Ritual

The Kundalini Sakti, symbol of
coiled up psychic energy.
Illuminated manuscript page.
Rajasthan, c. 18th century.
Gouache on paper.
66
as 'liberation through sight'. The act of seeing, which is analogous
to contemplation, is in itself a liberating experience. In earlier
times, mineral and vegetable pigments, such as crushed gemstones,
rock, gold, silver, turquoise, lapis lazuli, etc. were used for
paintings; contemporary artists use gouaches which give their
work a brighter appearance but lose the subtle colours and tones of
earlier works. During festivals and ceremonies in India, popular
forms of mandalas, drawn and coloured in a variety of decorative
patterns, are often made on floors and walls. They are also traced in
miniature, simple forms by women on their palms as auspicious
signs and for protective purposes.
In the West, the mandala as an archetype released from the
primordial collective unconscious is much discussed in the works
of C. G.Jung, who studied it as a basic therapeutic art form created
by patients in their quest for self-realization. In this respect, the
mandala is a psychological representation of psychic totality and
suggests a form of stability in the process of individuation,
unifying opposite forces in the psychic matrix to form the totality
of an integrated personality. Such individual mandalas contain an
unlimited variety of symbols and contents, whereas ritual
mandalas are restricted to defined styles and motifs. Another such
similarity exists between mandalas and the Navajo sand-paintings
used for ritual healing. In the latter, the basic structure is quite
similar: the circle indicates the centre of the cosmos, around which
at various points are drawn symbols designating elements, the
seasons and the four directions, the outer periphery and the inner
motif being mutually inter-dependent.
By extension, the universality of the holistic concept of the
mandala can be observed in organic nature and human consciousness
alike. From atom to star, each particle's structure represents a
wholeness in potentiality which becomes manifest in space and
time relative to its nature. It is possible that the inspiration to
portray the cosmos in the art form of a mandala came from this
basic source.
The Subtle Body and its Representation
In the symbology of tantric art, the structures of the various
psychic centres in the subtle body are represented in lotus forms
known as chakras, and the paths of the energy currents are mapped
visually in the form of spirals. These are known from both
miniature paintings and scrolls. Whereas the mandalas and yantras
are ritual motifs with a utilitarian value to the adept, these