Kathamrita Volume II - Swami Vivekananda

– it leads to ‘lust and greed’. On the other hand,love and devotion, compassion, jnana andprema [27] , which take one to the Lord, comefrom knowledge (vidya).“You have to placate avidya. That is thepurpose of the worship of Shakti.“In order to please Her, there are differentattitudes with which to worship Her – theattitude of a handmaid, the heroic attitude, andthe attitude of a child.“The heroic attitude is romantic, havingintercourse [28] with Her to please Her.“‘The discipline of the worship of Shakti isvery difficult to practice. One cannot deceive orcheat Her.“I lived for two years in the attitude of ahandmaid and companion of the DivineMother. But my attitude is that of a child to itsmother. I look at women’s breasts as thoughthey were my mother’s.“Every woman is a form of Shakti. In the west[northwest India], a bridegroom holds a knifein his hand at the time of marriage; in Bengalhe holds a nutcracker. It means that, with thehelp of his bride, the embodiment of Shakti, thebridegroom is going to cut the bonds ofillusion [29] . This is the heroic attitude. I havenever worshipped in this attitude. I have the