Reading Notes: 7 Secrets of the Goddess Part C
Chapter 2: Kali's Secret: Nature is indifferent to human gaze
2.1
-Kali= most dramatic form of Devi in Hindu mythology: naked, loose hair, standing on Shiva, and necklace of male heads, thirst for blood
-rise of Devi worship after post-Buddhist phase
-before, images of bulls next to bejeweled women: representation of struggle between wild and domestication
-1500BCE cattleherd migration into populated areas--> long tension
- worship of cloud-dwelling gods and rejection of the only woman god figure
-rejection of materialistic society grew: meditation= freedom--> Kali appears
-Kali-like goddess emerge, associated with rage and violence
-300 CE: Kali= discrete from Shiva, causes destruction
-appearance of more and more versions of Kali as represented by 3,6,9 or even 64 goddesses acting together-> benevolent and morbid versions
-deep appreciation of nature
-1000BCE: Kali as one instead of a collective--> perfect and most primal
-it is told then that human society is created within her and she consumes human society
2.2
-Kali like goddess seem to belong to the same continuum
-South, smaller version holding head of brahma which would end the world if set down
-kills and nurtures herself with her own blood
-sex becomes viewed a procreative instead of for pleasure, as images of women on top of men emerge--> sex = contribution to survival
-Tantra and Kali, Buddhist and Hindi respectively: indistinguishable
-various literatures show opposing views, one focuses on things needing to be controlled while another focuses on the active nature--> human ability to be sensitive
-Kali's tongue: mocking human limitation and daring them to pass judgement on nature
-conflicting attitudes towards sex
-Radha represented with Krishna. Kali is so associated with Shiva that a different form must be associated with Shiva's rival Krishna
-Radha comes to embody true unconditional love as Krishna has wronged her
-2 halves of the same spirit but cannot be together on earth
-women start using veil as Islam emerges--> increase of conservative mindset but Radha remains
-celebration and love for Krishna causing celibacy as Krishna is admired as the only true man
2.3
-Tantric rituals kept passed on by serious worshippers, not to just anyone--> development as forbidden force
-Kali as seen by white voyagers as affirming their belief that natives were savages that worshipped the devil
--"colonial gaze" cause reimagining of Kali's form--> attempt to pacify explorers
-Kali= mother of India stripped by the colonizers
-post-colonial Kali= symbol of revolution/ women's freedom
"Seven Secrets of the Goddess" by Epified. Website: YouTube
2.1
-Kali= most dramatic form of Devi in Hindu mythology: naked, loose hair, standing on Shiva, and necklace of male heads, thirst for blood
-rise of Devi worship after post-Buddhist phase
-before, images of bulls next to bejeweled women: representation of struggle between wild and domestication
-1500BCE cattleherd migration into populated areas--> long tension
- worship of cloud-dwelling gods and rejection of the only woman god figure
-rejection of materialistic society grew: meditation= freedom--> Kali appears
-Kali-like goddess emerge, associated with rage and violence
-300 CE: Kali= discrete from Shiva, causes destruction
-appearance of more and more versions of Kali as represented by 3,6,9 or even 64 goddesses acting together-> benevolent and morbid versions
-deep appreciation of nature
-1000BCE: Kali as one instead of a collective--> perfect and most primal
-it is told then that human society is created within her and she consumes human society
2.2
-Kali like goddess seem to belong to the same continuum
-South, smaller version holding head of brahma which would end the world if set down
-kills and nurtures herself with her own blood
-sex becomes viewed a procreative instead of for pleasure, as images of women on top of men emerge--> sex = contribution to survival
-Tantra and Kali, Buddhist and Hindi respectively: indistinguishable
-various literatures show opposing views, one focuses on things needing to be controlled while another focuses on the active nature--> human ability to be sensitive
-Kali's tongue: mocking human limitation and daring them to pass judgement on nature
-conflicting attitudes towards sex
-Radha represented with Krishna. Kali is so associated with Shiva that a different form must be associated with Shiva's rival Krishna
-Radha comes to embody true unconditional love as Krishna has wronged her
-2 halves of the same spirit but cannot be together on earth
-women start using veil as Islam emerges--> increase of conservative mindset but Radha remains
-celebration and love for Krishna causing celibacy as Krishna is admired as the only true man
2.3
-Tantric rituals kept passed on by serious worshippers, not to just anyone--> development as forbidden force
-Kali as seen by white voyagers as affirming their belief that natives were savages that worshipped the devil
--"colonial gaze" cause reimagining of Kali's form--> attempt to pacify explorers
-Kali= mother of India stripped by the colonizers
-post-colonial Kali= symbol of revolution/ women's freedom
"Seven Secrets of the Goddess" by Epified. Website: YouTube
Kali Represented in Hindu
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