.When darkness encompasses man he turns within...The message and meaning of Goddess worship since ancient times....

It was  Wednesday..I was having an exceptionally difficult day on many fronts..work wise and personally  ..I called the Vedanta temple to speak with  Swami Kripamayananda Maharaj . Those are the times when just the calm and peace giving voice of our Swami can renew my strength. He said.."Do you know its the auspicious night of the new moon..there is  a special worship of the Divine Goddess  Ma Bhardrakali in Mississauga you too can come with me and the others if you like" I was overwhelmed with joy..my week had been very very difficult...

I wrapped up work as soon as I could and managed to reach the centre by 7 that evening.
Deepa drove us to the temple as we both chatted with our Swami...

On the way the Swami Kripamayananda explained why Sri Ramakrishna the Indian mystic often said that the new moon night is very auspicious to spiritual aspirants . "The new moon ( or darkest night of the lunar month) represents the darkness that sometimes overwhelms our lives..when our world becomes dark it is then that we turn inwards to God" he explained beautifully. That is why Mother Durga in her fierce and relentless form as Bhardrakali or Mahakali has been worshiped as a protector against  our enemies and all danger in bad times and in good times..since antiquity.

The Goddess Durga is depicted as a beautiful lotus eyed woman , golden hued..riding on a Tiger or a Lion..she has eights hands carrying various weapons to destroy the evil enemies of the good and she also carries  a conch shell, prayer bead and has one of her hands raised in benediction. She is dressed in red, gold, green and the beautiful colors of autumn. She is the protector, the Mother and the sustainer of the Earth and all its creatures...her characteristics are courage, protectiveness, generosity, love, compassion, wisdom, strength and fearlessness..amongst  a few.  Another name for her is Shakti..which means supernatural strength..She is described as being as tender as a Petal and as strong as the Bolt  of lightning..



Picture of Goddess Durga image . ( above)

MahaKali is the extreme symbolization of the Goddess  To many even within the ancient Vedic ( Hindu) faiths such as the Vaishnavas ( Krishna ) followers she is difficult to understand..since she is depicted as a ferocious dark hued woman with weapons..and  a garland of skulls..walking amongst the dead .below her feet lies her unconscious husband the God Shiva..who is trying to stop her dance of death and destruction. She is usually worshipped.as Bhadrakali which is  the form worshipped in most Kali temples in India and the world over..where she  is more benign..


She symbolizes the face of God which appears to man as the force behind extreme calamities like hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions..when thousands are killed..she is the face of God that rules in time of war and carnage. When galaxies collapse and Black holes devour entire solar systems..it is the hand of Mahakali  taking entire creations into a dimension beyond..darkness, death and..time  into a light that is eternal and effulgent.  Taking refuge in her..her followers believe that they are protected from the horrors which wars , life and natural calamities bring..Her appearance is frightening to those who cannot see that it is finally God behind everything good and bad that happens on earth..and she is the fearless Mother who strikes fear in the heart of your worst enemy in times of  danger..


Dakshineshwar Makali from the world renowned Temple in Dakshineswar West Bengal India.

Almost impossible for many people of different faiths and paths to understand the worship of the Goddess in this form of Mahakali..The late Swami Swahananda maharaj who  was president of the Vedanta society of Hollywood for many years  had once explained it very powerfully..
" Imagine you are a child walking down the violent streets of San Francisco late at night with your mother and a violent mob of men attack you and her. What kind of  a mother would you like ?..The soft and scared one who will die before you are saved or the ferocious one who will save not only you..but send all the thugs fleeing? That ferocious mother is your Mother Durga or Bhadrakali....loving and soft like Mother Mary when you her devotee is  near and ferocious like Ma Chandi when you are in danger".

I thought of the journalist girl in Indian who had been brutally attacked by five demonic men and the Pharmacy student before her in Delhi who had been brutalized and then died of her injuries. Their suffering awoke a nation .The courage  of the women and their families to step up, fight back and report the incident and see that then  men were arrested and punished  was the element of that fearless divinity which lies in every woman. The punishment which the laws of karma and wheel of time will bring to those demons is that of Mahakali..

We see an element of that protective divinity..who can cast fear into the hearts of most brutal of men..when we see not only a Mother Tigress protecting her cubs but also in the fearlessness of a Mother sparrow who can chase  a hawk when her chicks are under attack..

We see an element of Mahakali's  power in the battles of many women who have no husband, father, brother or son to protect them and they fight the battles of their life alone..their courage and steadfastness in the truth they hold on to  becomes an inspiration to others.. Often women are the worst enemies of women themselves .and they can instigate men to attack those women who they dislike..
There is a saying " behind every great man there is a great woman" and thus perhaps by the same law we may assume that behind every cowardly man who harms and threatens vulnerable women  there is possibly some woman of evil intentions..
She maybe a jealous and ambitions person wishing to settle scores and does it with the help of a man she has enslaved....she maybe a mother in law who fails to see her son in- law or daughter in-law as a family member...she maybe a sister who never loved her brother.,  an unfaithful wife or girl friend whose betrayal destroyed and broke the heart of a good man ,,.or she maybe a Mother who treated her sons better than she did her daughters and instilled in them the impression that they are superior to women. Many women in positions of power whether it be in the corporate world, Industry or  even in a Temple or Church committee use that power to actively harm or hurt those who don't play the games according to their own rules..
That is why the energy of women is described as two kinds..Vidya ( Taking men towards light , truth and purity ) or Avidya..(taking men towards darkness and destruction..)
The Devi Suktam ( ancient scriptures of the Goddess) says that though all female forms in the universe are a representation of her  it those women who are virtuous, honest, brave , pure , noble minded and kind hearted who are specially dear to her in every sense.

A woman in Canada I know very closely was in danger that day and had many enemies to fight..In many of the `little expatriate culture groups' within Canada..the male dominated old society and its ways still continue to exploit women, These groups manage to stay out of reach from the eyes of the Canadian police , media and law enforcement until something spills into the street. A lady police officer I recently met in my line of work said to me _ " we need more women police officers from your background. They can deal better with many of the problems affecting S Asian society here. You should consider joining the force". I often do..but I still believe my call is writing and that the pen is mightier than the sword. It is also ironic that many men hailing from the very culture in which God is worshipped as the ultimate Goddess mistreat their women in so many ways.. 

" Never be afraid to fight against any kind of injustice" reverend Swami Kripamayananda Maharaj has said during one of his talks.." even if there are consequences..one must fight a just fight"..

But how does  one judge what and when is a fight the right fight..? it is spiritual discernment...how does that come.?.by turning in and calling on the name and face of God that you believe in..whether it be Christ or Krishna....Allah or Rama.. Durga or Mary..true spiritual growth comes from turning deep deep within .ones heart day after day..year after year...time after time..until the darkest night..and the darkest hour is met with the inner light which you have awakened through practice..that is called " Sadhana" and a Sadhak is the one who practices..' explain our spiritual teachers....

The prayers and worship and the spiritual company of Swami made that a very special occasion for me. The Goddess is worshipped with  offerings of flowers and fruits..sweets and lamps..incense sticks and music, hymns and the recitation of the ancient prayers in the Chandi and Sapta Sathi which were composed by Rishis of yore thousand's of years ago...the devotees then share the offerings with a spirit of camaraderie and loving friendship and leave with a happy feeling,
 There was a feeling of deep peace and trust and faith which the beauty of a spiritual experience brings...it gave me renewed strength and peace that as long as we hang on to truth..in our inner and outer life we are always safe..

.We all drove back to Toronto..stopping at Tim Horton for coffee ..Swami Kripamayananda asked  Tripti Di and her husband to drop me off at the Jane subway station first before he returned to the center. That is how he always cares about each and every devotee..no one is insignificant to him.

I called my Mother in India and told her how much I love her and how happy I was for everything she has given me in life....the next day she called me in the morning and told me that she was always near me and with me..we have an ancient prayer in india..which says..Lord you are my Father and you are my Mother...I have seen that whenever I am exceptionally sad or worried..My Mother though thousands of miles away seems to know and calls me from afar...

I called my fiance Brian who was at work late that night and told him how blessed I am to have him in my life..We have an ancient prayer that says " God it is you who comes to me as my  best friend  my beloved companion..my all in all"


The month of Bhadrapad..or fall in the Indian calendar has begun and here in Canada the colors of the trees are  slowly changing. the green is now gold and red and brown...." Change is good..it is  sign of life..of the stream of life ever flowing.." says an ancient Indian proverb..like the river and the seasons..life keeps moving on...but faith in something greater than all of us.. remains timeless and unchanging....
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