Detailed Contents

—emptiness and compassion, wisdom and skilful means; avadhūtikā; the principle of the joined pair; emptiness and compassion; the true meaning of sāmarasya; Sukhavati; the state of spontaneous divine play.

B. Madhura-bhāva in the Siddha Tradition and Raseśvara Philosophy

Alchemy; the solar-lunar doctrine; the teaching of the Gītā; the solar and lunar principles in the Bṛhajjābāla Upaniṣad; the equipoise of Shiva and Shakti; drinking the nectar of immortality; khecarī-mudrā; sun and moon as female and male dispositions; Nātha Siddhas and Buddhist Siddhacharyas; the perfected or divine body; the lunar body and the Shakti body.

C. Madhura-bhāva in Kapalika, Nātha, and Sant Practice

The tradition and generally accepted meaning of sahaja; the body as the cosmos; spontaneous practice in Kaula doctrine; Buddhist Siddhas and Kaula discipline; kula and akula; the inseparability of Shiva and Shakti; yoga and liberation; the five bonds of the jīva; Kundalini yoga and the piercing of the subtle centres; bound, heroic, and divine dispositions; seven forms of discipline; spontaneous practice in Kapalika doctrine; Sahajananda or Great Bliss in Vajrayana and Kapalika doctrine; the entry of spontaneous practice into Buddhism; the entry of sexual enjoyment into the field of discipline; lalanā, rasanā, and avadhūtī; the lotus at the crown; Sahajananda; the root meaning of spontaneous disciplines; Sri Sundari practice; Kabir’s sahaja; devotee and faithful wife; Dadu’s sweet practice; the Nilambara Sampradāya.

D. Vaishnava Sahajiyā

The paramour love of prema; spontaneous practice in Ānanda-bhairava; spontaneous worship in paramour love; rasa and rati; Madana and Mādana; Brahman, Paramatman, Bhagavan, Existence, Consciousness, Bliss, and the powers of support, awareness, and delight; enjoyer and enjoyed; three forms of līlā; forest Vrindavan, mental Vrindavan, and eternal Vrindavan; essential-form līlā and manifest-form līlā; sahaja; superimpositional practice and its principle; rati and rasa; the three kinds of rati—capable, balanced, and ordinary; perfection in love; three classes of practitioners—beginner, practitioner, and perfected; the bliss-filled condition of love’s discipline.

Printed pages 38–77.

Chapter Four: Siddha-deha and Entry into Līlā

Eligibility to enter rāgānugā-bhakti; relishing divine play; devotion as sacred feeling; loving devotion; love as the highest human goal; entry into the companion disposition; relational identity; age; name; form; residence; service—