I had been thinking for some time of creating a new paradigm using the Divine Feminine, Shakti, as a vehicle to both non-dual realization and sacred activism. So I was very excited to find, combing through ancient texts from the Shakta tradition recently, that complete meditative paths to non-dual realization via the contemplation of the Goddess existed and flourished at one time, and are described in rich detail in their scriptures. I felt that these traditions are waiting to be revived, and could be the cornerstone of such a vision, possibly of a whole new spiritual order, specifically relevant to our times. First I will give a picture of this new vision, and then the basis for it in the Shakta meditative traditions.

The vision would be for a new, interspiritual order for non-dual wisdom and sacred activism based on the Divine Feminine. A path to non-dual realization via the Divine Feminine would be developed on the basis of ancient traditions, while the sacred activist aspect – the values of the Divine Feminine directed towards social and ecological transformation – would be developed specifically in the contemporary context. This sacred activist outreach would include holistic healing, community-building and whole-systems transformation, based on qualities of consciousness of the Divine Feminine such as interconnection, compassion, communion and co-creation.

Bringing together these two aspects -- inner and outer, perennial wisdom and contemporary action -- feminine deities such as Shakti, Kuan Yin and Tara would serve as vehicles for non-dual wisdom and systemic transformation towards a world of compassionate service, interdependence, caring and sharing, expressed in cooperative systems. The center would also be a space where women sadhaks can pursue their spiritual paths free from male domination, denigration or sexual exploitation, while developing a new paradigm for spiritual and social transformation that is more balanced and integral, bringing feminine wisdom, values and leadership forward. 

Through a feminine approach we emphasize the interconnectedness of all life rather than separation. This has many implications: the integration of feminine and masculine; of spirituality and psychological healing; and both with social transformation, including the ecological and economic levels, towards more egalitarian and sustainable systems. We would offer meditation retreats; holistic healing modalities; counseling and counseling trainings; and programs exploring the interface of non-dual spiritual wisdom with systemic social action. Both men and women interested in this vision would be welcome to join us.

From this short description one can see that the centre would serve three main purposes, each unique and much-needed for women, spirituality and the world:
 

1. Reviving and practicing meditative traditions using the Divine Feminine as a vehicle for non-dual realization

2. Providing a space for women sadhaks free from domination, denigration and sexual exploitation

3. Bringing Shakti forward: expanding the principles and practices of the Divine Feminine into the contemporary context. Creating a new paradigm integrating spirituality and social change, personal and planetary healing, based on an overarching vision of interdependence, interconnection and Oneness, to meet today’s global crises. 

In his wonderful book on the history of the Shakta traditions in India, The Triumph of the Goddess, C. Mackenzie Brown offers a rich, fertile picture of the worldview and meditative practices used in these traditions, based on the foundational scriptures, the Devi-Mahatmya (4th to 6th centuries AD) and still more highly developed in the Devi-Bhagavata (10th and 11th centuries AD). These scriptures and practices enjoyed a great following among Shakti devotees at that time, before they were largely eclipsed by more patriarchal approaches. Today, the emphasis on the compassion of Goddess, as well as her active role in conferring both the highest spiritual realization and conquering the forces of divisiveness and destruction in the world, make her more relevant than ever to the challenges of these times.

The Devi, according to the traditions, has three aspects, all of which are greatly needed today: the benign, the fierce, and the all-reconciling light of the non-dual. The first is that of love and compassion; the second that of strong action (especially against forces which obstruct the good); and the third that of non-dual essence, light, the pure boundless Source of existence and our own undivided true nature. The first two lend us tremendous support at the relative level; the third opens onto the absolute, our ultimate deliverance. The first two are concerned with form, the evolutionary struggle between the dark and the light; the third is both the goal of that journey and our eternal home, beyond all division and conflict.

A complete meditative path based on the Divine Feminine uses contemplation on her image, form and qualities of consciousness to open onto her formless, boundless aspect, the light of our own true nature. At both these levels, relative and absolute, she acts as a support for non-dual realization and also sacred action, based on the unity of all forms with the formless, pure undivided Consciousness, and all its forms with each other. When the third-eye opens, through Her grace, we see and serve all life as the Devi, emanating from our own hearts.

As MacKenzie Brown tells us, citing the Devi-Bhagavata Purana: “A person of the highest devotion knows nothing better than serving her… He knows the Devi as non-different from himself, sees all souls as manifestations of her forms, and takes delight in her as he does in himself. Everywhere he sees the same manifestation of her consciousness, and thus treats all beings with respect… He in whom the supreme bhakti arises will dissolve into her nature consisting of consciousness.”  

We begin by meditating on her form, merging with her qualities, and then with her full, boundless nature. Merging, through Her, with the whole of life, we naturally come to serve it. In this way the path of the Devi reconciles the division between the transcendent and the immanent, emptiness and form, inspiring us to serve all life as inseparable from the sacred.

In the same way, though the Devi is feminine, she in no way excludes the masculine, but embraces it within herself. The Devi is feminine, but also beyond feminine, because she unites all dualities, including masculine and feminine, within her own being. Just as a mother gives birth to children of both genders, so the Divine Mother both transcends and includes all dualities in Her creation.

“The Devi-Bhagavata, while wishing to show that the ultimate reality is truly ultimate, in addition feels compelled to establish that this reality is most adequately conceived of, or apprehended as, feminine…Yet both genders must be included in the ultimate if it is truly ultimate. The masculine and feminine are aspects of the divine, transcendent reality, which goes beyond but still encompasses them. The Devi, in her supreme form as consciousness, thus transcends gender, but her transcendence is not apart from her immanence. Indeed, this affirmation of the oneness of transcendence and immanence constitutes the very essence of the divine mother, as presented in the Purana.” 

This means that the path of the Devi is not just for women, but is a complete path for both women and men. “Sarupya, the sharing of the Devi’s own form, may lead to the quicker comprehension of truth, but ultimately it is superseded in sayujya, mergence into the supreme. In sayujya, the sexual identity of the devotee is immaterial. The knowledge that one may gain through sarupya allows one finally to realize the Devi as pure light, identical with the highest Brahman. With such knowledge, we recognize that we already share in her nature as pure consciousness, her highest form that exists within our own hearts and that encompasses and transcends all gender.”  

This capacity of the Devi to span both the realms of forms and the formless thus resolves not only the conflict between feminine and masculine but also the split between spirit and matter, which, as we have seen, so often plagues the patriarchal traditions. This breadth of Her being helps to bring spirituality into action, expression in the world. As Woodroffe puts it “The eternal rhythm of the Divine Breath is outwards from spirit to matter and inwards from matter to spirit. Devi as Maya evolves the world. As Mahamaya She recalls it to herself. The path of outgoing is the way of pravrtti; that of return nivrtti. Each of these movements is divine... her gifts.”  

Indeed, the path of the Goddess was renowned for seamlessly re-uniting the highest spirit with practical action, inner and outer, in her infinite compassion, power and non-dual wisdom. Today is the time to call her back into action. It is perhaps only through the spirit of the Devi, the highest non-dual inclusiveness, that we can save our world.

Sri Aurobindo speaks of the Divine Mother as the Supreme Conscious Force that upholds us and the Universe, the eternal force guiding our evolution. “It is the Mother who forms the connecting link between the individual, the universal and the transcendent aspects of the Absolute.”  About these three roles of the Mother, both eternal and active, he says ‘Transcendent, the original supreme Shakti stands above the worlds and links the creation to the ever unmanifest mystery of the Supreme. Universal, the Cosmic Mahashakti, she creates all these beings and contains and enters, supports and conducts all these million processes and forces. Individual, she embodies the power of these two vaster ways of her existence, makes them living and near to us and mediates between the human personality and the divine Nature.’  

Shakti is both transcendent and immanent, at once the force of love, transformation and liberation. Today we need all three of Her gifts, if we are to rise, triumphant, from these times of great crisis.

To get in touch, please contact me at kavitaji25@yahoo.com. For more information about the larger context of the Shakti Centre vision, please see:

http://shakticentre.blogspot.com

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​i. C. Mackenzie Brown, The Triumph of the Goddess, Satguru Publications, Delhi, 1990, p. 197. Footnote: Quote from Devi Bhagavata Purnana VII. 37.11-20
ii. Mackenzie Brown, ibid., p. 217
iii. Mackenzie Brown, ibid., p. 212
iv. John Woodroffe, Introduction to Tantra Sastra, 5th ed. Madras: Ganesh & Co., 1969,  p. 150
v. Ram Shankar Misra, The Integral Advaitism of Sri Aurobindo, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1998, p. 174
vi. Sri Aurobindo, from The Mother, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, 1946, pp.38-9