The first half of this sublime text, newly translated. ‘The Stanzas on the Innate Pulsation of Awareness’ (Spanda-kārikā), First Flow (i.e., chapter one), entitled ‘The Pulsation of One’s True Nature’ (svarūpa-spanda).
The Rite of the Phonemes (Tantrasaara Chapter Five, Part 3)
This post presents the third and final part of Chapter Five of Abhinavagupta's The Essence of the Tantras. This part of Chapter Five teaches, in code, the ‘secret’ Heart-mantra of the Trika, the bīja of Goddess Parādevī.
Cherishing your own radiant beauty (Tantrasaara Chapter Four, Part 5)
The Aspects of the Goddess (Tantrasaara Chapter Four, Part 4)
How Awareness Expresses (Tantrasaara Chapter Three, Part 3)
Elevating the Prana (Tantrasaara Chapter Five, Part 2)
How a Nondual Tantrika Practices (Tantrasaara Chapter Four, Part 3)
Why Yoga Doesn't Work . . . and Why it Does (Tantrasaara Chapter Four, Part 2)
In this section of his most accessible work, The Essence of the Tantras, Abhinavagupta makes a compelling — and controversial — argument that none of the practices of Yoga contribute to the possibility of abiding awakeness or final liberation except insofar as they contribute to discernment and insight, for only accurate insight into the nature of reality liberates. This nuanced and careful argument is a must-read for all Tantrik Yogis!
The Ways to Liberation (Tantraloka 1 cont'd)
The Mystical Meaning of Sanskrit (Tantrasaara Chapter Three, Part 2)
The Embodied Method (Tantrasaara Chapter Five, Part 1)
The Empowered Method (Tantrasaara Chapter Four, Part 1)
The Divine Method (Tantrasaara Chapter Three, Part 1)
TANTRALOKA 29: The kula-yaga, or secret sexual ritual of original Tantra (part 1 of 12)
The first of 12 posts translation Tantrāloka chapter 29, which details not only the kula-yāga or sexual ritual, but its preliminary meditations, the nonsexual variant forms of the practice, and the important topics of how to perform a Kaula initiation and the ways in which the Guru can pierce the cakras of the disciple and activate his or her energy-body.
The Pathless Path (Tantrasaara Chapter 2)
Chapter Two of Abhinavagupta’s Tantrasaara teaches the (rare) possibility of spontaneous realization of the Truth without the need for any spiritual practice or method. This chapter contains one of Abhinava’s most powerful and direct pointing-out instructions! He puts the realization of ultimate Truth into the first person for you to savor.
The nature of awareness (Tantraloka 1 cont'd)
In this section of the text, Abhinava discusses the nature of Awareness as the ground of all being. He breaks down sentience & insentience, gradations of awareness, individuated awareness vs. overarching Awareness, what full realization entails, and refutes objective materialism, all in the course of just five Sanskrit verses!
