The Disclosure of Being: A Study of Yogic and Tantric Methods of Enstasy

Man, from the very dawn of history, has never been at home in the world. He has continuously tried to search for such ways and means, both intellectual and practical, that would allow him to transcend the conditioned existence in which he finds himself in space-time bound universe. It has always been the burning desire in the heart of man to realise such a mode of life that transcends the tragic terror of finitude in terms of the realisation of abundance of life. It is this search for the everlasting blissful life that constitutes the story as well as history of human religious search for meaning. Both Yoga and Tantricism have their own eschatologies in terms of which transcendence of human finitude is endeavoured to be actualised. To achieve this soteriological goal, both the systems have discovered, in their own respective ways, such theoretical responses and practical methods by the application of which soteric goal can be appropriated. It is because of this feature that both may be said to be soteriological systems of thought and practice. This book attempts to study Yoga and Tantra from both historical and theoretical perspectives. An effort has been made to trace the historical roots of both Yoga and Tantra, and how, with the passage of time, each system developed in the context of prevailing situations. The analytical interpretation of some of the major themes that Yoga and Tantricism tackle in the context of suffering in the world greatly enhances the value of the work and will be of great interest to students of religion.