Aspects of Shakti

[guided]

Hello

I know very little about Hinduism, I had a question to ask about an interesting experience I had a few weeks ago.

I had asked for guidance in meditation and when I went to bed I suddenly heard a word quite clearly and distinctly...Kundalini. I was not familiar with the word at the time but looked it up the next day and it was very relevant to some of the thing I had been reading about in the previous few days.

I understand the word is used in certain systems of meditation and yoga, but could it be seen as an aspect of Shakti?

Thankyou

[Vinayaka]

Hello

I know very little about Hinduism, I had a question to ask about an interesting experience I had a few weeks ago.

I had asked for guidance in meditation and when I went to bed I suddenly heard a word quite clearly and distinctly...Kundalini. I was not familiar with the word at the time but looked it up the next day and it was very relevant to some of the thing I had been reading about in the previous few days.

I understand the word is used in certain systems of meditation and yoga, but could it be seen as an aspect of Shakti?

Thankyou

In my limited understanding, it's more the term 'Shakti' that has a couple of meanings, used commonly. One is the female aspect of God, or the manifest part in unmanifest/manifest.

The other definition is the term for energy that you feel in and around a Holy man, or a temple. "Can you feel the shakti?"

In the first sense it would have far less relation to kundalini than in the second sense.

[guided]

In my limited understanding, it's more the term 'Shakti' that has a couple of meanings, used commonly. One is the female aspect of God, or the manifest part in unmanifest/manifest.

The other definition is the term for energy that you feel in and around a Holy man, or a temple. "Can you feel the shakti?"

In the first sense it would have far less relation to kundalini than in the second sense.

Thankyou for your response. Is there any truth to this description from a Hindu perspective:


Shakti*(Sanskrit pronunciation:*[ˈʃʌktɪ]) (Devanagari:*शक्ति; from*Sanskrit*shak, "to be able"), meaning "Power" or "empowerment," is theprimordial*cosmic energy*and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe in*Hinduism.[1]*Shakti is the concept, or personification, of divine*feminine*creative power, sometimes referred to as 'The Great*Divine Mother' inHinduism. On the earthly plane, shakti most actively manifests through female embodiment and creativity/fertility, though it is also present in males in its potential, unmanifest form.[2]

Not only is Shakti responsible for creation, it is also the agent of all change. Shakti is cosmic existence as well as liberation, its most significant form being theKundalini*Shakti,[3]*a mysterious psychospiritual force.[4]*Shakti exists in a state of*svātantrya, dependence on no one, being interdependent with the entire universe.In*Shaktism*and*Shaivism, Shakti is worshipped as the*Supreme Being. Shakti embodies the active feminine energy of*Shiva*and is identified asMahadevi*or*Parvati.


To add context to this question, I am convinced that there are guiding forces in my life but so far in my journey I have not named them. Neither have I followed any particular practice that asked for devotion or prayer directed toward a particular entity. I offer prayer and ask for guidance from something I loosely understand to be God, or Higher Self.

Just before this happened I wondered and asked..."If I were to have a named Spirit, God or Messenger in my life, what would it be called?" I was surprised to receive such a specific answer, but the answer that came was Kundalini.

I am not sure how to understand this. ..either as a suggestion to follow physical yoga practices that work with kundalini as a form of subtle energy, or as a call to direct my devotion towards Kundalini as an entity? I loosely understood that kundalini could also be used as a term used to describe the Serpent Goddess...and wondered if this could be a legitimate aspect of Shakti as divine Mother.

Please excuse me if this question is ignorant or offensive. I am simply trying to learn and better understand the experience I had. I wonder what others would do if they had experienced the same? I don't understand what it meant, but I am certain of it's authenticity.

Thankyou

[sunsoul]

There are different interpretations of this depending on whether you are talking from a yoga, tantra, Shaiva, or Shakta point of view. I would probably look at some of the manifestations of Devi (i.e. Mahadevi, Durga, Kali, or Kundalini, etc) and see which one you connect with.

[kumarjitghoshal]

Ah! Guided :hug3: .. are you talking about mother kulakundalini !the primordial energy of creation !you are talking about the center of many perspectives .... i do not know which one you will prefer to follow.
BUT ... the basic is this .... in yogic system it is the raw energy imagined as a serpent situated in Muladhara Chakra the root chakra in 3 and half a fold . you can notice in every culture serpent has a significant place , either they feared it or they loved it , thats about perspective .... but Serpent is significant somehow in every culture , in Chinese culture it is the dragon.Perhaps this indicates our common roots in Yogic system , some might have feared it so they buried it in myths and stories.
But it is a reality for me ... that we talk , walk, write and do all things only because it is there ... if it is more and more awakend we get a poet , a lover , a scientist , a philosopher and a Mystic self realized saint ... it only depends on rise of KulaKundalini through the 7 chakra system of human body.
It is the reason why any person of the world of any cultural background if starts meditation properly the first color they see is Red or Yellow or Reddish Yellow or yellowish red ..... the basic color of Muladhara Chakra .
There is a Universe within you.
Namaste

[Vinayaka]

Thankyou for your response. Is there any truth to this description from a Hindu perspective:

To add context to this question, I am convinced that there are guiding forces in my life but so far in my journey I have not named them.

The definition given was quite accurate, from my limited understanding. (by this I mean book knowledge). The mystics that have lived in all the chakras, seen kundalini rise, etc. are few and far between.

I do think it might help if you were to visit a Hindu temple, probablyly one dedicated to Shakti of some sort, be it Lakshmi, Durga, etc.

[bkveda]

Kundalini is how we experience Shakti. It can be called the channel or manifestation of raw shakti in human body. Our mind influences this kundalini. best way to access kundalini is loosing all our ego. As our ego submits and melts, kundalini raises. There are many meditation practices to achieve this end. Some are based on awareness of mind and other based on breath and yet others based on chakra awareness. Each has its own advantages. Mind awareness method of self realisation is safest and requires lot of patients and faith. Chakra awarenss methods are very risky but exciting with lots of powerful misleading mazes, this needs very firm and experienced wise Guru. breath awareness are in between both. But remember that it is ego that is keeping you from using your kundalini or access to infinite spiritual power called Shakti.

[guided]

Kundalini is how we experience Shakti. It can be called the channel or manifestation of raw shakti in human body. Our mind influences this kundalini. best way to access kundalini is loosing all our ego. As our ego submits and melts, kundalini raises. There are many meditation practices to achieve this end. Some are based on awareness of mind and other based on breath and yet others based on chakra awareness. Each has its own advantages. Mind awareness method of self realisation is safest and requires lot of patients and faith. Chakra awarenss methods are very risky but exciting with lots of powerful misleading mazes, this needs very firm and experienced wise Guru. breath awareness are in between both. But remember that it is ego that is keeping you from using your kundalini or access to infinite spiritual power called Shakti.

Thankyou...your comments on ego submission are very much in line with my previous experience.

Also I think the question I am currently asking myself is which path to follow...I have some fair experience of awareness meditation but less of working with chakras. A guru or advisor would be welcome. ..I am open but none have yet been presented :)

[bkveda]

It is said that when the student is ready, the guru appears. The term ready does not mean waiting for the right path to appear but practicing and preparing our self based on what we know with faith and conviction that the right teacher will appear in my life. To search and try all sensible options you can find. When we keep doing this, we will ultimately find the right path.

[durgaa]

Shakti is another name The Kundalini Force/Energy - it is also the Force of the Divine Mother that can enter the body to transorm the consciousness, Kundalini is present at the base of the spine, where it lies asleep, or above the head where it's conscious. lt's safer when it comes down from above.

Look into the works of the Yogi Sri Aurobindo for a clearer explanation.

[running]

Hello

I know very little about Hinduism, I had a question to ask about an interesting experience I had a few weeks ago.

I had asked for guidance in meditation and when I went to bed I suddenly heard a word quite clearly and distinctly...Kundalini. I was not familiar with the word at the time but looked it up the next day and it was very relevant to some of the thing I had been reading about in the previous few days.

I understand the word is used in certain systems of meditation and yoga, but could it be seen as an aspect of Shakti?

Thankyou

Shakti from what i have seen is the current of energy you may feel running through your body. It is feminine in nature. When one has a kundalini awakening this current begins to run through your body.