Blog written 4-25-9

Becoming Whole, Uniting Male & Female ONEness Within (ie Tantra)

What do people want today? Sex? More materialism? Distractions? Displaced priorities? an hour glass full of meaningless sand until they reach the “Cave of Graves” ? Tell me if you can breathe around so much clutter, avid pollutants …  or is a breath of awareness too much to ask? 

With spring blossoms here in Europe and the Northern hemisphere, many renew realizations of love, or should we say, seek the truth of love. Well, like our name Shaman Strings suggests, we are more than a group singing ‘just another love song.’ In my mind, we exist to realize wholeness… complete awareness… even if this means inhaling pollutants from environments filled with distracting elements. As I wrote in my first printed book, “Get Free from the Chains of Pain,” we exist on Earth and whether we like it or not, people around us are a part of our “Self.”

The concept of a higher “Self” is ancient. That we are all existence (at least our very depths inside) stems from the Vedic: Tat Tvam Asi, “That Thou Art.”  We exist to realize Oneness with all existence. The ancient Vedas talk about the creation of existence from dividing/separating the body of the representative human, Purusha (the Higher ‘Self’ / the ‘Cosmic Man’). This concept is later used and then distorted within a Hindu Caste System; however, when seen with wholeness, we both connect to and are everyone and all existence.  Of course this spiritual concept (this spiritual truth), recognizes the unity of the male and female.

 I remember when a student, independently backpacking 6 months throughout India and trying to understanding Hinduism and religions on this continent. A small village called Badami had ancient carvings with religious imagery. Here I listened to a guide (someone else’s) talk about a male-female representation of Shiva. (See image below.) Of course in India, Shiva is usually worshipped as the Lingum, the symbol unifying the male and female. Whether with Shiva or Krishna or Buddhist Mandalas, Eastern Religions often embody the unity of male and female.

As soon as I returned from India, I choose to change my major at the University to Religious Studies. I then  took an advance graduate course on Hindu Tantra. At this time Tantra was practically absent from public consciousness. This was before writers watered-down spiritual principles to sell books.  Of course Tibetan Buddhism is Tantric, but how many proceed through initiation and then rigorous spiritual practices (ie for hours a day)?

Now for the point, Onenesss is inside. Each of us is responsible for Realizing Oneness. Alright, some big words, yet if you know a bit about the brain, we have two hemispheres. We continually engage in tantric like activities within almost all “connecting” processes of the brain. I could go more into detail, like how neuroscientists distinguish male and female ‘brains.’ They can actually manipulate the brain of rats to have them act like the physically opposite sex.  We are created to realize oneness. Every day, every breath prepares us for realizing the fullness of ONENESS.

All music is about ONENESS. In the words of Govinda (the Sitar/Strings of Shaman Strings), he says that music will heal the world. If this is to be true, music needs to be true to the moment, Realized in the moment of Creation. It is said that the Buddha refused have anything written. Clear awareness of the moment provides REALization. Let music get back to the roots of its existence. Like the Breath, let Shaman Strings exhale the power of Realization.

NOTE, the 2nd Shiva image was online and I cleaned it up in Photoshop. The other images are my photos and art (see 2scot.com for some galleries)

Image from my Digital Art at 2scot.com