All tantric practices, from the lowest end of the spectrum to the highest, fit into one of these three categories: kaula, mishra, and samaya; they refer to external, combined, and internal practices. There is no strict rule holding an aspirant to this sequence, but adepts usually initiate students into kaula practices first. Even before this, however, students are led through a preliminary series of practices, beginning with standard mantra meditation and followed by the tantric way of meditating on that mantra. Only then is the corresponding yantra introduced, along with the practice of
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