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In some communities, men are encouraged to call all devotee women "Mataji", because according to Vedic culture, all women who are not one's wife are to be treated as one's mother. Many women in ISKCON shun the term and prefer they be called Prabhu , which was a term A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada , the founder of ISKCON, used to refer to ...
In bhakti school literature, the term is typically used for any deity to whom prayers are offered. A particular deity is often the devotee's one and only Bhagavan. [2] The female equivalent of Bhagavān is Bhagavati. [4] [5] To some Hindus, the word Bhagavan is an abstract, genderless concept of God.
The meaning of the term Bhakti is analogous to but different from Kama. Kama connotes emotional connection, sometimes with sensual devotion and erotic love. Bhakti, in contrast, is spiritual, a love and devotion to religious concepts or principles, that engages both emotion and intellection. [37]
In India, a devadasi is a female artist who is dedicated to the worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. [3] [4] The dedication takes place in a ceremony that is somewhat similar to a marriage ceremony.
The name Ardhanarishvara means "the Lord Who is half woman." Ardhanarishvara is also known by other names like Ardhanaranari ("the half man-woman"), Ardhanarisha ("the Lord who is half woman"), Ardhanarinateshvara ("the Lord of Dance (Who is half-woman), [1] [2] Parangada, [3] Naranari ("man-woman"), Ammaiyappan (a Tamil Name meaning "Mother-Father"), [4] and Ardhayuvatishvara (in Assam, "the ...
Devi identifies herself in the Devi Upanishad as Brahman in her reply to the gods stating that she rules the world, blesses devotees with riches, that she is the supreme deity to whom all worship is to be offered and that she infuses Ātman in every soul. [23]
The literature on Shakti theology grew in ancient India, climaxing in one of the most important texts of Shaktism called the Devi Mahatmya. This text, states C. Mackenzie Brown – a professor of religion, is both a culmination of centuries of Indian ideas about the divine woman, as well as a foundation for the literature and spirituality ...
The female, in these divine pairs, is viewed as the source of energy and essence of the male form. [21] [22] [23] In the Sri Vaishnava tradition, Lakshmi is described to be the mediatrix of Vishnu's grace, regarded by devotees to intercede on their behalf. Her forgiveness of sins is believed to allow devotees to be in the presence of her ...