Very often the word “Tantra,” invokes an assortment of thoughts and myths that set off alarm bells at jarring volumes, that it is enough to put off the less informed seeker wandering around the perimeters of the science.

Tantra is an ancient yet pulsating spiritual science – fascinatingly unique in that, it takes the whole person into account, dealing with the subject as a whole rather than on a piecemeal basis. Other spiritual traditions typically convey the message that desire for worldly needs and spiritual goals are mutually exclusive, setting the stage for a never-ending internal struggle. But take note, the spiritual path is a treacherous journey of the Self to the Self, with little or no room for mercy or a comforting shoulder to cry on. Take for instance, the Buddhist monasteries that are typically built on treacherous mountain landscapes, accessible only by foot through slippery terrains. It is not that the monastery was built away from the random crowd for the sake of austerity but is regarded as the tool of abstinence and perseverance inflicted upon the resident monks – s/he would have to climb up and down the steep mountain slopes to cater for the provisions of the monastery, as well as to perform pious pilgrimages alone for the sheer purpose of breaking the limits of their potential and curating a scheme that provides them the added edge over their sustainable skills.

The literal meaning of “tantra,” is “to weave, to expand or to spread,” and according to tantric adepts, the fabric of life can deliver true and eternal fulfilment only when all the threads are woven according to the pattern designated by nature. When we are born, life naturally forms itself around that pattern. But as we grow, our ignorance, desire, attachment, fear and false images of ourselves and others tangle and tear the threads, mutilating that sacred fabric.

Tantra is a path for people inquiring to know themselves, to expand their awareness and to celebrate every facet of life with deep passion and tenacious gusto. Tantric methods have been solely curated to strip away layers of false shells that we have amassed over the many years of living on planet Earth. The essence of the path is that, it is not so concerned with the philosophies about life, as the direct experience of it, itself, rather it provides us the means to directly experience ourselves and portray our potential in the best possible way. It is not so much a believer’s world but one of alchemy and a knowing and being involved with the lifetime that we are born in.

The main premise of Tantra is that, we must never assume that things will change and improve after death in worlds which are happier than ours. As here, so there. The moksha (liberation), that we think will happen upon death is simply a delusion that have been fed to us for years, for the condition in which we live here pursues us elsewhere, because change or improvement cannot come from outside of ourselves – it has to come from within.

The state of our consciousness attained while in the body is also the state of our consciousness elsewhere. The world we reach after the body is shed, is determined by the level of the consciousness reached WHILE in the body – that very vessel that had been gifted to us to facilitate our ascension in this lifetime.

The human body, with all its biological and psycho-mental processes, is only a tool in which and through which the cosmic forces operate. The individual human structure and the outer macrocosmic manifestation, or Universe, are similar. Therefore, all that exists in the Universe should also exist in a certain form and proportion in the microcosm, i.e. the human body.

The Vedas and all other ancient texts say that the human birth is considered to be the highest manifest – having been through 840,000 lower births to take the form of a human being. The only reason we are considered the highest manifest is because human beings are the only form of life that can manifest change: change at conscious levels – no other life form can outwit the mind of the human being. Yet, in all its grandeur, we are limited – to the point that we have manifested bizarre ideologies that cage and confine our potential of having to live our highest Truth. And what is the Truth? The Truth is nothing more than knowing who we are and what we are capable of – that underneath all of that, we are more than the sensory organs; more than our fears; more than our mind and certainly more than what we imagine ourselves to be.

Freedom from desire, non-attachment, is the only way to liberation; for all evils are born from attachments. Therefore, give up attachment, not by the mind alone, but by the whole of your being including your desire-self. Give up your fears that you may live from the essence of your heart and live in the Truth of the moment. Find out who you are and invest in every waking moment of your life, discovering yourself and reconnecting back to the majestic procession of life – and not only what you are able to see with your naked eye but also what you are able to manifest in the intangible sense.

The goal of Tantra, similar to that of modern science, is the study of the natural laws and of the human being. Tantra considers that the fundamental reality of the universe is consciousness. Before time and space, at the origin of universe was the Supreme Consciousness. Each human being has a divine “spark,” inside of him/her, which is the consciousness, the essence of each human being, the ultimate source of his/her happiness and fulfilment.

On the most profound level of the universe there is a hidden, mysterious world. The physical world is merely an illusion of the perception. This knowledge of the outer Universe through focus inside is a landmark in Tantra. The asanas and the ascension of the energy Kundalini through all the seven centers of force (chakras), contribute to the knowledge of the outer universe.

According to the Tantric philosophy, the degree of spiritual evolution of a human being is directly proportional with the degree of freedom that that being has – the more we create our own synergy with our own life, the more we liberate ourselves from the ideologies that hold us imprisoned to our own unfounded fears.

SUJATA NANDY WORLD GURUKUL
www.sujatanandy.com