As you know, in Hinduism, in addition to the supreme deity, there are many other gods and their incarnations. All of them serve the same purpose - leading a person along the path of enlightenment, but each uses his own means for this.
The Indian goddess Kali is the destructive form of Parvati, the wife of Shiva. She is depicted, as a rule, dancing on the body of Shiva, with four hands, in one of which she holds the head of a demon with its tongue sticking out, from which blood is dripping, and a garland of skulls. It would seem that such an image should have made her a negative character, but adherents of Hinduism highly honor her. There is even a special cult dedicated to Kali. The goddess, who is a destructive hypostasis of Shakti, also embodies protection from dark forces and a maternal, caring beginning.
Goddess Kali is a manifestation of "divine wrath, " and not causeless destructive aggression. She gets rid of ignorance and demons, purifying and protecting. She is also associated in Hinduism with great joy: defeating enemies, she always laughs. The goddess constantly supports honest people. But the worshipers of the Kali cult, who misinterpreted Hindu philosophy, performed terrible rituals, accompanied by human sacrifices, as a result of which this deity became associated with senseless bloodshed and ruthlessness.
The true essence of this goddess remains in a harmonious union of creative and destructive forces.
The Goddess Kali exists in twelve manifestations: the goddess of Creation, Kali of Conservation, Destruction, Restriction, Destruction, Death, Horror, the Goddess of the Cosmic Egg, Kali of the Highest Radiance, the Terrible Fire of Time, Great Time and Kali Fearlessness.
All these forms carry out a gradual transition of consciousness to enlightenment through the acceptance of all objects of the external world, as part of one's self, and oneself, as the world.
Thus, destruction is the blurring of boundaries between different forms of existence.
Goddess Kali destroys the duality of peace and doubt.
The image of this deity includes many symbols: its four hands represent both the cardinal points and the main chakras; three eyes - the three main forces on which the whole philosophy of Hinduism rests: creation, preservation and destruction; a garland of skulls - a series of reincarnations of a person, and a severed head - liberation from the ego; blue skin color - eternity; the corpse beneath her feet is the flesh of the bodily membrane; a bloody tongue is guna rajas, and black hair is purity of consciousness.
We see that the goddess Kali embodies all the basic ideas and principles of Hinduism, even in a strange and maybe even repulsive form. It symbolizes eternal life and victory over petty worries about the body, ignorance and evil forces.
Despite the fact that she is rarely ranked among the main gods of Hinduism, her image is undoubtedly a typical example for those who seek to comprehend eastern philosophy. After all, Kali is also an eternal balance, and harmony, the unity of the creative and destructive principle in the form of a female deity.
