Most of these fears about Devi puja, Shakti puja, and Tantra are rooted in ignorance, I think. The reality is quite different from the fears. Let us try to understand who is Devi, why we should worship Her, and what happens if we do and what if we don't. The word Devi literally means "that which lights up the world."
Now what is it that has the power to create, sustain and destroy the world? Let me give an example.
Suppose there is a dark room, in which we see no objects at all. It has been dark for millions of years, say. We don't know what is in it. Now suppose we take a lighted candle into it. We start seeing the objects in it. We may think: how can this little candle have the power to remove the darkness that has been for millions of years? What would you say? It has, or it does not have the power? You will agree that light has power over darkess. Darkness does not have power over light. Light is knowing, Ignorance is not knowing. The world has been a dark room for me for millions of years. I never knew what was in it till the little light of life came into me. I did not know the Sun, Moon, fire, or any living or non living objects in this wide world till I was born, and life started helping me to see. So the word Devi really means life, which helps us to know. see, feel, touch, smell etc. Life is the little candle which lights up the mighty universe that has been unseen, unknown, unexperienced. This little candle is mightier than the whole universe! So, Devi means life. My life, your life, every living being's life. Now what is there to be afraid of life? If I am worshipping life, I am worshipping Devi. If you receive love, you are happy, are you not? Devi puja really means to make myself happy, loving myself. I am doing puja to myself when I am doing Devi puja. If I have the means, I will offer Her in golden plates courses of 64 delicacies prepared in the most extravagant matter. I will offer Her a perfumed bath worthy of Gods. I will give Her a massage she will remember for life. If I don't have the means, I will be happy with just bread and peanut butter. What do I care as long as I am happy? Being happy is the real Devi puja. Neither Devi cares, because she is my life, she is in me, she is me. She is in every limb of me.
The real point to remember in Devi puja is that it is for your life that the puja is being done. So whatever it takes to make you happy, all that undoubtedly is puja. Whatever that makes you unhappy is not puja, because puja means adoration love, and happiness. And Devi puja is adoring life, pro-life, not anti-life. It is not against life, so it does not hurt any one.
People ask "can we keep Devi in home and do puja?" She is already there in you as life. So the question is, "Can you stay in your home?" Surely you can. Can you do puja? The question is saying, can you be happy? Why not? You can do puja, Devi puja most definitely. It is for your own prana, life, that puja is really talking place. So go ahead, by all means. Power flows to you by loving yourself. Puja is expressig your love, to yourself and to all life.
Although life is one, it manifests as different powers in different places. Life in my eyes is the power to see, in ears to hear, in tongue to taste and talk, in skin to touch and feel, in hands to grasp, in feet to run, in genitals to reproduce, in breasts to give milk and so on. If life is missing in a foot like a polio patient, He cannot walk. So power comes from life, power is life. The concept of Shakti pithas flows from this idea. There is the great puranic story of How Sati, the adorable wife of Siva got angry when Her father did not invite Siva for a fire ritual he was performing. He insulted Siva saying," He is the erect male genital. What is so great about worshipping it?" So Sati got angry and left Her body by Yoga. Sivs hears this, becomes angry, and keeping Her corpse on his shoulders, is out to destroy the world. Gods pray to Vishnu to save the worlds from Siva's anger. Vishnu sends his discus, which cuts the body of Sati into various pieces. They all fell at different places, and became Shakti pithas, where power resides alive. There are two lessons we have to draw from this great story. The first is that in every limb, there is a Shakti pitha, a seat of power. We can access, arouse and enhance this power through attentiveness, adoration, and love. The second lesson is that when Siva is insulted, Shakti becomes angry and when Siva has no chance to have intercourse ( his wife, the yoni is dead) he becomes angry. Their anger is capable of destroying the world. Saying it in another way, sexual energy frustrated from expression destroys the world. Most of or neuroses have to do with supressing seeking variety in sex. We want variety in food, dresses perfumes,and environment. Why not in fun? So we should treat sex with love and adoration, not with contempt.
Hindu tantric culture places a high value to worship of genitals in the form of Siva the erect male lingam, and Shakti, the vagina. Most ancient cultures in the world do accept sex as sacred to Goddess. There was sacred prostitution everywhere, and orgies were not uncommon. We consider their eternal intercourse as symbolic of peace, pleasure and bliss. We incorporate desire for sex, Kama, as the third great object of life; the others being Duty, Wealth and Liberation. Liberation is like living in an eternal orgasm, like Siva Shakti, or Brahmananda, the bliss of utter creativity.
Amrita
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