You have to click tantra on any search engine and a whole lot of websites (read porn sites!) that refer to tantra sex and tantric postures surface. It is a great wonder of the world how such a beautiful word that refers to a highly expanded meditative way of life ever got connected and understood as something to do with sex! The real meaning of tantra is derived from the two Sanskrit words — tanotu, which means to expand and trayate, to protect. It refers to the process by which the mind expands to embrace the whole universe and thereby finds its own liberation.
Tantra is the practice of meditation that suits the whirlwind pace of our modern day life. Whether we brush our teeth in the morning, have a wash, drink coffee, read the newspaper, watch television, go about our daily chores at home, get ready for work, travel to office, interact with colleagues, superiors and subordinates, get back home and spend time with the family — everything finds a place in the meditations as described by tantra.
One of the most famous texts in this respect that outlines several meditation techniques is the Vignana Bhairava Tantra. Osho Rajneesh has also explained the 112 verses of the Vignana Bhairava Tantra in a very radical and easy to understand book. Swami Satyasangananda Saraswati, under the guidance of Swami Satyananda Saraswati has given a detailed explanation of the verses in the book Sri Vignana Bhairava Tantra — The Ascent, published by the Yog Publications Trust, Munger, Bihar. Swami Akshara, founder of the Akshara Foundations, Chennai has conducted several meditation programmes in the country and abroad called the Ten Best Meditation Techniques, based on the Vignana Bhairava Tantra. This is also available in the form of an audio CD with the Foundations.
As the Vignana Bhairava Tantra speaks on different ways to attain the consciousness or awareness that is present behind all our experiences, it takes up all the five elements of nature, mind, sound and light, without which there is no existence. It also uses our dayto- day experiences of life.
The main aspect of this tantra is dharana or concentration. Using the power of concentration on an object like a jar or a vase, observing the space outside and the space within, one can merge the mind into consciousness.
So there are meditation techniques to observe the sky, the space within the body, the flow of breath, swing the body left and right and observe the space after one becomes still, experience the space and silence before and after every sound, experience the space around a person even as one is talking to someone.
The tantra suggests interesting techniques such as being with the joy of meeting with friends and relatives and living through that experience totally, observing the empty sky and merging with that empty space within oneself, the sensation that happens while kissing and hugging — everything is the divine expression of energy. Every activity done with awareness according to the tantra leads to a meditative state of mind.
The essence of the tantra is not about controlling the mind. The mind is elastic in nature. The more there is control, the more is the resistance. According to tantra, wherever the mind goes, Shiva or the consciousness principle is already present there.
There is not a place where this consciousness is not present. It is perfect for the mind to go to its habitual places, people and things. The only difference is that with this knowledge, the mind goes with total awareness and in that process, it becomes in tune with consciousness.
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