Shakti Yoga is the path of energy. In this stream of Sound Yoga, the expansive resonance of the word — shabda — is brought home to the human body in the form of shakti mantras. These sounds are Tantric, or rooted in the body, whereas Vedic mantras are oriented toward the cosmos. We could say that, in the Tantric tradition, mantras incarnate as flesh and blood, emphasizing the immanence of the Divine presence rather than the transcendence evoked by the poetry of Vedic mantras. “Tantra” means “fabric,” and refers to the warp-and-woof intermeshing of life and consciousness. The roots of Tantrism lie in closely guarded esoteric insights from the pre-Vedic tradition of goddess worship, which coexisted with, intermingled with, and influenced the Vedic period. It then experienced resurgence around 500 A.D. with the development of many key Tantric texts.

In the Tantric view, the feminine energy of Shakti is considered to be the agent of all Divine action. With beautiful philosophical balance, every male deity in the Hindu tradition has a corresponding shakti — a female counterpart. In Hinduism, the feminine shakti is perceived as the active principle, which is a reversal of the Western view. Shakti, for the Hindu, is a dynamic energy without which nothing can be accomplished. Shiva, the pervasive male principle, is thus complemented by Shakti, the pervasive female principle. Similarly, Brahma the Creator is complemented by Saraswati, the goddess of art and knowledge, and Vishnu the preserver is balanced with Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and abundance. All goddesses are forms of the one shakti. The absolute sound, Shabda Brahman, is complemented by the absolute energy, Para Shakti. It should be noted, however, that at the level of Brahman, or supreme reality, gender is subsumed and transcended. Here reality is viewed through the single eye — the eye of wisdom between the eyebrows — while all other views of reality are through the eyes of duality. Tantrics see the play of opposites in all aspects of creation as contributing to dualistic modes of perception, which must be unified, embodied, and transformed through the process of Tantric Yoga.

ALPHABETS OF DIVINE ENERGY

As mentioned, Tantra means “fabric,” and it describes the universe as an intermeshing web of energetic relationships — a view that is identical to current discoveries in particle physics. According to Tantric cosmology, the individual letters of the Sanskrit language, from which mantras are constructed, are derived from sonic structures that form the basic building blocks of the universe. Here we see the reverse of the Vedic view of language; in this case, the part — the individual letter — is greater than the whole. Hence, in Tantric philosophy, every part of the human body, including the genitals and excretory organs, is sacred — just as every part of the earth’s body is held as sacred.

Tantra has become popular in the West because of its strong association with sexuality, in the same way that Hatha Yoga has gained popularity because of its amazing fitness routines. A key difference between the Vedic and Tantric uses of mantras is that, in Tantrism, the part is viewed as being greater than the whole because it contains the whole. This perspective, too, is corroborated by modern scientific discoveries such as the hologram, in which the whole is indeed present in every part, even when the part is broken up into little pieces. Another illustration of this principle comes from a controlled biological experiment, in which worms kept in a dark box were shocked with electricity when flashed with a bright light. Later, these worms were ground up and fed to a second batch of worms that were not put through the same shock treatment — yet they, too, reacted by coiling up in response to the flashed light in exactly the same way as the first set.

Tantra functions on the principle that energy is constantly being exchanged among all the parts of the universe through an intricate system of channels. The human body is viewed as a microcosm of the universe, replicating this complex network of universal energy channels. The sounds of the individual Sanskrit letters and the basic sounds of human energy, such as grunts, groans, and other inarticulate sounds, are codified in mantras that represent the flow and control of energy in and through the human organism. These basic sound structures, also known as bijas (“seed syllables”), are extracted from fundamental sound forms that make up the energy of the universe.

While Hatha Yoga postures help align and strengthen the body’s complex network of energy channels, in Tantrism the mantric sounds employed by the yogi wield the energetic force (kundalini), awaken siddhi (spiritual powers and perceptions), and lead to the realization of ecstatic union that is both sexual and spiritual. In Tantrism, the use of sacred sound therefore becomes important in the way we relate to our sexuality and the flow of energy in and through our body. Through the use of yoga and sacred sound, Tantrism teaches us to respect our sexuality and to connect more intimately with the innate intelligence of the body. Imagine such a teaching as a part of the high school curriculum, helping our teens effectively manage and channel their sexual energy, then carry this ability into adulthood and eventually marriage.

KUNDALINI YOGA AND THE TANTRIC APPROACH TO SOUND

Kundalini Yoga is the systematized approach to Tantric practice.  Over a period of time, a smorgasbord of tantric practices developed in India sharing some elements common. Kundalini Yoga is generally considered as a sort of classical approach to this discipline. Yet, there is no real central authority that authenticates a particular approach to Kundalini Yoga and this is the great genius of the Hindu tradition.  Hinduism allows the individual teacher to devise his or her own formula and impart the experience to others.  This formula can be adapted to suit a particular student.  The downside is the abuse caused by inexperienced or egocentric teachers.  Such abuse, often unintentional, can invariably be quite harmful. To avoid this, there are many teachers who systematize their approach with very clear general guidelines.  In the West, such approaches can be trademarked or copyrighted; in India they are traced to a lineage.  Some initiates will uphold the tradition to the letter, others may deviate to formulate their own, and many will compromise between the two in order to adapt to the needs and circumstances of time and place.

Tantric yogis, tantrics, or tantrikas, as they are sometimes called, are spiritual aspirants with a particular focus.  They primarily recognize the power and intelligence of energy, and they worship it as a goddess or as a serpent.  The goddess symbolizes sexuality and the serpent symbolizes consciousness.  The goal of the tantrik's spiritual life is to guide this energy to its ultimate level of fulfillment.  The infinite power of the universe is considered to manifest through the pairs of opposites represented by the male and female reproductive organs.  These organs symbolize masculine and feminine qualities of being, centrifugal and centripetal forces, rational and intuitive aspects of the mind, and all other variations thereof - on every level of being and in every aspect of the created universe.  

Tantric philosophy perceives all duality to originate in one undifferentiated unity of being, tantra meaning "fabric" and referring to the warp and woof intermeshing of life. The human being - and most other creatures - is in contact with this undifferentiated unity at the base of the spine.  From here, this energy bifurcates through two channels known as ida and pingala that originate around the genital area.  A central channel for unified energy known as the susumna nadi runs through the spinal chord. Even though these opposite forces want to distinguish themselves from each other, they simultaneously have a tremendous attraction to each other, as they both emerge from a common source.  These opposing, but complementary, streams of energy meet constantly in, above or below, the vortexes of power lined up along the central susumna nadi alongside the spinal chord.  The vortexes are the chakras, which function as like hubs in each new plane of differentiation, drawing energy from that plane unto itself and giving off its own vibration to affect others vibrating on that plane.  There is tremendous energy in these vortexes caused by the tendency of the masculine and feminine forces to evolve on their own individual path while simultaneously being pulled towards unity.  This tension facilitates motion, which is why they keep dividing and uniting, as they move toward greater fulfillment and a more differentiated unity.  This happens at least in seven major vortexes, until the need to differentiate is completely fulfilled.   The ida and pingala culminate in the nostrils; some texts point to the third eye.  Some texts also depict them running parallel beside the spine and not meeting; there may be specific conditions under which this happens.

The process: Primal energy first differentiates itself in the sexual center, first giving birth to duality and then evolving into the organizational power center located around the navel, the affective center in the heart, the creative center in the throat, the perceptive center between the eyebrows, and finally the spiritual center on the top of the head.  The vibratory nature of this final plane is the subtlest form of energy available to human perception in its present configuration.  Some people claim that we are now moving into an eighth field, and that this eighth energy center is located about twelve inches above the crown of the head.   The Native Americans apparently believe that there is an earth center that we are all connected to, and that this center is located about twelve inches below our feet.  These two centers can be likened to transpersonal center and pre-evolutionary centers, for there are some Hindu texts that suggest nine chakras.

Each vortex or energetic center in which these opposite forces meet is called a chakra, meaning "wheel" or "disc."  A power center or chakra that is throbbing with energy is sometimes perceived as a rapidly spinning disc.  Carolyn Myss compares these discs to information storage devices such as computer diskettes that store enormous quantities of information resulting from our past experiences and choices.  Hindus refer to these choices as karma, from the word for "action."  Repeated actions cause habits, some of them helpful to us, and some that are harmful.  An occasional choice is not a problem, but a habit can be a serious impediment to our spiritual life.  A habit causes our energy to go round and round in a monotonous pattern, often wasting precious energy. We then become predictable and loose our sense of curiosity.  The habit is the "cause"; stagnation is the "effect."  This is the natural law of karma.  We must constantly observe our habits, their resulting energy dynamics, and find ways to get out of harmful or outmoded patterns.  This is akin to regularly updating your web page, or rewriting the information on your data storage diskette.  Bad habits, even good habits, can often take on a "canned quality".  Karmic influence has been brilliantly compared to a stuck record or CD, and the Hindus actually call this a samskara, or groove; in the worst-case scenario it's a " rut". 

The opposite of the stuck groove is the flowering of energy and the beauty of its unfolding patterns that manifests in our lives.  In India, the lotus, an extraordinary flower that blooms out of dirty and muddy environments, symbolizes this energetic flowering. A lotus with a specific number of petals represents each chakra, and each petal is inscribed with a particular Sanskrit mantra.  The totality of these frequencies sets up ideal conditions for the flowering to take place.  Sanskrit must be given its due as a language that has been refined to awaken, channel and transform energy in our psycho-spiritual energy system, just as mathematics is a language that has been perfected to measure, calculate and control the laws of the physical universe.