As we come up to the final fews days of Navaratri, fervour for the Divine Mother is reaching a fever pitch! In this heart nectar overflows!
Joy unbounded!

In celebration of the past nine days worshipping Durga and in anticipation of Kali Puja to come,
this evening's topic is: Symbols of Divine Mother Kali.
This is the first of a lecture series exploring the iconography of Mā Kāli.

Why is Mother garlanded in skulls?
Here we will discuss the linguistic mysticism of the Trika school of Tantra!
What's the inner significance of all the mortuary imagery?
Here we will discuss impermanence and the graveyard rituals of Tantra!
Why is Mother girdled in hands?
Here we take up verse 30 of Chapter 30 in the Gita to study Prakriti in the light of Tantra, as we've explored a little last week.
Why is Mother wild haired?
Here we will talk about the principle of Svatantrya Shakti in Tantra, the Absolute Autonomy of Dynamic Consciousness with reference to Kshemaraja's commentary of Utpala Deva's Pratyabhijna doctrine.
Why is Mother's tongue sticking out between a row of white teeth?
Here we will discuss the Three Gunas and also Divine Drunken-ness.
Why is Lord Shiva lying like a corpse under Her?
Here we will consider verse 19 of the Vijnana-Bhairava Tantra to discuss how Consciousness (Brahman/Satchidananda Shiva etc.) is inseparable from its Shakti, its manifesting power.
What do all the weapons and mudras symbolise?
How to tell the difference between fierce and benevolent forms?

And so on...

In this lecture, although my intention was to hit all of those points outlined above, I managed to only, by Her grace, sketch out some preliminary ideas regarding Ma's wild, flowing hair as it pertains to Svatantrya Shakti as well as say a few things about the girdle of hands. Next week, we will attempt to take up a few other items on the list, if She so wills it!

By Mother's Will may it all be so!
May she delight at our attempts to praise here, though she is beyond all praise!

Jai Mā!

These lectures happen Live every Monday at 7pm PST. It is open to the public. Use this link and I will see you there:
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