The Bite Magazine - Autmn/Winter 2020 - Issue 28

biteexhibition An ‘untitled’ painting from the 1970s by Ghulam Rasool Santosh is inspired by the collection and writings of Tantric scholar Ajit Mookerjee. The scholar argued that ‘the idea that masculinity and femininity are two different factors is as illusory as the duality of body and soul.’ In this painting, you’ll see limbs emerge from an oval, egg-like shape to suggest a genderless figure seated in a cross-legged yoga pose called the lotus position (padmasana). The head is replaced by an orange trident, the emblem of Shiva. In consideration of the yogic body, in the Kalachakra (Wheel of Time) Tan- tra, all aspects of the body can be embraced and harnessed on the path to enlightenment. Through the practice of Tantric yoga, the body can be turned into a sacred instrument. Techniques include visualising a goddess within the body and an individual’s source of power. Around her is a network of channels and energy centres that combined make up the ‘yogic body’ de- scribed in this Tantra. Ten Yogis, a painting from Tamil Nadu, southern India, around 1820, demon- strates the performance of various postures and ascetic practices to empower the body and expand the mind. One levitates off the ground, a particular goal of Hatha yoga and pinches his nose to control his breath. Three others balance and hang upside down, which are the physical techniques designed to prolong life by preserving Amrita (nectar of immortality) in the skull to avoid it dripping down the body. Tantric ideas around gender inspired Indian-born British painter Ithell Colquhoun. She believed, ’the division into male and female’ had led to a col- lective ‘split in the psyche’. Influenced by the Hatha yogas goal of reconciling feminine and masculine principles within the body, her 1944 watercolour Mausoleum painting shows a skeletal figure inside a phallic chrysalis. The lines suggest the feminine and masculine channels of the yogic body, harmo- nised through the divine union of Shiva and Shakti. The origins of Tantra began with the Hindu god Shiva who delighted in de- fying social and religious boundaries. As deities in this culture appeared in many manifestations or forms, Shiva’s Tantric incarnation was the fearsome Bhairava. According to myth, this manifested deity beheaded the orthodox Hindu god Brahma who had insulted Shiva. Bhairava then wandered across cremation grounds as penance, using Brahma’s skull as an alms bowl, bring- ing tension between orthodox and Tantric Hindu traditions. A stone carving from Tamil Nadu, southern India during the Chola dynasty between 1000 and 1100 BCE shows Bhairava appearing naked with a wild shock of hair streaming out of his head like fire. His arched eyebrows, bul- bous eyes, and fangs reveal a controlled fury. A decaying flesh-feeding dog accompanies him. Commissioned by a member of the Chola court, it shows how fierce Tantric deities were brought into the public and popular arena of temple worship during medieval times. During the Pala dynasty, in eastern India, in 1100 BCE, Bhairava seemed to receive a taste of his medicine. At the exhibition, the Tantric Buddhist deity Chakrasamvara is shown holding a trident, skull-cup, and drum. His matted hair is piled up on top of his head, and he appears to snarl as he tramples Bhairava under his left foot. According to myth, Chakrasamvara took on the appearance of Bhairava to lure and defeat him by destroying his pride and converting him to Buddhism. After the successful transformation, Bhairava became Mahakala, a protector of Buddhist teachings. A painting created between 1000 and 1200 BCE shows the newly manifested deity wielding a sword and skull-cup, and wearing a garland of heads. He is revered by the Sakya order which commissioned this work. Most surviving early Tantric Buddhist images were produced in east- British Museum - Tantra Exhibition - Kali Cigarettes - advertisement published by the Calcutta Art Studio from Kolkata - 1885-95 British Museum - Tantra Exhibition - Tantric Lovers from Oz - NigelWaymouth and Michael English - 1968