The Tantric Spiritual Art of Nadean O'Brien

Mandalas by Rampal

 

 

 

 

 

"Lalita's Garden" Sri Yantra

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(acrylic on canvas 36" x 36" embellished with
crystals, dimensional paint and gold leaf)

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This magnificent Sri Yantra is the culmination of over 13 years of Tantric mandala painting by the artist. Every year since 1995, I have created a work celebrating "Yab Yum" (literally father mother), the ancient Tibetan Tantric Buddhist symbol of enlightenment and the sacred union of our inner masculine and feminine principles.

In "Lalita's Garden", the divine is represented by the most powerful of all Tantric yantras believed to be over five thousand years old. The five triangles pointing down are the feminine; the four triangles pointing up are the masculine. They intersect in the center at "bindu" (the seed of the entire universe). In bindu, Shiva and Shakti remain diagrammatically in eternal sacred union.  

My style is contemporary and beyond iconography or religion, but each mandala is done in a manner as devoted and painstaking as my cultural orientation will allow. For me, mandala painting is a deep meditation and has been a self-healing path traveled over a decade. Each image has been a milestone in my soul's evolution and, because of the mandala's unique powers, is both a blessing and a beautiful visual piece for all those who find inspiration in spiritual art.

The Symbolism of the Sri Yantra

The Sri Yantra is a magnificent representation in a complex and intricate geometric pattern of the cosmic magnetic fields. The word yantra in the Tantric tradition refers to the Goddess or Devi in her linear or geometrical form. A five thousand year old Tantric symbol of India, it is the most auspicious of all yantras, the most perfect and the most complete. It is the abode and form pattern of the Goddess Lalita and represents the union of Shiva-Shakti (male and female elements) in macrocosmic and microcosmic aspects, in the cosmos and in the individual. The very presence of the Sri Yantra creates positive vibrations in the space it is placed, bringing positive changes.

"Lalita" is the shortened form of Lalitai-ambrika, meaning the Playful One. Her play consists of creation, sustentation and dissolution of the universe and also the lifting of devotees from Samsara (cycles of birth and death). She is the Universal Spiritual Energy and at one with the Supreme Being.

The word Sri (Shree or Shri) is another aspect or representation of the Divine Mother also known as Lalita, Tripursundari or Lakshmi. This beautiful geometrical form is used and worshipped to attract prosperity, happiness, success in worldly affairs and general good fortune and abundance.

Since a yantra is enlivened by the recitation of a mantra, below is a mantra for a short celebration or puja honoring the Great Goddess!

Om Aim Hreem Shreem Sri Lalita Tripurasundari Padukam Poojayami Namah

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