Shrividya

Southern Indian school of tantra, a
secret, ritually based religious practice,
in which the principal deity is the
goddess Lalita Tripurasundari. The
Shrividya tradition is noted for its ritual
use of the shrichakra, a particular symbolic diagram (yantra) composed of a
series of interlocking triangles. The
Shrichakra ritual is known as samharakrama, and is a systematic ritual deconstruction of the perceivable world and
all illusions of duality, to attain union
with the single true reality. The interior
counterpart to this exterior ritual is the
practice of kundalini yoga, which is
based on the tantric idea of the subtle
body—the six psychic centers (chakras)
running along the spine—and seeks to
gain ultimate union within the aspirant’s
own body by bringing together the
microcosmic forms of the deities Shiva
and Shakti that exist within the body.
For a careful and considered picture of
the Shrividya tradition, see Douglas
Renfrew Brooks, The Secret of the Three
Cities, 1990.