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Tantras (Tantrika, Tantricism or Tantrism)

Tantra ,tantricism or tantrism is a religious philosophy according to which Shakti is usually the main deity worshipped, and the universe is regarded as the divine play of shakti and shiva.Contrary to the western association to sex, Tantra deals primarily with spiritual practices and ritual forms of worship, which aim at liberation from ignorance and rebirth.Tantras deal with popular aspects of the religion, such as spells, rituals, and symbols.

Usually, Tantras are dialogues between Śiva and the Goddess. Those scriptures where Shiva answers the questions are called agama and where Parvati answers, it is a nigama. The object of the rituals is to awaken kundalini energy and to attain liberation in the spiritual sense. The purpose of tantra is to integrate all aspects of life and is a realm where numerous varieties of ancient scinces blend. You can find the well known art of pranayama, mantra, yantra, yoga, astrology, ayurveda etc in a nice blend.

At Shiva Shakti Mandalam website you can find yantra, mantra, tantra and other material relating to some of the different traditions; texts on the siddhas, gurus and yogis. You can also read about the inner meaning of different kind of chakras, an extensive bibliography, and original English translations as well as links to other sites.
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  1. AnonymousJanuary 21, 2009 at 10:30 PM

    Thanks for the insightful post. I thought tantra was all about tantrik sex.

    ReplyDelete

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