Shiva & Shakti – Origins of Universe & How Yoga Help Us Connect!
Kundalini, goddess of speech, is worshiped by all. When a yogi awakens, he/she attains enlightenment by herself. It is Kundalini who gives liberation and knowledge, since she herself is that. She is also called Saraswati being source of knowledge, says Swami Sivananda regarding Kundalini Yoga.
According to Hindu mythology, from where yoga takes some symbols, the universe comes from the union between two opposites but complementary deities i.e. Shiva (the male principle) and Shakti (the feminine principle). Shiva symbolizes the pure consciousness. It is the dormant potential of this matter separated from consciousness. Shiva is associated with enlightenment and is depicted as being in a serene meditation.
Shiva is also the representation of change and destruction in Hindu mythology, which is accompanied by the beginning of creation (Brahma), and the principle of preservation (Vishnu). Shiva is the destroyer energy because you need to destroy the way to reveal consciousness.
In Sanskrit, Sha means having the power or have the capacity. Similarly, Shakti is the vital energy that makes life possible. Shakti is the feminine principle of creation, active nature. Shakti is the origin of life because it manifests creation. It is through encounter with Shiva Shakti that gives the universe divine consciousness. According to yoga philosophy, all that exists is a manifestation of the universal consciousness, or the Absolute. To create the universe, vibrating with awareness, then the union of these two male and female, active and passive polarities is necessary. These two forces are mutually attracted. Shakti rises from the earth, the answer to realization in humans.
By bringing the world to light, Shakti is also what makes possible Maya, duality in the universe. Maya is the nature of the manifest universe and of divine creation. It is a projection of consciousness and it also represents creative power. Maya is seen as the illusion of the world, as opposed to Brahman, integration. However, Maya in Sanskrit has a meaning associated with magic, art, wisdom and power of creation. Shakti is so divine and powerful, pure and immaterial consciousness.
Together they make possible the phenomenological and metaphysical world, one contains the other and is constantly finding. According to this body of knowledge, these two forces are opposite poles of the same principle and are integrated and a distinction is possible only on a theoretical level. Shiva is the seed of pure consciousness that binds with Shakti, the vital energy which comes as life and the material world. Through union with Shakti, Shiva gives the universe a universal intelligence that contains the universal knowledge. In Hindu symbolism, this meeting is symbolized through Shiva Lingam, the image of the union of the sexual energies of the feminine and the masculine.
Kundalini is a manifestation of Shakti in our subtle being and this is potential for the realization of consciousness. According to tradition, it is asleep at the base of the spine, more precisely, in the first energy center, Muladhara chakra. It is also known as ‘serpent power’ because being remained curled asleep. While climbing through each chakra makes spiral-shaped, emitting a sound reminiscent of this animal. In fact, the word kundalini comes from kundala word, which means ‘coiled’. This movement stimulates each chakra and thus leads to higher levels of consciousness.
It is said that Shiva, the Divine Consciousness, is in Sahasrara chakra, seventh chakra. The rise of Kundalini energy is a form of Shiva and Shakti which are to overcome Maya, the apparent duality of the world that comes from the materiality of things, and achieve the realization of consciousness or enlightenment.