Shaktipat
Shaktipat or Śaktipāta (Sanskrit, from "shakti" "(psychic) energy" and "pāta", "to fall") refers in Hinduism to the transmission (or conferring) of spiritual energy upon one person by another. "Shaktipat" can be transmitted with a sacred word or mantra, or by a look, thought or touch – the last usually to the ajna chakra or agya chakra or third eye of the recipient. "Saktipat" is considered an act of grace ("anugraha") on the part of the guru or the divine. It cannot be imposed by force, nor can a receiver make it happen. The very consciousness of the god or  guru is held to enter into the Self of the disciple, constituting an initiation into the school or the spiritual family (kula) of the guru. It is held that "Shaktipat" can be transmitted in person or at a distance, through an object such as a flower or fruit. Levels of intensity. Levels. In Kashmir Shaivism, depending on its intensity, "Śaktipāt" can be classified as: Descriptions. Swami Muktananda, in his book "Play of Consciousness", describes in great detail his experience of receiving shaktipat initiation from his guru Bhagavan Nityananda and his spiritual development that unfolded after this event. Paul Zweig has  written of his experience of receiving "shaktipat" from Muktananda. In the same book Itzhak Bentov describes his laboratory measurements of kundalini-awakening through "shaktipat", a study held in high regard by the late Satyananda Saraswati, founder of the Bihar School of Yoga, and by Hiroshi Motoyama, author of "Theories of the Chakras". Barbara Brennan describes shaktipat as the projection of the guru's "aura" on the disciple who thereby acquires the same mental state, hence the importance of the high spiritual level of the guru. The physiological phenomena of rising kundalini then naturally manifest. In his book, Building a Noble  World, Shiv R. Jhawar describes his shaktipat experience at Muktananda's public program at Lake Point Tower in Chicago on September 16, 1974 as follows: “Baba [Swami Muktananda] had just begun delivering his discourse with his opening statement: ‘Today’s subject is meditation. The crux of the question is: What do we meditate upon?’ Continuing his talk, Baba said: ‘Kundalini starts dancing when one repeats Om Namah Shivaya.’Hearing this, I mentally repeated the mantra, I noticed that my breathing was getting heavier. Suddenly, I felt a great impact of a rising force within me. The intensity of this rising  kundalini force was so tremendous that my body lifted up a little and fell flat into the aisle; my eyeglasses flew off. As I lay there with my eyes closed, I could see a continuous fountain of dazzling white lights erupting within me. In brilliance, these lights were brighter than the sun but possessed no heat at all. I was experiencing the thought-free state of "I am," realizing that "I" have always been, and will continue to be, eternal. I was fully conscious and completely aware while I was experiencing the pure "I am," a state of supreme bliss . Outwardly, at that precise moment, Baba shouted delightedly from his platform, "Mene kuch nahi kiya; kisiko shakti ne pakda" ("I didn’t do anything. The Energy has caught someone"). Baba noticed that the dramatic awakening of kundalini in me frightened some people in the audience. Therefore, he said, ‘Do not be frightened. Sometimes kundalini gets awakened in this way, depending upon a person's type. Related concepts. In Sahaj Marg, yogic transmission is named Pranahuti (Devanagari: , IAST: "") from "prāṇā", "life force" and "āhūti", "offering". It is described as "the gracious and conscious offering of the life force or spirit by  the Guru into the disciple’s heart."