Published : 12/30/2021

The power of Sri Yantra

- Categories : Sacred geometry

As you know, there are many ways to promote well-being and health, whether through diet, meditation, physical activity, etc. But you may have already heard of the Sri Yantra. A sacred symbol, a meditation and yoga tool, an energy healing tool, the Sri Yantra is all of these at once.

The Sri Yantra is a very powerful and ancient meditation tool. Its practice allows access to higher levels of consciousness and the development of psychic powers.

This sacred design, used in India for thousands of years, is a symbol of cosmic energy. It is considered the most powerful meditation tool in the world. It is also a powerful tool for personal development.

The Sri Yantra is the representation of the shape of the Universe. This sacred symbol has been used for thousands of years in meditation and yoga. But what is the Sri Yantra, and what are its properties?

The Yantras (Sri Yantras): what are they?

The Encyclopedia Universalis gives us the following definition:

Linear diagrams(geometric figures) or images with landscapes, animals, characters that the Indian tradition, both Hindu and Buddhist, uses as meditation supports

The attentive contemplation of the yantras is supposed to force the mind to concentrate on forms whose metaphysical significance the intuitive intelligence (buddhi) gradually (or instantly, depending on the school) apprehends. Most often, Tantric texts give the name maṇḍala to the more elaborate figures and yantra (a Sanskrit word meaning "instrument of mastery") to those that are more strictly geometrical

The most famous of these is the shrī yantra (śri means 'splendour', ' good fortune ', ' prosperity '). A square outer enclosure with four doors, which open to the four cardinal points, encloses a triple circle which is most often given the appearance of a lotus unfolding eight, sixteen and thirty-two petals in succession.

The central part of the figure (the heart of the lotus) has nine interlocking triangles in the manner of a " Solomon's seal ": five triangles pointing down, four triangles pointing up

Finally, the exact centre is marked by a point(bindu)

The symbolism of this set is very complex: it is essentially a representation of the Universe, with the Earth (the square), Space (the doors opening onto the orients), Heaven (the concentric circles), the unfolding of phenomenal manifestation (the petals of the lotus), the forces of life (the triangles pointing upwards represent the male principle, those with the pointing downwards represent the female element); finally, the transcendence of the absolute (the brahman) is suggested by the central point.

Knowledge of this symbolism is obtained through the practice of dhyāna ("meditation," one of the most advanced stages of yoga), which is learned under the guidance of a guru ("spiritual master"), after the adept has received initiation from him

The yantras are therefore neither "auspicious signs" nor amulets, although some Indians tend to use them as such; as the name indicates (the word is formed from the root yam, "to master", "to tame"), they are means, tools enabling the adept to practice perfect meditation through which he will succeed in awakening in himself thespiritual energy (shakti) whose union with his soul (ātman) constitutes salvation

The yantras are innumerable, but all include the basic geometric figures: square, circle, triangle; whatever their complexity, they all serve the same purpose and mark with their seal the art of India, Nepal, Tibet, including architecture (where many temples are built on plans that are, in fact, yantras).

Meaning and symbolism of the Shri Yantra

In Hinduism, a yantra symbolizes a truth, a quality of the world: Universal love, the supreme truth, ... It is a visual support used in meditation just as the mantra is a vocal support. Meditating on a yantra is said to give access to the unity with the concept that is linked to it. The shapes of which it is composed, triangles, squares, circles, convey conscious contents through their known meaning, but they also call upon unconscious psychic structures. These compositions of proportioned and centered geometric signs are not unlike mandalas.

Thus, in traditional Indian mystical symbolism, the meaning of these geometrical figures is as follows:

- The point, Bindu, energy, centre where creation takes place (in Tantrism, the bindu is also a chakra);
- The equilateral triangle points downwards, Shakti Kona, feminine aspect, water;
- The equilateral triangle points upwards, Shiva Kona, masculine aspect, fire;
- The circle, Chakra, air;
- The square, Bhupura (or Bhur in Sanskrit), earth;
- The lotus flower, Padma, purity.

A yantra is always circumscribed in a globally square structure.

Symbolism of the point (Bindu)

The point is the simplest and most abstract graphic symbol. By geometric definition it is infinitely small. It represents the first stage of the manifestation of the creative energy when it is applied in the world of form.

From the first point of manifestation, the creation develops towards a later and more complex phase, just as the circle or the sphere develops in relation to its central point, in the plane or space.

In Sanskrit, bindu means a point in a two-dimensional plane, but also a drop in a three-dimensional space.

It is the first manifestation that arises from the perfect void.

Bindu is always the starting point for the construction of yantras or mandalas, which are graphic projections used, among other things, to focus the concentration of a meditator.

Each yantra is the artistic creation symbolizing the process of manifestation of the Divine plane. The yantra is created in the formal world from that bindu point which is the center, and it manifests from the perfect void through that first point.

The meditator focuses his attention on it to enter the yantra and access the Divine plane which is below its manifestation.

This point is a doorway between dimensions. It is therefore both the beginning of a manifestation of the uncreated towards form and the end of a process of inner integration of form towards the spiritual plane.

Indian women draw a dot between their eyebrows or stick a small round stone, called a bindu, to symbolize their third eye, the eye of knowledge which allows them to cross the illusory veil of material duality and access the contemplation of the Divine plan.

Symbolism of the 9

The Sri Yantra is a tantric meditation diagram consisting of nine triangles intertwined around a central point, the bindu. The 4 triangles pointing upwards represent Shiva with his energy rising. The 5 triangles pointing down represent Shakti or Lalitā with her energy descending. It is a pair of opposites (similar to the Taoist concept of yin-yang) united in the bindu. As it has nine triangles, it is sometimes called Navayoni Chakra.

The nine triangles are intertwined and form 43 small triangles in a symbolic network of the entire cosmos or a symbolic matrix of creation. Together they express Advaita or non-duality. When we go outside, we see that the triangles are surrounded by a lotus flower of eight petals, then another one of sixteen petals, and a square symbolizing the Earth and resembling a square temple with four doors (one at each side).

As a medium of meditation it should lead the practitioner to an acute sense of detachment from all contingencies and the veil of mâyâ (metaphysical illusion)

From the outside in, these nine levels are :

Trailokya Mohana or Bhupara, a square with 3 lines along the perimeter and 4 doors (one in the middle of each side)

Sarva Aasa Paripuraka, a lotus flower with 16 petals

Sarva Sankshobahana, a lotus flower with 8 petals

Sarva Saubhagyadayaka, a set of 14 small triangles

Sarva Arthasadhaka, a set of 10 small triangles

Sarva Rakshakara, a set of 10 small triangles

Sarva Rogahara, a set of 8 small triangles

Sarva Siddhi prada, a single small triangle

Sarva Anandamaya, the central point or bindu

How to use the Sri Yantra ?

As with all sacred geometry symbols, here are some possible uses for this yantra:

To energize and harmonize: your water, your minerals and the places.

But it is true that this symbol is so much used in the meditative practice, that you will naturally be led to use it especially for that.

1. For meditation, sit comfortably in front of your Sri Yantra board. This symbol is a door with a key in the centre.
2. Breathe in quietly to create an inner peace for this journey to the centre of yourself.
3. Focus your attention on the central point that created this geometric figure.
4. Little by little your mind begins its journey beyond the image and the symbol.

It is important to know that mantras and yantras are frequently used in the practice of yoga.

Raja Yoga has eight stages, the first of which gradually transform the life, body and mind of the practitioner. Concentration, called Dhyana in India, is the sixth stage of this yoga. The practice of concentration uses many supports: mantras, yantras (or various sacred images), posture, breathing, music, etc. Each culture or religion uses its specificity in the practice of yoga.

Each culture or religion uses its own specificity or its own mantra. This means that there are many concentration techniques in the world.

Concentration prepares the mind for the next step, meditation, by controlling the flow of thoughts. At this seventh stage there are no more techniques. Meditation is universal. After refining a state of inner silence, an awakening can suddenly arise in the consciousness.

The Sri Yantra and its beneficial actions

While doing my research for this article, I discovered an article praising the merits of this symbol on the brain.

To see the full article it is here: https: //www.conferenceplus.fr/article-sri-yantra-cerveau

And to download it click here.

Here is an extract.

Studies have shown that due to the properties of Sri Yantra, it can be successfully used for the formation of specific psycho-physiological states, or for the selection of individuals with the required type of nervous system organization. It has also been shown that Sri Yantra can cause the activation of the right dominant hemisphere of the brain, inhibiting the left, which is commonly used to achieve "mystical" states of consciousness in certain religious schools and practices.

Sri Yantra has very complex geometrical properties. However, it is also associated with the deep and precise interpretation of cosmogony and psychophysiology. This duality implies the main idea of the close relationship between the microcosm and the macrocosm in Tantrism.

It combines a range of properties that are responsible for specific physiological effects and are widely used in modern therapeutic techniques.

To verify the discussed hypotheses, the Faculty of Biology of the Moscow State University, Ministry of Higher Nervous Education, organized an experimental study (under the direction of D.M.Ramendik-rus.) in which, the subjects (volunteers) had at their disposal the color image of Sri Yantra, and asked them to fix their gaze on the various elements of yantra, on the command of the experimenter (duration of each fixation was 1 minute). As control images, three images were used (Figure 1.): concentric circles, made at appropriate levels of the Sri Yantra, rays converging to the center, and a colored pattern obtained by mixing elements of the Sri Yantra in on a random uniform plane (pseudo-yantra).

The purpose of these presentations was to test the participants' reactions to certain elements of the Sri Yantra architecture. These reactions can have a decisive importance of the stimulus. For the purity of the experiment the subjects concerned were not familiar with relaxation and meditation techniques, and they were not informed either about the nature of any image placed, or about the purpose of the experiment

In all these experiments, the reaction on the Sri Yantra was radically different in nature and intensity from the reaction to the control image. In this case, two diametrically opposed phenomena were observed. For some of the subjects the Sri Yantra produced a calming effect, and they were characterized by the rapid resumption of the alpha rhythm, indicating a decrease in the level of arousal and the decrease in human contact with the external environment.

In other subjects, who were irritated by the Sri Yantra, there was a strong inhibition of the alpha rhythm, as in an "excited" (stimulated) stress state, with intense eye movement, despite the experimenter's insistence on concentration. Table 1 shows the average percentage of alpha rhythm in the resting/closed eyes experiment during the presentation of the images, and with the eyes closed after the Sri Yantra presentation.

I let you download the article if you want to know more about this study.

How to draw the Sri Yantra?

First of all, here is the material you need to draw a Sri Yantra:

- A compass;
- A pencil and eraser;
- A black pen;
- An A3 sheet of paper;
- A square;
- A ruler;

And here is a link that will guide you step by step to build your Shri Yantra: http://sg.mandala.free.fr/sri_yantra/sri_yantra.pdfEt to finish a video tuto

Sri Yantra to print and color

We offer you a free downloadable Shri Yantra template here.

We are coming to the end of this article. I hope you enjoyed it

Feel free to comment, share and subscribe to our newsletter to be informed of future releases.