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TANTRA:
Tantra is a practical system. It is called a sadhana shastra, which means that it is a practice oriented scripture. Its purpose is to give each and every individual spiritual illumination by any means that is suitable and available. It consists of a vast number of different practices to suit all types of people, combined with the highest concepts realized by tantric sages throughout the ages in states of deep meditation. It is because of this combination that we have such high regard for tantra.
We want you to consider tantra with an open mind. Do not blindly accept its ideas. Merely assimilate them. You must prove for yourself if they are really valid through your own personal experience and realization. The thing to remember is that tantra is more of a science than anything else. It does not ask you to believe anything on face value. It is a test and see system. Only when you have the experience can you believe what you hear. The essence of tantra is personal experience through practice.
Tantra- The Universal System
Tantra is in the widest sense a universal system. It has been and still is a way of life for various diverse groups of people throughout the world. Though there may be local differences, the basic premise is fundamentally the same.
In Indian tantra, the subject of this topic, these two aspects are called SHIVA (consciousness) and SHAKTI (power or energy of manifestation). This concept is not confined to India. In Taoism of China there is TAO and TEH. The Tao corresponds to Shiva (though there are some slight reservations about this) and The is exactly the same as Shakti or the mother of the universe. The ancient Egyptians worshipped Osiris (consciousness or Shiva) and Isis the mother, Shakti, or the cosmic power of manifestation). In Christianity there is the Virgin Mary- a symbol of the universal mother. The father, needless to say, is consciousness. And so we could go on giving so many other examples, but this is not the place. What we want to indicate is that the concept of the cosmic mother and the accompanying symbol or personification of consciousness does not depend on time, place and race. The concept is universal, it is ingrained deeply in the collective psyche of humanity.