Lingam raw

Tantra lingam

Tantra Kundalini

According to Tantra, the human being is a miniature universe. All that is found in the cosmos can be found within each individual, and the same principles that apply to the universe apply in the case of the individual being.

In human beings, Shakti, the feminine aspect is called Kundalini. This potential energy is said to rest at the base of the spinal cord. The object of the Tantric practice of Kundalini-yoga is to awaken this cosmic energy and make it ascend through the psychic centres, the chakras, that lie along the axis of the spine as consciousness potentials. She will then unite above the crown of the head with Shiva the pure consciousness. This union is the aim of Kundalini-yoga: a resolution of duality into unity again, a fusion with the Absolute. By this union the adept attains liberation while living which is considered in Indian life to be the highest experience: an union of the individual with the universe.

In Tantrism the state of ultimate bliss is a transcendence of dualities male-female, energy-consciousness, Shiva-Shakti.

Chakra ascendence

This diagram illustrates the ascending conciousness through the chakras to the Sahasrara to the Vishuddha and beyond.

Yantra kundalini

At the center of the yantra is the goddess Kundalini coiled around a linga within a downward pointing yoni triangle. This rests on the two intersecting triangles placed over two intersecting squares, which represents the union of Kundalini Shakti with her Shiva. On the eight lotus petals are the six chakras, the Sahasrara and the yantra of Shiva and Shakti in union. 
  “We call this freed Kundalini by a special name: the Kula Kundalini. Like every Sanskrit word, the word kula has many different meanings. Its most important meaning here is ‘Supreme Consciousness of the Universe.’ It also refers to ‘form,’ because the job of the Kundalini Shakti, the Supreme Consciousness, is to finitize, to give form and limits. 

“In the astral sense kula means ‘family.’ The Kula Kundalini, the Kundalini once she uncoiled and straightened out along the Six Chakras, takes the form of the Goddess Who is meant to be worshipped by the family into which you have been born. Kundalini is by herself formless and pure, but when She moves through the body She must be qualified, possessed of attributes, so She takes the form of one of the Great Goddesses and guides you. The particular form She takes is determined by your ancestry. Then you realize why you were born into a particular family, which allows you to understand your karmic debts, which in turn gives you knowledge of your past births.

Enlightenment

Enlightenment in a secular context often means the "full comprehension of a situation", but in spiritual terms the word alludes to a spiritual revelation or deep insight into the meaning and purpose of all things, communication with or understanding of the mind of God, profound spiritual understanding or a fundamentally changed consciousness whereby everything is perceived as a unity.
Some scientists believe that during meditative states leading up to the subjective experience of enlightenment there are actual physical changes in the brain.

According to Mandukya Upanishad, "enlightenment is a state of freedom from the ignorance that causes suffering. There is no necessity to attain mere belief in God, but it is necessary to have profound knowledge of the truth which lies behind the concept of the word God. The idea is not to know God as a different being but to know one's own real self and its essential nature, which is the self of all. The preachings of religion make a person dependent on priests,temples, idols, blind faith and dogma and dependence on these is a habit of the lower mind. Such crutches may be useful at a certain stage for some people, but they do not lead one to ultimate truth. A dependent mind is not free, and without freedom, enlightenment is impossible. Religious dogmas are full of beliefs and myths that do not satisfy the human intellect and that bind believers to a narrow view of life and human potential. Such preachings instill more fear than love in the hearts of masses" reference: enlightenment without god.

^{Source: Wikipedia}