948Whose Tantra

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Whose Tantra? Reflections on Bazaari Tantra – A Critical Category of Discourse in the Study of Tantrism Madhu Khanna There has been an active interface between the symbolic representation of culture in our myths, legends, religions and artistic representations on the one hand, and the articulations of the modern industrial technological culture, on the other. As in the case of so many disciplines, the scientific temper of modern development ideology questions the ancient expressions of Hindu religiosity. In most cases ancient practices that are resistant to social change are under threat. In other cases, the process of modernization and globalization has generated a slow decay and a systematic withering away of old religious and cultural varieties, resulting often in the collapse of traditional systems of living. Moreover, the prominence of religion in public life has opened up new areas of debate between religion and politics. In the wake of this any discourse on civilization representations (in this case the popular stream of Hindu Tantra) would benefit greatly by asking certain pertinent questions such as, can traditional representations resist the onslaught of modernity and globalization? Or can they co-exist, retaining their resilience and sacred power without distortion of form
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Transcript of 948Whose Tantra

Page 1: 948Whose Tantra

Whose Tantra?

Reflections on Bazaari Tantra – A Critical Category of Discourse in the Study of Tantrism

Madhu Khanna

There has been an active interface between the symbolic representation of culture in our myths, legends, religions and artistic representations on the one hand, and the articulations of the modern industrial technological culture, on the other. As in the case of so many disciplines, the scientific temper of modern development ideology questions the ancient expressions of Hindu religiosity. In most cases ancient practices that are resistant to social change are under threat. In other cases, the process of modernization and globalization has generated a slow decay and a systematic withering away of old religious and cultural varieties, resulting often in the collapse of traditional systems of living. Moreover, the prominence of religion in public life has opened up new areas of debate between religion and politics. In the wake of this any discourse on civilization representations (in this case the popular stream of Hindu Tantra) would benefit greatly by asking certain pertinent questions such as, can traditional representations resist the onslaught of modernity and globalization? Or can they co-exist, retaining their resilience and sacred power without distortion of form and content? More importantly, does globalization tend to appropriate and juggle with context, meanings, and metaphors thereby creating and transforming these ancient symbolic archetypal representations to fit into their “political” agendas.

In the light of these questions my presentation sets out to examine the all pervasive presence, visibility, forms, and dynamism of popular forms of Tantric practices found in Indian market places or “bazaars”.

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IContextualizing the category Bazaari Tantra

Scholars pursuing scholastic studies tend to confuse the “aught” from the “is” in the study of Tantrism. I have used the word bazaari in the title of my paper. The word bazaari needs some explanation. A bazaar (market place) is a window to popular culture, and popular culture with respect to this paper is not understood as a sub-culture for the masses; or a sub-culture that provides a form of control of the masses by hegemonic groups of power. I am inclined to agree with Adam Possamai1, that popular culture is a vehicle of “the auto-determinism of social actors” and “a platform for our own biography” in so far as it creates our lives, our views of ourselves. The bazaars in India, then, may also shape the form, content and aesthetics of religion and religious life. While popular culture may amuse, instruct and entertain, it is also “an inspiration for religion. One hypothesis of my paper is that bazaari Tantra is engaged in shaping the scenarios in popular culture through a wide range of mass-mediated cultural products, such as religious icons, images, stores (named after Tantra/Yantra), TV serials and the like.

In lineage-based traditional communities, religious practices, norms of ethnic identity, taste and distaste are easily transmitted from generation to generation. Today, the pattern has reversed. People create their own individualized identity. They choose the gods they want at a given place or time. Popular emblems of culture in the open bazaar offer a library of choices and invariably mould the construction of one’s ‘religious’ self. In the new social landscape of multiculturalism, people draw their inspiration from vast religious resources. Self-choice and auto-determinism of the market forces has given rise to a hybridization of religions. And Tantra, for better or worse, has found a new space in the public arena.

Another point to note is the distinctive feature of the Indian bazaar and its encounter with Indian modernity. Kajri Jain2 in her monumental work (Gods in the Bazaar 2006) has outlined 1 Adam Possamai, Religion and Popular Culture – A Hyper-Real Testament (New York: P.I.E. Peter Lang, 2007), 20.

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the distinctive links of the nature of production, consumption, and circulation of popular art. Contextualizing popular Tantra in the context of Indian modernity, it may be said that bazaari Tantra as is generally thought of, is not entirely an urban phenomena. It cuts across the metropolises, the small towns, the village, the street and the home, the public and the private, capitalist, bureaucrat, worker, politician, the young and the old. The ubiquity of bazaari Tantra and its sacred practices extends to multiple sites such as public arena, political spectacle, private and domestic spheres.

A very wide variety of tantric prayogas have become part of the hyper consumerist religion loosing their esoteric symbolism and potential strength. As they become part of a globalized consumer culture, religious mythology and doctrines are freely mixed. The hyper-real has blurred the boundaries between the real and the unreal. This has had a profound impact on the esoteric core (rahasya) and secret wisdom of Tantra. What was once its hallmark over the centuries is moving to the exoteric. The secrets of Tantra are no longer is the privilege of a few lineage-based communities of devotees. The esoteric knowledge is being ‘undressed’ by a host of false gurus and the media at large. Because of the nature of its social location, bazaari Tantra will continue to be regarded as a floating category that is amenable to change by the swings and swirls of the market forces. Some modern day tantrikas observed that what was once confined to close circle of practitioners is now liberated from the narrow confines of tradition. Tantra has now become freer in its expression, through a variety of personal inventions, due to the de-institutionalization that has taken place from the growing thrust of modernity and modern day globalization. The pervasive presence of the “esoteric-popular” versus the “exoteric popular” in the past has changed the terms of this discourse considerably. What was once the exclusive domain of the elite group of lineages is now readily available for popular consumption. There is a large percentage of modern day tantrikas their votaries of every shade and in the market. The sophisticated tantrikas concerned with pure philosophical aspects of Tantra

2 Kajri Jain, Gods in the Bazaar: the Economies of Indian Calendar Art (Durham: Duke University Press, 2007).

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speculations and quiet religious reflections. On the other end is the unsophisticated, but literate/learned traditional pundits who attach equal importance to ritualistic instruction and a sprinkling of philosophy. At the lowest rung of the ladder are the bazaari tantrikas, who are unconcerned with Sastric, doctrinal or speculative issues. Their main inspiration and object of discipline comes from daily social concerns (vyavhāra) and practical application of ritual formulae to solve survival needs of the masses. The escalating rate of bazaari tantrikas is ever on the increase. According to my informant there are 10,000 persons in Delhi alone who dabble with some form of Tantra.1

The opening up of free economy and the explosion of the information technology and the emergence of over a hundred TV Channels in India have created a new space in the media for appropriation, and reinterpretation of the sacred. In the public domain Tantra has a visibility and presence. There are separate magazines in the market or special issues devoted to the subject.2 The well known Hindi magazine Kādambanī has been bringing out a special number on “Tantra” for the last six years. Zee TV has introduced serials on the awe-inspiring Aghora cult of Tantra. Many TV ads sell new-age religions, and there is growing market of cheap tantric books in the vernacular languages.

Scholars have recognized the all-inclusive nature of Tantra which reverberates between the twin aims of bhoga and moksa-centered worship. Rarely a sharp distinction is made between para and the laukika (high/elite) and the popular forms of Tantrism. Indologists who presume the textual study of Tantra base their researches on the assumption that greater part of the Tantras are Sastra-centric. My own researches have shown otherwise. The orally transmitted popular forms of Tantra have paid an equally significant role in the history and evolution of the Tantras. Lorenzen has also problematized the dual character of Tantra: “Does the term Tantric religion cover only those texts known as Tantras, Samhitas and Agamas, or does it include a wide range of popular religious phenomena?”3

1 According to my informant Saurabh Kwatra, a well-known astro-journalist.2 See for example, Tantra Jyotisa in the bibliography. 3 David N. Lorenzen, “Early Evidence for Tantric Religion” in Who Invented Hinduism: Essays on Religion and History, ed. David N. Lorenzen (New Delhi:

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A wider definition of Tantra embraces popular traditions, written and vernacular that have a wider social base in Indian Society.

The popular (laukika / vyavaharika) form of tantric culture represents a fluid space with many contradictions. There are several persons who are half time tantrikas, who have government jobs, are householders but claim to have acquired powers (siddhis) either directly, or through their gurus. They help people alleviate their sufferings by means of remedies (upayas) known to them. Some are full time tantrikas who have negotiated their way in the market and have acquired an enviable status. In both cases the tantrikas maintains an identity that is not static but in a process of formation. He is an ideal representation of a ‘self – in process’. In this negotiation the form of Tantra that he practices is not fixed but is continuously produced and used in ways that can not be fully pre determined. Although they do not form a clearly identifiable cultural, social, or political group, the tantrikas in the market place have had an enormous influence on the Indian psyche. What is striking is that all forms of bazaari Tantra works its way through the ethos of complex networks of corporate capitalism and has accommodated to the profit-seeking values of the capital oriented market system.

Under the agenda of globalization the increasing popularity of telemedia, advertising has emerged as a dominant medium of expression. There has been marked ‘shift’ in the image of the market-place tantrikas. The traditional ubiquitous wonder worker relegated to the private spaces is now being recast in the language of modern media. To take a few examples:

1. “This is my challenge. When all efforts fail, I guarantee to solve all your problems”.

Baba Jamil Khan Tantrika, New Delhi

2. “Grace transforms into destiny… why be upset? A meeting with me will dispel your sorrows. I excel in Bengali, Shifali, Black (magic), Sulemani, Rahamani ilm”.

Baba Kamal Khan Bengali Tantrika, New Delhi

Yoga Press, 2006), 64-77.

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3. I guarantee resolution of all your problems. I transform hopelessness to hope (nirasha me asha).

Baba Abrara Khan Bengali Tantrika

4. “Contact me immediately to learn about tantra-vidya… when I have the solution… why wait…. Guaranteed success”.

Baba M Sadiq

5. “Tantra, yantra mantra give success in all matters… invest astrologically in shares and see your money growing. Fees Rs. 1500/-“

Rajeev Khattar, Chennai

6. “Know the cause (of your afflictions) through jyotisha… its resolution through Tantra”.

Shrimaliji, editor Jyotisha Tantra

The modern day advertisements in popular media in the newspapers, popular journals and magazines reflect this shift. The change in image is no doubt the result of the socio-economic transition and the growing consumerism encouraged by the liberal economy. The redefined image of the “glocal” tantrika is a convenient site for negotiation between the traditional esoteric vidyas of the past and the unlimited consumerist aspirations of the urban middle class.

Popular forms of Tantra are not a separate and distinct category or a sect, or a religious tradition, as it tends to loop and web with a variety of sects, and sub-group of Hinduism. The face of Tantra in the Indian bazaars is very different from the Tantric tradition mirrored in the sophisticated Sanskrit texts. Bazaari Tantra has created its own class of literature in the Vernacular1 languages of India. In North India Hindi books, found in hundreds, are sold in local bookstores, temple markets and on pavements. The buzz-word Tantra is associated with magical rites (jadu-tona), occult practices of the most depraved kind and sinister religious activities verging on extreme. Tantra is looked upon as a dark underworld of Hinduism, one that is feared for the dangerous powers that it

1 Some representative examples of popular Tantra literature in Hindi are given in the bibliography.

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may unleash. In my exploration I encountered that the responses of people were somewhat contradictory. Although many people associated Tantra with the black magic and immoral behavior, substantial number of people agreed that the Tantrikas in the bazaars were very powerful individuals who had variety of “mantra-yantra” and “tantra saktis” to alleviate human suffering. The bazaari Tantra had access to a domain of nature’s powers that the high caste Brahmin priests lacked.

Bazaari Tantra may be distinguished from all other forms of Tantra. Its exclusive concern is prayoga, or application of ritual and yogic prescriptions laid out in Tantric Scriptures transmitted orally through inter-generational lineage-based traditions. It is built on a bedrock of sum total of traditional knowledge systems such as folk-lore, popular culture, regional culture, disciplines such as astrology, alchemy, liturgies, mantra-lore, ayurveda, gemology, etc. Bazaari Tantra is entirely siddhi-oriented. It is concerned with the acquisition of powers that can be applied for alleviation of day-to-day problems of life. The tantrika are looked upon as dream merchants, who can find a magical answer to life crisis situations and claim to fulfill an individual’s most cherished wishes. It uses both malefic and benefic applications of rituals. At the local level Hindu and Muslim Tantra, Bengali Tantra, Black magic (kala-jadu), Sufi and Shifali, Kala-ilm, Sulemani, Rehmani, and sectarian religious sects with tantric orientation co-exist together.

Siddhis and Potent ToolsTwo potent instruments of tantric siddhis used by the tantrikas are the yantra and the mantra (jantar and mantar in Hindi). In the post-medieval Tantric literature, especially of the Saiva, Sakta and sectarian sects, innumerable ritual manuals and digests were compiled on the usages and ritual formula of tantric mantras and their inherent spiritual powers. The Tantras have devised their own mantrasastra, exclusive scriptures dealing with the efficacy of mantras. These scriptures have developed potent mantric formulas of the Tantric deities, spells, incantations and charms for the attainment of magico-propitiatory and magico-defensive powers. The other tool is the yantra, a linear power diagram of great potency that is believed to tap hidden psychic sources in

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order to achieve mastery over the causal forces of nature. The occult yantra is distinguished from all kinds of power diagram by its practical application and utilitarian ends. The primary purpose is to gain control over the forces of nature for positive or negative ends, but mainly for the attainment of worldly rather that spiritual goals, especially those not easily attainable by secular or religious effort. As practical magic, occult yantras have played an important role in Indian rural life, and remain a living tradition.

The occult figures are not stereotypes but within the tradition vary endlessly. Each shape is a means to communicate with supernatural forces that work between heaven and earth. The forms and functions of the signs and diagrams are as many and individual as the human needs and purposes that they are intended to fulfill; and it is claimed that there is no wish that a yantra cannot satisfy. They are used for preventive medicine, as good luck charms, for exorcism, to ward off calamities, to gain wealth or learning, to enhance bodily charms, to restore alienated affection, to ensure conception or the birth of a son, to secure harmony and influence in the community, and so on.1

In contrast to the uniformly beneficent siddhis, the tantrikas have been associated with six magical rites (sat karmas) in which the first one, Shanti rituals and yantras grant protection from the ill effects of planets and curses, cure diseases and dispel fears. Second: Vasikarana grants the power to attract and being under one’s control men, women, gods and animals, and have one’s desire fulfilled through them. Third: Stambhana lends the power of preventing or restraining another’s action. Fourth: Vidvesana grants the power of separating friends, relatives, and lovers. Fifth: Uccatan transmits the power to uproot. Sixth, Marana grants the power to liquidiate. The rites have been given a doctrinal basis, and are ascribed symbolic association with deities,

1 The Yantracintamani (Thought Jewel of Yantras), is solely devoted to eighty occult yantras, which grants all desires, conscious or unconscious. The Kamaratna Tantra is another occult text which lists a large number of occult yantras and the rituals to accompany them.

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compass directions, mantras, elements and colors2. In my exploration I met two tantrikas who dabble with these rituals.

II

Some Profiles of Bazaari Tantrikas

The Enabling DeitiesIn a generic sense all Hindu Tantric deities, theoretically can be invoked in prayoga rituals, some Tantric gods and goddesses play a greater role. The most popular gods in the popular stream that claim superiority, and are invoked as sacred functionaries is Siva-Hanuman, the who is looked upon as an incarnation of Siva. The prayogas are performed on a Hanumat Yantra with tantric bija mantras, following strict rules of the ritual digests. Bhairava is invoked in his Vatuka Bhairava aspect in his sattvic or tamsic form. Among the goddesses, the most influential and widespread are the Ten Mahavidya Goddesses who may be invoked collectively or individually for mundane ends. Apart from these deities who are linked to, or derive their power from Siva, there are lesser divinities of lower status in the hierarchy of the Hindu pantheon. A large number of spiritual powers (siddhis) and are attributed to the Yaksinis and Yogini-sadhanas.

Table 1: List of problems for which Tantric remedies are sought

S.No. Family & Marriage

Career & Business

Health & Healing

Evil Influences

Others

1. Obstacles to Marriage

Promotion in Career

Healing of all kinds

Subjugation of Enemies

Magic (Jadoo Tona)

2 Birth of Child Success in Politics

Secret Diseases of women

Bhuta-Preta Mukti Exorcism from Evil

Problems arising from ill placement

2 See Madhu Khanna, Yantra: The Tantric Symbol of Cosmic Unity (London: Thames and Hudson, 1979), 153-160.

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(Gupt Roga) spirits of planetary conjunctions

3 Birth of Male Child

Foreign Travel

Secret Diseases of men (Gupt Roga)

Protection from Enemies

Property Disputes

4 Forlorn Love Freedom from Evil

Court Disputes

5 Obstacles in love Dispelling the result of Evil Prayogas

6 Divorce Nazar ‘Evil Eye’

Informants and Sources: Baba Jamil Khan Tantrika, New Delhi, Baba Kamla Khan Bengali Tantrika, New Delhi, Great Baba Samani Bengali, Baba Abrara Khan Bengali Tantrika, Baba M Sadiq, Srivaidika Pratisthan, S.Vijaya Kumar Chennai, Rajeev Khattar, Chennai, Shrimaliji, editor Jyotisha Tantra, Tantrika Pandit, Mahendra Mishra, New Delhi.Kanti Charan Sharma of Aligarh, is a traditional Purohit who learnt his vidya from his father. He is the official tantric astrologer of high-ranking politicians in Uttar Pradesh and civil servants. He is quick to point out that the Chief Minister to the Police Inspector come to him. He claims to have Yaksini-Siddhi. The cult of the Yaksa-Yaksini male and female nature spirits is traceable to the pre-Aryan autochthonous tradition. Yaksinis are regarded as a class of supernatural beings but subordinate to the ‘high’ gods of the Hindu pantheon. These deities occur in Hindu, Buddhist and Jaina literature from very early times. He explained:

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The Yaksini, is the wife of Yaksa. They are said to be of innumerable numbers. Legend holds that they are empowered with powers that can be exploited for different mundane ends. Yaksinis are swift, active and easy to please…. they are eternal, they existed in primal time and even created the gods, they will survive the holocaust…. once pleased by the devotee, they fulfill all wishes and bestow fortune and desired prosperity. They assume various manifestations and he recalled the names of fifty Yaksinis: Chinchi Pishacani Yaksini, when gratified bestows knowledge of past, present and future; Rati-Priya Yaksani, bestows wealth; Kanakavati Yaksani bestows divine eyesight (divya-anjana) whereby the devotes can identify buried wealth; Svarnarekha Yaksani, bestows divine sight; Chandrika Yaksini bestows immortality; Padmavati Yaksani [originally, deity from the Jaina pantheon] fulfills all wishes; Bhandara Purana Yaksani bestows abundant food; Vata Yaksini bestows divine gifts; Anuragini Yaksani bestows wealth. Yaksanis report to Kuber and Kuber to Lord Krishna. I cannot reach Kuber. My siddhi is limited but effective.

The Yaksanis assumed a renewed significance in tantric-prayoga in that their enabling rituals are described in late Damara Tantra and other texts1. Jai Prakash Shastri, is the disciple of Hare Ram Sharma, who practices “Vanaspati (=Herbal) Tantra” He has a shop in the village Fatehpura Beri, in the outskirts of Delhi where he heals people through Ayurvedic medicines, traditional herbs that embody tantric divinities and tantric yantras. “I perform seva to humanity. Today Tantra and mantra is identified with people who are

1 Cf. Ram Kumar Rai, ed., Damara Tantra, Tantra Granthamala No. 13 (Varanasi: Prachya Prakashana, 1988), 86-116 ; S.N. Khandelavala Bhutadamara Tantra, Chowkhambha Surabharati Granthamala 278 (Varanasi: Choukambha Prakashana, 2000), 64-71. Some unedited manuscripts in Sanskrit are also found in the collection of Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta: Yakshini Kalpa (No. 6028); Yakshini Paddhati (No. 8370); Yakshini Prayoga (No 12327 ka). These sources attest to the popularity of her worship.

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imposters. But it is not so. Mantra and yantras are spiritual tools of salvation. They are employed to heal people”.

Figure 1: Two modern ads by practicing tantrikas

Anjana Chisti lives in a remote village, Padrona, near Kaptanganj, in U.P. He can exorcise of demonic power (preta-yoni-mukti), and claims that he has found a cure for alcoholism. He is an established tantrika and runs the Society of Paravijnana Samsthan, from where he is involved in the service of humanity. His practice involves using mantras, and yantras. Lakshmi Devi a desperate housewife went to him for a cure for her alcoholic husband. “Chishti sab gave a metal yantra inscribed with 41x41 numbers. Whenever my husband was in full consciousness, I would wash the yantra in water, and make him drink the consecrated water. This was repeated for three month. Today, my husband works as a priest (pujari), at Dabauli Devi Temple. He hates the name of alcohol. While, my informant was relating this, a woman stormed into his room and began to dance and scream wildly. Who are you asked Chishti, “My name is Kaushalya and I am going to kill you”. The relative informed that Kaushalya, was under the evil influence of a demon (preta-atma). The tantrika picked a lemon with a knife. Chanting some mantras he blew his breath over the consecrated lemon. He then touched her throat with the consecrated knife. In a few moments, the lady was silent. Chishti said that “the demon has left her body and the woman is free from evil spirits”.

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Tantra and Politics

The bazaari form of Tantra has penetrated highest level of Indian society, inspiring political leadership and power. The former Congress party Prime Minister, PV Narsimha Rao, is said to have appointed a Tantric guru called Chandraswami as his personal advisor. The guru was on trial for political corruption and criminal charges. The Bhartiya Janta Party, of the Vishva Hindu Parishad combine also had their share of Tantric advisers. Lalu Prasad Yadava, the charismatic leader of Bihar, buoyed by his political ambition is said to maintain tantrikas who help advise him. In the last election Lalu Prasad Yadav was a worried man despite the fact that his party was confident of a ‘vote bank’, the presence of other party rebels and over ambitions grass-roots leader from the Yadav clan made him less confident. For a man who had taken pride in debunking superstition, and upper caste Brahmin astrologers, at the time of election he was playing host to tantrikas who were advising him to perform the pujas that will enable his flock to attain the magical figure of hundred numbers in the election.

Bhagatji of Kamakhyawale, learned in tantra-vidya, lives in Kamakhya, a well known pilgrimage centre of goddess worshippers in North-East India. He claims to have vasikarana-siddhi. “For fifteen years I performed her worship today, I work in Airport Authority of India, as well as I heal people. I invoke Kalimata, especially in the rite of subjugation of enemies (vasikarana). This is my special siddhi.”

Mohammad Rizvin Khan in Mumbai works with Mumbai Police. He claims to have mastered “Black Owl Tantra” (Kale Ullu ka Tantra)1 and charges an exorbitant rate to perform rituals. I asked him why and how did he get this power. “I am poor and am a son of a beggar. My sister died in an accident and I wanted to know about the cause of her death. I began to wander in the cremation ground. I have no guru. I discovered my vidya observing the Aghoris. My “Black Owl Siddhi” came

1 Cf. Manuscript in the collection of Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta viz. Ullu Kalpa (No. 6157).

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naturally to me. “In Kaliyuga there is victory of fortune, as well as that of sin. Hence, god as well as demons should be worshipped. There is no good or evil. In Kaliyuga we should worship both.”Saurabha Kwatra, a journalist, is a Lal Kitab specialist. Lal Kitab a collection of five books completed around 1939-1950. It is primarily an astrological book of divination written in Urdu language. Its authorship is disputed. One of the editions was promoted by Roop Chandra Sharma in the last century. He is the disciple of Goswami Kundanlal of Lahore, who had mastered the prescriptions of Lal Kitab. The work prescribes remedial measures for averting negative effects of the planet. Kwatra describes it as a “wonder book of astrology. The only thing that can change destiny is this book. All other forms of Tantra are false. It does not accept any mantra or yantra or faith. It is kriya-centered. The effect of the upaya begins when we decide to do an upaya, not the time when the prescribed ritual is performed”.

Imposter Tantrikas

The growing materialistic desire for acquisition of wealth has given a fillip to a number of charlatans and fake tantrikas. In the ever growing market of neo-tantrikas, imposters are not hard to find. Take the case of Maulana Ismail in Sitaram Bazaar of old Delhi, and Baba Sahib of Tagore Garden, who would trick the patients by quoting exorbitant amount to perform puja and kriyas at non affordable prices. Narayana Dutt of Jodhpur charges Rs. 101/- for a darsana and a fee of Rs. 500/- to speak for a fleeting five minutes. If the time is extended the fee would be extended proportionately. Mahatma Vashikaran, who promises to bring parted lovers together, would distribute ash (vibhuti), with a sprinkling of a drug, until one day he was exposed by the police to be drug trafficker.

Narayan Singh of Ujjain lured people by telling them tales of a fictitious hidden treasure, and stories of treasure hunts where treasure lay in metal pots buried deep in the ground. The goddess appeared to him in a dream and revealed the places where the treasure was hidden and could be retrieved by his tantric powers. According to a report in Sahara Times, in their lust for easy money many lost there

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wealth.1 On the other hand, Noorani Baba who hates the word Tantric but calls himself a Siddha Purusha says, “a fake imposter sells his spirituality for money. A real tantrika does not take any money. He simply blesses, he is compassionate, toward everyone. Each person is a powerhouse of energy and therefore, one can cure one’s self. People only need to perform sadhana. Tantra is to be employed for the good of humanity.” He continued, “my method is not based on Hindu Tantra kriyas but comes from the ayats of the Quran. Very few people know about the mantra sura-e-jin. I work with inscribed yantras in Persian and Urdu”.

II

The Tantric icon and the loss of the sacredThe most poignant articulation of globalization is perhaps reflected in the way in which capital market forces de-constructs, de-possesses and de-mythify the multi-layered and meaningful religious representations that play an important role in providing a cultural identity to a given community.

Scores of religious icons, murtis, are being hand-crafted or manufactured today more so than ever before. Despite the quantitative expansion in production, there is a qualitative degradation in the art and symbolic content. One can clearly discern subtle shades of the deconstruction, de-mythification and desecration of the Hindu icon. On the highway from Delhi to Jaipur or to Rishikesh, one encounters several examples of the new found aesthetic. The roadside installs large images of Hindu gods such as Hanumana and Shiva, almost fifteen to twenty feet high. The images, made of concrete, have puffed up torsos, stunted legs, disproportionate figures and the other-worldly expression of comic-book heroes. These, and many others, defy all norms of iconometry. Stacks of icons produced en masse and sold in modern emporia evince the same disregard of conventional aesthetics. A number of images of Ganesha found in print and sculpture use minimal iconic element, exaggerating one part of the body while reducing the other. In many instances (Madhubani painting from Mithila in North Bihar, for example) one discerns a disappearance of 1 Cited in the monthly Hindi magazine Kadambani, 1996, 171, ff.

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almost all iconic features and an introduction of impressionis-tic, almost virtual images with "fake" iconography which is neither drawn from the canon, nor constitutes an act of true innovation.1

Most of these modern icons of ancient gods and goddesses are responding to the market forces. They have lost their original vigor and vitality and, in several cases, they are beyond visual recognition. Their forms are dictated by the market forces demanding exotic bric-a-brac for tourists. The blurring of boundaries between the sacred and the secular, the loss of the sense of the sacred, and the rituals that support them, have created an asymmetrical relationship between the user and the objects of adoration. The icons and other religious symbols have fallen from their pedestals and are used as decorative items, to embellish private and public spaces. The ritual implements such as chalices are used as ashtrays, and ritual-bells, for calling servants rather than dispersing anti-divine forces from the atmosphere. The new aesthetic has forced the religious symbol to become more and more ubiquitous and to disappear into anonymity.

The aniconic Tantric murtis or the yantras, the linear geometric configurations composed of bindu, triangle, square, lotus symbols, juxtaposed, combined and intersected in various combinations to form mandala-like patterns used frequently in Tantric and Agamic worship, have fallen prey to the same fate. The yantras are, essentially, sacred power diagrams and energy patterns representing the totality of creation. One of the greatest of all tantric yantras, is the Sri-cakra cult of the Goddess Tripurasundari. The Sri-cakra embodies the creative field of Siva and Sakti in all its phases of manifestations from the germinal state of creation to the gross realms. The cakra is the throne of the hundred and ten goddesses who are invoked in meditation. Tradition holds that there are nine hundred and sixty variations of this timeless symbol. Stripped of its symbolic content, the vision-inducing aesthetic symbol has been widely used by contemporary designers to decorate public spaces, such as the ceiling of a restaurant in a five-star hotel, as MTV

1 Observations in this section are based on my earlier article. See Madhu Khanna. “In the Flow of Modernity: Some Reflections on Tirtha and Murti in Hindu India” Evam: Forum of Indian Representations 2: 1 & 2 (2003): 99-114.

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props, on table tops, and fabric designs. Lately, a distorted 3D version of the Sri-cakra is being sold through extravagant advertising. Media intervention has reduced this unique symbol into a cheap commodity. The commodification of the Sri-cakra has introduced innumerable versions of the "distorted" icon. Media corporations such as SONY, Zee TV and Sahara Network are perhaps the best examples of the cross-nation, cross media formation. Modern ads are not simply centered on enhancing sale of products for daily use but the thrust is about making products out of sacred objects, and spiritual ideologies and worldviews. TV channels today are heavily loaded with a plethora of ads selling sacred objects of worship – icons, gems, rudraksamala (sacred beads), talisman, yantra, mantras and chants in audiocassettes and DVD Rooms. Bazaari Tantra uses the ‘language of the market’ to seduce innocent consumers. A classic example of consumerist re-branding is the way in which Smriti Irani, a highly successful Indian soap opera queen of Sas bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, appears on Sony and Zee TV channels dressed in a traditional attire selling the sacred icon of goddess, the Sri Yantra / Cakra as though it was a piece of chocolate. By her mannerism and alluring words she ensures and promises her customers a life free of poverty, sickness and ill luck if this yantra was bought and merely kept in the house ! Apart from the fact that the image being advertised is faulty in its execution, the manner in which it is advertised induces one to believe that success and efficiency of a religious symbol does not lie in the ability and spiritual attainment of the practitioner but in the commoditized object of adoration. The ad glorifies the privileged class who is blessed with affluence to buy sacred ‘products’ at exorbitant prices while they are available for a pittance in traditional temple markets. The ethical question whether heavily laden sacred symbols should at all be advertised goes unanswered.

Another commercially successful program on tantrikas is a series “Kal Kapala Mahakala”, said to be based on actual stories on the extreme form of Aghora Tantrikas who perform gory rituals in the cremation ground. The program projects a haphazard, fragmented sessions of rituals in the cremation ground, and misrepresented version of the lost knowledge of tantric-kriyas in the cremation ground. Here one finds a curatorial refashioning of the highly complex and symbolic spiritual worldview, reduced to a pastiche of images of liquor,

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skull-cups and the dark and demonic rites. The scenography of the image with the camera focused on skull-ups and liquor to rouse awe and wonder in the onlookers is a clear instance of how the secular imagination systematically deconstructs and robs archetypal symbols of their sacred meaning and potency. As a corrective, art institutions should encourage viewing of religious symbols from an informed perspective and with an appreciation of its history.

Trade branding is yet another manifestation of the bazaari Tantra and capital corporatization. Rajiv Ramchandani, a T-shirt baron in India with sixty stores is a co-founder of a company called “Tantra”. According to him he successfully managed a multi-crore business by recoursing to cult brand tactics, “what made his company called “Tantra”, a brand without a big business packing, is cult branding – an invisible halo that surrounds a successful product”. In Delhi and Calcutta alone there are fashion houses, shops, and restaurants have successfully used the brand label “Tantra” to promote their businesses. These are few but pertinent examples of the multiple forums of Tantra in the market place.

III

Does the linguistic formation of the term “Tantra” that changed dramatically over the course of history provide contexts for accommodating the bazaari forms of Tantra? Academic appraisals on the term Tantra / Tantrism vary. There is no fixed definition of the word Tantra1. Different definitions are given for the term Tantra which implies that the scope of the term is yet to be fully determined. Tantra is perhaps one of the most complex words, partly on account of its intricate historical development. The meaning of the word has changed especially from the period of its formation to modern times. The first and the earliest etymological usage of the word Tantra is traceable to the Vedas in the sense of a

1 For discussion on definition of Tantra see: Teun Goudriaan, “Introduction, History and Philosophy” in Hindu Tantrism, ed. Sanjukta Gupta, Dirk Jan Hoens and Teun Goudriaan (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1979); Andre Padoux, “Tantrism” in Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. 14, ed. Mircea Eliade et al (New York: Macmillan, 1987), 272-80.

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‘loom’ or ‘wrap’ (Rig. Veda X. 71.9; Atharva Veda X.7.42; Taitiriya Brahmana II 5.5.3; cf. Panini V.2.70). In the Apasthamba Grhayasutras (1.15.1) and the Samkhyana Grhyasutra (1.16.16) the word Tantra means doing or making something. In later times the word Tantra was used as a suffix to denote any system of knowledge, a treatise or a book with its principle expositions. For instance, Sankara uses the term in his Brahma Sutra (11.2.32) as ‘kapilasyatantra’ to denote the Tantra of Kapila2. The suffix Tantra has been applied to any body of knowledge, a book, or a literary composition. This simplistic meaning does not explain the traditions that came to be recognized as the Tantras. The generic usage has no special religious or metaphysical import. The term Tantra here applies to a class of literature and stands for a system of doctrines, or a book. For instance, the term Agama (tradition) and Samhita (collection). Tantra in this generic sense is any scripture by which knowledge is spread, or expanded.

By eighth century the term Tantra had acquired a new resonance and distinct overtones. A more comprehensive technical definition is found in later literature where Tantra stands for a technical branch of spiritual knowledge (tanyate vistaryate jnanam iti tantram). This definition is taken from the Kamikagamas of the Shaivasiddhanta (Tantrantara Patala)1. Tantra here does not mean any scripture, but a definitive scripture, which charts the shortest route to liberation. None of the meanings however tell us what Tantra represents in its entirety.

In the Agamas, there have been several attempts to describe the contours of the Tantric tradition in their respective contexts. Lengthy substantive definitions of Tantra that highlight certain signs (laksanas)2 that define the tradition are not applicable to bazaari Tantra as they only heighten the difference between the textual and the oral heritage. The popular usage of the team “Tantra” in modern times associates it with subversions such as black magic, forms of divination,

2 N. N. Bhattacharyya, History of the Tantric Religion (New Delhi: Manohar Publications, 1982), 2 ff. 1 Cited in Srigangadhara Dvivedi, ed. Agamarahasyam (Jodhpur: Rajasthan Oriental Institute, 1968), 5. 2 Varahi Tantra, cited in Agamarahasyam, ibid., 3.

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mantra-lore, esoteric-astrology etc. rather than it being used as an extension of cultivated definition. The popular meaning of Tantra is in constant tension with the cultivated ‘high’ definitions, so much so that the wide popularity of its popular meaning has displaced the cultivated meaning expounded in the learned literary tradition. Popular nuances use the word in a descriptive way as indicating a certain sphere of spirituality/religiosity, whereas, the Sastras define it in an evaluative way. A large part of market made Tantra accommodates itself to the earliest broad based definition of Tantra described as suffix to denote any system of knowledge, oral or written, a treatise, or a book.

For the practitioners of bazaari Tantra who I met, Tantra simply means “a method (upaya) or a spiritual technique” for attaining diverse siddhis, enabling spiritual powers that can be applied for benefic or malefic purposes. In one sense these tantrikas repeat expected patterns of ritual but with a difference. The orally transmitted traditions does mirror, a more individualistic and hybrid style of spiritual engagement that has lost its salvific dimensions, and regional specificity. Bazaari Tantra has transformed what may have been a mystical way of healing to a more profit seeking activity, bhoga, in the absolute sense, over the pursuit of moksa. Some bazaari forms legitimize and validate their powers to Sastra, others disclaim the written word over the experiential dimension of ritual. It appears to me that bazaari Tantra is about different levels of inclusion and exclusion, boundaries and transactions, about code making and code-breaking with the sophisticated sectarian traditions of Tantra.

It is worthwhile to consider whether the practical prayogas of bazaari Tantra is a subset of the literary / written traditions? The immanence of Tantric literature is one of the most important elements of medieval India. A distinctly large part of Hindu Sakta Tantras, such as the early Nitysodasikarnava, and later compendiums Mantramahodadhi, of Mahidhara Tantrasara of Agamvagisha; occult compilations such as Yantracintamani and Kamaratna Tantra, are compendiums of ‘floating knowledge’ about tantric practices, which were collected from diverse sources possibly, practicing tantrikas, recollections of former lineage-based traditions, to serve as a reference for practitioners. These sources clearly speak of the

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application of tantric prayogas through mantras, yantras, and siddhi-oriented rituals, including the negative six ‘magical’ rites (satakarma). Much of what bazaari tantrikas are doing has a pale reflection in some of the above sources continuing old age practices but deviating from the older norm. It may be noted that the texts themselves get represented in a hundred different versions and get recycled through their interaction with an oral audience. As the situations and contexts change, texts renew or reinterpret the rituals absorbing many subaltern oral elements. The existence of a greater number of Tantra sources is replete with practical formulations from the oral stream. Might we then look upon such a large chunk of the written sources as printed folklore! Bazaari Tantra, on the other end, has created its own class of literature in vernacular languages of India.

Figure 2: Tantra Jyotisa, a monthly Hindi magazine.

IV

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Concluding RemarksOne of the fallouts of modernization is that it has brought the discourse of the sacred and the secular into contest. In most cases this contest ends in polemics. Invariably, it is materialistic or commercial paradigm of profit seeking, within the modern secular context that prevails.

Caught between clashing or rival world-views, pre-modern cultures witness an era of “entropic modernity” or a process of socio-cultural regression that is far removed from its civilizational roots. In this scenario the figure of a bazaari tantrika is one who is choked and bombarded by the external needs to find an identity for himself to survive daily battles of life. The only tools he has to his command are those transmitted orally though prayoga through the lineage-based communities. And like everyone else caught in the evil networks of the global world, he too has had to juggle contexts, meanings and methods of his transmitted heritage and wisdom. Globalization reiterates that human selfishness is the primary basis of society that one may apply any means necessary to obtain monopoly and wealth and much of bazaari Tantra is being pushed to the edges to submit to the unethical ethos. A fundamental paradigm shift is needed in the civilization ethos from greed, selfishness, ego-centered aggrandizement, and violence to sisterhood, brotherhood, and cooperation, sharing, to non-violence. This can only take place if there is a parallel critique of the values of globalization. We need a culturalisation of globalization rather than a globalization of ancient cultures! This culturalisation means that there has to be a radical change in the way we cognize our worldview, the way we think, the way we experience the “other” and the way we act. It brings out the relational aspect of texts and its oral contents. The intrinsic value of world religions and inter-faith unity has to play a greater role to put globalization on track. The point made by Richard King in his book Selling Spirituality1 that we need to “recapture a space of the spiritual as a site for resistance” is crucial if we are to survive the holocaust of global capitalism. Bazaari Tantra, as I perceive, is

1 Jeremy Carrette and Richard King, Selling Spirituality: the Silent Takeover of Religion (London: Routledge, 2005), 179.

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a very significant category of discourse for a number of reasons: (a) for a more conclusive understanding of the composite and inclusive nature of Tantric heritage and culture; (b) the critical role that orality of scripture has played in molding Tantric practice; and (c) the changing role of the sacred in the globalized economy. For all these reasons bazaari Tantra needs to be addressed by scholars at various levels for all these reasons .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Sources:

Agamahasyam, ed. Srigangadhara Dvivedi. Jodhpur: Rajasthan Oriental Institute, 1968.

Bhutadamara Tantra, ed. S.N. Khandelavala. Chowkhambha Surabharati Granthamala 278. Varanasi: Choukambha Prakashana, 2000.

Brhatatantrasara of Srikrsnananda Agamvagisa, ed. Sri Kapil Dev Narayana. Chowkhambha Surabhi Granthamala 431, Vol. I & II. Varanasi: Chowkhambha Surabhi Prakashan, 2007.

Damara Tantra, ed. Ram Kumar Rai. Tantra Granthamala No. 13. Varanasi: Prachya Prakashana, 1988

Kadambini Tantra Visesanka (a monthly Hindi magazine), ed. Bhagvati Prasad Dhobal. New Delhi: Hindustan Times Media Ltd., October, 1995.

Kadambini Tantra Visesanka (a monthly Hindi magazine), ed. Bhagvati Prasad Dhobal. New Delhi: Hindustan Times Media Ltd. November, 1996.

Kadambini Tantra Visesanka (a monthly Hindi magazine), ed. Bhagvati Prasad Dhobal. New Delhi: Hindustan Times Media Ltd. November, 1998.

Kamaratna Tantra, ed. Hemchandra Goswami. Shillong: Assam Government Press, 1928.

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Lal Kitab. Available online at www.lalkitab.in .

Mantramahodadhi of Mahidhara (with his own ‘Nauka’ Sanskrit Commentary). Translated into Hindi with Mohini Hindi Commentary by Shukadeva Chaturvedi. Varanasi: Prachya Prakashan, 1981

Nityasodasikarnava (with commentaries Rjuvimarsini by Sivananda and Artharatnavali by Vidyananda), ed. V. V. Dvivedi. Yogatantragranthamala 1. Varanasi: Sampurnananda Vishvavidyala, 1968.

Tantra Darsana (a monthly Hindi magazine), ed. Shukracarya. Delhi: N.H.P. Offset Press, May 2009.

Tantra Jyotisa (a monthly Hindi magazine), ed. Kamal Radhakrishna Shrimali. Jodhpur: Manik Kumar Manik Offset Press, May 2009.

Ullu Kalpa. Manuscript no. 6157, in the collection of Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta.

Yakshini Kalpa. Manuscript no. 6028, in the collection of Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta.

Yakshini Paddhati. Manuscript no. 8370, in the collection of Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta.

Yakshini Prayoga. Manuscript no. 12327, in the collection of Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta.

Yantracintamani of Damodara, ed. Baldeva Prasad. Bombay: Lakshmi Vanketshvara Press, 1967.

Secondary Sources:

Bhattacharyya, N. N. History of the Tantric Religion. New Delhi: Manohar Publications, 1982.

Carrette, Jeremy and Richard King. Selling Spirituality the Silent Takeover of Religion, London : Routledge, 2005.

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Diksit, Rajesh. (In Hindi). Bhuta-Preta, Isaac, Aghara-Vidya evam Daksini Vidya Siddhi Prayog. Tantra Sastra Series No.4. Delhi: Dehati Pustak Bhandar, 1974.

--------------------- (In Hindi). Devi-Devata, Hanuman, Chaya Purusa evam Yakini Bharava Siddhi ke Prayoga. Tantra Sastra Series No.3, Delhi: Dehati Pustak Bhandar, 1974.

Graham, William A. Beyond the Written Word: Oral Aspects of Scripture in the History of Religion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.

Goudriaan, Teun. “Introduction, History and Philosophy”. In Hindu Tantrism, eds. Sanjukta Gupta, Dirk Jan Hoens and Teun Goudriaan (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1979)

Jain, Kajri. Gods in the Bazaar: the Economies of Indian Calendar Art (Durham: Duke University Press, 2007).

Khanna, Madhu. Yantra: The Tantric Symbol of Cosmic Unity. London: Thames and Hudson, 1979.

Khanna, Madhu. “In the Flow of Modernity: Some Reflections on Tirtha and Murti Hindu India.” in Evam Forum of India Representations 2:1 & 2(2003), 99-114.

Lorezen, David N. “Early Evidence for Tantric Religion”. In his book, Who Invented Hinduism Essays on Religion in History, New Delhi: Yoda Press, 2006, Chap 3.

Padoux, Andre. “Tantrism”. In Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. 14, ed. Mircea Eliade et al. New York: Macmillan, 1987.

Possamai, Adam. Religion and Popular Culture – A Hyper-Real Testament. New York: P.I.E. Peter Lang, 2007.

* I am grateful to Saurabha Kwatra for introducing me to several Tantrikas.

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