NOVEMBER 2025

The History, Secrets of an Expert in Shivaite Tantrism from Kashmir

Interview with Daniel Odier by Dussault Andrée-Marie, originally published in the Swiss journal “Il corriere del Ticino".

“There are two ways to die. To die when we are already dead—which is the case for most people—or to die and be fully alive. In the process of becoming more and more alive, age no longer matters. We must let go of the idea that growing old is a tragic thing. I feel more alive than I did 20, 40, or 50 years ago.”  

This is the assertion of Daniel Odier, 80,  renowned master of Kashmirian Shaivite Tantrism, the author of numerous books, and a world-famous teacher. 

We are in Turin, in a large, bright room usually used for dance classes, to attend one of his seminars on death. Standing about one meter eighty-five centimeters tall,  dressed in a midnight blue satin shirt, a scarf, red glasses, and wearing a ruby ​​on the lobe of his left ear, the   "Chan master" from Geneva  sits on a chair in front of about sixty students, women and men of all ages, sitting cross-legged on the floor. 

“The goal of life,” he tells us, “is to become fully alive, regardless of whether or not there is an afterlife.” He adds that if we are fully, joyously alive, it is difficult to manipulate us, while if we are suffering, it is easy.

“Today, we are alive, but we can become infinitely more alive, says Odier. “Tantrics aspire to become as alive as possible. The goal is to be constantly amazed.” He confides that in his own life, his only practice is to be amazed. “Not five minutes go by without something amazing me,” he says.

The idea, he insists, is to passionately adore reality and to trust the body,  rather than the mind. To give the body permission to live. To say “yes” to it. He points out that most religions deny the body, demonize it. 

 “I received a Protestant, even Calvinist, education. Calvin was the Ayatollah of the Protestants! There was always this idea of ​​guilt.” He observes that the body has been so devalued that people have a very poor opinion of their bodies.

“On the contrary,  the body is amazing; it only wants one thing: to be one with the whole. The brain is slow to make decisions; it has to evaluate and analyze all the options. The body, on the other hand, is simple: while the brain is thinking, our body immediately senses whether it’s yes or no.”  In 1975, When Daniel Odier met the yogini Lalita Devi in ​​Kashmir in the north of the Indian subcontinent, she immediately explained to him that we are not here to suffer, but to listen to our bodies and accept that they have infinite possibilities.

After studying fine arts in Rome and at the École des Hautes Études in Paris, the Geneva native left Switzerland for India in 1968.  There he studied Tibetan Buddhism and Chan, (the Chinese Zen), with great masters. After a few years, he became Lalita's disciple, and she  transmitted to him Kashmiri Mahamudra, a profound and transformative spiritual practice that aims to "reveal the truth of non-duality, and the divine nature of the Universe."

With Lalita, Odier  experienced a complete revolution. She taught him to trust his body, but above all, she told him that God was not outside of him, but within, and that it was fear that had driven us to invent external gods. With her, the young Daniel understood that Tantra was a mystical path to total union with the divine. “It’s a non-dualistic path; the divine is not separate from us.” The trident of Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction and transformation, symbolizes the fact that we are simultaneously temple, divinity, and worshipper.

Lalita explained to him that gods did not exist, but that we must nevertheless honor them—"a truly Tantric paradox"—because worship brings forth fabulous qualities within us. “We worship them in our hearts, but not as something external.” "The challenge  (for tantrics love challenges and difficulties) is to worship another human being with the same intensity with which we worship a deity…with unconditional love.

What does Daniel pass on to his students? “Freedom, and the ability to marvel at the beauty of things through micro-practices.” Sometimes a micro practice lasts only 30 or 50 seconds. But it’s short duration, often repeated, is enough to change one's state of being.

The goal,” says Odier, “is to train our nervous systems in feeling fully present. ‘Being present’ brings pleasure to the body, and so, little by little, the body edges more and more towards presence,  or  awareness, and to remain there for longer and longer periods. Our yoga consists of making love with space.” 

Over the weekend, we will practice the Tandava, Shiva's slow, sacred dance, several times. This dance  consists of constant improvisation. It's about moving in space like the smoke of an incense stick.”  

We will also do visualizations that allow us to experience   philosophical principles directly through the body.   “Reading about them,”  Odier tells us, “can seem abstract and mysterious, but with the practice of visualization, they become a physical experience.” 

Daniel indicates that in Tantra, all philosophical principles are experienced through the body. He also teaches the yoga of emotions. He explains this yoga by saying that gradually, through doing Tandava and visualizations, we become more  accustomed to being in our bodies. This  helps us associate emotions with bodily states, and allows the body to process them without the interference of the mind. 

“The body constantly absorbs and expels matter. It can do the same with emotions  whereas the mind cannot. We gradually become used to physically experiencing emotions, so that life becomes simpler, and the brain can rest and be efficient when we need it.” 

Lalita played a pivotal role in Daniel’s  life by leading him away from dogmas, beliefs, and abstract concepts.
“She was an impossible character to define.” She was around forty years old, but at one moment she was as playful as a seven-year-old, and five minutes later, she was as serious as an eighty-year-old yogini. You couldn't categorize her.” He adds that Tantrics have no rules. "They don't allow themselves to be confined by norms. For them, everything rests and depends on consciousness."  Daniel emphasizes that in the Tantric tradition, there are many female teachers.

For thousands of years, women were not allowed to receive teachings and could not read sacred texts.  But when the Tantrics arrived they opposed those restrictions. “They even claimed  that women had spiritual capacities superior to those of men," affirms Odier.

So there was a huge movement of women drawn to Kashmir, but also of artists, who were then considered prostitutes,  plus a whole host of extraordinary people who felt seduced by Tantra, by this unique and revolutionary opening. For 1,000 years this influx continued.  Odier  always stresses that in Tantra, the feminine and the masculine are equally important.

At the end of the seminar, students listen intently as Daniel prepares to share a "very ancient and very secret" teaching of the yoginis, which we are also sharing here. Listen carefully. It consists of "relaxing."

"In injustice, relax; in desire, relax; in fear, relax; in anger, relax. Whatever happens, relax."
Ultimately, the master's advice is: "Do what you feel like doing. Venture out, follow your body and your instincts." Restore your body to its full power and incredible potential. Life is short, so go for it, live it to the fullest!