Shakti

Shakti

शक्ति, śakti

I. 

• strength, power;

• self-existent, self-knowing, self-sufficient Power of God, which expresses itself in the actions of Prakriti;

• the divine creative energy, the female aspect of the manifestation of the divine (the Divine Mother), the power of the divine, through which it manifests itself in Nature, the basis of the teachings of tantrism and shaktism;

• the source of the creation of the world, the dynamic aspect of the Absolute.

According to some systems of tantra and also in Nathas tradition, by Shakti the body of Shiva and the bodies of various devatas are manifested.

Naths consider Shakti and Shiva to be identical; Shakti is inseparable from its two aspects as Mahamaya and Mahavidya. Accordingly, there is no such division (as in Kashmiri Shivaism) when pure tattvas come to an end at the stage of Shuddha-vidya and the dual manifestations of Maya arise, gods Vishnu or Brahma appear. Non-duality persists until the unfolding of the most limited phenomena. Therefore, in spite of the fact that on a rough level it may seem to us that Shakti is not connected with spirituality, she still remains united with Shiva and directed to Him and ready to awaken at any moment. Therefor according to the Naths worldview anyone can realize his or her identity with Shiva, competently interacting with the principle of Shakti. But for this, of course, it is desirable that there be a sincere interest in God, a healthy idealism that helps to attain right interaction with different energies and spiritual dimensions.

Giving Shiva is an omnipresent Consciousness (Parasamvit), then Shakti is the energy by which this consciousness is revealed. Shakti embodies the principle of transformation, change and time.

II. The nyasa element by which Bija becomes a mantra. Performing it, touch the feet.