The worship of Shri Vidya has been popular in India from very ancient times. Swami Gaudapada, the teacher of Shankaracharya, was a worshiper of Sri Vidya. Following his initiation Swami Shankaracharya wrote a lucid ode to Shri Vidya, the Saundariya Lahari, a translation of which is now available in English.
Many desciples of Shankaracharya were worshipers of Sri Vidya such as Sureshvara, Padmapada, Vidyaranya and the brother of Chaitanya, Nityanand, Abhinavagupta, and our own Swami Brahmanand Saraswati. It is known to a galaxy of devotees that Swami Krishnanand Saraswati of Sringeri was the teacher of Guru Dev, who was himself a worshiper of Sri Vidya. The Sri Vidya Yantra is described as a mnemonic device used for meditation practice and it derives from the Buddhist tantric practices which utilize mantra, yantra, and dharani. The Shri Yantra is a graphical representation of the TM bija-mantras. According to Maharishi, any device can be used for meditation - a word, a diagram - even the word "mic" or "one". However, it has been found through experience over many years that certain sounds are more beneficial than others. At any rate, the use of the Sri Yantra is a purely mental technique. The TM technique IS pure tantra - the technique is mentioned numerous times in the Vedic literature and in the Yoga Sutras. I can point to numerous Tantras, both Hindu and Buddhist, which describes the TM technique in detail. The Sri Vidya sect is one of the most popular forms of Tantricism in all India and TM is the most popular form of meditation. Millions of people, all over India, worship the Sri Vidya and meditate on the TM bija mantras contained in the Saundariya Lahari. It is a fact that all the Shankaracharyas agree that the Saraswati Dasanamis worship the Sri Vidya. It is also a fact that the Sri Chakra, is ensconced on the mandir at both Dwarka, Kanchi, and the Sringeri Mathas. It is also a fact that all the Adwaita Sannyasins claim that Adi Shankara established four mathas as seats of learning and for the worship of Sri Vidya. According to the Shankaracharya of Sringeri, the Adi Shankara placed the Sri Yantra, symbol of Tripurasundari, with the TM mantras inscribed thereon, at each of the seats of learning - Jyotirmath, Dwarka, Puri, and Sringeri.
