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The Eastern spiritual disciplines like Yoga and Tantra do not exist as isolated bodies of knowledge. They were conceived, practiced, and their esoteric source literature was compiled and encoded in the context of an ancient civilization: the Vedic culture—or, as it is called in the Vedas themselves, the civilization of sanatana-dharma. Sanatana-dharma means eternal spiritual truth, the Absolute Truth or Esoteric Teaching from which Yoga and all other spiritual paths and practices are derived.

Why is context important? Because it determines how we perceive things. The study of perception is an important part of the science of consciousness. Perception requires a contrast between foreground and background, or content and context. Without this contrast we won’t perceive anything.

Imagine sitting in a black chair, in a black room with a black rug, with all the lights out at midnight on an overcast, moonless night. A black cat pads silently through the room. Will you notice it? No way. If the same black cat walks through a white room with a white rug at noon on a brilliant clear day, then will you see it? Of course.

The room is the context and the cat is the content. The contrast between content and context, foreground and background, also determines the way in which we perceive things. The same color or design appears different on different backgrounds. We have all seen optical illusions based on this principle, for example when you take your driver’s eye test at the DMV.

Similarly, Yoga and Tantra appear very different in the context of the Western commercial pseudo-culture than they do in their original context of the original Vedic sanatana-dharma civilization. The natural context of Yoga and Tantra is the Vedic civilization. The Vedic civilization, the most ancient culture on the planet, exists in the even more ancient context of the Vedas.

What are the Vedas?

The Sanskrit word root ved means to know. Thus in the broadest sense, veda can signify any true knowledge meant to benefit and uplift the knower. Since the ultimate purpose of all Vedic knowledge is spiritual enlightenment, veda also can signify any teaching or literature expressing spiritual truth. Most often, however, ‘the Vedas’ simply refers to the collective spiritual writings of the ancient sanatana-dharma Vedic civilization, as well as any literature in pursuance of the purpose of the Vedas. And what is that purpose?

The purpose of Vedic civilization is to liberate Humanity from the nescience of material existence by realizing the transcendental nature of consciousness.

The fundamental nature of matter is temporary, transitory and nescient or ignorant. The fundamental nature of consciousness is absolute, eternal and spiritual. To be trapped in a temporary material body and forced to experience the constant change and uncertainty of material existence is a contradictory and uncomfortable situation for the soul. The soul, as transcendent spirit, is naturally eternal and blissful. This temporary material existence is the root cause of all our suffering.

We are pure and perfect spiritual beings. Thus we crave purity and perfection; but perfection is impossible to find in the material world, and purity is impossible to experience through the blunt material senses. The Vedic system gradually elevates the soul from the nescience of gross material consciousness to more and more subtle levels of being, until the perfect, eternal nature of pure consciousness is revealed. This process of self-realization is the aim of the Esoteric Teaching and the principle of Vedic culture.

Vedic thought accepts any truthful and ethical means in support of this goal. Thus the Vedic Esoteric Teaching encompasses not only religion and philosophy, but also all practical aspects of human life in alignment with its ultimate spiritual attainment. The Vedic process is balanced, providing complete material facilities such as good health, economic development, creative expression and advancement in material enjoyment, as automatic side benefits on the path to realizing the Supreme Transcendence. So we do not miss any of the advantages of human life by following the Vedic path.

The point here is that any Vedic spiritual practice can be understood and practiced properly only in the context of the entire Vedic civilization and literature. In general, any system or technology taken outside of its intended context becomes useless for its original purpose. For example, if we take a computer out in the middle of the jungle where there is no Internet service provider, no telephone line, no printer and no electricity, it might make a good boat anchor but it is useless as a computer. Similarly, if we attempt to understand or practice Vedic spiritual paths, like Yoga and Tantra, outside their original Vedic context, we may get something out of them, but it certainly will not be the result they are originally intended to produce.

We will explore this point in more detail later on in the workshop. As vast and profound as they are, the Vedic civilization and literature also do not exist in a vacuum, but within the far broader universal context of the Esoteric Teaching. Just as trying to study and practice Yoga and Tantra outside the Vedic context is certain to lead to false results, any attempt to understand the Vedic literature separate from the context of the Esoteric Teaching becomes a meaningless, dry academic study in futility.

Obviously, we cannot recreate the Vedic sanatana-dharma civilization as it was 5,000 years ago. Therefore, we are thrown back on the context of the Vedic civilization, and that is the Esoteric Teaching. If we attempt to practice Yoga or Tantra without first studying the background philosophy of the Esoteric Teaching, we will certainly get it wrong. Teaching Yoga or Tantra without reference to the Vedic literature or the Esoteric Teaching is irresponsible, because we can understand and realize the full value and deep spiritual purpose of Yoga only within the framework of the Esoteric Teaching.

In conclusion: So far in the West, only a handful of teachers have presented the Vedic wisdom of Yoga and Tantra as it really is. The vast majority have separated Yoga and Tantra from the cultural and spiritual context in which they were created, and are meant to be studied and practiced. Like an automobile, Yoga is a vehicle, a means to an end. Where will you go with this powerful vehicle? Using Yoga just for trivial physical purposes like relaxation or weight loss is like using a 747 to go to the corner store. The real purpose of Yoga is to relieve all our material suffering and bring us to the exalted state of super-consciousness, or samadhi.

Similarly, the idea that Tantra is just about sex is just plain wrong. It’s about like saying that Borders is a pornographic bookstore because they stock a few copies of The Joy of Sex. Tantra is an incredibly broad subject. Trying to practice Tantra without reading the Tantras first is ridiculous. I suppose some people will say or believe any nonsense to justify their sex addiction. But Tantra is much, much deeper than that. Tantra is a gateway; if you master Tantra you can travel to any planet in any dimension or universe, and transfer your existence there.

But that kind of misunderstanding is bound to happen when we take highly technical information out of context. Imagine trying to read a computer manual or a modern novel to an Amazonian tribal hunter. What kind of understanding or meaning do you think he’ll get out of it? He will certainly misunderstand it. The material is based on a context that he has had absolutely no contact with. Trying to practice Yoga and Tantra without studying the Vedas is the same kind of thing. Understanding and apprehending the full value of these great Vedic traditions and their powerful practices requires us to place them in the proper context, and that context is the Vedic literature and beyond that, the Esoteric Teaching.

Next: The Vedic Literatures