Guest guest Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Peace to you all! I am Tyra, new to Shaktism. A few years ago I began my journey back to remembering the Great Mother. Recently, I have come to accept that I am truly a Goddess worshipper. I seek to find out how one starts a practice on this path. I am seeking to have a daily practice that will assist me with moving more into Alignment with the Energy of the Great Goddess. Will someone advise me on this? Thank you in Advance. Peace, Love and Namaste Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 This is my opinion: I think its safe to suggest you first venture into the underlying body of texts and "philosophies" which contribute to forming current opinions and understandings of Shakti-ttva. Vedanta, Gita and introductory texts that talk about Bhakti is a very good place to start. Once you have an understanding of how we see God, then you can venture into texts such as Devi mahatmaya, Devi Bhagawata Purana and associated Puranas such as Padma Purana, Markandeya Purana and the so called Kalika Purana. This process will hopefully, give you the same eyes as of a person who has been brought up with the teachings of worshipping the supreme divine [God] as Devi. Once you get the cosmology and scripture down you can then venture into understanding the symbolism of WHY the supreme divinity was personified as Durga or Lakshmi... Texts such as Kama Kala Vilasa and some pre-trika shaiva texts will give you an understanding of the unifying element pervading through the various different personifications and manifestations of the Divine, as well as the funamental understanding of who and what Shiva and Shakti are also, the notion that they are the one and the same. You can then compare the theory of Shiva and Shakti to Purusha and Prakriti and and may further enhance your understanding of Shakti tattva. It is best to approach "Shaktism" with a proper and sound understanding of Shakti and her ism, as well as being armed with the right knowledge of protocol in worship and associated symbolism. Devotional texts such as Saundarya Lahiri, Durga Stava and such will then help you further propel yourself within her maya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 2, 2007 Report Share Posted February 2, 2007 Welcome to the group, Tyra. The "how do I start?" question comes up now and again, and always gets a somewhat different response from the egroup. You can interpret that as you see fit :-) Here is a set of responses from a few years ago that Nora kindly compiled as part of a FAQ: http://shaktisadhana.50megs.com/Newhomepage/Frames/messageboard/FAQ.html or http://tinyurl.com/2xr27a As a practice, the Khadgamala Stotram is a possibility that's often recommended by group members; you can download a text copy from the files section of this e-group: Files -> Khadgamala_SS.pdf You didn't ask for a reading list, but if you're interested, our energetic Devi Bhakta maintains an interesting one at amazon.com. You can find the Link in the "links" section of this e-group: DB's amazon list: Links -> Amazon Booklist for Shakti Sadhana And if none of that resonates for you, there are groups that worship Hindu goddesses in or through a Western esoteric framework. Do a e-groups search for "shakti wicca" or "indopaganism", or see http://www.maabatakali.org/ , Tyra Hargrow <breastisbesttn wrote: > > Peace to you all! > > I am Tyra, new to Shaktism. A few years ago I began my journey back > to remembering the Great Mother. Recently, I have come to accept that > I am truly a Goddess worshipper. I seek to find out how one starts a > practice on this path. I am seeking to have a daily practice that > will assist me with moving more into Alignment with the Energy of the > Great Goddess. Will someone advise me on this? > > Thank you in Advance. > > Peace, Love and Namaste > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 2, 2007 Report Share Posted February 2, 2007 Thanks so much!!!!!! kartik gaurav <omkaaraya .au> wrote: This is my opinion: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 2, 2007 Report Share Posted February 2, 2007 I appreciate you! Peace and Namaste Tyra llundrub <llundrub (AT) cox (DOT) net> wrote: The sun is the womb of form because it is the source of it. Therefore revel in the light for it is woman. The moon is man for it is divided into night and day and therefore rules dualistically. Thus one rides the duality from unity. More specifically maybe consider some aspects of traditional Hindu Shakta tantras maybe such as the Chinnamasta, Vajrayogini, Mahakali, Lakshmi/Narayana, Sri, and such cults and chose one and stick with it. That's it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 3, 2007 Report Share Posted February 3, 2007 Hi, I had forgotten to mention two different names which may be of easier access to you via online bookstores, like amazon or bn. Arthur Avalon, aka Sir John Woodroffe, the author of 'Serpent Power' and Shiva and SHakti is in my opinion the best author, and one of the principle authorities of shakti tantra in the english language. The second best source for any information is the Ramakrishna math, you will find thier books to be a cost effective and indispensable source of information about Vedanta. Other institutions seem to have a lot more bias than the Ramakrishna people in thier explanations of scripture. I feel I was a bit too vague in the first reply about mentioning sources. Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 3, 2007 Report Share Posted February 3, 2007 Thank you so very much, msbauju! This is all very helpful. I did find the amazon book list a few weeks back and ordered The Living Goddess based on what I read. That book has really resonated with me and is part of the reason that I have an even greater desire to learn more about this spiritual tradition. I will keep you all posted on my progress. Thanks again. Peace and Love Tyra Olufemi msbauju <msbauju > wrote: Welcome to the group, Tyra. The "how do I start?" question comes up now and again, and always gets a somewhat different response from the egroup. You can interpret that as you see fit :-) Here is a set of responses from a few years ago that Nora kindly compiled as part of a FAQ: http://shaktisadhana.50megs.com/Newhomepage/Frames/messageboard/FAQ.html or http://tinyurl.com/2xr27a As a practice, the Khadgamala Stotram is a possibility that's often recommended by group members; you can download a text copy from the files section of this e-group: Files -> Khadgamala_SS.pdf You didn't ask for a reading list, but if you're interested, our energetic Devi Bhakta maintains an interesting one at amazon.com. You can find the Link in the "links" section of this e-group: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 3, 2007 Report Share Posted February 3, 2007 Oh, Thank you! I have heard of Arthur Avalon so I will take this as confirmation that I should move forward with reading his works. And I don't know if I had heard of the Ramakrishna group that you spoke of but I will be sure to look into their books also. I appreciate you for the clarification. Peace to you! Tyra kartik gaurav <omkaaraya .au> wrote: Hi, I had forgotten to mention two different names which may be of easier access to you via online bookstores, like amazon or bn. Arthur Avalon, aka Sir John Woodroffe, the author of 'Serpent Power' and Shiva and SHakti is in my opinion the best author, and one of the principle authorities of shakti tantra in the english language. The second best source for any information is the Ramakrishna math, you will find thier books to be a cost effective and indispensable source of information about Vedanta. Other institutions seem to have a lot more bias than the Ramakrishna people in thier explanations of scripture. I feel I was a bit too vague in the first reply about mentioning sources. Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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