The Sri Yantra or Sri Chakra
... is an ancient mystical diagram, having divine origins over 9,000 (?) years ago in India, from Vedic and Hindu sources.
A yantra, is basically a geometric pattern of lines and circles, representing primordial divine energies that can be used as a meditation tool for centering one’s mind and connecting to those energies.
The Sri Yantra, Sri meaning supreme, is considered the "Mother" of all yantras and is archetypal in nature. . Chakra means "wheel", or "vortex" also a term referring the energy centers of the body.
Mandalas are similar except that they generally include images, such as deities, gods and goddesses, such as seen in Buddhist Thangkas.
The Sri Yantra has been recognized and used in many different spiritual yogic traditions throughout India, including various schools of Tantric Yoga. It has been written about in the Vedas and Upanishads and has become a popular motif in modern day spiritual groups.
The Sri Yantra, as recognized by Sri Vidya, a
Hindu tantric school, embodies the Goddess/Shakti in form and spirit, as the supreme Source/Creatrix of the universe, and uses the Sri Yantra as a way
of honoring SOPHIA, Divine Mother of the
Universe. The dynamic interplay of Shiva
and Shakti, male and female, can be seen sym-
bolized in the center group of 9 triangles - the 4
upward pointing ones representing the Shiva/
male energy, infused with the 5 downward
pointing ones representing Shakti the
female principle...and thus giving birth to the universe.
see http://www.astrojyoti.com/srividya.htm for origin and worship of Sri Yantra
Me with first large scale painting, Miami, Fl, 1995.
I started drawing & painting the Sri Yantra in1991, having been been drawn to Eastern spiritual traditions since my teen age years, including immersing myself in practices of Ashtang Yoga in the 1970's & Siddha Yoga in the 1980's & 90's,
I basically "reversed designed" it using an exact black & white replica of one, using only a pencil, a straight edge and compass along with geometry and mechanical drawing techniques from college.... not to mention a keen creative impulse and strong affinity for art. There were no rulers used or any kind of measuring involved in my
recreating it.
I continued to create large replicas using a wood template and painting them in vibrant acrylic colors. The link below is a wonderful website on all aspects of the Sri Yantra and includes detailed info and descriptions of its particular geometrical anomalies, the construction of one, and the pitfalls in creating an accurate rendition.
An interesting site from the Sri Vidya tradition, linking Tantra & the worship of the Goddess to Sri Yantra meditations. http://shivyogi.weebly.com/srividya.html
An interesting synchronicity exists
between the largest triangles of the
Sri yantra and the Giza Pyramid in Egypt:
When the Giza pyramid is viewed from the side, both have the same base angles of 51 degrees and 50 minutes
second "real" painting. 36" x 36" -oil on wood