Yogini: The Enlightened Woman_This posting is so valuable

[Guest guest]

JSM!

 

Dear Jagbir, Violet, and All,

 

This posting is so valuable. Special thanks for it!

It reveals in depth important points of spiritual ascend.

It is something one can not read about everywhere. The time,

however, to jump in such experiences is in now. And only our pure

desire, and the Divine Grace can lead to it.

This is the spiritual seed which has to blossom, and to fragrant with

its aroma the whole world. This is what has to flourish out of each

Rakhi brother-sister relation given by God, and cleanse the space and

all species transforming them into a New World of Pure Divine Love.

 

with unconditional love,

veni

 

, " jagbir singh "

<adishakti_org wrote:

>

> YOGINI: THE ENLIGHTENED WOMAN

> Page 1 of 3

> By Shambhavi Chopra

>

> " Aham Prema "

> I am Divine Love

>

> In the Bhavani-nama-sahasra (the Thousand Names of the Goddess

> Bhavani) as beautifully explained by Pandit Jankinath Kaul, " A

Yogini

> is one who is possessed of magical powers.'' Para Shakti, the

Supreme

> Shakti, in the form of Durga is given the name Yogini. She assumes

> various forms and takes on different divine energies to maintain

> harmony in the Universe, to combat evil and uphold the good. A

woman

> who gains a transcendental state in sadhana comes back as a

celestial

> Yogini or Bhairavi, a female adept at Yoga. She carries the energy

> of Durga within her.

>

> A true Yogini is an enlightened woman with exuberant passion,

> spiritual powers and deep insight. Yoginis communicate a sense of

> freedom, a sheer mastery in whatever they do. With their

compelling

> gazes, they can hypnotize even a great yogi and are capable of

> changing their shapes at will. Tantric scholars have written about

> Yoginis as independent, outspoken, forthright women with a

> gracefulness of spirit. Without them, yoga can fail in its purpose

> and remain sterile.

>

> Shakta texts honor both women and the Earth alike as sources of

> energy, vitality, physical and spiritual well-being. Noting this

> analogy between a Yogini and the earth, an eleventh-century Tibetan

> Cakrasamvara commentary states: " Having recognized a Yogini who

will

> delight and transmit energy and power to him, and feeling

> passionately attracted to her, if the male aspirant does not

worship

> that Yogini, she will not bless the yogi, and spiritual attainments

> will not arise.'' Miranda Shaw's book, Passionate Enlightenment,

> which was introduced to me by Lokesh Chandraji, first exposed the

> world of the Yogini to me from a Buddhist perspective.

>

> In Hindu thought, the Yogini represents the Yoga Shakti herself,

the

> Kundalini, as well as the resident powers or female deities of the

> different chakras. The Yogini possesses the power of Yoga herself

and

> can awaken that in others, not only generally but at any point or

> place in the body or mind. A man's ability to achieve the higher

> states of Yoga can be facilitated by his association with such a

> female companion who reflects this energy.

>

> Page 2 of 3

>

> Just as a Goddess blesses and benefits her devotees, and the Shakti

> vivifies all biological, cultural, and religious practices, so a

> woman can channel this life force or spiritual energy to her

consort-

> devotee. A woman is no more depleted by providing this spiritual

> nourishment than a mother by nursing her child. In fact, it causes

> deeper energies to well up from within her.

>

> This spiritual energy is not something that a man can extract or

take

> from a Yogini at will. She chooses when and on whom to bestow her

> blessings. Her ability to enhance a man's spiritual development

> depends upon her innate divinity as awakened and brought to

fruition

> by her own yogic practices, which include envisioning herself in

the

> forms of various Goddesses and investing herself with Their

> appearances and ornaments, tender and wrathful expressions, and

> supernatural powers for liberating beings. By conferring energy and

> grace upon a man - ''blessing '' or ''empowering'' him - she is not

> weakening herself but rather sharing her energy voluntarily with

one

> who has won her favour by meeting the various requirements that she

> may impose.

>

> This relationship parallels human-divine relationships in so far as

> the deity is the benefactor and the human devotee is the

beneficiary.

> Although the Deity may derive some gratification from the

> relationship, the devotee has much more to gain than does the

> sovereign object of his devotion. What supplicants ultimately want

> from their deity is supreme deliverance or liberation, and this is

> what male Tantrics should seek to gain from their relationships

with

> spiritual women. Tantric texts reiterate that a man cannot gain

> enlightenment without respecting women and allying himself inwardly

> with a woman. The woman's beneficence is a gracious, yet voluntary

> response to her devotee's supplication, homage and worship.

>

> The Goddess is a great Yogini, devoted to Shiva, yet matching His

> powers. She is the embodiment of pure energy, the Mother and matrix

> of all manifestation, the source of all time, space and creation.

As

> they practiced Yoga together, Shakti accepted Shiva as her Guru,

and

> he taught her the ways of transcendent being to guide her to her

> ultimate liberation. Shiva in turn also accepted Shakti as his

Guru,

> and she initiated him into his ultimate liberation through putting

> him in touch with the supreme power of consciousness.

>

> The Goddess Chhinnamasta, the deity who cuts off her own head,

> symbolizes the great Yogini, the wonderful consciousness beyond the

> mind. She represents the opened Third Eye from which flashes forth

> the lightening of direct perception that destroys all duality and

> negativity. She is the Yoga Shakti or power of Yoga in its most

> dramatic action of granting enlightenment. Hence she is also known

as

> Vajra Yogini. The Vajra is the supreme lightning force of the inner

> Self.

>

> Chhinnamasta is the Para-Dakini, the supreme or foremost of the

> Dakinis, the attendant Goddesses on the yogic path, who are the

> yoginis as the powers of the chakras. Sadhakas seeking the path of

> occult or yogic powers should worship her, as reiterated by David

> Frawley in his book Tantric Yoga and the Wisdom Goddesses, invoking

> her through the mantra based on her name as Vajra Vairochani. This

> facilitates all inner transformations in a dramatic way.

> The Yogini is also Bhairavi or the Goddess of Fire below in the

> muladhara or root chakra. It is she who becomes Chhinnamasta as she

> reaches the third eye and opens the crown chakra beyond. Her blood

is

> light that illumines everything.

>

> Mary Magdalene was such a Yogini, manifesting her Shakti through

the

> flow of light from her heart and soul. Her Divine love was

> unconditional and independent of external situations and dogmas.

Yet

> Divine love is not limited to the ascetic. In my understanding of

> Tantra, if two spiritually evolved beings come together in

> unconditional love, they also can create an energy field that is

most

> positive and rare, exuding high vibrational levels of peace and

love

> into the universe.

>

> The ancient cultures of Egypt, Greece, Tibet and India have

esoteric

> traditions glorifying the initiatory power of the woman. She is

> considered to be the high priestess who unfolds all higher

knowledge

> and powers for us. She is Sophia, the source and font of wisdom or

> Prajna, the deepest insight into the nature of things. Tantric

> teachings stress the importance of physical beauty in a companion

but

> only to initially stimulate and then elevate passion from the

sensual

> to the spiritual plane. The beauty of the soul surpasses physical

> beauty.

>

> The `initiatory' power of woman is tremendous, providing the force

of

> passion that is necessary for developing experiential mysticism. By

> sharing the secrets of love, a woman can bestow transcendental

power

> on her lover. The highest form of Shakti is the direct expression

of

> the wisdom-energy she releases, creating a joyful transformation. A

> woman can initiate her partner into such mystical experiences

through

> trust, surrender to higher ideals and spontaneity. It is the

Goddess

> within each woman who really initiates.

>

> To be a Yogini is the highest spiritual goal for all women. It is

the

> way to become one with the Goddess within and to bring her out in

> expression to uplift the world that is really her creation. Yet it

is

> not an outer appearance but a state of inner energy and ecstasy

that

> makes the Yogini. She cannot be manipulated, defined or even ever

> entirely known.

>