Ritual

IX A practising Tantrika from
northern India with the Saiva's
symbol on his forehead.
X Chakras or psychic centres in
the etheric body of the yogi. The
energy centres are points of contact
between the psychic and the
physical body. Of the thirty chakras
mentioned in the texts, the
principal seven from bottom
upwards are: Mulddhara,
Svadishthana, Manipura,
Andhata, Visuddha, Ajna and
finally Sahasrara, conceived to be
above the head.
XI A Tantrika aspirant in the
foothills of the Himalayas.
XII Hanuman Yantra. Diagram
of Hanuman, the great devotee of
Lord Rama in all his magnificence
and power, with inscriptions and
symbols. Rajasthan, c. 18th
century. Ink and colour on paper.
Nyasa.
136
of the universe' (Ratnasara). When the adept accepts his
subjectivity as a thinking, feeling, willing individual, he does not
limit himself to mental concepts but lives in an existential
awareness of his concrete physical entity which is animated in
concert with the psychic forces moving it.
In tantras, the body is considered an assemblage of five kosas, or
'sheaths', in order of decreasing density. They are, first, the
tangible physical body (Annamaya); the second is life breath, the
sheath of vital air (Pranamaya); the third and the fourth sheaths,
still more subtle, are the cognitive processes (Manomaya and
Vijnanamaya); finally, the sheath of bliss (Anandamaya), the
subtlest of all, is identified with the eternal element of joy in man.
Thus, the psychic and physical are interdependent since each makes
the other more possible.
It is possible to be alienated from the body - to be unaware of its
potencies, to reject and negate it completely - but its fullest
appreciation will call for an awareness of it as a fact of nature. Since
the body is the link between the terrestrial and cosmic, it is as it
were a 'theatre', in which the psycho-cosmic drama is enacted. A
positive and receptive attitude towards the body is a precondition
to sadhana. The adept must identify with his body and transform
it, for his body is the concrete expression of his psyche
characterized by its own rhythm and structure. As a material
extension of psychic expression the body glows, radiates and
animates in the joy of being itself. It is not surprising, therefore,
that the tantrikas evolved a system of psycho-physical culture,
comprising various kinds of physical posture and gestural body
techniques, a body language to render the body obedient to the
will in order to animate ritual.
Nyasa
In the ritual known as nyasa, parts of the body are sensitized by
placing the fingertips and palms of the right hand on various
sensory awareness zones. A common practice is to accompany each
placing of the fingers on the body with a mantra, so that with the
mantra's powerful resonance the adept may gradually project the
power of divinity into his own body. The tantrikas believe that the
flesh must be 'awakened' from its dormancy, and this rite
symbolically 'puts' the power of the vast pantheon of divinities
into the various organs of the body. The most popular form of
nyasa, known as sadanga-nyasa, is performed by touching various
parts of the body in the following manner: