- Vaishnava-Sahajiya
Vaishnava-Sahajiya is a form of tantric
Vaishnavism that originated inBengal from the 16th century. "Vaishnava-Sahajiya" is generally considered as a 'left-handed path' (Sanskrit: "vāmācāra") and 'heterodox' (Sanskrit: "nāstika") tovedic injunction, though followers claim that this is only a cosmetic understanding. The Vaishnava-Sahajiya sought religious experience through thefive senses which included human coupling and sexual love. "Sahaja " (Sanskrit: “easy” or “natural”) as a system of worship was prevalent in the Tantric traditions common to bothHinduism andBuddhism in Bengal as early as the 8th–9th centuries. "Sahaja" was evident in the teachings and poetry ofMahasiddha Saraha (c.8th century CE,Bengal ,Nalanda ).The tradition, used the romance between
Krishna andRadha as a metaphor for union with God, and sought to experience that union through its physical reenactment. It teaches that the ideal way to understand the union of humanity is to transcend the profane aspects of sexual intercourse and experience it as a divine act.The Vaisnava-Sahajiya coterie is a synthesis and complex of these various traditions. The Vaisnava-Sahajiyas due to their sexual tantric practices were perceived with marked disdain by other religious communities and operated in secrecy. In their literature they deliberately employed an encrypted and enigmatic style of substitutions and correspondences that has come to be known the
Twilight Language (Sanskrit: "saṃdhyā-bhāṣā "), iconic of all permutations of Tantra. Because of the necessity of privacy and secrecy, little is definitively known about their prevalence or practices. [Source: [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9074642/Vaisnava-Sahajiya] (accessed: Monday July 9, 2007)]The cult was centered in
Bengal . It began in full in the 16th century, although similar predecessors were in existence as early as the 8th century in the same city. The founder is generally thought to beBaru Chandidas , who lived in the 14th century. In order to avoid unwanted attention, the group spoke of its activities in a coded language.Members of this lineage enacted the 'group in a round'
Ganachakra (Sanskrit) or circle dance known commonly now as the Rasa-lila ofKrishna as amystery religion rite , wherein the participants, entered into the mystery of the divine rite, a rite ofcommunion ,trance possession and nondifference with deity.ee also
*
Charyapada
*Ganachakra
*Padmamakara
*Maithuna
*Mahasiddha
*Twilight Language Notes
Further reading
* Dimock, Edward C., Jr. "The Place of the Hidden Moon: Erotic Mysticism in the Vaisnava-Sahajiya cult of Bengal", University of Chicago Press, 1966.
External websites
* [http://tamil.berkeley.edu/Research/Articles/Twilight.html Writing at Twilight: "O' Shariputra, the sandhaa-bhashya of the Tathaagatas is very difficult." by Layne Little]
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