Guest guest Posted June 25, 2004 Report Share Posted June 25, 2004 The practical effect of a philosophy or religion is of primary importance. In the case of Shakti Sadhana, the aim is Wholeness and Power -- and that is precisely the effect gained by practical working, or sAdhana, as distinct from mere theorising. ... Shakti means "Power" and a Shakta is a worshiper of Power in Its Supreme form. And Shakta doctrine is, in fact, powerful and power- giving. It is not possible that those who truly realise that in their essential being they are the self-same Supreme Power which created the Universe, or in actual contact therewith, can ever be weak. ... Life itself is Power, a power which is increased in the individual [to the extent that s/he] has faith in, and progressive realization of, his/her essential oneness with the enduring Whole. ... Abundant Life is needed for the successful undertaking of all human activity. How to gain it is the work of sAdhana. But in rightly stressing the necessity of practice, it has sometimes been forgotten that practice must be backed by a doctrine which supplies the reasons for it. ... Shakta doctrine does give its reasons when it says that the Ultimate Reality and inner being of each self is the unlimited Whole (pUrna) of which the individual is a contraction or form. ... It is unbroken (akhanda) Bliss, of which all happiness in the world is a fragment. It is Unlimited Power in itself, as the Transcendent Will. Limited Power exisits in the form of the individual wills of living forms and the physico-chemical powers of Matter. But all these forms of contraction are due to, and take place in, Mind and Matter. The One Spirit, which is Changeless Bliss, is the essential being in all these forms. >From this it follows that each form may make contact with, and then realize, the Whole as his/her essential Self -- which is Health itself, the infinitely joyous Source of all limited power and life, "prAnaH prAnasya," as the Upanishad says, or "the life of all lives," with results all beneficial to itself. To understand this, however, it is necessary to know the nature of Mind and its operations. Therefore, the meaning of another old saying in the Upanishads: "What one thinks is what one becomes." If this be doubted, the answer is, "Try." If the objector refuses to try a system which promises particular results, s/he cannot complain that s/he has had no benefit from it. Just as in the West one finds advocates of the Cult of Power, so others, both here [india] and there, are opposed to it because of its abuses. It is true that Power may be wrongly used, but that need not be so. The objection is not to the Cult of Power [shakti Sadhana] -- which is *not* the same thing as the Cult of material force -- but to the use of Power when it is obtained. In the same way, loose thinking makes a distinction between Might and Right, as though Might was wrong. But there is nothing necessarily wrong about Might. The true distinction is between Might in the service of Right, and Might in the service of Wrong. "Power as Life," (Introduction), Sir John Woodroffe, 1922 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2004 Report Share Posted June 26, 2004 Namaste, This is so cool. pr , "Devi Bhakta" <devi_bhakta> wrote: > The practical effect of a philosophy or religion is of primary > importance. In the case of Shakti Sadhana, the aim is Wholeness and > Power -- and that is precisely the effect gained by practical > working, or sAdhana, as distinct from mere theorising. ... > > Shakti means "Power" and a Shakta is a worshiper of Power in Its > Supreme form. And Shakta doctrine is, in fact, powerful and power- > giving. It is not possible that those who truly realise that in their > essential being they are the self-same Supreme Power which created > the Universe, or in actual contact therewith, can ever be weak. ... > > Life itself is Power, a power which is increased in the individual > [to the extent that s/he] has faith in, and progressive realization > of, his/her essential oneness with the enduring Whole. ... > > Abundant Life is needed for the successful undertaking of all human > activity. How to gain it is the work of sAdhana. But in rightly > stressing the necessity of practice, it has sometimes been forgotten > that practice must be backed by a doctrine which supplies the reasons > for it. ... > > Shakta doctrine does give its reasons when it says that the Ultimate > Reality and inner being of each self is the unlimited Whole (pUrna) > of which the individual is a contraction or form. ... It is unbroken > (akhanda) Bliss, of which all happiness in the world is a fragment. > It is Unlimited Power in itself, as the Transcendent Will. Limited > Power exisits in the form of the individual wills of living forms and > the physico-chemical powers of Matter. > > But all these forms of contraction are due to, and take place in, > Mind and Matter. The One Spirit, which is Changeless Bliss, is the > essential being in all these forms. > > From this it follows that each form may make contact with, and then > realize, the Whole as his/her essential Self -- which is Health > itself, the infinitely joyous Source of all limited power and > life, "prAnaH prAnasya," as the Upanishad says, or "the life of all > lives," with results all beneficial to itself. > > To understand this, however, it is necessary to know the nature of > Mind and its operations. Therefore, the meaning of another old saying > in the Upanishads: "What one thinks is what one becomes." If this be > doubted, the answer is, "Try." If the objector refuses to try a > system which promises particular results, s/he cannot complain that > s/he has had no benefit from it. > > Just as in the West one finds advocates of the Cult of Power, so > others, both here [india] and there, are opposed to it because of its > abuses. It is true that Power may be wrongly used, but that need not > be so. The objection is not to the Cult of Power [shakti Sadhana] -- > which is *not* the same thing as the Cult of material force -- but to > the use of Power when it is obtained. In the same way, loose thinking > makes a distinction between Might and Right, as though Might was > wrong. But there is nothing necessarily wrong about Might. The true > distinction is between Might in the service of Right, and Might in > the service of Wrong. > > "Power as Life," (Introduction), Sir John Woodroffe, 1922 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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