What is Tantra?

Answering the question of what Tantra is is no easy task. Tantra is a term that causes many people to frown, partly because nobody can imagine what exactly it means. Far too many images come to mind with this word and cause discomfort, sometimes complete rejection. However, these images often only partially correspond to what Tantra is, or at least to what I understand it to be, have been practising and passing on for over twenty years. There is actually no standardised, clear definition of what exactly Tantra (or rather Neo-Tantra) is. The term is not protected and is therefore open to any kind of attribution and misuse.

In the following chapters, I summarise some aspects that seem important to me on this topic. Perhaps something will resonate with you and you will find access to this practice, to which I personally owe some of the most profound experiences of my life and spiritual insights.

Osho’s definition of Tantra

Osho himself, probably the best-known and not a little controversial Tantra teacher of modern times, describes Tantra as follows:

‘Tantra is one of the most significant secrets ever discovered. But it is very fragile, because it is the greatest art of all.

Tantra does not propagate sexuality. Tantra simply points out that sexuality can be a source of bliss. And once you have experienced this bliss, you can go on from there, because now you have your roots in reality. And once you have experienced the ecstasy of sex, you can understand what the mystics have always pointed out – that there is a greater orgasm, a cosmic orgasm.

Tantra says: Take life as something natural; be real and authentic. Sex is there as a deep possibility, a great potential. And what’s wrong with feeling happiness?Happiness is a virtue because a happy person does not create unhappiness for others. Only a happy person can contribute to the happiness of others. Don’t try to go against sexuality without knowing what sexual energy is, without knowing what sex is made of, without having delved deeply into its reality and its secrets’.

Andro’s definition of Tantra

Andro – Andreas Rothe – is one of the first and most inspiring Tantra teachers in Germany writes about Tantra as follows:  ‘Life is a miracle even in our scientific age, especially for the scientists who try to fathom it. Modern quantum physics is a fitting example of this. The laws of Newtonian physics, which we all learnt at school, are no longer valid in quantum physics and open the door to countless new speculations about the origin and meaning of existence and life.

Tantra assumes that fathoming this miracle is a question of conscious experience. It is less interested in analytically exploring the structures of matter and living organisms than in seeking a holistic understanding of life. This becomes particularly clear in interpersonal relationships.
Whether we love or hate, feel strong or weak, depends on our convictions and on what we have experienced, what has shaped our healthy or unhealthy habits.

For Tantrics, deep lust and deep love are states of consciousness that go beyond our usual definition of sexuality and relationship, purifying us of all fears and feelings of hate, transforming our selfish motives into love and compassion for all living things.

[…].This starts with us deciding to take full responsibility for our lives.It is not the fault of others whether we are doing well or badly in life, but we ourselves create structures based on our convictions in which life takes place, more or less fulfilling, depending on how wisely and lovingly we have approached the creation of these structures.

This applies to the individual as well as to entire societies. Woman and man, goddess and god, Shakti and Shiva – in Tantra, these terms denote the desired perfection of our human potential. Every man and every woman should develop these qualities in equal measure.
[…] Deeply humanistic, Tantra invites us to honour ourselves as well as our fellow human beings, with all their faults and imperfections. It begins with the decision to fully accept our life and sexual partners, in order to then embark on a poetic journey with them into the depths of our subconscious. […] It is worth abandoning false feelings of shame in favour of a simple, playful view of our everyday lives, in which sexual pleasure is also imbued with clarity and compassion, full of poetic reverence for life. Lust and heart, which are in truth never separate, are once again perceived as united.Even a fleeting sexual encounter with a holiday acquaintance is then filled with deep heartfelt devotion, and the pleasurable perspective of heart-filled sexuality is transferred to everyday life as a whole.
Tantra regards the body as a temple and all of its associated functions as sacred; no distinction is made between valuable and profane, everything is sacred.’

Body and mind in Tantra

This practice is characterised by not separating body and mind, sexuality and spirituality, feelings and pleasure. Instead, all these aspects are viewed, experienced and accepted without judgement as possible manifestations of human existence. Overcoming duality – e.g. body vs. mind, sex vs. love, human vs. divine – is an overarching goal. This point could be criticised by readers who prefer to separate sexuality from spirituality.

At this point, I would like to mention that there have been times in human history when such a separation would have seemed questionable, as Riane Eisler describes in detail and scientifically documents in her groundbreaking book: Sacred Pleasure: Sex, Myth, and the Politics of the Body, (2012).

Even today, it is of existential importance for some people not to artificially separate the dimensions of sexuality and spirituality, but to bring them together again.
This attitude is often found among participants in Tantra groups.

According to Neo-Tantric practice, spirituality and sexuality are inseparable. Being spiritual means being whole. Being whole means being spirit, breath and life – the original meaning of spirituality. Sex is breath and life. It is the embodiment of the living and the great life-giving force. Not only in the Tantric subculture, but also increasingly in previously traditional Christian circles, sex is seen as a ‘gift from God’. Physicality becomes an access to spirituality: ‘I do not have a body, I am a body’, and this body is the ‘temple of the Holy Spirit’ (Hillinghauser in Rescio, 2024).

The practice of mindfulness

A central aspect is mindfulness, i.e. the most non-judgemental and loving perception possible of what is and not what should be. Mindfulness is the practice of noticing what is going on inside us and being kind to ourselves, even when we find it difficult to do so, explains psychologist and sex researcher Lori Anne Brotto (2018). Mindfulness improves non-judgemental attention, and non-judgemental attention improves sexual wellbeing. […] At the heart of mindfulness lies a profound paradox: we facilitate change by not trying to change ourselves. In other words, we focus on the present moment.

 Our attention is focussed on what is happening to us or in contact with another person on a physical, emotional and mental level. Specifically, this involves pure sensations such as temperature, pressure, tickling, emotional states and moods as well as cognitive judgements and the evaluation of perceptions and sensations.

A brief historical digression

From a historical perspective, Tantra is an esoteric form (= secret teaching) of the generally known orthodox Hinduism and later Buddhism that originated in India. The origins of Tantra begin in the 2nd century in early matriarchal cultures, but the teachings were not fully developed until the 7th/8th century at the earliest. The tantras are the texts in which the secret teachings are contained.

Characteristic of all matriarchal cultures in human history is the natural connection between spirituality and sexuality, which was celebrated and celebrated ritually and in everyday life as a divine life force. The invasion of the Aryans into the northern regions of India caused the appropriation of Tantric rituals and teachings and the transformation of society from a matriarchal to a clearly patriarchal culture. The ideals and rituals were partly adopted and adapted, but partly forbidden and despised. Over the centuries, numerous currents and traditions have emerged that do not show a single clear line of transmission to the present day.

The colonisation of India and the interest of numerous scholars brought the ancient tradition of Tantra to the West. However, the examination of the subject initially remained mostly on a theoretical level, as a study of Eastern religious forms. Sir Richard Francis Burton was one of the first scholars to deal with the subject and translate various texts into English.

The impact of Tantra on the West (and on India itself) and the interpretation of this tradition took and still takes very different directions. In some cases, Tantra has been used politically in India as well as in Europe, and in completely opposite positions. To better understand the complexity of the subject and the various historical and political implications, I recommend the book: Tantra – Sex, Secrecy, Politics and Power in the Study of Religion by Hugh B. Urban.

The Tantras

The secret teachings of this tradition were written down in so-called ‘Tantras’. One of the oldest tantric texts (approx. 5000 years old) is the Vigjan Bhairav Tantra, which Ohso took as the basis of his teachings and which he discussed and commented on in detail (1998. The Book of Secrets. 5 volumes. Osho’s Lectures on the Vigyan Bhairav Tantra. Osho based this on an English translation of the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra by Paul Reps).

The Vijñana Bhairava Tantra is one of the great meditation texts. It describes 112 methods of meditation that Shiva is said to have revealed to his wife Shakti so that she (creation) can reunite with him (consciousness) and experience unity. In the Vijñana Bhairava Tantra there are very worldly meditations, many meditations that involve the senses and everyday situations. In addition, there are a number of wonderful breathing exercises that even inexperienced people can quickly master and that can touch us deeply. This text contains 112 meditation techniques that form the basis of all forms of meditation known to this day and with the help of which self-knowledge can be achieved.

The word Tantra comes from Sanskrit and has various meanings, including: expand – fabric – continuum – connection. Loosely translated, tantra means all-encompassing knowledge or expansion of knowledge. Throughout the history of this tradition, this (secret) knowledge has been transmitted individually from teacher to student after many years of intensive spiritual preparation and personal maturation. This would enable the student, among other things, to pass on the knowledge, the secret teaching, to their students after appropriate preparation. This is how the so-called transmission lineages came into being. The discovery and localisation of the energy centres (chakras) in the human body can be traced back to the tantric tradition.

According to tantric teachings, every individual is a manifestation of this energy, and the things around us are the product of the same consciousness that is constantly revealing itself in different ways.

Tantra – a path of self-realisation

Tantra is an individual path of self-realisation that incorporates physical wisdom. In my understanding, this practice is not exclusively for couples, but a very personal growth process in which we enter into conscious mental, emotional and physical contact with ourselves and with others. Neither sexual orientation nor biological gender play a central role in this process. Every person we meet in mindfulness will reflect something different to us. This allows us to get to know ourselves better.

I have taken the liberty of mentioning a few reasons that participants in my groups have described as reasons for taking part in a tantra course:

• I want to feel my body better
• I wanted to immerse myself in a protected, sensual space to expand my physical experiences
• I wanted to develop personally, recognise my limits and perhaps expand them
• I wanted to feel my body, let go, feel sensual bodywork
• I was curious and wanted to have new experiences in the sensual and spiritual realm
• I’m in my head a lot, I want to be more in my body I am curious and have no experience yet
• I want to open up emotionally, go on a spiritual journey, develop personally

Do you recognise yourself in these motifs? Do they perhaps reflect a longing of yours? What can you take away from such an experience? I would also like to quote some feedback from former participants in this case. For many participants, this is ‘a very enriching and valuable experience’, whereby ‘the integration of sexual energy and aliveness as well as self-determination can be cultivated’. Some are able to deal with issues that cause discomfort, such as shame, pressure to perform and feelings of inferiority: ‘I was able to overcome shame and feel my needs better’. I was able to experience an ‘appreciation for the whole person’. The art of mindful sensual touch is also a central aspect of Tantric self-awareness groups: ‘Experiencing a Tantric massage made me realise once again how extremely appreciative, mindful and respectful, relaxed, expectation-free and calm, aesthetic and graceful sensuality can be experienced in a benevolent devotion to touch’ …

These and many more insights can be gained by attending Tantra seminars. If you would like to find out more, register here by email for the next Tantra Lounge!

Recommendations

In addition to my two books, Sex and Mindfulness and Sensual Intimacy, I recommend that you order the video course on mindful sensual touch (in German)
Or read other blog articles on similar topics. For example, ‘Better sex through mindfulness’ or ‘Sensate Focus – touch in mindfulness’.

Finally, one last quote from Osho:

‘The joy is not in the accomplishment of a thing: the joy is that it demanded it of you, that it demanded it of you with all your intensity – so that while doing it you forgot everything, the whole world. It was the single focal point of your whole being. And there lies your happiness and your reward – not in the completion, not in the duration of anything. In this changing flow of existence, we must draw our own reward from each moment: No matter what we did, we did our best, we were not half-hearted. We held nothing back, but put our whole being into it. That’s where our happiness lies.’