Great-Bliss-Tantric-Sex-and-the-Path-to-Inner-Awakening

“They regard each other as” – A reminder that the purpose of the practice is not simply to enjoy
the pleasures of sex, but to attain inner awakening.
Verse 29: The two practitioners cultivate and enjoy sensual foreplay while fully conscious of
and in union with nondual wisdom and bliss. Arousal, while enjoyable, is also a profound
practice.
“As long as their minds remain clear” - If the practitioners fall into lust, they should stop, clear
their minds for a minute through meditation, and start again.
Verse 30: The Bliss Position (Sukha Āsana) - He sits with his left leg in and his right leg out.
Between his legs, he make an intimate space for her to join with him - in a later verse (119)
Śabara calls this step “Divine Dwelling” (Dhāna). It is the emblematic position of the god
Padmanarteśvara. The male practitioner is to hold this pose throughout the sādhana, but he can
change it as he desires.
“With flowing hair” – The male practitioner is breaking the usual custom of keeping hair up, as
humans do, and taking on the appearance of a god. Hair let down is erotic in Indian culture.
Verse 31 and 32: As in verse 30 for the man, the woman usually wears her hair up in a hair topknot,
but for the practice she lets her hair flow down like a goddess.
“Squatting Position” (Utkaṭa Āsana – lit. extreme lotus posture) - The female practitioner takes
an erotic squatting posture, the emblematic pose of Vajravilāsinī. In pre-modern cultures before
the use of chairs, squatting was the most common way to sit and would be effortless for the
female practitioner. For modern practitioners, however, it can be difficult to hold for long
periods. She can hold this as long as comfortable, and then take a more comfortable seated pose.
The man guides the woman to hold the pose of the goddess. Her hands are held behind his neck
to support her and bring the two of them closer to each other.
Drawing the Maṇḍala – Maṇḍala Vidhi
Verse 33: Dharmodaya – lit. “The source of appearances,” means that her yoni is the source of
all things in the universe. The Dharmodaya is formed by the union of female and male essences
that creatively gives rise to all things, and the appearances that arise from it are real, pure, and
erotic. The Dharmodaya represents the principle of Evaṃ.
A maṇḍala drawn on a practitioner’s body is called a body maṇḍala (kāya maṇḍala), and strongly
establishes the presence of the deity in the space through the female practitioner.
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