Editor: Prabuddha Bharata, the magazine from the Ramakrishna Mission came out with a special issue in January 2016 titled ‘Reflections on Tantra’. Esamskriti is uploading select articles from this masterpiece issue. If you like to download the entire issue (one with brown cover) Click here

Excerpts from article – Tantra is an important, practical, and popular religious path of Hinduism. The word ‘tantra’ is derived from the Sanskrit root tan, tanyate, meaning ‘to spread’. Tantra means the scripture by which the light of knowledge is spread: ‘Tanyate vistaryate jnanam anena iti tantram.’ The suffix tra denotes ‘trayate’, which means ‘to save’. Tantra teaches that knowledge, which saves souls from the trap of maya.”

The article covers Tantric Scriptures, Tantra in the Kali Yuga, Origin of Tantric Teachings, Three Schools of Tantra, Tantric Sadhana and Occult Powers, Tantra Sadhana,The Five Elements of Tantra Sadhana, Guru and Discipline in Tantra and Kundalini Shakti in Tantra.

Author is the minister-in-charge of the Vedanta Society of St Louis.

To read full article in PDF  format.

This article was first published in the Prabuddha Bharata, monthly journal of The Ramakrishna Order started by Swami Vivekananda in 1896. This article is courtesy and copyright Prabuddha Bharata (www.advaitaashrama.org ). I have been reading the Prabuddha Bharata for years and found it enlightening. You can subscribe online at www.advaitaashrama.org. Cost is Rs 100/ for one year, Rs 280/ for three years, Rs 1,200/ for twenty years and Rs 2,000 for twenty five years.