Psychic Tipping Point Kali's Wrath
I am definitely feeling more like Kali than Quan Yin today. Kali is a fearsome deity in Hinduism. She embodies the 'dark side' of the Divine Feminine, the taker as well as the giver of life. She is portrayed as 
holding the severed head of Mara, the male prince of demons, and the sword she used to sever his head from his body. In her most formidable aspect Kali brings death to the male enemies of the Devas, the benign earth spirits whose energy makes plants grow. Kali's Hindu devotees ascribe many - often contradictory - characteristics to her from a loving Mother Goddess in more recent times to the merciless protector of the Devas of Hindu mythology depicted at left in one of her temples in Kolkatta. As with the other principle Hindu Gods, Kali's image varies with her particular functions changing from blue to black in colour and from blood-thirsty warrior to serene mate of Shiva. For a non-Hindu, it is all very confusing and a good example of the old adage that one cannot "become" a Hindu, one must be born Hindu. But even non-Hindus can relate to her significance for the modern world: Kali is the personification of the power of Nature to destroy her enemies, those who abuse the gift of life by killing its very source, this planet. In this aspect of Kali there is a warning for us all not to ignore the potentially destructive energy of the natural world.
holding the severed head of Mara, the male prince of demons, and the sword she used to sever his head from his body. In her most formidable aspect Kali brings death to the male enemies of the Devas, the benign earth spirits whose energy makes plants grow. Kali's Hindu devotees ascribe many - often contradictory - characteristics to her from a loving Mother Goddess in more recent times to the merciless protector of the Devas of Hindu mythology depicted at left in one of her temples in Kolkatta. As with the other principle Hindu Gods, Kali's image varies with her particular functions changing from blue to black in colour and from blood-thirsty warrior to serene mate of Shiva. For a non-Hindu, it is all very confusing and a good example of the old adage that one cannot "become" a Hindu, one must be born Hindu. But even non-Hindus can relate to her significance for the modern world: Kali is the personification of the power of Nature to destroy her enemies, those who abuse the gift of life by killing its very source, this planet. In this aspect of Kali there is a warning for us all not to ignore the potentially destructive energy of the natural world.Psychic Tipping Point Kali's Wrath
I must admit I've never been comfortable with her death-wielding side. I've always felt that the world into which I was born had too much destructive energy already, most of it testosterone fuelled like that of the Hindu asura or demon, Raktabija, a being who stole power from the gods of the heavens for himself and uses that power to try to destroy the Devas or nature spirits, the creative principle of the Universe. Like the self-cloning evil beings in the Matrix, every drop of blood lost by Raktabija in battle instantly becomes a
full- grown clone, making it impossible for the Goddess of the Devas, Durga, to defeat him. In desperation, Durga calls upon Kali to extend her tongue and lick up every drop of blood as it falls from Raktabija thereby defeating him and gaining a victory for the Devas and their protectors, the Matrikas. Dense with symbolism, the tales of Kali offer a great variety of versions of her and her exploits but her role as defender of Nature is her archetypal manifestation of the power of Nature without limits. When roused to fury by the negligence or belligerence of the destructive principle, Kali reminds us attempts to destroy the female creative principle of the Universe may result in a retaliation without restraint. In this sense, Kali is here to teach us the necessity of restraint in dealing with the powers of the natural world so that we will not be destroyed by it.
full- grown clone, making it impossible for the Goddess of the Devas, Durga, to defeat him. In desperation, Durga calls upon Kali to extend her tongue and lick up every drop of blood as it falls from Raktabija thereby defeating him and gaining a victory for the Devas and their protectors, the Matrikas. Dense with symbolism, the tales of Kali offer a great variety of versions of her and her exploits but her role as defender of Nature is her archetypal manifestation of the power of Nature without limits. When roused to fury by the negligence or belligerence of the destructive principle, Kali reminds us attempts to destroy the female creative principle of the Universe may result in a retaliation without restraint. In this sense, Kali is here to teach us the necessity of restraint in dealing with the powers of the natural world so that we will not be destroyed by it.
Kali As Consciousness
Hinduism recognises that the Universe is cyclical, rather like our understanding of the deaths of galaxies pulled into black holes but also the reconstitution of all things from that same black hole into a new reality. But behind the drama of the births and deaths of worlds, the Hindus also see the unchanging still-point, the Bindu from which all energies arise. Western science recognizes this as the "zero point field" which is a state of pure potential and indeterminacy, a sort of background to the Universe of time and 
matter, the potential from which all matter arises. Kali at her most potent is what Hindus call Brahman, the ultimate unmanifest state of pure consciousness, she is the Bindu. No matter what we call it, the Stillpoint is the Source of all that is. From a mythographic perspective, our world is on the tipping point of destruction - facing a very angry Goddess whose patience has been pushed to its outer limits by the radically unbalanced male energy of unbridled materialism that has expressed itself with equal brutality in the mindless pursuit of infinite growth whether on the stock exchange or totalitarian "collectives". The marginalizing of women from political and economic power over the past nearly 5000 years is only being superficially re-dressed in the present age. Just because more women are employed outside the home, does not mean women as a group have acquired the power necessary to overthrow the patriarchy. As the events in Egypt this past week attest, women and men need to work together to reverse the destructive forces of patriarchy. As long as men are afraid to align with the strength of women, the rage of Kali/Durga will grow until the tipping point is reached resulting in environmental collapse. Perhaps that is the only way for the patriarchy to learn - not by listening to wisdom but by being destroyed. That would be a shame when they can save themselves and the planet by an act of global courage in embracing the Shakti/Devi energy of creation and preservation instead of the Mara/Raktabija energy of illusion and mass death.
matter, the potential from which all matter arises. Kali at her most potent is what Hindus call Brahman, the ultimate unmanifest state of pure consciousness, she is the Bindu. No matter what we call it, the Stillpoint is the Source of all that is. From a mythographic perspective, our world is on the tipping point of destruction - facing a very angry Goddess whose patience has been pushed to its outer limits by the radically unbalanced male energy of unbridled materialism that has expressed itself with equal brutality in the mindless pursuit of infinite growth whether on the stock exchange or totalitarian "collectives". The marginalizing of women from political and economic power over the past nearly 5000 years is only being superficially re-dressed in the present age. Just because more women are employed outside the home, does not mean women as a group have acquired the power necessary to overthrow the patriarchy. As the events in Egypt this past week attest, women and men need to work together to reverse the destructive forces of patriarchy. As long as men are afraid to align with the strength of women, the rage of Kali/Durga will grow until the tipping point is reached resulting in environmental collapse. Perhaps that is the only way for the patriarchy to learn - not by listening to wisdom but by being destroyed. That would be a shame when they can save themselves and the planet by an act of global courage in embracing the Shakti/Devi energy of creation and preservation instead of the Mara/Raktabija energy of illusion and mass death.
© Delia O' Riordan 2012
Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
