Thousands of years ago, people had achieved a high degree of awareness and an alchemical formula for converting what we know as sex energy -- called by many names, such as Vital Force, Elan Vital, Soul, Chi, etc. -- into a state of divinity.
Their spiritual philosophy held sexuality as a divine rite and an expression of union. Through an awakened consciousness, they practiced Tantra with an artistic and cultural lifestyle of pure bliss and harmony.
Unfortunately as our planet moved out of the Taurian Age (4300-1700 B.C.) and became masculine and aggressive, it also lost the deep spiritual connection to this vital sexual energy.
While sexuality touches every part of lives, it's sad that this most pleasurable, life affirming phenomenon -- the act of creating our birth itself -- is today tainted with fear, abuse and general negativity.
Now, like the spring flower freeing itself from the frozen snow, Tantra is again respected, offering the Aquarian Age a way to reverse the negative energy on the planet and a way to release ourselves and reach transcendence.
What Is Tantra?
Tantra is the total surrender, or letting go of all mental, emotional and cultural conditioning, so that universal life energy may flow through you like a river without any effort. It is a letting go to a universal oneness...to love. When fear is removed, Tantra remains. The word "Tantra" has many definitions, and perhaps its real meaning has been lost to antiquity.
Some say it comes from the Sanskrit or Hindi word for fabric or tapestry, meaning that it is woven into one's life. Others say that it comes from two Sanskrit words, Tanoti and Trayati Tanoti means to expand consciousness, and Trayati means to liberate consciousness. One might then say that Tantra expands and liberates consciousness.
The highest possible synthesis between love and meditation, Tantra is also the connection between the third dimension and other planes of existence beyond mere materiality. While not a religious philosophy, Tantra embraces a deep spiritual understanding of life, and an ancient art of living in harmony with existence. It is treating sexual energy as a friend, rather than something to be suppressed or talked about in low tones. It does not deny sex, or consider sex a hindrance to enlightenment or Heavenly Grace. To the contrary, Tantra is the only spiritual path which says that sex is sacred and not a sin. Tantrikas are God-loving rather than God-fearing.
There is a most beautiful word for sex in the Sanskrit language, and that is Kama which means sex/love together, undivided and indivisible. Most everyone is familiar with the classic Kama Sutra, the 7th Century Tantric scripture. Kama is also the name for the Hindu Goddess of love... and love is what Tantra encourages -- total love, including the mind, the spirit, and the body.
Let It All Go!
Tantra doesn't tell you to control your sexual urges to reach God, but rather the opposite. It supports the development of this vital energy to achieve union with Divinity. The essence of Tantra is the full expression of existence... a merging with, rather than a withdrawing from. It is the ultimate yoga which is Sanskrit for union. In Tantra, sexual energy is used as ignition for firing the Kundalini energy, the body's biological energy system, merging it/you with universal energy.
Unlike Taoism (which actually stemmed from ancient Tantra), that says bring your energy inside, Tantra says let it go...let it all go. There is no reason to hang on to anything if eternity and infinity exist.
In Tantra, sex is used as the cosmic union of opposites to create the polarity charge that connects with the primordial energy from which everything arises in the universe...the totality of All. We dance with the electromagnetic force field of our partner, and the dance leads to God/Cosmic Oneness.
The basic difference between unenlightened sexuality and Tantra is that Tantra declares "the kingdom of God is within your heart." In Sanskrit, it is called Punde So Brahmande, "the physical body is the temple of God, and the body is the replica or representation of the entire Cosmos."
Tantra says we can celebrate life when the idea of separation, or otherness, disappears from the body and mind, allowing people to meet on all levels of consciousness -- physical, vital, mental, intellectual, and spiritual. Sex becomes sacred and divine when you approach it from your heart and body, rather than from your mind. When that energy comes from a space deep within you -- your essential self -- it connects you to God/Goddess/All That Is... moving you into the realm of spirit!
Copyright 1995 Sw.Virato.
Recommended book:
The Art of Tantric Sex
About The Author
Swami Nostradamus Virato, a disciple of Osho, has been practicing NeoTantra for over 25 years. He is spiritual director of The Nepal Institute and publisher of "New Frontier Magazine". He can be reached at: Nepal Institute, PO Box 17397, Asheville, NC 28816. Website http://www.newfrontier.com/nepal
