Devi

 

 

Admired, adored, exalted and feared, the Divine Devi describes in her various manifestations the myriad different facets of humankind itself.

Power, Passion, Kindness & Compassion. Loving, nurturing, guiding & empowering. Rage, violence. and meditative silence.

Creating and destroying……our innate duality. The ‘law of opposites’ that is the very essence of all life in our Universe.

Devi is represented in a variety of hues and shades of blue, brown, indigo and black. Her different moods bring forth her various forms and incarnations. All Goddesses are expansions of the one Goddess—‘Parvati’ (Devi). She is the one source of all forms of Goddesses. Of her many forms like Shakti, Durga, Kathyayini, Bhuvaneshwari, Chandi etc, Mahakali is of most interest as the duality of humankind is more easily understood by observing the symbolism that her form and energies depict.

Kali is all things. From Creation to cremation. A giver of life to a devourer. There can be no life without death and no death without life. They are a gift to each other. She is the warrior Goddess, and the beloved, gentle mother. Kali represents the inherent creative and destructive rhythms of the cosmos. She destroys ignorance and invites the dawning of knowledge.

Her name has its origins in the Sanskrit term ‘kaala’, which is ‘time’. Kali is the feminine form of the same. Her vision embraces all- the past, present and future.
Kali’s midnight black skin symbolizes the total absence of color. Black is the color in which all colors merge , absorbing and dissolving them, signifying Kali’s ultimate reality is transcendence of all forms.

Her nudity represents her being beyond all illusory effects of false consciousness, completely transparent. Kali is the bright fire of truth which cannot be hidden by the clothes of ignorance. Her unbound flowing hair symbolizes her disdain for convention.

In this series, the Devi holds flowers in one hand and a Trident in the other. Life and living is about choices. Every situation has at least two paths. The trident symbolizes force that is fuelled by fear, rage and injustice. The flowers express gentle persuasion which is fuelled by love, kindness and compassion. Whilst choosing a path we listen closely to the Goddess within. To follow love or fear is a choice we all have to make at some point or other, as individuals, as Nations or even for our own Planet Earth and ultimately the Universe.

All myths, legends, stories of the Devi highlight the fact that even unpleasant events are a blessing. If we can learn the lesson inherent in each such event, our sense of duality diminishes and we come closer to the self and in the understanding of the whole that we are part of...

 

© Copyright: Vallery Puri         Viewed: 1812