| Today the rich heritage of Tantra is presented as the most distorted, tabooed and misinterpreted Indian philosophy, so much so that this dreaded word has become synonymous with fear. The overwhelming majority of websites relating to ‘black-magic’, ‘kamasutra’, ‘voodoo’ or ‘witchcraft’ that appear when one does a Google search on ‘tantra’ substantiates this misrepresentation. This article attempts to eliminate the dubious myths and fallacies one associates with tantra underlining its true magnetism.
Believed to have come straight from Lord Shiva, the word tantra is a conjunction of two words `tanoti’ and ‘trayeti’ which denote expansion (of human consciousness) and liberation (of the primal energy-kundalini) respectively. Tantra is an ancient science that prescribes techniques to transcend individual limitations and comprehend higher reality with the combined power of yantras and mantras. A yantra is a geometrical meditation device that is an important tool of concentration. A mantra is a mystical syllable which produces a vibration on repeated chanting and the reverberations of this sound awaken the spiritual life force and stimulate the chakras. Here the emphasize is on the accurate pronunciation of a mantra. The whole creation manifested from the primordial sound “OM” which emerged from the damru of Lord Shiva. A mantra is a codified sound pattern so powerful that it instantaneously manifests the energies they are programmed to appease.
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Tantra is an ancient science that prescribes techniques to transcend individual limitations and comprehend higher reality with the combined power of yantras and mantras |
Television and film portrayal of tantrics is bizarre, villainous, as someone clad in outlandish clothes performing human sacrifice, garlanded with skulls and bones and bringing evil to others. This is just a dramatized fascination of a few minds and far from reality. The science of tantra is 100 per cent perfect and infallible with no scope of any ambiguity. An accurate chant invokes a corresponding energy which may either be lower or higher depending on the sound. A majority commit the mistake of accessing the lower ones (as they are easier to access) to achieve lower ends, thereby restricting themselves to the waste of Tantra. The real nectar of Tantra is pure bliss that is experienced by some advanced tantrics who are away from the ambit of its negative form.
Individuals following unadulterated yog and tantric practices (like the Sanatan Kriya) would not be affected from any negativity targeted towards them as the pure tantric practices shield the practitioner. Sometimes these harmful practices also bounce back on the person initiating them thereby harming the sender itself! One must indulge in tantric practices only when one clearly understands sadhna, discipline, detachment and relentless faith in one’s Guru. Tantra’s highly volatile and intoxicating nature makes it imperative for it to be practiced under guidance.
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