Shiva and Shakti are identical. If you accept the one, you must accept the other.

Shiva and Shakti are identical. If you accept the one, you must accept the other. It is like fire and its power to burn. If you see the fire, you must recognize its power to burn also. You cannot think of fire without its power to burn, nor can you think of the power to burn without fire. You cannot conceive of the sun's rays without the sun, nor can you conceive of the sun without its rays. One cannot think of Shiva without Shakti, or of Shakti without Shiva. One cannot think of the Absolute without the Relative, or of the Relative without the Absolute. The Primordial Power is ever at play. She is creating, preserving, and destroying in play, as it were. This Power is called Kāli. Kāli is verily Shiva, the Brahmin. and Brahman is verily Kāli. It is one and the same Reality. When we think of It as inactive, that is to say, not engaged in the acts of creation, preservation, and destruction, then we call It Shiva, Brahman. But when It engages in these activities, then we call It Kāli or Shakti. The Reality is one and the same; the difference is in name and form. It is like water, called in different languages by different names, such as 'jal', 'pani'. There are many ghats on a lake. The Hindus, who drink water at one place, call it 'jal'. The Muslims at another place call it 'pani'. And the English at a third place call it 'water'. All three denote one and the same thing, the difference being in the name only. In the same way, some address the Reality as 'Allah', some as 'God', some as Shiva', some as 'Kāli. ‪God is the container of the universe and also what is contained in it. Kāli, Divine Mother Shakti or Durga, Bondage and liberation are both of Her making. By Her Maya worldly people become entangled in 'woman and gold', and again, through Her grace they attain their liberation. She is called Saviour, and the remover of the bondage that binds one to the world! Jai Maa Kali Jai Maa Shakti ~ Jai Shiva Shankar!!