Desire: The Tantric Path to Awakening

by Daniel Odier

At the beginning of my practice with Devi, I had trouble thinking that things were how she presented them to me, close and absolute. I thought she was simplifying my work for me in order to lead me to a later stage of greater depth. This is the marvel of the Tantric practice, which right from the beginning recognizes in its practitioners their capacity to understand the most far-reaching of the teachings and which, in the presentation of these teachings, conceals nothing. Everything is told at the start. There is no progressive quest. The masters have always taken care that they could be understood by everyone, without book knowledge being a condition or requirement. These masters talk above all to the people around them, who are from all levels of society. They recognize no social, cultural, ethnic, or gender differences. Their teaching makes access to the philosophical texts optional. They are above all living examples of what they preach and happily, willingly, give the key to their realization: naked attention to reality.