" Tantrism"

The term “Tantra” refers to texts which expound non-Vedic doctrines, especially of the Shakta variety. This tradition has been one of the major currents in Indian religion for the last 1,500 years, and in view of its complex nature, no single definition of the phenomenon of Tantrism is possible.

In its wider sense, Tantrism stands for practices of a ritualistic, sometimes magical character (e.g. mantra, yantra, chakra, mudra, nyasa, etc.) These are used as a means to reach the goal of either spiritual emancipation (i.e. mukti) or of more mundane aims (mainly magical domination), in various Hindu and Buddhist sects.

In a more restricted sense, however, Tantrism denotes a system of rituals, which are full of symbolism and are chiefly Shakta, and which are propagated along “schools”(sampradaya) and lines of succession (parampara) by spiritual adepts or gurus. It is sadhana, which utilizes Kundaliniyoga and other psychosomatic experiences. It is in this restricted sense that Tantrism is known, in India itself, though it is difficult to distinguish between the two meanings.

Despite this difficulty of defining Tantrism, there is indeed a salient indicator which sets it apart from Hinduism in general, and that is the Tantric panchamakara ritual, especially the fifth "m”. Even though it is not always present, the use of the "five elements” (panchatattva), viz. alcohol, meat, fish, mudra (usually parched grains), and sexual intercourse (maithuna), is typical in Tantric worship. It has been argued that the fifth element, viz. ritual sexual union with a woman previously initiated and "transformed” into the manifestation of the goddess, is the central Tantric sadhana, and that it is not really relevant whether it is literally performed (i.e. vamachara or left-handed practice) or only mentally (i.e. dakshinachara or right-handed praxis). It is the actual or alleged performance of these rites which has given Tantrism its bad name in the public mind.

The Hindu religious tradition can be reduced to two chief denominators : the Vedic and the Tantric; the relations between the two are very complex. Thus, Tantrism in its wider sense is found in Shaivism and Vaishnavism also (and even in Jainism). In fact, as Chintaharan Chakravarty put it, "Brahmanic worship is all through permeated by Tantricism”.

Even though Tantrism is quite obviously not a mere continuation of the Vedic tradition, the points of agreement are rather striking. A number of later practices and doctrines are indeed foreshadowed by what is in some earlier Upanishads and even Brahmanas, e.g. the interiorization of sacrifice, the sexual significance of the ritual, etc. In fact, as Padoux puts it, both Hindu and Buddhist Tantrism can be described as "reinterpretations, in a new spirit, of their respective traditions”.

Along with its Vedic source, Tantrism is also rooted in very old traditions of yoga and body cult, shamanism, religious eroticism and folk ritual, dating possibly to the Indus Valley culture. The actual emergence of Shakta elements in literary sources would seem to reflect the process of absorption of local female deities with the “great tradition” Hinduism of the Brahmans.

At any rate, from the fifth century onwards Tantrism becomes a pan-Indian “fashion. One meets it everywhere, in innumerable different forms”. It was possibly around the sixth or seventh century A .D. that Shaktism became a major factor in Indian religious life. From the Sanskrit writer Bana (seventh century A .D.) onwards, there are many references to the Shakti cult, especially to its striking aspects like human sacrifice. As for the Buddhist Vajrayana, around the seventh or eighth centuries A.D., Siddhas (i.e. adepts) were associated with the royal courts of Assam, Bengal and Kashmir; this is, of course, an important indicator of the salience of the Tantric movement. And, in parts of Western India, the evidently Tantric Kapalika cult also became popular during this period, viz. during the seventh century A.D .

It is still a moot point as to which developed earlier, Hindu Tantrism or Buddhist Tantrism. It is perhaps more accurate to say that both were based on older traditions (like the body culture of the Siddhas), which were handed down and developed by people who did not sometimes care very much about their doctrinal purity, though Padoux for one feels that Tantrism is basically a Hindu phenomenon. For although it is found in all Indian religions, to some extent, it has perhaps developed mainly from within the “ancient orthodox tradition”.

At this point, one must mention the “Kula path”, which developed between the fourth and ninth centuries A.D. Padoux rightly points out that the Tantras use these classificatory terms ( “vama" “dakshina", “Kaula” etc.) very loosely, but this “kula path” was nevertheless definitely the most important, certainly the most characteristic movement in Tantrism. And it refers essentially to the left handed practice.