So, the male deities convened at the Ganga river and
asked for a female force to do their bidding. Ganga bore
Durga – the collective force of unmediated goddess
energy. Known as Mother Durga (Maa Durga), this fierce
mother image rides into town on a tiger’s or lion’s
back wielding in several of her ten arms various bladed
weapons to behead your darkest demons – all in the
name of active compassion.
Durga’s celebration – the Durga Puja –
is the largest such celebration in Bengali held in October.
Meaning “one who is difficult to access,”
Durga also goes by other names such as Bhavaputri (one
beloved by the universe) and “Kali,” described
below.
If someone you know needs some help cleaning up some
bad habits or needs a fierce charge to live life to its
fullest and most upright, then extending a Durga card
or item might be the right gesture.
And when major intervention is needed, when reality needs
to be turned inside-out and upside-down in order for personal
transformation to happen, call on Kali. More than a demon-buster,
Kali is the reality of time and change itself. Her nude,
dark (“Kali” means “the dark one”)
body absorbs all forms and shapes and colors. With wild
disheveled hair,, her terrifying face, and a belt made
of men’s arms and heads, Kali can strike fear or
courage or awe in you.
Known to slay whole armies representing forms of the
human ego, Kali can become riled, ecstatic, and drunk
on demons’ blood only to be quelled by her sometimes-consort
Shiva, the only force who can match Kali’s wildness.
Kali helps you face impermanence, mortality, change,
and reality’s utter unpredictability. Do you think
you’re in control? Kali gives you a reality check.
Do you think you’re going to live forever in this
form? Think again. Do you think the things that bring
you happiness will always bring you happiness and should
always bring you happiness because, well, you deserve
it? Kali will surely help you get over such delusions.
With acceptance of reality, by facing Kali’s terror,
an ultimate calm and equanimity can ensue. You become
less reactive, less disappointed, and more content with
all things as they are. In such a state, liberation (moksha)
is not far away.
Both Durga and Kali cards and items might be hung or
located in places of a house that also need cleansing
of undesirable energy or memories.
Biography provided
by Jeff
Davis: Author of The
Journey from the Center to the Page: Yoga Philosophies
and Practices as Muse for Authentic Writing.
His essays,
articles, short stories, and poems have appeared in publications
around the country and in London. He is a former senior
yoga teacher at Bliss Yoga Center in Woodstock, NY and
founder of WEN
Barn & Gardens in Accord, NY. He
resides near Woodstock, NY, between the Catskill Mountains
and the Shawangunk Mountains with wife Hillary.
