Who Is Kali?

[Guest guest]

This post is in response to Adi_Shakthi16's recent queries on exactly

who Kali may be: Is the blood-lapping Kali who emanates from Durga's

forehead in the Devi Mahatmyam the same Kali whom we worship as the

first of the Mahavidyas? I am writing this reply from the Maine woods,

far from a Web connection, and will post it next time I get into town.

So if I'm simply repeating what other people have already said, please

forgive me; I've been unable to follow the thread as it developed.

 

But my answer is, Yes. They are certainly the same. There is but One

Goddess, although She manifests in infinite aspects - each of which

provides a finite entry to Her totality. Each part (individual goddess

form) will lead us to the whole. As our human mind grasps each aspect,

we are awakened to ever-greater depths of understanding. Because She

is infinite, however, there is no end to this process. Only when we

pass beyond the mind and its understanding are we able to finally

merge with that Whole - which ultimately cannot be understood, but

only experienced.

 

If you'll notice the Group's new front-page quote, it states that all

forms of the goddess are the Great Goddess, once "activated." In fact,

of course, the Great Goddess is always there - She is everyone and

everything we see, and don't see. What is "activated" is Her

worshiper; she or he gradually comes to realize first totality of

devotion to the ishtadevata (the chosen Personal God/dess), and

finally complete identity with the Divine

 

Kali, more than any other form of Devi, offers an accelerated

crash-course in Self-Realization. She has been described as "the

Goddess of Yogic Transformation," because She is the aspect of Devi

who most challenges her devotees' traditional assumptions and

viewpoints - who most uncompromisingly pushes and drags them toward

the realization that is the end of sadhana. Kali is the Goddess form

for devotees who like their Truth straight-up; for those who prefer to

plunge straight into the deep end, rather than wading in little by

little, allowing themselves to gradually get used to the water.

 

Kali is, without a doubt, the best-known Hindu goddess among

non-Hindus. Muslims and Christians have used her to demonstrate that

the "benighted" Hindus worship horrific she-devils or demonesses, and

must therefore be "saved" from themselves - preferably by conversion,

of course. Modern pagan and Western Goddess-revival movements have

often embraced the figure of Kali, but usually without a full (or even

partial) understanding of Her actual meaning and full significance.

 

Kali is usually considered the first and most important of the Ten

Mahavidyas, or Wisdom Goddesses. Some say all of the Mahavidyas are

merely aspects of Kali, each one coming a little closer to the Big

Truth that is Kali. That is one of many legitimate approaches to this

Goddess group. It's not my personal belief; my ishtadevi is Maatangi,

who happens to be the Ninth Mahavidya. When we reach Her is this

series, I will post a lot of information on why I see in Her vastly

more than just a watered-down Kali.

 

But for now, suffice it to say that the power and appeal of Kali is

such, among Her devotees, that every Goddess appears to be but Her

reflection. Earlier this year, I completed a painting of Maatangi Devi

for my personal altar. I circulated a few copies among close friends -

and was very soon bowled over by the honor of a Kali priest in

Singapore asking me for permission to install and display my painting

in his temple. I could only say, "Of course, certainly!" But although

Maatangi's iconography is very distinctive, and quite different from

Kali's, he lovingly referred to my beloved Maatangi as none other than

his beloved Kali. He saw no distinction at all.

 

Aum Maatangyai Namahe