Tantra: The Way of Action: A Practical Guide to Its Teachings and Techniques

by Francis X. King

Book Overview

Tantra has been defined as a "mystical philosophy" and as an unorthodox branch of Buddhism, Hindism, and Jainism. It has also been described as an occult technique concerned primarily with polarity and sexual practices. Although each of these definitions contains an element of truth, none of them is complete. While Tantra has mystical, philosophical, and religious aspects, it is, above all, a technique of action --a path of physical, mental, and spiritual...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0892812745
• ISBN13: 9780892812745
• Release Date: April 1990
• Publisher: Destiny Books
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.4" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Raising Kundalini With Kabala

"Tantra...is...a technique of action--a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline which incorporates meditation, yoga, and sacramental worship...All the actions undertaken...are...a means...to the transformation of the individual, his or her rebirth to a new existence on every level of consciousness...Tantra is a way of liberation." That said, the author proceeds to make the point that instead of asceticism, tantric practitioners use indulgence of the senses as a shock treatment to transcend the senses, which is termed a hedonistic mystical movement. This reasoning is along the lines of eating yourself sick on your favorite food, and then you don't want to bother with it again for a really long time, yet you are not obsessed with longing for it, either. Indulgence cures obsession. "All mystical and magical techniques can be divided into two broad categories, the cathartic and the hedonistic. The mainstream of the mystical tradition follows the way of catharsis, or purging...The hedonistic tradition eschews the pains of asceticism for the pleasures of the body; it pursues spiritual liberation through life affirmation, not physical restriction." The spiritual aim is the dissolution of polarity, opposites, into a higher unity where duality becomes meaningless. The negative element of polarity is regarded as being male and named Shiva; the dynamic element of polarity is regarded as being female and named Shakti. "The Shakti element in humanity is symbolized as a serpent (Kundalini)." Raising the Kundalini energy from the base of the spine to the top of the head to join with the Shiva polarity is what effects the spiritual transformation. The Shiva and Shakti polarity of Tantra is another way of expressing the Yin and Yang of Taoism. The author emphasizes in several places that Tantra is a way of action, not a belief or thought system, and that whatever theories exist in Tantra came about after the fact, as an attempt to explain why the techniques worked. The author gives explicit step-by-step instructions for breathing, meditation, and visualization exercises, as well as ritual magic techniques within the Western magical tradition to effect the same transformational changes for Westerners that the Indian techniques produce for their population. Mr. King explains by discussing the Ritual of the Five M's, which would be useless in shock value for Westerners. He discusses Shiva and the kabalistic Tree of Life, as well as mentioning tantric symbolism in the tarot. He details use of the tattvic symbols as a basis for tantric meditation, and doorways to an altered state of awareness. In this connection, he lists Western occult symbolism and the sephirot of the kabalistic Tree of Life as it relates to the chakras, or energy centers, of the human body, and the psychic abilities which normally manifest as a result of activating the various chakras. The author explains why the Middle Pillar Meditation of the kabalists will never rais

James Papadakis

The late Francis King in this book does an excellent work translating the Eastern tantra into Western ritual magic. Noone before him attempted such a serious effort (except maybe J Evola in his "Yoga of Power" [ASIN:0892813687 The Yoga of Power: Tantra, Shakti, and the Secret Way]but this was rather a digestion and a summary of the tantras). Francis' great scholarship is obvious in this greatly informative and also very practical work. It is the first attempt to explain the terms and practices of the East with Western words, ideas and rituals. And he had the quality of mind to do so. He had DISCRIMINATION the first quality for the Occultist as well for the Scholar. That's why his work has meaning and value because every comparison and every conclusion and outcome is tested and explained logically.