Material Manifestations of the Divine

The author, a Catholic who studies South Asian languages and culture, describes Hindu and Christian mythologies based on their respective scriptures. She makes the case that, abstractly, both śakti and logos symbolize a transcen- dent God's Word in creation and, in relation to their personal forms, the means to liberation and salvation. As a relational mode of the divine manifest in the world, the two principles are creation's self-same agent of transformation. Ś akti in Hinduism and logos in Christianity represent the manifestation of the divine in creation. In Hinduism, śakti, Vāc and Kālī are nuanced names for the feminine divine. In Christianity, logos, Jesus, and Christ refer to the Son of God. Both śakti and logos initially expressed abstract principles denoting speech and a relational mode of being. While each relates differently to the unmanifest God, both have a similar theological signifi cance in that they are omnipresent in creation and reveal a soteriological path for their adherents. Taking into account the different mythologies described in Hindu and Christian scriptures, this paper argues that śakti and logos symbolize both a transcendent God's Word in creation and the wisdom to see beyond multiplicity.