There’s a greeting phrase in India – well, there are of course thousands of greeting phrases in India – but there is one I find particularly beautiful. It is simple – Namas te. This phrase has its origin in tantric consciousness, and can be translated into “the divine qualities within me sees, acknowledges and worships the divine qualities in you”. The purpose of such a greeting phrase is to grace every person you meet with respect and reverence, and I find that incredibly beautiful.

Any language feature may become superficial in time, also in India. Most people who greet each other with beautiful phrases may not fully understand or respect the original meaning, but rather just treat it as a “hi” or “g’day” as anything else. But if you do, it opens totally new perspectives.

From an entirely psychological perspective, the effect of seeing your fellow citizens – and your self – as Divine, may result in a heightened reverence and respect, a deepened appreciation and attentiveness for the finer nuances, a greater capacity for love, tolerance and acceptance towards everyone around you. And ultimately, the strongest effects can be seen in more intimate relationships, between lovers. That’s where the tantric stuff sets in, full force.

Tantra offers a ceremonial view on sex. In worshipping each other as Divine, maybe God and Goddess (or two Gods, or two Goddesses – or more), we come closer to each other, we become more sacred. In a Tantric Love Ritual we create a heartfelt bubble, wherein all boundries blur, and we become totally naked towards each other – physically, emotionally, intellectually and soul level.

Tantra means that everything is connected to everything else, in the web of life. Tantra is a path beyond dualities, beyond good and evil, beyond right and wrong, beyond judgement. In order to reach this level of consciousness, Tantra also provides a set of techniques and attitudes that can be utilized in order to create harmony between body and soul, between the part and the whole, between the individual and the totality of all.

A central goal in Tantra is the merging of souls, the oneness between male and female, Shiva and Shakti, Purusha-Shakti. This is a process within each individual as well as between the individual and the outer world. This is a particularly effective process when making love. The lovers will embody Shiva & Shakti, the God & Goddess. It is most important not to get stuck in the brain, in the intellect, judging and analyzing. The idea is to experience, fully, with the body, the spirit and all that we are.

You may identify as a Norse pagan. Then you can say “Frey in me sees Freya in you”, as well as “Freya in me sees Frey in you” – that is just as good as any other preferred deities or archetypes. You choose whatever you feel comfortable with. The Divine in me sees the Divine in you, Shiva in me sees Shakti in you, The Love in me sees the Love in you, the Fantastic in me sees the Fantastic in you, the Sex God in me sees the Sex Goddess in you – and so on. There is no right or wrong here, just the purest message from the heart to the heart.

You don’t even have to believe in God, or any kind of divinity. It’s really not about that. Tantra is not a religion, in the way that you follow dogma, and worship a divinity outside of yourself. We are talking immanence, rather than transcendence. The outer aspects are there for those who find support and inspiration in them, but as well as you may worship the divine through a wooden statue or stone deity on an altar, you can worship the Divine in your partner – and in your own heart.

”Buddhatvam yosityoni samasritam”
“Enlightenment can be found in the woman’s genitals”

I do. I worship my wife. She is my Goddess. Literally, not just metaphorically. This worship is not an end in itself. There are plenty of descriptions in many different kinds of Tantra – the Tibetan, buddhist tantra as well as Indian, hindu Tantra – on how partners can achieve complete ecstacy and bliss, as well as spiritual perfection, by staying in this attitude. In Tantra there are ancient descriptions on how the man worships his woman as a Goddess, particularly her vulva, being the origin of all life, and how the woman worships her man, and his cock – delivering the lifegiving spark, the seed that sets life going in her womb. And this is also working on an energetic level, not only physically.

Devotion is the only path to success, no matter what you do. This also counts for Love. If you can surrender, a 100 % to Love, the potential for success is very high, On the other hand, if you don’t devote yourself, if you won’t surrender entirely, but only partially, holding back, the potential for success is practically zero. No ecstacy, no bliss. Devotion and surrender means being a 100 % present, saying yes to every moment, embracing every encounter, every emotion. If you can see the Divine qualities in yourself, you can also se your value, your worthiness, and that you can be an invaluable gift of Love. Integrating this as a part of your self-image, will surely inspire others to think about you the same way.

“The man sees the woman as a goddess.
The woman sees the man as a god.
By joining the diamond scepter and lotus, they should make sacrifices to each other.
There is no worship apart from this.”

– Candamaharosana-tantra

My personal experience is that this works. All my live I have been a spiritual seeker/finder, throwing myself at God, engaging in different traditions and methods, also coming to a more individual state wherein I let myself be inspired by several spiritual paths – yet no other path has given me so much substance as Tantra, together with my soulmate, wife and partner Jennie.

Practicing tantric breathing techniques, mutual chakra meditations, moving energy flow in the body, creating total focus, has developed our relationship to something way beyond my wildest imagination, more than anything I have ever experienced before in my life, in the shape of flowing Love, ecstacy and joy. This constant feeling of total harmony with my woman, and thereby also with everything around me, the world, everything that lives, the Divine, is truly overwhelming, larger than ever. In short – I am a very much happier person now than I have ever been.

Namas te…!

© Carl Johan Rehbinder 2009