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Subject: Tantric Sex: A Spiritual Path of Ecstasy
                                   
                      By Swami Nostradamus Virato
                                   
   At a time when even the word "sex" is suspect, it is vitally
   important to explore the depth of this misunderstood phenomenon
   from a new perspective...a spiritual one.
   
   We came into this body through the act of procreation...better
   known as sex. Unless you were artificially inseminated, you
   wouldn't be here unless a man and woman had sexual intercourse.
   They had it because it gave them animal pleasure drawn by a deep
   spiritual pursuit. While we are in a body, this pleasure
   underpins much of our lives. It matters not if you are a nun,
   monk or prostitute. Whether you deny it or not, sex runs much of
   your existence. Unfortunately most of us have lost that special
   ingredient of this physical attraction that moves us beyond mere
   physical pleasure to a deeper and more satisfying wholeness.
   
   At one time, long before so-called civilization permeated our
   culture, humans cultivated this pleasure to transcend into higher
   dimensions of consciousness, beyond the material, animal orgasm.
   Thousands of years ago, people had achieved a high degree of
   awareness and an alchemical formula for converting what we know
   as sex energy -- called by many names such as Chi, vital force,
   soul, etc. -using it to enter into a state of Divinity. Their
   spiritual philosophy held sexuality as a divine rite and an
   expression of union or yoga.
   
   Unfortunately, as our planet moved out of the Taurien Age
   (4300-1700 BC) and became masculine and aggressive, it also lost
   this deep spiritual connection to this vital sex energy. While
   sexuality touches every part of our lives, it's sad that this
   most pleasurable life-affirming phenomenon --the act of creating
   our very birth--is today tainted with fear, abuse and general
   negativity.
   
   There was a time when people with an awakened consciousness
   practiced Tantra with an artistic and cultural lifestyle of pure
   bliss and harmony with each other and the universe. They lived in
   a state of enlightenment. Tantra, the art of spiritualizing
   sexuality, offers practical tools to transmute fear and
   attachment into love and universal power
   
   Like the spring flower freeing itself from the frozen snow,
   Tantra is again budding, offering the Aquarian Age an
   alternative--a way to reverse the negative energy on the planet,
   and a way to release yourself and reach transcendence. Put
   simply, Tantra is the total surrender, or letting go of all
   mental, emotional and cultural conditioning, so that universal
   life energy can again flow though us like a river without any
   effort. It is a letting go to universal oneness...to love. When
   fear is removed, Tantra remains.
   
TANTRA'S HISTORY

   The word "Tantra" has many definitions, and perhaps its real
   meaning has been lost to antiquity. Some scholars claim it comes
   from the Sanskrit or Hindi word for fabric or tapestry, meaning
   that it is woven into one's life. Others say that is comes from
   two Sanskrit words tanoti and trayati. Tanoti means to expand
   consciousness, and trayati means to liberate consciousness. One
   might then say that Tantra expands and liberates consciousness,
   making it the fabric of existence.
   
   The highest possible synthesis between love and meditation,
   Tantra is also the connection between the third dimension and
   other planes of existence beyond mere materiality. While not a
   religious philosophy, Tantra embraces a deep spiritual
   understanding of life, and an ancient art of living in harmony
   with existence. It is a poetic science of super sexuality that
   dates back thousands of years, not only to India and Tibet, but
   to the Far East, Polynesia, and indigenous cultures of all parts
   of the world!, including North America's native Cherokee culture.
   It was used as a vehicle to achieve cosmic consciousness and
   union with divinity.
   
   Tantra treats sexual energy as a loving friend, rather than
   something to be suppressed or talked about secretly in low tones.
   It does not deny sex, or consider sex a hindrance to
   enlightenment or Heavenly Grace. To the contrary, Tantra is the
   only spiritual path that says that sex is sacred, and not a sin,
   or something against God, whether in a marriage or not. Tantrikas
   are God-loving, rather than God-fearing.
   
   There is a most beautiful word for sex in the Sanskrit language,
   and that is Kama, which means sex-love together, undivided and
   indivisible. In Tantra, sex is always loving. Almost everyone is
   familiar with the 7th century classic the Kama Sutra, a Tantric
   treatise on lovemaking. Kama is also the name of the Hindu
   Goddess of love. And love is what Tantra encourages--total
   unconditional love, including the mind, the spiritual and the
   body.
   
   Tantra doesn't tell you to control or suppress your sexual urges
   to reach God, but rather says the opposite. It supports
   development of this vital energy to achieve union with Divinity.
   The essence of Tantra is the full expression of being--a merging
   with, rather than a withdrawing from. It is the ultimate yoga,
   which is Sanskrit for union. In Tantra, the orgasm is with the
   universe. You become part of the primal energy of everything. In
   the Kama Sutra, genital contact is but one of the many kinds of
   intercourse. Tantrikas learn to make love with everything,
   letting go of all barriers to pure bliss.
   
   Sex becomes sacred and divine when you approach it from your
   heart and body, rather than your mind. It is common for Tantrikas
   to "drop their mind" when engaging in Tantric lovemaking. When
   the energy comes from a space deep within you--your essential
   Self--it connects you to God/Goddess/All That Is...moving you
   into the realm of spirit.
   
   The body is only layers of invisible energy in form, and it can
   be awakened if we let go to the sexual energy. This is the way of
   Tantra. It affirms the life energy within you in totality, so
   that those on this path find themselves whole and self-confident,
   with a positive panoramic view of everything.
   
   Tantra changes one's view of relationships as well. Tantrikas are
   less co-dependent, jealous or neurotic. They tend to be
   harmonious, fun and energy-filled. In the way of Tantra, you also
   discover that the relationship you seek outside is already within
   you. You simply need to learn about and cultivate the Tantric
   vision, a vital, bliss-filled approach to sex, love and life in
   general.
   
PRIMAL ENERGY

   Today, many people have been exposed to the use of energy for
   healing, as with Chinese medicine, Reiki, Touch for Health, etc.
   Yet, few people, except for the Taoists, use the body's most
   powerful energy center--the sex center--for the achievement of
   divinity, immortality and enlightenment.
   
   In Tantra, sexual energy is used as the ignition for firing the
   Kundalini force, the body's biological life-energy system,
   merging it/you with universal energy. Mystics and metaphysicians
   call this reaching or achieving Godhead, Nirvana, Samadhi,
   Mookshaor union with Divinity.
   
   However, unlike Taoism (which actually stemmed from ancient
   Tantra) that says bring your energy inside for longevity, Tantra
   says let it go..let it all go! There is no reason to hang onto
   anything if eternity exists.
   
   In Tantra, sex is used as the Cosmic union of opposites to create
   the polarity charge, or potential, that connects with the
   primordial energy from which everything in the universe
   arises--the totality of ALL.
   
   On the Tantric path, we learn to use sexual energy in an extended
   way, not denying the physical (though nothing is really
   physical), but going further...deeper...higher. We dance with the
   electromagnetic force field of our partner, and that dance leads
   to Cosmic oneness. When this energy is matched and balanced
   correctly through a loving surrender with a partner, the sparks
   fly. In that moment of sexual embrace and energy exchange, a
   couple may achieve a Cosmic orgasm, with their essential selves
   exiting the body. Those who claim to read auras can often tell if
   people are Tantrikas. In Tantra we learn to open ourselves to
   others, not only on the physical but on all levels. Yes become
   more prominent in our vocabulary...
   
   The basic difference between unenlightened sex and Tantra, is
   that Tantra declares "the kingdom of God is within your heart."
   In Sanskrit it is called Pinde So Brahamande, "the physical body
   is the temple of God, and the body is the replica or representa!
   tion of the entire Cosmos."
   
21st CENTURY SPIRITUALITY

   Contemporary society considers neurosis and deviant behavior
   normal, no more a problem than the common cold. Our present
   social and cultural structure supports separation and has created
   division among individuals and nations, manifesting in violence,
   war and in general a world without beauty and love. Western (and
   now even Eastern) culture uses sex for manipulation--sexy models
   being used to sell cars, soap and other products--while at the
   same time suppressing sexual expression. With sex being such a
   powerful force, we have created the perfect environment for
   neurosis, and sexual violence.
   
   Tantra says we can celebrate life when the idea of separation, or
   otherness, disappears from the body and mind, allowing people to
   meet on all levels of consciousness--physical, vital, mental,
   intellectual and spiritual. In fact, Tantric partners often
   consider themselves "soul partners."
   
   Tantra, the art of spiritualizing your sexuality, offers
   practical tools to transmute fear and attachment into love and
   universal power. Jealousy, possessiveness, guilt and other
   negative emotions that drain your life-force energy, drop away.
   
   While most fundamentalist religions--even Eastern and Arabian
   philosophies--focus on the elimination of sensual pleasures,
   Tantra welcomes the full expression of bodily pleasure,
   recognizing that in the body is hidden the "bodiless," or the
   spiritual. The body is only layers of invisible energy in form,
   and it can all be awakened if we let go to the sexual energy.
   
   The art of tantra should not be mistaken for material hedonism.
   Perhaps it could be called "spiritual hedonism," which says,
   "eat, drink and be merry, but with full awareness." Remain awake
   as you enter into sex before the old habits come and take over.
   Just remain conscious of the energy. Tantra says Yes! to sex,
   Yes! to love, and Yes! Yes! Yes! to unconditional love.
   
ENLIGHTENMENT NOW!

   If you can learn to be conscious of the body and the breath, you
   can become conscious of the Universe. What Buddha said can be
   said of Tantra, "The truth of the Universe can only be realized
   within the framework of the physical body."
   
   So, while Tantra is associated with sexuality, it is essentially
   a merging with oneness, using the physical plane as the launch
   pad. We indeed create our own reality says Tantra, and this
   reality can be in the here and now--in the body through the
   Tantric orgasm. While it is possible to study Tantra for years,
   learning technique, meditations, and nuances, of the Tantric
   lifestyle, the very essence of Tantra assumes you already have
   all the knowledge to become enlightened immediately. DO IT NOW!
   Life ! wasn't meant to be a struggle.
   
   Simply available as a path to experience full enlightenment,
   Tantra doesn't ask you to believe anything. In fact, it says let
   go of all belief systems. Seek out a teacher that can guide you
   through the essential experience. In the experience itself you!
   will discover your oneness with the universe.
     ____________________________________________________________
   
   Copyright (c) Sw. Virato, all rights reserved.
   
   Swami Nostradamus is a sannyasin of Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)
   and has been teaching the tantric lifestyle for over 25 years.
   Articles on him have appeared in the NY Times, Penthouse
   Magazine, Philadelphia Magazine, SCAN Magazine, New York
   Magazine, and other publications. He has appeared on numerous
   national and international television programs, and was the first
   to bring Tantra to Russia in 1992. What Swami Virato does is
   chronciled in an interview entited "Sex & Sprit," To learn more
   about Tantra, including experiential events world-wide, and
   information on sponsorship!, write:
   
     The Nepal Institute,
     41 White Oak Rd.,
     Arden, NC 28704, USA,
     
     704-684-0334. E-Mail: newfrontier@a-o.com
           ________________________________________________
  
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