What is Tantra?
Many many years ago it was the energies from the universe and each person in it were noted and the energies were shown to be heightened under certain circumstances. The sexual energy was first noted as a way to reach enlightenment which is against most western religious cultural teachings. Tantra on the other hand was discovered 1400 years back and when refined and taken apart through practices could be harnessed to allow sexual energy to give spirituality.
The actual word is derived from two different Sanskrit words. The first is Tanoti which means to grow, liberate and expand. By using Tantra practices a person is able to gain awareness of their soul allowing it to expand beyond physical limitation. The practice creates sexual energy and harnesses it for a purer more energetic body and mind. Both male and female energies are combined and harnessed by merging souls or alone to create a path for energy to become a higher power. The rewards of the practice are bliss and enlightenment.
Unlike other similar paths the Tantra is different because it is able to enlighten the soul and body to a point where high enlightenment can be achieved in art, music, visualisation and much more. Tantra is a lifestyle and although in the west some see it as being a type of sexual yoga it was never meant to be a basis for just increasing sexual performance although this is one benefit. It is a way of using sexual energy to succeed in other areas through enlightenment.
Texts recorded in Hindu traditions state that the lifestyle was something that was revered by gods and goddesses because of their ability to improve numerous aspects of life. As energy is seen as being the essence of both current physical life and spiritually it’s commonly practiced even today to increase the perceptions of energy and spirituality.
In some practices the male energy is associated with immortality and life giving however feminine energy is often subdued as it is seen as an obstacle. For this reason it was once thought that women were unable to achieve the highest Buddhism goal of Buddhahood. It was never just kept within monasteries and was used throughout numerous villages by people in all walks of life including female professionals. Rather than shunning the idea of sexual energy in some practices people achieve the highlighted state through family rather than a sexual partner.
Moving away from Buddhism which is an icon for masculinity Tantra was something that women were also able to partake in thanks to worship becoming commonplace of female idols. Women are seen in this type of practice as being just as worthy and female idols were held in highest regard. These practices are still used today all over the world. Purification of the body and mind through mantras and meditation as well as special energy excersises are the main goal. Those more advanced perform sexual rituals; however the majority do not need physical contact to take place.
