Kali
Kali may look scarey to most, but her image has many meanings. For instance, Kali's place to be are cremations grounds. This represents not the death of burning bodies, but feelings inside ourselves that work negatively on us. Generally in Hinduism, imagery is to be examined for what it means and not what it presents as one looks at it for the first time.
Here are a few more examples;
~ All descriptions and quotes come from the respected websites ~
"Her girdle of severed human hands signifies work and liberation from the cycle of karma. Her white teeth show her inner purity, and her red lolling tongue indicates her omnivorous nature — "her indiscriminate enjoyment of all the world's 'flavors'." Her sword is the destroyer of false consciousness and the eight bonds that bind us." Kali: The Dark Mother - The fearful goddess with a heart of a mother.
"Kali's dwelling place, the cremation ground denotes a place where the five elements (Sanskrit: pancha mahabhuta) are dissolved. Kali dwells where dissolution takes place. In terms of devotion and worship, this denotes the dissolving of attachments, anger, lust, and other binding emotions, feelings, and ideas. The heart of the devotee is where this burning takes place, and it is in the heart that Kali dwells."........."Though her fierce form is filled with awe- inspiring symbols, their real meaning is not what it first appears- they have equivocal significance"
Kali represents a belief theology called Sakti. This is pronounced Shakti which means 'spiritual energy', 'all pervasive energy' or 'power'. She is the power of Shiva that is All. She can also be called 'Devi' which means 'Goddess'.
Gurudeva (or Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami ) explains that those who follow Shaktism, or those who worship Shakti, have a primary goal which is; "complete identification with God Shiva." Shaktism is one of the four major sects of Hinduism.
Gurudeva goes on to explain; "For Shaktas, (those who follow Shaktism) God is both the formless Absolute (Shiva) and the manifest divine, (Shakti) worshipped as ( the following are a few forms Shakti is recognized as) Parvati, Durga, Kali, Anman, Rajarajeshvari, etc."
As always, Hinduism has many sects and as many people that walk the earth, there is that many interpretations of God.
Helpful Links
“All About Hinduism - is intended to meet the needs of those who want to be introduced to the various facets of the crystal that is Hinduism. The book, which was first published in 1947, has now been rearranged in a more convenient form, with useful additions here and there, and is now released in its fifth edition."
From the Sanatan Society, an international networking association of students joining in the effort to promote the teaching of Hinduism.
From Yoni.com; "yOni is a women's circle in cyberspace. a place to honour, empower, share, support and celebrate all that is woman. every flavour of the feminine is welcome; bitch to goddess, maiden, mother and crone. you will find women's stories, women's poetry, women's art, women's opinions, women's complaints, women's inspiration, women's ritual, women's expressions of love and creativity as well as the contributions of men who honour and support the feminine in us all. there is no site map. simply follow your intuition, click on a
word or image, and dive in."
Source of information: Kali: the Black Goddess of Dakshineswar - Elizabeth U. Harding - ( see link and quote below * )
From the Encyclopedia Mythica; "....the award-winning internet encyclopedia of mythology, folklore, and religion. Here you will find everything from A-gskw to Zveda Vechanyaya, with plenty in between."
From the Goddess Garden; "The many Goddesses have been assembled here for your lessons. Please enter with an open heart and mind so that their seeds of wisdom, when planted, may take root. "
Kali can also be related to Lilith, who has an unbrella of names, incorperating almost all religions and cultures.
Here is a quote from The Lilith Library; "Lilith (or Lilitu) has over 100 names and variations in myths ranging from Ancient Sumeria to Jewish Mysticism to tribal Malayasia to myths about the Third Millenium. She is the first wife of Adam (before Eve) according to the Jewish myth. She is a Sumerian fertility/agricultural goddess, and she is the Greek goddess of the dark moon. She is the mother of all succubi. She is perhaps the most identifiable incarnation of historical feminism and men's fear of feminist idealogy (Judeo-Christian men used female icons to increase feminine demonification, essentially by lying and spreading rumours)."
* Elizabeth U. Harding an intrepid Kali adventurer and fan, describes in her memoirs how laborious and stressful it is to reach the inner sanctum of Kali at the Dakshineswar Temple at Calcutta, owing to the regular galore of devotees who generally swarm her temple. After having reached the inner hall housing the sanctum sanctorum this is what she says:
"Out of sheer awe and admiration one's voice automatically turns into a whisper - yet, there is nothing intimidating about this place.
Ushered into the presence of the deity our voices automatically drop to a whisper, as a tribute of respect to the divine presence. Finally face to face with Kali herself, this is what transpires in the author's mind:
But when one finally stands before Kali, time seems to stand still. Everything stops. The people, the noise - all is mysteriously gone. One stares with wide eyes, forgetting even to blink. All one sees is Kali and nothing else. Overwhelmed with feeling one whispers, 'I love you.' And from within she replies, 'You do so much more for I am the source of your being!"
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