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Tantrism: origins and historical notes
Between 3000 and 1000 B.C., in the Indus valley, there was a people with a matriarchal culture, the Harappans, who had a true culture of pleasure: every house had, in the living room, a large bed, called the mistress of the house's bed; it was higher than the other beds and the woman would celebrate the act of love with the man she chose while all the other men, children, servants, and friends walked by, because the living room was right at the entrance of the house.
Tantra finds its historical and cultural roots precisely within this society, where sexuality was conscious and healthy. Tantra is the discipline of conscious sexuality in which sexual energy pervades meditative states, focusing on the cores of man and woman, and giving that charge that makes love and meditation so strong. For this reason, its techniques were soon adopted by Indian yogis in Kundalini Yoga and by Tibetan Buddhists in Vajrayana.
The term Tantra (literally "weave of a fabric") means doctrinal book and the Tantras are a series of sacred books, of extra-Vedic origin but in some way connected to the Vedas, written by numerous authors, many of whom are unknown, over a period ranging from the early centuries of the common era up to almost the present day.
The relationships between Tantra and the Vedas are extremely complex and the followers of Tantrism are often accused of heterodoxy by the supporters of the Vedic-Brahmanic system (Brahmanism, Hinduism), even though the Tantras and the Vedas have several factors in common, such as the symbolism of language and the interiorization of sacrifice as outlined in the Upanishads.
Furthermore, some Vedic ritual practices continued in Tantra, such as the use of certain utensils and sacred formulas. Although the Vedas contain some elements that later reappear in tantric sources, the Tantras originate in ancient, unsystematized traditions—yogic, magical, astrological, erotic-religious, and ritualistic—stemming from an archaic culture of indigenous populations with an agricultural economy that predated the arrival of the Aryans and contrasted with Vedic pastoralism. These populations worshipped the Great Mother and had fertility cults and ritualized sexual practices. The origin of Tantrism is linked to that of Shaktism and can be found in the oldest tantric texts, which are distinguished as: Hindu Tantras, existing from the 5th century A.D. (Vishnuite Samhitas of the "Pancaratra" school and Shaivite Agamas), and Buddhist Tantras, dating from the 3rd century A.D., although the Tibetan tradition places them at the beginning of the 7th century A.D.
Some Shaivite Tantras were venerated sources of inspiration for Abhinavagupta (11th century A.D.) and other authors of the Kashmiri school. They are of a mystical-philosophical nature and differ from the Agamas and Samhitas, which are mainly ritualistic-disciplinary for common worship. The development of Tantrism, especially the Buddhist one, seems to have received strong impetus from royal patronage both in India and Tibet. In turn, Buddhist patronage served as an indirect stimulus for the schools of Hindu Tantrism. Around the 10th century A.D., the development of tantric schools, doctrines, and rituals reached its peak, as did the fusion between the religious cultures of the Hindu tradition and elements of Tantrism. From this period, Tantrism is regularly attested by numerous sources. Among the most famous temples for the worship of tantric deities in India are the Vaital Deul (8th century A.D.), the Varahi (10th century A.D.), both in Orissa, and the Yogini Temple of Bheraghat (10th century A.D.). The iconography of these and other centers of worship is of great interest and testifies to the fashion, in vogue at the time and not limited to Tantrism, of erotic sculptures.
A renewed interest in Tantrism emerged towards the end of the 18th century, while in previous eras it had to struggle against rival religious movements such as the Vishnuite revival of the 15th century, which in turn gave rise to a particular form of Tantrism called "Sahajiva," today followed by the Baul community. The most important modern thinker influenced by Tantrism was Aurobindo Ghose, and among his living tantric gurus are famous names in the world of Indian intellectuals.
