Shiva and Shakti
Consciousness and Energy
Amongst the attributes of the Chakras we meet two important symbols: Shiva and Shakti.
SHIVA symbolises consciousness, the masculine principle.
SHAKTI symbolises the feminine principle, the activating power and energy.
Whenever a power becomes active, and wherever energy exists, Shakti is working. Other terms for these primal principles are PURUSHA and PRAKRITI; Purusha is consciousness and Prakriti is nature.
Lord Shiva is generally portrayed holding a trident, which represents the trinity of Īshwara, Purusha and Prakriti .
Īshwara is the omnipresent, eternal, formless divine principle; Purusha is the Ātmā and Prakriti is the manifestation, nature. An electric light can be used to explain their relationship. The electric current, which is the source of the light, is Īshwara; the light is Purusha, and the object that is illuminated is Prakriti.
SHAKTI (or Prakriti) means energy, power, movement, change, nature. It is the maternal principle – the provider, abundance. In the human as well as in the animal kingdom the mother offers nourishment, warmth and security. There is no greater love than the love of a mother. The mother carries and nourishes the child in her own body. When it is born she provides it with mother’s milk and raises it at the sacrifice of her own self until it becomes self-reliant.
SHIVA (or Purusha), on the other hand, is pure consciousness – the unchanging, unlimited and unswayable observer. Purusha has no desires whatsoever; these are inherent only in Prakriti. Purusha is the empty, clear screen onto which Prakriti projects her colourful film.
Shiva and Shakti are manifestations of the all-in-one divine consciousness - different sides of the same coin. In many pictures these two primal powers are each depicted as being one half of the same image; one side female and one side male. The left side is the Divine Mother, Pārvatī, the “feminine” energy, and the right side represents Shiva, the “masculine” consciousness.
Through the splitting of the primordial principle at the advent of creation the duality within our lives came into being, together with a strong force that is constantly striving to re-unite with the other part.
Only when Shiva and Shakti combine can action, movement and creation arise. Until energy is impregnated with consciousness it is ignorant, disordered, aimless and “blind”. Energy alone can produce nothing; consciousness bestows upon it content, form and direction. Conversely, consciousness without energy is dormant power, sleeping energy, and on its own is unable to be the cause of anything. Just as Prakriti without Purusha is unable to act, and vice versa, Purusha without Prakriti is also incapable of creating anything.
The meaning of Shiva and Shakti is occasionally misunderstood when Shiva and Shakti are looked upon as “man” and “woman” and their union is regarded as a sexual relationship. Sexuality is something completely natural, and misunderstanding arises only when sexuality and spirituality are mixed.
Shiva and Shakti exist within each of us as the masculine and feminine principles. This has an effect on the physical level – it is the cause of sexual attraction. Within man there exists a tendency towards the feminine qualities, and within woman a tendency towards the masculine. Through this the masculine consciousness is attracted by the feminine and vice versa. If both are in balance there is no sexual attraction. But if a tendency for the masculine predominates in man, or the feminine in woman, this results in a preference for a homosexual partner.
Shiva resides in the Sahasrāra Chakra and Shakti in the Mūlādhāra Chakra. When Prakriti and Purusha unite in the Sahasrāra Chakra, knowledge, knower and the object of knowledge become one. Once we have experienced this no desires remain within us because we realise unequivocally that everything we have ever yearned for is carried within us. In this state of absolute consciousness there are no polarities and therefore no more sorrows; there is only everlasting joy, unconditional love, unlimited compassion and total understanding for all living beings.
For as long as consciousness is connected to the physical body it is unable to remain constantly in the Sahasrāra Chakra and so returns to the residence of the Ātmā in the Heart Centre (Anāhata Chakra). A realised person always thinks, feels and acts from the heart. Embedded in eternal love and eternal happiness, that person is always conscious of the immortal Ātmā, the ocean of bliss, and their consciousness is forever connected to the divine consciousness.
THE DIVINE COUPLE SHIVA - SHAKTI
In the Tantric cosmology, the whole universe is perceived as being created, penetrated and sustained by two fundamental forces, which are permanently in a perfect, indestructible union. These forces or universal aspects are called Shiva and Shakti.
The tradition has associated to these principles a form, respectively that of a masculine deity and that of a feminine one. Accordingly, Shiva represents the constitutive elements of the universe, while Shakti is the dynamic potency, which makes these elements come to life and act.
From a metaphysical point of view, the divine couple Shiva-Shakti corresponds to two essential aspects of the One: the masculine principle, which represents the abiding aspect of God, and the feminine principle, which represents Its Energy, the Force which acts in the manifested world, life itself considered at a cosmic level.
From this point of view, Shakti represents the immanent aspect of the Divine, that is the act of active participation in the act of creation. Maybe exactly this Tantric view of the Feminine in creation contributed to the orientation of the human being towards the active principles of the universe, rather than towards those of pure transcendence.
Therefore, Shiva defines the traits specific to pure transcendence and is normally associated, from this point of view, to a manifestation of Shakti who is somewhat terrible (such as Kali and Durga), personification of Her own untamed and limitless manifestation.
Owing to the fact that in a way, Shakti is more accessible to the human understanding (because this regards aspects of life that are closely related to the human condition inside the creation), the cult of the Goddess (DEVI) has spread more forcibly.
This cult was combined with notions of the Shamkhya philosophy and has offered the premises necessary to the later Maya doctrine, formulated by the sage Shankaracharya.
This possibility of combining, of interpenetration of two or more notions belonging to two or more spiritual systems is due to the fact that the Hindu philosophical systems are not isolated, closed systems, but complex and manageable doctrines, which may adjust and may be understood from different perspectives.
The Samkhya philosophy promulgates a primordial cosmic duality. From the Tantric perspective, this "scheme" of creation is transformed, in the sense that the two cosmic principles are considered united, not separated. This is the fundamental difference introduced by Tantra, based on a conception that favors the unity between the two principles, opposed in appearance, but indissoluble united in each act of the creation.
Nevertheless, Tantrism confers to Shiva and Shakti the qualities of the feminine and masculine principles from the Samkhya philosophy.
The idea of an act of fertilization at the divine, purely spiritual level comes to life and is admitted in the tantric cosmogonic conception, unlike the Samkhya philosophy. The eternal and indestructible union between Shiva and Shakti gives birth to the whole Macrocosm, in its stable, static aspect as well as in its dynamic one.
The different representations in the rich tantric iconography obviously underline the antithetic characteristics of the two principles, determining a more clear understanding.
Thus, on one hand is presented the cosmic dance of Shakti on the lying body of Shiva. On the other hand, the two deities are pictured in what is called VIPARITA-MAITHUNA, meaning tantric sexual union. This sexual union is different from what is usually understood by this in the western traditions, in the sense that man is immobile, while the woman, embracing him, assumes an active role during the sexual act.
In conclusion, the Tantrism envisages the cosmic evolution as a polarization within the Supreme Being, which is God, the Unmanifested Absolute, in its two fundamental aspects: static and kinetic.
Tantra symbolizes this aspect by comparing the couple Shiva and Shakti with a seed of grain (CHANAKA). Such a seed is made up of two halves so closely linked that they seem one, and one single cover covers them. Symbolically, the two halves represent Shiva and Shakti, the cover represents Maya (the cosmic illusion). When the cover is on, the two halves are separated, but the cover goes off when the seed is about to germinate, unifying thus the two halves in one.
Curs Yoga Prin Corespondeta
Podcast
Listen to the Tantria FM podcast on your iPod or computer.
Yoga
Introduction to Asanas,
Introduction to Yoga,
Asanas,
Meditation,
Pranayama,
Vamana Dhauti,
Yama and niyama,
Chakras
Tantra
Introduction to Tantra,
Aphrodisiacs,
Erogenous Zones,
Sexual Anatomy,
SEXercises,
Astrology Atman,
Brahma,
Consciousness,
Quantum Consciousness,
Couple,
Couple Asanas,
Dasha Maha Vidya,
Kali,
Tara,
Tripura Sundari,
Bhuvaneshwari,
Tripura Bhairavi,
Chinnamasta,
Ganesha Experiences,
Miss Shakti,
Introspection,
Kundalini,
Love,
Meditation&lovemaking,
Meditation techniques,
Orgasm,
Personal Development,
Resonance,
Sexercises,
Sexual Continence,
Tantric Love Making,
Taoism,
Kashmiri Shaivism,
Shakti,
Shiva,
Shiva-shakti,
Sublimation,
Tantric Sexuality,
Techniques,
The 64 arts,
The subtle body,
Transmutation,
Transfiguration,
Virility,
Diet,
Vishnu,
Yin-yang,
Zodiacal signs,
Massage,
Virginity,
Spring Women,
Love,
Shambala,
Guru
Yantras
Introduction to Yantra,
Dasha Maha Vidyas,
Gayatri,
Mental,
Sahasrara,
Shambala,
Shiva,
Atman,
Surya,
Tattvas,
The Fifteen Nityas,
Yin Yang,
Ganesha, External Link,
The Great Cosmic Power Kali,
Intruduction to Dasha Maha Vidyas
Meditation Music
Play all
Ajna,
Anahata,
Angels,
Aspiration,
Astral projection,
Effervescence,
Happiness,
Harmony,
Heart,
Joy,
Kundalini,
Manipura,
Mistery,
Muladhara,
Mystery,
Nostalgy,
Optimism,
Pratyahara,
Relaxation,
Sakti,
Shiva Lingam,
Shiva lingam,
Shiva,
Soul,
Tara,
Trance,
Transcendence,
Tripura sundari,
Tripura Sundari,
Uplifting,
Upliftment,
Vishuddha,
Yang
Guru
About our guru, Grieg,
Grieg's Biography,
Photo Gallery,
About Love,
Karma Yoga,
On Consecration,
The Art of Blessing,
The Yogic Yang Spiral,
Contemplative Sexuality,
The Master-Disciple Relationship
Consciousness and Energy
Amongst the attributes of the Chakras we meet two important symbols: Shiva and Shakti.
SHIVA symbolises consciousness, the masculine principle.
SHAKTI symbolises the feminine principle, the activating power and energy.
Whenever a power becomes active, and wherever energy exists, Shakti is working. Other terms for these primal principles are PURUSHA and PRAKRITI; Purusha is consciousness and Prakriti is nature.
Lord Shiva is generally portrayed holding a trident, which represents the trinity of Īshwara, Purusha and Prakriti .
Īshwara is the omnipresent, eternal, formless divine principle; Purusha is the Ātmā and Prakriti is the manifestation, nature. An electric light can be used to explain their relationship. The electric current, which is the source of the light, is Īshwara; the light is Purusha, and the object that is illuminated is Prakriti.
SHAKTI (or Prakriti) means energy, power, movement, change, nature. It is the maternal principle – the provider, abundance. In the human as well as in the animal kingdom the mother offers nourishment, warmth and security. There is no greater love than the love of a mother. The mother carries and nourishes the child in her own body. When it is born she provides it with mother’s milk and raises it at the sacrifice of her own self until it becomes self-reliant.
SHIVA (or Purusha), on the other hand, is pure consciousness – the unchanging, unlimited and unswayable observer. Purusha has no desires whatsoever; these are inherent only in Prakriti. Purusha is the empty, clear screen onto which Prakriti projects her colourful film.
Shiva and Shakti are manifestations of the all-in-one divine consciousness - different sides of the same coin. In many pictures these two primal powers are each depicted as being one half of the same image; one side female and one side male. The left side is the Divine Mother, Pārvatī, the “feminine” energy, and the right side represents Shiva, the “masculine” consciousness.
Through the splitting of the primordial principle at the advent of creation the duality within our lives came into being, together with a strong force that is constantly striving to re-unite with the other part.
Only when Shiva and Shakti combine can action, movement and creation arise. Until energy is impregnated with consciousness it is ignorant, disordered, aimless and “blind”. Energy alone can produce nothing; consciousness bestows upon it content, form and direction. Conversely, consciousness without energy is dormant power, sleeping energy, and on its own is unable to be the cause of anything. Just as Prakriti without Purusha is unable to act, and vice versa, Purusha without Prakriti is also incapable of creating anything.
The meaning of Shiva and Shakti is occasionally misunderstood when Shiva and Shakti are looked upon as “man” and “woman” and their union is regarded as a sexual relationship. Sexuality is something completely natural, and misunderstanding arises only when sexuality and spirituality are mixed.
- Sexuality is the union of man and woman
- Spirituality is the union of the human and the divine consciousness.
Shiva and Shakti exist within each of us as the masculine and feminine principles. This has an effect on the physical level – it is the cause of sexual attraction. Within man there exists a tendency towards the feminine qualities, and within woman a tendency towards the masculine. Through this the masculine consciousness is attracted by the feminine and vice versa. If both are in balance there is no sexual attraction. But if a tendency for the masculine predominates in man, or the feminine in woman, this results in a preference for a homosexual partner.
Shiva resides in the Sahasrāra Chakra and Shakti in the Mūlādhāra Chakra. When Prakriti and Purusha unite in the Sahasrāra Chakra, knowledge, knower and the object of knowledge become one. Once we have experienced this no desires remain within us because we realise unequivocally that everything we have ever yearned for is carried within us. In this state of absolute consciousness there are no polarities and therefore no more sorrows; there is only everlasting joy, unconditional love, unlimited compassion and total understanding for all living beings.
For as long as consciousness is connected to the physical body it is unable to remain constantly in the Sahasrāra Chakra and so returns to the residence of the Ātmā in the Heart Centre (Anāhata Chakra). A realised person always thinks, feels and acts from the heart. Embedded in eternal love and eternal happiness, that person is always conscious of the immortal Ātmā, the ocean of bliss, and their consciousness is forever connected to the divine consciousness.
- Shakti is the motherly love of God that surrounds us with warmth, caring and protection.
- Shiva is the paternal love of God that gives us consciousness, clarity and knowledge.
THE DIVINE COUPLE SHIVA - SHAKTI
In the Tantric cosmology, the whole universe is perceived as being created, penetrated and sustained by two fundamental forces, which are permanently in a perfect, indestructible union. These forces or universal aspects are called Shiva and Shakti.
The tradition has associated to these principles a form, respectively that of a masculine deity and that of a feminine one. Accordingly, Shiva represents the constitutive elements of the universe, while Shakti is the dynamic potency, which makes these elements come to life and act.
From a metaphysical point of view, the divine couple Shiva-Shakti corresponds to two essential aspects of the One: the masculine principle, which represents the abiding aspect of God, and the feminine principle, which represents Its Energy, the Force which acts in the manifested world, life itself considered at a cosmic level.
From this point of view, Shakti represents the immanent aspect of the Divine, that is the act of active participation in the act of creation. Maybe exactly this Tantric view of the Feminine in creation contributed to the orientation of the human being towards the active principles of the universe, rather than towards those of pure transcendence.
Therefore, Shiva defines the traits specific to pure transcendence and is normally associated, from this point of view, to a manifestation of Shakti who is somewhat terrible (such as Kali and Durga), personification of Her own untamed and limitless manifestation.
Owing to the fact that in a way, Shakti is more accessible to the human understanding (because this regards aspects of life that are closely related to the human condition inside the creation), the cult of the Goddess (DEVI) has spread more forcibly.
This cult was combined with notions of the Shamkhya philosophy and has offered the premises necessary to the later Maya doctrine, formulated by the sage Shankaracharya.
This possibility of combining, of interpenetration of two or more notions belonging to two or more spiritual systems is due to the fact that the Hindu philosophical systems are not isolated, closed systems, but complex and manageable doctrines, which may adjust and may be understood from different perspectives.
The Samkhya philosophy promulgates a primordial cosmic duality. From the Tantric perspective, this "scheme" of creation is transformed, in the sense that the two cosmic principles are considered united, not separated. This is the fundamental difference introduced by Tantra, based on a conception that favors the unity between the two principles, opposed in appearance, but indissoluble united in each act of the creation.
Nevertheless, Tantrism confers to Shiva and Shakti the qualities of the feminine and masculine principles from the Samkhya philosophy.
The idea of an act of fertilization at the divine, purely spiritual level comes to life and is admitted in the tantric cosmogonic conception, unlike the Samkhya philosophy. The eternal and indestructible union between Shiva and Shakti gives birth to the whole Macrocosm, in its stable, static aspect as well as in its dynamic one.
The different representations in the rich tantric iconography obviously underline the antithetic characteristics of the two principles, determining a more clear understanding.
Thus, on one hand is presented the cosmic dance of Shakti on the lying body of Shiva. On the other hand, the two deities are pictured in what is called VIPARITA-MAITHUNA, meaning tantric sexual union. This sexual union is different from what is usually understood by this in the western traditions, in the sense that man is immobile, while the woman, embracing him, assumes an active role during the sexual act.
In conclusion, the Tantrism envisages the cosmic evolution as a polarization within the Supreme Being, which is God, the Unmanifested Absolute, in its two fundamental aspects: static and kinetic.
Tantra symbolizes this aspect by comparing the couple Shiva and Shakti with a seed of grain (CHANAKA). Such a seed is made up of two halves so closely linked that they seem one, and one single cover covers them. Symbolically, the two halves represent Shiva and Shakti, the cover represents Maya (the cosmic illusion). When the cover is on, the two halves are separated, but the cover goes off when the seed is about to germinate, unifying thus the two halves in one.
Curs Yoga Prin Corespondeta
Podcast
Listen to the Tantria FM podcast on your iPod or computer.
Yoga
Introduction to Asanas,
Introduction to Yoga,
Asanas,
Meditation,
Pranayama,
Vamana Dhauti,
Yama and niyama,
Chakras
Tantra
Introduction to Tantra,
Aphrodisiacs,
Erogenous Zones,
Sexual Anatomy,
SEXercises,
Astrology Atman,
Brahma,
Consciousness,
Quantum Consciousness,
Couple,
Couple Asanas,
Dasha Maha Vidya,
Kali,
Tara,
Tripura Sundari,
Bhuvaneshwari,
Tripura Bhairavi,
Chinnamasta,
Ganesha Experiences,
Miss Shakti,
Introspection,
Kundalini,
Love,
Meditation&lovemaking,
Meditation techniques,
Orgasm,
Personal Development,
Resonance,
Sexercises,
Sexual Continence,
Tantric Love Making,
Taoism,
Kashmiri Shaivism,
Shakti,
Shiva,
Shiva-shakti,
Sublimation,
Tantric Sexuality,
Techniques,
The 64 arts,
The subtle body,
Transmutation,
Transfiguration,
Virility,
Diet,
Vishnu,
Yin-yang,
Zodiacal signs,
Massage,
Virginity,
Spring Women,
Love,
Shambala,
Guru
Yantras
Introduction to Yantra,
Dasha Maha Vidyas,
Gayatri,
Mental,
Sahasrara,
Shambala,
Shiva,
Atman,
Surya,
Tattvas,
The Fifteen Nityas,
Yin Yang,
Ganesha, External Link,
The Great Cosmic Power Kali,
Intruduction to Dasha Maha Vidyas
Meditation Music
Play all
Ajna,
Anahata,
Angels,
Aspiration,
Astral projection,
Effervescence,
Happiness,
Harmony,
Heart,
Joy,
Kundalini,
Manipura,
Mistery,
Muladhara,
Mystery,
Nostalgy,
Optimism,
Pratyahara,
Relaxation,
Sakti,
Shiva Lingam,
Shiva lingam,
Shiva,
Soul,
Tara,
Trance,
Transcendence,
Tripura sundari,
Tripura Sundari,
Uplifting,
Upliftment,
Vishuddha,
Yang
Guru
About our guru, Grieg,
Grieg's Biography,
Photo Gallery,
About Love,
Karma Yoga,
On Consecration,
The Art of Blessing,
The Yogic Yang Spiral,
Contemplative Sexuality,
The Master-Disciple Relationship
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