keep the meaning and do a quality rewrite, try not to reduce the amount of text too much

there are probably few religious
traditions as misrepresented and
misunderstood as tantra today
if you google the term or search in any
bookstore online
the vast majority of things that will
come up will have something to do with
sex
so tantric sex has become quite a trend
in the last few decades especially to
the point that the term tantra or
tantrism is almost exclusively
associated with it in a general sense in
india as well
tantra often has negative connotations
it is not only associated with doing the
dirty but also with things like magic
and dark occult things and so as a
result of that it has somewhat of a bad
reputation both in india and also in the
so-called west if you consider
sexual rituals and things like that to
be bad but in fact tantra is so much
more than this it is and has been a very
significant religious spiritual and
intellectual tradition that has
influenced not only various strands of
what we refer to as hinduism but also
buddhism jainism and essentially most
religious traditions in india
and while things like sexual rituals or
magic can be a part of this vast
tradition their role has been vastly
exaggerated which sadly obscures one of
the most fascinating movements in the
history of religion in india so today
let's dispel some of those myths and
from a more comprehensive perspective
ask yourself the question what is tantra
[Music]
tantra as with most things in this field
can be very hard to pin down and it can
mean many different things
the term itself is very broad meaning
something like a teaching and in the
earlier periods it was used in a very
general sense to mean a teaching or an
authoritative text that gives a teaching
but when we talk about tantra today we
are usually referring to a tradition
related to a group of texts from the
later part of the first millennium
probably from between the 5th to the 8th
centuries these texts were distinct from
and often stood in contrast to the vedic
text of the brahmanical tradition these
tantric texts and teachings became very
significant as they were often quite
popular among a wide span of people and
also seemed to be very inclusive in
themselves people of all casts could
read and engage with them since they
were written in a more accessible
language as opposed to the sanskrit of
the vedas and the much more elitist
brahmanical tradition associated with it
it appealed to both men and women and
was generally open to participants of
all walks of life
very important to keep in mind here is
that the term tantrism is a modern
orientalist construct it is a term that
is used to refer to a very wide
heterogeneous and hard to define set of
ideas and practices
the word tantra being a word in sanskrit
that was used in different contexts like
to refer to these texts for example was
never used as a technical term in the
form of tantrism
by the tantrus themselves andre padua
writes quotes the term tantrusim was
coined by western endologist of the
latter part of the 19th century whose
knowledge of india was limited and who
could not realize the real nature that
along the extent of the tantric
phenomenon
they believed that the practices and
notions they discovered in hindu and
buddhist texts named tantra hence
tantrism was something very particular
exceptional and limited contrasting
sharply with the general respectable
field of indian philosophy and religion
a particular domain one could easily
circumscribe but with the progress of
studies in these fields one came to
realize that apart from being a limited
phenomenon tantrusim was in fact
something vast diffuse diverse and very
difficult to define satisfactorily
so we're faced with a very difficult
task in trying to define this term it is
incredibly complex there are many
different schools and traditions that
can often be very different from each
other and so it's really difficult for
us to pin down what this concept is what
we'll do today is to accept the term
tantra or tantrusim as used today and
try to get an idea of what is referred
to what is meant when people talk about
this term now as the quote-unquote
tantric text and teachings started to
emerge they were especially associated
with shaivism which is the religious
tradition that worshipped shiva as the
supreme god
and here we need to remind ourselves of
the slippery nature of a term like
hinduism as i've talked about in earlier
episodes the term hinduism is a rather
late term that really functions more as
an umbrella term for a very broad range
of different religious traditions in
india some would even say that it
consists of different religions
altogether now i usually don't go this
far especially since there are many who
actually self-identify as hindus today
and thus it isn't entirely inaccurate to
use it as a term but it really needs to
be stressed that hinduism contains an
enormous diversity of very different
traditions there is the brahmanical
tradition connected to the vedic
scriptures and its rituals the different
philosophical schools vaishnavism and
there is shaivism
again the shaivites put an emphasis on
shiva as the highest god and worship him
as well as all the other divine
manifestations associated with him like
ganesh parvati kali and so on
and shaivism is rather unique among the
hindu traditions that we have discussed
thus far
if you remember my old episode i said
that one thing that connects all the
traditions that fall under hinduism was
their connection to the vedic scriptures
but there are even exceptions to this
and shaivism is one such example
now it should be remembered that all of
these traditions i've mentioned aren't
mutually exclusive the lines between
them aren't set in stone and the same is
of course true here there have been
attempts to connect shaivism to the
vedas but at its base it has very
different roots in shaibism the vedas
aren't the source of the tradition
rather than revolving around the highest
brahmanical caste as the vedic religion
does shaivism is closer to what some
would call a quote-unquote folk religion
it's not as hierarchical and involves
people from all walks of life in a more
direct way and rather than the vedas it
is more associated with and based in the
scriptures of the agamas or tantras
so in this way the tantric texts often
stand in contrast to the vedas and yet
of course the different traditions have
influenced each other and even though
tantrism is primarily associated with
shavism and has been most influential on
that movement it is a tradition that
very much spans across lines of
different schools and even religions it
also came to have a major influence on
certain strands of buddhism for example
vajrayana buddhism which has become
dominant in tibet so tibetan buddhism is
highly tantric in nature so there is
shaiva tantra there is buddhist tantra
there is vaishnava tantra there is jain
tantra and so on in other words tantra
is a kind of self-contained tradition of
philosophy and practice that emerged in
a diverse and dynamic environment and
came to influence various religious
traditions but what is it about i've
been saying a lot here without getting
to the point
what is it that characterizes tantra and
the tantric texts well many would say
that one of the primary features of
tantra is that it is highly practical so
like the school of yoga for example it
places a huge emphasis on the body and
on sense experience as a tool as a means
to liberation it isn't just a
speculative philosophy like say dwight
davidanta but takes a certain philosophy
and puts it to practice it teaches
techniques that can be employed to reach
the divine and often even become one
with it there are a few things that are
often characterized as being tantric in
nature and that makes tantra tantra as
it were first of all it is definitely an
esoteric tradition it is a movement that
places an importance on secrecy and on
teachings that are only disclosed to
those that are initiated by a guru or a
teacher tantrism involves the
teacher-student relationship as an
essential component the guru is the only
person who can properly teach an
initiated student the esoteric tantric
practices
at what are these practices
there is often although not always a
focus on non-dualism or a monistic
metaphysics and the goal of tantric
practices is often aimed at uniting with
god or aligning one's consciousness to
that essential oneness
and this is done through things like
mantras meditation visualization
practices the use of mandalas breathing
techniques the theories and practices
involving energy centers in the body
called chakras and the cultivation of
the energy known as kundalini as well as
fascinating forms of linguistic
mysticism and metaphysics i'm sure most
of you have heard of many of these
things and concepts before they are
quite famous in many different circles
and many of them have a direct
association with tantra and maybe even
originates in tantra so let's explore
some of them in detail mantras are of
course very well known and used widely
in different traditions this is one of
those tantric practices that goes back
very far into the past even before the
emergence of the tantric texts
some of the vedic upanishads for example
talk about mantras that is sounds words
and phrases that are chanted or that can
have significant symbolic and practical
meanings
the most famous example is probably the
syllable om which according to the
upanishads has a very important role to
play in the generation of the cosmos a
kind of underlying cosmic sound or
vibration at the core of reality
and in tantra different mantras are
central to its practices sometimes these
mantras can have relatively clear
meanings but at other times they appear
to be complete gibberish or random
collections of syllables but it is often
thought that even these have very deep
meanings indeed mantras in themselves
are quite esoteric they are taught by a
guru to his student and the deeper
esoteric meaning of these tantras is
also taught by this same guru other
tantric practices connected to this
include various breathing techniques in
association with meditation as well as
mantra mandalas also come from tantra or
strongly associated with tantra we've
all seen some of the beautiful and
intricate designs of mandalas in
buddhism as well as shaivism and other
traditions these are pictures of
geometric configurations of symbols that
can vary from quite simple to very
intricate and detailed the contents can
vary as well and mandalas can represent
various gods different worlds or
represent a spiritual journey among many
other things they are indeed very
beautiful to look at but they actually
made up a very significant part of
tantric practice
as we saw tantra also involves
physiological theories regarding
different energy centers in the body
called chakras
there are different theories about the
number of chakras but they are usually
considered to be between five to seven
of them beginning at the base of the
spine and then moving upwards ending at
the crown of the head
at the base of the spine is a kind of
storage of divine feminine energy which
is called kundalini meaning something
like coiled and is actually sometimes
associated with a snake god
not much of tantric practice including
the recitations of mantras and all other
practices mentioned here is aimed at
manipulating this energy up and down
these chakras in the body
the kundalini energy at the base of the
spine will then awaken and coil upwards
like a snake from the base to the top
and instigate a mystical experience what
is often referred to today as a
kundalini experience
this stuff later made its way into
various other traditions within
quote-unquote hinduism such as yoga and
is frequently encountered today in
various new age movements
in general this is a good example of the
already mentioned fact that tantra as
well as its related traditions like
shaivism and shaktism is quite practical
and bodily focused in contrast to other
schools of thought within hinduism such
as vedanta for example
which is often focused more on escaping
the mundane material worlds and practice
renunciation right to to withdraw from
the material mundane world and instead
focus on the spiritual side of the soul
or to reach a more spiritual state right
in in in contrast to that tantra and its
related traditions is very heavily
focused on the body and of using the
body as a vessel through which to attain
enlightenment or liberation instead of
forsaking the material these traditions
see the body as an important tool and
sends experience as central parts in
spiritual practice tantra often
conceived of the microcosm of the human
body and soul as a reflection or as
being identical to the macrocosm of
reality and in general there is an
emphasis on quote using the mundane to
reach the supramundane to use robert l
brown's words
quote the tools in tantrism are less
doctrines and beliefs than concrete
things that the practitioner learns to
manipulate in certain specific ways
sequences and patterns this involves
actions and processes with things being
taken through time and space indeed the
ultimate tool in tantra is the human
body both the outside and the inside
both the anatomical body of arms hands
tongue heart generals and mind and the
yogic anatomy of chakras and nadis it is
control of the body as a tool used to
accutate processes that connects the
practitioner with the universal power to
reach his goals related to this is also
the fact that most practitioners
associated with tantalism shivers and
more shaktism aren't renunciant ascetics
but are usually quote unquote normal
people living a householder's life
in shaivism which is perhaps the most
central religious tradition connected to
tantra this active creative material
part of reality in the world is
identified with the feminine divine
known as shakti
so in shaibism again shiva is considered
the supreme god shiva is identified with
things like consciousness and self and
as awareness that is always experiencing
bliss which is identical to himself
now as always there are different
schools of shaibism of course there are
the sedanta shaivites which have a more
classical theistic or dualistic view of
shiva as an external deity but there is
also and perhaps more significant in
relation to tantra a non-dualistic
strand of shaibism which is often called
by the name kashmiri shaivism or tariqa
shaibism and which flourished primarily
in the 9th to 12th centuries and under
major thinkers like abhinava gupta one
of the most significant figures in
indian history kashmir shaivism is an
absolutely fascinating tradition and we
will dedicate separate episodes to just
this topic but in brief this school
conceives of shiva as the reality of all
things but its monistic system is one
that is a lot more dynamic than the
static brahman of advaita vedanta
shiva as absolute reality is often
conceived of as a male female pair shiva
and shakti shiva is the supreme essence
consciousness which is aware of itself
but through a vibration of this
consciousness things are created and
exist within its awareness
and the active and creative part of this
divinity is shakti the female divine
counterpart which is the material world
so in other words shiva is everything
but there are different aspects to the
supreme being
the quote-unquote true form of shiva
cannot be known or grasped by humans but
shiva in the form of the feminine shakti
can be directly known because she is the
supreme being as it manifests itself in
the material world
and the tradition that puts its emphasis
on worshiping the goddess or shakti is
known as shaktism and is very
significant in relation to tantra
as we can see tantra and the shaivite
tradition especially in the form of
shaktism identifies the mundane material
world more directly as divine or as part
of the supreme being
we can compare this to advaita vedanta
which does teach that brahman is all
there is and nothing exists outside of
brahman but figures like shankara also
makes a point of the fact that our
regular experience of the world is the
result of ignorance and should be
discarded in a way
not so in tantra or shaivism and
shaktism the mundane world as
experienced and in its dynamic
multiplicity and bodily experiences is
identified with god outright and we can
thus see how this naturally leads to a
perspective and practice that allows for
the body and the mundane to play a much
more central role reality in its
fullness is the union of shiva and
shakti of the divine feminine and
masculine the supreme static
consciousness and its dynamic and
creative manifestation this tantric
focus on the body and the metaphysical
ideas presented in traditions like
kashmir shaivism allows us very nicely
to circle back to our original
discussions about
practices relating to sex it is true as
i said in the beginning that the role of
things like sexual rituals have been
greatly exaggerated today by people
talking about tantra but that isn't
necessary to say that there has been no
place for that stuff in the tradition at
all there has been but it has been
nowhere near as
significant or or
central to the tradition as many may
assume today
indeed when we talk about tantra there
is often talk about the so-called right
and left hand paths
you might have heard of these terms in
contemporary occultism or new age
related movements but they actually
originate in tantra now important to
remember is that the tantric views are
often a lot more complex than a simple
two-sided dichotomy but often tantra and
related traditions were divided into the
right-hand path or dakshinachara and the
left-hand path the vamachara
the right-hand path is associated with
practices that are more quote unquote
orthodox or that follow the cultural and
religious norms of society so most of
the regular religious practices that you
think of like prayer or offerings or any
such things fall under the category of
the right hand path
the left hand path on the other hand is
associated with heterodox practices
rituals or tendencies that are often
taboo or considered extreme by outsiders
in the tantric and shiva tradition this
can include spiritual practices that are
antinomian
that are that go against the norms and
and are very much taboo things involving
drugs alcohol even things involving dead
bodies and indeed things like sexual
ritual too
a famous contemporary example of a kind
of left-hand tradition of shaibism are
the agory who can be seen performing
such things as meditating on dead bodies
smearing themselves with human ashes all
in an attempt to collapse the
distinction between pure and impure in
order to recognize the non-dual nature
of reality and shiva at least according
to one interpretation so this has been
an important part of tantric practices
too the so-called left-hand path of
antinomian
practices that go against norms and are
sometimes considered taboo important to
remember is that this is indeed only one
school or tendency within this tradition
and does not represent all of shaivism
or tantrism or of course hinduism
but it is indeed in traditions like
khaola a certain school of non-dual and
often shakti oriented shaibism that we
see the practice of sexual rituals
this is a complex and intricate topic
with both physical and metaphysical
implications we can see how it naturally
stems from the tantric focus on the body
as an important vessel for spiritual
development and enlightenment and the
experience of sex is indeed one of the
most powerful sense experiences we can
have as human beings we see
representatives of these traditions that
do engage in sexual ritual including
people like abhinava gupta in kashmir
shaivism but it will often be emphasized
that these practices are never about
pleasure rituals involving sex are
always held in very controlled
environments under the supervision of a
guru or a teacher and is only performed
when the practitioner has reached a
state where he or she doesn't get
absorbed by the physical or central
pleasure of the act
instead the sexual act becomes symbolic
mirroring the nature of shiva and
reality as we saw earlier in shaivism
there is the important idea of the
divine masculine and feminine shiva and
shakti uniting as an essential aspect of
divinity and reality so the earthly
sexual act becomes a mirroring of this
union the union of masculine and
feminine and for the human practitioner
a disappearance of separateness in that
union which also becomes a kind of union
with the divine itself and that can thus
serve as an important catalyst for
spiritual transformation
indeed sexual symbolism and expression
is quite common in the shy by tradition
in general we can see in various
frescoes or pieces of art that there is
a pronounced eroticism on display a lot
of the time this i would say at least is
characteristic of a lot of shaivism in
comparison to other hindu traditions its
expressions are often very colorful they
can be violent scary and overtly sexual
which all represents important factors
and aspects of divinity in a
metaphorical sense but also of the world
so as we can see there definitely has
existed rituals and expressions related
to sex within strands of tantra but its
role has been hugely exaggerated it was
only in the 20th century with figures
like aleister crowley kenneth grant and
perhaps even figures like osho that this
strong connection started to develop
in western esotericism and new age
movements tantrasm has thus became
limited to its sexual aspects which
historically has only served as one
relatively insignificant part of a vast
tradition of ritual practices and ideas
if you're interested to know more about
this topic then i can recommend my
friend angela pukas channel angela
symposium she actually made a video
i think about a year ago about uh tantra
and sex magic which serves as a
fitting continuation to this video if
you're interested in watching that and
knowing more in depth about certain
practices she's an expert on those kinds
of
in this subject basically so i highly
recommend you go check her channel out
to summarize tantrusim is a very
difficult concept to begin with it is a
modern scholarly construct that tries to
encapsulate a very broad and
heterogeneous tradition that spans
across the religions of hinduism
buddhism and jainism
it is associated with certain texts and
the traditions and sects associated with
those texts their practices and their
ideas
we have outlined some of the
characteristic features of this thing
called tantra or tantrism including its
practical and bodily emphasis its
relationship with shaibism and some of
the metaphysical and philosophical ideas
associated with it
much of what is defined as being
essentially tantra can also be found in
other movements such as the case with
mantras as we saw earlier which makes it
difficult to put this concept into a
particular box that can be defined
perhaps more helpful is the fact that
we've now been introduced to various
related traditions
that are a lot easier to define for
example vajrayana buddhism as we saw is
highly influenced by
tantra also known as tibetan buddhism
various strands of vaishnavism has been
influenced by tantra
jainism has been influenced by tantra
and so on and so on but in particular
we've been introduced to the fascinating
world of shaivism and its colorful
expressions now that we have this basis
to stand on we can start to explore
traditions like kashmir shaivism more in
depth in future episodes so look forward
to that as always i would like to extend
a huge and warm thank you to all of my
patrons who support this channel
monetarily a special mention to our new
saints ability
and analog
defector i say this all the time but i
will never stop saying it
it would not be possible for me to do
this in the way that i do it without
your support and i truly truly
appreciate it
again
i appreciate you so much and it's an
honor for me to
be supported by so many wonderful people
and for me to be able to bring you this
content uh
for free
because of your support so thank you all
so so much
for now i hope this has been a
at least somewhat understandable um
introduction very very brief and general
introduction to the very complex
worlds and concept of tantra or tantrism
it will serve as a good basis and
starting jumping off points for future
episodes about various traditions
related to tantra like like i said
kashmir shaivism like tibetan buddhism
and various other such things so
thank you all so much for watching and
i'll see you next time
[Music]
foreign