Really existing Shaktism

Not Kali 

I haven´t read the two anthropological books summarized in this article by June McDaniel (the books in question being written by herself), but I´m sure they could be interesting. They seem to be about “really existing” Shaktism as practiced in West Bengal in India. It turns out to be a bewildering and almost anarchic milieu of mad saints, men and women possessed by various deities, intermittent gurus who come and go, folk healers, and self-initiated bhaktas with no real lineage. Shaktism is the form of Hinduism in which worship is centered on goddesses and/or one generic goddess, in West Bengal often identified as Kali. There are some interesting photos of Kali accompanying the article, including one of “Kali Thuggee” (!) and one form called “White Kali”. I never really “grokked” Shaktism, which seems to exist in both regular and Tantric forms, so the chaos described by the author didn´t exactly surprise me.

Some things stand out…well, almost everything in this piece stands out, actually. Many Shaktas practice yoga as a way of bringing their spiritual experiences under control. Otherwise, they would go completely insane! Indeed, Kali or other deities usually appear to the future bhakta during possession states. It´s also interesting to note that many of the Shaktas lack a guru, met their guru only once (during a quick initiation), or only in their dreams. Nor is it a problem that some gurus don´t seem to have had a guru of their own. Their personal charisma or healing powers are enough.

The Tantric component is very “earthy”, with practitioners explicitly trying to get worldly powers through magical means. The author apparently had no problem conversing with the Left Hand Tantrikas who meditate in cremation grounds. Some of them even explained to her how they obtained the human skulls and bones used during their sadhanas! Yes, they come from unclaimed corpses at hospitals. The Tantrikas have secret deals with some of the “Doms” working there (the Doms are an untouchable caste handling the disposal of dead bodies). Note also the bizarre claim in note 17 after the article…

Interesting, after a fashion. 

The role of Yoga in Bengali Shaktism