Shaktipat or Śaktipāta (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

, from ''

shakti In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and rep ...

'' "(psychic) energy" and ''pāta'', "to fall")''Abhinavagupta : the Kula ritual, as elaborated in chapter 29 of the Tantrāloka'', John R. Dupuche, 2003, page 155 refers in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

to the transmission (or conferring) of

spiritual energy Proponents and practitioners of various esoteric forms of spirituality and alternative medicine refer to a variety of claimed experiences and phenomena as being due to "energy" or "force" that defy measurement and thus are distinguished from t ...

upon one person by another or directly from the deity. ''Shaktipat'' can be transmitted with a sacred word or

mantra A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ma ...

, or by a look, thought or touch – the last usually to the ajna chakra or agya chakra or

third eye The third eye (also called the mind's eye or inner eye) is a mystical invisible eye, usually depicted as located on the forehead, which provides perception beyond ordinary sight. In Hinduism, the third eye refers to the ajna (or brow) chakra. In ...

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. The very consciousness of the god or guru is held to enter into the

Self The self is an individual as the object of that individual’s own reflective consciousness. Since the ''self'' is a reference by a subject to the same subject, this reference is necessarily subjective. The sense of having a self—or ''selfhood ...

of the disciple, constituting an initiation into the school or the spiritual family ( kula) of the guru. It is held that ''Shaktipat'' can be transmitted in person or at a distance, through an object such as a flower or fruit.

Levels of intensity

Levels

Kashmir Shaivism Kashmir Shaivism or Trika Shaivism, is a nondualist tradition of Shaiva-Shakta Tantra which originated sometime after 850 CE. Since this tradition originated in Kashmir it is often called "Kashmiri Shaivism". It later went on to become a pan ...

, depending on its intensity, ''Śaktipāt'' can be classified as: * ' - the so-called "Super Supreme Grace" - produces immediate identity with ''Śiva'' and liberation; such a being goes on to become a

siddha ''Siddha'' (Sanskrit: '; "perfected one") is a term that is used widely in Indian religions and culture. It means "one who is accomplished." It refers to perfected masters who have achieved a high degree of physical as well as spiritual ...

master and bestows grace from his abode (''Siddhaloka''), directly into the heart of deserving aspirantsKashmir Shaivism, The Secret Supreme,

Lakshman Joo Swami Lakshman Joo (9 May 1907 – 27 September 1991) was a mysticism, mystic and scholar of Kashmir Shaivism. He was known as Lal Sahib ("Friend of God") by followers. Biography Lakshman Joo was born in a Kashmiri Hindu Brahmin family ...

, Page 66 * ' - "Supreme Medium Grace" - such a being becomes spiritually illuminated and liberated on his own, relying directly on ''Śiva'', not needing initiation or instruction from other exterior

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...

. This is facilitated by an intense awakening of his spiritual intuition (''pratibhā'') which immediately eliminates ignorance * ' - "Supreme Inferior Grace" - the person who received this grace strongly desires to find an appropriate

, but he does not need instruction, but a simple touch, a look or simply being in the presence of his master is enough to trigger in him to the state of illumination * ' - "Medium Supreme Grace" - a disciple who receives this grace desires to have the instruction and initiation of a perfect

; in time he becomes enlightened. However, he is not totally absorbed into this state during his lifetime and receives a permanent state of fusion with ''Śiva'' after the end of his life * ' - "Medium Middle Grace" - such a disciple will receive initiation from his

and have an intense desire to attain liberation, but at the same time he still has desire for various enjoyments and pleasure; after the end of his life, he continues to a paradise where he fulfills all his desires and after that he receives again initiation from his master and realizes permanent union with ''Śiva''Kashmir Shaivism, The Secret Supreme,

, Page 68 * ' - "Medium Inferior Grace" - is similar to "Medium Middle Grace" except that in this case the aspirant desires worldly pleasures more than union with ''Śiva''; he needs to be reincarnated again as a spiritual seeker to attain liberation * ' - "Inferior Grace" - for those who receive this level of grace, the aspiration to be united with ''Śiva'' is present only in times of distress and suffering; the grace of ''Śiva'' needs to work in them for many lifetimes before spiritual liberation occurs

Table

Descriptions

Swami

Muktananda Swami Muktananda Paramahamsa (16 May 1908 – 2 October 1982), born Krishna Rai, was a yoga guru, the founder of Siddha Yoga. He was a disciple of Bhagavan Nityananda. He wrote books on the subjects of Kundalini Shakti, Vedanta, and Kashm ...

, 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.

Paul Zweig Paul Zweig (July 14, 1935 – August 29, 1984) was an American poet, memoirist, and critic known for his study on Walt Whitman. Biography Zweig was born in Brooklyn on July 14, 1935, and was raised in a middle-class Jewish family in Brighton ...

has written of his experience of receiving ''shaktipat'' from

. In the same book

Itzhak Bentov Itzhak "Ben" Bentov (also ''Ben-Tov''; he, יצחק בנטוב; August 9, 1923 – May 25, 1979) was an Israeli American scientist, inventor, mystic and author. His many inventions, including the steerable cardiac catheter, helped pioneer the ...

describes his laboratory measurements of kundalini-awakening through ''shaktipat'', a study held in high regard by the late

Satyananda Saraswati Satyananda Saraswati (25 December 1923 – 5 December 2009), was a Sanyasi, yoga teacher and guru in both his native India and the West. He was a student of Sivananda Saraswati, the founder of the Divine Life Society, and founded the Bihar Sch ...

, founder of the

Bihar School of Yoga The Bihar School of Yoga is a modern school of yoga founded by Satyananda Saraswati in Munger, Bihar, India, in 1963. An Institute of Yogic Studies was created in 1994. History The Bihar School of Yoga was established in 1963 at Munger, in the ...

, and by

Hiroshi Motoyama was a Japanese parapsychologist, scientist, spiritual instructor and author whose primary topic was spiritual self-cultivation and the relationship between the mind and body. Motoyama emphasized the meditative practices of Samkhya/Yoga, karma, ...

, author of ''Theories of the Chakras''.

Barbara Brennan Barbara Ann Brennan (February 19, 1939 – October 3, 2022) was an American author, spiritual healer, businesswoman and teacher working in the field of energy healing. In 2011, she was listed by the Watkins Review as the 94th most spirituall ...

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 In Hinduism, Kundalini ( sa, कुण्डलिनी, translit=kuṇḍalinī, translit-std=IAST, lit=coiled snake, ) is a form of divine feminine energy (or ''Shakti'') believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the ''muladhara'' ...

then naturally manifest. In his book, Building a Noble World, Shiv R. Jhawar describes his shaktipat experience at Muktananda's public program at Lake Point Tower in Chicago on September 16, 1974 as follows: “Baba wami Muktanandahad just begun delivering his discourse with his opening statement: ‘Today’s subject is meditation. The crux of the question is: What do we meditate upon?’ Continuing his talk, Baba said: ‘Kundalini starts dancing when one repeats Om Namah Shivaya.’Hearing this, I mentally repeated the mantra, I noticed that my breathing was getting heavier. Suddenly, I felt a great impact of a rising force within me. The intensity of this rising kundalini force was so tremendous that my body lifted up a little and fell flat into the aisle; my eyeglasses flew off. As I lay there with my eyes closed, I could see a continuous fountain of dazzling white lights erupting within me. In brilliance, these lights were brighter than the sun but possessed no heat at all. I was experiencing the thought-free state of "I am," realizing that "I" have always been, and will continue to be, eternal. I was fully conscious and completely aware while I was experiencing the pure "I am," a state of supreme bliss. Outwardly, at that precise moment, Baba shouted delightedly from his platform, "Mene kuch nahi kiya; kisiko shakti ne pakda" ("I didn’t do anything. The Energy has caught someone"). Baba noticed that the dramatic awakening of kundalini in me frightened some people in the audience. Therefore, he said, ‘Do not be frightened. Sometimes kundalini gets awakened in this way, depending upon a person's type.

Related concepts

Sahaj Marg Sahaj Marg or Heartfulness Meditation is a set of meditative practices first developed at the turn of the twentieth century and formalized into teaching through Shri Ram Chandra Mission in 1945. It is a form of Raja Yoga meditation system. Use of ...

, yogic transmission is named Pranahuti (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

: ,

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

: ') from '' prāṇā'', "life force" and ''āhūti'', "offering". It is described as "the gracious and conscious offering of the life force or spirit by the Guru into the disciple’s heart."

Notes

References

{{Worship in Hinduism Shaivism Kashmir Shaivism Hindu tantra Tantric practices Esoteric schools of thought Hindu prayer and meditation Hindu philosophical concepts Spiritual faculties Sanskrit words and phrases Hindi words and phrases