Conclusion

The Conclusion examines the conception of the body in medieval India. This body was vulnerable to demons and reliant on deities for its continued existence. For the Tantric practitioner, the divinized body is part of a psychophysical organism. The protective rites of the Netra Tantra reveal that the name of an individual overcome with illness works as a ritual substitute for that person. This is not to say that the physical body of the person is not important. The body is central to ritual practice. When the mantrin places the mantra upon the body (nyāsa), he creates a Tantric body that itself becomes a ritual tool. The body and the mantra become fused. This allows the mantra to heal the body.