तन्त्रसार (महामाहेश्वर अभिनवगुप्त - तन्त्रालोक का प्रामाणिक सार-संग्रह सटीक)

lxiv cleansing himself he should take his seat facing the north, He then purifies his body, the place where he sits and the mind. Then he makes a nyāsa in its respective places with the mantra. It is followed by the show of mudrā. Then he performs dhyāna in two ways, keeping duality first and then in dual-nondual way. The worship of the deity is performed in the body, then in prāṇa, in the intellect and finally in the Vyomā ( void ). Everything is performed mentally. It is followed by japa and finally it is offered to the deity. All these are performed everyday in every sandhyā for the pur- pose of getting identification with the deity. Four sandhyās have been mentioned in chapter six. According to the author that by means of meditation during the sandhyā endless absorption ( anantatanmayībhāva ) in the Supreme comes about which in its turn gives birth to a lasting impression, with the result that all the time becomes identical with it. The worshipper should worship his deity in the sthaṇḍila. He should view it as a clear sky with the characteristic of consciousness where all the deities are shining as reflected therein. Viewing the bare open ground really signifies āvāhana ( invocation ). This practice ensures the disciple to have his identity with the desired deity and the highest mantra. Though invocation of the Lord who is all-pervading, is not possible, yet it is only the desire (vāsanā) which is invoked and drawn within. Really speaking the great Lord has neither invocation nor withdrawal ( nāvāhana visarjane ), The person who is totally absorbed in the highest mantra in the way as stated above, becomes free from the stains of animal proclivity and finally is able to put an end to all the bonds by the blow of bhakti. After that whatever remains is the most agreeable object for the worshipper.