Carriers of Popular Indian Culture
97
mysteries of the world exist in it. It is also the abode of the infinite and finite,
which are one and the same.
Woman has a high status among the Bauls as universal generative
energy (shakti) and she is at the center of all mysteries of the universe. She is
also an essential means for the liberation of the soul and victory over death.
Tantric practices are defined in terms of male and female principles and each is
present in men and women. The male principle is identified with semen located
in the highest mystical chakra23 (sahasrar) at the top of the head. The female
principle is located in the lowest mystical chakra (muladhar) in the form of a
sleeping coiled serpent (kundalini) and is manifested in the menstrual blood of a
woman during her periods. Sexual intercourse is essential for the union of the
male and female principles and the infinite and finite in the human body.
Accordingly, sexual instincts are not to be despised or controlled, but sexual
union along with breath control and yogic practices is the means for the
awakening of kundalini and bringing cosmic unity of the female and male
principles.
Tantric practices vary among the Bauls, but it is generally believed that
the Infinite (shiva or sahaj manns) is situated in the sahasrar chakra and, during
the menstrual period of a woman, feels an irresistible attraction to come down to
the muladhar chakra in the Triveni,24 meeting the earthly incarnation of shakti
there in the menstrual blood. It is there that it can then be separated from the
menstrual blood through the coital act, attracted to the male penis, and brought
back to the sahasrar chakra of the male. The sexual union along with breath
control and yogic practices awakens kundalini in the moladhar chakra, makes it
ascend the next five chakras, pierce the last sahasrar chakra, and become united
with the shiva or sahaj manus there. This is taken as the liberation of soul, and
ecstasy in orgasm without semen ejaculation is indicative of a successful
ceremony and of attaining the intended result.
In a typical tantric ceremony, the participating male and female are
bathed and purified through mantras and puja (worship). The woman’s body is
anointed and massaged with sweet-smelling oils from head to foot, a red bindti
(dot) is applied on her forehead as the third eye. and kundalini ascent is drawn in
red from her genital area to the point of the bindu. She is wrapped in purple,
violet, or red silk and is now taken as the representation of shakti herself. The
rites begin, and step-by-step five main ritual materials (wine, meat, fish, parched
rice, and sexual union) are applied seated on a kusha-grass platform which has
an animal skin or wool cloth spread on it. A human skull, yantras (instruments),
and mantras are also used during the rites. An oil lamp remains lit all the time.
Ideally the male and female sadhakas (seekers) reach the point of orgasmic
release without seminal ejaculation. The vital sexual fluids are then reabsorbed
into the body and are considered necessary for existence of the Infinite and
finite. The cremation and burial grounds are the sites for the rites, and
undertaking the rites needs lot of courage, dedication, training, and self-control.