Abusing Kali left, right and Centre

By Dr. Prasanna Cooray

Kali is at centre stage, again for the wrong reason. I wrote an article about her in The Island on 26.11.2016, under the title, “Don’t affront Goddess Kali – the benevolent mother”, while the then Opposition was conducting a coconut dashing campaign at the Kali kovils around the country to put a curse on their rivals in the yahapalana government. Prior to that during the Rajapaksa government, a troublemaker in the garb of a minister notorious for his bull-in-a-china-shop behaviour, and his backers, stormed a Kali temple in protest against animal sacrifices.

Today, Kali is in the limelight with a self-professed native physician claiming goddess Kali has revealed a cure for COVID-19. (Phenomena such as hallucinations and clairvoyance are symptomatic of schizophrenia.) His claim received media publicity and the much-touted state patronage. This sprouted instant criticism, both for political and medical reasons.

Buddhists and Kali

Doctrinal Buddhism does not promote the veneration of Hindu gods, but the Sri Lankan Buddhist worship the deities of the Hindu pantheon, and shrines dedicated to them are found at Buddhist temples.

Kali is a deep-rooted concept dear to more than a billion Hindu devotees around the world. People have been worshiping Goddess Kali from time immemorial in this part of the world. They make vows to Her requesting various favours from Her. She, regarded the Benevolent Mother by Her devotees, answers their prayers.

Kali is generally perceived a personal deity. But she is believed to a be a cosmic energy, she representing time.

Kali, according to scripture, is one of the main forms of Shakti. (In comparison in science, too, time is one of the seven basic units, along with mass, length, temperature, electricity, amount of substance and light). And nothing escapes time. In an academic sense Kali is considered the primordial energy animating space, and perceived as the linear sequence of events which is called time.

Kali is regarded as the goddess of death, but she, according to scripture, destroys egos and not lives.

According to mythology, Kali killed many a demon, Rakthabija, the “asura” representing incessant evil mental process, being notable among them. Kali is depicted holding Rakthabija’s severed head in one of her hands, adding a devilish flavour to her image. This has led to her being labeled as a demon by some.

It said that only through meditation and worship that Kali will be perceived. Thus, people who are engaged in spirituality, overcoming ego, are said to find Kali in a different form. Kali will appear as sweet, affectionate, and overflowing with love for them.

Time as feminine form of energy

Secondly, Kali is time depicted in a female form in Hinduism. But in Tibetan Buddhism, her counterpart, “Kaal”, is depicted as a male. The relationship the devotees have with Goddess Kali is akin to that between a mother and her child.

It is said that a true male devotee of Kali respects womanhood. He sheds his ego (which is associated with machismo). He perceives potential Kali in all women as much as in his own mother.

The famous Kali devotee, Swami Vivekanandas expresses the notion of Divine Mother succinctly as, “The Saktas (a major tradition of Hinduism, where metaphysical reality is considered feminine and the Devi (goddess) is supreme) worship the Universal Energy as Mother; it is the sweetest name they know. The mother is the highest ideal of womanhood …. Mother is the first manifestation of power and is considered a higher idea than father… The Divine Mother is the Kundalini sleeping in us; without worshipping Her, we can never know ourselves…She is the sum total of the energy in the Universe. Every manifestation of power in the universe is Mother. Established in the idea of Mother, we can do anything. She quickly answers prayers“. (Inspired Talks, My Master and Other Writings)

The insights of gruesome image of Kali

What you see may not necessary be reality. This is true for both science and spirituality. And that is so for Kali as well.

Kali is commonly depicted with her two right arms raised, her palms extended granting gifts of insight and wisdom to her children. Her upper left arm holds the sword (of enlightenment) which delivers the blow to the ego releasing the soul from the tyranny of self-intoxication. In Her lower left hand, she holds the severed head of the ego (Rakthabija). Identification with the body is what gives rise to the illusion of the “I” or ego. Thus, the seemingly gruesome presentation of a severed head depicts the act of compassion, which is bestowed by a mother to her devotees.

Mother Kali wears a garland of skulls, which are reminiscent of her many children whom she has liberated from the grip of the “I-am-the-body” (materialistic).

Kali is often depicted standing on the bosom of her consort Shiva. The ardent Kali devotee Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (also the personal guru of Vivekananda) has said: “It signifies the yoga, or union, of Purusha (Father God) and Prakriti (Mother God). Whatever you perceive in the universe is the outcome of this union…”. (The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)

Keep religion out of politics

To sum up, Kali worship is a revered tradition for the Kali devotees. It should not be abused.

No attempt should be made to mix politics with religion if disaster is to be averted. As for religious beliefs what Nobel laureate Francis Crick (of the Watson-Crick DNA double helix fame) said comes to mind: “Religion may be okay between consenting adults in private”.

Please keep religion out of politics.