The worship of Shri Vidya has been popular in India from very ancient
times. Swami Gaudapada, the teacher of Shankaracharaya, was a worshiper
of Sri Vidya. Following his initiation Swami Shankaracharya wrote a
lucid ode to Shri Vidya, the Ananda 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 Brahmanada Saraswati. It is
known to a galaxy of devotees that Swami Krishnanand Saraswati of
Sringeri was the teacher of our Guru Dev, who was himself a worshiper
of Sri Vidya.

The Shri Yantra is a graphical representation of the TM bija-mantras,
and it was invented in the fifth century in Bengal at the beginning of
the Gupta era by the Sahajiyas or Baulas.

The Sri Yantra, with the TM bija mantras inscribed thereon, installed
under the image of Tripurasundari at Sringeri, is described as a
mnemonic device used for meditation practice and it derives from the
Buddhist tantric practices which utilize mantra, yantra, and dharani.

But, in fact, 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 in
sadhana than others.

At any rate, the use of the Sri Yantra is a purely mental technique -
it's been termed a visualization excercise by Swami Ageananda Bharati.

>From the Saundaryalahari:

"Only when Shiva is united with Shakti does he have the power to
create."

http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/tantra/

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