The thing that shocks most Westerners (and a great many orthodox Hindus) about Tantra is the fact that the highest good is considered to be the development of the aspirant as he defines it without the cloak of external morality. From a Tantric point of view, whatever one does, acceptable by society or not, is simply the means to the same end-self-development.
It should be remembered that antinomianism (deliberate renunciation of social and religious restrictions) in Tantras in so many secret doctrines-is fundamental. In this sense most American authors on Tantra would vigorously disagree as their training and public persona are conventional. Many of these people come from an academic background.
From different directions, we have, combined, nearly a half-century of experience in the practice of various Occult and Yogic techniques. The essential problem now as always is the unconscious tendency to view alien philosophy through the lens of the ingrained and familiar culture. In the West, Judeo-Christian values dominate our thinking and perceptions, act as values of faith and are anti-empirical. All forms of Yoga, whether Tantra or otherwise, demand empirical results not faith. In this sense these practices are closer to Western Science.
From the monotheistic point of view, Tantrism-whether Buddhist or Hindu-is dangerous and diabolical even as a philosophy. Engaging in any practice devoted to self-determinism may put you beyond the scope of society. This should be kept in mind as you gain more power, as one of the first mistakes of any serious student is talking about his most secret goals. What may seem harmless to you may be a panic trigger to someone else.
You may also want to read more about Tantra Yoga here.
