Before outlining some simple guidelines, be aware that this is a very streamlined approach and there are vast and extensive rituals and observances in various traditions when it comes to this aspect of yantra practice.
There are many variations according to the yantra, the period of the astrological cycles, the purpose of the yantra, the deity that is being acknowledged etc.
Some will say that this should not be done by someone who is not a priest, Brahmin, who would be well versed in the texts and the mantras required.
In many rituals some common mantras are used. The process is known as Prana Pristhana and is used for icons and yantras to infuse them with life. Until we do this, it remains just a drawing or an object, however beautiful it may be!
Again, this comes back to the idea that something imperfect can be alive and vibrant and a technically perfect, beautiful image can also be lifeless. As always, it is the quality and nature of our awareness, sincerity and application, I feel, that makes the difference and it shines through in the yantra.
I have endeavoured over the years to empower, to combine aspects from the tradition I have learnt with other practices and resources, so we can ‘own’ this process for ourselves and involve ourselves in simple and meaningful ritual that connects us with an internal experience.
Some of this may come across as ‘religious’ but bear in mind the origin of the word ‘religion’ is to ‘re-connect’
Please do not share this as it is for you, now, and may not be appropriate for others outside of this context.
So firstly, the mantra of forgiveness that was mentioned, which you can find easily online also, is known as:
Kshama Prarthana
Aavaham na janaami, na janaami visarjanam
Pooja chaiv na janaami kshamasva parmeshvara
Mantraheenam, kriyaaheenam bhaktiheenam janaardanam
Yatpoojitam mayaa dev, paripoorna tadastu me
I do not know how to invoke the deity, nor do I know how to bid farewell, I do not know how to worship, O Supreme, please forgive me. Without the knowledge of mantras, without the performance of rituals and without devotion, whatever I have been able to do as part of worshipping you, please accept it.
Simple Puja Process
Generally, you will be either facing East, hence sitting in the West, or sitting in the East. If you are facing East, then consider that the top of the yantra is the East. If you are sitting in the East then the bottom, closest to you is the East. East and North East are considered the most favourable directions for these things, unless doing something very specific. Starting with yourself and the space in front of you is a general simple guideline regardless of the direction you are facing.
- Chanting of OM
- I always chant the Vedic Shanti Mantras, at least the first verse, sometimes the second verse also. These are invocations of the guardians and the ancestors. During the chanting of these mantras the elements can be offered. This is done before havan also.
- Cleanse and purify yourself with the water, sprinkling with a flower or leaf. Do yourself first on the top of the head, then in front of you, then move clockwise in the 4 or 8 directions outside the space of the yantra. Dip the flower/leaf into the water each time.
- If you wish to offer fire, then offer the flame to the yantra. (sometimes just having the flame present is sufficient) Offer incense, purifying the space again all round in the directions. The element of ether is offered through mantra.
- Do all this while chanting the mantras.
- Yesterday we did the Stotra chanting and the Rudra Gayatri before we started drawing. This is just a way of getting into the right space for creating the yantra. If you wish to chant Stotra and gayatri at this point also then that can be a nice thing to do.
- Use a Stotra and a gayatri that is relevant and appropriate to the deity of the yantra.
- Nyasa. We did not do nyasa yesterday. There are specific mudras and mantras that are used. What can be done simply is to rotate the awareness through the body part by part as you would in yoga nidra starting from the feet (can do both sides together rather than left right etc) and acknowledge the reality of the body as a microcosm being consecrated, and each part and aspect of the body an essential tool of worship.
- Guardians. For different yantras there are different guardians. Also, sometimes the same guardians will appear in different directions depending on the deity in the centre. This is a huge topic! We simplified by placing the OM Namah Sivaya Mantra in the 8 directions as this was relevant to the Mahamrityunjaya Yantra we were doing.
- We then did the five elements. You will find variations of this, but with appropriate bija mantra of each, we placed Agni in the East, Prithvi in the South, Apas in the West, Vayu in the North and Akasha at the Bindu.
- We then continued with 108 rounds of the om namaḥ sivaya mantra with swaha. With a different yantra we would obviously use a short mantra or a gayatri that is relevant to that deity.
- I use the mantra swaha as literally it means ‘I offer myself’. It is used in havan. In the mythology Swaha was the sakti of Agni, fire, so each time something is offered it is the uniting of the two and transformed and carried to the heavens through fire. In this situation there is no fire as such, to consume and transform the offerings, so it is a symbolic thing. The grains and other items we offer can be given to the earth or water afterwards.
- We completed with poornahuti, usually done after pujas and havans and has an utterly cosmic meaning, showing what was known about the nature of reality back then!
- We ended with shanti path.
This is a very general and simplified approach, but it is manageable and gives us real connection to both the process and the yantra we have created. This makes it an energised tool for practice which is relevant to us, so after this process continue to use the yantra, whether it be with meditation or offering daily mantras, that is up to you. Any object can be charged if we direct enough attention towards it over a period of time. It is a two-way relationship. In Indian temples, deities often have wide open eyes because as we gaze upon them for whatever reason, they gaze upon us!
As a general word of advice, universal mantras and yantras are to be used. For example, using Sri Yantra or Kali yantra etc, may be appealing but there is no guarantee that it would be a beneficial thing. Do not underestimate how powerful these symbols can be and the way they work.
Remember that a yantra created without mantra has no soul, no life.
And importantly, if you want to practice trataka with yantra, and have not done it before, or for a while then it is best to start with a black dot on a white background, this is the simplest and, in many ways, the most profound yantra.
Anyway, think that is probably enough for now! Well you did ask!
Go well and as always feel free to be in touch.
Omomom
Brahmananda
