According to most spiritual traditions the desire for wordly pleasures is
incompatible with the spiritual quest. You can have the treasures of this world,
they say, or the treasures of the spiritual realm, but not both. This either/or
approach sets off an endless internal struggle in those who are drawn to
spiritual beliefs and practices but who have at the same time a natural urge to
fulfill their worldly desires. This includes most of us. And when there is no
way to reconcile these two impulses we fall prey to guilt and self-condemnation,
or we repress either our spiritual desires or our worldly desires, or we try to
have both, and become hypocrites.
The tantric approach to life avoids this painful and confusing dilemma by taking
the whole person into account - our human as well as our spiritual nature. The
literal meaning of tantra is "to weave, to expand, to spread," and
according to tantric adepts, we can achieve true and everlasting fulfillment
only when all the threads of the fabric of life are woven according to the
pattern designated by nature. When we are born, ignorance, desire, attachment,
fear, and false images of ourselves and others tangle and tear the threads.
Tantra sadhana (practice) reweaves the fabric of life and restores it to its
original pattern. No other path of yoga is as systematic or as comprehensive.
The profound practices of hatha yoga, pranayama, mudras, rituals, kundalini
yoga, nada yoga, mantra, yantra, mandala, visualization of deities, alchemy,
ayurveda, astrology, and hundreds of esoteric techniques for engendering wordly
and spiritual prosperity blend perfectly within the tantric disciplines. |
