What
is a Yantra?
Yantra literally means "support" and "instrument".
A Yantra is a geometric design acting as a highly efficient
tool for contemplation, concentration and meditation. Yantras
carry spiritual significance : there is a specific meaning
that pertains to higher levels of consciousness.
The Yantra provides a focal point that is a window into the
absolute. When the mind is concentrated on a single, simple
object (in this case a Yantra), the mental chatter ceases.
Eventually, the object is dropped when the mind can remain
empty and silent without help. In the most advanced phases,
it is possible to attain union with God by the geometric visualization
of a Yantra.
The
Yantra is like a microcosmic picture of the Macrocosm. It
is a focusing point and an outer and inner doorway. The Yantras
are often focused on a specific deity and so by tuning into
the different Yantra you can tap into certain deities or creative
force centers in the universe.
Yantra
are usually designed so that the eye is carried into the center,
and very often they are symmetrical. They can be drawn on
paper, wood, metal, or earth, or they can be three-dimensional.
The most celebrated Yantra in India is the Sri Yantra, the
Yantra of Tripura Sundari. It is a symbol of the entire cosmos
that serves to remind the practitioner of the nondifference
between subject and object.
How
do Yantras work ?
At the basis of Yantra operation is something called "shape
energy" or "form energy". The idea is that
every shape emits a very specific frequency and energy pattern.
Examples of old believes in shape energy are the Yantras and
mandalas of eastern philosophies, the star of David, the five
pointed star (pentagon), the Christian cross, the pyramids
and so on. Certain 'powers' are ascribed to the various shapes.
Some have 'evil' or negative energies and some 'good' or positive
energies, but in Yantra Yoga only the benefic and harmonious
energies are used.
When
one focuses on a Yantra, his mind is atomatically "tuned
in" by Resonance into the specific form energy of that
Yantra. The process of Resonance is then maintained and amplified.
The Yantra acts only as a "tune in" mechanism or
a doorway. The subtle energy does not come from the Yantra
itself, but from the Macrocosm.
Basically
Yantra are secret keys for establishing Resonance with the
benefic energies of the Macrocosm. Very often the Yantras
can put us in contact with extremely elevated energies and
entities, being of invaluable help on the spiritual path.
Yantras
are poorly known in the Occident
At this moment, there is little known about Yantras in the
Western world. Many people consider them just pretty pictures
and some artists claim to draw "Yantra" from their
imagination. They are very far from the true meaning and use
of Yantra. First of all, Yantras cannot simply be invented
from imagination. Every specific mood and emotion has an associated
form energy and shape. This unequivocally determines the form
of the Yantra associated to that mood. The traditional Yantras
were discovered through revelation, by clairvoyance, not invented.
One needs to be a true spiritual master, a tantric guru, to
be able to reveal a new Yantra to the world.
Search
the Internet and the libraries and you will find very little
consistent knowledge about Yantras. Some people place Yantras
upside down, a monument of their ignorance. You cannot place
a Yantra just any way you please. Anyone knows that when the
cross is held upside down, it is no longer a benefic symbol.
A Yantra put upside down is no longer the same Yantra.
(Continued
- Yantras pt 2)
More
about Yantra's
(Shri
Yantra Mandala)
(Shri
Yantra Mandala - what is it?)
(Shri
Yantra Mandala Meditation)
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