THE ARCANE ARCHIVE
	a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects.

To: alt.magick.tantra,alt.magick.tyagi,alt.religion.sexuality,alt.magick.sex
Subject: Tantra URLs and Texts (was some oddball neo-tantra ....)
Date: 20 Apr 1999 00:17:42 -0700

49990420 IIIom nama mahakali

catherine yronwode :
# In researching social and cultural aspects of contemporary 
# neo-tantrism, i ran across a so-called "sacred sexuality/tantra 
# web ring."....

that is:
 http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=sacredsex;list

# I personally do not endorse, belong to, or know anything about 
# the sites included in this web-ring....

at the end of this and in following posts please find documents 
exemplifying what some of them say about "tantra" and "sacred sex".


# here is the list, minus urls....

thanks, I've siphoned off this a few "links" URLs and added them
to the Gehennom Goo at:

	http://www.luckymojo.com/magi/goo.html

in the "NEW" section.  here's the first of the texts I found:

[from http://vidya.virtualave.net/tantpage.htm ]

                      Tantra the overall picture
   
                                              by Octavian Sarbatoare
   
          It has been written a lot in the West about Tantra, the overall
          impression from various books is that it is a kind of
          sexual knowledge leading to specific kinds of experiences.
          Although there is a side of Tantra which deals with the
          sexual experience as a kind of experience leading to
          higher awareness, Tantra as a concept is far more vast.

          The system of Tantra evolved from its dawn in the
          primitive societies to its highest form, the indian
          Tantra. By indian Tantra it is understood the Tantra which
          appeared and evolved on the socio-geographical space
          having its core what is actually India. Although the word
          Tantra (which means in Sanskrit 'liberation through
          extension') belongs to the indian tradition, many
          expressions of Tantra were and are under various names
          existent in many cultures all over the world.

          Encompassing all aspects of life, Tantra aims at extending
          one's awareness beyond the experience of material world
          seen as a tool to the knowledge of the transcendent. The
          body becomes a temple, an expression of the Creator, a
          limited instrumentality able to access the unlimited.
          The main areas of tantric system of thought are: deities
          of the primitive people, aim of Tantra, macrocosm and
          microcosm, Loka-s as different levels of awareness, the
          human body as a temple, tantric practices, the magic
          formulae, the magic diagrams, the magic actions, worship
          and the holy shrines, medicine of the nature, Tantra as
          full expression of life, consciousness.

          As a system of thought Tantra is in evolution all the
          time, therefore expressing new realities of life. It has
          survived in time because was able to adapt to new
          circumstances and aspects of life, but mainly because the
          base of Tantra lies with the human essential nature not a
          subject to any individual revelation.

          There is not a specific moment when can be said the
          humankind started. The culture (pagan believes) of the
          primitive people has a lot to do with their ancestors and
          their competition to survive, the difference was that what
          was called human started to understand how the nature was
          working, therefore accumulating experience. This
          experience made the primitive people to develope wisdom,
          to act in order the nature will be to their advantage. The
          nature was seen as a manifestation of power in various
          aspects and the sun, moon, earth, etc., as its expressions
          were seen as possessing specific powers. This was an
          essential belief, so these specific powers were becoming
          Deva-s (gods) and Devi-s (goddesses). The tantric
          practices developed in many parts of the world from
          taboos, superstitions and agricultural rituals of the
          primitive people. Gradually a culture and a spiritual
          system evolved on these fundamental believes.

          [gif omitted] 

          TheGautamiya Tantra says:
          "The inner worship grants liberation to Sadhaka-s even
          during their life-time, but Muni-s (sages) alone who
          desire liberation are able to perform it properly.
          Therefore such Sadhaka-s unable to perform mental worship
          in the right manner should do it with the aid of elements
          used in outer worship"

          There are five main subjects of the indian Tantra i.e. the
          creation of the world, the absorption of the world, the
          worship of gods, the attainment of desires, the union with
          the divine. They are expressed in a multitude of forms,
          there is an unknown number of Tantra-s. To mention a few,
          there are Kundalini Tantra (doctrine of the power force
          within the human body), Shakuna Tantra (doctrine of
          omens), Puja Tantra (doctrine of worship), Maithuna Tantra
          (doctrine of Shiva-Shakti union), Yoga Tantra, (the
          doctrine of union) etc.

          The human body is seen as Pindanda (Microcosm or the
          body-egg) compared to Brahmanda (Macrocosm or the
          Brahma-egg). A cornerstone of the tantric system is to
          understand the reality of the human being as 'the little
          universe' through the feeling of own rediscovery and the
          links with 'the big universe'. There are three Sharira-s
          (body- sheets), viz. Sthula (gross), Sukshma (subtle) and
          Karana (causal). The action on each one does effect all of
          them. Various practices are employed to obtain higher
          awareness at each level. Enlightment is a return to the
          source (the cause) that created us and becoming fully
          aware of the source of our energy is becoming one with the
          source. So the travelling path is from Sthula (gross) to
          Karana (causal).

          The Loka-s (worlds) are fourteen in number, seven below
          and seven above (and including) the earth plane. They are
          planes of awareness and specific experiences are
          associated with any particular Loka.

          The practice of Tantra is called Tantra Sadhana. There is
          a wide variety of practices in Tantra, the basic ones
          starts with the body, as different yogic techniques. In
          Tantra the body as the temple to the divine aspiration is
          much cared about. Nothing is neglected as far as the
          Sthula Sharira (gross body) is concerned from head to toe.
          An important concept is the link between Manas (the mental
          energy), Prana (the breath energy) and Virya (the sexual
          energy). They are in tight connection, the action on
          anyone will effect on all them. This is a fundamental
          concept in Tantra allowing the practitioner to choose
          according to own inclinations the techniques most suitable
          for spiritual growth.

          [gif omitted] 

          The best known techniques to act on the Manas (the mind)
          are the Mantra-s (magic formulae) or various methods of
          Dharana (concentration). Mantra meaning 'liberation of the
          mind' is a vibration acting on brain centres to produce a
          balanced state of the mind as well as bringing an
          experience of a certain kind. There are various kinds of
          Mantra-s, they should be learned from somebody having
          traditional authority, hence the concept of 'initiation'
          by Guru. The pronunciation of the Sanskrit words or sounds
          for Mantra Sadhana becomes an important factor. Prana (the
          breath energy) is obtain consciously by Pranayama
          techniques related mainly to specific rythms of the
          breath, but there are also advanced mental techniques to
          absorb Prana. Virya (the sexual energy) is related to the
          use of sexual energy to unfold higher awareness.

          [gif omitted]

          In Tantra an important part is what is called Yantra (the
          magic diagrams), a form symbol of a deity, a tantric
          symbol of unity of Macrocosm and Microcosm. The most
          famous one is Shri Yantra (the holy Yantra).The practice
          with Yantra-s allows to practitioner to access the deity
          through its symbolic representation.

          The Shatkarma-s (the six magic rites) are five malefic and
          one benefic. They are what is commonly termed as
          witchcraft of the indian kind extending from practices
          like attracting somebody, to arrest (stop) an action,
          subjugate, exite enmity, etc. Nevertheless the five
          malefic magic rites are obstacles towards the knowledge of
          the divine, they are counterbalances by the only benefic
          one called Shantikarma (the action of peace).

          The subject of prayers or worship known as Puja has
          various expressions. The term Pitha (shrine) applies to
          both the outer and inner (i.e. inside the human body)
          sacred sites as creation manifestes in the Macrocosm as
          well as Microcosm. A Pitha (shrine) of a Siddha (holly
          person) is a place where an advanced being was sitting for
          a while performing own Sadhana (practice). It is believed
          that such a place has a special energetical emanation and
          is very benefic if a Sadhaka (practitionar) will stay in
          that area to benefit from the vibration of the place. The
          inner expression of a holy shrine corresponds to a Chakra
          (vortex of energy) in the Sukshma Sarira (subtle body). In
          this case the worship takes the form of meditation in that
          specific Chakra. Any form of worshipping the aspects of
          one universal life can be a true and effective spiritual
          cultivation of the wholeness of eternal life.

          In Tantra Yoga there is also the knowledge of the medicine
          of the nature Ayurveda, various herbs (Aushadhi), leaves,
          seeds, etc. are employed for specific purposes.
          Through the awareness of the everyday life experiences
          Tantra with its natural approach to life is an interesting
          development of the modern days, with the emerging of a new
          kind of humankind known as Homo Noeticus, Homo Tantrika or
          Homo Universalis. "Noetics" has been defined as the study
          of consciousness and it refers to deepened awareness and
          multilevel perception of the reality, practically a
          download of consciousness.

          In Ashtavakra Samhita one reads:
          "Burn down the forest of Ajnana (ignorance) with the fire
          of Shradha (faith) of being Vishuddhabodha (Pure
          Consciousness), be happy and free from grief"
          East has the dominant verb 'to be' therefore is
          consciousness or Shiva oriented, but for the West the verb
          is 'to do' therefore is power or Shakti oriented. The
          synthesis of East and West is a form of union of
          Shiva-Shakti, a form of Maithuna of civilizations. This
          synthesis makes Tantra a prospective culture of the future
          and Homo Tantrika a hybrid of the East and West. 

          Copyright ) 1997-1999 by Octavian Sarbatoare 
          This article is copyright. The author grants the right to
          copy and distribute this file, provided it remains
          unmodified and original authorship and copyright is
          retained.

          About the author: Octavian Sarbatoare (of Romanian origin)
          is a freelance writer (member of the Australian Society of
          Authors) based in Sydney, Australia. He has done research
          studies at Bihar Yoga Bharati (University) in India under
          the guidance of Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati the
          chancellor of the University. The main areas of subjects
          are: Yoga, Tantra, Veda, Yantra, Mantra, Kundalini,
          Bhakti, Sanskrit Terminology, Consciousness, East and West
          towards spiritual unity. 
   
   [...]       
   
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