SEX

Sex is the three letter word that has some of us reaching for the creme de menthe. It is the driving force of humanity, and when it is combined with love, it is not only an awesome experience; it is one of the most beauteous expressions of mutual adoration known to man.

Sex Today

Sex however has a bad name. There is much confusion around it. Pornography is one of its expressions, or perhaps even obsession, and varied perverse or violent sex acts can be both dark or negative. But in the Hindu belief system, sex can also be expressed through Tantra yoga.

Tantra

Tantra is Sanskrit for “weave”, and Tantra yoga is a philosophy that believes sex practices can help a couple reach enlightenment. In other words, as we make love, we channel universal energy and transform our consciousness into something divine.

Tantra and Buddhism

Of course Tantra is not confined to sexual practices alone, it puts in an appearance in the Buddhist religion also, and not only in its sexual interpretation. It is expressed through diverse symbology such as the Mantra and Yantra, and the invocation of the Gods, through the Puja. The Puja is a holy ceremony. The Mantra and Yantra are intricate spiritual geometric formulae or paintings that inspire an individual to access their soul path more deeply and fully.

However, when it comes to the Vedic tradition, the offshoot sect “Vamamarga” sees sex as a catalysing force, whose myriad and ritualistic love positions, written within the Karma Sutra, catalyses transformational energies and transmutes them into heightened states of awareness during the act. Initially, these rites were practiced thousands of years ago in secret rituals by a minority, but the system has now gained renown in the west, and is currently widely used to experience more satisfaction during love making.

Spiritual Sex

One could say that Tantra is a sort of spiritual sex yoga that joins souls and dissolves their separation, leading them into a sense of cosmic consciousness and wholeness. Two becomes one as Tantric energy fuses opposing energies, and divine love accentuates the unique sexual practices, somehow managing to create a unified field of oneness, or consciousness between two people.

Tantra has been through some major transformations in the West. Some say its teachings have been simplified to make it easier for westerners to understand and digest. But the Tantric texts themselves teach that sex has three purposes, procreation, pleasure and spiritual liberation. In other words, if two people decide between themselves to seek unification of soul through their love making it carries them into an illumined “embrace”, a divine consciousness and a deep devotion to each other’s pleasure. Symbolically, they personify Shiva/Shakti or Yin/Yang contra-opposing divine forces that instigate a loss of the sense of self as they merge into each other.

Some say that Tantra in today’s world has become simply spiritual sex. Hugh Urban an author and critic on religion and politics said,

“Western scholars have been severely critical of new forms of “pop Tantra”. This “California Tantra” is based on a profound misunderstanding of the Tantric path. The main error is to confuse Tantric bliss with ordinary orgasmic pleasure.”

Of course utilising these ancient practices can bring about heightened pleasure. But the main theme of Tantra is to lift sexual practices into something sublime and sacred, allowing each participant to become enlightened in that process. The concept might be hard for the mainstream western mind to comprehend, but seen in its correct context sex could be a door that opens into the infinite. If two people choose to manifest their love in this way, it will certainly not only fulfil their sex lives, but also their souls. The two, therefore, can walk hand in hand, and moralistic precepts that perceive sex as something “wrong” or “sinful”, will no longer seem relevant.