|
Kundalini
In Hinduism, kundalini (, ) is a form of divine feminine energy (or ''Shakti'') believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the '' muladhara''. It is an important concept in Śhaiva Tantra, where it is believed to be a force or power associated with the divine feminine or the formless aspect of the Goddess. This energy in the body, when cultivated and awakened through tantric practice, is believed to lead to spiritual liberation. Kuṇḍalinī is associated with the goddess Parvati or Adi Parashakti, the supreme being in Shaktism, and with the goddesses Bhairavi and Kubjika. The term, along with practices associated with it, was adopted into Hatha Yoga in the 9th century. Mallinson, James. "Śāktism and Haṭhayoga." In: Goddess Traditions in Tantric Hinduism: History, Practice and Doctrine, edited by Bjarne Wernicke-Olesen London: Routledge, 2016. pp. 109–140. It has since then been adopted into other forms of Hinduism as well as modern spirituality and New ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Hatha Yoga
Hatha yoga (; Sanskrit हठयोग, International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''haṭhayoga'') is a branch of yoga that uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word हठ ''haṭha'' literally means "force", alluding to a system of physical techniques. Some hatha yoga style techniques can be traced back at least to the 1st-century CE, in texts such as the Hindu Itihasa, Sanskrit epics and Buddhism's Pali canon. The oldest dated text so far found to describe hatha yoga, the 11th-century ''Amritasiddhi, Amṛtasiddhi'', comes from a Tantra, tantric Buddhist milieu. The oldest texts to use the terminology of ''hatha'' are also Vajrayana Buddhist. Hindu hatha yoga texts appear from the 11th century onward. Some of the early hatha yoga texts (11th-13th c.) describe methods to raise and conserve bindu (vital force, that is, semen, and in women ''rajas –'' menstrual fluid). This was seen as the physical esse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Muladhara (Root Chakra)
Muladhara ( or मूलाधारा; IAST: , lit. ''"root of Existence." Mula'' means root and ''dhara'' means flux.) or the root chakra is one of the seven primary chakras according to Hindu tantrism. It is symbolized by a lotus with four petals and the colour pink or red. Description Muladhara is said to be located near the coccygeal plexus beneath the sacrum, while its ''kshetram'', or superficial activation point, is located between the perineum and the coccyx or the pelvic bone. Muladhara is said to be the base from which the three main psychic channels or nadis emerge: the Ida, Pingala and Sushumna. The deity associated with Muladhara (root) chakra is Lord Ganesh. In the highest revered prayer for Ganapati (Ganesh), the Ganapati Atharvashirsha, it is mentioned that "one who worships Lord Ganapati would easily grasp the concept and realise Brahman". Appearance It is symbolized by a red, four-petaled lotus with a yellow square at its center. Each petal has one of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Tantra
Tantra (; ) is an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the India, Indian subcontinent beginning in the middle of the 1st millennium CE, first within Shaivism and later in Buddhism. The term ''tantra'', in the Greater India, Indian traditions, also means any systematic broadly applicable "text, theory, system, method, instrument, technique or practice". A key feature of these traditions is the use of mantras, and thus they are commonly referred to as Mantramārga ("Path of Mantra") in Hinduism or Mantrayāna ("Mantra Vehicle") and Guhyamantra ("Secret Mantra") in Buddhism. In Buddhism, the Vajrayana traditions are known for tantric ideas and practices, which are based on Indian Tantras (Buddhism), Buddhist Tantras. They include Tibetan Buddhism, Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Chinese Esoteric Buddhism, Japanese Shingon Buddhism and Nepalese Newar Buddhism. Although Southern Esoteric Buddhism does not directly reference the tantras, its practices and ideas parallel them. In Bud ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Bhairavi
Bhairavi () is a Hindu goddess, described as one of the Mahāvidyas, the ten avatars of the mother goddess. She is the consort of Bhairava ( a form of Shiva). Etymology The name ''Bhairavi'' means "terrifying" or "awe-inspiring". Iconography Her dhyana shloka in the Devi Mahatmya describes her form. She wears red garments and wears a garland of severed heads around her neck. She has three eyes and her head is adorned with a crescent moon. Tripura Sundari and Tripura Bhairavi are closely associated but different. Legend Bhairavi is also a title for a female adept in Kundalini, Tantra. A yogini is a student of Tantra or an aspirant. A ''Bhairavi'' has succeeded in Tantra with the help of 64 yoginis. Yogini or Jogini are 64 in number. Yoginis, female supporting deities of Bhairavi. Bhairavi is the supreme leader of all 64 yoginis. Bhairav also has 52 supporting powers called ''52 Bhairav''. Bhairavi is the consort of Bhairava according to the Puranas and Tantras. In Tant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Energy (esotericism)
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 or experimentation, and thus are distinct from uses of the term "energy" in science. Claims related to energy therapies are most often anecdotal, rather than being based on repeatable empirical evidence, thus not following the scientific method. There is no scientific evidence for the existence of such energy, and physics educators criticize the use of the term "energy" to describe ideas in esotericism and spirituality as unavoidably confusing. History The concept of esoteric energy has appeared in various cultures and spiritual traditions throughout history. Although interpretations differ, many traditions describe it as a vital force that animates living beings and permeates the cosmos. These ideas often overlap with religious, medical, and mystical frameworks, inf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Shakti
Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; 'energy, ability, strength, effort, power, might, capability') in Hinduism, is the "Universal Power" that underlies and sustains all existence. Conceived as feminine in essence, Shakti refers to the personified energy or power of a Deva (Hinduism), male deity, often personified as the female consort of the given Hindu god. In Tantric Shaktism, Shakti is the foremost deity, akin to Brahman. In Puranic Hinduism, Shiva and Shakti are the masculine and feminine principles that are complementary to each other. The male deity is ''purusha'', pure consciousness, which creates the universe through the female creative energy of Shakti, which is ''Prakṛti, prakriti'', 'nature'. The term ''Shakta'' is used for the description of people associated with Shakti worship. The Shakta pithas are shrines, which are believed to be the sacred seats of Shakti. Etymology and overview According to the Monier Monier-Williams, Monier-Williams dict ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Asana
An āsana (Sanskrit: आसन) is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and later extended in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise, to any type of position, adding reclining, standing, inverted, twisting, and balancing poses. The ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali'' define "asana" as " position thatis steady and comfortable". Patanjali mentions the ability to sit for extended periods as one of the eight limbs of his system. Patanjali '' Yoga sutras'', Book II:29, 46 Asanas are also called yoga poses or yoga postures in English. The 10th or 11th century '' Goraksha Sataka'' and the 15th century '' Hatha Yoga Pradipika'' identify 84 asanas; the 17th century '' Hatha Ratnavali'' provides a different list of 84 asanas, describing some of them. In the 20th century, Indian nationalism favoured physical culture in response t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Adi Parashakti
Mahadevi (, , IPA: / mɐɦɑd̪eʋiː/), also referred to as Adi Parashakti, and Mahamaya, is the supreme goddess in Hinduism. According to the goddess-centric sect Shaktism, all Hindu gods and goddesses are considered to be manifestations of this great goddess, who is considered as the '' Para Brahman'' or the ultimate reality. Shaktas often worship her as Durga, also believing her to have many other forms. Mahadevi is mentioned as the ''Mulaprakriti'' (Primordial Goddess) in Shakta texts, having five primary forms—Parvati, Lakshmi, Sarasvati, Gayatri and Radha—collectively referred to as ''Panchaprakriti''. Besides these, Goddess Tripura Sundari, a form of Devi, is often identified with the supreme goddess Mahadevi in Shaktism. Author Helen T. Boursier says: "In Hindu philosophy, both Lakshmi (primary goddess in Vaishnavism) and Parvati (primary goddess of Shaivism) are identified as manifestations of this great goddess—Mahadevi—and the Shakti or divine power". Ep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Shaktism
Shaktism () is a major Hindu denomination in which the God in Hinduism, deity or metaphysics, metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically to be a woman. Shaktism involves a galaxy of goddesses, all regarded as different aspects, manifestations, or personifications of the divine feminine energy called ''Shakti''. It includes various modes of worship, ranging from those focused on the most worshipped Durga, to gracious Parvati, and the fierce Kali. After the decline of Buddhism in India, various Hindu and Buddhist goddesses were combined to form the Mahavidya, a Pantheon (religion), pantheon of ten goddesses. The most common forms of the Mahadevi worshipped in Shaktism include: Durga, Kali, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Parvati, and Tripura Sundari. Also worshipped are the various Gramadevatas across the Indian villages. Shaktism also encompasses various Tantra#Śaiva and Śākta tantra, tantric sub-traditions, including Vidyapitha and Kulamārga. Shaktism emphasizes that intense ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Yantra
Yantra (; 'machine'/'contraption') is a geometrical diagram, mainly from the Tantric traditions of the Indian religions. Yantras are used for the worship of deities in temples or at home; as an aid in meditation; and for the benefits believed given by their occult powers based on Hindu astrology and tantric texts. They are also used for adornment of temple floors, due mainly to their aesthetic and symmetric qualities. Specific yantras are traditionally associated with specific deities and/or certain types of energies used for accomplishment of certain tasks or vows that may be either materialistic or spiritual in nature. They become a prime tool in certain sadhanas performed by the sadhaka, the spiritual seeker. Yantras hold great importance in Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. Representations of the yantra in India have been considered to date back to 11,000–10,000 BCE. The Baghor stone, found in an Upper Paleolithic context in the Son River Valley, is considered the ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
