Mandala Sadhana

The Mandala is created by an individual or a group as a kind of ritual. The making of the Mandala is itself a meditation, reflecting on the whole of Creation, of which the mandala form is a microcosm. In the Mandala we find various elements which have a cosmic significance. Elements of fire, water, and earth are symbolized. The mandala is basically a circular pattern (the word "mandala" means circle in Sanskrit), which has three fundamental parts. There is the centre, and then the radii which branch out from the centre, and which are finally enclosed by the outer circumference of the circle. The mandala is not only a pattern, but represents a process, which involves a journey from the outer rim of the circle inwards to reach the centre.