Tantric Traditions

Tantra has been classified into five categories: (i) Shaiva tantra in which Shiva is the master and Parvati is the disciple; (ii) Shakta tantra in which Shakti is supreme; (iii) Ganapatya tantra in which Ganesha is the chief deity; (iv) Saurya tantra in which the sun is the primordial force; (v) Vaishnava tantra in which Narayana is the chief. These are the five main classifications of tantra.

Out of the five, two are still very active, vibrant and dynamic in India, and they are Shaiva tantra and Shakta tantra. In Shaiva tantra, where Shiva is the guru and Shakti is the disciple, there are many sects, out of which ten are prominent. In Shakta tantra, where Shakti is the supreme controller of the universe, there are ten major sadhanas which are known as the Mahavidyas. The shakti, the creatrix, is seen in ten different forms, starting with Kali, then in other forms like Tara, culminating in Shodashi, Kamala. The shakti which is seen as the empress of the entire visible and invisible, manifest and unmanifest cosmos, who is the ruler of an individual's destiny and the cosmic destiny, who is the bestower of everything which is auspicious and benevolent, is worshipped as Shodashi. That is the final manifestation of shakti, the Devi.

The sadhana of Sri Yantra in tantra is the highest sadhana. In brief, the worship of shakti leads to transcendence from the earthly plane, the gross plane, and merger with the cosmic energy takes place. This is the theory behind it. At the same time, in the tantric tradition we find that there are eighty-four siddhas and sixty-four yoginis, who are the masters of the tantric art, the tantric science.

The Shakta tantra becomes fruitful only when woman is recognized as the Supreme Master, as the channel of the cosmic energy. This is a very ancient tradition. In ancient India, more specifically in tantric India, women have always had the highest position, the highest status. But later on, with the invasions and political upheavals, the matriarchal system of the tantras went underground and the patriarchal system of the tantras came to the surface.

Swami Niranjanada.