Monday, April 20, 2009



Kali ("the black one") is the Hindu mother goddess, symbol of dissolution and destruction. She destroys ignorance, maintains the world order, and blesses and frees those who strive for the knowledge of God. In the Vedas the name is associated with Agni, the god of fire, who had seven flickering tongues of flame, of which Kali was the black, horrible tongue. This meaning of the word has meanwhile been replaced by the goddess Kali, the grim consort of Shiva.

Her appearance is fearsome: baleful eyes, a protruding tongue, and four arms. In her upper left hand she wields a bloody sword and in her lower left hand she holds the severed head of a demon. With her upper right hand she makes the gesture of fearlessness, while the lower right hand confers benefits. Draped around her is a chain of severed human heads and she wears a belt made of dismembered arms. As the Divine Mother she is often represented dancing or in sexual union with Shiva. As Bhavatarini, the redeemer of the universe, she stands upon the supine form of her spouse. Kali is worshipped particularly in Bengal. Her best known temples are in Kalighat and Dakshineshvara.

Worship of the Terrible Mother
The scene for true Kali worship takes place in a cremation ground where the air is smoke laden and little specks of ash from burning funeral pyres fall on white, sun-dried bones scattered about and on fragments of flesh, gnawed and pecked at by carrion beasts and large black birds. It is a frightening place for most, but a favorite one for the "heroic" Mother worshipper who has burnt away all wordly desires and seeks nothing but union with her. This kind devotee fears nothing and knows no aversion.

However, the majority of people are terrified by the Divine Mother's awe-inspiring grandeur, back lit by the fires in the cremation ground. Most people would rather worship her in a less threatening place, where reality is a symbol rather than the truth. Instead, they go to temples, worship at roadside shrines, or worship in their own homes. They pray to the Divine Mother to grant them the boon of a child, money to feed the mouths of a hungry family, to grant them devotion and liveration from existence in misery.

Kali 2Dark MotherThe beauty of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple is far removed from the dreary sight of an active cremation ground. And, although the Goddess in this temple is the same Ma Kali as the feared one in the cremation ground, she is regarded as benign-a protrectress rather than a destroyer.

While someone unfamiliar with the Shakti worship may perceive Kali's images as equally terrible without making the slightest distinction between them, the Hindu distinguishes a benign Kali (dakshina) from a fearful Kali (smashan) by the position of her feet. If Kali steps out with her right foot and holds the sword in her left hand, she is a Dakshina Kali. If she steps out with her left foot and holds the sword in her right hand, she is the terrible of the Mother, the Smashan Kali of the cremation ground.

Why would anyone want to worship the terrible Mother of the cremation ground? According to Tantrics, one's spiritual disciplines practiced in a cremation ground bring success quickly. Sitting next to corpses and other images of death, one is able to transcend the "pair of opposites" (good-bad, love-hate, etc) much faster than another person who blocks out the unpleasant aspects of life. The cremation ground's ghastly images arouse instant renunciation in the mind and help the Tantric to get rid of the attachment for the body.

Kali is one of the most misunderstood forms of God. The ordinary Western mind perceives Kali as hideous and absurd, forgetting that some of the symbols of Western faiths have the same effect on the Hindu. While Christians believe in a God that is all good and a devil that is all bad, Hindus believe in only one Universal Power which is beyond good and bad.

Kali is the full picture of the Universal Power. She is Mother, the Benign, and Mother, the Terrible. She creates and nourishes and she kills and destroys. By Her magic we see good and bad, but in reality there is neither. The whole world and all we see is the play of Maya, the veiling power of the Divine Mother. God is neither good nor bad, nor both. God is beyond the pair of opposites which constitute this relative existence.

This image belongs to the Vampyre Research Society/Akasha Knyghte...do not use it without permissionThis image belongs to the Vampyre Research Society/Akasha Knyghte...do not use it without permissionThe Tantras mention over thirty forms of Kali. Sri Ramakrishna often spoke about the different forms of Kali:

The Divine Mother is known as Kali-Ma, the Black Goddess, Maha Kali, Nitya Kali, Smashana Kali, Raksha Kali, Shyama Kali, Kalikamata, and Kalaratri. Among the Tamils she is known as Kottavei. Maha Kali and Nitya Kali are mentioned in the Tantra philosophy. When there were niether 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 dispeller of fear. People worship Raksha Kali, the Protectress, in times of epidemic, famine, earthquake, drought, and flood. Shamshan Kali is the embodiment of th epower of destruction. She resides in the cremation ground, surrounded by corpses, jackals and terrible female spirits. 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 human arms.

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. There are many forms of Kali. Each district, town, and village in Bengal seems to have its very own Kali famous for a particular miracle or incident.

Robbers and thieves have their own Kali. Not so many years ago, robbers lived in Indian woods and had the habit of worshipping Dakait Kali before they went to rob people on highways and in villages. Some of these old Kali images have survived time and are still being wroshipped, though for other reason originally intended.

Kali's Symbols:

    The name Kali comes from the word "kala," or time. She is the power of time which devours all.
    She has a power that destroys and should be depicted in awe-inspiring terror. Kali is found in the cremation ground amid dead bodies. She is standing in a challenging posture on the prostrate body of her husband Shiva. Kali cannot exist without him, and Shiva can't reveal himself without her. She is the manifestation of Shiva's power, energy.
    While Shiva's complexion is pure white, Kali is the color of the darkest night-a deep bluish black. As the limitless Void, Kali has swallowed up everything without a trace. Hence, she is black.
    Kali's luxuriant hair is dishevelled and, thereby, symbolizes Kali's boundless freedom. Another interpretation says that each hair is a jiva (individual soul), and all souls have their roots in Kali.
    Kali has three eyes; the third one stands for wisdom.
    Kali's tongue is protruding, a gesture of coyness-because she unwittingly stepped on the body of her husband Shiva. A more philosophical interpretation: Kali's tongue, symbolizing rajas (the color red, activity), is held by her teeth, symbolizing sattva (the color white, spirituality).
    Kali has four arms. The posture of her right arms promises fearlessness and boons while her left arms hold a bloody sword and a freshly severed human head. Looking at Kali's right, we see good, and looking at her left, we see bad.
    Kali is portrayed as naked (clad in space) except for a girdle of human arms cut off at the elbow and a garland of fifty skulls. The arms represent the capacity for work, and Kali wears all work (action), potential work, and the results thereof around her waist. The fifty skulls represent the fifty letters of the alphabet, the manifest state of sound from which all creation evolved.

This image belongs to the Vampyre Research Soceity...you need permission to use itThis image belongs to the Vampyre Research Soceity...you need permission to use itOne shouldn't jump to the conclusion that Kali represents only the destructive aspect of God's power. What exists when time is transcended, the eternal night of limitless peace and joy, is also called Kali (Maharatri). And it is she who prods Shiva Mahadeva into the next cycle of creation. In short, she is the power of God in all His aspects.







This image belongs to the Vampyre Research Society/Akasha Knyghte...please ask before taking itSri Sarada Devi...She was very quiet and dignified. People didn't think of the quiet consort of Sri Ramakrishna as mad, God intoxicated saint. Outwardly, Sri Sarada Devi, or the Holy Mother as her devotees her call her, rarely showed any signs of the mad passionate love Sri Ramkrishna and other Kali saints exhibited in their lives. On the contrary, Holy Mother liked to hide herself and her sweet divinity.

When spoke of, in her presence, as a divine being, she would stop the flattering words and say that she was what she was only because the Master had given her shelter at his feet. The veil with which she always hid her face in public seemed to be symbolic of the profound veil of modesty with which she loved to hide her own towering greatness. It was for this reason that Sri Ramakrishna, in fun, likened her to a cat that loved to hide its real color with ashes.

The Holy Mother lived her early life simply and joyously in the small village of Jayrambati. Being a child bride, she quietly prepared herself for the time when she was going to leave her parents' house and move in with her husband. When nasty gossip about Sri Ramakrishna's madness reached Jayrambati, the Holy Mother often overheard women at the well discussing her husband's state of mind.

The Holy Mother, on her way to meet Sri Ramakrishna, was unused to walking such a great distance and fell ill after a couple of days and had to take shelter in a rest house.

A divine vision came to her in her hour of dejection and cheered her up. As the Holy Mother lay on the bed, she saw a dark woman of peerless beauty sitting by her caressing the Mother's head and body with her soft, cool hands. It seemed to remove all her pain. The Mother asked the vision where she was from and the stranger replied from Dakshineswar. The Holy Mother told the vision that she was going to meet her future husband but was afraid she wouldn't make it. The vision told her not to worry, that she would recover soon and that she had been keeping him there for her.

The Holy Mother had visions of Kali throughout her life and it is safe to say that she was aware of her own divinity at all times. She lived like every other Indian woman-cooking, cleaning, and taking care of family of affairs-yet when anyone came in contact with her they felt something special. A few fortunate individuals in the form of Kali.


Kaala Bharaivar Homam


THE DIVINE LEGEND OF SRI KALABHAIRAVA 

(As Found in SKANDA PURANA)

(Canto 13 - Defining the lord's name¬ Kapala Mochana - The Birth of Bhairava)

   Maharshi Agasthya thus asked Kartikeya," Oh, the Onmiscient! the one who pleases our hearts! the Killer of Tarakasura! Eager am I to hear you Sri! if I ever deserve your kindness, now tell me the story of Bhairava who dwells in Kasi.
"Who is he, named as Bhairava? How does he look like? What form has he? what is his duty? Define his name. How can the devotees attain the blessings of Bhairava, by what mode of worship? Name also the right time of worshipping this lord".

    Kartikeya then replied to Agasthya. " Oh Mahatma! Most interested are you in Kasi-Kshetra you are a great devotee, and as such to you I will explain fully all. To the one who listens to the tale of Kala Bhairava, the destroyer of sins, will be granted the fruits of ever dwelling in Kasi-Kshetra. Dancing as if he had drunk the nectarine Juice of a well - ripe mango fruit, Bhairava does protect the Three worlds. Oh! Agasthya, neither the four - faced Vishnu nor the four-faced (five-faced) Brahma does know the divine nature of Mahadeva. Oh! the noblest of Brahmins! It is no wonder; Lord Maha Siva's "Maya" is inscrutable. Who -ever is Charmed by the spell of His "Maya" can never know him Only Parameshwara knows Parameshwara. It is through his mercy alone that Brahma and the other gods ever know the 'Parameshwara Tatva'. Not Knowing Parameshwara, the very essential form of Atman, the one who is beyond all words, the ignorant equate him with other gods.

    Oh the great maharshis on the mountain top of Meru, bowed at the feet of Lord Brahma and begged him to name that one Indivisible Power that lords over the worlds. Unknowing the great powers of Parameshwara under the spell of His 'Maya' Brahma said that he was such lord. Continued he, "I am the Creator of the end. Nothing can be attained in this world, without worshipping me. I am the Lord Creator and Protector None stands above .me'.

   "Hearing such proud words of Brahma, Narayana who is the lords - god of 'Yagna' became angry. With blazing eyes he said, "Not it is good to speak thus, without knowing who the supreme is. Oh Brahma, I, the lord of all ‘Yagnas', am the supreme. Hard it is in the universe for anyone to cross the river of life. I am the light supreme, and am the Abode Ultimate. It is I who induce ye to create?
"Thus raged a war of words between Brahma, the Creator and Maha Vishnu, the Protector. Finally they went to the Vedas and begged them to resolve their quarrel. Each wished his own stand vindicated. So they prayed the Vedas, 'Oh Vedas Four! Famed are you every-where as the true testcmony (Pramana) of every thing. As such, tell us who you do regard as the Supreme One'. 

   "To these spoke the Vedas thus, Oh Brahman and .Vishnu, Oh the Creator and the Protector! Hear us. If only you regard us as the Ultimate Pramana, you will have your doubts cleared, and thereby have your query answered! Both they soon expressed their faith in the authority of the Vedas.
"Then said Rigveda ' In whom does every living creature find its being, because of whom does the universe conduct itself, and who is known as Para Tatva or the Ultimate Truth - such is Rudra alone',

   "Then Spoke Yajurveda, 'The One who is worshipped through Asthanga Yoga and the consummate Yagnas, and through whom do we receive our supreme authenticity - such is Siva!"

   "Then in its turn spoke Sama Veda, 'By Whom does this Universe rotate, and whom the Yogis ever meditate upon in their hearts, and whose divine light illumines the Universe - Such is Siva, and He is Paramsa! "Finally spoke Atharva Veda, 'In Whom Mercy is fully extant, whom people worship with immense devotion, the one who destroys miseries and bestows all auspicious things and grants every comfort - such is Sankara alone!.

   "Thus when all the vedas sung of Siva as the ultimate Reality, it did not please either Brahma or Vishnu. Soon they reviled, 'Is that naked one, the frequenter of cemetery, the one who smears ash all over him, that Sankara -Is he Ultimate Reality? Never can there be any comparison between him and the para Brahman?
"Pranava (Omkara) heard their reviling and said, the one who is Foremost extant power, the one who illumines by his own self, the one in whom his all sorts of wealth, the one in co-existence with Sakti - He that Iswara alone, beyond all doubt, is Para - Tattva'. "Brahma and Vishnu paid no heed even to these words of Pranava. Pride still prevailed over them, their ignorance still prevailed. 

   "But lio, there sprung all. of a sudden betwixt them a great brilliance and spread between the sky and the earth. In the midst of that brilliance there appeared a manly form. Seeing this form in its divine blue, Brahmas fifth head flared in great anger. He began to ponder over this form, when it soon became Sankara, the great trident holder, the one with the great third - eye on his forehead, and the crescent moon on his head. To him spoke Brahma, 'Oh Sankara! you are born from mine own fore - head. Seek refuge in me, and will i protect you!'. Hearing these proud words of Brahma, Sankara grew angry; and soon he created Bhairava and said, 'Oh my son! Oh Kala Bhairava! You are as potent as Kala (Yama) and as such, are the very ruler of time. Potent you are to wear and fear the burden of the Universe. Even kala is afraid of you and so are you called Kala Bhairava. Punish Brahma who exudes pride! There after calm down and take pleasant form. Go then to Kasi, the city of Deliverance, most dear unto me! Be you the ruler of Kasipuri! There punish the sinful and flourish! Here after Chitra Gupta shall no more record the sins of the sinning residents of Kasi. Ordered thus by Sankara, Kala Bhairava plucked the head of Brahma that reviled Sankara with his left hand's small finger nail.

   "Then Vishnu praised Sankara greatly And Brahma too, in great fear, worshipped Sankara, Chanting many a sacred 'Mantra'. Then Sankara, the Merciful, comforted both Brahma and Vishnu; and spoke thus to Kala Bhairava, "Oh My son! Brahma and Vishnu - they deserve your veneration of them. By chopping off Brahma's head, you have committed the sin of 'Brahma - hathya'. As such to wash off this sin, carry in your hands this skull of Brahma and go over the world as a mendicant'. Kala Bhairava's heinous sin soon took the form of a terrible lady, more terrifying than Bhairava himself. To her spokeSankara, "Oh lady of terrifying form! Chase this Kala Bhairava. But as soon as he enters the holy shrine of Kasi, leave him. Enter you not Kasi'.
  
   "Later, as was ordered by Siva, Kala Bhairava set out on his journey through the three - worlds, carrying Brahma's skull as a mendicant's bowl. Thus when he reached Vaikuntha, looking at his terrible from form of Triple - Eyed Maha Shiva, Vishnu prostrated with all his followers; and greatly praised Kala Bhairava. Unto his consort then he said, " Oh sinless Devi ! Oh the Lotus - Eyed! Dear mine, hear! Blessed you are, and blessed I am ! This Kala bhairava, whom we now see, is the lord of the universe, the protector of the Universe, the defender of the unprotected, the veritable Iswara ! Omniscient is he, and the master unto all Yogis! He is Pasupathi, and the one present in all beings! He is the granter of every boon!" So did Vishnu continue in Kala Bhairava's praise, and spoke to him thus, "Oh the destroyer of Sins! Oh Lord of the Lords! Oh the omniscient ! What 'lila' is this? why do you thus beg?

   "Then did Kala Bhairava explain the reason for his being a mendicant, inspite of his lordship over the Universe Vishnu spoke to him again, "Oh Paramatman! Who-ever utters your sacred names siva, sankara, chandraphala etc - will soon be relieved of the cycle of births and deaths. Oh god, blessed I am that you have presented yourself before me, Oh the one unseen ever by the yogi's !" Then gave Laxmi Devi alms unto Kala Bhairava. Then Kala Bhairava Started, when Vishnu begged the terrible demon like lady chasing Kala Bhairava to leave Kala Bhairava. Then spoke the lady, "Oh Vishnu! At least under this pretest do I have the opportunity of worshipping Lord Siva and as well, of going thus on a pilgrimage unto the countless holy shrines? Thus the lady kept chasing Kala Bhairava, despite Vishnu's prayer unto her. So was Kala Bhairava honoured and worshipped by Brahma to when went he to Brahma - Loka. Thus Kept Kala Bhairava moving from one shrine to another, throughout the three worlds. At last did he arrive in Kasi, when the demon - like lady made a great wailing. noise and disappeared without a trace. Brahma's skull that stuck to Kala Bhairavas hands too fell off by itself. Then did Kala Bhairava dance in great pleasure. Hence is it said that who - ever goes on a pilgrimage to Kasi, will have all his sins washed off. Kasi is the shrine where in sankara dwells, and so is called the shrine that . grants Bliss - Eternal. . .
"There in that shrine, at the spot where the Brahma's skull fell off, began Kala Bhairava to dwell. Even the sinner among the most sinful need not fear on having Kala Bhairava's darshan, for he is the destroyer of all sins 'Kala" is under his control, and as he drives away the 'Yama - Dutas', he is famed as Kala Bhairava.

   "Who - ever on the 8th day of the moon's waning period of Margasirsha month goes on fasting and spends the night without sleeping, night-long meditating on Kala Bhairava, will have his sins destroyed. Who. ever worships him on that day with 'Sakalapanchara', will have every sin of his every erstwhile birth destroyed; will have every obstasce removed in every task that he proposes to take up. Who-ever listens to this sacred tale of Kala Bhairava, will soon be freed from prison; will have the deadliest of dangers that he faces soon destroyed.

   Such is the tale of the faith of Kala Bhairava, in the 13th canto of Kasi-Kahnda in the Skanda Purana".


OM SHANTHI SHANTHI SHANTHI......

In our Umamaheshwarar temple Kaala Bairavar homam is done on every THEIPIRAI ASTAMI for the past 7 years as per the instructions of our GURUJI MAHARISHI DHAYANANDA JOTHI