Is Brahman the Goal of Spirituality or Is It Shakti?

[Many philosophers give importance to Brahman (Vedanta) and some give importance to Shakti (Shaakteya). How to correlate both? (This question is part of a mahā satsaṅga or a great spiritual discussion between Swami and several devotees who had come from various places, seeking the clarification of their doubts.)]

Swami replied:- There is only one ultimate absolute reality, called unimaginable God or Parabrahman or Brahman. This ultimate God is neither male nor female nor neutral because He (masculine gender is used as per the normal convention) is unimaginable. The gender exists only in the imaginable creation. Brahman does not mean male and Shakti does not mean female. Brahman is used to mean the possessor of power and Shaki means the possessed power. Both possessor of power and the power are unimaginable. Two unimaginable items can’t co-exist, which must result as one imaginable item only. Thus, if you take God as unimaginable, such God is called Brahman or Shakti. Absolutely, there is no difference between Vedanta and Shaakteya. We can differentiate possessor of power (Sun) and power (Sunlight) in the imaginable creation. The world created by the God-cause is called the creation-effect. The world created is called as Kaarya Brahman or the product created by Brahman. The same world is also called as Kaarya Shakti or the product created by Shakti. The creator can be called as Kaarana Brahman or Kaarana Shakti. When this Kaarana Brahman or Kaarana Shakti incarnates, the incarnation is the mediated Kaarana Brahman or mediated Kaarana Shakti. Even though power has no gender, some have a wrong impression printed in minds that Brahman is male and Shakti is female. We take Shiva as Brahman and Paarvati as Shakti. We also have a misunderstood norm that Shiva is the cause or Purusha where as Parvati is the effect or product or Prakrutti. If we take Parvati as the cause, She appears as Aadiparaashakti or Mahaa Kali or as Durga.

All this is magical circus of various misinterpreted words. Following the strong misunderstood norms only, we can say that Shiva is God where as Parvati is His strongest devotee (due to penance done for Shiva). Parvati can be a soul or creation since soul is said to be Paraaprakruti. Parvati is also a dualistic incarnation of God, called Goddess. The climax devotee becomes the master and God becomes the servant of the devotee. This concept is shown by the story of Parvati becoming Mahaakaali and dancing on Shiva. All this is becoming fun of gender-fight! If you see Parvati, she is a devotee of Shiva. When Parvati became climax devotee of Shiva, Parvati becomes master and Shiva becomes the servant. When Shiva becomes Adi Shankaraachaarya (human incarnation), it is monistic incarnation in which the devotee (Shankara) becomes equal to Shiva. But, in dualistic incarnation, Parvati as Mahaa Kaali (master) becomes greater than Shiva (her servant). Parvati doing penance for Shiva represents the devotee soul, which becomes equal to Shiva as Ardhanaariishvarii like the human monistic incarnation. Same Parvati remaining as devotee becomes the dualistic incarnation as climax devotee whereas Shiva becomes her servant under her feet! These concepts are correct and the climax devotee is greater than incarnation of God! Devoted Hanuman defeats Rama in the war and devoted Arjuna defeats Krishna in the war! Krishna is pressing the feet of Radha! We must understand the underlying concepts from the external funny stories. People prefer to worship Shakti taken as the climax devotee to recommend the soul to God due to common relationship that both Shakti and devotee are souls only belonging to prakruti or creation. This is indirect worship of a person like influencing the officer through buttering his wife, called home-minster by telling his blood-relationship with her!

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