This article is in need of attention. You can help Wikipedia by editing it into a better article. Please also consider changing this notice to be more specific. In most South Asian languages, Shakti translates literally as power. In Hinduism, Shakti is an aspect of Devi, and a personification of God as the Divine Mother who represents the active, dynamic principles of feminine power. In Shaktism, Shakti is worshiped as the Supreme Being. Alternatively, in other Hindu tradi ...

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• Shakti - Shakti Peeths

Read more here: » Shakti: Encyclopedia - Shakti

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Shakti, Shakti - Shakti Peeths

Read more here: » Shakti: Encyclopedia II - Shakti - Shakti Peeths

Shakti Wicca seeks to make a synergistic combination of the Hindu and Wiccan spiritualities, providing a structure that is familiar and accessable to Westerners. Shakti Wicca is a new, self-initatory tradition of Wicca that draws most of its spiritual inspiration from the Hindu tradition, in the same manner that other Wiccan traditions draw the bulk of their inspiration from Celtic, Norse, Greek, Roman, Egyptian or other spiritual cultures. It is considered an eclectic tradition, despite its focus on the Hindu pantheon and spiritual philosop ...

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Shakti Wicca, Shakti Wicca - What is Shakti Wicca, Shakti Wicca - Elements Unique to Shakti Wicca:, Shakti Wicca - The Shakti Wiccan Training Scheme

Read more here: » Shakti Wicca: Encyclopedia II - Shakti Wicca - What is Shakti Wicca

Women are the power and very foundation of our existence in the world. When women lose touch with their real selves, there is disharmony. So, it is crucial for women everywhere to make the effort to rediscover their fundamental nature.

The infinite potential inherent in men and women is the same. If women really want to, they can somehow acquire the strength to break free of the 'rules' and conditioning that society has imposed on them. The greatest strength of women lies in their innate motherhood, in their creative, life-giving power. And this power can help women to bring about far more significant changes in society than men could ever hope to accomplish.

(See also: Womens Spirituality, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

The world over, women continue to suffer community-sponsored injustice, whether they live in a secular or non-secular country. We can know how progressive a community is, by the way it treats its women.

Shocked at the condition of Indian women, Swami Vivekananda said that there was no reason to view women as being inferior to men or as obstacles to salvation - contrary to popular misconception, there is no scriptural sanction for oppressing women.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Shaktism, on the other hand, is a denomination of Hinduism that worships Shakti, or Devi Mata -- the Hindu name for the Great Divine Mother -- in all of her forms whilst not rejecting the importance of masculine and neuter divinity (which are however deemed to be inactive in the absence of the Shakti). In pure Shaktism, the Great Goddess, or Devi, is worshiped as nothing less than the highest divinity, Supreme Brahman Itself, the "one without a second," with all other forms of Divinity, female or m ...

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Hindu views on God and gender, Hindu views on God and gender - Smarta and Advaita, Hindu views on God and gender - Vishnu and Shiva, Hindu views on God and gender - Shakti, Hindu views on God and gender - Ardhangini: the cornerstone of relationships, Hindu views on God and gender - In other Indian religions

Read more here: » Hindu views on God and gender: Encyclopedia II - Hindu views on God and gender - Shakti

The Shaktis of the Nakshatras

Each Nakshatra has its particular power or Shakti. These are also the powers of the Devatas or the deities ruling the Nakshatras. Each of these Shaktis has its effect above and its effect below, and the final result of these three factors. The imagery is of common factors of plants, healing, worship, marriage and death.

Includes: Ashwini, Bharani, Krittika, Rohini, Mrigashirsha, Ardra, Punarvasu, Pushya, Aslesha, Magha, Purva Phalguni, Uttara Phalguni, Hasta, Chitra, Swati, Vishakha, Anuradha, Jyeshta, Mula, Purvashadha, Uttarashadha, Shravana, Dhanishta, Shatabhishak, Purva Bhadra, Uttara Bhadra and Revati.

Read more here: » Nakshatras: The Shaktis of the Nakshatras

The Cosmic Force And Shiv-Shakti

Before creation took place there was nothing but a pervading consciousness that had no name. Creation was the result of manifestation of this pervading consciousness.

The first form in which the consciousness manifested was Adi Shakti, Gayatri or power. From her emerged everything else. Once the universe was created there was a need for super forces or energies to look after the governance of the world. To perform this role Adi Shakti manifested herself into the trinity: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

Read more here: » Shiv-Shakti: The Cosmic Force And Shiv-Shakti

Shakti Chalana Mudra

This is Tadana Kriya. By this method also Kundalini can be awakened. Through the practice of this Mudra one can become a Siddha.

From "Kundalini Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Shakti Chalana Mudra: Practice of Shakti Chalana Mudra

Special Planetary Mantras, Name and Shakti Mantras

The following are the name (nama) mantras for the planets as preceded by their Shakti or power mantras. These can be used to connect with the planetary deities and to energize all the higher powers of the planets.

Read more here: » Planetary Shakti Mantras: Special Planetary Mantras, Name and Shakti Mantras

Mitahara, Asana And Shakti-Chalana

5. Of these two, viz., Prana and Vasanas, the student of Yoga should control Prana by moderate food (Mitahara), by Asanas or Yogic postures and thirdly by Shakti-Chalana.

From "Kundalini Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Yoga-Kundalini Upanishad: Mitahara, Asana And Shakti-Chalana

There is an interesting legend connected with Mahashivratri, the day Shiva got married a second time to Shakti, his divine consort.

Once Shiva and Sati or Shakti were returning from the ashram of sage Agastya, after listening to Ram Katha or the story of Ram.

On the way when Shiva saw Rama roaming the forest - in search of Sita who was kidnapped by Ravana - he bowed his head in reverence. A surprised Sati inquired of Shiva why he was paying obeisance to a mere mortal.

(See also: Mahashivratri, Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

During meditation you behold divine visions, experience divine smell, divine taste, divine touch, hear divine Anahata Sounds. You receive instructions from God. These indicate that the Kundalini Shakti has been awakened. When there is throbbing in Muladhara, when hair stands on its root, when Uddiyana, Jalandhara and Mulabandha come involuntarily, know that Kundalini has awakened.

From "Kundalini Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Kundalini Shakti: Experiences On Awakening Of Kundalini

In Hindu devotional practice, three kinds of external symbols are used for worship of the Supreme Being, who is actually formless and nameless. The most external is that of divine images cast in human form, with paraphernalia symbolising supra-human divinity.

The most subtle is that of the mantras or divine names with certain sounds. A mantra is divine power clothed in sound. Between these two come the yantras or chakras , representing the deity in geometrical diagrams. Worshippers of Shakti consider the Srichakra the holiest and most significant of divine symbols.

(See also: Srichakra, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Kiara Windrider just visited the spiritual reteat where the Oneness Festival campus is located in the Golden City area and give a first hand experience from what goes on there.

Read more here: » Kiara Windrider about The Spiritual Retreats of Enlightenment

Sri Aurobindo, a scholar of India's spiritual-philosophical tradition, developed an original philosophy, which contained an evolutionary dimension. Humanity's destiny, according to Sri Aurobindo, is to evolve towards a higher state of consciousness that would fundamentally alter life, as we know it. To accomplish this, Sri Aurobindo synthesized various traditions of ancient spirituality and offered the instrument of integral Yoga. This prophet of the New Age not only predicted the perfectibility of the human condition but also assured that the day is not far when man's Supramental consciousness achieves its fullest fruition on earth. Following is an excerpt from Sri Aurobindo's Synthesis of Yoga.

Read more here: » Sri Aurobindo: Integral Yoga from Sri Arubindo's Synthesis of Yoga

The word yoni is the Sanskrit word for the 'female reproductive organ'. Translated directly into English, it could mean vulva or vagina. It also has a wider meaning in religious and spiritual contexts, where its meaning is 'creativity'. The yoni is also considered to be symbolic of Shakti or other goddesses of a similar nature. Yoni is perhaps the most misused and misunderstood word from the ancient Indo-Aryanic language, Sanskrit. The word yoni was originally used more often in a spiritual sense rather than as a term to ...

Including:

• Yoni - Historical perspective
• Yoni - Yoni worship
• Yoni - Yoni massage
• Yoni - Other

Read more here: » Yoni: Encyclopedia - Yoni

Shakti: (Sanskrit) "Power, energy," from the root shak, "to be able."

The active power or manifest energy of Siva that pervades all of existence. Its most refined aspect is Parashakti, or Satchidananda, the pure consciousness and primal substratum of all form.

This pristine, divine energy unfolds as ic�ha shakti (the power of desire, will, love), kriya shakti (the power of action) and jnana shakti (the power of wisdom, knowing), represented as the three prongs of Siva's trishula, or trident. From these arise the five powers of revealment, concealment, dissolution, preservation and creation.

In Saiva Siddhanta, Siva is All, and His divine energy, Shakti, is inseparable from Him. This unity is symbolized in the image of Ardhanarishvara, "half-female God." In popular, village Hinduism, the unity of Siva and Shakti is replaced with the concept of Siva and Shakti as separate entities. Shakti is represented as female, and Siva as male. In Hindu temples, art and mythology, they are everywhere seen as the divine couple. This depiction has its source in the folk-narrative sections of the Puranas, where it is given elaborate expression. Shakti is personified in many forms as the consorts of the Gods. For example, the Goddesses Parvati, Lakshmi and Sarasvati are the respective mythological consorts of Siva, Vishnu and Brahma. Philosophically, however, the caution is always made that God and God's energy are One, and the metaphor of the inseparable divine couple serves only to illustrate this Oneness.

Within the Shakta religion, the worship of the Goddess is paramount, in Her many fierce and benign forms. Shakti is the Divine Mother of manifest creation, visualized as a female form, and Siva is specifically the Unmanifest Absolute. The fierce or black (asita) forms of the Goddess include Kali, Durga, Chandi, Chamundi, Bhadrakali and Bhairavi. The benign or white (sita) forms include Uma, Gauri, Ambika, Parvati, Maheshvari, Lalita and Annapurna. As Rajarajeshvari ("divine queen of kings"). She is the presiding Deity of the Sri Chakra yantra. She is also worshiped as the ten Mahavidyas, manifestations of the highest knowledge - Kali, Tara, Shodashi, Bhuvaneshvari, Chinnamasta, Bhairavi, Dhumavati, Bagata, Matangi and Kamala. While some Shaktas view these as individual beings, most revere them as manifestations of the singular Devi. There are also numerous minor Goddess forms, in the category of gramadevata ("village Deity"). These include Pitari, "snake-catcher" (usually represented by a simple stone), and Mariyamman, "smallpox Goddess."

In the yoga mysticism of all traditions, divine energy, shakti, is experienced within the human body in three aspects:

1)    the feminine force, ida shakti,

2)    the masculine force, pingala shakti, and

3)    the pure androgynous force, kundalini shakti, that flows through the sushumna nadi.

Shakti is most easily experienced by devotees as the sublime, bliss-inspiring energy that emanates from a holy person or sanctified Hindu temple.

See: Amman, Ardhanarishvara, Goddess, Parashakti, Shaktism.

(See also: Shakti, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

The word Devi Māhātmyama means the glory and significance of Devi, the Mother Goddess'. Devi Māhātmyam is the title of a part of the Mārkandeya Purana, one of the Brahma Puranas. Devi Mahatmyam - The primeval energy. One of the unique features of Hinduism is the fact that it conceives divinity also as mother goddess. When divinity has no name or form -- which is the most important declaration of the Upanishads, the next logical step is to recognize that the supreme has no specifity in terms of g ...

Including:

• Devi Mahatmyam - The primeval energy
• Devi Mahatmyam - Energy more fundamental than matter
• Devi Mahatmyam - Brahman to be known Shakti to be worshipped
• Devi Mahatmyam - She is many-one
• Devi Mahatmyam - The book
• Devi Mahatmyam - Mine of Stotras

Read more here: » Devi Mahatmyam: Encyclopedia - Devi Mahatmyam

Androgyny refers to two concepts. The first is the mixing of masculine and feminine characteristics, be it the example of the loud fashion statements of musicians like Ziggy Stardust or the balance of "anima" and "animus" in Jungian psychoanalytic theory. The second is in describing something that is neither masculine nor feminine, for example the Hijras of India who are often described as "neither man nor woman". Androgynous traits are those that either have no gender value, or have some aspects generally attributed to the opp ...

Read more here: » Androgyny: Encyclopedia - Androgyny