What is Hindu Tantrism?

 What is Hindu Tantrism?

Tantra is one of the many systems of Hindu philosophy and spiritual practice. It differs from Brahminical Vedism in a number of ways.

Meaning of “Tantra”:
“tanyate, vistāryante jñānam anena, iti Tantra”. — That system by which knowledge is spread is called “tantra”.
• Tan = thread, web, stretch, spread or expand
• Tra = tool or instrument
• Tatri = Support, adjunct
• Tantra = A tool for expansion or a weaving.��Through tantric practice, one can experience an expansion of consciousness and recognize the interconnectedness of the web of existence.

Tantra Literature.
The vast Tantric literature deals with 21 topics.
1. Sṛṣṭhi — Cosmic Evolution
2. Pralaya — Cosmic Involution
3. Upāsana — Deity Yoga - or various forms of ritual worship
4. Sādhana — Spiritual practice
5. Puraścarana — retreat programs for yoga and meditation
6. Ṣaṭ-karma — 6 desiderative ritual activities for accomplishing material goals.
7. Yoga /Dhyāna— yoga āsana and meditation practice
8. Siddhānta — Metaphysics
9. Brahma-jñāna — Theology
10. Mantras — linguistic occultism
11. Yantras — mystical diagrams for meditation
12. Mudras — seals or gestures
13. Śilpa — architecture of temples and publics buildings and sculpture
14. Pratiṣṭha — consecration of temples
15. Archana — worship of the deities enshrined in temples
16. Dīkṣa — initiation of spiritual aspirants
17. Dharma — rules of social conduct and ethics
18. Saṁskāras — sacraments and domestic observances
19. Utsavas — public festivals and celebrations
20. Indrajāla — Practical occultism
21. Prayaścittam — Atonements & Penances

                    

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Tantra in its most generic sense, the Agama Tantra really, is the practical side of spiritualism, the traditions of more than 80% of families. Its texts, therefore, are hundreds of times more in quantity and volume than the Nigama texts like the Shruti.

All Hindu traditions are essentially family traditions. It is why you have so much of diversity in the philosophies and practices.
We understand Hindu philosophy as a roadmap to the “one truth”, and different interpretations of what that roadmap might look like, based on individual experiences.
However spiritual experiences, and the texts that capture spiritual experiences are all personal experiences - Nigama. How can that be applied to day to day life? What are the practical aspects of spirituality? What about families which have had no such spiritual experience yet? How do they even begin to understand this “truth”?
The Agama traditions are about how spirituality can be extended to daily life and to the things we “can practice” on a daily basis, to live our lives in order to achieve the four purushartha.
Human motivation comes from our triguna and as the word describes, it is of three kinds. Everyone has all three, so there is really no such thing as a pure sattvik, a pure rajasik or pure tamasik. And the objective in fact is really to get a balance of all three qualities. The process of getting our triguna into balance, or equilibrium is known as karma. The point at which the three qualities come into equilibrium is moksha. Life, after all, is about fine balance - work, family, meaning, and other competing interests and desires.
So if Nigama traditions are entirely intellectual, spiritual (sattva, man, mantra), what about Agama traditions?
Our physical or material body can be considered as comprised of three components - body, mind and intellect. The triguna is the resultant of these three components. What are the characteristics of the motivation that derives from these three components?
Intellect: Individuals who “live in the intellect” are intellectuals, those cerebral, knowledge-driven individuals who have a flair for abstract thinking!
Mind: Individuals who “live in the mind” are great schemers, go-getters, planners, manipulators, influencers who will use their talents and skills to “get ahead”!
Body: This is the vast majority of us. We don’t even think of ourselves as having “components”, nor do we check to see “where we live”! Body is the body, mind and intellect are integral parts of the body, just as all the other parts are! We have no interest in knowledge beyond what we need to earn a living, we don’t mull ponderous philosophical questions like “who am I?”, “where do we come from?”, and “where are we going?” If you ask a “body-type” these questions, you will get simple, practical, straightforward answers: “I am Ajay”, “I am from Jhajjar”, “I’m just going to the market!” and so on.
No matter the type of personality or their motivation, is there a need to educate people on how to live right? Now look at this matrix, the combination of varna (personality) and triguna (motivation):

There are 16 different outcomes of varna and triguna. However, if you analyze the incidence, you will find that there are four peaks in these distributions. So BS, KR, VR and ST would cover 80% of the people.
The Nigama texts are texts written by intellectuals for intellectuals, even though there are no restrictions on who can read it. As you can see, intellectuals can come from any varna. And these 16 categories don't really give you the full picture. Take a look at these two case studies of two different individuals scored based on triguna weights. Can you determine what their interests are and which line of career are they most likely to choose? (Give it a shot):
CASE A:

CASE B:

That said, it is the practical aspects of spiritualism for those who are not seeking the truth through knowledge (jnana), that is, the rajasik (karma) and tamasik (bhakti) that have a greater market share, so to speak. The texts of the Agama Tantra is sustained by this market!
There are three schools of Agama traditions: Shaiva (Northern/Kashmira Shaiva and Southern/Tamil Shaiva), Vaishnava and Shakta. And all agamas cover four aspects of daily life: kriya (aspects of worship), jnana (knowledge of the truth), yoga (self-control) and karya (approach to daily duties).
Every agama tantra text will give you techniques for all four aspects.
The purusharthas are its objectives and mukti its culmination.