Question from a New Member : Gender Issues in relation to Shiva and Shakti

I would like to welcome our new member, Priya who have just join us
yesterday. I think she is shy and not sure where to start. So I shall
start the ball rolling. Priya is doing a thesis on gender issues in
relation to Shakthi and Shiva. She requests for our help.

This is her question :

Shiva was seen as supreme in the Svetasvatara Upanishads
while in the Markndeya Purana, Shakthi is glorified and
regains her status as the Supreme Mother Goddess. Then again in
Devi Bhagavata Purana, it marks the ascendancy of Shakthi into
the Puranic genre of Devi, the Goddess as the supreme
matrix."

Which is it?

I have been a strict believer of
"The Force is Feminie in Nature"

With that said..
I would like you to think on "ArdhNareshwar". Perhaps that might help... And
Perhaps other members can comment..

Thanks
Dp

On 3/14/06, NMadasamy <nmadasamy@...> wrote:
>
> I would like to welcome our new member, Priya who have just join us
> yesterday. I think she is shy and not sure where to start. So I shall
> start the ball rolling. Priya is doing a thesis on gender issues in
> relation to Shakthi and Shiva. She requests for our help.
>
> This is her question :
>
>
> Shiva was seen as supreme in the Svetasvatara Upanishads
> while in the Markndeya Purana, Shakthi is glorified and
> regains her status as the Supreme Mother Goddess. Then again in
> Devi Bhagavata Purana, it marks the ascendancy of Shakthi into
> the Puranic genre of Devi, the Goddess as the supreme
> matrix."
>
>
>
> Which is it?
>

It depends whether you count the peak or trough of the sine wave as more
important.

----- Original Message -----
From: NMadasamy
To: Shakti_Sadhana (AT) yahoogroups (DOT) com
Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 6:32 PM
Subject: [Shakti_Sadhana] Question from a New Member : Gender Issues in relation
to Shiva and Shakti

I would like to welcome our new member, Priya who have just join us
yesterday. I think she is shy and not sure where to start. So I shall
start the ball rolling. Priya is doing a thesis on gender issues in
relation to Shakthi and Shiva. She requests for our help.

This is her question :

Shiva was seen as supreme in the Svetasvatara Upanishads
while in the Markndeya Purana, Shakthi is glorified and
regains her status as the Supreme Mother Goddess. Then again in
Devi Bhagavata Purana, it marks the ascendancy of Shakthi into
the Puranic genre of Devi, the Goddess as the supreme
matrix."

Which is it?

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Priya! Welcome to the group, and step up without fear with
questions. I'm new also, and no-one has bitten me yet. As to your
current question, is it not a matter of personal faith? I, for
example, find my truth in the Devi Mahatmya, and totally accept Devi
as the Ultimate Reality. Perhaps one's identification with deity and
truth in Siva or Shakti-Devi is a function of gender issues, that is
to say, identification with physical masculinity or femininity at the
earthly level, and this drives the individual to one or the other of
the paths, but that seems to me a sort of false start, because (from
my POV) the higher essence of the Divine Feminine is creativity,
revelation, sustaining, and dissolving, and only at the subsequent
levels does gender differentiation and then sexual differentiation
occur. Or to put it much more succintly, it depends on whether you
count the peak or trough of the sine wave as more important (thx
Llundrub). As I think of a sine wave, it seems to me to be a good
modern version of the Siva linga.
Good luck on your project, Priya.

--- In Shakti_Sadhana (AT) yahoogroups (DOT) com, "Llundrub" <llundrub@...>
wrote:
>
> It depends whether you count the peak or trough of the sine wave as
more important.
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: NMadasamy
> To: Shakti_Sadhana (AT) yahoogroups (DOT) com
> Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 6:32 PM
> Subject: [Shakti_Sadhana] Question from a New Member : Gender
Issues in relation to Shiva and Shakti
>
>
> I would like to welcome our new member, Priya who have just join us
> yesterday. I think she is shy and not sure where to start. So I
shall
> start the ball rolling. Priya is doing a thesis on gender issues in
> relation to Shakthi and Shiva. She requests for our help.
>
> This is her question :
>
>
> Shiva was seen as supreme in the Svetasvatara Upanishads
> while in the Markndeya Purana, Shakthi is glorified and
> regains her status as the Supreme Mother Goddess. Then again
in
> Devi Bhagavata Purana, it marks the ascendancy of Shakthi
into
> the Puranic genre of Devi, the Goddess as the supreme
> matrix."
>
>
>
> Which is it?

--- In Shakti_Sadhana (AT) yahoogroups (DOT) com, "NMadasamy" <nmadasamy@...>
wrote: I would like to welcome our new member, Priya who have just
join us yesterday. I think she is shy and not sure where to start.
So I shall start the ball rolling. Priya is doing a thesis on gender
issues in relation to Shakthi and Shiva. She requests for our help.
>
> This is her question :
>
>
> Shiva was seen as supreme in the Svetasvatara Upanishads
> while in the Markndeya Purana, Shakthi is glorified and
> regains her status as the Supreme Mother Goddess. Then again
in Devi Bhagavata Purana, it marks the ascendancy of Shakthi
into the Puranic genre of Devi, the Goddess as the supreme
> matrix."
>
>
>
> Which is it?
>

I think we should start with understanding what is Svestasvatara
Upanishads, Markndeya Purana and the Devi Bhagavata Purana. Priya
question is looking from the scriptures perspective.

Hello thank you for the warm welcome and the feedback.
You are right about the false start and the higher essence of the
Divine Feminity but then we are living in an earthly space and
gender bias and sexual differentiation exist at every realm of
society and even Shakthi is not spared. Think of the many goddesses
who are depicted with their many male consorts. I am looking at my
thesis from an Indian female's prespective. When I have designed my
survey page I would let Nora comment on it before sharing it with
all of you.

God Bless
Priya

priya

Shakti_Sadhana (AT) yahoogroups (DOT) com, "ksnwcz" <ksnwcz@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Priya! Welcome to the group, and step up without fear with
> questions. I'm new also, and no-one has bitten me yet. As to your
> current question, is it not a matter of personal faith? I, for
> example, find my truth in the Devi Mahatmya, and totally accept
Devi
> as the Ultimate Reality. Perhaps one's identification with deity
and
> truth in Siva or Shakti-Devi is a function of gender issues, that
is
> to say, identification with physical masculinity or femininity at
the
> earthly level, and this drives the individual to one or the other
of
> the paths, but that seems to me a sort of false start, because
(from
> my POV) the higher essence of the Divine Feminine is creativity,
> revelation, sustaining, and dissolving, and only at the subsequent
> levels does gender differentiation and then sexual differentiation
> occur. Or to put it much more succintly, it depends on whether
you
> count the peak or trough of the sine wave as more important (thx
> Llundrub). As I think of a sine wave, it seems to me to be a good
> modern version of the Siva linga.
> Good luck on your project, Priya.
>

Dear Priya,

Whether you take Shiva as supreme or Shakti, is as is meant to be.....as
prakriti reveals herself to you.

Charu