Talk:Shakti/Archive 1

I left the line about "shakti" meaning "power" here because I suspect some of the current links (I think I weeded out all the ones that were to the band) are about that, and I don't have time to go through them all. If someone does, and most of the links to this title are for the religious concept, then that line should be moved to Shakti (disambiguation), and pages that reference that meaning redirected there. If, on the other hand, many/most pages that link here reference the meaning, the meaning should be moved to the disambig page, the disambig page moved here, and this page moved to Shakti (deity) or some such, and those page adjusted properly. Noel (talk) 15:11, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

The use of the word "power" throughout this article is seen slightly misaligned with the philosophical foundations of shaktism. A better translation in this context is thought to be "motive". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.130.37.6 (talk • contribs)

Ummm well, I for one would love to have some input on "motive" added in. I have also heard shakti reffered to as "intention." Go for it. Sethie 03:47, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Maya/Shakti
I don't think that Shakti is motive. 'Shakti" means power. "Shakti" means energy.

"Devi" should not be translated as mother. "Maya" should not be considered at par with "Laxmi", "Saraswati" or "Parvati". "Maya" is different from "Shakti". "Maya" means illusion. Illusion blinds or obstructs a person to perceive the omni present God. "Maya" makes one forget about supreme goal of attaining "Moksha" and keeps one entangled in worldly pleasures and thus prevents one from taking recourse to attain "Moksha". "Laxmi", "Parvati" are worshipped as Goddesses out of reverence. It's not so with "Maya", if I may take liberty, the suffix "devi" attached to "Maya" is sarcastic or is given an abstract form to represent illusion.

"Laxmi", "Parvati", "Saraswati" and other goddesses' presence in one's life is desired whereas spiritually one desires that "Maya" leave them. It's accepted that the world can not function without "Maya" but "Maya" is considered to be evil and docrines advocate to leave "Maya". In other words, one should make oneself free from the (evil) effects of "Maya" in order to attain "Moksha".

Hindus have one family Goddess which is referred to as "Kuldevi". A family should not be construed of husband-wife and their children. Usually all relations of one, bearing common surname is known as a family though it may number in thousands and compose of hundreds of individual family units. Hindus highly revere "Kuldevi". Traditionally, marriage between a girl and boy having same "Kuldevi" is forbidden considering them to be brother-sister. In Hindus marriage between cousins is taboo however marriage between cousins from maternal side is an accepted custom in some castes (not all) as the genes differ between them. swadhyayee 02:17, 17 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Thanks for your input...I have read that Shakti means Power, force and Energy. Is this true. Also I deleted the Etymology section for various reasons. It was long, a tad unorganized and I did not believe that it flowed nicely. If anyone has any ideas to be put into the section please discuss or just go for it. Also I placed a Lakshmi picture on the page, does this fit the article.-- Seadog ♪  02:45, 17 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Removed as Maya not Shakti:
 * "In the Hindu scripture 'Devi Mahatmya', Mahamaya (Great Maya) is said to cover Vishnu's eyes in Yoganidra (divine sleep) during cycles of existence when all is resolved into one. By exhorting Mahamaya to release Her illusory hold on Vishnu, Brahma is able to bring Vishnu to aid him in killing two demons, Madhu and Kaitabh, who have manifested from Vishnu's sleeping form."--Redtigerxyz (talk) 14:31, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Roll back
I have rolled back removal of a sentence as the removal was not warranted:. --Bhadani 15:13, 12 February 2007 (UTC) - this has reference to:. --Bhadani 15:14, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Sachi-Shakti
REMOVED sentence from lead: Some scholars believe that the name "Shakti" is derived from the name of Lord Indra's consort "Sachi.": REF: "Hindu Goddesses Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Tradition by David Kinsley page 17 minor vedic Goddesses". This is WP:POV(point of view) so must not placed in the lead.

Direct quote from the ref book p.17: "(Indrani) is also called by the name Saci(sachi), which denotes power and suggests the later idea of sakti(shakti), the feminine, personified might of the gods in later Hindu mythology"

--Redtigerxyz (talk) 14:17, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Vagina
Shakti is also the Indian vagina. The female energy comes from there, and draws in the male energy (Shiva = the Indian penis) inside. source: Kamasutra, the Indian Love Book. 93.219.152.1 (talk) 18:20, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Are u mad or on cheap weed? Dbkatira (talk) 12:52, 26 October 2017 (UTC)

Prenatal yoga image
Shakti embodiment on the earthly plane: Prenatal Yoga & Meditation, Virabhadrasana I is definitely a case of image WP:OR. The picture does not feature any Hindu goddesses or Shaktis, but mere mortals doing Yoga. -- Redtigerxyz Talk 10:50, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

''See footnotes 5 and 6, and the Shambhala Encyl. of Yoga''. Not original thought, but certainly modern.

The metaphorical depiction is as appropriate as the others, they are all human-made attempts to give form to the formless! As a female editor, the depiction of a fertility image of pregnant yoginis as tridevi is an obviously appropriate reverance to shakti essence, imho.... at least as much as a three-headed tridevi superheroine illustration c. 1975 (?). In Hindu thought women are capable of gestating saints and peacemakers.... and are revered for that (for example, Didima, mother of Sri Anandamayi Ma). Also, mother is first guru... In modern global culture, prenatal yoga is becoming commonplace. So, quite alot of shakti (lower case 's') can be relevant to the photo art form, complementary to the referenced material, at least to a female editor such as myself. Respects, --KellyPhD (talk) 06:25, 3 January 2009 (UTC)

I agree with Redtiger. This is an irrelevant image that has no place in the article. Would you place such an image in other conceptions of the Divine in other religion.

Raj2004 (talk) 16:23, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

The image of Manasa in this article is grossly inappropriate. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.236.217.95 (talk) 22:44, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Copy-editing suggestions for the IAST transliteration in the article header
I propose either removing the "Telugu" (as it is simply a transliteration of "shakti" into the Lipi script) as well as the Tamil rendering of shakti (I cannot read Tamil so I cannot attest to whether its a transliteration or an actual term that is substantively related to the Sanskrit term) in the article lead. I believe these were placed in the subject header arbitrarily for the non-neutral intention of promoting regionalism, a frequent problem I've noticed in India and Hinduism series' articles.

An alternative to this, which I feel conveys to the reader the scope of the topic, would be to render the actual word for shakti (and not a synthetic and non-attributed transliteration) from several Indian languages, with citations of course. Svabhiman (talk) 14:11, 1 May 2016 (UTC)

Adi Shakti Symbol (☬)
Sikhs call this symbol the Khanda, but Unicode lists it as "U+262C: Adi Shakti". What could this article say about this? How do its unending circle, dagger that cuts both ways and knives in polar opposition tie in with her specifically? K2709 (talk) 11:43, 9 June 2017 (UTC)

Figure
Inserted in chronological order. --Sengai Podhuvan (talk) 21:17, 11 September 2013 (UTC)

Devi Shakti
has expressed concern that the title of this article is inappropriate. His concern (which he has expressed on this talk page, and then inexplicably deleted) is that the term Shakti, when used unmodified, means simply "energy", whereas the Hindu Goddess is properly addressed as Devi Shakti. I personally have no input on this matter (knowing nothing of Hinduism or the Sanskrit language), but I invite knowledgeable members of the community to weigh in on the topic. WikiDan61 ChatMe!ReadMe!! 13:40, 8 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Rename the page as Devi Shakti. Or let there be a separate page created as Devi Shakti. Dont direct that page to this page — Preceding unsigned comment added by Pratik12951 (talk • contribs) 13:49, 8 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Pratik, thank you for entering into the conversation. No, rather than simply making demands, can you please explain why the page should be renamed?  Can you provide a source for this reason?  WikiDan61 ChatMe!ReadMe!! 13:56, 8 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Pratik is right: in a broader sense "Shakti" means "energy" or "force" in Sanskrit. However, in a religious context, it means "Goddess Shakti". See here and here for a reference, though it appears bit vague.  AshLey  Msg 11:26, 9 November 2012 (UTC) modified 11:44, 9 November 2012 (UTC)
 * While I consider the Merriam-Webster dictionary to be a fairly reliable source for etymology, the baby names source really isn't. I'd prefer a source from Hindu scholarship to be more on point.  WikiDan61 ChatMe!ReadMe!! 13:18, 9 November 2012 (UTC)
 * The Hindu goddess may/may not have the prefix (honorific) Devi. She may be referred as Shakti or called shakti of a particular male god. Shakti in a broader sense means "energy, power". This broad use is widespread in Sanskrit and other Indian languages. However, English seems to primarily have the goddess meaning. As per "Merriam-Webster", the primary meaning is "the dynamic energy of a Hindu god personified as his female consort". The Oxford English Dictionary "Hinduism the female principle of divine energy. – origin from Sanskrit śakti ‘power, divine energy’." Shakti. (2007). In The Penguin English Dictionary defines it "the dynamic energy of a Hindu god personified as his female consort" . Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable says "The female principle in Hindu mythology, especially when personified or manifested as the wife of a god" . Considering this, IMO we should not move the article.  Redtigerxyz  Talk 11:25, 10 November 2012 (UTC)