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In actual practice a Yantra is a symbolic representation
of aspects of divinity, usually the Mother Goddess. It
is an interlocking matrix of geometric figures,
typically circles, triangles and floral patterns that
form fractal patterns of great elegance and beauty.
Though drawn in two dimensions, a Yantra is supposed to
represent a three dimensional object. Three-dimensional
Yantras are now becoming increasingly common. The Yantra
is primarily a meditation tool both for serious
spiritual seekers as well as sculptors in the classical
tradition.
 Before creating their artifact in wood, stone
or metal, they draw up a Yantra that represents the
attributes of the god they wish to sculpt. Intense
meditation upon it causes the fully formed image to leap
into the mind's eye with an intensity that is remarkable
for its imprinting ability, for then they do not need to
use a sketch till the completion of the image. Yantras
are also used for more mundane purposes, to enhance the
quality of life, to attract prosperity and abundance,
even love, to heal and relieve health problems, to
protect oneself from negative forces and so on.
The Yantra is mistakenly thought to be a symbol purely
of the manifold aspects of the Mother Goddess. This is
an understandable error as most Yantras are indeed
connected to the Goddess the most famous one being the
Sri Yantra, an abstract representation of the Mother
(and Father too!) as Cosmos. This Sri Yantra is commonly
misunderstood to represent Laxmi, goddess of fortune,
but it is more true to say it includes and transcends
every notion of divinity ever conceived by the Indian
spiritual imagination. However there are Yantras for
Ganesha and Kubera too, male deities, though they share
a common Yaksha origin with Laxmi. The Yaksha were the
original chthonic deities of India and the Yantra system
seems to have been incorporated into the Vedic worldview
at a later stage.
Within the body of the more complex Yantras are
inscribed the monosyllabic mantras, the bija or seed
mantras, that are supposed to constitute the spiritual
body of the goddess or god. The design always focuses
the attention onto the center of the Yantra, usually a
dot or bindu, which is the Locus Mundi, the center of
all things and represents the Unmanifested Potential of
all creation. The other figures usually symbolize the
various stages within the unfolding of creation. Thus,
every Yantra is a symbolic representation of both the
deity as well as the universe, as the mother goddess not
only permeates the substance of the universe, she is,
literally, the Universe itself. Abstract geometric
representations of the universe, which do not represent
a diety, are called mandalas, however. Thus every Yantra
is a mandala, though not all mandalas are Yantras.
In ancient texts, Lord Shiva is supposed to have
explained the mystical meaning of the Yantra to his
consort, the Goddess Parvati thus, "The Yantra is as
essential to a god as oil is to the oil lamp or as a
body is to a living human being". Yantras are
constructed on the immutable laws of sacred geometry,
being symbolic representations of the energy patterns of
a deity and are the most powerful 'centering' devices
for harnessing the divine energies. The Yantra is
actually more powerful than an image of god which, to be
energized, needs a Yantra to be affixed at its base or
back anyway! A Yantra always has a mantra associated
with it. Just as the mind is a part of yet different
from the body, so is the mantra from the Yantra. The
mantra is the mind consciousness while the Yantra is the
form of the deity.
 There are four basic types of Yantras:
Yantras of deities, of which the most prominent are the
Shakta Yantras (these are usually forms of the Great
Mother or the Mahavidyas- 'Sources of supreme
knowledge');
Astrological Yantras (used to harness the energies of
the nine major planets);
Architectural Yantras (used for the ground plans of
temples); and, the Numerical Yantras (comprising select
combinations of numbers which serve as talismans).
Yantras, besides fulfilling their basic purpose, can
help you prosper in your business or career and also
help bestow good health, wealth, happiness and success
upon you. |
