Innumerable are the paths that lead to
illumination or God-
realisation: the path of love, the path of action,
yoga science,
zazen and others.
Tantra is one of them. Unlike yoga and paths that prescribe laws and observances, tantra says: do whatever you wish, not because it is good or bad, but because by expressing the inner desires or impressions in the form of emotions, thoughts and moods, it is easy to transform them. By so doing, one goes beyond the turbulence of one’s being. ‘Tan’ means body and ‘tra’ means to disintegrate, to dissolve or to finish. It is like the word mantra, where ‘man’ means mind and ‘tra’ means to dissolve, therefore dissolving the mind or thoughts and thought vibrations to enter the state of Pure Consciousness. Therefore tantra means, in the spiritual sense, transcending body consciousness to live as Pure Consciousness, which is the real and natural state of our being. Remember that man in essence is a state of being, but which is veiled or surrounded by the cyclone of thoughts, emotions and by the python of unconsciousness.
Tantra, which also means technique, aims at using the small amount of consciousness we have to stir the mud of impressions that produce unconsciousness. This is what the ancient Hindu scripture Vishnu Puran calls samudra manthan, that is, ocean churning. Without the churning, nectar could not be acquired. Similarly, without the churning of our mind, the nectar of bliss cannot be achieved. In tantra, observation is the key. Man consists of a body, a mind and a state of Pure Consciousness, which religion calls soul. If one succeeds in becoming aware of that state, there is a complete transformation called
enlightenment.
Tantra proceeds in steps just as yoga, but while yoga teaches suppression with awareness, tantra teaches expression with awareness. Yoga will say: don’t touch alcohol, not for any moral reason but because it will disturb you physically and psychically. Tantra will say: if you desire to drink, do so however, each step should be taken with full awareness. Observe the desire for drinking, take your time and observe every act while you are enjoying a good drink. Every feeling that has a relation to the act should pass through the sharp knife of observation. Then, tantra says, one day will come when alcohol will leave you forever. This does not mean that you will never be able to drink; rather you will have transcended or mastered the desire to drink.
That is the real meaning of renunciation from the point of view of tantra. Therefore neither yoga nor
meditation prevents from doing things for moral reasons, nor does tantra permit these same things for sense pleasure. They all aim at transcendence for enlightenment. This principle applies to any action. In so doing or by applying intense observation to every aspect of life, one can discover that one’s real nature is a silent witness to the whole existence. One can in that way enjoy the whole world without getting involved in and thus ensnared by the illusive world.
Man, being a triad of body, mind and soul, should first train himself to observe every movement of all his senses and the body as a whole. If he succeeds in that, then automatically he will move to observing the mind. Remember, everything that is observed intensely changes its behaviour. Through intense observation, the mind will get transformed. That is the real need of the moment. Greed, anger, lust, hatred, jealousy and other evil waves of the mind can be transformed through deep watching or observation. One thing is crucial: observation should be done without any judgement, that is, one should not divide the mind or any action. Any mood or action should be simply witnessed detachedly.
The tantric approach is scientific and universal; it can be practised by one and all and in all circumstances of life. It teaches one to use every moment, event and situation as a stepping-stone. Thus tantra makes every moment a challenge and a play. An actor acts without getting involved in what he does, he is simply a witness to himself. Tantra shows the way to be an actor, because life is also a play to be enjoyed.
However, one should not think that this is an easy path where one will have plenty of justifications for sense enjoyment. This very attitude is wrong thus negative. The one who practises tantra is as prayerful as the one who prays, practises yoga and other spiritual methods. Hence, let it be remembered that tantra is a means, not an end. The end is enlightenment. Whether one practises tantra, yoga or other paths, the need for a guide is of paramount importance. The reason behind it is not orthodox or traditional. Spiritual unfolding brings a lot of changes both on the physical and the mental levels. Before attaining the real goal, the experiences may be of strange nature. One may even give up while nearing the goal, but the master will be there to guide, to advise and to help. Finally, tantra is a science and does not belong to any religion and can be practised by one and all.
More summaries about the Tantra