Body of Light. John Mann
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Fig. 9. Yogi representation in ancient Indus Valley seal
The practices of yoga are considerably older than any written scripture referring to them. There is a very early statue of what appears to be an archetypal yogi that was found in Mohenjo-Daro and has been dated at about 2400 B.C. But whatever the origin of yoga in a generic sense, it is the tantric tradition of the seventh to tenth centuries A.D. that is our immediate focus. It permeates Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism as a counterpoint to the more orthodox forms of these religions, all of which share as a traditional part of their philosophy the rejecting of worldly experience as a method for discovering inner reality.
TANTRIC YOGA
The tantric practitioner, in contrast, believes that the senses can be used to achieve ecstatic enlightenment. The senses are not to be denied but transformed, so that instead of leading the individual ever deeper into the spider web of the world, they can help him retrace his way back to the source.
This fundamental difference in outlook leads the tantric to employ methods and to take actions that diverge from many traditional religious practices. He may meditate among corpses, engage in orgiastic rituals or perform magical ceremonies designed to attract the presence of a Deity.
The average person might view these actions as primitive, bizarre or sacrilegious if he observed them. But it is impossible to judge their intent from the outside. For each visible action there is a corresponding inner condition that must be met, and which is inherently invisible. But whatever the content of a particular ritual might be, however formal or spontaneous, it is designed to foster the joyous expression of energy which the tantric absorbs as it is liberated to further his own growth.
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