Young woman in bikini performing handstand

Vaishnava Saint Nityananda Rama

The Glories of Lord Nityananda Book, originally uploaded by Swami Gaurangapada.

Photo: 'The Complete Glories of Lord Nityananda Prabhu', book transcribed and published from the audio lectures of Swami Gaurangapada by Bhushan Nityananda Dasa.

The Vaishnava Saint Nityananda Rama, also known as Sri Nityananda or Prabhu Nityananda, is famous as a saint, social reformer and religious and spiritual figure within the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. His disciples and followers believe that Nityananda was an incarnation of Balarama. Nityananda is also considered as the most merciful incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Sri Nityananda was Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's friend and disciple. They are usually mentioned together as Gaura-Nitai (Gaura for Chaitanya and Nitai being short form of Nityananda) or Nimai-Nitai (Nimai for Chaitanya).

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534), also known as Sri Krishna Chaitanya and Sri Chaitanya, was a saint and social reformer in eastern India, an area comprising of the present day Bangladesh and the Indian States of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa. The followers of Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition believe that he was an incarnation of Lord Krishna. Sri Chaitanya was a notable proponent of the Vaishnava school of Bhakti Yoga based on the philosophy of Bhagavata Purana and Bhagavad Gita. He mainly worshipped Radha and Krishna and popularized the chanting of Hare Krishna Mantra.

Nityananda Prabhu was born (around the year 1474, no exact date is known) to a Bandyaghati Brahmin, Mukunda Pandit (aka Hadai Pandit) and Padmavati in Ekachakra, a village in the Birbhum District of West Bengal in India. His had great talent for singing Vaishnava hymns (Bhajan) from a very early age. According to legends and folklore, as a youth, he became well known for his dramatic presentations of Lord Rama's stories, along with the other boys of the village. Nityananda used to play the role of Lakshman, Rama's younger brother.

At the age of thirteen, Nityananda left home to accompany Lakshmipati Tirtha, a travelling saint (Sannyasi) on his pilgrimages. Nityananda's father, Hadai Pandit, had offered Tirtha anything he wished as a gift, for which Tirtha wanted Nityananda to follow him in his pilgrimage to holy places. As he had already promised, Hadai Pandit reluctantly agreed to the sage’s demand and Nityananda joined him in his travels. This marked Nityananda's long physical and spiritual journey through India, and brought him in contact with great Gurus of the Vaishnava tradition. Besides Lakshmipati Tirtha, who at some point of time initiated him, he was also associated with Tirtha's other disciples such as Madhavendra Puri, Advaita Acharya and Ishvara Puri.

There are many legends and folklore on Nityananda and Chaitanya. But the Nityananda’s encounter with the brothers Jagai and Madhai is one of the most well known tales highlighting the compassion and love of Nithyananda. Though there are many versions of the story, but traditional tale can be summarized as follows.

Once, Nityananda was chanting the name of Lord Krishna on the streets. Then two irreverent drunk brothers Jagai and Madhai attacked Nityananda. Madhai threw an earthen pot which wounded Nithyananda’s forehead. At this point Nityananda is believed to have said in Bengali, "Merechhish kolshir kana, tai bole ki prem debona?" (“Shall I stop giving you love because you have hit me with an earthen pot?”). When Chaitanya came to know of the incident, he was enraged, and wanted to kill the brothers with his divine Chakra. But Nityananda begged him to pardon them, and saved them. The brothers were converted to civilized loving persons by Nityananda's compassion, and they became Chaitanya's disciples.

Prabhu Nityananda married Vasudha and Jahnava, two daughters of Suryadasa Sarakhela and he settled down in Khardaha. By his first wife Vasudha, Nityananda had a son, Virabhadra (Virachandra) and a daughter, Ganga. Virabhadra was later initiated to Vaishnava traditions by Jahnava.

The life and works of Chaitanya and Nityananda have had great religious and cultural impact in Eastern India, especially in Bengal. They are credited with the revival of Hinduism, which was plagued by the caste system, which they denounced. A large chunk of Vaishnava literature, regarded as one the finest literary heritage of medieval Bengal, was contributed by them and their disciples.

Now they have disciples and followers through out India and abroad, and institutions to spread their teachings. The idol of Nityananda and Chaitanya in the Radha-Krishna Temple in Belgium is quite famous. Also, there is a Gaura-Nitai Shrine at ISKCON Temple in Delhi.

Swami Nithyananda denied bail by Court

The Times of India has reported from Bangalore on May 7, 2010 that ‘the Ramanagaram district sessions court on Thursday dismissed the bail petition filed by controversial godman Swami Nityananda’. The news was reported by other sources too.

On Monday, the CID investigating numerous criminal cases against Swami Nithyananda, the former head of Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam and Life Bliss Foundation, filed objections for granting bail to Nithyananda. In their objection the Karnataka CID officials mentioned about the non-disclosure agreement he signed with his disciples and argued that it may hold back some of the witnesses to come forward and testify against the swami.

Public Prosecutor Srirama Reddy, in his arguments opposing the bail plea of the sex-scandal hit Swami Nityananda, argued that the swami’s victims were scared of deposing before the investigating agency. Reddy said that several of the godman’s affluent disciples have been preventing the victims from coming forward to testify against him. He further submitted before the court that Nithyananda was likely to tamper with evidence if he were to be let out on bail.

The ‘self-styled enlightened godman’ Paramahamsa Nithyananda, now lodged in the Ramanagara sub-jail, is facing several criminal cases slapped against him before the Ramanagara sessions court near Bangalore, including sexual abuse of his disciples, after Nithyananda had gone into hiding after TV channels aired video clippings allegedly featuring the swami in a compromising position with an actress.

The arguments in the bail application filed by Nithyananda concluded on Monday and ruling was reserved for Thursday, and Sessions Judge Hunugund observed that Nityananda is facing serious charges and the investigations are on.

Nithyananda was arrested on April 21 in Himachal Pradesh where he was hiding and brought to Bangalore as the cases against him were transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

Earlier, the Puducherry police who reached Ramanagara to take custody of Nithyananda in connection with cheating cases were denied custody of the accused Paramahamsa Nithyananda on the ground that the criminal cases being investigated by the Karnataka CID are currently in progress, as Judge CG Hungund of the Ramanagara sessions court turned down the Puducherry Police’s plea.

On March 5, the Orleanpet police in Puducherry registered a case against Swami Nithyananda for cheating several of his devotees and injuring religious sentiments of the people there, based on a complaint filed by a group of lawyers.

Shirdi Sai Baba

Photo: To Sai Baba's right is Gopal Rao Mukund Buti, a millionaire of Nagpur. Behind Baba and holding the umbrella is Bhagoji Shinde, his devotee whose leprosy was cured by Baba. To Baba's left is Nanasaheb Nimonkar, a devotee.

Sai Baba of Shirdi aka Shirdi Sai Baba, is regarded as a godly saint by his followers, including Hindus, Muslims and other faiths. Some of his Hindu devotees believe that he was an incarnation of Shiva or Dattatreya. Sai Baba taught a moral code of love, forgiveness, helping others, contentment, inner peace, devotion to God and guru.

He practiced Hindu and Muslim rituals. One of his well known epigrams says of God: ‘Sabka Malik Ek Hai’ (One God governs all). He frequently used to say, ‘Allah Malik’ (God is Master).

The most important source about Baba's life is the Shri Sai Satcharita, written in Marathi in 1916 by Govindrao Raghunath Dabholkar, apart from several other books. Also, several movies and television presentations have been produced on Sai Baba’s life and teachings.

Not much is known about his birth or early life. According to legends, Baba arrived at the village of Shirdi in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, India, when he was about 16 years old. It is generally believed that Baba stayed in Shirdi for three years, disappeared for a year and returned around 1858, which indicates his possible birth year as 1838.

Baba led an ascetic life, sitting motionless under a Neem tree and meditating while sitting in a Yoga asana. The ‘Sai Satcharita’ describes the early reaction of the villagers, “The people of the village were wonderstruck to see such a young lad practicing hard penance, not minding heat or cold. By day he associated with no one, by night he was afraid of nobody.”

Sai Baba attracted the curiosity of the villagers, and the religiously-inclined people regularly visited him, while the Shirdi village children considered him mad and threw stones at him. After some time he left the village, and it is unknown where he was, though there are some indications that he spent time with many saints and fakirs, and even worked as a weaver.

In 1858 Sai Baba returned to Shirdi, when the Khandoba Temple priest greeted him with the words "Ya Sai" (Welcome saint!). From this, the name Sai stuck to him and later he was being called Sai Baba. It was around this time that Baba adopted his dress style consisting of a knee-length one-piece robe (Kafni) and a cloth cap, and he sported long hair' when he returned to Shirdi. He never had his head shaved.

For about five years Baba lived under a Neem (Azadirachta indica) tree. He often wandered for long periods in the jungles in and around Shirdi. He undertook long periods of meditation. Later, Baba was persuaded by the local people to take shelter in an old mosque, where he led a solitary life. He survived by begging for alms. In the mosque he maintained a sacred fire, referred to as a Dhuni, from which he had the custom of giving sacred ash ('Udhi') to his guests. It was believed to have powers for healing and protection from dangerous situations.

Initially, Sai Baba is believed to have functioned as a Hakim and treated the sick by application of Udhi. Baba also delivered spiritual advice to his visitors. He recommended the reading of sacred Hindu texts along with the Qur'an, insisting on the indispensability of the unbroken remembrance of God's name. He also participated in local religious festivals. He used to prepare food for his visitors, which he distributed to them as Prasad.

After 1910 Sai Baba's fame began to spread in Mumbai, when many people started visiting him, revering him as a saint, or even an avatar, capable of performing miracles. Sai Baba neither nominated his spiritual heirs, nor initiated disciples, despite requests from some of his devotees, though some of them later became famous as spiritual figures, such as Upasni Maharaj of Sakori and Meher Baba of Ahmednagar.

Sai Baba shunned any kind of regular rituals but allowed the practice of Namaz, chanting of Al-Fatiha, and Qur'an readings at Muslim festival times. Sai Baba also opposed all sorts of persecutions and discriminations on religious or caste grounds, and opposed superiority and orthodoxy based on caste and birth. Although Sai Baba himself led the life of an ascetic, he advised his followers to lead family lives.

Sai Baba encouraged his devotees to pray, chant God's name and read Holy Scriptures such as Qur'an, Ramayana, Vishnu Sahasranam, Bhagavad Gita and Yoga Vasistha. He advised his followers to lead a moral life, help others, and love every living being without any discrimination. In his teachings Sai Baba emphasized the importance of performing one's duties without attachment to earthly matters and being always content regardless of the situation.

Sai Baba had a profound knowledge of Muslim and Hindu religious texts. He explained the meaning of the Hindu scriptures in the spirit of Advaita Vedanta, and emphasized the elements of Bhakti. The Hindu spiritual paths of Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Karma Yoga were pronounced in the teachings of Baba. An example of the way he combined both faiths is the Hindu name Dwarakamai that he gave to the mosque where stayed.

Sai Baba taught that God penetrates everything and lives in every being, and God is the essence of each of them. Baba said that the world and all that the humans may have is transient and only God and his gifts are eternal. Sai Baba also emphasized the importance of devotion to God (Bhakti) and surrender to His will. He advised his followers to overcome the negative features of character and develop positive ones. He taught them that one’s fate is determined by Karma.

Sai Baba left no written works for posterity. His teachings were oral, typically short, pithy sayings, rather than elaborate discourses. Baba used to ask his followers for money (Dakshina), which he would give away to the poor the same day and spend the rest on buying wood to maintain the Dhuni. According to his followers he did so in order to rid them of greed and material attachment.

Baba emphasized the importance of sharing with others. He said, "Unless there is some relationship or connection, nobody goes anywhere. If any men, or creatures, come to you, do not discourteously drive them away, but receive them well and treat them with due respect. Shri Hari (God) will be certainly pleased if you give water to the thirsty, bread to the hungry, clothes to the naked and your verandah to strangers for sitting and resting. If anybody wants any money from you and you are not inclined to give, do not give, but do not bark at him like a dog." Other favorite sayings of his were, "Why do you fear when I am here", "He has no beginning... He has no end."

The Shirdi Sai Baba Movement began during his lifetime with a small group of Shirdi inhabitants and a few people from other parts of India. It started growing in the 20th century. During his lifetime Hindus worshipped him with Hindu rituals and Muslims revered him greatly as a saint. In the last years of Sai Baba's life, Christians and Zoroastrians started joining the Shirdi Sai Movement.

Around twenty thousand pilgrims visit the Sai Baba Mandir in Shirdi every day, and during religious festivals it will be a hundred thousand. A spiritual organization of Baba's devotees, Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust is based there. The first ever Sai Baba Temple is situated at Bhivpuri, Karjat, in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

While there are at least one Sai Baba Mandir in most Indian cities, the Shirdi Sai Movement has also spread to other countries such as USA, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, and in the Caribbean countries.

Sai Baba's disciples believe that he had performed many miracles. Inhabitants of Shirdi talked about these miracles and wrote about how they were witnesses of his unusual Yogic powers such as levitation, entering a state of Samadhi at wish, even removing his limbs and sticking them back to his body (Khanda Yoga) or doing the same with his intestines. Some of his followers claimed he appeared to them after his death, in dreams, visions and even in bodily form, whence he often gave them advice.

In the mosque in Shirdi in which Sai Baba lived there is a life-size portrait of him. Numerous monuments and statues depicting Sai Baba have also been built after his death. A marble statue is in the Samadhi Mandir in Shirdi where Sai Baba was buried.

Tantra for experiencing mystic powers

Photo: Tantric goddess Kali at Dakshineswar, West Bengal, India along with her Yantra

Tantra (Tantram or anglicized as Tantricism or Tantrism) is a spiritual practice and ritual form of worship according to which Shakti is usually the main deity worshipped, and the universe is regarded as the divine play of Shakti and Shiva. Tantra aims at liberation from ignorance and the cycle of death and birth. Tantra has been practiced in countries such as India, Nepal, China, Japan, Tibet, Korea, Cambodia, Burma, Indonesia and Mongolia, and has influenced the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Jain religious traditions.

The Tantrika, or Tantric practitioner seeks to use the Prana (divine power) that flows through the universe, including one's own body, to attain spiritual goals, material goals, or both. The Tantric uses various tools, including yoga, to activate processes that connect the practitioner to the divine. Also important are visualizations of deities and chanting mantras for experiencing mystic powers within the individual, resulting in an ever increasing awareness of cosmic vibration.

Tantrism is also a quest for spiritual and magical powers, by achieving complete control of oneself, and control over all the forces of nature, in order to attain union with the cosmos and with the divine. Arduous training is required to master Tantric methods, into which pupils are initiated by an enlightened guru. Yoga, including breathing techniques and Yoga postures (asana), is employed to train the body to the control of the will. Mudras (gestures), Mantras (syllables, words and phrases), Mandalas and Yantras, which are symbolic diagrams of the forces at work in the universe, are all used as tools for meditation and for the achievement of spiritual, magic and supernatural powers.

During meditation, the follower of the Tantric guru identifies herself or himself with any of the gods or goddesses representing cosmic forces. The follower visualizes them and takes them into her or his mind so that she or he unites with them in a process akin to sexual courtship and consummation. Some Tantric monks (saints, babas, swamis, etc.) use female partners to represent goddesses. In left-handed Tantra (Vamachara), a ritual of sexual intercourse is practiced, not for pleasure as the Tantrics claim, but as a way of entering into the underlying processes and structure of the universe, as scientists deal with the big bang and black holes, etc.

The Tantric tradition may run either parallel to or intertwined with the Vedic tradition, though some orthodox Brahmans who accept the authority of the Vedas reject the authority of Tantras. The source of written Tantric wisdom is the agama, which mainly consist of four parts; delineating metaphysical knowledge (Jnana), contemplative procedures (Yoga), ritual regulations (Kriya) and ethical and religious injunctions (Charya).

Though the paths of Tantra and Yoga are contradictory, they have some common philosophies and goals. During his discourse on ‘Vijnana Bhairava Tantra’, Osho tried to differentiate between these two paths thus, “Yoga is suppression with awareness; Tantra is indulgence with awareness.”

As Robert Svoboda summarizes the three major paths of the Vedic knowledge, “Because every embodied individual is composed of a body, a mind and a spirit, the ancient Rishis of India who developed the Science of Life organized their wisdom into three bodies of knowledge: Ayurveda, which deals mainly with the physical body; Yoga, which deals mainly with spirit; and Tantra, which is mainly concerned with the mind. The philosophy of all three is identical; their manifestations differ because of their differing emphases. Ayurveda is most concerned with the physical basis of life, concentrating on its harmony of mind and spirit. Yoga controls body and mind to enable them to harmonize with spirit, and Tantra seeks to use the mind to balance the demands of body and spirit.”

Tibetan Buddhist Tantric master Lama Thubten Yeshe said, “Each one of us is a union of all universal energy. Everything that we need in order to be complete is within us right at this very moment. It is simply a matter of being able to recognize it. This is the Tantric approach.”

According to Tantra, ‘being-consciousness-bliss’ or Satchidananda (Sat-chit-ananda meaning existence-consciousness-bliss) has the power of both self-evolution and self-involution. Prakriti or ‘Reality’ evolves into a multiplicity of creatures and things, yet at the same time always remains pure consciousness, pure being, and pure bliss. In this process of evolution, Maya (illusion) veils Reality and separates it into opposites, such as conscious and unconscious, pleasant and unpleasant, and so forth. If not recognized as Maya or illusion, these opposing forces can bind, limit and fetter the individual (jiva).

Evolution or the ‘outgoing current’ is only half of the function of Maya. Involution or the ‘return current’ takes the jiva back towards the root of Reality, revealing the infinite. Tantra teaches the method of changing the ‘outgoing current’ into the ‘return current’, transforming the fetters created by Maya into that which ‘releases’ or ‘liberates’. This view upholds two pillars of Tantra; ‘One must rise by that by which one falls,’ and ‘the very poison that kills becomes the elixir of life when used by the wise.’

The Tantric aim is to sublimate rather than to negate relative reality. This process of sublimation consists of three phases: purification, elevation and the ‘reaffirmation of identity on the plane of pure consciousness’. The methods employed for attaining this goal by Dakshinachara (right-hand path) and the Vamachara (left-hand path) of Tantra are different.

It is difficult to describe Tantric practices definitively, but they can be broadly classified as ‘Ordinary Rituals’ and the ‘Secret Rituals’. The Ordinary Ritual or pooja may include elements of Mantra and Yantra, which are instruments to invoke specific Hindu deities such as Shiva, Shakti, or Kali. Similarly, pooja may involve focusing on a Yantra or Mandala associated with a deity.

Tantra, as an offshoot of early Vedic thought, embraced Hindu gods and goddesses, especially Shiva and Shakti, along with the Advaita philosophy that each represents an aspect of the ultimate Param Shiva, or Brahman. The deities may be worshipped externally with flowers, incense and other offerings, such as singing and dancing. But these deities are engaged internally as attributes of Ishta Devata meditations. The practitioners either visualize themselves as the deity, or experience the Darshan (the vision) of the deity. These Tantric practices also are believed to be the foundation of the Ritual Temple Dance of the Devadasis.

Secret Tantric Rituals may include any or all of the elements of Ordinary Rituals, along with other sensate rites such as a feast (food, or sustenance), coitus (sex and procreation), the charnel grounds or cremation grounds (representing death and transition) and defecation, urination and vomiting (representing removal of waste, renewal and fecundity). It is this sensate nature that prompted the German thinker, Indologist and historian of South Asian art Heinrich Zimmer praise Tantra as, “In the Tantra, the manner of approach is not that of Nay but of Yea, the world attitude is affirmative, man must approach through and by means of nature, not by rejection of nature.”

Tantric Sexual Rites of Vamamarga may have emerged from early Hindu Tantra as a practical means of catalyzing biochemical transformations in the body to facilitate heightened states of awareness. These constitute vital offerings to Tantric deities. Sexual rites may have also evolved from clan initiation ceremonies involving transfer of sexual fluids, by which the male initiate is inseminated with the sexual emissions of the female consort, sometimes mixed with the semen of the guru. The Tantrika is thus transformed into a son of the clan (kulaputra) through the grace of his consort. The clan fluid (kuladravya) or clan nectar (kulamrita) is conceived as flowing naturally from her womb. Later developments in the Sexual Rites emphasize the primacy of bliss and divine union, which replace the more bodily connotations of earlier forms. Although popularly equated with Tantra in its entirety in the West, such sexual rites were historically practiced by a minority of sects and cults. For many lineages, these Maithuna practices (sexual union) progressed into psychological symbolism.

The Tantric sex rituals culminate in a sublime experience of infinite awareness for both the participants. Tantric texts specify that sex has three distinct purposes: procreation, pleasure, and liberation. Those seeking liberation avoid frictional orgasm for a higher form of ecstasy, as the couple participating in the ritual lock in a static embrace. Several types of sexual rituals are practiced by Tantrics, involving elaborate and meticulous preparatory and purifying rites. The sexual act itself balances energies coursing within the Pranic Ida and Pingala channels in the bodies of both the partners. The Sushumna nadi (spinal chord) is awakened and Kundalini (instinctive or libidinal force or Shakti that lies coiled at the base of the spine, often called the ‘serpent power') rises upwards within it. This eventually culminates in Samadhi, wherein the individual personalities and identities of the participants are completely dissolved in cosmic consciousness. The male and female participants in Tantric sex are conjoined physically and represent Shiva and Shakti. Beyond physical sex, a subtle fusion of Shiva and Shakti energies takes place, resulting in a unique energy field. On an individual level, each participant experiences a fusion of one's own Shiva and Shakti energies.

The first Western scholar to take the study of Tantra seriously was Sir John Woodroffe (1865-1936), who wrote about Tantra under the pen name Arthur Avalon, who is considered as the ‘founding father of Tantric studies’. Woodroffe was an ardent advocate for Tantra, defending Tantra against its many critics and presenting Tantra as an ethical philosophical system greatly in accord with the Vedas and Vedanta. Woodroffe himself practiced Tantra as he understood it and, while trying to maintain his scholastic objectivity, was considered a student of Hindu Tantra (in particular Shiva-Shakti) tradition.

Following Sir John Woodroffe, a number of scholars of comparative religion and Indology began to investigate Tantric teachings, including Agehananda Bharati, Mircea Eliade, Julius Evola, Carl Jung, Giuseppe Tucci and Heinrich Zimmer. According to Hugh Urban, Zimmer, Evola and Eliade viewed Tantra as "the culmination of all Indian thought: the most radical form of spirituality and the archaic heart of aboriginal India", and regarded it as the ideal religion of the modern era. All three saw Tantra as "the most transgressive and violent path to the sacred." Other popular authors such as Joseph Campbell brought Tantra into the imagination of the peoples of the West. Tantra came to be viewed by some as a ‘cult of ecstasy’, combining sexuality and spirituality in such a way as to act as a corrective force to Western repressive attitudes about sex.

For many modern thinkers, Tantra has become a synonym for ‘Spiritual Sex’ or ‘Sacred Sexuality’, a belief that sex in itself ought to be recognized as a sacred act which is capable of elevating its participants to a more sublime spiritual plane.

According to Hugh Urban, “Since at least the time of Agehananda Bharati, most Western scholars have been severely critical of these new forms of pop Tantra,” and this ‘California Tantra’ as Georg Feuerstein calls it, is “based on a profound misunderstanding of the Tantric path”. “Their main error is to confuse Tantric bliss with ordinary orgasmic pleasure.” Urban said that he himself doesn't consider this ‘wrong’ or ‘false’ but rather ‘simply a different interpretation for a specific historical situation.’

Vamachara system of Tantra is considered to be on the fringes of extreme and associated with the pancha-makara or the ‘Five Ms’, also known as the pancha-tattva. Literally, they are Madya (wine), Mamsa (meat), Matsya (fish), Mudra (cereal), and Maithuna (sexual intercourse).

Vamachara Tantric traditions impose strict ritual limits on the use of these literal forms and warn against non-sanctioned use. If practiced without the guidance of a highly learned Tantric guru, the practitioner will end up committing sins or crimes. So, practitioners of Vamachara Tantric rituals may make symbolic substitutions for these actual things, which are not permitted in orthodox Hindu practice, and certain practices can be legally prohibited. Tantric practices can be done without involvement with the actual pancha-makara is emphasized by Swami Madhavananda, and by numerous other Tantrics.

The 'Charnel Ground Sadhana' (Shmashan Sadhana) practiced by Aghoris, identifies it as principally cutting through attachments and aversion. They are often viewed as uncultured and undomesticated. The gurus and disciples of Aghor believe their state to be primordial and universal. They believe that all human beings are naturally born Aghori. Hari Baba has said that human babies of all societies are without discrimination, they will play as much in their own filth as with the toys around them. Children become progressively discriminating as they grow older and learn the culturally specific attachments and aversions of their parents. Children become increasingly aware of their mortality as they bump their heads and fall to the ground. They start to fear their mortality and then palliate this fear by finding ways to deny it altogether. In this sense, Aghor Sadhana is a process of unlearning deeply internalized cultural models. When this Sadhana takes the form of Shmashan Sadhana, the Aghori faces death as a very young child, simultaneously meditating on the totality of life at its two extremes. This ideal example serves as a prototype for other Aghor practices, both left and right, in ritual and in daily life.

The symbolism of the Khatvanga that entered esoteric Buddhism was a direct borrowing from the Shaivite Kapalikas who frequented places of austerity such as cremation grounds as a form of 'left-handed path'. The form of the Buddhist Khatvanga derived from the emblematic staff of the early Indian Shaivite Yogins, known as Kapalikas or 'skull-bearers'. The original Kapalikas were criminals who had been sentenced to a twelve-year term of penance for the crime of inadvertently killing a Brahmin. The penitent was prescribed to dwell in a forest hut, at a desolate crossroads, in a charnel ground, or under a tree. They were also ordered to live by begging, wear a loin-cloth of hemp, dog, or donkey-skin. They also had to carry the emblems of a human skull as an alms-bowl, and the skull of the Brahmin they had slain mounted upon a wooden staff as a banner. These Kapalika ascetics soon evolved into an extreme outcaste sect of the 'left-hand' Tantric path (Vamamarg) of Shakti or goddess worship. The early Buddhist Tantric Yogins and Yoginis adopted the same goddess or dakini attributes of the Kapalikas.

And finally, here is an advisory!

The extreme types of Tantric practitioners are condemned by cultured and educated people because of their cannibalistic rituals, and rituals like sacrificing animals and even human beings in their secret practices. Many Tantric practices are banned by law in many countries for practices bordering on crime, forced sex, and similar practices. Also, some of the claimants of divine or supernatural powers are just practitioners of black magic or hypnotism, and it is very difficult to separate them from true masters. Their activities come to light only when they are exposed by their own people or by the victims who escape from them. So, if attracted by divine powers, make proper enquiries before joining them for any purpose. There are many reputed spiritual leaders and organizations that have helped people on their paths to meditation and bliss! So, be selective and don’t let your quest for eternal bliss end up in eternal suffering at the hands of fakes!

Practising Yoga in the French Alps

Yoga in the French Alps, originally uploaded by kajo55.

Sun Yoga for more energy at sunset

Sun Yoga brings more energy., originally uploaded by Eric Lon.

This is a very popular photo on yoga that has been seen 20.523 times on January 17, 2010 on Flickr, according to this photographer. He says the model featured here is Janga, a 26-year-old Nepali, the spiritual son of French Eric Lon, 59 years old, masseur physiotherapist and yogi for 36 years. According to him, this tree posture connect the energy of the earth with the sea and the sky. He says, "Eric teaches yoga from sea level to the Himalayas; Nepal, India."

Amitabha Buddha meditating in Yoga posture

Amitabha (also known as Amida Buddha or Great Buddha), is the Buddha described in the scriptures of the Mahayana Buddhism. Amitabha is the principal Buddha in the Pure Land Buddhism (also referred to as Amidism), a branch of Mahayana Buddhism which is one of the most popular schools of Buddhism in East Asia, along with Zen Buddhism. According to the Mahayana scriptures, Amitabha possesses infinite merits resulting from good deeds over countless past lives as a bodhisattva named Dharmakāra. Amitabha is translatable as ‘Infinite Light,’ hence Amitābha is often called ‘The Buddha of Infinite Light.’

The bronze statue of Amida Buddha meditating in Padmasana Yoga posture is located in Kōtoku-in, a Buddhist temple of the Jōdo shū sect in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The height of the statue is 13.35 meters and weighs approximately 93 tons. The statue is hollow, and visitors can view the interior of the statue for a small payment.

It is believed that the statue was originally cast in 1252, in the Kamakura period, as conceptualized by the priest Joko, and sculpted by One-Goroemon and Tanji-Hisatomo. The statue was built inside a wooden temple, but that building washed away in the tsunami of September 20th, 1498 during the Muromachi period. But the statue survived the tsunami. Since then the statue has been in the open air. Repairs were carried out in 1960-1961, when the neck was strengthened and precautionary steps were implemented to protect it from earthquakes.

Yoga, the traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India, is associated with meditative practices in eastern religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. In Hinduism, it also refers to one of the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy. Buddhism yoga is associated with meditative methods. In Jainism it refers to the sum total of all activities; mental, verbal and physical.

Ancient expression of Yogic ideas can be found in the early sermons of the Lord Buddha. A key teaching of Buddha was that meditative absorption should be combined with the practice of mindfulness. Buddha taught meditative states alone are not an end and even the highest meditative state is not liberating. Instead of attaining a complete cessation of thought, some sort of mental activity must take place such as a liberating cognition based on the practice of mental awareness.

The Buddha also departed from earlier Yogic thought in discarding the early Brahminic notion of liberation at death. Liberation for the Brahminic Yogi was thought to be the realization at death of a non-dual meditative state anticipated in life. In fact, old Brahminic metaphors for the liberation at death of the yogic adept were given a new meaning by Buddha. Yoga is of much importance to many branches of Buddhism.

Yogachara Buddhism, also spelled Yogacara Buddhism, is a school of philosophy and psychology that developed in India during the 4th to 5th centuries. Yogacara received the name as it provided a Yogi a framework for engaging in the practices that lead to the path of the bodhisattva. The Yogacara sect teaches Yoga in order to reach enlightenment.

Ch'an Buddhism, also known as Seon or Zen: The name Zen derives from the Sanskrit word ‘dhyaana’ via the Chinese ‘ch'an’, and it is a form of Mahayana Buddhism noted for its proximity to Yoga. In the west, Zen is often set alongside Yoga. The two schools of meditation display familiar resemblances, and it merits special attention since the Zen Buddhist school of meditation has some of its roots in Yogic practices. Certain essential elements of Yoga are important both for Buddhism in general and for Zen in particular.

Indo-Tibetan Buddhism: Yoga is central to Tibetan Buddhism. In the Nyingma tradition, the path of meditation is divided into nine Yanas, or vehicles. The last six are described as ‘Yoga Yanas’; Kriya Yoga, Upa Yoga, Yoga Yana, Mahā Yoga, Anu Yoga and Ati Yoga. The Sarma traditions also include Kriya, Upa (Charya) and Yoga, with the Anuttara Yoga class substituting for Mahayoga and Atiyoga.

Other Tantra Yoga practices include a system of 108 body postures practiced with breath and heart rhythm. The Nyingma tradition also practices Yantra Yoga (in Tibetan: Trul khor), a discipline which includes breath control (or Pranayama), meditative contemplation. The body postures of ancient Tibetan Yogis are depicted on the walls of the Dalai Lama's summer temple of Lukhang. An account of Tibetan Yoga by Chang (1993) refers to caṇḍalī (Tibetan: tummo), the generation of heat in one's own body, as being ‘the very foundation of the whole of Tibetan Yoga’. Chang also claims that Tibetan Yoga involves reconciliation of apparent polarities, such as Prana and mind, relating this to theoretical implications of Tantrism.

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