DakiniGoddess

Dakini: The Goddess Within

In Sanskrit the word Dakini means goddess. From this aged and wizened philosophy we can gather much wisdom. Joseph Campbell speaks of the archetypes of the Goddess in many of his books. They manifest in many forms. In Greek mythology we have Athena and Helen, in Celtic religions there are the goddesses Argona and Brigid. In Hindu and Buddhist mythology there are thousands of goddesses which pervade the culture representing the sweet, nurturing side of femininity, and the beautiful vessel as well as the destroyer of life, as in the Goddess Kali. An understanding of the goddess in any form can only help to educate us more about ourselves, whether we are men or women. The feminine aspect is part of us all. And in this time when the male, dominant do-er part of humanity has been over zealously displaying its fruits, we are wise to embrace the feminine. We can embrace the receiver, the life giver and the dancer through a study of the goddess. With so many goddesses to look to, I have chosen the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of the Dakini or goddess worship as another means to understand the Divine Feminine within us.

In Tibetan Buddhism, the Dakini is also referred to as Khandroma, or the woman who moves in space. More importantly, Dakinis are thought to be the enlightened energetic thought-forms of women. In her book, Dakini's Warm Breath, Judith Simmer Brown cautions us not to confuse the Dakini with the estimations of her made by the feminist and patriarchal Western thought movements. She describes the unfortunate misappropriation of the Dakini figure as both a feminist figure head and a patriarchal tool in Western academia. The tradition of the Dakini in Tibetan Buddhism is passed orally among women who talk in what simmer-Brown calls, “shadow language.” The language cannot be deciphered from a purely academic point of view as many of the teachings are conveyed “between the words”, just as the essence of life is underneath the 'form' and limitation of language.

Even Simmer Brown's description of the Dakini tradition in Tibet reminds me of the innate mystery of the woman. She refuses to be picked apart. She refuses to be understood in a left and right, up and down, black and white manner. This is not the power of a woman. She refuses to be reduced to 'form', though she may embody perfection in form. In fact, many of the Dakinis depicted in this tradition have perfect bodies, voluptuous and sensual. They have ornate adornments and flashing eyes. In one famous story, a learned yogi is looking for a Goddess who can help him answer some questions on his spiritual journey. He is looking for her in the forest where he has been told that a Great Goddess resides and he finds a beautiful maidservant who he correctly assumes to be the maidservant to the Great Goddess. He approaches her, to inquire about the Goddess's whereabouts, but the maideservant refuses to speak to him. She is busy carrying two heavy jugs from a well attached to a long stick that she carries over her thin shoulders, and voluptuous body. The yogi cannot help but notice her beauty, but he is dismayed that she refuses to speak to him. He asks her again to fetch her master, but she again refuses to speak to him, and carries on with her work. The yogi has acquired some powers along his spiritual path, so he causes the water jugs to become stuck to the ground so that she cannot lift them any longer. The Dakini looks straight into his eyes and says, “You do not think that I have powers of my own?” She then picks up a knife from the ground and stabs herself in the heart with it, revealing not blood and internal organs, but the entire vastness of the Universe held within her chest. The yogi looks into her chest and is forever changed by the experience.

In this story, the metaphor of the entire Universe being contained within the Goddess’ heart is poignant. She willingly exposes her very soul to him by opening her heart, and within it, the yogi learns of the Infinite. Her disguise as a simple maidservant to a “more important Goddess.” is also apposite. This humble-seeming, but beautiful maidservant actually has incredible power within her. We all have this Power, which, at first glance, not even a learned yogi would expect to find. Essentially, this story is teaching us about our feminine nature. As women, we are the creators of the Universe. All of creation exists within us. We are the Universe, but we have a million guises to hide our true natures. We hide ourselves even from the most knowing and learned men. Why do we do this?

A woman’s powers are sacred and mysterious. They are not meant to be categorized or pinned down. As women we contain endless treasure and only upon our own impetus and inclination shall we share those treasures with those we feel are ready to see the gloriousness of the mystery. We do not necessarily hide these powers away to keep them from others, but hide because this massive power in the wrong hands can be corruptive, or completely misconstrued. There are countless examples of this in our history from the Salem Witch Trials to the institutionalized belittling of a woman' s worth, not just in western culture, but in perhaps more violent ways throughout Africa, Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries. The Western mind is having a difficult time putting the metaphor and symbolism of the Tibetan Dakini into its own culture because many of our ideas about the feminine are corrupted by our own history and politics. How many of us have corrupted notions about our own personal feminine power? Do we even recognize it? Do we honor it? Do we apologize for it, or wield it as a weapon? The West has a lot of growing up to do spiritually. We are a material culture who wants to pin down the bottom line. But the feminine will not stand for this. The True Feminine within us is keen on maintaining the mystery of the Universe within her bosom. She carries it there within her, only to be realized by those who have purified their own hearts.

Dakinis are called sky-dancers because they dance in the realms of the etheric. They are not grounded to our conceptions of feminine temperament. They do as they please, but are very efficient at the task they attempt. She is also the goddess or supernatural being who tests a practitioner's abilities and commitments. As women in modern society, is it not our role to question the politics of war and death? Is it not our responsibility to eradicate the old paradigm and give birth to the new world order of peace and caring for our neighbors? To see the vast Universe as one whole beating within our own hearts?

Dakinis are the quintessential metaphor for absolute feminine freedom. They are often depicted as sensuous beings with wild hair and a wrathful expression. She is usually naked and often holds a skull cup filled with menstrual blood in one hand or the elixir of life and a curved knife in the other. She dances atop corpses representing her mastery over egoic needs and ignorant thoughts. She is completely unrestrained and uncensored. She is vigorous in her movements and free to roam the skies. In a world of women who are given little freedom to act on this goddess impulse, who feed their families on less than a few dollars a week and undergo rape, violence and murder, we can resurrect the icon of the Tibetan Dakini. Women can revel in their freedom when they open to this force within them. Men can appreciate the feminine power within themselves also. She is at our core. She is the mother of us all. She is the goddess within.

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YOGA HALE

Yoga: Sanskrit Word Meaning, to Yoke Oneself to God Hale: Hawaiian Word for House