141-143 touching the heart centre with the palm while reciting: airh hidayaya namab touching the

forehead with four fingers: orn klirn irasi svh touching the top of the head with the tip of thumb while the fingers are closed into a fist: orp sahuli fikhayai va sat claping the upper part of the arms just beneath the shoulders with hands crossed on the chest: or4i sahub kavacaya hIp touching the closed eyes with fore- and middlefingers: orp bhuvah netratroyaiya vausa placing those two fingers on the left palm: ort bhur bhuval? pha(. Mudr Another non-verbal mode of communication and selfexpression consists of repetitive gestures and finger postures known as mudrs which are connected with nysa in tantric ritual. Ritual postures of the hand provoke a subjective reaction in the mind of the adept. Mudriis are symbolic archetypal signs, based on gestural finger patterns, taking the place, but retaining the efficacy, of the spoken word. They are used to evoke in the mind ideas symbolizing divine powers or deities themselves in order to intensify the adepts concentration. The composition of the rnudrs is based on certain movements of the fingers which are highly stylized forms of gestural communication. The yoni rnudr, for example, representing Saktis ya ntra, is performed with the sole object of invokiig the divinity to bestow her energy arid infuse it into the sdhaka. A vivid description of the composition ofthe yoni rnudr is given by the goddess herself in the Laknri Tantra: Learn how the yommudra of myself who occupies the place of the gross. Stretching out the hands firmly [and] well pressed together in front I of the body], one should reverse each ringfinger over the back of the other. From their middle and base the [t o] mdcx fingers, [each] touching its base, should be nestled in front of them [the ringfingers]. The two little fingers are first placed in front of the remaining two middle [fingers], touching each others surface, while the palms arc concaved in the middle. The two thumbs should be placed in the direction of the first part of the middle fingers. Both mudrs and nylisas are external expressions of inner resolve, suggesting that such nonverbal 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 700 of the messages

effect is carried by words, while 9300 of the total impact reaches the listener through non-verbal means. . . . Feelings are conveyed mainly by nonverbal behaviour. Bhta-uddhi Like nylisa and mudr, the ritual of bhtaiuddhi, the purification of the elements, is a great aid to the mental process of identification. Performed prior to all tantric worship, the ritual consists ofa gradual dissolution of each of the five grosser elements of which the bndy is composed into ultrasubtle primordial sources. The ritual is carried out by reciting appropriate mantras: Oi hrim prthivyai [earth elementi huip pha; Oip hriip adbhyah [water element] burp pha; Orp hrirp tejase [fire element] hurp pha; Otp hrim vyave [air element] burp pha; Orp hrirp ksya [ether element] hum pha. These mantras act on the mind of the adept until the material body is purified, dissolving i mentally step by step. In tbe various parts of the adepts body exist all the elements and cosmic principles. According to the Lakinii Tantra: Tbc placc of tile earth [element] is considcrcd to be up to the waist; the place of the fire [ciemeiit[ is up to tile heart. The place of the cther I elementj is up to the cars. The place of ahai kira is up to the hole [the cavity of the month or the fontanelle, the hole n the crown ofthc head]. The place ofmabat is up to tile brows, and in the space [above the head] is said to be the place of the absolute. The earth element of the body is dissolved by that of water, xvater 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 (mahbhUtas), together with the subtle principles (taI1mitras) and all tile organs of senses and intelligence stuff (mahat), into Prakriti, a gradual mental process of involution takes place. After having thus recreated his own body, the sdhaka acquires the capacity for proper ritual worship. Praiaiyama, 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. Pryma (the yoga of controlling Prhna, or lan vital) is perhaps one of the oldest and most important consciousnessamplifying techmques for control 1mg the biomotor force in the human body which manifests itself as Pria. Controlling the breath, and thereby the vital airs in the body, is employed to purify the nerve circuits and to give vitality