Chapter II Verses 38-42.

The Account of the creation given in the Tantras, is in essence, the same as given in the Upanishads ; and this is what the Upanishads say about the creation.
Creation is not an act in time. It is only an ‘emanition of God, a mode of Divine manifestation. The universe is evolved out of God. At the time of creation, Brahma covers Himself with Maya, as a spider covers itself with the threads of its own web. The spider weaves its thread
1 Only Buddhism is not distinctly clear on this point, Buddhism
‘bears greater affinity to Sankhya philosophy than any other religion specially in its ideal of emancipation or Nirvana. According to Sankhya, absolute exemption from all the three sorts of pain ( proceeding from self, from external object and from divine causes ) is the highest purpose of the soul by means of Jnana or perfect knowledge final beautitude is attained, which consists in the perception of the idea that “Neither I am; Nor is ought mine; Nor dol exist,” This is, in fact, Bouddha Nirvana.
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from its own saliva. The whole creation lies merged in God ; it is only when God covers Himself with His own Maya, that He wills it and the creation emerges from Him. The universe is an emergence, not a creation out of nothing.
‘“Sarvam Khalwidam Brahma Tajjalan.”
—Chhandagya Upanishad. 3—5—1
Every thing is Brahma ; the world has come into existence from Him, it exists in Him and it dissolves into Him.
About the origin and dissolution of the creation the Upanishads say : .
As the bubles rise from the ocean and then bursts on the sea, likewise, the whole creation emerges from Him and dissolves into Him :—
‘“Tasmineva Layam Yanti Vudvuda Sagare Yatha
Nacyante Vyaktatam Bhuya Jayante Vudvudaiva.”’
At the time of the Pralaya, or universal dissolution of the universe, both Prikriti and Purusha merge into Brahma. “Aksharam Tamasi Liyate Tama Pare Deve Eki Bhavati”. Tama is another name for Prakriti. But Sankhya says it is into Prikriti that the creation merges and Prikriti remains for ever. Again, according the Tantras, Purusha and Prikriti can not be separated from each the other, while in the Sankhya it is only an instance of co-existence of close proximity. In the words of the Upanishad :—Both the Kshara and the Akshara i.e. both the perishable and the imperishable i. e, both Prikriti and Purusha are joined together’.
1 Matter and Force are conjoined together, to express in a poswlan
phrase of Western philosophy, it is like Thought and Extension of DSpincza, two modes of expression of one and the same substance.
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In fact, ultimately there is no difference between Purusha and Prakriti, they are but the two differ- ent modes of the manifestion of the Eternal Brahma,
Thus the difference between the philosophy of the Sankhya system and that of the Tantras and Tantric religion is quite unbridgeable, only the two terms Purusha and Prikriti have been used in Tantric literature, as well as in the Gita and the Purans, but their meanings are quite different from what they denote in the Sankhya philosophy.
Saktaism or Tantric religion means worship of Sakti as the Supreme Deity of the universe, Saktaism, very briefly speaking, is the worship of God, as the Mother of the universe. It is the worship of the Motherhood of God ; and the love and devout devotion that a Sakta bears to tbe Divine Mother, are somewhat similar to what is felt by a devoted son towards his mother. and in this respect, it bearsa close affinity with Roman Catholicism. We shall speak of this more ela- borately in its proper place, But before we proceed with the subject it will be, we think, helpful to the readers to go through a short classification of the Tantras.
CHAPEER Il CLASSIFICATION OF THE TANTRAS
The Tantras, otherwise known as the Agamas, are broadly divided into two classes :—(1) Hindu ‘Tantras and Bouddha Trantas.
In the Hindu Tantras, Siva is the speaker, and in the Bouddha Tantras, Buddha has _ been represented as their promulgator. It is, however,
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clear on the.very surface of the Bouddha Tantras that, they were written in imitation of the Hindu Tantras. It is also historically evident that Hindu religious teachers from India, specially from Bengal, spread Tantric religion in Nepal, Bhutan. Thibet and China.| The Bouddha Tantras, how- eyer, are more mystic and far less lofty than the Hindu Tantras like the Mahanirvan Tantram and others.
The Hindu Tantras, like the Purans, are simple allegorical expositions of the philo- sophy and theology of the Vedas. The Bouddha Tantras are closely associated with Bouddha philo- sophy and Buddhistic rites. The Hindu Tantras, we have already said this while speaking of the account of the creation, deal with the higher truths of the Upanishadas, as the fee do. The only difference between the Tantras and the Purans lies in their descriptions of respective rites and rituals, but the Tantras introduce no new philo- sophy, nor any novel creed unknown to the ancient Hindus, nor its theology, nor its philo- sophy is foreign to that of the Vedas and of the Upanishads.
A learned Translator of the Mahanirvan Tantram has written the following :—
“The Tantrick theory of creation is thus at one with the Sankhya’s Prikriti, the material cause of the universe. Itis the creative energy of God —the First cause from which | everything has proceeded.”
The learned writer continues further, “The only difference is that according to the Tantric system Prikriti is more popularly the name of the
1 The present writer was once zngaged with the late Mahamaho- padhaya MHaraprasad Sastri, M.A., D.Litt., C.1.E. in preparing a catalogue in English of the Tantras in Thibetan language from an existing one in French, at that time he came across quite formidable list of names of the Bouddha Tantras. .
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Goddess, whereas in Sankhya it is the first creative energy.”
We have fully shown how Para Prikriti of the Tantras and the meaning of the terms Prikriti and Purusha differ in the Hindu treatises, such as the Gita and _ the Purans, from that in which they have been used in the Sankhya, and how Prikriti and Purusha of the Tantras are but the two modes of Divine manifestation. Prikriti, or the material cause of the universe, emerges out of Brahma, so Prikritiis not eternal, it hasits origin as well its end in Eternal Brahma who alone is the only Reality—Eternal and Infinite. The learned translator, again, continues. “As in Sankhaya so in Tantra, creation proceeds from an union between Nature ( Prikriti) and Purasha ( Soul ).
Purusha has here been wrongly deseribed as the Universal Soul in the philosophical sense of the term. Again, in Sankhya, Pursha is a multitude of souls, and it plays no part in the act of creation, which is the sole business of Prikriti in the Sankhya,
“This union between nature and soul is thus symbolically described in Tantras. The great Sakti or Prikriti, after casting off the cover of Maya, divided herself into two, Shiva and Sakti,’ The first issue of their union was Brahma, After his birth, the great Sakti said: ‘Marry yourself O great hero’. Hearing her words Brahma said : Save thee I have no mother; 1 will not marry. Confer on me thy Sakti (energy )! Hearing it she created out of her own energy a_ charming maiden and said :—‘She is great Vidya and her name is Savitri. Do you spread Vedas and works of creation on earth with her,’ ”
‘Next was born Vishnu, pervaded by the quality of Sattwa (goodness).
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The Mother said to him ;—‘Marry, for seeing you, people will be shorn of desires’. On his declining to marry any body, she conferred on him’ a maiden, named Mohini, created out of her own portion and said :—‘This Sakti is Vaishnavi engage with her in the great work of preservation.
“Then was born the third: son who was a great yogin and whose name was Sadasiva. The great Sakti united herself with him and was engaged in the work of destruction.”
The learned translator, as a comment upon this Tantric myth, observes :—‘From the above symbolical representation, it is evident that not only the work of creation but even that of preser- vation and destruction is an outcome of union ot Prikriti with Purusha. Thus Prikriti or the Mahasakti, as the Tantriks designate her, is the creative power of the Almighty.”
This is a very pertinent and cogent comment no doubt, but it does not at all apply to the cardinal doctrine of the Sankhaya system.’
Now, along with the former observations, the learned translator has added the following :—
“Tattwa or essential principles are thus des- cribed in Tantras. There are five elements and every element has five qualities or Gunas, Bones, flesh, nails, skin and hairs of the body belong to earth ; semen, blood, marrow, excretion and urine belong to water; sleep, hunger, thurst, fatigue and idleness belong to fire; holding, moving, throwing, withdrawing and giving birth to children belong to air; lust, anger, stupefaction, shame and avarice belong to ether.”
‘ This is too liberalan extension of the Sankhya philo- sophy, and the sentences that follow repeat the philosofical conception of the Upanishadas and the Puranas and not strictly of the Sankhya system. :
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But, we have already seen, that these are not identical with the Tattwas of the Sankhya.
“According to the Tantric teachers” the learned translator adds, ‘“‘five elements produce not only the component parts of the physical frame but also emotions and passions which are innate in man.”
We have already said that Tantras are but popular expositions of the higher philosophy and theology of the Vedas and the Upanishadas ; we need not dilate upon this any further.
The Tantras are quite a legion in number, Besides the most popular and important Tantras, there are mentions of hundreds of minor Tantras in great many Tantric works. For the satisfaction of the curiosity of our readers, we give below the names of the Tantras mentioned only in the Varahi Tantra.
Name Number of Slokas
1. Muktaka 6050 Oe -Sarada 16025 3.. Prapancha’™ 1 12300 4. Prapancha II 60270 5. Prapancha III 5310 6. Kapila 6080 7. Yoga 133311 8. Kalpa 5090 9. Kapinjala 280120 10. Amritasudhi 5005 11. Veeragama 6606 12. Siddhasamvarna 5006 - 13. Yoga damara 23533 14. Siva damara 11007 15. _Durgadamar 11503 16. Saraswata 9905 17. Brahmadamara 7105
18. .Gandharadama 60060
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Name , Number of Slokas
19. Udiyamala 35300 20. Brahmayamala 2210 21. Vishnuyamala 240200 22. Rudrayamala 64065 23. Adityayamala 10323 24. Ganeshayamala 64065 25. Nilpataka 12000 26. Yogarnava 8307 27. Maya Tantra 11000 28. Dakshina murti 5550 29. Kalika 11013 30. Kameswari trantra 3000 Sl iilantraraya 9090 32. NHaragouri tantra I 22020 33. Haragouri tantra II 12000 34. Tantranirnaya z8 35. Kuvyjika tantra I 10007 36. Kuvjika tantra II 6000 37. Kuvjika tantra III 3000 38. Katyani tantra 242900 39. Pratyangira trantra 8800 40. Mahalakshmi trantra 5505 41. Devitrantra 12000 42. Tripurnavrantra 8806 43. Saraswati tantra 2205 44, Adya tantra 22915 45. Yogini tantra I 22532 46. Yogini tantra II 6303 47. Varahi tantra =
48. . Gavaksha tantra 6525 49. Narayani tantra 50203 50. Mridani tantra I 4490 51. Mridani tantra II 3500 52. Mridani tantra III 330 53. Vamkeswara 25 54. Mrityunjaya tantra 13220
We need not multiply. The list is undoubtedly an exaggerated extravaganza, though there are indeed,
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hundreds of Tantras. Ofcourse, many exist only in name, because they have not yet been found. Allthe Tantras, however, deal with the worship of Sakti. Some of them are elaborate liturgies on Tantric rites and rituals; some deal with remedies and cures of chronic and difficult diseases ; some with chemical compounds, and they are valuable treatises on chemistry.‘ One thing should, however, be noted here that, in our treatise we shall have nothing to do with medical cures and chemistry. Almost all the Tantras, however, deal in their own ways, with the acqui- sition of great occult powers by certain particular processes and. rites. They are, however, not identical in all the Tantras. Some Tantras lay particular importance and stress upon certain mystic rites, while others on other processes. But in all the Tantras there is mention of the the Pancha Makars :—Madya, Mansa, Matsya, > Mudra and Maithuna, and of some of the famous Chakras, as Veera, Raja, Deva, Maha etc. Some of the Tantras deal more exhaustively about the time, place and processes of worship of the different forms of Sakti. We shall, later on, speak about the Pancha Makars and something about the Chakras that play very important part Tantric worship. We should, however, warn the readers that they should banish from their minds literary interpretations of the Pancha Makars, that identify Madya with wine, Mansa with meat, or Matsya with fish. Besides these, certain Ashanas have been prescribed by the Tantras as are to be found in Patanjali’s Yoga Darsan, for enhancing concentration of the
devotee.
| There are certain psychological and _psysical processes that are calculated to promote self-
1 Vide Dr. P. C. Roy’s History of Hindu Chemistry.
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control and’ to be helpful for the acquisition of spiritual or occult powérs.
Now, to sum up our preliminary remarks. The Tantra’s though are of later date than the Vedas but the Tantric religion is not. We find it mentioned even in the Rig Veda, in the Devi Sukta, There are, again, certain rites and rituals n the Arthava Veda which are identically the same as we find in the Tantras.' Again, it is abundantly clear that the Tantric form of worship was in vogue long before Srimad Bhagavat Puran was written. That this Tantric form of worship has been vitiated and degraded by vicious people is apparent; had it beén really base it could not have produced some of the greatest saints of India, nor could Tantric religion have found any place among the educated class, nor it could have commanded respect of men like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ram Krishna Paramhansa and of Swami Vevekananda. We have also shown that the Tantric creed is not _ based upon the agnostic philosophy of the Sankhya system, and that the Tantras, in their accounts of creation, and in their philosophy and theology, are the expositions of the higher philosophy and metaphysics of the Vedas and the Upanishads.
Permit us to quote some observations from the writings of a learned writer on thispoint :
“The Tantrik method of Sadhana came into prominence perhaps later than the Purans, although some of the Tantras might be earlier than most of the Purans. There is so much similarity between the Pauranic and Tantric teachings that it seems unjustifiable to regard them as two distinct forms of Sadhana. The union of Siva
‘ The great sage Sankaracharyya has commented upon
and annotated Nrisinhatapaniyopanishad of the Arthava Veda which is, after all, a Tantric treatise.
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and Sakti (God and Goddess) of the Tantras correspond to the union of Laksmi and Narayana in the Pancaratra and the Vaishnava Purans. Maya Sakti, Niyati and Kala correspond to the six Kuncukas (limiting forces) mentioned in the Saiva systems. The eternal connection between Sabda and Artha and the regarding of Sabda Brahman and Para Brahman as two aspects of the Supreme Lord, emphasised by the Tantras, find _ expression in the Furans and the Bhakti texts as the doctrine of identity of the Nama (name) and the Namin (the God bearing the name) * * % In fact, the Tantras and the Purans preach almost the same philosophy as well as the same method of realisation. Both emphasise the importance of worship and rituals and maintain that a difference exists normally between the individual (Jiva) and the Absolute (Siva). But it is to be noticed there is an important point of difference. While the the Tantras have retained much of the absolute monism of the Upanisads by holding that the ultimate Jiva (individnal) is to be united with Siva (Aboslute), the Purans and the Bhakti cult based on the same have tended towards Dualism and have preached an ultimate difference between God and the individual.”
“Although the Tantras preach identity of the ‘ndividual and the Absolute much in the strain of the Upanisads, yet there is a world of difference as:-far as the methods of realisation are concerned, While the Vedanta recommends the method of transcendent wisdom, the methed of sublime philosophy, the method that could be followed only by men of exceptionally high intellectual and moral attainments, the Tantra preseribes a method helpful even to men of lower equipments, a method which utilises physical and physiological processes for the attainment of spiritual reali- sation.
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“The Tantra is really an epitome of all the Scriptures of the Hindus and contain within its compass almost all the special characteristics of the various forms of Sadhana. If Tantrism prescribes actions of the most rudimentary type and seems to be very much particular about their infinite details, it, again, prescribes meditation on the identity of the individual and the Abso- lute and thus reminds us of the high transcendent philosophy of the Upanisads, It prescribes different methods and rules for the conduct of life for men of different equipments and capacities.”
“When we remember how Tantra _ recognises three distinct types of Sadhakas, according to their respective capacities and temperaments (Adhikara)' and also how it combines within itself Karma, Bhakti and Jnana and follows the philoso- phy of Upanisads, Karma of the Vedas aud the Upasanas of the Purans and also how it shows us the entire course of spiritual discipline, beginning with the lowest physiological processes and ending with the sublime philosophical intuition, we ought to have no hesitation in declaring that the Tantras sum up all the important features and elements of Hindu Sadhana.”
This is what we have meant by stating in our very first chapter that the Tantras may be of later date but the Tantric religion is not, and that the principles of Tantric religion are not of recent origin, they are as hoary as that of any other Vedic form of religion, and we have already referred to the Devi Sukta of the Rig Veda, The
-1_Philosophy of Hindu Sadhana by Nalini Kanta Brahma, ret Ph. D. Professor of Philosophy, Presidency College, - alcutta.
* The Tantras distinguish three classes of Sadhakas in order of merit, viz, The Pasu, the Vira and the Divya. —to be explained later on. :
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telgious principles and philosophy of the Vedas and the Upanishads.