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The Feminine Spiritual Path
When you look at spiritual paths around the world, you will quickly notice one thing: that they are mainly propagated by, taught by and practiced by men. From Buddhist monks to Christian priests, Jewish Rabbis to Hindu Brahmins...why is it that the common religious forms are so male-oriented? Is it that they are stuck in ancient times when people were more sexist? Or is it true, as some Buddhists believe, that women cannot become enlightened? Some Jewish teachers say that the religious realm is simply not the place for the woman. What is the way for women in spirituality? Tantra is an exception to this masculine-dominated rule. In Tantra there is a strong presence of female practitioners and teachers. In fact some even go so far as to say that without a woman, there can be no tantra. Osho says: "It is only Tantra that has never been male chauvinistic. In fact, to go into Tantra you will need the cooperation of a wise woman; without a wise woman you will not be able to enter into the complex world of Tantra." So what is the connection between our gender, or more importantly our polarity, and our spiritual practice? There is a distinction between gender and polarity. Gender is a biological identity. Polarity is a term used in Tantra to refer to the style in which we open (open to life, open to existence, open to God). There are two different polar ways to open:
Please note: this is NOT saying all men open only through discipline nor that all women open only through surrender. Tantra understand that we all have a masculine and a feminine aspect and that these open and develop in different ways. It helps to understand this, by looking at what Tantra means by masculine and feminine. It is not about an external set of societal behaviours, nor about gender or sexual identity. The masculine aspect is the part within us that is pure witness consciousness, never changing, eternal, known as "Shiva". The feminine aspect is all of the rest...life as it manifests in ever-changing unfolding energy. The body, the emotions, the mind, our life events...all is referred to as the feminine or "Shakti". Now when we look back to most religious paths, we can see that they regard the shakti part as being sinful or suffering. The body, sexual energy, emotions etc are all problems that need to be fixed, or sins that need to be forgiven. The Chirstians call it "sin", the Buddhists call it "samsara"...one way or another the earthly life is a problem and religion offers salvation from this suffering by taking us away from it all. Whether one is on a quest for Heaven, Nirvana, Eternity or Enlightenment...this quest is one of ultimately overcoming life. |
Shashi Solluna
Has been practicing and teaching Tao and Tantra for 15 years. She is trained in Taoist Arts and Classical Tantra, as well as Neo Tantra styles. She is one of the main facilitators of the Tao Tantric Art teacher training. www.taospiral.com |
Shiva and Shakti as lovers
Tantra (and Tao) have a different view. They do not regard the life part as a problem to be escaped. They regard it as Shakti, the lover of Shiva. Life is the lover of Consciousness. This life can indeed create chaos, confusion and suffering if it becomes separate from consciousness. But it can also be merged with consciousness and then it becomes Heaven on Earth...the ultimate tantric union!
This basic foundational understanding within Tantra and Tao means that they are completely different from the religions that see all Shakti/energy as a problem and all Shiva/consciousness as the escape. Instead of looking to escape Shakti or how to run to Shiva, they look at how to unite them both.
What this means on a practical level is that Tao and Tantra are spiritual paths that embrace the feminine principle as well as the masculine principle. Now many, though certainly not all, women resonate with the feminine principle. As our bodies have wombs that birth children and breasts that nourish life, we can have a natural resonance with life and creation. Many women open through dance, music and feeling energy in their bodies. These same women may not open so much through fasting and isolation and silent sitting meditation...in fact it may even shut them down or cut them off from feeling a union with the divine.
This basic foundational understanding within Tantra and Tao means that they are completely different from the religions that see all Shakti/energy as a problem and all Shiva/consciousness as the escape. Instead of looking to escape Shakti or how to run to Shiva, they look at how to unite them both.
What this means on a practical level is that Tao and Tantra are spiritual paths that embrace the feminine principle as well as the masculine principle. Now many, though certainly not all, women resonate with the feminine principle. As our bodies have wombs that birth children and breasts that nourish life, we can have a natural resonance with life and creation. Many women open through dance, music and feeling energy in their bodies. These same women may not open so much through fasting and isolation and silent sitting meditation...in fact it may even shut them down or cut them off from feeling a union with the divine.
Is this the reason that there are so many more monks in the world than nuns? That many more men resonate with such practices than do women. Not because men get more enlightened than women, but because many men become enlightened in a different way than do women. This is a big question to ask before dedicating yourself to a spiritual path. Is this actually the path for you?
There is a term used in classical Tantra which is "Dharma". It means the cosmic order of things. Your dharma is your path, as determined by cosmic law. Cosmic law is not a set of rules dictated by a religion, but is an understanding of divine order, or natural order. It is not an authority that you need to fight against...that would be like fighting against the law of gravity. If your dharma is to live like a monk, if this serves you highest purpose, then do it! If however, you open more by dancing or singing, cooking or creating in some way, then your dharma is to follow a different path. You cannot fit a round peg in a square hole.
We can look at the female paths seen in Tantra and Tao. Many of these have been stamped out by religions that do not understand Shakti. But we can see some examples from the past, including:
What we can see is that these paths did not contain the same sort of practices that support very masculine paths. In a nutshell, most masculine paths aim at attaining a state of nothingness or the void. Feminine paths move towards fullness: energy, ecstasy and orgasm. Men in religion we can see thriving from fasting, meditating and become ascetic. Women on a spiritual path we see thriving from dance, music, creativity, healing and moving energy.
However, Tantra and Tao do not stop there. It is not enough merely to find what opens you. The next step, and a very important one, is to attain a merging. This merging or union can be within, without or both. It can be enacted through tantric lovemaking or ritual. But it can also be conducted within oneself, such as Tibetan tantric techniques of visualising lovemaking. However it is done, it is the union of "opposites" that creates an opportunity to surrender to that which is greater than we are. When we surrender to an apparent opposite, a profound union occurs in which transcendence is experienced. Think of a time you were arguing with someone then you suddenly surrendered together, both of you accepting each others' point of view...a shift in experience occurs, love is experienced. (This is not the same as one submitting to the other's point of view, but rather both people are surrendering to each other and thus accepting a higher truth beyond duality).
Therefore, it is helpful to understand that you have a unique dharma, and that whether you open more in the masculine style or the feminine style can help you to choose your path. Some people open equally in both, and thus can create a balanced path. As mentioned before, this is not a set of rules, but guidelines. Guidelines to help guide you to the most effective path. And what is the path for? To overcome the sense of separation (from other people, from your body, but ultimately from God/Spirit) and to create a recognition of Union or Oneness.
Tantra gives us opportunities to find the path that most resonates with our own unique dharmic way, and to find transcendence through that path. It is not merely about finding a women's group to dance and sing and eat sumptuous fruits with, but to then ask: how do we relate to the masculine from here? Both the external masculine, and our own inner masculine. How does all of this energy meet pure Consciousness? How does the sound meet the silence? How does the dance meet the stillness? And how can they surrender together into the beyond....
There is a term used in classical Tantra which is "Dharma". It means the cosmic order of things. Your dharma is your path, as determined by cosmic law. Cosmic law is not a set of rules dictated by a religion, but is an understanding of divine order, or natural order. It is not an authority that you need to fight against...that would be like fighting against the law of gravity. If your dharma is to live like a monk, if this serves you highest purpose, then do it! If however, you open more by dancing or singing, cooking or creating in some way, then your dharma is to follow a different path. You cannot fit a round peg in a square hole.
We can look at the female paths seen in Tantra and Tao. Many of these have been stamped out by religions that do not understand Shakti. But we can see some examples from the past, including:
- Devadasis: women who danced the divine into existence. Tantric practitioners would watch these women move energy through their bodies and see the divine through them.
- Dakinis: These female practitioners knew the arts of lovemaking that could take a man to God, to Heaven, known as "sky dancing". Again, it was based around a deep awareness and skill at moving energy through the body.
- Taoist Courtesans: These women practiced the Taoist Sexual Arts and knew how to raise sexual energy up through the channels to transform it into spirtual experience.
- Sexual Priestesses: these have existed in many cultures around the world and were women who were channels of the Goddess energy. They shared this energy through healing, dance, music, magic and love making.
What we can see is that these paths did not contain the same sort of practices that support very masculine paths. In a nutshell, most masculine paths aim at attaining a state of nothingness or the void. Feminine paths move towards fullness: energy, ecstasy and orgasm. Men in religion we can see thriving from fasting, meditating and become ascetic. Women on a spiritual path we see thriving from dance, music, creativity, healing and moving energy.
However, Tantra and Tao do not stop there. It is not enough merely to find what opens you. The next step, and a very important one, is to attain a merging. This merging or union can be within, without or both. It can be enacted through tantric lovemaking or ritual. But it can also be conducted within oneself, such as Tibetan tantric techniques of visualising lovemaking. However it is done, it is the union of "opposites" that creates an opportunity to surrender to that which is greater than we are. When we surrender to an apparent opposite, a profound union occurs in which transcendence is experienced. Think of a time you were arguing with someone then you suddenly surrendered together, both of you accepting each others' point of view...a shift in experience occurs, love is experienced. (This is not the same as one submitting to the other's point of view, but rather both people are surrendering to each other and thus accepting a higher truth beyond duality).
Therefore, it is helpful to understand that you have a unique dharma, and that whether you open more in the masculine style or the feminine style can help you to choose your path. Some people open equally in both, and thus can create a balanced path. As mentioned before, this is not a set of rules, but guidelines. Guidelines to help guide you to the most effective path. And what is the path for? To overcome the sense of separation (from other people, from your body, but ultimately from God/Spirit) and to create a recognition of Union or Oneness.
Tantra gives us opportunities to find the path that most resonates with our own unique dharmic way, and to find transcendence through that path. It is not merely about finding a women's group to dance and sing and eat sumptuous fruits with, but to then ask: how do we relate to the masculine from here? Both the external masculine, and our own inner masculine. How does all of this energy meet pure Consciousness? How does the sound meet the silence? How does the dance meet the stillness? And how can they surrender together into the beyond....