Goddess Kali-Shakti And Brahman

Sri Ramakrishna

oi-Priya Devi

By Priya Devi

Thursday, October 21, 2010, 17:20

Kali here, Kali there and Kali everywhere! Sri Ramakrishna dissolved Himself in Mother Kali. He experienced Mother Kali, in both the absolute and the ephemeral. The Master's words of wisdom pierce through the misconception of considering Kali, the Shakti or the primeval power as unreal, deeming Brahman alone as the eternal truth (the Brahman).

The Brahmajnanis are of the view that creation, sustenance and dissolution; the living beings and the universe are all the leela or the sport of Shakti ( Divine Mother, Power, Creation) which they reduce to an illusion. The formless Brahman (the absolute) alone is the truth while Shakti is a fleeting dream.

Sri Ramakrishna by His words of wisdom bridged the gap between the two as one integral whole.
The Master points out that recognition or belief in one invariably implies the belief in the other. He illustrates the aforesaid truth that fire and its burning sensation, milk and its whiteness and sun and its rays are inseparable. One cannot think of fire, milk or the sun without conceiving simultaneously, the burning power, whiteness and the rays. Its an integrated, inseparable whole.

The Master further clarifies the point that any activity happens in the realm of Shakti, for even the 'Brahman' is discussed within it. Brahman(the absolute) cannot be contemplated apart from it. He says, “You may reason a thousand times, but without attaining the state of Samadhi (Read to know Samadhi) you cannot go beyond the jurisdiction of Shakti!"(Courtesy: Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamirta, Section II)

Sri Ramakrishna says, the power of Brahman arising from it creates, preserves and dissolves. Hence Brahman is Goddess Kali, and Goddess Kali is Brahman, the same substance. “ When She is inactive neither creating, nor preserving, nor destroying, I call Her Brahman. When She performs all these activities I call Her Kali, I call Her Shakti. The Being is the same, only the names and forms are different!" (Courtesy: Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamirta, Section II)

Sri Ramakrishna illustrates the truth with the term, 'Jal', 'Water' or 'Pani'. The Hindus drink it from one ghat and call it 'Jal'. The Muslims drink from another and call it, 'Pani' and the Europeans drink it from yet a different ghat and call it 'Water'. It all means the one and the same substance.

Thus some call the ultimate Allah, some call it Goddess Kali, Durga (Manifestation of Durga), or Rama and yet others, Jesus. All means the same.

A must read for not only those debating with philosophical jargons without opting for experiencing the essence and the humanity at large for a harmonious living where communal riots are at its height.