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I. VAMA MARGA Foundations Of The Left-Hand Path - staticfly.net

I. VAMA MARGA Foundations Of The Left-Hand Path - staticfly.net

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Awakening through sexual ecstasy to god-like consciousness, the adept<br />

experiences the divine as manifested in the physical body, rather than bowing<br />

to the external deities of traditional religion.<br />

One Tantra makes clear that the male practitioner of the secret rite of<br />

the five things, in sexually exalting his mudra as the living incarnation of the<br />

dark goddess, should see in her no<br />

s a being than Bhairaivi, the awesome force of destruction that annihilates<br />

all obstacles, the cruel Mother Kali: "He who sees wine, fish, meat, woman<br />

should salute the Bhairavi Devi and say: 'Om! Salutation to the beloved of<br />

Shiva, the remover of all obstacles, Salutation to thee the giver of boons,<br />

adorned with a garland of severed heads, stained with streams of blood. <strong>The</strong>e<br />

I salute for the destruction of all obstacles and the well being of Kaula Cara."<br />

(<strong>The</strong> Kaula Cara, or Way of the Clan is, synonymous with the left-hand path<br />

as an initiatory school of knowledge in general.)<br />

Within <strong>The</strong> Temple<br />

Once fully aroused, the partners now lay down together, again with the<br />

female shakti situated to the left of the male. He breathes through the<br />

pingala, or right-flowing channel of the body's air passages, and slowly<br />

pe<strong>net</strong>rates her yoni. Having previously performed the outer veneration of the<br />

yoni, the adept has now gained passage into that consecrated place, the seat<br />

of maya from which all comes into being. <strong>The</strong> act of one body physically<br />

entering another is a liminal act – the crossing of a threshold which<br />

consciously opens a sacred space in which the rite can be celebrated. <strong>The</strong><br />

two temples of the nine gates are linked.<br />

<strong>The</strong> pace of intercourse in left-hand path rites is customarily long<br />

and drawn out, not the agitated rush to orgasm that so often epitomizes<br />

Western sex. This is not only true in left-handed Tantra but is an integral<br />

aspect of India's approach to sensuality, which has long made an art of erotic<br />

pleasure. As has already been stressed, the adept's aim is not the quick relief<br />

from sexual tension ordinarily sought by the pashu but the buildup of that<br />

tension to almost unbearable levels – and then the surpassing of normal<br />

sexuality altogether. Indeed, this concentration of desire into an applicable<br />

force of consciousness transformation is sometimes achieved by deliberately<br />

104<br />

sleeping naked in the same bed as the shakti for many nights before<br />

proceeding to even the slightest touch. This creates a palpable bioelectrical<br />

charge of desire between the two consorts that greatly magnifies the<br />

effectiveness of the eventual consummation.<br />

Tantra classifies even visual contact with one's consort as a form of<br />

erotic expression. One traditional preparation for the secret rite includes<br />

gazing silently into the eyes of the contrasexual alter ego before advancing<br />

to a single caress. This unwavering glance is sustained for a much longer<br />

period than human animals are accustomed to maintaining, allowing for<br />

another break with the body's natural conditioning. Recent studies conducted<br />

in Germany have shown that merely looking at the photograph of a sexually<br />

desirable person of the opposite sex releases a attention-sharpening cocainelike<br />

agent in the part of the brain that recognizes "reward" stimuli. At least<br />

some of the remarkable psychic results caused by deliberate prolongation of<br />

the left-hand path sexual rite must be rooted in similar changes in brain<br />

chemistry. Technology will eventually determine the neurological reality of<br />

what transpires in the brains of a couple celebrating the union of Shiva and<br />

Shakti, knowledge which will make the methods of the left-hand path more<br />

precise.<br />

Through a veritable science of subtle glances, caresses, and postures<br />

designed to maximize the erotic experience to the level of divine ecstasy<br />

enjoyed by Shiva and Shakti themselves, the couple transcend sex within<br />

time. <strong>The</strong> intonation of mantras, controlled breathing techniques, systematic<br />

stimulation of the senses, and the preparatory meditation has already created

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