What is the Purpose of Tantra

[Guest guest]

The implications of what is called Tantra go far beyond mere " sex " . They surpass

the classic Kama Sutra, and even the sexual continence. It is true that Tantra

it uses sex (in fact, to be more accurate, it uses the sexual energy), but this

is just a means to an end. The actual aim of Tantra is the ULTIMATE SPRITUAL

FREEDOM.

 

This concept may appear somewhat confusing for the time being ... however, for a

better understanding, you should know that the Christians call it salvation of

the soul. The Zen tradition - Satori,yoga - SAMADHI and Buddhism - Nirvana but

it cannot be but one and the same thing. It is written in the Holy Book that we

all have a spark of God inside us. Tantra believes that your spirit is of the

same essence with God, pure happiness, infinite knowledge and immortality. It

sustains that SPIRIT is above pain, illness and suffering, immune to all the

limits of the human personality.

 

By achieving the state of ULTIMATE SPRITUAL FREEDOM the tantric practitioner

becomes an all powerful being. There is no limit to what he can do, but not

everything is permitted. Even in ULTIMATE SPRITUAL FREEDOM there are laws that

must be followed - the universal laws of love, compassion and harmony.

 

However, a spiritually liberated person enjoys a much greater freedom than the

other people because he is no longer limited by ignorance, lack of power and his

happiness is not conditioned by anything exterior (and for women is the same).

How many times didn't you say : First, I must get a car and THEN, I'll really be

happy. I have to strive to become rich and THEN I will become happy. By

contrast, all the LIBERATED people find a supreme happiness INSIDE themselves

and in their permanent union with the Absolute, a happiness much more real and

intense than what we usually feel in the day to day life. In fact this state is

so different that we can call it by another name : DIVINE ECSTASY.

 

Patanjali, a yoga master in the ancient times, said " For the sage, everything in

THIS world is but suffering and pain " . Nonetheless, he is not the first one and

not the last one to notice the universal suffering. Buddha himself said

" Everything is pain, everything is ephemeral (in our physical world) " . The human

experience usually generates suffering. However, this universal pain does not

lead to a pessimistic philosophy. No Hindu philosophy falls into dispair and

negativism. The universal suffering has a positive value, as it stimulates the

aspiration to reach the state of ultimate freedom. It is true that the suffering

is universal, but it is not eternal. The aim of every spiritual path is to

free us from suffering. Tantra does this by a gradual EXPANSION of the field OF

CONSCIOUSNESS. It is a process that involves a profound purification of the body

and the aura and the mind. The physical and subtle bodies of a Tantric

practitioner are pure as a diamond, and sharp as a lightning (Vajra).

 

Take the following example: let's say that you are in love and you tried hard to

make your loved one respond to you with the same feelings. It was difficult and

it took a lot of time... But today it finally happened! She told you she is in

love with you. How do you feel? Don't you want to share your happiness with the

whole world? Don't you feel like flying? Such moments make you forget all the

bad and ugly things in this world. You are on the top of the world, and nothing

can touch you! Now try to multiply this feeling to ten, a thousand, even a

billion, and you will barely begin to grasp the feeling of CONSCIOUSNESS

EXPANDED into the infinite.

 

The goal of Tantra is the ultimate happiness, a feeling so powerful that if you

would feel it right now you might not be able to bear its intensity. An

appropriate comparison it would be with a regular light bulb through which

thousands of volts are made to run. The bulb could not bear the intensity, and

it would most likely explode.

It takes a special kind of people to seek this goal. Not anyone off the street

(and we can add, not everyone off the net) can be genuinely interested in this

goal. An old tantric saying goes as follows: " Many are called, but few will

succeed " . The contemporary society has perverted the religious message to such a

point that many good intentioned and moral people don't want to have anything to

do with religion because it fails to address the mind as well as it addresses

the soul.

 

Tantra on the other hand is a practice reserved to the few, it is a secret kept

by few for thousands of years. The important aspect here is that it did not

decay over the time. Tantra is not a religion; it is more of a spiritual

philosophy doubled by a set of very efficient practices and techniques. One

needs not be an Indian to practice Tantra. I myself am not an Indian and my

tantric teacher is not an Indian. In fact we are Christians. The interesting

fact is that I got to a better understanding and practice of my own religion

after I studied the tantric spirituality. By studying one I can understand the

other in a more profound way.

 

Tantra does not require that you believe in its teaching without considering it

yourselves - quite the opposite! Tantra cannot be approached by people who

cannot judge for themselves a certain matter. I invite all who are open minded

to approach this teaching, leaving all preconceived ideas aside.

 

So, if you think you got what it takes to embark on this journey, stick with us

and we'll show you how far can you go. :-)