Tantra, Please explain?

[IcyCosmic]

Vannakkam Icy: I'll cut to the chase with my opinion. It's a bunch of hogwash ... nothing to do with Hinduism, and much more to do with the fact sex sells in the west. I suggest you ignore it.

Aum Namasivaya

Namaste, that is what I thought, but why is this issue so deep in the fog?
Is Tantra wholly hogwash or just the version promoted in the west?

[IcyCosmic]

Namaste,

I have to agree with this. A lot of the popular 'Tantra" that you will find here in the west has been very far removed from what it might have meant originally, and has nothing to do with Hinduism or spirituality.

I typed in books on Tantra in Amazon just to get an idea, and came back with a list that includes the following:

• Sex Yoga - The Seven Easy Steps to a Mind Blowing Kundalini Orgasm
• Tantric Sex for Busy Couples: How to Deepen You Passion in Just Ten Minutes a Day
• Tantra Between the Sheets: The Easy and Fun Guide to Mind-Blowing Sex
• Tantric Sex for Women: A Guide for Lesbian, Bi, Hetero, and Solo Lovers

I could go on and on and on, but I think you get the idea. Frankly it is just embarrassing that this culture has taken something deep and spiritual and reduced it to what you see in that list.



Pranam.

Goodness gracious. What nonsense. Seeing your beloved as the goddess she rightfully embodies is one thing, but this is clearly just money-grabbing garbage.

[Eastern Mind]

Is Tantra wholly hogwash or just the version promoted in the west?

Vannakkam: No it is not wholly hogwash, just the western stuff. I practice something called the Vasana Daha Tantra, and in this case it roughly means 'method'. So there are legitimate uses of the word, and it is an esoteric field, but under the guidance of a Guru, and certainly not to increase instinctive pleasures.

We're supposed to be retreating from the instinct, subduing, controlling, etc., not finding ways to increase it's affect on us.

Aum Namasivaya

[Ekam]

Namaste all,
the more and more I seem to interact with westerns who are into spirituality, it seems a large percentage of them who have had exposure with buddhism/hinduism are into Tantra. A lot of the things they tell me go completely left field from what I've been taught and experienced. Can someone please explain the tantric tradition to me? I read the Wiki page and a few sites and also read this forum, but I'm still confused. Also I remember some of them go to a ''hindu'' workshop where people sexually harness each other (no penetration) in order to transmute sexual energy or something. Is this truly part of Hinduism or a perpetuation by the west? Thanks all.

Some also say there is a divide between what Tantra is and what it is perpetuated as? I would love a overall clarification.

Aum Namah Shivaya

The Tantric texts provide three paths for attainment of sucess in sadhana, according to the level of conciousness of the sadhaka. They are the pashyachara, virachara and divyachara.

The Tantra establish that people of predominant tamasic nature should be given initiation in pashyachara; people of predominant rajasic nature in virachara; and only pure people of very high sattvic nature should practice the way of divyachara.

There are some rites prescribed in the Tantras that involves sexual intercourse with a woman (bhairavi). But those rites can only be done under very sctrict rules laided by the tantra shastra and only by those initiated in virachara and of advanced practice.

The problem arises when people ignorant of this fact (or pretending to be ignorant) start to preach tantra as if it was a system where sex is used freely and that its sexual rites are for everyone to do in every way possible, and this is very far from what the scriptures says.

Ritual intercourse is only a very little part of the whole of Tantra. The rest is happily ignored by those who are only after enjoyment under the disguise of spirituality.

[Believer]

Namaste,

I'll cut to the chase with my opinion. It's a bunch of hogwash ... nothing to do with Hinduism, and much more to do with the fact sex sells in the west. I suggest you ignore it.

+1
Could not have said it better.

Pranam.

[ShivaFan]

Namaste

There is a Tantriks temple on an island not far from where I live. To be honest, I won't go to that temple even though I am a temple fanatic. Frankly, it seems they worship blood from females and the pujaris are Euro females who seem masculine. Sort of scares me.

But some Tantra is nice. But most Devi temples here are your village type Hindu Devi temples you find in India, which are the ones I love. They may have a Hreem Kleem here and there, but the Goddess is always beautiful and electric and the pujaris (often with a red vertical tilak) are wonderful.

As for Kali pujaris, only a very special one can be a Kali Pujari. I never will question a Kali Pujari. They are very specialized.

Om Namah Sivaya

[Mana]

Namaste Icy,

Tantra means literally, "doctrine"; think about the true meaning and root of this word for a clear picture.
Tantra has risen from the sāṃkhya school of philosophy, one of the six principle philosophies of sanatana dharma.

Reality has been explained here, initially by way of 25 tattva upon which at a later date, Ādi Śaṅkarācārya has expanded the advaita philosophy to unite the duality all whilst preserving the foundations; Think of this as a mathematical model and refer again to "doctrine".

The Western interpretation of tantra is a rather contorted affair.
Arguably some of the "tantric" Indian interpretations also; The Kashmir shavite master swami Lakshman Jū has sited there to be a certain amount of misinterpretation of many of the tantra, and thus a failure to produce fruit by their practice.

You might like to investigate śāradā tilaka tantram, to get a feel for what tantra is or can be ... But remember that with out a Guru, interpretation is only that, an interpretation. Reality manifests from sound and not from form; which comes afterwards, in accordance with śāradā tilaka.

The tattva of creative action, one of the panca karmendriyas is upastha, this is force creativity, for tool making and invention music even; I think, often mistranslated as sex.

There is an interesting innate connection between bi-polarity and invention ...

Kind regards.

[IcyCosmic]

Namaste Icy,

Tantra means literally, "doctrine"; think about the true meaning and root of this word for a clear picture.
Tantra has risen from the sāṃkhya school of philosophy, one of the six principle philosophies of sanatana dharma.

Reality has been explained here, initially by way of 25 tattva upon which at a later date, Ādi Śaṅkarācārya has expanded the advaita philosophy to unite the duality all whilst preserving the foundations; Think of this as a mathematical model and refer again to "doctrine".

The Western interpretation of tantra is a rather contorted affair.
Arguably some of the "tantric" Indian interpretations also; The Kashmir shavite master swami Lakshman Jū has sited there to be a certain amount of misinterpretation of many of the tantra, and thus a failure to produce fruit by their practice.

You might like to investigate śāradā tilaka tantram, to get a feel for what tantra is or can be ... But remember that with out a Guru, interpretation is only that, an interpretation. Reality manifests from sound and not from form; which comes afterwards, in accordance with śāradā tilaka.

The tattva of creative action, one of the panca karmendriyas is upastha, this is force creativity, for tool making and invention music even; I think, often mistranslated as sex.

There is an interesting innate connection between bi-polarity and invention ...

Kind regards.

Namaste,
Thankyou. That certainly helps clear things.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam Icy: This may (or may not) also be helpful..

from the lexicon of Dancing with Siva, (but summarised by me for simplicity)

1) most generally, a synonym for shastra (scripture)
2) a synonym for the Agamic texts, especially those of the Shakta faith
3) a specific method, technique, or spiritual practice within the Shakta or Saiva traditions, generally used to have energy flow upward through the sushumna

so from 3 above, pranayama would be considered a tantra.

For me personally, I see it as #3.

Aum Namasivaya

[Kalicharan Tuvij]

Namaste,

After the Satayuga,
The knowledge of Veda
Fragmented into many.
The two most prominent parts
came to be:- Vedanta and Yoga.

For some reasons,
Political and social power
Remained with the Vedanti-s.

Yogi-s were discarded
Off the mainstream.

Tantra is
The start of Yoga.

It could be violent,
It could be silent,
For even HaTha Yoga
Is a kind of Tantra.

In India,
The illiterates are
The wisest people.
They live in villages,
And just do bhakti.


Sri Ram,