Great-Bliss-Tantric-Sex-and-the-Path-to-Inner-Awakening

Qualifications of the Consort
Finding a well qualified
consort is essential for Tantric
practice. A female consort is a
yoginī (or karmamudrā,
literally an “action consort”),
and a male consort is a hero
(vīra). The consort is the
foundation for Tantric practice,
because it is the consort who
bestows the erotic bliss that
leads to enlightenment.
Kriṣṇācārya affirms strongly,
“Without the consort, it is not
possible for bliss to arise.” The
qualifications of a consort are
physical, temperamental, and
ritual.
On the physical qualities of a
consort, what is important for
both men and women is to
choose a lover who excites you
sexually. In terms of
temperament, good consorts
may range emotionally from
peaceful to untamable.
However, the consort should
also be of the same Buddha
Family as the practitioner,
tasked with purifying the same
predominant emotional
obscuration. The Hevajra
Tantra points out she should
understand the Dharma, be
courageous, resolute and not fickle, love the yogi, be pleasant speaking and delightful. At the
same time, she must be a free spirit willing to embrace the Tantric practices wholeheartedly.
The consort should also be ritually qualified. The Hevajra Tantra teaches that the consort should
be consecrated in the practice, keep the Tantric vows, be well trained, and skillful. All the above
is of course an ideal, and Tantra is both idealistic and pragmatic. Jayabhadra notes that “If a
woman who is well educated in mantra and Tantra has not been found, then cultivating some
other uncultivated woman, she should be worshipped.” You can train one yourself and, as the
Hevajra Tantra observes, “She will without any doubt become suitable in one month.”
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