Denominations in Hinduism: Shaktism

Within Hinduism there are several denominations. They differ so much from each other that they are like different religions. This group worships several goddesses. They believe all these goddesses are variations of one: Devi. And she in turn is a symbol of feminine power - Shakti.

And this power is what the group worships. Shakti’s followers are called Shakta, and to them Shakti is the power that is the only true reality: the world soul Brahman. The word Shakti is Sanskrit, and means power or energy. It’s this power that creates everything, just as a mother gives birth to a child, and that is why the shakta see this power as feminine: as a mother goddess. Devi is actually not a name, but simply means “the goddess”.

When Devi is married to Shiva, and in the stories where she is given a name, most often that is Parvati. Devi, or Parvati, is a mother goddess, but she also has other sides. When showing any of these other sides, the goddess is given other names; she somehow becomes several goddesses in one. She might be a warrior: Durga. Or a ferocious, dangerous, destructive force: Kali.

But the force of Shakti, is represented in all goddesses, like: A goddess of nature giving abundance in love and money: Lakshmi. And the goddess of wisdom and inspiration: Saraswati. Just as Parvati is married to Shiva, Lakshmi is married to Vishnu and Saraswati to Brahma. The goddesses represent feminine power, and the gods masculine power. Together the feminine and the masculine become one whole, where the opposites balance each other.

To Shakta the goddesses are more powerful than the gods. The feminine power is more important, because that is what causes things to happen; from this power the world and everything is born.