The Tantric Tradition

The tantric tradition plays a major role in Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism, yet its teachings and philosophy are still little understood and often distorted in the West. The powerful erotic and sensual symbolism of the literature and the apparently amoral tendencies of the teachings, and the care with which their inner meaning has been guarded have made objective study of them difficult. This classic text offers an in-depth study of the literature and philosophy of the tantric tradition, one of the central themes of Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism. The author analyzes from within the literary, liguistic, ideological, philosophical and ritualistic patterns of tantrism illustrating them with passages from the Indian and Tibetan texts. Bharati gives emphasis to mantra, intitiation, male-female polarity, symbolism and to the history and development of tantrism.