Shaktism stands apart within the Hindu landscape by placing the Divine Mother, Shakti or Devi, at the very center of its vision of reality. Here the Goddess is not merely the consort of a higher male deity, but the supreme reality itself: the source of all existence, power, and consciousness. While other major traditions may revere Vishnu, Shiva, or an impersonal Brahman as ultimate, Shaktism understands the feminine divine as both the ground and the dynamic expression of the cosmos. Masculine deities are often interpreted as passive consciousness, with Shakti as the active, creative force that makes manifestation possible. The universe is thus seen as created, sustained, and dissolved by this one all-encompassing Power.

This distinctive theological emphasis naturally shapes practice and devotion. Ritual life in Shaktism is centered on the many forms of Devi—such as Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, or Sarasvati—through elaborate worship and festivals like Navaratri and Durga Puja. Tantric elements are especially prominent: mantra, yantra, and other transformative disciplines are cultivated as means of direct engagement with the Goddess’s energy. Such practices are not merely peripheral but often occupy a central place, reflecting the conviction that spiritual realization involves awakening and harmonizing Shakti, sometimes described in terms of kundalini. In this way, liberation is approached as the experiential recognition of one’s oneness with the Divine Mother.

Philosophically, Shaktism tends to affirm the world as a living expression of divine energy rather than treating it simply as illusion. The material and spiritual are viewed as deeply interconnected through Shakti, so that worldly power and spiritual power mirror one another as different modes of the same sacred force. This outlook encourages a spirituality that honors the immanence of the divine in the manifest world, particularly in the feminine form, while still aiming at moksha. Within this framework, the feminine principle is elevated to the highest status, and traditions of Shaktism often give a notable place to women’s spiritual authority and to female gurus, reflecting in human community what is affirmed cosmologically: that the ultimate reality is the Divine Mother herself.