By Swami Shraddhananda Coming to the United States in 1957, Swami Shraddhananda was head of the Vedanta Society in Sacramento from 1970 until his death in 1996. He was the author of Seeing God Everywhere and Story of an Epoch as well as many articles published in both English and Bengali journals. “The Healing Power of Silence” is found in Seeing God Everywhere. Every one of us has probably felt the beneficial influence of silence. Even the busiest people need to have breaks of silence in their work. Silence seems to be a necessary factor in our lives, yet we do not always realize the implications of the quietness we unconsciously seek and enjoy when we take a walk in a solitary meadow or in a forest or on a mountain. These quiet recreations may not occur very often, but when they do we cannot forget the spell that such solitary communion with nature leaves upon us. Again, if we chance to wake up at dead of night when everything is calm around us, the deep silence of the night seems to penetrate into our being. Of course, silence may be frightening: some people cannot bear the absence of sound. But apart from those few, most of us welcome and profit by occasional contacts of silence in nature or even in our homes. Our nerves are soothed, energy is regained, and the total effect is bracing to our bodies and minds. The experience of deep sleep proves our need for silence. We may be very busy throughout the day, but at night we hanker for that hour when everything—our sense perceptions, responsibilities, thoughts, worries, emotions, desires, hopes—is left behind. What is sleep? Is it not silence? In sleep nothing disturbs us. Even though we leave everything behind, including body consciousness, we enjoy the experience. However, sleep is not emptiness. The sages of the Upanishads had great insight into the study of sleep. According to them, sleep leads human consciousness close to the Ground of universal Existence, which is infinite calmness. That is why, when we come back to the waking state, we return refreshed and at peace. God has combined noise and silence, activity and rest; it is the plan of nature. Look at the boundless space outside. Scientists say that space is vast, containing millions and millions of stars with their planets, galactic systems, and nebulae. Yet this stellar universe is very small compared to the immensity of empty space. If by some cosmic disorder all the celestial bodies were to collide and be annihilated, the vastness of space would not be affected in the least. And what is this vast space? Is it not characterized by an immeasurable silence? Imagine the totality of sounds emerging from this small planet of ours, the summation of all the noises produced every minute by millions and millions of human beings and all other kinds of living creatures and machines, as well as various natural phenomena. Then think of a similar noise connected with every other heavenly body. If we now add all these noises together, we can imagine what an enormous quantity of sound this cosmic universe can produce. Yet compared to the infinite stillness of space, this sound is nothing. Throughout the universe there is great activity; there are innumerable interactions throughout life, mind, and energy on one side of the picture, but there is also another side. Behind all these cosmic activities there is the vast silence of limitless space and time. Time, like space, is inexhaustible. Like a river it flows continuously, without any regard for what happens within it. Thus space and time are both silent sentinels of these cosmic activities which we call the world processes. That is the plan of God. If God is responsible for this plan of creation, His plan includes not only evolution and activity, but also a state of quiescence that pervades the vastness of space and time. All this refers to external silence, the quietude of our surroundings. It is necessary for every one of us in the interest of our physical and mental health to consciously avail ourselves of silence as much as we can, apart from the rest we obtain from sleep. A person can try a preliminary practice of silence by just sitting quietly without any serious thought or activity. To be by oneself, if only for ten minutes, is a healthy tonic for our physical health, but this practice also serves to relieve our cares, anxieties, and mental restlessness. One can sometimes get up at 3:00 a.m., when everything is still, and try to feel the pulse of the serene night. It will have a remarkably soothing effect on the mind. More important than outward silence is inward silence, and that is not so easily available to us. Just as when we look outside and see a vast universe interwoven with activities and quietude, our internal world has both action and silence. When we look into the mind we ordinarily see only the surface phenomena—thoughts, feelings, and desires. We must make additional effort to experience that inner silence, the silence of the mind; we must silence our inordinate desires and passions. The background of silence escapes our notice. If we can come in touch with that inner realm of silence, our mental troubles can be healed. Without such healing, the unrest and suffering caused by maladjustments, unbridled passions, desires, and frustrations can result in illness. We have to seek the counsel of psychiatrists who may or may not be able to help us. Driven by psychological complexes, we feel restless. Repressions and unsatisfied urges can fragment our personalities; when this occurs, the mind becomes a great burden—an uncontrollable enemy with which we cannot cope. Both our foolishness and wrong education have created the mind's restless behavior. The remedy must come from within ourselves: the remedy lies in the discovery of the true background of the personality. Here is a simple practice for experiencing inner calmness: it consists of watching the mind and trying to see what is going on within. This practice is not necessarily spiritual; we need not remember God or meditate on a spiritual idea. All we have to do is just sit quietly and observe the movement of our thoughts. As we observe the mind, we place ourselves outside the mind for the time being. We should not allow ourselves to be involved with the ideas that appear and disappear on the mental scene. We need not feel mortified if some bad thoughts come. Neither should we be elated if good thoughts appear. We are neutral spectators, as it were. In itself, watching the mind will gradually lead us to the experience of inner silence. We will find that thoughts are no longer rushing in in an irregular way. Our nerves will be soothed, and our minds will attain considerable stability and a new power of self-control. Next we can substitute simple "watching" with an active effort to concentrate. In general, concentration means fixing the mind on a particular object without allowing it to wander from thought to thought. The mind in its ignorant state is always restless. It is continually being pulled by sense objects outside and agitated by desires and attachments inside. This restless state of mind can be controlled by the practice of concentration. But a spiritual perspective in this practice is essential if we wish to reach the quiescent Consciousness that illumines our bodies, minds, and the world of our experience. The objects selected for meditation may differ, according to the temperament of the aspirant. It is easy for some to concentrate upon an image. Others find it more convenient to focus their minds on a spiritual idea or a word-symbol, a mantra. The goal of concentration, however, is the same in all cases; namely, to reach the Ground of our being, the Self. To the extent that we can do this, we proportionately develop mental composure, strength, and peace. Spiritual life is essentially a life of silence. It means learning to experience deepening, chastening states of inner quietude. What does love of God imply? Experiencing that calmness which can cure our ignorance. The more we love God, the more we become silent in the spiritual sense. There is no longer any "noise" from the turbulent mind. In the Upanishads, God is described as Shivam shantam, the essence of goodness, the essence of silence. The more we approach God through love, the feebler our worldly attachments become. We become transformed through the touch of divine love. No longer do we suffer from the clamor of infatuation, hatred, or wild desires. The whole world becomes transfigured for us. Love for God makes our lives quiet. Not that we become like stone; spiritual tranquillity is not inertia. It is marked by the highest wisdom and clarity of insight. External noise and perplexities do not disturb us anymore; we find harmony and peace. The whole world's tremendous activity appears to us to be the silent play of God. The healing power of spiritual silence can also be found through unselfish actions. If we can dedicate our actions to God without considering ourselves the doers or the enjoyers of work, then this detached attitude serves to make us calm and creates an abiding calmness in the background of our lives. It is essentially an eternal, spiritual truth shining in its own majesty. Though we are always living in this truth, it remains veiled by our ego-sense, our false individuality. Unselfish action gradually tears this veil until we are given a vision of that "peace that passeth all understanding." Finally, there is the Vedantic way of approaching the silence of our being through reflective analysis of the "seer and the seen." We read in the Upanishads, "This Atman is eternally silent." The Atman, our true Self, is the eternal subject, the "seer," and everything else is the object, the "seen." What we call movement—noise, distraction, or activities—all belong to the realm of objective experience. Behind this objective experience there is the eternal Witness which is our true Self, and the more we grasp this fact, the more we partake of the nature of the Self. By separating the subject from the object, we can eventually become centered in the Self. The Atman is never an object of thought. Nothing can disturb its silent majesty. It precedes all other facts. The Atman, the basic, eternal Existence and Consciousness, is the primary fact of existence; everything else follows. When I am poised in the Atman, even my body is external to me. My mind, thoughts, and movements are all outside of me. This is the process of reflective analysis. In monistic Vedanta we call the process neti, neti, "not this, not this." We have to push away everything that is not the Self. We must be extremely selfish in the spiritual sense; that is, we must know that in the Self there is no place for any other thing. Of course, this is not the final picture of truth. However, when we are trying to realize the Self, we have to practice this kind of sternness because in our perception the subject and the object have become mixed together, and this has created all our troubles. It is like a malignant tumor which needs immediate surgery. The surgical treatment is not a cruel act; the surgeon is my friend for he is saving my life. In the basic malady of life the Self has become confused with the non-Self, and, as the result of this spiritual "tumor," we are full of wrong ideas. So in Vedanta we say, "I am not this, I am not this." Then when we discover our true Self, we find that it can never actually be confused with the non-Self. No illness, no passion, no death, no frustration, no suffering can ever disturb the eternal stillness of the Self. That is the end of all ignorance, or maya. We have reached the center of tranquillity, the source of infinite security and happiness. We have attained the culmination of healing by being one with Silence, untouched by any noise or imperfection.
When we finally know this truth, we will also know that what we had previously eliminated as not being part of us is actually within us. There is no such thing as duality. There is only one homogeneous unity, and that is the Self. Distinctions of external and internal vanish at that stage, and it is no longer necessary to call the Self "silence" because without the opposition of noise, or movements, there cannot be any concept of "silence."
Everything that is, is in the Self. Everything is the Self. Whatever names and words and ideas we use are included in the Self. That is the highest truth, and the steps to that highest truth are to be gained through the experiences of the different kinds of silence, beginning with external silence. Through all these stages, silence becomes a progressively greater healing power in our lives until ultimately it reaches its culmination in the Truth, which is our true Self.
Who can comprehend the Divine paradox of Mother Kali? Fierce, black in color, large, shimmering eyes, destructive, triumphantly smiling amidst the slaughter of billions of demons, wearing a necklace of skulls and a skirt of severed arms, glowing efficiently like the full moon in the night sky, holding the head of a demon, a Trident that flashes like lightning and a knife etched with sacred mantras and infused with Divine Shakti, Kali stands peaceful and content, suffused with the fragrances of jasmine, rose and sandal wood!
Kali is the Guardian. The Protector. The Mother. Kali is Dharma and Eternal Time. Kali shines with the brilliance of a Million Black Fires of Dissolution and Her body is bathed in vibuthi (sacred ash). Shiva is under Her Feet and the Great Devotee, Ramprasad, envisioned Kali as stepping upon a demon that was transformed, by Kali's touch, into Lord Shiva Himself!
Just as the night sky appears black due to it's fathomless depth and as the ocean appears deep blue due to it's fathomless depth~ so too Kali appears dark due to Her Infinite depth. Kali assumes the form that reflects the attitude and bhava (emotion) of the person who approaches Her. If Kali is appraoched with the bhava of Motherly Love, She assumes the form of Lakshmi. If Kali is approached as the Guru, embodying Wisdom, Art and Education, She assumes the form of Saraswati. The demons approached Kalika with the bhava of destruction and evil. Consequently, the Divine Mother assumed the form of their Destruction by reflecting, in form, their own Evil. In truth, Kali is all of these forms and beyond them. It is for this Ever-Loving, Evil-Dispelling, Supreme Manifestation of Dharma, Mother Kali, for whom this site is dedicated. Enjoy and much Peace to you!
Scriptural References to Kali
Kali is thought to have originated as a tribal goddess indigenous to one of India's inaccessible mountainous regions. The Matsyapurana gives her place of origin as Mount Kalanjara in north central India, east of the Indus Valley floodplain. But owing to the late date of the Puranas' composition, this evidence regarding Kali's place of origin cannot be taken as particularly reliable.
At least thousand years before the Matsyapurana, the name of Kali first appears in Sanskrit literature between the eighth and fifth centuries BCE. The reference, in Mundakopanishad 1.2.4, names Kali as one of the seven quivering tongues of the fire god Agni, whose flames devour sacrificial oblations and transmit them to the gods. The verse characterizes Agni's seven tongues as black, terrifying, swift as thought, intensely red, smoky colored, sparkling, and radiant. Significantly, the first two adjectives -- kali and karali -- "black" and "terrifying," recur in later texts to describe the horrific aspect of the goddess. Karali additionally means "having a gaping mouth and protruding teeth." This verse scarcely suffices to confirm that Kali was a personified goddess during the age of the Upanishads, but it is noteworthy that the adjective that became her name was used to characterize an aspect of the fire god's power.
Kali first appears unequivocally as a goddess in the Kathaka Grihyasutra, a ritualistic text that names her in a list of Vedic deities to be invoked with offerings of perfume during the marriage ceremony. Unfortunately, the text reveals nothing more about her.
During the epic period, some time after the fifth century BCE, Kali emerges better defined in an episode of the Mahabharata. When the camp of the heroic Pandava brothers is attacked one night by the sword-wielding Asvatthaman, his deadly assault is seen as the work of "Kali of bloody mouth and eyes, smeared with blood and adorned with garlands, her garment reddened, -- holding noose in hand -- binding men and horses and elephants with her terrible snares of death" (Mahabharata 10.8.64-65). Although the passage goes on to describe the slaughter as an act of human warfare, it makes clear that the fierce goddess is ultimately the agent of death who carries off those who are slain.
Kali next appears in the sacred literature during the Puranic age, when new theistic devotional sects displaced the older Brahmanical form of Hinduism. In the fourth and fifth centuries CE the Puranas were written to glorify the great deities Vishnu, Shiva and the Devi -- the Goddess -- as well as lesser gods. One such Purana, the Markandeya, contains within it the foundational text of all subsequent Hindu Goddess religion. This book within a book is known as the Devimahatmya, the Shri Durga Saptashati, or the Chandi.
The Devimahatmya's seventh chapter describes Kali springing forth from the furrowed brow of the goddess Durga in order to slay the demons Chanda and Munda. Here, Kali's horrific form has black, loosely hanging, emaciated flesh that barely conceals her angular bones. Gleaming white fangs protrude from her gaping, blood-stained mouth, framing her lolling red tongue. Sunken, reddened eyes peer out from her black face. She is clad in a tiger's skin and carries a khatvanga, a skull-topped staff traditionally associated with tribal shamans and magicians. The khatvanga is a clear reminder of Kali's origin among fierce, aboriginal peoples. In the ensuing battle, much attention is placed on her gaping mouth and gnashing teeth, which devour the demon hordes. At one point Munda hurls thousands of discusses at her, but they enter her mouth "as so many solar orbs vanishing into the denseness of a cloud" (Devimahatmya 7.18). With its cosmic allusion, this passage reveals Kali as the abstraction of primal energy and suggests the underlying connection between the black goddess and Kala ('time'), an epithet of Shiva. Kali is the inherent power of ever-turning time, the relentless devourer that brings all created things to an end. Even the gods are said to have their origin and dissolution in her.
The eighth chapter of the Devimahatmya paints an even more gruesome portrait. Having slain Chanda and Munda, Kali is now called Chamunda, and she faces an infinitely more powerful adversary in the demon named Raktabija. Whenever a drop of his blood falls to earth, an identical demon springs up. When utter terror seizes the gods, Durga merely laughs and instructs Kali to drink in the drops of blood. While Durga assaults Raktabija so that his blood runs copiously, Kali avidly laps it up. The demons who spring into being from the flow perish between her gnashing teeth until Raktabija topples drained and lifeless to the ground.
Different Forms of Mother Kali
Kali is a powerful and complex goddess with multiple forms. In times of natural disaster she is invoked as the protective Rakshakali. At the magnificent Dakshineswar Temple in Calcutta, she is revered as the beautiful Bhavatarini, Redeemer of the Universe. The Tantras mention over thirty forms of Kali. The Divine Mother is also known as Kali-Ma, the Black Goddess, Maha Kali, Nitya Kali, Smashana Kali, Raksha Kali, Shyama Kali, Kalikamata, Bhadra Kali, Ugra Chandi, Bhima Chandi, Sidheshvari, Sheetla (the goddess of smallpox) and Kalaratri. Maha Kali and Nitya Kali are mentioned in the Tantra philosophy. When there were neither the creation, nor the sun, the moon, the planets, and the earth, when the darkness was enveloped in darkness, then the Mother, the Formless One, Maha Kali, the Great Power, was one with the Maha Kala, the Absolute. Shyama Kali has a somewhat tender aspect and is worshipped in Hindu households. She is the dispenser of boons and the dispelled of fear. People worship Raksha Kali, the Protectress, in times of epidemic, famine, earthquake, drought, and flood. Shamshan Kali (Shmashanakali) is the embodiment of the power of destruction. From her mouth flows a stream of blood, from her neck hangs a garland of human heads, and around her waist is a girdle made of arms. She haunts the cremation grounds in the company of howling jackals and terrifying female spirits. Tantrics worship Siddha Kali to attain pefection. Phalaharini Kali to destroy the results of their actions; Nitya Kali, the eternal Kali, to take away their disease, grief, and suffering and to give them perfection and illumination. She is also known as Kalikamata ("black earth-mother") and Kalaratri ("black night"). Among the Tamils she is known as Kottavei. Kali is worshipped particularly in Bengal. Her best known temples are in Dakshineshwar and Kalighat in Kolkata (Calcutta) and Kamakhya in Assam.
Some early Buddhists identified Kalika with their Prajnaparamita, the "Perfection of Wisdom", conceived of as a Multi -Armed goddess/female wisdom energy. Buddhist tantrics viewed Prajnaparamita as the original Buddha-consort, and over time, developed this vision further. They viewed Her as the saviour Tara, "the Compassionate One", "She who helps the devotee overcome suffering". As the dark four-armed Ugra Tara, with the dark blue Dhyani-Buddha Aksobhya on her crown, she became "the Wrathful Saviour, externally fierce to ward-off enemies and unbelievers, but internally compassionate, the "Embodiment of Compassion". Buddhists also knew the Dark Goddess as Shyam (the "Dark One") and Kali. According to the noted Bengali authority on Indian Buddhist Tantra, Dr Benoytosh Bhattacharyya, "Kali, according to Buddhist tradition, is Kadi or Kakaradi, or, in other words, all the consonants of the alphabet....all the consonants of the (Sanskrit) alphabet are deified in her."
As Maha Kali (with form) the Great Goddess is most commonly visualised as twenty-armed, ten-faced, with three eyes on each face, her complexion dark and shining. In this form she destroys the egoistic demons Madhu and Kaitabha. This is a form which emanated out of the dark goddess Durga. As Kala Ratri, tawny-eyed, cruel and fond of war, wearing tiger and elephant skins, holding axe, noose, other weapons and a skull-bowl from which she drinks blood, Kali is the "Night of Destruction" at the termination of this world, the Female Spiritual Power always ready to defeat the last demons, so none can pollute the next world. Forms of Bhadra Kali have sixteen arms, eighteen arms or one hundred arms, all giving protection to her devotees. Bhadra Kali is always visualised as huge, wearing a three-pointed crown ornamented with the crescent moon, a snake about her neck, her body draped in red and her mood jolly. She pierces the body of a buffalo with her lance, one of her many weapons. Hindu tantrics believe that in this form She pervades the whole universe.
Some of the more striking similarities between Kali and Goddesses of other parts of the world are as follows:
We find Kali in Mexico as an ancient Aztec Goddess of enormous stature. Her name is Coatlicue, and her resemblance to the Hindu Kali is striking. The colossal Aztec statue of Coatlicue fuses in one image the dual functions of the earth, which both creates and destroys. In different aspects she represents Coatlicue, "Lady Of the Skirt of Serpents" or Goddess of the Serpent Petticoat"; Cihuacoatl, "the Serpent Woman"; Tlazolteotl, "Goddess of Filth"; and Tonantzin, "Our Mother," who was later sanctified by the Catholic Church as the Virgin of Guadalupe, the dark-faced Madonna, La Virgen Morena, la Virgen Guadalupana, the patroness and protector of New Spain; and who is still the patroness of all Indian Mexico. In the statue her head is severed from her body, and from the neck flow two streams of blood in the shape of two serpents. She wears a skirt of serpents girdled by another serpent as a belt. On her breast hangs a necklace of human hearts and hands bearing a human skull as a pendant. Her hands and feet are shaped like claws. From the bicephalous mass which takes the place of the head and which represents Omeyocan, the topmost heaven, to the world of the Dead extending below the feet, the statue embraces both life and death. Squat and massive, the monumental twelve-ton sculpture embodies pyramidal, cruciform, and human forms. As the art critic Justino Fernandez writes in his often-quoted description, it represents not a being but an idea, "the embodiment of the cosmic-dynamic power which bestows life and which thrives on death in the struggle of opposites."
We find Kali in ancient Crete as Rhea, the Aegean Universal Mother or Great Goddess, who was worshiped in a vast area by many peoples. Rhea was not restricted to the Aegean area. Among ancient tribes of southern Russia she was Rha, the Red One, another version of Kali as Mother Time clothed in her garment of blood when she devoured all the gods, her offspring. The same Mother Time became the Celtic Goddess Rhiannon, who also devoured her own children one by one. This image of the cannibal mother was typical everywhere of the Goddess of Time, who consumes what she brings forth; or as Earth, who does the same. When Rhea was given a consort in Hellenic myth, he was called Kronus or Chronos, "Father Time," who devoured his own children in imitation of Rhea's earlier activity. He also castrated and killed his own father, the Heaven-God Uranus; and he in turn was threatened by his own son, Zeus. These myths reflect the primitive succession of sacred kings castrated and killed by their supplanters. It was originally Rhea Kronia, Mother Time, who wielded the castrating moon-sickle or scythe, a Scythian weapon, the instrument with which the Heavenly Father was "reaped." Rhea herself was the Grim Reaper.
We find Kali in historic Europe. In Ireland, Kali appeared as Caillech or Cailleach, an old Celtic name for the Great Goddess in her Destroyer aspect. Like Kali, the Caillech was a black Mother who founded many races of people and outlived many husbands. She was also a Creatress. She made the world, building mountain ranges of stones that dropped from her apron.
Scotland was once called Caledonia: the land give by Kali, or Cale, or the Cailleach. "Scotland" came from Scottish, the same goddess, known to Romans as a "dark Aphrodite"; to Celts as Scatha or Scyth; and to Scandinavians as Skadi. Like the Hindus' destroying Kalika, the Caillech was known as a spirit of disease. One manifestation of her was a famous idol of carved and painted wood, kept by an old family in Country Cork, and described as the Goddess of Smallpox. As diseased persons in India sacrificed to the appropriate incarnation of the Kalika, so in Ireland those afflicted by smallpox sacrificed sheep to this image. It can hardly be doubted that Kalika and Caillech were the same word. According to various interpretations, "caillech" meant either an old woman, or a hag, or a nun, or a "veiled one." This last apparently referred to the Goddess's most mysterious manifestation as the future, Fate, and Death--ever veiled from the sight of men, since no man could know the manner of his own death. In medieval legend the Caillech became the Black Queen who ruled a western paradise in the Indies, where men were used in Amazonian fashion for breeding purposes only, then slain.
Spaniards called her Califia, whose territory was rich in gold, silver, and gems. Spanish explorers later gave her name to the newly discovered paradise on the Pacific shore of North America, which is how the state of California came to be named after Kali. In the present century, Irish and Scottish descendants of the Celtic "creatress" still use the word "caillech" as a synonym for "old woman."
The Black Goddess was known in Finland as Kalma (Kali Ma), a haunter of tombs and an eater of the dead. The Black Goddess worshiped by the gypsies was named Sara-Kali, "Queen Kali," and to this present day, Sara is worshiped in the South of France at Ste-Marie-de-la-Mer during a yearly festival.
Some gypsies appeared in 10th-century Persia as tribes of itinerant dervishes calling themselves Kalenderees, "People of the Goddess Kali." A common gypsy clan name is still Kaldera or Calderash, descended from past Kali-worshipers, like the Kele-De of Ireland. European gypsies relocated their Goddess in the ancient "Druid Grotto" underneath Chartres Cathedral, once the interior of a sacred mount known as the Womb of Gaul, when the area was occupied by the Carnutes, "Children of the Goddess Car." Carnac, Kermario, Kerlescan, Kercado, Carmona in Spain, and Chartres itself were named after this Goddess, probably a Celtic version of Kore or Q're traceable through eastern nations to Kauri, another name for Kali. The Druid Grotto used to be occupied by the image of a black Goddess giving birth, similar to certain images of Kali. Christians adopted this ancient idol and called her Virgo Paritura, "Virgin Giving Birth." Gypsies called her Sara-Kali, "the mother, the woman, the sister, the queen, the Phuri Dai, the source of all Romany blood." They said the black Virgin wore the dress of a gypsy dancer, and every gypsy should make a pilgrimage to her grotto at least once in his life. The grotto was described as "your mother's womb." A gypsy pilgrim was told: "Shut your eyes in front of Sara the Kali, and you will know the source of the spring of life which flows over the gypsy race. We find variations of Kali's name throughout the ancient world.
The Greeks had a word Kalli, meaning "beautiful," but applied to things that were not particularly beautiful such as the demonic centaurs called "kallikantzari," relatives of Kali's Asvins. Their city of Kallipolis, the modern Gallipoli, was lefted in Amazon country formerly ruled by Artemis Kalliste. The annual birth festival at Eleusis was Kalligeneia, translatable as "coming forth from the Beautiful One," or "coming forth from Kali."
Lunar priests of Sinai, formerly priestesses of the Moon-Goddess, called themselves "kalu." Similar priestesses of prehistoric Ireland were "kelles," origin of the name Kelly, which meant a hierophantic clan devoted to "the Goddess Kele." This was cognate with the Saxon Kale, or Cale, whose lunar calendar or kalends included the spring month of Sproutkale, when Mother Earth (Kale) put forth new shoots. In antiquity the Phoenicians referred to the strait of Gibraltar as Calpe, because it was considered the passage to the western paradise of the Mother.
The Black Goddess was even carried into Christianity as a mother figure, and one can find all over the world images of Mother Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, depicted as a black Madonna.
Kali's Name
'Kal' also translates as Time and 'i' means the Cause; Kali, the Cause of Time or She Who is Beyond Time, activates Consciousness to perception, allows Consciousness to perceive. The mystery of Kali's name, which begins with the first consonant of the Sanskrit alphabet, attached to the first vowel, is deep indeed. From tantric tradition we learn that the whole material universe is but an expression of certain primordial sounds or vibrations.
These are expressed by the consonants and vowels of the Sanskrit alphabet, combined together in different ways. "Seed-syllables" (Bija Mantras), short combinations and "Spells" (Dharanis), long combinations of differing measures, are the very "fabric" from which this universe is formed. From tantric tradition we learn that the garland of heads about Kali's neck symbolize the letters or vibrations of the Sanskrit alphabet. We learn Kali's seed-syllables, names and potent Mantras, the tools by which we can transform ourselves and become one with Her.
Origins of Kali
There are two stories on the origin Kali Maa, and the one from the Durga Saptashati (a poem in praise of Durga Maa), which is part of the Markandeya Puran is more popular.
Long long ago there existed two powerful demons called Shumbhu and Nishumbhu. As they grew in strength, they usurped the vast empire of the King of Gods, Indra and dispossessed all the gods like Surya, Chandra, Yam, Varuna, Pawan and Agni. Both of them also managed to throw the god-host away from heaven. Sorely distressed the gods went to the mortal realm (Earth) and began to brood on how to get rid of these demons permanently. The solution was to pray to Durga Maa in her form of Parvati, the wife of Shiva. They reached the Himalayas and prayed to please the kind hearted Goddess Parvati. Agreeing to help, the body of Mother Parvati emerged a bright light in the form of a divine lady called Ambika. Her exit from Devi Parvati's body caused the latter to turn dark and black. She was then known as Kaushiki who began to dwell over the mountain ranges.
When the sycophants of the demons, Chand and Munda saw the dazzling light in the beautiful form of Ambika, they were enchanted by her superb beauty. They went to the demons Shumbhu and Nishumbhu and said, "Your Lordship! This woman is the most beautiful female in the entire Universe." They described her beauty in such superlative terms that Shumbhu and Nishumbhu could not resist sending their messenger Sugreeva to bring her to them.
Sugreeva reached Ambika and extolled the virtues of his masters Shumbhu and Nishumbhu to influence the Goddess. But she smiled indulgently and replied: "You may be right in the assessment of your masters but I cannot break my oath. I might have done it rather unconsciously but the fact is that now I stand committed to my oath, which is that whosoever can defeat me in battle and brow-beat me; whosoever can match my power, only he shall only be my master. So go and tell your masters to show their strength and win me in the battle."
The messenger replied: "Listen, O Lady! You are very arrogant and adamant. Don't challenge my masters, against whose might the universe shudders in fright. They, who have browbeaten the gods and have thrown them out of Heaven, are very powerful. You are a mere woman, and you cannot match their might. Follow my advice and come with me to accept their proposal. Or else you shall be pulled by your hair and taken to their feet."
The Goddess replied: "Whatever you say may be true. Maybe your Shumbhu is so powerful and your Nishumbhu is so virile but I am committed to my pledge. But go now and explain the whole situation to the Demon-lords. Let them come and defeat me!"
Sugreeva then went to his masters Shumbhu and Nishumbhu and explained the whole situation at length. Shumbhu and Nishumbhu became angry and they sent another demon Dhoomralochan to fetch her. But a mere loud cry and wrathful gaze of the Goddess was enough to incinerate the demon Dhoomralochan. The lion of the Goddess slayed the accompanying demons. Then the Demon kings sent Chanda and Munda with a large army to capture the Great Goddess. They encircled the Himalayas to nab the Goddess. The Goddess then produced a black figure of frightening form, called Kaali-Devi or Kaalika Devi. She destroyed the demons easily, hacked off the heads of Chanda and Munda and brought them to the Goddess Ambika. Since she had hacked off the heads of Chanda Munda, she became famous as Chamunda Devi.
Hearing the death of Chanda and Munda, the Demon Kings sent another huge army headed by seven commanders. To match their combined strength the seven gods: Brahma, Vishnu, Shiv, Indra, Mahavaraah, Nrisingh, Swami Kartikeya dispatched their forces. Seeing the temerity of the demons, another beam of power in the form of a woman emerged from the Goddess's body, who sent Lord Shiv as her messenger to Shumbhu and Nishambhu with the message: "If you want your welfare, return the realm of gods to gods along with their right to perform yagyas, and you must now go down to Paataal Lok (Nether world)". Shumbhu and Nishumbhu refused to accept the Goddess's advice and leading a huge army of terrible demons, reached the battlefield. Supported by the divine powers, the Goddess began to massacre the demons. At that time the demon forces were led by a demon, Raktabeeja. He had the power to reproduce as many demons of his form and dimension as the drops of his blood which fell to the ground. After a fierce battle the Goddess ordered Chamunda (Kali Maa) to spread her mouth far and wide and swallow Raktabeeja alongwith his blood. Chamunda did exactly that and hacked off the head of demon.
Kali Maa then devoured the slain bodies of the asuras and danced a fierce dance to celebrate the victory. This dance of destruction began by Kali and her attendants continued for long and none could stop her. To stop her, Shiva himself mingled among the asuras whom she was annihilating. Shiva allowed himself to be trampled upon by her in this dance of victory because this was the only remedy left to bring her to senses and to protect the world from total annihilation. When Kali Maa saw that she was dancing over the body of her husband, she put her tongue out of her mouth in sorrow and surprise. She remained stunned in this posture and this is how Kali is shown in images with the red tongue protruding from her mouth.
Durga Maa then fought the demon Nishumbhu who was slain in no time. Now Shumbhu decided to take on the Goddess (Durga Maa) himself. Reaching the battlefield, he said to the Goddess: "You take pride on others' strength. Why don't you show your own power!"
The Goddess replied with a smile: "Fool! The whole world is just Me. All Creation is my form in a variety of dimensions. I am the cause and effect of everything: all things emerge from me only and ultimately' enter me only. The whole world is in harmony with My Being."
Then after the nine celestial powers (Kali Maa being one of them) which had emerged from the Goddess (Durga Maa) went back into her and she single handedly killed the demon Shumbhu.
Mahavidyas
The Dasa-Mahavidyas, or Ten Great or Transcendent Wisdoms, is a circle of Ten Goddesses associated with Tantric practice. There are several accounts on how this dynamic circle was formed. In one version Shiva is living with the Goddess Kali in the Satya Yuga, the first and most perfect of the four periods of the world cycle. Eventually, Shiva grows restless and decides he is tired of living with Kali. He gets up and when She asks him where He is going, He answers, "Wherever I wish!" She does not reply and He begins to wander off. However, in no matter what direction Shiva goes, a form of Kali appears as one of the Mahavidyas: first Kali herself is constellated, then Tara, Tripurna-sundari, and Buvanesvari, then Chinnamasta, Tripura-bairavi, Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, Matangi, and finally Kamala. Experiencing the all-pervasive essence of Kali in these Goddesses one by one at every turn, Shiva sees through His yearning to leave Kali and wander about, having gained the wisdom (vidya) that She "fills the four quarters in the ten directions" so that wherever he goes, She is there in one of Her energetic forms. Shiva, at last, comes home to the reality that She in all her prismatic forms and He, are One.
The role of women in Hinduism is often disputed, and positions range from equal status with men to restrictive.[1]Hinduism is based on numerous texts, some of which date back to 2000 BCE or earlier. They are varied in authority, authenticity, content and theme, with the most authoritative being the Vedas. The position of women in Hinduism is widely dependent on the specific text and the context. Positive references are made to the ideal woman in texts such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, while some texts such as the Manu Smriti advocate a restriction of women's rights. In modern times the Hindu wife has traditionally been regarded as someone who must at all costs remain chaste or pure.[2] This is in contrast with the very different traditions that have prevailed at earlier times in 'Hindu' kingdoms, which included highly respected professional courtesans (such as Amrapali of Vesali), sacred devadasis, mathematicians and female magicians (the basavis, the Tantrickulikas). Some European scholars observed in the nineteenth century Hindu women were "naturally chaste" and "more virtuous" than other women, although what exactly they meant by that is open to dispute. In any case, as male foreigners they would have been denied access to the secret and sacred spaces that women often inhabited.[3] Mahabharata and Manusmriti asserts that gods are delighted only when women are worshiped or honoured, otherwise all spiritual actions become futile.[4]
Gender of God
There is a wide variety of viewpoints within the different schools and sects of Hinduism concerning the exact nature and gender (where applicable) of the Supreme person or being; there are even sects that are skeptical about the existence of such a being. Shaktism, for example, focuses worship on the goddess Devi as the supreme embodiment of power, or Shakti (feminine strength; a female form of God). Vaishnavism and Shaivism both worship Lakshmi with Vishnu and Parvati with Shiva respectively as beings on an equal level of magnitude (the male and female aspects of God). In some instances such as with Gaudiya Vaishnavism, specific emphasis is placed on the worship of God's female aspect (Radharani) even above that of her paramour Krishna. Thus it could be said that Hinduism considers God to have both male and female aspects, as the original source of both.
Male deities (such as Shiva and Indra) are believed, in some traditions, to themselves offer worship to the Goddess, Durga:
"O Parameshwari, (The supreme Goddess) who is praised by the husband of the daughter of Himalayas (Shri Shiva)..." "O Parameshwari, who is worshipped with true feelings by the husband of Indrani (Indra) please give us the spiritual personality, the victory, the glory and destroy our enemies."[5]
Elsewhere Shiva and Vishnu are also described as possessing feminine qualities represented through their Ardhanarishvara and Mohini forms respectively. There have also been male devotees who have claimed to be incarnations of goddesses, such as Narayani Peedam and Bangaru Adigalar of Melmaruvathur, Tamil Nadu who claim to be forms or avatars of the goddess Narayani.[citation needed]
Hindu feminists such as Phoolan Devi have also used the goddess Durga as their icon. Traditions which follow the advaita philosophy consider that ultimately the supreme being is formless without any particular gender, or is transcendental to such considerations.
Women in Rig Vedic hymns
In the marriage hymn (RV 10.85.26), the wife "should address the assembly as a commander."[6]
A Rig Veda hymn says:[7]
Rig Veda, Book 10. HYMN CLIX. Saci Paulomi.
—I am the banner and the head, a mighty arbitress am I: I am victorious, and my Lord shall be submissive to my will.
Rig Veda, Book 8. HYMN XXXIII. Verse 17. Saci Paulomi.
—Indra himself hath said, The mind of woman brooks not discipline, Her intellect hath little weight.
These are probably the earliest references to the position of women in Hindu society.
Status of Mothers in Hindu Scripture
"A son must always serve his mother even if she has been an outcast."
"The professor is equivalent of ten teachers, the father is equal to hundred professors, the mother exceeds a thousand fathers."
"All other sins are expiable but he who is cursed the mother never liberated."
"An outcast father may be forsaken, but not the mother, she is never an outcast to the son".
"One conquers this world through respect for the mother, the middle religion (the firmament) through respect for the father, and through service to the preceptor one gains the region of Brahman."
"Janani Janmabhumischa Svargadapi Gariasi" i.e. The mother and the motherland are superior to heaven
Property rights
Arthashastra and Manusamhita are sources about the woman's right to property or ‘Stridhan’, (literally meaning, property of wife). It is of two types: maintenance (in money or land given by the husband), and anything else like ornaments given to her by her family, husband, in-laws and the friends of her husband. Manu further subdivides this into six types - the property given by parents at marriage, given by the parental family when she is going to her husband’s house, given by her husband out of affection (not maintenance which he is bound to give), and property given separately by brother, mother and father [Manu IX 194]. Pre-nuptial contracts are also mentioned where the groom would agree to give a set amount of brideprice to both parents and the bride. Such property belonged to the wife alone and was not to be touched by the groom or her parents except in emergencies (in sickness, in famine, threatened by robbers, or for performing holy deeds). At the same time, the Manu Smriti contradicts itself by declaring that a wife has no property and the wealth earned is for the husband [Manu VIII.416].
Daughters and sons equally inherited their mother's property; but some scriptures insist that a mother's property belongs solely to the daughters [Manu IX 131], in order of preference: unmarried daughters, married but poor daughters, married and rich daughters. When a father died, unmarried daughters had to be given a share in their father’s property, equal to one-fourth from every brother's share [since it is assumed that the married daughter had been given her share at marriage] [Manu IX. 118]. If the family has no sons, the (appointed) daughter is the sole inheritor of the property [Manu IX 127].
Study of scriptures
Several women sages and seers are mentioned in the Upanishads, the philosophical part of the Vedas, notable among them being Gargi and Maitreyi. The Sanskrit word for female teachers as Acharyā (as opposed to Acharya for teacher and Acharyini for teacher's wife) reveal that women were also given a place as Gurus.
The Harita Dharmasutra (of the Maitrayaniya school of Yayurveda) declares that there are two kind of women: Sadhyavadhu who marry, and the Brahmavaadini who are inclined to religion, they can wear the sacred thread, perform rituals like the agnihotra and read the Vedas. Bhavabhuti's Uttararamacharita 2.3 says that Atreyi went to Southern India where she studied the Vedas and Indian philosophy. Shankara debated with the female philosopher Ubhaya Bharati, and Madhava's Shankaradigvijaya (9.63) mentions that she was well versed in the Vedas. Tirukkoneri Dasyai (15th century) wrote a commentary on Nammalvar's Tiruvaayamoli, with reference to Vedic texts like the Taittiriya Yajurveda.
The Bhagavata Purana states that the Mahabharata was written specifically for women and also men who were not in the priestly Brahmin caste :
"Out of compassion, the great sage thought it wise that this would enable men to achieve the ultimate goal of life. Thus he compiled the great historical narration called the Mahabharata for women, laborers and friends of the twice-born."[9]
In several schools for Vedic priests, many graduates are women.[10]
Education
Katyayana'sVarttika 125, 2477 mentions that there were female teachers of grammar. Patanjali wrote in his comments to Ashtadhyayi 3.3.21 and 4.1.14, that women undergo the thread ceremony before beginning their education, and says that women studied grammar.
Marriage
The most sacred part of the Hindu wedding ceremony involves circumambulating the sacred fire in seven steps to a Vedic mantra where the groom addresses his wife.
In the Manu Smriti, on the other hand, 8 types of marriage are specified: two involve bedecking the bride with costly garments and ornaments before giving her away, two involve the groom's family giving a gift to the family of the bride, and the other four do not involve an exchange of gifts. According to Manusmriti there are eight different types of Hindu marriages. Among the eight types all didn't have religious sanction. The last four were not religiously defined and were condemned. These are: Brahma Marriage, Daiva Marriage, Arsha Marriage, Prajapatya Marriage, Gandharva Marriage, Asura Marriage, Rakshasa Marriage, Paishacha Marriage. In Brahma marriage, once the boy completes his Brahmacharya Ashram (religious student hood), he is eligible to get married. His parents then approach the parents or guardian of a girl belonging to a good family and ask them for the hand of their daughter for their son. The father of the girl also carefully chooses the bridegroom who is well versed in Vedas and of a noble character. This is how a Brahma marriage was arranged. The bride came with only two garments and few ornaments. According to Dharmashastras "Brahma Vivah" is the best marriage among all.``The son born of the Brahma marriage sanctifies 21 GENERATION.-(that of the Daiva marriage 14 generations that of Arsha marriage and Kayah marriage six each.')
The Manusmriti enjoins, "'Let mutual fidelity continue until death.' This may be considered the summation of the highest law for husband and wife. (Manu Smriti IX 101)
Rigvedic verses suggest that the women married at a mature age and were probably free to select their husband.[11] The wedding hymn in the Rigveda (RV 10.85.37-38) speaks of "husbands" (plural) for a single wife, but this may have a mythological character.[11]
Dowry
The practice of dowry is not endorsed by orthodox Hinduism and "may be a perversion of Sanskritic marriage prescriptions."[12] Dowries are linked to caste status: among higher castes a dowry is expected from the girl's family; among lower caste families the dowry is paid to the girl's family.[13] As a result, the prevalence of dowry increases with the processes known as "Sanskritisation" and urbanization; abuse of the practice has thus increased in recent years.[12]
Polygamy
Thus certain mantras in Vedas describe demerits of Polygamy.
- Rig Veda 10.105.8 compares existence of multiple wives with multiple worldly miseries.[14]
- Rig Veda 10.101.11 states that a man with two wives is pressed from both sides and weeps like a horse that neighs when pressed from both sides by spokes while driving a chariot.
- Rig Veda 10.101.11 state that two wives make life aimless.
- Atharva Veda 3.18.2 prays that may a woman never face threat of another co-wife.
However, other mantras in the Vedas seem to support polygamy.
- Rig Veda 1.62.11 states that "As yearning wives cleave to their yearning husband, so cleave our hymns to thee, O Lord most potent." [15]
Divorce
Hinduism in general disapproves of divorce. A divorced woman is generally forced to live as a widow. However in theological terms, both the Manusamhita and the Arthashastra state that if a husband is impotent, a traitor, an ascetic or an outcast, or missing for a prescribed number of years, the wife may leave him without blame and marry again. The Arthashastra also declares that in other circumstances, divorce can take place only by mutual consent. Manu discusses situations where the wife wishes to return to her first husband, whether she has simply deserted him or married another.
Widowhood and remarriage
In traditional families, widows were, and in some cases still are, required to wear white sarees, and to give up their ornaments, including the bindi, which signifies auspiciousness. The presence of widows at religious rites in such families is considered inauspicious. Widows are expected to devote their lives to an austere pursuit of religion.[16] These restrictions are traditionally strongest in the highest castes, in which the head is frequently shaved as well. The highest castes also have severe restrictions on remarriage.[17] Such restrictions are now strictly observed only by a small minority of widows, though some degree of ritual inauspiciousness lingers.[16]
In NAsmR 12.45-48, there are three types of punarbhu, or a remarried widow: The virgin widow, the woman who abandons her husband to take up with another man and then returns to her husband, and the woman who has no brothers-in-law whom can give her offspring. Although this list is not exhaustive, it makes it clear that a punarbhu is not just any widow. Indeed, she may not have been a widow at all (as in the second case). In the other two cases, she is a childless widow, which is an important distinction. Although many texts do seem to address the remarriage of widows and sometimes permit it, it is not considered an ideal situation. A punarbhu is often not given the same rights as a woman who was married only once. The son of a punarbhu, a punarbhava, is often listed as one who is unfit to invite to a sacrifice, as is the husband of a remarried woman. The punarbhava also does not inherit as would a 'natural son'.
As of 2007, 3 per cent of the population of India consists of widows.[18] Most widows are abandoned to survive on charity, and many are reduced to begging on the streets. Some surveys show that as they are steeped in their religious beliefs and fearful of violating social customs, many widows do not wish to remarry.
Sati
Sati (as verb) is the act of immolation of a woman on her husband's funeral pyre. Sati (as noun) refers to one who either immolated herself willingly or through societal inducement and compulsion. Sati was ideally performed as an act of immortal love, and was believed to purge the couple of all accumulated sin. (Sati was practiced by the ancient peoples of Scythia, Egypt, Scandinavia and China).[citation needed]
Though no scripture mandates sati, the Puranas, part of the Hindu Smriti, mention sati as highly meritorious in several instances. A few examples of sati are recorded in the Hindu epics, which are otherwise replete with influential widows. Some examples from the Mahabharata include:
Madri, second wife of Pandu, who held herself responsible for his death, performed sati. His first wife Kunti did not. [M.Bh. Adiparvan 95.65]
Moreover, Kunti in the Mahabharata even had a son before marriage (Karna,given as boon by Sun God), but went on to become a queen by marrying another man (king Pandu). This tale shows that society valued women more for their qualities of intelligence, determination, loyalty and leadership over personal and private issues like pre-marital virginity. Needless to say, Kunti, in spite of her pre-marital indiscretion, not only married a king, but also remained highly respected and loved by all (family and others) throughout her entire long life, and did not choose to commit sati at the time of her husband's death.
SO ALL MY BELOVED WOMEN PLEASE ENJOY THE WOMENHOOD
