Get Empowered with Shakti and Shanti

17 October 2001, 03:15am IST
INDU JAIN.

Parameshwari, jagadeeshwari, jagadamba, vishwavilasini, vishalakshi, mahamaya - we invoke the powers of all these female deities in the temple or as moortis and posters but we rarely care to acknowledge the potential of women in real life. the exceptions are notable. bengal is unique in this respect. there is this story about a bengali daughter-in-law who became angry. the family immediately began worshipping her saying ma kali had manifested in her. kali is worshipped in many forms, portraying different aspects like shanti, kranti and bhakti. the portrayal of shakti as a fearsome goddess has always attracted more popular attention.


it's a pity that we worship womanpower in the form of deities, but fail to recognise this power in real life. in every woman, there is great vital power or shakti in some it is active, in many it is dormant. it is in the interest of all of us to recognise this latent power regardless of our gender - and acknowledge it as a force that can work wonders even in our day-to-day lives. by tweaking this dormant energy, women can play a greater role in shaping our collective future that upholds peace and harmony rather than aggression and violence. this is because woman is by nature peace loving. woman can counsel man that the word `war' actually means ``woman absolutely removed''.

it is often said in jest that ``behind every successful man, there is a woman''. it is indeed true that man's empowerment lies hidden in the empowerment of woman. it's the kinetic energy that has to be invoked, not static energy. stree shakti is present in all that surrounds us. whenever you ask people what they see around them, their answers are always in a limited realm. they mention objects, the physical things around us. but they do not see the unlimited space around us, the space that is actually the source of all potential power. once we connect with this space, we reach the realm of cosmic power.

the secret of success is to move from the finite level, from that of the body, to the less limited level of the mind and from there, go to higher consciousness or pure awareness. every human being is the seat of god. every human being has the capacity to evolve from the physical to the mental and then go on to the spiritual with some faith, effort and perseverance.

by internalising stree shakti, we can replace hate with the forces of knowledge and vitality. disaster is inevitable whenever any endeavour is wholly man-centric. for any endeavour to succeed fully, it is imperative to harmonise the knowledge of man and woman. this is clearly evident from the depiction of the divine as the ardhanareeswara half-man, half-woman or shiv-shakti. when the two sexes join forces on equal terms, the energy so produced will be positive.

in the world of business, today's corporates are beginning to recognise that closing the gender gap is not only the `right' or politically correct thing to do; it also makes good business sense. in maintaining a male-female balance, the creative energies of women are brought to the workforce. women are multi-task experts. they can perform many roles simultaneously and effectively. from humble homemaker to those in powerful political and economic positions, women can accomplish many tasks at the same time and with a cool temperament.

a woman is personified as both shanti and shakti. although these are perceived as diametrically opposite aspects, they actually complement one another. power is not only the power to destroy, but also the power to create and nurture peace. as embodiments of both these qualities, women are the spiritual lifelines of society. this is why women are, normally, never the instigators of war. women can play a very important role in bringing about world peace. this could be the reason why the word `peace' is itself a feminine noun in many indo-european languages like sanskrit, french, italian and spanish.

there is an interesting story about a male chauvinist bigot who almost died. he was revived and brought back to life. his friends gathered around him. ``tell us'', they said. ``what did you see? did you see his divine being?'' ``yes,'' he answered. ``you will find this difficult to accept, the divine being is actually a she''.

remember, only shakti moves shiva. therefore without shakti, you will be `shav' or lifeless. real empowerment will come when we worship and honour the same shakti of the gods in the women around us. let shakti no longer lie dormant, let it arise and let us allow it to flower and empower every one of us.