Guest guest Posted January 6, 2003 Report Share Posted January 6, 2003 Shakta as I understand is one who is initiated into any Shakti Mantra as per the standard Shakta manuals. The rest will be devotees of Shakti or Devi. Worshipping Shiva/Vishnu does not mean that the worshippers are against Devi worship. Atleast for smartas/advaitins all three are the same and they are addressed as Ratnatraya or "The Three Gems". As for the quoted Saundaryalahari verse there is another verse saying that She is seated on the lap of ParamaShiva. As Ravi wrote in an earlier post(on Ardhanareeshvara) She is devoted to ParamaShiva(and ParamaShiva to Her-refer LS). Corrections Welcome. satish. --- "adi_shakthi16 <adi_shakthi16" <adi_shakthi16 wrote: > it is generally believed that one who worships > 'shakti' is a Shakta! > > but, dear ones those who worship other gods besides > the > goddess 'shakti are also shaktas.? > > how and why you may ask? > > well, folks, when you worship Goddess shakti in her > various > manifestations as Durga, Ambika, Kali, Parvati, > Saraswati, Lakshmi > etc you are worshipping only SAKTHI, THE SUPREME > TRUTH OR PARA- > BRAHMAN... > > BUT WHEN YOU WORSHIP ALL THESE OTHER GODS SUCH AS > > 1) SHIVA > 2) VISHNU AND ALL HIS INCARNATIONS > 3)MURUGA > > etc, you may be **** externally*** worshipping all > these gods but in > reality , you are internally worshipping their > 'shakti"! > > this is why adi shankara though externally he was > seen worshipping > shiva, vishnu, etrc , internally he was always > worshipping 'devi or > sakthi! > > these is because all the deities including Brahma , > vishnu,and > shiva, vishnu etc derive their 'energy' only from > 'shakti' without > which they cannot perform their respective tasls of > creation,preservation and destruction. > > this is a little hard for some people to understand > but this is true! > > why is shankar called bhavani -shanlar? > why is narayana called lakshmi narayana ? > why is krishna called radha-krishna? > > so, externally i may be worshipping Lord krishna but > internally i am > always worshipping his shakti, srimati radharani! > > this is the greatness of shakti worship! > > we are all shakti worshippers! > > only thing is a real; 'shakta' worships shakti > internally and > externally ! and others like me (so called > non-shaktas) worship other > gods like shiva, krishna, etc externally but > internally are only > worshipping their respective shaktis- > > so, whio is to say i am not a shakta? > > as the famous quote goes-i am part of a kaula dharma > which believes > in worshipping shiva externally, in satsangat i am > singing the > praises of vishnu (vaishnav) and at heart a shakta > and in these > various forms, i roam around! our respected kochu > knows what i am > talking about! > > we all know shri ramakrishna paramahamsa is a > greatest bhakta of > mother kali! is not it? but in his dakshineshwer > temple, he performed > pujas to all the twelve jyothirlingas of shiva and > when in the > company of devotess he always sang the praises of > lord krishna? > figure that one out, guys! > > in soundarya lahiri , there is a verse which > describes the greatness > of devi this... > > Gatas te mancatvam Druhina-Hari-Rudr'esavara-bhrtah > Sivah svaccac-chaya-ghatita-kapata-pracchada-patah; > Tvadiyanam bhasam prati-phalana-rag'arunataya > Sariri srngaro rasa iva drsam dogdhi kutukam. > > TRANSLATION > > Thy servitors Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra and Isvara have > taken the shape > of Thy cot ( i.e. the four legs of the cot ) in > order to serve Thee > very closely, while Sadashiva has formed himself > into Thy bedsheet, > reflecting Thy crimson glory in his assumed > whiteness, thereby > causing amazement to Thee by presenting Himself as > the very > embodiment of erotic sentiment. > > one can worship shakti internally and externally! > one can worship > shakti internally and her consorts externally ! > both are shaktas! > who is to say who is a superior shakta ? > > also, shri ramana maharishi (believed t be an > incarnation of lord > subramanya) worshipped shiva externally but when he > attained > samadhi . they found a 'sri-chakra' in his loin > cloth! how do you > explain that, folks? > > members, please kindly step in and tell me if i am > wrong! > > om siva-skthi aikyaii namaha! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 6, 2003 Report Share Posted January 6, 2003 in kubjika tantra, it is said... BraHmani kurute Sristhim na tu BraHma kadachana ataaeva maheshwari! brahma is preta na samshayah Vaishnavi hurute raksham na tu vishnu kadachana ataeava MAHESHWARI! vishnuh preta na samshayaha Rudrani kurute grasam na tu rudrah kadachana ataeva Maheshwari! rudraha preta na samshayah brhmavushnumaheshadya jadasshachaiva prakrtitah prakincha vina devi sarve karyakshama dhruvan translation brahmani (devi) is the creator , not brahma o maheshwari! brahma is preta (corpse- dead body) there is no doubt about that! vaishnavi ( devi) is the mintainer not vishnu o maheshwari! vishnu is preta (dead body- corpse) no doubt about that! rudrani is the devourer not rudra o maheshweri ! rudra is preta (dead body- corpse) no doubt about that! in this verse brahma, vishnu and mahesha are described as NON- FUNCTIONAL (jada) for surely they cannot function without prakriti! (prakriti is shakti) the divine mother is the ***shakti*** of all gods! she is ***para shakti*** om parashaktiye namaha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 7, 2003 Report Share Posted January 7, 2003 dear satish, pranams... you wrote in as well as here ... "For the same reasons, everyone is a worshipper of Brahman because, the word haMsa is not reserved for shaktas. It can also denote brahman. So if everyone who breathes can be a Shakta, then he is also a Vaishnava and a Shaiva too. So technically, a Shakta is one who is initiated into Her mantras as per the standard Shakta manuals." but as per vigyana bhairava tantra... URDHVE PRANO BY ADHO JIVI VIASARGATMA PARAOCHCHARET UTPATHIDVITAYASTHANE BHRANAD BHARITA STHITIH (verse 24) TRANSLATION THE SUPREME SHAKTI whose nature is to create , constantly expresses HERSELF upward in the form of exhalation , and downward in the form of inhalation. by steadily fixing the mind on either of the two spaces between the breaths, one experiences the state of fulness of bhairava. so, satish we all are always chanting the hamsa mantra right from our 'womb' days... i don't think we need to be initiated into 'hams ' mantra... the vijnana bhairava means the 'wisdom of bhairava' - it is an 'agama' coming from the mouth of the supreme principle of the universe, lord shiva... here the guru is bhairava and the disciple is bhairavi, the divine mother -shakti... hamsa mantra is a natural mantra... i do not believe you have to be initiated into it... hamsa mantra is also known as ajapa gayathri... the lord himself initiates us into this mantra when we are in our mother's womb. this is my humble opinion... om sree matrayaii namaha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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