From Taboos To Transformation: Women And The Feminine Divine Beyond Binaries

Women's roles in Hinduism are multifaceted, shaped by historical contexts that have oscillated between restriction and empowerment. The complexities extend further when considering their bodies and bodily fluids, which have often been fraught with cultural taboos.

As scholar-practitioners engaged in esoteric rituals and practices, particularly in the realm of Hindu tantra, rituals, and postural yoga, here we reflect on methods to reclaim women's bodies within this broader context. 

One key area of focus is the understanding and harnessing of kundalini energy.

Reclaiming the Female Body

The influence and role of women in worship, Hindu texts, and society have been growing in contemporary times.

Women actively participate in daily puja both at home and in temples, yet their involvement and leadership within the Hindu community remain a topic of debate.

While women often play significant roles in rituals, they can appear, at first glance, to be subordinate to men, barring unique rituals exclusively conducted by women, which hold their own cultural and spiritual significance, the same as men performing a set of rituals exclusively set aside for men. 

The term "Devi," used both as a noun and an honorific title for the divine feminine, encapsulates the complex realities that many Hindu women navigate.

This duality highlights a significant contradiction: while women are revered as embodiments of the divine, in whom the clan nectar flows, they often face stigmatisation regarding their bodily experiences, particularly menstruation.

The transformation from being perceived as vessels of divine energy to being viewed as impure due to natural bodily functions underscores a profound cultural and religious paradox.

This tension not only reflects societal attitudes toward women's bodies but also poses challenges to how their sacredness is understood within religious frameworks.

Women and Kundalini

Kundalini is often described as shakti, the divine feminine energy that lies dormant at the base of the spine in the human body.

This energy is thought to be a powerful force for spiritual awakening and transformation, symbolising the potential that resides within each individual.

In Hindu philosophy, Shakti represents the creative and dynamic forces that bring the universe into existence. It embodies the feminine aspect of divinity, often associated with goddesses like Durga and Kali.

When awakened, kundalini can lead to heightened consciousness and spiritual enlightenment, allowing practitioners to connect deeply with their inner selves and the universe.

The instructions on awakening and engaging with the kundalini energy are largely found in Hindu tantra texts starting from about 700 CE.

The term "tantra" is multifaceted, rooted in ancient South Asian religious practices, and encompasses various philosophies and rituals.

Often misunderstood in the West, tantra is sometimes linked to black magic or sexual pleasure. However, it is fundamentally about spiritual growth and the integration of body, mind, and spirit.

In its essence, tantra seeks to transcend the ordinary and achieve a higher state of awareness. Through a combination of practices such as meditation, yoga, and rituals, practitioners may aim to harness the power of kundalini, channelling shakti to facilitate transformation and enlightenment.

Shakti in this worldview embodies the life force that flows through the material world, connecting the spiritual and physical dimensions.

By embracing the body and the material, practitioners of tantra seek to experience the divine in everyday life, recognising that the physical is not separate from the spiritual but rather a manifestation of it.

Furthermore, in tantra, the concepts of feminine and masculine transcend traditional, socially constructed gender binaries.

The masculine (often associated with qualities like stability and action) is understood to be inherently intertwined with the feminine (associated with nurturing and creativity).

This dynamic interrelation means that the masculine contains the feminine, just as the feminine contains the masculine. Ultimately, in this perspective, divinity itself is non-binary.

The concept that "God is Goddess" encapsulates the unity of these forces, challenging simplistic categorisations. In this framework, divine energy exists beyond conventional definitions of gender, emphasising that both facets are essential for wholeness and balance.

For many women (here, people who identify as women), the path of tantra often breaks down long before it begins. Access to the rigorous training required to work safely and effectively with energies like kundalini is frequently limited or withheld.

Over centuries, as women were pushed behind the veil—literally and metaphorically—the ritual world of Hindu traditions became masculinised: texts written by men for men, teachings transmitted by men to men.

As that norm hardened, women’s bodies—and even their bodily fluids—were too often instrumentalised as mere technologies for male adepts to “activate” the feminine within their own physiology.

In such settings, the feminine is invoked, but women’s agency is sidelined; shakti is praised while the very people most associated with Her are denied equal access to lineage, knowledge, and authority.

So, Where Do We Go From Here? 

The onus falls on women practitioners to actively engage with the texts and practices of tantra. Much like training for a marathon, spiritual cultivation requires consistency and commitment.

One cannot simply wake up one day and expect to run a marathon without prior training; similarly, deepening one’s spiritual practice takes time, dedication, and regular engagement. Let us not miss the moksha boat!

Authored by Sravana Borkataky-Varma and Anya Foxen. They have just published The Serpent’s Tale: Kundalini, Yoga, and the History of an Experience with Columbia University Press.