What Is Black Tantra?

What is Black Tantra? Tantra teacher Acharya Subhojit Dasgupta explains what you need to know about this lesser known subdivision of ancient Tantra.

Black tantra is a lesser known sub-division of ancient tantra. Its rather ominous name derives from the fact that black tantra always concludes with orgasm and ejaculation in order to awaken consciousness, whereas tantra and its practices oppose any loss of sexual energy and favour spiritual pursuits (tantra sadhana).

Black tantra is about altering mental reality through a series of techniques, and it involves an advanced form of mental projection. As your tantra teacher will inform you, scriptures such as the 'Virat Kaula Sutras' state that the pursuit of orgasmic release can sometimes trigger cravings and suffering. In other words, black tantra may sometimes lead people further away from enlightenment rather than bringing them to it.

To prolong sexual intercourse with the sole objective of enjoying physical pleasure, without regard to achieving higher awareness, may lead one astray. The proper role of this offshoot of the ancient art is to help those who have fallen in this trap by engaging their subconscious creative power, which can be accessed during sexual arousal and eventually lead them to tantric 'samadhi'.

Some people erroneously consider the sexual side of tantra as 'black tantra'. This is an example of the wide-spread ignorance surrounding the art of tantra, resulting in the general rejection of this esoteric variant as dangerous and unusable. Read more