Traditional Yoga and Tantra: Exploring the Key Difference
Introduction
While both tantra and yoga are forms of spiritual practice, they diverge in the specific ways they reach their shared objective. The foundation of tantra is self-aware indulgence, whereas yoga is an approach to action, skill, and method. There is no need to fight in tantra, in contrast to yoga. One ought to savour the experience mindfully instead.
Reality and Creating Alternative Reality
While tantra emphasises self-indulgence, yoga emphasises self-restraint. There is no conflict between Tantra and nature or reality; rather, the emphasis is on progress and the ultimate. It stresses not separating oneself from the world but rather accepting oneself exactly as one is. Yoga, for instance, requires one to struggle against sex, the basic energy around which the human mind revolves, in order to establish an alternative centre for oneself.
Using and Opposing Sexual Energy
Tantra, on the other hand, is all about channelling erotic energy rather than resisting it. Just like any other natural resource, energy can be employed for good or evil; but, when the average man engages in sexual activity, it turns into a destructive force. As a counterpoint to the conventional mind, yoga teaches its practitioners to be desireless and to cease desiring. It stresses the importance of being self-aware and observant of desires.
The Common Mind’s Struggle with Desire in Tantra and Yoga
Because it is diametrically opposed to the common mind, Tantra is attractive because it allows the common mind to comprehend yoga’s language. Anyone with a rational mind can see how much sex is ruining them and how they act as if they have no choice but to submit to it. The common mind grasps the yoga language at once when it says to oppose it.
The Risks and Misunderstandings of Sexual Energy in Yoga
Having said that, the risks connected with sex make yoga a bit of a mystery. The risk comes from the fact that the average mind may fool itself and act consciously in pursuit of its desires. The common man’s sex-suppressed, sex-starved, and sex-indulgent mind is the source of yoga’s allure. Tantra can be appealing if we approach sexuality in a natural way, without any underlying theory, and embrace it for what it is: a natural phenomenon. That is when tantra will truly benefit many.
Yoga and Tantra: Complementary Paths to the Same Goal
To sum up, yoga and tantra are complementary but distinct practices that lead in opposite directions while ultimately accomplishing the same aim. In contrast to yoga’s focus on development and the ultimate, tantra encourages embracing one’s inherent sexuality and accepting oneself exactly as one is.
Adopting a nonjudgmental attitude towards one’s own complex energy fields is central to the spiritual discipline of Tantra. Some think that Western psychology, which has found that sex is at the root of all human illness, is to blame for the current climate of natural acceptance of sex. Because it eliminates man’s fundamental lunacy, this sex orientation is fundamental to man’s normal and natural growth.
Discipline and Self Awareness
The practice of Tantra stresses the significance of fully accepting oneself and channelling all energy towards personal growth. One can develop and gain self-awareness by learning to embrace and understand the multidimensional energies that reside inside themselves. While the sex act isn’t always a loving act, it can be difficult and stressful to comprehend without a high level of sensitivity, awareness, love, and understanding.
Concept of duality and Oneness – Yoga and Tantra
On the flip side, yoga is all about duality, about balancing denial and affirmation. Duality is ever-present, even though yoga means to combine two things. Tantra maintains that dualism does not exist and, even if it does, it cannot be combined. But they can’t be one if they aren’t two. The universe and the divine, being two distinct entities, are incompatible. Your physical form and your spiritual essence are inseparable. Assuming you and God are two separate entities, merging the two is impossible.
Duality
According to Tantra, duality does not exist; it is all an illusion. If you want to eliminate the illusion of dualism, you have to accept yourself—body, world, and everything. The ego is the one and only separate centre in tantra. It is more prudent to know oneself and avoid developing an inflated sense of self-importance.
Ego
Because egotism is an inherent part of the yoga practice, it is rare to find a yogi who does not practice it. The process is the fight, and your ego will become stronger with each conflict. Achieving the supreme ego is contingent upon your victory in the conflict. According to Tantra, “No fight!” The ego becomes impossible in such a situation.
Self Acceptance – Yoga and Tantra
To sum up, tantra is an effective spiritual practice that promotes self-acceptance and -understanding via the exploration of one’s own multidimensional energies. Becoming one with the divine and the world is possible via accepting oneself and recognising the fundamental character of the world.
Embracing All Emotions
An integral part of Tantric spirituality is accepting and embracing all of one’s feelings, no matter how small they may appear. Rather than being an end in itself, it implies that indulging is a necessary component of our spiritual path. The exercise teaches us to tune in to our feelings, no matter how out of our control they may appear. With this insight, one can change their wrath into compassion, the first and most basic kind of kindness.
According to Tantra, a man who stifles his wrath becomes a lifeless corpse, since he lacks the vitality to develop love. Divineness, emancipation, and freedom are nonexistent when love is absent. Tantra advocates the opposite: that we should welcome all energies—anger, greed, etc.—as potential sources of love that lie dormant.
Rather of being a threat, the seeds of these energies are blessings that can be cultivated to achieve emancipation and beauty. We can grow flowers and feel the life-altering effects of love if we welcome and embrace these seeds.
Sexuality as a Sacred Act
Furthermore, Tantra stresses that our perceived adversaries—whether pride, wrath, hatred, or sex—can actually be viewed as benevolent blessings. We can approach them with an attitude of thankfulness and appreciation if we consider them divine blessings. To help us understand the sacredness of sexual acts, temples in places like Khajuraho, Puri, and Konark depict them as if they were meditations or prayers.
Many people, particularly those who adhere to Christianity, Islam, or Jainism, find the idea of Maithun, or sexual relations, in temples like as Khajuraho, Puri, or Konark, to be absurd and incongruous. Nevertheless, this is due to the fact that we do not condone the sexual acts shown on these temple walls. Many contemporary Hindus, who call themselves “Hindu-Christians,” experience shame due to their religious affiliation and the influence of Christianity on their thought processes.
In Tantric practice, one is encouraged to approach sexual activity with the reverence befitting a sacred temple, where the human and divine realms are seen as interdependent. Because of this polarity, we can see that the universe and the divine are not mutually exclusive but rather interdependent; furthermore, we can see that the loss of either one would result in the loss of the other. Consequently, real freedom and liberation can only be achieved by acknowledging the profound oneness that permeates everything.
Tantra is a way of life that stresses the significance of becoming one with all other beings. The core principle is that there is no such thing as an unholy thing; rather, all things are holy. This view differs from the illogical dualist one, which sees God and Satan as opposite sides of the same coin. There is no room for compromise in tantra; all things are either holy or heavenly.
Balancing Yoga and Tantra for True Progress
Yoga and tantra are the two ways to learn tantra. The opposite is true for yoga, which is popular among those whose minds are healthy and orderly. Nevertheless, there are advantages and disadvantages to both methods.
Because it clarifies what tantra is, tantra is more attractive to people who are internally well and not chaotic. Conversely, yoga’s widespread adoption can be attributed to its role in healing disturbed minds. True progress towards the ultimate can only be made when the mind is sound and free from illness.
For instance, Mahavir did not practice sex suppression when he was on the yoga path. After experiencing it himself, he decided it wasn’t worth keeping. Even though he was a yogi, Buddha had been through life and knew it inside and out. He appeared to be unconcerned and unfighting, rather than fighting.
Enlightenment – Yoga and Tantra
Yoga and tantra both have the potential to help people achieve enlightenment in a harmonious society where people are free to be themselves. In an ideal environment, one can achieve enlightenment via tantra and yoga. Both yoga and tantra lead to dishonesty, which is why they are useless in our sick society. First things first: you need a sound mind, and more specifically, a sound sexual mind.
One has the option of tantra or yoga to choose their way. Yoga is the way for men who identify as aggressive, violent, and extroverted. The path of the feminine, the passive, the nonviolent, and open-hearted is tantra. The gods of Tantra are female, whereas those of Yoga are male.
If we look at yoga through the lens of contemporary psychology, we see an extroverted path, and tantra as an introverted one. Each practitioner’s unique character dictates the best approach, whether that’s yoga or tantra. Yoga is for the extroverted person who would rather argue. Tantra, on the other hand, is perfect for the extroverted person who finds joy in conflict.
Conclusion
As a conclusion, two ways to learn about harmony and oneness in life are tantra and yoga. The two methods aren’t identical; each has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. One can attain the transcendence of cravings and live a full life by choosing a healthy mind and a healthy mind.
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