Ritual

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Both mudras and nyasas are external expressions of 'inner
resolve', suggesting that such non-verbal communications are
more powerful than the spoken word. In recent years there has
been a growing awareness of the efficacy of such non-verbal
communication. A group of scientists studying this form of
communication has established that there appears to be an
'alphabet' of gestures, postures, body movements which express
much more than words can convey. A recent study by the
psychologist Albert Mehrabian based on extensive laboratory
measurement of the communication between two persons,
concluded that 'only 7% of the message's effect is carried by
words, while 93% of the total impact reaches the "listener"
through non-verbal means. . . . Feelings are conveyed mainly by
non-verbal behaviour.' 33
Bhuta-suddhi
Like nyasa and mudra, the ritual of bhuta-suddhi, the 'purification
of the elements', is a great aid to the mental process of
identification. Performed prior to all tantric worship, the ritual
consists of a gradual dissolution of each of the five grosser elements
of which the body is composed into ultra-subtle primordial
sources. The ritual is carried out by reciting appropriate mantras:
'Om hrim prthivyai [earth element] hum phat'; 'Om hrim
adbhyah [water element] hum phat'; 'Om hrim tejase [fire
element] hum phat'; 'Om hrim vayave [air element] hum phat';
'Om hrim akasaya [ether element] hum phat.' These mantras act
on the mind of the adept until the material body is purified,
dissolving it mentally step by step. In the various parts of the
adept's body exist all the elements and cosmic principles.
According to the Laksmi Tantra:
The place of the earth [element] is considered to be up to the waist; the
place of the fire [element] is up to the heart. The place of the ether
[element] is up to the ears. The place of ahamkara is up to the hole [the
cavity of the mouth or the fontanelle, the hole on the crown of the head].
The place of mahat is up to the brows, and in the space [above the head] is
said to be the place of the absolute. 34
The earth element of the body is dissolved by that of water,
water by fire, fire by air, air by ether. Ether, finally, is absorbed
into the subtle principles until the source of all is reached. By the
dissolution of the five gross elements (maha-bhutas), together with
the subtle principles (tanmatras) and all the organs of senses and