Monthly Archives: March 2011

Tantra – Respect for the Goddess

tantra -tantric massage london goddess

  Many pretty young  girls and agencies seem to be advertising themselves as offering tantric massage. They are taking advantage of the fact that there is no recognised qualification for tantric massage in this country. and tantra has nothing to do with massage anyway. But they may  think that using the term ‘tantric’ will somehow make them sound more ‘appealing.’ They throw around terms like ‘chakras’, ‘kundalini’  etc. with an obvious lack of understanding of what they are talking about. One of the latest fads I have seen is ‘tantric bondage’ – the mind truly boggles. I have nothing against anyone doing whatever turns them on, but to label these activities as ‘tantric’ is truly a joke. I have never been a great fan of Osho, but he did write well and here is a quote from one of his articles, which is quite appropriate: ‘ There is a basic fallacy that human beings fall into: they find a small truth and rather than discover the whole, the remaining part, they imagine  to fill up the gap….. they can manage to make a system, but the remaining part is simply their invention. ….sexual energy…… should be transformed into higher forms. It is a truth. But what happened is that… Read more »

Read More

The Secret of Meditation and Tantra is a mind turned inwards.

secret of tantra

What is the secret of meditation and tantra? When attention is directed towards objects and intellect, the mind is aware only of those things. That is our present state. But when we attend to the Self within, we become aware of it alone . It is therefore all a matter of attention.  Our mind has for so long been attending to external  things that the latter have enslaved it and drag it hither and thither……. The quest has to begin with the mind turned inward to oppose the rushing thoughts and to understand the location of the “I”. When the mind eventually sinks in the Heart, undisturbed bliss is overwhelmingly felt…….head and heart become one and the same….   Sri Ramana Maharshi

Read More

Happy Shivaratri and a Lovely Story:”This Too Shall Pass”

shivaratri

Today is Shivaratri It is considered to be  one of the holiest nights of the year, dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is the one who destroys that which is old and impure in order to make room for a new creation which is pure and divine. He annihilates our egos, our attachments and our ignorance, so that life can begin anew. Below is a rather long, but lovely story Once a King called upon all his wise men and asked them,“Is there a mantra or suggestion which works in every situation, in every circumstance, in every place and in every time. Something which can help me when none of you is available to advise me. Tell me is there any mantra?”   All wise men were puzzled by King’s question. One answer for all questions? Something that works everywhere, in every situation? In every joy, every sorrow, every defeat and every victory? They thought and thought. After a lengthy discussion, an old man suggested something which appealed to all of them. They went to the king and gave him something written on paper. But the condition was that king was not to see it out of curiosity. Only… Read more »

Read More

Traditional Tantra Yoga

tantra yoga, agonda, goa

  Palolem has the reputation of being the nicest beach in Goa Whenever I go to Kollur, I take the train back via Palolem in Goa., and I usually stay there for a few days and make the most of the ayurvedic massages, delicious food and the wonderful sun, sea and sand.This time, I decided to reserve my train seat in advance, as anyone who has travelled on Indian trains knows, it can be very uncomfortable standing outside an indian train loo for hours on a packed train.   I had been sittting on my reserved seat in a sleeper carriage, for  approximately 20 mns.,  when a group of rather hippyish westerners clambered aboard and sat right next to me, claiming there was a mix up over the seat nos.  We started chatting and they told me they were going to Agonda, a village just next to Palolem. They were all very experienced at hatha yoga, and were going to do a course in ‘traditional tantra yoga.’  They were led by a young American with a pony tail, who seemed very centred and completely unruffled by all the typical commotion in the train and the usual haggling with the ticket inspector and other passengers about… Read more »

Read More