Reiki is a name of a healing energy present in the universe from the times immemorial. The term is also applied to various systems of energy treatment based on ancient methods rediscovered by Dr. Usui. This technique of healing and spiritual development is said to have originated in Asia where it was transmitted in secrecy within groups of ascetics and sages. However, techniques of Reiki treatment as well as the methods of initiation into this system are in many respects similar to ritualistic practices employed in Tantric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. Those esoteric religious traditions developed analogous ways of usage of the cosmic energy called differently but commonly recognized as the spiritual basis of the universe.
While all Reiki traditions have common Tantric background it is the Mudra Reiki that developed as a Tantric system per se. Powerful monosyllabic mantras (bijak?aras) prescribed in Hindu Tantras are used in Mudra Reiki sadhana and several meditating exercises are also employed as an additional tool for self-development. Also all initiations are performed in accordance with Tantric methods of dik?a.
This essay explores the relationship between Tantra and Mudra Reiki, focusing upon similarities between those two traditions.
Tantra – a general overview
As this paper aims to remark on similarities between Tantra and Reiki it seems useful to give a definition of Tantrism and to enumerate its characteristic features.
What is generally meant by a Tantric cult is an esoteric ritualistic tradition either Hindu or Buddhist. The followers of Tantra seek liberation and fulfillment of worldly desires by means of a strict spiritual discipline (sadhana) imparted to them by an enlightened teacher. Tantric sadhana usually includes internal recitation of monosyllabic mantras and usage of various techniques of visualization. This spiritual practice aims at awakening of the internal energy (ku??alini) that merges with the universal sakti (female divine power) and grants liberation to an adept. i A liberated self is no more deluded by dualism of the mundane world but recognizes his identity with the divine.ii As far as the Tantric philosophy is concerned, one of the most important tenets is a complex ideology of micro- macro cosmic correspondencesiii. A majority of Tantric traditions share a common idea that human body is a replica of the universe. Moreover, various cosmic principles (tattva) have their bodily (microcosmic) correspondences. It is during daily mental rituals when an adept of Tantra internalizes spheres of the universe in order to unify with the cosmic self. iv
One of the French Indologists, Biardeau emphasizes another aspect of Tantra. She states that rather than placing desire and liberation in opposition to each other, and than denying the one to the benefit of the other, the Tantric theory holds, quite to the contrary, that one’s desires should be fulfilled and only then the person is ready to strive for salvation alonev. On the other hand, Flood, instead of giving a definition of Tantra, enumerates common features of Tantric ritualism. He mentions initiation (dik?a), internal worship, yogic practice as well as the rites of assignment (nyasa) of powerful seed-syllables on one’s bodyvi.
The term Tantra is also applied to name the treatises on philosophy and ritual written by the followers of Tantric cults. Tantras prescribe worship of images, visualization of mystical diagrams (yantra), repetition of mantras and meditation (upasana) for developing the hidden, latent powers of individuals.vii
In what follows I would like to shed some light on similarities between process of spiritual advancement in Tantric tradition and Mudra Reiki.
Initiation (dik?a)
The secrets of Reiki cannot be studied from scriptures but they should be mastered by a proper sadhana (spiritual practice)i. One has to undergo an initiatory rite performed by a guru in order to start practicing Reiki. The process is known as the attunement and includes empowerment and cleansing of body and mind. Advanced Reiki practitioners receive also mantras and yantras (Reiki symbols). In some schools of Reiki additional techniques may be taught. They may include various types of meditation or visualization. It is also a well-known fact that in all Tantric traditions a student has to be initiated at the very beginning of his spiritual quest. In Tantras, the term dik?a is explained as a process during which an adept (after purifications) attains the nature of Siva.ii According to Kular?avatantra (KT), a guru can initiate an adept and transfer his energy through touch. This method is known as sparsa-dik?a and a guru should meditate on Siva at his hand before performing this very act.
Haste siva? guru? dhyatva japenmula?gamalinim/Guru? sp?socchi?yatanu? sparsadik?a bhavediyam// KT 14.53
Usually during a dik?a a mantra is given from guru to si?ya (a disciple) and the initiation by utterance of mantra is called vagdik?a
Uccarait sa?hatanmantran vagdik?eti nigadhyate// KT 14.54b//
Another type of dik?a is performed by a teacher merely by looking at his disciple. After a meditation with closed eyes a guru should look into the eyes of his pupil and transfer the power to him. This method is known as d?gdik?a
Nimilya nayane dhyatva paratattva prasannadhi/Samyak pasyedguru? si?ya? d?gdik?a ca bhavet priye// KT 14.55//
All those types of initiation are used in Mudra Reiki for a greater benefit of practitioners. Another peculiarity of this system is that at the time of dik?a, Reiki energy is channeled to an adept with a help of crystals. The crystals, previously purified and sanctified, amplify energy that is transferred gradually during each initiation.
The Tantric practice in general aims at spiritual excellence and divinization of the sadhaka. The enlightenment should be realized in and through one’s body. Once this is achieved, an adept reaches the consciousness of the god. He is no longer deceived by the sensory organs. However it is said that the first step on a long way towards liberation is the rite of initiation (dik?a). One of the main principles of Tantra is that the spiritual advancement is marked by and gradually gained through initiations. During subsequent dik?as, new mantras are received and certain elements of daily religious exercises are changediii. It is also believed that each dik?a changes the individuality and grants an access to other realms. Also in case of a Reiki adept, the empowerment leads him or her toward spiritual advancement. However, Tantric texts usually state that only chosen disciples, who are driven by a sole urge to find liberation, can be accepted by a guru. Likewise the guru should also be examined by a disciple and only those who meet strict requirements shall be followed.iv The main preconditions for a Reiki student are his or her willingness to be a channel of the divine energy and readiness to follow the principles of Dr.Usui. Once the dik?a is performed, Reiki adept is taught how to purify his body and mind with the energy and gradually his/her life begins to change under the influence of Reiki. Also a Tantric student has to cleanse his body during preliminary rites before undertaking further ritual actions. The importance of this process is stressed in Kular?avatantra. The text warns that all rituals done without purification of the body will be fruitless.
amedhyena tu dehena nyasam devarcanam japam/homam kurvanti tat sarvam ni?phalam bhavet// KT15.103
According to Tantric scriptures, the process of self-purification starts with bhutasuddhi i.e. an act of decomposition and destruction of the material body done by various techniques of visualization. A reconstruction of the body with a help of mantras is the second step. It is performed by nyasa i.e. imposition of chosen bijas (monosyllabic seed-mantras) on the body. This very process is accompanied by a mental chanting of above-mentioned mantras. Thus, an ordinary body of a sadhaka is mentally destroyed and recreated. He / she receives a body made of mantras (mantra-deha), purified and attuned. It is also called the body of powers (saktadeha), an instrument that enables him or her to act as a Siva within the sphere of ritual.v Regardless his social position an adept is temporarily empowered in the sacred space of a Tantric rite. Furthermore, all those ritualistic acts are believed to have concurrent actions in the human body as well as in the universe.vi It is verily a fundamental principle of Tantric sadhana that within a human body there is also a subtle, esoteric one that encompasses innumerable energy channels (na?is) and energy centers (cakras) enlivened by a current of the internal life-force (pra?a).vii As stated by Muller-Ortega, when a Tantric practitioner controls the forces of his subtle body, the whole reality can be appropriated by himviii. Utpaladevaix explains that above-stated rites lead to attainment of the divine self-enjoyment (svatmopabhoga) and ultimate freedom (svatantrya).x
The Tantric procedure mentioned above has its parallel process in Reiki. After the first initiation a Reiki channel is asked to heal himself by touching (in a prescribed manner) specific parts of his/her body. In this way, the practitioner must accomplish twenty-one healings. It seems that this very practice can be called a preliminary rite of self-purification. After the second dik?a an adept of Reiki continues self-healing with a help of mantras (and their symbolic representations) received from a guru. This technique seems to be equal to the Tantric act of mantra-nyasa. In fact, the nyasa of Reiki is employed so that the body of the practitioner could be re-created (i.e. rebuilt out of occult symbols). This practice strengthens and empowers also one’s aura. The above stated theory of the energy centers of one’s body animated by the subtle energy is also a very basis of Reiki. Inharmonious flow of the internal energy or its deficiency may cause various maladies. Thus, Reiki is used to reestablish a harmonious course of energy in one’s chakras and to rebuild the aura.
Mantras and yantras
The role of word and sound in Indian philosophy cannot be overestimated. It is the Indian world where speech (vac) has always been considered as divine. The concept of creative powers inherent in the sacrificial formulas has remained fundamental for Indian world of philosophy. Mantras were necessary for all ritualistic performances in ancient India: they were chanted at srauta sacrifices and whispered during domestic ritesi. For a Tantric scholar sacred utterances are tools for his / her spiritual development. The language itself has many dimensions and levels, from articulated speech (vaikhari) up to the subtle forms (pasyanti, madhyama) derived from paravac, primordial word being the essence of the highest realityii. In general sense mantra is rendered simply as a spell but one should remember that the very nature of mantra is far more complex than the one of a magical chant. Mantras cannot be recited from a book but have to be employed by an initiated or enlightened person. The one who mastered mantras reaches higher stages of understanding of the divine speech. According to the Tantric philosophy, The Supreme Word (paravac) is identical with the Divine Consciousness and the manifested universe is nothing else but an expression of this transcendental logos.iii
It is one of the Tantric principles that mantras interact with the awareness of the practitioner. Through the internal recitation the adept’s awareness is shifted inwards and finally dissolved in the Divine Consciousness. The japa (recitation) of a mantra corresponds to the visualization of its syllables and locating them in ajña cakra called the third eye.
As it was said, from the second level onwards, Reiki practitioner receives mystic symbols and their phonic representations. In other words, to use Tantric terminology, one is given yantras and mantras. A student of Mudra Reiki receives main symbols (once envisioned by Dr. Usui) as well as certain mantras derived from Tantric traditions. It is an important principle of Tantra and Reiki that one should not only know how to recite mantras but also he / she should understand their meanings. Varivasyarahasya states that an utterance of mantra without knowledge of its meaning is fruitless just as an offering thrown into ashes in the absence of fire does not burst into flames. iTherefore, it should be stressed that only when mantras are imparted to a student by his guru they can be usedii; they should not be learnt from scriptures or other sources but received from an experienced teacher who can explain their functions. Tantras teach that Siva pervades a guru for the time of initiation. The guru becomes the embodiment of a tradition and transmits the supreme, liberating truth to his disciple. Similarly in Kular?avatantra it is stated that mantra gains its power when is transmitted from a guru (the one who gained proficiency in mantras) to his student. Moreover, the text teaches that it is a sinful act to study mantras from books:
pustake likhitan mantran vilokya prajapanti ye/brahmahatyasamam te?am patakam vyadhidukhadam//KT 15.21
During Reiki healing, bijas should be uttered mentally (so-called japa-ajapaiii) and their graphic representations have to be visualized in minute details. From this it seems obvious that the Reiki practice is based on Tantric principles such as usage of mantras, yantras and various techniques of visualization. The main mantras of Reiki can be called mula mantras of this system. However, apart from them other mantras are also used. They differ from one school of Reiki to another: some are derived from Tibetan sources other are of Japanese or even Egyptian origin. A student learns how to use those formulas and combine them with the main ones. In many cases, a mula mantra is used at the beginning of a sequence and it is followed by additional power symbols. The whole chain of mantras is closed with the same main bija used at the beginning.
Mula mantra ( power symbol + symbol of purification….etc.) mula mantra
Similarly, Tantric texts prescribe certain methods of construction of mantras (mantroddhara). iv The term uddhara means extraction and all mantras before being used must be ritually manifested from their sonic source (mat?ka). When a student undergoes initiation and receives his mantra, it is the duty of his guru to perform mantroddhara and purify the mantra. After receiving mantras, a novice can start his daily japa and meditation. He should, with a help of japa, withdraw his senses from external phenomena and surrender to the eternal force (sakti). v Similar practices can be found in Mudra Reiki. Moreover, Reiki mantras just like Tantric one’s can be used separately or may be arranged in various manners. Their power is however strengthened when an adept employs them in a proper sequence.
Guru
According to Kular?ava Tantra a term guru is a compound constructed from two syllables: “gu” and “ru”. The text explains that “gu” should be translated as darkness and “ru” means obstructing or destroying. Thus, a guru is a person who can remove the darkness (of ignorance).
Gusabdastvandhakara syat rusabdastannirodhaka?/Andhakaranirodhatvat gururityabhidhiyate//KT 17.8
A Tantric guru is a spiritual master proficient in esoteric knowledge. He determines who is qualified for initiation and therefore a person who wishes to join a Tantric tradition should look for a proper teacher. The responsibility of a guru is to evaluate the progress of his disciples and lead them to the final liberation. Most Tantric texts prescribe devotion to a single guru (ekagurupasti) who represents the whole tradition of teachersvi. Similarly, a guru of Reiki is the one who initiates aspirants and guides them through various stages of their spiritual quest. He is a channel of the divine force who acts out of compassion towards human beings.
Concluding remarks
In this essay I tried to prove that Reiki employs Tantric methods of spiritual practice. Moreover, Mudra Reiki system has its own philosophy that in many aspects agrees with the Tantric thought. The idea of oneness of the God and the universe, the ideology of the creative energy inherent in the world and the theory of micro- macro cosmic correspondences are the most striking examples. Therefore Mudra Reiki can be called a Tantric method of healing and spiritual development.
Maciek Karasinski – Research Scholar, Department of Sanskrit, Calicut University, Kerala
– MUDRA RAIKI 3A Certificate holder and a Polish National
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