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S h i v a a n d S h a k t i
In Eastern mythology the two opposite forces are expressed like the gods Shiva and Shakti. The male aspect, Shiva is identified with the pure not manifested consciousness. He is an expression of nirvana and is pictured like a shapeless creature sunk in meditation. Shiva is the inactivated divine potential, equal to pure consciousness, separated from its manifestations. Sometimes it is regarded as "the destroyer" because it is the consciousness without form - it often destroys the form in order to uncover the consciousness. Shiva is considered to be dwelling in the parietal chakra.
Shakti, the female half of this passive consciousness is the grantor of life. She is the total creation and mother of the world. In the process of the creation of the world Shakti is the creator of Maya. Maya is usually considered as an "illusion" but from the point of view of its etymology its meaning in Sanskrit was magic, art, wisdom and a supernatural power. Maya is the substance of manifested world, the mistress of divine creation. It is a projection of consciousness but not of consciousness in itself. They say that when the karma is ripe, Shakti is obsessed by the wish to create and she inseminates herself with her own yeast.
The root of the word shak means to have the power to or to be able to. It is namely through its union with Shakti that the consciousness of Shiva can descend and inseminate the world (Shakti) with the Divine consciousness. In the case of mortal people women create the child only with the help of male semen. Shakti creates the world in the same way but only with the help of the "semen" of consciousness, which comes from Shiva.
In accordance with the above mentioned two streams each one of these gods possesses the tendency to move towards the other one. Since Shakti is pushed up from the Earth, she is described like the divine aspiration of the human soul, while Shiva, who is drawn up from above, is the irresistible attraction of divine mercy or manifestation. The eternal relation between the two gods encompasses the phenomenal world, which we perceive.
Both gods dwell in each one of us. We have only got to apply certain principles in order to let these forces unite, so that they bring us elucidation from the maya veil or realization of the consciousness, hidden under the so called illusion. When this happens art, wisdom and the forces of creation will become accessible for us like the old meanings of the word hint.
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