When a seeker first approaches the sacred, there is always a question that arises in the heart: Which path is mine?
In the olden days, the rishis and sages whispered of three great rivers of approach to the Divine—the way of Tantra, the way of Bhakti, and the way of the Mahavidya. Each river has the same source and the same ocean to merge into, but they flow differently across the land of the soul.
The Vedas remind us:
“Ekam sat, vipra bahudha vadanti.”
(Truth is one, but the wise call it by many names.)
I remember when this truth first became alive for me. As a new seeker, torn between rituals and longing, discipline and surrender, I would often ask myself: Am I walking the right path? Should I be chanting mantras with strictness, pouring my heart out in devotion, or should I surrender to the fierce Mothers of the Mahavidya?
The answer came slowly, like dawn breaking over the horizon.
The path of Tantra is the science of Shakti. It does not ask for your belief—it demands your participation. In Tantra, the body is not denied but celebrated. The Vedic seers described it as “Deho devalayaḥ proktaḥ”—the body is the temple. Here, every breath, every sound, every sensation can be transformed into a doorway to the infinite. For the new seeker, Tantra feels mysterious, even dangerous, because it dissolves boundaries: what is sacred and profane, what is pure and impure, what is spiritual and worldly. Tantra says: everything is Shakti, and therefore everything is usable for awakening.
The path of Bhakti feels different. It is the heart’s cry, the tears of longing, the love that drowns all logic. The Vedas themselves speak of devotion as the highest purifier:
“Bhaktir evainam nayati, bhaktir evainam darshayati.”
(It is devotion alone that carries the soul, it is devotion alone that reveals the Divine.)
I have seen seekers who know no mantra, no ritual, no secret initiation, yet their one utterance of “Maa” carries more power than a thousand chants. Bhakti is for those whose hearts break easily, for whom love itself is the altar. It can look simple from the outside—singing, crying, surrendering—but inside, it burns hotter than the fiercest fire.
And then there is the path of the Mahavidya. This is where Tantra and Bhakti meet, and yet where they also transform into something altogether different. The Mahavidyas—the Ten Great Wisdom Mothers—do not come when you are ready. They come when your soul can no longer hide. They do not ask, “Will you love me?” like Bhakti. They do not whisper, “Will you practice?” like Tantra. Instead, they demand, “Will you see the truth of who you are?”
Kali arrives when your life collapses, when you are thrown into endings. Kamakhya comes when you must remember that your blood, your body, your desire are not obstacles but the very womb of creation. Lalita descends when you are finally ready to stop striving and to live in the sweetness of being.
The Mahavidya path is both terrifying and liberating. It holds the discipline of Tantra and the surrender of Bhakti, but it goes beyond both. It is not the seeker choosing the Mother, it is the Mother choosing the seeker. The Vedas speak of this mystery:
“Ya devi sarvabhuteshu shakti rupena samsthita, namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah.”
(To the Goddess who dwells in all beings as power, we bow again and again.)
So, how do these rivers meet for the new seeker?
Imagine this: a woman struggling in her marriage, her heart aching for love. She cries out in prayer—this is Bhakti. She begins chanting mantras of protection, doing rituals to cleanse her karma—this is Tantra. And then, one night, she dreams of Kali, sword raised, demanding she cut ties with fear—that is Mahavidya.
The rivers flow together.
In daily life, you may start with Bhakti, because devotion is the most natural language of the soul. As your longing deepens, Tantra may appear, giving you tools and practices to channel that love into transformation. And then, when you least expect it, the Mahavidyas will arrive—uninvited but undeniable—asking for your surrender not just in worship, but in life itself.
For me, these three are not separate paths but stages of one unfolding. They differ in approach, but they meet in truth. Tantra uses the body, Bhakti uses the heart, and Mahavidya uses the fire of truth itself. Together, they create a circle in which the seeker is stripped bare, only to discover that the Divine has been within all along.
And if you are reading these words, perhaps you are already in that circle. Perhaps the Mothers are whispering your name.
Dr. Manmeet Kumar is a Spiritual Coach who founded Soul Miracles in 2016. She uses her gifts of being a psychic and a medium to enable others to transform their inner core.
