Monday, May 8, 2023

Hands off Lalita, old man

 


A video clip defending a form of Left Hand Tantrism against Right Hand Tantrikas who only do ritual or intellectual study. However, the presenter is also critical of crazy Westerners for whom Tantra is simply indulgence in group sex activities.

While the narrator is presumably a White American, he identifies with the Sri Vidya tradition, which according to scholarly studies isn´t Left Hand anymore, but the narrator seems to disagree. Another point made by him is that the Kaula path (Goddess-centered Left Hand practice) is fully Vedic, but his sources would probably not be considered Vedic by most scholars. “Lalita” is Tripura Sundari, the main deity worshipped by the Sri Vidya. In her secret Tantric form, Tripura Sundari is depicted as a bare-breasted and almost nude 16-year old girl! Ooops. Doesn´t sound very Vedic to me, to be honest.

Mr Gnowly or whatever the teacher calls himself believes that bhakti towards a personal deity is necessary as a stage on the spiritual journey. In this case, you need bhakti towards Lalita by reciting her mantra (which is said to lead some people into crazy ecstasy). Those who refuse to worship the Goddess or the shakti are said to be rascals and scoundrels. Or just generally missing out. However, in the presentation, Gnowly admits that the teachings in this video are on the Vishistadvaita level, which he elsewhere regards as a lower level than his own (where a personal deity is completely dispensed with)…

Make of this content what you wish.  


No comments:

Post a Comment