Tantrism: Traditions Beliefs & Practices

      Followers of Tantra from the start involved higher classes, women and low caste people. They actually didn't follow normal Hindu class segregation and argued that there are only two classes; male and female. Accordingly; women play equal role in their rituals. The tradition started as a parallel to Vedic system with the difference that they believed individual Sadhana as a route to salvation without going out of the world. So, Tantra followers don't give up worldly pleasures to seek union with their Gods. But over the centuries, many practices entered the sect vitiating the original Tantra to an altogether different sect. Later followers had no concern how they look and extremes of them are called "Aghoris" referring to people having nothing as horrible. As a sect, Tantra followers had their own texts, rituals, myths, art forms, mantras and yantras as well as their own Gods and Goddesses. Much of Tantrik ritual take place in remote areas away from public view as this practice is individualistic against group practices of Vedic followers.

Tantrik Yantra

      It looks like later Tantra got more attracted to meet natural traditions of some of the Shudras and other cursed people who were forbidden by the Vedas. Such people formalized their own doctrines.

      Basic mantras of Tantrism, are available to both ascetics and householders, promised Bhog and Siddhis on the way to Nirvana. They, thus, aimed for best of both the worlds and their recommended path is 'bhukti to mukti' or from 'bhoksa to moksha' best translated as "sensual delight to spiritual flight".

      Their rituals of Tantrism are based around madira, mansa, matsya, mudra (like the one used in hand position or a dance position) and maithuna (which included sexual or menstrual discharge). Some tantric rituals involved women both as sexual partners but to say that Tantra was in any way had some gender preference will be wrong. In the main Tantrik ceremony the male invokes Shiva and accompanying women partner invokes the Shakti Goddess to enter her body. During the intercourse, their sexual fluids unite and generate unusual power to activate the Kundalini that travels up their spine by energizing all the Chakras to finally help experiencing the ultimate bliss and complete enlightenment.

      There are many other Yogic kriyas and practices that also suggest ways and means of activating the Kundalini and reaching the so called bliss without resorting to union of male and female. But Tantra assumes in ritual sex to achieve the same purpose. Somehow, the current impression of Tantra appears that it is for low caste people who were at home with all kinds of impurities and had no bounds of social behaviour and used human skulls as their begging bowls, lived and prayed with corpses in cremation grounds, drank alcohol and cite meats of all varieties.

      In Tantrism they mostly worship ascetic form of Shiva and fierce form of Shakti. In any case, Tantras was never ever a mainstream sizable follower's sect. It has been written and discussed with its illogical but fascinating practices where the forbidden activities are allowed under so called umbrella of an established and highly regarded religion like Hinduism.