Ritual

intelligence-stuff (mahat), into Prakriti, a gradual mental process
of involution takes place. After having thus recreated his own
body, the sadhaka acquires the capacity for proper ritual worship.
Pranayama, concentration and meditation
A significant contribution of yoga discipline to tantric ritual is the
control of psychosomatic mechanisms by the regulation of
breathing. Breath, a constant factor of personality, is a vital point
of contact between the self and the body. Pranayama (the yoga of
controlling Prana, or elan vital) is perhaps one of the oldest and
most important consciousness-amplifying techniques for controlling
the bio-motor force in the human body which manifests itself
as Prana. Controlling the breath, and thereby the 'vital airs' in the
body, is employed to purify the nerve circuits and to give vitality
Opposite: Scroll illustrating
various tantra-yoga asanas assumed
before concentration and meditation.
Rajasthan, c. 18th century.
Gouache on paper.
Diagram of the chakras in the body
of the yogi. Tamil Nadu, 19th
century. Ink and colour on paper.
143