Diksa

Diksa indoctrination or initiation, is a religious rite in hinduism, referring to the initiation of a disciple with the mantra (Vedic hymns) of some gods or goddesses or into the worship of some deity by a preceptor. The one who indoctrinates is called the d'i'ks'a'guru (the preceptor of indoctrination). There are several rites of indoctrination, such as Shakta, Shaiva, Vaishvava etc for different deities.

Diksa, which absolves the indoctrinated of sin, is an esoteric knowledge and is usually of two kinds: bahirdiksa and antardiksa (external and internal indoctrination). Bahirdiksa includes p'u'j'a (worship), homa (oblation of sacrificial fire) and other social rituals; while antardiksa wakes up the ku'n'dalin'i'shakti (a person';s internal power or élan vital). There are more diksas in some of the tantras (religious orders or service-books), the most prominent being sh'a'mbhav'i, sh'a'kt'i, and m'a'ntr'i.

The Hindus, irrespective of caste, are entitled to indoctrination. According to some religious orders, the mother is the best diksaguru. Over a period of time, samprad'a'yas (communities) form around a specific diksaguru, with their own individual rituals, which are different from each other. Some such communities in Bangladesh include anukul sampraday, manik sampraday, m''a''''tuya'' sampraday, jagadvandhu sampraday etc. raghunandan, a writer of sm'r'ti (holy law-books), introduced tantric indoctrination in Bengal. [Suresh Chandra Banerjee] [Banerjee, Suresh Chandra Professor (retd) of Sanskrit, Calcutta University]