The Bite Magazine - Autmn/Winter 2020 - Issue 28

biteexhibition script, it requires guidance from a teacher or guru and once carried out successfully, it is said worldly, and supernatural powers from long life to flight, as well as spiritual transforma- tion, are granted. Many of the texts contain rituals that transgress existing social and religious conventions. There are two paths: the left-hand attainment called Vamachara interprets them literally, and the right-hand attainment called Dakshinachara interprets them symbolically. The first path promises greater power while the second ensures philosophic mainstream of acceptance. The texts also include mantras that play a fundamental role as ‘power words’ in the Tantric practice that are passed from guru to disciple. Yogini is a female master practitioner of yoga, as well as a for- mal term of respect for female Hindu or Buddhist spiritual teachers in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Greater Tibet. The Yogini Hridaya (Heart of the Yogini) Tan- tra outlines a ritual for internalising the power of the Hin- du goddess Tripurasundari by pronouncing mantras while touching different parts of the body. By visualising the essence of each Sanskrit syllable, a practitioner can adopt the cosmic form of the goddess. The Yogini With Two Disciples painting from Mahul, north- ern India around 1750 shows a yogini sitting on a tiger skin outside her hut, holding ‘eyes of Shiva’ (rudraksha) beads and a linga beside her - a phallic symbol of the god. Her skin is blue from being covered in ashes, and she has matted hair. Two women seeking guidance make an offering of flowers to her. The images of birds, deers, lions, palaces, and courtiers on the border of the painting represent the spiritual and secular worlds of the yogini and disciples. Sexual rites for achieving enlightenment through the Bud- dhist deity Vajramrita (Nectar of Thunderbolt) can be in- terpreted both literally and symbolically. When carried out literally, a couple assumes the role of gods in sexual union, with the woman often being the focus of worship. When it’s symbolic, the practitioner visualises this union within their own body, with the deities expressing qualities such as wis- dom and compassion. British-born American artist, Penny Slinger’s work is an ex- pression of female sexuality through Tantric lens, informed by the feminist activism of the period. Her 1976 painting Chakra Woman sees an impression of the artist sticking her tongue out in imitation of the goddess Kali, harnessing her unre- strained power. Slinger was influenced by Tantra’s emphasis on Shakti (cosmic energy) as feminine power-infused all phe- nomena, which can be tapped into as an agent of bodily and psychological transformation. The Vajramrita Tantra also challenges orthodox Hindu and Buddhist distinctions between purity and impurity by teach- ing that everything is sacred. By engaging with ‘polluted’ sub- stances such as human remains, or in this text sexual fluids, a practitioner can overcome obstacles to enlightenment such as disgust, fear, and desire by confronting it rather than repress- ing it. Transgression is often at the heart of Tantra because it offers a powerful force for transformation. British Museum - Tantra Exhibition - Tantrikas in Coitus - Nepal - 18th-19th Century