About Goddess Kali

As the new moon night kindles the joyous celebrations of Diwali, Kali Puja is also celebrated in Bengal with great reverence for The Supreme Power. Mother Goddess Kali. The one Universal Power that embodies the timeless Time. She represents the Primordial Energy. This energy or ‘Shakti’ is the principal necessity for creation and evolution of the Universe. Shakti combines with consciousness represented by Shiva to procreate. Mother Kali is thus the supreme energy that in the benign form is The Creator and The Destroyer in the ferocious form. Kali Puja, is done on the new moon (Amavashya) night of the month of Kartick (October/November) to drive away evil, just as we light diyas to drive away evil and darkness of ignorance, and to lighten our paths to knowledge, wisdom and prosperity. “Tamosho Ma Jyotirgomoyo” as is said in Sanskrit which means “from darkness, take me to the path of light”. Kali Puja is performed to negate the evils that impede spiritual progress and material prosperity. Evil needs to be destroyed both in the outside world and within one’s own self. So Kali Puja is done to usher in general happiness, health, wealth, peace, etc. and thus to seek protection against the destructive forces. Meditation is the most important path of a Puja. This meditation is however difficult to perform. Hence one starts by simple prayers which are basically asking the Goddess for the necessities. Prayers cannot directly lead to mediation. So in between comes in the worshipping part which involves visualizing the image of the Goddess and performing rituals. The essential role of females in procreation has been realized in prehistoric times and thus the worship of Mother Nature since time immemorial. The destructive form has also been evident in the various manifestations of forces of nature. Thus there was the need for praying to the Mother Goddess, the Creator and the Destroyer all in one. Similarity can be found with the Black Goddess Kali with other deities as well. Many of the ancient images of Neolithic Age were female. The black color of most of these images mysteriously relate to Goddess Kali.