Diksha

Diksha

Satsvarupa das Goswami during ISKCON dīkṣā ceremony (1979)

Satguru Bodhinatha gives samaya diksha, initiation into the Aum Nama Sivaya mantra, to a devotee at Tiruvannamalai in 2008.

Diksha (Sanskrit: दीक्षा, IAST: dīkṣā) also spelled diksa, deeksha or deeksa in common usage, translated as a "preparation or consecration for a religious ceremony",^[1] is giving of a mantra or an initiation by the guru (in Guru–shishya tradition) of Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Diksa is given in a one-to-one ceremony, and typically includes the taking on of a serious spiritual discipline.^[2] The word is derived from the Sanskrit root dā ("to give") plus kṣi ("to destroy") or alternately from the verb root dīkṣ ("to consecrate").^[3][4]

Dīkṣā can be of various types, through the teacher's sight, touch, or word, with the purpose of purifying the disciple or student. Initiation by touch is called sparśa dīkṣā. The bestowing of divine grace through diksa is sometimes called śaktipāt.^[3] Another type of dīkṣā, into a monastic order, involves a vow of celibacy, renunciation of all personal possessions and of all worldly duties, including family ties. Dīkṣā has the same meaning in Jainism. Dīkṣā is also called Charitra or Mahanibhiskraman in Jainism.

Initiation in Hinduism involves performing one of several rituals depending on the person being initiated and the Hindu group involved.

Vishnu Yamala (tantra) says: "The process that bestows divyam jnanam (transcendental, spiritual knowledge) and destroys sin (pāpa), the seed of sin and ignorance, is called dīkṣā by the spiritual persons who have seen the Truth (desikais tattva-kovidaih)."^[5]