and singing His hymns with bhava. Every Name is filled with countless potencies or Shaktis. The power of the Name is ineffable. Its glory is indescribable. The efficiency and inherent Shakti of the Name of Lord Shiva are unfathomable.This is also true of the Names of Lord Rama and Krishna. This is not true in some other Names where the mantras are to be chanted correctly otherwise they will manifests the opposite results. 


Shakti  

The dynamic, active, changing, energy or power aspect of the God is Shakti. The whole universe with all the energy and matter that it contains is Shakti. Shakti is the universe and the upholder of the universe. In Hindu mythology this upholder of the universe has been given a feminine gender. She is the Universal Mother. She is Durga, Kaali, Gayatri Shiva is the ocean of unchanging pure consciousness and Shakti is His changing power, which appears as mind, energy and matter. Shiva and Shakti are two opposite polar entities in the universe. Shiva resides in the human body as pure consciousness on top of the head at the sahasrara chakra. Shakti resides in the body as Kundalini energy at the mooladhara chakra and vitalizes the body through the Ida and the Pingala nadis. Shakti is endowed with the three Gunas, viz., Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. She manifests as will (Iccha shakti), action (Kriya shakti) and knowledge (Jnana shakti). Siva is attributeless. Sakti is with attributes. He is Nishkriya inactive. She is active and creates. 

Worship of Shakti or Shaktism is one of the oldest and most wide spread religious tradition in the world. Everybody in this world wants power, loves to possess power. He is elated by power. He wants to dominate over others through power. War is the outcome of greed for power. Scientists are followers of Shaktism. He who wishes to develop will-power and charming personality, is a follower of Shaktism. In reality, every man in this world is a follower of Shaktism. 

The basis of Shaktism is the Veda. Shaktism upholds that the only source and authority regarding transcendental or supersensual matters such as the nature of Brahman, etc., is Veda. The Shaktas have the same spiritual experience as that of the Vedantin. The Devi- Sukta of the Rig-Veda, the Sri-Sukta, Durga-Sukta, Bhu-Sukta and Nila-Sukta and the specific Sukta upanishads such as Tripuratapini upanishad, Sitopanishad, Devi upanishad, Saubhagya upanishad, Sarasvati upanishad, etc., emphatically declare about the Mother aspect of God. 

Shaktism is not a mere theory or philosophy. It prescribes systematic spiritual practices according to the temperament, capacity and degree of evolution of the sadhaka. It helps the aspirant to arouse the Kundalini and unite Her with Lord Siva and enjoy the supreme bliss or Nirvikalpa samadhi. When Kundalini sleeps, man is awake to the world. He has objective consciousness. When She awakes, he sleeps. He loses all consciousness of the world and becomes one with the Lord. In samadhi, the body is maintained by the nectar which flows from the union of Shiva and Shakti at the Sahasrara. Hinduism is the only religion in the world which has emphasized much on the motherhood of God. 

The body is Shakti. The needs of the body are the needs of Shakti. When a man enjoys, it is Shakti who enjoys through him. His eyes, ears, hands and feet are Hers. She sees through