| What
is shaktipat?
"Shakti" is another word for kundalini and "pat"'
means to descend. Shaktipat is a method by which an individual's
kundalini is awakened by the direct intervention of a guru.
There are several varieties of shaktipat depending on the
facility of the guru and the receptiveness of the disciple.
It is probably not useful
to try to resurrect the nine or more classifications of shaktipat
used in the classical literature here. Practially speaking
shaktipat is known by its results: the awakening of of the
student's kundalini.
There are also a variety of
mechanisms for conveying shaktipat. These include: by glance,
by word or mantra, by touch or simply by intention.
How does shaktipat
work? If kundalini awakening is so important
how can someone else do it for you? How could a guru overcome
my karma?
There is a rich literature exploring this point but a couple
analogies may help more. In the classical literature, such
as the works of tantric scholar Abhinavagupta, shaktipat is
seen as able to occur when one's positive and negative karmas
reach a sort of equilibrium.
Regarding the question as
to how a guru is able to overcome the karma of a disciple,
the Indian scholar Abhinavagupta argues that the ability to
receive shaktipat is the result of something of a neutralization
of positive and negative karmas. He also investigates the
common phenomena that some individuals experience shaktipat
more deeply than others. One might naturally further ask:
"If shaktipat is a manifestation of grace then why would
anyone person experience shaktipat more deeply than another?"
These questions deserve deeper
enquiry but I personally find a couple analogies helpful.
Ordinarily it takes a long time to create a fire by rubbing
sticks together but if someone else already has a fire then
that fire can be used to ignite another fire. Similarly to
make a magnet naturally may require thousands of years but
if one already has a magnet then a metal can easily be magnetized
using the magnet.
Who can give shaktipat?
To continue the analogy, in theory "anyone on fire"'
can give shaktipat, i.e. anyone who's kundalini is already
awakened. The more relevant question is: "Who should
give shaktipat?" There are many opinions on this but
at the very least the conveyer of shaktipat should be aware
of the movements of shakti in his own body and in the body
of the disciple. Giving shaktipat is a science and it is helpful,
if not essential, to be instructed in that science. The classical
works of Abhinavagupta and the living oral tradition of contemporary
masters, such as Swami Shivom Tirth, both indicate that improperly
practiced shaktipat initiation can be dangerous both to the
disciple to the guru and to the disciple. Using the analogy
again, it is easier to light a fire than to light it in such
a way that it has a carefully managed burning.
Therefore, it is desirable
that the guru be empowered to give shaktipat by his own guru
and has been trained in an unbroken lineage back to a great
master who was fully aware of the science of shaktipat. In
this way some quality control is maintained.
Who can receive shaktipat?
There are even more opinions on this. Some gurus take an attitude
of: "Initiate them all and let shakti sort them out."
Traditionally teachers were quite selective about who received
shaktipat. Sometimes shaktipat was only given to one or two
disciples in a generation. Among gurus these days you can
see these two extremes of opinion and many other gradations
in between. What is clear that some people who have received
shaktipat from well-known gurus have apparently only manifested
greater neuroses and unhappiness in their lives as a result.
Are all shaktipat
initiations the same?
There are many ways of classifying shaktipat initiations but
a method used by Swami Vishnu Tirth is very simple and clear.
In shaktopaya initiations the kundalini shakti of the disciple
is awakened by the guru. In shambhavopaya initiations the
kundalini shakti of the disciple is awakened and led up through
the bodies energy centers bringing a glimpse of the highest
realization. Due to the current state of disciples, and contemporary
gurus, almost all initiations can be termed shaktopaya initiations.
Some contemporary yoga teachers
and gurus lump a wide variety of phenomenon under the term
"shaktipat." For example, I have seen teachers of
Kriya Yoga infuse their students with their shakti at various
stages of the student's practice with the purpose of eliminating
blocks in the student's channels. These teachers called this
practice "shaktipat initiation." According to the
tradition of Siddha Mahayoga such infusions are not considered
"shaktipat initiations" because neither their aim
or their result is to awaken kundalini. Moreover, the resulting
practices are not Siddha Mahayoga because after these infusions
of shakti the student returns to their original practice,
such as Kriya Yoga.
Can one receive shaktipat
just by being in the presence of those with awakened shakti?
There is no doubt that shakti is contagious. The mere presence
of a single being whose shakti is strongly active can awaken
the shakti of those around him. Similarly being in the presence
of many people whose shakti is awakened to some degree can
awaken one's own shakti.
| Authors Details:
Kurt
Keutzer Email: keutzer[at]eecs.berkeley.edu |
Read about this in a modern context
(Enligtenment
Pt1)
(Enlightenment
Pt 2)
(Enlightenment
Pt3)
More Articles On Kundalini / Shaktipat
(Kundalini
Shaktipat Pt 1)
(Kundalini
Shaktipat
Pt 2)
(Kundalini
Energy Awakening)
(Kundalini
Symptoms)
(Kundalini
Meditation)
(The
Great Invocation Kundalini Meditation)
(Kundalini)
(Kundalini
& Prana)
(Kundalini
Yoga)
(Kundalini
Awakening) |
