practical and esoteric

[Guest guest]

Devi Bhakta wrote,

> I am not aware of the nature of the "practical stuff" your aunt

> teaches you, but I would nonetheless clarify that *very* little of

> Shakti Sadhana consists of "theortical stuff." Upon closer and more

> serious examination, you would be hard-pressed, I think, to find a

> more practical and application-oriented discipline than Shakta.

 

Maybe, but what I see here lots of times is esoteric details, some of

them described with sanskrit terminology that I have a hard time

keeping straight. My university does not offer a course in Sanskrit.

I'd take it if I could.

Auntie Usha concentrates more on the basics, like how to

meditate, how to harness your inner energy, what are the best yoga

positions, stuff like that. And she usually has a goal in mind,

depending on the chick involved. We try to identify chicks who have

some specific need and try to help them. Some chicks are just shy.

Others have anger like I did. Others come from strongly patriarchal

families and need to gain more respect for themselves as women.

Auntie Usha will listen to what the one particular chick needs and

adjust the details accordingly. All this is based on what Auntie

Usha's mother taught her. They had a hard life in Calcutta, and they

relied on the Goddess as a source of strength and comfort.

Take mantras for example. I have seen people on this list

discuss at some great length how to pronounce some specific mantra.

Auntie Usha says the choice of mantra is yours and yours alone. After

all, the Goddess lives within your soul and she is the one you are

trying to communicate with. She knows you and knows what you want.

You don't need to communicate anything TO her. Goal is for you to

hear what she's telling you, not the other way around. So pick

whatever mantra you want. Purpose of the mantra is to concentrate

your thoughts and push extraneous chatter out of your brain so you

can better received the wisdom and the enlightenment the Goddess is

offering you.

At least that's the way I understand it. Maybe Auntie Usha can

clarify if I've misstated anything.

 

Yvonne