Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India

encyclopedia

RELIGIONS

described above. Therefore, tribal people take special

care to see that such things do not fall into the hands of

enemies or are picked up by magicians. Virtually all tribal

people in India bury the umbilical cord and placenta inside

the house, especially under the hearth, which is the least

vulnerable spot in the house.

The question of the relationship of magic and religion is

the source of unending controversy. Suffice it to say here,

that inasmuch as both magic and religion are specialised

types of human behaviour directed towards the super-

natural, they obviously have much in common and in

practice generally are related.

Postmortem Existence

: Birth and death are inseparable

aspects of life for all human beings, including members of

the Primal Religious tradition. It is a commonly held belief

among tribal people that the spirits of the dead go to the

land of the dead,or as the Gonds call it, "the village of the

dead souls." Here life carries on as it was on earth;

therefore all the things that were needed in this life will be

needed in the next. At the time of burying the body it is

customary

include

all

the

necessary

weapons,

implements, pottery, clothing, etc. It is also believed that

whatever animals are killed for the dead person will be

with him/her in the land of the dead. All the persons killed

ESOTERIC CULTS

Tantricism

From the middle of the 5th century onwards the cult of feminine

divinities and the practice of magico-religious rites which were be-

lieved to lead to salvation or the acquisition of super human and

supernormal power became popular. Both among Hindus and Bud-

dhists all over India there were groups who practised strange, secret and

repulsive ceremonies which came to be called Tantricism after their

scriptures called Tantras.

The Tantric branch of Buddhism which emerged with its centre in

eastern India was called

Vajrayana,

the Vehicle of the Thunderbolt. Its

followers taught that salvation could be attained by acquiring magical

power which they called

Vajra

, thunderbolt or diamond. The

Vajray-

ana

Buddhist pantheon had female counterparts and these counterparts

were named

Taras

(Saviouresses). The cult is prevalent in Nepal and

Tibet.

Adepts who had learned the secrets of

Vajrayana

from a spiritual

preceptor

(guru)

would meet at night to perform their secret ceremo-

nies. Among the chief features of the ritual was the repetition of

mystical syllables and phrases

(mantras).

Yogic postures and medita-

tion were also practised. The Tantric groups also practised more

questionable methods of gaining salvation like ritual murder, sexual

promiscuity and incest in the belief that the breach of normal rules of

behaviour was permissible if committed in a ritual framework of

sanctity.

Tantric Hinduism believes that the non-dual Supreme Reality has

two aspects,

shiva

(male) and

shakti

(female). The non-duality of the

Absolute is to be realised in the human body which is believed to be a

microcosm of the universe by awakening Shakti, the female force also

called

Kundalini

which lies coiled serpent-like at the base of the spine,

and moving it through the spinal cord to unite it with the Shiva, the male

force which lies at the top of the head. This union brings about the

blissful realisation of supreme non-duality.

by a warrior during his life on earth will be his slaves in the

land of the dead. This is one of the religious elements in

the head-hunting practices among many,, tribes in

Northeast India. There are many legends about the living

forgetting to send all the necessary items with the

deceased and having to be reminded, in dreams, to

despatch the omitted items with another spirit.

There seems to be no idea of postmortem reward and

punishment. If a person was poor on earth he/she will be

poor in the land of the dead; if one was a hero in this life,

one will continue so in the next.

The cult of the ancestor is, obviously related to the belief

in individual postmortem existence. Since the spirit of the

deceased continues to exist, their needs will have to be

met by the living members and they have to be treated

with respect and honour. If this is not done, there is the

fear that the spirit will turn into a ghost and return to haunt

the members of the family, causing them to suffer in a

variety of ways. Then, again, if the ancestral spirit is

pleased with the way it is treated the living members will

be amply blessed. This can be vital, particularly at

critically difficult moments of a family's life.

(D.C.S)

AND DOCTRINES

The ceremonies of Hindu Tantricism were similar to Buddhist Tantri-

cism and involved the breaking of all the usual taboos of Hinduism.

Caste distinctions were not observed at the ceremonies. Sexual

intercourse was indulged in by some groups while other groups

performed the rites which were reprehensible to orthodoxy only sym-

bolically.

Anand Marg

Anand Marg

literally means "The Path of Bliss". The Anand Marg

ideology was propounded by P.R. Sarkar("Shri Shri Anandamurthy")

who was born in 1921. He founded the Anand Marg in Purulia District

in West Bengal.

In 1959 the Progressive Utilisation Theory (PROUT), the so-

cio-economic theory of the Anand Marg was propounded. It advo-

cates the integrated personality of the individual and the establish-

ment of a world fraternity through five principles :

No individual should be allowed to accumulate any physical

wealth without the clear permission or approval of the col

lective body.

There should be maximum utilisation and rational distribution

of all mundane, supramundane and spiritual potentialities of

the universe.

There should be maximum utilisation of physical, metaphysical

and spiritual potentialities of unit and collective bodies of

human society.

There should be a proper adjustment amongst these physical,

mundane, supramundane spiritual utilisations.

The method of utilisation should vary in accordance with

changes in time, space and person, and the utilisation should be

of progressive nature."

In 1975 the Anand Marg was banned by the Government of

Indira Gandhi. The ban was lifted in 1977 after the General Elec-

tions when the Janata Government came to power.