Sunday Story(Updated on pg 26) - Page 13

Goddess Kali

Kali comes from the Sanskrit root word Kal which means time. There is nothing that escapes the all-consuming march of time. In Tibetan Buddhism Her counterpart is male with the name Kala.

It is partly correct to say Kali is a goddess of death but She brings the death of the ego as the illusory self-centered view of reality. Nowhere in the Hindu stories is She seen killing anything but demons nor is She associated specifically with the process of human dying like the Hindu god Yama (who really is the god of death). It is true that both Kali and Shiva are said to inhabit cremation grounds and devotees often go to these places to meditate. This is not to worship death but rather it is to overcome the I-am-the-body idea by reinforcing the awareness that the body is a temporary condition. Shiva and Kali are said to inhabit these places because it is our attachment to the body that gives rise to the ego. Shiva and Kali grant liberation by removing the illusion of the ego. Thus we are the eternal I AM and not the body. This is underscored by the scene of the cremation grounds.

Of all the forms of Devi, She is the most compassionate because She provides moksha or liberation to Her children. She is the counterpart of Shiva the destroyer. They are the destroyers of unreality. The ego sees Mother Kali and trembles with fear because the ego sees in Her its own eventual demise. A person who is attached to his or her ego will not be receptive to Mother Kali and she will appear in a fearsome form. A mature soul who engages in spiritual practice to remove the illusion of the ego sees Mother Kali as very sweet, affectionate, and overflowing with incomprehensible love for Her children.

Ma Kali wears a garland of skulls and a skirt of dismembered arms because the ego arises out of identification with the body. In truth we are beings of spirit and not flesh. So liberation can only proceed when our attachment to the body ends. Thus the garland and skirt are trophies worn by Her to symbolize having liberated Her children from attachment to the limited body. She holds a sword and a freshly severed head dripping blood. As the story goes, this represents a great battle in which she destroyed the demon Raktabija. Her black skin represents the womb of the quantum unmanifest from which all of creation arises and into which all of creation will eventually dissolve. She is depicted as standing on Shiva who lays beneath Her with white skin (in contrast to Her black or sometimes dark blue skin). He has a blissful detached look. Shiva represents pure formless awareness sat-chit-ananda (being-consciousness-bliss) while She represents "form" eternally supported by the substratum of pure awareness.

4) The Badrinath temple opens only for six months in summer from May to the beginning of November. After this the whole township including the village of Mana closes down for the winter. The temple is closed and the idol of Uddhava is taken down to Pandukeshwar and kept in the temple there. The eternal snows cover the temple like a blanket and no one can enter. Before the Rawal closes the door, he lights the Akhand Deep or the ghee lamp of eternity. Some special types of wicks are used and the lamp is filled with ghee. These wicks are specially made be one of the families from the village of Mana. This lamp never goes out and when the Rawal opens the holy door to the sanctum in May, all pilgrims are able to see this yearly miracle. It is said that the puja during this period is conducted by the celestial sage, Narada, the great devotee of Lord Vishnu. In olden days a few hardy yogis would choose to live next to the Tapta Kund which is the only place which is not covered with snow. Now of course there is a military headquarters in Mana so a few sentries are always on guard.

It was a pleasant scene at Kailash, the Devas and saints used to frequent Mount Kailash for offering their prayers to Lord Shiva and Parvati, who were greatly pleased to see the saint's meditating, Nandi praying for God's blessing, Lord Muruga playing at the feet of Lord Shiva, and Ganapati dancing with his trunk. At this time Narada arrived there. Playing his veena and chanting "Hara-Hara! Shambo Maha Deva!" . Seeing Narada, Lord Shiva welcomed him gracefully. After worshipping the God and Goddess, Narada offered them a very special mango fruit.

Upon seeing the fruit, Muruga and Vinayaga anxiously waited to receive this fruit (Gna Pazham) had unparalleled taste. So Lord Shiva decided to conduct a contest to choose the right person for the fruit. The winner should circle the world first. Goddess Uma watched them with a smile. The brave young Kandavel (Muruga) started his journey around the world at once.

"Within a second I will go around the world upon my blue peacock," he said.

The blue peacock fluttered its wings like a golden chariot an flew around the world in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile, Vinayaga realised his disadvantage, he just had a rat. Going around the world on a rat would be time consuming. He quickly of a solution.

He went around his father and mother three times and worshiped them.

Then Lord Shiva asked his son, "Vinayaga! What did you do?"

Ganesha spoke thus, "Because of you only, this world arises and falls. Father and mother are the world," so I have went around you and so saying he claimed the prize fruit.

Shiva and Uma were pleased by this act of Vinayaga and presented the fruit to him.

Lord Muruga reached his father Lord Shiva within a second to claim the fruit. But it had already been won by his brother Ganapati! Muruga was very surprised, angry and felt cheated. At that time Shiva told Lord Muruga that Ganapati had completed the contest faster by circling his parents. Lord Muruga could not accept this reason. Hence he became hard-hearted and his lips became reddish.

Angry Lord Muruga decides to leave home and heads south. Goddess Parvati's runs towards her son to stop him but Muruga flew away on the peacock. This happened for the welfare of the people in the world. This is known as "Grace Play" and "Grace Anger".