What is Tantra?

Tantra is an ancient style of meditation and ritual, which arose in India around the 5th century AD

 

The Sanskrit word Tantra means “to weave and expand.” The tantric path is non-dualistic, meaning there is no separation of the physical world and the world of spirit. Tantra sees the two as intertwined, and heightens our awareness that all the threads of our experience are part of the divine tapestry of life. Tantra is always encouraging us to embrace beauty and joy as well as shadow and chaos, so that we may embrace all experiences in life fully.

We can not forget that, mainly, Tantra is a spiritual path, a way of life rather than a religion with a specific dogma to follow. It is a path of transformation and expansion, embracing all facets of life. Unlike some other traditions Tantra accepts sexual energy and may use it as a route to higher consciousness – but that is just one facet among many.

Most of what we know about tantra today comes from ancient oral traditions in India written down about 2,000 years ago as a dialogue between the God Shiva and his consort Shakti. The ancient tantric masters of India believed that the world was created through the erotic union of Shiva (pure masculine consciousness) and Shakti (pure feminine energy), and that all living things emanate from their holy dance of consciousness and energy. In other words, merging of the feminine and masculine energies for awakening