In this article, we will talk about Tantra as the science of life. We will discuss the dangers of placing vice and virtue in opposition to one another. We will dive into the principle of polarity and how it can help us to understand the relationship between vice and virtue. We will furthermore talk about coming into balance, becoming an integrated part of the whole, and giving real value to the world. Finally, we will touch on centering in the heart and taking full responsibility for ourselves.
Tantra is the Science of Life
Tantra is the science of life. It is a path that is trying to simplify things to their natural essence. Most of our troubles arise from making things complicated. We tend to get lost in the chatter of the mind that continuously rattles on. Tantra aims to get us a ticket off this carousel, by removing the agitations, imbalances, and limitations. Tantra is extremely practical and aims to allow the practitioner to utilize everything that is a part of everyday life to grow and transform until they reach complete liberation. Tantra starts from where we are. What is considered a virtue is usually shaped by culture and time. In the Western world, we reinforce behaviors by encouraging guilt when individuals cross over the threshold of what is considered acceptable.
The Opposition of Vice and Virtue
Being born sinners is very engraved into the Christian belief system. Jesus never spoke about people being sinners, this theology really arose 200 years after his life, as a way to create a rulebook. The opposition between good and bad is created with the mechanism of guilt. This presentation of opposing forces where you have to stay on one side of the magnet creates the picture of struggle. The struggle to stay virtuous and avoid vice at all costs. This creates a lot of inner tension and fear. When these arise we can do unspeakable things.
Polarity and Virtue
Tantra offers us a stepping stone out of this model. One of the central principles of Tantra is the principle of polarity. Polarity always occurs between two poles of the same value. It doesn’t occur between something good and something bad. In the polarity of Shiva and Shakti, we see that they belong together and that they create a unified whole. It isn’t the case that one is good, and the other is bad. There is no polar pair called good and evil. All the processes of polarity unfolding between Shiva and Shakti, between stillness and movement, between yin and yang, between day and night; all require a balance between the poles. So-called evil arises when these polarities fall out of balance. Imbalance is always ephemeral. We may experience imbalance as difficult, as indulging in vices. Imbalances are always evened out with a counter-movement and eventually come back to the center, to perfect balance. These are the laws of the universe according to Tantra.
Coming To Balance
Aristotle considered that which had the right amount (that which was balanced) to be virtuous. Courage is perfectly in the center of recklessness and cowardice. Honesty is the sweet spot between being harsh and holding back or lying. Generosity falls between being wasteful and being stingy. We give that which is harmonious to give. When we continuously step into this sweet spot and are in balance, life will flow very naturally, and we will be morally sound. When the wish for virtue is only a response to the pressures of society, things become very twisted. When we add neutrality, virtue is seen as bringing us back to the center. This neutral point is where everything originates from.
Integrating Into Life
The essence of all virtuous behavior is that we manage to integrate successfully into the whole. This doesn’t include artificially created systems, such as human law. It means tuning into what is going on around us and finding the sweet spot of balance, offering what is needed according to our capabilities. A virtuous being naturally offers the appropriate response in every situation. They have a capacity for integration and harmony. In opposition to this, vices make us not integrated. When we feel shy to express what needs to be said, we will feel inner tension. When we don’t stop when it is time to stop, speed up when it is time to speed up, slow down when it is time to slow down, then we fall into vice.
Bringing Value
Being integrated means that we bring great value to our family, to our community, and to every whole we are a part of. We become a source of nourishment to our surroundings. We will always find the morsel in our hearts that is perfect to offer in this moment. In the viewpoint of Tantra, the source point of all creation is by default virtuous. The universe is based on unalterable frequencies, known as the Godly attributes. From this continuous background of balance at the level of Source, these qualities trickle down to each and every one of us. We all carry the Godly attributes within us. Our work is to develop more awareness. When we resonate with these Godly qualities, we naturally return to balance. With the process of identification with the balanced whole, virtue arises. You are attuned to the greater surroundings, to the cosmos. Nelson Mandela went from identifying with the radical political terrorists he was surrounded by, to identifying with the soul of South Africa. He found a totally different way to transform the country, through forgiveness. He became heroic and virtuous.
Personal Responsibility
Balance is always achieved by centering. The heart is the center point of every virtuous being. The mind is the ambassador of cultural values, but the heart is the ambassador of the universal. Learn to center more and more into your heart. Learn to listen to your heart. This allows for a dynamic balance to unfold within your life. To center into the heart, you must assume full responsibility for yourself. Put your finger on the map, understand where you are, and assume responsibility for taking the next step forwards. Find the next balanced step, without guilt or self-recrimination. You are in charge of becoming a healthy cell in the body of the universe.
Transcribed and edited by Charlie Wilson from