What is Shaktipat Diksha

Guru Siyag initiates disciples into his Siddha Yoga by awakening their Kundalini through an initiation process known as Shaktipat Diksha. There are four ways in which Shaktipat is given by a Siddha Guru: physical touch, by sight, divine word and firm resolve. Guru Siyag offers  Diksha through a divine word (mantra).

Shaktipat is a Sanskrit term which combines two words – Shakti (feminine divine energy) and Pat (to fall). Shaktipat literally means transition of divine energy. Yogic practitioners often interpret Shaktipat as transmission of the Guru’s divine energy into the seeker’s body. According to Guru Siyag this is a limited understanding of the process. This is because it is an acknowledged fact in yogic scriptures that the Kundalini is present in every human body, though it lies dormant. So, there is no question of Shakti being transmitted from one person to another. In Shaktipat, Guru acts as a mere catalyst by using his divine force to awaken the Kundalini.

As Guru Siyag explains, “It is not as if the Guru pours something into the seeker’s body. The method of Diksha I use has been gifted to mankind by the Nath Sect in the yogic tradition. It is called ‘ Shaktipat ‘. Shaktipat does not mean the seeker receives some external force through the Guru (as is popularly believed). To use simple analogy, Shaktipat is like using one lighted lamp to light an unlit one. You are like the unlit lamp which has everything — the wick and oil. All you need is another lightedsource to light up the flame in your lamp. Once you join the lighted source, you will yourself become a light. This is how I can describe the Shaktipat process in a broad sense.”

Shaktipat is an act of immense grace (Anugraha) on the part of the Guru. Guru Siyag says that while human actions always have a certain motive behind them, Shaktipat carries no intention whatsoever.

Various method of Shaktipat

A Siddha Guru can carry out Shaktipat through any of the following four methods:

• Physical touch: A Siddha Guru can awaken the Kundaliniby simply touching a seeker. He may do this by placing his hand on the seeker’s head or by touching the AjnAchakra or Muladhara (base of spinal column). According to the mythological text ‘Mahabharata’, Lord Krishna initiated his favorite devotee Arjun into Yoga by hugging him and holding him close to his heart for a moment. Krishna initiated another legendary devotee Dhruva by lightly touching the latter’s cheek with his conch.
• By sight: A Siddha Guru may initiate the seeker by simply looking into his eyes. Indian spiritual literature is replete with anecdotes about various Siddha Gurus awakening their disciples’Kundaliniby merely looking at them with compassion.
• Divine word: A Siddha Guru may awaken a seeker’s Kundaliniby giving him a divine word or potent mantra to chant. Here the word is divine because it is charged with the cosmic consciousness embodied by the Guru.
• Firm resolve: This is the rarest mode of Kundalini awakening because here the initiative lies with the seeker and not with the Guru. A seeker in this method doesn’t approach the Guru for a formal initiation for Kundalini awakening. He merely makes an unshakeable resolve, known as Sankalpa, to get initiated by the Guru he wishes to follow. Since the Guru is the very embodiment of divine cosmic consciousness, the seeker’s strong resolve is instantly received by the Guru. Sankalpais the manifestation of the seeker’s total devotion or surrender of his ego to the Guru. Since this kind of devotion is the prime qualification for receiving divine grace, the Guru in this case is duty-bound to initiate the seeker making such a Sankalpa.  The ‘Mahabharata’ makes a mention of a rare case in which Eklavya, the legendary archer, got initiated into Yoga by merely making a resolute plea before an idol that he had made in the likeness of Guru Dronacharya to favor him with initiation. Eklavya’s plea was so intensely sincere that Guru Dronacharya’s consciousness had to respond positively to it though he was not present there in person or aware of Eklavya’s resolve.