Here's an excerpt from an article by Sthaneshwar-ji at Sutra Journal,
" Tantra in the Western imagination stands for exotic and orgasmic rituals coming from India and Tibet that blend sex and meditation. Tantric practice is often compared with pagan animistic rituals that include blood and sex, and the supernatural powers described in Tantric texts are often compared with magic. This does not mean that Tantra has always been painted positively in its homeland. For most native Indians, Tantra stands for scary witchcraft and ghoulish Aghoris that capture the imagination when one thinks of a ‘Tantrik’. With the 20th century guru movements and the vacuum resulting from a lack of traditional awareness, the ‘exotic’ side of Tantra appears to be in transit, doubling back to India in changed form.
"Historically, Tantra has remained elastic in adopting practices that cannot be blended together to make one single practice or belief. The contemporary categorization of Tantra subsumes this intrinsic diversity, with its practices contradictory to each other, and philosophies supporting different goals. As Tantra becomes grossly simplified, the market that consumes Tantra is little concerned with the problems inherent to blending Hindu and Buddhist Tantras, left-hand and right-hand Tantras, and various disciplines (Acharas). Once again, this homogenization is doubling back ..."
http://www.sutrajournal.com/tantra-and-the-west-sthaneshwar-timalsina
And another ...
http://www.sutrajournal.com/mantra-by-sthaneshwar-timalsina
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Sutrajournal Tantra and the West Tantra in the Western imagination stands for exotic and orgasmic rituals coming from India and Tibet that blend sex and meditation. Tantric practice is often compared with pagan animistic rituals that include blood and sex, and the supernatural powers described…