Tantra, a quik overview

Tantra  has an interesting historical niche. Most consider tantric movement as a subculture to arise in the area of

Bangladesh. Eclectic in Buddhism, Hinduism and various local traditions, the populace blended these together and

formed their own expression around the 7th century B.C.E.  They probably borrowed a lot from a more liberal

form of Buddhism, Mahayana.

They incorporated more vivaciously into their beliefs, song , dance, poetry and freer verse than the usually structured edifice. What makes this movement interesting, in its time and since, is that they used a lot of personification and symbolism in their literature and adapted  sexio-yogic practices which made their expression seem more inspired by nature than a structured system. This became more evident in the practices of the Sahajayana which essentially rebuked the studied history of austere approaches. It is often considered a revolutionary development at the surface. Its deeper meanings behind the literature results in a more proper pursuit of religious design.

It may be that the more original tantra movement remained around Bangladesh. It is widely held that the movement is immediate predecessor to the Vajrayana branches of Bhutan, Tibet, Nepal and those areas. Many also claim that Tantra is

the same in Vajrayana. Some hold that Tantra is historically part of Vajrayana and some use the terms and terminology interchangably.

  It is noted, compared to Bangladesh area, that in Vajrayana literature and expression,the Tantric way

had once again become more formalized and structured. The free sense of being familiar with worldly ways that

grew with tantra became more channeled.

                                   FINI