This appellation reflects the T ̄antric conception of constant motion
within the cosmos. A dancer, through ritual gestures (mudras ̄ ), becomes
attuned to, and manifests, the rhythms of the cosmos, thus instantiating
(for self and for those witnessing the dance) the primordial oneness of self
and Brahman. This function of ritual dance is religiously therapeutic:
dance serves to restore well-being by permitting direct experience of—
and thus knowledge of—the relation of self with the sacred. Religious
dance has therapeutic properties in the psychophysical domain as well.
For the better expression of mood and meaning, a dancer utilizes the
yogic practices of breath control (pr ̄aÓnay ̄ama) and postures (asana ̄ ) to
gain calmness of mind, physical fitness, and flexibility.
Music, too, is a manifestation of the cosmic Íakti. The N ̄ada-
bindupaniÓsad, which instructs about the yogic liberative practice of lis-
tening to the ‘inner sound’, articulates the value of sound for developing
meditative concentration:The mind, the snake abiding in the hole of the interior of the body,
caught by (the snake-charmer of) sweet sound, completely forgetting the
world, does not run anywise, becoming one-pointed.^70The ‘inner sound,’ n ̄ada, is one of the levels of the manifestation of
sabda-brahman ́ , or the Absolute as Sound. Nada ̄ is supra-sensuous
sound, audible only with sufficient meditative effort and purification of
the nad ̄ıs or nerve currents. The Yoga- ́sikhopaniÓsaddistinguishes four
forms of sabda-brahman ́. The most subtle is para- ́sabdaor supreme
sound, associated with the mul ̄ adh ̄ ara ̄ or root cakra. Next is pa ́syanti-
sabda ́ , ‘visible sound,’ by means of which yogins see the universe. It is as-
sociated with the anahata cakra ̄ of the heart area. An ̄ahata means
‘unstruck,’ and refers to self-generating sound. Pa ́syanti- ́sabdais also
known as an ̄ahata, sound that does not issue from material vibration.
The unstruck sound is heard as the praÓnava, that is, the sacred sound
Om, which is according to the Yoga-s ̄utras, the designator of Î ́svara. The
third form of sabda-brahman ́ is madhyama- ́sabda, ‘middle sound,’ desig-
nating the forty-nine sounds of the Sanskrit alphabet. Finally, the coars-
est form of sound is vaikhara- ́sabda, ‘manifest sound,’ whose manifesta-
tion is speech.^71 Tantra, even with its emphasis on the body, recommends
silent recitation of mantra. This attests to the strength of the Indian incli-
nation to transcend or sublimate physicality. Both ‘inner’ and ‘outer’
sound are important in Tantra, but in the context of body and religious-
ness, physically audible sound—particularly in the form of sacred
music—is important in Tantra’s aesthetic therapeutics.
156 religious therapeutics