Yantra- an explanation....

[Guest guest]

Folks, over the last few weeks , you have all seen the icons of the

wisdom goddesses on the group page . Each mahavidya is also shown as

being represented by A DIAGRAMMATIC REPRESENTATION CALLED yantra....

 

I just happened to read this article by Nitin Kumar in exoticindiart

and it is my pleasure to share it with you all...

 

Yantra

The Sanskrit word 'yantra' derives from the root 'yam' meaning to

sustain, or hold. Hence in metaphysical terms a yantra is visualized

as receptacle of the highest spiritual essence.

 

A Yantra is a pure geometric configuration, composed of basic primal

shapes. These shapes are psychological symbols corresponding to inner

states of human consciousness. This innate simplicity of composition

is identified with spiritual presence. The use of such elementary

shapes is not simplistic but represents the highest conception in

visual terms, because the projection of the symbol is then direct and

bold, so that even a small miniature can create a sense of

expansiveness.

 

The dynamism of tantric imagery is generated by a quest for geometric

order. A yantra represents a particular configuration whose power

increases in proportion to the abstraction and precision of the

diagram. A yantra gradually grows away from its center, in stages,

until its expansion is complete. Around the center are several

concentric figures which take part in this expansion. This concentric

architecture defines the volume of the yantra and creates a rhythmic

unity.

 

The predominant elementary forms of which yantras are constituted are

the point, line, circle, triangle, square and the lotus symbol. All

of these forms are juxtaposed, combined, intersected and repeated in

various ways to produce the desired objective.

 

The Point or Bindu

In the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad there is the metaphor of a spider

sitting at the center of its web, issuing and reabsorbing its threads

in concentric circles, all held at one point. The spider's threads

symmetrically expand into a visible circumference, but they can all

be traced back to the central point of the web.

 

Like the spider in its web, the center of the yantra is the power-

point from which the entire diagram expands, the radiating source of

energy that generates all forms. It is the divine essence out of

which proceeds the polarized world. It is called Bindu, the first

drop, which spreads unfolds, and expands into the tangible realm of

the universe. Indeed the optical focus of the yantra is always its

center, from which the force lines radiate outwards in concentric

circles and dissolve in the outer circumference. On a metaphysical

level the Bindu represents the unity of the static (male, Shiva) and

the kinetic (female, Shakti) cosmic principles, which expand to

create the infinite universe of matter and spirit. A meeting-ground

of subject and object, this is exactly the kind of spiritual oneness

that the tantra artist strives for. A region where art and artist,

creator and viewer merge into a single identity, becoming one with

the cosmos as a whole. In the final meditation on the yantra, the

Bindu is the region where the ultimate union of the aspirant with the

divine takes place.

 

For the successful creation of a yantra, the artist must look beyond

appearances and penetrate to the essence. The center, by virtue of

being a dot of zero dimensions, is visualized as the ultimate entity

beyond which a thing or energy cannot be contracted or condensed.

This infinite reservoir of collective energy is the supremely

creative nucleus, and therefore is the repository of all

manifestation. As a center, it controls everything which is projected

from it; hence it is also called MahaBindu, or the Great Point. It is

indeed the starting point of the mental quest for salvation and also

the ultimate point in this journey.

 

According to another school of logic, when a non-manifest stage of

existence becomes manifest, its manifestation must begin somewhere,

in some point of space, at some point of time. There must be an

instant when it has not yet any extension but has begun to have

location. According to this interpretation, the first instant when a

thing does not yet exist and yet has already begun is adequately

represented by the dimensionless point.

 

The Bindu thus contains within itself the two poles' (zero and

infinity) and all that lies between. Its inherent energy contains all

potentialities and all polarities. In the actual creative process,

the Bindu evolves with the help of straight lines into the trikona

(triangle).

 

The Straight Line

The straight line is composed of an unbroken series of points. These

points, moving independently, give length (without breadth) to it.

The straight line thus signifies growth and development, and like

time, consists of an infinite number of discreet points.

 

The Triangle

The triangle is the archetype symbol of a sacred enclosure, since

space cannot be bounded by fewer than three lines. The triangle is

thus conceived as the first closed figure to emerge when creation

emerged from chaos. In this aspect it is known as the root of all

manifested nature. The rhythm of creation is crystallized in this

primal form.

 

Tantra calls the triangle the cone of fire, a reference to its shape.

This is the fire of aspiration which is ever burning in the heart of

the spiritual seeker.

 

The threefold structure of the triangle is interpreted over multiple

levels. Some of these visualizations are:

 

 

 

1). Creation, Preservation, and Destruction, i.e. Brahma, Vishnu, and

Shiva.

 

2). The three tendencies: the neutral, the positive and the negative -

Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas.

 

3). The three Vedas: Rig, Yaju, and Sam.

 

4). Past, Present, and Future.

 

5). The three seasons: Spring, Summer, and Winter.

 

6). The three main pilgrimages: Prayag, Gaya, and Kashi.

 

 

When used in a yantra, a triangle is either inverted or upright. The

inverted triangle is a symbol of feminine power, the creative essence

of the universe, also known as Shakti. It is the dynamism of this

Shakti that gives rise to the creative impulse in nature. This

inverted triangle is generally the first enclosure surrounding the

infinitesimal nucleus of most yantras.

 

The triangle pointing upwards is symbolic of the male principle

(Purusha). When the two triangles penetrate each other forming a

hexagon, it symbolizes the fusion of polarities, the union of Shiva

and Shakti, male and female. This union is the cause of the

manifested universe.

 

When the triangles part at the apex, time and space cease to exist,

and all creative activity comes to a standstill. This is shown in the

hourglass shape, which is the shape of the Damaru, the drum of Shiva,

from which all rhythms of manifestation are said to have emerged.

Here it is interesting to note that Panini's treatise on the grammar

of Sanskrit, the world's most ancient grammar, states that the

Sanskrit language too has proceeded from the rhythms of Shiva's drum.

 

 

 

The Circle

The circle occurs very frequently in yantras and is derived

principally from the motion of the revolution of planets. It

symbolizes wholeness or totality and represents the principle which

has no beginning, and no end, for example time. A perfectly

symmetrical entity, equidistant from the center at all points; it

indicates the realm of radiation that proceeds from the One center.

In other words, a circumscribed field of action.

 

When used in a yantra, a circle is normally placed within a square

pattern, described next:

 

The Square

The square is the fundamental format of most yantras. There is a

significant, well thought out logic behind it. The phenomenal world

extends into four directions. These four directions represent the

totality of space, and they bind the earth in order. The square too

is the simplest and perfect manifestation of the number four, by

virtue of the four perfect, equal lines bounding its form. Hence it

is visualized as the perfect symbol to denote the terrestrial world.

This mundane, physical world is the one which must be transcended by

spiritual practice.

 

The square pattern has four gates, one in each of the cardinal

directions. They are known as cosmic doors because it is through them

that the aspirant symbolically enters the yantra. They represent the

passage from the earthly realm to the 'inner', sacred space of the

yantra. These gates are an initiatory threshold which simultaneously

opposes the phenomenal and embraces the noumenal. It is further

believed that these gateways themselves are guarded by divine forces

which protect the sacred precinct within, from negative and

disintegrating forces.

 

**********************************************************************

other learned sadhakas in this forum can elaborate on sree yantra and

its applications in sree vidya tradition... the floor is open; please

jump in!!!

 

Om sricakra-raja-nilayayaii namaha

salutations to HER who dwells in the sovereign SRI-CAKRA.... )(SREE

LALITA SAHASARANAMA MANTRA 996)

 

LOVE

[Guest guest]

i have a point of view regarding the usage of yantras and mantras

that i would like to share with all of you ....

 

YANTRA ....

 

what is the significance of an image ? a collection of lines, dots

and figures .... swami vivekananda had said that the picture of the

raja of khetri "represents" the raja himself and hence his dewan had

a great hesitation to spit on it .. thus the picture had an intrinsic

value that was more than what was represented as lines and colours.

 

i feel that this is too simplistic ... there is a deeper signifance

and it goes like this ...

 

most of us, "ordinary" people see lines and colours ... but he who

has a vision can "see" many more things in the image ....

 

let me draw a crude analogy ...

 

many of you may have seen stereoscopic images ... which seem to be a

random collection of coloured dots or wiggly lines ... however if

you stare at it long enough, a 3D image suddenly appears ... and

depending on what the creator of the stererogram has put in you could

see animals, houses, people, stars, boxes .... what not .

 

most people, with a little bit of effort can see the 3D image ...

but, and here is the catch .... , there are some people [ about 20%

of the population] who can never see the image .. apparently their

brains are wired up in such a manner that they do not have the

ability.

 

i believe that this is in a way similar to YANTRA diagrams. in this

case, nearly 95% people are wired in a manner that prevents them from

seeing the hidden pattern. the remaining 5% are the potential-mystics

or potential-siddhas ... if these individuals practice some sadhana --

equivalent to staring at stereograms for some time -- they get to

see the pattern behind the lines and colours of the YANTRA ...

 

but unfortunately they cannot show it to others [ by the way, have

you ever felt the frustration when you can see the 3D image in the

stereogram but your friend cannot see it .... and then he starts

disbelieving you !!! ... that is how mystics must be feeling !!!]

 

so my suggestion is that the YANTRA as we see it is not the YANTRA

that is seen by the mystic/siddha ... however what he sees is not

accessible to us ...

 

now to MANTRA

 

there are people who have an ear for music and there are people who

are tone deaf. hence the same music[ or noise ... depending on your

point of view !!] can bring ethereal joy to some people but will be

utterly meaningless to another ....

 

the mantra is perhaps similar ... to some it is a meaningless set of

mumbo jumbo ... but to others it has a significance that cannot be

expressed in normal words or tones .....

 

that brings us to the even larger idea of ...

 

PATTERNS ....

 

a yantra is a visual pattern, a mantra is aural pattern .. both are

sensory patterns ... there could be other sensory patterns ...

olfactory-smell [ incense ], tactile-touch [ the rubbing of bodies in

the sexual act ], taste [ sweets, prasad, drugs ..]

 

hidden in these patterns is something .... for the lack of a better

word i will call it an "image" ... and this image is the face of the

divine ... that only a few have the ability and the privilege to

experience.

 

the rest of us read about in second hand in various books and either

dismiss it is as nonsense OR wait and pray for the day when we

acquire the ability or vision to see that "image"

 

Jai Kali

 

, "adi_shakthi16" <adi_shakthi16>

wrote:

> Folks, over the last few weeks , you have all seen the icons of the

> wisdom goddesses on the group page . Each mahavidya is also shown

as

> being represented by A DIAGRAMMATIC REPRESENTATION CALLED

yantra....

>

> I just happened to read this article by Nitin Kumar in

exoticindiart

> and it is my pleasure to share it with you all...

>

 

...... deleted to save space .....

[Guest guest]

hello shivaks51, an interesting post!

 

i really enjoyed reading all your observations on Yantra and

mantra...

 

Iam reminded of a story told by Shri RAMANA MAHARISHI about the

efficacy of mantras...

 

A devotee asked, "Can anyone get any benefit by repeating sacred

syllables (mantras) picked up casually?"

 

Sri Bhagavan replied, "No, He must be competent and initiated

in such mantras". To illustrate this he told the

following story.

 

A King visited his Premier in his residence.

There he was told that the Premier was engaged in repetition of

sacred syllables (japa).

The King waited for him and, on meeting him, asked what the japa was.

The Premier said that it was the holiest of all, Gayatri.

The King desired to be initiated by the Premier but the

Premier confessed his inability to initiate him.

Therefore the King learned it from someone else, and

meeting the Minister later he repeated the Gayatri and

wanted to know if it was right.

The Minister said that the mantra was correct, but it was not proper

for him to say it.

When pressed for an explanation the Minister called to a page close

by and ordered him to take hold of the King.

The order was not obeyed.

The order was often repeated, and still not obeyed.

The King flew into a rage and ordered the same man to hold the

Minister, and it was immediately done.

The Minister laughed and said that the incident was the explanation

required by the King.

"How?" asked the King.

The Minister replied, 'The order was the same and the executor also,

but the authority was different.

When I ordered, the effect was nil whereas, when you ordered, there

was immediate effect. Similarly with mantras".

 

**********************************************************************

 

Hari Aum!

[Guest guest]

Thank you shivaks51 on your point of view with regards to the

Yantra. I definitely agree with you when you said " I feel that

this

is too simplistic ... there is a deeper signifance"

 

I have always believe that the Yantra can be associated with our Body

aura and the Earth Magnetic Field. Not only that it too somehow have

connections with the whole universe. You are right to say "YANTRA

as

we see it is not the YANTRA that is seen by the mystic/siddha ...

however what he sees is not accessible to us ..."

 

Some scholars have been trying to find the connection between the

yantras and the Egyptian pyramids. What they discover is that all the

Sri Yantras are enclosed in either circles or in squares, and that

all the base angles of the triagles is about 51°. This remind them

of

the great pyramid.

 

If you were to take the isosceles triangle of the sri yantra is

correspond with the face of the Great Pyramid in miniature. They have

the same relationship between the pi and the phi.

Kulaichev, Sriyantra and Its Mathematical Properties, Indian Journal

of history of Science, states that the constructor of such which is

able to achieve perfect intersections and vertical falling on the

circumference of the circle enclosing the triangles, would require

knowledge of higher mathematics. And he goes on to suggest that the

achievement of such perfect construction in Indian Mathematics may

indicate the existence of unknown cultural and historical

alternatives to mathematical knowledge eg the highly developed

tradition of special imagination.

 

 

OM ParaShaktiye Namaha

[Guest guest]

Yes, everything in hinduism has a deeper significance - more so in

tantra...

 

THis morning i was on im chatting with a guy and he thought i was

sweet 'sixteen' because my id adi_shakthi has 16 at the end... little

did he know that the number 16 represents the 'sixteen' petalled

lotus (sodasa dala padma) of the sri chakra yantra...

 

so, as shivak points out so eloquently , yantra will be just a

diagram to the 'uninitiated' and a mantra will be a 'mumbo-jumbo' to

a non-sadhak... but a true upasaka of sri vidya ( initiated by a sri

vidya guru)knows and realizes YANTROUPASANA IS as significant as

pratikopsana, (worship of the idol of the deity) if not more....the

sri chakra yantra is considered a 'form' of Goddess...

 

If the mantra is a revelation of the Divine mother in sounds, the

Sri yantra is the revelation of the divine mother Shakti IN LINES,

CURVES AND THEIR COMBINATIONS...

 

THE SRI CHAKRA IS A SYMBOLIC REPRESENTATION OF ALL THE FUNDAMENTAL

PRINCIPLES OF TANTRIC PHILOSOPHY AND HAS THEREFORE A UNIQUE PLACE IN

TANTRIC WORSHIP...

 

that is why in sree Llita sahasaranama. sree lalita devi is secribed

as

 

srichakraraja nilaya--as one who resides in the sri chakra yantra...

 

so, with this in mind, let me again present to you what is the

significance of Yntra as per BHAVANIOPANISHAD... (a shakta

upanishad) ...

 

The Srichakra is perhaps the most important and most widely used

symbol of the shakti cult, essentially a yantra, a geometrical

diagram representing the form and pattern of the Goddess. It consists

of a dot ( Bindu) at the center surrounded by nine triangles, of

which five have their apexes downward, and the other four upwards.

The mutual intersection of these line triangles forms forty-three

triangles in all. This is surrounded by concentric circles with eight

lotus petals and sixteen lotus petals. This again is surrounded by

three concentric circles. Finally, on the outskirts there is a square

of three lines, the lines one inside the other, opening out in the

middle of each side as four portals.

 

 

The Bindu, like a dicotyledonous seed, contains the Siva-Sakti

principle as one closely knit unit. It then gradually swells, giving

rise to the polarisation of Siva (father principle) and Sakti (mother

principle) retaining at the same time the original latent and potent

status containing the Siva-Sakti combinations. These three units form

a triangle now, as it were. This process goes on and on until it

results in the Srichakra which is representation of the supreme

consciousness in its various levels of evolution. In other words, it

thus represents the absolute in all its aspects.

 

The Srichakra can be used for permanent worship either in the form of

a yantra (two dimensional engraved figure) or a meru (three

dimensional embossed figure). The yantra can be drawn on a bhujra

leaf, or plates of copper, silver or gold. The most common material

for the meru is the pancaloha- gold, silver, copper, tin, and lead.

 

The nine abodes are the powers of the mystic gestures¹. The five

vital breaths and the five minor breaths are the ten divinities of

the outer spokes. The ten aspects of fire are the ten divinities of

the inner spokes. The qualities of cold, heat, pleasure, pain,

desire, satvam, rajas, and tamas are the eight powers in the eight

triangle enclosure. The Unmanifest, the Great, and the principle of

Ego are the divinities of the inner triangle; Kameshwari,

Vajreshwari, and Bhagamalini. Pure unconditioned intelligence is

kameshwara. The supreme divinity Lalita is one's own blissful self.

 

- Bhavanopanishad

 

**********************************************************************

 

enjoy your sunday....

 

love recognizing love

[Guest guest]

Om Adi Shakthi

 

Sri Yantra is much more than a "symbolic representation of all

the fundamental principles of Tantric philosophy" and even more

than the "revelation of the divine mother Shakti" Even though the

upward pointing triangles are considered to represent the male

principle and the downward pointing triangles are considered to

represent the female principle, the Sri Yantra goes beyond all

names and forms. Indeed, it leads one beyond all names and

forms and, in fact, disappears when that state is reached.

 

One website states, "the sacred Hindu symbol "OM", when

correctly intoned into the tonoscope (a devise that transforms

sounds into their visual representations on a screen), produces

a circle which is then filled in with concentric squares and

triangles, finally producing, as the last traces of the 'M' disappear

from the screen, the Sri Yantra." The Sri Yantra is a geometric

expression of OM and, therefore, of Brahman.

 

Recently, a person taking on of my meditation classes reported

that after using her Moksha Mantra (which, of course, started with

OM) for a few weeks, she started to "see" the Sri Yantra"

spontaneously during her meditations. She did not know about

the Sri Yantra but her description left no doubt and when

acquainted with the Sri Yantra, she agreed that this is what she

had seen. This person is new to yoga and meditation but she is

actually quite an advanced soul.

 

So the Sri Yantra can be considered as an archetypal experience

of the spiritually evolved human. Just as a dedicated sadhaka

who is an auditory learner might hear Anahata sounds, so, too,

might another committed sadhaka who is a visual learner could

see a yantra, especially the Sri Yantra. But these phenomena are

signposts to the spiritual aspirant. They are a movement away

from the concrete and the external. They assure the aspirant that

he/she is on the right track and provide encouragement for the

aspirant to continue their sadhana. But they are not the end of

the road and the aspirant must continue his/her sadhana and

move beyond all names and forms.

 

Om Namah Sivaya

 

Omprem