Tantric rituals are foundational for understanding Tantric philosophy. This means that anything we can establish from the complex philosophical texts we can also derive from manuals outlining Tantric rituals. Rather than only reading philosophical texts, I would begin with daily and occasional ritual practices in Tantras, where the notion of ritual objects crosses the boundary between the sacred and profane, and at the same time, also confronts the polar divide between subject and object. We can engage in some philosophical reflections on the basis of ritual practices that buttress the same claims. In my paper I first focus on ritual objects that are common to any Hindu ritual, revealing the additional Tantric meaning. Then, I will highlight some objects that are taboo in the common Hindu ritual world. Eventually, I address the ritual objects that are also subjects, sentient beings. And at this juncture, I shall return the gaze to pure objects that are given subjectivity. Finally, I conclude my paper by addressing objectified subjectivity and the elimination of bipolarity in the conversation on Tantric rituals.
The goal of nondual Tantra is to rise to the singular mode of being that transcends horizons of subjectivity and objectivity. Tantric rituals are designed to confirm this experience in the ritual paradigm. The first set of objects used in this process of ‘transformation of horizons’ is the use of five objects: fragrances, sweets, lamps, incense, and flowers. These objects correspond to the five elements: earth, water, fire, air, and sky. Tantras understand these objects in correlation with the five sensory faculties, interpreting the application of these objects as means to counter-program sensory faculties from their outward flow to the inner mode of awareness, given that the deity is within oneself, and is identified with the worshipping subject. The sensory flow inwards becomes a metaphor of returning to the essential nature of the self. These objects are brought back to the status of sensory faculties, and this is where things get tricky. For the nondual Shakta tantras, sensory faculties are also aspects of the deities, or the external expression of Kali. This transformation of simple ritual objects into sensory faculties that then relate to the central deity, while identifying the central deity with the self, allows the approach of nondual Tantras to dissolve the paradigm of subject and object.
In the Kaula Tantras, particularly of the origin of the Vāma śrotas, the scope of Tantric objects extends beyond what we find in the familiar Hindu world. In this paradigm, human bones and teeth, or the same of many other animals, the skin of humans or other animals, blood, including menstrual blood, and semen, appear as ritual objects. The arghya, the primary offering, itself stands as a metaphoric fluid generated through sexual union, and the very pātra or the cup for making the offering, becomes the placeholder for retaining the sexual fluid of ānanda bhairava and ānanda bhairavī. This aspect of Tantric ritual has been overtly romanticized as the subject of multiple readings. The only pertinent point here is, that the shift in this first set of objects are then linked with animate beings. Even though these are not live animate objects, the objects in this first set are body-parts of some animate entities. Real animation of these objects comes in the context of the arghya-pātra as the cup used for offerings which is not just an object, it receives worship, it has the deities installed, it sits on top of the rays of fire, and the cup itself represents the solar rays with the fluids standing for lunar rays. Meaning, the object is not just an object but in itself is a subject receiving worship.
Finally, the subject-objects, the deity-statues, are at the same time subject and object: even when objects, their objectivity is subsumed, as their subjectivity subsumes even the subjectivity of the worshipping subject. The sex-partners, in the context of ritualized sex, can be completely objectified. In the case of Kumārī worship or the virgin, again, the worshipped virgin is an object of worship, even if deified. The deity-statue and the virgin have their status completely reversed. In the first, an inanimate object is denied its objecthood whereas in the case of the latter, the subjectivity of the subject is completely denied.
In this conversation, I have tried to focus on only the present shifting paradigms of subjectivity and objectivity in Tantric rituals. I intend to develop the philosophical framework that addresses the issue of subjectivity and objectivity, or what amounts to being a subject and object from the Tantric perspective. For this, I will primarily explore the philosophy of Maheśvarānanda to address the shifting horizons of subjectivity and objectivity.
Tantric rituals are foundational for understanding Tantric philosophy. Anything we can establish from complex philosophical texts we can also derive from manuals outlining Tantric rituals. Rather than only reading philosophical texts, I begin with ritual practices in Tantras, where the notion of ritual objects crosses the boundary between the sacred and profane, and at the same time, also confronts the polar divide between subject and object, engaging in philosophical reflections on the basis of ritual practices that buttress the same claims. I first focus on ritual objects that are common to any Hindu ritual, revealing the additional Tantric meaning. Then, I highlight objects that are taboo in the common Hindu ritual world. I address the ritual objects that are also subjects, sentient beings, and return the gaze to pure objects that are given subjectivity. Finally, I address objectified subjectivity and the elimination of bipolarity in the conversation on Tantric rituals.