I have a friend, Richard, whom I have known since 1970 aprox., who now lives in Providence, Rhode Island, and with whom I am in occasional (say, monthly) telephone contact, and who has just emailed me as follows:

"Hi Anatole,

"I just sent you 4 books.  Three zen poets (Basho, Ryokan and Cold Mountain) and the Doctrine of Vibration: An Analysis of the Doctrines and Practices of Kashmir Shaivism (The Suny Series in the Shaiva traditions of Kashmir).  The last book is by Dr. Mark S.G. Dyczkowski.  He has lived in India since the late 1960s studying the subject of Hindu Tantra.  He has degrees from Benares Hindu University and a PHD from Oxford.  This is the second book I have found on the subject and so far it has been a very interesting read.

"I send you these books because frankly you are the only individual I know who will appreciate them and I value that and currently I am very flush and can afford to do so.

Namaste, Enjoy,

Richard."


To which I immediately and somewhat hastily replied:

Those are strange but compelling reason for sending someone books--but thank you, Richard.  Two or three of them are books I've bought myself in times past, and it will be nice indeed to have them home with me.  The Dyczkowski book book on Hindu Tantra is sure to be fascinating, and I look forward to reading it, as I do the work on Kashmiri Shaivism.  Again, many, many thanks,

Anatole


And then, this morning, when I had read Richard's email again, I sent him this:

Richard,

Oops.  On re-reading your email, I now see that Kashmiri Shaivism is (must be) a particular aspect of Hindu Tantra.  I thought they were entirely different subjects because, whatever they are, I am, to this point, totally ignorant of them.  Of Tibetan Buddhist Tantra I have some slight, skeptical acquaintance, but of Hindu Tantra my slate is blank.  Hopefully this is about to be rectified.

However:  Being aware, in a general sort of way, of the triune Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva that make the universe, preserve it and destroy it, I conceive not a flicker of interest in isolating any one of its particular attributes (unless it were perhaps Brahma, the Creator) and expending a lot of extatic and worshipful devotion to it.  Certainly I would not have thought that Shiva, the Destroyer (while useful and necessary--but still, just the Destroyer, like Atropos, Slitter of the Thread among the Three Fates) would have made so hot an object of religious attention that he virtually eclipses the other two aspects of the Hindu Trinity.  Even if his god-like dick is huge.  And how did that happen?  Wouldn't you think Brahma would be the one with the super-size Membrum Virilis?   I suspect these silly Indians (we know how emotional they are) have got things backwards and all out of proportion.

Anatole