| Kali the Mother | |
|---|---|
| by Swami Vivekananda | |
 Vivekananda worshipped the different form of goddess Kali in this poem. | |
| First published in | December 1898 |
| Country | India |
| Language | English |
"Kali the Mother" is a poem written by Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda. Vivekananda wrote the poem on 24 September 1898 when he was staying in Kashmir, on a houseboat, on Dal Lake in Srinagar. [1] [2] In this poem he worshipped goddess Kali. [3]
Vivekananda began turning towards the Hindu goddess Kali during the summer of 1886, a few months after the death of his guru, the mystic Ramakrishna. Later, he became a worshipper of Kali, which he felt was his "special fad". [1] In 1893 Vivekananda went to America to represent India and Hinduism in the Parliament of the World's Religions. From 1893 to 1897, he travelled through America and England, and gave a series of lecture on religion and Hinduism. He came back to India in 1897 and travelled extensively there between 1897 and 1899, visiting many states. In 1898, he went to Kashmir, where he stayed at a houseboat on Dal Lake. After visiting the Kheer Bhawani temple (a temple near Srinagar that has Bhawani as the deity), Vivekananda wrote this poem. [1] [2] Sister Nivedita, who was accompanying Vivekananda in Kashmir, noted that he was in a "fever of inspiration" prior to writing the poem, and became impatient until he could write down his thought. [3]
Kali the Mother (excerpt)
The stars are blotted out,
The clouds are covering clouds,
It is darkness vibrant, sonant.
In the roaring, whirling wind
Are the souls of a million lunatics
Just loose from the prison-house,
Wrenching trees by the roots,
Sweeping all from the path...
The sea has joined the fray,
And swirls up mountain-waves,
To reach the pitchy sky.
The flash of lurid light
Reveals on every side
A thousand, thousand shades
Of Death begrimed and black —
The poem glorifies the goddess Kali, whom Hindus associate with empowerment. In this poem, Vivekananda is worshiping the terrible form of the goddess (Kali is portrayed mostly in two forms: the popular four-armed form and the ten-armed Mahakali form, the "terrible" form). In the poem, he shows how the whole universe is a stage for the goddess's terrible and frenzied dance. [3]
This poem influenced Indian freedom fighters Subhas Chandra Bose and Sri Aurobindo. Sri Aurobindo used it as a basis for his Bhawani Mandir manifesto. He said about the poem: [3]
The Shakti we call India. Bhawani Bharati is the living unity of the Shaktis of three hundred million people; but she is inactive, imprisoned in the magic circle of Tamas, the self-indulgent inertia and ignorance of her sons. Strength can only be created by drawing it from the eternal and inexhaustible reservoirs of the spirit, from the Adya-Shakti of the Eternal which is the fountain of all new existence.
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan said that the poem gives "articulation and voice to that eternal spirit of India". [3]
Swami Vivekananda, born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the introduction of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world, and the father of modern Indian nationalism who is credited with raising interfaith awareness and bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Hinduism:
Ramakrishna Paramahansa, also spelled Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, born Ramakrishna Chattopadhay was an Indian Hindu mystic. A devotee of the goddess Kali, Ramakrishna after adhering to various religious practices from the Hindu traditions of Vaishnavism, Tantric Shaktism, and Advaita Vedanta, as well as from Islam and Christianity, proclaimed that various world religions are "so many paths to reach one and the same goal", thus validating the essential unity of religions. His parable-based teachings espoused the ultimate unity of diverse religions as being means to enable the realization of the same God. He is regarded by his followers as an avatar or divine incarnation of God.
Shaktism is one of the several major Hindu denominations wherein the metaphysical reality, or the godhead, is considered metaphorically to be a woman.
Dakshineswar Kali Temple or Dakshineswar Kalibari is a Hindu navaratna temple in Dakshineswar, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Situated on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, the presiding deity of the temple is Bhavatarini, a form of Parashakti Adya Kali, otherwise known as Adishakti Kalika. The temple was built in 1855 by Rani Rashmoni, a Zamindar, philanthropist and a devotee of Kali Maa. The temple is known for its association with Ramakrishna and Ma Sarada Devi, mystics of 19th century Bengal.
Sister Nivedita was an Irish teacher, author, social activist, school founder and disciple of Swami Vivekananda. She spent her childhood and early youth in Ireland. She was engaged to marry a Welsh youth, but he died soon after their engagement.
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Bhadrakali is a Hindu goddess. She is considered to be the auspicious and fortunate form of Adi Shakti who protects the good, known as bhadra.
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Mahakali is the Hindu goddess of time and death in the goddess-centric tradition of Shaktism. She is also known as the supreme being in various Tantras and Puranas.
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Kali or Kalika is a major Hindu goddess associated with time, change, creation, power, destruction and death in Shaktism. Kali is the first of the ten Mahavidyas in the Hindu tantric tradition.
Ramakrishna (1836–1886) is a famous nineteenth-century Indian Bengali Hindu mystic. Born as he was during a social upheaval in Bengal in particular and India in general, Ramakrishna and his movement—Ramakrishna Mission played a leading role in the modern revival of Hinduism in India, and on modern Indian history.
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Mahadevi, also referred to as Adi Parashakti, and Adi Shakti, is the supreme goddess in the Shaktism sect of Hinduism. According to this tradition, all Hindu gods and goddesses are considered to be manifestations of this single great Goddess, who is comparable to the deities Shiva and Vishnu as Para Brahman. Shaktas often refer to her as Durga, also believing her to have many other forms such as Tripura Sundari, Bhuvaneshvari, Kali, Parvati, Navadurga, Mahavidya, Lakshmi, Saraswati, and others. Author Helen T. Boursier says: "In Hindu philosophy, both Lakshmi and Parvati are identified as part manifestations of the great goddess—Mahadevi—and the Shakti or divine power".
In religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a very long journey or search of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a sacred area or shrine of importance to innate faith. Members of every major religion participate in pilgrimages. A person who makes such a journey is called a pilgrim.
"To the Fourth of July" is an English poem written by Indian monk and social reformer Swami Vivekananda. Vivekananda wrote the poem on 4 July 1898 on the anniversary of the United States' independence.
Nachuk Tahate Shyama,, is a Bengali language poem written by Vivekananda. The poem was originally published in two issues in Vivekodayam in 1904. The poem was later included in the second volume of The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda. The long poem relates to one's surrender to the Hindu goddess Shyama or Kali, and is also interpreted as "Let Kali dance there" a poem dedicated to Kali.
The relationship between Ramakrishna and Vivekananda began in November 1881, when they met at the house of Surendra Nath Mitra. Ramakrishna asked Narendranath to sing. Impressed by his singing talent, he invited him to Dakshineswar. Narendra accepted the invitation, and the meeting proved to be a turning point in the life of Narendranath. Initially Narendra did not accept Ramakrishna as his master and found him to be a "mono maniac", but eventually he became one of the closest people in his life. Ramakrishna reportedly shaped the personality of Narendranath and prepared him to dedicate his life to serve humanity. After the death of Ramakrishna, Narendra and his other monastic disciples established their first monastery at Baranagar.
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