If you’ve wondered what to practice and how, you’re not alone! It was certainly daunting for me to be faced with a potpourri of spiritual practices and traditions. Each path came with its own prerequisites, practices, and signposts. Often, paths differ so subtly that we would need to dig deep to find those differences. In general, however, spiritual practices can be categorized into progressive (or indirect) and direct paths, which determine how we journey from the I-self to the Self.
In progressive paths, we advance from one level to the next as the I-self becomes increasingly purified. We work on our shadows gradually, allowing the lessons and insights of one stage to become actualized before moving on to the next. Yoga, Vedanta, and tantra are some examples of progressive paths. Eventually, progressive paths naturally and spontaneously turn our attention to the Self. Progressive paths serve to ripen us to knowing our true nature.
The word “yoga” means “to join” and can refer to joining breath with body, breath with awareness, or individual with the Divine.6 In yoga, we are asked to cultivate positive aspects of our bodies and mind by discerning between what serves us and what doesn’t. By constantly redirecting our focus and attention, we stop trying to find happiness in external objects. Eventually, our discursive mind activity comes to a rest, leading to liberation.
The eight-fold path of yoga, as cataloged by the ancient Indian sage Patanjali, progresses through the following stages: ethical injunctions, or yamas, such as nonviolence, truth, non-stealing, appropriate cultivation of sexual energy, and non-clinging; virtues, or niyamas, such as purity, contentment, perseverance, Self-reflection, and surrender; postures, or asana, to enable stability and resilience of the body; breath regulation, or pranayama; withdrawal of senses, or pratyahara; one-pointed contemplation, or dharana; meditation, or dhyana; and absorption in the object of meditation, or samadhi.7 Self-inquiry, or atmavichara, is an additional practice that is the mainstay of Vedanta.
“Vedanta” translates as “the end of knowledge” and refers to the knowledge that keeps us identified with the I-self. Knowledge, as we may ordinarily think of it, is the knowing about something. No matter how much we may know about something, this knowledge remains limited—there is always something we don’t know about!
Vedanta teaches us to look at life, our bodies, and our mind in a systematic and logical fashion to open to the knowledge of the Self. Ordinary knowledge is an object that we acquire through study and information gathering, while Self-knowledge is knowledge of the subject, the one that knows. As we will see in chapter 6, because knowledge about things is limited, our sense of lack is never mitigated by what we acquire, and our seeking never ends. On the other hand, Self-knowledge puts an end to the incessant seeking when we realize that we have always been whole.
Vedanta is a progressive path because we need to cultivate various qualities that make it easier to put an end to limited knowledge. These include discrimination, or the ability to discern between the real (Self) and the unreal (all phenomena, including the I-self); dispassion or non-attachment to the outcome of our actions; control over the mind, emotions, and senses; right behavior; equanimity; faith in the teaching; focus; and a burning desire to be free of the I-self.8
We cultivate these qualities through various means, such as devotion to a higher ideal, or bhakti yoga; self-inquiry, or jnana yoga; service and selfless action, or karma yoga; and the eightfold yogic path known as raja yoga. These qualities gradually ripen us into Self-knowledge.
One way to translate “tantra” is “instrument for expansion.” While classical yoga and Vedanta ask us to become purified by avoiding what does not serve us, tantra uses all experiences as entry points to our true nature. The principle of practice in tantra is that the path by which we fall is the path by which we rise.9 In realizing that Shiva-Shakti as the Divine contracts itself as the limitations of breath, discursive thought, emotions, and experiences, we use each of these contractions to return home to our true nature.
A tantric prefers whatever arises in current experience instead of wishing for something else. On this path, if lust is our current experience, we do nothing to change it or act on it. Instead, we give it our full attention and melt into it. By remaining open and welcoming all experiences, lust, anger, fear, and shame give way to the beauty and ecstasy that pulsate beneath them. Thus, our very limitations become the radiant paths to liberation.
Tantra is a progressive path because we work gradually with our shadows. This may entail working with sacred sound, imagery, breath, the energy body through the chakras, self-inquiry, or progressive deepening in meditation. In tantra, we see everything in existence as a manifestation of Shakti and learn to see her beauty even in her most depraved or heinous forms.
While progressive paths lead to gradual advancement toward liberation, the direct paths begin with the premise that we are already the Self. This approach is found in various traditions, including Zen Buddhism, Dzogchen of Tibetan Buddhism, and the Pratyabhijna of Kashmir Shaivism. The direct (and often, immediate) recognition of the Self is emphasized in each of these schools, with practices and contemplations specific to the tradition.
In this book, the Direct Path refers to that expounded by Sri Atmananda Krishna Menon (1883–1959), which forms the basis for Greg Goode’s work on the subject, which has profoundly influenced my sadhana. The Direct Path is not necessarily easier or faster than the progressive paths. It is “direct” because, here, we go directly to the source of our being. Instead of taking a stand as an I-self desiring liberation, we take a stand as the Self or awareness. From this vantage point, we examine our immediate experience. The Direct Path asks us to look at our direct experience of objects and phenomena of the world. For example, when we look at an object, color and shape are the only factors of our direct experience of vision.10 When we investigate further, we find that color cannot be separate from seeing—it can be known only through seeing and cannot be verified in any other way. Further, we realize that seeing is not separate from awareness—we can never experience an object outside of awareness. Wherever our vision rests, awareness is already there.
In the Direct Path, there is a radical unraveling of the way we have learned to perceive the world, our bodies, and our mind. The objects of the world, our perceptions, our thoughts, our emotions, and our habits are examined critically and are found to be arisings in awareness. As with progressive paths, our shadows become transformed in the Direct Path as well. However, this transformation is the result of higher reasoning, which is a systematic investigation into the reality of experience when standing as awareness.
The Direct Path doesn’t bother with theories of creation and liberation or levels of spiritual attainment. When we stand as awareness, all theories, concepts, and beliefs are known to be arisings. No concept, sensory stimulus, belief, or action can ever be outside of awareness, which is our true nature. In the Direct Path, we come to see that we have always been whole.
In this book, the sadhana of the Mahavidyas includes practices of progressive paths and the Direct Path. To explore the shadow and light aspects of each Mahavidya as they pertain to us, we will delve into practices from yoga, Vedanta, and tantra. The concepts of these paths are examined in fresh ways that are applicable to our lives and sadhana, along with their pitfalls.
We will examine the ways in which the I-self keeps us bound to suffering in subtle ways, such as mistaking self-improvement for liberation, questing for knowledge, falling into addiction to suffering, being trapped in spiritual materialism, spiritual bypassing, taking language literally, and being attached to the spiritual path. Some of the concepts are examined in numerous ways as applicable to the symbolism of each deity. Examining them in these various ways helps clarify them and how they manifest in our sadhana.
Even though the shadows and light represented by the Mahavidyas are presented sequentially in this book, they need not be approached this way. Each deity is a path unto herself, and hence they are called “maha,” or great. The light of any one Mahavidya opens to that of the remaining nine, just as working on one ethical code or virtue opens us to many others.
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a classical text of yoga based on the eightfold yogic path where each of the eight principles are like rungs of a ladder.11 The first two rungs of this ladder are the yamas (ethical codes) and niyamas (virtues), as laid out in the table that follows. The beauty of the yamas and niyamas is that they are applicable to all paths.
On progressive paths, yamas and niyamas aid in the transformation of our shadows into light. When we cultivate these qualities, our identification with the I-self progressively loosens, and we become ripe for Self-knowledge.
On the Direct Path, taking a stand as awareness results in spontaneous opening to these qualities because they are the natural expressions of wholeness. While we work toward realizing our true nature, the yamas and niyamas help us live peaceful and fulfilling lives. Even after the dawn of Self-knowledge, these virtues aid the integration of the realization into our mundane lives and help us live in harmony with the world.
In this book, the light of the ten Mahavidyas represents the ten yamas and niyamas that facilitate Self-knowledge. Their shadows are explored as the opposing qualities that keep us bound to suffering. While the shadow qualities bind us to identification with the I-self, the light aspects open us to our true identity. This is just one way of exploring these great goddesses—you may discover them in a very different way!
Because our identification with the I-self is tenacious and deep-rooted, the sadhana of the Mahavidyas brings in a unique tool: fierce imagery.
| The Yamas and Niyamas of the Yoga Sutras | |
|---|---|
| Yamas | Niyamas |
|
Nonviolence |
Purity |
|
Truth |
Contentment |
|
Non-stealing |
Perseverance |
|
Appropriate cultivation of sexual energy |
Self-reflection |
|
Non-clinging |
Surrender |
The iconography of the Mahavidyas can be shocking or even repulsive. The imagery is rendered fierce with the sole purpose of catapulting us out of dualities, such as good and bad, beautiful and ugly, and right and wrong, which fortify the limitations that form our identity. The images of the Mahavidyas are meant to jar us out of complacency and to allow us to see that nothing escapes the Divine—our shadows are as much a part of it as the light. This is the way of tantra, which leads us to light through our darkest shadows, our worst fears, and our greatest pain. So, how can we relate to such (often unfamiliar) imagery that can seem so harsh?
As you read the description of each deity, allow the image to arise in your mind’s eye and notice the emotions and thoughts it evokes in you. Contemplate the image with the intent of discovering what each of her elements may represent for you personally. The iconography of each Mahavidya is deeply symbolic of both our limitations and our potential for freedom from them. Therefore, it can be useful to see what the various parts of the image may refer to in our own psyche.
For instance, see that a cemetery may be symbolic of your dead past and that corpses may represent your thoughts and memories that no longer serve you. When you become more comfortable with the imagery, sit with it and visualize yourself in the scene. As you get more adept with it, allow it to fill you up and surrender to it with the intention of understanding your own patterns of thinking and acting. When we approach the Mahavidyas with reverential curiosity, we are blessed with surprisingly unique insights about what their iconographies mean to our personal stories.
This book is meant to be a practical tool for transforming our shadows and opening to the Self, where the Mahavidyas form the focal points for deep understanding and contemplation. Each chapter contains two main practices—a progressive path exercise for transforming a shadow aspect into a yama or niyama, and a Direct Path practice of non-dual inquiry into the cosmic force of each Mahavidya.
Non-duality refers to lack of division or separateness. As we will see in chapter 3, duality—or a sense of separateness between us and others, of good and bad, and of desirable and undesirable—keeps us trapped in identification with the I-self. Non-duality erases all sense of separation and makes way for wholeness. The non-dual inquiry practices in each chapter aid this realization of non-separateness.
The exercises and contemplations of the Mahavidyas in this book will become easier with ongoing cultivation of inner silence. A committed daily mediation practice is the most powerful tool to help us with this goal. A simple but powerful practice is outlined below.12 I suggest that you practice this for about twenty minutes twice a day.
In addition, we will explore the Heart Opener. This is a practice from Greg Goode’s Direct Path: A User Guide, which facilitates our ability to take a stand as awareness.13 We will refer to this practice in every chapter as the starting point for the non-dual inquiry. A working knowledge of the Direct Path can be very helpful for making the most of the non-dual inquiry exercises in each chapter. Several resources are listed at the end of the book that will help facilitate your understanding of the Direct Path.
Meditation: The Pause Between Breaths
An innocent mistake we tend to make is to try to “find” awareness or to experience it. However, awareness is the sole subject of all experience. This means that all experiences, sensations, and thoughts are objects that occur to it. Awareness cannot be known. It is that which knows. The brilliant clarity of awareness remains untarnished and open to experiences, allowing them to occur as they do. It doesn’t say yes to a pleasant experience and no to unpleasant ones. Even the no of resistance to pain or suffering is an arising in awareness. The Heart Opener is called that because of the inherent sweetness it evokes in realizing that awareness allows everything to arise “as is.”
This practice can initially feel clunky and forced. It can feel like the mind is working hard to create the spaciousness of awareness. That is quite all right. As we practice, we will come to see that the mind is itself an object that arises in awareness.
Most of us live and die believing the stories we are fed about who we are and who we must be. Through these stories, we create an image of ourselves that we try to conform to. We believe things such as “I’m unlovable,” “I’m fat,” or “I’ll never be good enough.” We pick up projects to improve our image, thinking, If I exercise enough, I’ll be better, or If I make enough money, I can rest. Self-improvement projects can help with improving self-image, but they serve only to rearrange the debris that obscures the light of our true nature. We realize the bliss and beauty of wholeness only after we dig through the debris that makes up the self-image.
For this type of excavation, we need to be willing to dig. Often, it is far more comfortable to stay trapped in familiar mind-sets even when they cripple us, as we will see in chapter 8. We can be so wedded to our beliefs that continuing to live a life of confusion, self-loathing, and lack of harmony with the world is easier than opening to the freedom that lies underneath.
This path demands that we be absolutely honest with ourselves, in which we acknowledge where we are, instead of where we’d like to be. Honesty prevents us from claiming actualization prematurely, and opens to greater depth and beauty.
Eventually, our sadhana will open us to the cosmic, creative forces represented by the Mahavidyas that transcend both the shadow and the light. When inquired into, aspects such as time and space dissolve sweetly into witnessing awareness, giving rise to an exquisite intimacy of experience. This intimacy is the essence of tantra.