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| Tantra Shastra |
I've been telling you how the ancient sages understood that all forms in this existence are just varying complexities of reverberation. This understanding is perhaps most evident, in Tantra Shastra, which exploits this sound-form connection.
In this article, let's understand what Tantra is all about, and how it reveals the secrets of the functioning of both the human body, and the cosmos.
Nikola Tesla, once famously said, “If you
want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.” It is established science today, that matter, when subject to various frequencies, arranges itself into specific geometric shapes, and patterns. These patterns, now called Chladni Diagrams, after the famous German physicist and musician Ernst Chladni, get more and more complex with increasing frequency. Mathematical laws have also been formulated to understand the relationship between the frequency of the sound, and the pattern created. Despite their seeming complexity, all these shapes, are just super-impositions of basic geometric figures like the circle, square and the triangle.
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| 7 chakras with beeja-mantra |
These are the tantric representations of chakras, or energy centres, within the human body. There are 7 of them, like the 7 notes in music, and the 7 colours of a rainbow.
From Muladhara at the base, to Sahasrara at the peak, each one of these chakras, is an increasingly complex geometrical arrangement. Each of these chakras, also has a beeja-mantra, or a seed sound, attached to it.
This beeja mantra is the corresponding reverberation that activates the chakra. I might sound more sophisticated and credible when using terms like chladni experiments, and mathematical formulae, and less so, when using terms like chakra, yantra, and mantra, but it is important to understand the true meanings of these words.
Tantra Shastra, prescribes elaborate steps
to make use of these sounds, called beeja mantras, and the shapes, called yantras, to work on these energy centres and enhance human potential.
Infact the simplest definition of tantra,
is just a combination of mantra and yantra.
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| maha Ganapati yantra |
The story is not done yet.
Since Tantra Shastra depicts the human body, and it's internal functioning, in extension, it also depicts the functioning of the cosmos. The source of creation at play at both these levels are exactly the same.
The best example, of a cosmic representation in tantra, is of course, the Shri Yantra. It the perfect representation of the divine union, of the masculine and feminine, depicted through the intersection of upward and downward moving triangles. This is seen as the highest expression of the divine, in a diagram.
There are also many other representations
of these energies, catered towards very particular aspects of human well-being. For example, maha Ganapati yantra, is a representation of lord ganesha, who is seen as the remover of obstacles. He is associated with the mulAdhAra chakra, located at the base of the spine. If you correlate it physiologically, of course it is our baser instincts of hunger, and reproduction, which cause tiredness and inertia. These forces manifest themselves as various kinds of obstacles. And through Ganesha yantra, working at the level of the muladhara chakra, one can take charge of this energy centre, and overcome one's obstacles.
This is also the science and reasoning behind various geometric shapes on copper plates that you see near temples. Each of them is designed for a specific aspect of human well-being. Believing that these mantras and yantras, take care of your life situations completely, is of course not entirely true. What they do instead, is assist you, and set an ambience and direction within, for YOUR efforts, to be fruitful.
Rubbishing the entire science, just because a few people over-market it, is insulting the profound wisdom of our ancient sages, and denying yourself the possibility of accessing it. Let me know if this helped you understand the real significance of the tantra Shastra.