Understanding Yantras

Bro what are these weird diagrams that I see in some temples & Hindu texts?

They’re called yantras & there’s a cool logic behind them so here’s the tea!

Most people don’t realise that Sanatan Dharma is all about symbolism & the different deities we worship, like Ganesha, Shiva, Ma Lakshmi or Ma Kali are basically just different subject teachers that can help us get certain qualities to grow spiritually.

Like mantras are their audio logos, yantras are basically the translation of these sound vibrations, acting as physical logos or maps that help us meditate & concentrate our energy to switch on a specific energy’s radio channel & get that energy.

Yantra comes from yam i.e. to sustain or support so they’re just focus tools. They can be made using numbers, shapes or circles … but commonly have a square representing the stable bhumi or earth element.

The upward triangles are Shiva i.e. masculine or static energy i.e. fire. The inverted triangles are Shakti or creative & feminine energy i.e. water, so their merging represents a union of both energies.

The lotus petals represent the surrounding effects of this union, also corresponding to our chakras, and at the center is the bindu i.e. aakasha or sky, the infinite dimensionless God.

The deity enters through the 4 doors, standing for the 4 paths to moksha - kriya i.e. action, yoga i.e. meditation, gyana i.e. knowledge & charya i.e. devotion.

You have popular yantras like Sri Yantra which stands for the highest deity in Tantra called as the Tripura Sundari Ma, prayed to for wisdom & power, Saraswati Yantra for knowledge, Ganesha Yantra for success, and Kali or Hanuman yantras for protection.

You shouldn’t randomly buy & use these mantras at home as using them incorrectly may not work out or even have side effects if the unintended forms of deities are invoked, so always consult a bonafide guru before using them!