Tantra and Religion Lessons
The Shakti of Islam - Jade Lotus
The term shakti (or Sakti) means fundamentally the efficient energy of the Supreme Principle envisaged in itself or at a given ontological degree. For the Principle, the metacosmic Order, comprises degrees and modes in virtue of Universal Relativity, mâyâ, in which it reverberates.
In the domain of the spiritual life, the same term Shakti signifies the celestial energy that allows one to enter into contact with the Divinity, by means of the appropriate rites and on the basis of a traditional system. Essentially, this divine shakti aids and attracts: She aids as "Mother," and attracts as "Virgin"; Her aid descends upon us from Heaven, whereas Her attraction raises us toward Heaven. Thus the Shakti on the one hand confers a second birth, and on the other offers liberating graces.
In the Absolute, the Shakti is the aspect of Infinitude that coincides with the All-Possibility and gives rise to mâyâ, the universal and efficient Shakti. Infinitude is 'Beatitude' or 'Bliss', ânanda, which combines in âtma with sat, 'Being', and with cit, 'Consciousness' or 'Knowledge'. We could also say that the pole ânanda results from the poles sat and cit, just as union or experience results from the poles object ad subject; it is from this resultant that arises universal Unfolding—the creative mâyâ with its innumerable possibilities rendered effective.
As immanent and latent liberating power—or as potentiality of liberation—Shakti is called kuNDalini, 'Coiled up', because it is compared to a sleeping serpent; its awakening in the human microcosm is effected thanks to the yogic practices of tantrism. This means, from the standpoint of the nature of things or of universal spirituality, that the cosmic energy which liberates us is part of our very being, notwithstanding the graces that Shakti confers upon us, through mercy, "from without" and but for which there can be no Path. In any case, just as mahâshakti or parashakti—the 'supreme productive Energy'—equals the feminine aspect of brahman or âtma, so the kuNDalini gives rise to a divinification that makes it the equal of the creative mâyâ.
According to the Qur’ân, the names Allâh and Rahmân are quasi-equivalent: "Call Him Allâh or call Him Rahmân, to Him belong the most beautiful names"; which indicates the as it were Shaktic character of the name Rahmân. The name Rahîm, 'Merciful', in a way prolongs the name Rahmân, 'Gracious'; it prolongs it in view of the creatures, and in this sense it is taught that Allah, who is Rahmân in His Substance, is Rahîm in relation to creation. The great Shakti in Islam is the rahmah: it is the Goodness, Beauty, and Beatitude of Allah. (Note that in Arabic the word rahmah is derived from the root rahim, a word signifying 'womb', and this corroborates the interpretation of the rahmah as Divine Femininity, thus as mahâshakti.)
There are moreover some more specific forms of the Shakti, such as the sakînah, the 'appeasement' or the 'sweetness', and the barakah, the 'blessing' or the 'irradiation of sanctity', or again the 'protective energy'; all of which constitute so many images of the celestial Femininity, of the beneficent and saving Shakti.
From quite another point of view, it could be said that the Shaktic perspective is manifested in Islam by the sacral promotion of sexuality (this is indicated, paradoxically, by the veiling of women, which suggests mystery and sacralization). This character puts Islam consciously and abruptly in opposition to the exclusively sacrificial and ascetic perspective of Christianity, but brings it nearer to Shaktism and Tantrism. (Christianity, through contact with Sufism, also has a quasi-Tantric dimension, namely chivalry or courtly love, characterized by the cult of the "Lady" and by a no less particular devotion for the Virgin.) According to a hadith, "marriage is half the religion"; that is to say—by analogy—that the Shakti is the "prolongation" of the Divine Principle; mâyâ "prolongs" âtma. To know woman—insists Ibn al-‘Arabî—is to know oneself, and "Whoso knoweth his self, knoweth his Lord." Certainly, the human soul is one, but the sexual polarity splits it, to a certain extent; now knowledge of the Absolute requires the primordial totality of the soul, for which sexual union is in principle the natural and immediate support, although obviously this totality can be realized outside the erotic perspective, as each of the sexes comprises the potentiality of the other; the human soul being one, precisely.
According to Ibn al-‘Arabî, hiya, 'She', is a divine Name like huwa, 'He'; but it does not follow that the word huwa is limited, for God is indivisible, and to say "He" is to say "She". It is however true that the Dhât, the divine 'Essence', is a feminine word, which—like the word Haqîqah—can refer to the superior aspect of femininity; according to this way of seeing things, which is precisely that of Hindu Shaktism, femininity is what surpasses the formal, the finite, the outward; it is synonymous with indetermination, illimitation, mystery, and thus evokes the "Spirit which giveth life" in relation to the "letter which killeth." That is to say that femininity in the superior sense comprises a liquefying, interiorizing, liberating power: it liberates from sterile hardnesses, from the dispersing outwardness of limiting and compressing forms. On the one hand, one can oppose feminine sentimentality to masculine rationality—on the whole and without forgetting the relativity of things—but on the other hand, one also opposes to the reasoning of men the intuition of women; now it is this gift of intuition, in superior women above all, that explains and justifies in large part the mystical promotion of the Feminine; it is consequently in this sense that the Haqîqah, esoteric knowledge, may appear as Feminine.
The Prophet said of himself: "The Law (sharî‘ah) is what I say; the Path (Tarîqah) is what I do; and Knowledge (Haqîqah) is what I am." Now this third element, this "being," evokes a mystery of femininity in the sense that "being" transcends "thinking," represented by masculinity inasmuch as it may be conceived as lunar; woman offers happiness, not by her philosophy, but by her being. The crescent moon is so to speak "athirst" for plenitude, which is conceived as solar; thus the feminization of spiritual plenitude is partly explained by the metaphysics of men. (In German as in Arabic and Lithuanian, the word 'sun' is feminine and the word 'moon' is masculine, which evokes the perspective of matriarchy, of feminine priesthood, of women-prophetesses, and obviously of Shaktism. Tacitus made much of the respect ancient Germans had for women. And let us recall here the beatific function of the Valkyries, and also this quasi-Tantric sentence from Goethe: "The Eternal Feminine draws us heavenward" [Das Ewig-Weibliche zieht uns hinan]).
But there is more: the feminine character that one can discern in Wisdom (Hikmah, Sophia) results moreover from the fact that the concrete knowledge of God coincides with the love of God; this love, which to the extent it is sincere implies the virtues, is like the criterion of real knowledge. And it is in this sense that the saving Shakti is identified at once with Love and with Gnosis, with maHabbah and with Haqîqah.
In his Fusûs al-Hikam—in the chapter on Muhammad—Ibn al-‘Arabî develops a doctrine which on the whole is Shaktic and Tantric, by taking as his point of departure the famous hadith on women, perfume, and prayer: the "three things" that God "made lovable" to the Prophet. This symbolism signifies above all that for the male, woman occupies the center among the objects of love, whereas all the other things that are lovable—such as a garden, a piece of music, a glass of wine—are situated on the periphery, which is what the "perfumes" indicate—prayer represents the quintessential element—the relationship with the sovereign Good—which gives meaning to everything else. Now, according to Ibn al-‘Arabî, man, the male, loves woman as God loves man, the human being; for the whole loves its part, and the prototype loves its image; and this implies metaphysically and mystically the inverse movement, proceeding from the creature to the Creator and from woman to man. To say love, is to say desire for union, and union is a relationship of reciprocity, whether it be between the sexes or between the human being and God.
In loving woman, man tends unconsciously toward the Infinite, and for that very reason he has to learn to do so consciously, by interiorizing and sublimizing the immediate object of his love; just as woman, in loving man, tends in reality toward the Absolute, with the same transpersonal virtualities.
In Sufi mysticism the Divine Presence, or God Himself as object of love or of nostalgia, is readily presented as a woman. To quote the Dîwân of Shaykh Ahmad al-‘Alawî: "I drew near to Layla's dwelling, when I heard her call. O would that sweet voice never fall silent! She favored me, drew me toward her, and took me into her precinct; then with words most intimate addressed me. She sat by me, then came closer, and raised the garment that veiled her from my gaze; she took me out of myself, amazed me with her beauty . . . She changed me and transfigured me, marked me with her special seal, pressed me to her, granted me a unique station and named me with her name." The "divine dimension" is called Layla, 'Night', for its a priori nonmanifested quality; this makes one think of the dark color of Parvati and of the Black Madonnas in Christian art. Prophet Muhammad's love of women had the spiritual capacity to find concretely in Woman all the aspects of the Divine Femininity, from immanent Mercy to the infinitude of universal Possibility. The sensory experience that produces in the ordinary man an inflation of the ego, actualizes in the "deified" man an extinction in the Divine Self.
Flowers are loved for their perfume as well as for their beauty; now both these qualities relate to femininity and thus to the Shakti; beauty gladdens the heart and appeases it, and perfume makes one breathe, it evokes the limitlessness and purity of air; the "dilation of the breast," as one would say in Sufi mysticism.
Every virtuous or beautiful woman is in her way a manifestation of Shakti; and since virtue is a moral beauty, it can also be said that beauty is a physical virtue. The merit of this virtue devolves upon its Creator and, by participation, to the creature as well if she is morally and spiritually up to this gift; this is to say that beauty and virtue on the one hand pertain a priori to God, and on the other hand, for that very reason, demand that their spiritual implications be brought out by the creature.
The quality of Shakti in woman goes with the quality of deva in man. Each sex participates—or can participate—in the opposite sex. (This is shown graphically by that fundamental symbol that is the Chinese Yin-Yang, which in all its applications expresses the principle of compensating reciprocity.) The human quality is one and has priority over the sex, but without in the least abolishing the latter's capacities, functions, duties, and rights.
The character of deva and Shakti show that the human being is, by definition, a theophany and that one has no choice but to be so, any more than one could choose not to be Homo sapiens. The human vocation is to realize that which is man's reason for being: a projection of God and, therefore, a bridge between earth and Heaven; or a point of view allows God to see Himself starting from an other-than-Himself, even though this other, in the final analysis, can only be Himself, for God is known only through God.
When we write shakti in the Arabic alphabet, the numerical value of the letters totals 730. (Shîn=300, kâf=20, tâ’=400, yâ’=10.) It is illuminating to compare shakti with the Arabic words that total 730:
dhakî 'intelligent' — this word comes from a root meaning the blazing up of a fire; Shakti is the Power that energizes the Intellect. dhalla 'to be lowly, humble' — the Feminine is relegated to a lowly status in patriarchal systems.
kathîr 'abundant' — the Supreme Feminine is the Infinite, the divine All-Possibility, the Great Mother bringing forth all things in fruitful abundance. khalaqa 'to create' — Shakti is the Power that engenders all creation.
khalîs 'pure' — as the divine Power, Shakti is ever pure and holy. ladhdha 'to be sweet, pleasant, delightful' — Shakti brings transcendental delight and enjoyment to Her lovers.
nafakha 'to breathe' — from the yogic breath arises prâNa kuNDalinî, a form of kundalini shakti.
(See Kundalini: The Energy of the Depths by Lilian Silburn, p. 64)
Muslims and Shakti : THE GODDESS
In the interaction between Muslim, Hindu, and Christian traditions in South India, there was a borrowing of symbols and ideas, a frequently shared vocabulary, and an interweaving of motifs within a common sacred landscape. At the center of this interaction is the imagery associated with the ammans or goddesses of the region.
The most important figures within the religious landscape to all South Indians are "divinities of blood and power." In the Hindu tradition these are warrior goddesses (locally known as ammans) and warrior gods, both of whom are representations of "activated divine power." In the Muslim tradition, this power is represented by the Sufi warrior pîr, who is perceived in virtually the same terms as the blood-taking goddesses. Known under various names, such as Kali or Kaliamma, Durga or Mariamma, these goddesses have "an extra endowment" of Shakti, the female energy of the gods, and are associated with Siva.
The figure of the Muslim warrior pir, saint martyr, or shahîd was easily accepted into this tradition, associated as he was with the world of the forest, which in Hinduism is the world of Siva. The martial pir was not a divisive being in South Indian society. On the contrary, he was a figure of universal power with deep roots in the world of the Tamil goddess cults and power divinities. The dargâhs or shrines of Sufi saints were thus revered by both Hindus and Muslims. Tota Kuramma was a Muslim woman who after her death became an amman.
(Wilber T. Elmore, Dravidian Gods in Modern Hinduism. University of Nebraska, 1915, p. 61-63)
The result is that Muslim and Hindu conceptions of sacred power are virtually identical. In the case of the warrior goddess, her power is Shakti, "the dynamic, awesome, and sacred power which is the goddess Durga-Kali." The power of the pir, on the other hand, is his barakat. The merging of these two concepts in South India is demonstrated, for example, in the biography of a Tamil pir, where the word used to describe his power is not barakat but Shakti.
(See Susan Bayly, Saints, Goddesses, and Kings: Muslims and Christians in South Indian Society, 1700-1900. Cambridge University Press, 1989).
There have been Muslims who, from within their awareness of the Divine Feminine Shakti within Islam, have found in their hearts a response to Her manifestations in India.
The land of Bengal, where the population is descended from Dravidian ancestral stock (although they now speak an Indo-Aryan language), is a meeting place of Islam, Shaktism, and Tantrism. Muslim Bengali literature thus venerated the sacred women of Islam as manifestations of Shakti. Prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatimah assumed the popular role of the mother in Bengal, where the cult of the Mother Goddess Shakti dominated religious life. Hayat Mahmud, at the beginning of his Jang Nama, asked to take the feet of Fatimah on his head. Saiyid Murtaza addressed Fatimah as "the mother of the world".
Pagla Kanai, a Bengali Muslim poet in the nineteenth century, identified Fatimah as "Mother Tara" or "Mother Tarini" and prayed to her in this passage that blends Islam and Shaktism:
O mother, Pagla Kanai, who is of no consequence
cries for you with every breath;
please cast a little shadow of your feet on me;
O Mother, take me to your feet.
O Mother Tara, the redeemer of the world,
O Mother Tarini, you shall appear as the savior of Muslims
when Israfil will blow his horn,
when everything will be reduced to water,
and when your father's community will sink into water without a boat.
Tara is a Tantric Shakti goddess (mahavidya), one of the best-loved manifestations of Shakti for Tantric practitioners, and as such she has appealed to the hearts of Bengali Muslims as much as the Prophet's beloved daughter Fatimah.
Pagla Kanai also compared Fatimah to the goddess Kali and considered her more virtuous:
Mother Kali is virtuous indeed—
she stood on her husband's chest!
Did my gracious mother (Fatimah) ever trample ‘Ali?
(Quoted in The Islamic Syncretic Tradition in Bengal by Asim Roy, p. 94-95.)
Centuries ago, a Bengali Muslim named Saiyad Jafar was one among several Muslims who composed odes to Kali. Here is an example:
Why do you in such a plight call yourself merciful?
(This is the Mother, the merciful, and in such a plight!)
What wealth can you give me? You yourself have not even clothes.
Would a woman choose nakedness if she had anything with which to clothe herself?
Your husband is a beggar from his birth, your father is most cruel,
There is not in the family of either
any to be a benefactor.
For Saiyad Jafar what wealth is there in your keeping?
Hara's [Shiva's] breast possesses your twin Feet.
(quoted in Kali, the Feminine Force by Ajit Mookerjee, p. 104)
A modern Bengali poet, Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976), followed the example of earlier poets like Saiyad Jafar in this ode to Kali, using a play on words since in Bengali kali means 'ink':
Oh mother of mine,
There's ink on my hands,
ink on my face.
The neighbors laugh.
My education amounts to nothing —
I see "ShyaMa" in the letter M
And Kali in the letter K,
I dance and clap my hands.
Only my tears multiply
when my eyes light
on the rows of black marks
in multiplication tables.
I couldn't care less for
the alphabet's shades of sound
since your dark, lovely shade
isn't among them.
But Mother, I can read
all that you write
on leaves in the forest,
on the waters of the sea,
and in the ledger of the sky.
Let them call me illiterate.
Many regard him as the greatest poetic force in Bengali literature after the world-famous Rabindranath Tagore. Both Nazrul Islam's poems and prose writing are exuberant with a certain force and energy, denouncing all social and religious bigotry and oppression.
Ayeshah Haleem wrote a study of the Lalitasahasranamam (The Thousand Names of the Goddess Lalita), published in the anthology In All Her Names: Explorations of the Feminine in Divinity, edited by Joseph Campbell and Charles Musès (HarperSanFrancisco, 1991), p. 165-168. An excerpt from her study:
Srîmâtâ!—Glorious Mother!
Srîmahârâjnî!—Glorious Queen!
Srimatsimhâsaneswarî!—Glorious ruler on the Lioness Throne!
Thus begins, with her first three names, the uplifted Sanskrit hymn Lalitâsahasranâmam (The Thousand Names of the Goddess) in praise of the Goddess of our Universe, with forms of address describing her prime triplicity as Container, Measurer, and Matter of the Universe (all implied by the word Mâtâ; Queen of the Universe thereby, and Regulator of Time, the Devouring Lioness—and therefore of all cycles that eventually return to their starting point, making a whole.
Although her triple quality is all-encompassing, she is Manifestation itself (Mâyâ)—the Veil of Existence—in all its variety and detail, and thus she may be found through countless avenues. It is something of this multiplicity that the Thousand Names of Lalitâ seeks to convey, though the "thousand," in turn, stand for the thousands upon thousands of epithets that actually exist. The text now available, although a compilation of recent date, is without doubt derived from prototypes reaching back several millennia before Christ and eventually to Paleolithic times.
(Ayeshah Haleem, p. 165-166.)
Shahrukh Husain (a woman scholar and author, not the Hindi film actor) wrote a book titled The Goddess (Boston: Little, Brown, 1997) that was an exposition of the Divine Feminine in various traditions, and naturally included much attention to Indian manifestations of Sakti as well as women's spirituality.
The civilizations, such as ancient Sumeria, that have treated sex as a complex and pleasurable activity, which is also spiritually and physically beneficial (in much the same way as the Indian discipline of Yoga), have generally worshiped an active female godhead. In the rites of this deity, copulation is an act far more important than mere carnal gratification or the urge to preserve the species. This type of sexual ethos has inspired numerous erotic texts that were not intended merely to arouse, but formed part of a religious discourse which survives to the present day. These religious-erotic works include the Sumerian tableaux framed around Innana, Ugaritic ritual dramas, various Japanese texts including the Nihongi and Kojiki, and diverse Chinese medico-philosophical tracts. Perhaps the most famous of all the ancient erotic texts is Vatsyayana's Kama Sutra, written in India some time between the 3rd and 5th centuries AD.
The notion of sex as a sin is entirely absent from this work, as it is from most early erotic writings. The Kama Sutra contains frank and detailed discussions of the beauty of the female form, from the eye-lashes to the toes and, crucially, the yoni, which is said to resemble "the opening lotus bud", and "be perfumed like the lily that has newly burst". Vatsyayana's Kama Sutra inspired the authors of many of the Tantras, or texts sacred to the Asian mystical philosophies collectively called Tantrism, which date back to at least the 6th century AD. Tantrism perceives the universe a set of energy vibrations, emanating from the love-play of the god Shiva (who is passive and unknowable), and his active female principle Shakti. One of the "Five Practices" of Tantrism is kamakala dhyana, or meditations on the art of love. Here the devotee contemplates desire with the yoni of the Goddess as his object of worship.
Physical intercourse takes place in a number of Tantric traditions, as an allegory for the mystical union between the Goddess and the acolyte. In addition to assuring peace in the afterlife, this union brings jivanmukti, or liberation, while still in the world — a condition which is deemed desirable only in those religions with a powerful goddess-figure. [This is a characteristic feature of Sufism too. —PK]
Sexual intercourse is believed to nullify all social barriers, unblocking the flow of energies essential to the divine creative function, which must be emulated by devotees of the Goddess in their rituals.
The Tantras and Kama Sutra elevate women by casting them in the mould of the Goddess. ... The Prophet Muhammad never advocated celibacy, and the Koran contains little evidence of the hatred of sex. [As a matter of fact, the Qur’ân positively proclaims the spiritual value of sacred sex. —PK] Even the Bible includes the sensual and erotic Song of Solomon....
(Shahrukh Husain, p. 94-95.)
The yoni
The inverted triangle, representing the vulva of the Goddess, appears to have been worshipped since prehistory. Evidence exists of its use in the Paleolithic era, as a pendant, a fertility symbol or a charm to ward off danger. It was emphasized on Venus-figurines and stylized in diverse forms of art and in the cuneiform scripts that comprise the earliest writing. The genital triangle of the Goddess, widely known today by its Sanskrit name of yoni, and symbolized as a lotus in bloom, is the entry and exit to the world-womb. ...
The feature of the devouring vulva is strikingly absent from the dominant Indian images of yoni worship. Here the Goddess, generally personified by Devi or Kali, is shown lying on her back, legs splayed, or stands, legs apart, releasing her vaginal fluid, yoni-tattva a divine elixir which her worshippers take into their mouths. An event from a mystical text called the Yoni-tantra tells how the god Brahma chopped pieces of the goddess Sati's corpse to lighten the burden of her husband Shiva as he carried her around in a state of grief. The vulva fell to earth in Kamakhya, Assam, and a temple was erected in its honour. Inside the temple, the yoni is represented by a cleft rock, kept moist by a natural underground spring which runs red with iron oxide once a year, at the onset of the monsoon. This annual "menstruation" is interpreted by worshippers as Nature's way of confirming the veneration of the female vulva and the processes to which it is subject, and as proof that the Goddess is the earth.
Yoni-like rock formations, caves and dolmens are worshipped all over India, and pilgrims will often crawl through the aperture, if it is large enough, and crawl back out again in an imitation of divine rebirth – the entry and return from the celestial womb. Where such structures do not exist naturally, they are constructed in the form of triangular ponds outside temples. The altars of Hindu temples often have red-stained or painted triangles attached to them to symbolize the yoni. Sometimes the yoni has a black, erect phallus in the middle. In this case it is known as the yoni-lingam, and symbolizes the union of the lord Shiva with his female principle, Shakti. At other times, the symbolic yoni is itself upright, particularly when placed directly opposite an altar.
The yoni-fluid is frequently confused with menstrual blood in the mystical texts of Tantric Hinduism, when it is called "blood-food". It is highly venerated, and is said to contain special potency for healing and magic. The yoni-fluid is also designated pushpa, or flower, because "like the blossom of the tree" it announces its potential to produce fruit.
(p. 96-97.) The female essence In 7th-century India, mystical texts called Tantras began to promulgate the idea of Shakti: raw, female energy, the primordial power without which the gods (in particular Shiva) could not function. One Tantra states "women are divinity; women are vital breath". For almost the first time since the establishment of Indo-European, male-centred systems of worship, the supremacy of the Female Divinity was reasserted.
According to the Tantric vision, Shakti emanates from the central, universal force or Great Power, defined as Mahakali, the Great Kali. She is the container of the cosmos, including the gods. One painting shows Shiva sitting in her skull, Vishnu at her breasts and Brahma at her vulva. In addition to believing that the Goddess is the essential, universal energy who activates and protects the male divinities with her prodigious strength, many Tantras also define the Great Goddess as Mahavidya — Great Wisdom.
Women have increasingly turned to Shakti as a positive and powerful female force to emulate and possess. Perhaps the most famous images of Shakti, in which she is mainly personified by Kali, are those of sexual supremacy. She appears with her foot on the chest of Shiva, her husband, as she whirls in her dance of destruction, or else she rides his body in sexual ecstasy. The sacred text, Kalika Purana, is full of fantastic tales of Kali's sexual combats with her spouse. It indicates her enjoyment of erotic games and her determination to assert her own will in this area. Her vulva, or yoni, is worshipped by the Shaktas (devotees of Shakti) as the Great Womb. ...
Although in many images Kali is portrayed as bloodthirsty in character and appearance, her activities were never wantonly destructive. On the contrary, at her most fearsome, her aim was to wipe out demonic forces before they could endanger the cosmic order. As a symbol of empowerment for women she is, therefore, the perfect model of female balance: powerful, active and assertive, rather than pointlessly aggressive. She returns to women the three virtues that have historically been denied to them in most cultures — strength (moral and physical); intellect and knowledge; and sexual sovereignty.
(p. 156-157.)
Muslim artist MF Husain is the most renowned contemporary artist in India. He has lovingly, reverentially painted many portraits of Sarasvati, Durga, and Lakshmi, as a tribute to his mother who died when he was young. He recently directed the film Gaja Gamini to celebrate the beauty of Indian womanhood, the Eternal Feminine Shakti, and Her pervasive power throughout human existence. Pakistani-American artist Shahzia Sikander has explored the spiritual meaning of the Feminine in South Asia through her female images that blend veiled Muslim women and goddesses like Kali or Durga in the same figure. By depicting Shakti Goddess in her art, she says, "I am interested in the multidimensions of the female identity. The goddess could be a figure of power. It refers to empowerment definitely. And yet there is a certain sort of dark side to it too...."
One more Muslim contribution to Shaktism: Algerian-born DJ Cheb i Sabbah produced an album of Indian sacred songs, Shri Durga, invoking the Jagad Yoni, the Cosmic Womb. Featuring performances by Indian Muslim singers and musicians (Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, Ustad Sultan Khan, Ustad Sharafat Ali Khan, Shafqat Ali Khan, Sukhawat Ali Khan, Ustad Habib Khan, Aziz Herawi, and Ustad Tari Khan), it is a labor of love from a Muslim artist to the Divine All-Mother. (Incidentally, note the resemblance of the name Kali Ma and the Islamic declaration of faith, central to the religion of Islam: kalima. —PK)
Islam Liberated Women.
Will Durant, after studying the best archaeological evidence, wrote in The Story of Civilization that slavery always followed the subjugation of women, and may actually have been caused by it. (The same has been said about the subjugation of women in Islam developing at same time as extensive slavery in the ‘Abbasid period. The Prophet Muhammad not only encouraged the freeing of slaves, he raised women’s status and gave them their rights. His friends accused him of being ruled by his wives!)
Patriarchal Christianity in the early Middle Ages condemned women as inferior and the cause of sin, and enforced the most repressive rules ever. How they could have done this in the name of the gentle prophet Jesus Christ is beyond understanding.
It was only when the benign influence of Islam and Sufism began to make itself felt in Europe that Christendom began to ease up on its misogyny. The Sufis honored women because of their high spiritual significance. The Qur’ân teaches sacred sex in a couple of verses, and the Sufis developed the mysticism of Divine Love growing out of human eros. For example, witness Ibn al-‘Arabî’s mystical erotic poetry in the Tarjumân al-ashwâq, and his exposition of sacred sex in the Fusûs al-hikam.
The High Middle Ages of Europe arose from contact with Islamic civilization. Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) was a key figure in this (and according to Idries Shah she was descended from Prophet Muhammad). At her Court of Love at Poitiers, she was a great patroness of the arts and encouraged the troubadors who sang of courtly love, i.e. spiritualized eros, which came from Sufism. She promoted the idea that real men loved and honored women, rather than fighting feudal wars or becoming monks. After this, Western civilization began to soften toward women, and the veneration of Mary came to the forefront. However, sacred sex had to remain underground in Christianity and could only be detected in the veiled, symbolic language of the poets and the alchemists.
The French troubador Peire Vidal (fl. 1200) said in one of his poems: "I think I see God when I look on my lady nude." He was put on trial and nearly burned at the stake.
The West may feel proud for thinking it invented "Women’s Liberation" in the recent past, but considering the extreme misogyny of early Christianity, how could that have come about? The first raise of Western women’s status came from Islam, especially Sufism. That was the basis for all subsequent women’s liberation. Will Islam ever be able to regain its original role of honoring and empowering women?
(For more information please view www.jadelotustantra.com or email jadelotus@bigpond.com)