Understanding Shakti in Hinduism and How to Be More Feminine in the 21st Century

We live in a world that increasingly celebrates hustle, toughness, and aggression. The concept of femininity is often misunderstood and even looked down upon as a weakness. We are constantly taught to toughen up, hide our emotions and be equal to men. But Hinduism offers a completely different point of view – one that doesn’t require women to shrink themselves into a masculine mould, but rather honours and elevates the soft feminine energy as the most powerful force in the universe. This blog post is for every woman (and man) who wants to reconnect with their true feminine side, understand the meaning of Shakti in Hinduism, and embrace the divine softness that is not weakness, but strength in its most graceful form.

Shakti – The Feminine Energy in Hinduism

In Hinduism, Shakti means power, energy and dynamic life force. She is the divine feminine goddess – the creator, nurturer, destroyer and liberator. The Shakti is not ‘less than’ the masculine, nor is she ‘equal’ to men. She is the source of energy of all that exists in the universe. Shakti is more than an abstract concept. In Hinduism, she gets personified into goddesses like Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kali, Parvati, Radha Rani and more. Each of them represents a unique aspect of feminine energy like strength, prosperity, wisdom, transformation and devotion. Understanding the Shakti in Hinduism is not just about theology; it’s about understanding yourself. Because Shakti lives within every woman and man.

Femininity / Shakti in Hinduism is Limitless

In Hinduism, the Goddess or feminine energy is not portrayed as weak, passive or dependent – rather, she is limitless. There is a beautiful story in the Hindu mythology where Mata Parvati, who is known for her gentle and kind nature, takes on a fierce form of Goddess Durga on the battlefield. In this form, she becomes the most powerful goddess with multiple hands and the ability to fight injustice and evil. In this moment of battle, she weilds the Trishul (trident) of God Shiva, the Sudarshan Chakra (discus) of God Vishnu and the Kamandalu (water pot) of God Brahma. None of the male Gods of the universe can hold all three of these divine Astra (weapons) at the same time. This symbolises that the feminine Goddess can do everything a Masculine God can and also everything he cannot!

But here’s the beauty – she doesn’t always have to do the tough tasks!

A feminine by nature isn’t meant to be tough, hard, aggressive or constantly in battle mode. She is kind, nurturing, creative, intuitive, soft – and still incredibly powerful. Just like the fire can warm or burn, the divine feminine can create or destroy. Unfortunately, modern feminism brought from the Western world has reduced womanhood to an endless competition with men.

Western Feminism says, “Be equal to men!”
But Hinduism says, “Why settle for equality, when you can be the Goddess yourself?”

How to be feminine in the 21st century?

I am a woman of the 21st century. I have been shaped by globalisation, westernisation, corporate life as well as the patriarchal conditioning passed down to me from my mother, grandmother and several previous generations. I have worked long hours, hustled hard and succeeded in male-dominated workplaces and the world. I started hiding my feminine and gentle side, and showed a tough face to the world, just because I didn’t want to be perceived as a weak person in the corporate office or while dealing with my male colleagues. And somewhere along the way, I lost touch with my natural feminine side – my softness, kindness and intuition.

But Hinduism helped me to reconnect with my femininity.

I realised that my softness is my strength and my kindness is my power. I realised that being a woman was never my limitation; it was always my superpower. There is a different magic in leading with love and grace, and nurturing with intention. But when necessary, or if someone tries to take undue advantage of me, I can rise and be powerful, fierce and unstoppable to protect myself.

So being feminine in today’s world doesn’t mean being passive, powerless or dependent on men. At the same time, it does not mean being equal to men or in competition with men. It means being so secure in your softness that you don’t need to wear armour all the time. For me, being feminine in the 21st century is a dance between –

• My Lakshmi self (kind, nurturing, abundant),
• My Saraswati self (creative, expressive, intuitive) and,
• My Durga self (fierce, protective, dangerous).

Which form you get to witness depends on the situation.

I strongly believe that if faced with injustice or evil, every woman is capable of taking the powerful form of Goddess Durga in order to protect herself.

How to worship Shakti in Hinduism?

One of the easiest and powerful ways to embrace your feminine energy is by worshipping the Shakti or Goddess. In Hinduism, every goddess represents a specific type of feminine energy. And you can consciously choose and connect with the energy that resonates with you the most.

Goddess & their Feminine energy healing –

These are a few types of Goddesses in Hinduism and how their healing feminine energy changes you. You don’t need to follow any complex rituals to connect with her. Just sit in silence and meditate upon her name and her form. If you want, you can also chant a mantra of these Goddesses. You can call them and ask them to help you in awakening your true feminine essence. But always remember, you should connect with her with love and respect, do not try to control her or mess around with her.

• Maa Kali – She helps you release ego, fear of change, and undergo spiritual rebirth and transformation.
• Maa Lakshmi – She teaches you self-worth, self-love, how to receive abundance, and be in relaxed energy.
• Maa Saraswati – She unlocks creativity, expression, and authenticity, often worshipped by students and artists.
• Maa Durga – She helps you step out of victimhood and into your divine inner strength to face the evil/ injustice.
• Maa Parvati – She brings emotional balance, detachment from external validation and connecting with your inner self.
• Maa Tara – She allows you to express your raw, powerful self without fear or shame of society or the world.
• Radha Rani – She teaches you to be the embodiment of love, rather than seeking it from others.

Related post: The Feminine energy of Mahalaxmi Devi in Kolhapur

God Shiva – Feminine Side of Men

This post is written from a woman’s perspective, but it applies equally to men. Every man has a feminine side – that part of him that feels deeply, expresses emotions, nurtures and loves gently. But many men in today’s world suppress this side out of fear of appearing weak. This is what gives rise to toxic masculinity, where aggression replaces empathy, dominance and control replace love.

There is a beautiful story of God Shiva and Goddess Parvati that depicts what a healthy masculine dynamic looks like. The story goes that, after killing the demon Raktabeeja, Goddess Kali, in her fierce form, could not control her anger and began a destructive rampage. To stop her, God Shiva lay down in her path, and she stepped on him in her fury. This act of stepping on God Shiva, her husband, startled her, causing her to realise what she was doing, bringing her back to her senses and calming her anger. God Shiva is the Mahadev, the most powerful masculine being in the universe. But in this moment when Goddess Parvati is angry, he does not think about trying to control her. He knows that attempting to control her in this fierce form is pointless. So God Shiva lay down in front of her, not out of fear but out of love. 

Thus, God Shiva can embrace her feminine power only because he is secure in his own strength.

The healthy masculine does not fight the feminine within him or outside him. He embraces his own feminine side (like God Shiva), and in doing so, he becomes capable of leading the feminine around him with love and protection, not control and competition.

In a healthy masculine-feminine dynamic:

• The feminine brings beauty, grace, and softness.
• The masculine holds space, provides safety, and offers direction.

When a man is aligned with his feminine side, he provides the woman (wife, mother or sister) in his life the freedom to be soft because she no longer needs to hustle for protection or be in a battle mode around him.

Embrace your femininity, don’t fight it

We are living in a world that desperately needs more soft, kind, gentle, nurturing feminine power. The solution is not to become tougher or masculine. The solution is to reconnect with the Shakti (divine feminine energy) inside you. There is a soft, graceful, intuitive and wildly powerful energy that creates and sustains life, and this energy can be found inside every living thing on this planet. So, whether you are a woman or a man reading this today, let the Shakti within you rise. Not to fight the world, but to heal the world around you.