Description
Book SynopsisAccording to traditions going back to pre-Vedic times, Kali sprang from the third eye of the Goddess Durga as a destructive and terrifying manifestation of feminine power sent to lay waste to the forces of evil. Throughout India to this day, Kali is worshipped as the destroyer of bondage, capable of liberating her devotee from all rules and subjugation.
In
The Tantric Kali, Daniel Odier presents the mythology, practices, and rituals of Kali worship in the Tantric Kaula tradition within Kashmiri Shaivism. He reveals the practices of
Vamachara, commonly known as the Left-hand Path but more accurately translated as the Path of Shakti. In this tradition the body itself is Kali’s temple, and it is therefore unnecessary to reject or deny the body to know union with the divine. Instead, nothing is regarded as pure or impure and there is complete freedom from rules. Focused on working directly with forbidden emotions and behaviors, this path allows the seeker to transcend obstacles to liberation through sexual union. According to the Kaula Upanishad, “In your behavior do the opposite to what the norms dictate but remain in consciousness.” This is the essence of Tantra. Kali is absolute reality: manifested as woman intoxicated by desire, she frees the tantric practitioner from all desire except union with the divine.
Trade Review“
Tantric Kali provides depth as we are guided through mythology, ritual, visualization, and life teachings to have a direct experience of Shakti from the wisdom teachings of the Kaula path. Daniel offers another treasure from the heart of his realization—steeped in his lineage with translations of the oldest ritual to Kali--songs and hymns and truly transformative practices and meditations direct from the root. A full-spectrum offering, this is the birth of another Odier classic. Daniel is one of the extraordinary and skillful practitioner teacher-scholar-writers of our time.
Tantric Kali is juicy, liberating, radical, and exquisite and offers a unique compendium of tantric Kali sadhana accessible to all.” * Shiva Rea, yogini, founder of Samudra Global School for Living Yoga, and author of Tending the Heart *
Table of ContentsPreface
IntroductionKali and the Tantric Path
1 Kali's Origins and Symbolism
2 The Kaula Tradition
3 Preliminary Practices of the Kaula Tradition
4 The
Nirrutara Tantra Scripture That Is Superior to All Others
5 The Rituals of Kali and the Sacred Union
6 Advancing on the Kaula Path
Meditation on the Eight Chakras, the Yoginis’Ultimate Practice of the Heart, and the Devouring of Inner Demons
7 Hymns and Songs in Praise of Kali
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
