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THE LAMB, THE HERO, AND THE MAN-GOD
The Lamb, the Ilcro, and the Man-God
"NO ONE who is not himself divine may (successfully) worship the divinity (nādevo devain arcayet).” 33 "Having becoine the deity, one should offer sacrifice to it (devam bhūlvā devam yajet).” 84 The identity of the hidden nature of the worshiper with the god worshiped is the first principle of the Tántric philosophy of devotion. The gods are reflexes in space (which is itself the work of Māyā-Sakti) of that sole reality, Brahman, which is the Sahui of the devotee. Knowing his own Soil, then, to be his object of devotion, the Tāntric sādhaka approaches the Goddess in worship (pūjā), through the meditative muttering of prayers (japa: the recitation of the litany of her names), the unrelenting verbal repetition (again japa) of sacred formulae (muntra: word-sounds which contain her essence), the making of mental and external offerings (homa), and one-pointed meditation on her inner vision (ilhyāna). He could never hope to experience the final identity if he were not already convinced and aware of it from the first. Meanwhile, to support his preliminary approach, he sets before his eyes and mind an image (pratīka, pratimā) of the deity. This may be a statue, painting, symbol of some kind, or yantra; 85 in special cases it may be a living
B8 Gandharva Tantra. 84 Ib.
Editor's note: I have not been able to procure copies of some of the Tantric texts cited in this chapter, hence cannot give for them precise references.
36 A yantra is a geometrical diagram. For a description of its preparation and use, cf. Zimmer, Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization, pp. 140-148.
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