Tantra Mystery.

Just as paintings on a wall possess all limbs yet are powerless to perform any action, so too are other collections of mantras. Performing rituals with other mantras is like union with a barren woman; there is no accomplishment of the result, only effort. The man who desires success through paths other than those spoken of in the Tantra is a fool, like a thirsty man digging a well on the banks of the Ganges. In the Kali age, the mantras spoken of in the Tantra are effective and quickly yield fruit. They are praised in all actions, such as in Japa repetition of mantras and sacrificial rites.

Like a snake without venom, Vedic mantras have become powerless in this age. All these mantras were successful in the Truth, Treta, and Dvapara ages, but they have become as if dead in this time. Just as figures painted on a wall, though endowed with all limbs, are unable to perform their functions, so too are all other mantras in the Kali age. Just as there is no fruit from union with a barren woman, so too is there no attainment of success through acting with other mantras; there is only exertion. In the Kali age, the person who desires to attain success through methods spoken of in other scriptures is unwise, like a thirsty person digging a well on the bank of the Ganges. The mantras mentioned in the Tantra grant quick results in the Kali age. In all rituals like Japa and sacrifices, the mantras mentioned in the Tantra alone are superior.

For this reason, Smarta those who follow the Smritis authorities like Raghunandana have considered the Tantra scriptures to be authoritative.

Secret Scripture—Both Hindus and Buddhists have accepted the Tantra. It is not proper to reveal the scripture to anyone other than the truly initiated and consecrated. It is written in the Kularnava Tantra that one may give wealth or even one's life, but one should never reveal this secret scripture to another (unqualified) person.