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I am one of the High Priests of a Wiccan coven here in

New York. I was talking to one of my students

yesterday, and she confessed that she was relieved

that she did NOT go to see Ammachi when the Guru was

in our city a few weeks ago. "I would have asked

Ammachi to give me a mantra for Lakshmi," my student

explained. "Now that I've had time to think it over,

I mean, I LOVE Lakshmi, but worshipping wealth is so

superficial. Now I know that I want a mantra for

Kali. I really admire Kali as the Goddess of

self-sacrifice -- you know, how she cuts off her own

head to stop the anti-gods from destroying the

world..."

 

I cleared my throat, and interupted, "Kali doesn't cut

off her own head!"

 

"Yes, she does! I heard Joseph Campbell talk about it

on one of his Mythology specials."

 

"No, CHINNAMASTIKA cuts off her own head. She's one

of the Wisdom Goddesses. But Kali cuts off OTHER

people's heads, not her own."

 

"I think you're wrong. Joseph Campbell says..."

 

"I haven't read or listened to everything Campbell

wrote, but if he says Kali cuts off her own head, he's

mistaken."

 

I obviously need to do a refresher class on the Hindu

Puranas...

 

This same student, very talented, frequently conflates

the two female planetary divinities, Venus and the

Moon. She's planning a sea-side ritual for the

upcoming Full Moon, and wants to do it on a Friday,

because Aphrodite rises out of the sea. She also

wanted to invoke Shiva, "because he's the Moon."

 

I explained, "Shiva has power over the Moon, he wears

the Moon in his hair, but he's more than the Moon --

he's the power of change and transformation in the

universe. If you're invoking Aphrodite, stick to

Greek deities. It gets too confusing to mix and match

several pantheons at once."

 

Oy!

 

-- Len/ Kalipadma

 

 

 

 

 

__

Start your day with - make it your home page

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Len Rosenberg wrote :I explained, "Shiva has power over the Moon, he

wears the Moon in his hair, but he's more than the Moon -- he's the

power of change and transformation in the universe. If you're

invoking Aphrodite, stick to Greek deities. It gets too confusing to

mix and match several pantheons at once."

 

 

This reminds me when I suddenly have this urge to do what they called

the "crazy quilt". That is what the name implies. Quilt that is crazy

or can make you crazy because you have to mix and match all the

different materials with different design, as such that the end

product is really a wondeful piece of art. When you are in the stage

you simply do not follow the rules. You follow your own instinct. If

you think this design should be with the other, then let it be so. Who

cares.

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yes this is a problem many westerners encounter :(

 

Len Rosenberg <kalipadma108 wrote:

I am one of the High Priests of a Wiccan coven here in

New York. I was talking to one of my students

yesterday, and she confessed that she was relieved

that she did NOT go to see Ammachi when the Guru was

in our city a few weeks ago. "I would have asked

Ammachi to give me a mantra for Lakshmi," my student

explained. "Now that I've had time to think it over,

I mean, I LOVE Lakshmi, but worshipping wealth is so

superficial. Now I know that I want a mantra for

Kali. I really admire Kali as the Goddess of

self-sacrifice -- you know, how she cuts off her own

head to stop the anti-gods from destroying the

world..."

 

I cleared my throat, and interupted, "Kali doesn't cut

off her own head!"

 

"Yes, she does! I heard Joseph Campbell talk about it

on one of his Mythology specials."

 

"No, CHINNAMASTIKA cuts off her own head. She's one

of the Wisdom Goddesses. But Kali cuts off OTHER

people's heads, not her own."

 

"I think you're wrong. Joseph Campbell says..."

 

"I haven't read or listened to everything Campbell

wrote, but if he says Kali cuts off her own head, he's

mistaken."

 

I obviously need to do a refresher class on the Hindu

Puranas...

 

This same student, very talented, frequently conflates

the two female planetary divinities, Venus and the

Moon. She's planning a sea-side ritual for the

upcoming Full Moon, and wants to do it on a Friday,

because Aphrodite rises out of the sea. She also

wanted to invoke Shiva, "because he's the Moon."

 

I explained, "Shiva has power over the Moon, he wears

the Moon in his hair, but he's more than the Moon --

he's the power of change and transformation in the

universe. If you're invoking Aphrodite, stick to

Greek deities. It gets too confusing to mix and match

several pantheons at once."

 

Oy!

 

-- Len/ Kalipadma

 

 

 

 

 

__

Start your day with - make it your home page

http://www./r/hs

 

 

 

 

Beliefs of hinduism Traditions Divine Hinduism Sri

 

 

 

 

 

Visit your group "" on the web.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Deepak Chopra, in his book The Spontaneous Fulfillment of

Desire: Harnessing the Power of Coincidence, discusses

identification with archetypes as a means to strengthen one's

connection with the Divine. He recommends choosing 2 - 3

archetypes, of different genders; different backgrounds are okay,

too. For example: Artemis, Shiva, and Arianrhod (a Celtic

Goddess). He doesn't specifically recommend this combination,

but he encourages seeking out archetypes that work for an

individual's personality and intentions, rather than encouraging

sticking to any one tradition.

 

About Shiva and the moon, my understanding is that "hatha" (of

"hathayoga") means sun and moon, and that hathayoga is the

balancing of duality, two seemingly opposite forces, which can

be Shakti and Shiva. I'm sure this is more of the Westerner

mix-n-match thing, but it works for me.

 

Of course, none of this excuses getting it just plain wrong as far

was what Kali does, who Chinnimasta is, etc. I, for one,

appreciate the freedom of being enriched by the knowledge and

energies of others without having to pretend to be something or

someone that I am not, or to pretend to want to be

something/one else.

 

Mary Ann

 

, sankara menon

<kochu1tz> wrote:

> yes this is a problem many westerners encounter :(

>

> Len Rosenberg <kalipadma108> wrote:

> I am one of the High Priests of a Wiccan coven here in

> New York. I was talking to one of my students

> yesterday, and she confessed that she was relieved

> that she did NOT go to see Ammachi when the Guru was

> in our city a few weeks ago. "I would have asked

> Ammachi to give me a mantra for Lakshmi," my student

> explained. "Now that I've had time to think it over,

> I mean, I LOVE Lakshmi, but worshipping wealth is so

> superficial. Now I know that I want a mantra for

> Kali. I really admire Kali as the Goddess of

> self-sacrifice -- you know, how she cuts off her own

> head to stop the anti-gods from destroying the

> world..."

>

> I cleared my throat, and interupted, "Kali doesn't cut

> off her own head!"

>

> "Yes, she does! I heard Joseph Campbell talk about it

> on one of his Mythology specials."

>

> "No, CHINNAMASTIKA cuts off her own head. She's one

> of the Wisdom Goddesses. But Kali cuts off OTHER

> people's heads, not her own."

>

> "I think you're wrong. Joseph Campbell says..."

>

> "I haven't read or listened to everything Campbell

> wrote, but if he says Kali cuts off her own head, he's

> mistaken."

>

> I obviously need to do a refresher class on the Hindu

> Puranas...

>

> This same student, very talented, frequently conflates

> the two female planetary divinities, Venus and the

> Moon. She's planning a sea-side ritual for the

> upcoming Full Moon, and wants to do it on a Friday,

> because Aphrodite rises out of the sea. She also

> wanted to invoke Shiva, "because he's the Moon."

>

> I explained, "Shiva has power over the Moon, he wears

> the Moon in his hair, but he's more than the Moon --

> he's the power of change and transformation in the

> universe. If you're invoking Aphrodite, stick to

> Greek deities. It gets too confusing to mix and match

> several pantheons at once."

>

> Oy!

>

> -- Len/ Kalipadma

>

>

>

>

>

>

 

__

> Start your day with - make it your home page

> http://www./r/hs

>

>

>

>

> Beliefs of hinduism Traditions Divine Hinduism Sri

>

>

>

>

>

> Visit your group "" on the web.

>

>

>

>

> Terms of

Service.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Start your day with - make it your home page

>

>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Len,

 

Joseph Campbell was actually a close associate of the great German

Sanskritist Heinrich Zimmer, and after Zimmer's death prepared for

publication (from Zimmer's manuscripts) the first English account of

what the Kalika Purana says about Kali and Sati. This is in the

book, _The King and the Corpse_. Don't think that particular book

mentions a goddess cutting off her own head. But does indicate that

Campbell's statements about Indian mythology should not necessarily

be dismissed out of hand.

> "I haven't read or listened to everything Campbell

> wrote,

 

Neither have I, so i don't know what text he may have been

specifically

referring to...

 

but if he says Kali cuts off her own head, he's

> mistaken."

 

Not necessarily.

> CHINNAMASTIKA cuts off her own head.

 

Of course she does.

 

However, Chinnamastika and the other Mahavidyas have for centuries

been considered as aspects or manifestations of Goddess Kali.

 

For instance, there is a passage in the Mahabhagavata Purana, where

Lord Shiva sees Sati transfigured, first into Dakshina Kali, and

then into the ten Mahavidyas, including the beheaded one. Kali then

explains to Shiva that all these are her forms.

 

(There is an English version of this passage cited in the book

Principles of Tantra, which is Woodroffe's English edition of the

Bengali book Tantra-tattva, by Siva Candra Vidyarnava. The

Mahabhagavata Purana is not the same book as the Devibhagavata

Purana, or even the Bhagavata Purana.)

> I obviously need to do a refresher class on the Hindu

> Puranas...

 

Perhaps you do... :)

 

Om Shantih

Colin

 

, Len Rosenberg

<kalipadma108> wrote:

>

> I am one of the High Priests of a Wiccan coven here in

> New York. I was talking to one of my students

> yesterday, and she confessed that she was relieved

> that she did NOT go to see Ammachi when the Guru was

> in our city a few weeks ago. "I would have asked

> Ammachi to give me a mantra for Lakshmi," my student

> explained. "Now that I've had time to think it over,

> I mean, I LOVE Lakshmi, but worshipping wealth is so

> superficial. Now I know that I want a mantra for

> Kali. I really admire Kali as the Goddess of

> self-sacrifice -- you know, how she cuts off her own

> head to stop the anti-gods from destroying the

> world..."

>

> I cleared my throat, and interupted, "Kali doesn't cut

> off her own head!"

>

> "Yes, she does! I heard Joseph Campbell talk about it

> on one of his Mythology specials."

>

> "No, CHINNAMASTIKA cuts off her own head. She's one

> of the Wisdom Goddesses. But Kali cuts off OTHER

> people's heads, not her own."

>

> "I think you're wrong. Joseph Campbell says..."

>

> "I haven't read or listened to everything Campbell

> wrote, but if he says Kali cuts off her own head, he's

> mistaken."

>

> I obviously need to do a refresher class on the Hindu

> Puranas...

>

> This same student, very talented, frequently conflates

> the two female planetary divinities, Venus and the

> Moon. She's planning a sea-side ritual for the

> upcoming Full Moon, and wants to do it on a Friday,

> because Aphrodite rises out of the sea. She also

> wanted to invoke Shiva, "because he's the Moon."

>

> I explained, "Shiva has power over the Moon, he wears

> the Moon in his hair, but he's more than the Moon --

> he's the power of change and transformation in the

> universe. If you're invoking Aphrodite, stick to

> Greek deities. It gets too confusing to mix and match

> several pantheons at once."

>

> Oy!

>

> -- Len/ Kalipadma

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yes Len!! I believe you must have a refresher with a presbytarian minister

explaining that Kali is Christ and that the beheading is the Indian form of

crucfication. And I am fed up with the half baked knowledge of the western

schowlers starting with max Muller who, while in order to propagate their

christian agena, unwittingly did some servce to Sanskrit.

 

These people come to India, talk with a few people, without verifying the

credential of their interviewees (because what they say can be twisted around to

suit their agenda) and then sits down to write tomes that are acepted by

Universities in the west because it suits their agenda to vilify Indi and Indian

and voila we have a new purana.

 

Just to-day I read about some western schowler saying he did not "believe" that

greased cartridges was not the tinder that lit the First war of Independence of

India in 1857. Of course his "belief" carries more weight than truth and

records. Because he is from the west!! Unfortunatly very few who has not spent a

lifetime stuying scriptures can really understand what is what. It requires a

cultural insight thats not easy. someone from the west coming for a few years

cannot "soak in" the background needed to unerstand the system and western

interpretations are based on western cultural background.

 

Collin I am NOT criticising you personally or anything. Please do not take it as

such. This is just MY view. No malice intended.

 

colin777au <colinr wrote:

Hello Len,

 

Joseph Campbell was actually a close associate of the great German Sanskritist

Heinrich Zimmer, and after Zimmer's death prepared for publication (from

Zimmer's manuscripts) the first English account of what the Kalika Purana says

about Kali and Sati. This is in the book, _The King and the Corpse_. Don't think

that particular book mentions a goddess cutting off her own head. But does

indicate that

Campbell's statements about Indian mythology should not necessarily be dismissed

out of hand.

> "I haven't read or listened to everything Campbell wrote,

 

Neither have I, so i don't know what text he may have been

specifically referring to...

 

but if he says Kali cuts off her own head, he's mistaken."

 

Not necessarily.

> CHINNAMASTIKA cuts off her own head.

 

Of course she does.

 

However, Chinnamastika and the other Mahavidyas have for centuries been

considered as aspects or manifestations of Goddess Kali.

 

For instance, there is a passage in the Mahabhagavata Purana, where Lord Shiva

sees Sati transfigured, first into Dakshina Kali, and then into the ten

Mahavidyas, including the beheaded one. Kali then explains to Shiva that all

these are her forms.

 

(There is an English version of this passage cited in the book Principles of

Tantra, which is Woodroffe's English edition of the Bengali book Tantra-tattva,

by Siva Candra Vidyarnava. The Mahabhagavata Purana is not the same book as the

Devibhagavata Purana, or even the Bhagavata Purana.)

> I obviously need to do a refresher class on the Hindu Puranas...

 

Perhaps you do... :)

 

Om Shantih

Colin

 

, Len Rosenberg

<kalipadma108> wrote:

>

> I am one of the High Priests of a Wiccan coven here in

> New York. I was talking to one of my students

> yesterday, and she confessed that she was relieved

> that she did NOT go to see Ammachi when the Guru was

> in our city a few weeks ago. "I would have asked

> Ammachi to give me a mantra for Lakshmi," my student

> explained. "Now that I've had time to think it over,

> I mean, I LOVE Lakshmi, but worshipping wealth is so

> superficial. Now I know that I want a mantra for

> Kali. I really admire Kali as the Goddess of

> self-sacrifice -- you know, how she cuts off her own

> head to stop the anti-gods from destroying the

> world..."

>

> I cleared my throat, and interupted, "Kali doesn't cut

> off her own head!"

>

> "Yes, she does! I heard Joseph Campbell talk about it

> on one of his Mythology specials."

>

> "No, CHINNAMASTIKA cuts off her own head. She's one

> of the Wisdom Goddesses. But Kali cuts off OTHER

> people's heads, not her own."

>

> "I think you're wrong. Joseph Campbell says..."

>

> "I haven't read or listened to everything Campbell

> wrote, but if he says Kali cuts off her own head, he's

> mistaken."

>

> I obviously need to do a refresher class on the Hindu

> Puranas...

>

> This same student, very talented, frequently conflates

> the two female planetary divinities, Venus and the

> Moon. She's planning a sea-side ritual for the

> upcoming Full Moon, and wants to do it on a Friday,

> because Aphrodite rises out of the sea. She also

> wanted to invoke Shiva, "because he's the Moon."

>

> I explained, "Shiva has power over the Moon, he wears

> the Moon in his hair, but he's more than the Moon --

> he's the power of change and transformation in the

> universe. If you're invoking Aphrodite, stick to

> Greek deities. It gets too confusing to mix and match

> several pantheons at once."

>

> Oy!

>

> -- Len/ Kalipadma

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beliefs of hinduism Independence day Traditions Divine Hinduism

 

 

 

 

 

Visit your group "" on the web.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Then again, sometimes an outsider's eye is able to see

something that those immersed or steeped are not able to see

-- the forest for the trees, as it were.

 

, sankara menon

<kochu1tz> wrote:

> yes Len!! I believe you must have a refresher with a

presbytarian minister explaining that Kali is Christ and that the

beheading is the Indian form of crucfication. And I am fed up with

the half baked knowledge of the western schowlers starting with

max Muller who, while in order to propagate their christian

agena, unwittingly did some servce to Sanskrit.

>

> These people come to India, talk with a few people, without

verifying the credential of their interviewees (because what they

say can be twisted around to suit their agenda) and then sits

down to write tomes that are acepted by Universities in the west

because it suits their agenda to vilify Indi and Indian and voila we

have a new purana.

>

> Just to-day I read about some western schowler saying he did

not "believe" that greased cartridges was not the tinder that lit the

First war of Independence of India in 1857. Of course his "belief"

carries more weight than truth and records. Because he is from

the west!! Unfortunatly very few who has not spent a lifetime

stuying scriptures can really understand what is what. It requires

a cultural insight thats not easy. someone from the west coming

for a few years cannot "soak in" the background needed to

unerstand the system and western interpretations are based on

western cultural background.

>

> Collin I am NOT criticising you personally or anything. Please

do not take it as such. This is just MY view. No malice intended.

>

> colin777au <colinr@z...> wrote:

> Hello Len,

>

> Joseph Campbell was actually a close associate of the great

German Sanskritist Heinrich Zimmer, and after Zimmer's death

prepared for publication (from Zimmer's manuscripts) the first

English account of what the Kalika Purana says about Kali and

Sati. This is in the book, _The King and the Corpse_. Don't think

that particular book mentions a goddess cutting off her own

head. But does indicate that

> Campbell's statements about Indian mythology should not

necessarily be dismissed out of hand.

>

> > "I haven't read or listened to everything Campbell wrote,

>

> Neither have I, so i don't know what text he may have been

> specifically referring to...

>

> but if he says Kali cuts off her own head, he's mistaken."

>

> Not necessarily.

>

> > CHINNAMASTIKA cuts off her own head.

>

> Of course she does.

>

> However, Chinnamastika and the other Mahavidyas have for

centuries been considered as aspects or manifestations of

Goddess Kali.

>

> For instance, there is a passage in the Mahabhagavata

Purana, where Lord Shiva sees Sati transfigured, first into

Dakshina Kali, and then into the ten Mahavidyas, including the

beheaded one. Kali then explains to Shiva that all these are her

forms.

>

> (There is an English version of this passage cited in the book

Principles of Tantra, which is Woodroffe's English edition of the

Bengali book Tantra-tattva, by Siva Candra Vidyarnava. The

Mahabhagavata Purana is not the same book as the

Devibhagavata Purana, or even the Bhagavata Purana.)

>

> > I obviously need to do a refresher class on the Hindu

Puranas...

>

> Perhaps you do... :)

>

> Om Shantih

> Colin

>

> , Len Rosenberg

> <kalipadma108> wrote:

> >

> > I am one of the High Priests of a Wiccan coven here in

> > New York. I was talking to one of my students

> > yesterday, and she confessed that she was relieved

> > that she did NOT go to see Ammachi when the Guru was

> > in our city a few weeks ago. "I would have asked

> > Ammachi to give me a mantra for Lakshmi," my student

> > explained. "Now that I've had time to think it over,

> > I mean, I LOVE Lakshmi, but worshipping wealth is so

> > superficial. Now I know that I want a mantra for

> > Kali. I really admire Kali as the Goddess of

> > self-sacrifice -- you know, how she cuts off her own

> > head to stop the anti-gods from destroying the

> > world..."

> >

> > I cleared my throat, and interupted, "Kali doesn't cut

> > off her own head!"

> >

> > "Yes, she does! I heard Joseph Campbell talk about it

> > on one of his Mythology specials."

> >

> > "No, CHINNAMASTIKA cuts off her own head. She's one

> > of the Wisdom Goddesses. But Kali cuts off OTHER

> > people's heads, not her own."

> >

> > "I think you're wrong. Joseph Campbell says..."

> >

> > "I haven't read or listened to everything Campbell

> > wrote, but if he says Kali cuts off her own head, he's

> > mistaken."

> >

> > I obviously need to do a refresher class on the Hindu

> > Puranas...

> >

> > This same student, very talented, frequently conflates

> > the two female planetary divinities, Venus and the

> > Moon. She's planning a sea-side ritual for the

> > upcoming Full Moon, and wants to do it on a Friday,

> > because Aphrodite rises out of the sea. She also

> > wanted to invoke Shiva, "because he's the Moon."

> >

> > I explained, "Shiva has power over the Moon, he wears

> > the Moon in his hair, but he's more than the Moon --

> > he's the power of change and transformation in the

> > universe. If you're invoking Aphrodite, stick to

> > Greek deities. It gets too confusing to mix and match

> > several pantheons at once."

> >

> > Oy!

> >

> > -- Len/ Kalipadma

 

> Beliefs of hinduism Independence day Traditions Divine

Hinduism

>

>

>

>

>

> Visit your group "" on the web.

>

>

>

>

> Terms of

Service.

>

>

>

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>

>

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Hello Sankara

 

Rest assured that I don't take your comments personally. However, I

must say I would be more impressed if you said something about which

scholars and writers you like, rather than which you don t like.

 

What about Ajit Mookerjee, the twentieth century exponent of Tantra,

and author of books including _Kali - the Feminine Force_?

 

Here is what Mookerjee has to say about Kali and the Mahavidyas...

 

"The 'knowledge' aspect of Kali is represented by a sakti-cluster of

ten goddesses known as the Dasa-Mahavidyas, the Ten Great of

Transcendental Wisdoms." (page 63)

 

If you and Len prefer not to think of Chinnamastaka and the others

as forms of Kali, that is up to you.

 

My point is simply that the Mahavidyas have been regarded as forms

of Kali by a number of Indian tantric scholars and devotees, as well

as by western (Presbyterian?) writers.

 

Om Shantih

Colin

 

 

 

, sankara menon <kochu1tz>

wrote:

> yes Len!! I believe you must have a refresher with a presbytarian

minister explaining that Kali is Christ and that the beheading is

the Indian form of crucfication. And I am fed up with the half baked

knowledge of the western schowlers starting with max Muller who,

while in order to propagate their christian agena, unwittingly did

some servce to Sanskrit.

>

> These people come to India, talk with a few people, without

verifying the credential of their interviewees (because what they

say can be twisted around to suit their agenda) and then sits down

to write tomes that are acepted by Universities in the west because

it suits their agenda to vilify Indi and Indian and voila we have a

new purana.

>

> Just to-day I read about some western schowler saying he did

not "believe" that greased cartridges was not the tinder that lit

the First war of Independence of India in 1857. Of course

his "belief" carries more weight than truth and records. Because he

is from the west!! Unfortunatly very few who has not spent a

lifetime stuying scriptures can really understand what is what. It

requires a cultural insight thats not easy. someone from the west

coming for a few years cannot "soak in" the background needed to

unerstand the system and western interpretations are based on

western cultural background.

>

> Collin I am NOT criticising you personally or anything. Please do

not take it as such. This is just MY view. No malice intended.

>

> colin777au <colinr@z...> wrote:

> Hello Len,

>

> Joseph Campbell was actually a close associate of the great German

Sanskritist Heinrich Zimmer, and after Zimmer's death prepared for

publication (from Zimmer's manuscripts) the first English account of

what the Kalika Purana says about Kali and Sati. This is in the

book, _The King and the Corpse_. Don't think that particular book

mentions a goddess cutting off her own head. But does indicate that

> Campbell's statements about Indian mythology should not

necessarily be dismissed out of hand.

>

> > "I haven't read or listened to everything Campbell wrote,

>

> Neither have I, so i don't know what text he may have been

> specifically referring to...

>

> but if he says Kali cuts off her own head, he's mistaken."

>

> Not necessarily.

>

> > CHINNAMASTIKA cuts off her own head.

>

> Of course she does.

>

> However, Chinnamastika and the other Mahavidyas have for centuries

been considered as aspects or manifestations of Goddess Kali.

>

> For instance, there is a passage in the Mahabhagavata Purana,

where Lord Shiva sees Sati transfigured, first into Dakshina Kali,

and then into the ten Mahavidyas, including the beheaded one. Kali

then explains to Shiva that all these are her forms.

>

> (There is an English version of this passage cited in the book

Principles of Tantra, which is Woodroffe's English edition of the

Bengali book Tantra-tattva, by Siva Candra Vidyarnava. The

Mahabhagavata Purana is not the same book as the Devibhagavata

Purana, or even the Bhagavata Purana.)

>

> > I obviously need to do a refresher class on the Hindu Puranas...

>

> Perhaps you do... :)

>

> Om Shantih

> Colin

>

> , Len Rosenberg

> <kalipadma108> wrote:

> >

> > I am one of the High Priests of a Wiccan coven here in

> > New York. I was talking to one of my students

> > yesterday, and she confessed that she was relieved

> > that she did NOT go to see Ammachi when the Guru was

> > in our city a few weeks ago. "I would have asked

> > Ammachi to give me a mantra for Lakshmi," my student

> > explained. "Now that I've had time to think it over,

> > I mean, I LOVE Lakshmi, but worshipping wealth is so

> > superficial. Now I know that I want a mantra for

> > Kali. I really admire Kali as the Goddess of

> > self-sacrifice -- you know, how she cuts off her own

> > head to stop the anti-gods from destroying the

> > world..."

> >

> > I cleared my throat, and interupted, "Kali doesn't cut

> > off her own head!"

> >

> > "Yes, she does! I heard Joseph Campbell talk about it

> > on one of his Mythology specials."

> >

> > "No, CHINNAMASTIKA cuts off her own head. She's one

> > of the Wisdom Goddesses. But Kali cuts off OTHER

> > people's heads, not her own."

> >

> > "I think you're wrong. Joseph Campbell says..."

> >

> > "I haven't read or listened to everything Campbell

> > wrote, but if he says Kali cuts off her own head, he's

> > mistaken."

> >

> > I obviously need to do a refresher class on the Hindu

> > Puranas...

> >

> > This same student, very talented, frequently conflates

> > the two female planetary divinities, Venus and the

> > Moon. She's planning a sea-side ritual for the

> > upcoming Full Moon, and wants to do it on a Friday,

> > because Aphrodite rises out of the sea. She also

> > wanted to invoke Shiva, "because he's the Moon."

> >

> > I explained, "Shiva has power over the Moon, he wears

> > the Moon in his hair, but he's more than the Moon --

> > he's the power of change and transformation in the

> > universe. If you're invoking Aphrodite, stick to

> > Greek deities. It gets too confusing to mix and match

> > several pantheons at once."

> >

> > Oy!

> >

> > -- Len/ Kalipadma

 

> Beliefs of hinduism Independence day Traditions Divine Hinduism

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>

> Visit your group "" on the web.

>

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>

>

> Terms of

Service.

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