Diksha

Initiation, consecration. Dīkṣā is the ceremony through which the guru transmits spiritual knowledge, mantra, or authorization for practice to the qualified [[shishya|śiṣya]]. The root dā-ikṣ suggests “to give vision”: dīkṣā opens the disciple’s inner vision. In the Śiva-saṃhitā, the guru imparts dīkṣā after examining the aspirant’s preparation; without dīkṣā, tantric practices lack efficacy and may be harmful. The Haṭha-pradīpikā presupposes the guru’s dīkṣā as a prerequisite for all teaching. In the Upaniṣads, dīkṣā marks the passage from the profane to the initiated, from ordinary waking to knowledge of Brahman.