Kali Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===In Bengali tradition=== [[File:Kali Shakespeare Sarani Arnab Dutta 2010.JPG|thumb|upright|Statue of Kali trampling on [[Shiva]], worshipped in [[Bengal]].]] [[File:Idol of goddess Kali kept near Nimtala ghat for Visarjan or Immersion in the waters of river Hooghly.jpg|thumb|Idol of goddess Kali kept near Nimtala ghat for Visarjan or Immersion in the waters of river Hooghly]] Kali is a central figure in late medieval [[Bengal]] devotional literature, with such notable devotee poets as [[Kamalakanta Bhattacharya (West Bengal)|Kamalakanta Bhattacharya]] (1769–1821), [[Ramprasad Sen]] (1718–1775). With the exception of being associated with [[Parvati]] as [[Shiva]]'s consort, Kāli is rarely pictured in Hindu legends and iconography as a motherly figure until Bengali devotions beginning in the early eighteenth century. Even in Bengāli tradition her appearance and habits change little, if at all.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|126}} The Tantric approach to Kāli is to display courage by confronting her on cremation grounds in the dead of night, despite her terrible appearance. In contrast, the Bengali devotee adopts the attitude of a child, coming to love her unreservedly. In both cases, the goal of the devotee is to become reconciled with death and to learn acceptance of the way that things are. These themes are addressed in Rāmprasād's work.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|125–126}} Rāmprasād comments in many of his other songs that Kāli is indifferent to his wellbeing, causes him to suffer, brings his worldly desires to nothing and his worldly goods to ruin. He also states that she does not behave like a mother should and that she ignores his pleas: {{poemquote|Can mercy be found in the heart of her who was born of the stone? [a reference to Kali as the daughter of Himalaya] Were she not merciless, would she kick the breast of her lord? Men call you merciful, but there is no trace of mercy in you, Mother. You have cut off the heads of the children of others, and these you wear as a garland around your neck. It matters not how much I call you "Mother, Mother." You hear me, but you will not listen.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|128}}}} To be a child of Kāli, Rāmprasād asserts, is to be denied of earthly delights and pleasures. Kāli is said to refrain from giving that which is expected. To the devotee, it is perhaps her very refusal to do so that enables her devotees to reflect on dimensions of themselves and of reality that go beyond the material world.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|128}} A significant portion of Bengali devotional music features Kāli as its central theme and is known as [[Shyama Sangeet]] ("Music of the Night"). Mostly sung by male vocalists, today women have taken to this form of music. Kāli is especially venerated in the festival of [[Kali Puja]] in eastern India – celebrated when the new moon day of [[Ashwin]] month coincides with the festival of [[Diwali]]. The practice of animal sacrifice is still practiced during Kali Puja in Bengal, Orissa, and Assam, though it is rare outside of those areas. The [[Hindu temple]]s where this takes place involves the ritual slaying of goats, chickens and sometimes male water buffalos. Throughout India, the practice is becoming less common.<ref name="Fuller Christopher John 2004 83">{{cite book|last=J. Fuller|first= C.|title=The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India [Paperback] |edition=Revised|year=2004|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|isbn=978-0-691-12048-5 |page=83|quote=Animal sacrifice is still practiced widely and is an important ritual in popular Hinduism|id= {{ASIN|069112048X|country=uk}}}}</ref> The rituals in eastern India temples where animals are killed are generally led by [[Brahmin]] priests.<ref name="Fuller Christopher John 2004 83"/>{{rp|84, 101–104}} A number of [[Tantra|Tantric]] [[Puranas]] specify the ritual for how the animal should be killed. A Brahmin priest will recite a mantra in the ear of the animal to be sacrificed, in order to free the animal from the cycle of life and death. Groups such as People for Animals continue to protest animal sacrifice based on court rulings forbidding the practice in some locations.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McDermottb|first1=Rachel Fell |title=Revelry, rivalry, and longing for the goddesses of Bengal: the fortunes of Hindu festivals |date=2011 |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |location=New York; Chichester |isbn=978-0-231-12918-3 |page=205 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ggBeH_lmUu8C&pg=PR10 |access-date=17 December 2014}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page