Beyond the Taboo: Exploring Love, Tantra, and Conscious Living.
In a thought-provoking conversation on The Rishika Show, host Rishika Kaushal and Osho disciple Swami Dhyan Sumit explore relationships, spirituality, human desires, and the importance of finding contentment in a world that always asks for more.
Understanding Life Through Awareness:
In an open and engaging conversation on The Rishika Show, host Rishika Kaushal speaks with Osho sannyasin Swami Dhyan Sumit about some of the most misunderstood aspects of spirituality, including Tantra, intimacy, relationships, and the desire for material success. Drawing from Osho’s teachings and ancient Indian wisdom, Sumit explains that spirituality does not necessarily mean leaving behind family, work, or everyday responsibilities. Instead, it is about learning to live consciously without becoming overly attached to material possessions or social expectations.
The discussion also explores why many relationships struggle despite appearing happy on the surface, how society’s silence around intimacy can create misunderstandings, and why natural human desires should be understood rather than simply suppressed. Through references to the Vigyan Bhairav Tantra and the Kamasutra, Sumit presents a perspective on conscious living that connects self-awareness, emotional understanding, and personal growth.
Finding Balance in a World That Never Stops:
Modern life often feels like a race with no finish line. People work hard to earn more, buy better things, build successful careers, and maintain a perfect image on social media. Yet, even after achieving many of these goals, a sense of dissatisfaction can remain. In his conversation with Rishika Kaushal, Swami Dhyan Sumit reflects on this familiar struggle and raises an important question:
In the middle of trying to achieve so much, have we forgotten how to feel content?
A former export entrepreneur, Sumit shares his understanding of spirituality through the lens of everyday life. According to him, becoming spiritual does not mean walking away from the world or giving up everything one has worked for. It is about changing one’s relationship with those things. A person can have a successful career, enjoy financial comfort, and fulfil family responsibilities while still working towards inner peace.
This idea connects with the teachings of spiritual figures such as Kabir, Ravidas, Guru Nanak, and Osho, whose philosophies offer different ways of understanding life beyond material attachments. Sumit also refers to Osho’s well-known association with luxury, including his collection of Rolls-Royces, to illustrate the distinction between possessing something and allowing it to control one’s life. The larger message is simple:
Material comfort is not necessarily the problem; the problem begins when happiness becomes entirely dependent on it.
Why Relationships Need More Than Love:
The discussion examines another crucial aspect of human existence:
Relationships. Numerous couples remain cohabiting while facing emotional detachment, unresolved issues, or insufficient meaningful communication.
On the surface, everything might seem fine, but within private spaces, partners can experience feelings of isolation and disconnection. Sumit indicates that a possible cause for these challenges is the absence of emotional education. Individuals dedicate years to preparing for careers and financial autonomy but frequently lack direction on comprehending their emotions, expressing their requirements, or establishing healthy connections. Consequently, unexpressed expectations lead to misunderstandings, making it challenging to talk about intimacy openly.
He also returns to the Kamasutra; a work often linked to physical closeness. Its wider cultural and literary backdrop encompasses conversations on relationships, social behaviour, self-presentation, and the skills of living.
This broader viewpoint contests the common inclination to simplify the text to merely sexual positions.
The dialogue promotes an approach to intimacy that embraces more openness, understanding, and reciprocal respect. Instead of viewing desire as something to be ashamed of, it encourages people to comprehend their feelings and obligations. Essentially, healthy intimacy should always be based on consent, trust, and respect for individual boundaries.
Tantra: From Instinct to Awareness:
One of the central themes of the conversation is Tantra, a spiritual tradition that is often misunderstood or narrowly associated with sexuality. Drawing on the Vigyan Bhairav Tantra, which presents 112 meditation techniques, Sumit discusses the possibility of using awareness to transform one’s relationship with everyday experiences, emotions, and desires.
Rather than viewing spirituality as a constant battle against human instincts, this approach encourages people to become more aware of them. The idea is not simply to act on every desire, but to understand what lies behind it and respond with greater consciousness.
Sumit uses the idea of transformation to explain this process:
Just as a caterpillar develops into a butterfly, personal growth involves moving beyond one’s existing patterns.
In this sense, Tantra becomes a way of exploring how ordinary human experiences can lead to deeper self-understanding. Applied to relationships, this perspective places importance on being emotionally present rather than treating a partner as an object of desire. It encourages couples to look beyond physical attraction and develop a connection built on appreciation, communication, and respect. When both partners feel heard and valued, intimacy can become a more meaningful part of their relationship.
The Freedom to Discover Your Own Truth:
Towards the end of the conversation, the focus shifts from external teachers to personal understanding. Sumit emphasises that spirituality should not become a form of lifelong dependence on a guru or any other authority. A teacher may help someone find direction, but personal growth ultimately requires independent awareness and understanding.
This idea echoes a well-known Buddhist metaphor in which a raft helps a person cross a river but is not meant to be carried forever. Similarly, spiritual teachings can offer guidance, but they should also encourage people to develop their own understanding rather than follow blindly.
The conversation ultimately brings together several questions that are relevant to modern life:
What does it mean to be successful? How can people build healthier relationships? And can we learn to experience our desires without being controlled by them?
These questions do not have straightforward answers, yet the conversation provides a helpful beginning point. Maybe mindful living starts with being more aware of ourselves, those in our vicinity, and the decisions we take each day. In a society that consistently pushes us to desire more, gaining self-understanding may be one of the most significant moves toward a more balanced and satisfying life.
