THE SUPREME WAY:
THE TAO OF
SPIRITUAL EVOLUTION
THROUGH TANTRA
Tantra: Another Way
to Sacred Pleasure
The art of the bedroom constitutes the climax
of human emotions
and includes the Supreme Way.
— Vishvasara Tantra
The word tantra comes from the union of the root word tan, meaning "to extend, to expand," and the suffix tra, referring to an instrument. Tantra, therefore, is an instrument for the expansion of ordinary
consciousness in order to access the root of the self as well as the unknown potential that it may be possible to use and awaken.
The Tantra discipline, or Tantra yoga, was developed through the
rituals, practices, and meditations found in various sacred books from
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India. These books, which are over two thousand years old, were written as dialogues between the Hindu god Shiva, "the penetrating power
of focused energy," and his mate Shakti, who represents the creative
female force, sometimes called "the power of Tantra." In Tantra, the
universe is alive. From the most distant star to the smallest subatomic
particle, everything is inhabited by some form of consciousness. The
universe is consciousness and energy combined. In practice, this leads
to a respect for all life, both animal and vegetable. When anyone harms
any form of life, they are damaging their own life—ecology becomes
cosmic.
For couples seeking a significantly different way to relate to each
other and keep love and passion alive for a long time, Tantra provides
some very important tools.
Tantric sex does not promise instant results—it is not a "oneminute" technique to gain sexual skills. But for couples who wish to
enrich their relationship, it can release a special type of energy that
enhances harmony and increases sexual pleasure and intimacy. Tantric
sex can create an extraordinary sense of companionship between the
partners.
Tantra's Ancient Secrets
The mysterious and often misrepresented Tantra discipline includes a
set of ancient techniques, doctrines, and rituals designed to unite the
human mind with the infinite. According to Tantra, the universe was
born from the cosmic union of the male and female principles. This
conception includes Tantric sex, combining the wisdom of the pleasures inherent in human nature and the pleasures that come to us
through the mystical path that bridges human love to divine love.
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Tantric Sexuality
Tantra seeks the expansion of the mind by freeing energy from the fetters that bind it to the dense dimensions of matter. Tantra is the system
whereby Shakti, the primordial energy, is released. To achieve this, it is
necessary to work diligently with a proper diet, proper breathing
(pranayama), proper exercise, proper relaxation, and proper thoughts
(meditation).
At the same time, making love is an ideal opportunity for the conscious circulation of energy, and either partner may cause his or her
own energy as well as the energy of the partner to circulate.
Energy circulates when we make love, but it is often lost due to a
lack of awareness. It is important to familiarize ourselves with the sensation of a free flow of energy in order to recognize it consciously. It is
surprising to realize how easily the mind is able to feel the flow of energy if we let our intuition get in contact with the body of our partner.
Deep breathing enables us to experience the energy flow. We can see
that certain parts of the body feel awakened, while others are asleep or
less stimulated.
Tantric erotic positions, known as bandhas (locks), were devised to
inwardly channel the energy flowing outward. Hands and feet are used
frequently as aids in this extremely important process: to cause sexual
energy to circulate instead of that energy being lost. An essential ingredient in Tantric practice is to honor the inner spirit. That is how love
assumes its liberating and truly eternal character.
The sexual relationship consists then of delivering one's sexuality to
another person. When someone accepts the sexual act as a gift, exchanges take place at various levels: a physical exchange of secretions, a
psychophysical exchange of vital polarities and energies, a karmic exchange through the convergence of destinies, and a spiritual exchange
in the communion of spirits. All these exchanges enhance the quality of
the couple's relationship.
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Tantra does not advise prolonged sexual abstinence, since it leads to
the accumulation of unnatural sexual currents inside the body. Retention consists of maintaining pleasure as a light in the midst of a storm.
Tantric texts underscore the importance of "absorbing your partner's
equivalent" when there is a release of vital fluids. The loss of semen,
which originates from all parts of the body, weakens the man and
shortens his life. To counteract the loss caused by ejaculation, the man
must consciously absorb the woman's secretions, for which there are
various techniques.
In any event, the retention of semen or the conscious control of
ejaculation is a personal issue, since it doesn't affect a twenty-year-old
young man in the same way as a fifty-year-old adult. The loss of energy
through ejaculation has a different meaning for each individual, so each
must decide when and how to establish his own frequency.
At the highest levels of eroticism, orgasm becomes merely a point
in time, a further incentive in the state of intense and continuous
physical and emotional splendor that lovers successfully evoke in each
other. Sex is not considered a sensation, but a feeling. The attraction
is not an appetite, but an "eye-to-eye contact." Love is not a reaction,
but a carefully fostered creation, a prolonged mental and bodily ecstasy whose flames are kept alive by the prolonged stimulation of the
sexual organs and not by the mere reciprocal release. In this sense, the
rituals accompanying the sex acts also convey charges of accumulated
energy.
The positions and internal contractions that take place in the
course of the Tantric union are based on this conception of sexual
love. But the special condition of inner splendor that they provoke
only manifests when the erotic focus of attention shifts from the external and sensorial personification of desire to the inner goddess of
which all external women are a manifestation. In this sense, the satisfaction of the woman is extremely important, since only with such
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satisfaction will a woman bestow all of her initiation potential on her
lover. Both the woman and man, therefore, are key to reciprocal delight. This does not mean that one will lose value in the eyes of the
other. Quite the contrary—because each will become a divinity in
the other person's eyes.