Adi Parashakti

Adi Parashakti means "First Supreme-energy". आदि ādi literally means "beginning". Shakti refers to a power beyond the physical universe; the term itself comes from the root शक् śak, meaning "to be able," from PIE *ḱak-.

In the Devi Gita, it is suggested that before incarnating as Parvathi, she appeared to King Himalaya and revealed divine, eternal knowledge to him. She explained herself, in the words of the Vedas, as having neither beginning nor end. She is the only, eternal truth. The whole universe is her creation. She is the only victor and the manifestation of victory itself. She is a manifested, un-manifested and transcendent divinity. She then displayed her scarcely seen form to him: Satyaloka was located in her forehead; the created universe were her hairs; the sun and moon were her eyes; in her ears were the four directions; the Vedas were her words; death, affection and emotion were her teeth; maya was manifested by her smile.[6]

Goddess Adi ParaShakthi is the Presiding Deity at the Parashakthi Temple in Pontiac Michigan, USA

Except for Shakta Puranas, Adi Shakti has never been mentioned with the name "Adi Shakti". But indirectly, they also consider her to be supreme being. Scriptures like Devi Bhagwata Purana, four Vedas consider Kali as Dark energy which dissolute complete universe along with time.The goddess Parvati as Kushmanda gives birth to the universe in the form of cosmic egg which manifested as the universe. Ultimately, Adi shakti herself is the Zero Energy which exist even after destruction of universe and before its creation.

Sikhism also portrays the concept of Adi Shakti. The difference is in the philosophy. In Sikhism, Khanda, the symbol of the infinite power of God, is referred as "Adi Shakti" in Hinduism.[10] Durga or Parvati, one of the Sakthis of Adi Shakti as per Hinduism, are manifestations of Adi Shakti to destroy demons as described in Chandi di Var.

In Srimad Devi Bhagwat Purana's 1st book and 4th chapter. Devi addressed Trimurti as follows:

"I am Adi Parashakti. I am the owner of this universe. I am the Absolute Reality. I am dynamic in feminine form and static in masculine form. You have appeared to govern the universe through my energy. You are the masculine form of Absolute Reality, while I am the feminine form of that Reality. I am beyond form, beyond everything, and all the powers of God are contained within me. You must know that I am the Eternal limitless energy.

She then said: Brahma! You will be generator of the universe; the Goddess Sharada (Saraswati) is your consort, she will be recognized as the goddess of wisdom and the primeval sound. Lord Brahma, this goddess will be with you when you create the universe.

She continued: Lord Narayana (Krishna)! You are formless, yet you take form. I assign you to be the preserver of the universe. You will take a different incarnations in order to save this universe's inhabitants. Oh Narayana! You have created Lord Brahma, and Brahma will further create thirty three kind of gods and goddesses. I am goddess Mahamaya, has been reappear from your mystic sleep. Your consort will be goddess lakshmi. Lord Vishnu, this goddess will be with you when you rule/maintain the universe. When life evolves, you will take the form of Vishnu, the one who will perform the task of observing and preserving this universe.

At Last she instructed: "Oh Lord Rudra Shiv, the Great God, you are the personification of time, which is above all. You will perform the task of destroying and regenerating this universe. When you are formless, time stands still. It is due to my power that you become dynamic and are capable of bringing about the destruction and regeneration of this universe. Your consort is goddess Mahakali Mahamaya, Mahakali is me, my full form, where lakshmi and Saraswati just my clone, partial form but due to meditation, you will surpass all my forms.Lord Shiva, I will perform the task of destroying evil and I will born as your consort ".so goddess parvati is mahamaya [11]

Lalita tripurasundari is the form of Devi Adi-Shakti who is the ultimate god. Lalita Tripurasundari holds a sugarcane bow, flower arrows, noose, and goad. She came down from her loka above this Brahmanda to destroy Bhandasura and now is living on the top of Maha Meru mountain. Her abode is pictorially represented as Sri Chakra. Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva of this Brahmanda are her subordinates and cannot function without her power. Thus, she is considered the supreme Goddess and primary deity in Shaktism as she is the nearest representative of Adi Parashakti. Whatever deity one is worshiping, ultimately, they are worshiping Adi Parashakti. In her gentle, loving, and motherly form, she is Lalita, Parvati, Lakshmi, saraswati, Gauri and so on; Goddess Kali, Durga and Goddess Chandi in her wrathful form. She took various incarnations over a period of time for upholding Dharma, collectively called the Tridevi:

As per the yogis of the highest order, she is the power who resides in the Kundalini in the form of Amba, she is 31/2 coil in size and when the Kundalini is raised from the sacrum bone of every human being by a highly realized soul whose kundalini is also awakened then she rises through the back bone of the human opening all chakras mooladhara, Swadisthana, manipura, anahata, vishuddi, Agnya and finally through sahasrara chakras and connects the soul to the all pervading power (or collective consciousness) of the divine

On the three nadis, Ida (Left channel- Tamo guna), Pingala (Right channel-Rajo Guna) and Sushumna (central channel-Sattva guna), the kundalini passes through the central channel balancing all the left and right channel

• Kali is the third part of Goddess Adi Para Shakti. She is the goddess of power, spiritual fulfillment, time, as well as presiding over the destruction of the universe. She gives salvation to mankind. She is the Shakti and consort of Lord Shiva. She helped Lord Maha Vishnu slay the demons Madhu and Kaitabha. It is she who also slew Shumbha and Nishumbha in the form of Durga, who are symbols of ignorance. She is also same as Yogmaya also known as Tamsi Devi and Chandi Devi as per Durga Saptashati. She wears red or black and presides over the Tamas Guna. When Kali is formless, she becomes the sound of Kreem. In her gentler form as Durga, she becomes the sound of Kleem.

The Sri Yantra in diagrammatic form, showing how its nine interlocking triangles form a total of 43 smaller triangles.

Shaktas claim that it is assumed that indirectly or directly, everybody worships her. When, someone is utilizing his/her energy in positive aspects of life then they are worshiping her. Hypothetically Shaktas assume, since, she is absolute Energy, so when one knows how to raise his/her inner energy and knows how to balance that energy for daily work then ultimately, they are worshiping her. To balance Energy for day-to-day life, people worship their personal gods/God as per their religion, enlighten candles and lamps at home, do good work for society and much more. All these activities either energize them or serve as methods to gain motivation.[15]

Many scholars like Swami Vivekananda prefers meditation as best practice to stop mental impurities as he said Holy meditation helps to burn out all mental impurities and claims that to know one's own energy is best method to worship Divine Mother.[16]

Though core shakta people believe in direct worship of Adi Shakti through dhyan, Meditation and Samadhi, Tantra, Sri chakra and traditional deity worship. While worshiping her through yoga, Samadhi or through Tantra, one needs proper adherent guru, who himself or herself must know all the rules and rituals.[17] If someone who doesn't have proper guru, then one can also worship her by singing her praise.

Adi Parashakti's appearance is described in the Kalika Purana, the Markandeya Purana-Devi Mahatmya,the Brahmanda Purana-Lalita Sahasranama, and the Devi Bhagavata Purana. According to the Devi Bhagavata Purana, Devi gita. The Goddess once invited the Trimurti to her celestial abode. The Trimurti saw the goddess sitting on a jeweled seat in a throne. Her face contained the radiance of millions of stars and her celestial beauty was so great that the Trimurti were not able to look at her. She carries the surya mudra, pasha, ankusha and lotus. They then realized that she was the energy responsible for creating, preserving, and destroying the whole universe.

According to the Devi Bhagwat Purana, Adishakti is Tridevi – the equal half and eternal beloved consort of Trimurti (the three aspects of Godhead).

• Shakti
• Parashakti
• Shaktism
• Devi

• Brown, Cheever Mackenzie (1998). The Devī Gītā: the song of the Goddess; a translation, annotation, and commentary.
• Kinsley, David. Hindu Goddesses: Vision of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Traditions. ISBN 81-208-0379-5.