19 Nov The Roots of Tantra, Part One
When you trace it all back there are only two paths, tantra and yoga. All traditions stem from one or the other root. The paths stemming from yoga are those that teach there is something to do to arrive at ultimate fulfillment. The seeker needs to learn to restrain the passions, discipline the body and the breath, and refrain from indulging in pleasures, including sex. One must mold and sculpt oneself into something worthy of God in order to progress along the spiritual path. This mindset becomes apparent in the whole Western ethos of striving, making, doing, or trying to get somewhere, anywhere or anyone other than who or where you are.
Tantra on the other hand is the path that teaches that all is divine. In yoga, some things are holy and some things are not. In tantra, everything is perfect just the way it is, including darkness, death, difficult emotions, and sensual pleasures. No matter what is happening, it is celebrated as part of precious Life. The path to ultimate realization is in the full acceptance of the perfection of the present moment. There is nowhere to go; nothing to do, no one to be; all is as it is, and realizing this, one can surrender into a deep let-go.
In its central worldview that all is divine, tantra accepted our sensual nature as an essential facet of being human. Tantrikas would experiment with what was forbidden by other traditions such as eating meat, drinking wine, and having sex, as a way of experiencing that all is a manifestation of the Divine, that the distinctions taught by society are false. These activities were performed in special ceremonies as specific occult techniques, much like the homeopathic remedy of ingesting a tiny bit of the poison that caused the illness in order to cure it.
Of course, today when all is permitted in Western society, the performance of such “forbidden” actions carries no meaning. Eating meat and drinking alcohol are activities that no longer teach us anything and have, in fact, become stale. Instead, many people’s lives have led to a sickening over-satiation of sensual pleasure, causing obesity, degenerative disease, and rampant boredom. Having sex is no longer forbidden, and for many people has become one of the paths of learning. It was said that in the Kali Yuga, which is the name of the time we are living in, tantra would reappear to enlighten the public.
© 2014 Catherine Auman This article is an excerpt from Catherine’s book Shortcuts to Mindfulness: 100 Ways to Personal and Spiritual Growth
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