Tantra - Sexuality and Spirituality, Part 1

When we say Tantra, some say “the Yoga of sex”. This is incorrect traditionally. Tantra is usually translated as “warp”, like the warp on a loom. This means that in this Universe, everything is actually connected as woven fabric etc. In this Universe there exists a web that connects all to all. An Arab phrase says: if you cut a blade of grass, the whole world shudders. This is also called the bellybutton effect, which says that all things are connected at a distance.

This concept is amazing, since it shows us that the ancient Tantrics knew and percived the Universe at a level that only today we begin to understand.

Tantra is a science of correlations. It is not only about sex, by far. The Tantric texts of India speak about astrology, pujas, rituals, deities, cosmology, cosmogony, numerology, Hatha Yoga, Kundalini, laws of proportions, dance, music, etc. Tantra does not mean sex, it is a holographic Yoga. The Tantrics Yogis were not ashamed of sex, it’s true. They had no puritan approach to it, as we in the west many times have, like the classic tale of Adam and Eve. And even in Asia Buddha said that sex almost toppled him before reaching enlightenment – that means one more thing like sex and he would have not reached Nirvana.

The Tantrics understood very well that since everything is connected then the role of Sex is also important. It is after all an essential part of all living creatures in nature. It is in born in us humans as well and for a reason. The Tantrics were looking into this with clarity and no judgement. Sex is not just an instinct for propagating the species the Tantrics have discovered something fundamental - Sex, done in the right way, which is the Tantric way - can actually become a powerful way to reach the highest spiritual goals. It is a spiritual path in itself.

That's how the science of Tantra came to be. What exactly did the Tantrics discover and how can we use it in day to day life for improving ourselves in all respects? well, I'll talk more about that, in my next post.

In the mean time, check out the Agama Yoga Tantric school website for courses and info on Tantra.

Babaji, 203 - present

Babaji is famed in Yoga as the oldest and least seen yogi of this epoch. There are many who believe his existence to be only a legend, although he is reputed to be the founder of the Kriya Yoga system of today's Self-Realization Fellowship, founded by Paramahansa Yogananda.

He is recorded as being born November 30, in the year 203, making him 1800 years old. Reports continue to surface of sightings and meetings with Babaji. It is said that in 1954, at his ashram near Badrinath, in the Garwhal Himalayas, Babaji initiated S.A.A. Ramaiah into a complete system of 144 kriyas. Others have reported seeing him as late as October of 1999. He is said to be associated with the mysterious Gyanganj (Jnanaganj) hermitage somewhere in Tibet -- a secret place of great masters.

The famous Yogananda Paramahansa writes in his "Autobiography of a yogi" that he himself has met Babaji and talked with him.

One story that I like about Babaji goes as follows:

At one time Babaji and his disciples were sitting around a small fire in a remote area in the Himalayas in deep meditation. And then a man approached them. The man introduced himself and immediately fell on his knees in front of Babaji asking to become a disciple of Babaji. The man said he has been looking for Babaji for a long time and that becoming Babaji's disciple is his most deepest wish.

Babaji said that he does not wish to accept him as a disciple. The man said that he will not be refused or else he will kill himself immediately. To this Babaji responded with a simple: "Do as you wish".

The man immediately run to the edge of the near cliff and jumped to his death. Babaji then immediately asked 2 of his disciples to collect the body and bring it to him. When the body was brought, Babaji, with deep compassion touched the body's head and said: "Indeed you are true of heart and your wish is sincere... rise up!" The man immediately came back to life and full health, he bowed to Babaji and became from that day his disciple.

Babaji is considered to be one of the highest masters of Yoga and one of the rare Yogis which has reached not only full enlightenment but also the rainbow body (or diamond body), the highest level of spirituality.

For more about Babaji I recommend reading: "Babaji and the 18 Siddha Kriya Yoga Tradition" by Marshall Govindan Satchidananda . Also for teachings of Kriya Yoga click here.

Frequently asked questions about Yoga

Why are there so many types of Yoga?


The many types of Yoga suit the many different types of practitioners. Hatha Yoga (sun-moon Yoga) involves the physical body and leads to the balance of the solar and lunar energies. Most popular forms of Yoga, e.g., Iyengar, Sivananda, Ashtanga (not to be confused with Patanjali's traditional eight-fold Ashtanga Yoga), Vinya, Kundalini (not to be confused with traditional Kundalini Yoga), etc., are styles of Hatha Yoga. There are four classical types of Yoga: Jnana Yoga (the Yoga of direct knowledge), Bhakti Yoga (the Yoga of devotion), Karma Yoga (the Yoga of action), and Raja Yoga (the royal Yoga which includes Hatha, Tantra, Laya, Kundalini, and other forms of Yoga). The Agama courses give teachings on all these forms with an emphasis on Raja Yoga and its various sub-forms. See Courses for more information.

What is Kundalini Shakti?

Kundalini shakti (coiled energy) is the strongest potential force in the human being whose arousal is essential to any spiritual evolution. In the average person, it lies dormant at the base of the spine. Kundalini Yoga is the Yoga of directly awakening Kundalini shakti and directing it up the spine to the crown center (sahasrara, above the top of the head).

Is Yoga dangerous?


Some advanced techniques of Yoga can be dangerous if practiced without proper preparation and the guidance of a qualified teacher. Fortunately, such techniques are generally inaccessible to unprepared students. For this reason, it is very important to respect the process of initiation and transmission of yogic teachings.

Why study with Agama Yoga?

Agama returns to the primary sources of Yoga, restoring the original meaning to the yoga system: the complete development of the being for the aim of attaining spiritual liberation. Through systematic teachings based on curricula that become more and more advanced, progress is assured to all sincere practitioners. See also Agama Yoga website.

What is a Yang Spiral meditation?

This is a great opportunity to explore an amazing form of meditation. Known as the Yang Spiral meditation. This is a meditation which is based on the understanding of the power of the Spiral structure.


Yogis have observed from ancient times that the Universe is manifesting the structure of the Spiral on every level. Starting from the molecular level and until the shape of the galaxies. Also, it has been noticed that the spiral structure generates and propagates specific energies that can be channelled through it.


A yang spiral is a special group meditation using two principles as its basis:


A spiral structure, specifically in the yang direction (counterclockwise) in order to boost the solar, emissive power of its participants (as opposed to a yin, receptive energy that would be emphasized in the opposite formation, but of which most people already have too much; it is generally agreed that people much more frequently and profoundly lack this solar aspect within their beings)

And an astrological configuration in which pairs of each sign (male, female) are positioned in order through the Zodiac, beginning with Aries and the subsequent 11 pairs, then repeating over and over a line-up in this order until all participants have joined the spiral.

In this meditation, the participants are holding hands and are arranged according to the succession of the 12 astrological signs of the zodiac. As a result of this arrangement, complex phenomena of resonance take place both with the beneficial flow of the yang energy and with the beneficial aspects of each of the 12 zodiac signs and of the subtle flow of their respective ruling planets. As a result, the subtle aura of each participant is charged with beneficial energy that balances and heals at a very deep level, accelerating in the same time the spiritual evolution of consciousness.


Directly proportional with the size (area) of the spiral and the number of participants, each person can thus have the direct experience of an intense state of bliss. Each person represents then a miniature replica of the Perfect Cosmic Human Being. During this yang-spiral, each participant (regardless of his or her astrological sign) can experience the beneficial aspects of all the 12 zodiacal signs.


From a general point of view, the archetypal influence that comes during a yang-spiral through each of the astrological signs is the following: Aries channels the primordial impulse and endless enthusiasm; Taurus channels the sustained creative effort; Gemini channels the mysterious polarity of creation; Cancer channels the state of passivity and the power of the water element; Leo channels the energy of life and love in its most expansive form; Virgo channels the power of discernment and intuition; Libra channels the power of sociability and the just middle way (through which contraries are harmonized); Scorpio channels the mysteries of disintegration of matter and profound spiritual transformation; Sagittarius channels the duality between instincts and superior spiritual aspirations and the finding of the way to the source of creation; Capricorn channels the process of transcendence; Aquarius channels the superior spiritual states of consciousness; Pisces channels the power to explore the inner world and to reach the state of spiritual liberation.


Participants hold hands in a particular manner, and dynamic music accompanies the meditation. Usually an individual feels both the current of energy that circulates in a counterclockwise direction through all the participants, as well as a sublimation of the energy within his or her own being toward the higher chakras. The meditation will not only "charge" the area where it has been held for some time, but will also have a lingering, strengthening effect on the participant for up to three months.

Yogananda Paramahansa, 1893 - 1952

It's time to have a quick look into the life of another great Yogi, the famous Yogananda. Yogananda was one of the most inspiring and beloved Yogis of the 20Th century belonging the the famous Kriya Yoga lineage.


Mukunda Lal Ghosh, born on January 5, 1893, and better known as Paramahansa Yogananda, met his guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri, in 1910, at the age of 17. After graduating from Calcutta University in 1915, he took formal vows into the monastic Swami order.


Twenty years later his guru conferred upon him the title Paramahansa, which is traditionally reserved for those yogin's who have been celibate since childhood.


After founding and running a school for boys in Ranchi, India, where modern educational techniques, Yoga training, and spiritual ideals were taught, Yogananda taught in the West from 1920 until his death in 1952, where he founded the Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF), headquartered in Los Angeles, California.


In 1946, he published his life story, Autobiography of a Yogi, which was key in introducing Yoga to the West. It has since been translated into almost all languages of the world, and remains a perennial bestseller. This Bengali yogi and guru is loved for his candid love for the Divine and was revered by his followers as a "Premavatar", or "incarnation of love."


The teachings of the Kriya Yoga lineage are still alive and can be found in India today. For those who are interested in learning more and getting iniciations I would recommend to visit the Kriya Yoga ashram in Laxman Jula in Rishikesh, India. For more information and insight into this lineage and the tradition of Yoga check out Agama Yoga in Thailand.