In Sanskrit, the
ancient religious and classical literary language of India, the word tantra can
be likened to such concepts as "capacity for expansion" and
"that which goes on expanding," and the words continuum, web,
context, and transformation.1 Tantra teaches an acceptance of who we are as a
whole, from the solid density of our physical body to the refined layers of our
spirit. It is concerned with the transmutation of energy, liberation of the
mind, attainment of one's full potential. The balanced union of opposites is
considered the way of achieving liberation of mind and body, a liberation from
the supposedly endless cycle of unconscious rebirth. Tantra understood over
five thousand years ago what modern science has since proven to be true through
chromosome study: that woman is half man and man is half woman. The balancing
of inner opposites is the way to achieve full potential. Falling fully into
feminine mode in sexual union transforms woman through an inner alchemical
process.
This, my second book on tantra, essentially explores tantra from the female
perspective. In the pages ahead I endeavor to convey the significant role that
receptive feminine energy plays in the male-female sexual exchange. It wouldn't
be realistic to draw a distinct line between woman and man when talking about
sex because sex is the most intimate meeting of the male and female elements.
However, there are aspects of sexuality that apply exclusively to women, and
these can be used to distinct advantage in influencing and strengthening the
sexual experience-for both women and men. A woman who is without a partner can
still benefit from this knowledge. It can give her a new feeling about herself
and her body, and often through this new awareness she will draw the right
partner to herself.
As a researcher, teacher, and writer on sex, I have been encouraged by both
women and men to address sexuality from the female point of view. Women have
suggested this directly; and though no men have exactly verbalized it, I have
been encouraged indirectly by men's actions and what they have demonstrated,
unknowingly, to me in the last twenty years.
In this time many couples have attended the "Making Love" workshops
for couples that I colead with my partner, Raja. During the workshops, truly
touching miracles take place every day. Many of the couples reexperience the
dynamic love that brought them together in the first place, and have been able
to continue into the future in loving harmony. However, not all partnerships
are equally successful and sometimes couples have separated. In time,
naturally, those who have separated have formed new relationships. As these new
relationships begin to take hold, I've noticed something quite phenomenal and
unexpected happening in the groups. The men who had attended my workshops
before are returning to the workshops. It is the men who have been coming back
to share this alternative approach to sexuality with their new female partners
because they have experienced how the tantric approach can enhance love. To my
greatest surprise, women (though they found the first workshops as uplifting as
their partners did) have been much slower on the rebound. Only in the very
recent past have women participants come back to repeat the workshop with new
loved ones.
The fact that many men but few women return to the workshops with their new
lovers offers two important insights. The first is that we women are afraid to
talk to men about sex and are reluctant to share with men what pleases our
bodies most. We hesitate to introduce our male partners to any alternative
sexual approaches. The main fear for a woman is that of losing her man, of
ceasing to be sexually attractive to him if she changes. Sadly, when women
choose to stay with conventional sex-which is a distorted form of male
sexuality-we give away our unique feminine magic and power.
The second insight is much more encouraging, and I hope it will give women the
confidence to be more authoritative in the sexual sphere. The fact that men are
bringing women back to the workshops clearly demonstrates that men develop a
liking for another form of sexual expression once they have tasted it. How can
a man have a taste for something he has never experienced? Often tantric
sexuality has to be experienced before the longing for it can arise.
From both men and women who have no personal experience with tantra I
repeatedly hear the comment, "Tantra seems to be for women, not for
men." Based on my own exploration and on the encouraging response of the
men who attend my workshops, I can say with all certainty, "No, tantra is
not only for women. It is definitely for men too." Tantra is not simply
something designed to make women happy (and men not so happy), a way of giving
women the reins for a while. When a man has had one taste of the delicious
depths and heights of expanded sexual energy, invariably he wants it again. But
unless women make available their true femininity to men, how and where and
when can men develop a taste for it?
Here and there you might find a woman who naturally has the knack of receiving
and channeling masculine sexual energy upward during intercourse and can lift
sex to another dimension for herself and her man. The truth is that a woman can
consciously develop this art and guide her man into an expanded sexual
sphere-and thereby create for herself more satisfying sexual experiences. A
woman has the natural capacity to enter this realm simply by virtue of being a
woman. She who is the receptive aspect in the male-female dynamic can move
inward and draw or pull man along with her. This is her intrinsic power.
Through receptivity, through giving way and yielding, inherent movement is
possible. The opposite does not hold quite so true: generally speaking, man
cannot easily initiate the experience of opening a doorway and absorbing woman
into him. To do so requires great stillness and the clarity of true male
authority. When the receptive (feminine) aspect gives way, actually receiving
what is coming to it, its very receptivity enables the dynamic (masculine)
energy to move and flow. In this way man easily and naturally follows woman; he
can even wordlessly flow into exalted realms with woman if he is fortunate
enough to encounter receptive feminine energy.
Woman is the real starting point for the necessary reeducation in sex. This
movement has to take root in women and spread from them out into
society-through lovers, friends, one-night stands, through mothers teaching
daughters and fathers teaching sons. It requires that women begin to speak up
for themselves, expressing their needs and sensitivities, and that men take
urgent heed of these messages. The greatest potential for true sexual
fulfillment and love lies in a woman and a man joined together on a mutual
journey of sexual self-discovery.
Nevertheless, a woman can do much without the conscious cooperation of a man.
Sex is about as close to ourselves as we can get; it reaches, touches, and
changes every cell of our bodies. Through exploring sex we will discover who we
really are beneath all the social pretensions and conventions that we
habitually use to cover up our deeper sexual selves.
My source of tantric inspiration and guidance is my spiritual master, Osho.
Osho, or Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, as he was known earlier in his life, teaches
meditation not as a practice but as a way of life. He is a mystic who brings
the timeless wisdom of the East to bear upon the urgent questions facing men
and women today. He speaks of the search for harmony, wholeness, and love that
lies at the core of all religious and spiritual traditions, illuminating the
essence of Christianity, Hassidism, Buddhism, Sufism, Tantra, Tao, Yoga, and
Zen. There are no words to express my depth of gratitude for his profound and
continuing impact on my life. Osho's interpretation of the ancient tantric
scriptures creates a superior body of knowledge and insight that I have been
fortunate enough to have access to since my mid-twenties.
Tantra is beyond technique; it is a profound journey of self-discovery and
self-transformation, an alchemical process of transmuting base energies to
higher spiritual expression. Some techniques can be used along the way, but the
secret of tantra lies in bringing that which is sexually unconscious in us into
full consciousness. Osho says, "Tantra is the transformation of sex into
love through awareness." This implies that how we do something is
infinitely more important than what we do.
It is my privilege to include some excerpts of Osho's tantric inspiration
throughout this book. It may perhaps interest the reader to know that Osho's
words, appearing here in text form, were initially delivered as off-the-cuff
oral discourses, completely spontaneous and without any previous preparation,
at gatherings for his disciples and interested public in India. Later these
were published in book form. I wish to make it clear that the handful of quotes
appearing here are simply those that I chose to include. They in no way
represent the full range and extraordinary diversity of Osho's spiritual
insight into the human condition.
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