Saiddhantika Non - Saiddhantika Kaula, also known as Kula, Kulamārga ("the Kula path") and Kaulācāra ("the Kaula tradition"), is a Tantric tradition which is characterised by distinctive rituals and symbolism connected with the worship of Shakti and Shiva[1] that is associated with cremation-ground or charnel ground sceticism, found in Shaktism and Shaivism.
Kaula sects are noted for their extreme exponents who recommend the flouting of taboos and social mores as a means of liberation.
Here the parallel with Hinduism is evident because Hinduist deity Hatakeshvara with his consort rules in Vitala, the second realm of asuras in Patala.
There are six main types of sacrifice according to the "six supports"; external reality, the couple, the body, the central channel of the subtle breath (susumna), the mind and Shakti.
At a social level deconditioning is realized by detaching from traditional restrictions with regard to what is considered pure and impure and through the adoption of the spiritual family of the guru.
[20] Kaula's basic method is the experience of the freedom of consciousness[21] in the heart, ultimately reflected in the center of the being as Khechari Mudra.
The practices pertaining to consciousness are explained in such texts as Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra, Spanda Kārikās and Śiva Sūtras.
It is considered that Śiva, above any restriction or conditioning, creates the universe of his free will as a playful expression of his spirit (lila).
Here the kaulas are unlike Advaita and Veda, where there is the conception that maya (cosmic illusion) is superimposed upon the brahman (absolute), inducing a sort of illusory creation.
[23] This statement from the most revered sacred text of Kashmir Shaivism, the Śiva Sutras, summarizes the school's conception of the guru-disciple relationship.
[26] Aham, the heart or "subjective I", is a central concept in Kaula ideology, conceived of as the most sacred reality, home of consciousness (Cit) and bliss (Ananda), place of union of the cosmic couple Shiva and Shakti.
The Khechari Mudra is an attitude described as "the ability of consciousness to freely move (charati) about in the space (kha) of the heart".
The principal means employed in the Kaula practice are the spiritual family, the practice of initiation rituals, the couple (sexual rituals such as maithuna), the body (spiritual alchemy inside one's own body), the energy (shakti) (controlled especially through the use of mantras and mystical phonemes) and the consciousness (seen as the epitome of one's whole being and of the universe itself).
[30][31] The first phase of development is linked to the attainment of a state of non-duality described as an "absorption into the spiritual heart", nirvikalpa samadhi or experiencing the "uncreated light" of consciousness (prakāśa)[32] (read a number of subjective accounts of this experience).
Group practices, which are restricted to the members of a kaula (family),[33] include rituals, festivities, initiations and the secretive tantric sexual union.
Almost half of the Tantraloka is dedicated to rituals, usually evoking the union of complementary sets such as man and woman, a faculty and its object or inhalation and exhalation.
[39] The practice of ritual may involve the construction of a mandala,[40] visualization of a goddess or group of goddesses (Śakti),[40] recitation (japa), performed in a state of "rest inside the creative awareness" (camatkāra),[41] oblation into fire and its internalized version – the burning of the objects and means of knowledge into the "fire" of non-dual consciousness (parāmarśa).
A pure disciple will attain the supreme state even by simply staying for a short time in presence of a guru without any instruction, but less prepared ones need reinforcement and gradual accumulation.
The kaula adept will discover kaulika – the power (siddhi) of identification with the Universal Consciousness experienced in the physical body,[43] generated spontaneously, without any effort (formal meditation, postures – asana, concentration Dharana and other forms of exertion in yoga).
This form of extroverted, all-inclusive samādhi is the pinnacle of spiritual evolution, bhairavi mudra, jagadananda or bhava samadhi.
[49] The Kaula sacrifice is reserved for the few, the elite who can maintain a state of Bhairava (spiritual illumination) in sexual union.
[50] Other couples, even if they reproduce the ritual to the letter (as perceived from outside), if they do not attain Bhairava consciousness, are merely engaging in a sexual act.
"Initiation by the mouth of the yogini (yoginī-vaktra)", is a method by which the adept unites with a purified yoginī and receives the unique experience of the illuminated consciousness.
Santodita is described as universal bliss (cidānanda), undivided consciousness,[54] kaula (the group of two as one)[55] and an "outflow of the pulsation of Shiva and Shakti".
[26][51] The 50 phonemes (varṇa) of the Sanskrit alphabet are used as "seed" mantras denoting various aspects of consciousness (cit) and energy (śakti).
The group (kula) of Sanskrit phonemes form a complete description of reality, from the lowest ("earth") to the highest (Śiva consciousness) level.
This mystical state of culminates in the kaula of the body (perfection of the ensemble of organs, senses and mind) and such a being is known as a siddha (accomplished one).
[61] Shiva, under various names (anuttara - absolute, prakāśa - uncreated light, cit - supreme consciousness, Akula - beyond the groups of manifestation) and Shakti, under a similar plethora or names (Vimarsa - reflection in consciousness, Visarga - creative energy that emits the Universe, Kundalini - fundamental energy of the body, spanda - atemporal vibration, Kauliki - that which is "sprung" in Kula).
Consciousness is the ultimate principle, the monad of the universe, always present as substrate in every external object, be it gross (physical), subtle (mental) or subtlest (relating to the causal body or soul).
Shakti, as described in Kashmir Shaivism, does a paradoxical thing – she creates the universe, with all its diversity and at the same time remains identical to Shiva, the absolute transcendent.