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What is the central belief of Shaktism regarding the Divine Mother or Shakti?

Shaktism rests on the conviction that the Divine Mother, or Shakti, is the ultimate reality and the supreme power of the universe. She is regarded as the absolute, all-pervading consciousness and energy from which all existence arises, by which it is sustained, and into which it finally dissolves. In this vision, Shakti is not a secondary figure or mere consort, but the fundamental principle underlying all that is. All gods, worlds, and beings are understood as expressions or manifestations of this one supreme Shakti.

This understanding portrays Shakti as the primordial cosmic energy that creates, maintains, and dissolves the cosmos. She is both transcendent, beyond all forms and limitations, and immanent, present within every aspect of creation. The many goddesses revered in different forms—such as Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, or Saraswati—are seen as diverse faces of the same Divine Mother. Thus, unity is perceived beneath the apparent multiplicity, with every form of the Goddess pointing back to a single, all-encompassing reality.

For the spiritual seeker, this belief places the feminine aspect of the divine at the very center of metaphysical reflection and devotional life. The universe is approached as a living expression of Shakti’s power, and every experience becomes a potential encounter with the Divine Mother’s presence. To contemplate Shakti in this way is to recognize that the source, substance, and ultimate destiny of all existence are rooted in one boundless, compassionate, and dynamic reality called the Divine Mother.