Yantra a Sanskrit word means ' an apparatus' it
is a mystic diagram composed of geometric and alphabetic
figures--usually etched on small plates of gold, silver or
copper. These are also made in three dimensions in stone or
metal.
The
purpose of a Yantra is to focus spiritual and
mental energies, to improve health, wealth, childbearing or the
invoking of one God or another. It is usually installed near or
under the temple Deity. The temple Yantra is a magnificent
three-dimensional edifice of light and sound in which the devas
work. On the astral plane, it is much larger than the temple
itself. It is made is such a way that the male and female energy
patterns of he universe interact and produce a high level
spiritual energy. It is one of the deepest secret of ancient
Hindus and many parts of the texts dealing with these diagrams
of energy are lost for mankind . Yantra has
also been defined as a visual mantra i.e., it is able to create
the vibrations and other mystic effects of a Mantra by sight.

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 Yantras you can tap into certain deities or
creative force centers in the universe.

Yantras 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.

The Power of Yantras
to induce RESONANCE is based on the
SPECIFIC FORM of its appearance. Such a diagram can be
composed from one or more geometrical shapes which combine into
a precise model representing and transfiguring in essence, at
the level of the physical universe, the subtle sphere of force
corresponding to the invoked deity. From this point of view we
can argue that the Yantra functions similarly to a
MANTRA (sacred word).

By RESONANCE, a certain energy
from the practitioner's MICROCOSM vibrates on the same
wavelength with the corresponding infinite energy present in the
MACROCOSM, energy which is represented in the physical plane by
the Yantra. The principle of RESONANCE with any deity, cosmic
power, aspect, phenomenon or energy owes its universal
applicability to the perfect correspondence existing between the
human being (seen as a true MICROCOSM) and the Creation as a
whole (MACROCOSM).

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