"Shakti, reveling in her own bliss, pours herself forth as the Universe. " Maheshwarananda
The feminine intuition is the difference between knowledge and knowing.
Goddess Shakti is the Divine Mother and each of her aspects is expressed with a different name, giving her over a hundred names in Hindu lore, and in other lands so many, many more.
The Tantras affirm that the divine is to be found within each personalized aspect of the individual self, that the visionary process is the most direct way of experiencing the divinity within. By visualization and introspection, the self can be taken out of time limitations and moved into a place of existence in the eternal present.
“Enthrone the great mother goddess in the Center of your heart and let her rule your life with her great love.” - Nubia Teixeira
As BHAKTA SHAKTAS, our embodied devotional offerings are all for the love of "she who is power", for "SHE"/SHAKTI, and the manifest essence of all creation. If Shiva is the fire, Shakti is the power to burn. If Shiva is water, Shakti is the essence of wetness. We know this world though the lens of Shakti. We know this world through her womb and through the MANY FACES OF SHAKTI we assume.
Shakti is the female principle, sacred force, or empowerment. From mother nurturers to destroyers, from knowledge to wealth, they encompass every aspect of the physical and spiritual realm.
SHAKTI is the Woman and BHAKTI is the Mother.
Bhakti is embodied devotion to the divine deity within. Bhakti is Holy Love(love for love's sake) and devotion that engages emotion, intellect, mantras, singing, dance, mudras, movement, ritual, breath, dharana(concentration) and a complete celebration of surrender to the ishta deva/devata, cherished divinity, of one's favorite deity. Bhakti means the path of loving devotion to a particular god/dess or deity, which, it is believed, leads to salvation or nirvana. From the Sanskrit root word bhaj, meaning "to adore or worship God/dess," bhakti forms one of the paths of yoga: Bhakti yoga.
Shakti is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe. Shakti is the personification of the energy that is creative, sustaining, as well as destructive, sometimes referred to as auspicious source energy.
As the Shakti or Creatrix, She is known as "Adi Shakti" or "Adi Para
Shakti" (i.e., Primordial Inconceivable Energy). On every plane of creation, energy manifests itself into all forms of matter. These are all thought to be infinite forms of the Para Shakti. But Her true form is unknown, and beyond human understanding. She is Anaadi (with no beginning, no ending) and Nitya (forever).
"Shakti is the mystery of Life, she is the lap of mercy and holds the key of liberation." - Nubia
From her, from Shakti, spring The Many Faces of Shakti. She is the Tridevi Shakti, as Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati, also known as Creation(MahaSaraswati)-Preserver(MahaLakshmi)-Destroyer(MahaKali).
She is Sati, and from Sati sprang the Dasa Mahavidyas, the ten aspects/wisdom goddesses of Parashakti. Shakti is Durga, she is Annapurna, Amma, Devi, and more. Each Face of Shakti, manifest as distinct cosmic personalities, with different character attributes and different ways of guiding us to liberation.
Our Bhakti Shakti classes are devoted to HER, where we will be honoring, embodying and exploring all of HER, THE MANY FACES OF SHAKTI. We will embrace shadow and light on the Goddess path to wholeness.
