Osho's perspective on Tantra
When Osho Spoke About Tantra
Passages from the discourses where this theme comes alive.
Is there any difference between the approaches of shiva and saraha towards tantra?
NOT REALLY, NOT ESSENTIALLY. But as far as the form is concerned, yes. Religions differ only in the form. Religions differ only in their methodology. Religions differ as far as the door into the Divine is concerned, but not existentially. And there are only two basic formal differences: that of the path of devotion, prayer, love, and the path of meditation, awareness. These two basic differences persist. Shiva's approach is that of devotion; it is that of prayer, of love. Saraha's approach is that of meditation, awareness. The distinction is still formal, because when the lover and the meditator reach they arrive at the same goal. Their arrows are released from different angles, but they reach the same target. Their arrows are released from different bows, but they reach the same target. The bow does not matter finally. What type of bow you have chosen does not matter if the…
Beloved Osho, why did the great masters of tantra call their teaching "the whispered transmission"?
The system of tantra is one of the most important things that has ever happened in the history of man. Everything else is secondary because tantra is an effort to transform living energy into its ultimate form, of enlightenment. But because the living energy is sexual, tantra became condemned -- condemned by the sex-repressive society, the sex-repressive religions. It became so condemned that tantrikas have suffered more than any other system of thinkers, philosophers, seekers. One Indian king, Vikramaditya, killed ten thousand couples. It was a special sect of tantrikas, really daring people. A man and a woman lived in one robe, naked. Inside they were naked -- just covered by one robe. They used to wear a blue robe, signifying that "because of the stupid society we have to wear something; otherwise the sky is our only robe" -- hence the blue color. Because of the blue color they…
What is the difference between waiting for godot and waiting for god?
It is as if the sun has risen in the morning and you are sitting in your room with closed doors and windows, in darkness. Open the doors, you become available to the sun. The sun was already available -- just the meeting happens. You cannot wait for God. All waiting is for Godot. Godot means the one who never comes, who CANNOT come, whose arrival is impossible. And the only impossible thing is that which has already happened -- how can it happen again? You are alive, and you are waiting for life, Now, this is ridiculous. The real man of religion does not think in terms of God. He thinks in terms of life or, even better, of living -- because life can again become an abstract idea. Living, moment-to-moment living. In that very living, one knows what God is, because one knows who one is. Your idea…
At the start of sexual union keep attentive on the fire in the beginning, and so continuing, avoid the embers in the end.
WHEN IN SUCH EMBRACE YOUR SENSES ARE SHAKEN AS LEAVES, ENTER THIS SHAKING. EVEN REMEMBERING UNION, WITHOUT THE EMBRACE, TRANSFORMATION. ON JOYOUSLY SEEING A LONG ABSENT FRIEND, PERMEATE THIS JOY. WHEN EATING OR DRINKING, BECOME THE TASTE OF FOOD OR DRINK, AND BE FILLED. Once you know this, even the partner is not needed. You can simply remember the act and enter into it. But first you must have the feeling. If you know the feeling, you can enter into the act without the partner. This is a little difficult, but it happens. And unless it happens, you go on being dependent, a dependency is created. For so many reasons it happens. If you have had the feeling, if you have known the moment when you were not there but only a vibrating energy had become one and there was a circle with the partner, in that moment there was…
"Without deep meditation, Tantra's methods become a playground for the repressed, losing their spiritual essence and degenerating into mere indulgence."
"When craving drops, the divine happens—and the whole world is revealed as divine."
"Embrace your fear with total awareness, for in acceptance lies the key to dissolve it; denial only strengthens what you wish to escape."
"Embrace life with total involvement, but let the awareness of death guide you beyond both, into the eternal essence that transcends birth and death."
"Transcendence comes not by fighting against our nature, but by befriending it and transforming our sexual energy into a path of meditation."
Is tantra a way of indulgence?
definition"Tantra is not indulgence; it is the path to transcend it, inviting total awareness to transform the energy of sexuality into freedom. Embrace the middle ground of understanding, where from the mud of desire, the lotus of liberation blossoms."
"Tao is the art of spontaneity, while Tantra is the science of transformation; to merge them is to lose the delicate essence of both. Embrace sexuality not as a technique, but as a natural flow of love and life."
Is there an objection from a Tantric perspective to following certain moral laws of life?
definition"Moral laws can provide security, but they often deaden your sensitivity; true transformation arises from conscious presence, not from borrowed habits."
"Shiva and Saraha offer different paths to the same truth; one through the heart's devotion and the other through the mind's awareness, yet both dissolve the ego in the embrace of enlightenment."
What does tantra mean by purity?
definition"Purity in tantra is not about moral judgments, but the end of inner division; it is the innocence of a child combined with the awareness of a sage, living in undifferentiated wholeness beyond good and bad."
"Tantra is the art of being totally present, where the dream of separation dissolves and the oneness with existence is revealed."
"The source of tension lies not in modernity, but in the restless mind; true transformation begins within, for when consciousness shifts, the grip of the outer world loosens."
"Tantra is the art of surrendering the ego to existence, allowing life to flow through you effortlessly, transforming anguish into spontaneous freedom."
"Yoga is the warrior's path of conscious suppression, while tantra is the path of radical acceptance, transforming desires into a dance of alchemical growth."
What is the essential note of tantra and how does it contain the supreme acceptance of life?
definition"Tantra is the soul-to-soul union where every experience becomes a doorway, allowing the Imperishable to recognize itself in all, embracing life in its totality."
"The beloved is not a remedy for your emptiness but a sacred mirror that reflects your wholeness, allowing love and freedom to become the two wings of your inner journey."
"Sex can become meditation when lived with total awareness, but ultimately, meditation is the enduring path that transcends all obsessions."
"Tantra sees sexuality not as a vice to be condemned or a pleasure to be indulged in blindly, but as a sacred doorway to deeper awareness and spiritual awakening. Embrace it with love and consciousness, and let it transform you from instinct to transcendence."
"True Tantra transcends the physical; it is the sacred dance of polarities within, where the union of opposites births ecstasy and completeness."
"Fear of names like Tantra and Aghorpanth arises from their challenge to society's obsession with logic and control; through understanding and practice, we can unlock a profound joy and spirituality that transcends mere utility."
"True tantra transcends the pendulum of repression and indulgence, inviting us to embrace love and sex with awareness rather than obsession."
"In a world that fears the sacredness of sexuality, the true teachings of Tantra must be whispered, passed from heart to heart, to preserve their essence against the storm of repression."
"The fear of paths like Tantra and the Left-hand Path arises from a society that venerates logic and control, while dismissing the ecstatic, non-utilitarian celebration of life that these traditions embody."
"Tantra honors the body as the only undeniable reality, for it is through the acceptance of our embodiment that we can transcend belief and experience the deathless."
Profound Quotes on Tantra
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