Why do people in Eastern India offer their prayers to Mother Goddess Kali, when rest of the country would be worshiping Lakshmi? Those not conversant with the concept underlying Kali may be curious to know. For the answer, a look into the metaphysical concept underlying Kali becomes imperative.
Kali is believed to drive through creative potential inlaid with Lord Shiva (the eternal source of creation), which eventually manifests into a plural world with all its enormity and diversity. So, if East pays attention to the root of creation, the rest of the country remains focused to the produce. It will be therefore unfair to see either of them in isolation, as one without the other is simply inconceivable. The two in fact represent twin faces of the creation.
The imagery of Kali as is perceived, has to be seen in the above light. So is She presented in a running mode having one leg set on Lord Siva’s body lying inert in corpse pose and other behind. It is as if She picks up the essence of life from Lord Siva, out of which the manifest world of form and name has come into place. Lord Siva is believed to be carrying the seeds of creation, originally in a state of rest. He, lying in corpse pose, implies being motionless by Himself. When His state of rest gets disturbed following spontaneous stirring up, life-sparks came into play. Kali as Shiva’s consort — His Shakti (Kinetic side) — carries forward the life sparks to create the living world, which when withdrawn, the Universe too reverts back to its root. Again, out of the seeds of creation left behind, a new Universe takes off. The symbol set in the cremation ground implies that even following death, out of the seeds of life, would emerge new life-form. Life cycle, thus, keeps running in succession, both individually and collectively.
Lord Shiva and Kali are coterminous, as one without the other is inconceivable. It is something like a static fire-ball, and heat waves emanating there from. If the fire-ball is not there, there will be no heat wave. And if heat wave is not there, the possibility of fire-ball doesn’t exist. It may not be out of place to mention here that according to ‘the theory of relativity’, whenever there is entropy, it multiplies. Here, the heat waves emanating from the so called fire-ball is that entropy which multiplied into diversified energies out of which emerged the multipolar phenomenal form-world. So is Lord Shiva perceived as the beholder of transcendent-consciousness — primal consciousness element lying at the root of all. Kali as His consort symbolises immanent-consciousness — all-pervading radiating consciousness, which grants necessary intelligence to all field players of the living world.
It is believed that following spontaneous pulsation at the eternal-source, the primal-sound “Om” got excited. Out of that emerged ‘Shakti-trinity — Sata, Rajasa, and Tamasa. Random mutation of the three variants of shakti that followed, led to diversified sound notes, out of which those audible to human ears are symbolised by the 50 alphabets of Sanskrit, the seed-syllables (Beeja-mantras). So is Kali perceived as sporting the garland made of 50 human skulls, and which, holds the key to the manifest intelligent world. So, even the language in use is very much rooted in the creation process itself. Kali’s lower part is covered with as many human hands stringed together to mean that She grants the power which lets organic world being in active mode. Thus came into being the dynamic world with all its functionalities.
Kali is shown as black, because She is beyond the scope of human comprehension. It also implies a formless live force that though can’t be seen but remains at the root of our existence. To make us understand this hard truth of life, Kali is presented as such. She is shown as nude to mean that the whole universe forms her apparel meaning infinity. Remember, if an ephemeral world has come into being, it has to meet its end one day, when it collapses into its source, something like the star collapsing to form an invisible black-hole. In the reverse cycle, once karma-cycle gets exhausted, signified by chopped hands, and ego gets dissolved as symbolised by head skulls, one gets to realise Kali. The cycle of time begins with Kali exciting creation chain, and ends when the phenomenal world merges back into Her. So, is She named Kali, the beholder of time. This concept is, therefore, nothing but scientific principle of creation deified.
The writer is an astrologer, vastu consultant and spiritual counsellor. Write to him at G-102, Bharat Nagar, New Friends Colony, New Delhi – 110 025
Tel: 91-11-49848475/9818037273
Email: pioneerqueries@bharatastro.com
Website: www.bharatastro.com
