Tantra

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This article is an overview of Tantra and an in-depth look at Tantra as a religious, philosophical and magical movement in Hinduism. For an in-depth look at Tantric Buddhism, please see Vajrayana. For more information about the Hindu sacred texts classified as Tantras, seeTantras.

It has been suggested that some content from this article or section be split into a separate article entitled Tantra in Hinduism. (Discuss)

The Sri Yantra

Tantra (Sanskrit: तन्त्र; "weave" denoting continuity), ^[1] (anglicised tantricism or tantrism) or tantram(Sanskrit: तन्त्र) is a religious philosophy according to which Shakti is usually the main deity worshipped, and the universe is regarded as the divine play of shakti and shiva.^[2] The word Tantra also applies to any of the scriptures commonly identified with the worship of Shakti.^[2] Tantra deals primarily with spiritual practices and ritual forms of worship, which aim at liberation from ignorance and rebirth.^[2] The tantric movement has influenced the Hindu, Bön, Buddhist, and Jain religious traditions. Tantra in its various forms has existed in India, Nepal, China, Japan, Tibet, Korea, Cambodia, Burma, Indonesia and Mongolia.^[3]Although he cautions against attempting a rigorous definition of tantra, David Gordon White offers the following definition:

Tantra is that Asian body of beliefs and practices which, working from the principle that the universe we experience is nothing other than the concrete manifestation of the divine energy of the Godhead that creates and maintains that universe, seeks to ritually appropriate and channel that energy, within the humanmicrocosm, in creative and emancipatory ways.^[4]