One way in which tantric Advaita differs from Advaita of Adi Shankaracharya is that the tantras don’t deny the reality of the world. But neither do they say that the world is real in itself, as an un-illumined person experiences it. No, it is real because it is the dance of Shiva, who is Reality itself, or because it is the dance of the Divine Mother who is one with Shiva, or because it is the dance of the Divine Mother who herself is both the nitya and the lila. Speaking of God as the nitya and the lila, Sri Ramakrishna says: ‘Water is water whether it is still or in waves. The snake is a snake whether it is coiled up motionless or wriggles along. A man is the same man whether sitting still or engaged in action.’ Such statements are closer to tantric Advaita than to Vishishtadvaita because they identify the universe with Shakti, which is in turn identified with the Absolute. And they are closer to tantric Advaita than to Shankara Advaita because they speak of the reality of the wo