The Divine Mother -Shakti \ The active aspect of Brahman
and the awakening of kundalini
Brahman (Shiva or Atman or God, or Spirit etc.)
and Shakti are not two. They are the static and the dynamic aspects of one and
the same principle.
"The power or active aspect of the immanent God
is Shakti. Shiva (Brahman, God etc.) is the unchanging consciousness. Shakti is
His changing Power which appears as mind and matter. She runs this world-show.
She maintains the sportive play or Lila of the Lord. She is the supporter of
the vast universe. She is the supreme Power by which the world is upheld. She
is the Universal Mother (the Divine Mother)."
~ Swami Sivananda
"It is this cosmic energy, this Para Shakti,
that manifests as the incredible energy of the sun, the energy of the planets
and, the incredible speed at which they whirl in their own orbits. It is this
cosmic energy which manifests as the power of gravity, as the power of the
sun’s radiance, as the power of all these great planets and heavenly bodies, as
the power of the wind and other elements. Shakti controls the entire
manifestation, just as electricity allows all appliances to work."
~ Swami Chitananda
"The Divine Mother is everywhere triple. She is
endowed with the three Gunas, viz., Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. She manifests
Herself as Will (Ichha Shakti), Action (Kriya Shakti) and Knowledge (Jnana
Sakti). She is Brahma-Shakti (Sarasvati) in conjunction with Brahma,
Vishnu-Shakti (Lakshmi) in conjunction with Vishnu and Shhiva-Sakti (Gauri) in
conjunction with Shiva. Hence She is called Tripurasundari. The Chaitanya
(consciousness) that is associated with the Sattva Guna is Vishnu. The
Chaitanya that is associated with Rajoguna is Brahma and the Chaitanya
associated with Tamoguna is Siva.
The one Ishvara (Chaitanya associated with
Shakti or Maya; the reflection of Brahman in Maya is Ishvara.) has become three
according to the functions of creations, preservation and destruction. The
Chaitanya (consciousness) is the same."
~ Swami Sivananda
The Shakti is neither female nor male. She is
everything, male, female and neutral and beyond these aspects also.
Shakti is considered as female in relation with Brahman which of
course is not neither male nor female; Brahman or the absolute Truth is beyond
any description.
"Any power that we see in this universe is the
power of this great cosmic force and it is this same power that animates all
living beings, trees, plants, insects, birds, bees, reptiles, fish and animals.
It is the power of the lion, it is the power of the elephant and it is the
power of the brilliant intellect or genius of a Faraday, a Raman or an
Einstein.
"This self-same power abides in us and animates our entire body mechanism. Our
lives depend entirely upon Shakti, which grants us vitality, feeling and
consciousness or awareness, through which we operate on all levels and can set
in motion both our outer actions and inner sadhana (spiritual practice).
"The body is Shakti. The mind is Shakti. The
needs of the body are the needs of Shakti. The shakti is the power that digests
our food, that makes our heart pump blood, that makes our lungs breathe, that
makes our muscles and joints work, that makes our tongue talk and ear
hear.
~ Swami Chitananda
"The Shakti rules over the processes of birth
and death and the unfoldment karma. She provides our souls with the bodies and
minds and the worlds in which to experience life. All that we eat, breathe,
perceive, feel or know consists of some portion of her energy and an aspect of
Her dynamic processes that surround us on every side. All that we seek to
acquire for sustenance, happiness, knowledge or growth is part of Her and comes
from Her."
~ David Frawley
The sexual aspect of Shakti
The sexual energy is the most fundamental expression of cosmic energy, because through it the entire universe is born and exists.
In our bodies its main functions is the reproduction of the species and the experience of pleasure, but it is even more important in spiritual development.
Sexual energy is the deepest reservoir of our energy. In the sexual fluids (semen and vaginal fluids) are stored the more subtle and fine energies (Tejas and Ojas) which are very important for maintaining good health, mental and emotional balance and harmony and achieve a high level of consiousness .
Sexual energy has also a higher potential which causes the awakening of Shakti-kundalini which in its turn awake the superior capabilities of the seven chakras and mind (clairvoyance, clairaudience, cosmic consciousness etc.).
"It is this very power that is also present as
the sex energy in us. Therefore, the sex energy is nothing but the presence of
the Divine Mother in all human beings."
"So, the sexual energy is part of the one indivisible great cosmic power present
in the human individual. In its gross biological aspect, it is called the
sexual energy. In its subtler aspect, it is the energy of discrimination, the
power of the intellect to analyze and enquire and ratiocinate. In a still
subtler aspect, in its psychic aspect, it is the power of the Shakti Kundalini.
And in its supreme aspect, it is nothing but Atma-Shakti. Because Brahman and
Shakti are not two. They are the static and the dynamic aspects of one and the
same principle."
~ Swami Chitananda
Shakti and spirituality
"Even to seek Brahman, to seek what is beyond
Shakti (Shiva, Brahman etc.), we must work with Shakti. Shakti provides us the
power of meditation and the discriminating insight through which we can
transcend time and space. This means that the best means for both spiritual
realization and for gaining all the other goals of life is to worship Shakti,
to work with and for the Goddess (Divine Mother). There is no other way as
effective, if there is any other way at all. If the Brahman is the goal, the Shakti
is both the path and the power to traverse it. We can awaken and follow her
current to Brahman, or remain asleep and get caught in her outside streams that
move in different directions."
~ David Frawley
The worship and devotion of Divine Mother can be
included in all spiritual paths and can be a part of the sadhana of everyone
who wants to realize the Truth. But there are paths like Shaktaism that are
dedicated in the worship of the Divine Mother and have spesific practices for
the awakening of Shakti-kundalini.
Worship and devotion can be done by rituals,
prayers, singing praises and kirtan, reading sacred texts about the Divine
mother, repetion of mantras, by the sexual Maithuna and finally by recognising
every person and action as a manifestation of the Shakti, by seeing the Divine Mother in
everything.
Shakti-Kundalini yoga sadhana
Shaktaism is an ancient path of India in which
the devotees adore the Divine Mother and with specific practices aim to the
unfolding and awakening of Shakti-Kundalini.
"Shaktaism helps the aspirant to arouse
the Kundalini and unite Her with Lord Shiva (pure Consciousness) and to enjoy
the supreme bliss or Nirvikalpa Samadhi. A Shakta (devotee of Shakti) does
Sadhana which helps the union of Shiva and Shakti through the awakening of the
forces within the body. He becomes a Siddha (perfect) in the Sadhana when he is
able to awaken Kundalini and pierce the six Chakras. The mode of Sadhana
depends upon the tendencies and capacities of the Sadhaka. One should become
perfectly desireless and should be full of Vairagya before he attempts to
awaken Kundalini.
"In this path the aspirant adores the Shakti
and practices, Dhyana, Bhava, Japa, pranayamas and Shakti-Mantra in order to
awaken the Shakti-kundalini. Devotion, celibacy, renunciation, dispassion and
purity of mind are necessary for the awakening of kundalini."
~ Swami Sivananda
There are other paths like the Tao and the Gnosis
movement of Samael Aun Weor which although they give practices for celibates
for the transformation of sexual energy they suggest the sexual Maithuna
as the main practice for the awakening of kundalini. However, in these paths
are also essential the purity of mind, the dispassion, concentration and
meditation for the awakening of kundalini.
Sexual Maithuna is the adoration of Shakti
through the sexual union of male and female without orgasm in order to
transform the sexual energy and awaken the Kundalini. Shakti kundalini is the
serpent power, that has 3 coils with face downwards, in the Muladhara Chakra,
at the base of the spine. By concentration, imagination, pranayama,
bandhas and mantras the aspirants lead the sexual energy through the spine (the
subtle nadis of ida, pigala and susumna). When kundalini awakens, awaken also
the latent superior powers of the six chakras and the yogi aquires
siddhis (clairvoyance, clairaudience, cosmic consciousness etc.).
However Maithuna is not easy to practice in this age and paths like Advaita suggest celibacy.
Swami Sivananda used to say: “Brahmacharya is the basis of immortality.”
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| Sri Swami Sivananda |
Sri Swami Sivananda who himself followed celibacy, suggests celibacy, and considers as more
important requisites or qualifications for the awakening of Kundalini, as well as for self-realization, the purity of mind (a mind free from desire, anger, greed, fear, jealousy and rajas and tamas gunas), the devotion, the discrimination, the
dispassion, the absence of Iness and mineness, the faith and concentration. He claims that Kundalini can be awakened
by various ways :
"Kundalini can be awakened by
various methods such as Japa, devotion, Vichara (enquiry of “Who am I”), Asana,
Kumbhaka, Bandhas, Mudras, and above all by the Grace of the Guru."
Sivananda, Paramahansa Ramakrishna and Amritanadamayi (Amma) are great sages that demostrate that Kundalini can be awakened by celibacy despite the fact that devotees of Tantra and Samael Aun Weor (the founder of Gnosis) insist that the sexual Maithuna is necessary for the awakening of kundalini.
"When Kundalini is awakened, reaches the top of
the head after piercing one Chakra after another and finally unites with Lord
Shiva and enjoys the Highest Bliss. Now the Yogi attains super conscious state
and becomes a full-blown Jnani. He drinks the Nectar of Immortality.
Illustration shows the ascent of the Kundalini to the top of the head and its
union with Lord Siva.
"When Kundalini sleeps, man is awake to
the world. He has objective consciousness. When She awakes, he sleeps. He loses
all consciousness of the world and becomes one with the Lord. In Samadhi, the
body is maintained by the nectar which flows from the union of Shiva and Shakti
in the Sahasrara.
"Mother Kundalini-Shakti unites with Lord Shiva in the Sahasrara during
Nirvikalpa Samadhi. This is real Maithuna or blissful union. This is due to
Divya-Bhava (divine disposition).ª
"No one can free himself from the thralldom of mind and matter without Mother’s
grace. The fetters of Maya are too hard to break. If you worship Her as the
great Mother, you can very easily go beyond Prakriti through Her benign grace
and blessings. She will remove all obstacles in the path, lead you safely into
the illimitable domain of eternal bliss, and make you absolutely free."
~ Swami Sivananda
