There hasn't been a detailed history of Tantra written. The methods' origins can be traced back to prehistoric Shamanism. According to recorded history, the earliest Tantras were most likely Buddhist and originated in India, according to historians. However, Buddhism gradually disappeared from India for a variety of causes, the most significant of which was the Islamic conquest of India, which destroyed most of the Tantric history as well as hundreds upon thousands of manuscripts.
When the Islamic empire's influence in India receded, ancient Hinduism, not Buddhism, resurfaced. Buddhism mostly vanished from the region where Buddha lived, going to China and later Japan. Tantric practices and philosophy continued to exist after this, but they were kept hidden due to their disturbing nature.
You can image how startled the Islamic invaders were when they learnt about the activities that were taking place, because a Moslem is the only person who is more concerned about sex than a Jew or a Christian. As a result, what was once a well-known cult in India has become obscure and esoteric. And it is for this reason that the Hindu Tantras are so valuable. Because they were not susceptible to public opinion, they could be more forthright.
However, due to the devastating impacts of history, the Hindu Tantras are likewise exceedingly muddled. To clear up some of the ambiguity, we went to Tibet's Buddhist Tantras, where the core purity of the original concept has been maintained to a large extent. The ideas about sex and morality are the lone exception. After initial encounter with India, Tibet's governing authorities determined that Tantric Buddhism would be the state religion at a reasonably early stage in their history. They invested all of their intellectual and financial resources in the establishment of institutions and libraries. It retained a tremendous esoteric influence for years, perhaps centuries, with authoritative people, customs, and even families engaged.
Only a small percentage of the literature has ever been translated into English, so it is even richer than we may think. This offers the foundation for a fully fledged tradition and practice. This, along with the fact that hospitals in the East have no trouble dealing with Kundalini phenomena, gives the practitioner a bit of a safety net.
Since the 7th century, Tibet has been governed by Tantra. It was the focus of whole colleges, which, like any huge enterprise, had means of dealing with people of varying talents—lay talent, high talent, and genius.
And, as with any hierarchy, those at the top were more or less isolated from the rest of the group. For the purposes of this book, we agree with the Buddhists that most, if not all, of our ideas of the self-the idea of a soul, or as the Hindus would put it, "knowledge" of the Universe-are delusions, a handy construct for the control of the people.
You may also want to read more about Tantra Yoga here.
