abolishes normal consciousness and inaugurates the nirv ̄aÓnic state,
samsÓ ̄ara,the paradoxical experience of unity.”^23 An alternate T ̄antric tra-
dition (perhaps the oldest one, according to Banerji) permits sexual cli-
max, “like the offering of sacred oil poured into an altar of fire.”^24
As regards non-ritual sexuality in the context of spiritual life,
Mishra indicates that two main qualities are to be cultivated: an attitude
of reverence toward sex, and genuine love of one’s partner. The Kul-
ar ̄ Ónava Tantrasays that the sex act is to be done in the spirit of worship, not
for bhogaor enjoyment.^25 Sex as given in nature is bhoga, but its use as a
form of s ̄adhanarequires its sublimation within a greater spiritual do-
main. The sanctity of sexuality is warranted in the Indian tradition apart
from Tantra. In the UpaniÓsadsone of the manifestations of Brahman ‘as
food’ (i.e., as the outermost sheath of the ‘five bodies,’ the one supported
by food) is the immortality and bliss in the generative organs [Tait. Up.
3:10.2–3]. Other UpaniÓsadsrefer to the sexual act in terms of a ritual of-
fering [BÓrhad Up. 6:2.13; Ch ̄and. Up. 5:8.1–2]. In the Bhagavadg ̄ıta ̄
Lord KÓrÓsÓna refers to himself as Kandarpa, the deity of desire who em-
powers procreation [BhG 10:28]. Loving one’s partner has the ethical di-
mension of concern for her or his well-being, and the religious dimension
of experiencing primordial unity with that person. The partner makes
possible the instantiation of a cosmic polarity wherein non-duality may
be realized. Tantra’s views of sexuality exemplify the T ̄antric leitmotif of
using material nature to sublimate that which appears base, and to trans-
form nature so as to reveal its inherent sanctity as part of the sacred body
of the Absolute. Mishra writes that sex has become mechanical and in-
sipid in contemporary free-sex society, and that the remedy, from a T ̄an-
tric standpoint, is cultivation of love, grounded in religiousness.^26
Tantra’s valuing of the feminine is a characteristic that sets it apart
from much of the Hindu tradition. In Tantra’s metaphysical foundations,
the feminine and the masculine are poles of the Íiva-Íaktiunity, and in
practice women are eligible both to receive and to confer initiation into a
religious order. The Yogin ̄ı Tantra, and the contemporary text Tantra-
tattva, highly recommend initiation by a female guru.^27 The T ̄antric guru
of Íri RamakÓrÓsÓna was a woman, Yogeshwari. Despite its commitment to
the polarity and cooperation of the masculine and the feminine, Kakar
notes that Tantra’s texts proceed from the viewpoint of male practition-
ers, and he suggests that Tantra has “greater resonance for the male
psyche and physiology.”^28 Other sources indicate that in practice males
dominate in T ̄antric religious practice and leadership, though the Íakta
groups actually extend full privileges to females.^29
tantra and aesthetic therapeutics 145