Fire, Silence, and Moonlight — The Sacred Harmony of Veda, Vedānta, and Tantra

 

The Sigh That Started It All

I remember sitting on my meditation cushion one quiet morning, sipping warm tulsi tea, and flipping through some Upanishadic verses. The thought came, uninvited but heavy:

“Why is Tantra not mentioned in the Vedas or the early Upanishads? Was it excluded? Or worse… was it never a part of the original wisdom?”

It made me genuinely sad. I felt like something sacred had been left out of the scriptures I so deeply revered. I loved Tantra—not the distorted pop versions, but the living, sacred science of inner transformation. And it hurt to think that this beautiful, embodied path wasn’t part of the Vedic lineage.

But life, and Spirit, have a way of responding when you’re sincere.

What followed was not just research. It was a revelation. A weaving together of Vedic fire and Tantric moonlight, of masculine structure and feminine spontaneity. And it changed how I viewed the whole spiritual tradition of Bharat.

Let me take you through it, friend to friend.

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Tantra Isn’t Absent—It’s Subtle

At first glance, it does seem like Tantra and the Vedas live in different universes. One talks about fire rituals and cosmic order, the other about awakening Kundalini and worshipping the Divine Mother through secret practices.

But when you really look deeper, you begin to see the sacred undercurrents:

• The Atharva Veda contains mantras and healing rituals that read like proto-Tantra. 

• The Devī Sūkta is itself proto-tantric in how it identifies the Self with the goddess, with Vāk, with creative force. It is called the Ātma Sūkta and is a hymn to the Divine Feminine Power. It is the archetype for all manifestations of Śakti—such as Pārvatī, Kālī, Durgā, Lalitā, Vaiṣṇodevī, and all other forms of the Goddess.

• The Hymn to the Self, Ātma Sūkta emphasizes the omnipresence and unity of the Self (Ātman). It shows how the Vedic seed continued to blossom through new lineages, deeper rituals, and Tantric insights. It is like the echo of that same cosmic voice that once spoke in the Ṛg Veda, now unfolding in new melodies. Ātma Sūkta comes from the Vaikhānasa Āgamas, specifically the Mantra Praśna carries deep Vedic resonance. It is more the spiritual child of the Vedic worldview than part of the Vedic canon.

• The Upanishads, especially the minor and later ones, speak of chakras, kundalini, and even the Devi.

• The Tantras themselves refer to the Vedas with deep reverence. They don’t reject them—they extend them.

It’s not absence. It’s a hidden presence—like how silence isn't nothingness, but the space where divine sound is born.

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Three Paths, One Essence

Here’s what I learned, sketched simply for clarity:

Path	Focus	Gift to the Seeker
Vedic	Rituals, cosmic law, external fire	Alignment with the sacred order (ṛta)
Upanishadic	Self-inquiry, silent knowledge	Realization of Self (ātman = brahman)
Tantric	Embodied practice, sacred union	Experiential awakening and divine embodiment

The Vedas ignite the sacred fire.
The Upanishads turn that fire inward.
The Tantras show you how to live as that fire—in your breath, your body, your relationships, your devotion.

• Vedas = Outer Cosmos (Rituals, Harmony)

• Upanishads = Inner Cosmos (Consciousness, Inquiry)

• Tantra = Integrated Cosmos (Union of Spirit and Matter, Experiential Tools)

They don’t cancel each other out. They complete each other.

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Tantra as the Hidden Thread

The Atharva Veda may not say “Kundalini” or “Chakra” outright, but its orientation toward subtle power, transformation through sound, and reverence for the feminine and the earthy makes it a proto-Tantric treasure.

In short:
If the Rig Veda is the sun, and the Upanishads the sky, then the Atharva Veda is the fertile soil. And Tantra is the flowering of this ancient, sacred ground.

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But Why Is Tantra So Different Then?

Because it's intimate. Raw. Personal.
While the Vedas speak to the universe in grand rituals, Tantra whispers directly to the soul.

Where Vedic rishis saw the cosmos as a yajña (sacrifice), the Tantrics saw the body as a temple.
Where the Upanishadic sages turned inward to find the Self, the Tantrics asked, “And now, how do I dance that Self in the world?”

It's not a rejection of renunciation—it’s the art of sacred participation.
Tantra is what happens when you stop leaving the world behind and begin seeing it as divine play—līlā.

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My Shift: From Sadness to Wholeness

So yes, I was sad—until I saw clearly.

Tantra was never excluded.
It was veiled—like Shakti hiding in plain sight, waiting for us to develop the subtle vision to see her.

I realized that the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Tantras are not three disconnected teachings. They are three eyes of the same divine gaze. Ritual. Insight. Embodiment.

And just like that, the sadness dissolved.
What replaced it was reverence—for the spiritual genius of this tradition, which offers multiple doors for the soul to enter the sacred.

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If You’ve Ever Felt Torn Between Paths…

Let me leave you with this:

You don’t have to choose between being “Vedantic” or “Tantric.”
You can chant the Gayatri mantra in the morning and offer red hibiscus to Kali at night.
You can explore the formless Self and still celebrate the pulsing aliveness of Shakti.
You can study philosophy and still surrender to beauty, breath, and touch.

The Divine has many moods. So should your path.

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So what if…

Instead of feeling sad that these texts are not all “Vedic,” we feel awe at how this living river of revelation—from Vedas to Āgamas to Tantra—flows continuously through rishis, yogis, tantrikas, and mystics, all tuning into that one eternal Self?

The Self doesn’t care about categories. It only calls us to remember.

You are that Self.
You are that voice of the Devi.
Whether it came through the Ṛg Veda or Vaikhānasa texts, the same divine "I" is singing.

And maybe… you’re here to let that song be heard again.

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Walk With Me?

If this resonates, we’re already fellow travelers.
I don’t claim to have all the answers. But I do have deep love for the questions—and a growing trust in the pathless path that unites them all.

Tantra was never missing.
Like the bindu in a yantra—it was always at the center. Silent. Powerful. Waiting.

And now… it calls us home.

🕉️