Ritual

uilt up in stages during the entire process of meditation. The first
sort provides an immediate model to the adept for identification,
while in the second his concentration progresses gradually, along
with the construction of the image, until it is completed.
Yantras are of various kinds, representing deities like Siva,
Vishnu, Krishna, Ganesa, and various manifestations of Sakti such
as Kali, Tara, Bagala, Chinnamasta; each has its corresponding
yantras. In some yantras, the sound equivalents of the deities are
symbolically represented by the Sanskrit seed syllables inscribed in
the spaces within the pattern: 'Twofold is the aspect of Divinity,
one, subtle, represented by the mantra, and the other, gross,
represented by an image' (Yamala). The mantric syllable
symbolizes the essence of divinity. Other yantras do not represent
deities but are emblems of an energy pattern of the cosmos and are
worshipped for various purposes, mainly for the attainment of
spiritual enlightenment. It must be emphasized, however, that, of
whatever type they may be and for whatever purpose they are
invoked, yantras are usually represented in pure geometrical
abstraction. The predominant elementary forms of which yantras
are constituted are the point, line, circle, triangle, square and the
lotus symbol; all of these forms are juxtaposed, combined,
intersected and repeated in various ways to produce the desired
objective.
Thus it is clear that the tantrikas dispensed with conventional
ideas of the dynamics of form, and concentrated instead on another
aspect. They had recourse to the explanation of primordial forces
and vibrations in order to understand the hidden logic behind
phenomena, so that in tantric abstraction, form is seen in the
context of its origin and genesis, in terms of the basic impulse
which has shaped it. In this way, for example, tantra regards
vibration as a primary cosmogenic element which gives rise to all
structures and movement. If we could penetrate the reality behind
appearances, ostensibly static structures could be seen as vibrational
patterns, which are often illustrated in series of tantric paintings. As
movement increases, form is condensed into a 'whole' which is
represented as a mathematical point of zero dimension. When the
movement decreases, currents and eddies are set in motion and
form becomes more differentiated; the bindu begins to evolve into
a primary geometrical shape till the multiple spaces interpenetrate,
overlap, collide and generate energy to form the whole pattern.
The diagrams of tantra art which reveal expansion and contraction
of forces in the ongoing process of creation could aptly be termed
forms where energy is represented as immobilized.
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