Tantra Exhibition Review

 

Approximately 100 mostly antique exhibits (from 6th century to the modern day) including paintings, sculptures, photos, texts, many with write-ups to express the wild and wonderful philosophy of Tantra. So - what is Tantra? Originating in Hinduism and moving to Buddhism, and then to Sufism, it is a Goddess driven religious ideal, where women take the power to be ugly, angry, savage and destructive but bring enlightenment, laughter and reverie. Women have the capacity to be protective, strong, dynamic and demanding, hence the appalling images of females in the throes of drinking from skull cups and other serious craziness! Shiva, Kali, Kundalini and Durga are the main protagonists, but they have their parallels in Sekhmet, Lyssa, Valkaries, etc.

The Knights Templar

 Since the earliest days of Christianity, there was a desire to see the holy places where the prophets, the disciples and Jesus himself taught and died. St Helena, the mother of King Constantine, went in search of ancient holy sites and relics. When Jerusalem was taken by Islam, Pilgrims who set out for this long, dangerous and arduous journey were often robbed and sometimes killed on route. Seeing this difficult situation, nine French knights, all related, formed in 1118 AD a brotherhood for the protection of these dedicated pilgrims. They were led by Hughes of Payens and Godfrey of Bouillon. The Templar title comes from accommodation on Temple Mount given to them and for their defence of this holy site. They rose to prominence during the time of the first Crusades. These were a series of wars fought under the banner of Christ either for the recovery of the land or in defence of Christian holy sites. They wore a white cloak with a red eight pointed Maltese cross on the left shoulder. In 1130, with the support of Saint Bernard and money coming from the Christian world, their meteoric rise began. They were to become a major political and financial fighting force.