A Misconception about Tantra

“A common misconception today is that tantra is about sex. It isnt. Tantra is about liberation. The practices involving sex have frequently been misunderstood. They need to be seen for what they really are – a spiritual practice intended to make one realize the True Self.

Tantra believes that sex is meant for three purposes. For progeny, for pleasure, and for reaching God. Tantra was interested in using sex for reaching God.

The sexual act is special in a particular way. The act of two individuals uniting into One is similar to the experience of the individual uniting with God.
Tantra was not against the sensual pleasures. Tantrics believe that sensual pleasures should be enjoyed without attachment. The moment one becomes enslaved by them, one suffers. Sensual pleasures can enslave us. But they can also be used to liberate us. What can be poison for some can for others be a means for liberation.

The tantric practices involving sex should be seen in the proper light. They were not lewd activities for sensual pleasure. They are a form of yoga, a meditation. Some of the practices were highly ritualistic, with lots of rules and procedures to be followed. These practices were disclosed to very few people. The list of qualifications required to learn these practices was very long. People should not be attached to sensual pleasures. Otherwise, they would do these practices for sensual pleasure and not for achieving liberation.On the other hand the people could not be moralistic, and see these practices as lewd activities. The people who qualified for these practices were called a vira or a hero.

The master selected the right partner. Sometimes the master was a woman, a yogini. The man was not to be concerned about the beauty of his partner. He was to consider her not as a mere human being, but as a divine Goddess. What is remarkable with tantra is the respect given to women. Women were treated as equal to men. They were never considered to be inferior to men. In some tantric texts, the Goddess was elevated to a higher plane.

The tantric sexual practices use the male-female duality to transcend dualism. The male-female duality is the greatest duality in this world. Tantra focus on the joy or love experienced during a sexual act. In unity there is joy. When this joy or love is intense enough, one loses ones ego. That is what is beautiful about love. In love, oneness is felt – trough the bliss of love, one is united with God.”
OSHO ~ Vigyan Bhairava Tantra