In a comment on a previous blog, I was ask about the relationship between omens and shaktipat.

To which I respond:

Omens are an interesting topic. Since, through the transcendent, everything is infinitely correlated in space and time, one could view every event as an omen. It is like the flow of water down a mountain stream. The movement of the molecules of water predetermine where they will be the next moment… omens. Similarly, then, Shaktipat could also be viewed as an action predetermining what follows.

Of course, then enters the notion of free will vs. predetermination. The Guru, acting from a place of free will, can guide or suggest the process shift in more evolutionary directions.

Certainly, everyone has a degree of free will but, generally speaking, predetermination (karma) rules most people’s days.

I would add that even a Guru, who has no karma, has entered into this world of karma. One might compare it to someone who jumps into a swirling torrent of karmic waters to assist drowning people.The Guru is certainly subject to the currents as well as the flailing of arms and legs of those drowning. Though it is not the Guru’s karma to jump into those waters, once done, he has volunteered to deal with the karmic waters and the situation he has entered.