Maithuna is the ritual embracing unconditional emotional,
mental, physical and spiritual union through lingam, yoni and
heart
Maithuna is a word that symbolizes 'The Great Union' of all
polarity! It is when we are willing to go beyond the differences,
Maithuna is a Sanskrit term used in Tantra most often translated
as sexual union in a ritual context. It is the most important
of the five makara and constitutes the main part of the Grand
Ritual of Tantra variously known as Panchamakara, Panchatattva,
and Tattva Chakra.
Although some writers, sects and schools[attribution needed]
consider this to be a purely mental and symbolical act, a look
at different variations (and translations) of the word maithuna
clearly shows that it refers to male-female couples and their
union in the physical, sexual sense and is synonymous with
kriya nishpatti (mature cleansing)
Yab-yum (Tibetan for "father-mother") is a symbol
in the Buddhist art of India, Bhutan, Nepal, and Tibet representing
the male deity in sexual union with his female consort. Often
the male deity is sitting in lotus position while his consort
is sitting in his lap.
The symbolism of union and sexual polarity is a central teaching
Tantric Buddhism, especially in Tibet. The union is realised
by the practitioner as a mystical experience within one's own
body.
Yab-yum is generally understood to represent the primordial
(or mystical) union of wisdom and compassion. The masculine
form is passive, representing the compassion and skillful means
(upaya) that have to be developed in order to reach enlightenment.
The feminine form is active and represents wisdom (prajna),
which is also necessary to enlightenment. United, the figures
symbolize the union necessary to overcome the veils of Maya,
the false duality of object and subject.
SACRED MAITHUNA
Contemplative Sexuality
According To The Tantric And Taoist Rites.
By Gregorian Bivolaru
MAITHUNA is the central axis around which most of the TANTRA
YOGA metaphysics turns and it is a frequent topic in religious
hindu sculpture and art. Missionaries, people from the occident
and even hindu men influenced by the occidental culture regard
these works of art to be pornographic and claim that sexual
YOGA is a perverted and degraded form of oriental spirituality.
But scholars with high qualifications (such as WOODROOFE,
DASGUPTA, COOMARASWAMI, ELIADE and others) established the
irrefutable truth that these images are not pornographic at
all, but represent in a symbolical way a metaphysical doctrine
and a sacred act. MAITHUNA has therefore nothing in common
with sexual orgies. It symbolises the eternal union of Spirit
and Nature and epitomizes the fulfilment of the contemplative
love or the spiritualized sexuality.
The dominant idea of the MAITHUNA rite and of its TAOIST equivalent
is that sexual love can become a profound meditative worship
in which the participants become living embodiments of the
Divine.
MAITHUNA implies also a transmutation of the sexual energy
that is generated, i.e. a trasnformation of its attributes.
Nothing is done for generating the sexual energy: it just manifests
by itself, without intrusion or compulsion.
It is well known that TANTRA YOGA uses a complex symbolism
of the subtle human anatomy. The spinal column represents the
axis of life, having its roots in the Underworld and its branches
in Heaven. The base of the spinal tree is the site of The Serpent
Power, the symbolic image of the divine power (vitality) manifested
in Nature and sleeping under the spell of MAYA. Sexual YOGA
consist of the awakening of the Serpent and of its controlled
ascent from the roots of the spinal tree to the branches. This
process defines the spiritual enlightenment and the final liberation
of the human Self.
When the Serpent stays at the base of the spinal tree, it
manifests as sexual energy; when moving upward, it is called
KUNDALINI; when at the top of the tree, it manifests as spirit.
During the MAITHUNA rite, the Serpent is awakened and raised,
being eventually directed toward the contemplation of the Divine
embodied in woman and man.
The two partners sit facing
each other, the man in full lotus posture (padmasana), the
woman sitting in his lap and wrapping
her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck in a
state of ecstatic surrender. The Tibetan name of this position
is YAB-YUM, which means "the Mother-Father". This
posture is obviously static: the couple remains motionless
and prolongs the embrace so that the energetic exchange is
passive and receptive rather than active and demanding. Nothing
special is done to arouse the sexual energy: it is permitted
to follow its natural flow, without being seized and exploited
by the will. However, the mind and the senses are not permitted
to jump randomly, but are consciously yet effortlessly directed
toward experiencing "that which is" (the immediacy
of the present experience).
Both TANTRIC and TAOIST traditions emphasize the necessity
for both partners to control and refine the sexual energy (orgasm
without ejaculation) and to remain in an undemanding state
of mind, not using the discriminating reason but relying on
the combined forces of the body, the soul and the spirit as
a whole.
For us the importance of these ideas reside less in technical
details and more in their psychological value. These ideas
represent a highly evolved attitude toward relationship, sexuality
and life. If these ideas would be assimilated by the modern
civilisation and put to work, they would contribute unexpectedly
to clarify our confusions related to marriage and sexuality.
The effect of the sexual contemplation is the delay of the
orgasm
The profound meaning of the sexual YOGA cannot be understood
unless we understand the basic principles of TANTRA and TAOISM.
The TAOIST doctrine is
based upon the idea of non-interference (WU-WEI) with TAO
(the flow of Nature). It is "man-in-profound-and-conscious-relationship-with-his-environment".
This vision opens the senses and thus reveals the contemplative
side of the sexual experience. This is called dhyana in TANTRA.
Both TANTRIC YOGA and TAOIST YOGA stress the importance of
controlling the breathing, because the rhythm of breathing
determines the expansion of perception. The crucial importance
of breathing is one of the important keys for understanding
this approach.
The perfect control of
breathing (pranayama) is attained when its rhythm is spontaneously
stopped without resulting in the
dissappearance of life. This is done by letting the breath
flow in and out freely, without any interference, but with
a keen and continuous awareness of the process. The breath
starts to slow down to such a degree that the movements of
inhalation and exhalation are almost imperceptible: the breathing
seems to be imobilized. The way we breathe defines the way
we experience and live our lifes. This imperceptible, immobile
breathing defines a non-capturing attitude towards life (WU-WEI),
a detached non-action in the sense this term is defined in
Bhagavat Gita: action with no ego-involvement. The imobilisation
of breathing leads to the dissapearance of the mind-patterns
(VRTTI-S), which leads to the imobilisation of the orgasm.
Yet the meaningful idea both for breathing and for orgasm is
not "imobilisation", but "not being aware of" (in
the sense of being totally effortless). Just as the contemplation
of breathing slows it down almost to immobility, the contemplation
of lovemaking slows it down up to suspending it into an endless
orgasm.
The slowing down of the
body processes have no value in themselves: they are just
the outer sign of the disappearance of "ego",
the ego, which forces and pushes the pleasure instead of letting
it take its natural course. The orgasm is spontaneous when
it happens by itself, in its time, and when the body movement
is dictated by a need to "respond" rather than to "demand." The
active sexual intercourse is just an imperfect imitation of
what should happen by itself in an attitude of non-interference.
From the contemplation point of view the sexual love is a
revelation. Long before orgasm, the sexual upsurge manifests
as a psychic exchange of warm love that radiates between the
partners. This warmth is so powerful that they feel as if they
would ecstatically melt into each other. Thus, the sexual appetite
transforms itself into the most tender and respectful love
that can be imagined.
In our civilisation, sexuality is way below its potential
The contemplative sexuality
makes it possible to spontaneously perceive our relationship
with the Universe. The actual "technique" of
lovemaking is not primarily important, because here there is
no result to attain. In this approach, man and woman are spontaneously
on the path of self-discovery, without judging or expecting
anything in advance, but living passionately that which exists
in the moment. In our era of high speed, the only technical
request is to have enough time, or, better to say, to take
enough time. By this, is not only meant the time that is measured
in seconds, hours, days, etc., but chiefly a psychic attribute
(which could be called a degree of excellence) that allows
events to happen in their own time, an inner rhythm that defines
a no-hurry attitude. This is a fundamentally essential attitude
without which spirituality is impossible.
The usual approach to sexuality is a hurried, forced event,
in which woman's orgasm is relatively rare and man's ejaculation
is speeded up by premature movements. The TANTRIC and TAOIST
modality of non-interference or no-ego-involvement allows an
endless exchange of love and delays the male ejaculation to
the point of dissapearance. This approach is much easier for
women, due to their basically passive, receptive nature. But
once man gets used to this spiritual approach of sexuality,
he can prolong the lovemaking indefinitely in time, offering
to his woman the greatest possible degree of satisfaction and
fulfillment together with a very quick and profound path of
self-discovery and enlightenment.
One of the first steps of the contemplative sexuality is the
discovery of the profoundity and pleasure of the most simple
contacts, which are generaly considered either as having little
to do with the sexual act or as being preliminary to it. It
is, for example, discovering the beauty of seeing your loved
one, of touching him or her, of listening to his or her voice.
There is one condition though: do not expect these contacts
to lead to anything, do not force them to lead to anything
but let them follow their natural course and stay in a state
of detached expectancy.
Thus received, the outer and the inner world become charged
with an incredible intensity of life, and we perceive ourselves
as containing, to a certain degree, the outer reality reflected
in our inner world.
Psychic lovemaking implies the careful discovery of your loved
one
The idea of contemplative sexuality is found in Japan in the
tea ceremony. This ceremony, which has its roots in the practice
of ZEN, asociates the metaphysical ecstasy with the social
fact of drinking tea with a few good friends. During the tea
ceremony, the most important activity is the continuous act
of contemplation - all the rest being secondary from the very
beginning and somehow unimportant. If this fact is not understood,
the tea ceremony risks to become a refined snobbishness without
any spiritual significance, just as the contemplative lovemaking
without the understanding of the doctrine of non-interference
may become a refined art of prolonging the sexual act and enhancing
the pleasure, but without much spiritual value.
It is a pity that the majority of those who start the practice
of TANTRA (and even many of those who consider themselves advanced)
think of it as a skill which will be attained by practicing
certain techniques. There is nothing to attain! There is no
effort, no goal, no path. The only thing that might require
some effort is to give up, to unlearn our prejudices about
sexuality. After this has been done, TANTRA is what remains.
Thought exchange as 'true talk'
This form of communication
means to be able to express your thoughts exactly the way
they are. To be free from hypocrisy
and not to need a "beautiful", "good" or "conventional" form
in order to express your thoughts. This 'true talk' is the
real treasure of a genuine TANTRIC relationship, and this treasure
is extremely difficult to find.
The difficulty lies in the fact that the 'education' we receive
teaches us so efficiently to disguise our thoughts under a
conventional form that this process ends up by being a second
nature. The 'true talk' has nothing to do with hurting your
partner with frankness, which is a selfish and rude attitude
just like the agressive approach of sexuality.
The 'true talk' necessarily implies the conscious acceptance
and deep understanding of your partner, based on a long process
of self-discovery. The 'true talk' can be attained only by
spiritually mature beings with a profound sense of humor. This
communication can happen even without words and definitely
delineate the most important achievement of a spiritually erotic
relationship. Revealing without any mediation the free flow
of thoughts, the 'true talk' reveals a level of relationship
much more intimate than the nakedness of the bodies.
It is significant that human beings which help us to express
ourselves freely are those beings which make us feel fulfilled,
because with these beings we do not need the ego in order to
feel secure.
In contemplative sexuality we cannot speak of 'sexual act'
The term 'sexual act' in its usual sense is not proper for
it defines a limited area of experience and we have seen from
above that in contemplative sexuality this area encompasses
the whole Universe. Moreover, the term 'act' implies an active
involvement, whereas in contemplative sexuality the whole point
is to engage in an inactive, no-goal-oriented event. When the
proximity between the two lovers is such that their sexual
organs touch each other, it is enough for them to relax and
stay motionless, and at some point in time the penis will be
absorbed rather than thrusted into the vagina. By doing nothing
to unleash anything, the two lovers intertwine themselves with
the process (stay with the act). The feeling of identity between
them intensifies; moreover, a new relational being is born.
Because of this new entity, the two lovers transcend their
limitations and are carried by a wave of bliss which is neither
'mine' nor 'yours' and not even 'ours': it is cosmical, impersonal,
limitless.
The permanent obsession to reach ejaculatory orgasm poisons
the sexual love. The permanent obsession to reach cosmic bliss
poisons the contemplative sexuality. If the couple is free
from any concern regarding the attainment or non-attainment
of orgasm or cosmic bliss, any love play is possible, even
the most active one. By this it is not meant using certain
techniques, but responding spontaneously to the moment.
Thus experienced, sexuality reveals the intrinsic unity of
physical and spiritual. It would be ridiculous to ascribe a
certain duration to the contemplative sexuality. Its atemporal
atribute is a result of the total absence of any intention
or hurry. The final bliss comes in its time, because it is
DIVINE GRACE, not human work. The essential thing here is a
total abandonment, which starts the process of re-unification
with the Divine. We come now to the true sense of the word
RELIGION: RE-LIGERE, i.e., re-unification, re-link. What the
two partners feel for each other can be very well defined by
the term 'religious adoration'. The fulfillment of the sexual
love in a state of humbleness leads to transfiguration: then
the everyday world reveals itself as being identical with the
spiritual world.
Maithuna instructional Videos
The images that you see are all actual footage of teachers
with their students. There is nothing fake nor 'acted' in these
situations, no enhancements through any medium ( sound or lighting
etc)
They are specific instructional situations, designed to encourage
and affirm that certain actions are attainable.They are not
a commercial activity (as many tantra sites use). We have attempted
to be as unobtrusive as possible keeping in mind both the participants
focus and the objects of both the session and the video.
We hope that you appreciate the spirit that this was presented
with and join with us in offering our thanks to those who particapated...
If you have genuine amateur footage and would like to put
it on the tantra site, we will edit out faces names etc if
required :) email us amateur footage
