Today, any major city in Russia is replete with signs and advertisements: "Tantra Club", "Tantra Classes", "Tantra Intensive" and so on. In these classes we are promised not only some unknown sexual pleasures, but also a pleasant addition to the opening of the third eye, clearing of the chakras, raising the Kundalini and other joys of esoteric exoticism. The modern man in the street, who has neither the time nor the energy to get to the bottom of things, is simply unable to figure out what is being offered to him under the tantra sauce. Let’s try to help him in this difficult matter. So, having studied numerous proposals from Moscow “tantra experts”, we found out that in these classes they offer us: - removal of psychological and bodily pressures - the opportunity to talk at least somewhere and with at least someone about sex - mastering some massage techniques - exercises in pairs and in a group that allow you to remove the communication barrier Yes, perhaps such trainings can bring some benefits - but, the most curious thing is that neither the form nor the content of such classes have anything to do with traditional Indian tantra. Tantrism is a religious, philosophical, esoteric tradition that uses tantras as its sacred texts. This tradition became widespread in Hinduism and Buddhism. The phrase “religious-philosophical” indicates the inseparability of the religious and philosophical elements of Tantrism. In India, unlike Western philosophical systems, the practice of detached, “theoretical” knowledge of truth did not take hold, and therefore there was no separation of philosophy from religion. The philosophy of Tantrism is based on the following points: 1. The goal of Tantrism is final liberation from the cycle of birth and death (from samsara). Liberation (“moksha”) is the cardinal goal not only of the tantric path, but of all Indian traditions.2. “Liberation” (“moksha”) is associated with a variety of sensory experiences, primarily with pleasure. The idea of ​​“enjoyment” (“ananda”). From the point of view of tantric thinkers, at the heart of the universe is the absolute principle that animates it, the highest reality (hereinafter referred to as VR).3. BP is the eternal union of two first principles, male and female, which are personified in the form of a pair of divine spouses - Shiva and Shakti, who are in sexual union. It is not so much these aspects themselves that are emphasized, but their close connection with each other. In other words, BP is “ananda,” i.e., eternal bliss arising from the union of two polar principles. Ananda represents a kind of archetype of any possible type of bliss on the empirical level, which always unconsciously strives for this ideal and never achieves it (due to its limited time); In addition, ananda is the highest completeness from which everything can arise; it is the creative matrix of the universe. Since Shakti is inseparable from Shiva, acting as his direct agent in relation to the world, close relationships between female and male partners acquire a special role in tantric practices. Sexual practices, in which initiates strive to reproduce the cosmic hierogamy of the two aspects of the Absolute, occupy an important place in Tantrism.4. The idea of ​​Shakti as the highest universal energy. Sacralization of the feminine. For example, from the point of view of the followers of Kalikuly, Shakti is completely identical to the Absolute, she is this Absolute; Without her nothing can be accomplished, she is the beginning of everything. Shakti is the Absolute in maternal form (srimata), giving birth to the world and nurturing it just as a loving mother gives birth to a child and feeds him with her milk. This is the primary force (adyashakti), which creates, supports and absorbs all aspects of the universe.5. The feminine principle in Hindu tantra is understood as dynamic, productive, the source of the development of real empirical phenomena. Since the world is produced by the effort of Shakti, it cannot but be sacred: after all, everything that comes from the goddess is divine. This idea leads tonon-duality of tantric perception of the world and tantric practice. What is rejected by many spiritual teachings as impure (for example, the body can be understood as a source of sin, sex can be interpreted as lust and debauchery), in tantric practice is used as a way to overcome duality and approach a single reality. Shashibhushan Dasgupta writes: “Absolute reality, is considered to have two aspects-attributes - negativity and positivity, static and dynamic, peace and mobility, pure consciousness and pure action, subjectivity and objectivity, enjoyer and enjoyed. In absolute being these two aspects are related to each other in a state of absolute non-duality, but in the process of becoming or phenomenalization there is separation and dualization. This process of change or becoming through duality is entanglement, boundness, and the final release from it is liberation. The secret of every esoteric sadhana is to destroy all principles of dualism and achieve the final state of non-duality.”6. The idea of ​​a close relationship between the microcosmic (individual-bodily) and macrocosmic (or transcendental) levels. As Vishvasara Tantra says regarding the body, “what is here is also in the other (world); what is not here is not anywhere." For example, the sacred center of the Indian universe, Mount Meru, corresponds to the spine, inside of which the central energy channel (sushumna) is located. Chakras, the spiritual centers of the “subtle” body, are pithas, traditional places of pilgrimage, and at the same time these are the seven worlds of Indian mythology. The highest beings, Shiva (Consciousness) and Shakti (Energy), also reside in the body. Tantrics believe that at the base of the individual's spinal column, at the level of the subtle body, there is Energy, for which they use the word “Kundalini” (which means “coiled up”). This energy is found in ordinary people in an unawakened state (it seems to be “sleeping”), curled up into three and a half turns. Having awakened as a result of the special efforts of the practitioner, Kundalini rushes upward through psychoenergetic channels to Shiva, passing on its way through special energy centers of energy - chakras. Finally, the body, as a sacred container, contains all the goals of human existence. According to the Mahanirvana Tantra (VIII. 140), the human body is the seat of Dharma (service to one’s Cause), Artha (well-being), Kama (sensuality) and Moksha (liberation).7. The idea of ​​the individual body as the “embryo” of the Universe. The physical body is seen as the epitome of the universe and the embodiment of the divine principle. Hence the enormous practical significance of yoga. Tantrists value the body extremely highly, considering it a temple in which the eternal soul, a particle of God, resides (“Para-marthasara”, 5, “Kularnava Tantra” (IX. 42). A temple, being a shrine, cannot be unclean or sinful, Therefore, tantrists consider the idea of ​​the impurity of the body to be incorrect. Without the body, there is no person as such, not to mention the fact that without the body, no spiritual development is possible. In a sense, one can even talk about the existence of a “cult of the body” in Tantrism. the body is only an instrument for achieving the highest spiritual goals. This instrument must be brought to the highest degree of perfection. The practitioner strives to transform the body by developing its internal power, which is usually in a “dormant” state, i.e. gaining control over these energetic forces. flows of the body coincides with the achievement of higher states of consciousness. As we see, Indian traditional tantra is deeply philosophical. At the same time, “Russian folk tantra” does not at all imply not only any deep philosophy, but also philosophy as such. “Do as I do” is the main principle of “Russian folk tantra”: the teacher shows some exercises, and the students perform them. The theory turned out to be unnecessary. In addition, Indian Tantrism is spiritually elitist, inaccessible to the uninitiated - the transfer of knowledge occurs through.