Icchāśakti

By Swami Harshananda

Icchāśakti literally means ‘power of will’.

Hiraṇyagarbha is the second aspect of Brahman as per Vedānta philosophy. His pure consciousness associated with ajñāna or nescience, comes after īśvara in the process of creation. He is endowed with the following three powers :

1. Icchā (will) - The power of icchā is known as Icchāśakti and is a combination of jñāna and kriyā in equal proportions
2. Jñāna (knowledge) - The power of jñāna is known as Jñānaśakti and is a combination in which kriyā is in excess of jñāna
3. Kriyā (action) - The power of kriyā is known as Kriyāśakti and is a combination in which jñāna is in excess of kriyā

Through Icchāśakti he controls the animate and inanimate aspects of creation.

According to the Śaivasiddhānta, these three śaktis evolve out of the union of Paraśiva and Parāśakti. They are pure jñāna (knowledge) and pure kriyā (activity) respectively.

References

• The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore