What is Tantra?

 

Tantric practices are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. Their origins are prehistoric, but became formalized and began to be recorded in scriptures called Tantras around the sixth century. Tantric practice is a distinct wisdom stream parallel to orthodox Brahminical Hinduism and mainstream Buddhism. 

The Rig Vedas are ancient texts from India that describe the word Tantra as a weaving as if on a loom. Tan of Tantra means “to extend, stretch, spread, shine”.  Tra of Tantra means technique.  Therefore, Tantra is a way to stretch and extend ourselves as we explore our edges. 

 

Tantra is divided into the left-hand path (vama-marga/the path of beauty) and the right-hand path (dakshina-marga/the “southern” path, or path of giving) and is practiced in both Buddhism and Hinduism.  The left-hand path is unconventional and includes sexual practices, while the right-hand path is more common and uses symbolic metaphors of the union of Shiva and Shakti without any sexual practices.

 

Tantra is about much more than just sexual sadhana (practices) and includes deities, Tantric texts, rituals, mantras, mudras, yantras, pranayama, chakras, energy awareness and a deeper connection with yourself, your partner(s) and the Divine.  Honoring the traditions, lineage, sacred texts, and rituals from classical Tantra is important. 

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Tantra explores:

• Deities

• Formula of practices

• Text(s)

• Weaving of energies and relationships

• Toolbox of techniques

• Repetition of mantras

• Breathwork

• Yantras

• Embodied meditation

• Sacred sexuality

• A way of being in the world where all is sacred and honored​

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Classical Tantra Definitions:

 

Tantra comes from the combination of two parts, “tan” (propagate, expand on, elaborate on) and “tra” (save, protect). So “Tantra” are those texts and teachings which expand (tan) that which saves (tra).

 

“Because it elaborates copious and profound matters, especially relating to the principles of reality [tattvas] and mantras, and because it saves us [from the cycle of suffering], it is called a tantra.”

~Kāmikā-tantra  

 

“A Tantra is a divinely revealed body of teachings, explaining what is necessary and what is a hindrance in the practice of the worship of the Divine; and also describing the specialized initiation and purification ceremonies that are the necessary prerequisites of Tantrik practice. These teachings are given to those qualified to pursue both the higher and lower aims of human existence.”

~ Rama Kantha’s commentary on the Sārdhatriśati-kālottara, as quoted in Tantra Illuminated by Dr. Wallis
 

Characteristics of Classical Tantra include:

 

• Theism and non-dualism

• Yoga, especially kuṇḍalinī yoga

• Mantra-science

• Yantras/maṇḍalas

• Emphasis on the guru

• Bipolar symbology of god/goddess

• Secret, expeditious, dangerous path

• Unorthodox or taboo practices

• Ritual Initiation

 

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What is Neo-Tantra?

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In the 20th century, seekers travelled to India and mixed traditional energy practices with modern day psychology and NeoTantra was born. In the West, we mostly practice NeoTantra with a focus on sacred sexuality made popular by  teachers like Margot Anand who calls it the rocketship to enlightenment. 

 

Tantra is a vast subject and at its core is a deeply spiritual practice and act of worshipping the Divine.  In classical Tantra, the practice almost always starts with the deity. In the West, most people practice NeoTantra, which includes the celebration of sacred sexuality, using pleasure as a tool for transformation and empowerment. Tantrikas hold that everything including the body and sexual energy can be a vehicle for awakening.

 

NeoTantra Definitions:

 

"The philosophy of Tantra, which most people mistakenly think is only about sex, is actually about weaving. The word Tantra literally means "loom" and the verb tan means "to stretch." Tantra is the spiritual practice of weaving together opposite energies, specifically the upward and downward currents of Shakti and Shiva, of yin and yang. Sexuality, a subset of Tantra, is a sacred act that embodies this union on the physical plane. The ultimate balance of these two forces, however, occurs when we bring them through all the chakras and balance them in the heart.

 

Tantra seeks to obtain enlightenment not by renunciation, but by embracing the full experience of living. Tantra delights in the senses, desires, and feelings, and is focused on the expansion of consciousness that comes from a dynamic, sensate connection to life. Tantra does not advise us to cease action, but to transform our acts into creative evolution. Tantra is the harmonious weaving of primordial opposites: mortal and divine, male and female, Shiva and Shakti, spirit and matter, Heaven and Earth."

 ~ Anodea Judith, Eastern Body, Western Mind

 

“Tantra is a tapestry of knowledge weaving together the threads of yoga technique.”

~ Dr. Lorin Roche, The Radiance Sutras

 

“Tantraism can be defined as a system of belief and practices intended to stretch the human mind, to guide its adherence to higher knowledge, or gnosis”

~ George Feuerstein, Sacred Sexuality: The Erotic Spirit in the World’s Greatest Religions

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“Tantra  is a spiritual path to enlightenment,  but unlike most mystical paths, Tantra includes sexuality as a doorway to ecstasy and enlightenment.  The  essence of the Tantric teaching can be summarized as this: choose with awareness that which gives you joy, and it will lead you to Spirit … Many people today mistakenly believe that Tantra is a spiritual bastardization of sexual therapy, an excuse to indulge in sensual games, an addition to hours of sexual orgams.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  The Tantric path teaches us to embrace and unify the ordinary, the erotic, and the sacred dimension of life, which all have their roots in Spirit …

 

Tantra challenges the belief promoted by most spiritual and religious paths that we must suppress or transcend our sexuality to practice meditation or awaken our Spirit.  Tantra arose in rebellion against these ascetical and life-negating creeds.  It acknowledges that sex is at the root of life and that to make human sexuality and erotic union a form of worship and meditation is to practice reverence for life, leading us directly through the pleasure of the senses to spiritual liberation.  Tantra teaches that we master desires not but avoiding them but by immersing ourselves in them … We need not suffer by sacrificing pleasures.  We can cultivate them as opportunities for awakening.” 

~ Margot Anand, The Art of Everyday Ecstasy

 

Benefits:

• Relaxes and energizes the body

• Clears the mind

• Delights the heart

• Encourages intimacy and contributes to healthy, loving relationships

• Helps us accept ourselves, integrate all of our parts 

• Increases our ability to be ecstatic – both energetically and physically. Increases our orgasmic potential. Sexuality involves orgasm of the body, while ecstasy involves orgasm of the spirit.

• Cultivates our ability to be present, receptive and available for pleasure. Helps us fall in love with life – to embrace this path of pleasure. We live in an anti-ecstatic culture…. all about work, work, work. We learn the discipline of pleasure as an antidote!

• A spiritual path to awakening – the rocket-ship to enlightenment!

• To awaken the energy in our lower chakras, the fuel for our life, source of our power. It requires ritual, discipline and awareness to harness this power responsibly.