Ritual

These various forms of inner illumination are not mutually
exclusive but interpenetrate one another. They are always
performed in concert so that, for instance, a single ritual act may
include the use of mantra, mudra, asana, pranayama, dhyana,
drawing all senses into participation.
Ritual forms can be external as well as internal. External media
are stimulus-bound, that is, their mediation is only possible
through externally symbolic objects such as yantra, nyasa, mudra,
or offerings. Contrariwise, the internal orientation is stimulusfree;
it does not have recourse to any external symbols but requires
an active participation of the aspirant so that he is receptive to a
programmed spontaneity achieved through formless media such as
the recitation of mantras and concentration.
Tantric sadhana varies in relation to the end to be achieved, but
the prime aim of its major ritual practices is to accelerate the latent
forces already in the human organism for a peak experience of joy
and unity. The final stage cannot be achieved without the practice
of several categories of technique, each of which serves an
intermediate end of sadhana. They form a group of ritual
composites which bring together a number of inputs, each of them
serving a definite purpose. The sadhaka should not deliberately
omit even a single one of these techniques, as they constitute the
necessary preliminaries for the final goal. They are:
(1) Purification and sanctification: The first step of deconditioning
a heavily imprinted and programmed attitude towards one's
body consists of a hypothetical transformation of the gross body
into the subtle body, so that the obstacles besetting it are lifted.
The body is mobilized by physical training and the use of bodily
postures in order that it may consciously emerge from the inert
state and become 'cosmicized', 'purified' and 'sanctified' in the
image of the divinity. The purification may operate on the
mental level when the impurities obstructing the subtle bodies
are removed by rituals such as nyasa, asana-suddhi, bhutasuddhi
with the help of proper intonation of mantras.
(2) Identification and internalization: This step consists of the
experience of integration, a condition in which, by an intimate
unconscious relationship, the initiate becomes the 'thing'.
Identification consists in an introjective process as a consequence
of which the object of worship is treated as a part of the self. The
rituals which promote identification are mudras, meditation,
visualization, mantric concentration, pranayama, etc.
(3) Harmony and equilibrium: In harmony lies the precondition
Tantric yogi, Lakshmana Temple,
Khajuraho. Meditation is perfect
concentration of mind. An
appropriate asana, or yogic posture,
creates physical and mental
equilibrium, AD 1059-87. Stone.
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