Goddess Durga and Sacred Female Power

Goddess Durga and Sacred Female Power

Author: Laura Amazzone

Publisher: University Press of America

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 0761853138

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"Amazzone's voice is strong and clear. Goddess Durga promises the transformation, empowerment, and dignity that is our birthright."--Marisa Tomei, Academy Award-winning actor.


Awakening Shakti

Awakening Shakti

Author: Sally Kempton

Publisher: Sounds True

Published: 2013-02-01

Total Pages: 373

ISBN-13: 1604079444

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How do you live a life of spiritual awakening as well as outer abundance, inner freedom as well as deep intimacy? How do you serve the world selflessly, yet passionately celebrate your life? The sages of Tantra have known for centuries that when you follow the path of Shakti—the sacred feminine principle personified by the goddesses of yoga—these gifts can manifest spontaneously. Yet most of us, women as well as men, have yet to experience the full potential of our inner feminine energies. When you know these powers for what they are, they heighten your capacity to open spiritually, love more deeply and fearlessly, create with greater mastery, and move through the world with skill and delight. In Awakening Shakti, you will learn how to recognize and invite: Kali, bringer of strength, fierce love, and untamed freedomLakshmi, who confers prosperity and beautySaraswati, for clarity of communication and intuitionRadha, who carries the divine energy of spiritual longingBhuvaneshvari, who creates the space for sacred transformationParvati, to awaken creativity and the capacity to love With a wealth of meditations, visualizations, mantras, teachings, and beautifully told stories, Awakening Shakti provides a practical guide for activating the currents of the divine feminine in every aspect of your life. “Sally Kempton's new book is a treasure that brings myth, meditation, and everyday revelation together in a way that will allow every woman to embody the divine feminine in her life. Sally enlivens the full spectrum of the goddess—from independent protector, to lover, to dynamic and powerful creatrix. I highly recommend this soon-to-be classic!” —Shiva Rea, yogini “Sally Kempton has given us a mythic manual for a new kind of feminism—a feminism of the soul. And this is a good thing, because humanity needs feminine power now as both a healing tonic and a source of reinvention.” —Elizabeth Lesser, cofounder of the Omega Institute, author of Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow


Nava Durga

Nava Durga

Author: Nalini Ramachandran

Publisher: Penguin Random House India Private Limited

Published: 2020-10-19

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13: 935305981X

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Durga, as this powerful warrior-goddess is known, Has nine special forms-each one unique, not just a clone. Shailaputri, Brahmacharini and Chandraghanta, Kushmanda and Skandamata, Katyayani and Kaalratri, Maha Gauri and Siddhidatri . . . They are the Nava Durga, Worshipped during Navaratri, The festival of nine nights and nine days That's celebrated across India and the world in myriad ways To praise the goddesses and their glory. This is their story!


In Praise of the Goddess

In Praise of the Goddess

Author:

Publisher: Nicolas-Hays, Inc.

Published: 2003-12-01

Total Pages: 407

ISBN-13: 0892546166

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About 16 centuries ago, an unknown Indian author or authors gathered together the diverse threads of already ancient traditions and wove them into a verbal tapestry that today is still the central text for worshippers of the Hindu Devi, the Divine Mother. This spiritual classic, the Devimahatmya, addresses the perennial questions of the nature of the universe, humankind, and divinity. How are they related, how do we live in a world torn between good and evil, and how do we find lasting satisfaction and inner peace? These questions and their answers form the substance of the Devimahatmya. Its narrative of a dispossessed king, a merchant betrayed by the family he loves, and a seer whose teaching leads beyond existential suffering sets the stage for a trilogy of myths concerning the all-powerful Divine Mother, Durga, and the fierce battles she wages against throngs of demonic foes. In these allegories, her adversaries represent our all-too-human impulses toward power, possessions, and pleasure. The battlefields symbolize the field of human consciousness on which our lives' dramas play out in joy and sorrow, in wisdom and folly. The Devimahatmya speaks to us across the ages of the experiences and beliefs of our ancient ancestors. We sense their enchantment at nature's bounty and their terror before its destructive fury, their recognition of the good and evil in the human heart, and their understanding that everything in our experience is the expression of a greater reality, personified as the Divine Mother.


Shakti

Shakti

Author: Vanamali

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2008-07-21

Total Pages: 275

ISBN-13: 1594777853

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Presents the mystery of the Divine Mother in all her manifold aspects • Explores more than 30 different goddess aspects of the Shakti force, both beneficial and malefic • Includes Sanskrit hymns and classic verses by Sri Auribindo for each of the goddesses Shakti is synonymous with the Devi, the Divine Mother or divine power that manifests, sustains, and transforms the universe. She is the womb of all creatures, and it is through her that the One becomes the many. Our first and primary relationship to the world is through the mother, the source of love, security, and nourishment. Extending this relationship to worship of a cosmic being as mother was a natural step found not only in the Shakti cult of Hinduism but also in ancient Greek, Egyptian, and Babylonian cultures. Shakti presents more than 30 goddess incarnations of the Divine Mother that represent both the beneficial and malefic aspects of the Shakti force. From Lakshmi, Parvati, and Saraswati to Durga, Chandika, and Kali--each of the different functions of the female goddesses in the Hindu pantheon is revealed, accompanied by traditional Sanskrit hymns, classic verses by Sri Auribindo, and discussions of tantric philosophy. The author draws from the Devi Bhagavatham, which describes all the stories of Shakti, and the Devi Mahatmyam, the most powerful scriptural text that glorifies Shakti in her form as Durga. Using these texts she shows that through the power and grace of the Divine Mother we may be released from the darkness of ignorance and taken to the abode of knowledge, immortality, and bliss--the source from which we have come.


Chandi Path

Chandi Path

Author: Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Publisher:

Published: 2010-09-03

Total Pages: 394

ISBN-13: 9781877795527

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The name Chandi comes from the word "chand" which in Sanskrit means to tear apart. The spiritual meaning of Chandi is "She Who Tears Apart Thought." The recitation of the Chandi Path is designed to guide the reader's awareness into the presence of Chandi - the Divine Mother Herself - so that all conflict of mind may return to Peace.


The Path of the Priestess

The Path of the Priestess

Author: Sharron Rose

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2003-01-08

Total Pages: 569

ISBN-13: 1594775575

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A guide for personal exploration of the path to the divine feminine and the spiritual power of women. • Reveals the essential role of women in creating and maintaining the psychic/energetic/emotional landscape of society. • Explores feminine roles and the archetypal model of the Great Goddess from both Eastern and Western spiritual traditions. • Includes exercises, meditations, and visualizations drawn from ancient techniques to assist women with their spiritual awakening and self-realization. The Path of the Priestess takes readers on a journey deep into the heart of the feminine experience. It describes the author's years of first-hand experience in the ancient arts of Tantra, Dzogchen, and Indian and Egyptian temple dance and healing, as well as her research into the feminine principle in the mystic teachings of the Alchemists, Hebrew Kabbalists, and Christian Gnostics. Beginning with an analysis of the basic issues and frustrations inherent in contemporary society's conditioning of and expectations for women, readers travel back in time to the age of the great temples, schools, and sacred societies in which women still held and transmitted the spiritual light that nourished all of civilization. Through its mythic and historic tales, descriptions of sacred ritual practices, and teachings on the Goddess traditions, The Path of the Priestess provides contemporary women with the means to enter this time-honored path. In keeping with the experientially based teaching methods of these traditions, it also offers exercises and visualizations designed to align women with the powerful, sensuous, and loving energies of the most profound feminine role model that shaped and preserved culture and society--the Great Goddess.


Goddess Power

Goddess Power

Author: Isabella Price

Publisher: Mango Media Inc.

Published: 2017-10-28

Total Pages: 187

ISBN-13: 1633536742

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“A fascinating ‘herstory’ of the Divine Feminine, rich in heart, depth and wisdom . . . an empowering message of hope and inspiration.” —Katherine Woodward Thomas, New York Times–bestselling author At the dawn of religion, God was a Woman. The Divine Feminine is known by innumerable names and symbol-rich manifestations across the world’s cultures. Throughout the ages the Goddess has been honored and worshiped as the Virgin Mary, Isis, Inanna, Asherah, Diana, Kuan Yin, Kali, Oshun, Athena, Pele, Sarasvati, Demeter, and White Buffalo Calf Woman, to mention just a few. Goddess Power takes you on a fascinating and, at times, surprising journey into the enduring essence of the Divine Feminine. Inside this book you will learn: • How the Goddess path offers an empowering message and inspiration • The importance of re-establishing a healthy balance and integration of both the “masculine” and the “feminine” archetypes • That the notion of God as archetypal “Sky-Father” is fairly recent in Western culture • Why the wisdom of the Goddess/Sacred Feminine has been ignored, distorted, and oppressed for centuries • How archetypes, mythic narratives, and qualities of Goddesses are alive within you and how they reveal intimate truths about yourself and others • How Goddesses can serve as empowering guides in your personal and professional life • Why especially black Goddesses/dark-skinned Mothers (e.g., Kali or Black Madonna) are a powerful symbol and catalyst for change in our times, both individually and collectively • And much, much more! “An empowering message and inspiration that can be drawn from the Goddess so humanity might evolve toward higher awareness.” —Karen Tate, author of Walking an Ancient Path and Goddess 2.0


Nine Nights of Power

Nine Nights of Power

Author: Ute Hüsken

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2021-10-01

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 1438484089

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The autumnal Navarātri festival—also called Durgā Pūjā, Dassehra, or Dasain—is the most important Hindu festival in South Asia and wherever Hindus settle. A nine-night-long celebration in honor of the goddess Durgā, it ends on the tenth day with a celebration called "the victorious tenth" (vijayadaśamī). The rituals that take place in domestic, royal, and public spaces are closely connected with one's station in life and dependent on social status, economic class, caste, and gender issues. Exploring different aspects of the festival as celebrated in diverse regions of South Asia and in the South Asian diaspora, this book addresses the following common questions: What does this festival do? What does it achieve, and how? Why and in what way does it sometimes fail? How do mass communication and social media increase participation in and contribute to the changing nature of the festival? The contributors address these questions from multiple perspectives and discuss issues of agency, authority, ritual efficacy, change, appropriation, and adaptation. Because of the festival's reach beyond its diverse celebrations in South Asia, its influence can be seen in the rituals and dances in many parts of Western Europe and North America.