15: Tantra: Sex, Death, & Chaos (w/Alex Auder)

For decades, Neo-Tantra has focused on sex workshops and orgasmic bliss, overlooking the fact that the Kama Sutra is effectively a patriarchal instruction manual as well as Tantra’s grassroots origins in the lower castes in Indian society, which were responding to lofty metaphysical ideas with practical rituals everyone could partake in. From that perspective, a modern industry marketed with Shiva-Shakti figurines is yet another example of capitalist yoga in a privileged society. 

Derek opens this week discussing a redpilled-lite video by Danielle LaPorte, while Julian discusses an intensely personal story related to Tantra; he also explores the role of the Aghoris. We break from Tantra talk during Matthew’s interview with Alex Auder, a veteran yoga instructor who uses comedy as a relief mechanism from the QAnon craziness in the yoga world. Matthew ends this week’s episode with a reflection on his history with Tibetan Buddhist Tantra, and how he sees echoes of its archaic elements showing up, in undigested form, in the QAnon imaginarium.

Show Notes

Danielle LaPorte’s video

How tantric sex trains people to have more intense orgasms, and why it’s so controversial

The Mysterious Death of a Tantric Sex Guru

Sex Messiah: A Tantric Odyssey

Not for the Faint of Heart: The Aghori and Their Unorthodox Path to Enlightenment

Reza Aslan (almost) loses his head

Yoga: An Evolving Story Of Cross-Cultural Innovation

Julian Feeld at the Hollywood Blvd QAnon rally