Ritual

$9.95
Printed in England
The life-affirming philosophy of tantra and its application
to everyday life have created wide and enthusiastic
interest in the West in the past decade. The Tantric Way is
a practical guide to the creative mystery of this religious
and mystical system to achieve awareness.
Derived from the essential tenets of Indian thought,
tantra was nourished by radically different, even heretical,
sources. It embraces the fullest acceptance of physical
desires; it regards man as the embodiment of universal
forces; it accepts the natural world. Contemplation must
be active, and includes the use of meditative tools, group
rituals, rhythmic breathing, and sexual union. Nor does it
rule out the use of drugs to reach an expanded and
creative awareness. The sexual component of tantra has
long been misunderstood, obscured by the distaste of
nineteenth-century scholars and the secrecy of the
initiates; The Tantric Way explains the symbolism behind
the forthright language of the texts and the erotic
postures of tantric art.
The book is fully illustrated with paintings, drawings,
and diagrams. The illustrations serve to explain and
instruct, but the compelling work produced by tantric
artists will also have strong visual appeal to the Western
eye educated by Klee, Kandinsky, Mondrian, Rothko, and
Noland.
Ajit Mookerjee, author of Yoga Art (NYGS, 1975), is an
outstanding expert on tantric art and an important
collector, and his deep knowledge of the West makes him
an ideal interpreter. Madhu Khanna is a distinguished
scholar of Eastern and Western philosophies.
ON THE COVER: A gouache painting from a series illustrating the rise of Kundalini through
the psyche: the fish symbolizes its most primitive form, the lotus its most subtle and complex.
Rajasthan. c. 18th century.
18 color, 130 black and white illustrations,
80 line drawings
New York Graphic Society
11 Beacon Street, Boston 02108