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Evil in the World: Part 1 The Cult of Kali |
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Evil in the World: Part 1 The Cult of Kali |
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Looking
into the pantheon of gods and demigods of the Hindu world, one can
see evil actively working in the world. Presented as benign and
spiritual, there is real evil in their midst. We, in the west have
been introduced to the religions of the east through the corruption
and failures of western thought and culture. During the 1960's, when
the counter-culture of the hippies began to search for new meaning –
they looked to the east. They began to join cults and communal
societies. However, it was short lived (beginning around 1967 and
ending around 1978). This is when the west swung back to materialism
and intellectualism (where it was prior to 1967). Ironically, it was
to start the swing back in the 1990's under the banner of
environmentalism, naturism and neo-feminism.
Under this new banner, the horrors of the past were erased and the new pantheon of gods were kind and peaceful – sort of. The choice of new gods were either gods of nature or goddesses. However, the reality of these gods are far different from their new faces. An example of this is Kali – the consort of Shiva. Kali isn't just a goddess, but the personification of Durga's wrath. Durga is transformed into Kalie from the poison in Shiva's neck. Kali entices Shiva to behaviour that is dangerous and destructive. Together, they dance so wildly that the world shakes and is threatened with destruction. As a consequence, Kali (Durga's wrath personified) is the goddess of chaos and destruction.
In the Hindu Vedas, those who worship her take the left handed path (the path of evil against the moral order). Yoga has two paths - the right handed and the left handed. The right handed path leads to virtue and away from lust, and greed. The left handed path leads to death and destruction. However, out of fear and out greed, those who worship (and worshiped) Kali believe that through her fear can be defeated. Kali, historically, has required a sacrifice of blood, and evidence of human sacrifice can be found – and is believed still practiced today. The most notorious of the followers have earn a place in the English dictionary. The word thug refers to the practitioners of ritual murder in India – the thuggees. The thuggees are devotees of the goddess Kali, who befriend strangers and travelers and then murder them. Although, they and other Kali worship was outlawed by the British in the 19th century. However, they were a highly secretive society and worked their way into Asian organized crime
However, the left handed path is not just isolated to a few, even those supposedly on the right handed path honor Kali with blood. This is historically evident in the Hindu caste system. As system that created a class of sub-human untouchables. Untouchables who were and are regularly abused. Untouchable women, as young as 3 years old, are murdered in ritual rapes, or burned alive. This brings us to the ritual called suttee (Sahagamana ). Suttee is the practice of burning the widow on funeral pyre of her husband – while she is still alive. Modern Hindus, reformers, now say that these practices are not part of Hinduism. They go so far as to ignore the demonic incarnations of their gods. For example, they will refer to Parvati as the consort of Shiva, not Kali. What they don't say is that Parvati is another incarnation of Kali. If Kali was not important to India, then there would be no city named in her honor – Calcutta or the nation anthem based on a hymn to Kali.
However, it does not end here, the new face of Hinduism, that hides the reality of its past – the evil in their midst – is influencing western societies, via new age thought, environmentalism, naturism, and neo-feminism. Here the phrase, “wolf in sheep's clothing” can easily be applied. Yoga (left and right handed) is masked as exercise, Vedic mediation as spiritual awakening, and shamanism as holistic healing – Evil is being masked as good.