Tantra and Women

In the far distant past there were many practices given to women. The practices of tantra were first developed by women in ancient matriarchal societies and later established and systematized by Lord Shiva. Tantra was not given for men. It was originally given to women and later became practiced primarily by men, but in the beginning it was not for men. It was developed in those ancient societies where the goddess ruled and the power of women was in the forefront. Over time, with the decline of the position of women, these practices were altered and became primarily the practices of male initiates. But even at the time of Shiva and for several thousands of years afterwards, there were women who were initiates and who formed schools or societies in which the tantric practices thrived. Over time these were rooted out and as the women lost status they also lost their rights to these practices, which first came about in the society of women.

The tantras were given by Shiva to his wife Parvati and then conveyed to others. Those teachings contained many mystical practices for the development of human beings, practices which were directly designed to dispel darkness and ignorance from the human mind. Now is a different age, many things have changed. Women again move to the forefront, but their ancient roots have been covered in the darkness of the past and their spiritual roots are unknown to them. Now women emerge and the time of the mother comes again. But now she will share her throne, and male and female will co-exist in a kind of harmony. The age of patriarchy comes to a close and with it the dominance of men over women.

In the age of patriarchy, one of the greatest sins against women has been to instil in them a dislike for their feminine bodies. This has been the greatest harm that patriarchy has done to women, because the root of a women’s power, both physically and spiritually, lies in her body. Women have come to feel shame for that which they should feel proud. They have come to feel revulsion for their own sexuality. It has been held upon the altar of patriarchy that the ideal woman is a virgin who has no connection with her body. She is pure and pristine because she is untouched, because she has separated her spirit from her femininity. Thus she becomes the ideal of patriarchy, this disembodied woman.

In ancient times this was not the ideal. The ideal was that of the mother who gave birth to life and fed the entire world from her breast. She was the mother of life, not a virgin. In those ancient times the ideal for a woman was that of the mother, rich with life, fertile, filled with abundance. She was the goddess who nurtures the world. It is in this vital feminine that the spiritual power of women is truly alive. A woman is not more sanctified by virginity, nor more holy by abstinence. She is the mother of life and her body is the temple of life. This is the ancient teaching. From her all life has come and by her love, by her infinite grace, by her compassion her children will be fed and grow and thrive upon her breast. So you see, the power of women is thus in their womanhood and in their bodies, not in the disembodied virgin who has never felt or experienced her womanhood.

In the ancient schools where tantra was taught and practiced for the transformation of consciousness, the transformation of self from identification with the little to the great, women in mystery schools learned to see themselves as extensions of the mother, of the great goddess from whom all life has sprung. They learned to appreciate their womanhood and to make that womanhood the source of their spiritual potentiality and knowledge.

In the path of tantra all that is limited, all that is confined, all that is immature becomes transmuted. That which is small identifies with the great, and all that is hidden becomes revealed. There can be no hidden part, no secrets that are not known and no shame for your femininity. It is your greatness. Your womanhood is your greatness, and from this you may become as the great mother of all life, one whose divine compassion feeds the earth and who gives birth to divinity in love. So you see, in the path of tantra the rights of a woman to her own body are foremost. She cannot think she is merely disembodied. She must recognize her womanly expression and mature in that expression, transmuting the physical into the psycho-spiritual so that the girl becomes the mother, becomes the goddess herself. And this goddess is the wife of Lord Shiva, the complement of Purusha, cosmic consciousness.

Now there are those who, in the arrogance of patriarchal approaches, began to say that a woman cannot achieve full liberation because she can only become the goddess, she can only identify with Prakrti, or the creative force, and not Purusha, or consciousness. They say that therefore she cannot attain full and complete liberation. This was the thinking of those men who dominated the religious thought of perhaps the last four or five hundred years. But these men were only foolish, old men. They did not see clearly due to their prejudices. Otherwise they would have clearly seen that the female form, like the male form, has both Purusha and Prakrti. These foolish men did not realize Purusha and Prakrti are close like the crossing of the index and middle fingers and the goddess is not apart from her beloved. She is one with him.

These two, Purusha and Prakrti, are engaged in an endless dance and in that endless dance they come ever together in divine union. A woman who has fully surrendered herself into this dance of divine femininity will find her greatest joy in fulfilment of her union with her divine spouse, the divine consciousness at the base of all created beings. In this way, creation will come to its resting point.

Thus, through the tantras and the pursuit of the feminine a woman may pass not only into the realm of the goddess but into the full realization of the cognitive witness-ship of manifestation. This path is the ancient path of tantra given for women many thousands of years past. Today again it becomes relevant as women emerge from the darkness of oppression and begin to experience themselves and the divinity of their feminine forms. When the heart is open, when the mind is clear, the mother may emerge with her great compassion for all beings and show herself in her daughters. Then this world will take a different turn.

It must be remembered that the differences between women and men are only in the first three koshas or layers of mind. Other than that there is no difference. So that which is directed to development of the lower koshas will require some separate approach. That which is directed to the upper koshas may be the same. You see, the body and the associated mind cannot be ignored. It cannot be ignored and it is a mistake when it is done. Therefore, there must be practices and teachings to awaken and direct these energies.

The practices of ashtaunga yoga include withdrawal of the mind from the physical world, the adjustment of the physical body through asanas and practices of yama and niyama, as well as the development of subtle states of consciousness through concentration, meditation and samadhi. These practices are universal. They are for both men and women, but optimum asana practices for women are different than for men. Women must make certain that their asana program is suitable for them. For example it will be a rare woman who practices the Peacock Pose. Most women will want practices that strengthen their abdominal muscles. The practice of pratyahara engages the physical body and bodymind relationship. It engages the person in withdrawing from the body successfully and is for both men and women. Likewise the practices of yama and niyama are the same for men and women. Most practices of ashtaunga yoga are the same, except the adaptations for practices that strengthen and balance the physical body.

Q. Are these teachings the same as what women in the ancient mystery schools practiced?

They are adapted. You see, the time has changed; the time is not the same. The ancient schools were in the matriarchal period and some few thousands of years after that, but that time period has passed forever from the world and the time that comes is yet again different. It will not be the same, and so the teachings cannot be the same. There will be aspects taken from those teachings, but they will not be identical. There was a serious problem in that time, for over time the position of men became very bad, and it is in part the reaction to that that has caused the rise of patriarchy and the total rejection of women that occurred during the patriarchal period. It is as if the imbalance goes one way then it goes another. But this will be a time of balance in the human race and in the human psyche, for human beings have matured. They are more intelligent and they are more prepared. So during this time the spiritual practices must reflect this. Though there are similarities and though based in those ancient practices, still the tantras for this time must be a little adjusted.

Q. How will these teachings be given?

They are already coming forward upon the planet, and they will come with more clarity. They begin to emerge. You will find them from many sources, but the time is not ready for the tantras. Still the women are not ready. But it will come and it is the mother who will heal this wounded earth. Without women coming to the front, this planet will die. Let the mother come at this time of need and save the children, and let her daughters embody her power and her strength.