In Hinduism, diksha is the ritual of initiation into the worship of some deity by a guru (diksha guru) who bestows mantra(s) and takes the karma of the initiate - at least in case of Vaishnava diksha, as per Hari Bhakti Vilasa 1.70:

raji catmatyaja dosah patni-papam sva-bhartari

tatha sisyartjitam papam guruh prapnoti niscita

"The faults of the counselor fall on the king, and the sins of a wife fall on her husband. In the same way a spiritual master attains the sins of his disciple. That is certain."

Diksha primarily means a transfer of spiritual knowledge. Vishnu Yamala (tantra) says:

divyam jnanam yato dadyat kuryat papasya sanksayam

tasmad dikseti

"The process that bestows divyam jnanam (transcendental, spiritual knowledge) and destroys sin (papa), the seed of sin and ignorance, is called diksha by the spiritual persons who have seen the Truth (desikais tattva-kovidaih)."

Vaishnava pancaratrika system requires a sadhaka to undergo the process known as pancha samskara consisting of pancha (five) stages of samskara (purification):

tapah pundram tatha nama mantro yagas ca pancamah

ami hi panca-samskarah paramaikanti-hetavah

"Tapah, pundra, nama, mantra, and yaga; these five items comprise pancha samskara. They are the cause of intense devotion to Lord Hari."

yatha kancanatam yati kamsyam rasa-vidhanatah

tatha diksa-vidhanena dvijatvam jayate nrnam

"As bell metal is turned to gold when mixed with mercury in an alchemical process, so one who is properly trained and initiated by a bona fide spiritual master becomes a brahmana immediately." (Tattva-sagara, quoted in Hari-bhakti-vilasa 2.12)

Other sampradayas use different procedures.

Another type

See also

• Brahmin
• Dvija
• Rite of passage