This powerful book describes authentic tantra, what distinguishes it from other spiritual paths, and how the tantric way combines hatha yoga, meditation, visualization, Ayurveda, and other disciplines. Taking us back to ancient times, Pandit Tigunait shares his experiences with tantric masters and the techniques they taught him. Tantra Unveiled is most valuable for those who wish to live the essence of tantra: practicing spirituality while experiencing a rich outer life.
About the Author:
Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, Ph.D., holds two doctorates and has lectured and taught worldwide for more than a quarter of a century. A regular contributor to Yoga International magazine, he is the author of twelve books, including At the Eleventh Hour: The Biography of Swami Rama.
Reviews: "
Tantra Unveiled is a most valuable addition to the literature on
Tantra. It combines excellent scholarship with an initiates firsthand
knowledge of the subject. Through many colorful anecdotes of his own
encounters with Tantric adepts, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait affords his readers
a unique glimpse into the living heart of real Tantra."
Georg Feuerstein, Ph.D., Author, The Yoga Tradition and The Shambala
Encyclopedia of Yoga; Director, Yoga Research Center
"Tantra Unveiled…shows the reader the keys to mind-body
transformation, to a personal and spiritual unfoldment…The book contains
both wonderful stories and powerful teachings on many levels that gives it a
special appeal. It shows the magic of Tantra as a living tradition, a
current of blissful shakti that can renew and revitalize our lives."
David Frawley, Author, Yoga and Ayurveda, Ayurveda and the Mind;
Director, American Institute of Vedic Studies
" "Tantra…has for too long been portrayed as a religion of sexual
excess…Pandit Tigunait clarifies these and other misconceptions in Tantra
Unveiled…[His] level of erudition…hold[s] the readers attention from
beginning to end as he portrays Tantra…as an experiential path…The book
is chock full of detailed information…a worthy addition to any numinous
bookshelf." Dr. Robert E. Svoboda, BAMS, Author, Aghora: At the Left Hand of God;
Faculty, The Ayurvedic Institute
Excerpts:
From Chapter 1:
According to most spiritual traditions the desire for wordly pleasures is
incompatible with the spiritual quest. You can have the treasures of this world,
they say, or the treasures of the spiritual realm, but not both. This either/or
approach sets off an endless internal struggle in those who are drawn to
spiritual beliefs and practices but who have at the same time a natural urge to
fulfill their worldly desires. This includes most of us. And when there is no
way to reconcile these two impulses we fall prey to guilt and self-condemnation,
or we repress either our spiritual desires or our worldly desires, or we try to
have both, and become hypocrites.
The tantric approach to life avoids this painful and confusing dilemma by taking
the whole person into account - our human as well as our spiritual nature. The
literal meaning of tantra is "to weave, to expand, to spread," and
according to tantric adepts, we can achieve true and everlasting fulfillment
only when all the threads of the fabric of life are woven according to the
pattern designated by nature. When we are born, ignorance, desire, attachment,
fear, and false images of ourselves and others tangle and tear the threads.
Tantra sadhana (practice) reweaves the fabric of life and restores it to its
original pattern. No other path of yoga is as systematic or as comprehensive.
The profound practices of hatha yoga, pranayama, mudras, rituals, kundalini
yoga, nada yoga, mantra, yantra, mandala, visualization of deities, alchemy,
ayurveda, astrology, and hundreds of esoteric techniques for engendering wordly
and spiritual prosperity blend perfectly within the tantric disciplines.
