Experience three powerful tantric ritual practices that will serve as a doorway to understanding the inner essence of tantra vidya and its transforming power. This 3-part series is the most practice-driven, experiential course on tantra that Pandit Tigunait has ever offered. This series follows the traditional way of learning from a tantric master – through transmission and direct experience. Each part of this series starts with a unique puja (tantric ritualistic practice) which Pandit Tigunait will lead in complete compliance with the injunctions established by the Tradition.
Unlike standard methods of study where fundamental principles are taught to justify the outcome of the practice, in this program it’s the other way around. Here, the knowledge of tantra unfolds as we engage in the practices. Knowledge arising from practice is experiential, and requires no validation and no convincing.
Through these three tantric rituals we will experience how life itself is a grand ritual, how Mother Nature is the greatest tantric, how she herself invokes us as divinities, and how her invocation has resulted in what we are today.
Tantra means intricately woven tapestry, and vidya means complete body of knowledge. Tantra vidya, is a complete knowledge of the tapestry of life. In this tapestry, every strand is important and plays a critical role in ensuring that the tapestry as a whole fulfills the purpose for which it was created.
At a macro level, all of us are strands, which together constitute the tapestry of life. At the micro level, our body, breath, mind, thoughts, emotions, family atmosphere, social values, and spiritual aspirations together constitute our personal life. A complete understanding of our personal and collective existence ensures that we find the fulfillment which, from the moment of our birth, we have been seeking. This is tantra.
Tantra sadhana is a process as well as a state of lasting fulfillment. It is grounded in the experiential knowledge of the tantric masters. Tantric practices ensure that we awaken our full potential: our body, mind, and senses grow in their mutual support; and our emotions, sensory cravings, and intellectual creativity are guided and nourished by each other.
Tantric practices enable us to discover a unique place deep in our minds and hearts where both the child and mature person within us can play with each other; where masculine and feminine and all other identities in between can prosper with respect for each other; and where worldly ambitions and spiritual aspirations serve as the doorway to each other.
Tantra vidya guides us to see our bodies as living shrines and our hearts as altars. The practices available in this vast body of knowledge take us to the primordial pool of the healing force, which we can use to heal ourselves and the entire tapestry of life.
In this series, we waste no time talking about low-grade tantra and the clutter and confusion created by it. We directly dive into the lofty vision of tantra and tantric masters, and their traditions, techniques, and experiences. We focus on tantric rituals and sacred fire, and how these two together have been at the helms of yoga, meditation, and spirituality in cultures around the world. We take this course as an opportunity to further enhance our understanding of our body, mind, and nervous system, and use this understanding to discover the deeper dimensions of ourselves and enter the domain of kundalini shakti, chakras, yantras, mandalas, and mantras.
Tantra Sadhana – Part 1
Tantric Masters & Mystics
On Demand
Part 1 of Tantra Sadhana builds the foundation for the rest of the course. It begins with Sri Chakra Puja, the iconic tantric ritual that invokes the divinity of inner beauty and joy inherent in all of us and the natural world (this puja is only available for 14 days after live event to maintain the sanctity of the practice). Using Sri Chakra Puja as an entry point, we’ll survey tantric texts, and learn about masters who embody the tantric wisdom and how they have passed on their experiences to us. We’ll also trace the prevalence of tantric practices in different cultures, and how those practices have shaped the philosophical and spiritual values as those cultures continued evolving through the ages. Finally, we’ll focus on the unique approach to tantric practices in the Himalayan Tradition, and how we can benefit from this approach today.
Sessions and Schedule
* This live puja will only be available for online replay for 14 days after it goes live, to honor the integrity and sanctity of the ritual practice
Schedule
All times are listed in U.S. Eastern
Thursday, December 28
Friday, December 29
Saturday, December 30
Sunday, December 31
Monday, January 1
Tantra Sadhana – Part 2
Tantric Deities & The World of Mandalas & Chakras
April 22—May 23, 2024
Part 2 begins with Shakti Puja, one of the most revered among all tantric practices, that invokes the 360 divinities of Durga Saptashati. This practice opens the door to understanding tantra in all its forms and colors—a vast range of deities, mantras, yantras, and mandalas.
To some, these tantric essentials appear complex and confusing; to others, they are products of the tantric belief system. Still others consider them archetypes of a world hidden deep in our own minds. But for accomplished masters, they are as real as sensory objects are to us.
Through their advanced and prolonged practices, tantric masters penetrated a reality too subtle to be perceived by the senses. Upon reaching that reality, they were blessed with unique revelations. As these masters transmitted those revelations, the world of tantra—deities, mantras, mandalas, and chakras—emerged. These masters also delineated the techniques for how to receive these transmissions, enter the extrasensory world, and benefit from its extraordinary powers.
This part of the study is meant to help us see tantric deities, yantras, and mandalas through the eyes of tantric masters, and find our connection with them. This study eventually will open the floodgate of the knowledge and techniques required to enter the extrasensory world of the masters, so we may benefit from its extraordinary powers. This knowledge and these techniques are described in Yoga Sutra Vibhuti Pada, and are the core of Vishoka Meditation Level 2 (Meditation on the Lotus of the Heart).
We’ll study why to commit to a particular tantric practice, and why to avoid being distracted by others. Finally, we’ll focus on learning a unique practice (Shiva Sankalpa Sukta) that has direct bearing on our inner stability and personal empowerment, and reinvest the fruits of our practice to transform our inner and outer world.
On-Demand Sessions – releases on April 22, 2024
Live Online Sessions
All times are listed in U.S. Eastern
Thursday, May 16
Saturday, May 18
Tuesday, May 21
Thursday, May 23
* This live puja can optionally be attended in person. The recording will only be available for online replay for 14 days after it goes live, to honor the integrity and sanctity of the ritual practice
Tantra Sadhana – Part 3
Tantric Rituals & Sacred Fire
August 26—September 26, 2024
With part 3, we enter the heart of tantra sadhana—agni vidya, the science of sacred fire, and learn its critical role in tantric sadhana. This part of the program opens with Agni Puja, the most esoteric fire ritual as practiced in the Sri Vidya tradition of tantra. This practice facilitates our study and comprehension surrounding the mystery of sacred fire and the seven tongues of fire, seven levels of consciousness, seven chakras, seven oceans, seven continents, seven mountains, seven stars, seven Sages, and seven tiers of experiences.
This knowledge gives us access to enter even the world of forbidden tantra, for it guarantees that we have our conscience intact and our power of discernment fully active. This practice also unveils the secret of any and all paths of tantra be they kaula, mishra, or samaya.
Kaula is the ritualistic path with two branches, popularly known as left-hand tantra and right-hand tantra. Agni vidya, the science of sacred fire, enables us to realize why left-hand tantra emphasizes the utilization and transformation of sensory experiences, whereas right-hand tantra places emphasis on the utilization of material objects found in the natural world.
Samaya is purely yogic, and in this path, the body itself is the altar. The combined forces of the mind and breath officiate the practice. The experience of pure consciousness is the goal. The mishra school utilizes elements of both the ritualistic and the yogic paths, hence the term mishra, the mixture, or combination of the two. In this unit of our study, we’ll learn the dynamics of tantric rituals, the sacred nature of fire, the easily accessible aspect of tantric rituals, and the forbidden dimension of the rituals. Ultimately, our goal is to learn a method of rituals and the mantras associated with them which we can immediately apply in our daily life to bring about the healing and nourishment we need so urgently.
On-Demand Sessions – releases on August 26, 2024
Live Online Sessions
All times are listed in U.S. Eastern
Thursday, September 19
Saturday, September 21
Tuesday, September 24
Thursday, September 26
* This live puja can optionally be attended in person. The recording will only be available for online replay for 14 days after it goes live, to honor the integrity and sanctity of the ritual practice
How to Register
Step 1: Register for the 3-Part Series online
Parts 2 and 3 are only available as part of the 3-Part Series
Step 2: Book your accommodations.
Accommodation details will be sent in your confirmation email after registering online. Accommodations are priced in addition to online registration.
Tantra Sadhana – Tantric Masters & Mystics
A New Year’s Retreat
December 28, 2023—January 1, 2024
This New Year’s Retreat is part 1 of a 3-part series, Tantra Sadhana – Doorway to Power & Fulfillment. Register for the 3-part series to experience two additional tantric rituals.
The New Year’s Retreat is an occasion to celebrate what we just completed, and what we are about to embark on. It is a time to reflect, envision, and gather the tools and means to create a new destiny—one that is more constructive, enlightened, and fulfilling than the destiny we had been entertaining.
As a community, we take this auspicious occasion as an opportunity to further intensify the Institute’s premises with the transforming power of mantra shakti, and with profound honor and pleasure, invite you to immerse yourself in this potent energy field. We are fortunate to have both the knowledge and resources to organize Sri Chakra Puja, the most rewarding and spiritually uplifting tantric group practice.
In the fully consecrated space of the Sri Vidya shrine, and in the company of like-minded friends and seekers, participation in Sri Chakra Puja is a rare opportunity. Needless to say, ours is an anxious world. It specializes in making us run faster and more frantically. It affords no incentive for us to slow down, sit, relax, breathe, meet someone new, and reflect on something fresh. Sri Chakra Puja, and a rich study and practice evolving from it, has everything we need to succeed while living in our “American efficiency” culture.
Sri Chakra lies at the heart of the Himalayan Tradition. It is one of the most elaborate tantric practices. It has nine circuits. Each circuit consists of a cluster of shaktis representing nine layers of forces which govern, guide, and provide nourishment to the nine layers of our being. On one hand, Sri Chakra is a miniature representation of our individual self; on the other hand, it serves as a locus for the governing forces of the cosmos. Sri Chakra Puja invokes the benevolent forces of our microcosm and our macrocosm. This practice becomes even more potent when it is done in the space which is already consecrated and energized by group practices participated in by thousands of practitioners. With the Sri Vidya Shrine at the helm of the Himalayan Institute, we are lucky to have such a highly energized space.
We welcome you to this extraordinary retreat and the wonderful future it intends to draw.
Our New Year’s Retreat is offered in-person at the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, as well as digitally via our online education platform, HI Online. Attend in person for an immersive retreat experience. Explore all that our beautiful campus has to offer on our Retreat Center webpage.
Sessions and Schedule
* This live puja will only be available for online replay for 14 days after it goes live, to honor the integrity and sanctity of the ritual practice
Schedule
All times are listed in U.S. Eastern
Thursday, December 28
Friday, December 29
Saturday, December 30
Sunday, December 31
Monday, January 1
How to Register
Step 1: Register for the New Year’s program online.
This New Year’s retreat is part 1 of a 3-part series. Click here to learn about the 3-part series.
Step 2: Book your accommodations.
Accommodation details will be sent in your confirmation email after registering online. Accommodations are priced in addition to online registration.
About Panditji
Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD, is a modern-day master and living link in the unbroken Himalayan Tradition. He is the successor to Sri Swami Rama of the Himalayas, and the spiritual head of the Himalayan Institute. As the author of numerous books, including his autobiography Touched by Fire: The Ongoing Journey of a Spiritual Seeker, Pandit Tigunait offers practical guidance on applying yogic and tantric wisdom to modern life. For over 40 years he has touched innumerable lives around the world as a teacher, humanitarian, and visionary spiritual leader. You can view more of his teachings online in the library of Himalayan Institute Online.
Pandit Tigunait holds two doctorates: one in Sanskrit from the University of Allahabad in India, and another in Oriental Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. Family tradition gave Pandit Tigunait access to a vast range of spiritual wisdom preserved in both the written and oral traditions. Before meeting his master, Pandit Tigunait studied Sanskrit, the language of the ancient scriptures of India, as well as the languages of the Buddhist, Jaina, and Zorastrian traditions. In 1976, Swami Rama ordained Pandit Tigunait into the 5,000-year-old lineage of the Himalayan Masters.