Shakti_Sadhnaa

[Guest guest]

Greetings friends. Thank you for joining this study group. I guess i

should be the first to start this discussion. And i hope others will

join in the discussion. I would encourage others to questions me at

the end of my presentation. Please do not be shy, we are here to

learn. Through questioning each other we will be able to understand.

 

Who is shakti, Devi, the goddess and the eternal mother?

>From the articles in the briefcase and the internet souce, we have a

lot of defination of the word shakti : energy, power etc.

Nevertheless their meaning is all the same.

 

In my understanding : Shakti is the life force that is embodied all

around us. Shakti is within our body and also around us. As in Frank

Morales articles " The concept of Shakti : Hindusim as a liberating

force for woman" ( refer to club briefcase ) he clearly states as

follows :

 

"... this power is witnessed in all the various phenomena of life. It

is the force responsible for the growth of vegetation, animals and

human beings. It is what is responsible for the movement of all

things. The planets revolve around the sun as a result of Shakti. It

is Shakti that makes the winds blow and the oceans churn. Shakti is

manifest as the very affective ability of all the forces of nature.

She is the heat of fire, the brillance of the sun, the very life

force of all living things. In human beings, she is seen as the power

of the intelligence ( buddhi ), compassion ( daya ) and the devine

love ( bhakti )"

 

Shakti is within our body?

I believe that each and every one of us have our own interpretation

of Shakti. As ive indicated in the club message board : some people

see Shakti as their mother ( i think majority of us do ), some as

their lover, best friend, sister etc. But to me, due to the nature of

my career, i see shakti as the medicine woman or some may say the

wise woman or the healer. I choose not to use the word "nurse"

because to me she is more than just a nurse. She have many names but

popularly known as the wise woman. Wise woman are ancient names given

to ladies who have the healing power within them. How do i come to

this interpretation. This too comes with my devotion towards the 3

goddess : Durga/shakti, saraswati and lakshmi. I allow these three

goddess to take residence in my body and i interprete them as : I used

the power of shakti in my body, the wisdom of saraswati and the

generousity of Lakshmi to guide me through my journey. When i close my

eyes and merge these 3 entity what i see is a vision of an elderly

lady, the wise woman or the MahaShakti as i like to call HER

sometimes. The wise woman, walking bare footed with a medicinal bowl

in her hand, and when she is in the sitting position meditating, even

though her eyes are close, her heart and mind always open listening to

the sounds of life around her. She is never isolated from her

environment. I know some may not understand this concept. I didnt

think about it too initially until somebody question abt my devotion

to the three goddess and how do i connect myself to them. I analyse

my thoughts and my action and i came to the realisation that i have

always used these 3 entity within me. Often in my career, i will come

to a dead end in trying to help my patient to overcome their pain (

emotional and physical pain ) I know that the knowledge and skills is

there but because of my human limitation , I will not be able to

access to it. So by invoking the spirit of Shakti with in me, it open

up the channel for me to learn and understand the wealth of

information. Thats is when i would called im in the highest spiritual

bliss or Ananda.

 

Shakti around us

It is being said that Mother Shakti will manifest to her devotee in

the form they are comfortable with. To me she manifest as a form of an

elderly lady because i find my self easily attached to elderly people

esp elderly ladies. When I look at them, its like me looking at

Shakti. And when they smile or place their hand on my head, its like

Shakti blessing me. That is how i connect myself with Shakti.

 

 

Who is a Shakta?

Is the worshipper of Shakti. So it also literally means we are Shakta

too. Extracted from an article : The indian religion of the Goddess

Shakti by Dr Hans Koester ( available in the blub briefcase ) he

remarked :

 

" .. we often speak the Mother Nature as a comparative manner, but for

a shakta, it is absolute reality. Nature is Her body. Her presence is

personally felt by him, when he is standing on the fertile ground of

the earth; he touches Her life in the blossoms of the pure

lotus-flower. She animates all living creatures. His own body is a

part of Her great body. Worshipping HEr in all HEr ifferent forms, he

will find HEr light too, within his mind and consciousness. Thus to

the Shakta the whole universe of mind and matter reveals itself in ite

unity, he sees before him Her great boy which he adores. Her sacred

feet, Her heart, Her mind." Perhaps I should encourage Devi_Bhakta and

Penkatali to elaborate on this further. They are the experience

Shakta.