Tibet or Kerala, cults are in the realm of mind and soul. I thought I would share with you an entry in the Lifco Tamil-Tamil-English Dictionary,second edition 1968, 17th reprint, 2007, under the entry paambuppadai, meaning army of snakes. The extract is from an article by Srimati Leela Gopalan in the Tamil magazine Kalaimagal of July 1967. The translation and parenthetic notings are mine.
'Mannarsaalai is situated about 10 miles from Ambalappuzha, Kerala. This pilgrim centre is known for its temple of Sarparaja. Surrounding the temple are trees whose twisted branches seem to envelop it like so many serpents. One can hear, now and then, the magudi strains (sound of the charmer's pipe) coming through the heavy, overpowering silence. In the dark sanctum, the Nagaraja deity, adorned with gold-plating can instil fear and devotion in us simultaneously. Having personally realized his Grace and power, Valiyamma, (temple ritual title, meaning, the elder lady) the temple priestess, resides in a kind of antahpura opposite the shrine, all by herself, never thinking of marriage throughout her life. Only women-devotees are permitted to have Darshan of Valiyamma.

In the Tamil month of Aippasi, (corresponding to the Malayalam month of Tula and roughly to mid Oct-mid Nov), on the day of the star Aslesha, literally lakhs of devotees gather here. Valiyamma (who can be seen by men-devotees only on that day every year)carries a full kumbha and walks to the shrine in dancing steps matching the strains of the magudi. From all sides, hundreds of snakes arrive on the scene and surround her. They follow her as she goes round the outer prakara and reaches Nagaraja's sanctum. She places the pot (humbha on the ground, taps her palms and calls out to them, 'kunhungale' (O children!). They leave her person, surround the large basin of milk payasa (kheer) kept in the shrine in an orderly way and drink from it. It is really a wondrous sight. You cannot see anywhere else a community/army of snakes like these entirely at peace in the presence of a large number of human beings.
Leela Gopalan, Rourkela-2.'

Warm regards. Partha.

Dear Shailesh

Thank you for the article.

Dear friends

I am walking in very late.

For some reason I was not able to get any comemnts through the last few days [ only comment titles got through ] and today, to my delight I find , my comments are getting through.

What Dwai says about the shock value is very true.

That was also one of the many methods our ancients practiced to reach the absolute [ and not just settle in paradise].

I agree with this statement of Partha

The typical Indian , who derives real Shanti when he/she contemplates the image of snake-reclining Vishnu, snake-outfitted Siva or Ma kali wearing skull garlands, should be comfortable also with the para-normal tantric rituals.

and what Karigar says about the view point of that Wendy's child.

They are trying to look at the East through their whitened, opaque glasses and it isn't surprising they aren't seeing it as it should be seen.

Non-Sowmya deities were worshipped in TN, some i500 years[ Kabalika cult] ago when the Pallavas ruled but side by side Sowmya deities were worshipped and that became more popular.

Our culture has a place for everyone and just about all the methods to reach the supreme are available here.

It's something like a multi cuisine restaurant, to use a mundane analogy.

Those who are used to only continental food cant undertand that at all.

Pluralism and co-existence is something we can understand. Many of them cant.

Smiled at the last two comments -the one abt Vibbeeshans.
Agree with that but feel this too.:-))

It's natural to be suspicious of the tricks of Raksahasas as Lakshman was at that time.What do you say Partha?

We are wary becuase we have seen Marichas and Ravans in sage disguises ,but yes,it does help to have an insider's view point on our issues. Makes things easier.

Especially , if they , luckily for us turn out to be a Vibeeshan.

In the process we get to learn and get enriched.

Regards

Vibhishanas should be welcomed, dear Dwai.
Regards. Partha

Funny how it always comes down to endorsement by white insiders...

'It's good to have the occasional White Tantra practitioner (like this author)come out and explain as an insider..'

Yes, Karigar, thoughtful and intelligent men and women from every human group would be needed to help erase wrong ideas planted in lay readers' minds by thoughtless brain-washers.
Regards. Partha.

Good discusions...

The media obviously takes its cues from 'scholarship' which derides, & even today, demonizes Tantra. Case in point is David White (a Wendy's Child) who manufactures this scholarship relentlessly. His shoddy 'scholarship' has been featured & critiqued in the book "Invading The Sacred"; but hey..... he soldiers on , with a new book with a 'radical theory / hermeneutic' which makes the bombastic claim that all Indic Yoga /Tantra practices were indeed demonaic to begin with (surprise surprise) and only began cleaning themselves up due to the (hmmm....) influence of that Great White Hope..."Monotheistic Christianity", with its 'unique ethical values' (no doubt).

It's good to have the occasional White Tantra practitioner (like this author)come out and explain as an insider..

Best Regards

How right you are, dear Dwai!

Let us consign the ill-informed bias of media where it belongs, to the dustbins of History.
But let us also remember that beyond the media, there is also a lay majority of persons, who are conservative, who see the calm placidity of Mother earth and not its potential for tornadoes and volcanoes, earhquakes and tsunamis, who would go by upanishadic commandments rather than its technologies.
All tantric achara is like science and technology, revealed to the Einsteins and sometimes falling in the hands of Oppenheimers and Goerings.
-which is why it has been safe in the hands of Shaktas of Kerala, southern Tamil regions,Himalayan slopes, Bengal and neighbouring states than elsewhere in India,
-which is why Buddhism travelling north and east from North India, adopted it after adequate mind training and practises it always with yogic overlays or equivalent.
Sri Ramakrishna saw only a Mother figure in the fierce Kali who manifested before her special child.
Regards. Partha.

n further reflection, I concede that barring middle class western and western-influenced sensitivities, I do not visualise any cause for lack of interest in the unorthodox ritualism of tantra.
The typical Indian , who derives real Shanti when he/she contemplates the image of snake-reclining Vishnu, snake-outfitted Siva or Ma kali wearing skull garlands, should be comfortable also with the para-normal tantric rituals.

It is very true. But the biggest culprits I believe are the Media in India, who propagate notions that denigrate Tantric practices because the depart from the norm of accepted behavior. But isn't it also true that such a pariah status was also more or less de facto wrt Tantra even in the classical days? Especially so with the Kaula Path and Vama marga?

My intention wasn't to chide, but the expressly articulate the fact that Tantra isn't the "black sheep" that it is made out to be, simply because of it's different-ness.

Warm Regards,

Dwai

Dear Shailesh and Dwai,
On further reflection, I concede that barring middle class western and western-influenced sensitivities, I do not visualise any cause for lack of interest in the unorthodox ritualism of tantra.
The typical Indian , who derives real Shanti when he/she contemplates the image of snake-reclining Vishnu, snake-outfitted Siva or Ma kali wearing skull garlands, should be comfortable also with the para-normal tantric rituals.
I am happy to correct my thinking.
Regards. Partha.

You are right, dear Dwai, Tantra is more concerned with the nature and quantum of consequences than with the aesthetics of the means. I was only commenting on its popularity index.
Shailesh's nice and brief review appeared early on 20th and perhaps my comment served a similar purpose, after a full two-day silence from all of us.
Regards. Partha

Tantra I believe tends to use any means available to shock the intellect into dropping it's rational barriers to merging with Infinity.

So what if skulls and bones are used in a ritualistic manner to transcend normal consciousness?!?

Infinity/Tao/Brahman/Universe works beyond and outside the rules of man. As long as the natural laws are not violated, any other mean is a valid mean to transcend mundane material consciousness.

Regards,

Dwai

Dear Shailesh,
'Since the first missionary reports from Tibet in the letters to Rome (17th -18th century) the use of skulls and bones in Tibet was described as sorcery involving all sorts of magic operations, and referred in the context to head hunting practices and ancestry cults.'
Prejudices refuse to die. Modern Hinduism, which has foresworn several tantric practices, vestiges of which may be found only in Kerala, Bengal or neighbourhoods, looks askance at the use of human skulls and bones. So do Abrahamic faiths, which believe in the sanctity of not disturbing skeletons of the interred dead.
The author may therefore find it difficult to create
substantial interest in his book. It is of course possible that she will be satisfied with book sales to the merely curious and creating participative interest in a limited number of tantra-oriented persons.
Regards. Partha