Meditate that in the
centre of the ocean of nectar there is a beautiful island. In the forest
of aeon trees there is a beautiful canopy made of nine jewels. There, on
a throne, on a triangular seat in the centre of a lotus is Lord Shiva,
decorated with sun and moon and Devi Ambika forming half of his body.
- Kularnava Tantra.The male aspect of
divinity takes a multitude of forms, whether it be as Vishnu, Mahadeva,
Surya the Sun, Krishna or Ganapati. In her/his form as Ardhanareshvara,
both are united. The detail from the Balinese painting on the left shows
Mahakala-Rahu swallowing the Moon goddess. (From the collection of
Lokanath Maharaj)
Guru.
The guru can be male or female, but she or he is the embodiment of
Shiva-Shakti on earth. Visit this page to read of the significance of
the teacher and translations from tantras relating to her or him.
Shri
Ganapati Deva. The elephant-headed god is the son of Shiva and
Shakti but has tantras and a tradition all of his own.
Shri
Mahadeva Shiva. Shiva is the witness, consciousness, vibration. He
is the spouse and co-equal of Shakti in all of her forms and the lord of
meditation. This page carries his daily puja or worship. Listen to the sound of Shiva's
damaru, the hourglass drum giving birth and destroying the rythms of
life. (190K .wav file) Here too, you can strive to understand Bhairava, with the
translation of chapter 10 of the influential Netra Tantra. Also
you can see the yantra of
Mrityunjaya, Shiva as Conqueror of Death, together with a
translation of the first chapter of his magical manual.
Shri
Krishna. Some tantrik texts identified the Vishnu avatar as the
goddess herself. Playing his flute, Lord Krishna dwells in the seventh
heaven of Goloka.
The
Navagrahas. The tradition considered each of its nine "planets" to
be deities. As forms of consciousness, and each having its own
proportion of bhutas (elements), they circle sacred Mount Meru. Here you
will find information about the Grahas as well as a ritual manual for
Shani (Saturn), sometimes identified with Mahakala.
