Dear Friends,
I often get asked this question “As a tantra and meditation teacher, why do you teach clothed tantric work in your retreats?"
First allow me to clarify the kind of tantra I teach. I teach traditional tantra. Traditional tantra is a series of practices that will teach you how to know yourself at deeper and deeper levels. It is an ancient system, often shrouded in mystery. If someone asked me what the core of traditional tantra is, I would say "meditation". All practices of traditional tantra lead to meditation. What is meditation? Quite simply, it is recognizing and coming in touch with that deepest part of yourself that usually goes unnoticed; this place inside you is awareness, wisdom, and joy. Over time, meditation shows us how to access this place at will. In fact, tantra explicitly states that meditation is our natural state, and then teaches how to live in this state, no matter what is going on in the external world. Tantric meditation is natural, simple, and fast. All you have to do is learn the techniques, practice them for as little as 9 minutes a day, and watch the magic of meditation unfold in your life.
Now, back to clothed versus unclothed tantric work. There is no doubt that there is an honesty to the naked body. We are born naked. It is how we come into this world. Then we spend our lives covering up this nakedness; often we even wear our best clothes when we are lowered into the ground or offered to the flames when our physical life comes to an end. Throughout our lives we cover the nakedness that is natural to us; the nakedness that certain religious traditions tell us is a sin, which has led to much inner conflict and turmoil for so many of us: porn addiction, using sexuality as a commodity, and shame and fear around sexual expression are examples of this.
Having had the opportunity to do both clothed and naked tantric work over the years, both in the West and in India, I attest to the power and value of both. Naked tantric work can be very immediate and can bring great spiritual growth in a short period of time. However, it is very important to remember that naked tantric work in India is traditionally considered delicate and potentially dangerous if not approached with the utmost care and with an experienced guide.
Part of the reason for this is a very important complicating factor, one that in my view every tantra teacher needs to be aware of and vigilant about. This complicating factor is trauma. Trauma. We all have it. It is part of the mystery and fabric of life. Whether it is sitting at the bedside of a dying parent, losing a partner, experiencing violence, experiencing mental or physical health challenges; whatever it may be, all of us have experienced trauma in some way. I have it. You have it. We have it. According to the teachings of traditional tantra, life cannot be separate from trauma. In the work I do with many different people from diverse backgrounds, I see much trauma.
But here’s the good news: traditional tantric practice is specifically designed to free us from trauma. We learn to witness the trauma, acknowledge it, go through it, and let it go. And not a superficial "letting go" either, but a deep, authentic relinquishing of that which no longer serves us. In traditional tantra we do this through aligning with the kundalini shakti, the subtle power of tantra, which frees us from everything that holds us back from our natural state of meditation and the joy, peace, and fulfilment it offers. True tantric work will not add trauma; it will bring it to our awareness so that we can see it, accept it, and let it go.
This is why I offer the clothed work: in order not to traumatize or retraumatize others who may have experienced much trauma through simply living their life. My view is that clothed work is just as honest as the naked work; in fact, in many ways it is more direct; we learn how to directly touch the kundalini shakti, the energy of tantra, without the distractions of sexual desire, attraction, or aversion that might arise through naked work. And because the work is clothed, it can be done in many more situations than naked work. Traditional tantra’s express purpose? To directly touch the energy, the kundalini shakti.
When you learn how to do this, it will transform your understanding of your body, mind, and spirit; your sexuality and spirituality will be unified and brought together. Tantra calls this bhukti mukti, "enjoyment and liberation." And yes, you can have both. You will neither deny or indulge; you will find the middle pathway of balanced living. Tantric work must not add trauma; it must free you from trauma. If it achieves this, then in my view, the work is authentic, valid, and of great value.
Tantric work must actively transmute trauma to the ecstasy of self-knowledge through the core component of tantra: meditation; whether clothed or unclothed, this is the true essence of tantra.
Yours in Shakti,
Grant
Comments