Sauras or Sun (SURYA) worshippers, but these do
not appear to have an active sectarian presence
in India.
There are numerous textual classifications and
subclassifications of tantric groups and practice,
but these seem to be more descriptive than prac-
tical. Any regional differences that once existed
have by now disappeared.
The most important tantric system may be
that of Kasmiri Shaivism, which has received the
most study and has reached the West through
teachers such as Swami MUKTANANDA. Gener-
ally, there is a tremendous amount of intentional
obscuration and abstruseness in tantric texts to
protect them from noninitiates. The Kashmiri
Shaivite tradition, however, led by exemplars
such as ABHINAVAGUPTA, seemed to make an effort
to create philosophical systems that could vie
with more orthodox or normative systems in
the philosophical arena. Therefore, the Kashmiri
Shaivite systems seem to be more clear and open
than many others.
A second important subsystem is the SRI VIDYA
Goddess-oriented tradition. This is, in fact, a
modified and highly Brahminized tradition whose
textual history has begun to attract significant
scholarship.
Mention must also be made of SAIVA SID-
DHANTA, a South Indian and Sri Lankan tantric
system. Here, there is a significant body of litera-
ture not only in Sanskrit but also in Tamil. In fact,
some of the texts originated around 600 C.E.
The various systems, while they share a com-
mon sexual paradigm to portray the relationship
between the manifest and unmanifest worlds, are
not philosophically uniform. Kashmiri Shaivism,
for instance, is completely non-dual (ADVAITA), or
monistic, whereas Shaivite Siddhanta is purely
dualistic; one can realize oneself as a “small
Shiva,” but Paramashiva, or transcendent Shiva,
is beyond the reach of the soul in transforma-
tional terms. That is, the highest Shiva is eternally
distinct from the souls. The system of Bengali
Vaishnavite Sahajiya, alternatively, retains the
Vaishnavite “quasi-non-dualistic” aspect, repre-
senting a third philosophical stream.
Tantric systems are divided into two tenden-
cies that are referred to as left-handed and right-
handed. The left-handed is most probably the
original practice. It can be shockingly antinomian
or antisocial. The AGHORIS are an example of this.
These wanderers eat excrement and in other ways
try to outrage people in public arenas in order to
use the “reversed” energy to gain supernatural
powers.
The extreme left-handed practices dating
from very early in the history of tantrism have
made the word tantric as despised in India as
in the normative West. Formalized left-handed
practice uses the PANCHA MAKARA, or five forbid-
den substances: meat, wine, sexual intercourse,
parched grain, and fish. These are combined in a
ritual context.
Right-handed practice could be considered a
Brahminization of the left-handed stream. There,
accepted entities or practices are substituted for
the “forbidden” ones to align the practice more
closely with social norms. This substitution
might be a mental visualization of the practice
rather than the practice itself; physical substitu-
tion, for instance, eating a particular vegetable
instead of beef; or complete avoidance of any of
the elements in favor of a purely philosophical
approach.
Some important notions used in Hindu tan-
tric practice include SADHANA, or adept practice;
DIKSHA, the necessary initiation (distinct from
the Vedic initiation); MANTRA, a distinctive usage
of mantra practice; YANTRA, abstract designs used
for ritual worship and MEDITATION; and MUDRAS,
special hand gestures used in conjunction with
meditation and ritual. KUNDALINI yoga is by
definition a tantric practice and is a central part
of many tantric systems. SHAKTIPAT (Shakti ini-
tiation) is also a practice done by some tantric
gurus, who can transform an adept, or initiate
him or her, by merely a touch that transfers the
guru’s Shakti, or grace, to the adept. Most tantricK 438 tantrism