A growing number of people are discovering the power and ecstasy of sacred sex, also known as tantric sex. Followers of this tradition are promised erotic bliss, raised states of consciousness and deeper intimacy with loved ones. There are some basic principles and practices of this mystical art. The practice of sacred sex started in India in 5,000 BC through the cult of the Hindu god Shiva and his consort, goddess Shakti. Hindus believe that when these ancient gods and goddess united sexually and spiritually the universe was created.

One of the ancient Eastern sciences of spiritual enlightenment was tantra. Unlike most mystical paths, tantra includes sexuality as a doorway to ecstasy and enlightenment. Originally, it was practised by Tibetan, Chinese and Indian Buddhists as a sacred act and it was their way of uniting the spirit with the flesh to attain enlightenment. The word tantra means ‘weaving’, untying the many and often contradictory aspects of the self into one harmonious whole. Tantric philosophy is based on the belief that our body has energy running through it in a similar way that blood runs through our veins. This energy connects the body’s seven energy centres or chakras. It is believed that we can open up our chakras and move energy through these channels to create a sensation of wholeness. Sacred sex is meditative and gentle, transforming the energy of sexual desire into an experience of pure ecstasy. Rather than sex which is energetic and vigorous building up to a final orgasmic explosive release. The tantric couple glides through sexual ecstasy, experiencing orgasm throughout the body and brain — uniting body, mind and spirit as well as two persons.

There is no goal in tantric sex, only the present moment of perfect and harmonious union since the focus is on wholeness. Tantra embraces everybody and every type of sexual practice. There is no sense of right or wrong. Everything is acceptable as long as it can be understood and integrated. It does not matter who you have sex with, what matters is that each other’s sacred potential and is open to enter full communion within their own body and with each other. Tantra teaches you to revere your sexual partner and to transform the act of sex into a sacrement of love. Sacred sex is a mystical subject that is almost impossible to define. Its very essence is about getting in touch with your inner self and no one has yet come up with a definitive defination to explain that process.

The basic tenet is that ecstasy is within all of us. Sacred sex teaches how to discover our inner energy, mobilize it and express it, harnessing and containing sexual energy rather than releasing it. The essence is to be able to get fully in touch with our powerful sexual energy, learn to channel this through the seven chakras and all the while remain physically relaxed.

In tantra the term most commonly used for sexual energy is kundalini which also means ‘life force’. The first principle of sacred sex is that we must find within ourself the potential for sexual ecstasy without feelings of guilt or shame. Sacred sex is dependent on finding our own internal capacity for high levels of sexual pleasure. The principles of sexual ecstasy leads to higher union of souls, which starts by honouring our partner.

The Kama Sutra has become synonymous with sacred sex and has formed the underpinning of other forms such as tantra. The Kama Sutra – which means ‘guide of the Hindu god of love’ – is the earliest surviving example of a love manual. Compiled by the Indian sage Vatsyayana between the second and fourth centuries, this work was based on earlier Kama Shastras, or ‘rules of love’ going back to at least the 7th century BC and is a compendium of social norms and love customs of Indians around that time. The Kama Sutra is divided into seven parts, general remarks, amorous advances, acquiring a wife, duties and privileges of a wife, relations with other men’s wives and a section about courtesans and occult means. The final part includes formulations for medicines with the emphasis on aphrodisiacs.

In the 16th century, Indian love sage Kalyana Malla wrote the Ananga Ranga. This was similar to the Kama Sutra but the focus was on keeping sex exciting and interesting for monogamous couples. There is much emphasis on breaking patterns of laziness and familarity and encouraging long term lovers to use their minds and imaginations to achieve higher levels of eroticism. Unlike the Kama Sutra that accepted that a man will have many lovers, the Ananga Ranga teaches lovers to experience their partner as if they were 32 different lovers. Thus the ancient Indian philosophy of love written down in different Hindu literary pieces offers the basic principles for good sexual experiences with positive self-esteem, and sexual variety and sexual taste. There is no shadow of doubt that the ancient Hindu scriptures on love and sex provide us a profound knowledge of sex, sexual intimacy and sexual ecstasy and show us the path of transforming sexual energy to sexual ecstasy and helps us on developing sexual confidence and explores sexual attitudes and sexual needs of an individual. After all sex is human life’s most profound and fulfilling physical experience and healthy sex is good for health, increases longevity, builds positivity and self-esteem.

Dr Om Prasad Das