The term “tantra” encompasses a jumble of conflicting advice. Some tantra lore unequivocally discourages orgasm to enhance spiritual awareness. On the other hand, some of it encourages employing orgasm as sex magic, or using some tantric principles to have more intense orgasms. Whom should you believe?
The only way to know if a concept like rigorous tantra is true (for you) is to experiment for an extended period. If instead you put all your faith in what others say about a particular concept you can easily be manipulated. This is particularly true when (1) the concept that some wish to discredit calls for self-discipline, and (2) the concept they wish to promote encourages self-indulgence.
In the case of tantra, biology is already on the side of the “discreditors”. And now they have the internet to promote their enticing promises.
Manipulated by inertia
Skilful propagandists have long known that if you wish to discourage the public from implementing a change in behaviour, all you have to do is engender doubt. Think of the way Big Tobacco arranged for its pet scientists to claim that smoking-related illnesses were due to anything but smoking. Smokers preferred to clutch at these dubious straws, rather than do the hard work of giving up smoking. This was so even after clear evidence suggested that their lives were at stake.
Doubt erodes our motivation. Why summon the fortitude necessary to experiment with something rigorous when you can find “experts” claiming you would be wasting your time and effort? It’s difficult to know what to do, what to think.
Are propagandists at work when it comes to tantra? Who knows? Certainly the field is remarkably murky.
Of course, our human tendency to become enslaved to our appetites and urges may well be enough to keep us imprisoning ourselves. This tendency can blind the smartest and strongest among us and lead academics astray without the need for an organized external force.
In any case, the conflicting advice of tantra spokespersons engenders doubt as effectively as professional propaganda. The resulting confusion discourages many sincere seekers from rigorous exploration.
Occasionally, however, you may notice that those who urge us to become slaves to our impulses also engage in stronger tactics. Telltale signs are: categorical denial of evidence that indulgence has risks, engaging in deliberate misinformation, and defamation of any who point the way toward self-discipline and its potent benefits. By appealing to listeners’ emotions and appetites they discourage them from thinking critically.
For the most part, however, they need simply create doubt…and let inertia do their work for them.
Sorting the wheat from the chaff
A friend of Synergy Explorers teaches tantra. He grew tired of sorting through the morass of contradictory claims about his field. From personal experience, he knew that the benefits of tantra depend upon consistency and self-discipline. He wanted to reassure his pupils that there is plenty of scholarly support for rigorous tantra, notwithstanding the endless contradictions muddying the water.
He instructed an artificial intelligence bot to track down sources that describe the importance of foregoing orgasm. Here is a sample of what showed up in his results. You can see more at Tantra traditions that discourage orgasm.
“Non-orgasmic sacred sexuality allows the sexual energy to be channeled for higher purposes.” – Kularnava Tantra (ISBN 9788185787152, p. 50)
What is true for you?
What happens if you and your partner explore the tantra path of self-discipline whole-heartedly? What might it feel like to operate with an illuminated heart and mind? To have abundant energy? To expand your spiritual awareness?
Make your own experiment for several months. And don’t allow doubt-producing whispers to weaken your resolve.
