Shaktipat

Shaktipat or Śaktipāta (Sanskrit, from shakti - "(psychic) energy" - and pāta, "to fall")[1] refers in Hinduism to the conferring of spiritual "energy" upon one person by another. Shaktipat can be transmitted with a sacred word or mantra, or by a look, thought or touch – the last usually to the ajna chakra or third eye of the recipient.

Saktipat is considered an act of grace (anugraha) on the part of the guru or the divine. It cannot be imposed by force, nor can a receiver make it happen.[2] The very consciousness of the god or guru is held to enter into the Self of the disciple, constituting an initiation into the school or the spiritual family (kula) of the guru.[3] It is held that Shaktipat can be transmitted in person or at a distance, through an object such as a flower or fruit or else by telephone or letter.[4]

Levels of intensity

Levels

In Kashmir Shaivism, depending on its intensity, Śaktipāt can be classified as:

Table

Type of spiritual grace When is the moment of liberation? What one needs in order
to attain liberation?		 What is the defining quality
of the recipient?
tīvra-tīvra-śaktipāta
Super Supreme Grace		 immediate nothing exterior, only
the grace of Śiva		 capability to abandon duality
tīvra-madhya-śaktipāta
Supreme Medium Grace		 immediate nothing exterior, only
the grace of Śiva		 intuition of nonduality[note 1]
tīvra-manda-śaktipāta
Supreme Inferior Grace		 after meeting a perfect guru the presence of
a physical guru		 total surrender for his guru
madhya-tīvra-śaktipāta
Medium Supreme Grace		 at the end of life in this physical plane the initiation
and instruction of a guru		 intense spiritual aspiration
madhya-madhya-śaktipāta
Medium Middle Grace		 after living for some time in a paradise the initiation
and instruction of a guru		 spiritual aspiration is more intense than worldly desires
madhya-manda-śaktipāta
Medium Inferior Grace		 in the next physical incarnation the initiation
and instruction of a guru		 lower aspiration than
worldly desires
manda
Inferior Grace		 after many lifetimes of incremental progress the initiation
and instruction of a guru and lots of time

Descriptions

Swami Muktananda, in his book Play of Consciousness, describes in great detail his experience of receiving shaktipat initiation from his guru Bhagavan Nityananda and his spiritual development that unfolded after this event. [9]

Paul Zweig has written of his experience of receiving shaktipat from Muktananda.[10] In the same book Itzhak Bentov describes his laboratory measurements of kundalini-awakening through shaktipat,[11] a study held in high regard by the late Satyananda Saraswati, founder of the Bihar School of Yoga, and by Hiroshi Motoyama, author of Theories of the Chakras.

Barbara Brennan describes shaktipat as the projection of the guru's "aura" on the disciple who thereby acquires the same mental state, hence the importance of the high spiritual level of the guru. The physiological phenomena of rising kundalini then naturally manifest.[12]

In his book, Building a Noble WorldShiv Jhawar describes his shaktipat initiation on September 16, 1974 in the physical presence of Swami Muktananda at Lake Point Tower in Chicago. [13]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Abhinavagupta distinguishes here between two sublevels:
    • those whose intuition (pratibhā) is firm
    • those whose intuition is hesitant, who need more practice in order to stabilize; they would take a guru, study the scriptures or practice yoga[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Abhinavagupta, The Kula Ritual, as Elaborated in Chapter 29 of the Tantrāloka, John R. Dupuche, page 155
  2. ↑ Abhinavagupta, The Kula Ritual, as Elaborated in Chapter 29 of the Tantrāloka, John R. Dupuche, page 154
  3. ↑ Abhinavagupta: The Kula Ritual, as Elaborated in Chapter 29 of the Tantrāloka, John R. Dupuche, Page 131
  4. ↑ Satyananda Saraswati, Kundalini Tantra, Yoga Publications Trust (1984), p. 46.
  5. 1 2 3 Kashmir Shaivism, The Secret Supreme, Lakshman Joo, Page 66
  6. ↑ Kashmir Shaivism, The Secret Supreme, Lakshman Joo, Page 67
  7. 1 2 Kashmir Shaivism, The Secret Supreme, Lakshman Joo, Page 68
  8. ↑ Kashmir Shaivism, The Secret Supreme, Lakshman Jee, Page 69
  9. ↑ Muktananda, Swami (1978). Play of Consciousness. Siddha Yoga Publications. ISBN 0-911307-81-8.
  10. ↑ Paul Zweig, in John White (editor), Kundalini, Evolution, and Enlightenment (ISBN 1-55778-303-9)
  11. ↑ Itzhak Bentov, Micromotions of the body as a factor in the development of the nervous system, in John White (editor), Kundalini, Evolution, and Enlightenment (ISBN 1-55778-303-9)
  12. ↑ Barbara Brennan, Hands of Light
  13. ↑ Jhawar, Shiv R. (2004) Building a Noble World, Page 84 (ISBN 0-9749197-0-5)
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