Self Realization Shala Order

   The Straight Line

   The Triangle

   The Circle

   The Square

  The Sand Mandala

The straight line is composed of an unbroken series of points. These points, moving independently, give length (without breadth) to it. The straight line thus signifies growth and development, and like time, consists of an infinite number of discreet points.

The triangle is the archetype symbol of a sacred enclosure, since space cannot be bounded by fewer than three lines. The triangle is thus conceived as the first closed figure to emerge when creation emerged from chaos. In this aspect it is known as the root of all manifested nature.

 The rhythm of creation is crystallized in this primal form. Tantra calls the triangle the cone of fire, a reference to its shape. This is the fire of aspiration which is ever burning in the heart of the spiritual seekeThe threefold structure of the triangle is interpreted over multiple levels. Some of these visualizations are:

1). Creation, Preservation, and Destruction, i.e. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.

2). The three tendencies: the neutral, the positive and the negative - Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas.

3). The three Vedas: Rig, Yaju, and Sam.

4). Past, Present, and Future.

5). The three seasons: Spring, Summer, and Winter.

6). The three main pilgrimages: Prayag, Gaya, and Kashi.

When used in a yantra, a triangle is either inverted or upright. The inverted triangle is a symbol of feminine power, the creative essence of the universe, also known as Shakti. It is the dynamism of this Shakti that gives rise to the creative impulse in nature. This inverted triangle is generally the first enclosure surrounding the infinitesimal nucleus of most yantras.

The triangle pointing upwards is symbolic of the male principle (Purusha). When the two triangles penetrate each other forming a hexagon, it symbolizes the fusion of polarities, the union of Shiva and Shakti, male and female. This union is the cause of the manifested universe.

When the triangles part at the apex, time and space cease to exist, and all creative activity comes to a standstill. This is shown in the hourglass shape, which is the shape of the Damaru, the drum of Shiva, from which all rhythms of manifestation are said to have emerged.

Here it is interesting to note that Panini's treatise on the grammar of Sanskrit, the world's most ancient grammar, states that the Sanskrit language too has proceeded from the rhythms of Shiva's drum.

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The circle occurs very frequently in yantras and is derived principally from the motion of the revolution of planets. It symbolizes wholeness or totality and represents the principle which has no beginning, and no end, for example time. A perfectly symmetrical entity, equidistant from the center at all points; it indicates the realm of radiation that proceeds from the One center. In other words, a circumscribed field of action. When used in a yantra, a circle is normally placed within a square pattern, described next:

The square is the fundamental format of most yantras. There is a significant, well thought out logic behind it. The phenomenal world extends into four directions. These four directions represent the totality of space, and they bind the earth in order. The square too is the simplest and perfect manifestation of the number four, by virtue of the four perfect, equal lines bounding its form. Hence it is visualized as the perfect symbol to denote the terrestrial world. This mundane, physical world is the one which must be transcended by spiritual practice.

Asian Art Association, Mr. and Mrs. Yale H. Lewis, NBT Foundation, Fay Shwayder, and Asian Art Department Acquisition Fund (1996.54)

In September 1996, three monks from Seraje Monastic University in southern India created this Hayagriva Mandala with grains of colored sand.
(click on the link to zoom in on the Sand Mandalla) 

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