Greetings, everyone,
I would like to share an expansive thought on an excerpt from The Occult World of a Tantrik Guru, relating to Yantra and the Kleshas.
“Clinging or attachment to life is the fifth evil of the five-fold pentagon of the pain-bearing obstructions. The complete pentacle is as follows:
The five pain-bearing obstructions,
The root cause of sorrow and strife –
Ego, ignorance, attachment,
Aversion and clinging to life.
In Kauladharma they are drawn as a yantra composed of a five-pointed star, sometimes contained within a circle and the circle contained in a square. The five-pointed star of the pentacle can also be used alone, placed on the shrine for worship or used for meditation… Most Tantrik sadhana, while it appears to aim at praise, worship and oneness with the Devi, is also a medium which helps disciples to overcome these five gyves.”
—Shri Gurudev Mahendranath
I enjoy making yantras, and shortly after I read The Occult World of a Tantrik Guru I created the Kleshas yantra in cotton embroidered on wool.
Although Mahendranath does not go into more detail about Yantra in this text, it is worth mentioning that before a yantra is empowered the design is simply that: a pretty object to admire. Constructing a yantra is only the beginning of the path to Yantra.
Yantra is a Sanskrit word meaning a machine, or that which sustains energy: a geometrical design intended to represent a deity or serve as a vehicle for the deity’s energy, or Shakti.
An empowered Yantra is impregnated with the Shakti it needs in order to become alive. Only someone accomplished in projecting and fixing that energy can properly empower a Yantra. This takes place when the sadhaka is absorbed and in, and in resonance with, the Divine Shakti in Yoga. The Shaktis of Will, Knowledge, and Action are then unified into a single Shakti and projected and fixed into the Yantra.
That skill is developed and refined through Shakti Yoga and guidance from the Guru.
Once the Yantra is empowered, worship of it takes on new utility and life. Focusing on those established energies can help us go beyond the kleshas. As Shri Mahendranath often notes, understanding the kleshas is necessary before real Nath practice can begin; an empowered Kleshas Yantra can be a genuine aid in that work.
May Peace, Freedom and Happiness be yours,
