Soundtrack: R. Kelly “Sex Me”

As promised, the second episode of SOL System Radio is on the subject, “Why Tantra?” What is Tantra and why is it something that people should be studying and practicing?

Tantra is a Sanskrit (Indian) word that literally means “system or doctrine” and comes from the root words tanoti “stretch, extend, expand” and trayati “liberation”. The originators of the Indian system of Tantra saw it as a systematic way of expanding the consciousness toward liberation. The primary tool that Tantra uses toward that aim is sexual energy. There have been many cultures all over the world and since the beginning of human existence that have recognized that the power of sexual energy can be used toward the goal of enlightenment or liberation or salvation.

I believe that even though Tantra is an ancient practice, it is more important in today’s world than it has ever been before. Tantra can potentially restore balance to a world that has become increasingly off balance over the past few millennia. Let me explain what I mean from the beginning.

There is something in Mathematics called the Transitive Property of Equality. It states that if A equals B, and B equals C, then A equals C. Some time ago I thought about this in terms of sexuality and it has stuck with me. We are told that we all come from God. Anyone who believes in the concept of God in any form believes that God is the source of all existence. We know for sure that we all come from an act of sex. If we all come from God, and we also all come from sex, then the transitive property tells us that God = Sex. In some way, God is synonymous with sexuality and the actual act of sex.

The major religions of the world don’t want us to believe this at all. That is why I say that the world has become increasingly off balance. Religion would have us believe that God either has nothing to do with sex or that God and sex are diametrically opposed to each other. For many religious people, sex is of the Devil and it should only be tolerated as a way to propagate the species but not promoted at all. The effect of this teaching is that people get further and further away from God and from the Source of their lives.

The process of conceiving new life is an energetic process. The woman’s life force combines with the man’s life force and the two together create a new life force. Our life force is encapsulated-crystallized-manifested-embodied-incarnated (I couldn’t think of the right word) in the sperm/ovaries. The body puts a tremendous amount of effort into producing sperm and ovum (eggs). That’s why the act of releasing sperm or ovum by ejaculation or menstruation takes so much out of you. Outside of the bodily functions involved with homeostasis of your own body (keeping things working the same), the body’s other main concern is with making sure that you are ready to produce more life if given the chance.

It is sexual energy that creates life in the beginning and it is sexual energy that sustains life at all times. That energy stays present and it is what animates us, makes us alive, it is the core of our existence. The name that we give to this particular aspect of our energy is Kundalini.

follow me…There is a network of channels/pathways inside the body that start forming immediately after conception with sperm and ovum. These pathways are called Bonghan Channels or primo vessels (the primo vascular system). These primo vessels are what transport the information used to control the perfect formation of the embryo. The perfect symmetry of the body with matching arms and legs and kidneys and lungs and such requires an inconceivable amount of information being passed around to get all of these moving parts to work perfectly together. In the adult body, these primo vessels are the body’s storehouse of stem cells. Stem cells are capable of developing into any tissue in the body. They can make any part of the body over from scratch.

Kundalini is the spark that activates the primo vascular system, which is the CPU that drives the whole computer of the body. This is true at conception, and it remains true throughout life. To be clear, your kundalini is your sexual energy. The act of sex which creates you is accompanied by energy which drives the process of your creation and holds the potential of your re-creation at any time in your life. Kundalini is the fountain of youth. Kundalini is sexual energy. Sunyata Saraswati said that “God is sexual pleasure, used rightly”. To lose your connection with your kundalini is to lose your connection with the source of your existence.

We have not been taught to view sex properly. We have not been taught to hold sex in the high regard that it deserves. Sex is the ultimate sacred ritual. More than communion or religious pilgrimage or baptism, sex brings us closer to God. To further quote Sunyata Saraswati from his book Jewel In The Lotus:

“The basis of sexual desire and its fleeting fulfillment is the ecstasy of sexual orgasm, the most intense experience anyone can have. In that moment one experiences union with the beloved. There is no separation, no ‘I’ as apart from ‘you.’ In that moment we transcend into the state of Samadhi, blissful union between the individual consciousness and the Cosmic. Wave after wave of love and peace infuse waking consciousness. The anxious, striving, separated individual self becomes merged with the total flow of cosmic energy, bathed in its unchanging quality of intense joy.

“The orgasmic experience is available to all, and for many it is the only mystical experience they will ever have. This momentary glimpse leaves us with a deep yearning to repeat it, not just for the sexual release, but for the truth it reveals. Because in that moment we remember who we really are.

“In Tantra you can extend the climax to many minutes. Tantra provides a system of techniques for prolonging orgasm in order to experience Unity Consciousness. The state of enlightenment has been described as perpetual orgasm. Once you learn to attain this state in meditation, sex is no longer such a driving need.”

“In orgasm you are at one with yourself, with your lover, with all creation, with God. There is no time, no past or future, only total presence in the eternal now. The breath stops and the mind is empty. And from this void comes profound love, divine joy and illuminating bliss.”

Monks and nuns and other deeply committed religious people spend whole lifetimes seeking the experience of feeling oneness with God. With having tantric sex from the proper awareness, you can have this experience in a single week of dedicated practice. Tantra has the potential to be a shortcut to enlightenment and salvation. Sexual energy is the most powerful energy that we have access to and it is in our best interests to learn how to use it properly.

There is more to Tantra than just the act of having sex. However, it is all about the goal of cultivating the sexual energy and using it to expand one’s consciousness. The different parts of Tantra vary depending on which school or system you’re in and who your teacher is. Some Tantric techniques include yogic postures to purify the physical body, breathing techniques to stimulate consciousness, meditation to attune yourself to the flow of the Divine, chanting mantras to affect the vibration of the body, looking at visual representations of the mantra frequencies, contracting or locking certain parts of the body to direct energy flow, as well as sexual union.

Most of a regular Tantra practice can be done without a partner. You don’t have to wait on anyone to join you in practicing Tantra. There is plenty that you can do every day to cultivate your Kundalini on your own. And there is much that you can do with a partner or partners that is far outside of the realm of what we see on tv or in porn.

The purpose of this particular writing isn’t to get into specifics of Tantra practice. I just want to help us look at the fact that 99% of us are doing sex and sexuality completely wrong. Our experience is equivalent to having every single cable tv channel in existence and only watching one channel everyday. We are seriously missing out. Why Tantra? Because it is the most effective and most fun way possible to become the highest and best version of yourself. Because it is a shame to have these amazing tools sitting at our disposal and to not take advantage of them. Because awakening kundalini is the primary purpose of human life. Let’s do better.