I am not sure what to say about the article on Tantra and Einstein (material science). As far as the attached page of Akhand Jyoti is concerned i find it too simplistic and over-generalized. Three glaring mistakes that strike at first glance are:
Putting Tantra and material science on the same pedestal. It is true that Tantra is Science, Yoga is Science, but it is many more things as well. Science is not the beginning and end of search for Reality. This way of equating them together belittles the great discovery of Yogis as well as of the material scientists. Tantra is occult science and takes into consideration not just the material creation but many other worlds. It is not Tantra but Sankhya (which is closest to material science) that talks about the padartha and chetna interacting to create the world. Also it is a mistake to put Shankaracharya, Buddha, Sri Aurobindo all in the same category of Tantrics, even if something of Tantra was there. Sri Aurobindo and Buddha did not at all give importance to karmkand. Most importantly Tantra is so much about the Divine Mother and to reduce it to the interaction between substance and consciousness is a total misrepresentation.
To write more will require a detailed article though I have some talks on the subject. If there is a specific question I would be happy to answer.
2) A page with underlined passage from the book Adhyatmikta by Rajarshi Nandy who claims to be an upsaka in Tantra marga and very much influenced by Sri Aurobindo’s writings. I find it, particularly the lines “so too in the case of a devata, they get their prana, akin to our food, by the concentration we direct towards them when we are engaged in their upasana” a little hypothetical.
What he is saying is the application of a subtle truth that when we think of someone or feel for him we enter into a subtle interchange of each other’s consciousness. This general principle is applied in both Vedic Yoga as well as the Tantra. By concentrating upon the Deity we give something of our consciousness and energy to the Deity who grows by it. In return the Deity gives something of its energy and consciousness to the worshipper. As a result the power and knowledge of the Deity grows in the worshipper. The more the worshipper turns to the Deity through concentration and likewise the Deity to the human, both grow into each other.
The question is how does it help the Deity. It is so because earthly matter contains within it all the other principles of creation plus the soul which being a portion of the Divine carries something of the touch of the Supreme that the world of the gods lacks. The interchange with the human makes the gods themselves more complete whereas the humans begin to grow in the greatness of the gods.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
Follow up questions:
Could you please explain my following doubt in detail? When all deities are themselves different aspects/energies of the divine mother, then how could they lack touch of the supreme mother?
Tantra in general is about the Shakti, the Power of the Divine Mother in different aspects. The Shakta Tantra, the Dashmahavidyas, the Devi Mahatmya are all about the Divine Mother. According to Tantra, it is the Divine Mother who is the Origin of all things including the Deva himself who is void of power without Her. She is the devatmashakti, the power of the gods.
When all deities are themselve different aspects/energies of the divine mother, then how could they lack touch of the supreme mother?
Because each deity is something or the other of the Divine Mother one can no doubt, through strong faith and intense aspiration approach Her through any form or name. But this is a long indirect route and it is quite likely that the bond forged with one deity may itself become a bondage to going further. This is not only because the human mind gets attached to a particular form and name but also because the deity develops an interchange with the devotee and hence doesn’t let go of him. That is the story of Sri Ramakrishna and Kali Ma when Totapuri wanted him to go further. Besides each form and name has a certain purpose, a particular force and function. That is why it has come into being. It is not easy to go past it for something greater and beyond. It has always been known that the gods too can come in the way of our progress if we try to go beyond and form a direct relation with the Supreme.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
