Sakti
A Sanskrit term which literally means “power,” “energy,” or “potency.” When encountered in theosophical writings it usually refers to one of the seven forces of nature or sometimes is a reference to “Universal Energy” or the feminine aspect of what in Tibetan is called Fohat and in Sanskrit Daiviprakti; in theosophy therefore ®aktis are the vehicles of energy. In Hinduism the ®aktis are the wives of ®iva.
The list of aktis differ from one school of thought to another. Three aktis are commonly enumerated: jnanaakti, or the power of knowledge, icch€akti, or the power of will (or desire), and kriyš®akti, the power of action. Kashmir ®aivism adds two more, chitakti, or the power of awareness, and anandaakti, the power of bliss.
T. Subba Row mentions that there are seven forces in nature. Six are the aktis (enumerated below), and the unity of the six is the Astral Light, which is the seventh (Esoteric Writings, p. 11-2):
1. paraakti, the supreme power
2. icch€akti, the power of the will
3. kriy€akti, the power to produce external perceptible phenomena
4. jñ€naakti, the power of knowledge
5. kuŠalin…akti, the universal life principle in nature, and particularly lodged at the base on the human spine
6. mantrikaakti, the power of sound or mantras
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