1 6 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 3 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 7 Fig. 1. Śrī chakra as a basis for Vastu Shastra temple design (Sreenivasa Rao 2017). The Śrī chakra has been in the center of interest also of mathematicians, who tried to unravel the hidden message in its geometry (Kulaichev 1984). There findings, though are more of academic interest, even if they make the design of the Śrī chakra more exact. The Indian spirituality is much centered around offerings (puja) and coming "behind" the outer manifestation through addressing the Patrons or Deities related to their various aspects and levels (Ramachandra Rao 2008, Ravi 2013). This is a devotional approach, which for Europeans who do not have the same cultural and spiritual background, is difficult to practice authentically. The interpretative explanation of the Śrī chakra, however has a great number of aspects which offer an excellent sādhanā that is not dependent on pujas. The Śrī chakra and the related sādhanā is governed byŚrī Lalitā– who is called alsoRāja-rājeśvarī or Tripura Sundarī as well as by other names and attributes (Narayana Menon 2011) –, is one of the Ten Mahāvidyās, representatives of the non-conformist aspects of the Divine Feminine. It was in the Swami Rama where the thought about transforming the Śrī chakra system of sādhanā into a set of practices suitable for western practitioners matured. The presented sādhanā structure uses elements that appear in the traditional system of Śrī chakra interpretation, but is projected into a sādhanā frame that take into consideration modern trends in yoga. 2 The Śrī Chakra Sādhanā The construction of the Śrī chakra is such that it includes nine levels. These levels represent certain aspects of creation, both on the individual level as well as on the universal level. The nine levels have their names, Patrons and Guardians, mantras and associated parts of the human kośas. Fig. 3 shows a 2D version of the Śrī chakra and Fig. 4, shows the 3D version of Śrī chakra. The Śrī chakra is composed of a square base surrounded by three "lines of protection" and with four gates, then it contains three circles, two lotus flowers – one with sixteen petals and one with eight petals. Then the triangular composition comes. There are nine triangles positioned in such a way that they form four levels of triangular "spikes", plus a central triangle and a dot in the center. The dot (which is above the level, where the sahasrāra is present) symbolizes the undifferentiated Śiva and Śakti (Tripura Sundarī, Lalitā, Kāmakalā, Parā Bhattārikā, Mahā Kāmeśvarī, Śrī Vidyā). Of the whole theory of the Śrī only the basics are discussed in order to enable the understanding of the sādhanā (practical part) and its implications. The Śrī chakra represents the Centre of the manifested universe in which we live. Technically, it does not deal with the energies and emanations that lead to the creation described in the Saundariya Lahiri (Subrahmanya and Ayyangar 1977), but deals with the processes linked to the life that is created through the burden of avidyā (improper understanding of the essence of life) and that is placed into the perceptible universe. Fig. 2. Śrī Vidyā related drawings cut into floor slabs in the Arunachala Temple in Tiruvannamalai. Visitors will rarely pay attention to them.
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