Origin of Bhairavī Kriyā – Tantric Breath of Ecstasy
Exploring the Headwaters of Kaula Yoginī Tantra
The primary vessel of transmission of tantra and yoga has always rightly been through the Guru Paramparā, which the grace and broader Śakti energy has continued to support through the ages. However, the lineages are also graced by vast bodies of literature, which support aspiring sādhaks with the inspiration of our noble predecessors.
To understand the origins of the ancient path of Bābājī’s Kaula Yoginī Tantra and the revelation of the 64 Yoginīs as nurtured and shared at the 64 Yogini Kriya Babaji Ashram, we can begin by examining the era of the great Siddha Matsyendranāth, also known as Macchamuni.
Matsyendranāth is known to be the founding Siddha of the Kaula Yoginī Tantra tradition, and is certainly considered the father of the path by those within the tradition itself. It was during this era, beginning approximately 600 C.E., that Matsyendranāth is recorded to have developed a unique approach to the realization of Self. His inspiration was to visualize and perform sādhana, paying homage to 64 celebrated Yoginīs, who are perceived as manifestations of the supreme, and who exist in the subtle planes for souls who sincerely seek them. It was the genius of the great Siddha to realize their presence in and through all that exists, not only throughout the cosmos but within the very being of the tantric practitioner.
He elevated Yoginī Tantra to a systematic and scientific art, realizing that the 64 Yoginīs, who manifested in nature, are also within us—that everything that is without is also within. He distilled their rightful positions within 8 Chakras, including the means for visualizing and working with them. He ultimately realized that although we see a multitude of aspects in those 64 divine expressions, they are eventually experienced as manifestations of the supreme, infinite, birthless, and deathless consciousness, which is One—without a second.
The Kaulajñānanirṇaya is one of Matsyendranāth’s most influential works. The text expounds the path of Kaula Mārg Tantra and the mysterious Kuṇḍalinī associated with it. It introduces to the world the foundational role of the 64 Yoginīs in that path. These goddesses are all regarded as manifestations of Mahākālī, the originating deity, by those who follow Kaula Yogini Tantra. The Kālarpana is cited as one of the better-known tantras of the Kaula school and is a text that states, on more than one occasion, that those following the Kaula path are the favorites of the Yoginīs.
Matsyendranāth begins each chapter of the Kaulajñānanirṇaya by stating that it is expounding the Yoginī Kaula doctrine, so its lineage as a Kaula text is unquestionable.
It was around the time of this revelation that a particular manifestation of Śakti emerged with great popularity among the Tantrics. Her name is Kubjikā, and her influence has been massive in nearly every lineage of Tantra. Matsyendranāth is the founder of the 64 Yoginī Kaula tradition, but this remarkable goddess Kubjikā holds a vital role as well. While she was a popular symbol of devotion even up until the 12th century, she is known by few people today. She led us into a world from which true Kuṇḍalinī Yoga first emerged from the oral lineages that existed before the 9th century.
We see her influence in the devotion and practices of the Lalitā lineage today, as well as in the powerful techniques and mysteries expressed through Mahākālī.
Kubjikā Devī’s contribution to kuṇḍalinī practices of self-revelation and her role in the tantric paths, including ultimately the five mystic streams, the five Āmnāyas, is deeply influential. Her massive scripture from that ancient era, the Manthānabhairava Tantra, reveals her original form as none other than Mahākālī herself. The text, as well as other tantras in the general lineage, describes how Kālī, influenced by a mystical impulse, crawled into a Śiva Liṅgam and resided there, perhaps for centuries, in a hibernated state.
Lord Śiva, with perfect insight, knowing her presence within the Liṅgam, eventually beckoned her to emerge. When she emerged, she had metamorphosed into Kubjikā Devī, also known as the crooked one, which implies, among other mysteries, a connection to kuṇḍalinī and its transformational energy.
We see these historic links being made, beginning around the sixth century, connecting the roots of devotion to Mahākālī and Śrī Lalitā with the mystical power of Kuṇḍalinī, personified in those ancient times as Kubjikā, who is symbolically and literally coiled up at the base of the spine. She is the cosmic potentiality of self-realization for every jīva, and her realization is the birthright of every yearning soul.
The most important of the Āmnāya paths to the Kaula Yoginī Tantrics is Ūrdhvāmnāya, and this name also refers to the most mystical practice guarded within it. It is from this ancient source that the Kriyā Tantra practice known as Bhairavī Kriyā has been passed down within the Paramparā and is still secretly shared and kept alive today. In our own lineage, Swāmī Rudranand Giri of Tārāpīṭh, gave Dīkṣā to Swāmī Ayyappa Giri. – all with the support and guidance of Kriya Babaji. This practice forms the climax of the tradition, always guided and supported in the background by Satguru Kriyā Bābājī. This practice awakens the path that takes divine energy upward, extracting and recirculating the Tejas, or light energy, from the Ojas—the physical carrier, including the seminal and vaginal fluids.
It harnesses a sacred power that is otherwise lost in ordinary intimacy. In this way, the energy is elevated along with the consciousness of the tantric practitioners, leading to spiritual awakening and the enhancement of other important Kuṇḍalinī practices.
When practiced with sincerity and devotion, one’s partner becomes an embodiment of the divine, and their intimate union, rather than being an energetic loss, becomes a great asset. Charisma increases, the capacity to function optimally in daily life is elevated, and most importantly, one’s spiritual life is transformed and enlivened.
Rare is the awareness of the original goddess of Kuṇḍalinī, Kubjikā Devī, who emerged in that ancient period and manifested, or birthed, the Kālī and Śrī lineages of Kaula Tantra. While there are hints of Kuṇḍalinī awareness in the earliest Upaniṣads, it was the era when Śakti emerged with great prominence that truly brought it into focus. This power remains protected within the classical lineages even today, to be rediscovered and to empower those who truly seek realization of the Self through the path of classical Tantra.
Jai Śrī Kubjikā Devī Mā! Jai Kālī Mā! Om Kriyā Bābājī Nama Aum!
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