Shailaza's Blog

Tag: Kali

  • Tara: Above All Emotions

    Tara: Above All Emotions

    What lies beyond our ordered lives? What lives beyond desires, death and destruction? What lies beyond our perceptions?

    Tara, the second of the Mahavidyas is as fascinating, intriguing as death itself. In a culture, where goddesses are mostly well-dressed, adorned with jewels and smiling sweetly, Tara dressed in a tiger skin comes across as a wild child wielding a bloody scimitar, wearing a garland of skulls and dancing on a corpse or Shiva. Her background is not an affluent palace or a serene garden but a cremation ground where most people would not go in their wildest of dreams. Though statues of Kali are still revered in our world, one seldom sees statues of Tara or Shamshan Bhairavi in shops or online. Why is it? Are we scared of death?

    Isn’t it interesting to see both Tara and Kali have their tongues lolling all the time? Their swords are smeared with blood. Whose blood? Human or animal? Is that why innocent animals and in some cases even humans are sacrificed to these goddesses? Is that how they offer moksha or liberation from the endless cycle of birth and death?

    The name Tara means someone who can take you across. Across what? She is said to live in the cremation ground, a place where everything ends. Some even say that she is the energy of the cremation pyre. The energy that transforms everything- love, hate, empires, destruction, creation and everything else. In a way, she seems like a black hole of the universe from which nothing can escape…not even light.

    As humans, we are adrift on the ocean of emotions. Emotions rule our lives. Happiness, sadness, anger, joy govern our actions and reactions. The origin of these emotions is desire that flows like the blood fed by our ego. A desire arises, it longs for the fulfillment; waves of anxiety, expectations and desperation engulf our light. As that desire is fulfilled, another wave arises of happiness, ecstacy, joy. If that desire is not fulfilled, we sink into the depths of despair, pain and sadness. Desire after desire catapults us into new emotional waters- it seems like a never ending storm.

    But then, everything must end for nothing lasts forever. Kali as time descends over these desires and Tara laps them up with her forever lolling tongue. She slashes the ego with her scimitar and snips away those bonds of attachments with her scissors. As she dances and transforms our ego and smashes our desires, the lotus in her hand blooms with new creativity which is not born out of the egoic desire but out of the universal expression.

    Everything ends. All induvidualism must end. All that is created must be destroyed to create once again. It must be renewed and reborn from its very own ashes.

    Tara takes us across the churning stormy ocean of emotions and helps us realize that induvidual desire is never ending. Tara reminds us that we are nothing but the mediums through which the universe expresses itself. When all desire ends, the ego is quelled, the attachments are snipped off, we bloom like the blue lotus in her hand…endless and timeless. At that time, we overcome even death for beyond death of the ego lies endless creativity.

    This creativity is different than the creativity that comes from the egoic expression. We experience pure bliss in creating this way because then there is no fear of rejection, failure or no expectation. The creation happens only because the universe has willed it. The creation is neither good nor bad. It just is. Perhaps it is the same emotion that a mother experiences when her baby is born. The joy of creating a life, no matter how it is. That is why this creation can only happen through Tara- a mother who in her endless dance creates the cosmic expression which is beyond all the known boundaries of the universe, which is beyond all ego and knowledge and desire ; where there is nothing but joy of creation!

  • Ego- To Have Or Not To Have

    Ego- To Have Or Not To Have

    Ever since I wrote my last post on Kali , I have been wondering about ego. Kali is said to be the destroyer of ego. But then, isn’t ego a mere tool that we are given to survive in the world? A child is made to develop his ego by parents, institutions and the world. We are constantly told to appreciate ourselves, our lives, our achievements. It is our sense of self that motivates us to achieve more, be more and do more. Then isn’t it paradoxical to ask someone to give up their ego or even annihilate their ego?

    I kept thinking about this question for some time. Why would the goddess, a mother want her children to give up their sense of self. Yes, as an evolved soul, you realize that everything is a part of you and you are a part of everything; but that is a part of the spiritual journey. In the real world, everyone has an ego; induviduals, groups, countries and asking them to drop their egos is not going to work. It doesn’t seem practical at all!

    So what is the ego that Kali destroys? Kali destroys the ego that believes itself to be so superior to others that it thinks it can get away with everything. The ego here is what is known as pride.

    There is an old proverb which says ‘pride goes before a fall’. The pride we are talking about is being so proud of yourself that you do not consider other’s feelings, emotions or lives to be of any significance. When you start creating a world where nothing matters except your desires. But this kind of ego is actually a veiled sense of insecurity and inferiority.

    When people project this kind of ego, they have actually built a fortress which does not let people see how scared or insecure they are in their own heart. They feel that they cannot afford to lose else they will appear weak.

    When this kind of ego is created, it wants to survive at any cost, even by killing people or destroying lives. It does not want to die and it can only survive by growing bigger and bigger. This cancerous growth consumes everything in its path including reason, compassion and tolerance which is when Kali as Time destroys it.

    So yes, Kali does destroy the ego! She destroys insecurity and falsehood and the fancy trappings that create that ego. People who think that they are so big and powerful that they can get away with anything don’t see the crescent shaped sword looming over their heads!

    Having faith in yourself and being proud of your achievements is not wrong. However, thinking that there is no one greater than you or stopping others from achieving their dreams and potential is not right.

    Your true sense of self is not derived from the failures or misfortunes or the torment of others. The true sense of self comes from your own achievement, a desire to be better than what you were before and constantly learn from your own mistakes. You are not here to belittle or climb over anyone. There is no race or competition you need to win.

    The interesting thing is that for people with inflated egos, Kali gives plenty of time, signals and instances to realize their mistakes and rectify them. However, their egoic persona dominates their true self so much that they are blinded by the need to prove themselves right. That is when Kali assumes her avatar and strikes; when they least expect it!

  • Kali- The Enigma of Time

    Kali- The Enigma of Time

    I do not see my self as a very religious person. I am not a fan of rituals or the dogmatic religious teachings and I seldom pay attention to them. Nevertheless, I believe in the energies that exist around us and one such energy that I have been thinking and reading about is Kaali or Kali.

    Kali or the first of the ten Mahavidyas is often pictured in what most people would call a fearsome avatar. She has a garland of skulls around her neck, a freshly severed head in one of her hands and a skirt which is made of severed hands. With her red tongue and fearsome black appearance, in the first glance she appears to be a goddess of savages. She stands over Shiva, one of the most beloved Gods in the Hindu mythology. Shiva is said to be a giver, a bhola bhandari (a giver of boons). But people don’t have that impression about Kali.

    Most people pay their respects to Kali not out of love but out of fear. But then, that age-old proverb- ‘appearances are deceptive’ applies to Kali too. And perhaps, this fearsome, unconventional appearance makes a seeker look beyond what meets the eye. Kali, as some believe is the personification of time- endless, relentless, forever dancing on Shiva, the God that personifies the consciousness of the universe. Time as we know is the great leveller which creates and destroys the ego. Today, you may be some one known, revered and loved; tomorrow you may end up as a nobody. We think of ourselves as doers and creators of our own destiny.

    The truth is that who ever we are and what ever we may become, is a function of time. We are brought into this world as an expression of the universal consciousness by time. As the desires of self expression rise in us, time dances around us and creates the circumstances for that expression. Destiny is nothing but the expression of that universal desire through us. When we are in alignment with that urge of expression, our hands mirror the dance of Kali and we create and manifest the universal expression.

    Many people believe the garland of heads or skulls and the freshly severed head worn by kali symbolises the destruction of the ego. Yes, Kali destroys the ego like time does, but the garland of heads symbolises the universal intelligence which is required for the universal expression. However, when the doer starts mistaking himself as the source of this intelligence and creation, Kali ruthlessly severs the ego.

    We have all heard the story from Mahabharat where Arjun, who was considered the world’s best archer could not save the ladies of Dwarka from the Bhils that attacked them. He, who was known for his accurate and quick reflexes could not even lift his own bow and watched helplessly as the Bhils carried the women away.

    Tulsi, time is bigger than anyone else. The Bhil took the gopis away and the same old Arjun could not do anything (defend them) with his weapons

    Kali has created and destroyed powerful civilizations, kings, men and women who thought they were invincible. She has also catapulted ordinary people to greatness.

    We, our words, our thoughts, our actions, our creations are all a manifestation of time. We just have to flow with time and let those be created through us. Ego has no place in this creation. We cannot afford to be arrogant or stuck up or insensitive to others in this process for we need to remember that we are mere functions of time. As long as we remember that, the energy of Kali will provide us with all that is required to manifest a beautiful life.