In this volume that follows Gay Tantra (Xlibris 2000) and Essays on Gay Tantra (Xlibris 2000), William Schindler, a.k.a. Brother William, invites the reader into deeper and previously mostly secret aspects of Tantric philosophy and practice. Traditional Tantra teaches methods of spiritual enlightenment-not sexual practices. In traditional Tantra sexuality and other types of sensuality are integrated into a whole-life approach to spirituality. But merely calling a practice or technique "Tantra" does not make it so. Traditional Tantra can only be learned from one who has studied and practiced in a line of enlightened Gurus. Brother William has been studying and practicing traditional Hindu Tantra since 1969 both in India and America, and since 1997, when he founded Ashram West, he has been teaching his adaptation of traditional Tantra for gay-identified persons, making intelligible the esoteric teachings of the ancient tradition.

This volume explores the potentials of Goddess spirituality in the field of cultural critique, and strings together innovative readings of already existing literary texts and cultural phenomena from the critical perspective of Goddess spirituality. The chapters explore a colourful array of texts and authors, and focus on issues as diverse as the persistence of the figure of the Magna Mater in the life, writing and thought of Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo, the inability of Advaita Vedanta to come out of the shadow of the Great Mother, the possibility of pluralizing the Eurocentric notion of the Muse by invoking the figure of Goddess Sarasvati in the field of English Studies, and a reappraisal of Kipling’s Kim from the perspective of the philosophical and spiritual discourses of Prajnaparamita, the Buddhist Goddess of Perfect Wisdom. The book also offers a comparative study of Minoan Goddess Spirituality and tantric philosophy with reference to Aphrodite, Diotima and the Indian Mother Goddesses, the possibility of simultaneously tantricizing notions of modernity and modernizing tantra itself with reference to the works of Lata Mani and William Schindler, and an investigation of the Mother-centric spiritual sensibilities in various religious discourses and devotional literatures, among other discussions. In short, this book investigates the possibilities of inserting the figure of the Great Mother into the critical domain of cultural pluralism, thereby celebrating a multiculturalism that is not based on violence and conflict (antagonism) but grounded in harmony. The Mother is seen by the discourse articulated here mainly as a middle ground between flesh and spirit, knowledge and passion, justice and compassion – and, in the red shadow of the Mother, social epistemologies and academic discourses are radically renegotiated.

This is the extraordinary true tale of a middle-class, gay American's path to encounters with the Great Mystery that is God/dess/Self. The way to the Great Unknown was intricately intertwined with his humanity with all its foibles, and with human relationships. Therefore this story has to include those relationships, revealing ultimately how a one's personal identity and relationships become vehicles for enlightenment. This inspiring account of struggle, travel to exotic lands, suffering, and transcendence holds out hope for anyone who has ever felt outcaste, broken, or unworthy, demonstrating for our modern times that enlightenment lies within reach of us all.

We gay folk, who inhabit bodies of the type we naturally desire, require a sex-positive spiritual practice that celebrates and utilizes our gay being instead of opposing it. We need a spiritual practice that teaches us how to use our senses instead of merely shutting them off or repressing them. We need a practice that empowers us to integrate all the rejected aspects of self to form a strong, healthy gay identity, which confers a spiritual advantage in deep spiritual practice. We need a spiritual practice that recognizes that gender and gender identity are fluid, that we all contain elements of the masculine and feminine. We need a spiritual practice that recognizes not only that same-sex love is possible, but that our love can powerfully energize a deep quest for Self-awareness and enlightenment. We need to realize that any feeling of shame or unworthiness connected to our gay being shackles our spirit and blocks us from the full realization of God/dess within, for the Divine Being is gay, too.

We gay folk, who inhabit bodies of the type we naturally desire, require a sex-positive spiritual practice that celebrates and utilizes our gay being instead of opposing it. We need a spiritual practice that teaches us how to use our senses instead of merely shutting them off or repressing them. We need a practice that empowers us to integrate all the rejected aspects of self to form a strong, healthy gay identity, which confers a spiritual advantage in deep spiritual practice. We need a spiritual practice that recognizes that gender and gender identity are fluid, that we all contain elements of the masculine and feminine. We need a spiritual practice that recognizes not only that same-sex love is possible, but that our love can powerfully energize a deep quest for Self-awareness and enlightenment. We need to realize that any feeling of shame or unworthiness connected to our gay being shackles our spirit and blocks us from the full realization of God/dess within, for the Divine Being is gay, too.

Integrating sexuality with spirituality has been the specialty of traditional Hindu Tantra for at least 1500 years. The short readings in this book adapt the concepts and methods of the ancient tantric tradition for LGBT persons of all genders living in our modern, rapidly changing world. Gay and gender-non-conforming persons have been condemned or ignored by all major religions, and many LGBT persons may reject religion in general, sometimes substituting sex, drugs, or other diversions. Substitutes for true spirituality ultimately fail to remedy the existential conditions of mortality, isolation, and meaningless- ness as only a deep spiritual practice can. These readings demonstrate various ways LGBT people can tap into the deepest currents of human spirituality while recognizing the special spiritual needs and aptitudes that come with an LGBT identity. Gay Tantra teaches us to attain the heights of spiritual enlightenment utilizing fully our LGBT experiences and ways of being in the world.