WHAT IS THE MYSTERY OF MA BHADRAKALI ?

THE FEARFUL SYMMETRY OF MA;- 10 POINTS;-- 1-Maha Bhadrakali,the Hindu goddess is represented with perhaps the fiercest features amongst all the world's deities. People from the southern region of India worship this Hindu goddess with pomp and show. She is known for her success and achievement over the wrong things/deeds,“the auspicious power of time” . She is regarded as the female principle of the divine; the embodiement of the energies of the Gods. 2-Tāntric deity Bhadra Kālī means creative matrix(the cultural, social, or political environment in which something develops). She is the supreme creativity.Bhadrakali means, the timeless principle (कालजयी शक्ति). 3-According to Kalikapurana,In the earlier age, during the period of Svayambhuva, the goddess who is known as Mahamaya, Yoganidra, Jagaddhatri, and Jaganmayi, assuming a mighty figure with sixteen arms, renowned by the name Bhadrakali (appeared) on the northern shore of the Milk Ocean with a view to destroy Mahishasura and with a desire to do good to the world. 4-She with the lustre of the colour of flax (a plant with blue flowers grown for the thread) blossom, with earrings made of flaming gold, being adorned with long twisted hair, and with three diadems together with the crescent (moon), having a snake as her necklace and adorned with golden necklaces; always holding a trident and a discus, a sword, a conch-shell, an arrow, a lance, athunderbolt & a staff in her right arms, looks splendid with her radiant teeth, the goddess continuously holds a shield, a hide, a bow, a noose, a hook, a bell, an axe, and a mace in her (eight) hands (from the uppermost to the lowermost respectively). 5 -Bhadrakali in the Kalikapurana is associated directly with Mahishasura Mardini, “She who kills the buffalo demon.” This is an important and popular form of Ma Durga, and brings together all the various shaktis (female powers) into a single form. Although her name is Kali, she has a golden – not black – complexion, the color of golden flax seeds. 6-The symbols held in her eight arms identify her with different deities and powers, such as 1-Shiva -Trident 2-Vishnu--Discus ( CHAKRA ), conch shell 3-Indra -Thunderbolt 4-Raja Rajeswari/Tripura Sundari -arrows, bow, noose, goad (ANKUSH)/hook 7-She is also known as Rudrakālī according to the Ṣaṭsāhasra-saṃhitā. These goddesses are situated on a ring of sixteen petals and represent the thirty-two syllables of the Aghoramantra. Each deity (including Bhadrakālī) is small, plump and large-bellied. They can assume any form at will, have sixteen arms each, and are all mounted on a different animal. 8-Shaivism represents a tradition of Hinduism worshipping Śhiva as the supreme being. Closeley related to Śhāktism, Śhaiva literature includes a range of scriptures, including tantras, while the root of this tradition may be traced back to the ancient Vedas. 9-Bhadrakālī is also known as the gentle Kali, who came into being by Devi's wrath, when Daksha insulted Shiva. She is the consort of Virabhadra. 10- It is utter emptiness, and complete fullness. Ma Kali is paradox incarnate, the struggle we face when we hold two condcting (lead or guide) but equally true paradigms (a way of looking) or thoughts in our minds at the same time. In the center of that struggle is the force of non-duality, the non-intellectual realization of which is the goal of all Tantric practice. And there is auspiciousness, tremendous blessing in engaging in that struggle. HER MANTRA --It is considered that this mantra will help people to remove evil effects from their life. Chanting and reciting this mantra for specific period of time will remove all the evil effects from our life permanently. ह्रीं ओं भद्रकाल्यै नमः hrīṃ oṃ bhadrakālyai namaḥ MYSTERY OF HER APPEARANCE;-- 14 POINTS;- 1-Name:--- Kali is so called because She devours(to swallow ) Kala (time) and then resumes Her own dark formlessness. She is the embodiment of three gunas (qualities of nature): She creates with Her sattva guna (quality of goodness and purity), preserves with rajas (passion and activity), and destroys with tamas (ignorance and inertia). 2-Complexion:--- Her complexion is deep blue, like the sky. As the sky is limitless, so is She. From a distance one sees the ocean water as blue, but it is colorless and transparent when examined closely. Crescent above the forehead:---- She is the giver of liberation. 3-Earrings: ---- Images of two little babies hang from Her ears; this means that She favors childlike devotees. 4-Smiling face:-- She is ever-blissful. 5-Tongue:-- Kali's white teeth symbolize sattva or serenity; Her red tongue, rajas, or activity; and Her drunkenness: tamas or inertia (lack of interest). The meaning: tamas can be conquered by rajas, and rajas by sattva. 6-Full breast: --- She is the nourisher of all beings. 7-Terrible form:-- She is the mother of the universe as well as the destroyer. When a mother spanks(a resounding slap) her child, it does not mean that she is cruel; she disciplines her child for its own good. 8-Necklace:----- It consist of fifty four skulls that represent the fifty four letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, the origin of sound. She is Shabda Brahman (Sound-Brahman), or Logos-the source of creation. 9-Two right arms:- The upper right arm grants fearlessness, and the lower right arm offers boons. She protects Her children from danger, and She fulfills their desires. 10-Two left arms:-- She holds a sword with the upper left arm and a severed head with the lower. She can cut human bondage with the sword of knowledge, and She imparts wisdom to the head, the receptacle (a contact device)of supreme wisdom. 11-Naked form:-- She is called digambari, "clad in space." She is infinite, so no finite dress can cover Her. 12-Waist:---- Kali's waist is encircled with a girdle of severed human arms that represent action. All human actions and their results go to the Divine Mother. At the end of a cycle all souls merge with Kali; during creation they again evolve with their respective karmas. 13-Shiva is under Her feet:----- Shiva and Shakti are always together. He is the changeless aspect of the Supreme, and She the apparently changing aspect of the same. Shiva is pure cosmic consciousness, and ma Kali is cosmic energy. No creation is possible without their union. Shiva cannot manifest without the power of ma Kali, and ma Kali cannot function without the consciousness of Shiva. 14-Dakshina Kali and Vama Kali---- If Her right foot is forward, She is Dakshina Kali (benign form); and if Her left foot is forward, Vama Kali (terrible form). DECODATION OF AWESOME SYMBOLS OF MA; -- 13 POINTS--- Maha Bhadrakali fierce form is strewed with awesome symbols. 1- Her black complexion symbolizes her all-embracing and transcendental nature. Says the Mahanirvana Tantra: "Just as all colors disappear in black, so all names and forms disappear in her". 2- Her nudity is primeval, fundamental, and transparent like Nature — the earth, sea, and sky. Kali is free from the illusory covering, for she is beyond all maya or "false consciousness." 3- Kali's garland of fifty four human heads that stands for the fifty four letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, symbolizes infinite knowledge. Maha Bhadrakali is so called because She devours Kala (Time) and then resumes Her own dark formlessness." She is the Supreme Controller of the seed of creation. 4-Her girdle of severed human hands signifies work and liberation from the cycle of karma. 5- Her white teeth show her inner purity, and her red lolling tongue indicates her omnivorous nature — "her indiscriminate enjoyment of all the world's 'flavors'." 6-Her sword is the destroyer of false consciousness and the eight bonds that bind us. 7-Her three eyes represent past, present, and future, — the three modes of time an attribute that lies in the very name Kali ('Kala' in Sanskrit means time). 8- Maha Bhadrakali's proximity to cremation grounds where the five elements or "Pancha Mahabhuta" come together and all worldly attachments are absolved, again point to the cycle of birth and death. 9-The reclined ( lie back in a relaxed position) Shiva lying prostrate under the feet of Kali suggests that without the power of Kali (Shakti), Shiva is inert. 10--The head represents--the “ego” of humanity. The sword is used to separate us from the “ego,” to remove the desire for and help us escape the material/physical world (Maya) and be closer to the divine. When you meditate and awareness of your body and the physical world fades, you are experiencing this aspect of her. 11-With her remaining hands she often makes gestures (mudras) or holds objects (lotus flowers,conch shell) that represent things such as the bestowing of boons and the dispelling of fear. 12-She may wear a garland of skulls around her neck, or a skirt made of human arms. There are often 50 skulls—one for each letter of the Sanskrit alphabet. Hence, the garland of skulls represents dominion over and the power of words and thought, indeed all knowledge. The skulls, woven together, also represent the interconnectedness of all creation. Creation, nature manifest, can be beautiful; however, it may also be benign at best, and at times utterly merciless. The skirt of arms represents her power over action and work—our ability to “do”things—our Karma. 13-Maha Bhadrakali’s iconography may be bloody. Prana, the life force, is distributed by blood. When blood stops flowing, material existence ends and death occurs. Yet, blood can be a boon; a transfusion of blood may help you survive. Ma Kali, the destroyer can become enraptured (to fill with great pleasure) by bloodlust and lose control, destroying everything in her path. Yet, in some iconography, an aspect of Ma Kali decapitates (to cut off someone's head) herself and feeds her devotees with her own blood, as a preserver. MYSTERY OF HER NAME; ------ 07 POINTS-- Bhadra means “blessed” or “auspicious.”Ma Kali has many potential meanings, as the name relates to time, as well as to blackness. But here,Ma Kali is not black, She is golden in color. The blackness of Kali may be taken literally, but it is also the timeless void, everything that ever was and everything that ever will be. It is time without form,and form without time. 1-To understand Ma Kali’s iconography, it is necessary to understand her Name. One of the meanings of the Sanskrit word Kal is “to count” or “to measure.” Derived from this, Kala is the Sanskrit word for the abstract concept of time. Ma Kali is the feminine form of Kala, which suggests action. Hence Ma Kali is “action through time.” Time itself is eternal, but everything physical (in Maya) is created, preserved, and ultimately destroyed within it. 2-Time is the womb from which all creation occurs. From this womb, Ma Kali as the mother goddess brings forth all of creation.All things transform over time. Ideas, concepts, and thoughts exist as a manifestation of knowledge gained over time. These manifestations can outlive the physical existence of individuals or they can die with them. They can be preserved or modified by future generations. Or, over the course of time, they may be destroyed or forgotten. 3-Time is the scythe( a sharp, curved blade used for reaping) that ultimately reaps its own creation. To bring about new growth it is sometimes necessary to destroy the old. To change the material nature, attitudes, or dogma of humanity can require destructive intervention. 4-“Knowledge” may also be lost. Such destruction may be caused by natural phenomena or by humanity itself. The spirit/soul of that which is destroyed—the little spark of the divine—is the only thing preserved. 5-Even after such destruction, however, time, and hence creation, goes on. The divine spark of that which was gone is reborn in a new form, and lost knowledge is recreated or reinvented as time progresses. 6-Kala/Kali has another meaning, one that represents “darkness”—not simply “darkness” as in the lack of light, but instead, “Darkness” as the lack of anything manifest—a void. When something is completely obliterated by the passing of time, when it can no longer be counted or measured, nothing of it remains in the physical world (Maya) until/unless it is reborn/recreated again … over time. 7-The root word Kal can also represent something that is “well formed,” and it is used to describe beauty in this manner. It represents the concept of beauty—again, not mere physical beauty, as the physical form ages over time and such beauty is often lost. To a mathematician beauty may be found in an elegant proof. In humanity, it is the spirit/soul of an individual—their divine spark—that contains true beauty. THE KEY POINT;--- The love between the Divine Mother and her human children is a unique relationship. Maha Bhadrakali, the Dark Mother is one such deity with whom devotees have a very loving and intimate bond, in spite of her fearful appearance. In this relationship, the worshipper becomes a child andMaha Bhadrakali, assumes the form of the ever-caring mother.She typically holds a sword in one hand and a severed head in another. ..........SHIVOHAM........