Ritual

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The One
Of all the varied formulations, one of the central concepts of
Hindu thought which influenced the tantras considerably is the
notion of a universal energy known as Prana, the source of all the
manifestation of various forces. All forces in the universe, all
motion, attraction, even thought, are only different manifestations
of Prana. In the human body, its gross manifestation is the lifebreath,
and though Prana is often misinterpreted as breath or air, it
is something more. Breath is only one effect of Prana; similarly, if
Prana were caused by air 'it would be possible for the dead man to
breathe'. Prana acts upon the air, not the air upon it. Prana, then, is
a vital bio-motor force which governs and manipulates the
functions of the body. While this vital principle exists in the human
organism, life continues; with Prana's departure, life ceases in that
human body. All living organisms, from a speck of protoplasm to
plants to animals, are animated by the combined activity of
Prana, the life-force, and matter. Though all systems of Hindu
thought recognized the potency of Prana, the adepts of tantrayoga
elaborated the whole science of metamorphosis of Prana and
applied it as an instrument to arouse the latent psychic force in the
human body. Prof. C. F. von Weizsacker, the eminent physicist,
writes:
The concept of prana is not necessarily incompatible with our physics.
Prana is spatially extended and vitalizing. Hence above all it is moving
potency. The quantum theory designates something not entirely remote
from this with the term 'probability amplitude'. The relationship may
become clearer when we consider the possibility as a strictly futuristic
concept, that is as the quantified expression of that toward which the flow
of time is pressing to evolve. 29
In the cosmic hierarchy, however, Prana is neither the ultimate
nor is it a radical construct; it is a derivative of an ultimate reality.
The fundamental thesis of tantrism is that though the universe
evolves out of the interacting forces of two principles, in the
ultimate analysis both these emanate from the One. Behind the
entire phenomenal world, matter and thought, there is the Eternal
One, without a second. This monistic principle is all-pervasive: all
things, physical and biological, are finite versions of the One. The
nature of that reality is described in voluminous terminology,
negating all attributes and relations, yet its real nature eludes
description.
The One, therefore, should not be confused with any theistic
expression, like the notion of a benign father or a super-earthly