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Hareesh.org

About
Blog
Blog
Blog en español
Tantrasara Blog Posts
Tantraloka Blog Posts
Spanda-Karika Blog Posts
VBT Blog Posts
Near Enemies of the Truth
Books & Downloads
Books
Audio
Writings
CALENDAR
May 1, 2025
Tantrik yoga, Sacred scripture
Tantrik Studies
Vijñaana-bhairava-tantra verses 43-48: the ...

Six of the powerful spaciousness practices of the VBT.

Vijñaana-bhairava-tantra verses 43-48: the Spaciousness practices
April 30, 2025
Tantrik yoga, Sacred scripture
Tantrik Studies
Vijñaana-bhairava-tantra verse 42 ~ advanced ...

The VBT series continues with this post on the advanced uccāra practice taught in verse 42.

Vijñaana-bhairava-tantra verse 42 ~ advanced uccaara
December 17, 2024
Image: Raghunath Manet
Tantrik Studies
Vijñaana-bhairava-tantra verses 40 & 41

Exploring the first two verses of the Spaciousness section of the scripture. The practices of these two verses specifically connect sound & spaciousness (śabda and śūnya).

Vijñaana-bhairava-tantra verses 40 & 41
December 6, 2024
Image: Nikolas Alixopulos
Tantrik Studies
Vijñaana-bhairava-tantra verses 38 & 39

This post explores, in considerable detail, two verses of the VBT focused on sacred sound: the first about tuning into the ever-existent resonance and the second about the traditional Tantrik practice of uccāra.

Vijñaana-bhairava-tantra verses 38 & 39
September 30, 2024
Image: Nikolas Alixopulos
Tantrik Studies
Vijñaana-bhairava-tantra verses 36 & 37

Our VBT series continues with Yuktis #10 and 11, which are interesting subtle practices for more experienced yogins.

Vijñaana-bhairava-tantra verses 36 & 37
Tantrik Studies
February 27, 2017

The truth about 'where things are heading'

Tantrik Studies
February 27, 2017
The truth about 'where things are heading'

A wake-up call: what can we really know is true? 

9 Comments
Tantrik Studies
January 31, 2017
Practical teachings, Liberation, Spiritual inquiry

The liberating power of your sadness

Tantrik Studies
January 31, 2017
Practical teachings, Liberation, Spiritual inquiry
The liberating power of your sadness

What unbelievable power, potency, and aliveness lie unsuspected beneath your sadness, your loneliness, your emptiness!  This post is about the liberating power of moving through the Heart of Darkness.

Tagged: Self-inquiry, Liberation

17 Comments
Tantrik Studies
January 4, 2017
Practical teachings, Spiritual inquiry

Becoming Undivided

Tantrik Studies
January 4, 2017
Practical teachings, Spiritual inquiry
Becoming Undivided

For my first blog post of 2017, something unexpectedly powerful came through. 

19 Comments
Tantrik Studies
December 7, 2016

The most intimate part of you

Tantrik Studies
December 7, 2016
The most intimate part of you

This post explores the most subtle of all The Recognition Sutras. Read it to understand why becoming more aware of awareness, and how it creates its experience of reality moment-to-moment, is the key to living a liberated life. 

7 Comments
Tantrik Studies
November 7, 2016

Patañjali's yoga and its Tantrik reinvention

Tantrik Studies
November 7, 2016
Patañjali's yoga and its Tantrik reinvention

A crystal-clear outline and explanation of Chapter One of the Yoga Sutra, together with a brand new translation of a Tantrik scriptural passage that adopts and reinterprets Patañjali's ashtānga-yoga!

7 Comments
Tantrik Studies
October 15, 2016
Liberation, Spiritual inquiry

How to know that You are God

Tantrik Studies
October 15, 2016
Liberation, Spiritual inquiry
How to know that You are God

Chapter Ten of The Recognition Sutras explains how it makes sense to say that each and every human being is a manifestation of God. In what sense are we all constantly expressing our Divinity, whether we know it or not?

14 Comments
Tantrik Studies
October 7, 2016
Tantrik yoga, practice texts

Will the real Vijñaana-bhairava please stand up?

Tantrik Studies
October 7, 2016
Tantrik yoga, practice texts
Will the real Vijñaana-bhairava please stand up?

One of the most fascinating, strange, mysterious, compelling practice texts in the history of yoga is the Vijñāna-bhairava-tantra, “The Scripture of the Bhairava who is Consciousness.”  This post analyzes the nature and content of this 1200-year-old scripture. 

Tagged: Vijñaana-bhairava, shaivism

29 Comments
Tantrik Studies
September 24, 2016
Liberation, Spiritual inquiry

How to Be Happy

Tantrik Studies
September 24, 2016
Liberation, Spiritual inquiry
How to Be Happy

The Shaiva Tantrik tradition has a remarkable prescription for how to be happy, and it's not cute, superficial, fluffy, or easy. It's subtle, profound, challenging, and real. And it works. It's found in Chapter Nine of The Recognition Sutras.

3 Comments
Tantrik Studies
September 17, 2016

Paradigms of Bhakti: the South Indian Poet-Saints

Tantrik Studies
September 17, 2016
Paradigms of Bhakti: the South Indian Poet-Saints

The second of two posts on the spiritual culture of Karnātaka, this one also outlines the Bhakti Movement and describes some of its key features. 

3 Comments
Tantrik Studies
August 23, 2016
Spiritual inquiry

What 'spiritual awakening' really means

Tantrik Studies
August 23, 2016
Spiritual inquiry
What 'spiritual awakening' really means

This post clearly defines 'awakening' and documents the four uses of the term in spiritual literature and contemporary discourse. 

Tagged: Awakening

37 Comments
Tantrik Studies
August 16, 2016
Image: Gregory Colbert

Remake/remodel: four points on the reinvention of the guru-disciple relationship in the West

Tantrik Studies
August 16, 2016
Image: Gregory Colbert
Remake/remodel: four points on the reinvention of the guru-disciple relationship in the West

A concise exploration of the need for spiritual teachers, and how we might reinvent the role in such a way as to avoid the dangers of exploitation. Uncensored straight talk. 

5 Comments
Tantrik Studies
July 26, 2016
Practical teachings

How yoga can turn a jerk into an even bigger jerk

Tantrik Studies
July 26, 2016
Practical teachings
How yoga can turn a jerk into an even bigger jerk

How can we understand all the scandals that have beset yoga teachers and gurus over the years? In the context of what teachings do these 'falls from grace' make perfect sense? And how can we avoid such pitfalls? 

26 Comments
Tantrik Studies
July 14, 2016
Image:Maria Ramos Urbano

Yoga philosophy, race, and 'colorblindness'

Tantrik Studies
July 14, 2016
Image:Maria Ramos Urbano
Yoga philosophy, race, and 'colorblindness'

A departure from the norm for Tantrik Studies, this post is likely to awaken some and offend others.

23 Comments
Tantrik Studies
July 12, 2016
Spiritual philosophy

God is an Actor

Tantrik Studies
July 12, 2016
Spiritual philosophy
God is an Actor

This post, which translates Recognition Sutra #8, reveals both how to access fundamental awareness and how to reconcile the many spiritual paths and philosophies of the world. 

5 Comments
Tantrik Studies
June 25, 2016

How the one becomes many

Tantrik Studies
June 25, 2016
How the one becomes many

The seventh sutra of this seminal Tantrik scripture explained. How does the One become many? What are the fundamental constituents of embodied Consciousness?

10 Comments
Tantrik Studies
June 13, 2016

When things fall apart

Tantrik Studies
June 13, 2016
When things fall apart

In the face of tragedy, we need to feel our emotions fully, but we also need to see through our negative stories, which dishearten us and make us less able to take positive action. This post might help put things in perspective for you. 

2 Comments
Tantrik Studies
May 27, 2016
Spiritual philosophy

The dangers of duality

Tantrik Studies
May 27, 2016
Spiritual philosophy
The dangers of duality

The mind perceives things dualistically. Why does it do so, and why is that such a problem in human life? Sutra Six of The Recognition Sutras gives the answer. 

Tagged: the recognition sutras

17 Comments
Tantrik Studies
May 13, 2016
Spiritual philosophy

The true nature of the mind

Tantrik Studies
May 13, 2016
Spiritual philosophy
The true nature of the mind

This post discusses the nature of the mind in Tantrik philosophy, and ends with a powerful practice for all seekers of liberation. This is the sixth post on the 1000-year-old spiritual masterpiece, The Recognition Sutras. 

Tagged: the recognition sutras

13 Comments
Tantrik Studies
April 22, 2016
Spiritual philosophy

You are the universe

Tantrik Studies
April 22, 2016
Spiritual philosophy
You are the universe

The fourth Recognition Sutra: how the pattern of the whole universe exists within you, and why that matters.

Tagged: Spiritual philosophy

4 Comments
Tantrik Studies
April 6, 2016
Spiritual philosophy, Image: Nikolas Alixopulos

Reality is a co-creation

Tantrik Studies
April 6, 2016
Spiritual philosophy, Image: Nikolas Alixopulos
Reality is a co-creation

The third mind-blowing sūtra of this 11th-century masterpiece explains how the perceiver (you) and the perceived are co-arising, interdependent, co-creating aspects of one reality. Read on to see WHY THAT MATTERS....

Tagged: the recognition sutras

6 Comments
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  • May 2015
    • May 22, 2015 The Recognition Sūtras
  • June 2015
    • Jun 13, 2015 definition of the word TANTRA
    • Jun 14, 2015 A 10-cakra system from an 800-year-old text
    • Jun 20, 2015 The 10-cakra system from "Jewel-mine of Music" - Part 2 of 2
    • Jun 24, 2015 The purpose of the spiritual life (it ain't what ya think). Part One.
  • July 2015
    • Jul 4, 2015 The purpose of the spiritual life PART TWO
    • Jul 7, 2015 Definition of spiritual awakeness
    • Jul 8, 2015 Do we really have the power of choice? Part One.
    • Jul 8, 2015 Do we really have the power of choice? Part Two.
    • Jul 15, 2015 What is Shaivism?
    • Jul 20, 2015 Tantrik philosophy for the layperson: What is the cause of liberation?
    • Jul 28, 2015 The Power of the Word: double meanings in the Tantraaloka
    • Jul 31, 2015 Light on Tantra: Tantraaloka 1.1-21
  • August 2015
    • Aug 1, 2015 On Bondage and Liberation: Tantraloka 1.22-51
    • Aug 2, 2015 What is Tantra?: Setting the record straight
    • Aug 4, 2015 The Nature of Reality: Tantraloka 1.52-57
    • Aug 24, 2015 The mind: it's not what you think it is
  • September 2015
    • Sep 1, 2015 The Nature of God: Tantraaloka 1.59-69
    • Sep 3, 2015 Deity Yoga: a Tantrik Technology
    • Sep 6, 2015 The transmission of Tantra: an interview with Hareesh (Part 1 of 3)
    • Sep 10, 2015 The transmission of Tantra: an interview with Hareesh (Part 2 of 3)
    • Sep 15, 2015 The transmission of Tantra: an interview with Hareesh (part 3 of 3)
    • Sep 22, 2015 The Nature of God/dess: Tantraaloka 1.68-81
    • Sep 24, 2015 What does 'energy' mean?
    • Sep 29, 2015 God is the Self: the secret teaching of the Trishirobhairava
  • October 2015
    • Oct 6, 2015 The power of subtle impressions (samskaara theory)
  • November 2015
    • Nov 7, 2015 Three Ways to Freedom
    • Nov 14, 2015 How your view of the self determines the extent of your liberation
  • December 2015
    • Dec 16, 2015 The Five Koshas and the Five-Layered Self: a Comparison
    • Dec 23, 2015 Who was Abhinava Gupta?
    • Dec 24, 2015 Abhinava Gupta's writings
    • Dec 27, 2015 The Divine Name: Bhairava (Tantraaloka 1.95-100)
    • Dec 30, 2015 The Divine Names: Deva, Pati, Shiva (Tantraaloka 1.101-5)
  • January 2016
    • Jan 7, 2016 What You Really Want
    • Jan 14, 2016 The Pure Motive
    • Jan 22, 2016 Universal Patterns of Energy (Tantraaloka 1.106-116)
    • Jan 31, 2016 The Essence of the Teachings on the Highest Truth
  • February 2016
    • Feb 5, 2016 The real story on the Chakras
    • Feb 12, 2016 The Eight Limbs of Yoga? . . . Think Again.
    • Feb 22, 2016 Understanding energy leaks; or, Seven Ways to keep your Mojo
  • March 2016
    • Mar 4, 2016 Why spiritual growth does not lead to enlightenment
    • Mar 16, 2016 Awareness is everything
    • Mar 23, 2016 The creative power of awareness
    • Mar 25, 2016 The Recognition Sutras: the story of a miracle
  • April 2016
    • Apr 6, 2016 Reality is a co-creation
    • Apr 22, 2016 You are the universe
  • May 2016
    • May 13, 2016 The true nature of the mind
    • May 27, 2016 The dangers of duality
  • June 2016
    • Jun 13, 2016 When things fall apart
    • Jun 25, 2016 How the one becomes many
  • July 2016
    • Jul 12, 2016 God is an Actor
    • Jul 14, 2016 Yoga philosophy, race, and 'colorblindness'
    • Jul 26, 2016 How yoga can turn a jerk into an even bigger jerk
  • August 2016
    • Aug 16, 2016 Remake/remodel: four points on the reinvention of the guru-disciple relationship in the West
    • Aug 23, 2016 What 'spiritual awakening' really means
  • September 2016
    • Sep 17, 2016 Paradigms of Bhakti: the South Indian Poet-Saints
    • Sep 24, 2016 How to Be Happy
  • October 2016
    • Oct 7, 2016 Will the real Vijñaana-bhairava please stand up?
    • Oct 15, 2016 How to know that You are God
  • November 2016
    • Nov 7, 2016 Patañjali's yoga and its Tantrik reinvention
  • December 2016
    • Dec 7, 2016 The most intimate part of you
  • January 2017
    • Jan 4, 2017 Becoming Undivided
    • Jan 31, 2017 The liberating power of your sadness
  • February 2017
    • Feb 27, 2017 The truth about 'where things are heading'
  • March 2017
    • Mar 28, 2017 The only real limitation is self-limitation
  • April 2017
    • Apr 1, 2017 Finding the spacious ground within
    • Apr 12, 2017 And then there is a turn . . .
    • Apr 26, 2017 The Fire Within
    • Apr 28, 2017 Attaining Your Innate Power
  • May 2017
    • May 13, 2017 Embodied Liberation: the goal of Tantrik Yoga
    • May 30, 2017 Expanding the Center
  • June 2017
    • Jun 8, 2017 Tantrik Shaiva Philosophy in Context
  • July 2017
    • Jul 22, 2017 On the Importance of Truth in the Spiritual Life
  • August 2017
    • Aug 15, 2017 Near Enemy #5: Listen to your heart
  • September 2017
    • Sep 8, 2017 Near Enemy #12: Negative energy
  • October 2017
    • Oct 27, 2017 Near Enemy #6: Love yourself
  • November 2017
    • Nov 30, 2017 Near Enemy #10: You create your own reality
  • January 2018
    • Jan 31, 2018 Near Enemy #3: I want to be my best self
  • February 2018
    • Feb 28, 2018 Near Enemy #2: Speaking your truth
  • March 2018
    • Mar 9, 2018 The Blossoming of Innate Awareness
    • Mar 18, 2018 What distinguishes Tantra?
  • April 2018
    • Apr 17, 2018 How Tantrik Ritual Works (TA 1 cont’d)
  • May 2018
    • May 31, 2018 Near Enemy #4: Be in the present moment
  • July 2018
    • Jul 11, 2018 The Essence of Tantra: Introduction
    • Jul 29, 2018 Whatever god you worship, you’re really worshipping Awareness (TA 1 cont'd)
  • August 2018
    • Aug 5, 2018 The Modes of Realization (Tantrasaara chapter 1)
  • September 2018
    • Sep 17, 2018 The nature of awareness (Tantraloka 1 cont'd)
    • Sep 23, 2018 The Pathless Path (Tantrasaara Chapter 2)
  • October 2018
    • Oct 30, 2018 TANTRALOKA 29: The kula-yaga, or secret sexual ritual of original Tantra (part 1 of 12)
  • January 2019
    • Jan 5, 2019 The Divine Method (Tantrasaara Chapter Three, Part 1)
  • February 2019
    • Feb 6, 2019 The Empowered Method (Tantrasaara Chapter Four, Part 1)
    • Feb 15, 2019 The Embodied Method (Tantrasaara Chapter Five, Part 1)
  • March 2019
    • Mar 2, 2019 The Mystical Meaning of Sanskrit (Tantrasaara Chapter Three, Part 2)
  • April 2019
    • Apr 18, 2019 The Ways to Liberation (Tantraloka 1 cont'd)
    • Apr 21, 2019 Why Yoga Doesn't Work . . . and Why it Does (Tantrasaara Chapter Four, Part 2)
  • May 2019
    • May 15, 2019 How a Nondual Tantrika Practices (Tantrasaara Chapter Four, Part 3)
    • May 29, 2019 Elevating the Prana (Tantrasaara Chapter Five, Part 2)
  • June 2019
    • Jun 30, 2019 How Awareness Expresses (Tantrasaara Chapter Three, Part 3)
  • July 2019
    • Jul 31, 2019 The Aspects of the Goddess (Tantrasaara Chapter Four, Part 4)
  • August 2019
    • Aug 20, 2019 Cherishing your own radiant beauty (Tantrasaara Chapter Four, Part 5)
  • September 2019
    • Sep 30, 2019 The Rite of the Phonemes (Tantrasaara Chapter Five, Part 3)
  • October 2019
    • Oct 29, 2019 The Stanzas on Pulsation (Spanda-karika), First Flow
  • November 2019
    • Nov 8, 2019 The Stanzas on Pulsation (Spanda-karika), Second Flow
  • January 2020
    • Jan 30, 2020 The Stanzas on Pulsation (Spanda-karika), Third Flow
  • February 2020
    • Feb 29, 2020 Near Enemy #1: Follow your bliss
  • March 2020
    • Mar 12, 2020 Near Enemy #13: "Energy healing"
  • April 2020
    • Apr 30, 2020 The Teachings of the Lord of Wisdom (Jnaneshwar's discourse on yogic meditation)
  • May 2020
    • May 31, 2020 An Introduction to the Goddess Paraa . . . and A Little Light on Our Essence-nature
  • June 2020
    • Jun 30, 2020 The Principles of Reality and the Seed-Mantra of Goddess Parā
  • September 2020
    • Sep 30, 2020 Near Enemy #14: I am my own guru
  • November 2020
    • Nov 30, 2020 Near Enemy #15: All paths lead to the same goal
  • January 2021
    • Jan 9, 2021 The Descent of Power (Tantrasara Chapter 11)
  • April 2021
    • Apr 16, 2021 The Secret Teachings of the Yoginis
  • June 2021
    • Jun 30, 2021 How is 'God' a Near Enemy of the Truth?
  • December 2021
    • Dec 26, 2021 How to Recognize that You are God (IPK 1.1.1-5)
  • January 2022
    • Jan 31, 2022 The Real Story on Kundalini
  • February 2022
    • Feb 10, 2022 The Stages of Awakening
    • Feb 15, 2022 The Nature of Reality
  • May 2022
    • May 31, 2022 Vijnana-bhairava-tantra: introduction and first two verses
  • June 2022
    • Jun 8, 2022 Vijñana-bhairava-tantra verse 3: what is the nature of reality?
  • July 2022
    • Jul 18, 2022 Vijñana-bhairava-tantra verses 4, 5, & 6
  • August 2022
    • Aug 5, 2022 A Path of Pure Radiance: the Krama Lineage
    • Aug 16, 2022 Vijñana-bhairava-tantra verses 7-16: Bhairava's Answer
    • Aug 25, 2022 Karnataka: the Land of Yoga
  • September 2022
    • Sep 5, 2022 The Kaula-sutras
  • November 2022
    • Nov 30, 2022 Vijñana-bhairava-tantra verses 16-21: the relation of Shiva & Shakti
  • December 2022
    • Dec 2, 2022 Vijñana-bhairava-tantra verses 22-27: the foundational practice
  • January 2023
    • Jan 31, 2023 Vijñana-bhairava-tantra verse 28: the Central Channel
  • February 2023
    • Feb 5, 2023 The Twelve Kalis: Part One
    • Feb 9, 2023 The Twelve Kalis: Part Two
    • Feb 18, 2023 The Twelve Kalis: Part Three
  • July 2023
    • Jul 30, 2023 The Sutras of the Intoxicated Lord
  • August 2023
    • Aug 15, 2023 What is the original Kundalini Yoga?
  • October 2023
    • Oct 31, 2023 Vijñana-bhairava-tantra verses 29-30: the Twelve Chakras
  • November 2023
    • Nov 20, 2023 Vijñana-bhairava-tantra verse 31: the Khechari mudra
    • Nov 28, 2023 Vijñaana-bhairava-tantra: translation concordance, Part 1
  • December 2023
    • Dec 7, 2023 Vijñaana-bhairava-tantra: translation concordance, Part 2
    • Dec 7, 2023 The Shiva Sutras
  • February 2024
    • Feb 29, 2024 Vijñana-bhairava-tantra verses 32-33: merging the sensual spaces
  • April 2024
    • Apr 30, 2024 My Ten Books
  • May 2024
    • May 18, 2024 Vijñana-bhairava-tantra verses 34-35
  • September 2024
    • Sep 30, 2024 Vijñaana-bhairava-tantra verses 36 & 37
  • December 2024
    • Dec 6, 2024 Vijñaana-bhairava-tantra verses 38 & 39
    • Dec 17, 2024 Vijñaana-bhairava-tantra verses 40 & 41
  • April 2025
    • Apr 30, 2025 Vijñaana-bhairava-tantra verse 42 ~ advanced uccaara
  • May 2025
    • May 1, 2025 Vijñaana-bhairava-tantra verses 43-48: the Spaciousness practices
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