I myself praise Kali…

Since living in Bali, a new dimension has been added to the way I understand a lot of things… I guess living in a new place will do that - open your eyes and mind to new perspectives and colour the way we look at the world.

I remember this great song, "PRAISE", about a goddess named Kali by an artist called Kinnie Star. One of my planting friends introduced her to our crew one year, and in fact this particular song became what I would consider the ‘camp song’ that year.

Anyway, other than the music itself (a unique style, funky beats and mix of instruments with involved lyrics and feminist overtones), there was something more powerful about this song.

I didn’t really know what until now! Kali is actually a Hindu goddess… The "Goddess of Time and Change" is a pretty powerful and important position, I would think! (As an Ange-aside: In the Indonesian language, kali, means river or stream.... kind of in-line with the flow of time, and change, no?)

Depictions and understandings of Kali differ between different sects of Hinduism, and different geographical areas, and actually, in Balinese Hindu, Kali is not one of the 'main' gods. But my favourite interpretation is Kali as a 'mother goddess', having great compassion for her children, providing them enlightenment (this is the ultimate form she took, after a series of changes of her being). By extension, many consider her the goddess of enlightenment or liberation.



I guess the song I refer to is typical of a western-influenced view of Kali. In the west she became somewhat of a symbol for feminism, associated especially with repressed female power and sexuality.



The most common representation of her is as a four-armed blue being. The four hands are usually holding different objects; I found this explanation of what they represent: "Two of these hands are holding a sword and a severed head. The Sword signifies Divine Knowledge and the Human Head signifies human Ego which must be slain by Divine Knowledge in order to attain Moksha (enlightenment). The other two hands are in the abhaya and varada mudras or blessings, which means her initiated devotees (or anyone worshiping her with a true heart) will be saved as she will guide them here and in the hereafter."



In reading up on this goddess, it seems she is extremely mis-understood... because representations show her holding a head, blood dripping from her tongue, and a necklace of skulls, she is seen in a negative light as the goddess of death and destruction... but in reading a little further on, it seems that that 'death and destruction' are of evil, and lead to enlightenment. This small complexity is just a hint of the involved nature of the Hindu religion and their gods... you can peel away layer after layer, and never truly understand the religion completely! But if Bali is any example... you don't have to anyway - understanding every intricate detail doesn't seem to be the point; here, it's more about the overall wholistic view and virtuous way of life.