The Śrī Yantra: Nine Enclosures of Consciousness

The Śrī Yantra (also called Śrī Chakra) is the two-dimensional representation of the sacred Mount Meru — the center of the universe in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain cosmology. It is composed of a series of nine overlapping triangles around a small central point (bindu), forming 43 triangular projections. Around the central diagram there is a first lotus with 8 petals and a second with 16 petals, encased in three circles and a square fence (bhūpura) of three lines with four entrances on all four sides.

The bindu at the center represents the cosmic union of Śiva and Śakti and contains the potentiality of the universe within itself — the universe before the Big Bang, in the language of modern physics. All other parts of the diagram represent the cosmos evolved from the bindu, expanding to Tripurasundarī (the cosmic creative power).

The nine enclosures (āvaraṇas), from outer to inner, are: (1) Trailokya Mohana / Bhūpura — the square of three lines with four portals, which attracts all three worlds. (2) Sarvasa Paripūraka — a sixteen-petal lotus that fulfills all desires. (3) Sarvasaṅkṣobhaṇa — an eight-petal lotus that agitates everything (the disturbance that begins the spiritual journey). (4) Sarvasaubhāgyadayaka — fourteen small triangles that give all auspiciousness. (5) Sarvārtha Sādhaka — ten small triangles that accomplish all purposes. (6) Sarvarakṣakara — ten small triangles that give all protections. (7) Sarvarogahara — eight small triangles that remove all diseases. (8) Sarvasiddhiprada — one small triangle that gives all realizations. (9) Sarvānandamaya — the bindu, which is full of bliss for all.

The presiding deity is Mahā Tripurasundarī — the Great Mother. The Khadgamālā Stotram is the hymn that accompanies step-by-step worship of each deity in the Śrī Yantra and is considered the highest form of worship. The practice of meditating on the Śrī Yantra — moving the gaze from the outermost gate inward to the bindu — is a direct method of tracing consciousness back to its source. [TRADITIONAL]