Humbly seeking guidance...

[Shantanu]

Hello, all.

I have recently embarked on the Shakta path. This decision was the culmination of many things that have been building my entire lifetime. What I ask of y'all now is, who here is initiated or formally practicing within an established Shakta tradition? How did you meet your guru? Do you even have or need one? How could I establish contact with one? There is a Hindu temple in my city, but it appears to be Vaishnava.


Jai Maa Kali

The central feature of being a Shakta is to counter evil as dharma. What more guru do you need to be able to fulfill this requirement?

 

[Peter108]

I'm in a very similar, or, a little more difficult situation because the country - Hungary - I live in has no Indian community, not to speak of Devi temples. I read several texts, I heard several opinions with regards to the necessity of a guru. I think that taking diksha would be great, but since this is out of the question at the moment, I'll do the best I can. I chose two shorter texts I recite at least once a day, and I chose two mantras of Kali I chant on japa on a daily basis. I ordered some puja books from India, they are nice, but I feel that you can't learn any upasana by reading books. So yes, I'm totally eager to find a lineage and a guru, and take diksha and shiksha from him. However, just flying to India for a huge amount of money and wandering around waiting to meet the guru in a miraculous way, well, if I was 20 years younger I might even try, but now - no way. So what I'm doing is trying to establish connections in India so I might find a parampara and a guru I can trust wholeheartedly. It's not easy, though. I have emailed at least 20 Kali temples all over India, and only one of them replied. I hope I may find some senior Shakta sadhakas on this forum. If you're one of them, don't hesitate to contact me.

 

[Sharmaji]

I'm in a very similar, or, a little more difficult situation because the country - Hungary - I live in has no Indian community, not to speak of Devi temples. I read several texts, I heard several opinions with regards to the necessity of a guru. I think that taking diksha would be great, but since this is out of the question at the moment, I'll do the best I can. I chose two shorter texts I recite at least once a day, and I chose two mantras of Kali I chant on japa on a daily basis. I ordered some puja books from India, they are nice, but I feel that you can't learn any upasana by reading books. So yes, I'm totally eager to find a lineage and a guru, and take diksha and shiksha from him. However, just flying to India for a huge amount of money and wandering around waiting to meet the guru in a miraculous way, well, if I was 20 years younger I might even try, but now - no way. So what I'm doing is trying to establish connections in India so I might find a parampara and a guru I can trust wholeheartedly. It's not easy, though. I have emailed at least 20 Kali temples all over India, and only one of them replied. I hope I may find some senior Shakta sadhakas on this forum. If you're one of them, don't hesitate to contact me.

Wow that’s cool, may I ask which temple you’ve emailed so far?

 

[Peter108]

Wow that’s cool, may I ask which temple you’ve emailed so far?

I googled for "Kali temples in India" and whenever there was a website with an email, I wrote them. I also emailed some branches of Ramakrishna Mission - to no avail.

 

[Sharmaji]

I googled for "Kali temples in India" and whenever there was a website with an email, I wrote them. I also emailed some branches of Ramakrishna Mission - to no avail.

Good luck with your search for liberation.

 

[von bek]

@Peter108

Thank you for sharing your story. I wish you all the best in your devotion to Mahadevi.

 

[Aupmanyav]

So yes, I'm totally eager to find a lineage and a guru, and take diksha and shiksha from him. However, just flying to India for a huge amount of money and wandering around waiting to meet the guru in a miraculous way, well, if I was 20 years younger I might even try, but now - no way. So what I'm doing is trying to establish connections in India so I might find a parampara and a guru I can trust wholeheartedly. It's not easy, though. I have emailed at least 20 Kali temples all over India, and only one of them replied. I hope I may find some senior Shakta sadhakas on this forum. If you're one of them, don't hesitate to contact me.

I am not one to rely on gurus, there are many pitfalls. Financial as well as being given a line that one has compulsorily follow. This forum is a nice place to contact Kali devotees and there are others on Internet as well with a lot of information. So, be a do-it-yourself person.

 

[Peter108]

Thank you for all the nice comments and good wishes.
I hope to make friends here that could provide some information conducive to my search.

As for the guru... I think my approach has matured during the years. I'm not looking for a person to solve my problems in some mystical way any more, I simply want someone that connects me to the living power of a lineage, and teaches me the proper way of sadhana (mantras, yantras, visualizations, working with energies, etc.). But at the moment I can't but be a do it yourself guy, as the gentleman above suggested.

 

[Vinayaka]

Thank you for all the nice comments and good wishes.
I hope to make friends here that could provide some information conducive to my search.

As for the guru... I think my approach has matured during the years. I'm not looking for a person to solve my problems in some mystical way any more, I simply want someone that connects me to the living power of a lineage, and teaches me the proper way of sadhana (mantras, yantras, visualizations, working with energies, etc.). But at the moment I can't but be a do it yourself guy, as the gentleman above suggested.

Any Guru who is claiming he can solve your problems is hogwash. The attitude you described above is the correct attitude. The Guru can give you an outline for sadhana, but then it's entirely up to you.

Here's a link to 3 European Hindu monasteries that might be worth a visit, if they're not too far.

Hinduism Today Magazine

 

[Peter108]

Any Guru who is claiming he can solve your problems is hogwash. The attitude you described above is the correct attitude. The Guru can give you an outline for sadhana, but then it's entirely up to you.

Here's a link to 3 European Hindu monasteries that might be worth a visit, if they're not too far.

Hinduism Today Magazine

Thanks for the link. I'll check it.

Yes, the only reason I want to meet and spend some time with a teacher to get 1) diksha and 2) detailed instructions with regards to sadhana so I can come home to my country and do my daily practice without any doubts or uncertainty.

 

[Vinayaka]

Thanks for the link. I'll check it.

Yes, the only reason I want to meet and spend some time with a teacher to get 1) diksha and 2) detailed instructions with regards to sadhana so I can come home to my country and do my daily practice without any doubts or uncertainty.

In my sampradaya that's how it works. Diksha, however, is something that is earned. The devotee has to show some commitment through a few years. It's not some, 'Here I am, please initiate me," kind of thing. In my view, too many Gurus don't put the devotees through enough tests before they initiate. When the novelty wears off the initiate just quits, or moves on to something else. it happened to a fellow who used to come here to RF.

But we have many people in the sampradaya who are off alone in countries like Russia, and follow the courses without any camaraderie, or other people near by.

 

[Peter108]

I don't want to open a new thread so I thought I'd ask my question here: I've just received some wonderful A4 size pictures of Durga Devi and Kali Ma. The one with Durga Devi (sitting on a lion surrounded by her 8 other forms) is already on my altar, but I'm a bit hesitant about Kali Ma. On the one hand, I'd love to have her picture on my altar, on the other I don't know if it's a good idea to put a wrathful manifestation of Devi out in "public".

 

[Satyamavejayanti]

von bek, Hello, all.

Namaste,

I am no Shakta, or at least i don't label my self as one, but i do consider Mata Kali as supreme.

What I ask of y'all now is, who here is initiated or formally practicing within an established Shakta tradition? How did you meet your guru? Do you even have or need one? How could I establish contact with one?.

In my opinion i don"t need to get labelled as a "Son", just because i have a "Mother", don't need initiation to love my Mother, don't need a middle Man to Guide me to my Mother. I can have direct contact of my Mother and Kali Mata is the Mother of all, so no need for for anything or anyone apart from my Mother (Mata Maha Kali). Mata Ji is all you need, She is all there is, She gives us life and takes it away. No amount of initiation and no Guru can do this.

I did not learn about Maha Kali, I did not read about Maha Kali, i did not even pray to her, but there is something else about Mata Kali Ji that draws me to her. Nowadays when i do a darshan of Mata Ji, i cannot look at her, i just look at her feet when i fold my hand and i know that i am nothing compared to Her, I know that ill be here one day and gone the next, but it makes no difference to Her, She was there, is here and always will be.

So i personally don"t need any initiation or Guru for Mata Ji.

Dhanyavad

 

[Aupmanyav]

Yes, the only reason I want to meet and spend some time with a teacher to get 1) diksha and 2) detailed instructions with regards to sadhana so I can come home to my country and do my daily practice without any doubts or uncertainty.

You are in a (hell of a lot) of hurry. What procedure is involved in loving a mother?

 

[von bek]

I don't want to open a new thread so I thought I'd ask my question here: I've just received some wonderful A4 size pictures of Durga Devi and Kali Ma. The one with Durga Devi (sitting on a lion surrounded by her 8 other forms) is already on my altar, but I'm a bit hesitant about Kali Ma. On the one hand, I'd love to have her picture on my altar, on the other I don't know if it's a good idea to put a wrathful manifestation of Devi out in "public".

While I am far from the most qualified to answer, I think it is perfectly fine to have a picture of Maa Kali on your altar.

 

[Peter108]

You are in a (hell of a lot) of hurry. What procedure is involved in loving a mother?

I'm just very enthusiastic, that's all.

 

[Jainarayan]

I have found over many years, that sannidhya, shakti, can erase the intellect, at least temporarily. So just sitting in the presence of God/Gods eliminates those racing thoughts. It seems to happen quite naturally. You go to a temple with a problem, and by the time you leave you can't even remember what the problem was. He/she can be like an eraser.

Best wishes.

Yep. I've recently discovered this too. Or rather, recognized it. There are times I have something on my mind, and I think I should not go to temple lest I bring my negative energy in. But when I get there I forget about everything. I think only about the here-and-now (actually the there-and-then ) when in temple. then I'm glad for having gone. Of course, the problems may never really go away, but you may look at them differently.

 

[Aupmanyav]

That is exactly why we want you to wait, find more. One cannot make a good decision in a hurry.

 

[Jainarayan]

Thank you for this. I think I will take your advice and check out the temples in my city and see what I find. Honestly, one of my biggest fears is making things too intellectual, that can be a bad habit of mine. I want devotion to Devi to be front and center in my practices.

Check out our Curse of Converts thread here.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Of course, the problems may never really go away, but you may look at them differently.

Problems do go away by calm thinking and by the grace of deities (as the theists say. I am, however, a well-adjusted happy atheist Hindu with no quarrel with the theists).