Kaulachara (written by Guruji and posted 11/3/10) Q. What is Kaula Achara? A: In God’s creation 50% are male and 50% female. Therefore, God/dess who extends in all of creation is called Artha Nari Iswara, female (left half), male(right half). Those who worship the female Goddess (Shakti) follow the left path called Vama achara. Those who worship the male God (Siva) follow the right path called Dakshina Achara. There worship God in female, male and also combined forms follo w both right and left hand paths called Kaulachara, Kaula Achara. The word Kaula derives from Kula which means total. Separately as female and male, and also both together in union are worshipped as dieties. Thus Kaula Achara is a mix (misra) of right and left hand paths. It has been acclaimed as the highest natural path (sahaja) since it does not debar any one from practice on the basis of gender : female – male – male neutral (rivers, hills, trees, earth, water, fire, air, space, time, health, wealth, etc. which cannot be assigned any gender); Caste: Brahmana Kshatriya Vaishya, Sudra and all others; Age: child, adolescent, youth, middle age and old age; Ashrama: Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaparastha and Sanyasa. It brings all living or imagined living forms into one single roof as being worthy of worship. It offers every one a wide canvas of procedures appropriate to each. Q. Who are the gurus of right and left hand paths? A: The Gurus of Dakshinachara are Vedic Dakshinamurthy and also all the Christian and Moslem Rabbis who claim God is Male. Since the plant is according to the seed thrown and not on the soil, they insist that Purusha is dominant for creation, Prakriti or Nature is not. Vedas take lot of pains to prove that the power in mantras offered into sacrificial fires are sufficient to create progeny without the necessity of having to be born through a womb (a-yoni-ja), T hey thus claim immaculate birth. The Gurus of Kaulachara are Dattatreya and also all the feminist and Pagan Teachers who worship Females, in benign and malignant paths. They claim sex is as necesssary for manifestation at the cosmic level as it is for normal procreation. As below, so above, they believe. Therefore, they consider Siva and Shakti as the divine equivalents of phallus and womb. Phallus is described as an infinite pillar of light. Its receptacle is the womb Kalash, the vessel of immortality. The driving force behind all creation is like the pleasure of sex, called Ananda. Q. Why are Kaula and Vama acharas denounced now as fit only for lowly people by the mainstream elite? A: Any achara connects people to Powers of God, both benign and malevolent. We can use malevolent energies also to heal people and eliminate disease; it is a good use of bad energy. But power in the hands of immature can destroy. So the teachers are wary of passing on the means to get powers to everyone. They test the worthiness of a pupil before giving them the procedures to connect to powers. It is a necessary precaution which cannot be objected to. Vamachara and Kaulachara control the excess sexual energy energy present in living persons to visualise, nourish and manifest any creative desire. This path is much faster than the right path. Practiced under under the proper direction of a competent and mature Guru, left path can lead to dramatic improvement in the quality of life in the society for everyone. However, if the speed at which the powers to manifest is more than that for gaining maturity to use the powers wisely, much harm can be done to society by immature practitioners. Unfortunately many such cases have indeed been there. Media reaching out to every home and molding public opinion, knowing that sensation sells, focus on such issues. Instead of saying a glass is half empty ( focus on negative aspect, smallness) why should we not assert that it is half full (focus on positive fullness). If we focus on what can be done to correct the system, rather than looking at at what is bad about the system what can’t be achieved? The intellectual elite fought against the Vama and Kaula methods saying that they are fit only for low caste people with small worldly desires (kshudra = small). Over time, it has become a fad to criticize and throw mud at all practitioners of Vama and Kaula sects. Practitioners of right path aggressively promoted audio visual media which is ever willing to capitalize on sensational news, portraying only the worst aspects of Kaula and Vama methods. The attack was not only on Hindus. The culture of Bharat (=Interest in light)
provides a true balance of Male and Female deities. It says worship God as woman: mother, daughter, sister, friend, lover, and prostitute; they are all mothers, women. The Christian fundamentalists hunted and burnt at stakes the so called witches, the wicked women. Actually the wor d wicked comes from wicca, which means no harm to any one. It is similar to vicche, which means liberation. The Wiccans meet once a week to do their rituals honoring the seasons. They wick, so others called them wicked. Phoenicians had temples for the Goddess of pleasure the clitoris and Hindus worship Rati, the Goddess of carnal pleasures. Prostitutes were considered sacred both in west as well as east, because they served Deities (Deva Dasis) and taught men the arts of making love. In the golden age of tantra, all major temples in India were richly adorned by sculptures of mithuna practiced in temple precincts. It was a country wide and world wide fertility culture which offered sex to please the deities controlling the life and food sustaining energies. Sacredness of sex was mainstream world wide once, although it is much suppressed now by male dominated religions. If God is female, worship of woman is worship of God. This is totally unacceptable to Male God rightists. Q: Can you tell us about what most people find objectionable in Kaulachara? A: The use of 5 “M” s in worship. They all begin with the letter M in Sanskrit, so they are called 5 “M”s, or Pancha Makaras. These are the ingredients used in Kula pujas. But it is important to realize that their literal meanings are practiced by non-vegetarian Kaulas, and hidden meanings are practiced by vegetarian Kaulas. The 5 Ms are 1. Madya, 2. Matsya 3. Mamsa, 4. Mudra and 5. Mithuna. Their literal and hidden meanings are given in table below. Makara
Common
Hidden
1. Madya 2. Matsya 3. Mamsa 4. Mudra 5. Maithuna
Liquor Fish Meat Woman Partner Coitus
Intoxicated state of Bhakti, knowing nothing but Goddess. Focus on in breath, which moves like a fish in waters of life. Tongue on uvula, a piece of hanging flesh from upper palette. Nature is the woman partner, who brings pleasure and pain. Every contact with your own nature inside, or world is coitus.
Most people in the world enjoy liquor for the intoxication it gives. And most eat fish and meat; they constitute more than 95% of people. Every person enjoys sex intimacy either in marriage, dating or in livein relationships. Therefore all these 5 Ms are commonly done by all people. What is not main-stream however is thinking that such common activities such as drinking and sex also have a spiritual dimension. It comes by combining common meanings with hidden meanings. The attitude of most people is: drinking liquor and enjoying sex is right; but using them for worship, NO NO! This is the problem. Q: Is this the only problem? What about the rights of animals being killed for the sake of worship? A: Aren’t animals killed for eating meat and fish? What is wrong if they are worshipped first, then told that they will get a better life and then sacrificed in a ritual to get power? Don’t we eat meat to get power for our body? Useless killing has to be objected to. Q: Then what is objectionable? A: The use of bodily secretions in rituals. Everybody uses milk and honey to bathe the icons of power: of desire, nourishment or manifestation. Use of menstrual blood and semen is objected to by most people in rituals. Why? Let me explain. Milk is blood, modified by addition of calcium, which happens automatically in lactating mothers. .So, milk and blood are same, obtained without injury to animals. All we eat comes from organic living matter only; the seeds of paddy, wheat, nuts, etc. Semen is just human seed. Both menstrual flow and semen are living, life giving substances which can be used to give life here, or offered to fire to fulfill our desires to gain control of environment. This is the precise part which is abhorred by people. Notice that menstrual blood and semen are obtained with pleasure instead of pain; so they promote peace loving good energies. In fact even cow’s urine and excreta along with milk, butter and ghee ar e used in Vedic rituals, since the mother goddess Lakshmi is supposed to be near the genital and excretory organs
of the holy cow. Vedas and Tantras are very similar. They overlap considerably in using life energy positively and abhor needless violence. The main goals are Truth = Satyam, and Ahimsa = non -violence, Asteyam = not coveting other’s properties. The harmless Kaulas practice non-violence to the extent possible. If you are a vegetarian, be so, it is good. If you are not a vegetarian, try to minimize harm by dedicating your life and other lives to Goddess. Do not suppress desires. After all, they are god’s desires. Desires are also spiritual. This is the path of Kaulas. Moksha means that it is not having a birth at all. But since we are born already, we can only expect avoidance of rebirth. It can be achieved in three ways. 1. By offering our seed into fire every time it is produced. This is Purna Ahuti, offering of self in seed for m not to be reborn, but to fructify our desires. It is both a Vedic and Kaula practice. 2. Not ejaculating the seed even during coitus. It is hard, but can be learned with the right attitude and with the help of a learned partner. This is called taking the seed upwards, Urdhva retas. The importance is to play and enjoy with partners, Rasa-lila, without inhibitions, relaxing into a tender love rather than being driven by lust. This is Bhakti, surrender of body, mind and soul to the partners all of whom are none other than a Krishnas-Gopis or Shivas-Shaktiss. Of a collection of people. The concept of chakra or mandala arises from here; we manifest a higher form of life through harmonious, playful activities. This is puja of love, beauty and harmony, the goddess Tripura Sundari . T his is a true Kaula practice, which focuses on foreplay much more than coitus. 3. The third way is not to engage in sex or thinking about it, avoid company of all opposite partners and thus not beget children. This is followed by Sanyasis. The inhibition and negative attitude to pleasure tend to promote anger and ego. The first is the easiest; the second and third ways are both difficult, and require long practice.
Q: What forms of Kaula are practiced in Devipuram? A: We do practice benign aspects and don’t go anywhere near malevolent aspects. Q: Can you be more specific and describe the process of puja so that we can decide whether to go for it? A: We do worship to consenting adult females and males as we do for icons of Goddess or God following the sacred Sri Vidya tradition of Tripura Sundari. The ritual called Kalavahana or Shaktipat goes like this. First we touch the feet of the recipient and seek permission to do the puja by touching all parts of body to invoke divine life into them. After getting it, we touch all parts of the body of the body of receiver (female or male) placing the 50 beeja aksharas in all spiritual chakras from Muladhara to Sahasrara. Then Fire and its 10 powers are invoked in the genital area, 12 of Sun around the chest area, 16 of Moon around the neck. Then again 10 powers of creation (Brahma) are invoked in the womb because creation takes place there, 10 powers of pleasure which promotes life (Vishnu) in the external genital, 10 of life without body (Rudra) around waist, 4 of love and bondage (Iswara) in the chest, and 16 powers of communication across boundaries of space (Sadasiva), 3 of time past, present and future (Tripura). So far the attempt is to raise the level of awareness to the crown through prayers. The awareness energy having gone up to the crown, the descent of grace is started from 2 feet of Guru at the crown, and the never ending flow of time through present. The grace of enduring will (Sarasvati), its nourishment and protection (Lakshmi), and fulfillment through manifestation in womb (Durga), and a desire for not having a rebirth into a low form of life from the feet. Then we give them a ritual head bath with mantras, called Abhishek. This is very empowering and many people go into trance like state right then, which is an indication of empowerment taking place. Then the initiatory mantras are given. The recipient is worshipped with flowers and kumkum concluding the ritual. The entire puja can be and is done to clothed recipients publicly at Devipuram. If the recipients desire it, exactly the same process can be done in their homes also.
All our pujas are satvic, which empower and hurt none. This is how Kaula pujas are done to willing and consenting adults at Devipuram. Priests never compel any one to do any particular puja. Suvasini (adult married woman), Kumari( Virgin adult girl above 18 years) and Dampati (Couple or partners in a live-in relationship) pujas are an essential part of Goddess worship. Anga pujas are necessary to invoke all powers in a balanced way. The powers invoked are 1. Iccha ( stable will ), 2. Jnana ( expanding knowledge to achieve it ) and 3. Kriya ( manifesting the will ). Only satvic pujas are offered to public seeking sacred traditions of Sri Vidya. _________________________________________________________________________ Q: What is the essence of tantra? I know it is a vast subject, but a short and sweet answer will do. A: Everyone wants happiness. Two things make us unhappy: Not getting what we Desire, and getting what we Fear. If our desire is fake, we need to be protected from manifesting it. The conventional spiritual way is to transcend desires and fears and thereby reduce the chances of unhappiness. And through the process of transcending one is supposed to get to a state of unconditional happiness (bliss) which comes through the realization that we ARE bliss and there is no need to seek it. The tantric way, on the other hand, is to get the power to get what we desire and be protected from what we fear. The tantric power is not some kind of magic that we evoke with mantras. It comes through a process of serious spiritual saadhana that also ultimately leads to the realization of our true powerful nature. However desire is the driving force for sadhana and not something to be shunned or overcome. In Tantric sadhana we uninhibitedly go to Devi with our desires, seek her help with mantras and poojas - in this process many things happen. Often the desires get fulfilled which makes our love for Devi grow. Sometimes they don't get fulfilled, but as we go on with the sadhana we realise that they are "fake" desires, camouflages for real deeper desires, and then as we gain clarity into our real desires they get fulfilled. Meanwhile the tantric rituals and mantras keep instilling into us the ultimate truth of who we really are Devi herself. Without sadhana desire is truly the cause of all suffering. Without the light of DevI, we blindly grope around to fulfill our desires, hurt others and get hurt by others. We get so clouded by our powerlessness and frustrations that we forget our real desires and substitute them with easy fakes, We feel guilty about our desires and try to hide them even from ourselves. Tantra brings desires out of darkness into God's light and fufills them thereby fulfilling the purpose of our life in this form. Q: Give us a message to live by. A: Do as you like. Minimize hurt. Q: Thank you for answering questions patiently. We follow what we desire to do. In that process, we will minimize hurt and get connected to the Powers..
Love Guruji
