Who is the goddess Kali?

As is known, in Hinduism, in addition to the supreme deity, there are many other gods and their incarnations. All of them serve the same purpose - man's conduct on the path of enlightenment, but each uses his own means for this.

The Indian goddess Kali is the destructive form of Parvati, the wife of Shiva. It is depicted, as a rule, dancing on the body of Shiva, with four hands, in one of which she holds the demon's head with her tongue sticking out, from which the blood drips, and a garland of skulls. It would seem that such an image should have made her a negative character, but adherents of Hinduism highly respect her. There is even a special cult dedicated to Kali. The goddess, who is the destructive hypostasis of Shakti, personifies also protection from the dark forces and a motherly, caring beginning.

The goddess Kali is a manifestation of the "divine wrath", and not an unreasonable destructive aggression. She gets rid of ignorance and demons, purifying and protecting. She is also associated in Hinduism with great joy: defeating the enemies, she always laughs. The goddess constantly supports honest people. But the adherents of the Kali cult, who misinterpreted the Hindu philosophy, performed terrible rites accompanied by human sacrifices, as a result of which this deity became associated with senseless bloodshed and ruthlessness.

The true essence of this goddess remains in the harmonious unification of creative and destructive forces.

The Goddess Kali exists in twelve manifestations: the Goddess of Creation, Kali of Conservation, Destruction, Restriction, Destruction, Death, Horror, Goddess of the Cosmic Egg, Kali of the Supreme Radiance, the Terrible Fire of Time, the Great Time and Kali of Fearlessness.

All these forms carry out a gradual transition of consciousness to enlightenment through the acceptance of all objects of the external world, as a part of one's self, and of oneself as the world.

Thus, destruction is the blurring of boundaries between different forms of existence.

The goddess Kali destroys the duality of the world and doubt.

The image of this deity includes many symbols: its four arms embody both the sides of the world and the main chakras; Three eyes - the three main forces on which the entire philosophy of Hinduism rests: creation, preservation and destruction; A garland of skulls - a series of reincarnations of man, and the cut off head - liberation from the ego; Blue skin color - eternity; The corpse under her feet is the frailty of the corporal shell; The bloody tongue is guna rajas, and the black hair is the purity of consciousness.

We see that the goddess Kali embodies all the basic ideas and principles of Hinduism, even in a strange and perhaps even repulsive form. It symbolizes eternal life and victory over petty concerns about the body, ignorance and evil forces.

Despite the fact that it is rarely reckoned among the main gods of Hinduism, its image is undoubtedly a characteristic example for those who seek to understand Eastern philosophy. After all, Kali is also an eternal balance, and harmony, the unity of the creative and destructive beginning in the form of a female deity.