Tantra - Mantra - Yantra
While in an art museum in Frankfurt recently, I entered one room with nothing but statues and carvings of Buddha. I put absolutely no faith in stone idols, but I was surprised to feel a very strong energy current in the room, similar to what I feel here in the lecture. Was I imagining things? And if so, how can I trust what I feel here with you?
The question is from
Anand Samagra.
The first thing to be understood: you will be surprised to know that
the Buddha statues have nothing to do with Gautam Buddha. They are
all false, they don't resemble Buddha at all, but they have
something to do with buddhahood. Not with Gautam Buddha, the person
- they have something to do with buddhahood.
You can go into a Jain temple and you will see twenty-four statues
of twenty-four Teerthankaras, the founders of Jainism, and you will
be unable to make out any difference between them; they are all
alike. To make a distinction, Jains make small symbols on them to
know who is who, because they are all alike. So if somebody's symbol
is a line figure, then just underneath the feet is a small line
figure. Then they know whose statue this is. Somebody's symbol is a
snake - then they know whose statue this is. If those symbols were
hidden, not even a Jain could make any demarcation. Whose statue is
this? Mahavir's? Parswanatha's? Adinatha's? And you will also be
surprised to know that they are exactly like Buddha - no difference.
In the beginning, when the West became acquainted with Mahavir, they
thought it was nothing but the same story of Buddha, because the
statue is the same, the philosophy is the same, the understanding is
the same, the teaching is the same - so it was just the same thing;
it was nothing different from Buddha. They thought Mahavir was
another name for Buddha. And of course both were called Buddhas -
'Buddha' means 'the awakened one' so Buddha was called Buddha and
Mahavir was also called Buddha. And both were called Jains - 'Jain'
means the 'conqueror', one who has conquered himself. Buddha is
called 'the Jain' and Mahavir is called 'the Jain', so they thought
that they were just the same person.
And the statues were a great proof: they look absolutely alike. They
are not photographic, they don't represent a person, they represent
a certain state. You will have to understand it, then the thing will
be explained.
In India, three words are very important:
- One is Tantra, which we are talking about
- Another is Mantra
- And the third is Yantra
Tantra means techniques for expanding your consciousness.
Mantra means finding your inner sound, your inner rhythm, your inner
vibration. Once you have found your Mantra, it is of tremendous
help: just one utterance of the Mantra and you are in a totally
different world. That becomes the key, the passage, because once
uttering that Mantra, you fall into your natural vibe.
And the third is Yantra. These statues are Yantras. Yantra means a
certain figure which can create a certain state in you. A certain
figure, if you look at it, is bound to create a certain state in
you.
When you watch something, it is not only that the figure is outside - when you watch something, the figure creates a certain situation in you. Gurdjieff used to call this 'objective art'.
...
You exist on another place.
Watching a Buddha statue is watching a Yantra. The figure of the
statue, the geometry of the statue, creates a figure inside you. And
that inside figure creates a certain vibe. It was not just
imagination that happened to you, Samagra, in the Frankfurt museum;
those Buddha statues created a certain vibe in you.
Watch the state of Buddha sitting so silently, in a certain yoga
posture. If you go on watching the statue, you will find something
like that is happening within you too.
If you are in company where ten persons are sad, and you are the
eleventh person, how long can you remain happy? Those ten persons
will function like a Yantra, a Yantra of sadness: you will fall into
sadness sooner or later. If you are unhappy and you go into company
where people are joking and laughing, how long can you remain sad?
Those laughing people will create laughter in you. They will change
your focus, they will change your gear; you will start moving in a
different direction. This happens every day - knowingly,
unknowingly.