As Complicated as Drinking a Glass of Water
Every time we drink a glass of water, perhaps the most mundane gesture in the world, we are actually faced with three choices.
The first is to distract ourselves, allowing our mind to wander to other places, other times, and other actions.
The second is to analyze our mind and how it reacts to this simple gesture. To refine our intellect until it can discern every subtle ripple of the mind. By the time we finish the glass, we may have realized that our mind identifies with the senses and consequently with their objects.
The third choice is to savor the glass of water with all possible concentration. To immerse ourselves in the experience of the senses and reality, until we become one with it. After the last sip, we may have experienced the divine, the consciousness that permeates all things.
With the first choice, we would have walked the path of samsara. With the second, that of Ashtanga yoga. With the third, that of Tantric yoga.
The Path of Expansion
The term "tantra" derives from the root tan, meaning "to weave" or "to expand." It is indeed a path that aims to expand consciousness to encompass the totality of existence.
Unlike classical ascetic traditions, which tended to separate the sacred from the profane, for Tantrism, the divine permeates everything. The body, matter, and emotions are not obstacles, but instruments of awakening. Everything that exists is an expression of divine energy (shakti), the creative power of Shiva. For this reason, even the most mundane gesture can be an opportunity to experience it.
A Glass of Water... Sparkling
What if we discovered that the absolute we experience isn't so absolute after all? Or rather, that it isn't so immutable and unyielding?
The doctrine of Spanda, a Tantric school of Kashmiri Shaivism, posits that when we experience the absolute, we discover that it is actually a vibration.
Everything is divine consciousness, but it is a divine consciousness that continuously manifests and then returns to itself.
While in the Tantra of other schools, long practices are used to experience the consciousness that permeates all things, Spanda aims for Recognition (Pratyabhijna): enlightenment is realizing, instantaneously, that consciousness itself is vibrating energy.
So, what about Tantric sex?
We can achieve immediate enlightenment in every daily gesture. Be it the aforementioned glass of water, a beautiful sunset, or an act of love. If we savor these gestures to the point of reaching extreme pleasure (but it can also be extreme pain or intense fear), we can succeed in interrupting discursive mental activity (Vikalpa). In that instant of rupture, a tear opens in the veil that obscures the reality of things: it is the direct experience of Consciousness, Spanda.
For this reason, Tantric sex, through breathing and specific techniques, aims to prolong pleasure, so that it can become an occasion of ecstasy profound enough to reveal to us the divine nature of everything.
The Pleasure of Daily Enlightenment
In short, Tantra not only sees us as part of the divine but also recognizes that it is possible to become spectators of this spectacle. By savoring excellent food, union with a loved one, or a breathtaking panorama. In essence, to achieve enlightenment, one simply needs to truly know how to enjoy life.
Further Reading
The Doctrine of Vibration by Mark S.G. Dyczkowski
Light on Tantras by Abhinavagupta
