Decoding the Yantra, 4 day workshop by Soulscapes & NAMAH, was an enriching and mesmerising experience. Each day was very well structured, starting with delving into the conceptual understanding of what Yantras are, the ancient knowledge about Yantras and other similar aspects and then followed by the   drawing the Yantras themselves.

Personally, I never imagined I would be able to draw one yantra a day during the 4 days of the workshop with such precision, focus and such a pious feeling at this stage of my life. However, by the end of the programme, it feels like an achievement! The drawing itself was blissful and the knowledge from each session was another big bonus. I experienced a profoundly enjoyable and engaging 4 days, which will have a good impact on my life.

It all started with me coming across Sri Yantra during the Navratri time a couple of months ago and then the Durga Yantra on the day of Mahanavami. It felt like a calling and I really wanted to draw the Durga Yantra. People around me were sceptical of yantras due to various misbeliefs and I had to postpone drawing it, but the urge to draw made me reach out to people to know the right way to draw and put all these misbeliefs to rest. Coincidentally, the person who pointed me in the direction is a student of Soulscapes and the Durga Yantra I came across on Mahanavami was rendered by Soulscapes. I started drawing Durga Yantra a few days later and took a week to finish as I felt it was challenging. The focus, the meditative feeling, the sense of accomplishment and the feeling of connecting to the deity was intense while drawing and after completing it.

I got more interested in Yantras; their beauty and the blend of geometry, art and divinity appealed to me even more after drawing the Durga Yantra. Then came the workshop post which made me jump with joy and I registered immediately. I had questions likem was I doing it the right way, what was the significance of all the symbols in the Yantras, how are they connected to the deities, how can one meditate using the yantras and so on? I was excited with the feeling that I would find the answers to these questions.

Though there was excitement and intrigue about the workshop, I was in such a mental space in life that I wasn’t sure if I would be able to attend even one day of the workshop and doubted if I would be able to finish drawing even one yantra, let alone 4 of them. But all these doubts were washed away by the end of the first session. The calmness, focus, meditative nature of the sessions, the connection I felt with the content in the presentations and then the drawing went in a jiffy and I had Ganesh Yantra I drew in my hand by the end of first session.

The expertise shown by the instructor, Vivechana, was exceptional and filled with deep knowledge in both delivering the concepts through the presentation and the drawings.  I myself, as someone new to conducting workshops I learned many things, like how to instil confidence in the minds of the participants and not get overwhelmed by the intricacies of the geometry and process of drawing the Yantras. Each question from the group of participants, with a wide variety of backgrounds, was answered with profound knowledge and grace. The trust put in the participants and the process over the 4 days made us learn the techniques easily and joyfully. Almost everyone was able to draw all 4 Yantras during the sessions itself and made beautiful renderings of them as homework. The homework was also something very enjoyable and profound for me personally and I believe it was for all the participants. For someone like me who hadn’t really ventured venture into art, it needed courage to overcome the fear of wrong colouring and messing up a precisely drawn Yantra. It was again a thoroughly learning experience and also a journey of knowing myself through the many instances of the workshop.

We were encouraged to follow our hearts and come up with improvisations in the techniques, but advised on staying true to the values of the process and the various goals of what we want to achieve through the drawing. This was applicable to rendering the drawing by ourselves as homework to come up with our own colour-schemes and colouring which was very joyful and made me feel a profound sense of connection to the drawing and the deity.

At the end of each session and the overall workshop, there was a profound sense of connection to the process. We learnt about the depth of ancient knowledge, the process and piousness of the Yantras and their meaning, how they came into existence, how the process of Yantras and other similar things like Bhadras were used in traditional spaces like temple construction, how to use them in a more personal way like trataka meditation and so on.

Every rendering made me jump with joy and I used to sit staring at them with a smile on my face for some time. I would show them to many people in my family and friends and it gave me confidence. The 4 days brought me a sense of routine and focus which was severely lacking in my life affecting various aspects of my life.

It made me conscious of how important it is to first start with something and then experience the beauty of it which will inspire and motivate you to achieve something.

I felt blessed to be a part of this workshop and to be able to draw the yantras and learn the techniques. I really feel it is like a calling and I am on a journey to something bigger. Soulscapes and NAMAH have given me a good platform for this journey through this workshop and makes me feel like I had entered a rabbit-hole of beautiful amalgamation of art, symmetry, geometry and divinity through the drawing of Yantras. Also, it has something for everyone, like the diverse group of people who attended the workshop. It felt wonderful to be part of the group and to be connected to all the people and the Society. My thanks go to every person involved and the deities who made it possible and who helped me complete this step, showing me a way to connect to the deities in a way I love. The connection feels more direct and personal now. It was a a pleasure to be here.

 For me, it was simply the best way to end the year, 2024.

Feedback

“It was one of the most liberating and transformative 4 days. Vivechana was very patient and telling us each step by step. Loved her knowledge.”

“I was able to connect at many levels. Art, geometry, symmetry and spiritually. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.”

“I feel like this workshop is a very good step in my journey into the sacred art of Yantra drawing.”

“It was something like a step into self-discovery.”

“It gave me insight into various aspects of Yantra and the divine aspects of it.”

“It helped me in many ways. Basic important things like being present and able to focus on the task at hand, and also a form of meditation through Yantras.”

“It gave me more confidence and a positive mind.”

“Drawing Yantras for the first time in life made me so exhilarated and made me step into world of meditation.”

“Creating Yantras had awakened the path of meditation.”