There is a common notion that Tantra deals with Sex & the term denoted for this in the New Age is Sacred Sexuality.

Our aim here is to clear some misconceptions about Tantra. It is not Satanism or Witchcraft, but a great discipline like Yoga.

The Union of Nature ( Prakriti ) & Intelligence ( Purusha ) is the base of all Indian Philosophy. ' The entire Universe is nothing but He & She" said Aurobindo. It is a continuum of Conscioussness-Force. The Universe is regarded as a Union of Nature and Her Lord.

All Nature is a wide enamoured pause
Hoping for Her lord to touch, to clasp, to be!

On the breast of the static Absolute ( Purusha ), She sports as dynamic Time !

His breast He offers for Her Cosmic Dance
Over our lives which are the shivering theatre !

With such a philosophical background, Tantra becomes a formidable Art to protray Cosmic Union. Sex is the union of male and female & Tantra represents the Union of the male and female components of the Ultimate.

Kala in Sanskrit means Time and Kali is She who is of the nature of Time Eternal. Everything is created by Time, preserved by Time and destroyed by Time and it She who is the Sole Doer.

"He who forces Time will be pushed back by Time
He who yields to Time will find Time on his side"

Life is regarded as the unfolding of the Self at six different levels of consciousness known as Chakras in the magnificent Tantric Model.

In mundane people the unfolding takes place only at the first three chakras which represent procreation, metabolism & speech; the higher three chakras remain latent. The awakening of the higher chakras results in the unfolding and fulfillment of Life Divine. When the Kundalini, the Serpentine Power inherent in humans, rises from the Root Chakra ( Muladhara ) to the Crown Chakra ( Sahasrara ), man achieves Cosmic Consciousness.

The Spirit shall take up the human play
The earthly life become the Life Divine!

Ancient Tantric treatises give priority to the Fivefold Worship ( The Pancha Makara Pooja ), the Five Great M's which are to be worshipped.

Madyam Mamsam cha Meenam cha
Mudra Maidhunameva Cha
Eka Pancha Makarasyur
Naranam Moksha Dayaka

Madyam _ Wine
Mamsam - Flesh
Meenam - Fish
Mudra - A Yogic Pose
Maidhuna - Copulation

Madyam is Wine and there is a saying in Latin " In Vino Veritas " ( There is truth in Wine ).

Bacchus' blessings are a treasure
And drinking is the soldier's pleasure !
Alcohol, taken in small quantities is the exciter of the "Yes" function in man.
It can make man one with Truth.

Mudra is a Yogic Pose. Yoga is derived from the word Yuj which means to unite.

Meena means fishes. Mamsa means flesh. Traditionally, in other systems which are considered divine like Yoga, non veg food is eschewed. But not so in Tantra.

Maidhuna is Copulation. Sex was considered as Lust in puritan philosophies. But not so in Tantra. "Sex is spiritual, it is something that comes out of the depths of your being " says Dr Maxwell Maltz, founder of Psycho- Cybernetics.

These 5 Ms are the five elements which are used by Tantra for Cosmic Union.

The Symbolic Meaning behind the Five Great M's

It is to be noted that Mamsam ( Flesh ) is symbolic. The Sanksrit Soham means ' I am He '. Mamsa means the same Mam ( I am ) and Sah is He.

The Wine referred to here is the Wine of Bliss. The Copulation referred here is the Divine Copulation.

No doubt sex is the microcosmic representation of Cosmic Union. In this sense Tantra becomes Sacred and divine. It is the Sacred Art & hence the holiest of all Holy Sciences !

Vedic Astrology is another manifestation of Tantra. The knowledge of the planets and the constellations is esoteric and Tantra is the main affiliate of Astrology. Celestial transit influences produce mundane effects which can be unveiled by Mundane Astrology

Tantra and Vedanta are sister sciences. One deals with Sat ( the Absolute aspect of Being ) & the other with Chit, which is both absolutely relative and relatively absolute.

It is said that She is the representative of Absolute Knowledge ( Brahma Jnana) and She sports in the garden of the Upanishads !

Thou exist as prosperity in the houses of the righteous
As mental tension galore in the houses of the profane !
In the Seers as Intelligence, as Morality & Ethics in the good
Infinite are Thy works and Grace, O Mother Divine !

Goto Part 1

© G Kumar, 2004