>...Tantrism represents an extension or a further development of those traditional teachings originally found in the Vedas and later articulated in the Brahmanas, the Upanishads, and the Puranas. That is why the Tantras have claimed for themselves the dignity befitting a "fifth Veda," that is, a further revelation beyond what is found in the traditional four Vedas.
> It is claimed that the teachings, rites, and disciplines that would have been viable in the first age are no longer fit for people living in the following ages, especially in the last age, the "dark age." Mankind in these later ages may find knowledge, a worldview, rituals, and adequate practices for elevating humans over and beyond their condition and for overcoming death, not in the Vedas and in other strictly traditional texts, but rather in the Tantras and in the Agamas. It is stated therefore that only Tantric practices based on shakti are suitable and efficacious in our contemporary age: all the others are considered to be as powerless as a snake deprived of its poison.
> Although Tantrism is far from rejecting ancient wisdom, it is characterized by a reaction against
1. a hollow and stereotypical ritualism
2. mere speculation or contemplation
and 3. any asceticism of a unilateral, mortifying, and penitential nature
It opposes to contemplation a path of action, of practical realization, and of direct experience. Its password is practice.
> One Tantric text remarks: "It is a womanly thing to establish superiority through convincing arguments; it is a manly thing to conquer the world through one's power. Reasoning, argument, and inference may be the work of other schools; but the work of the Tantra is to accomplish superhuman and divine events through the force of their own words of power [mantras]."
> Tantra is neither mere worship or prayer. It is not lamenting or contrition or repentance before the Deity, it is the Sadhana which is the union of Purusha and Prakriti; the Sadhana which joins the Male Principle and the Mother Element within the body... this is not mere "philosophy," a mere attempt to ponder upon the husks of words, but something which is to be done...
> The analysis of the last age, the "dark age" or Kali Yuga, brings to light two essential features. The first is that mankind living in this age is strictly connected to the body and cannot prescind from it; therefore, the only way open is not that of pure detachment (as in early Buddhism and in the many varieties of Yoga) but rather than of knowledge, awakening, and mastery over secret energies trapped in the body. The second characteristic is that of the dissolution typical of this age. The traditional law (dharma) is wavering, reduced to a shadow of its former self. The symbolism of Kali being fully awake in this age implies that during the last age elementary, infernal, and even abyssal forces are untrammeled. The immediate task consists in facing and absorbing these forces.
> It is seen as a degeneration of the divine Truth that people have turned to devotion and to cult-like religious followings in order to achieve emotional experiences with mystical overtones.
> The Way of Mantras: the practice used to lead to self-realization is the mantra (sound) which is seen as a word of power, not only a mere mystical sound or prayer. Breathing and sex are considered to be the only two disciplines still available to mankind living in the Kali Yuga, and the Tantric Sadhana is based on them.
> The authentic Tantras claim that it is not enough to remain idle, vaguely thinking about the conscious ether (which is most modern peoples approach to "thinking of God" or attempting "connection"), but that in order to obtain true knowledge, one must be transformed by action.
