Who are Dakini, Shakini and Yogini?

A Dakini is a kind of sacred female being with a certain amount and type of spiritual development, wisdom, and clarity, generally related to Tantra. It can be a spirit or a human yogini. The male equivalent is Daka. In a philosophical sense, anyone who can cut through the limitless illusory deception of Maya and ignorance is a Dakini or Daka. For this reason, the main symbol of the Dakini is the kartari, the hooked butcher’s knife. The hook is said to be for pulling beings out of the ocean of suffering (none too comfortably at first), and the blade, Wisdom, is for cutting through duality and self-deception into the Great Bliss.

Dakini spirits are said to be intensely energetic and lively, utterly undomesticated and uninhibited, can fly at fast speeds using subtle winds, become insubstantial or corporeal, manifest in various forms or guises, and tend to be secretive, elusive, and erotically sexual (note that this does not mean they are always physically beautiful in a classic sense; some are monstrous-looking, or any number of varied appearances, though they are often naked except for bone-carved jewelry gathered from charnel grounds). They love to move, to fly, to play, to kick, to dance in ecstasy, to express themselves through bodily movement and activity. All space is open and free to them.

Dakinis are associated with energy in all its functions and transformations. They tend to be of generally fierce, volatile, or wrathful temperament. Some Dakinis and Dakas follow the Goddess Kali and eat human flesh. Some dwell in darkness, or in cremation grounds or cemeteries. Some are dangerous to humans, and Kavachas (spiritual armors) are sometimes traditionally invoked against them as a type of demon. Other Dakinis are protectors, or Gurus, occult masters of Tantra and Yoga. Some are full-fledged deities, objects of meditation who dwell within the sacred Mandala as fully enlightened Buddhas; others are more subtle messengers or “inspirers” of spiritual practice and experience. There are many different Dakinis with their own names and characteristics. A Dakini dwells within the spinal locus of every human being, in the channel of the Kundalini Shakti.

Dakinis and Dakas are (or were) known throughout India, Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, China, and Japan. In Japan, some kitsune spirits have become Dakini. Spiritual practices involving Dakinis are usually taught by Gurus in personal instruction, and many such practices are not safe to attempt without such guidance. Working with Dakini energy is not for the unprepared or the faint of heart. If you feel drawn to Dakini-related practices, I would advise you to seek out a qualified instructor of Shaiva or Shakta Tantra, Nath Yoga, or Vajrayana Buddhism (especially of the Tibetan or Shingon traditions). There is a certain time each lunar cycle associated with the Dakini, ten days after the full moon, when the waning moon appears as a crescent at dawn. In the dark before the dawn on that morning, the crescent moon in the sky represents the Dakini’s crescent-bladed butcher’s knife, held high in her upraised hand, ready to chop through the practitioner’s mind and into the Great Bliss beyond.

A Vetal is a revenant in Hindu mythology, usually defined as a knowledgeable (fortune telling) paranormal entity said to be dwelling at charnel grounds. The Vetal is comparable to the vampires of Western mythology. Reanimated corpses are used as vehicles by the spirits for movement, the corpse no longer decays while it is inhabited by a Vetal. A Vetal may possess and also leave a dead body at will. A Dakini is a type of sacred female spirit in Hinduism, while in Vajrayana Buddhism the term is often wisdom Dakini. The term can also be applied to human women with a certain amount of spiritual development. The Sanskrit term is related to diyate - to fly, as in uddayanam.

Sakini means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, Marathi. Sakini:—Name of one of the six female deities (yoginīs) springing forth from the body of Kulesvara, the central male deity of the Yoginicakra (fourth of the five internal cakras), according to the kubjikamata-tantra. She is also known as Kaki. In other tantric sources, such as the Kularnava-tantra, she is identified as Sakini.

Sakini is identified with the kala-adhvan (on of the six paths, or adhvans) and relates to one thirty-eight kalas. These kalas are usually five in number (Nivrtti, Pratistha, Vidya, Santi and Santatita) which also form part of the Devicakra. The fearful character of Sakini is represented by her fondness for breaking bones (asthibhangapriya). She is situated in the Visuddhi-chakra which is symbolic for her relation with one of the sixfold sites (satpura). She is also related to netra, one of the six angas.?

Yogini is female master practitioner of yoga and formal term of respect for Hindu or Buddhist spiritual teachers 3. sacred feminine force incarnate. If master, then fully fledged. If teacher, then should be fully fledged or teaching is half-baked, half-awakened. If the sacred has been physically manifest, then fully fledged.

So, yogini means fully-fledged. If not fully fledged, she is not yogini. Maybe, if correctly established in her practice, she is bhakta, or devotee of the Goddess. If she is fortunate to be initiated directly by her guru, then she is shishya - a student or disciple. If not yet fully-realized but somewhat advanced along the path of her practice, she can be referred to as siddha, or an adept of tantra. Or if academic and fully versed in the tantra shastra, then maybe she will be called Sarvvatantra. So, that was all rather technical. And almost meaningless in this day and age with so many schools of thought, and opinions, and this and that and this and that. Cheers!