Kali - Kind of a Scary or Misunderstood Goddess?
Well she has been to me! For quite awhile actually I didn't know enough about her to fully grasp her essence! Here is why she has become one of my favorites!
If you have seen an image of Kali you will agree that you may not be sure what she is, benevolent, malevolent? Beautiful, Ugly? Male, female? I just didn't know and I don't know if I wanted to know.
But, slowly she has become much more endearing to me. There are many reasons why, but for now I will introduce you to Kali!!
Kali, is actually the reincarnation of Parvati, you may remember her from previous blog? No? Well, she is the wife of the Lord Siva, and the creator of the Lord Ganesha. We already know from those stories that Parvati has quite a temper if pushed far enough! Well, Kali is a reincarnation of this most amazing goddess.
Let me tell you one of her most popular stories! One day, Kali’s son, Skanda in his endeavor to rid the three worlds (Kamaloka, world of desire, Rupaloka, world of form, physical form, and Arupaloka, the world of formlessness) of the multiplying demon, Raktabija (Raktabija was a demon that was known for being able to recreate himself with every drop of blood that touched the ground), had asked his mother Kali for her assistance! So, Parvati entered the cosmic battlefield as the dreaded goddess Kali - dark as death, gaunt with sunken eyes, gaping mouth, with long disheveled hair covering her naked body.
Kali spread her tongue over the battlefield and licked the demon's falling blood, catching it on her long, outstretched tongue before any drop could find it's way to the ground springing a demonic life anew. Raktabija, without his multiplying numbers was left powerless. Skanda was able to dispatch Raktabija and all his remaining duplicates with ease.
Skanda thanked his mother for her timely help. To celebrate her victory, Kali danced wildly on the battlefield, bedecking herself with a garland of severed heads and a girdle of severed hands.
Intoxicated with Raktabija's blood, Kali ran amuck across the three worlds, destroying everything and everyone in her sight. To restrain her, Shiva took the form of a corpse and blocked her path. As the goddess, blinded by bloodlust, she tripped on his lifeless body and was jolted out of her frenzy. She wondered if she had killed her own husband. She placed a foot on Shiva's chest and brought him back to life.
Shiva then took the form of a little child and began to cry, stirring maternal love in the heart of Kali. This forced her to shed her fierce form; Kali became Gauri, the radiant mother, bestower of life.
Mother Kali is misunderstood because we as finite beings trying to understand with our human limited mind, an infinite raw Force that can either be loving or destructive, but above both these aspects in Its Natural Beingness.
For those who approach Her in their childlike faith…She opens the Universe to teach from the intricacies of Her Creation to the mundane activities of daily life. If you truly surrender your Body, Mind and Soul unto Her Divine Lotus Feet without looking for a return and wait patiently…cry and scream, you must for Her Love….She will surely answer your Call.
Beauty She is…a million Aiswarya Rai’s could not compare to Her beauty…Ugly She is…All the ugliness you have seen, put together and multiply a million times…couldn’t be compared to Chandi Form…only those who are blessed by Her could see such beauty and ugliness and live to tell the tale. Yet, she is beyond both beauty and ugliness…Standing Alone as Pure Consciousness of Awareness.
These are not a fool’s mumblings but an experience that one can only experience through Her Infinite Divine Mercy and Grace of a Mother who truly listens to the sincere cries of Her Child. If you truly want to know Her…Surrender totally your Everything…Mind, Body and Soul…to Her…She will teach you things that you can’t even imagine and give answers to even the most stupid question you may ask Her…because She is your Mother…She knows you more than anyone else in this whole Universe…human relationships dies with this body…but the Divine Mother and Child relationship that you form with Her never ends, until you realize the Self within that is Her in Her Pure Consciousness of Ever New Awareness.
I now honor the Goddess Kali and hope she will be on my side, through all my lives endeavors !!
Fun Fact!! Kali is often depicted standing atop of Siva her husband as in the first image, we now know that this is him trying to get her to come to a more reasonable state of mind, as Siva has had to do many times with his wife! ;)
Kali has also been known to be a strong symbol for feminism! She is Mother Earth, in all her glory!
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