The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1455 page)

) for K
a. Sexual love is here a symbol for the soul's love of God.
Maithuna as a means of liberation is found
par excellence
in Hindu and Buddhist
Tantrism
, in the left-hand (
v
m
c
ra
) traditions of the
Kaula
-K
p
lika cults and the
Sahaj
y
s
. Through ritual maithuna, sexual energy is transformed into spiritual energy, and desire is destroyed by desire. Human sexuality reflects the cosmic male–female polarity, and human copulation reflects the cosmic union (
y
mala
,
yuganaddha
,
yab-yum
) of
iva
and
akti
, in Hindu Tantra; and
Prajñ