Abstract
Secrecy has long limited the possibility of gaining emic insight into the spiritual experiences of tantric practitioners. By sharing reflections obtained via semi-structured interviews, the present article examines how a contemporary community of Western Śākta practitioners not only interprets the functions of secrecy and the necessity of maintaining it, but re-defines it in a way that divorces it from the negative connotations that have commonly been ascribed to it. In light of the latter, this article also evaluates the scope of applicability that certain existing scholarly interpretations of secrecy in tantric traditions have in the context of present intercultural exchanges of such practices. Moreover, it identifies the conditions according to which this group of practitioners was willing to discuss practice-related experiences of both a challenging and transformative nature with non-initiates, including what motivated them to do so, and what benefits they expect might result from such bridge-building. In doing so, it demonstrates the negotiable boundaries of secrecy and the ground of possibility for dialogue, thereby providing an example of how future research on the spiritual experience and impact of tantric meditative practice may be further expanded and explored.
Highlights
The present article is intended to meet the significant need for more fieldwork on contemporary communities of tantric practitioners by addressing precisely that which has long obstructed the possibility of doing so, namely: secrecy
This study concerns itself with Śākta Tantrism, the meditative practices and rituals of which are centred on the worship of Śakti, the dynamic power that underlies and is expressed through all of creation and differentiation within the universe
Despite the fact that the esoteric identities and whereabouts of both Amazzone’s female guru of Śrıvidyā and her Kaula Śākta one remain concealed from the public, they insisted that Amazzone be a guiding light for yoginıs who may be in search of a more authentic, serious and dedicated practice than what most of the current Western buffet of commodified adaptations of Tantra has to offer
Summary
The present article is intended to meet the significant need for more fieldwork on contemporary communities of tantric practitioners by addressing precisely that which has long obstructed the possibility of doing so, namely: secrecy. Despite the fact that the esoteric identities and whereabouts of both Amazzone’s female guru of Śrıvidyā and her Kaula Śākta one (who is a male shaman from Kerala, India and who was born into a lineage devoted to Kālı) remain concealed from the public, they insisted that Amazzone be a guiding light for yoginıs who may be in search of a more authentic, serious and dedicated practice than what most of the current Western buffet of commodified adaptations of Tantra has to offer This instruction and permission to teach and form her own kula is not the same as being appointed a guru-successor; like most scholar-practitioners who “[. This will be followed by a discussion of what motivations led my participants to be interviewed and what benefits they expect might result from such a dialogue between scholars or non-initiates and practitioners
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