The Tantras, along with Vedas and Puranas are an integral part of Hindu spiritual Vidya, for the past couple of hundred years

 

What better day than Swatantrata diwas to clear up a bit about the word Tantra. Although the Tantras, along with Vedas and Puranas are an integral part of Hindu spiritual Vidya, for the past couple of hundred years, they have come to be ostracised and almost forbidden, leaving us to think only the Vedas are our proud Divine heritage, and the Puranas the only record keeper of our Katha vac

( storytelling)

This itself is a long story, but essentially it is when we were infiltrated by the East India company, that all our cultural and spiritual heritage was systematically gas - lighted and demolished in order to pave a way for the then Imperialist Britain to take over and rule over us smoothly, as they did in every land they annexed, notably Africa and India.

Right from our clothes ( we started wearing three piece suits, replete with bow ties and hats! To our food- we were told gentlemen eat with a fork and knife, even up to our way of loosening up- a gentleman drinks scotch and not bhang, and then ultimately leading up to the real prohibition: Tantra is not the spiritual science of a civilised society )

But actually, even if we take two minutes to understand the word itself; Tantra means to expand - 'Taan' one's consciousness , to 'Tarayi' swim across this mundane world.

Shiva Mahadeva, who is the founder of the Tantra, and had vouchsafed it to us as a shield to wade across the turbulent Kal Yuga, showed us its magic with just a little twist in the grandiose plan of the Imperialists: A sitting judge of British origin in Calcutta, got so intrigued by mentions of this science, that he studied it extensively for two years under the tutelage of seasoned practitioners in the sun temple of Konark, and then, preserved them for posterity as a world heritage of wisdom. This man was John woodroffe, better known by his pen name- Arthur Avalon.

So many Independence days have been celebrated as a memory of foreign rulers leaving us to Self rule, it is high time we reclaimed all our Heritage in its full glory.

Aum Namah Shivaye.

~ Shail Gulhati: Shiva and Mysticism.