Loving Paradoxes: A Feminist Reclamation of the Goddess Kali Author(s): Vrinda Dalmiya Source: Hypatia, Vol. 15, No.

1 (Winter, 2000), pp. 125-150 Published by: Indiana University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3810514 Accessed: 03/12/2009 03:53
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A Feminist LovingParadoxes: Reclamation of the Goddess Kali

VRINDA DALMIYA

The feministsignificance of the GoddessKali lies in an indigenous worshipful attitude rather thanin themereimageof theGoddess.Thepeculiar of"Kali-bhakti" mother-child Sen'sKali-bhaktirepresents, motifat thecoreof thepoet Ramprasad I argue,not onlya dramatic reconstruction but of selfhood in general. of femininity The spiritual goal of a devoteehereinvolvesa deconstruction of "master identity" alsofor ethico-political necessary struggles forjustice.

I: WHY KALI,AGAIN?

The iconographyof the Goddess Kali from India comes as a dramaticrelief in our searchfor alternative constructionsof femininity and motherhood. Witness the following hymn describingKali: Mother, incomparablyarrayed, Hair flying, strippeddown, You battle-dance on Shiva's heart, A garlandof heads that bounce off Yourheavy hips, chopped-offhands For a belt, the bodies of infants For earrings,and the lips, The teeth like jasmine, the face A lotus blossomed, the laugh, And the darkbody billowing up and out Like a storm cloud, and those feet Whose beauty is only deepened by blood. So Prasadcries: My mind is dancing!
Hypatia vol. 15, no. 1 (Winter 2000) by Vrinda Dalmiya

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Can I take much more?Can I bear An impossiblebeauty? (Ramprasad1982, 65)1 The feminine here is powerfullyterrifying:A naked and intoxicated female-dark, bloodstained,and dishevelled-dancing on the prostratebody of Shiva, her husband, with her tongue lolling out, wearing nothing except a garland of human heads around her neck, a girdle of severed human hands aroundher waist, and infant corpsesas earrings.Yet, strangelyenough, the devotee sees in this macabrepicturean "impossible The beauty"and a "mother." mother here is anything but domestic (engaged as she is in a battle-dance) and anything but nurturing(adorned as she is with symbolsof death-skulls, corpses,and blood). Yet, on beholding this grotesqueform,the poet's "mindis dancing." Such exuberant juxtaposition of polarities in the image of Kali has been interpretedby many2as holding feminist messages.Taken as signifyinga rupture of water-tightexclusions, Kali has been broughton stage as the redeemer both of Nature and of women. The project in this paperis to rewriteher script for such redemption. Most reclamationsof Kali concentrate on the symbolof the goddessas representinga collapse of typically"Western" binarythinking. I is that this is not claim here enough. understanding proposea shift from My Kali as a spiritual icon taken out of context to an indigenous form of Kalibhakti.3 What is of feminist significance is not simply the paradoxes in the of image Kali but rather a devotee's worshipfulattitudetowardsKali, called the In orderto make my argument,I take as an exemplarof Kali-bhakti bhakti. an devotional poems (addressedto Kali) of Ramprasad Sen, eighteenth-centuryBengalipoet. These poems, sung to a varietyof set musicalscores,figured very prominently in the spirituallife of Sri Ramakrishna,the modem nineteenth-century Indian Saint.4That they are not mere exotica is evidenced by their popularityeven in contemporaryBengal. They are still sung in Bengali households and forman integralpartof a living traditionconstituted by modern devotees of Ramakrishna. (the comIncidentally,the fact that Ramprasad use of who extensive Saint made Ramakrishna and of these (the songs) poser them as a means of devotional expression) aremen is not unimportantfor my Kalianalysis.We shall see that embeddingthe symbolof Kali in Ramprasad's of that attracted and the confluence bhakti5 opposites actuallydeepens paradox the attention of feminists to the image of Kali in the firstplace. Let us, however,firstanalyzejusthow orwhy GoddessKalicomes to be a site of apparentcontradictions.Firstand foremost,Kali is both a wife and a mother. wife and a terrifying, andgrotesque But she is also an immodest, violent, aggressive, rea straightforward Now does not constitute Kali mother. and self-absorbed retain and "mother": that these of "wife" of the definition concepts concepts their usual connotations of conventional subservience(in the case of "wife")

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and caringattentiveness (in the case of "mother") becomesclearas Kali is constantly admonishedfor her deviations from societal norms definitive of wifehood and motherhood. Note Ramprasad's outbursts: KalT, why are You naked again? Good grief, haven't You any shame? Mother don't Youhave clothes? Where is the pride of a king'sdaughter? And Mother, is this some family dutyThis standing on the chest of Yourman? (1982, 46) And then, asks:Who taught You to be so cold? Ramprasad If You want to be like YourfatherStone6-don't call Yourself The Mother. (1982, 32) In effect, then, it is the adherenceto very traditionalexpectations (associated with being a wife and mother), ratherthan their abandonment,that enablesKali to be a self-consciousrepresentationof opposites.Thus, becauseKali is a wife and mother in very conventional senses, she suggestspassivity and tenderness.But her manifestformis violent and uncaring.Consequently,Kali comes to symbolizethe paradoxicaldyads:passivity/aggressiveness; traditionality/unconventionality;beautiful/grotesque; tender/terrifying. Yet another paradoxhas to do not so much with Kali'simage (or iconography) but with the bhakti lyrics in which she is invoked. While Kali is clearly Divine and deservingof the utmost obeisance, an expression of Ramprasad's Kali-devotionis often throughpoems that chide, berate,and scold her.Praying to Kali becomes a relentless litany of her faults and misdemeanors,and these areharpedupon in the veryact of seekingredemptionthroughher! So not only is Kali paradoxicalherself, but so also is the loveof Kali. The question here is whether a devotional postureexpressedin this odd form and addressedto an apparentlyodd Goddess can hold out any promises for social and environmental movementsforjustice. The moregeneralissueis whetherspiritualitythis specificformof Goddessspirituality-can have any relevance for feminist agendas to end exploitation. To anticipate my conclusion: the devotee (like Ramprasad)expects, or hopes for, spiritualliberation (what I call here "transcendent liberation")through Kali-worship.But the logical structureof such redemption (even when interpretedmonistically as merging with an Absolute) is complex enough to entail an ethical stance that is consonant with feminism.

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will become clear as we The advantagesof the shift fromKali to Kali-bhakti go along. It is best to remind ourselves at this point that the use of spiritual symbolsfrom the East (like the Kali icon) as an antidote for "dualisticthinking" in the West is problematicin more ways than one. First,the move, in its thought, underattempt to overcome conceptual dualismswithin "Western" scores and reinforcesa much deeper dualismand Orientalism-the rationality divide of the East.The rationality/spirituality of the West versusthe spirituality the "East" to comes in on to the distinction West/East handy deprive mapped of rationality and "mind"which, in turn, reinforcesa whole range of hierarchies. Second, it is too easy a transitionfromKali as a symbolof contradictions to Kali as a symbolof an undifferentiatedmonism. But if transcendenceof dualism is to be gearedtowardsecuringgreatersocial justice, it is not clear how an appeal to an undifferentiatedspiritualooze can help. Spiritualitycould be now seen not just as the transcendence of dualism, but of the empirical, the political, and thereby of the very domain of justice itself. How can we meaningfully talk of just relationships if there is no plurality to order and relate? Third, do not the hopelessly oppressiveinstitutions of the home culturesfrom which these symbolsare transportedbely their effectiveness as instrumentsof liberation?Since Kali co-exists quite happily with patriarchalstructuresand the oppressionof women in India, can there be any real feminist potential in her symbolismor worship after all? Each of these worriesis important.But the pitfalls of tryingto derive a politics from the realm of spiritualityare far greaterif we concentrate simplyon the Kali-icon. It will become clear only at the end of the paperhow relocating to an indigenousworshipfullove for Kali, alleviates the firsttwo to Kali-bhakti, objections. But let me begin by commenting brieflyon the more generalthird chargemade above-the objection that spiritualformationsthat co-exist with traditionalpatriarchalformationscannot be linked to liberatorypolitics. I am not claiming that Kali in Indiais a feminist principle.As is well known, it has often been arguedthat the formulationof femaledivinity is a ploy to keep real power away from real women in the real world or that the terrifyingimage of Kali is a creation of phallocentric fear of female sexualitygone wild. By such arguments indicating how Goddesseshave been otherwise appropriated, about makfeel Indian feminists that hesitation the also many explain might the mere is that it undeniable Now of use Goddess presence of symbols.7 ing or saints8-do Bhakti Mother Goddesses not, by spiritualphenomena-like has been an because But a (and ensure image themselves, simply just society. can be) manipulatedto serve the ends of patriarchydoes not imply that it has no positive value or that it cannot be furthermanipulatedto serve other ends. It is the possibilityof such an alternativeencashing of a spiritualphenomenon that is being suggestedhere. Note also that what is controversialin the Indian context is not the relevance of Goddess symbolsfor political purposesper se.

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The Indian nationalist movement9 and, more recently, the fundamentalist Hindu agenda1 show quite clearlyhow Goddessesand spiritualitycan be used for political ends. What is in question is the attempteduse of female spirituality for the feministagenda. phenomenon"has been manipulatedto creExamplesof how the "Goddess ate particularinstances of escape from oppression-of how the very predominance of Goddess worship in traditional Indian society creates interesting spacesfor individualwomen in their strugglefor survival-are not hardto find. (a) The Bengali short story by MahaswetaDevi, "SanjhSakaler Ma"-literally, "Motherof Dusk and Dawn"(MahaswetaDevi 1993)-tells the tale of a youngdestitute widowwho decides in desperationto "fake" possession her the to her-as-Devi devotees the Goddess and uses offerings given by by son at Thus it is the the feed her to (as-mortal-woman's) night. during day societal acceptance of her as a Divine Mother that enablesher to function as a human mother in an overwhelminglyharsh environment. (b) Alternatively, in recounting her experience of domestic violence in the feminist journalManushi(vol. 3, no. 2. Jan/Feb, 1983),11a young woman, Sumitra,relates how her mother-in-lawclaimed "possessionby the Goddess"when she torturedSumitra.But, interestingly,we findSumitraherself stepping into the Goddess'sfootprints in her attempt to summon up the courageto retaliate.This move is successfulbecause,throughit, she could create for herselfat least a shortrespitewhile her abusivehusband"satand listened with folded hands. He reallybelieved that the goddesswas speaking." (1983, 18). (c) On a more theoretical plane, Lina Gupta, in her very comprehensive paper,"Kali,the Savior"(1991), ingeniouslyarguesthat Kali can embody the liberationof traditionitself fromits patriarchal bias:"Kalias a woman, as a wife, knows what her statusshould be. As she dances the dance of destruction she communicatesher responsesto the way things are and the way they should be. That is, in her destructivedance she createsher own reality"(37). Kali can thus symbolizethe destructionof patriarchalinterpretations of herself! I do not pursueany of these argumentshere. Rather,what I attempt is the derivation of an alternative model of self-constructionand of self-other relationship from an analysisof a particulargenre of devotional poetry addressed to Kali. This model of the self, we shall see, comes very close to the "relational self" of some western feminists. According to RajeswariSunderRajan, the of the/an Hindu goddessas feminist is problematicat the pres"recuperation ent historical junctureboth for its assumptionof an undifferentiated'womanpower'as well as for its promotion of a certain radicalizedHinduism"(Sunder Rajan 1998, ws-34). The dialogueinitiated here over the metaphysics of theself

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is neither of the above because it does not tap into an essentializedwomanhood nor does it promote the formationof a "Hindu" The spiritualmotif self.12 here is quietistic and antithetical to instrumentalrationalityon one level; but, on another,it is suggestiveof ontological transformations without which even very self-consciouslyadoptedsocio-political agendasfor change might not be effective. So Kali-bhakti is being usedhere to deconstruct"master identity"and to suggestan alternative. The attempted deployment of Kali-bhakti could have another advantage specificallyfor certain strains of ecofeminism. Vandana Shiva, probablythe most prominent of Indian ecofeminists, has focused on reclaiming the philosophical notion of Prakrti.Prakrtiis the creative and dynamic ontological principleunique to a particularIndian world-viewwhich, accordingto Shiva, entails an anti-Cartesian"living,nurturingrelationshipbetween man and nature"(Shiva 1988, 39). But one of the problemswith her analysisis that Prakrti (the blueprintfor liberatorypractice, accordingto Shiva), is an abstractmetaphysicalprincipleof high philosophy,codifiedin Sanskrittexts accessibleonly ruralwomen to an elite. This naturallyraisesthe question of how marginalized, most affected by environmental degradationcan ever access this key to their redemption.Of course,Shiva herself is carefulto deny the separationbetween the popularand elite imaginationsand to emphasizethe knowledge of Prakrti through gendered and non-intrusive practices of sylvicultureand agriculture still prevalent in Indian villages. In spite of this very importantepistemic conbecause they are engaged cession, the urbanpoorremain cut off from Prakrti in nor classical in neither agricultural scholarship.Replacing Prakrti practices base further and show how subjects broaden the can epistemic by Kali-bhakti nor in agriculturemay still have cogengaged neither in textual scholarship nitive access to a philosophical principle through worshipand devotion. it is necessary To understandthis epistemologicalimportanceof Kali-bhakti, Even a simpledevotee like to underscorethat Kaliis a representationof Prakrti. Ramprasadis quite clear on the idol's representationalsignificance:what is of Kalibut what she standsfor. worshippedis not merelythe image/idol/picture For instance: My mind dreamsup this image I could make with clay. But is Mother clay? Can an image of clay Cool the mind'sfever? I've heard the hue of Her skin is blackA black that lights the world. Can an image of clay be made That marvelousdarkwith a coat of paint?

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Kali cuts down evil. Is this the work of strawand clay?

(1982, 61)13

The intentional object of bhakti(the Goddess, Kali)-the idol fashioned out of clay-is graspedas being symbolic.Any ordinarydevotee, in relatingto the Goddess, understandsthat he or she is relating to the metaphysicaltruths that the Goddess standsfor. In the spiritualmoment, this truth is codifiednot in dead, lifeless propositionsbut in the form of the Goddess. So who/what is with "love"in bhakti is not an "image" madeout of "straw and clay" approached and coveredwith a "coatof paint,"but somethingmorethat these externalsare used to represent.What we have here, then, is a sort of "emotionalknowing" of fundamentaltruths. By emphasizingdirect and personal contact with the itself arose in India, accordingto some, as a reDivine, the bhakti-movement volt againstBrahmanicaltraditionsthat requiredscholarshipand mediationof institutionalizedpriestsfor a contact with the deity. In bhakti,anyone-irrespective of caste, creed, learning, and gender-could qualifyas a devotee and be capable of the appropriate emotion. Instead of with costly ritual offerings, the Goddess could now be worshippedjust "with tears."14 By focusing on this lived spiritual/devotionalrelationshipto Kali,we have a solution to the epistemological problemthrown up by theories like that of Shiva's-the problemof how theoretical principlesserving as the feminist fulcrumcan be knownfrom the fringes in a rigidly hierarchical society. Kali is representativeof a philois an egalitarianand personalizedrelationshipwith Kali. sophical truth. Bhakti the devotee-anyone who chooses to be a Consequently,through Kali-bhakti, devotee-can access philosophical truth through a lived relationship. Kaliworshipcan thus bringtogether the metaphysical,the epistemological,and, as I shall argue (in the last two sections), an ethico-political vision. Beforepersuing this line of thought, however, let us try to get a flavorof this lived relationship as found in Ramprasad's Kali-poetry.
II: WORSHIPPING THEMOTHER KALI/LOVING

Personalization of the human-Divine relationwhich is the essence of bhakti can be capturedby many motifs: an erotic bond between lovers; the playful comradeshipbetween friends; the complete dependence of a slave/servant/ valet on his master;or the attention-demandingpetulance of a child before its mother.Though we do find devotional poetry in which the "human" is a harried mother bringing up a mischievous and playful child-God (for example, SurDasidentifyinghimself with Yashoda,Krishna's mother) or a lover yearnfor union with a Divine Lover casts himself priing (MiraBai),15 Ramprasad as the of child a Divine Mother. is he often a rebelliousand Moreover, marily and child, quarrelsome throwing tantrums,feeling neglected, flinging accusa-

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tions. This graphicexpression of all the ambivalences of childhood, in some beautifulpoetry,is his devotion. Here are some samples: You think motherhood is child's play? One child doesn't make a mother if she is cruel. Mine carriedme ten months and ten days But doesn't notice where I've gone when it's time to eat. When a child is bad, his parentscorrect him, But Youcan watch Death come at me With murderin His heart And turn away yawning. (1982, 32) You'dsnatch the fruit out of the hand of a child, eat it Mother, and cheat him. (1982, 34) I'm not calling you Mother anymore, All You give me is trouble. I had a home and a family,now I'm a beggar-what will You think of Next, my wild-hairedDevi? I'll beg before I come to You, I've tried that Crying "Mother." And got the silent treatment. If the mother lives should the son suffer, And if she's dead, hasn't he got to live somewhere? says:What's a mother Ramprasad the son's worst enemy? Anyway, I keep wonderingwhat worse You can do Than make me live over and over The pain, life after life. (1982, 35) What's so good in You That You deserve to be called Mother? Because of You, Mother, Fatheris crazy, With Stepmother16 sitting on His head. Twice-bornRamprasad says:people mock me. They say:"Ifyour mother is Annapuma,17 Why isn't there food in your father'shouse?" (1982, 45) One could try to analyzethe poetic function of such insults and accusations in an expressionof devotional passionor to addressthe more generalquestion

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of why such petulance, borderingon the blasphemous,could ever be prayer. My concern, however, is primarilywhether this mother-childmotif central to Kali-bhakti can help to sustain self transformationsthat can, in Ramprasad's turn, undercutexploitation. I look, therefore,at the idiosyncraciesof the kind of motherKali is and the kind of childRamprasad is, in orderto graspthe full nexus being spoken of here. significance of the kind of mother-child
III: THE "MOTHER" OFTHECHILD

Of course, the valorizationof motherhood is not unproblematicfor feminism. Motherhood is, more often than not, the site for the oppressionof women, and hence becomes controversialas a feminine symbol of womanhood.18 devotional outbursts is the fact that his However, the root of Ramprasad's mother is really a "bad"mother. And herein lies his redemption! What we should remember,then, is that the addresseeof Ramprasad's devotion, Kali, is not a simple mother but the "terrible," or "mad" mother. She exceeds "crazy," what is allowed by the traditionalconstruction of "mother." The extra connotation (as noted earlier) is not usuallysomething consistent with motherhood devotion a selfordinarilyconceived-which makesthe object of Ramprasad's constructed consciously paradox. Gods and Goddesses in the Indian tradition are generally constituted in three layers.19 On one level (adhidaivika), they are iconographicallyrepresented celestial beings whose intricate biographiesare narratedin mythological tales. On the second level (adhyatmika), they are vital principles of the of the devotee. on the third level (adhibhautika), lived-body Finally, they are principles in the environment or cosmos. Thus a Devi (Goddess) is not only a suprahumandeity but is simultaneouslya principle in the inner and outer realms.An act of worshipthus consists in dwelling on a deity, on a vital principle (internal to the body) and on a cosmic principle all at once. On the adhidaivika level, Kali is the naked Goddess iconographicallyrepresented in the manner spelled out at the beginning of the paper.There are numerousand fascinatingstoriesas to why she came to be that way.I shall not go into the detailed accounts of her celestial biographythat drawout the kinship relations between Kali and the other membersof the Hindu pantheon.20 or "deity-aspect," to be rephowever, takes even this adhidaivic, Ramprasad, resentational.Whatever else Kali might be, it is clear that, accordingto him, she stands in for all women: You'llfind Mother In any house. Do I dare say it in public? She's mother, daughter,wife, sisterEverywoman close to you.

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What more can Ramprasad say? Youwork the rest out from these hints. (1982, 60) As the symbol of femininity, Kali may be read in two ways:as serving patriarchalpurposesand emergingfrommale fearof female sexuality;or as a genuine feminine self-assertionand power,a mother who is not afraidof stepping out of the conventions of motherhood to express herself-her rage and her needs. But the point to be emphasizedis that Kalialwayssignifiesmorethan the feminine. The &dhyatmika aspect of Kali is spelled out by the meditational metaphysor "serpent Kali is now a vital force (kulakundalini ics ofTantra.21 power")at the of the body"indicates difbase of the spinal column. An elaborate"geography and "pathways" ferent "centers" throughwhich this vital force can flow and be guided. Spiritualprogressis equivalent to yogic control of the kulakundalini, makingit rise to the "highestcenter"in the crown of the head. This is the state of blissfulrepose. Now cry Kali and take the plunge! O, my Mind, dive into this sea,
... Now, hold your breath

sits And jump! Kick down to where She [Kulakundalini] a in wise the waters, great pearl. Deep
(1982, 54)22

to its peak is representediconographicallyby the The ascent of the kundalini dancing Kali frozen into immobility (achievement) upon stepping on Shiva (the "highestcenter"). In Her outer/ecological, or adhibhautika, aspect, Kali is simply "nature"The mad Goddess the word for which, in some of the vernaculars,is prakrti. that can is now wild, unpredictable,and capriciousnature,the "storm-cloud" cause floods (by her presence) or famine (by her absence). Her frenzieddance is the eternal change of the naturalorder.Her terrifyingform is a pictorial expressionof the brutalfact that everything in nature is constantly changingand change is really decay and finally death. prinAnalyzed in this way, the Goddess Kali is simultaneouslyan internal make sense can identification such outside. and Obviously, everything ciple This metaphysicalvision imonly within a certain metaphysicalframework. Kali in the is articulated in principle of Prakrti. ontological plicit Kali-worship as Prakrti (with (with a capital P) is to be distinguishedfrom nature or prakrti is the Ultimate monistic stuff from which everything a small p). Kali/Prakrti is distinct from and transcendsthese emernevertheless but which emerges fromwhich the worldof plurality natura naturans the as Just Spinozistic gents. or naturanaturataemerges remains distinct from its evolutes, the Ultimate

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Prakrti is not to be reduced to the plurality of nature thatevolves metaphysical outof it. Prakrti nature around givesbirthto, butisnot exhausted by,theplural us. Kali as Prakrti is the sourceof everythingand is thus a metaphysical "Mother." ... Youarethe Motherof all And ournurse.Youcarry the ThreeWorlds in Your belly. (1982, 28) The nudityof Kaliis now explained of her beingthe by the utterprivacy "First" one.Cantherebe modesty andthe "Only" wherethereis no multiplicity?Shameis generated by the gazeof others;in the primalmoment,since thereis no one otherthanHerself in the totalself-absorption of the moment of givingbirth,thereis andcan be no shame.It is interesting that in a poem nakedness, quotedearlier,Ramprasad, exasperated by Kali's goeson to plead we aredyingof shame, O, Mother, Now puton Your woman's clothes. (1982,46, emphasis mine). It is important to notethatKali's isverydifferent motherhood metaphysical frombiological motherhood. The latternot only requires impregnation by a malebutis alsoconstructed asbeingthe morepassive of the tworolesin procreation. In the former, fromPrakrti emanation is not dependent on a malethe source of is priorto even the male.Secondly, Prakrti being everything, is definitely the activeprinciple in generation. Prakrti Shiva,the male,isclearto Kali-note the dance ly subordinate (activity)of Kalion a passiveShiva's chest.Lookat Ramprasad's of how Kaligot to stepon Herhusexplanation band's body: All right,Youcrazy woman, Get downoff the GreatLord's chest! Now get downbeforeHis ribscave inO Shiva's You're Woman, pitiless,pitiless. thinksHe'splaying dead Ramprasad to have Your feet touchingHim. Just (1982,47) Shivahereis clearlyin needof Kali's touchandis utterly powerless lyingunderher. And one may worry However,Shiva symbolizes cit, or consciousness. whetherthis is not, once again,the age-oldassociation of "mind" with the masculine andthe "stuff/matter" with the feminine.A crucialquestion here

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is whether Shiva's dependence on Kali and his ineffectiveness without Her signify a metaphysicaldualismafter all-whether Shiva and Kali are not two distinct ontological categories that must cooperate for the creation of the world. In the dualistic Samkhya system, for example, a motionless but conto generate must conjoin with a dynamic but materialPrakrti scious Purusa23 in the of is housed Prakrti/Kali the world. But since Ramprasad's conception is not of as the different stuff, only metaphysics Tantra,Kali, primordial sharply dynamicenergybut is also conscious and has will. By Her own desireto create, She differentiatesHerself into a male and a female whose subsequentunion creates the world.Thus the representationof such an ontology cannot be just What we Kali, nor Kali and Shiva together but of Kali-dancing-on-Shiva.24 is have is a monistic principle whose internal complexity representedby two divine figures. The dance of Kali is an importantmetaphor.A dance suggestsplayfulness it is constant movement or change. and light-heartedness. Equallyimportantly, Etymologically,Kali is a feminine form of kila, which means time. But time and change arejust euphemismsfor decay and death. Kali is thus the paradox: She is the Primal Mother who brings forth all life even while she signifies is the vale of Death even Death. Everythingthat there is,everything"natural," the source of life. though it is nothing other than Kali/Prakrti,
OF THEMOTHER IV: THE "CHILD"

writeshimself into his Trueto the convention of bhakti-poetry, Ramprasad at the end of each lines in the (bhanita) poem. This helps to signature lyrics with the addresseeof the an establish the and emotion intimacy personalize of bhakti The most however, is that Ramprasad's poetry, strikingaspect poem. his voice is that of a child. This is significantin more waysthan one. Though it is true that Ramprasad thinks of himself as a "son,"the self-conscious posture of a child suggestsan is a man but Ramprasad attemptto step out of the genderedidentity of a "man." a child in approachingKali.Not only that;he is a "bad," he has to become weak, child: and needy suffering, What am I-a rickety thing Born a month early? (1982, 49) A blind man clutches the cane he's lost Like a fanatic. So I clutch You, Mother. (1982, 25) All this is quite consistent with the general temper of bhaktiin which the devotee approachesthe deity with the utmost humility and in complete sur-

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render.In male bhakti saints this leads to an interesting scenario. Since being male is usuallyassociatedwith social power,a male saint not only has to cast off the usualformsof securityand ego, but has also to abandonhis malenessto attain the powerlessnessrequiredfor bhakti.Interestingly,25 in a few poems, Kali and Ramprasadswitch roles: Kali becomes the girl-child (called Uma) and Ramprasad himself becomes the mother complaining to her husband. I can't comfort O Giri,26 YourUma anymore. She cries and pouts, Won't touch the breast, Won't touch Her khir And shoves away Her cream. (1982, 41) Here we have a double move: Not only does Ramprasad consciously adopt the postureof a female (that of social powerlessness),but, in the classic stance of a true bhakta, appearspowerlessbeforea Deity who is now a self-willedlittle girl! Thus the "child"in Ramprasad's poetry signifiesa deconstructionof the power. We are in a form of devotion in which being feminine is seen as an becomes the mother,he does not advantage.27 Intriguingly,when Ramprasad assume Kali'sgreat style. He is a typically "good"mother complaining helpdoes not claim forhimself, husband,Giri. Ramprasad-as-mother lesslyto "her" even in poetic role-playing,the power of Kali, the Mother. What emergesnow is an interestingcontradictionin Ramprasad's own posture:he is a demanding,adamant,and fearlessone even while being awareof his helplessness. Prasadsays:find a half-wit And fool him if Youwant, But if Youdon't save me I'm going to get Shiva to spankYou. (1982, 34) And if You aren't loving, why shouldn't I go To Stepmother and if she takes me up Youwon't see me aroundhere anymore. (1982, 29) Ramprasad,the child, is as much a paradoxas Kali herself. He is secure and strangelyempoweredeven in the realizationof his utterhelplessnessand complete dependence. Thus Ramprasad's Kali-bhakti is an effusion of paradoxes.The object of worship,Kali, signifiesthe apparentcontradictionsof Life and Death; the worshiper, child-Ramprasad,is an exemplification of the opposites of helpless-

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is a mixtureof love and ness and confidence;and the veryact of worship,bhakti, hate. What purposecan such a phenomenon, an intensely ambivalentand intimate relationshipbetween such a child and such a Mother, serve?
V: THE "MOTHER"-"CHILD" NEXUS: SPIRITUAL AND EARTHLY REDEMPTION,

Let us begin with the spiritual,where specifyinga utilitarianmotive for devotion is very much in orderin the genre underconsideration.Over and over verses is the experience of again, the one thing that leaps out in Ramprasad's search for Kali is frankly of death. or the inevitability Ramprasad's mortality because of this. Pitying Mother, do I worshipYou Out of my own free will? Nobody would If it weren't for the terror Of death. (1982, 21) Or in a less ironical and a more plaintive vein: The fishermanhas cast his net And sits there waiting, waiting. What will become of me, Mother, in this world? says:Call the Mother, Ramprasad She can handle Death. (1982, 33) The Mother is an object of adoration because it is believed that she can of Death." "handleDeath"or (as in the earlierpoem) help us handle the "terror ends up craving a proximityto that But Kali, we saw,is Death. So Ramprasad which he dreadsthe most. Two distinct responsesthat tradeon the difference of death" and overcoming "death itself" are between overcoming the "terror forthcoming to dissolve the apparentparadoxhere. They give us alternative is. Both conceptions of what spiritualliberation attained throughKali-bhakti interpretationsoccur in the tradition but are very often not kept distinct. According to the first,confrontation is a strategyfor overcoming our fear. For example, I may not face the fact that I need surgerybecause of my fear of what I the anticipated pain. When I come to accept the necessity of surgery, This acceptance just enfeared,i.e., the anticipated pain, does not disappear: ables me to get on with life in spite of the pain. What I have overcome, then,

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but onlymycrippling fearof thatpain.In a similar is not the painof surgery of whatI fearmost-inevitabe a confrontation of Kali can vein, acceptance of deathbutonlyof myfear is not an overcoming ble death.Suchacceptance he loseshis fearof death of it. "Through self-surrender (Prapatti) (Ramprasad) of self,whichis all deathreallyis"(Kinsley1975, 119,empasis mine). Prasad I don'tknowwhat says: Its all about,so do whatYouhave to. Butshakeme loosefromthis fearof death. (1982,48) A snakeafraid of a frog?-Whatrubbish! Canyou,yourMother's son,fearDeath? You're mad-is anyonewhosemother Is the Motherbe afraid of Death? (1982, 53) liberation to thisfirst Kali-worship, Spiritual through according interpretathat enables usto live lifeeven tion, is a stateof fearlessness (about mortality) as it comesmixedwithdeathanddecay. Call this "liberative fearlessness." for Kali be seen as a desire for or a Alteratively, longing may immortality to overcome itself. death Liberation now consists in that longing realizing ... youend,brother, Whereyoubegan,a reflection Risingin water, mixingwith water, one with water. Finally
(1982, 20)28

The I, a mere"reflection," is the psycho-physical that dies.But organism whatremains, "thewater," is eternalanddeathless. In realizing that I amnot this necessarily-decaying, I organism, psycho-physical my own hidden grasp KaliasDeathis a gesture of embracing the inevitable immortality. Embracing annihilation of the psycho-physical and the organism clearing way,asit were, forthe "mixing" of the egoin the Infinite. confronts one witha visionof "Kali the worldaschaoticandoutof controlandthereby one it urges to see beyond to whatis permanent andeternal.In thissense,Kaliis boththe embodiment or mistress of this ephemeral, created worldandthe stimulus to remagically solveto transcend it"(Kinsley in 1975,136).The stateof spiritual liberation, this secondinterpretation, is a transcendence of empirical of realizselfhood, one'sdeathing thatwhatdiesis reallynot one'strueself.It is understanding lessness andthereby death itself. Call this "transcendent liberaovercoming
tion."29

The stageis nowset forourfinalquestion: Howcaneither"liberative fear-

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lessness"or "transcendentliberation"(in other words,what a devotee aspires for through Kali-bhakti) be relevant in strugglesagainst oppression?A criticism voiced in section I rearsits head here:Spiritualityand politics seem to fall libaparton either of these two construalsof the spiritualgoal. "Transcendent eration"is an overcomingof death achieved throughtranscendenceof the emthe political ratherthan an engagement pirical.This is virtuallya goingbeyond with it. Alteratively, "liberative which is overcomingthe fearof fearlessness," avoids an no but does not seem to underscore death, other-worldlyleap, doubt, kind of action. The fear of death, along with the Hinany responsiblepolitical du belief in karmaand rebirth, serves as an impetus to be moral. If future incarnations are shaped by karmic influences acquiredin the present life, then our impendingdeath gives an urgencyto being good. In this context, an overcoming of the fear of death, a forgetfulnessabout it, might well induce a carefreenesswhich, in turn, could very well push us into moral and political irresponsibility-the life of crude and uncommitted hedonists living only for the moment.30In this mode, Ramprasadwould be quite consistent in taking as he says, ... these few thingsThe sort Shiva carries31-and singing: "Hurrah for Kali," (I'll) just dance off. (1982, 39) The following depiction of salvation by David Kinsleyechoes just this poshe says, "is to be able to act superfluoussibility: "Toaccept one's mortality," ly, to let go, to be able to sing, dance, and shout. To win Kali'sboon is to become childlike, to be flexible, open, and naive like a child. It is to act and be like Ramakrishna,who delighted in the world as Kali'splay, who acted without calculation and behaved like a fool or a child." (1975, 145). Thus the critic constructs the following destructive dilemma:Kali-bhakti either leads to a transcendence of the social order (in "transcendentliberastraightforward tion") and hence to a transcendenceof socio-political consequencesaltogethis to makeus naive (like afool er;or its effect on us (in "liberativefearlessness") ratherthan the stuffthat politics / child)and to suggesta life of irresponsibility is made of. On neither interpretation,then, is Kali-bhakti socially efficacious. In orderto respondto this let us step back for a moment to a diagnosis of exploitative relationships.According to Val Plumwood(1993), self-other relationships (oppressiveor not) flow from the structureof self-identity. It has often been emphasizedthat a self defined in terms of Reason (which in tur is conceived in opposition to, and as higher than, the domain of the non-raThe archetypical tional) is bound to have an exploitative "master-identity." "other"to reason is of coursenature,whose comparativeinferiorityis variously conceptualized as lower than Reason (in the Platonic context), as inert,

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mechanical, and devoid of teleology (in the mechanisticphilosophyfuelled by Descartesand the Enlightenment), or as privatepropertythat can be "owned" and hence unabashedlyappropriated by the self (in the liberaland contemporarycontext of capitalism). Whatever (or whoever) is associatedwith nature -women, indigenous cultures,emotionality, sexuality-is consequently perceived as being in need of control and ultimately is appropriated and owned. In this way, pervasive and widespreadforms of domination are generated. Plumwoodultimatelytracesthe constructionof such a domineeringself-identity to Westernman'sresponseto death. The problem,accordingto Plumwood, stems from a fear of mortality and the failure to acknowledge that life and death are intertwined. In an attempt to overcome death, man-as farback as Plato-has sought self-definitions in forms that deny his embeddednessand necessarydependence on nature (the realmof decay and death). The Platonic move to transcend the "prisonof the body,"the Cartesian search for "pure rational objectivity" to make nature transparent,and, finally, contemporary man'sinsatiabledesirefor "private propertyand consumption"areall attempts at attaining immortalityand personalcontinuity while denying our necessary dependence on Death/Nature. What is importantis that, in this analysis,a solution to exploitation would obviously lie in an alternative self-construction.And "anyattempt to rework the Western tradition'saccount of human identity and its relations to nature must confront the anti-life themes implicit in its major traditions of death" Kali-bhakti becomes promising at this (Plumwood 1993, 102). Ramprasad's because it we as have the dramaof his confronting seen, point encapsulates, Death. The wisdom in the symbolismof Kali is that life and deathare intertwined.An acceptance of Kali is an acceptance of Death which is concomitant with Life. It is the realizationthat any attempt to defy Death amounts to denying Life itself. But does such Life/Death-acceptance(throughacceptance of Kali) lead to a genuinely different self-construction not modelled on the master-identity?Is there really a radically different picture of the self, and hence of interpersonalrelationship, lurkingin Kali-bhakti? Or are we reading too much into it? The mother-childnexus of Ramprasad's devotional lyricscan actuallyserve as a rich motif for both methodological and substantialchanges. While ordinary conceptions of motherhood do not suggestan alternative self-construcand Mother-Kalican do so in tion, the dynamic between child-Ramprasad substantialways. Methodologically, the child-mother motif underscoresthe importanceof the personal, the private, and the particularover the abstract universalismof rationalism.Hence, if the argumenthere works,an archetypical instance fromthe "private" domain-the mother-childbond-would represent self-identityrelevant for the "public" sphere.But let us see if this can be made more plausible through the following claims.

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A. THEONTOLOGICAL Kali is a motherwho is not denied assertiveness.The dangerof Ramprasad's the motherlosing herselfin her cared-fors is expertlyavoidedby Kali.We have not only a Mother who is not self-sacrificing, but we are also faced with an assertive and demanding child. Yet, this not is a bond between "equals" but a bond articulatedby one who is irrevocablydependent and awareof his dependence on an immenselymorepowerfulother.However,Ramprasad's indebtedness to and dependence on Kali does not lead to his enslavement. The weaker individualin the relationshipmakesclaims and demandsof the morepowerful one, who, even while dischargingher responsibility,does not turn into a selfchosen metaphor for the effacing martyr.Let us rememberthat Ramprasad's Divine-human bond is that of Mother-childand not that of Beloved-lover (as in some other bhakti-saints). While it is understandablefor a lover to desire union with his or her beloved, it is moreusualfor a child to fight his Motherto crave her proximityeven while strugglingfor independence. So the childmother motif of Ramprasad's Kali-bhakti clearly points to an interrelatedness between differentcenters of interest conscious of this differenceand continually negotiating an optimallybeneficialnexus in which none is effaced or sacrificed.In fact, each is committed to the welfareof the other and in turn is assuredof the other'sconcern for her. Kali'swhimsicalityis a constant reminder of her autonomy so that her children do not appropriateher completely as demands,on the other hand, serve as a remindcare-giver.Child-Ramprasad's er of the existence of "another" that Kali must, and ultimatelydoes, take into account. We clearly avoid here a dysfunctionaldualismthat impels us to negate and assimilate genuine others into our projects. In starkcontrast to the "master-identity," metaphorsignifiesa "relationalidentity"that Ramprasad's excesses of the well curb the domineeringself. may
B. THE ETHICAL

and Kali also suggestsa reThe balance achieved between child-Ramprasad divide. Kali, as vised moralterrainthat breaksdown the usualegoism-altruism we have seen, is not denied the competitiveness and self-assertivenessgenerSavior and ally associatedwith a self-servingegoism. Yet, she is Ramprasad's looks to his interests as is requiredby a self-sacrificingaltruism.Kali is thus both self-servingand other-servingat once. What is more, her altruismis not based on any exchange or contract. The strangeMother in question has not devotion in any way-in fact, she seems to have done earned Ramprasad's confidence that he not it. Similarly,the child-Ramprasad's to deserve enough will be acknowledgedalso comes not from the fact that he has done anything to deservethe Mother'sattention (other than simplylove and depend on her), but from the fact that it is her nature to attend to his needs, albeit in her inscrutableway. For example:

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Ramprasad says:In this game The end was a foregoneconclusion Now, at dusk, take up Yourchild In Yourarmsand go home. (1982, 23, emphasismine) The "child,"through all his chiding and chaffing,is bound unconditionalwho, in spite of all her eccentricity,does take care of him ly to the "Mother," is communitynot basedon prudenwhen all is said and done. What transpires is continuous tial curtailmentof self-interest:Kali'staking care of Ramprasad with her self-assertionand Ramprasad's outburstsagainst Kali'swaywardness might be promptedby his care and concern for her.What we have here, then, is a notion of serving interests of others as part of our own self-interests.The common good becomes a responsibilitythat each individualdischargesin the formationof his or her "relationalself."And the groundof such responsibility lies in what we are:essentially connected beings.
C. THE ENVIRONMENTAL

The above ontological and ethical consequences have very importantimplications for environmental philosophy. Remember that one of the significances of Kali is prakrti, or nature.A relational self modelled in and througha with Kali-as-nature thus becomes an ecological self. The "water" we, dialogue as droplets,come out of and the waterwe go back to is the deep blue ocean of Kali-the primordial Nature (Prakrti). Our relation to the naturalrealm is intrinsic to who and what we are.This is not a holistic absorptionof ourselvesin nature. Rather,we have a self-constructionthat recognizesits embeddedness in the naturaland yet does not shy awayfromassertingintereststhat aresometimes antithetical to that of nature. Similarly,nature too can sometimes be hostile and uncaringof our wants. Growth consists in negotiating these differences, in sometimeseven using nature,but with a full awarenessof our intrinsic relation to her and nature'sown (sometimesopaqueto us) teleology. Environmentalethics becomes not a simple extensionist or utilitarianmove where we curb exploitative tendencies for our own long-term interests.Rather,it is grounded in an indebtedness to and acknowledgment of embeddedness in nature that makes responsibilityto care for it natural.
D. THE SOCIAL

The motif of Ramprasad's Kali-bhakti contains the seeds of a selfhood that is not dependent on possessions and is not consumed by greed. Look at Ramprasad's suggestionsfor an aspiringdevotee: "I'mthis. This is mine." Idiot thoughts.

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O Mind, you imagined all that stuff was real And carelesslytangled the heart! "Who am I?Who is mine? Who else is real?" O Mind, the light in a darkroom Is snuffedby possessions. says: Ramprasad Lift the mosquito net and look at yourself. (1982, 44) "Lookingat myself"is looking at my mortality.And reallyto lookat mortality is to understandthe futility of acquisitiveness,to graspthe "idiocy"of possessiveness, of claiming things and persons as "mine."Developing this further, says: Ramprasad The bee's blunderwhen it goes for The painted version of the lotus. You'vegiven me bitter leaves, Swearingthey were sweet, and my old Sweet tooth has cost me a whole day Spitting the bitternessout. Mother, You lured me into this world, You said: "Let'splay,"only to cheat My hope out of its hope with Yourplaying. (1982, 23) The key idea here is the end of hope in the salvific powersof "commodiof overconsumption,of ties." But this naturallysignals the end of "grasping," selfishness-the girdle of severed hands around Kali's waist. Giving up the and propertyis the deconstructionof the economic self quest for "possessions" as mentioned earlier,is the moder incarnation of the "masteridenwhich, is tity."The basic idea that a self that does not want to possessfor oneself is a self that does not need to appropriate, exploit, or oppressothers, and, of course, loss. What emergesis reallya counter to the classic is also one that does not fear man who is a only to the extent that he has property "person" pictureof liberal as he chooses or contracts to do. to wealth and the freedom enjoy towards is a What we are moving rejection of the second horn of the critic's Recollect that "transcendentliberation"was said to dilemma noted earlier. lead to a transcendence of ethics and politics (by collapsing all differences), led to the underminingof political life (by adwhile "liberativefearlessness" a life of an irresponsiblechild or fool). But once we note how deep vocating rooted the liberal notion of personhood is, we see why its rejection can be

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perceived as naive and akin to the behaviorof a fool. Actually, the devotee, in "actinglike a child," is reallyenacting an alternative model of self-hood. The motif of the child has suggestedto some critics the rejection of manliness and Readpositively,however, a regressionto the "spiritual clutching of the babe."32 it is a new constructionof subjectivityand a new vision of freedom."Liberative fearlessness," then, holds the key to an alternative social orderby implying a new metaphysicsof self. Ramprasad's mother-childmotif is not a model of discrete centers of interests (at best) workingout a contract for maximizationof individualfreedom.It is a systemof interdependencies,of mutualindebtedness and responsibilitydancing the cosmic dance of Life/Death. And this model is constitutive of the spiritualsalvation that Ramprasad envisagesin and through his poetry. To sumup:What the devotee strivesfor is "liberative fearlessness." Spiritual is about and about practice overcoming greed restrainingthe drive to accumulate material possessions. It is giving up the constraints and pretensions of an "adult" lifestyle and coming close to the "foolish" playfulnessof childhood. This undermining of economic individuality does not entail a negation of metaphysicalindividuality(or plurality)but is a crucialstep in deconstructing exploitative social systemsthat are kept in place by defensive reactions to our imminent mortality.
VI: SOMEOBJECTIONS ANSWERED

The relevance of spirituallife for liberatoryagendasthrough the notion of "liberativefearlessness" is not without its problems.A concept of relational self culled fromRamprasad's bhakti seems to sit uncomfortablywith the metaphysical context of his devotion. It appearsto underminethe very possibility of "transcendent liberation"which, afterall, does findexpressionin his poetry. Note that "transcendentliberation"is nothing but a dissipation of the individual / empiricalego and its final subsumptionin the Infinite. Hence, it is a quest for the destruction of metaphysicalindividuality-not just of economic individuality,as arguedin the previoussection. Any attempt, therefore,to construethe devotionalism underquestion as a metaphorfor the construction of individuated (no matterhow "relationally" conceived) is utterself-identities ly wrong-headedas long as "transcendentliberation"is part of the complete context of Kali-bhakti. Forbetter or forworse,Ramprasad's spiritualityseems to entail the kind of transcendencethat belies any ethics or politics. In different, but in no uncertain terms, it remains a denial of ordinarylife as much as of Plato. within a dualisticontolIgnoringscholarshipabout the possibilityof bhakti own ontoloogy and even setting aside the debate over whether Ramprasad's gy is dualist or monist, I would like to concede here the metaphysicalmonism of Ramprasad's spiritualityand the significance of "transcendentliberation,"

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at the sametime to the formation while adhering of a relational self as its Thismoverelieson considering the two interpretaethico-political message. tions of spiritual fearliberation" and"liberative ("transcendent redemption not as discrete alternatives butas interrelated to constitute a more lessness") textured andcomplexnotionof devotional life. is a practice Tothe extentthatspirituality to be engaged andsomething in, it assumes the realityof effort,action,andfailure-all of which,in turn,requirethe realityof the self (andof otherselves).Thus,in a sense,"transcendent liberation" cannotbe involvedin the practice of spirituality becauseit of the conceptsof effortandactionthrough the ultimate entailsa dissolution it is the ultimate end of the psycho-physical self.But,undeniably, dissolution of spiritual what for. to and the devotee However, training hopes hope for is aim at in we sometimes not to it, fact, and, necessarily something hopefor for it thatwhichwe cannotaimat. In the Kantian system, example, is hoped to the that ultimate will be virtuous; yet a moral granted personis happiness moral the in is not not supposed sake to doherduties of and, fact, for happiness, if she doesso. Byaimingat doingdutysimply forthe sakeof duty,we become Thus"transcendent which mightbe granted by God.33 worthyof happiness will be the resultof his orherspiris onlywhatthe devoteehopes liberation" it wouldbe self-defeating life. However, itualquest.It is the telosof spiritual her to do is to restructure Whatthe devoteecanattempt to aimforit directly. Conto the less "liberative fearlessness." life andprojects grandiose according is someselfanddeconstructing a relational individuality egotistical stituting for. strived at andconsciously this,the Byachieving thingwhichcanbe aimed of to monism devoteemightbecomeactually worthy beingled a metaphysical of a spiritual is the rationale Thuseven if transcendence life, it through grace. sensitive"fearlessness." the ethico-politically can be obtained only through liberation" of "liberative fearlessness" and"transcendent Suchintertwining This leadsus makesexcellencein ethics an integral partof beingspiritual. itself.We of the phenomena of spirituality to a non-dualistic understanding realmassharply distinctfromandbeareusually inclinedto takethe spiritual devotionof Ramprasad's moral realm. Buton ourreading yondthe "ordinary" even "bad"-inveryordinary alism,to be (ethically)"good"-andsometimes in spiritual of the ethico-political Giventhe centrality sensesis to be spiritual. life, I wondernow whetherthe tablesmightnot be turned.In otherwords, bliss-a conceptof of a monistic couldwe saythatthe other-worldly promise liberation"-is reallyin the serviceof the moreempirically "transcendent thepurpose of a spirituality fearlessness"? Maybe grounded peaceof "liberative and conceivedis excellencein interpersonal relationships, non-dualistically our Idealto encourage a Regulative blissis simply the hopeof a transcendent struggles. ethico-political between of thisdynamic Whether ornot wewantto go thisfar,it is because that the bhakti the empirical and the transcendent poetrywhich we have

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examined has feminist relevance in spite of the metaphysicallyesoteric and world-denyingstrandswithin it. And it is also because of this that it is a little off-track to quote "easternspirituality"as a transcendence of all duality. Certainly,Ramprasad's spiritualitycan provideus with an antidote for patriarchal thinking, but only because it has an internal complexity. Instead of the At the core of such spiritualitylies not "two,"it gives us "many-in-relation." just a logic but a deviant logic of interrelationship.And it is this logic within spiritualexperience that holds out hope for more just social interactions. For Ramprasad, spiritualredemptionseems continuous with political redemption. thus, can be a symbol for both. As Kali-bhakti, Prasadsays:On Kali'stree Goodness, wealth, love and release34 Can be had for the picking. (1982,59) But note that "goodness,wealth, love," on the one hand, and "release," on the other, are radicallydifferentspecies of fruit.

NOTES

I amgrateful to Lynda andthe Sexson,Arindam Chakrabarti, Christopher Chapple, referees andeditors of Hypatia forcomments on an earlier versionof thispaper. 1. All the versescited here were writtenin Bengaliby Ramprasad Sen and translated NathanandClintonSeely (1982). The references areto this by Leonard I alsonotethe placeswhereI havechanged the translations a bit to capture anthology. the original better. Translation modified by one wordhere. 2. See, for example,IreneJavors (1990);RachelFell McDermott (1996);Lina M. Gross C. Rita Mackenzie Brown(1983);and Barbara G. (1991); (1983); Gupta Walker (1985). 3. Bhakti is an expression of devotionin a direct,personal, andexperiential communication with the divine.This can takewidelydivergent forms. Suchcontextualizationof Kaliguards whatGretaGaard calls"cultural cannibalism" (1993). against 4. See SumitSarkar (1993). 5. It shouldbe notedherethatKaliis a Goddess in the Hindupantheon andthe ofRamprasad's fallswithinabroadly Hindu devotional context.Howpopularity songs Nazrul a verypopular Islamic hasalsowritten on Kali ever,Kazi Islam, poetof Bengali, andcomplex issues of Kali's travels to and within (1968).Theveryintriguing apparent worlds otherthanherownwill not be explored here. theological 6. Mythologically, theGoddess isthedaughter of themountains-theHimalayas. 7. See Rajeswari Sunder Rajan(1998). 8. Forthe complexities Kumkum here,see, forexample, (1990). Sangari 9. See Jashodhara Bagchi(1990). 10. See, forexample, Tanika Sarkar (1995)andLisaMckean(1996).

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11. I amgrateful to RuthVanitaforthis reference. 12.Onceagainnote that,historically, Kaliworship hasnot beenrestricted to the Hindus. whois a century afterRamAlso, asSarkar pointsout,even in Ramakrishna, "there isno developed senseof a sharply distinct'Hindu' let aloneany prasad, identity, out of innocenceordeliberate choice,Ramakrishna politicaluseof it.... Either represented a kindofprotest the creation of sectarian walls" (1993,46). Ofcourse, against he addsthat Ramakrishna's would sooncometo bedisplayed as a timeless "catholicity essenceof Hinduism" (1993,46, emphasis mine),thoughthis appropriation requires the mediation of otherhistorical andevents. figures 13. Translation altered. Kumkum 14. See, forexample, (1990) andManushi (TenthAnniversary Sangari Issue,1989). 15. See Manushi (1989). 16. This is a reference to the riverGanges(Ganga),who, the storygoes, deheadso asnot to rupture scended fromthe heavenson Siva's the Earth withthe force of herdescent. "full offood." Theform of theGoddess whichshesymbolizes 17.Literally through of food. plenitude 18. See, forexample, Sukumari (1990). Bhattacharji K Smith(1989,46-47) andTaittirya 19. See Brian 1:7:1. Upanisad 20. See LinaGupta(1991) andKinsley(1975). 21.Forexpositions of Tantra seeArthur Avalon(SirJohnWoodroffe) philosophy, Mishra (1978), M. M. Gopinath (1990), andKamalakar (1981). Kaviraj altered. 22. Translation 23. Also means"man." here. 24. The bisexuality implicitin this imagehasnot beenexplored 25. See Sangari (1990). the Himalayas 26. "Giri" means"mountain" andsignifies here.The Goddess is saidto be the daughter of the mountain. corroborated 27. Thisis further bythe lifeof the modemSaintSriRamakrishna, as a woman. who oftentimes dressed 28. Contrast thiswith ... andwhat's this salvation If it swallows the savedlike water I love In water. Sugar desire Buthaven'tthe slightest To mergewith sugar. (1982,62) to Christopher 29. I owe this terminology Chapple. this possiin Classical Indiaexemplifies schoolof philosophy 30. The Carvaka hedonistswhoseethics the Carvakas wereegoistical bility.In some interpretations, end of deathasthe inevitable wasbased on the acceptance andbe merry" of "eat, drink of life. the world. 31. Shivais an ascetic-someonewhohasrenounced Thus,the "sort of things" Shivacarries amounts to a begging bowlanda tiger-skin matformeditation. is by Heinrich 32. Thisphrase Zimmer. Quotedin Kinsley(1975, 130). 33. Thispoint is argued forin Arindam Chakrabarti (1988).

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whatwe havetermed here"transcendent 34. The word"release" liberasignifies tion."It is the release fromthe cycleof birth-death whichamounts to the transcendenceof the psycho-physical self.

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