Scarcity and Abundance

Scarcity or the fear of scarcity leads to ‘us’ and ‘them’ fighting over resources. Unfortunately affluence doesn’t appease this fear, merely replaces it with the fear of loss. With limited imagination we can’t see beyond our survival instincts to the abundance that surrounds us, becoming more habitual in our repetitive lower mind thinking.

Shiva Sutra

Tantra is often referred to as ‘technology’, a technology that uses the body to raise consciousness. But what is too often forgotten is that if you focus simply on the body, that is biology. If you focus on opening up to the cosmos, that is yoga.

Tantra Yoga, Devi Worship and the Chakras

Swami Sivananda in his book Tantra Yoga, Nada Yoga and Kriya Yoga says “Tantra Yoga lays special emphasis on the development of the powers latent in the six Chakras, from Muladhara to Ajna” as a manifestation of Devi’s glory.

Culture and Delusion

Culture is a delusion that we have everything under control. But it’s a delusion that can never be satisfied, so we fear its unravelling. We try harder, then, to define everything that is ‘in’ and everything that is ‘out’, fuelling our fear, stifling our empathy, turning imagination into stifled literalism.

Empathy and Darshan

Devdutt Pattanaik in the ‘7 Secrets of Shiva’ tells us that without empathy there is no evolution. He illustrates this with the story of Shiva, as Rudra, beheading Brahma for wanting freedom from fear through control.

Fear and Tranquillity

Death seems to be the last taboo of the West, something not to be discussed over the dinner table. Indeed, our fear of death is such that we spend inordinate amounts of money trying to hold it at bay. But death, it seems, stops for no one. Meanwhile, in the East, the fear of death is one of our five outer obstacles (Kleshas) to be mastered.