Kali: The Black One by Wendell Wilkinson

Kali: The Black One
by
Wendell Wilkinson

Kali is a warrior goddess from India. But we must start with an earlier warrior goddess, Durga. In the Hindu scripture written in A.D.400, the Devi-Mahatmyam Durga found herself in a battle with a demon army so powerful that she had to create another goddess out of herself to help her defeat them. That goddess was Kali. Kali was created out of Durga's anger and need. Durga's face darkened until it was black as ink. From her dark and frowning forehead sprang the Goddess Kali, armed with a sword and holding a skull-topped staff. So in the beginning, Kali was considered just as an aspect of the Goddess Durga.

Despite Kali's origins in battle, she evolved to a full-fledged symbol of Mother Nature in her creative, nurturing and devouring aspects but I am mainly concerned in this article with her destructive and devouring aspects. This darker aspect has so shocked fundamentalist Christians that they have attacked Kali as a satanic demon, but the profound depths of Hindu Mythology are beyond their comprehension. They got this demon idea because certain misfits did worship Goddess Kali as a demon to justify their greed and murderous impulses, but Kali only destroyed demons for mankind's benefit and was not a demon herself.

The Goddess Kali is represented as black in color. Black in the ancient Hindu language of Sanskrit is kaala. The feminine form is kali. So she is Kali, the black one. Black is a symbol of The Infinite and the seed stage of all colors. The Goddess Kali remains in a state of inconceivable darkness that transcends words and mind. Within her blackness is the dazzling brilliance of illumination. Kali is a great and powerful black earth Mother Goddess capable of terrible destruction. Kali represents the most powerful form of the female forces in the Universe. Worship of the Goddess Kali is largely an attempt to appease her and avert her wrath.

The Goddess Kali constantly drinks blood. She has an insatiable thirst for blood. As mistress of blood, she presides over the mysteries of both life and death. Kali intends her bloody deeds for the protection of the good. She may get carried away by her gruesome acts but she is not evil. Kali's destructive energies on the highest level are seen as a vehicle of salvation and ultimate transformation.

Kali is the central deity of Time. She created the world and destroys it. She is beyond time and space. After the destruction of the Universe, at the end of the great cycle, she collects the seeds of the next creation. She destroys the finite to reveal the Infinite. This Black Goddess is death, but to the wise she is also the death of death. This can only be revealed through the worship of Kali, and meditation on her mysteries.

The Goddess Kali has black skin. She wears a necklace of human heads and has a girdle of hands. She has ear rings made out of little children. These have all been cut off from those she has killed. Her mouth is wide open as if to devour the entire creation. She possesses red teeth in her open mouth. Her face, though smiling, is stained with blood falling from both corners of her mouth. She has a flaming tongue which can lick up the blood of those she kills before it can even hit the ground. The Goddess Kali screams terribly when killing. Her scream has a mysterious supernatural quality to it. It seems to come from everywhere and penetrates everything most powerfully. She has well-developed breasts. Sometimes they are attractive and normal and sometimes they are long and thin. Kali has eight hands. They hold weapons and symbols of power, although one hand is always raised in blessing. She has disheveled hair and three bloodshot eyes. One eye is in the center of her forehead. Images of the Goddess Kali show hand movements and postures indicating action and dynamism. She symbolizes the emotions of terror and repulsion.

Here are a few miscellaneous facts: Kali's garland of fifty human heads, each representing one of the fifty letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, symbolizes the repository of knowledge and wisdom and also represents the fifty fundamental vibrations in the Universe. The Goddess Kali is the source of all energies. Her energy in the human body is known as Kundalini.

Some modern worshipers of the Goddess Kali believe it is time for her to manifest in our time to rescue us from the demonic men who have taken over our planet. They say these demonic men are ruled by their egos and for this reason they oppress those they rule and are destroying Mother Nature. Beware Kali's wrath.

Kali: The Black OnebyWendell Wilkinson

Kali: The Black One
by
Wendell Wilkinson