How to Find a Spiritual Teacher

Mariana Caplan, author of When the Student Is Ready: The Perils and Rewards of Choosing a Spiritual Teacher, lists the criteria for a prospective spiritual teacher and the criteria for a prospective spiritual student.

Rarely does a week of my life go by, without someone writing to me either looking for a spiritual teacher, confused about a spiritual teacher, or upset by a deep disillusionment by their spiritual teacher. The question of the spiritual teacher is a perennial question that in many ways is so less real and relevant among seekers as it was 500 years ago. The difference is that the stage is different. Unlike the great Buddhist hero Milarepa who transversed the Indo-Tibetan subcontinent by foot and then built nine houses before his teacher would begin to instruct him, we can simply click on google and within minutes have access to almost every prominent spiritual teacher there is, living or dead, and likely even some type of cyber-transmission. Read more

Traits of a Good Tantra Teacher

What are the traits of a good Tantra teacher? Good Tantra teachers have many of the same traits as good teachers of any subject, but there is a specific body of knowledge that they must have, says Tantra Bensko.

What to Look for When Beginning Individual Lessons

If you are considering working individually with a Tantra Yoga teacher, I feel there are certain important aspects to look for. There are of course many schools of Tantra, and they
vary widely, including the Buddhist and Hindu forms and those such as Ipsalu which go back to the shamanic roots and have no claim to be either of those. As regards sexuality, they vary widely also, some advocating celibacy except for householders, some advocating only ritual sex, generally with a spouse, and only on rare and prescribed occasions. Other forms of Tantra are a little more lax with sexual allowances, but traditionally, sex is only to be for the sake of enlightenment. Some forms of Tantra have been used more vampirically, with sex being used to draw energy from the partner, leaving him or her drained. These days, much is made of sex and Tantra, and it has been mistakenly associated far more than it truly is. Sex is only a small part of Tantra Yoga, and in many schools of Tantra, such as Ananda Marga, it plays almost no part at all. Tantra is a practice of using the body in ways the ancient seers of India have found to have specific effects on the subtle anatomy. The subtle anatomy is paid more attention in Tantra than any other form of practice other than Taoism, but the Tantric anatomy is specifically working with the nadis, or astral pathways, specifically the sushumna, which may be the eventual path of the Kundalini for those few for whom it rises. It also deals with countless other nadis, especially the Ida and Pingala, which cross on either side of the sushumna, crossing at the chakras. The chakras are also a strong study specific to Tantra Yoga, and the means of awakening, cleansing, connecting, and developing them are a large part of the practice. A very specific kind of sex is one way of doing this, and having sex Tantrically allows these pathways and the chakras along them to be transformed and the energy moved upwards rather than outwards, and circulated, rather than lost. This fosters cosmic consciousness, being a tool of the Divine, experiencing communion with the Divine and feeling the oneness with bliss. Read more

First Experience of Tantra

One woman's first experience of Tantra shows that Tantra can break through even to someone who has panic attacks during an Indian head massage.

OMG...

First some background... I really cannot tolerate anybody in my personal space, in Feb while on holiday, I decided to go for my first indian head massage... I had a panic attack and it was a disaster. My therapist suggested that I find somebody I trust to do some body work with... so I did.

I investigated different techniques and ideologies and became quite interested in Tantric thinking. I made contact with a Tantra teacher, explained my position and had my first session this morning... Read more

Do You Need a Guru?

A reader from Florida asks Shambhavi at Living Tantra the following question: "Today, people who want to practice can get instruction in books and over the Internet. So many mantras can be found online that are supposedly secret. There are whole courses in Tantra given over the Internet or on CDs. Do you think that a person can make good progress without a teacher if he sincerely practices things learned in these ways?"

Shambhavi answers:

My Guru, Anandamayi Ma, taught that there are infinite paths to Self-realization. Anything is possible.

However, she also taught that there are slower and faster paths. Read more