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RITUAL<br />
In the preceding discussion, all the factors related to the basic<br />
doctrine of tantra, its metaphysics, art and science, are supplemental<br />
to this central feature - ritual, or the spiritual science of<br />
self-culture. Metaphysics, art and science are the edifice of<br />
knowledge which provide the origin and goal of tantric sadhana;<br />
ritual provides the corpus of means. <strong>Ritual</strong> is based on two basic<br />
and interdependent presuppositions: first, that the self is potentially<br />
divine and can be developed illimitably; second, and<br />
following as a corollary from the first, that reality or the Absolute<br />
(Siva-Sakti), whose inherent nature is joy (ananda), is the most<br />
fundamental and desirable goal to seek. At one pole is the self or<br />
individual aspiring to be free or enlightened; at the other pole is the<br />
goal. Between the poles is the intermediate state of reaching for the<br />
goal by means of effective techniques - this is ritual. Thus ritual<br />
here can be defined as a 'link' connecting the individual psyche<br />
with the universal noumena. Tantra offers an operational model<br />
for psychic liberation and outlines an effective modus operandi<br />
within its defined conspectus, and tantric ritual, therefore, should<br />
be considered a key factor of psychic evolution.<br />
In a theoretical exposition such as this, the purpose is to expound<br />
the practical psycho-physical prescriptions of ritual and their<br />
significance. This means we are obliged to discuss in terms of<br />
concepts and abstractions what in reality is a dynamic translogical<br />
unitary experience. It should, therefore, be borne in mind that<br />
tools of language cannot do full justice to the actual experience of<br />
living in the ritual. The real search begins when language ends and<br />
logic-oriented positivism is dispensed with: 'Darkness is not<br />
dispensed with by mentioning the word "lamp"' (Kularnava<br />
Tantra). Just so, words are impotent to dispel the darkness of the<br />
ego. Self-realization springs from an inner experience - a feelingsense<br />
of something which can never be articulated in words.<br />
Tantric ritual is thus both an aid and a psychological experiment<br />
which sensitizes and revitalizes the inner experience for higher<br />
spiritual awakening. Dr A. V. Gerasimov, a tantric scholar of the<br />
The supreme Goddess as the Void,<br />
with projection-space for Her<br />
image. Andhra Pradesh, 19th<br />
century. Bronze.<br />
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