Introduction To Tantric Music
Tantrism And Polarity
One of the main principles in the philosophy of Tantra is polarity which states that the universe consists of Shiva and Shakti. Shiva is the masculine principle (Yang) and Shakti is the feminine principle (Yin).
The masculine principle (yang) is beyond the material world. It is spirit and essence. It represents the world of ideas and concepts. It is the yet to be manifested, the Word. Shakti (Yin) is the world, the universe, the material. It can be seen and touched. It is life itself.
Shiva without Shakti is but a corpse, concepts with no “body”, no “life”. Shakti without Shiva is chaos and destruction. It is the universe with no master plan and no essence to keep it together.
Their dance together creates the universe as we know it. Creating it, upholding it and eventually destroying it.
The polarity of Shiva and Shakti exists on all levels of the universe. On the large cosmic scale as huge galaxies (Shakti) revolving around black holes which are singularities (Shiva) around which the galaxies dances.
The dance between Shiva and Shakti can be seen in the couple relationship and even in our own beings as the interplay between our awareness and our bodies.
Shiva is consciousness and Shakti is energy. Shiva is the mirror in which Shakti can see herself.
The Law Of Resonance
Another fundamental tantric teaching is the law of Resonance. As we stated above, the whole visible universe is Shakti, who is vibrating pulsating energy split up in an infinite range of frequencies.
Resonance states that energy which pulsates with the same wave length will attract other energies vibrating with the same frequency (the law of attraction).
An energetic system which vibrates with a certain frequency will automatically start transferring information from another system vibrating in the same frequency.
E.g. if you are happy you will transfer data from other systems which have “happy energy”. You will transfer data from all the people that ever were happy and transmitted happy energy into the universe.
A specific resonance of happiness can be transferred through different media. Music can give you that specific state of happiness, or a certain colour could do the same thing.
If you listen to heavy metal for example you will join the network of all the people who listened to heavy metal and transferred their emotions into that network. You should be careful which resonances you associate with as you are transferring all the data into your being as the people that have associated with that resonance. In this case you might wind up becoming very angry and disharmonious.
Some say that you have to expose yourself to negative energies to become stronger. This may be true but only if you have the consciousness (Shiva) to go through it with awareness. Otherwise you will be overwhelmed and it will do you no good.
You should rather put your attention on the good beneficial energies!
The world of Tantra
Tantrics study and worship Shakti in order to get to the Shiva (essence) behind the Shakti. In their studies they have categorized the world into a large family of Gods and Goddesses. Each deity has a specific vibration or resonance and represents a certain aspect of the universe.
As an example of a range of energies in the same frequency we can mention the concept of compassion. This concept is embodied in the Goddess Tara in the tantric tradition. In our modern western civilisation we do no longer understand the need to represent such a concept with a Goddess.
But deifying an energy has an important function: It enables us to identify easier with the energy as it gains a human face. It is easier to digest and to take in.
Through the process of identification we gain a kind of empathy with the object and start to experience the world through “the eyes of the object”.
Each Goddess has a bija mantra associated with it which has the core vibration of that range of energies associated with the Goddess.
A mantra is a sound which can be repeated internally by the meditator in his worship of the Goddess and is the closest physical representation we have to the bija of the Goddess.
The word Tantra in fact means “Network” as the universe consists of a huge range of energies interconnected to each other. Tantra offers us the opportunity of going into resonance processes with all these energies through its pantheon of Gods and Goddesses and their associated Mantras.
In this way we can identify with any aspect of the universe through mantras and resonance.
Tantra and Music
One of the most powerful mediums of conveying resonance is music.
The artist who enters into a specific resonance composes his music in that resonance and the listener who has the resonance awakened in himself will easily identify with that music.
Music can be created for any idea, concept or Goddess. The composer has to enter into resonance with the object to convey it through music.
In this way the artist can be a priest, a person who through his spiritual practice vibrates with the Bija and who can convey it to other people through the music.
Related posts: