In ancient India attending a Chakra Puja was reserved to experienced tantrics. This mystic ritual was mainly held in deep secret by insiders at full moon. Most participants had at least twenty years experience in tantra, a period in which they learned to go pass their ego and lust and to see their sexuality as one of the major energy flows in man, making possible the true fusion of two (and more) individuals and giving access to higher consciousness levels.

The Chakra Puja is considered as the most important group ritual within the left-handed tantra. There is also a right-handed version, but in this version the ritual is only internally visualized during meditation. The fact that the Chakra Puja has been (and is) presented with so much secrecy, has everything to do with the explicitly sexual nature of the ritual, something that then (and now) could not be publicly exposed.

The Chakra Puja was based on the rebellious principle of the five makaras: Madya (wine), Mansa (meat), Matsya (fish), Mudra (grain or rice, often with slightly hallucinogenic effect) and Maithuna (within tantra: the sacred sexual union). In ancient India, these things/acts were prohibited or taboo. The five makaras were not only consumed due to their rebellious nature, but specially aiming to bring participants at a Chakra Puja to greater spiritual growth. Often, an animal was also slaughtered. In the Chakra Puja two extreme forces were always present: the ability to take away life and the ability to give birth. Death and reproduction, all inclusive.

Accepting life totally and celebrating it. In which the basis of human life is: to be ecstatic. Another key reason was the fact that life on this planet continues evolving by eating itself. That is the rule of the game: we live on by sacrificing other lives – animal or plants.

Not at every Chakra Puja an animal was sacrificed, but while the participants eat the meat, the fish and the grain, each participant thinks about that rule and brings his awareness to the

'element' represented.

The Chakra Puja is rooted in the pre-Aryan sexual rites, from which the Shakti cult was born; and in line with ancient fertility rites. They were accompanied by collective matings in nature, which, through the imitation of the fertility of the land, were considered to boost the fertility of the women. This orgiastic rites are in such a way embedded in our collective subconscious, that they even in our days and despite of two thousand years of repression, are still alive. We know that the Chakra Puja is no sex party, but perhaps the most extreme sex parties nowadays are all based on the same prehistoric orgiastic rites. 

A real Chakra Puja was characterized as a holy act, far from any lascivious nature. Necessarily ritualized, to resemble little of the orgy.

Starting point

We have tried to translate the ancient ritual into the current time. Our Chakra Puja is not about the rebellion of the five makaras, but about a ritual with a similar depth and intimacy as were achieved at the original ritual.

In our Chakra Puja we focus on the liberation of self-centeredness, possessiveness and attachments. Key is the experience of universal love.

The sexuality in the ritual will be experienced as an impersonal force, in line with the universal creative force and vital spirituality. The ritual is designed to access the higher levels of consciousness and the collective soul. The universal male (Shiva) and female (Shakti) will be honoured in the supra-personal union of the couples, chosen by chance. As in ancient times we hold this ritual at full moon.

Universal love

Many people see romantic love as a prerequisite for sexual union – without, sex is often regarded as instinctive or gratification. The Chakra Puja lacks this personal (romantic) love, by bringing the couples together by chance (constituting a sacred marriage for one night). In tantra, the maithuna causes universal love, which has nothing to do with romantic passion. It's more an affection born of worship of the divine principle, that is embodied in the partner. Therefore, it does not matter who the partner is, he/she is exchangeable. It is the most unconditional love that exists, pure as motherly love.

The energy is the key

In the Chakra (here in the meaning of 'magic circle') Puja the group energy is primary - the individual is secondary. The collective practice has a strong effect on the participants. They become permeated by the deep collective sexual emotion. In a way, they become a psychic cyclotron (a living circle). The vibrations of the ritual will guide them in the same direction, towards the same goal: the formation of a collective psyche. In there everybody meets each other, excluding all egoism and possessiveness and exceeding ordinary love, allowing the awakening of higher energies.

Our motivation

In the literature about the Chakra Puja you will meet with all kinds of stories. There are many different interpretations, leaving much to the imagination. That ambiguity makes it all the more exciting and interesting. Especially in our time, in which many of these (and other) mysterious wisdoms are discovered. What we have learned about this ritual, has touched us deeply. The power man has, to be able to experience this with each other, is for tantrics the ultimate attainable. This is for us the main reason to have dived deep into this ritual, and to resucitate it and form it into a workshop, to make it possible for others to also get the opportunity to experience this ultimate tantric ritual.

Practical

The full moon tantra ritual is intended for everyone: couples and singles. We want an even number of man/female. During the ritual participants are coupled by chance.

It should be clear that we aspire having this weekend a very intense and deepening experience. The level we can achieve, depends highly on the tantric development of the individual participants. Hence this rite is reserved to (very) experienced tantrics (this at our discretion). Further conditions are mutual respect, to be able to let go of judgements, the awareness of how the ego works and to be able to go around it. Important is also your capacity to use your sexual desire and arousal as a tool to get deeper into meditation.

Given the objective to achieve a very intense experience, we will take the necessary time to deepening the group connection. We will start with the preparations for the Chakra Puja ritual Friday at 11.00 hours (arrival between 9.30 and 10.30). We conclude the ritual not later than Sunday afternoon at 17.00 hours.

This ritual will be primarily given in Dutch. If needed, we will make the necessary English translations.

The ritual will be given by Kees Polling and Maria Verhoeven.

Money: €395 per person for the entire period (includes coffee/tea/meals/beds).

Locatie: Castle De Schans, Opoeteren, Belgium (near Maastricht)

Date & location: probably in the weekend of October 22/24 2010.

Subscriptions are final after an introductory telephone call and payment of the tuition on giro 5897084, t.n.v. C.M. Polling, or by PayPal. For European bank-payments: IBAN-code is NL 19INGB 0005897084; SWIFT- (or BIC)code is INGBNL2A.

More information, mail or give him a call at (..)31 6 49992778.