Guest guest Posted March 4, 2003 Report Share Posted March 4, 2003 Greetings, Penkatali ... I am really happy to see you posting here again aften such a long absence. Your post offers some surprising examples of how the Divine Feminine can make Herself known in the subtlest of ways, in the most surprising places. Lately, we have had discussions here regarding whether Hinduism -- even in its Shakta schools -- is "patriarchal." My feeling is that a religion simply *is*; it is the human followers of a given religion who bring their psycho-social baggage (patriarchal or otherwise) into the equation. Of Hindu Shaktism, the historian N. N. Bhattacharyya wrote, "Nowhere in the religious history of the world do we come across such a completely female-oriented system" -- and yet even Shaktism can be approached in a pretty misogynistic way (as I described in Msg # ). It all depends on the devotee, and perhaps on the particular tradition the devotee is initiated into. Tantric Shaktism -- with its preference for female gurus and its equation of Devi veneration with the veneration of human women -- is not misogynistic at all, although it has been observed that most of its Tantras appear to have been written by and for male devotees; details female devotions appear to have been passed mainly through oral instruction then and perhaps now as well. The Abrahamic religions -- Judaism, Christianity and Islam -- are notable for their mainstream attempts to deny the role of the Feminine Principle. And yet the more mystical subsects all cam back to Her -- Judaism's Kabbalah; Christianity's Gnosticism and Mary cults; Islam's Sufism. In popular Western perceptions, there could hardly be a more misogynistic religion than Islam (though of course tens of millions of women find focus and comfort and fulfillment in that faith, as is also true of mainstream versions of Judaism, Christianity and just about any other faith). But as your masterful website abundantly illustrates(http://www.penkatali.org ... members who haven't seen it should take a look), Shakti is alive and well in Islam, for those who seek Her. Leave it to Devi to provide nurturing bridges between religions that others try to separate by walls of mutual hatred and misunderstanding. Aum Maatangyai Namahe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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