation from the killing of animals is the highest form of religion". In the great yajna, which lasted a hundred years, Saunaka and other Rsis used to listen to the Śrī mad Bhagavata from the mouth of Suta, and at the same time to sacrifice animals.2 In the Aivameda yajna which King Yudisthira, the disciple of Kŗşņa, performed under the guidance of Śrī Kŗşņa himself, a horse was killed, offered to Devas, and eaten. Bhagavan Śrī Kŗşņa Himself hunted a boar under the command of Vasudeva for the satisfaction of the Pitrs in Sraddha. The eleventh skanda
1 Dispassion. 2 Skanda I. of the Bhagavata1 explicitly states that the killing of animals in sacrifice is no killing.
Amongst the Vaisyas of Mathura, many had become Buddhists, and others Jains. Greatly moved as they were at the sight of Chaitanya's love for Kŗşņa, and drawn thereby to Hinduism, they yet heSītāted to return to it on the ground that it sanctioned the slaughter of animals in sacrifice. It was perhaps at that time that the Vaisnava teachers announced that the killing of animals was not sanctioned by their tenets, and thus succeeded in converting Buddhists and Jains to their faith. It is probably from this time that Vaisnava families abandoned animal sacrifice on occasions of puja. Although common Vaisnavas eat fish, the flesh of other animals is forbidden. In Bengal, Utkāla, and other countries, Buddhist teachers adapted from Hinduism the establishment of images of Devas, the worship of such Devas with mantras and bijas, and called themselves Mahayana Buddhists—-a sect which, of course, came into existence long after the passing away of the Buddha. The LalitavisTārā,2 or biography of Sakyasingha,
Again, Sakyasingha Sakyasingha is made to say to the Bhiksukas,4 "Such fools seek the protection of, and pay obeisance to, Bharmā, Indra, Rudra, Visnu, the Devī, Kartikeya, Mother KatyayanI, Ganapati, and others. Some perform tapasya in cremation grounds, and at the crossing of four roads."5 Speaking of the practice of heretics (pasandas), Sakyasingha mentions the use of wine and flesh. Had not the Tāntrik form of worship been then in existence how could he have known and spoken ill of it?6 Seeing, also, what the LalitavisTārā says, can it, he asks, be contended that the Tantra is derived from Mahayana Buddhism?
1 XI, Chapter v, sloka xiii. 2 Chapter xii, 3 Vide ante. 4 Buddhist Sannyasis. 5 LalitavisTārā, chap. xvii. 6 This, of course, does not necessarily follow. All that is here proved is that Tāntrik practices antedated the LalutavisTārā, whatever be the date at which the latter was written. From the standpoint of Western criticism this and all similar orthodox arguments are weakened by the too ready credit sometimes given to the age and authority of the literary materials on which they rest. To the third objection the Mahamahopadhyaya answers that the views there expressed are similar to those given under the second heading, and the rejoinder, therefore, is similar. It may, however, he says, be asked who are meant when the barbarian aborigines of India are spoken of. According to the English, such aborigines were Dravidians, Odras, and Paundra-kas. Is it, he says, to be supposed that Bengali Pandits composed the Tantra Śāstra in imitation of the practices of Dravidians inhabiting the distant Deccan? Or was the Tāntrik system adopted from Mundas, Santhas, Garos, Meches, Kuches, Khasias and other primitive inhabitants of Assam ?1 The Pandit heSītātes "to lay this heavy burden of ignominy on the heads of Bengali Pandits" seeing that the Śākti Devata is established and worshipped in all parts of India. Thus Kamakhya is worshipped at Kamarupa, Vindhyavasini on the Vindhya Hills, Yogamāyā and Paurnamasi at Brindavan; Annapurna, Sankata, Tripura-bhairavi, sixty-four Yoginis, kālabhairavi, Durga, Sītāla, Man-gala, and other Devīs at Kasi; Kusali at Kausali; Parvati on the Sahya Hills, Poona; Guhyesvari in Nepal; Gāyatrī and Savitri in Rajputana; Lalita at Prayaga; UgraTārā at Tirhut;māyāDevī at Haridvara;2 chandi on the Chandi Hills near Haridvara; Jvalamukhl at Jalandhara;3 Cinnamasta, some forty miles therefrom; Kālī (whom King Prithvi worshipped) seven miles to the south of Delhi; Mumba in Bombay city; MahaLakşmī, on the sea coast near Bombay; Kālīka on the Harsha Island, west of and near Mahakalesvara; Ksirabhavani near Kashmir; and Devī Minaksl, south of Madras.4 All these Devīls (to which many others might be added) are still worshipped, and were established in their various places in distant and unknown ages. Even at the seat of Purusottama in Utkāla,s Vimala is worshipped, so also are Sarasvati, Bhuvaneshvari, Kālī, and Laymi. Obeisance is made to Subhadra.6 with the mantra: "KatyayanI,
1 The Pandit's reply, of course, takes benefit from the folly of the statement he answers. 2 After whom the place (Hardwar) is calledmāyāpuri in the Śāstra. 3 The Devī at Madura. 4 The temple of Jagannatha (Visnu) at Puri, Orissa. 5 Sister of Jagannatha. salutation to Thee." Bhuvanesvari is worshipped at Bhubanes-vara; Dhavalesvari at Dhavalesvara; eight Śāktis, Viraja, Indrani at Yajpur, and Katakachandi at Cuttack.
If it be argued that the Tantra Śāstra is of recent origin because it provides for the worship of Śākti, then the same observation must apply to the Puranas, Mahabharata, and even the Vedas and Upanisads. The Mahabharata contains hymns in honour of the Devī. The Śrī madbhagavata provides for the worship of Uma. The maidens of Vraja worshipped KatyayanI. The Markandeya Purana relates the greatness of Devī. In the Puranas Her greatness is sung. Numerous passages in proof of this may be culled from the Skanda, Bharmā, Bharmāvaivarta, Bhavisya, Padma, Devī, and Kālīka Puranas. The autumnal Durga Puja is mentioned in many Puranas. It is an error to suppose that Raghunandana Bhattacharya alone has prescribed for the worship of Durga. Previous to him many others had done so, such as Śrī datta, Harinatha, Vidyadhara, Ratnakara, Bhojadeva, Jimutavahana, Halayudha, Rayamukuta, Vacaspati Misra and many other renowned compilers. Many well-known books written before the age of Raghunandana contain provisions for Durga Puja, such as the DurgabhaktiTārāngini, Samvat-sarapradipa, kālakaumudi, Jyotisarnava, Smrtisagara, Kal-pataru, Krityamaharnava, Krityaratnakara, Kamanipujani-bandha, Krityatattvarnava, Chakranarayani, Kriyayogopasam-vara, Durgabhaktiprakasa, Daksinatya, kālanirnaya and Puja-ratnakara.
Although the Bengali practice of worshipping earthen images of Durga with great pomp is not followed in all parts of India, yet She is everywhere worshipped in Ghatas (jars). Shrines which contain Her images are visited; nine-day vratas are made, fasts observed, and the Chandi read on the Mahastami day. Even now the women of Vraja in Brindavan bathe in the Jumna early every morning for the first nine days of the bright fortnight of the month of Asvina, and worship images of the Devī, which they draw on the banks of the river. Readers of the Chandogya, Talavakara and other Upanisads are aware of the incident in which Uma, the Daughter of the Mountain, riding a lion in a blaze of light, appeared to Indra and the other Devas in order to prove that it was not by their Śākti that they lived and moved, but that all which was done was so done by virtue of that Maha-Śākti. In the Veda there is the Sarasvati sukta, in the Yajurveda the Lakşmī sukta, and in the tenth Mandala of the Rgveda the Devī sukta. Even the worship of Devī Manasa is based, not on the Tantra, but Purana. And the same may be said as regards the worship of the Tulsi plant, and the Bael and Asvattha tree.1 Far distant from Bengal, on the summit of Mount Govarddhana, there is an image of Devī Manasa. And in the land of Vraja, where animal sacrifice is condemned, goats are sacrificed before this Devī. Snake worship exists in other countries than Bengal, and was not introduced by the Tantra Śāstra. A survey of the religious practices prevalent in ancient times and in other countries does not support the conclusion that because the Tantra advocates Śākti worship it is therefore of recent origin.
Passing to the fourth heading, the Pandit asks how it is that, if the Yogini Tantra is at most only three hundred years old, Raghunandana Bhattacharya, the great Smarta, and Kxsna-nanda Bhattacharya, contemporaries of Śrī Chaitanya, referred to and quoted it as an authority in the Smrtitattva and Tantra-sara. On the other hand, it is common knowledge that if in some obscure family a great person (mahapurusa), or a succession of great persons, is born, their descendants and disciples name the members of that family after those of some other wellknown family, so as to create the notion that the two families are the same. It was perhaps in this way he surmises that the Raj family of Cooch Behar was raised to the position of being the descendants of Śiva mentioned in the Yogini Tantra.
Madhavacarya, the commentator upon the Vedas, has, in dealing with the Patanjala Darsana in his compilation of the six Darsanas, quoted many passages from the Tantra Śāstra with reference to the ten forms of Samskaras prescribed therein. Vacaspati Misra, the commentator upon the six Darsanas, has,
1 The Tulsi and Asvattha are worshipped, and bael leaves are offered to Śiva. in his commentary on the Patanjala Darsana, recommended Dhyāna of Devatas as prescribed in the Tantras. Bhagavan Śańkarācārya, also, has, in the Sariraka Bhasya, made mention of the Tāntrik Satcakra. It is hardly necessary to say that none of these three great men—Śańkarācārya, Madhavacarya, and Vacaspati Misra,—was a Bengali. Before the compilation of Kŗşņa,nanda's TantRāsara, there were many compilers of Tantra, such as Raghavananda, Raghavabhatta, Virupaksa, and Govindabhatta. In his observations upon the Yantra of Nilasarasvati, in his TantRāsara, Kŗşņa,nanda, observes: "Said by even Śrī Śańkarācārya." The famous Śākti Stotra,1 named Anandalahari (wave of bliss),2 is everywhere known to be the work of Śańkarācārya, and is, as such, universally recited by devotees before Devatas with feeling and reverence. Compilations of Tantra, such as the Rāmarcana Candrika,1 the Mantra-muktavali, the SaRāsamgraha, the Bhuvanesvariparijata, the Saradatilaka, the TripuRāsaRāsamuchchaya, the Svachchanda-sangraha, the SaRāsamuchchaya, the Mantratantraprakaia, and the Somabhujangavali, were prepared long before the time of Kŗşņa,nanda and Raghunandana. References to these books are to be found in the works of Kŗşņa,nanda and Raghunandana. In the well-known astronomical work called Dlpika, days for taking Diksa (initiation) have been determined separately from those for commencement of education and investiture with the sacred thread (upanayana). That Diksa must, therefore, be Tāntrik Diksa, distinct from Vaidik Diksa or Upanayana. Compilations come into existence long after the preparation of original works and when capacity for their production has ceased. It is when ordinary folk find difficulty in establishing a concordance between the ordinances contained in numerous—original and other works—that the learned undertake the making of compilations for the determination of the right forms of religious
1 Hymn to Śākti. 2 See Arthur and Ellen Avalon's "Hymns to the Goddess" for this and other Hymns to the Devī. 3 Passages compiled in the Rāmarchana Chandrika have been quoted by Vacaspati Misra in the chapter on VasantI Puja in his Krityacintamani. This supports the antiquity of Rāmarchana Chandrika. practice, the regulation of objections against the Śāstra, the establishment of a concordance between apparently conflicting authorities and the settlement of all disputed matters. A period of at least a thousand years must, in this author's opinion, be considered to have elapsed between the date of original works and that of compilations. Many of the compilers whose names have been mentioned lived a thousand years ago. There is therefore no ground, in the Pandit's opinion, for doubting that the Tantra Śāstra is at least two thousand years old. In the eleventh skanda of the Śrī madbhagavata it is said that Kesava (Visnu) should be worshipped in the manner prescribed in the Tantra Śāstra;1 and, again, that men desirous of acquiring jñāna (spiritual knowledge) should worship Bhagavan according to Vaidik and Tāntrik ordinances.2 The same book in the same skanda also says: "Hear how people should worship Me in the Kālī age according to various Tantras.3 They should observe my Yatras (Dolayatra, Rathayatra, etc.), perform sacrifices, be initiated in the Vaidik and Tāntrik modes, and undertake to perform tha vrata in which I am worshipped."
In the Bharmā Purana it is said that people should enter into the temple of Bhuvanesvara in the Garden of a single mango Tree,4 and there worship Mahadeva according to Vaidik and Tāntrik rites. This passage has been quoted by Raghunandana in his Purusottamatattva. The Kiirma Purana says: "There are found in the world many Śāstras antagonistic to Sruti and Smrti. The ordinances of such Śāstras are tamasik.5 Karala, Bhairava, Yāmala, and similar other books follow Vamamarga," 6 and so on. This passage, which is also contained in the Kurma Purana, has been quoted by Raghunandana and other compilers. The Pandit points out that Karala, Bhairava, and Yāmala are Tāntrik works, and that the Vamamarga is a mode of Tāntrik worship. In the Ramāyāna there are references to Bala and
1 Chapter iii, slokes 47 and 48. See Śrī dhara Svami's note. 2 Chapter v, sloka 28. Śrī dhara Svami's note. 3 Chapter v, sloka 31. Śrī dhara Svami's note. 4 The town of Bhuvanesvara. 5 That is, the outcome of a state in which the tamoguna predominates. 6 See Introduction to Tantra Śāstra.
Atibala,1 which are Tāntrik, and the mode of acquiring which is given in the TantRāsara. Raghava Bhatta and Raghunandana quote Narada as to the nature of the Tāntrik mode of worship for persons in impure conditions. In the PaRāsara Bhasya there is a quotation said to have been originally made by Govinda-bhatta, which says that mantras with Om should not be taught to Śudras, and so on. In Bhojaraja's VyavahaRāsamuchchaya there is reference to a passage stating that Upanayana and Diksa should not be performed whilst Brihaspati2 is in Rahu.3 The Varaha says that learned men should worship Janardana either according to the Vedas or according to the Tantras. The Padma Purana, in its UtTārākhanda, asks how it is possible that one may become bhagavata4 without taking diksa in the Vaisnavi cult ? In the third chapter of the Narada Pancaratra it is said that whilst meditating on the six Cakras named Mūlādhāra, Svadhisthana, Manipura, Anahata, Visuddha, Ajna, Śrī Kŗşņa was seen in the thousand petalled lotus, resplendent, of the colour of a freshly-formed cloud, wearing yellow silk, two-armed, beautiful, pure, and smiling, in the company of his own Śākti, Kundalinl. Again, in the fourth chapter of the same book, the author uses the terminology of the Tantra Śāstra when he says, "Lakşmīrmāyā Kamabijam," etc.,5 and thus introduces the great mantra of Śrī Kŗşņa, consisting of bijas, and formed of eight syllables. All are aware that the piercing of the six Cakras, their names, and the Devī Kundalinl are matters of the Tantra Śāstra. There are references to Tāntrik pranayama in the Patanjala Darsana and in the Bhagavadgita, and other places of the Mahabharata.6 It should also be pointed out here that there is indirect, though not direct, reference to the Tantra Śāstra in Yudhisthira's question to Bhisma contained in the 7th, 8th, and 9th slokas of the 259th chapter in the Santi Parva of the Mahabharata, dealing with Moksadharma. These Slokas may be translated as follows:
1 Balakanda, canto xxii, slokas 12, 13, and 15. These are Vidyas taught by Visvamitra to Rāma and Laksmana. 2 The planet Jupiter. 3 The ascending node. 4 Devoted to Bhagavan. 5 Lakşmī,māyā and Kama Bijas. 6 Shanti Parva, chap, cci, slokas 17 and 19, with Nilakantha's note. "I have heard that Vaidik ordinances are gradually coming into disuse, in the progress of ages. There is one form of dharma for the Satya age, another, for the Treta age, another for the Dvapara age, and another again for the
Kālī age. The Vedas contemplate different forms of dharma according to different capacities of men. The words of the Vedas are true, and from these words, again have emanated all-embracing Vedas," and so forth. Now, here it may be asked, what are these all-embracing Vedas which have emanated from the Vedas? In the Mahamahopadhyaya's opinion no other reply is possible but that the Tantras are here referred to. Smrtis also, like the Vedas, do not give to all castes equal adhikara (right) to them, and prohibit their study to
Śudras. The "all embracing Vedas," therefore, cannot mean Smrtis. The Tantras give adhikara to people belonging to all castes, so that they alone are "all embracing". Moreover, there is no instance of the word Veda being used in the sense of Smrti. There is, however, ample use of the terms Agama and Nigama in the sense of the Tantras— terms which originally meant the Vedas. Just as, according to the
Śāstra, the Vedas have no author, but are merely remembered by fourheaded
Bharmā, so the Tantras also have not, according to the
Śāstra, any author, but have merely emanated from the mouths of Śiva. Neither the Vedas nor the Tantras have emanated from the mouths of munis, rsis, or the spiritually wise (jnanl).
Bharmā is Isvara and
Śiva also is Isvara, and the Śāstra says that the Vedas emanate from the mouths of the former, and the Tantras have issued from those of the latter. More explicit are the slokas 121, 122, 123, and 124 of chapter ccxxciv in the Santi Parva of the Mahabharata dealing with Moksadharma. Here Mahadeva says to Daksa: "Extracting from the Vedas complete with their six angas (limbs), and from the Samkhya-Yoga, I promulgated the Pasupata vrata with such austere and extensive tapas as no Deva, or Danava could perform. This vrata is superior to all practices ordained in the Vedas and other
Śāstras, all-good, beneficial to all castes and asRāmas,1 everlasting, performed in three years and ten
1 It is open to all, which the Veda is not.
days,1 secret, highly spoken of by wise men, spoken ill of by fools; opposed (viparitam) in some matters to VarnasRāmadharma,2 though in many others similar thereto; prescribed by learned men; practised by men who have risen superior to Asrāmas,3 and beneficial. Daksa, you will obtain all the fruits of such Pasupata vrata," and so forth. To what Śāstra, the Pandit asks, other than the Tantra Śāstra, can this Pasupata vrata belong? It cannot be the Vedas, for the vrata is said to have been extracted from them. Again, the reader will, he thinks, be astonished to know that the Mahabharata has adopted the Tāntrik terminology and Tāntrik methods in the introduction of mantras. In the 74th sloka of chapter ccxxciv of the Santi Parva referred to above, the following mantra occurs:
"GhantI charu cheli mill Bharmā kayikamagninam."4 Nilakantha explains this mantra as follows :
"Ghanti = Om. The word 'Rudra' must be introduced. Agnlnam kayikam=the wife of Fire, or Svaha; Bharmā =Om.
1 Quaere. The text I have before me runs: Abdair das"ardha sangyuktam, which according to Nilakantha, means that it may be acquired in years or shortly by the merit of those who practise the five yamas and five niyamas. Some read "dasaha" (ten days) for "dasardha." There seems to be no reason for limiting the period of the vrata thus. 2 Thus there is no caste in the cakra; the smartha vratas, such as fasting, are not generally observed; puja 3 PaRāmahamsas, Parivrajakas, etc. 4 The full verse is— " Ghanto'ghanto ghati ghanti charu cheli mili mili Bharmā kayikamagmnang dandimundastridandadhrik." The meaning of which is as follows: Ghantah = prakasavan, or shining— that is, PurnaBharmāsvarGpah. Aghantah=māyāvritatvena prachachhanna-prakasa—viz., that whose shining is concealed on account of its being covered withmāyā or jiva. Gathi=he who gatayati (joins) men with the fruit of their karma, or who attaches fruit to the karma of men. Ghanti = ghantavan, or possessor of ghantah (q.v.) Charu=those who move (charanti)—that is, jivas, movable and immovable men, animals, trees, etc. Cheli=player; as Thus the following mantra, containing eighteen syllables, has been here quoted: Om Rudra cheli cheli cheli cheli mill mill Om Svaha."1 In the 379th sloka of chapter xiv of the Anusasana Parva, Śrī Kŗşņa says to Yudhistira: "Eight days passed as though they were but a moment, and I took mantra from that Bharmāna (Upamanyu)." After this verse it is narrated how Śrī Kŗşņa performed austere tapasya in the worship of Śiva by repeating this mantra: how Śiva, being pleased, appeared before him in the company of Uma: how the hymn sung by Śrī Kŗşņa pleased Śiva and Uma, so that they granted him blessings and so forth. One is therefore astonished to hear some educated persons say that nowhere in the Mahabharata is there any mention of Śākti save in the Virata Parva, where Yudhisthira hymns Durga. In the story of Daksa's yajria, related in the Mahabharata, there is no mention of the death of Daksa's daughter, 1 but it is said that BhadraKālī rose out of Her body for the destruction of the yajria,3 and that pleased by the hymn sung by Daksa, Durga appeared with Mahadeva before him, and then disappeared. Amongst the thousand names spoken of by Kŗşņa in the Anusasana Parva there appear "Vamadeva, and Varna, and Prak, and Daksina, and Vamana," and "author of the Vedas and author of Mantras." Mantras here cannot be said to refer to Vaidik mantras owing to the distinction made between the author of the Vedas and the author of mantras, and Nilakantha, the commentator, in fact, explains mantras as Tāntrik mantras. By Vama and Daksina are meant (the Pandit thinks) the vama and the daksina acaras in Tantra. Tāntrik Bija mantras are known to many. In the Anusasana Parva also, where moksadharma is treated of, it is said: "Four-mouthed Mahalinga and Caruhnga etc., ruler of bijas,". author of bijas, and so forth. There are even more explicit references to the Tantra Śāstra in the Mahabharata. For instance, it is said, "O Rajarsi:4 the Sarikhya Yoga, the Pancaratra, the Vedas,
1 Thisis according to the Gauras who say that Ghanti=Om; and insert Rudra in the vocative case, and repeat cheli four times. 2 Sati. 3 santi Parva, chapter ccxxciv, Slokas 32 and 54 4 Rsi and King. and the Pasupata, know these Śāstras, the purpose of which is to establish jñāna," and, again: "Śrī kantha Śiva, husband of Uma and lord of all things, promulgated the Pasupata jñāna-Śāstra when in placid mood. Bhagavan Himself is the Knower of the entire Pancaratra."1 Sanskrit scholars in India, according to the Pandit, believe the Pancaratra to be a Tantra. Again, the injunction that in the Kālī age people should worship Isvara in the manner prescribed in the Tantra Śāstra leads many people to think that the Tantras are recent because they are intended for the Kālī age. The Pandit replies that the Mahabharata itself answers this view in the Santi Parva, where it is said that in the Satya age Rudra, engrossed in Yoga, told the Tantra Śāstra to Balakhilya2 Rsis; but that subsequently it again disappeared through themāyā of that Deva.3 In the 17th sloka of Chapter cclxvii4 of the Santi Parva, Maharsi Kapila questions Syumarasmi as follows: "Tell me if you have seen any Śāstra other than Agama." In reply Syumarasmi speaks of many things, and at the end of each statement he remarks: "This is Sruti." The Pandit then asks what is meant by the word Agama in Maharsi Kapila's question. In his Commentary on the Sariraka Sutra, "owing to the impossibility of generation," Bhagavan Śańkarācārya refers to the fourfold division of Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha5 as stated in the Pancaratra, and whilst he does not attempt to disprove it, he does disprove the theory of the generation of Sankarsana from Vasudeva advanced by the followers of the Pancaratra. Again, in his Commentary on the Sutra: "The Lord cannot be merely the instrumental cause on account of the existence of diversity in creation," he writes: "Mahesvaras, too, admit it," "All this
2 Santi Parva, chap, ccc. ixl, Slokas 64 to 68. 3 Small Rsis the size of a thumb (angustha), 60,000 in number. Mar-kandeya Purana says they are children of the wife of Kratu and Urdharetas. It is believed that they still appear and bathe on Pausa Sankranti Day at Gangasagara. 4 Santi Parva, chap, ccc.xl.viii, see slokas 17 and 18 . The reference should be to chap. 349. 5 This should be chap, ccl.xviii.
6 Vasudeva = PaRāmatma; Sankarsana = Jiva; Pradyumna = Manas; Aniruddha = Ahankara. was taught by PaSupati, who is Isvara, for undoing the bonds of pasus," etc. In his Śrī bhasya on the first Sutra quoted above, Rāmanuja Svami writes, "Elucidated by Nārāyaņa Himself in the Pancaratra Tantra, and, again, "Non-Vedic practices are opposed, and not the cults of Yoga and Pasupati; for Sankhya, Yoga, Pancaratra, the Vedas and Pasupata, are self-evident, and cannot be disproved by reasoning," and so forth. Rāmanuja Svami quotes as evidence all the passages of the Mahabharata above mentioned, as well as many other passages from the same epic, and other works. There is a scripture named Sutasamhita, of which the Bharmāgita is a portion. Its speaker is Bharmā, and throughout it deals with Sankara. Its annotator is Madhavacarya himself, the writer on all Darianas, and Commentator of the Vedas. At the end of every Chapter he writes: "By Madhavacarya, an inhabitant of Kasl, a devotee of the Śākti of action, a server of the lotus-feet of the three-eyed Deva and illuminator of the path of Upanisad." Here Madhavacarya calls himself a devotee of the Śākti of work (KriyaŚākti), but the Tantra alone deals with Śākti of will, Śākti of knowledge, and Śākti of action. Not only in the Mahabharata, but in all Puranas the greatness of the Devī as extrolled in the Tantras, has been described either shortly or with elaboration. In the account of the greatness of Rudra contained in the Varaha Purana it is said: "Sankara has as many aspects as there are MahaŚāktis. He who worships Her ever worships Him as husband." Again: "If he who worships the Devīs pleases Rudra also these Devīs become for ever siddha to that Mantrin. There is no doubt of this:" 1 What is there in the Tantras, it is asked, more than what this verse says ? In the Sankara-Samhita, which forms a part of the Skanda Purana, the Rsis ask Suta, "Bhagavan, we desire to hear of the system of ViRāmahesvara," and so forth. And Kartikeya says to Mahadeva: "There are few who know Saiva-Agama." Sankara, in His reply, says: "The essence of the Vedas, the Agama, and the Puranas charms the mind and should be kept secret."2 According to the Mahamahopadhyaya, Saiva-Agama
1 Varaha Purana, chap. xxci. 2 Chapter xxc. undoubtedly means the Tantra-Śāstra,1 as does the word Agama in the expression "the Vedas, the Agama, and the Puranas," because it is mentioned separately from the Vedas. There are many Upanisads other than the ten on which Śańkarācārya wrote his Commentary. He selected these ten because they supported his monistic theories. Just as there was no necessity to write a Commentary on the Vedas, so it was not necessary that he should write commentaries on the Upanisads which dealt with the methods of worship (Upāsana). The Aksamalika Upanisad enumerates the substances which should be used for the rosary with which japa2 is done. They are coral,'pearl, crystal, conch, silver, gold, sandalwood, putrajivika, lotus-seed, and rudraksa. The Tantra Śāstra mentions exactly the same substances. There are many Upanisads of the Atharva Veda, such as Atharvasikha, Atharvasirah, AdvayaTārāka, Adhyatma, AnnapQrna, Amrtanada, Amrtabindu, Avyakta, Kŗşņa, Kaula, Ksurika, Ganapati, Katyayana, kālagnirudra, Kundika, Tripura-tapaniya, Daksinamurti, Devīdvaya, Dhyānabindu, Nadabindu, Narada, Nārāyaņa, Nirvana, Nrsimha-tapaniya, Pasupata, Bharmā-paingala, Paippalada, Vahvricha, Vrnajjavala, Bhasma, Muktika, Rahasya, Rāma-tapani, Vajra-panjara, Varaha, Vasudeva, Sarasvati-rahasya, Sītā, Sudarsana, Hayagrlva, etc.3 As there are 21 recensions of the Rgveda, 109 of the Yajurveda, and 1,000 of the Samaveda, so there are the same number of Upanisads belonging to each of the Vedas respectively. The Sanskrit-knowing reader will have surmised from the name of the Upanisads above enumerated that each of them deals with forms of worship similar to that prescribed by the Tantra. There are many commentaries on the Nrsimhatapaniya Upanisad, one of which is written by Bhagavan Śańkarācārya and another by his great guru Gaudapadacarya, known by the name of Munindra. There is, therefore, no ground, it is contenced, for the supposition that this Upanisad may be a spurious one. Kulluka Bhatta, the author of the most authoritative commentary
1 Vide ante. 2 See Introduction to Tantra Śāstra. 3 Descriptive 'Catalogue of Sanskrit MSS. in the Government Oriental MSS. Library, Madras, vol. i, part iii. on the Manu Samhita, has, in his note On the first sloka of Chapter (ii) of the book quoted a passage from Harita's work which says: "Now we shall explain dharma. Dharma is based on the authority of Sruti. Sruti is of two kinds—Vaidik and Tāntrik." From this it is evident that the Tantra Śāstra is nothing else than a part of the Vedas, and is, consequently, known by the names of Agama and Nigama. The passages above quoted from the Mahabharata prove that Mahadeva first promulgated the Vedas, and then the Pasupata dharma from a part of it. Thus, from the statement also made by Mahadeva Himself, we learn that the Tantra Śāstra is a part of the Vedas.
According to the Pandit, the Tantra Śāstra is referred to by the word "rahasya" (mystery), used over and above the expression "All the Vedas," in the 165th sloka of chapter ii of the Manu Sarnhita, and also by the word "vidya", which is used in addition to the Vedas and the Upanisads in the 10th sukta of the 4th Bharmāna in the 2nd varga of the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad. The Vriddhaharitasamhita contains a full account of the Tāntrik form of initiation (diksa). The Usanahsamhita makes clear references to the Pancaratra and the Pasupata dharma. The Katyayana Samhita ordains worship of Ganesa, Gauri and other Devas and Devīs. The Vyasa Samhita recommends japa of the guhyavidya,1 use of rosaries, with beads of crystal and the like, and worship of Rudra with Gāyatrī. Nowhere else but in the Tantra Śāstra is there a Gāyatrī for Rudra or any other Devata. The Sangkha Samhita says that after Dhyāna of a Devata, japa should be made with a rosary of crystals of other beads, the number of recitations being recorded by the fingers of the left hand. In the Vriddhagautama-samhita there is a list of the names of the authors of Dharma Śāstras. In this list there occur the names of Bharmā, as also those of UmS and Mahesvara. It is unnecessary, in the Pandit's opinion, to further quote passages or to cite more authorities. Like the Puranas, all Smrti and Samhitas contain references, direct as well as indirect, to the Tantra Śāstra, but the Tantra Śāstra makes no
1 Secret Mantra. reference to either Smrti or Purana. This also proves the great antiquity of Tantra Śāstra. There is a Tāntrik scripture named Śivagama containing Sutras which have been quoted as authorities by Kŗşņa,nanda in his TantRāsara. Its commentator is Abhinavagupta, the Court pandit of Gonardda, King of Kashmir. Gonardda died the death of a hero in the great war of Kuru-ksetra.1
We need not here follow the Pandit in his speculations as to Buddhistic influences in Ancient America as established by Mexican architecture, or as to the similarity of the ritual of Ancient Egypt2 to that of the Tantra, beyond stating that in his opinion such speculation supports the more direct inferences derivable from the study of Indian history and literature as to the antiquity of the Tantra Śāstra, which his essay is written to prove. The learned Mahamahopadhyaya concludes with the expression of a doubt whether the reasons and arguments he adduces will appeal to "the great men, free of all prejudice, learned in Western language and science, with intellects brightened, sharpened, and coloured by Western philosophy," and apologizes for himself, with perhaps some latent sarcasm, as follows: "I had not the good fortune of learning deductive and inductive logic. In the Chatuspathi of a native Bharmāna Pandit, I learnt to argue whether sound follows the fall of a palm-fruit or precedes it," though he says it must not be supposed that other great logicians were mainly engaged in discussions of the "palm-fruit-falling" nature.
Western writers and Indians influenced by their works and general outlook are much occupied with this question of the antiquity and date of the Tantra. To the orthodox all Śāstra is eternal. Moreover, to the Indian temperament, as one of them has well said, sugar is prized for its sweetness without regard to the land whence it came or the cultivator by whom it was
1 See the RajaTārāngini of Kashmir, and the Commentary on Śivagama, 2 He points out with regard to Horus, one of the Egyptian Devatas, that Aharpati (Lord of the Day) and Aharisa (Ruler of the Day) are Sanskrit epithets of the sun. grown. It can hardly be said that we have the necessary materials for final judgement from the purely historical standpoint. If it be alleged that Indians have sometimes gone to opposite extremes, European critics and their Indian followers have, as a general rule, displayed almost a mania for belittling the antiquity of Indian religions, literature, and art. In coming to any conclusion on this matter, it is necessary first to inquire into the different elements of doctrine and practice, to distinguish what is original from what is alleged to be an accretion, or interpolation, and to consider the allegation of non-Aryan influences and so forth. It is necessary also to distinguish between Tāntrik doctrine and practice so ascertained from its expression or record in any particular document. The latter may be of yesterday, and yet its subjects may be of the ages. Some would derive the Tantra from Mahayana Buddhism. Others contend that the Mahayana school appears to have adopted the doctrines of the Indian Tantra, which is in notable respects opposed to the original doctrines of the Buddha. The influence of his teachings is rather, it is said, to be found amongst the Vaisnavas, who have in their number many cryptic Buddhists, than in forms of worship which, not to mention other salient differences, prescribe the sacrifice of animals with elaborate rituals before the images of Devas and Devīs. In fact, the LalitavisTārā1 already cited represents Sakyasingha as condemning the "fools" who make obeisance to numerous Devatas and who perform tapasya in the cremation grounds and at the crossing of four roads, as also the practice of "sinful men and heretics (pasandas)" who use wine and flesh, he having prescribed the ascetic life and the avoidance of injury (whether by sacrifice or otherwise) to all beings. Professor Masaharu Anezaki,2 after citing the RajaTārāngini as evidence of Tāntrik worship at the time of AJoka (240 B.C.),3 says that without a doubt the Tantra began to develop
1 Chap, xvii, using that work, not historically, but as an indication of a Buddhist view of a Śāstra which some would derive from Buddhism. 2 "History of the Religions in Ancient India." 3 I cite the author's views without myself expressing an opinion on the evidential value of the particular work cited. even before Nagarjuna (a.d. 200), and that in observing Buddhism it has been successful despite all efforts to the contrary. In fact, as regards Buddhism, the Tantra, according to this view, stands for a Hindu conquest. How far, as some allege, the conquering doctrine has been itself subjected to non-Aryan influences is another question. Some contend that here, as in most things, there is some truth in both contentions, and that Indian and Buddhist thoughts are likely to have influenced one another. Such may think that the influence of the latter has predominated as regards certain Tāntrik schools and rituals. It is thus noteworthy that the Taril Tantra, which is said by some to belong to the northern tradition, states that Buddha and Vasistha were Tāntrika munis and Kula Bhairavas.1 According to the RudraYāmala, the worship of Tārā was introduced from Mahacma in the Himalayas by Vasistha, who worshipped the Devī BuddhĪśvarī, according to one of the Sakhas
Whatever be the date of the first appearance of specifically Tāntrik doctrines, which owing to the progressive nature of its developments, may never be ascertained, it will be probably found, upon a profounder inquiry into the subject than has been hitherto made, that the antiquity of the Tantra has been much under-estimated. This, however, does not mean that all the current Tantras, or all their contents, are of great antiquity. The contrary is, I believe, the fact. The Meru Tantra,2 in a curious sloka, says: "There will be born at London English folk whose mantra3 for worship is in the Phiranga4 language, who
1 See A. K. Maitra's Introduction to this Tantra published by the Varendra Anusandhana Samiti. 2 Twenty-third Prakasa. 3 That is, unlike some defiled (mlechcha) countries, it is not without a religion of its own. 4 Here English. The term, which is ordinarily derived from "Frank," is applicable to the European peoples generally. Its meaning, however, according to the Sabdakalpadruma, is, "those addicted to sin and anger". It is also used, as a qualificative of disease, to denote syphilis, because of the prevalence of the disease in Europe. will be undefeated in battle and Lords of the world."1 Whatever be the age of this Tantra, it may be argued that this passage at least was probably not written earlier than the eighteenth century.
Comparatively modern Tantras may, however, be based on older versions now lost.2 On the orthodox hypothesis, moreover, there is no reason why new Śāstras should not even now appear in the world. The work of Śiva has not come to an end with the inception of the Kālīyuga. In this, as in other matters, Indian tradition, when rightly understood, may perhaps be found to largely justify itself. The following remarks of Professor Hayman Wilson have a bearing on this point, both on the general question of the antiquity of the Hindu Śāstras and that of the Tantra, if, as is commonly done, the date of the latter is to be fixed with reference to the alleged date of the Pauranik period, which, according to general European views, precedes them: "It is therefore as idle as it is irrational to dispute the antiquity or authenticity of the greater portion of the contents of the Puranas in the face of abundant positive and circumstantial evidence of the prevalence of the doctrines which they teach, the currency of the legends which they narrate, and the integrity of the institutions which they describe at least three centuries before the Christian Era. But the origin and development of these doctrines, traditions, and institutions were not the work of a day, and the testimony which establishes their existence three centuries before Christianity carries it back to a much more remote antiquity—to an antiquity that is probably not surpassed by any of the prevailing fictions, institutions, or beliefs of the ancient world."3
The Tantras are generally cast in the form of dialogues between Śiva and his Śākti Parvati, the form in which Sati, his Spouse, re-appeared after her death at Daksa's sacrifice, or in their forms as Bhairava and Bhairavi. Śiva is called Adinatha,
1 Phirangabhasaya mantrastesangsangśadhanadbhuvi Adipamandalanancha sangrajnesvaparajitah Ingrejanavasatpalicha landrajaschapi bhacinah. 2 See also what the author of the Tantratattva says, post. 3 Visnu Purana, xcix. the first Guru. But he is also Śākti, for he and the Devī are one.1 The Devī is therefore included with him in the circle of Gurus. SadaŚiva, as the Mahasvachanda Tantra states, promulgates as both guru and Sisya (disciple), the Tantras in the form of question and answer, by the division of his real and manifested forms (prakasa and vimarsa). Where the questioning is by the Devī as &sya and the answers are given by Śiva as guru, the Tantra is in the form called Agama. Where the Devī is the teacher, as in the Nigamakalpadruma and other Nigamas,2 the Śāstra is known as a Nigama. Both terms are derived from the italicized letters of the Sanskrit verses which occur in the Agamadvaita-nirnaya,3 and which run: "An Agama is so called because it proceeds from the mouth of Sambhu4 and goes to Girija,5 being approved by Vasudeva.6 Nigama is so described because it emanates from the mouth of Girija to enter the ear of Girisa,7 being approved by Vasudeva." The seven marks or topics of an Agama are said by the Varahi Tantra to be srsti, pralaya, devatanamarcanam, śadhana, purascarana, satkarma, and dhya-nayoga.
1 Mahānirvāna Tantra, chap, i, verses 14-16. MamarupasiDevītvam nabhedo'ste tvayamama; for in their ultimate ground both Purusa and Śākti 2 It is noteworthy that the Nigamas appear to deal largely with the Rahasya- 3 Agatang Sarabhuvaktrebyah Nirgato girija vaktrat gatancha girija mukhe gatascha girisasrutrim matancha vasudevena mataicha vasudevasya tasmadagama uchyate nigamah parikathyate. 4 Śiva. 5 The mountain-born Devī, His Spouse. 6 Visnu. The above is the special meaning of these two terms, which both also denote the Veda. See as to Nigama, Śrī madbhagavata Skanda, chap, v, verse 39. 7 Śiva. 8 That is, creation and destruction of the universe, the worship of Devas, spiritual exercises, the rite called purascarana, the six "magical" powers called Satkarma (viz., maranam, ucchatanam, vaiikaranam, stambhanam, vidvesa-nam, svastyayanam), and the form of Yoga, so called. The same and other Tantras describe the subject (laksana) of such a Śāstra to be: The Supreme Spirit, the creation and destruction of the universe, the origin and worship of the Devas, classification of beings (bhutanang sangsthanam), the heavenly bodies, description of the worlds and hells, of man and woman, and of the centres (cakra) of the human body, the law and duty (dharma) of the different ages and of the stages of life in the individual called asRāma, the sacraments (samskaras), the consecration of images of Devata, mantra, yantra,1 mudrā,2 all forms of spiritual training (śadhana), and worship (puja, Upāsana), whether external or mental, including worship with the pancatattva,3 consecration of houses, tanks, wells, trees, etc., descriptions of holy shrines (tirtha), purascarana,4 japa, vrata,5 satkarmaśadhana,6 and all forms of ceremonial rites and "magic," meditation (Dhyāna), and yoga, the duties of kings, law, custom, medicine, and science generally.
The Tantras, in fact, were (for they exist only in fragment) encyclopaedias of the knowledge of their time.
The Tantras are still very numerous, though the greater part has been lost, destroyed, or is missing. Of these which are known only a portion has been printed, and of these last the versions in circulation are sometimes incomplete. Thus the current version of the Mahānirvāna lacks the second part, which is double the extent of the first. This latter part has been long supposed
1 Is the diagram for worship by which the mind is fixed on its object. The imprints of the Śrī yantra, the Gāyatrī yantra and the Kālī yantra appear elsewhere in the book. Yantra is Mantra in the sense that it is the body of the Devata who is Mantra. Yantram mantramāyām proktam mantratma devataiva hi. Dehatmanoryatha bhedo yantradevatayostatha (Kaulavaliya Tantra). As to this and Mantra, see Introduction to Tantra Śāstra. 2 Gestures made by the hands and positions of the body employed in worship and hathayoga. Devanam modada mudrā tasmattam yatnatascharet. 3 Wine, meat, fish, grain, woman (maithuna), both in their literal, substitutional, and esoteric meanings, for the Tattva are of three kinds. See Introduction to Tantra Śāstra. 4 Vide ante. 5 Japa is recitation, either external or mental, of mantras, according to certain rules (viddhanena mantroccharanam). Vratam is a part of naimitti-kam or occasional karma, such as those 6 Vide ante. missing.1 On the other hand, the first part of the RudraYāmala2 is at present not found, though fragments may exist, such as the Mantrabhidhana, which is reputed to belong to that part, and which I have published.3 The Saradatilaka, a Tāntrik compendium which is much esteemed in Orissa, contains more matter than is to be found in the current printed versions known to me,4 as is also the case with the current Bijakosa. Other Tantras appear to exist in defective or mutilated copies only.
According to the Tantras, there are three regions called Visnukranta, Rathakranta, and Asvakranta (sometimes called Gajakranta) respectively to which different Tantras are assigned. According to the Śāktimangala Tantra, Visnukranta extends from the Vindhya Mountain to Chattala (Chittagong), thus including Bengal; the Rathakranta from the same place to Mahacina, including Nepal; and Asvakranta, from the same mountain to "the great ocean," apparently including the rest of India. The Mahasiddhasara Tantra agrees with this as to Visnukranta and Rathakranta, but makes the Asvakranta extend from the Karatoya River5 (in the Dinajpur District) to Java. The following Tantras are assigned6 to the several regions, though
1 It exists, however, and I hope to publish it in my collection of Tāntrik Texts. 2 Certain Tāntrik Śāstras are called Yāmalas and Dāmaras such as the Yāmalas, Siddhi-Yāmala, Rudra-Yāmala, Bharmā-Yāmala, and the Bhuta Dāmara, Deva Dāmara, Yaksa Dāmara. The writer of an article in vol. c of the "Asiatic Researches", pp. 53-67 (Calcutta, 1798), says: "I am informed that the Tantras collectively are noticed in very ancient compositions; but as they are very numerous they must have been composed at different periods. It may be presumed that the RudraYāmala is amongst the most ancient, as it is noticed in the Durga Mahattva, where the principal Tantras are noticed as 'Kālī, Mundamala, Tārā, Nirvana (not the Mahānirvāna), Sarvasasana, BIra, Lingarcana, Bhiita, Uddasana, Kālīka, Bhairavi, Bhairavikalpa, Todala, Matrhhedanaka,māyā, Biresvara, Viivasara, Samaja, BharmāYāmala, RudraYāmala, SunkuYāmala, Gāyatrī, Kālīkālaka, Sarvasva, Kularnava, Yogini, Mahisamardinl. These are universally known, Oh Bhairavi, greatest of souls: and many are the Tantras uttered by Sambhu (Śiva)." 3 Vol. i of my Tāntrik Texts. 4 I have come across what appears to be a complete manuscript in Puri. 3 A very sacred river which is notable in this — that it never loses its sanctity. All others do so in the month of Sravan 6 See śadhanakalpalatika, by Nilmani Mukhopadhyaya, part ii, pp. 22-26; and Introduction to Vol. I of my "Tāntrik Texts." As to other Tāntrik works, see post. there are differences of opinion as regards particular Tantras. Thus, in the first list some would exclude the TantranTārā and include the Yogarnava. Some Tantras appear in more than one of these lists. The Tantras of the Visnukranta are said to be:
The Tantras of Asvakranta are given as follows:
Particular Tantras have been from time to time printed, such as the well-known Mahānirvāna, the Yogini, Kālī Tantras, and others. The chief collection, however, is that of Babu Rasik Mohun Chatterjee, who has published at Calcutta the following Tantras or Tāntrik works in Bengali character: Mundamala, SaktakRāmana,māyā, Bhutasuddhi, Kaulikarchanadipika, Kubjika, Visvasara, Purascaranarasollasa, SaktanandaTārāngini, Nila, Todala, Gandharva, RudraYāmala, Guptaśadhana, Gāyatrī, Fetkarini, NirutTārā, MahacinacarakRāma, NirvanakRāma-dipika, Mantrakosa, Yogini, Kularnava, Kamakhya, Kankāla-malini, Matrkabheda, Kamadhenu, Mahānirvāna (first part), Sanatkumara, Saradatilaka, TripuRāsaRāsamuchaya, Uddama-resvara, Kaulavali, MantRāmahodadhi, Vrhannila, Tārārahas-yam, Rādhā, Shyamarahasya.
A few of these and others have been printed at Calcutta in Devanagari and edited by Pandit Jivananda Vidyasagara— namely, Kularnava, Tārārahasya, TripuRāsaRāsamuchchaya, Mahānirvāna, Yogini, RudraYāmala (UtTārābhaga), Shyamarahasya, Tantras; the Saradatilaka, Pranatosini, MantRāmahodadhi; also a collection of small works on magic (Indrajala) entitled Indrajalavidyasangraha.
Considerable portions of some of the Puranas are appropriated (as Professor Hayman Wilson pointed out as regards the Agni Purana) to instructions for the performance of religious ceremonies which belong to the Tāntrik ritual and are translated from the principal authorities of that system. In fact, a large number of Puranas and Upapuranas contain Tāntrik forms of worship, and on that account and in accordance with the general view of the comparative modernity of the Tantras rejected as "genuine" Puranas, though accepted and relied on as such by the Tāntrik pandits. The reader is referred to the introduction of Professor H. H. Wilson's Visnu Purana. Reference may be here made to the Kālīka, Bharmāņda , Garuda, Agni, Śrī mad-bhagavata, Devī-bhagavata, and other Puranas. In the twelfth chapter of the Kiirma Purana on the other hand, it is said: "The Bhairava, Vama, Arhata, and Yāmala Śāstras are intended for delusion."
In addition to the Tantras, there are Tāntrik compendia, commentaries, such as the TantRāsara, Pranatosini, Prana-Kŗşņa,sabdambuddhi, Tantrabhidhana or Mantrakosa, and others. Kŗşņa,nanda's TantRāsara, is one of those now best known. But before his time there were, as already stated, other compilers, such as RaghavSnanda, Raghavabhatta, Virupaksa, and Govindabhatta; and such works as the Rāmarchanachandrika, Mantramuktavall, Bhuvanesvariparijata, Saradatiiakam, Tri-puRāsaRāsamuchchaya, Svachchandasangraha SaRāsamuchchaya, Somabhujangavali, and Mantrayantraprakasa.
Controversy has also divided the Āgamas into "good" Āgamas (Sadagama) and "bad" Āgamas (Asadagama). Brah-mananda Giri, the author of the celebrated SaktanandaTārāngini
1 Chap. ii. 2 Cited in SaktanandaTārāngini, chap. ii. 3 That is, of a sensual and ignorant disposition. 4 The law governing caste; and the stages of life, student, house-holder, etc., called AsRāmas. The term as a general one includes the acara of the Sadhaka. 5 That is, unclean, malignant, and demoniac spirits:
fish, meat, woman should salute the Bhairavi Devī and say: Om! salutation to the beloved of Śiva, the remover of all obstacles. Salutation to Thee, the giver of all boons, adorned with a garland of severed heads stained with streams of blood. Thee I salute for the destruction of all obstacles and the wellbeing of Kula-cara."1 The meaning of these two passages is therefore said to be that wine, flesh, and so forth, are prohibited in those cases where their use is forbidden by the Acara of the particular worshipper, as in the case of the Pasu. This form of worship is not to be followed indiscriminately and without reference to the rules which properly govern it. For in that case instead of being a help to the sadhaka, it leads him along the downward path. The Asadagama, in short, is said to be that Agama which prescribes forbidden acts, that is, acts forbidden by the acara of a particular worshipper; not all such rites, but the false rites followed by the bad. Where true worship is the aim there is sat, where it is not there is asat.
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It may be asked, What is the general characteristic of the Tantra as compared with other Śāstras? In the first place the Śāstra contains provisions which are applicable for all without distinction of race, caste, or sex. The Śāstra affords to all, with freedom from Vaidik exclusiveness, the practical method (more extensive than mere ritual in its ordinary English sense) which qualifies the Sadhaka for the reception of the higher doctrine of the path of knowledge (jñāna marga). The Śudra and woman are not, as in the case of Vaidikacara, under any ban. As the Gautamiya Tantra says2 people of all castes, and whether men or women, may receive its mantras "Sarvavarnadhikaraicha nirinam yogyameva ca." In the Cakra there is no caste at all, even the lowest Candala3 being deemed, whilst therein higher than Bharmānas. The Mahānirvāna Tantra says:4 "That
1 Chap. xv. 2 Chap. i. 3 Chap. xiv. verses 4 One of the lowest and most unclean castes. 187, 184. low Kaula who refuses to initiate a Candala or a Yavana1 into the Kaula dharma, considering them to be inferior, or a woman, out of disrespect for her, goes the downward way. All two-footed beings in this world, from the vipra1 to the inferior castes, are competent for kulacara."
In the next place, as regards the subject matter in respect of which liberty is so given, it is necessary to understand the distinction which Hindus draw in religious matters between knowledge (jñāna) in the sense of actual experience, as distinguished from mere mental theorizing, and action (kriya). The answer, then, is that the Tantra is above all a practical scripture primarily concerned with action and ritual, which the undiscern-ing may think has, in any case, been prescribed to an excessive extreme. It is so concerned because, though action cannot alone and directly secure liberating knowledge, the attainment of the latter must necessarily be preceded by right action. For how otherwise can such spiritual knowledge be gained? In order to secure the development of the Jiva's body, certain physical exercises are necessary. Similarly both these and other mental and spiritual exercises are required if liberating knowledge (Bharmājñāna) is to be attained. Such exercises are genetically termed "śadhana," and include both worship (puja) and all
śadhana has historically varied with race and creed. The Hindu has his own in the Tantra which is called the śadhana Śāstra. The provision of such a definite training is the strength to a greater or less degree of all ancient orthodoxies, just as its absence may prove to be the rock on which the more modern forms of religion may split. Doubtless to the newer "Protestant" spirit, whether issuing from Europe, Arabia, or elsewhere, all ritual is liable to be regarded as "mummery," except possibly the particular and perhaps jejune variety which it calls its own.
1 Here generally used for non-Hindu, a term specially applied to the Greeks or Bactrians. There is nothing, therefore, to prevent a non-Hindu from being initiated in Kaula dharma, provided that he be fit for such initiation. Initiation, however, in such a case would ordinary be given by an avadhuta. 2 Bharmāna. For even the most desiccated "Protestantism" has not been able altogether to dispense with it. There is room for this spirit as for others, or it would not be there. Like, however, everything else, it may go beyond the purposes which are claimed to justify its origin.
Etymologists have derived the word "ceremony" from "cor" and "monere". The derivation, though inaccurate, explains well the purpose of the thing itself. The sacred rites which are the expressions of innermost feeling proclaim the religious truths which have inspired them and excite devotion, rendering man more sensible of the Divine Presence. So, as the Council of Trent declared, "the Catholic Church, rich with the experience of ages and clothed with their splendour, has introduced mystic benediction (mantra), incense (dupa), water (acamana, padya, etc.), lights (dipa), bells (ghanta), flowers (puspa),1 vestments, and all the magnificence of its ceremonies in order to excite the spirit of religion to the contemplation of the profound mysteries which they reveal. As are its faithful, the Church is composed of both body (deha) and soul (atom). It therefore renders to the Lord (Isvara) a double worship, exterior (bahyapuja) and interior (manasapfija), the latter being the prayer (vandana) of the faithful, the breviary of its priest, and the voice of Him ever interceding in our favour, and the former the outward motions of the liturgy." The human need for ceremonial in the sense of the necessity which man feels of an exterior manifestation which shall both stimulate and translate his inner feelings, is such that no religion of the past has been without its rites and ceremonies, and even the shallowest of epochs, whilst affecting a superiority to them, have yet preserved these ceremonies in its civil life.
The necessity which is thus admitted exists with greater urgency in the spiritual sphere. It is idle to suppose that all or any may, through Vedantik talk or by the mere closing of the eyes in pious pose, realize the Nirguna Bharmān. The great teaching of the Vedanta by itself and without accompanying
1 Portions of the Sodaia Upacara of Hindu worship. śadhana can achieve nothing of real worth. Its study may produce a Pandit. But to the Sadhaka the disputations cf Pandits, whether philosophical or scientific, is like "the cawing of crows". There is both reason and humour in the Hindu saying that a logician will be reborn a jackass. It is śadhana which alone in any system, whether Hindu or otherwise, is really fruitful. The Tantra claims to be practical and to be a pratyaksa Śāstra in that it affords the direct proof of experience. It is there fore one of its common sayings that, "Whereas other Śāstras are concerned with speculation only, the art of medicine and Tantra are practical, self-evident and prove themselves at every step."
The Tantra further claims not cnly to be practical and to contain provisions available for all without distinction of caste or sex, but also to be fundamentally rational. Nowhere else, in fact, than in the Hindu Śāstras do we find greater stress laid on the necessity of thought and reasoning. For in India it is said want of reasoning involves loss of dharma. "There is no sage who has not an opinion of his own."1 The virtue of its seneral method is not merely thaumaturgic,2 but is inherent in the mental states induced by Dhyāna and other physical and mental processes, and the excitation of the exterior rituals; an inherence chiefly explained by the fact that as at base all existence is of the nature of mind, the transformation of mind is the transformation of existence itself. Thus the sacramental energy of the mantra, even when the Guru (who is himself the manifestation on the terrestrial plane of Adinatha Mahākāla)* has vivified it with consciousness (caitanya), depends in part for its efficacy on the competence (adhikara) of him who receives it.
Profoundly based on truth, however, as all ritual is, the Tantra yet recognizes that there is a stage in spiritual progress in which it becomes not merely unnecessary, but an obstacle to further advance. If śadhana be, as it is, but a means to an end (Bharmājflana, or the realization in personal experience of the Bharmān), with the attainment of such end, and to the extent that
1 Nasau muniryasya matam na hhinnam, as the Mahabharata says. 2 See as to this De la Valleé Poussin, op. cil. 3 Yogini Tantra. approach is made to it, becomes superfluous. As the Maha-nirvana says: "To him who has faith in the root, of what use are the branches and leaves?" This stage is, however, both a high and infrequent one, which the great majority (notwithstanding the fancies of some of the "emancipated" in this matter) have by no means reached. As the Mahānirvāna Tantra says, Brah-maśadhana is the highest state of mind; Dhyānabhava is the middling state, and japa comes next. External worship is the lowest of all. Yoga is the process whereby union of the Atma and PaRāmatma. is achieved. Puja (worship) is the union of worshipper and worshipped. But for him who realizes that all things are Bharmān, there is neither yoga nor puja. For him there is neither sin nor virtue, heaven, or future birth. There is none to meditate on nor one to meditate.1
In the opening chapter of the Kularnava Tantra it is said that "There are fools who, pleased with the mere name of the Karmakanda, deceive themselves with a multitude of rites. It is not by eating one meal a day that knowledge of the transcendent is attained." "If the ant-hill be struck, is the serpent thereby killed ? " "If the mere rubbing of the body with mud and ashes gains liberation, then the village dogs who roll therein have attained it." Ritual is necessary, but it must be accompanied both by sincerity and increasing knowledge, which leads to tattvajñāna, the sole cause of liberation. It is not to be had by talk and self-conceit. Those who read the Scriptures and know not the truth, but pass their time in disputation, are like "the ladle which, lying in syrup, knows not the taste of it." Mere talk leads to nothing. "One may discuss as to what is knowledge and what is knowable, for a thousand years." "Life is short. Many are tht Vedas, many are the Śāstras, infinite are the obstacles; therefore it is necessary that the essences be mastered, as the gander sips from the water the milk which has been mixed with it." Ritual schemes exist to meet the requirements of all grades of competency; and their accomplishment with sincerity and intelligence effects their purpose. But of the perfected
1 Ullasa xiv, verses 122, 124. See post. (siddha) Tāntrika Kaula, who has passed through all preliminary acaras, it is said: "The wise man who through study of the Sciiptures has realized the Truth discards them all as he who gathers paddy throws away the husk and straw." jñāna derived from the Āgamas leads to the SabdaBharmān. That which issues from viveka (discrimination) is the ParaBharmān. There is no realization (tattvajñāna) with attachment to Vaidik and Agamic rites, however much these may be necessary as the preliminary means to its attainment.
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If the injunctions of the Śāstra are to be rendered intelligible, certain general principles must first be understood. This is the necessary preliminary to the presentation of the ritual facts. For in these principles lie their ultimate significance. The author, in his preface, very truly says: "I feel it keenly myself how useless it is to follow a religious practice without understanding it."
For those to whom the Indian way of thinking, expression, imagery, allusions, and metaphor are unfamiliar, it is not always easy to follow at a first reading the author's discursive argument. A summary of that argument in a Western and more ordered form would therefore be useful. The conclusion of our enquiry, however, appears to be the fitting time for such a summary, even were there space available for it in this volume. The author's preface indicates the main lines on which he proceeds, which I here shortly state and amplify.
The previous portion of this Introduction states the circumstances under which Indian Śāstra was at one time neglected where it was not misunderstood or condemned. Scepticism, unbelief, and then (according to orthodox views) heresy, passing under the name of "reform," had prevailed. The author, in the beginning of his Preface, rejoices to note a revival of true religion, but as an adherent of Tantra is grieved to observe that this Śāstra had net, when he wrote, received its due share of attention. This was the more necessary in that it is the source of all śadhana (practice) and of all Mantras and Yantras. Bharmā-knowledge cannot be attained without self-purification, and for this the Tantra provides the only means in the Kālīyuga. Doubtless there are (he writes) to be found nowadays some superior Vedantic persons 1 who are wont at all times to say that the portion of the Śāstras which relates to worship and ritual practice (Karmakanda) is only for those who are devoid of knowledge. This is so; but the implication that they have escaped this class has often but little foundation. They are doers of action (Karma), and as much affected by it as are others. The knowledge of which the Śāstra speaks is not the metaphysical faculty (with its acquisitions) of the mind on the ordinary plane of jagrat consciousness but is that spiritual experience the existence of which constitutes the fourth stage of turiya consciousness attained by successful yoga. Notwithstanding—and in fact, because of—their philosophical disquisitions, such persons still belong to the dualistic world, and there is nothing to be ashamed of in that. We cannot blow it away with our breath, and why should we trouble to do so if it is alleged to be a mere nothing. It would seem as if modern Monism had, through dread of the dualistic world shrunk all its limbs, and was trying to find a place wherein to hide its head in an unhappily existing universe.2 Monism (advaitavada) is doubtless true; but so also, necessarily, is the world of duality for that state of consciousness whence, indeed, it comes. In its own way, this world is as real as the Bharmān whose lila3 it is. What else is the world play of the Bharmān but that show of duality which surrounds us ?
Worship, by its definition, involves the dualistic idea, and is itself necessary for every dualist, since it is, whether in its ordinary sense, or in that in which it is conceived as all action dedicated to and informed by spiritual purpose and intention,4 the true and only expression of the Atma to Itself on this plane. It is an essential verity that the Self alone knows the Self. But how may complete self-recognition be attained except the preliminary stages of śadhana and worship have been passed ? If the elect attain success along tht path of knowledge (jñāna marga)
1 See post. 2 See post. 3 "Play". When understood, a very profound Indian concept, proceeding on the ground that no other reason can be assigned for the world appearance than that which is inherent in the nature of the Bharmān itself. See post. 4 See the fine Mantra in Mahānirvāna Tantra. Ch. vi, w. 178-181. it is because, through action and devotion in this and previous births, they have become competent for that path. What the persons to whom the author refers really mean is that such Karma as consists in worship and so forth must be abandoned, but that which is required for the service of wife and children may be retained by the possessors of Bharmā-knowledge. It is, however, only those who have truly acquired siddhi who are thereby released from the obligation of observing these rules of the Karma-kanda, which help to produce it.' The Tantra does not, therefore, at the outset ignore this visible, palpable world. We must acknowledge and rightly tread this earth before the consciousness of the embodied Atma can be transformed into that other state of consciousness which reveals—for it is in fact—the unconditioned Atma Itself. But haste to know the Beyond should not blind us to that which is its present manifestation, constituting both the spacious field and material for śadhana. He alone realizes the sweetness of the Divine Play "who has plunged into non-dualistic truth after having churned the dualistic world," which is Its expression to us.
The Bharmān is reached through Its universe-aspect. The world does not intervene, as though it were an obstacle hard to surmount between man and God, and set to frighten us. It is the wealth of the Śākti of Visvesvari,2 whom it reveals. The Tantra, therefore, takes into its arms, as if they were its two children, both Dualism and Monism, affording by its śadhana and the spiritual knowledge generated thereby the means whereby their antinomies are resolved. It does not entertain the conceit that metaphysics, and still less science, however useful in their own sphere they may be to the full development of conditioned consciousness, can effect anything beyond it. Being but workings of the jagrat mind, they can never of themselves transcend the limits of those conditions which constitute it. The ultimate
1 The results of sincere worship are patent. If, however, the cause of this be sought, it will be found to lie in the psychological truth that such a worshipper grows akin to that which he woeships—a truth which is expressed in the Indian notion of the blissful abodes, samipya, salokya, and others. The Devata becomes not only the content of, but the consciousness itself, of the Sadhaka. 2 The Devī as Mistress of the Universe. questions which that mind raises never receive an answer which it can verify whilst it remains in its conditioned state. The end of all śadhana is the establishment of that fourth or higher state of consciousness, the existence of which is itself the answer to a question which is no longer put. The Tantra harmonizes Vedantik Monism and Dualism. Its purpose is to give liberation to the jiva by a method through which monistic truth is reached through the dualistic world. It immerses its sadhakas in the current of divine bliss by changing duality into unity, and then evolving from the latter a dualistic play, thus proclaiming the wonderful glory of the Spouse of PaRāmaŚiva in the love-embrace of Matter (jada) and Spirit (caitanya). These who have realized this, move and yet remain unsoiled in the mud of world!) actions the mere touch of which is to others the cause of their perdition. Though resting and rocking upon the waves of the samsāra, they are hot of it, but detached, and as it were the petals of some wind-rocked lotus. Śiva has therefore said: "In the world some desire non-dualistic, others dualistic, knowledge, but those who have known My truth have passed beyond Dualism and Non-Dualism."
śadhana, which is of three kinds—physical, verbal, and mental—must be accomplished by the body, senses, and intellect, according to present conditions of country, time, and person. These, however, are all now bad. India, which has for centuries eaten the bread of servitude to strangers, is to-day filled with persons born of parents of different castes, foreigners, defiled people, and adherents of other religious faiths. Bad and filthy habits and practices, oppression, license, and prostitution prevail. In the impure body, lust, anger, greed, pride, delusion, and envy, contend as upon a battle-field. Restless are the senses, and doubting the heart. The circumstances of the times render the carrying out of the Vaidik rites and disciplines impossible. That Aryan life no longer exists in which every event, from the conception in the womb to the cremation of the body, was accompanied by Vaidik Mantra. A heavenly body which, through the control of the passions, has become a suitable vehicle for the development of Bharmā-knowledge according to Vaidik rules, is nowadays impossible of achievement. Foreseeing this, Śiva revealed the path of Tantra, the śadhana of which is framed to meet the needs and circumstances of the Kālīyuga, and the varying temperaments and proficiency of those who live in it. If there be any doubt of its efficiency, actual practice will verify the reality of its claims.
It is necessary that faith should precede śadhana. This if sincerely performed, will produce faith by the effects it achieves in the mind of the Sadhaka. If the knowledge of the Bharmān already exists, there is no use of śadhana. It is in fact, the very want of such knowledge which renders all prayer and practice necessary. Further, whether one believes in it or not, medicine has the power to cure disease. It does not wait upon the intellectual recognition of that fact. In the same way Siddhi (success), the visible (pratyaksa) fruit of the Śāstra, is the result of its inherent potency. Who knows what will happen in the next birth ? That is the best of all philosophies which bears actual and visible fruit in this world. For reasons which the author explains the provisions of the Śāstra act with speed and efficiency, so that fruit ripens on the Tāntrik tree before even blossoms appear on the Vaidik tree. Owing, however, to the neglect of these practical principles, no useful results were being obtained from the renewal of the religious spirit beyond mere barren, pious velleities.
The spiritual ambitions of some were far too presumptuous. Instead of attending to daily duty and worship, they were giving quite an incompetent attention to such extremely subtle and advanced subjects as Nirvikalpa Samadhi, Videhakaivalya,' and the like matters, which are in no way the concern of the vast bulk of men, who are making good progress, according to their state, if they worship God, and do not hate or cheat their neighbours. Others of greater spiritual competence, through neglect or ignorance of the practical directions of the Tantra, which alone reveals the path, had lost their way. After pointing out that it is idle to suppose that knowledge of the truth can be acquired
1 That is, the highest form of ecstasy: liberation from the gross body, etc. The author's remarks are not without application to such Westerners as are prematurely attempting Yoga. by simply reading the Yoga Vasistha or Glta in the gloom and under the sway of the Kālī age, the author, in an interesting passage, states that he has known many a spiritually disposed man who, under the influence of such a day-dream, "has ended in becoming neither a believer nor an unbeliever, but a queer being half man, half lion." "By constant meditation on a misty nothing his mind and heart become such a vacuity that there is neither faith, reverence, devotion, nor love in them, but merely a bewilderment, with the inward lament, 'Alas! I am lost.'" He continues "In many places we have found such persons coming secretly to ask, 'What means are there left to us ?' But their only difficulty is this—they want to know whether it is not possible for them to become Tāntrik or Pauranik worshippers in secret whilst keeping up the show of the possession of Bharmā-knowledge, and without having publicly to wear the sacred crown lock, or thread, or to paint their body with the sacred marks," "Is it not deplorable," he asks, "that a man should be in this condition, repenting at last in this fashion, at the close of his life, after having gone through all its useless troubles ? " Doubts concerning the Tantra, the śadhana Śāstra, arise from ignorance of its true character. Here is to be found the reason why recourse has not been had to it. Common people had, no doubt, much talked about the Śāstra, and quarrelled over it. Some "illiterate traders, crafty discoverers of magic, and thoughtless and starving interpreters of the Śāstra," had busied themselves with it. "But want of faith in the Śāstra is becoming deeply rooted in people's minds by the troubles into which they fall through failure to realize the truth, and by the exposition to vulgar gaze of things a proper understanding of which can be acquired from Gurus only."1 "It is difficult," he says, "to guess how many hundreds of simple-minded Sadhus have been, and are being, deceived by the dangerous temptations held up before them by these people." Want of understanding of the Śāstra, together with actual abuses of its injunctions by some of its adherents, have led to the insults now levelled at it.
1 See post. One of the causes of this degeneracy is referred to by the author later. Discussion and agitation and insult have, he says, to such an extent and with such constancy persecuted and wounded the community of Sadhakas that no one who is a son with a body of flesh and blood and strength can bear to see the sacred names of the Mother and Father of the universe slandered and abused in such manner." "Whose heart," he writes, "is not pained to see the axe of bitter abuse laid at the root of Siddhi and śadhana? The object of our effort is to remove this great pain in the heart of the community of Sadhakas. We hope that the sons of the Aryan race will not heSītāte to uphold the blissful standard of triumph in the assuring name of Her who destroys all Asuras."' From the Tantra alone, must be learnt its principles, the exposition of which he lays as his daksina (offering) at the Lotus Feet of Daksina (the gracious Devī).
Arthur Avalon
1 The demoniac enemies of the Devas and of Dharma. Here also the earthly representatives of the Asura spirit, who oppose religion. |
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