Diksha
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In Dharmic religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism, diksha is the ritual of initiation into the worship of some deity by a guru (diksha guru) who bestows mantra(s) and takes the karma of the initiate - at least in case of Vaishnava diksha, as per Hari Bhakti Vilasa 1.70:
raji catmatyaja dosah patni-papam sva-bhartari
tatha sisyartjitam papam guruh prapnoti niscita
"The faults of the counselor fall on the king, and the sins of a wife fall on her husband. In the same way a spiritual master attains the sins of his disciple. That is certain."
Diksha primarily means a transfer of spiritual knowledge. Vishnu Yamala (tantra) says:
divyam jnanam yato dadyat kuryat papasya sanksayam
tasmad dikseti sa prokta desikais tattva-kovidaih
"The process that bestows divyam jnanam (transcendental, spiritual knowledge) and destroys sin (papa), the seed of sin and ignorance, is called diksha by the spiritual persons who have seen the Truth (desikais tattva-kovidaih)."
Vaishnava pancaratrika system requires a sadhaka to undergo the process known as pancha samskara consisting of pancha (five) stages of samskara (purification):
tapah pundram tatha nama mantro yagas ca pancamah
ami hi panca-samskarah paramaikanti-hetavah
"Tapah, pundra, nama, mantra, and yaga; these five items comprise pancha samskara. They are the cause of intense devotion to Lord Hari."
yatha kancanatam yati kamsyam rasa-vidhanatah
tatha diksa-vidhanena dvijatvam jayate nrnam
"As bell metal is turned to gold when mixed with mercury in an alchemical process, so one who is properly trained and initiated by a bona fide spiritual master becomes a brahmana immediately." (Tattva-sagara, quoted in Hari-bhakti-vilasa 2.12)
Other sampradayas use different procedures.
Another type of diksha, into a monastic order, involves a vow of celibacy, renunciation of all personal possessions and of all worldly duties, including family ties. Diksha has the same meaning in Jainism. Diksha is also called Charitra or Mahanibhiskraman in Jainism.
An organization called Oneness University in South India, founded by Sri Bhagavan and Sri Amma teaches diksha as a process by which divine energy can be transmitted. They explain that this will lead to individual enlightenment and eventually by the year 2012 to collective enlightenment. At present the movement has educated thousands of diksha givers in the western world and millions of followers in India. See [1] for more details.
