Bhakti Yoga and imagined place in the worship of Devi

[Guest guest]

Kindly allow me some questions about Bhakti Yoga and the worship of Devi.

In the Bengal Vaisnava tradition there is a practice where a serious

practitioner is given an esoteric identity within the realm of

Vrindavana by his or her guru. This includes the following details:

age, colour of skin, what kind of clothes you wear, etc. The

practitioner memorises maps of Vrindavana, where he or she lives,

where he or she sports with Krishna, etc. Usually the identity is

that of a manjari, a young girl who assists in the play of Radha and

Krishna, but it could also be a friend of Krsna. This new identity is

called the siddha-deha, the perfected body. It is considered to be the

practitioners true identity. In meditation the practitioner enters

this "reality" and the goal is to enter permanently into it at one

point. This "imaginary" world is considered to be the highest

reality, the cosmic drama, the eternal spiritual play of Radha and

Krishna.

Does such kind of practice also exist in the Shakta tradition? Can

Devi be worshiped in a similar way?

If not, does such a practice exist in the Shaiva tradition in

connection with Parvati and Shiva ?

I beg everyone who has information or an opinion to send a mail.

 

Kind regards

OM SHANTI,

Alexandra