Our Teacher Mark Dyczkowski
Embodiment
Everything that is true remains true for eternity. But the true only lives in the embodiment of those people who are true themselves. This embodiment makes it tangible and gives it reality. This is how the possible becomes reality and the good becomes truly good.
The gateway to tantra
Dr. Mark Dyczkowski was a shining example of such embodiment and one of the most important scholars of Shiva Tantra at the beginning of the 21st century. I had the honor of learning from him and meeting him in person in Varanasi. Markiji was one of those rare people who uncompromisingly dedicated their entire life to the service of a higher reality. He dedicated his entire life’s breath, as we yogis say, to the exploration of the Goddess.
The most important tantric school after Abhinavagupta is the Trika Tantra. Markiji Dyczkowski built a unique bridge between East and West by not only explaining this extraordinary tradition, but also bringing it to the West in a truly understandable way for the first time. He was a student of Swami Lakshmanjoo and, like Bettina Bäumer, was initiated into this lineage.
Markiji translated and annotated Abhinavagupta’s “Tantraloka”, a magnum opus that explores the essence of Tantra in depth. In Tantraloka, Trika – the tradition of the goddess Parā – is seen as the central element in which all spiritual currents flow together. In addition, he devoted over 20 years of his life to the goddess Kubjikā and was the first to translate the Manthānabhairava Tantra into English. This translation is a vision of the Goddess made eloquent, giving rise to a practice that will bear fruit for many generations to come. I am deeply grateful that I was able to gain access to this tradition through him.
Markiji is of particular importance to our school as he was one of the few scholars who truly understood and could teach tantric meditation as we teach it. Our courses on the Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra are largely based on his knowledge and insights. Markiji opened the soul of the Parā to us and initiated us into a deep understanding of the Trika Tantra.
Thank you Markiji
Thank you, Markiji, for being our friend, our companion and the light at the end of the tunnel of life.
Markiji, our dear friend, talented sitar player and intuitive wanderer of tantric philosophy, left this world in February this year in Varanasi. Shortly before his death, he completed his (unofficial) lectures on the goddess Kubjikā, continued to teach about the Tantraloka and created a community that lovingly preserves and carries on his legacy.
Thank you, Markiji, for opening the door to tantra for us! The divine itself may be eternal, but it only lives and unfolds through embodiment in human beings. In fact, nothing in this world is eternal – because only what can be experienced is real. The truly eternal in the divine needs man, or rather: man needs himself in order to make the divine tangible in the world.
We have Markiji to thank for the rediscovery of the wonderful goddess. He showed us a forgotten ritual, and when we open its door, we feel the breeze of her dance deep in our souls.
Thank you, Markiji, for everything you have given us!