“A hybrid fractal antenna inspired from sri yantra geometry covering multiple bands in the microwave frequency spectrum is presented in this paper with a reduced size of 45mm × 30mm × 1.6mm. the presented design aims at a multiband antenna with a polygon slots inscribed in a circular patch with defected ground structure and the effect of sri yantra fractal iterations on the antenna characteristics are also studied. the gains achieved at respective bands for sri yantra geometry are 4.61db at 4.04ghz, 2.71db at 4.94ghz, 4.77db at 5.88ghz, 3.41db at 6.60ghz, 5.12db at 7.24ghz, 3.11db at 8.88ghz and 3.47db at 10.92ghz.”

“Context: while advances in the western sciences have increased our understanding of the human biofield, few studies have examined the potential effects of sacred objects on its functioning. design and study participants: this exploratory study examined the effects of a sacred object called the sri yantra / durga stone on the human biofield. twelve women and five men were studied on three separate occasions using the bio-well device, which purportedly measures aspects of the biofield: baseline (the day before exposure to the sacred object), pre-exposure (immediately prior to exposure to the sacred object), and post-exposure (immediately following exposure to the sacred object). a set of a priori hypotheses examined outcome effects on a set of variables, including multiple physiological systems. results: the overall bio-well energy state (bio-well variables are in units of joules) was significantly changed following exposure to the sacred object (p = 0.001). in addition, the cardiovascular, endocrine, musculoskeletal, digestive, urinogenital, and immune system readings showed significant changes (p’s<0.003) while the nervous and respiratory system assessments were unchanged. chakra (defined as a center of vital prana) energy was changed following exposure to the stone (p = 0.001), while chakra alignment was not (p = 0.145). conclusions: the findings from this exploratory study suggest that short-term human exposure to this particular sacred object had significant effects on aspects of the human biofield.”

“This paper is a call for the development of a neuroscientific research protocol for the study of the impact of tantric practice on the autonomic nervous system. tantric texts like abhinavagupta’s tantrāloka map out a complex meditative ritual system in which inward-gazing, apophatic, sense-denying contemplative practices are combined with outward-gazing, kataphatic sense-activating ritual practices. abhinavagupta announces a culminating ‘bi-directional’ state (pratimīlana-samādhi) as the highest natural state (sahaja-samādhi) in which the practitioner becomes a perfected yogi (siddhayogi). this state of maximized cognitive capacities, in which one’s inward gaze and outward world-engagement are held in balance, appears to be one in which the anabolic metabolic processes of the parasympathetic nervous system and the catabolic metabolic processes of the sympathetic nervous systems are simultaneously activated and integrated. akin to secularized mindfulness and compassion training protocols like emory’s cbct, i propose the development of secularized ‘tantric protocols’ for the development of secular and tradition-specific methods for further exploring the potential of the human neurological system.”

“In this article, i utilise current scholarship on synesthetic experience as a lens for evaluating the multi-layered cognitive and artistic processes by which ś ra vidya practitioners construct, visualise, and embody the primary symbol of their clan, the ś ra vidyadiagram. this diagram is simultaneously a multi-hued visual image and a resounding symphonic field of luminous, reverberating graphemes. by constructing externally and visualising internally a sound field that is not just heard but perceived, the sadhaka generates an embodied poly-sensualised consciousness that is the ritualised means for achieving the aim of his śakta practice: the recognition of one’s self as non-distinct from that supreme goddess, mahatripurasundara, she whose self-emanation as the resounding, luminous ś ra yantra, is itself the emergent cosmos. © 2011 the author.”