The Hidden Meaning of Tantra

Tantra comes from the Samskrta (Sanskrit) words “Tan” meaning “dullness” and “Trayet” meaning “to liberate”. So Tantra means, “that which liberates the mind from dullness”. In spirit Tantra is very broad; it includes any action, physical, mental, spiritual, individual or social which fights against the force of negativity.

Tantra acknowledges that existence is the result of tension between two forces which can be called expansive and contractive. Without the contractive force there would be no physical expression and without the expansive force there would be no psychic or spiritual expression. To live in this world there needs to be a balance between these different types of expression, so both the expansive and contractive forces are necessary. Nevertheless, human beings, individually and collectively are gradually evolving psychically and spiritually towards self-realisation. So, although we need to maintain a balance between the expansive and contractive forces we are nevertheless steadily and persistently asserting the domination of the expansive force over the contractive. This implies a ceaseless struggle against the contractive or negative force.

To make spiritual progress this struggle must be accepted, indeed embraced, in a positive way. In Tantra, struggle is seen as a sign of life - where there is no struggle against negativity there is no life, rather there is a slipping back towards the physicality from which we have so painstakingly evolved. To struggle implies some suffering, yet it is a suffering which yields greater and greater psychic expansion and happiness, as the bondages of the contractive force are gradually thrown off. Unwillingness to accept this struggle as the normal and natural sign of healthy life merely compounds one’s misery. Even in non-acceptance, the struggle remains but it is of a gradually regressive rather than progressive nature resulting in increasing dullness, depression and unhappiness. On top of this the pain is worsened by the feeling of being victimised, “Why do these things happen to me?”. The Tantric attitude is a courageous one, embracing life’s struggles as the path to freedom and happiness.

Tantric practices are the body of techniques used to overcome the influence of the contractive forces. Mantras which awaken the Kundalinii and bring the cakras (centres of mental propensities) under control are aspects of Tantra. So also is the relationship between Guru and Disciple where the student develops a relationship with an advanced master that allows him or her to take advantage of the master’s spiritual capacity and advance quickly and safely avoiding the many dangerous traps along the way.

Tantric practices were normally handed down secretly from Master to Disciple. However, due to shortage of competent teachers these eventually had to be written down. In order that the practices could not be misused by the uninitiated they were often hidden in codes and images. The most famous are the ‘Five Ms’ (Mamsa - meat, Matsya - fish, Madhya - wine, Mudra - posture, and Maethuna - sexual union), which appear at first glance to endorse the indulgence in physical pleasures as a form of spiritual practice. As a result Tantra has been much misunderstood. The ancient Tantrics realised that not everyone was ready to undergo strong spiritual disciplines and so they devised a set of practices for common people (as yet unable to give up the ‘Five Ms’) which taught them how to use these things in a controlled way with spiritual ideation. Various mantras and practices were incorporated with the aim that gradually the practitioner would gain control over this area of their life and be able to graduate to higher awareness. Once reaching a higher state the Five Ms took on a different meaning altogether.

Mamsa (meat) was the symbol for the tongue and meant control of speech and other expressions. Matsya (fish) was the symbol for the two intertwining psychic channels which are controlled by the breath and means breath control. Madhya (wine) was the symbol for the hormone secreted by the pineal gland, melatonin and the techniques for bringing it under control, Mudra (posture) was the symbol for spiritual company and the importance of contact with good people, while Maethuna (sexual union) was the symbol for joining the Kundalinii energy (female) to the seat of consciousness (male) in the Sahasrara Cakra at the crown of the Head.

Tantra is a dynamic science aimed at human liberation on all levels yet today many of these aspects of Tantra have not been properly understood. With the spiritual development of a percentage of the population, proper understanding is now happening.