The Hindu Goddess as Part-Reflection of the Hindu Psyche and Worldview - Report Example

The Hindu Goddess as Part-Reflection of the Hindu Psyche and Worldview Table of Contents I. Introduction 3 II. Discussion 3 III. Conclusion 8 Works Cited 10 I. Introduction This paper explores the role of women in Hindu mythology, focusing on the goddess Kali, Devi and Parvati. This paper posits the thesis that the way the three goddesses are portrayed in Hindu mythology reflect deep psychic realities in the Hindu mind and worldview (BBC). In the literature the three goddesses are aspects or forms of the divine wife of Shiva, the third leg in the god trinity in Hindu scriptures, and the representative of the destructive aspect of the divine godhead. Shiva is the destructive aspect that completes the creation and preservation aspects of the divine, represented respectively by Brahma and Vishnu. In Hindu mythology, Kali is likewise a feminine and destructive force, to complement the male destructive energy that Shiva represents. It is through Parvati, who had in past times transformed herself into Devi and Kali, that Shiva the destructive force of the cosmos has come to be associated with the latter two goddesses, even as Parvati herself is the most well-known version of the goddess wife of Shiva ( Dolls of India; Cartwright; Wilkins). II. Discussion The personification of time, death and destruction is said to be Kali, whose very name connotes death and blackness, according to Hindu mythology and in this way there are aspects of the feminine force that in the Hindu psyche are associated with destruction. On the other hand, there is also that aspect of Kali that is associated with nurturing, with the mother force, the force of creation. She is an aspect of the goddess Parvati, wife of Shiva, himself the third aspect of the godhead that takes care of preserving the cosmic balance Shiva, and also Kali, destroys, where Vishnu preserves and Brahma creates. In a way Kali paves the way for the continuation of the cycle that ends in birth and creation, by in a way cleansing and clearing the stage for creation to happen. Destruction is the other aspect of birth, and it is in the person the goddess Kali that the destructive force is best represented. Looking at her image, she is black and frightful, holding the severed head of a dead man, her tongue sticking out fiercely, and her eyes intense. One of her feet is standing on another dead body, in the style of a conqueror who has vanquished a foe in bloody battle. She has long luscious dark hair, a symbol of her femininity. On another hand she is wielding a bloodied sword or knife, raised high, and used to severe the head and to kill mortal man. On her neck is a garland made out of human heads. Her body itself is full of life and in the prime of health, vital and deadly. On her head is a crown signifying her elevated stature as a goddess, and around her head is a glow, an aura, and in her totality she carries an air of invincibility, and awesome power sure of itself. In this aspect of the goddess Kali as force of destruction, wielder of the weapon of time, she is full of sexuality and of raw femininity and power. Meanwhile, as the personification of time all men and all manner of gods and goddesses are drawn to the goddess Kali like moths to the fire, and they are unable to resist her. Time eats and kills all in the end, and in this way Kali represents inevitable destruction. Time is her substance and the source of her awesome destructive powers. She wields it in the service ultimately of her husband, who also plays out his role, as the god of destruction, in maintaining the balance of the entire creation. It is noteworthy meanwhile that in the depiction of the goddess her sexuality and vitality, her vital feminine aspect, is that side that also destroys, kills, and conquers all mortal men and the inferior gods and goddesses. Hers is the wild energy, the blood lust, and the vital sexuality that kills all and eats all (Varma; Cartwright; Dolls of India; Prakash). It is no coincidence that where the literature depicts a certain historical period as the time or the age of Kali, that that connotes destruction, the withering of a balance in social relations, much killings and death, and the spread of anarchy and the overturning of a carefully preserved order of things (Kakar). On the other hand, the flip side aspect of Kali is the feminine mother, the nurturer, and the proper complement to the male destructive power of Shiva. In this latter aspect Kali the goddess is also depicted as the enabler of the destructive power of the universe, without whom even the god Shiva is impotent to act out his part in the universal power dance. Kali represents the female energy that arms Shiva to destroy the world and prime it for another round of creation and preservation. the shakti of the god of destruction. Kali is the embodiment of that shakti in her feminine power, and in this way she completes Shiva and makes his power and his being whole. This is also the way that Kali acts out the role of the perfect complement and wife to the god. Moreover, there is that aspect of Kali who does not destroy and kill for its own sake, but merely to pave the way for more life, and for more creation. The thinking is that too, in the theology of Hindu mythology, the destructive power of Shiva is not without aim or purpose, because in the end she selectively destroys ignorance and the aspect of the cosmos that is in the process of decaying. Her power roots out all of that, and primes the cosmos for the work of Brahma and Vishnu. In this way she nurtures and protects too, like a mother, and that her powers of destruction is just one side of a two-sided reality where the other side is tender, and full of motherly love and nurturing (Dolls of India; Cartwright; BBC; Kinsley 116-130). Then there are also alternative feminist perspectives of the goddess in Hinduism that deviate from the more mainstream views of the Hindu goddess as destructive feminine force and as nurturing mother goddess. In these alternative views, that are arguably more contemporary and in line with changing social norms relating to women, the Hindu goddess is a feminist. She is empowered, openly sexual, and uses that sexuality to carve an alternate social universe, where more marginalized women in Indian society, belonging to the lower social classes and in other aspects of life disadvantaged compared to men, can flock and worship and find identification. In this alternative view she is not a support power to the male Hindu god Shiva, but is rather a completely independent force who wields her sexuality and her femininity on their own merits, with no need for the male force for justification. These alternate views are not always well-developed, but the thinking is that in Hindu mythology, with the worship of the goddess well-entrenched in religious practice and Devi, Kali and Parvati being mainstream goddesses in the pantheon of gods, there is room for women to wield the kind of enormous power that they are given. Taking a step back, one can say that Hindu mythology, by accepting women in this way and assigning destructive and nurturing, and also feminist powers to Kali and Devi, reflects a Hindu psyche that similarly views women in society as capable of such vast powers. The feminine force in particular, is viewed as both the source of the mother principle, and also the force of sexuality and the destruction that her sexuality connotes. Meanwhile, these alternate views of the Hindu goddess as feminist and essentially attaining equal status with the male gods in terms of the devotion and worship that they are able to attract reinforce Hindu worldviews that give women an elevated place in society and in religious practice in general (Rajan; Prakash; Lama; Clooney 9-13). There is a way to validate the view that the elevation of the status of the Hindu goddess in general reflects an elevated place for the women in the Hindu psyche and that is with regard to the way women have been able to participate meaningfully in vital aspects of Hindu society where power and the vying for power are important aspects of participation. One such arena is in politics and the ability of women to make meaningful inroads into the Indian political system, riding on the symbolism of Kali and the Hindu goddess as awesome feminine power worthy of worship and respect. The literature notes for instance that Indira Gandhi’s singular power in Indian politics can be partly explained by the presence of the Kali and absolute Hindu goddess stereotype in Hindu mythology. In other words, because the stereotype reflects a deeply-seated psychic reality in Hindu consciousness, then there is room for the likes of Indira Gandhi to rise to power and to wield enormous power and influence in Indian politics. Viewed another way therefore, there is indeed a perspective where the awesome power of the Hindu goddess spills over from the realm of mythology, to the realm of practical life, boosting the stature and the influence of some women in politics, such as Gandhi. That Gandhi’s political career was able to take off and flourish also is a reflection of the way the Hindu goddess image and mythology is not only confined to the realm of religion but that Hindu society being what it is, with religion and social life being fused into a single reality, that the awesome power of the Hindu goddess is something that has very real consequences for the way some women are treated in Indian society. That treatment is characterized by respect, and in politics, the handing of the keys to political power (Lama 1-9). Then too, going back to the paradigms of the Hindu goddess as nurturing mother, the stereotypes of the evolved mother and nurturing mother figure has its place in the practical affairs of Hindu life too, even as the mother stereotype is something that also has deep roots in the Hindu worldview and psyche. The mother stereotype is readily attributed to Kali, as the flip side of her fierce destructive power. On the other hand, in the realm of politics, the observation has been too that even the most powerful female politicians, including Gandhi, have been referenced in terms of their maternal aspects, and those aspects too are projected to the female in the same way that they are attributed to the Hindu goddess as an intrinsic part of the Hindu goddess’ divinity (Clooney 1-14; Lama 1-9). III. Conclusion The paper explored the various representations of the Hindu goddess as embodying, in Kali, Devi and Parvati, those aspects of the divine that are feminine in their nature, and complementing the powers of the destructive nature of the godhead Shiva. The paper also discussed those aspects of the Hindu goddess that are nurturing and attributed to the mother principle, and those aspects are the flipsides of the destructive feminine force. The destructive aspect is seen as being rooted in sexuality and wild lust for destruction and blood, in Kali, with time being the substance of the female goddess, and the source of its raw power to kill all men. Alternative feminist perspectives on the Hindu goddess, on the other hand, see the Hindu goddess as representing a drive for independent existence apart from the male Hindu god and the patriarchal power order that the Hindu god represents. In this feminist view, the Hindu goddess is a solitary force, not dependent on the male god for her existence and for her power, and not acting as just a complementary entity and power, but a power by her own right, equal and solitary. It is in these various depictions of the Hindu goddess that one can argue for the way the Hindu goddess reflects a deep Hindu psychic and worldview reality. That this is so, is reflected in the way some Hindu women have risen to power and handed their privileged and equal places in the halls of political power in Hindu society (Clooney; Lama; Rajan; Prakash). Works Cited BBC. “Shiva”. BBC Religions. 2009. Web. 23 April 2014. Cartwright, Mark. “Kali”. Ancient History Encyclopedia. 21 June 2013. Web. 23 April 2014. Clooney, Francis SJ. Divine Mother, Blessed Mother: Hindu Goddesses and the Virgin Mary. Oxford University Press. 2005. Google Books. 23 April 2014. Dolls of India. Kali the Goddess: Gentle Mother, Fierce Warrior”. DollsofIndia. 2014. Web. 23 April 2014. Kakar, Sudhir. “The Time of Kali: Violence between Religious Groups in India”. Funzione Gamma- University Sapienza in Rome Scientific Online Magazine. 2004. Web. 23 April 2014. Kinsley, David. Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition. University of California Press. 1988. Google Books. 23 April 2014. Lama, Stephanie Tawa. “The Hindu Goddess and Women’s Political Representation in South Asia: Symbolic Resource or Feminine Mystique?”. International Review of Sociology 11 (1). 2001. Web. 23 April 2014. Prakash, Om. “Worship of Goddess Durga in Navaratri”. Odisha Review. October 2013. Web. 23 April 2014. Rajan, Rajeswari Sunder. “Is the Hindu Goddess a Feminist?” Jura Gentium. 2012. Web. 23 April 2014. Varma, Raja Ravi. “Kali”. Ancient History Encyclopedia. 2013. Web. 23 April 2014. Wilkins, WJ. “Chapter VI: Siva”. Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic. 1900. Web. 23 April 2014. Read More