Tantra and Its Effect on Society

There is no such thing as 'supernatural' in this world", according to Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, a Tantric Guru. "All sorts of powers lie dormant in human beings. Sometimes we get glimpses of these latent powers. In a more-developed terminology, these glimpses will be called "intellect" or "intuition". Human beings can develop that which they have glimpsed, eventually attaining extraordinary powers. In the eyes of ordinary people, these powers appear to be supernatural, but actually they are natural." P. R. Sarkar, (1921-1990), was a spiritual teacher (also known as Shrii Shrii Anandamurti) in the tradition of Shiva and Krishna, who propounded PROUT (Progressive Utilization Theory) and who founded the socio-spiritual movement Ananda Marga ("Path of Bliss").

“To realize the greatness of Tantra, one will have to carry on spiritual practice. A non-practitioner can never penetrate into the mysteries of Tantra” claims Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar, a Tantric Guru and preceptor. “To remain satisfied with a little is contrary to human nature. That is why, since the dawn of creation, human beings have been worshiping the Supreme Entity. People longed for supreme knowledge, for indirect and direct spiritual realization. This fundamental human yearning for supreme expansion led people to discover the practical cult of spirituality.” P. R. Sarkar, (1921-1990), was a spiritual teacher (also known as Shrii Shrii Anandamurti) in the tradition of Shiva and Krishna, and founded the socio-spiritual movement Ananda Marga (“the Path of Bliss”). – Richard Gauthier, Department of Chemistry and Physics, Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, California, USA, May 2, 2021.

“Ananda Marga (‘the Path of Bliss’) is not a change merely due to the cycle of time, but a revolution – a radical change – in the true sense,” explains Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar. “Never before in the entire history of this world, or the universe, if that could be known to mortals, has a system of life embracing the economic, social, mental and spiritual spheres been correlated in a closely- knit society, as it has in Ananda Marga.” P. R. Sarkar explains how the basis for creating a universal society has been laid through the social, economic, metaphysical and spiritual approach of Ananda Marga. Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar (1921-1990) was the Dharma guru of the socio-spiritual movement Ananda Marga that he founded in 1955 and which became a global movement for a new society based on spirituality and neohumanism.

The existence of the Tantra Yoga Ānanda Mārga organization is justified by a search for salvation, to be achieved according to its cosmological principles, which reflect the reason for existence and the means to achieve this purpose. The explanations of the foundations of reality are combined with a theistic, monistic, and non-dualistic soteriological theory.

This is a collection of inspiring messages and guidelines for building a universal, spiritually-based society based on Neohumanism. Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar (1922-1990), also known as Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti, was a spiritual guru in the tradition of Shiva and Krishna. He founded the international socio-spiritual organization Ananda Marga (“Path of Bliss”) -- Richard Gauthier, Department of Chemistry and Physics, Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, California, USA, December 24, 2020.

The term 'tantra' is derived from the root TAN and first means 'a weaver's loom'. It then refers to an extended treatise on some subject. It is only during the British Raj that "a distinct set of texts called the 'Tantras' emerges as a clearly defined and relatively unified body of Indian literature." 1 As regards its subject matter, 'Tantra' has proved to be indefinable. 2 More importantly, 'Tantrism' 3 , which is a term invented in the West, becomes a threat to the social mores and political practice of the Raj. 4 This menacing aspect continues despite the attempts of Sir John Woodroffe, called the 'father' of modern tantra, to sanitise the term. 5 Kashmir One thousand years ago Kashmir experienced a gold age. Many schools of thought both Buddhist and Hindu developed in the beauty of the surrounding mountains. Of the Hindu schools perhaps the most famous is Kashmir Shaivism and of its many teachers the most famous is Abhinavagupta.

“Shivashaktyátmakaḿ Brahma” -- The Cosmic Entity is the composite of Shiva (Consciousness) and Shakti (Operative Principle). Thus begins Ánanda Sútram, meaning “aphorisms leading to ánanda, divine bliss.” The eighty-five sútras of this book serve, with breathtaking conciseness, as a framework for a new Cosmic ideology. In this book, the author has in a few vivid strokes presented humanity with original concepts of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and macro-history. He has also set out for the first time a socio-economic approach conceived in the light of spiritual philosophy, blending subjective approach with objective adjustment, that offers the world a progressive social system based on economic justice. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti (1921-1990), or Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar, was a spiritual guru and social philosopher who propounded PROUT (Progressive Utilization Theory) and founded the socio-spiritual movement Ananda Marga (“the Path of Bliss”). Richard Gauthier, Department of Chemistry and Physics, Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, California, USA, April 22, 2021.

Broad introductory overview of Tantra from a perspective informed by the Ramakrishna Vedanta tradition.