ॐ जयन्ती मङ्गला काली भद्रकाली कपालिनी
दुर्गा शिवा क्षमा धात्री स्वाहा स्वधा नमोऽस्तुते ॥१॥
“Reverence to Goddess Jayanti -ever victorious, Goddess Mangala
-bestower of auspiciousness, Goddess Kali -one who burns aberrations, Goddess
Bhadra Kali -one who assures benevolence, and Goddess Kapalini -one who dispels
fear and get rid of sins.
Reverence to Goddess Durga -who is Mother Goddess, whose
manifestations in feminine form construe Shiva -ever auspicious, Kshama -
forgiveness and forbearance, Dhatri -loving and caring, Swaha -to whom every being is subjected, and Svadha -receiver of all sacrificial oblations.”
May we take refuge in Supreme Goddess, and our faith and
devotion purify our existence and restore Dharma.
In Sanatan Hindu Dharma, conveniently called Hindu
religion or Hinduism, the tradition of Mother Goddess is primeval, as
Palaeolithic sites dating back to 11,000 years provides evidence of it. The
Vedas, Upanishads and Puranas ascertains that worship of Goddess Kali has roots
in ancient Hindu belief system.
Along the time line of history, the spiritual belief,
faith and traditions were written down when the art of writing came into
existence around 5,500 years ago. However, the oral tradition of the age-old
spiritual faith and practice could be traced even today in the forms of
folklore and storytelling which unceasingly continues by the word of mouth and
the way of life through successive generations outside the world of literacy.
The origin of Goddess Kali could be traced in the pantheon of
Vedic deities amongst whom the deity Ratridevi, the goddess of dark night, also
named Maharatri, the transcendental night, seems a logical reference. The Rig Veda (1700–1100
BCE or before), of which the exact date is uncertain has the reference of
Goddess Raatri, the savioress, the one who provides protection from dark night
-the fear, danger and difficulties, and she could be the most logical antecedent
of Goddess Kali. In the known Vedic era Goddess Raatri, alongside Goddess Usha,
the Goddess of dawn were among the primary goddesses.
Goddess Raatri, both in benign and wrathful forms, was
considered as mother alongside Goddess Usha. The belief was that they together represent
the stable rhythmic pattern of the cosmos in which darkness and light follow
each other, and the consistency of created order.
Also, the Vedic deity Nirrti cannot be
ignored. The hymns of Rig Veda narrate the dark female deity Nirrti as the
cosmic dancer who penalizes those associated with Adharma -unrighteousness. In
the Vedic era the dark deity used to personify death, decay and sorrows. It was
believed she punishes the sinners. Nirrti used to be worshipped to ward off
misery. But her presence was considered inauspicious, and protection from her
used to be sought by asking her to leave the sacrificial place and away from
mundane life of people, after having offered her due share of offering. By her
nature Nirrti signifies the dark aspect of Prakriti -nature.
Atharva Veda (circa 1200 to 1000 BCE), into which
Mandukya Upanishad is embedded, has earliest evidence of veneration to Goddess
Kali. It says in a well performed Yagna (Havan) seven kinds of flames of fire
are born and they are the seven tongues of Agni -the fire god. Devi -the divine
goddesses are the flames. They are: i) Kali: the black one; ii) Karali: the
blacker one; iii) Mano-Java: rapid like the movement of mind; iv) Sulhoita:
reddish in color; v) Sudhumravama: brownish in color; vi) Sphulingini: sparking
forth; and vii) Visva-rupi: the radiant.
In Devi Mahatmya (250-550
CE) -the
Glory of the Goddess, embedded in Markandeya
Purana (250 CE), sage
Markandey sums up the oneness of goddesses in Goddess Durga. In this Purana the
sage summons Goddess Durga as Goddess Chandika and also as Goddess Ambika who
have different forms. Devi Mahatmya is also known as Durga Saptasathi or
simply Saptasathi, Chandi or Chandi Patha. It describes the victory of Goddess
over evil forces embodied in demons Madhu and Kaitabha, Mahishasura,
Dhumralochana, Chanda and Munda, Raktabeej, and Nisumbha and Sumbha.
Devi Mahatmya provides the very definition of the
nature of Devi -the divine Goddess who is the Shakti -the unlimited divine energy.
She is the Moola Prakriti, the root nature, of all that manifests. She, in
myriads of names and forms, is the force that drives everything in the
universe.
Devi Mahatmya is a most significant Purana which elucidates
various forms of Goddesses ranging from fearsome wrathful Goddess Kali also
referred as Goddess Kalika to the benign and gentle Goddess Sri Devi -Mahalaxmi,
the goddess of wealth and prosperity.
Above all, Devi Mahatmya seals that all goddesses are fundamentally
one and unified in Goddess Durga, the divine form of Goddess Parvati. Since then,
the worship of Goddess Durga, the Magna Mater, as the Mother Nature, in
multiple forms is deeply revered in every stratum of Sanatan Hindu Dharma.
Also, Devi
Mahatmya ascertains that Goddess Durga is the dynamic aspect of the pure
consciousness which is unconditional and independent of dependent origination. She
is Nirguna Param Brahman, the blissful union of Shiva and Shakti. Being dynamic,
Goddess Durga is the eternal source as well as the end of everything. She is
the womb of the universe, the Mother Nature, the Mother Goddess who creates,
nurtures, cautions, forgives and dissolves everything into her being.
In Devi Mahatmya, Goddess Kali emanates as the supreme
aspect of Goddess Durga with different names and forms and it ascertains that
Goddess Kali is the most forceful aspect of Goddess Durga.
In Devi Mahatmya,
sage Markandey narrates a battle between the goddess and demons -the negative
forces of the nature, in which the spiritual philosophy of Sanatan Hindu Dharma
unfolds. The sage says from Goddess Parvati
the Goddess Kaushiki manifests embodying divine beauty and youthfulness. When
Goddess Kaushiki is manifested, Goddess Parvati herself is transformed into
dark Goddess Kalika -the goddess of ultimate power. As the demons Chanda and
Munda (the embodiment of evil forces of attraction, aversion, lustfulness and
unclear vision) attacks Goddess Kaushiki, the Goddess
Kalika manifests and kills the demons. As the killer of Chanda and Munda, Goddess
Kalika is also revered by the name Goddess Chamundeshwari.
The death of Chanda and Munda infuriates the demons Sumbha and
Nisumbha (embodiment of the evils of pride and
attachment) and they along with the invincible
demon Raktabeej (embodiment of the
evils of fleeting thoughts and desires) attacks Goddess Kaushiki and Goddess Kalika. At that moment
Goddess Kalika asks Lord Shiva to tell the demons, as her messenger, to
surrender. On this note Goddess Kalika has the name Shivaduti. Hearing this
message, the demons get enraged and the battle intensifies. At that moment all matrikas
-Shaktis including Sapta-Matrikas -seven mothers: Brahmani, Maheshwari,
Vaishnavi, Aindri, Kumari, Varahi, and Narsimhi, the Shaktis of Brahma, Vishnu,
Mahesh, Indra, Kartikeya, Varaha, and Narasimha manifests to support Goddess
Kaushiki and Goddess Kalika in their battle with the demons.
Seeing the invincible act of Raktabeej, Goddess Kaushiki asks Goddess
Kalika to drink the blood of Raktabeej and accordingly Goddess Kalika extends her
tongue in all directions and absorbs every drop of blood of wounded Raktabeej and
causes the death of Raktabeej.
Following the death of Raktabeej, the demon Nisumbha is killed and
the demon Sumbha alone is left who asks the Goddesses for fair play that only
one Goddess fight him. In response to it all Goddesses including Goddess Kalika
dissolves in Goddess Kaushiki and she alone kills the demon Sumbha.
Later
Devi Mahatmya was recast as Shrimad Devi Bhagavata Purana (500 -600 CE) -also
known as Durga Purana, with insertion of some 2100 versus of Devi Mahatmya. It
too asserts Goddess Durga is the supreme power, the epitome of Shakti -the supreme
divine power in feminine form.
Devi Bhagavata Purana expounds
Goddess Sati is Goddess Bhadra Kali. From her being Goddess Sati manifests Das
Mahavidya -ten wisdom goddesses to Lord Shiva. Of the ten wisdom goddesses,
Goddess Kali is foremost who holds primary position among all the ten wisdom
goddesses.
The ten wisdom goddesses
provide wisdom to us to live our life with full knowledge of existence,
insight, experiential self-knowledge, and virtues of ethics and benevolence. It
is with and through ten wisdoms we are able to realise the supreme reality of
life.
The ten wisdom goddesses are not discrete but one
having tenfold aspects and tells us there is supreme joy in every being but
everyone is also inherently rooted with suffering and death. At the heart of
the teaching of Devi Bhagavata Purana we are told do
things that makes us feel good and peaceful which itself becomes our good
Karma.
From each of the ten wisdom goddesses we draw
inspirations for:
i)
Goddess Kali -destruction of ignorance and falsehood.
ii)
Goddess Tara -end attachments, strive for good and aspire to be divine.
iii)
Goddess Sodasi -to refrain from pleasures and have pure perception.
iv)
Goddess Bhuvaneswari -perceive creation and creativity, and see oneness
among all beings.
v)
Goddess Bhairavi -knowing creation and destruction are the two essential
natures of the phenomenal world.
vi)
Goddess Chhinnamasta -have rare courage and self-control for making highest
sacrifice at most difficult situations.
vii)
Goddess Dhumawati -have capacity to confront inauspiciousness, accept
failures and sustain suffering.
viii)
Goddess Bagalamukhi -establish emotional connection to positivity and be
aware of evils of impure speech.
ix)
Goddess Matangi -have self-introspection and develop life skills and
expertise for living a successful life.
x)
Goddess Kamala -let the pursuit of prosperity and success be for seeking
divinity in our being for serving others.
In Linga Purana, Lord Shiva asks Goddess Parvati to kill the demon
Daruka, who had a boon that no other than a woman could kill him. For this task
Goddess Parvati merges with Lord Shiva. As she merges into the body of Lord Shiva
and passes through the poison contained in the throat of Lord Shiva, Goddess
Parvati transforms herself to Goddess Kali in her wrathful form and as she
emerged out of Lord Shiva, she kills the demon, Daruka.
The Vamana Purana (900-1100 CE) Goddess Parvati manifests
in two forms, one as Goddess Kali in wrathful form and another in benign form
as Goddess of divine beauty.
In spiritual
philosophy of Sanatan Hindu Dharma, Shiva is consciousness, the unbroken, steady
and eternal stream of awareness and Shakti is energy of Shiva characterised by infinite
power and potential. The two are one, inseparable, unconditional and
independent of dependent origination.
By nature, Shakti
has three dimensions: i) Sattvik Shakti -the power of creativity,
harmony, knowledge and truth, ii) Rajasic Shakti -power of self-centred passion
and dissatisfaction leading to selfish action and iii) Tamasic Shakti -power of delusion and ignorance leading
to disruptive
action.
Shiva is Chetana
-the conscious substratum and Shakti is both Jada and Chetana -the dormant and
conscious potential. Shiva knows but cannot act but Shakti knows as well as
acts. Shiva is transcendental and Shakti is transcendental and empirical. Shiva is Saktsi -the witness of the entire
creation and Shakti is active creator and she is life-giving mother. Shakti as the
supreme power moves what does not move. Shiva is saturated with Shakti, and
Shakti with Shiva. Shakti is inherent in Shiva. This is the relationship of Shiva
and Shakti. Just as matter and energy they are one and inseparable.
The
Sanatan Hindu Dharma believes; in the beginning there was one primordial
entity, the Para Brahman and nothing else. That Para Brahman split into two:
the Supreme Goddess and Supreme Lord.
The
Lord waited for the right time to be manifested while the Goddess released her
vivacity for creation. She assumed the form of mysterious darkness, the Adya (-primal)
Kali embodying Adya Shakti, the unparallel original cosmic power. The name Adya
Kali is supremely symbolic which means the primordial darkness. It is that relentless
darkness from which light emanates and from which everything is born.
In
the myriad of emanations of Adya Shakti, each emanation is either in the form
of sangfroid self which is the benign form or in the form of stormy self, which
has the wrathful form.
In
Devi Bhagwat Purana, Goddess Sati, who is Adya Kali, manifested as Bhadra Kali,
the first among Das Mahavidya -ten wisdom goddesses. Goddess Sati in the form
of Bhadra Kali, calmly told Lord Shiva to relent her to live to her decisions. As
Bhadra Kali Goddess Parvati eternally lives with Lord Shiva at Kailash.
In
Devi Mahatmya and Devi Bhagavad Purana, Adya Kali manifest in wrathful form as
Goddess Kalika to destroy the demons Chanda and Munda -the
embodiment of the evil force of attraction, aversion, lustfulness
and unclear vision.
The historical evidences provide proofs that Goddess
is being worshipped since before 3rd century BCE in an array of extremely
wrathful form to benign form of exceedingly divine beauty. Her persona has
evolved with regional, rural and indigenous cultures and belief systems.
Goddess Durga is the
divine form of Goddess Parvati. In Goddess Durga there is oneness of all
Goddesses. Goddess Durga is Adya Shakti who manifests in myriad of forms and
Goddess Kali is her wrathful form who is unique and unparallel in her prowess,
love and compassion. She
destroys evils for continuity of harmony and peace. By virtue of her nature,
she is the
potential energy of every possibility.
Goddess Kali is the
embodiment of time and transformation that brings about change and dissolution
leading to rebirth or recreation. She is Shakti -the ultimate divine power, the
energy behind all that ought to happen in the cycle life. She is both time and
space.
Goddess Kali is
boundless space and limitless void which is indicated by her dark blue color.
She is savior for all on the path of virtues.
The awe of her appearance streaming from void and morphing into it is stunning,
terrifying and supreme. The thunderous scream of her emanation, threatens the
very existence of evils.
The
form and manner in which Goddess Kali manifests reminds us that we carry death
in our being and when we realize it, we know what life is. Being the supreme
transforming power of time, Goddess Kali usher everyone for a change in
consciousness towards purity in thoughts and creative actions, desiring to live
with joy and happiness of equanimity, harmony and peace having renounced the fleeting
enjoyment and material gains.
Goddess Kali, in
wrathful form, manifests out of love and compassion for cleansing the nature by
purging the evils in all denominations. She is the power of love and
compassion, the female form of the Supreme Being, the highest spiritual truth above
duality which tells us that the reality is One.
Goddess Kali is the
power of wisdom -Jnana Shakti. By her grace all knowledge is conceived, and all
wisdom is intuited. With her wisdom, Goddess Kali destroys the darkness -the
ignorance in our being, which lets demons -the evils, to breed in our Citta
-mind, both cognitive and emotive mind. With destruction of evils in our being,
Goddess Kali bestows us with the luminosity of divinity, merits and virtues.
Goddess Kali eradicates
darkness -the ignorance bred suffering that dominates our life. She removes obstacles
including evil karma of past life for all who are on the spiritual journey observing
spiritual disciplines for purifying their existence. For those who take refuge
in Goddess Kali and worship her with full devotion, she grants salvation and bestows
the blessings of divinity. Goddess Kali is the ultimate abode of refuge in
situations that seem hopelessly out of control.
Goddess Kali reveals cosmic acts of unceasing cycle of creation,
loving and caring, and dissolution. By her stunning appearance she exhibits awe
and fright while at the same time she assures fearlessness and benevolence, and
in entirety she defines perpetuity of life and existence.
Goddess Kali indeed is the fusion of two contraries: the darkness
and light, and birth and death. It is from the womb where light does not reach,
emerges life, from darkness the luminous light is born and deeper the darkness,
more lustrous is the light. This inter-related unity of two contraries defines
Goddess Kali.
Goddess Kali by her manyfold emanations remind us that the existence
of extremes of suffering and death are the source of life, joy and happiness.
She only destroys to re-create and inflicts suffering so that the delight is experienced.
Taking refuge in Goddess Kali the devotees seek to uncover light
out of darkness, the wisdom that we have within. By invoking Goddess Kali, we
ward off evils and their influence in our mundane life. Her wrath naturally
inflicts retribution for wrong doing as fruition of one’s own Karma.
Being the supreme aspect of Goddess Durga, Goddess Kali is the
feminine aspect of Kala -time, which being invincible and venerated as Mahakala
-transcendental time, who is no other than Shiva and indeed Mahakala is Shiva's
just another name. As the feminine aspect of Mahakala, Goddess Kali commands
greater thrust and reverence who is perceived as the Shakti -power of Kala
-time. As Kala she pervades all in whom she manifests.
Puranas perceived Goddess Kali as the supreme Shakti who is
summoned for the task otherwise not possible. When Goddess Kali emerges from
the being of Goddess Durga, she reigns supreme.
Goddess Kali is the supreme Shakti aspect not only of Goddess
Durga, but also of the dynamic aspect of Shiva. In Shiva this universe is
contained and within Shiva the timeless transition is caused by Shakti. It is
that Shakti which is embodied in Goddess Kali.
There is lucid
meaning of every aspect of Goddess Kali. The dark colour of her complexion represents
the ultimate reality, the infinity and ultimate void, the emptiness which is
unknown and inconceivable from which ignorance is born and into that void the ego
dissolves.
The fierce and
awesome pitch-dark black complexion of Goddess Kali symbolizes all-embracing
and transcendental nature as black is
all-consuming color where all colors drown and disappear. Just
as all colours disappear in black, all names and forms disappear in the being
of Goddess Kali. By spreading her
darkness over worldly desire, Goddess Kali makes oblivious to the transient worldly
desires.
In her two left
hands; one holding a sword and another holding a severed human head, symbolize
her power for instant destruction of false consciousness and the evils causing
suffering to those who have taken refuge in her. Her two right hands are eternally held out for
blessing; one in Abhaya Mudra, saying "fear not" and another
hand in Varada Mudra for conferring blessings and boons.
The garland of
skulls Goddess Kali wears indicates unending cycle of life and impermanence of all that are created or born. Goddess
Kali as the embodiment of time and transformation, she is the ultimate
transforming power of time. In Maitri Upanishad the sage Sakayanya says: “Time
ripens and dissolves all beings in the great Self, but he who knows into what
time itself is dissolved, he is the knower of the Veda.”
It is Goddess
Kali who enables us to be out of the clutch of evils of duality and have the
ability to discipline our body and mind, and keep all the sources of suffering sealed.
The severed human hands around the waist of Goddess
Kali symbolises the influence of Karma on our being and tells us to refrain from
doing evil Karma. Her tongue is a reminder that nature ultimately dissolves all
life into it. It is a symbol of modesty and shame too which denotes that we
should be ashamed of doing what is not right, while her luminous white teeth
symbolize purity.
The dishevelled
hairs of Goddess Kali symbolize her boundless expanse and freedom, and each
hair is an individual soul which has its root in Goddess Kali, and her third
eye represents wisdom.
The nakedness of
Goddess Kali symbolises that she is beyond name and form free from all illusory
covering as she is purity beyond maya -the false consciousness.
Her depiction of stepping on Lord Shiva symbolizes that
being Prakriti -the mother nature, the primal energy of spiritual freedom, Goddess
Kali dances with wild and unselfconscious abandon on Shiva -the field of
consciousness, depicted by the broad chest of Lord Shiva.
Lord Shiva is consciousness and Goddess Kali is Shakti,
the supreme power of consciousness. Consciousness and power, and their
interplay results in creation, preservation, and dissolution in the physical
phenomenal world of existence where we live. The two, Shiva and Shakti, being
one transcends the phenomenal world which indeed is Maya, the illusion, the
appearance of what is real and the reality beyond existence, the ultimate truth
above duality, the Brahman.
Creation is Maya and Shakti is the power of creation
while Shiva is the substrate on and with which creation is brought about. Lord
Shiva being the substrate and the consciousness, the embodiment of oneness and
benevolence brings about creation while Goddess Kali being the supreme Shakti, the
embodiment of the power makes the creation happen. On this perspective the
supreme Shakti is the Mother Nature. Whenever the Mother Nature is imbalanced
and overtly frenzied potentially bringing harms, Lord Shiva channelizes that frenzied
energy of the Mother Nature for benevolence. That is what exactly Goddess Kali
stepping her left foot on the chest of Lord Shiva symbolizes. It arises from
the fact that Shakti is the power of Shiva and the two are one and inseparable.
Being the power
of creativity Goddess Kali has no permanent qualities. Just as Lord Shiva, the
eternal stream of consciousness, if anything is conceived of her, it will be
wrong. The Shakti embodied in Goddess Kali is beyond perception of our mind.
She is outside of the silos of our mind and beyond space and time just as Shiva
who is Param Brahman. Being Mother Nature, Goddess Kali heals our Karma by
destroying evils of our being and protects from miseries of life, whoever takes
refuge in her.
Goddess Kali
simultaneously manifest in forms and formlessness and she is the ocean of
blissful compassion and divine fire that burns all forms of evils. Being Mother
Nature she is ultimately loving and benevolent. She demonstrates us the beauty
of life and reality of death and one cannot exist without the other. With this
ultimate truth Goddess Kali guides us through the reality of life and death. The
devotees contemplating on the nature of Goddess Kali accumulate merits for decisive
actions for doing what is right with highest resolves and for triumph over evils
of ignorance.
The forms in
which Goddess Kali is revered symbolize the greater purpose of knowledge that
human ego must be severed in order to exit from the unending suffering in the cycle
of birth and death. As creative power, Goddess Kali liberates us from the bonds
of Karma and grants the blessings of purification for all-embracing transformation
in our being. It is in the appalling presence of Goddess Kali her devotees feel
protected and safe, loved, and nurtured.
Goddess
Kali being the power of consciousness, she drives our being with: i) Etcha
Shakti -will power, the desire and motivation which relates to mind, ii) Kriya
Shakti -power of action, the ability to act for fulfillment of desires, which relates
to body, and iii) Jnana Shakti -power of knowledge, the capacity to know and
recognize, which relates to our soul.
For
devotees who take refuge is Goddess Kali, the vision of life must not be limited
to physical existence that we are born merely to live, grow, enjoy with a sense
of enjoyment, laugh a little, weep a little and one day pass away without
leaving any footprints behind. One should take refuge in Goddess Kali for victory
who enables us to remove the illusions of our mind. Goddess Kali is She who
reveals the self -the soul inherently present in us is one, unborn, unchanging,
eternal consciousness that underlies all names and forms.
Goddess
Kali is awakener who awakes us that birth, old age, disease, decay and death
only affects our body. She awakes us that deep within us we are immortal
spirit, the spark of divinity that is unborn, immortal, imperishable and
indestructible therefore untouched and unaffected when this body of ours is born
and when this body dies when life comes to an end.
We
all live our mundane life carrying out duties and obligations, but life is fulfilling
and joyful when we also actively live a rich inner life. The supreme task
before all of us is to know Goddess Kali. We must be seeking the vision of
Goddess Kali and worship her with full devotion for purification of our thoughts
and actions, and live a fearless life with selfless service.
Happiness
is our nature, inseparable from us, for it is us, and it is the desire of our
self. Happiness is within us and within our reach. This knowledge is the
treasure we all should have. It is in this knowledge lies supreme joy of peace
and happiness.
Among the
pantheon Gods and Goddesses of Sanatan Hindu Dharma, Goddess Kali is the
embodiment of power of purity which burns out everything that is an aberration
and has evil intent, and all actions considered unrighteous.
In
our being we all inherently have Goddess Kali, and we must find her out. If one
is able have the vision of Goddess Kali in one’s own being, knowledge unfolds,
fear disappears, confidence dawns, and the thoughts and actions are purified.
Goddess
Kali is the divine power of consciousness. By her grace -the cumulative forces
of nature, we are born to live on earth and we must uphold righteousness and evolve
ourselves spiritually so that we attain higher level of consciousness. Once we attain higher level
of consciousness with spiritual knowledge and divine art of living, our inner
being is merged with the Supreme Being and become one with and that is the
ultimate destination of our life, with which we are liberated from the unending
cycle of life -Samsara, to which Dukkha -suffering is associated.
The
Samsara -the phenomenal world, is sustained by the potency of Goddess Kali and
that potency is her Maya, a cosmic illusion by which things appear differently
from what they actually are to us having imperfect discriminating intelligence. From Maya
our ego is born which creates the world of duality and we are not able to see
things through.
Maya
has twofold aspect: Avidya Maya -ignorance and Vidya Maya -wisdom. Goddess Kali
transcends both Maya and shines above the clouds of Maya, but we all live under
the spell Maya. When Vidya Maya conquers Avidya Maya, one attains freedom from
Maya and escapes suffering in the cycle of life in Samsara.
In
us there are seven levels of consciousness. The first three at the base are
instinctive, the next three are cognitive and one at the top is enlightened
consciousness. The first six levels have Adhara -dependent origination, the
corporeal support but the seventh one is Niradhara -unconditional and independent
of dependent origination.
To
the instinctive consciousness the primary focus is on food, shelter and
procreation and to it lust, anger, greed, passion and hate are associated. When
one ascends to the higher level of cognitive consciousness one becomes aware of
the inner spiritual world of loving kindness and compassion seeking to live in
peace and harmony with equanimity. When one rises above the cognitive
consciousness the duality disappears and the super consciousness dawns and
enlightened one becomes.
For ascending
the ladder of consciousness successively we seek refuge in divinity to enable
us to destroy the evil nature inherent to our being. It is inevitable for realising
divine nature to live a joyful life with meaning and purpose.
The evil nature
we live with impedes our spiritual journey and along the path we encounter five
formidable impediments, which are: i) Ignorance: lack of ability to discern and not
understanding the way things are which brings about confusion, bewilderment and
delusion, ii) Attachment: attachment to what we like creates desire and passion,
iii) Aversion:
aversion for what we don't like, or for what prevents us from getting what we
like which creates anger and hatred, iv) Pride: pride inflates our opinion on
oneself and creates disrespectful attitude towards others from which arrogance
and conceit arises, and v) Envy: envy arises
when one is unable to bear the accomplishments or good fortune of others and it
creates jealousy.
i) Ignorance
Ignorance means Avidhya
in Sanskrit which means ‘not-knowing’ but it connotes more in spiritual
dimension.
In spiritual dimension,
ignorance also means being unaware of the spiritual nature of self, suffering, and the transcendent
self. The truth is not ignored, but is not known. It also implies to a situation
where the truth is known but the person is not inspired to engage in it. Hence
the continued misperception of one’s essential identity is the real meaning of ignorance.
Not feeling, experiencing, discovering, or recognizing oneself and being
in a passive state; a way of being that withdraws from the fullness of life is ignorance.
Ignorance in spiritual sense is not a simple state of not knowing facts,
but it is a state of not being engaged with life discovering the wonders of
life and self.
ii) Attachment
By nature, the cognitive mind if let loose incessantly
creates volitions -the cognitive process by which an individual decides on and
commit to a particular course of action. With volition one creates endless
desires for achieving and experiencing worldly subjects and objects. If the
desires are fulfilled, it leads to greed but if unfulfilled, it leads to anger.
The attachment of mind to gratify itself and the
senses is a mental trap created by mind, and it is a disease of the intellect.
While being in the whirlpool of suffering, an option
for living a joyful spiritual life in peace and happiness remains open. With
the attachment of our mind to the spiritual world the cognitive mind and
emotive heart of ours are cleansed and we are able to rethink priorities of our
life.
Weighing the two options; one who opts for spiritual
desires wins the race. The Katha Upanishad says: “The good is one thing; the
pleasant is another; these two, having the different objects, chains a man. It
is well with him who clings to the good; he, who chooses the pleasant, misses
his end.
The good and pleasant approach man: the wise goes around
them and distinguishes them. Yea, the wise prefers the good to the pleasant,
but the fool chooses the pleasant through greed and avarice.”
We all have a choice of controlling or indulging in
constructive or destructive desires. One who contemplates on the choices one
has in life and takes refuge in spiritual world lives an inspirational life in
peace and happiness.
iii) Aversion
Aversion for what we don't like, or for
what prevents us from getting what we like creates anger and hatred. All three;
the aversion, anger, and hatred arise from the emotive state of mind.
The intellect is
a function of cognitive mind which when overrun by ignorance one is unable to
hold one’s emotion and feels burning wishing to harm others and wishing evils
on others.
From ignorance there arises
aversion and from aversion the anger. From anger, delusion arises, and with delusion
there will be bewilderment of cognitive mind. When the cognitive mind is
bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost, one loses his power to discern
between right and wrong. When one is not able to discern and judge, the evil
Karma is created with which one sinks in the whirlpool of suffering.
Bhagavad Gita says, “anger leads to clouding of
judgment, which results in bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered,
the intellect gets destroyed; and when the intellect is destroyed, one is
ruined.”
Everyone has the power to discern
what is right and what is wrong. That power to discern is a spiritual gift we
all have.
With it we can live a blissful heavenly life here on
earth being free from aversion, anger and hatred.
iv) Pride
Sinful pride is born when one glorifies oneself out
of selfish attitude that is exceedingly more than what is just and deserved. Pride
is an evil that destroys and diminish everything of the progress one has made in
spiritual and personal growth. It is a defect in our being that binds us to the
unending cycle of life –Samsara. Pride blinds us from seeing the truth and
unconsciously inflates the sense of righteousness to a ridiculous extent.
Pride is an evil that blocks us from knowing and doing what is right. Born out of
ignorance, pride manifests as vanity, conceit, and
arrogance -Ahangkar. With vanity comes the thought I am above all, a falsity of
being supreme wanting others to be stooges. A conceit tolerates no rivals and establishes
pre-eminence by exaggerating one’s virtues and accomplishment diminishing that
of others.
Ahangkar, the arrogance in general term is ego, a sense of perceived identity as
I am. Ego seamlessly stems from mind, the faculty of consciousness
and thought and it draws its strength from: i) Intellect: the power of the mind
to understand, analyse, discriminate and decide, ii) Manas: the rational faculty of
mind that discerns, and iii) Citta: the emotive faculty of mind.
Ego dwells in our mind and it is the
source of all evils. It brings destruction from within. When ego is emboldened
the virtue and peace of mind are lost and for a person there is no enemy
greater than one’s own ego. Pride, anger, greed, jealousy, hatred are the
attendants of ego.
The way out from of the evils of pride imposing
suffering on us is self-surrender taking refuse in spiritual world. One who dedicates
all actions and the fruits of actions to the Supreme Being attains Sat Citta
Ananda, the highest state of being.
Pride is an obstacle on the path
of self-realization. When one is proud, one undermines righteousness and
distances oneself from self-realization.
v) envy
Envy is the sin of displeasure
over the blessings and achievements of others. It crops up when one looks at others
with evil intent. It is a negative emotive feeling on another person’s good
fortunes, success or happiness.
To an
envious person jealousy arises with a feeling of threat from others to one’s
position, possessions and progress. Between the two, jealousy is an inward or
self-centred disposition, envy is outward directed at others.
A jealous person is hurt, angry, and upset because
he wants more for himself. An envious person is also hurt, angry and upset, and
hates the individual who has what he wants. An envious person doesn’t just want
to gain but also wants the other person to suffer loss. It is a deep-rooted
issue, where one is very resentful of another person’s wellbeing.
These five impediments on our spiritual journey are metaphorically
considered demons in our ever-evolving theology of Sanatan Hindu Dharam. These demons
in our being are the prime sources of suffering. Only when we are free from these
demons the supreme wisdom is dawned on us.
For getting rid of demons in our being, we should take
refuge in Goddess Kali and worship her with full devotion seeing her in all our
thoughts and actions and action ours the grace of the supreme Goddess is bestowed
on us.
Goddess Kali is Linga Nivashini –one who resides in
our subtle body and she is Linga Rupini -one who is intrinsic to our subtle
body. The prominent names and forms of Goddess Kali we often come across are
Kaalratri, Bhadra Kali, Siddha Kali, and Daktshina Kali,
while all Das Mahavidya, the manifestations of Goddess Sati are Goddess Kali
and all of the wrathful forms of Goddess Durga are the manifestations of
Goddess Kali. Some of the names and forms we come across less are Guhyakali, Samhara Kali and Samshana Kali, which are
associated mainly with tantric tradition. Of all manifestations Maha Kali from
the wrathful kind and Shyama
Along
the creative path, Goddess Kali protects us from trio-miseries: i) Daihieka
–relating to body (e.g., diseases), ii) Daivieka –relating to destiny (e.g.
natural disasters) and iii) Bhautieka –relating to worldly affairs (e.g.
poverty, social disharmony).
Of the two kinds of forms of Goddess Kali, wrathful
kind and benign kind, Goddess Maha Kali from the wrathful kind and Shyama Kali
from the benign kind are the most commonly worshipped forms.
Goddess Maha Kali is Adi Para-Sakti, who in her
cosmic form is depicted with ten heads, ten arms and ten legs, who
emanates from Goddess Durga with the express purpose of destroying the demons
Madhu and Kaitabha -the embodiment of craving and aversion. Craving, aversion,
uncertainty and fear are negative forces embodied as demons in our being, and
they are the prime causes of suffering. To get rid of these demons we should go
deep within our being and take refuge in Goddess Kali.
The seventh day of Navratri -the nine days
veneration time of Goddess Durga, is dedicated to Goddess Kaalratri, the most
wrathful for of Goddess Durga who emanates from Goddess Chandi created by
Goddess Parvati. It is the Goddess Kaalratri who kills the demons Sumbha and
Nisumbha -the embodiment of pride and attachment and
the demon Raktabeej -the embodiment of fleeting thoughts and desire.
At home Goddess Kali is worshipped mainly in the
form of Goddess Shyma Kali, who is Goddess Daktshina Kali, the most popular
form, for blessings and boons. Because Goddess Daktshina Kali has blue
complexion just as that of Krishna -Shyam, she is revered as Shyama Kali.
The devotees believe that Goddess Daktshina Kali is
the most approachable form of Goddess Kali and worshiped most in temples and at
homes.
Our faith in
Goddess Kali is cemented for she transcends good and evil, and she is the
ultimate expression of Mother Nature, ever generous and selfless, who creates,
nurture and eventually dissolves the whole of the creation in her nature. It is
Goddess Kali who free us from what binds us and protects us from what harms us
and destroys what is evil and never harms the innocent. Everything she destroys
leads to rebirth and recreation.
“May we all bow
to the Supreme Goddess, the highest primeval Shakti, the vidya of the Vedas
whose nature is both real and unreal, who creates, preserves and destroys
everything by her rajasic, sattvic, and tamasic forms and who at the end
dissolves everything back to herself.
May the Supreme
Goddess give us knowledge to know Samsara and the wisdom to live our life in
peace and happiness.”
ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते ।
पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः॥
