tantra

Any of a comparatively recent class of Hindu or Buddhist religious literature written in Sanskrit and concerned with powerful ritual acts of body, speech, and mind.

[Sanskrit tantram, doctrine, loom.]

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(Sanskrit, weft, continuous text) A sacred text in Tibetan and other forms of Buddhism. Many tantras concern the balance between Shiva and Shakti, the male and female principles, and form the basis for various practices of meditation.

Tantra, a Tantric (see Tantrism) text, is almost always associated with the Hindu (see Hinduism entries) god Śiva (see Śiva, Śaiva) in connection with his śakti (see Śakti), the Goddess (see Devī), as a unified absolute. In certain Tantras and Śakta Upaniṣds (see Śaktism, Upaniṣads), it is the Goddess who is the primary object of worship as the personified Śakti. The word Tantra is also applied to texts, such as the Lakṣmī Tantra (see Lakṣmī) of the Paṇcarātra (see Paṇcarātra) devoted to Viṣṇu (see Vaiṣṇavas, Viṣṇu). Usually, however, Tantras are dialogues between Śiva and the Goddess.

A science or sadhana (spiritual practice) based on a vast collection of religious and occult Hindu scriptures that emphasize the shakti (energy of the deity), usually called kundalini, which comes from the goddess. The scriptures are generally in the form of a dialogue between the god Shiva and his wife Parvati. In treatises where Shiva answers the questions, they are called agama; where Parvati answers it is a nigama.

The tantra scriptures represent a cumulation of knowledge dating to ancient times. The majority of texts are written in Sanskrit, but are also found in Pali, Prakit, Tibetan, Hindi, and Bengali. They are considered encyclopedias of esoteric wisdom, covering topics such as creation and destruction of the universe, worship of the gods, spiritual disciplines, rituals, occult powers, and meditations. The tantras also discuss the subtle anatomy of the body including the chakras (spiritual centers) and the connection paths between them through which the kundalini energy travels. The tantras are also supposed to be specially relevant to Kali Yuga (the present age of devolution).

As vast and varied as the scriptures appear, however, they all have one characteristic in common: "an integrative approach to sadhana, with the objective of making the best use of all available resources within and without." Tantra can be considered the holistic approach to spiritual practice.

In opposition to traditional Judeo-Christian and aesthetic Eastern practices, Tantra does not seek to sublimate the flesh to the spirit, the physical to the metaphysical. Instead, tantra seeks to reintegrate all aspects of life, to "dissolve boundaries we've created, the separateness, the diconnectedness and become more connected with all of life."

Since the tantra's purpose is to integrate all aspects of life, it is a practice where numerous varieties of sciences can blend: hatha yoga, pranayama, medras, rituals, kundalini yoga, nada yoga, mantra, yantra, mandala, visualization of deities, alchemy, Aryurveda, and astrology can all comfortably fit within the realm of tantra. But because so many intricate sciences and techniques can be employed, it is usually advised that the tantra is studied under a competent master, who can lead the student through the complex weave of ideas and procedures.

In the West, tantra is often identified with sexuality and sexual practices. Tantric ideas are often used to help individuals and couples transform love making into a more satisfying experience, on the physical, emotional, and spiritual realm. By integrating the male and female aspect of the individual and the couple, tantra is used to raise the sexual union to a reflection of the mystical union between the shiva and shakti aspects of the divine.

A popular knowledge of tantric anatomy came to the West through Theosophy. Western scholar Sir John Woodroffe (1865-1936) wrote several pioneering books on tantra and translated tantric scriptures under a pseudonym, Arthur Avalon. The various systems of tantric yoga based on the tantras have spread in the West through the twentieth century.

Sources:

Avalon, Arthur. The Serpent Power. London: Luzac & Co., 1919.

——. Shakti and Shakta. 3d ed. Madras, India: Ganesh, 1929.

——. Tantra of the Great Liberation (Mahanirvana Tantra). London: Luzac, 1913. Reprint, New York: Dover Publications, 1972.

Chakravarti, Chintaharan. Tantras: Studies on Their Religion and Literature. Calcutta, India: Punthi Pustak, 1963.

Feuerstein, Georg. The Shambala Guide to Yoga. Boston & London: Shambala, 1996.

Greenwell, Bonnie, Ph.D. Energies of Transformation. Valencia, Calif.: Shakti River Press, 1990.

Mookerjee, Ajit. Tantra Art. New York: Random House, 1971.

Mookerjee, Ajit, and M. Khanna. The Tantric Way: Art, Science, Ritual. New York: Graphic, 1977.

Rawson, Philip. Tantra: The Indian Cult of Ecstasy. London: Thames & Hudson, 1974.

Tigunait, Pandit Rajmani "The Living Science of Tantra," Yoga International (May 1998): 22-29.

Williams, Stephen. "Tantra: An Introductory Dialogue with Raymont Powers C.T.T." Gentleman's Quarterly, August 1997, http://home.earthlink.net/-raypows/INTERVIEW.HTM.