Yantra and Mantra
Monday, May 7, 2007
“It was a total miracle that within a week I was struck by 'lightning'
and, at the same time as hearing a mysterious, repetitive koan, a light golden
triangle was deposited in my body. This was the beginning of a series of
intense, internal experiences, all of which involved the appearance of coloured,
geometric forms. At the moment that thunder and lightning struck me down, like a
spiralling tornado sucking me into its centre, I experienced, as an observer, 'I
am that'.”
This was the result of the teachings of my first yoga teacher. He was a
versatile person who occasionally informed us of the spiritual paths other than
those connected with yoga, sometimes speaking about Zen Meditation or on other
occasions about Christianity or Transcendental Meditation. He presented
techniques from these doctrines that we could practise ourselves. I became very
attracted to the mysterious 'koan' ritual, related to Japanese Zen Buddhism,
choosing one from the many examples he gave us. Using it as a mantra during my
daily yoga practice, I repeated it continually with each asana, whilst holding
my attention on the movement of the breath. The result was impressive, yet it
was only later on that I learnt what I had really experienced.
Yantra
Only
when I came into contact with the teachings and books of Swami Satyananda in
India, in 1983, were the forms and patterns at last given a name: they were
yantras. I had experienced yantras. In fact I was yantra.
The word yantra has two roots: tra emanating from trayati, meaning
liberation, to make free, to awaken; yan, meaning instrument, something you use
in order to make something happen. Therefore, a yantra is an instrument, a key
to open up particular parts of the mind, to extend our consciousness, to make us
aware of our godliness, to make us aware of 'I am that'.
There are different kinds of yantras:
- The architechtronic yantra. Ever since prehistoric times, holy
relics, temples, churches and houses of God have been constructed according to
a yantric ground plan, with the aim of creating an energetic field wherein
visitors could calm problematic thoughts and emotions, enabling them to be
exposed to cosmic energy, in other words, godly energy. Facing towards the
east, where the sun rises, is the general rule. It is interesting to study the
maps and wind directions of temples and churches: where is the entrance, where
is the altar? An Indian medicine wheel, stone circles, the birth yantra and
the labyrinth all belong to this category. - The astrological yantra. This is intended for use with the planets,
in order to obtain knowledge about the forces that affect us. In India, nine
of the planets in the horoscope are used in order to discover what the most
auspicious and inauspicious circumstances are, for example, the best choice
for a marriage partner, the best day for a commercial transaction, which day a
journey should be avoided, etc. - The numerical yantra. This is often worn on the person as a
talisman, or lies on the place of pooja (the house altar). This yantra
contains lucky numbers or letter combinations for the person concerned.
The
yantra as instrument for meditation. This is constructed from a square with
portals forming the foundation. On the inside are circles, triangles, lotus
petals and squares, which are in themselves yantras. The yantra is created from
subtle elemental sounds, mantra, which create both name and form, bringing name
and form to life. Each yantra has a mantra, a sound that expands thought, man(as),
and liberates, tra(yati). The repetition of a mantra liberates all thoughts,
such as 'when, why, how is that possible', etc. and allows the revelation of the
highest spirit. There are countless mantras. There are godly mantras and there
are malicious mantras which unleash calamity. The effect depends on the
spiritual development of the practitioner.
Mantra yoga is a branch of yoga that gives instruction in the knowledge of
mantra. Everyone is able to repeat a mantra for themselves. This is called japa.
The singing of mantra in a group is much stronger and is called kirtan. The
practising of asana and pranayama with mudras and bandhas helps to create the
right state to repeat a mantra and to open us up to a higher consciousness, to
our higher nature.
The copying and colouring in of existing yantras is a way to create order in
our lives and to change our way of thinking, our emotions and our personality
which manifests in our relationship to the outside world. There is no chaos in
creation; usually we are the ones who make chaos. Working with yantras can open
our eyes to what lies hidden in our under- and un-consciousness. The
under-consciousness manifests itself through images and emotions, such as those
in dreams.
If we feel attracted to yantra and/or mantra it is advisable to become aware
of the regulations given to us by the wise men and rishis. It is said that it is
sensible to look for a guru, someone who has travelled through the infinite,
unmapped area of the higher consciousness, who knows the pitfalls and diversions
and who is able to show us the safe path, by giving us a personal mantra. Rather
than giving us a complex accompanying yantra, the guru usually prescribes a holy
symbol, the ishta devata, to direct the attention to while practising japa.
Shortly afterwards the symbol and the mantra form a protection for us in our
life. Everything that we need will come to us.
A few years ago, in Varanasi, I visited an exhibition dedicated to the work
of a Swiss artist. She became infatuated with India during the 1920s, deciding
to go there to live, work, write poems, paint and above all to do sculpture. She
travelled everywhere in India and Nepal, making sketches and drawings wherever
she went; upon her return to Varanasi her inspirations were converted into
sculptures. Whilst visiting the Elephanta grottoes, in Mumbai, she was overcome
by something very strange. Standing in front of a beautiful statue of Lord
Shiva, she witnessed the appearance of stars and rays of light. Using pencil and
paper, she drew what had been revealed to her: it was the form of the Shiva
Yantra. From that moment on she regarded all the holy images in another light
and discovered the pattern of the yantras. After this experience, she produced
exclusively statues of Indian gods, goddesses and yantras.
Godly
energies are manifested in anthropomorphic statues of gods and goddesses; their
characteristics, qualities and strengths depicted in the number of arms, heads,
eyes and in other attributes which they carry in the hands, or in the gesture
made by the hands (mudra). The essences of all these strengths are combined in
abstract form in a yantra.
Above all, those who are of sober character and have an interest in
mathematics are attracted to yantras. For most westerners the sweet or
bloodthirsty sword and skull carrying characters are incomprehensible. I grew up
with holy statues of the Roman Catholic tradition and view the tradition of the
statues in India as an enrichment. Through meditation, trataka on the images,
the study of the attributes that they carry and through the repetition of
mantras changes in our consciousness can take place – and I speak now from my
own experience – which normally, despite whatever therapy we follow, would take
ten lives or more to occur.
Mantra
Every mantra has a yantra and a related divinity. Knowledge of Indian
astrology (Jyotish), along with the planetary forces which exercise a negative
karmic influence upon us, is necessary in order to find the correct mantra and
yantra for us at a particular moment in time. A guru sees with the blink of an
eye the 'now' of the student. He or she knows immediately which mantra is needed
in order to process and transform past karma in the best way possible. Upon
request, the student will receive an initiation into mantra.
A mantra is a word, its effect is minimal, but when mantra initiation takes
place, the guru places a holy blessing on the mantra. This makes all the
difference. During mantra initiation, the guru brings the mantra to life and the
psychological transformation of the student commences. Afterwards it is up to
the student what he or she does with this grace.
Working with yantras is a way to unfold deeper and higher levels of
consciousness. Let us begin at the beginning: the drawing and colouring in of a
basic yantra. This is a square, possibly with portals, on which trataka can be
done. It is practical to have a sheet of white, square paper on which you can
attach a coloured folder. Make a small, black dot in the middle of the coloured
folder, on which you can direct your attention during the meditation exercise.
The square symbolizes earth and embodies all our instinctive motives and
emotions, our problems, our karma. It is our earthly arena. The problem with a
square is that it is difficult to stir into action. An earthquake must take
place in order to get it turning.
When we practise yoga we enter a process which changes our consciousness,
from being directed towards the outside world, intellect, materialism (the
western world), and this allows the square to turn on its axle. As a result our
attention becomes directed towards the inner world, wisdom and the everlasting
(the eastern world).
For example, in the Bagala-mukhi yantra the two squares go through a process
of unfolding the chakras and come to rest inside the circle of the godly lotus.
A great deal needs to happen before one gets to this stage. When someone has
succeeded in realizing this yantra within themselves, their life changes one
hundred percent.
From this basic square, the earthly arena, the forces begin to turn like the
sails of a windmill and tranquillity can be found in the heart of the lotus. The
earthly square is still present, nobody can see from the outside that the person
has changed: the same name, the same face, the same pair of glasses etc., yet
the person's life has experienced a radical revolution.
Yantras are in vogue at the moment. They are symbols of godly, cosmic forces.
They can affect us like thunder and lightning. In the western world, we have the
tendency to overindulge ourselves, jumping into things at the deep end and, as a
result, we see that yantras are sometimes misused. If I see a yantra hanging on
a toilet wall, I ask myself if this is misplaced. If somebody hangs a series of
yantras in their bedroom, I ask myself if this is wise.
Yantras belong in the place where pooja is practised – the temple in the
house, the place where yoga and meditation are practised. There is always a
curtain hanging in front of the Buddhist tangkas, which is opened during
meditation then drawn again afterwards.
My personal choice of yantra for this period in time is the Shiva Yantra,
along with its mantra Om Nama Shivaya. I consider Shiva to be the patron saint
of yoga practitioners. Shiva represents the highest godly consciousness that we
are able to attain. Also dedicated to Shiva are the Maha Mrityunjaya Yantra, and
its mantra, used for healing in the broadest sense of the word.
Sri Yantra is the highest yantra, accompanied by its mantra for Tripura
Sundari, the holy trinity, Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati, also known as kundalini,
Shakti, the creative aspect of Shiva. In Sri Yantra, the symbol of sahasrara
chakra – also known as Sri Chakra – is unity created between Shiva and Shakti,
connected with each other in eternal yoga. The mantra that accompanies Sri
Yantra is Saundarya Lahari, the beautiful, poetic mantra of Adi Shankaracharya.
I would like to end this collection of thoughts about yantra by quoting the
twenty-fifth verse of Saundarya Lahari:
Trayanam devanam triguna janitanamapi shive
bhavet puja puja tava charanayorya virachita
Tatha hi tvatpadodvahanamanipithasya nikate
sthita hyete shashvanmukulitakarottamsamukutah
O exalted one, the praise that rises to your feet
becomes like the reverence for the three gods
which are born from the three qualities,
because they will remain infinitely close to your foot-stool,
with bowed heads and folded hands.
www.yogamag.net/archives/2002/2mar02/yanman.shtml
posted by VICKY @ 9:58 AM,
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