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| Shiva Shakti by Lisa de St. Croix |
SHIVA SHAKTI
We are two halves of a whole
Equal and opposite energy
Masculine and feminine
Divine consciousness
Dancing together
Throughout the cosmos
Bringing balance and joy
I, Shiva, am still and hold space
I, Shakti, am fluid, flowing and flexible
NON DUALITY
Sink into pure awareness
That you are interconnected
Part of one wholeness
In Hinduism, the cosmic dynamic of masculine/feminine interdependence and equivalence is expressed in the half-Shakti, half-Shiva known as Ardhanari. Shiva Shakti is the sacred union of the divine masculine and feminine consciousness that is within all of us and throughout the cosmos. It is the dance of the male and female aspects that dwell inside all. When these energies unite there is complete balance.
Shiva is one of the principle deities of Hinduism. He is the patron God of yoga and meditation. Shiva is both the creator and destroyer. Shiva holds space for Shakti to move through as prana – life force and kundalini energy which rises through the spine and all chakras. They are equal and opposite forces that create a whole.
The worship of Shakti – Shaktism focuses on the Divine Female/Devi manifested as several Goddesses. Shakti is sensual, raw and expressive, open to all possibility. Devi is the cosmos, the source for everything in creation, the embodiment of energy, matter and soul. The Devi-Bhagavata Purana states: I am Manifest Divinity, Unmanifest Divinity, and Transcendent Divinity. I am Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, as well as Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati. I am the Sun and I am the Stars, and I am also the Moon. I am all animals and birds, and I am the outcast as well, and the thief. I am the low person of dreadful deeds, and the great person of excellent deeds. I am Female, I am Male in the form of Shiva.
Advaita is the understanding that everything is interconnected, all part of one consciousness. There is no duality between a Creator and the created universe. All matter, experiences, awareness is part of one fundamental reality. Shiva/Shakti is an example of this non-duality.
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| Shiva Shakti, oil 8" x 8" Lisa de St. Croix |
