The Shrine of Kali-Ma
Let us give praise to the goddess as she dances,Let us praise her foot as it strikes the earth.
Let us praise her weight as it strikes the earth.
Let us praise her dance which shakes the earth. Beneath her a chasm opens. Upon her neck
Skulls shine like jewels. Cobras twine around
Her arms. Their heads lift up, their hoods flare out
And flames of venom flash from their mouths. Her dance makes a perfect circle of fire.
It shatters the stars. They scatter in fright.
Let us praise the goddess. Let us praise her dance,
Knowing it brings us unutterable happiness. �invocation to Kali
Kali! Kali! Kali!You drive your sword
Through death's illusion.
You drive your sword
Through the body's pain.
Kali! Kali! Kali!
You drive your sword
Through the heart's pain.
You drive your sword
Through the spirit's confusion.
Kali! Kali! Kali!
You free us. You enlighten us.
You awaken us. You illuminate us.
Kali! Kali! Kali! �Tantric hymn
She is so beautiful; naked black and terrible,Naked, black and terrible: naked as life and death; Her skin as blue as a shadow, her hair black
And tangled in the wind, drifting like time. Naked, and black, and terrible: crowned
With skulls, drinking demon blood. But she is beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
She is beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. �Sister Nivedita, Hindu saint
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 �Chandi
She is mad, her lover is mad, and I am mad for loving her!This world is bewitched by the lovely goddess.
No one can describe how lovely she is, how glorious,
How perfect her gestures, how sudden her moods.
Her lover, poisoned with love for her, calls out her name
Endlessly, singing Kali's name over and over and over. Life has currents, cycles, tides which ebb and flow.
She looks upon them all with equanimity.
Nothing is opposite in her mind: not life, not death;
Not love, not hate; not the self, not the void.
Your raft, the poet said, floats upon the sea of life.
It drifts with the tide, and down with the ebb.
But the goddess is there. The goddess is always there. �Ramakrishna
How I love that dark beauty,Seducing the world
With her black hair,
How I love her! How I love my black darling
Who lives in the heart of the world,
In the heart of our hearts,
In the heart of the gods,
How I love her! Because she is black,
I love black.
Because she dances,
I love dancing.
Because she is beautiful
And black with dancing
Hair, I cannot help
Myself, I adore her! �Ramprasad
