Tantra Shastra

  We have posted almost 940 blogs visited by nearly 50,000. These blogs contain almost everything under the Sun. We have covered subjects like origin of the universe, the stars, the planets and their satellites, life on earth- the past, present and future. Almost all the available sources of some published and some unpublished scriptures have been referred to here. Still, the mystery of life remains to be solved. Even Gautama who went in search of answers to questions bothering us like human sufferings, sickness, old age and death and finally became 'the Buddha'  left us  wondering, back to square one. However, let's try this mysterious world of mantra, tantra and yantra. 

  The problems one faces in life are umpteen. These are considered tapa-traya, three types- 1. created by Nature (prakruti), 2. person's own creation due to commissions and omissions, and 3. the problems created by neighbors or others. Nature create such problems that may even wash out the entire civilization. These include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods and famines, epidemics, etc. Sustained efforts are needed to protect the humanity from these.  The problems that are self-created  are many and these include food habits, life-style, quarrelsome attitudes and behavior, etc. The third category is very important. This includes the tantra adopted by some bad people to destroy peace and prosperity of others. These people are jealous, selfish and harm others. They are misguided people. They go to tantriks and get instruments of tantra such as charts, tables of numbers, mantra or talisman gadgets to harm others, may be to protect themselves also! There is no end to these. The rationalists are strong-minded and do not care for these. So also the sattvik people who trust in God do not attach any importance to these. It is the weak-minded and tamasik ones that are prone to these.

 There are the Vedic tradition and the Non-Vedic practices that deal with human problems and solutions. The Atharva Veda has dealt with these in great detail. There are the mantra, tantra and yantra like our science- theory and practical, and technology in Colleges. The practitioners of these are specialist like the Yajniks or yajurvedis who work with yajnya, yaga, havan and homa. They use Rks and samans, too. Now, the problems that affect and afflict human communities are many and varied. They start with the birth of a child and it is endless and, even death is not the end here! Not only the dead but the living ones, known or the unknown affect the life of individuals, families and even society! It is here that the tantra shastra comes into question.

 The practitioners of tantra are widely known partly as 'tantriks'. There are people who practice 'black magic' all over the world. some deal with the tantra that ward of mental illness, and some deal with the afflicted weak minds that are fearful of everything they see or hear. These include women of certain age group (adolescents) and children. The Vedic tradition accepts some and reject many that are irrational (though not unscientific!). Psycho-analysis, hypnotism and other methods (tantra) are approved. performing puja to ward off evil is accepted. But, animal sacrifice, torturing children are not accepted and even prohibited. So, one has to be careful as to what remedies are adopted to cure the problems. However, one should remember, these techniques(tantra) are not the only cure or preventive ones.