THE Tantras speak of three temperaments, dispositions, characters (bhava), or classes of men namely, the pasu-bhava (animal), vira-bhava (heroic), and divya-bhava (deva-like or divine). These divisions are based on various modifications of the gunas as they manifest in man (jiva). It has been pointed out (1) that the analogous Gnostic classification of men as material, […]
The third, or highest, class of man is he of the divya-bhava (of which, again, there are several degrees-some but a stage in advance of the highest form of vira-bhava, others completely realizing the deva-nature), in which rajas operates on sattva-guna to the confirmed preponderance of the latter. The Nitya-Tantra says that of the bhava […]
According to the temperament of the sadhaka, so is the form of worship and sadhana. In fact, the specific worship and sadhana of the other classes is strictly prohibited by the Tantra to the pasu. It is said in this Tantra (1) and elsewhere (2) that, in the Kali-yuga, divya and pasu dispositions can scarcely […]
There are as already stated, three classes of men – Pasu, Vira, and Divya. The operation of the gunas which produce these types affect, on the gross material plane, the animal tendencies, manifesting in the three chief physical functions – eating and drinking, whereby the annamayakosa is maintained, and sexual intercourse, by which it is […]
The elements in their literal sense are not available in sadhana for all. The nature of the Pasu requires strict adherence to Vaidik rule in the matter of these physical functions even in worship. This rule prohibits the drinking of wine, a substance subject to the three curses of Brahma, Kaca, and Krsna, in the […]
The Tantra enforces the Vaidik rule in the cases, ritual or otherwise, for those who are governed by the vaidikacara. The Nitya-Tantra says: ‘(They (pasu) should never worship the Devi during the latter part of the day, in the evening or at night” (ratrau naiva yajeddevim samdhyayam va paranhake); for all such worship connotes maithuna […]
Worship with the pancatattva generally takes place in an assembly called a cakra, which is composed of men (sadhaka) and women (sakti), or Bhairava and Bhairavi. The worshippers sit in a circle (cakra), men and women alternately, the sakti sitting on the left of the sadhaka. The Lord of the cakra (cakrasvamin or cakresvara) sits […]