Nostrumananda
Guest
Jan 14, 2007
1:19 PM
|
What is Shakti?
‘Shivasmiles’ asked if Shakti is Love. Shakti is as broad and infinite as the universe, having many qualities, stages or levels emminating from unlimited Parama-Shiva ( also called Chaitanya, God) down to the limited Human and all other things manifest and unmanifest. One of these levels or qualities of God is Shakti as ‘Ananda’ or Bliss, Divine Love, so the short answer is ‘Yes’. These ‘new’ words are of an ancient, sacred language, Sanskrit. It is said to be the original language of God and is indeed the very essence of Him as divine vibrations or emminations, very similar to the alphabet and language traditions of the Jewish Kabbalah. Each Sanskrit word can be used as a Mantra to embibe the very essence of God through it.
Let’s take a closer look at how God creates a mirror image of himself as different catagories of Shakti, or manifestations, and in particular, how does the infinite ‘awakened’ consciousness of God become the ‘sleeping’ consciousness of a Human.
From God to Earth to God
These catagories are called the ‘Tattvas’ in Kashmir Shaivism, an ancient wisdom tradition which is a combination of, and precedes Christianity, Buddhism, Daoism, Sufism, etc. Now, Kashmir Shaivism, from the Himalayan Mountains, has been called ‘The Map of Consciousness’, and the Tattvas are the backbone of this map, which detail the creation from Shiva to Earth, and Human Beings in particular. Why are the Tattvas important? Simply because if we understand the different gradients of Divine Consciousness (Chiti-Shakti), that ultimately become the limited Soul of Human Consciousness (Chita-Shakti), then we know the secrets, (at least in theory at this point), behind the need for yoga disciplines, Shaktipat and the Spiritual Preceptor/Guru.
In guiding us back up the Tattva levels, we are freed of our small, limited selves and recognize our greater Self: complete reunion with God, thus our true nature as Self, or ‘I’ consciousness, and all the blessings that come with it. The descending and ascending structure of the Tattvas may sound similar to some of you as the Hindu teachings about the Chakra system. Yes, indeed, the Chakra systems’ source and root is Shakti and the Tattva system. Serious students of energy medicine, divine medicine, the Chakras, meditation, reality & cosmos, human consciousness, yoga, etc will want to investigate the Tattvas. Even with certain Christian saints, the form and structure of the Chakra and Tattva system manifest in their writings as different types of divine union with God and mystical experiences that reveal a structured path of ascension.
Students in the One-to-One Mentoring Program with me in IBASI Healing Ministries (IBASI stands for the International Bioenergetic Arts & Sciences Institute), actually prepare to, and do ascend the Tattvas through my guidance and initiations. They learn to master the various yogas as preparation before and after Shaktipat, ascending the Chakras and therefore the Tattvas in order to reach Self-Realization. Why does a person need a Spiritual Preceptor, Yoga discipline and initiations? Because out of the 5 Functions of God (Creator, Destroyer, Maintainer, Concealer, Revealer), the Function of Revealing, (Anuvamala), which is the most important one, can only be granted through the grace-bestowing power of the Guru-Principle, (embodiment of the awakened God within your Spiritual Preceptor). Can the blind lead the blind? Do the unconscious awaken the unconscious? You can learn more about this and ‘What is Shaktipat’ at our website: http://www.ibasi.org/articles/article/2175925/28782.htm .
The Five Principle Functions of Parama-Shiva (Chaitanya)
God has 2 fundamental aspects, according to Hinduism/Buddism, etc. He is immanent in which He pervades the entire universe, and He is transcendent, in which He is beyond all universal manifestations. The immanent aspect of God is called Shakti. It is not independent of Him, but is one and the same. It is His creative power. Shakti has indeed an infinite number of attributes, 5 of the most fundamental and primary ones are as follows:
1. The Power of Self-Revelation, the Revealer. It is the Chiti-Shakti of the Supreme Lord, (Power of Intelligence, the pure Light of Intelligence).
2. The Power of realizing absolute Bliss and Joy, called Ananda Shakti.
3. The Power of absolute free Will, called Iccha Shakti.
4. The Power of Knowledge, called Jnana Shakti.
5. The Power of Creating, called Kriya Shakti.
J.C. Chatterji in his book, “Kashmir Shaivism” writes: “Thus, in this reality, the Universe is only an ‘expansion’ of the power of Parama Shiva Himself…in his aspect as Shakti… he both becomes and pervades the Universe thus produced, while yet He remains the ever transcendent Chaitanya without in any way whatsoever being affected by the manifestation of the Universe.” Let’s take a closer look at some official Shakti definitions:
Definitions of Shakti
1. The Divine Mother, the latent power of Shiva.
2. Shiva is the HOLDER of the Power of projecting, maintaining and dissolving the universe, Shakti is THE Power, ie, capacity, potency, energy, force, Citi, Kundalini.
3. The potential power latent in human beings as called Kundalini-Shakti.
4. Shakti is the devoted wife who craves reunion with Shiva, her husband.
5. According to Shakta philosophy, it is the consciousness as dynamic. Shakti is one with Shiva, being the dynamic aspect of his ‘feminine’ part (polarity).
6. According to Dvaita Vedanta, it is one of the 10 categories (padarthas - catagorization of the nature of man and the universe). It is of 4 kinds, mysterious power, causal or natural, occasioned and word.
7. According to Vira Shaivism, it is of 6 forms; cit-shakti, para-shakti, adi-shakti, iccha-shakti, jnana-shakti and kriya-shakti. (A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy. J. Grimes. SUNY Press 1996).
So, we see that Shakti is much more than just ‘Love’. It is dynamic, having action. It has structure, form and function, consciousness, intelligence and power, and is, in fact, nature and the universe. Neither ‘male’ nor ‘female’, Shakti is inseparable from Shiva. Merged together, Shakti and Shiva become the highest reality, called Atman, or Parama-shiva, which is ineffable. In “Kashmir Shaivism”, J.C. Chatterji writes, “ In Parama-Shiva, we find a fixed, immovable Consciousness that is ever-renewed, ever young, a Consciousness that is simultaneousl Shiva and Shakti, static and dynamic, male and female, potentiality and creativity, transcendant and immanent, beyond expression, yet given form in words. Here are some more examples or analogies of the relationship between Shiva & Shakti, before we delve briefly on the Tattva catagories themselves, which merit a more detailed, separate discussion later.
The Dance of Shiva & Shakti
8. If Shiva is God, then Shakti is His reflection in the mirror, the image, as well as this recognition.
9. If Shiva is the Holder of Power, then Shakti is the Power.
10. If Shiva is Transcendant (above all things), then Shakti is immanent (all things).
11. If Shiva is Yang (the masculine polarity, then Shakti is Yin, the feminine polarity). Attributes of Yang are unmanifest, still, silent, high, light, bright, hot, dry, above, outside, radiating, outward, penetrating, etc. Attributes of Yin are moving, sounding/vibrating, low, heavy, dark, cold, wet, below, inside, dispersing, inward, absorbing, etc). Yin/Yang is never literal, and always relative to the subject.
12. If Shiva is a Retractible Telescope, the Tattvas are the retractible sections, Shakti is the Telescope extended, and Shiva is the retracted Telescope.
13. If Shiva was Ra, then Shakti is Isis, (and Osiris is Mankind).
14. If Shiva is the Father, then Shakti is the Son and the Holy Spirit of the Holy Trinity.
15. If Shiva was Adam, then his rib, (Eve), was Shakti.
We are all fingers of Gods’ Glove. The Glove is Shakti and the Hand is God. Shakti is a secret treasure of golden ornaments, and Shiva is the gold. Shakti is the particle and Shiva is the wave,. Shakti is action and Shiva is perfect freedom of will. Shakti is the circling electrons and protons and Shiva is the nucleus. Shakti is the world of subject-object and Shiva is its collapse into pure awareness. Shakti is all-pervading (immanent), and Shiva is transcendent (beyond all universal manifestations). Shakti is the shining lamp and Shiva is the electricity. Shakti is the image on the HD flat screen TV and Shiva is the protons firing onto the screen. Shakti is the electricity and hydrolic power station and Shiva is the dam and water behind it. Shakti is all the worlds’ streams, rivers, waterfalls and oceans, and Shiva is the water. Shakti is the quantum universe and Shiva is its’ infinite, pure potential. Shakti is indeed Power, and Shiva is the Holder of Power.
The Tattvas of Kashmir Shaivism
To understand the descent of Man from God is to understand the means of his return. Tattva ( tat=that, tva = ness ), means category, truth, the essence of things, reality or principle, the essence of each stage of creation. Each school of Indian Philosophy has a number of Tattvas as fundamentals in its system of thought. Advaita has 2 Tattvas, Shankhya lists 25 and Kashmir Shaiva has 36, for example. Even in Christianity, one can consider the Trinity as being 3 Tattvas; Father, Son and Holy Ghost/Spirit. Each is a fundamental aspect or category of God. The ‘Word’ is also a Tattva, since in Christianity, God spoke the Word and thus created the universe, so the Word of God is a form of Shakti, in Hindu terms.
So, by the absolute free Will of God, He began to fall asleep, per se, and by which He created images of Himself as the Shakti Tattva ‘Maya‘, the manifested universe, and of Man, who thinks he is awake but in truth is asleep. It is the power of Shakti as Concealer, that Maya draws the mists of forgetfulness. She does this as a series of cloaks over emminations or projections of His true Self, like sheaths. By involution of this Citi-Shakti a dream of the diverse, differentiated universe and of Man as Cita-Shakti, the small, limited, separate mind and soul is created. In His slumber he dreams for an eon, an epoch, until again, by His perfect free Will, Shakti the Revealer awakens and begins Her awakening process, the ascent from the dream to rejoin Shiva. The Human appears to be falling asleep but in truth is awakening. Merging, the separate, small, limited soul becomes Ultimate Reality once again.
Here are the Tattvas in the order of their relative distances from the Ultimate Reality, ie., Parama Shiva:
THE PURE OR NON-BINDING TATTVAS:
1. Shiva Tattva - highest mind, ego-less, pure ‘I’ consciousness
2. Shatki Tattva - highest ego-mind, ‘I am’ self-referral.
The 3 Orders of the Pure Way
3. Sadakhya - The higher ego-minds’ ability to self-refer as ‘being’.
4. Aishavara - experience & experiencer, as a unity, are poles as in a magnet.
5. Sad-vidya - experience and experiencer immerge separate from unity.
6. Maya - the imposer of Time, Space and Form. Separation of Subject and Object, eg. The illusion that self and things exist and are separated and individual, ie., formation of mental constructs, ie., names, nouns, verbs. The Great Veil. The All-Experiencer becomes sleepy.
THE IMPURE OR BINDING TATTVAS:
Shakti as Maya and the Gunas. Maya is the producer of Purusha and Prakriti.
7. Purusha: The 5 Kanchukas of Purusha, the limitations of the bound, separate, limited soul, the end or the beginning of transcendental experience within a limited soul, the lower ego-mind, which interprets the emotional experiences of Prakriti:
8. Niyati
9. KAla
10. Raga
11. Vidya
12. KalA
13. Prakriti - the emotional body, the emotive consequence of the 3 psychic factors. It is the general source of all the five Kanchukas, as well as of all that follows below, consisting of the 3 Cognitive-Behavioral features being Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, but held in mutual neutralization or supreme equipoise.
The 3 psychic (mental) factors, - mental & psychic experiences as individual souls.
14. Buddhi
15. Ahankara
16. Manas
The 5 powers of perception, (Buddhindriyas or Jnanendriyas) - our sense organs and sensory receptors.
17. Hearing
18. Feeling-by-touch
19. Seeing
20. Tasting
21. Smelling
The 5 objectifications of perception, (Tanmatras) - our sense organs and sensory receptors.
22. Sound-as-such
23. Feel-as-such
24. Color-as-such
25. Flavor-as-such
26. Odor-as-such
The 5 powers of activity, (Karmendriyas) - our physical experience of the internal environment.
27. Voicing or expressing
28. Handling, operating as with the hands
29. Locomotion
30. Rejecting and discarding
31. Resting and enjoying passively/ recreating
The 5 physical orders, (Bhutas) - our physical experience of the external environment.
32. Ethereality (akasha)
33. Aerality (Vayu)
34. Formitivity (Agni)
35. Liquidity (Ap)
36. Solidity (Prithivi)
To recap, Shakti is indeed Bliss, Joy, Love as well as Perfect Will and the Powers of Revealing, Concealing, Maintaining and Destroying. When Shakti takes a nose-dive downward through the Tattvas, it is a process of cloaking or sheathing by Involution. The great intrigue and practical interest is when She takes an upward turn; The Ascension. How to unravel the knots, awake, draw back the veils of mist….climb back up the Tattvas by Personal Evolution? This is where the role of May as action and self-effort paradoxically is an aid to our own salvation. But for all our self-effort and preparations, it is only the grace-bestowing power of God, ultimately, that removes key limitations to the soul, allowing us to continue up the Tattvas. This key event is called Shaktipat. In Christian terms, it is the event that leads to proclaiming that one is ‘Born Again’. To learn more about Shaktipat and how to prepare for it, the different levels of yogas, etc please visit www.ibasi.org and check out the readings in the Teachings and Archive pages.
Ask and you shall receive what you are due….next question?
Devi
|
