Tantra is art, a science, a spiritual path, a lifestyle. The word tantra means everlasting stream of continuity. Tantra is a Sanskrit word that like the term yoga has many distinct but basically different meanings. It derives from the verbal root tan means “to expand” according to the esoteric explanations tantra is that which expands jnana, which can mean either knowledge or wisdom.
We are living in desire from the moment we wake up until the moment we fall asleep at night, and even through out our dreams we are driven by desire. Tantra is a technique for the fulfillment of these desires. As we see man has no control over his desires by which a desire is claimed as ones own only after it comes to ones mind. Desires are the products of latent tendencies called vasanas. Tantra provides the methodology for the fulfillment of ones desire through which liberation is attained. Liberation means understanding ones own nature. From that understanding, one realizes that world is nothing but the manifestation of the consciousness of which we are but only apart. Tantric way of living provides aesthetic enjoyment and ultimate knowledge leading to the expansion of consciousness results in liberation from ignorance and rebirth. There is a shortage of proper understanding and practice of tantra in today’s world.
The highest of all possible human goal is the attainment of complete enlightenment, an ultimate state of peace in which all the obstacle obscuring the mind have been removed and all the good qualities such as wisdom, compassion and skilful means have been fully developed. However we cannot reach this ultimate goal merely by waiting for it we need to use the appropriate methods to take us there. There are numerous paths to achieve realization of the many a paths tantra is considered as the crown of realizations because it puts you in direct contact with the entire process of complete realization.
Mantra
Mantra is a divine combination of sound, syllables or a group of words that is considered capable of creating transformation. The root “man” in the word mantra means in Sanskrit “to think” and “tra” means “to protect or free from the bondage of samsara or the phenomenal world. Therefore mantra means the thought that liberates and protects. But there are many levels of meaning in a mantra that must be experienced to truly understand. An intellectual explanation encompasses only a very small part of its meaning. The chanting and recitation of a mantra activates and accelerates the creative spiritual force, promoting harmony in all parts of human being. The devotee is gradually converted in to a living centre of spiritual vibration. Every mantra has six aspects, a rishi or seer, a raga or melody, Devata or presiding deity, bija or seed sound, the sakthi or power and kilaka the pillar.
The use of mantra is effective in securing single pointed ness of mind; it helps to keep the mind from wandering. Chanting mantra with devotion and concentration attunes the individual through Divine melody and has harmonious influence over the whole body and mind. The effectiveness of mantra is said to depend on the mental discipline involved in its correct recitation, and the accompanying mode of breathing. The sacred chanting of Sanskrit mantras provides us with the power to attain our goals and lift ourselves from the ordinary to the higher level of consciousness.
Mantra
The rishi through their intuitive perception opened themselves to the revelation of mantras and were able to recognize their effectiveness as channels for the flow of grace, knowledge, and power from the divine. These mantras were transmitted from generation to generation from guru to disciple. And in this process the power of mantra was greatly increased. The repetition of billions of time by countless devotees over the centuries has brought about a vast reservoir of power that augments the inherent spiritual potency of the mantra.
