Tantra Unveiled: Seducing the Forces of Matter and Spirit

by Rajmani Tigunait

These different levels of understanding both the Divinity and the purpose of life have led to different approaches for gaining Her grace and guidance. This is how the tantric practices have become so diverse. For example, one person worships the deity so that his goats will be healthy and fertile, another so that her children will marry into a suitable family, while others worship and meditate on Her in order to attain freedom from the cycle of births and deaths. To express their love and devotion to the Divinity some offer vegetarian food, while others sacrifice a goat. Still others surrender their ego to the Divine. Some connect their hearts with the Divine by means of simple tantric practices like offering incense, flowers, water, and fruit to the fire, along with the recitation of prayers and mantras. Others, who are familiar with the symbolic meaning of yantras, have developed more elaborate rituals.