“IN the microcosm of the human being, in all processes of awareness, attention and Self-knowledge…
He (Shiva) manifests as the Supreme Witness to all that exists, the Consciousness behind all experiences.”
Excerpt from Tantra Year 1 Course
The purpose of this article is to bring light to genuine masculine virtues which have started become lost and forgotten in our modern society.
We often hear the saying “where have all the real men gone?”. Yet most don’t have a clear answer when asked: what is a real man?
The subjects of masculinity and femininity are almost nonexistent in today’s educational systems, despite the fact that they are part of our very nature. We study math, science, language, and history – but most of us have never had a dedicated class on what it means to be a man or woman.
Because of this, two confused tendencies have started to emerge. On one hand, there is toxic masculinity which manifests with extreme aggression, dominance, obsession with power, and a total lack of love and empathy.
One the other hand, there is the phenomenon of the “nice guy” who does not express any strength or power, believing it is wrong, oppressive or offending to do so. They often don’t stand for anything, lack any sense of purpose or values, and will change their actions or behaviors to please others.
Both of these tendencies result from a confused understanding and lack of education regarding genuine, harmonious masculinity. Therefore this article aims to shed light on this topic and give a better understanding of what it truly means to be a man.
In this article we will explore Awareness and Verticality – two attributes of Consciousness, the expression of the Masculine Principle in Tantra, traditionally represented & embodied by the great god Shiva.
Awareness
“In human existence, Shiva manifests as the capacity to be lucid and alert; He is the solar, YANG force who gives the quality of control. He is the force of dynamic, spontaneous decisions, and self-discipline based on self-awareness.
The level of our awareness and our capacity to remain aware in the middle of the ocean of daily sensations depends on how much we resonate with the universal masculine principle, Shiva.” – Excerpt from Tantra Year 1
Tantra makes a distinction between Shiva – the masculine principle, consciousness – and Shakti – the feminine principle, energy.
Shiva represents the masculine principle and is the embodiment of the godly consciousness. It embodies qualities such as strength, stability, stillness, and detachment. Shiva is often associated with the concept of God and is seen as the unchanging source that witnesses and supports the dynamic play of Shakti.
Shakti represents the feminine principle, often symbolized as the godly cosmic energy or creative force. It embodies qualities such as intuition, nurturing, receptivity, and transformation. Shakti is often associated with the concept of the Goddess and is seen as the source of all manifestation and life. Shakti is the one giving birth to the entire Universe, she is Mother Nature and the eternal feminine.
In Tantra, Awareness is considered a fundamental characteristic of the Masculine. When we are aware of something, we “observe” or “witness” it with consciousness – its existence and all its characteristics are in our direct experience. We don’t just have thoughts or notions about it – it is directly perceived and in our attention.
Tantra considers awareness as the “control factor” of life – the greater our awareness upon our experiences or any aspects of life, the more control we have over them.
Beyond this, Awareness is the capacity to realize the essence and lessons behind every life experience. This is because Awareness is at the basis of all transformation – only what we are aware of, we have the power to transform.
The more we increase Awareness, the more control & power we will have to transform any aspect of life. Even the “problem areas” which we have struggled with for many years (or even for our entire lives) can be transformed by increasing Awareness.
When a sufficient level of awareness is placed upon a problem – when we “penetrate” the problem with our awareness – we realize the root of the problem that was previously “hidden” to us (due to our lack of awareness).
For example, if we have a chronic habit of overeating – if we increase our awareness in the moments we feel to overeat, we might find that there are certain emotions behind the desire to overeat. By increasing our awareness, we might find that we tend to overeat when are feeling stressed with our responsibilities, or when we feel hurt by someone close to us.
Increasing awareness will also reveal the “antidotes” that can be applied to very quickly & efficiently solve the problem. These might be, for example, certain inner attitudes (such as Love, Patience, or Courage) that we need to manifest exactly in the problem areas or situations.
Through perseverant spiritual efforts (Tapas), we can consciously cultivate these attitudes until we can manifest them at will in daily life – and particularly in the situations where we need them.
In this way, in every problem or difficult situation (and even in all of our uplifting & sublime experiences), we become able to extract the essence & learn the lesson of the situation through the power of Awareness – thus genuinely transforming ourselves and our lives.
Expansion of Consciousness & Eliminating “Preferential Awareness”
“The essential capacity of being and remaining aware and lucid in the middle of the most intense experiences represents a ‘philosopher’s stone’ that triggers alchemical transformations within, leading to a gradual transformation of the entire character of the practitioner.” Advaitananda
The methods offered by Tantra Yoga aim at the gradual expansion of consciousness – in other words, increasing the size and capacity of our awareness.
The goal is to eventually develop an all-encompassing “spherical awareness” – an awareness that simultaneously contains all aspects of life and existence, without losing awareness of any part, at any time.
To understand this, we can take the example of working on a complex project:
When taking certain steps in a project, especially the more difficult ones, we often unconsciously “lose sight” (awareness) of the big picture and get “lost in the details”.
Or when taking an overview of the project and next steps – there is also the possibility to miss some small but very important details which might be crucial to the success of the project.
Developing a “spherical awareness” allows us to maintain awareness both on the big picture and all its details – simultaneously and without allowing anything to go unconscious. It keeps us connected with highest purpose of any action, and the overall meaning and direction it has in our life… while at the same time performing every action to excellence, even its smallest details.
This process involves the elimination of “preferential awareness” – the tendency of the ego to allow awareness in certain areas, while remaining ignorant of other areas.
Usually this manifests as the tendency to look mostly at what is nice and comfortable in our lives, while avoiding or even completely ignoring other areas where it is more painful (for the ego) to be aware.
For example, when making efforts to improve in career or business, some people lose awareness on their health or relationships. If this goes on for long enough, the success in career or business will come at the cost of their health or love life.
Or, when starting a new love relationship – one might be so enchanted by the magical beginning that they forget some daily duties and responsibilities, or stop the efforts they were making in a project in order to spend more time with their new beloved.
This shows a lack of Spherical Awareness – the ability to maintain constant awareness upon all these aspects simultaneously.
Without consistent, persevering awareness upon these aspects, and the appropriate transformational efforts – no matter how many other areas of our lives we successfully transform, problems will remain and even grow in areas where we lose awareness.
This is especially important for men because by nature, men are problem-solvers.
Their power to “penetrate” a problem, to find the solution and solve it is an essential expression of their masculinity, and leads to deep fulfillment, sense of purpose, and an ever-growing fire of enthusiasm and transformation.
When man becomes unconscious in certain areas of life and allows problems to grow, he feels a deep sense of unfulfillment in his heart. He might feel he does not know exactly why he feels unfulfilled… but this is exactly the reason – the lack of awareness!
So when faced with problems, the first step is always to increase Awareness. And when Awareness is sufficiently directed towards the problem, we will realize the true causes of the problems, their inherent solutions, and the power we have to transform them and even permanently eliminate them.
Verticality
We are designed with an innate verticality inside – a natural tendency towards perfection. But notably, it calls for a certain dynamism that can be represented by the analogy of a spinning-top children’s toy. The faster the top spins, the stronger its inclination to remain vertical.
In this analogy, the speed with which the top spins corresponds with the human’s capacity to live their life experiences with a certain inner intensity. This implies a deep awareness in each action, and not an outer intensity of excess. Our inner experience creates what we call “our life”. (Excerpt from Advaitananda – The ‘I’ in the Center)
Verticality is an attribute of Consciousness that refers to its innate quality of erectness or uprightness. An awakened Consciousness is always pointing upwards – towards the highest, towards Superior Ideals
Analogically we can compare the verticality of Consciousness to a lighthouse: no matter how intense the storm, the lighthouse remains immovable, always standing firm and unaffected by the storm. Its structure does not crumble, it is never compromised, it is totally reliable and continues to shine light no matter what happens in the periphery.
When we speak of Verticality, we primarily refer to the inner attitude of an erect Consciousness – a Consciousness which constantly stands for superior ideals.
Verticality is an essential aspect of all heroes we find in stories, books, movies, and legends. It is the capacity of a man to stand for something greater than himself, to overcome all challenges and limitations in order to fulfill his chosen ideal.
A man who is vertical is fully dedicated to his chosen ideal. He faces every challenge and difficulty with an upright and forward attitude, with his spine straight and his eyes wide open.
He makes all the necessary sacrifices and transforms himself in the process for the fulfillment of this ideal. The ideal is his chosen purpose, and he pursues it with all of his heart and soul.
His vertical inner attitude is reflected in his outer appearance, even at the level of his physiology. A man with a vertical spirit – one who heroically stands and fights for superior ideals – is one who tends to stand with his spine straight, even when facing pressure or difficulty.
In contrast, we can imagine someone who does not clearly and consciously stand for anything – someone without a higher purpose or ideal – and realize that even their physiology expresses weakness (a lack of verticality). This person tends to sit with a weak or bent spine, struggling to carry the “load” of life – reflecting the weakness of the inner attitude.
Here we must remember that when we speak of Verticality, we primarily refer to the inner attitude of an erect Consciousness.
Verticality of Consciousness cannot be faked simply by keeping the spine straight. In moments of difficulty or intensity, what matters is the inner attitude of Verticality – to face the situation with full awareness, to do what is needed without any hesitation, no matter how uncomfortable or challenging it might be.
In this direction, man can practice with perseverance certain efficient Tantric methods for the awakening of Consciousness, in order to truly and permanently realize the Verticality of Consciousness as his natural and predominant state.
Discover the Essence of Masculinity & Femininity
“It is part of our spiritual evolution to complete human destiny by fully awakening the masculine and feminine sides of our being, until the godly unity of the two complementary aspects leads to a perfect polarization, propelling us into Transcendence.” – Excerpt from Tantra Year 1
For those of you who wish to learn more about masculinity, femininity, the principle of polarity and more – we warmly invite you to our Tantra course.
The course very thoroughly explores these concepts and principles, through a weekly ongoing class that combines deeply transforming spiritual practice with the theoretical framework that makes it effective in daily life!