Tantrik Worship

“Woodroffe, the “secret” tantrika, tended to represent himself as an “impartial observer” of tantric but there is much evidence that Woodroffe and his wife had taken initiation (diksha) and were, at least to some degree, practitioners of tantra sadhana. Woodroffe was particularly associated with Sivacandra Vidyarnava, a Sakta tantrika who founded the Sarvamangala Sabha – an organization aimed at uniting Bengali Saktas, and to build bridges between Saktas and both the Bengali Vaishnava and Baul communities. Woodroffe (as Arthur Avalon) translated Sivacandra’s “Tantra-tattva” (Principles of Tantra) – a work which sought to defend Sakta Tantrism from the criticisms of Advaitins, Vaishnava sectarians, and reformers such as the Brahmo Samaj. Sivacandra argues in favour of ritual, the multiplicity of divine forms, and that siddhis and liberation are one and the same goals. We have therefore extracted the “worship” portions from this very famous work (Principles of Tantra) for specifically bringing to the readers this very important part of the tantric rituals and practices. Also the lack of any similar book in the English language was a persuasive factor in publishing this book. The Chapters include –
— Worship in General
— The Play of Gunas
— Outer Worship
— Ordinances Relating to Worship
— Ceremonial Worship