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The Cult of Śākta

Shaktism is a branch of Hinduism that worships shakti (or Devi). Shakti is a powerful energy – the female principal of the divine. Every form of activity – however, named – proceeds from the primordial Shakti and is believed to be the source of the cosmos. Shakti pervades the entire universe. Usually worshipped as Devi or the divine mother. This worship popularly has been performed as Shakti Puja.

In the details of its philosophy and practice, Shaktism is like Shaivism, as the God Shiva is said to be the consort of Shakti.

The significance of Shaktism illustrates the reverence for the female within the Hindu tradition and, at the point, the necessity of a female image of the divine in religious experience. Shaktis believe that the supreme power of the world is feminine. That is why they worship the Goddess as God. In all the world religions, God's imagery has been done like a man.

God may be like a man, but Shakta Dharma is the only religion in the world that considers the creator a mother or woman. It is the only religion in the true sense. Shiva is a corpse, and Shakti is the ultimate light.

In the famous Rigvedic Hymn entitled Devi Sukta, these goddesses declare their divine supremacy in words still recited by many Hindus each day:

Shakti - The primordial cosmic energy

"I am the Sovereign Queen; the treasury of all treasures; the chief of all objects of worship; whose all-pervading Self manifests all gods and goddesses; whose birthplace is in the midst of the causal waters; who in breathing forth gives birth to all created worlds, and yet extends beyond them, so vast am I in greatness."

Among these innumerable manifestations of Shakti, a few highly popular goddess forms are more widely known and worshiped throughout the Hindu world and therefore stand out among others. These principal benevolent goddesses are:

1. Durga: the goddess Mahadevi, the apical principle of the universe.

2. Kali: the goddess of destruction and transformation and the devourer of time.

3. Sri-Lakshmi: the goddess of Material Fulfillment (wealth, health, fortune, love, beauty, fertility, etc.); consort of Vishnu

4. Parvati: the goddess of spiritual fulfillment, Divine Love; consort of Shiva

5. Sarasvati: the goddess of cultural fulfillment (knowledge, music, arts, sciences, etc.); consort of Brahma.

6. Gayatri: The Goddess as Mother of Mantras.

7. Ganga: The Goddess as Divine River (the Ganges River)

8. Sita: The Goddess as the consort of Rama.

9. Radha: The Goddess as Consort of Krishna.

Each of these divinities is highly interconnected with the other goddesses.

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