Goddess Kali is the embodiment of the Divine Mother who compassionately kills the ego. As a result, she challenges us to destroy who we are (Ego) and embrace who we are not. She removes the ego and liberates the soul from the cycle of birth and death.
But despite her terrifying appearance, Goddess Kali is widely regarded as the kindest and most caring of all Hindu Goddesses. She is a symbol of Mother Nature herself – primordial, creative, nurturing and devouring in turn, but ultimately loving and benevolent. She is revered by her devotees as the mother of all beings. But she embodies everything that a feminine force is not. Because of her fierce form, she is also looked upon as a great protector. She is also known as the Goddess of Time, Creation, Destruction and Power. Kali comes from the Sanskrit word Kala which means time. In this aspect, she is considered to stand outside of the constraints of space-time and have no permanent qualities. She existed before the universe was created and will continue to exist after the universe ends.
Her skin is dark blue almost black which represents the womb of existence from where all possibilities arise and disappears. Just like all colours disappear into black, all names and forms disappear in her.
She is often being depicted naked, which symbolises her been beyond the covering of Maya since she Is pure consciousness and free from the illusory covering, for she is beyond all Maya or false consciousness.
Her hair is long black and flowing freely, depicting her freedom from convention and the confines of conceptualization. Her eyes are open wide, eternally awake, blazing with the fire of infinite suns as an expression of her indomitable intensity. She is standing on the chest of Lord Shiva who is pure primal awareness, lying in a passive reclining position, peaceful, with his eyes half-open in a state of bliss.
Her three eyes represent past, present and future modes of time – the attributes of the name Kali.
Her white teeth symbolise Sattva or peace, her red tongue symbolises Rajas or activity, and her darkness symbolises Tamas or inertia. Means Tamas can be conquered by Rajas, and Rajas can be conquered by Sattva. Kali’s four arms show each hand carrying a sword, a Trishul (a trident), a severed head and a bowl or skull-cup (kapala) collecting the blood of the severed head.
The sword signifies divine knowledge, the human head signifies human ego which must be slain by divine knowledge in order to attain Moksha. She can cut human bondage with the sword of knowledge and impart supreme wisdom.
Her other two hands (usually the right ones) are in fearlessness (Abhaya) and blessing(Vardan) mudras which means her devotees will be saved as she will guide them here and in the life after.
Mother Kali proudly wears a garland of skulls, which depict her many children whom she has liberated from the grip of I -am-the-body illusion, and from the cycle of birth and death. Her waist is a girdle of severed human arms, that represent action or karma. All human actions and their results go to the Divine Mother. At the end of the cycle, all souls merge with Kali, and during creation, they again evolve with their respective karmas.
The ego arises out of identification with the body but the truth is we are beings of spirit and not flesh. So liberation can only happen when our attachment to the body ends. Thus motherKali’s garland and skirt are trophies won by her to symbolise having liberated her children from attachment to the limited body. The Sword and a freshly severed head dripping blood held by her represent a great battle in which she destroyed the demon Raktabija.
Shiva (her consort) is sleeping below the feet of Kali which signifies Shiva and Shakti are always together. Shiva is pure cosmic consciousness and Kali is cosmic energy. No creation is possible without their Union. Shiva cannot manifest without the power of Kali and Kali cannot function without the consciousness of Shiva. She is his Shakti or the creative power behind all consciousness. She can never exist apart from Shiva, just as Shiva remains a mere corpse without Kali or Shakti, the entire energy of the Universe.
The truth is that words can never be enough to describe the Divine Mother MahaKali.
Simply connect to Mahakali and get your own experience.
Jai Ma MahaKali.
Light, love, blessing.
