In other words, Tantra spreads (tan) wisdom that saves (tra). Here the second verbal root has a double meaning, for it alludes to the fact that Tantrik practices give us a means of strengthening and protecting ourselves from worldly harm, as well as bestowing the ultimate spiritual liberation (more on this later). We could equally well say that a tantra is a device (tra) for expanding (tan), as a mantra is a device for working with the mind (man), and a yantra is a device for controlling (yan). Modern teachers like to mention that the verbal root √tan means “stretch, expand,” saying that
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