Tantra / Sex and Sexuality /Yoga / Eastern Spirituality "Ecstasy Through Tantra is not for the squeamish, the ascetic or those preoccupied with erotic thrills. It is for those who, accepting human sexuality as a means to a spiritual end, want first-rate instruction in love-making." - John White, author of What Is Enlightenment? Achieve Cosmic Consciousness Through Sexual Ecstasy Now, you and your lover can engage in specific sexual techniques and positions for ritual intercourse that will flood you with the overwhelm ing physical ecstasy which triggers expanded states of consciousness. Tantric yoga will teach you how to build sexual love and passion to an amazing peak - and how to push your mind even higher to achieve transcendental bliss. Bring holiness and magick into your sexual relationship with Ecstasy Through Tantra. Discover the God/Goddess as incarnate in your beloved, and experience the same Divinity within yourself, through the joy of complete physical and spiritual union. • Learn how to engage in • Discover which sexual the "Asanas of Love," positions "short-circuit" sexual positions used for the electric and magnetic Kundalini arousal - shown currents in the body for in color photos explosive release • Alter your consciousness with • Find out the secrets for going the potent technique for beyond the joy of sex to couples, groups or individuals ecstatic union with Divinity called the "Rite of Naked Fire" • Plumb the depths of erotic • Pinpoint which parts of the mysticism and Western sex body stir sexual energy into magick - and their potential a white heat for spiritual illumination Dr. Jonn Mumford (Sivami Anandakapila Saraswati) has devoted his life to the vast subject of Tantric Yoga. A disciple of Paramhansa Swami Satyananda Saraswati of India, Dr. Mumford originally trained as a psychologist and later as a chiropractor. He now lectures and teaches in Sydney, Australia. Dr. Mumford is also the author of A Chakra & Kundalini Workbook. $16.00 US $24.50 CAN Llewellyn Publications St. Paul, MN 55164-0383 www.llewellyn.com PRINTED IN THE USA Where there is ecstasy, there is Creation; Where there is no ecstasy, there is no Creation. In the Infinite, there is ecstasy; There is no ecstasy in the finite. Chandogya Upanishad IN ECSTASY THROUGH TANTRA, Dr. Jonn Mumford celebrates the joyous and mystical depths of sexual love. Over the past decade, we have become more free and healthy in our attitudes toward sex. Books such as The Joy of Sex and More Joy attest to this. Now that understanding has been broadened, however, it is possible, indeed necessary, to go beyond joy; to go beyond the physical and emotional aspects of sexual union to the ecstasy of union with Divine Power that is centered in every body and throughout the universe. In Dr. Mumford's view, "The sexual dynamic represents the most significant physical experience that we have at our disposal, and it lies within our power to turn this function into a spiritually regenerative act and a psychologically integrative practice." The value of his approach is that he makes the spiritual potential of the sexual dynamic accessible to more than the mystic, yogi and occultist. One need not go up to the mountaintop to commune with Divinity: Its temple is the body, Its sacrament the communion between lovers, and that communion involves all the awesome powers of the universe in the microcosm of the lovers. The once hidden, and forbidden, secret practices of magick are now explicitly revealed. This book traces the ancient practices of Hindu Tantra through the Egyptian, Greek and Hebrew forms where the sexual act is viewed as symbolic of the highest union, oneness with God, to the highest expression of Western sex magick in the Mass of the Holy Ghost. A psychotherapist trained in Yoga, Dr. Mumford (whose initiated name is Swami Anandakapila) guides the reader through mental and physical exercises aimed at developing psycho-sexual power; he details the various sexual practices and positions that facilitate "psychic short-circuiting" and the arousal of Kundalini, the "Goddess of Life," within the body; and in a chapter subtitled "The Semantics of the Inner Life," he shows how language may be used to break down comfortable categories of reality, inducing a creative autism that unlocks esoteric knowledge and frees the mind to experience enlightenment. A great advantage of his approach is that he brings the perspective of the East to bear on the newly quickened interest in Western occultism. He shows, for example, the fundamental unity of Tantra with Western Wicca as a magickal religion and way of life-affirmation. And he plumbs the depths of Western sex magick, showing how its techniques culminate in spiritual illumination. While in the Western tradition, sex magick may be employed without an emotional commitment between the partners, in the Tantric use of sex, which is grounded on mutual worship and aimed at altering consciousness, the fire of love is utilized to carry the participants through sexual union to union with the Gods. Previously published under the title, Sexual Occultism, this new edition has been revised and expanded with new materials, including: • Original photographs of erotic sculptures from Khajuraho in central India to illustrate the Indian concepts of erotic beauty. • Color photographs of couples engaged in the Asanas of Love to illustrate those sexual positions for the arousal of Kundalini in Tantric practice. • The Rite of Naked Fire for use by individuals, couples or groups as a consciousness altering preliminary to individual work or Tantric practice by couples. Ecstasy Through Tantra is a rare work of beauty, high spirituality, and total practicality - restoring Magick to its sacred place on the altar of sexual union. Other Books by Dr. Jonn Mumford Psychomatic Yoga, Thorsons, 1962 Sexual Occultism., First Edition, Llewellyn Publications, 1975 Sexual Occultism, Second, Revised Edition, Compendium Pty. Ltd., Australia, 1977 Tantrische Sexualmagie, German Edition, Sphinx Verlag, Basel, Switzerland, 1984 A Chakra and Kundalini Workbook, Llewellyn Publica tions, 1994 Magical Tattwas, Llewellyn Publications, 1997 Mind Magic Kit, Llewellyn Publications, 1998 Death: Beginning or End?, Llewellyn Publications, 1999 Karma Manual, Llewellyn Publications, 1999 About the Author Jonn Mumford, DO, DC (Swami Anandakapila Saraswati) is a direct disciple of Dr. Swami Gitananda (South India) and Paramahansa Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Bihar, by whom he was initiated in 1973. Dr. Mumford is respected across the world for his knowledge and schol arship. He frequently lectures on relaxation techniques, sexuality, Tantra and other aspects of human development and spirituality. Dr. Mumford is a world-renowned authority on Tantra and yoga. During the 1970s he frequently demonstrated his mastery of cardiac cessation, obliteration of individual pulse beat at will, sensory with drawal and voluntary breath retention over the five-minute range, and start and stop bleeding on command. His background combining years of experience as a physician with extensive international experience in a wide range of Eastern disci plines makes Dr. Jonn Mumford eminently well suited to the task of disseminating the secrets of Tantra to the West. He currently divides his time between South India, the United States and Australia. On the Internet, reach Dr. Jonn Mumford's home page at: www.jonnmumfordconsult.com Email address: [email protected] To Write to the Author If you wish to contact the author or would like more information about this book, please write to the author in care of Llewellyn Worldwide, and we will forward your request. Both the author and publisher appre ciate hearing from you and learning of your enjoyment of this book and how it has helped you. Llewellyn Worldwide cannot guarantee that every letter written to the author can be answered, but all will be for warded. Please write to: Jonn Mumford c/o Llewellyn Worldwide P.O. Box 64383, Dept. L494-5, St. Paul, MM 55164-0383, U.S.A. Please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope for reply, or $1.00 to cover costs. If outside the U.S.A., enclose international postal reply coupon. ECSTASY THROUGH TANTRA Dr. Jonn Mumford (Swami Anandakapila) 2002 Llewellyn Publications St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0383, U.S.A. Ecstasy Through Tantra. Copyright © 1975, 1977, 1987 by Jonn Mumford. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. THIRD REVISED EDITION, 1988 Ninth printing, 2002 Color photography by Andrew Clarke Paintings by Martin Cannon Book design by Terry Buske Photographs from Khajuraho by Melissa Jade, 1985 Cover design and title by Melissa Jade Furnishings in color photo sequence from L. & A. Copeland and Folk Art Warrandyte, Victoria Australia Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mumford, Jonn. Ecstasy through tantra. (Llewellyn's tantra & sexual arts series) Bibliography: p. l.Sex - Miscellanea. 2. Magic. 3. Tantrism. I Title II Series BF1623.S4M84 1988 133 87-45734 ISBN 0-87542-494-5 Llewellyn Worldwide does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business transactions between our authors and the public. All mail addressed to the author is forwarded but the publisher cannot, unless specifically instructed by the author, give out an address or phone number. Any Internet references contained in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot guarantee that a specific location will be maintained. Please refer to the publisher's website for links to authors' websites and other sources. Llewellyn Publications A Division of Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd. P.O. 64383, St. Paul, MN 55164-0383 www.llewellyn.com Printed in the United States of America Dedicated to GURUDEV Paramahamsa Swami Satyananda Saraswati Acknowledgements I am grateful to Yoga-Mimamsa Journal, Lonavla, India for permission to include an extract from Volume XIII, Number 4, January 1971; and to the Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, Madras, for permission to reprint a passage from The Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Chapter 16 of The Tree of Life by Israel Regardie is re produced by permission of Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, MN. My gratitude to Gurudev Paramahansa Satyananda Saraswati, Bihar School of Yoga for the quotations from his Tantra of Kundalini Yoga and Tantra-Yoga Panorama. This 3rd Edition has been enhanced by inclusion of Melissa Jade's photographs, and words cannot express my apprecia tion for her help and patience. I would also like to express my gratitude to Martin Cannon for his beautiful paintings and to Terry Buske for her design of this book. Thank you to everyone at Llewellyn who helped make this new edition possible.