~April 19
We kneel before her, because she is kind and terrible
We raise our arms to her, because she is gentle and fierce.
We call out to her, again and again: Kali, mother, O goddess,
we know it is you who holds up this world, we know
it is you we see shining forth in every being, we know
it is you who is awareness, you who is hunger, you
who is power and peace and faith and beauty and compassion
and contentment and sleep itself and all life, we know
it is you who is our mother, the mother of all forms, and that you
bring love and joy to all who sing your praises.
-Indian poet Chandi
The goddess is all contradictions: loving and terrifying at once, both kindly and fear-invoking. This is because, as the great Hindu poet Chandi reminds us, the goddess is all that is. And life includes both pain and pleasure, hunger and the satisfaction of hunger.
The goddess path is not always an easy one. There is some tragedy, as well as some joy, in every life. To praise Kali, the dark mother, is to begin to heal ourselves of the falsity of wishing to embrace only life’s pleasures. We are deeply alive when we suffer. Suffering connects us not only to each other-for all humans suffer-but also to the goddess in her darkest aspects. Without pain, we would not treasure the marvelous delights of life as deeply. Learning to accept Kali is the most intense challenge of the goddess path.
To purchase a copy of the book, I recommend this trusted site; https://a.co/d/bGfVO8a