Shyama: The Loving Mother
(Part II: Seeking Ma Kali)



You are there for those that have none to turn to,
Don't you know that's why I stare at you so -
In this empty and listless existence of mine,
O Mother Sarada Fail me not, Fail me not --

In the thorny pathway of life,
My heart has been shattered by thousand blows
My offering to you are just my tears
O Mother Sarada Fail me not, Fail me not --


The darkness of night envelops me, permeates my heart, my being and my soul, but I fear it not, for is darkness not the color of my Ma Kali. In this darkness I loose sight of my false image that my ignorant ego has created, the image that feels hurt, the image that feels wronged, the image that is in shackles…

In this blissful darkness I know I am free, I know I am loved; I know I am in the protective embrace of my mother. My eyes can deceive me no longer, for their tricks fail in the darkness and unseeing they look within and with me seek the liberating touch of Ma Kali’s sword. And liberate me she shall…

I draw strength from a anecdote that Thakur has been known to relate, it goes thus – During the course of days work, a mother sometimes needs to leave her child unattended. When it cries a little, she will perhaps give him some toy to divert the attention so that she can continue to attend to her work but when the child finally tires of all toys and cries persistently indicating that only the mother and no thing else will do, the mother leaves whatever she is doing and comes and picks up her child. It is in this truth that I repose my faith. And I have seen this truth unfold in front of my own eyes as my little Rudra calls out to her mother. Only that, as soon as my little angel cries, he gets not only his mom, but also grandma and dad rushing to his attention. :)

Today I felt my ma’s grace tangibly as she took me by hand and lovingly started cutting away those bonds that have been keeping me away from her, in her own inimitable and no nonsense way she showed that attachment to the transient gives is a false sense of happiness or sadness, it creates a maze-like false world where I have been scampering around like a rat on steroids in search of non existent cheese. Well, I guess one has to wake up sometimes. And having woken up, its but natural that I cry out to my mother…

With Krishna as my guide and companion, it is in Ma Kali’s dark form that I seek light anew, a light of knowledge, a light of bliss…

"She takes away the darkness from every individual who strives in the path of perfection by performing the spiritual disciplines of purifying austerities. Just as all the colors of the spectrum mix into black, yet still black remains black, so too, Kali, who is completely Dark, Unknowable, takes away all the Darkness."

Jai Ma.

See Also
Part I: Shyama: The Dark Goddess
A Kali in Every Woman: Motherhood and the Dark Goddess Archetype

As if on Cue

The Times of India carried this news article Lebanon crisis: Reaction in India feared. The article itself begins omniously:

WASHINGTON: With two full-blown crises, in Lebanon and Iraq, merging into a single emergency, a chain reaction could spread quickly almost anywhere between Cairo and Mumbai, a former US ambassador to the United Nations has warned.

A combination of combustible elements poses the greatest threat to global stability since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, history's only nuclear superpower confrontation, Richard Holbrooke said, suggesting that India and a dozen other countries could be involved in violence in the near future.

Well, Krishna Janmasthami is just around the corner, so fear not folk, Just chant Hare Krishna, Hare Rama, or whatever way you want to rememeber him. Instead of CNN watch CN (Cartoon Network) more, play with kids, feed the ducks and pigeons, just be happy. Generally. :)

And yes, listening to Bhajans helps a lot. Not just you, silly, it helps the world, the whole creation. So go right ahead.

Krishna Krishna Kahiye Uthi Bhor

Is it going to be a War?

The world is an edgy place just about now. Suspicion and intrigue is on the air. No one feels safe. A major tragedy has just been averted in London but the airwaves are thick with warnings and advisories. A polarized world has been pushed further into the hands of the Hawks. In our country a weak government fumbles at every front, with a single point agenda of staying in power at whatever the price.

The ongoing hostilities between Israel and Lebanon show just how easy it is for a war to start. And from the looks of things, start it will. Sooner than Later. A war with no winners and where the humanity looses.

History has shown that there have been so many of such devatating wars, the Mahabhrata war, the Babylon invasion of Israel, greek attacking Persia, the Islamic raiders to India, the Islamic sacking of the glorious Vijaynagara Kingdom, the World Wars... the list is unending. Everytime ways of lives ended and the toils of centuries of human enterprise reduced to dust in days, weeks or months.

I guess the bystanders at each of the instances may have felt that way the common people feel today: Caught in the cross fire. Trapped.

So how does one enlist on the winning side when there is not going to be any winner? My faith is with Krishna, taking refuge in him.. Yellow belly? No way.. Here's my philosophy… The world is in this state today, because the negative thought waves have overshadowed the positive ones. We hate more than we love, we destroy more then we create. To counter balance that the only way is for people to love more, and what love is more glorious, more enriching and more life affirming than the love for Krishna. He is the one Truth for me, called as he by so many names.

Sri Krishna Saranam Mamah