Find Out the Real Story Behind Tantra. Hint, It’s Not All About Sex

You may have heard that Tantra is full of obscenities or that it has something to do with black magic. Forget that. As a matter of fact, Tantra involves practices such as yoga, meditation, and the reading of

sacred texts - elements that are common in other religions. Different traditions within Tantra choose to focus on different combinations of these practices, but they are certainly not focused on practicing any ‘dark arts.’

Tantra is an esoteric tradition found in Hinduism and Buddhism. Although Tantra is found in these two religions, its influence extends beyond them and can be seen in other Eastern religions as well. In

modern times, this term is also used by various New Age religions, though their practices may have little to do with the original movement.

Tantra Unites Ideas

The word ’Tantra’ means ‘loom’ in Sanskrit. There are several differing explanations as to what this word means. According to one source, this name is supposed to be a pun, and to understand the joke, one has to

first understand the word ‘sutra’. The key texts of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism are known as sutras, a word which also meant ‘thread’. Therefore, if a sutra is a single thread of thought, then Tantra would be the loom that produces these threads of thoughts into a whole system of thoughts.

The Controversial Indian Caste System Has Been Dividing India for 2000 Years

Pagans in a Modern World: What is Neopaganism?

Purification as the Core of the Ancient Shinto Faith

As a comparison, another source suggests that Tantra is a combination of two words, ‘tattva’ and ‘mantra’, which mean the science of cosmic principles and the science of mystic sound and vibration

respectively. In other words, Tantra may be regarded to be “the application of cosmic sciences to attain spiritual ascendancy.”

The Rise and Diversity of Tantra

During the course of the 1st millennium AD, Hinduism developed from the ancient Vedic tradition into the Classical traditions of Hinduism. It was during this period that Tantra first developed within

Hinduism. Although there is little historical evidence pointing to when Tantra first emerged, there is no hard evidence that Tantra was in existence before the middle of the 1st millennium AD.

Tantra drew elements from Vedic ritual traditions, as well as from yogic and meditative traditions, both of which were also being developed in Buddhism and Jainism during that period of time.

Like other religious practices, the various traditions within Tantra also possess their own set of scriptures. The followers of the different traditions believe that their sacred scriptures were

divinely revealed to them. For each tradition, however, the deity (or deities) differs. Followers of the Saiva tradition, for example, claim that their

sacred scriptures were originally teachings given by Shiva to Devi, his wife, and then transmitted to human sages such as Matsendranath. As a comparison, followers of some Buddhist Tantra traditions believe that their sacred texts were

taught by timeless cosmic buddhas to their followers. In any case, the sages to whom the sacred texts were revealed lived between the 7th and 13th centuries, during which most of the sacred texts of Tantra were written.

Rising, Falling, and Rising Again

The traditions of Tantra then spread across India, and became popular, especially amongst the growing middle class. On the one hand, Hinduism was caste-conscious, and on the other, Buddhism was male-monastic

oriented. These were the two major religions in India at that time, and Tantra offered a third alternative for those left out of the other two. Furthermore, the teachings of Tantra traditions were vibrant,

and certain difficult concepts were re-interpreted into something more comprehensible, which would have been appealing to many.

What Pearls of Wisdom are Held in the Animal Tales of the Panchatantra?

The original traditions of Tantra mostly died out around the 1100s, when Islam arrived in India. It was preserved in a diminished form, however, in three different schools, the best-known being

Vajrayana Buddhism, which was practiced in the Himalayas, and then spread to other parts of the East. The other two are the Brahmanic Sri Vidya lineage of southern India and Hatha Yoga.

In modern times, there has been a renewed interest in the teachings of Tantra, especially in the Western world. Certain teachings of Tantra have become incorporated into those of various New Age

religions. Some have argued that such re-interpretations have little in connection with the original teachings of Tantra. Others, however, have pointed out that there are there are common elements between the [[Tantra teachings]] of today and those of the past, including an emphasis on rituals, a focus on the

teachings and personal transmissions of a spiritual teacher, and an openness to others regardless of race, religion, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, etc.