In Śākta Paramaparā, the Amāvasya (no moon night) of Kartika month, which is popularly celebrated as Dipāvali, is also the day of Mahākālī Pujā. In modern times, the West under the influence of Christianity often demonizes the imagery of Mā Kālī as an evil, lustful, and naked figure. This is not shocking given the primitive binary classifications of good and evil, worldly and “other” worldly, secular and religious in Abrahamic theology, not to mention its centuries of repression and exclusion. However, in Hindu sacred texts, specifically Purāṇa, deities, and the rituals associated with them contain allegories to understand the Ultimate Truth. They help disseminate the complex ideas and knowledge to common masses of all caste and class. The principles of Prāṇa vidyā- the true knowledge of the life force behind the creation is embedded in them. Let us try to understand the profoundness behind one of the forms of Mahākālī, which is Bhadrakālī.
Who is Mahākālī?
Traditional depiction of Mahakali. Unknown artist.
The word Kāla refers to time and Kālī therefore refers to the Śakti (force or power) of time. The suffix Mahā - means great, thus Mahākāla would mean “great time” or that is beyond time. Mahākālī consequently is the Śakti (force) behind this great time. She is the Śakti from which the creation begins and ends. Śakti is the Prāṇa- the life force within us and the same life force of the universe. She is standing with her one leg on Śiva or Mahādeva. Mahādeva, the Deva of deva(s), is also known as Mahākāla. Thus, she symbolizes the power of Śiva.
She is actually the all-pervading cosmic energy, even though we see her in a particular form. She is represented as a certain deity for the benefit of us, the Jīva who are separated from the Mukhya Prāṇa ( the primary life force, Īśvara) and are in a sense of misplaced identity, thus it is necessary for us to learn and practice the Prāṇa vidyā (the knowledge of life).
She is shown as Śavārūḍhā, meaning, standing on a dead body. This depiction symbolizes that Mahākālī that is the Prāṇa, the life force, is fueling our body and mind. Without the life force, we are nothing but a dead body. When we identify ourselves with our material existence, when we remain attached to the pleasures and pains of past and future, which are transitory and finite entities, we are in the state of death: a misplaced identity. Sensory experiences, pleasures, and pains, are characteristics of birth and death.
When we are with the Prāṇa, we are in eternity. We transcend beyond the past and the future. The first step to that is to be associated with only the breath, Prāṇavāyu. Breath is in the present moment and continuous. We get rid of our mind from past and future time by associating with breath each and every moment. The breath or Prāṇavāyu is the bridge to take us to the life force.
“Mahākālī is ferocious and is worshipped in the dark night. The ferocious look of Devi resembles a practitioner losing his false identity and unravelling the layers of saṃskāra, imprints on the mind, accumulated over past lives.”
Mahākālī teaches us Prāṇa Kriyā
Mahākālī is standing with one leg on the chest of Śiva and the other leg on the floor. This symbolizes the inhalation and exhalation of Prāṇa. This process in yogic science is known as Haṃsaḥ Sādhanā. It is also known as Sohaṃ Sādhanā, Ajapā Japa, Ajapā Gāyatrī, Ānāpānasati and by many other names according to the techniques and schools.
In the Yogic literature, inhalation is -saḥ and exhalation is -haṃ. But in Tantrika literature it is altered. -saḥ refers to “That” is true and -haṃ refers to true “self”. But our existence is based on ahaṃ or the ego. Haṃsaḥ is ahaṃ saḥ, I am That. Sohaṃ is saḥ ahaṃ, That is Me. A practitioner starts with “I am That” and ends with “That is me”.
The true self is dormant and we identify with our ego. We are in avidyā or ignorance. Our actions are fueled by our desires. By Haṃsaḥ Sādhanā, the technique of watching our inhalation and exhalation, we will be able to remove the veil of ignorance. It is one step of Prāṇa vidyā leading to the unity of “I” or -haṃ with the true “That” or -saḥ. Mahākālī standing with one leg on the chest illustrates this.
The deity of Mahākālī is naked. Clothes cover our body, just like sensory cravings, cover our non-manifested Prāṇa. The sensory desires guide our thoughts and thoughts in turn guide our actions. But Mahākālī is the supreme energy- The Ultimate Reality. So nothing can cover Her when She is Herself everything.
When we merge in Her, The Mukhya Prāṇa, there are no cravings or coverings. There is the only action of the Prāṇa, the life force, not of ephemeral desires. Thus the nakedness invokes us to reach that state of bliss – Parāvasthā. It is the next stage of meditation where there are no bodily activities or thoughts of the mind. There is no Prāṇavāyu, even as one is completely submerged in Her.
The symbolism of the sword and severed head
To reach that stage one needs a lot of practice. Mahākālī is holding a severed head in one hand and a sword with an eye-shaped tip. That sword is known as the “sword of knowledge”- Jṅānakhaḍga. The sword with an eye is the distinguishing intellect – Viveka Buddhi.
We need to cultivate this distinguishing intellect to differentiate between eternal, Nitya, and non-eternals, Anitya. She cuts the head which is the symbol of desires, cravings, and aversion to sensory objects with the sword, Jṅānakhaḍga. This inspires us to first take the help of our “distinguishing intellect” to tame our minds. This can be developed only with Yogic Kriyā.
Mahākālī is ferocious and is worshipped in the dark night. The ferocious look of Devi resembles a practitioner losing his false identity and unraveling the layers of saṃskāra, imprints of mind, accumulated over past lives. Yet Her one hand is in Abhaya mudrā (granting fearlessness) and another is granting blessings- vara. Her worship makes us fearless to death which is a non-eternal phenomenon. This is possible if we try to associate only with Prāṇa by taking the help of her two feet, inhalation and exhalation, the Haṃsaḥ Sādhanā.
The symbolism of the emergent tongue and the third eye
This practice will help us in developing distinguishing intellect (Jṅānakhaḍga) and kill our desires (the beheaded head). We will be blessed to get freedom (Mukti) from cycles of birth and death. Her emergent tongue is the water element symbolizing Prāṇa. Water is the basis of all life. A yogi will certainly reach this ultimate stage of Parāvasthā. The stage which cannot be perceived or captured by senses has no lineage, is without any qualities of color, class, or caste, and without any body-mind complex. One becomes eternal, immutable, and unchangeable.
The third eye, The Ultimate Wisdom, of the Mahākālī refers to the practice of Śāmbhavī Mudrā. The yogi remains fixated in the inner vision between the two eyebrows, Ājñā Cakra, yet gazes the outside world. When one is mastered in this he is unaffected by the trials and tribulations of the outside world. He is blissful amidst these worldly things.
So worship of Mahākālī in the dark night of Amāvāsyā is to elevate the dormant Kuṇḍalini, life force, within us through the practice of Prāṇa Kriyā. This is the evolution of our individual existence, identifying with the body-mind complex, towards Sat principle, the True existence. Several rituals, mantra chanting, and the whole process aid us in doing so. Śakti pujā is the worship of Prāṇa- the life force.
Kṛṣṇa = Mahākālī = Śiva
Ardhanarishvara in Bhadrasana (Source: exoticindianart.com)
The sensory organs and our mind represent the various deva. We have knowledge about them and are associated with them. The Deva of deva(s) is Mahādeva- the Śiva. He is the one from which all other Gods manifest. So he is the life force, the Prāṇa, of us. Thus both Mahādeva are Mahākālī are the same life force or the True Knowledge or the Ultimate Reality. Hence he is Ardhanārīśvara – half male and half female.
Rādhā workships Kṛṣṇa who gives darshana as Mahākāli
In one of my previous article, “Countering the narratives against Hinduism during Kartika Masam in Odisha” I talked about Kṛṣṇa as the Ultimate Truth and Gopī are spiritual Yogi who practices merging in his eternity – the all-pervading consciousness. This shows Kṛṣṇa, Mahākālī or Śiva are all the same- the Brahman. He is the life force (potential) whereas Mahākālī is the life-force (kinetic) within us. There are different paths to the Ultimate Reality. Our deities are not just idols and rituals are not just blind beliefs. They contain profound knowledge within them.
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References:
Kriya Yoga : The Science of Life Force by Swami Nityananda Giri, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
This article is republished from Pragyata with the permission of the author and the publisher.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abhishek Kumar Panda
Abhisek hails from a rural village in Odisha. He did his B.Tech. from NIT Rourkela and worked as a business analyst for couple of years. Currently, he is trying to enrich himself on Dharmic perspectives. He tweets at @abhiseeker