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

Verse 149: Śabara cautions that a lover is not always a liberator, but can sometimes limit and
disempower you. You must be Dharmically skillful with your consort in order to benefit.
Verse 150: “Aho” means amazing, awesome, and wonderful beyond imagination.
This verse expresses the fierce loyalty the siddhas have for the Mahāyāna. Śabara clearly
recognizes Tantra as a movement within the Mahāyāna rather than apart from it, even though the
siddhas reject many orthodox Mahāyāna ideas found in the sūtras.
The last phrase literally reads “they utilize and enjoy makara-bannered god of desire.” This is
Kāma, the Vedic god of love. A makara is a mythical creature composed of several animal body
parts, including a fish tail and a mouth like a crocodile. Kāma’s banner holds an image of a
makara, representing the power of emotions and sexuality associated with the water element.
Verse 151: “Having attained the one taste” is the one taste (eka rasa) of nirvāṇa. Once you attain
the ability to see all things as pure uncreated bliss, you will experience even illnesses as the
perfect play of divine wisdom. This is called the Wisdom of Equality (Samatā Jñāna).
“Bringing Innate Bliss” (Sahaja Ānanda) means that a skilfull consort bestows not only the
unchanging bliss of ultimate reality, but also the erotic delights of worldly bliss, which together
comprise Innate Bliss, a term for the Great Bliss.
Colophon – Abhilikhita
The Guhya Samaya Tantra (The Secret Vow Tantra) and the Mahā Yoginī Jāla Tantra (The
Great Yoginī Assembly Tantra) - Śabara is tying the traditions and practices of these two Tantras
to this sādhana. Since these texts are not presently available in English translation, the Hevajra
Tantra and Cakrasamvara Tantra were relied upon to elucidate the sādhana.
Accomplished Teacher (Siddha Ācārya) – Śabara gives his title as a spiritually accomplished
master. But as he stated at the beginning, he does not yet consider himself fully enlightened.
Śabarapāda – Pāda (lit. Feet) is a suffix added to names as a mark of respect.
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