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Merging the physical with the divine, Tantra
is a sensual, ecstatic pathway to experiencing Divinity. Birthed
in India around 5,000 B.C., the Hindus created specific rituals,
disciplines, physical techniques and meditations designed to worship
the god Shiva and his delicious consort, Shakti. Tantra honors
the eternal intercourse of Shiva and Shakti, the male and female
principles out of which all things are co-created in a continual
act of erotic love.
Unlike most other mystical paths, Tantra enthusiastically
includes sexuality as a hallowed gateway to spiritual enlightenment.
In ancient times, Saraha was well known and respected for his
great mind and vast knowledge. According to legend, he shocked
his townsmen not only by falling in love with a female Tantra
teacher, but also by living with her in a cemetery where "they
danced and sang and celebrated" with much delight. Sad and
cheerless people who arrived to bury their dead became happy and
enraptured with the contagious ecstasy. It is reported that later,
through Saraha and his beloved, the king and queen of the land
became enlightened after being initiated into Tantra sensuality.
As a result, it is said, "the whole kingdom entered a period
of great joy and peace."
Not only was Tantra avidly followed in India as a divine worship,
it was also practiced in China, Tibet and by Cherokee Indian shamans.
In Sanskrit, Tantra translates to "weaving." In the
Native American tradition, Spider Woman was a presiding deity
at the Dawn of Being. She wove the web of life, spinning an endless
tapestry of threads from Her Spider Being. It is said that from
the red clay of Earth, she created all people, meticulously connecting
a silver threaded web to each one. Guided by Her creative intelligence,
she was always careful to keep a doorway at the top of each person's
head open. Even though they were intricately interlaced in the
texture of life, at the same time they were also connected to
the vast wisdom of Omnipotent Consciousness, to the One.
Tantra says, "Yes" to the Web of Life. It weaves an
attitude of celebration that includes all mental, physical, material,
psychological and spiritual experience, whether you are eating,
drinking, crying, dancing, smelling, touching, communicating,
releasing emotions, massaging each other, involved in healing
your "shadow," listening to music, or engaged in sexual
ritual. It is a philosophy, a science, an art and a way of life,
in which sexual energy is weaved consciously to create an exalted
partnership of Sacred Union where the mystical, transcendent experience
of unity, the feeling of oneness, is achieved during or following
the holy ritual of sexuality. The goal of Tantra is always Union
with God/Goddess.
Long ago, Tantras (mystical treatises) were carefully guarded
secret texts, only revealed to the privileged few who successfully
passed initiation rites. Scrupulously, they kept Tantric information
hidden, afraid that if utilized, it would be misused. However,
they, applied the energy found in these practices consciously
and channeled it to enhance "integrity, clarity and wisdom."
Although these sexual secrets were not readily available to the
masses, they found spirited expression in Spring festivals, fertility
rites and various forms of pagan worship. Paganism explored sexual
energy as the basic element of its foundation; many of the rites
and rituals were based on a profound consciousness of the special
power of sexuality.
We, in this Information Age, can easily access this knowledge.
In this era of freedom, we have the opportunity to explore these
ancient secrets of sexuality, the opportunity to discover for
ourselves why this information was so cautiously guarded. As the
Tantric path is followed, new ways of opening, evolving and refining
the senses can be delightfully experienced. These techniques of
breathing, special body and hand positions, stretching, massaging,
dancing, communicating, meditating, anointing the body, visualizing,
costuming and sensual ritual are all part of a spiritual discipline
that contributes directly to sexual awareness and energy development.
Like a coiled serpent of fire, deep within our sacred temples,
exquisite sexual potential sleeps, waiting to be discovered, explored,
ripened and transformed through the "alchemy of ecstasy."
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