Tantra
Shree yantra(chakra)
Vajra yogini
Tantra ( Sanskrit: तन्त्र, lit. 'expansion-device, salvation-spreader; loom, weave, warp')
an esoteric yogic tradition that was developed in India in the middle of the 1st millennium CE,
initially within Shaivism, and subsequently in Mahayana Buddhism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism.
The Tantras focus on sādhana, encompassing dīkṣā, rituals, and yoga, within a ritual framework that includes
bodily purification, divine self-creation through mantra, dhyāna, pūjā, mudrā, mantra recitation, and the use of yantras or maṇḍalas.
They present complex cosmologies, viewing the body as divine and typically reflecting the union of Shiva and Shakti as the path to liberation.
Tantric goals include siddhi (supernatural accomplishment), bhoga (worldly enjoyment), and Kuṇḍalinī’s ascent, while also addressing states of possession (āveśa) and exorcism.
] A key feature of these traditions is the use of mantras, and thus they are commonly referred to as Mantramārga ("Path of Mantra") in Hinduism.
Hindu temple building also generally conforms to the iconography of tantra.]
Hindu texts describing these topics are called Tantras, Āgamas or Samhitās.
sexual practices in tantric traditions are rare, highly restricted to initiated adepts, and serve as a means of spiritual transcendence rather than an
end in themselves.
The Tantras emphasize spiritual practice or sādhana, including initiation (dīkṣā), rituals, and yoga. A standard ritual framework is present in the Tantras, despite variations in deities and mantras, involving body purification through symbolic dissolution, creation of a divine body or self via mantra, internal worship or dhyāna (visualization), and external worship or pūjā, utilizing hand gestures (mudrā), mantra chanting, and sacred diagrams (yantra, maṇḍala). The Tantras feature complex cosmological hierarchies that incorporate earlier traditions' cosmic structures, with the highest Śaiva Siddhānta realm surpassed by additional realms in Kashmir Śaiva traditions. The body is seen as divine, containing the cosmic order, reflecting the polarity of the male deity and his consort, the feminine energy, often Shiva and his Shakti as Goddess Kuṇḍalinī, with their union symbolizing liberation. The Tantras focus on attaining mystical powers (siddhi) and experiencing bliss in higher realms (bhoga) as part of the practitioner’s spiritual journey, also interpreted as the movement of Kuṇḍalinī through the body. The Tantras address possession (āveśa) and the practice of exorcism.