Authentic tantra is derived from the combination of tattva, the science of cosmic principles, and mantra or the sciences of mystic sound, and its various applications.

It has a wide range of practical techniques applicable by men and women of every spiritual level. It aims at turning every action into a practice of love.

Here is a basic tantric bonding meditation: Perform this meditation with your lover, for 15 minutes every day.

Sit on cushions, face each other, and close your eyes.Gently visualise your lover. Relax, be still, and focus on deepening and steadying your breath, through your nose and drawing the breath in to the pit of your stomach. Relax!

Still relaxing, focus on your partner, with a deep sense of calm.Smile, remember moments together, the joy of your very first truly loving embrace together, and allow that feeling to fill you again.

Let the memory go, but hold on to the feeling of joy, and be joyfully aware of yourself with your lover, right now. Simply be aware of yourself, free from thoughts of should or could, and merely exist in the present moment, now…

Make love with a steady mind. Find an internal point of awareness within you and settle the mind here, keeping this internal point of tranquility throughout the love-making.

Be aware of your physical arousal and focus on your sense of attraction. Keep this point of stillness within you, within the dynamic movement of your breath and the electricity of your attraction.

Spread the feeling of love to your partner, and be relaxed. Breathe until you find balance in movement and stillness, between softness and vigor, between arousal and fulfillment.

Become aware of that tranquil state within your lover as well… and remain in this relaxed, joyful, internal tranquil abiding, until you become still within your ecstasy, and come to experience the union of bliss and emptiness itself… your own, and that of your loved one too!

This basic bonding ritual, done for 15 minutes everyday, is powerful in removing obstructive, negative vibrations, and calming the mind with a deep sense of focus. This clears the mind of debris and prepares it for a higher quality of companionship.

Copyright Subhojit Dasgupta

The symbolic union of male and female energies within as a meditative form, and expanding to all levels of consciousness, thereby unveiling the supreme reality of creation, is the basis of Tantra.

It unifies the masculine and feminine aspects within us, to help us transcend into the oneness of the Divine.

The principle of the Feminine is explained in Shakti Tantra as; Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu, Shakti Rupena Samstita, Namastaseh, namastaseh, namastaseh, namo namaha€ (Prostrations unto Thee, O Divine Mother Goddess, who dwells in all matter in the form of Shakti).

Devi Rahasyam states that Shakti is MahaKali, the great Goddess, creating the three principles or gunas: sattvas, rajas and tamas. They create the fabric of the universe.

Tantra Rahasya explains Tantra as Tanyate vistaryate jnanam anemna iti tantram(Tantra is the divine scripture by which the light of spiritual knowledge is spread).

Lord Shiva is considered the founder of Tantra. At its heart is the philosophy of the Upanishads.

The Agama shastras are the backbone all rituals. Agama comprises: Jnana (knowledge); Yoga (meditation); Kriya (consecration of idols, rituals); Karya (ways of worship).

MahaKali is considered the foremost aspect of the Divine Goddess: pure energy, pure spirit. She is worshipped in any of Her 10 aspects: Kali, Tara, Shodasi, Bhuvaneshvari, Bhairavi, Chinnamasta, Dhumavati, Bagala, Matangi and Kamala.

Tantric scriptures Kaulavalinirnaya Tantra, Niruttara Tantra and the Rudrayamala
Tantra tell us that the universe we are a part of is Brahman: the infinite Supreme Consciousness, manifest through the cosmic union of male and female energies of Shiva, Eternal Consciousness, and Shakti, feminine energy.

Thus Tantra unites all of reality, when everything attained on the physical level also crosses into the spiritual level, as integral to each other.

Copyright (C) Subhojit Dasgupta

Subhojit Dasgupta is a teacher of Tantra.