The Concept of Shakti: Hinduism as a Liberating Force for Women

[Guest guest]

shriadishakti , " jagbir singh "

<adishakti_org> wrote:

>

> The Sakti or Devi is thus the Brahman revealed in the mother

> aspect (Srimata) as creatrix and nourisher of the worlds. Her

> first name in the Sri Lalita Sahasranama is Sri Mata. The reason

> such names are taken from that scared text is because the Great

> Adi Shakti Herself acknowledged during Guru Puja at Camp Interval,

> Quebec, Canada on July 23, 1994, that Her original name is Shri

> Lalita Devi. Thus the 1000 names of Shri Lalita Sahasranama are

> attributed to Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi in the www.adishakti.org

> website. ...

>

> That is why my daughter once told me that we humans have three

> mothers - the physical mother who gave birth, the spiritual Mother

> within who nourishes and guides us, and Mother Earth who sustains

> all life. (But such knowledge is only admissible if it is

> experienced and cross-examined against the religious texts.) It is

> the Sacred Mother within that we now pay attention to and not Her

> external manifestation. His Shakti (Holy Spirit/Ruh) within is

> indeed the Seer, the Seen and the Seeing within all beings. He is

> the Knower, the Measurer. Both are one and the same, inseperable

> like the sun and its light.

>

 

 

The Concept of Shakti: Hinduism as a Liberating Force for Women

Frank Morales, M.A.

 

The intricate dynamics of power and gender has grown to become an

increasingly important topic within the realm of present day

academia - and justifiably so. Though representing half of the human

race, women's voices, needs and inner psyches have,

traditionally, been relegated to a place of unimportance in the

history of the Western world. Throughout the history of European

civilization, the nature of the feminine was misunderstood,

neglected and, in some cases, practically demonized. Consequently,

for millennia women have been deprived of the power - political,

economic, spiritual, even sexual - which men so take for granted.

Recognizing the imperative need to correct this historic imbalance,

many modern Feminist leaders attempted to devise an ideological

framework through which they felt that the roots of this imbalance

could be properly understood. Additionally, there have been many

attempts to wrest control over the primary mechanisms of power,

specifically in the political and economic sectors. As a result,

what were at one time conceived as the exclusive domains of the male

gender have now begun to open up to women. In the modern West, power

is no longer equated with the testosterone laden half of the human

race. The question, however, is should this have ever been the view

of Western civilization?

 

For while it may have been the tradition in the West to naturally

equate power with the masculine, this is not at all a universally

held outlook. One world-view which offers us a fresh and radically

different approach to the issue of power and the feminine is found

in the philosophy and culture of Hinduism - and specifically in the

concept of Shakti. Within the metaphysical framework of Shakti, we

discover the concept of the feminine as being the very manifestation

of power itself.

 

In the following essay, I will accomplish three tasks:

 

1) an examination of the concept of Shakti as found throughout the

history and various schools of thought of Hinduism;

 

2) I will explore the historical implications that this concept has

contributed in forming the traditional Hindu view of the nature of

the feminine and the subsequent role of women; and finally

 

3) I will share some thoughts on the role that the concept of Shakti

can potentially play in helping to bring about a reemergence of the

much neglected and crucially needed feminine in our own Western

culture.

 

The Sanskrit word Shakti can be translated as meaning " power "

or " energy. " It is derived from the parasmaipada verb root " shak, "

which means " to be able, " " to do, " " to act. " This power is witnessed

in all the various phenomena of life. It is the force responsible

for the growth of vegetation, animals and human beings. It is what

is responsible for the movement of all things. The planets revolve

around the sun as a result of Shakti. It is Shakti that makes the

winds blow and the oceans churn. Shakti is manifest as the very

affective ability of all the forces of nature. She is the heat of

fire, the brilliance of the sun, the very life force of all living

beings. In human beings, she is seen as the power of intelligence

(buddhi), compassion (daya) and divine love (bhakti), among her many

other functions (Sharma, 1974; Goswami 1995).

 

It is the power of Shakti that " ...keeps the gods in their position,

makes a man virile or makes a sage of a man " (Sharma, 1974). Without

the presence of Shakti, all creation would be rendered impotent.

 

Most significantly, Shakti is an exclusively feminine principle.

Shakti is synonymous with the great Devi, or the Great Goddess of

Hinduism. As such, she is omnipresent in Hindu society via her many

forms. She is propitiated by all segments of Hindu society,

especially by women. According to Klaus Klostermaier, " ...childless

women implore her to conceive. In times of epidemics, it is the

goddess who is implored to grant health and relief " (Klostermaier,

1990). Shakti has always been a living force throughout the long

history of Hinduism.

 

The importance of goddesses is evident throughout the various sects

and schools of thought of Hinduism (Gatwood, 1985). Additionally,

the presence of goddesses is seen throughout the long literary

tradition of India. In the Rig Veda, for example, at least 40

goddesses are mentioned. These include: Sarasvati, goddess of

wisdom; Ushas, the dawn; and Aditi, who is depicted as " birthless "

(R.V., 10.7.2.). The very word " Shakti " itself appears in the Rig

Veda some 12 times. Two of the word's derivatives, " shaktivat "

and " shakman, " respectively appear twice and five times (Raj, 1983).

Part of the Rig Veda is known as the " Devi Sukta " and is certainly a

recognition of Shakti as a cosmic principle. Shakti is also seen in

the later Itihasas, or Epics of India. She is found in the Ramayana,

where " ...she is called Devi, and is respected by all " (Sharma,

1974). In the Mahabharata there are two hymns dedicated to her. The

various manifestations of the goddess are ubiquitous throughout the

Puranas. Indeed, the Devi Bhagavata Purana is entirely dedicated to

her. One would be hard pressed to find a work anywhere in the

entirety of Hindu literature in which there is not at least some

mention of a feminine power.

 

Hinduism's respect for Shakti is not limited to the

religion's literary heritage. The various schools of Indian

philosophy (shad-darshanas) also took this principle quite

seriously. The Mimamsakas, for example, held that Shakti was no less

than the inherent power of all things. The Naiyayika logicians

attempted to explain Shakti in terms of being the function or

property of any cause. For the Vedanta school, Shakti

was " ...conceived as the activity of a cause revealing itself in the

shape of an effect " (Dev, 1987). Of all the various schools of

Indian philosophy, however, the school most influential in helping

to formulate a theory of Shakti was the Samkhya school.

 

Samkhya teaches the dualistic doctrine of Prakriti / Purusha.

According to this theory there are two radically distinct principles

at play during the creation of the cosmos: matter (Prakriti) and

spirit (Purusha). Prakriti is the primordial matter which is present

before the cosmos becomes manifest. It is as a direct result of the

devolution of this original material substance that the universe,

with all its diversity of names and forms comes into being. Prakriti

is seen as being " ...the power of nature, both animate and

inanimate. As such, nature is seen as dynamic energy " (Rae, 1994).

Prakriti is originally passive, immobile and pure potentiality

by nature . It is only as a direct result of her contact with the

kinetic Purusha that she unfolds into the variagatedness we see

before us. Sudhir Gupta explains this process of devolution from the

perspective of a Shakta, or a worshiper of Devi, the Great Goddess:

 

The universe with all its diversity and multiplicity remains equated

in the divine volition as conception before manifestation. It is

manifested in the course of basic evolution, started under the

influence of the creative volition of the Divine Mother. The

Universal Mother in Her Absolute Self admits of no mutability,

change or division. (Gupta, 1977)

 

Thus, Shakti is seen as being antecedent to Prakriti, with Shakti

being the instrumental cause, in the form of the Devi, or the Great

Goddess, and Prakriti serving as the material cause.

 

The idea of Prakriti / Purusha is seen mirrored in another

closelallied concept: that of the Divine Consort. According to Hindu

teachings, Shakti, energy, cannot exist in a vacuum. If there is an

energy, it must be someone's energy. Almost every god (deva) of

the Hindu pantheon has a feminine companion, a consort, a goddess.

This is an idea which is an indispensable element of every major

sect of Hinduism. Vishnu, for example, has the goddess Shri

(Lakshmi) as his eternal companion. Shiva is accompanied by Parvati,

Brahma by Sarasvati, Krishna by Radha. These goddess-consorts are

said to personify nothing less than the essential energy of the god.

In the words of Ernest Payne:

 

The energy of Vishnu and Shiva was personified as a goddess and

identified with Prakriti, the primary source of the universe. The

connubial relations between Devi and her husband were held to typify

the mystical union of the eternal principles, matter and spirit,

which produces the world. (Payne, 1933)

 

So integral is the relationship between a particular god and his

Shakti that one is thought incapable of existing without the other.

It is said that in her manifestation as Shiva's consort and

source of energy, Shakti is embodied in the " i " of his name.

According to the grammatical rules of classical Sanskrit, if a

consonant is not followed by a vowel, it is automatically assumed

that this consonant is followed by the vowel " a. " Consequently,

without this " i " in his name, Shiva becomes shava, or a lifeless

corpse. Thus it is the feminine principle which is the animating

force of life itself.

 

Both the feminine and the masculine are necessarily present in the

Divine. This is dramatically illustrated in South Asia in the image

of Ardhanarishvara, the representation of God as being half man and

half woman. Veneration of God necessarily entails veneration of the

Goddess. They are two aspects of the same being and are, as such,

mutually dependent upon one another.

 

The intimacy of god and goddess can be more clearly illustrated by

examining one of the stories involving the creation of Devi which is

found Devi Bhagavata Purana. Interestingly, although clearly a

Shakta Purana, the Devi Bhagavata Purana describes Vishnu / Krishna

as being the supreme God (IX. 2. 12 - 23) who " ...is said to be the

root and creator of all " (Dev, 1987) . According to this account,

Krishna was at one time the only being in existence. Desiring to

create the universe, He divided Himself into two parts, the left

being female and the right male. That female was none other than

Radha, the eternal consort and Shakti of Krishna, who is described

as being the Mula Prakriti, or the root source of all existence.

From the conjugal sport of Radha and Krishna a golden egg was born

that was the repository of the material from which our universe was

created. Creation, then, is depicted in the Devi Bhagavata Purana as

proceeding from Krishna, through Radha. The feminine, Shakti, is

shown to be crucial and indispensable in the process of creation.

This fact very clearly demonstrates the mutual dependence in which

god and goddess hold one another.

 

The relationship that is enjoyed between the gods and goddesses in

Hinduism is one of the wielder of power (shaktiman, the masculine

principle) and the power itself (Shakti, the feminine). Each is

meaningless without the existence of the other. While the possessor

of power is the guiding force as to the power's direction and

purpose, it is the power itself which provides the ability to

perform any task. To use a crude example, we might say that the deva

is the computer while the devi is the electricity that makes the

computer's functioning possible. Shaktiman is the principle that

gives guidance and direction to power. Shakti is the vital life-

giving force of the god, as well as the personification of his

particular power. As Shrivatsa Goswami explains this concept:

 

On the transcendental plane this functional duality implies the

split of the Absolute into power or potency (shakti) , the

subjective component, and the possessor of power (shaktiman), the

objective one. On the phenomenal plane too there exists such a

duality. (Goswami, 1985)

 

Together, the deva and devi, the god and goddess of Hinduism, are

the able and the ability, respectively. Moreover, this concept is

not relegated solely to the realm of the Divine.

 

What is true on the macrocosmic level is also the rule on the

microcosmic. Human beings too are said to also participate in the

interplay of shakti and shaktiman. For in Hinduism, every woman is

said to be a manifestation of the divine Shakti. The power of

Shakti, the feminine principle, is believed to be directly present

in creation in the form of our mothers, sisters, daughters and

wives. As the contemporary feminist author Elinor Gadon

explains, " the truth of the Goddess is the mystery of our being. She

is the dynamic life force within. Her form is embedded in our

collective psyche... " (Gadon, 1989). While she is primarily present

as personified in woman, however, Shakti is also present in man.

 

There are several traditions of spiritual unfoldment in India that

teach the notion that Shakti resides within each and every human

being, and that liberation can be achieved by the proper utilization

of the feminine principle within. One example of such a tradition is

the path of Kundalini-yoga. According to Kundalini-yoga philosophy,

Shakti resides at the base of the spine in the form of the kundalini

energy. The goal of this path is to raise this energy through the

various energy centers (chakras) of the subtle, or astral, body. As

each energy portal is open, the yogi achieves newer and higher

levels of spiritual realization and power. Once this Shakti has

reached the top chakra located at the crown of the head, full

liberation and self-realization are achieved. This very process is

described as the union of Shiva and Shakti (Dev, 1987).

 

In addition to Kundalini-yoga, there is an entire denomination of

Hinduism dedicated to the realization of the Great Goddess, known as

Shaktism. The tradition of Shaktism is most influential in West

Bengal and Assam. Its influence, however, has been felt throughout

the length and breath of South Asia. While some references to

Shaktism can certainly be found in the ancient Vedic literature

(Sharma, 1974), it is the works known as the Tantras which are

considered most authoritative by adherents. Philosophically, the

teachings of Shaktism seem to occupy a middle position between the

dualism of Samkhya and the extremely monistic interpretation of

Vedanta posited by Shankara.

 

Unlike with Shankara, for the Shakta the world is not seen as being

merely an illusion; it is in fact extremely real. In Shaktism, it is

believed that Shakti (the goddess Prakriti) evolves her own being

into 36 tattvas, or constituents of reality, in order to create the

universe. The present diversified universe is nothing less than the

creative manifestation of the uncreated goddess Prakriti, or Shakti.

Prakrti, both in the form of this world and the human body is in

fact the vehicle for salvation. In practice, Shaktism stresses the

sacramental nature of the human body due to its being the locus of

spiritual unfoldment (Kumar, 1986). For Shaktas, as for the majority

of Hindus, women are greatly respected as being the personifications

of Shakti in human, and therefore very spiritually accessible, form.

 

How has this view of the feminine affected the Hindu perspective on

the nature and role of women in the Hindu community? Traditionally,

Hinduism teaches that, while women and men naturally share much in

common, their different psychological states and outlooks should not

be overlooked. The belief is that, in general terms, while men are

more aggressive, cerebral and self-promoting, women tend to be more

nurturing, intuitive, mature and giving. Interestingly, it is

precisely these feminine qualities which are aspired toward in Hindu

spiritual life - by both men and women. Like every other religion

and culture known to history, individual Hindus have sometimes had

difficulty putting their high spiritual ideals into actual practice.

Overall, however, the record of Hinduism vis-à-vis the treatment

of women has been a very good one. As a result, according to Klaus

Klostermaier:

 

Traditional Hinduism is still strongly supported by women; women

form the largest portion of temple goers and festival attendants,

and women keep traditional domestic rituals alive and pass on the

familiar stories of the gods and goddesses to their children.

(Klostermaier, 1994)

 

As we will see, Hindu women have not only historically enjoyed the

status of being the repository of Shakti, but have often actually

had the opportunity to wield some actual power.

 

Unlike what is clearly observed in the majority of Western

literature, Hindu literature is full of accounts of heroic, strong

and brave women. There are many accounts of such women in the

Mahabharata. For example, we find Draupadi, who is depicted as a

brave and iron-willed woman. There is also Kunti, who perseveres

with her honor and her faith intact despite a life riddled with

tragedies. In the Ramayana, we meet Sita, the wife - and Shakti - of

Rama, an incarnation of God. Though arranged marriages are the norm

in Hindu society, we find that Sita chooses her own husband in a

svayamvara ceremony. Also of her own free will, she chooses to

accompany Rama to the forest when he is sent into exile, thus

exhibiting her strength and commitment to loyalty. While living in

the forest, she continues to display her independent nature, as when

she convinces Rama to chase the gold-spotted dear. Hindu literature

is full of such examples of strong, heroic women. Images of powerful

women in Hinduism are not limited to the realm of literature.

 

They are also witnessed throughout the living historical record of

India as well. Hindu women have historically easily risen to heights

of power within various monastic and religious hierarchical

structures, parallels of which would have been unheard of in Western

religion and society until only recently. In the earliest Vedic

era, for example, women were awarded the sacred thread of priests

(brahmanas) (Klostermaier, 1994). One text of the Rig Veda (V, 28)

mentions that there was a female rishi, or revealer of sacred truth,

known as Vishvara. There were also women philosophers such as

Vachaknavi, who debated Yajnavalkya, of Upanishadic fame. The famous

Sanskrit grammarian, Panini, observed the distinction in the

Sanskrit language between " acaryani " (the wife of a teacher)

and " acaryaa " (a lady teacher), indicating that women were accepted

as spiritual teachers. Such women saints as Andal and Mirabai were

leaders of the devotional Bhakti movement " ...that initiated the

religious liberation of women [and] was largely promoted and

supported by women devotees " (Ibid., 1994). Women have continued

this long tradition as leaders of various Hindu communities to this

day. Such examples of this phenomenon can be seen in the forms of

Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, Amritanandamayi, and Meera Ma, among many,

many others (Johnsen, 1994). Considering that Indian culture has

always been a culture in which religion has always been the most

important social institution in society, it is no small

accomplishment for women to have risen so high in the echelons of

Hindu leadership.

 

Such respect for the feminine has not been as readily visible in the

history of the Western world, unfortunately. The Western religions

of Judaism, Christianity and Islam have not had the same abundant

degree of examples of women in leadership throughout their

respective histories. To this day, for example, women are barred

from the priesthood in the Roman Catholic church. It has only been

in the latter third of the twentieth century that a reemergence of

the feminine has begun to take place in European and American

societies. Recognizing the terrible price that this gaping

deficiency has wrought upon the world in the forms of war, the

environmental crisis and the exploitation of women, many present day

women thinkers are openly calling for a reclaiming of feminine

values in many different sectors of life. In the words of Eleanor

Rae: " while the feminine is not limited in its context, there are

nevertheless certain key places where it is most appropriately

rediscovered. These are in women, in the Earth, and in the Divinity "

(Rae, 1994). By recognizing the sacred nature of women as

personifications of the feminine aspect of divinity, and by seeing

the Earth, not as a lifeless object, there solely for our

exploitation, but rather as the living personality of our collective

Mother, we can end much of the needless violence and suffering

brought about by denying the feminine.

 

Agreeing with this assessment, Vandana Shiva has written:

The violence to nature as symptomatized by the ecological crisis,

and the violence to women, as symptomitized by their subjugation and

exploitation, arise from this subjugation of the feminine

principle. (Shiva, 1989)

 

In an crystal-clear display of the ancient concept of Shakti coming

full circle to occupy the center stage of current academic debate,

it has finally been recognized that the feminine aspect of the very

Divinity Him(Her)self has been too long neglected. In the works of

such people as Matthew Fox and Vicki Noble, we are now witnessing a

call for the reemergence of the concept of the sacred feminine power

of God, of Shakti. In such interesting developments as these, I

venture to say that we are not so much witnessing the " Hinduization "

of Western thought, as we are the rediscovery of the feminine

principle as an integral and inseparable part of our very being.

 

These more recent developments is the West, as well as the long and

positive history of the concept of Shakti in India, have shown the

idea of a sacred feminine power originating from Divinity and,

therefore, necessarily inherent in all things, to be a very relevant

subject for further exploration - both on an academic, as well as on

a personal, spiritual level. While seemingly arising from the misty

and esoteric depths of the philosophy and sacred stories of

Hinduism, Shakti is actually a force which also has the ability to

effect all human culture: politically, socially and at the deepest

levels of our psyches - if we will only let Her.

 

The Concept of Shakti: Hinduism as a Liberating Force for Women

Frank Morales, M.A.

 

 

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Copyright 1998 Frank Morales. You may print, duplicate or copy this

article only if you credit the author and not alter or add to the

author's work in any way.