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! ==Worship== ===Mantras=== Kali could be considered a general concept, like Durga, and is primarily worshipped in the Kali Kula sect of worship. The closest way of direct worship is Maha Kali or [[Bhadrakali]] (Bhadra in Sanskrit means 'gentle'). Kali is worshipped as one of the 10 [[Mahavidya]] forms of Adi Parashakti. One mantra for worship to Kali is:<ref name="Chawdri">{{cite book |last=Chawdhri |first=L.R. |title=Secrets of Yantra, Mantra and Tantra |year=1992 |publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. }}</ref> {{verse translation|lang=sa|italicsoff=y |सर्वमङ्गलमाङ्गल्ये शिवे सर्वार्थसाधिके । शरण्ये त्र्यम्बके गौरि नारायणि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥ ॐ जयंती मंगला काली भद्रकाली कपालिनी । दुर्गा क्षमा शिवा धात्री स्वाहा स्वधा नमोऽस्तुते ॥ |Sarvamangal-māngalyē śivē sarvārthasādhikē. Śaraṇyē tryambakē Gauri nārāyaṇi namō'stu tē. Oṃ jayantī mangala kālī bhadrakālī kapālinī . Durgā kṣamā śivā dhātrī svāhā svadhā namō'stutē. ॐ काली काली महाकाली कालिके परमेश्वरी । सर्वानन्दकरी देवी नारायणि नमोऽस्तुते ।। }} In fact, chanting of Mahishasura Mardhini is a daily ritual in all Hindu Bengali homes especially during Navratri / Durga Pujo as it is called.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}} The chant of the first chapter of Durga Saptashati is considered a very important hymn to Sri Mahakali as Devi Mahatmyam / Durga Saptashati dates back to the Upanishadic Era of Indological literature. ===Tantra=== [[File:Kali Yantra.jpg|thumb|Kali [[Yantra]]]] Goddesses play an important role in the study and practice of [[Tantra]] Yoga, and are affirmed to be as central to discerning the nature of reality as are the male deities. Although [[Parvati]] is often said to be the recipient and student of [[Shiva]]'s wisdom in the form of ''Tantras'', it is Kali who seems to dominate much of the Tantric iconography, texts, and rituals.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} In many sources Kāli is praised as the highest reality or greatest of all deities. The ''Nirvana-tantra'' says the gods [[Brahma]], [[Vishnu]], and Shiva all arise from her like bubbles in the sea, ceaselessly arising and passing away, leaving their original source unchanged. The ''Niruttara-tantra'' and the ''Picchila-tantra'' declare all of Kāli's mantras to be the greatest and the ''Yogini-tantra'', ''Kamakhya-tantra'' and the ''Niruttara-tantra'' all proclaim Kāli ''vidyas'' (manifestations of ''Mahadevi'', or "divinity itself"). They declare her to be an essence of her own form (''svarupa'') of the ''Mahadevi''.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|122–124}} In the ''Mahanirvana-tantra'', Kāli is one of the epithets for the primordial ''ṥakti'', and in one passage Shiva praises her: {{blockquote|At the dissolution of things, it is Kāla [Time] Who will devour all, and by reason of this He is called Mahākāla [an epithet of Lord Shiva], and since Thou devourest Mahākāla Himself, it is Thou who art the Supreme Primordial Kālika. Because Thou devourest Kāla, Thou art Kāli, the original form of all things, and because of Thou art the Origin of and devourest all things Thou art called the Adya [the Primordial One]. Re-assuming after Dissolution Thine own form, dark and formless, Thou alone remainest as One ineffable and inconceivable. Though having a form, yet art Thou formless; though Thyself without beginning, multiform by the power of Maya, Thou art the Beginning of all, Creatrix, Protectress, and Destructress that Thou art.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|122–124}}}} The figure of Kāli conveys death, destruction, and the consuming aspects of reality. As such, she is also a "forbidden thing", or even death itself. In the ''Pancatattva'' ritual, the ''[[sadhaka]]'' boldly seeks to confront Kali, and thereby assimilates and transforms her into a vehicle of salvation.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|122–124}} This is clear in the work of the ''Karpuradi-stotra'',<ref>{{cite book |last1=Woodroffe |first1=John |author-link=John Woodroffe |title=Karpuradi Stotra, Tantrik Texts Vol IX |year=1922 |publisher=Calcutta Agamanusandhana Samiti }}</ref> short praise of Kāli describing the ''Pancatattva'' ritual unto her, performed on [[charnel ground|cremation grounds]]. (''Samahana-sadhana''); {{blockquote|He, O Mahākāli who in the cremation-ground, who wear skull garland and skirt of bones and with dishevelled hair, intently meditates upon Thee and recites Thy mantra, and with each recitation makes offering to Thee of a thousand Akanda flowers with seed, becomes without any effort a Lord of the earth. Oh Kāli, whoever on Tuesday at midnight, having uttered Thy mantra, makes offering even but once with devotion to Thee of a hair of his Shakti [his energy/female companion] in the cremation-ground, becomes a great poet, a Lord of the earth, and ever goes mounted upon an elephant.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|122–124}}}} The ''Karpuradi-stotra'', dated to approximately 10th century CE,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Beck |first1=Guy L. |title=Sonic Theology: Hinduism and Sacred Sound |year=1993 |publisher=University of South Carolina Press |isbn=978-1-64336-404-9|page=145}}</ref> clearly indicates that Kāli is more than a terrible, vicious, slayer of demons who serves [[Durga]] or [[Shiva]]. Here, she is identified as the supreme mother of the universe, associated with the five elements. In union with Lord Shiva, she creates and destroys worlds. Her appearance also takes a different turn, befitting her role as ruler of the world and object of meditation.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|124–125}} In contrast to her terrible aspects, she takes on hints of a more benign dimension. She is described as young and beautiful, has a gentle smile, and makes gestures with her two right hands to dispel any fear and offer boons. The more positive features exposed offer the distillation of divine wrath into a goddess of salvation, who rids the ''sadhaka'' of fear. Here, Kali appears as a symbol of triumph over death.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|125}} ===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> ===In Tantric Buddhism=== [[File:Troma Nagmo closeup.jpg|thumb|upright|Tröma Nagm in Tibetan Buddhism, shares some attributes of Kali.]] Tantric Kali cults such as the Kaula and Krama had a strong influence on [[Tantric Buddhism]], as can be seen in fierce-looking [[yogini]]s and [[dakini]]s such as [[Vajrayogini]] and Krodikali.<ref>{{Cite book |last=English |first=Elizabeth |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/50234984 |title=Vajrayoginī: her visualizations, rituals & forms: a study of the cult of Vajrayoginī in India |publisher=Wisdom Publications |year=2002 |isbn=0-86171-329-X |edition=1st Wisdom |location=Boston |pages=38–40 |oclc=50234984}}</ref> In Tibet, Krodikali (alt. Krodhakali, Kālikā, Krodheśvarī, Krishna Krodhini) is known as ''Tröma Nagmo'' ({{lang-xct|ཁྲོ་མ་ནག་མོ་}}, [[Wylie transliteration|Wylie]]: {{lang|bo-Latn|khro ma nag mo}}, English: "The Black Wrathful Lady").<ref>[http://www.himalayanart.org/pages/vajrayogini/index.html The Forms of Vajrayoginī] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821222811/http://www.himalayanart.org/pages/vajrayogini/index.html |date=21 August 2008 }} Himalayan Art Resources</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.himalayanart.org/image.cfm/490.html|title=Vajrayogini (Buddhist Deity) – Krodha Kali (Wrathful Black Varahi) |work=HimalayanArt}}</ref> She features as a key deity in the practice tradition of [[Chöd]] founded by [[Machig Labdron]] and is seen as a fierce form of [[Vajrayogini]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Simmer-Brown |first=Judith |author-link=Judith Simmer-Brown |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/54964040 |title=Dakini's warm breath: the feminine principle in Tibetan Buddhism |year=2002 |isbn=1-57062-920-X |edition=1st paperback |location=Boulder |publisher=Shambhala |pages=146 |oclc=54964040}}</ref> Other similar fierce deities include the dark blue Ugra Tara and the lion-faced [[Simhamukha]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shaw |first=Miranda Eberle |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/62342823 |title=Buddhist goddesses of India |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2006 |isbn=0-691-12758-1 |location=Princeton |pages=340, 426|oclc=62342823}}</ref> ===In Sinhala Buddhism=== [[File:Temple_Guardian_(45106290361).jpg|alt=Temple_Guardian_(45106290361)|thumb|Statue at the [[Pathirakali Amman Temple]] of a guardian with a very similar appearance to Kali]] In Sri Lanka, Kali is venerated and called upon by Buddhists and Hindus. She is a type of mother goddess, sometimes invoked to fight disease,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Three aspects of the 'Dhammika Paniya' controversy |url=https://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/Three-aspects-of-the--%E2%80%98Dhammika-Paniya%E2%80%99--controversy/172-202661}}</ref> and a maid of the Goddess [[Pattini]].<ref name=":0" /> In Sinhala Buddhism, her origin is explained through her arriving at Munneśvaram from South India, eating humans, and attempting to eat Pattini, who instead tames her.<ref name=":2" /> She is regarded as having seven forms; Bhadrakāli (who is associated with business and gold trade, and prominently worshipped at the Tamil Hindu [[Munneswaram temple|Munneśvaram]] temple, though over 80% of its patrons are Sinhala Buddhists. Bhadrakāli priests here interpret her tongue as symbolizing revenge, rather than embarrassment, and she tramples the demon of ignorance<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Bastin |first=Rohan |date=September 1996 |title=THE REGENERATIVE POWER OF KALI WORSHIP IN CONTEMPORARY SINHALA BUDDHISM |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23171698 |journal=Social Analysis: The International Journal of Anthropology}}</ref>), Mahābhadrakāli, Pēnakāli, Vandurukāli (Hanumāpatrakāli), Rīrikāli, Sohonkāli, and Ginikāli.<ref name=":0" /> These forms are subordinate to Kāliammā (the mother of Kāli). Red flowers, silver coins, blood, and oil lamps with mustard oil are offered to her, and as Pattini's servant, she accepts offerings on her behalf.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Hewamanage |first=Wimal |date=January 2018 |title=The History of the Kāli Cult and its Implications in Modern Sri Lankan Buddhist Culture |journal=Alternative Spirituality and Religion Review}}</ref> Sohonkāli is the form venerated in one of her most popular temples, the Mōdara Kāli temple in [[Colombo]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Kali is not alien to Sinhala-Buddhism |url=https://dailyexpress.lk/commentary/5609/}}</ref> Her worship in Sri Lanka dates back to at least the 9th century CE, and [[Dharmasena Thera]] created the [[Sadharma Ratnavaliya]] in the 13th century based on an older 5th century work, which actively recontextualizes Kali in a Buddhist context,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sri Kali and Sri Lanka |url=http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2011/12/sri-kali-and-sri-lanka.html?m=1}}</ref> exploring the nature of violence and vengeance and how they trap people in cycles until justification, guilt, and good and evil become irrelevant.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thera |first=Dharmasena |title=The Jewels of the Doctrine |year=1991 |isbn=0-7914-0489-7 |language=English |translator-last=Obeyesekere |translator-first=Ranjini}}</ref> Kali has been seen as both a demon (though a tamed one, thanks to Pattini<ref name=":2" />) and a goddess in Sri Lanka.<ref name=":1" /> She and mythical Sinhala Buddhist kings both use demonic fury as a necessary condition of conquest.<ref name=":2" /> Yantras are used in relation to her, sourced from the [[Pali Canon]], later Buddhist [[paritta]] chants, and from non-Buddhist yantras and mantras. The Sādhakayantra is popular, and its corresponding mantra includes Arabic words and Islamic concepts.<ref name=":1" /> ===Worship in the Western world=== ====Theorized early worship==== A form of Kali worship may have already transmitted to the west already in Medieval times by the wandering [[Romani people|Romani]]. A few authors have drawn parallels between Kali worship and the ceremonies of the annual pilgrimage in honor of [[Saint Sarah]], also known as ''Sara-la-Kali'' ("Sara the Black", {{lang-rom|Sara e Kali}}), held at [[Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer]], a place of [[pilgrimage]] for Roma in the [[Camargue]], in southern [[France]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=McDowell |first=Bart |title=Gypsies: Wanderers of the World |pages=38–57}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Fonseca |first=Isabel |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/32387216 |title=Bury me standing: the Gypsies and their journey |others=Mazal Holocaust Collection, David Lindroth Inc. |year=1995 |isbn=0-679-40678-6 |edition=1st |location=New York |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |pages=106–107 |oclc=32387216}}</ref> [[Ronald Lee]] (2001) states: {{blockquote|If we compare the ceremonies with those performed in France at the shrine of Sainte Sara (called ''Sara e Kali'' in Romani), we become aware that the worship of Kali/[[Durga]]/Sara has been transferred to a Christian figure... in France, to a [[folk saint|non-existent "sainte"]] called Sara, who is actually part of the Kali/Durga/Sara worship among certain groups in India.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Ronald |title=The Rom-Vlach Gypsies and the Kris-Romani |pages=210}}</ref>}} ====In modern times==== An academic study of modern-day western Kali enthusiasts noted that, "as shown in the histories of all cross-cultural religious transplants, Kali devotionalism in the West must take on its own indigenous forms if it is to adapt to its new environment."<ref name="McDermott1998p281-305">{{cite book | last =McDermott | first = Rachel Fell | chapter = The Western Kali | editor-last = Hawley | editor-first = John Stratton | title = Devi: Goddesses of India | publisher = Motilal Banarsidass | date = 1998 |pages=281–305}}</ref> Rachel Fell McDermott, Professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures at [[Columbia University]] and author of several books on Kali, has noted the evolving views in the West regarding Kali and her worship. In 1998 McDermott wrote that: {{blockquote|A variety of writers and thinkers have found Kali an exciting figure for reflection and exploration, notably, [[Feminism|feminists]] and participants in [[New Age]] spirituality who are attracted to goddess worship. [For them], Kali is a symbol of wholeness and healing, associated especially with repressed female power and sexuality. [However, such interpretations often exhibit] confusion and misrepresentation, stemming from a lack of knowledge of Hindu history among these authors, [who only rarely] draw upon materials written by scholars of the Hindu religious tradition ... It is hard to import the worship of a goddess from another culture: religious associations and connotations have to be learned, imagined or intuited when the deep symbolic meanings embedded in the native culture are not available.<ref name="McDermott1998p281-305" />}} By 2003, she amended her previous view. {{blockquote|... crosscultural borrowing ''is'' appropriate and a natural by-product of religious globalization—although such borrowing ought to be done responsibly and self-consciously. If some Kali enthusiasts, therefore, careen ahead, reveling in a goddess of power and sex, many others, particularly since the early 1990s, have decided to reconsider their theological trajectories. These [followers], whether of South Asian descent or not, are endeavoring to rein in what they perceive as excesses of feminist and New Age interpretations of the Goddess by choosing to be informed by, moved by, an Indian view of her character.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McDermott |first1=Rachel Fell |title=Encountering Kali: In the Margins, at the Center, in the West |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bMUJyU_C-LkC |year=2003 |publisher=University of California Press |page=285 |isbn=978-0-520-92817-6}}</ref> }} ====In Réunion==== In [[Réunion]], a part of France in the Indian Ocean, veneration for Saint [[Expeditus]] ({{Lang-fr|Saint Expédit}}) is very popular. The [[Malbars]] have Tamil ancestry but are, at least nominally, Catholics. The saint is identified with Kali.<ref name="Suryanarayan">{{cite journal |last1=Suryanarayan |first1=V. |title=Tamils In Re-Union: Losing Cultural Identity – Analysis |journal=Eurasia Review |date=12 October 2018 |url=https://www.eurasiareview.com/12102018-tamils-in-re-union-losing-cultural-identity-analysis/ |access-date=3 March 2021 |language=en |quote=Saint Expedit, worshipped locally, is identified with Goddess Kali.}}</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