particular Sadhana in Devi Bhakti

02-20-2002, 04:12 AM

I would like to ask some questions in connection
with the worship of Devi and the Shakta
tradition.
In the Bengal Vaisnava tradition there is a practice
where a serious practitioner is given an esoteric
identity within the realm of Vrindavana by his or her
guru. This includes the following details: age, colour
of skin, what kind of clothes you wear, etc. The
practitioner memorises maps of Vrindavana, where he or she
lives, where he or she sports with Krishna, etc. Usually
the identity is that of a manjari, a young girl who
assists in the play of Radha and Krishna, but it could
also be a friend of Krsna. This new identity is called
the siddha-deha, the perfected body. It is considered
to be the practitioners true identity. In meditation
the practitioner enters this "reality" and the goal
is to enter permanently into it at one point. This
"imaginary" world is considered to be the highest reality,
the cosmic drama, the eternal spiritual play of Radha
and Krishna.
My question is if a similar practice
also exists in the Shakta tradition or in the worship
of Devi.
If it does not exist in the Shakta
tradition, does such a practice exist in the Shaiva
tradition in connection with Shiva alone, or with Shiva and
Parvati?
I would be most grateful for some information
or for directing me to someone who can answer my
question.

Kind regards,
Alexandra
Kafka
alexandra.kafka@...