In this short solo episode, we take a look at some of the common misconceptions related to the modern use of the word of ‘tantra' and explore how the teachings of Classical Tantra differ from the popularized neo-tantra or Western sexual tantra. I then offer a precise definition of nondual Shaiva Tantra, going on to discuss how classical Tantra contrasts with other forms of yoga, and how much it overlaps with Tibetan Buddhism.

Discover a treasure trove of guided meditations, teachings, and courses at tantrailluminated.org.

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Today’s episode is a conversation, and I’m speaking with the renowned teacher Rupert Spira. Rupert has been a spiritual practitioner since the age of 15. He began with Advaita Vedānta, as well as Sufi teachings, but the pivotal turning point in his spiritual life was meeting Francis Lucille, who introduced him to the Direct Path teachings of Ātmānanda Krishna Menon and the teachings of Tantric Shaivism, which Francis had received from his teacher, Jean Klein. Rupert is the author of You Are the Happiness You Seek and many other short books. He lives in Oxford, where I was fortunate to meet with him face to face, although the conversation you’ll hear today was recorded remotely. Rupert holds regular meetings in the UK, US and Italy, as well as online webinars and Retreats at Home. I personally find his long-form guided meditations to be amongst the most powerful and well-crafted guided meditations available anywhere, especially those in his audio download called Transparent Body, Luminous World, which is inspired (in part) by the Vijñāna-bhairava-tantra. 

(During the recording of this episode we experienced some audio issues. Kindly bear with us as we learn the art of podcasting. We’ve already made significant improvements for subsequent episodes.)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.