Sex using Tantra - Part III

The practitioner moves up the hierarchy through an initiation ceremony involving ritual intercourse with a trained woman known as a dakini. The man now known as a sadhak, embarks on a process of intense meditation which includes liturgies, chanting mantras, mental visions, yogic postures and what Tannahill describes as “manipulation of the conjoined male and female energies.”

It should be noted that the fact that woman’s energy is so coveted, points to the fair sex being considered more powerful. This despite the fact that Tantrism is primarily aimed at a male audience and is structured specifically to assist males to attain salvation, even if it was at the expense of women.

Then there is chakrapuja, which roughly translates into “circle worship”. This is the basic religious ceremony for most practitioners. A small group of people gather in the presence of their guru whose bounden duty is to make sure that the evening does not stray from it’s holy purpose and deteriorate into an orgy. “The male members of the group are referred to as veer (heroes), the female, as Shakti (potencies). The evening starts with a course of drugs (smoked, liquid or solid), after which the couples precede to the other “four of the five enjoyment” (the first being the drugs).

The others were: meat, fish, grains and sexual intercourse. The evening culminated in sexual intercourse and it is this aspect of worship that leads to salvation. The most commonly used and most popular Tantrik mantra was Om mani padme hum which literally translates to “the jewel is in the lotus” or is another way of saying “the lingam is in the yoni”. The Chinese codified the practices into elaborate sexual manuals that could be consulted by the average citizen. Later in history, the Turks, Armenians, and the islander of the Marquesas used the coitus obstructus technique. Later still, Masters and Johnson in the late 1970s rediscovered that it was possible for men to be trained to experience the pleasure of orgasm (possibly several times) without ejaculation. When the Western world “rediscovered” the same thing in very old eastern Tantrik tradition, a renewed interest in the rituals and practices of Tantrism was sparked off.

Sadly, in its most modern reincarnation, Tantra has been relegated to being the absolute latest thing in getting laid!