Shiva and Shakti - Union of Divine Energies

Absorbed in our daily rush and busy lives, we often forget to connect with the divinity within ourselves.

Yes, there exists a balance of divine energies within each one of us, we only have to recognize it and manifest it.

If you have ever been to a yoga practice, you may have learned about achieving calmness and balance through meditation.

But did you know that there are divine energies constantly in play within your soul that helps you achieve this balance?

How exactly these divine energies came to be within us mere mortals, is what you are probably wondering.

Let me paint you a little picture.

Imagine a time billions of years ago, when the earth did not exist. All that was there was a huge cosmos filled with divine energy.

According to age-old tantrism, this was the time when the divine masculine, also known as Lord Shiva in Hindu mythology, and the divine feminine, revered as Goddess Shakti, formed a divine union.

From that union, creation began, the earth was born, mountains were created, rivers began to flow.

Okay, now you are thinking, that was billions of years ago, but how do these energies affect humans of this era?

Well, that is what I am going to show you through this blog post.

Read on to know more about Shiva and Shakti, and how the nature of their energies and their union affects people like you and me. 

Shiva - The Divine Masculine

The Hindu Mythology portrays Lord Shiva as a male God, with a trident in one of his hands, and dreadlocks, from which the river Ganges is believed to have originated.

He is represented as a character who is forever meditating among the remotest mountains of the Himalayas, known as the Kailasha Parvat.

He is the embodiment of all things masculine and symbolizes consciousness, calmness, determination, purpose, and direction.

Within the concept of the Chakras, Shiva is known to be present in the Sahasrara Chakra, or the Crown Chakra.

He is the one who sits silently and observes the world and is unchangeable in his outlook.

In traditional Hinduism, Lord Shiva is also looked upon as the God of Destruction.

This does not mean that he will destroy you!

It only means that he has the divine masculine energy to take apart the created world when the earth needs re-cleansing and re-birth.

But even Shiva, with all his purpose and consciousness and annihilating powers, cannot re-create or rebuild without the help of his eternal consort, Goddess Shakti.

Let us now learn more about Shakti herself. 

Shakti - The Divine Feminine

Shakti is, as you must have guessed by now, the female God, or the divine feminine, who is also Shiva's eternal partner. Shakti is typically portrayed as a beautiful woman in a silk garment with dancing steps.

"Shakti" in Indian languages means power and when you look at her image, you will know why.

She emanates positivity, vibrancy, and is always full of life. In the Hindu scriptures, she is represented as a strong woman who creates, nurtures, and replenishes the world.

When you look at her traditional idols, you will notice either a lion or a tiger accompanying her. This alone is enough to tell you that she is fearless and energetic.

The Goddess Shakti is represented as a mother who cares for her children and is ever-ready to fight all kinds of demons and ill-omens that could be potentially harmful to her offsprings.

Known by hundreds of other names, such as Durga, Parvati, Kali, and Prakriti, Goddess Shakti lives in the Muladhara Chakra, commonly known as the Root Chakra.

Now you probably realize why Shiva chose her as a consort. If you are still having trouble picturing Shakti, just imagine a gorgeous woman with infinite warmth and love, but not one that you would like to cross. 

Shiva and Shakti Twin Flames Energies

Now that you know a little bit about the characteristics of Shiva and Shakti, let us dig a little deeper into the nature of their energies.

More importantly, I think you would much like to understand how these two energies can be identified within yourself.

In tantric ideology, Shiva and Shakti are metaphysically involved with each other through a tantric union, which is much more than just a physical union of a man and a woman.

When Shiva and Shakti are united in a person's body, the process gives rise to Kundalini or the Serpent Goddess. This Goddess is the dormant feminine power located at the base of the spine and causes an intense rush of energy.

Further, this union enables the mind to go into Samadhi, which is the highest state of meditation.

Shiva and Shakti energies are both present in human beings and the balance between them is what helps us emerge victorious through all the worldly pain and miseries.

This balance is depicted in Hindu mythology as a character that is half Shiva and half Parvati, named Ardhanarishvara.

Picture a human form that is half a man (on the right side) and half a woman (on the left side). 

Nature of Shiva Energy

It is the right half of the Ardhanarishvara that depicts the calm and conscious nature of Shiva energy.

This energy signifies the absolute reality of the entire cosmos, the whole truth on which the universe is built. It is profound, free, grounded, and aware.

So, how do you identify your Shiva energy within you?

Take an introspective view of your character through meditation and identify those moments of truth when you had a revelation about providing purpose and direction to all of your actions.

That characteristic is the masculine divine energy. 

Nature of Shakti Energy

The other half of Ardhanarishvara, undoubtedly, is what Shakti represents. Her energy is more of a flowing nature. Her vitality and creative instinct complement the calm nature of Shiva energy.

All the life forms that you see around the world is the result of this expressive and flexible energy of Shakti.

Now, are you ready to identify the presence of Shakti energy within yourself?

It should be easy to do so because as humans we all create something. We are all active and we always tend to be constantly moving from one task to another.

Life itself is movement and change, the very nature of Shakti energy. Anytime you act, you are channeling this source of energy through your mind and body. 

The Combined Effect of the Energies

All right, now you are wondering, all this is fine, but how do these two energies work alongside each other?

Let us take an extremely mundane example.

You have returned home from work and need to make dinner. We all do, don't we?

Now, the decision to make dinner and the purpose of the dinner is guided by the conscious nature of your mind through Shiva Energy.

Now that you know you have to make dinner, the next step is to physically move around the kitchen, chop your veggies, and toss them into the pan.

Congratulations, your inner Shakti energy just created something, your dinner!

As you can see, without the determination to make dinner, you would have never chopped the vegetables.

Similarly, simply deciding that you have to make dinner would not have been enough to prepare the food. Thus, the two energies worked together to give you a sumptuous meal at the end of a tiring day.

Shiva and Shakti Love Story

After hearing so much about these two Hindu deities, you must be intrigued to know more about their story of togetherness.

It is quite an interesting love story and one can never tire of hearing it over and over again.

So, get into your warm blanket as I am going to recite here one of the most interesting mythological stories of the world.

According to Hindu legends, Shiva was first married to Sati, who was a demure and homely version of Shakti herself. One day, Shiva and Sati were walking in a forest where they saw Lord Ram looking for his wife Sita.

To find out whether he indeed was Lord Ram, Sati disguised herself as Sita and went to meet him. The all-knowing Ram instantly recognized her as Sati, but alas, Shiva refused to consider her as his wife Sati thereafter and settled in the corners of the Himalayas, alone, untouchable, impenetrable. 

Sati and Shiva Separation

While Sati and Shiva continued to be apart on account of Shiva's refusal to consider her his wife, Sati visited a ceremony at her father's house, uninvited.

She was treated so badly over there that she ended up killing herself. Sati and Shiva were now separated forever.

But wait!

They were divine powers. So how did she die and why did they separate in that fashion?

This is where the story gets better. 

Shiva and Shakti Divine Reunion

Sati was reborn as Parvati, the more powerful version of Goddess Shakti. She, after eons of trials and penances, succeeded in winning Shiva's heart and soul.

Thus, they were re-united. Shiva and Shakti became one forever and continued to reside as one among all humans and animals of the universe. 

Importance of Shiva and Shakti Union

It is a wonderful act of nature that we are all equipped with such a balance of male and female divine energies within ourselves. As you now know, it is this balance that helps us cope through all the hard times that life throws at us.

Perhaps now it is easy to understand why the Shiva and Shakti energies are important for maintaining a healthy mind, body, and soul.

What is difficult, though, understandably, is practicing it.

The divine energies must remain in balance so that we humans can achieve the unachievable and feel more connected with our spiritual selves.

If one of the two energies goes out of balance, the duality is broken and a person might become prone to inactivity or aggression.

Finding a way to maintain the balance between the Shiva and Shakti energies is how you can channelize these purest forms of divine energies that already reside in you.

Now, over to you:

• Do you find it easy to maintain a healty balance of these energies in your own life?
• Did you find Shiva and Shakti story interesting and useful for you spiritual evolution?
• Is there anything you wanted to add to this beautiful story?

Let us know in the comments down below!