Courtesy of the artist: Andrew A. Gonzales

There is a 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 the vital energy to achieve union with Divinity. The essence of Tantra is the full expression of being—merging with, rather than a withdrawing from. It is the ultimate yoga, which is Sanskrit for union. In Tantra, the orgasm is 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 word Tantra has many definitions, and perhaps its real meaning has been lost to antiquity. Some scholars claim it comes from the Sanskrit or Hindu word for fabric or tapestry, meaning that it is woven into one’s life. Others say that it 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! The North America’s native Cherokee culture even practice a form of Tantra called Quadoshka. 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.