More on Yantras

[Guest guest]

Dear Miss

 

Thank you for this immense Knowlege of Yantra

 

Is seldom that we see all this in one place

 

Aum NamaSivaya Sivaya Nama Aum

 

DharmaDev

Syzenith <syzenith <syzenith

<>

Saturday, December 28, 2002 11:47 AM

More on Yantras

 

 

Namaste Friends,

 

Also from the same source:

http://www.mysticindia.com/yantra/types.htm

 

Concept of Yantra

===================

 

The Sanskrit word 'Yantra' derives from the root 'yam' meaning

to sustain, hold or support the energy inherent in a particular

element, object or concept. In its first meaning, 'yantra' may refer

to any kind of mechanical contrivance which is harnessed to aid an

enterprise.

 

A yantra in this sense, therefore, is any sort of machine or

instrument such as is used in architecture, astronomy, alchemy,

chemistry, warfare or recreation. A Sanskrit text of the eleventh

century AD, Samaranganasutradhara on the science of architecture,

gives vivid descriptions of the making and operating of such

mechanical yantras as a wooden flying bird, wooden aeroplanes meant

to fly with hot mercury as fuel, male and female robot figures, etc.

The vast observatories built in Delhi and laipur under the patronage

of Jai Singh (1686-1734) are called Jantar-Mantar, as their massive

structures are astronomical 'instruments' (yantras) for recording

heavenly phenomena.

 

The meaning of the term yantra has been expanded to refer to

religious enterprises, and has acquired a special theological

significance. Mystic yantras are aids to and the chief instruments of

meditative discipline. Basically a yantra used in this context and

for this purpose is an abstract geometrical design intended as

a 'tool' for meditation and increased awareness.

 

 

Principles of Yantra

=====================

 

Mystic yantras are an amalgam of three principles:

1. The form principle (Akriti-rupa),

2. The function-principle (Kriya-rupa), and

3. The power-principle (Sakti-rupa).

 

They are, first of all, believed to reveal the inner basis of

the forms and shapes abounding in the universe. just as, whatever the

outer structure, all matter is made of an intrinsic basic unity, the

atom, so each aspect of the world can be seen in its structural form

as a yantra. As the scientist sees the final picture of the world in

the orderly, simple, atomic structures in which certain primal shapes

appear as a harmonized 'whole', so the Indian shilpi-yogins (makers

of ritual art) seek to identify the innermost structure of the

universe by concentrating the variegated picture of world-appearances

through intense yogic vision into simple form-equations. A yantra,

then, can be considered an ultimate form-equation of a specific

energy manifesting in the world. These simple form-equations are held

to epitomize the real nature of the cosmos as abstracted from the

concrete.

 

In its widest application, Akriti-rupa refers to the inner or

hidden form of structures, so that any structure, from an atom to a

star, has its Akriti-rupa yantra. Thus a flower or a leaf has an

outer structure which is immediately perceptible, but it also has an

inner form, which generally consists of a skeletal framework in which

all its linear forms intersect with a central axis or nucleus: all

forms have a gross structure and a 'subtle' inner structure, with a

basic causal pattern (the inner form) for the external form.

 

Yantras function as revelatory symbols of cosmic truths and as

instructional charts of the spiritual aspect of human experience. All

the primal shapes of a yantra are psychological symbols corresponding

to inner states of human consciousness, through which control and

expansion of psychic forces are possible. It is for this reason that

a yantra is said to embody a 'function-principle' (Kriya-rupa).

 

By constant reinforcement in ritual worship the apparently inert

yantra-forms shake off their dormancy and act together as emblems of

psychic power. In this case, the yantra is said to move beyond 'form'

and 'function' and emerges as a 'power diagram' (Sakti-rupa) endowed

with a self-generating propensity to transform a mundane experience

into a psychic one. It is at this point that the yantra is said to

be 'revealed'. Although its outward meaning may be relatively easy to

understand, the inner meaning that gives it its efficacy is difficult

to grasp because its archetypal forms are basically concerned with

the inner facts of psychic experience, gained through intuitive

vision.

 

-

 

Varities and Types of Yantra

==============================

 

Yantras that represent any form of the Divine Mother are called

Shakta Yantras.

 

Vaishnava Yantras

 

Vaishnava yantras are related to Vishnu and do not belong to the

Mother-worshiping Shakta tradition. They include Ram Yantra, Vishnu

Yantra, Shri Gopal Yantra, and Hunuman Yantra. In most cases their

forms are identical to some of the Shakta Yantras, but the colors

differ. This is also true of the Shaiva Yantras.

 

Shaiva Yantras

 

Shaiva Yantras are related to Shiva and the Shaiva tradition:

Bhairav Yantra, Maha Mrityunjaya Yantra, and Mritsanjivni Yantra

 

Architectural Yantras

 

Architectural yantras are used for the ground plans of temples.

They also include Mandala Yantras and Chatra Yantras. Mandala Yantras

are to be engraved on the roof and Chatra Yantra on the top of the

seat of the goddess.

 

Astrological Yantras

 

Astrological yantras are used in working with the energy of the

nine planets: Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu

(the north node of the moon, known as Dragon's Head), and Ketu (the

south node of the moon, known as Dragon's Tall).

 

Numerical Yantras

 

Numerical yantras are composed not of basic geometrical forms

but of numbers. Some of them are composed as magic squares and are

used as talismans. The yantras composed by numbers are most popular

and are used by Tantrics for all kinds of purposes.

 

The yantras composed of geometrical forms are divided into two

categories:

 

Bij Mantra Yukta: Those yantras in which the bij sound is engraved or

written in the center.

 

Mantra Varna Yukta: Those yantras in which the Sanskrit letters are

put in an order to create the mantra. In this type of yantra the

alphabet can be arranged in bhupur (square form) or in the circular

petals form; in the center is the Bij Mantra.

 

Then there are numerical yantras classed according to their forms:

 

Bhu-Prashtha Yantras: Engraved or drawn on a flat surface.

 

Meru-PrashthaYantras: Three-dimensional form composed of metal or

stone or gemstones and shaped like a pyramid, having a broad base and

narrowing gradually toward the top like a mountain (meru).

 

Patal Yantra: Deeply engraved-exactly the reverse of the pyramid

yantra.

 

Meru-Prastar Yantra: Composed of pieces that are glued or welded to

each other instead of being one solid piece

---------------------------

 

From Url: http://www.mysticindia.com/yantra/types.htm