In liaison with Gods

By Sachitra Mahendra

The whole area goes bright all of a sudden, amid the scented breeze. Everything is calm and serene though the performers of the drama are ready for action, donned in the white, yet devilish, costumes.

A bond is slowly brewing within culture, people and their religion.

And that bond provides anyone, be it a local or a foreigner, with ample material about a tradition that has withstood the test of time. The tradition is brimming with rich elements and insights of the oriental culture.

This drama is known in different names. In actual sense, it is no drama. It is a ritual performed in anticipation of prosperity and well being of the people. Gammadu shanthikarma, also known as devol madu shanthikarma, has been an ancient practice among Sri Lankans to pay reverence to the gods in return for peace and prosperity. The key players donned in devilish costumes and the devil masks dance until the evil spirits, if there is any, vacate the area and welcome the gods and deities to bless the land.

These rituals are not gone into oblivion as yet – at least not until the occupants of this land give up their faith on superstitions and myth. That is not to be expected either as long as the Sri Lankans continue to have their faith in their traditional healing rituals.

The recent performance held at the premises of Town Hall, Colombo, under the patronage of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and a host of parliamentarians, to bestow godly blessings on the Colombo Municipal Council staffers as well as the Sri Lankans in general was a ritual that evoked innermost spiritual feelings. The ritual began at 6 pm and ended at 12 noon with a sense of consummation.

The Gammadu Shanthikarma involves quite a lot of dance performances, which primarily includes low country style performed throughout the night. The terms heard in Gammadu Shanthikarma are similar to those in Sabaragamuwa dance according to Professor Mudiyanse Dissanayake. That said the Devol madu shanthikarma is known as a ritual of low country dance performances. It also bears resemblance to the popular Kohomba Kankariya which is originated in Kandy.

The ritual begins with lighting clay-lamps to revere the gods and deities. The dance performances require specific training for years. The masks utilized in the dance performances are made of wood, skillfully carved by the local artistes. The dance performed in grandeur represent 16 devils.

The primary objective of the Gammadu Shanthikarma is paying respect to Goddess Pattini. Later on it spread into a pantheon of gods and goddesses. Whether the performance is fruitful or not, the ritual is a collective effort to chase away the evil and welcome the wholesome inside.

The Gammadu Shanthikarma is a sacred act of performance that needs extensive preparation unlike a run of the mill activity. The performers are required to practise abstinence for a certain period to expect the maximum outcome. They should keep away from alcohol and meat, two elements considered evil or dirty (kili) and abhorred by the deities. Being a teetotaler and a pure vegetarian at least for a few weeks is also good for the participants if they seek divine blessings from the performance. The participants are also required to be clad in white as this is an act of sacredness.

The ritual however faces the risk of extinction as its performers require special training of skilled dances as well as the ability to recite the traditional Sinhalese verses to summon the deities. Only a few artistes are keen on sustaining the tradition, as the modern public interest is slowly deviating from the myth and superstition.

* Gammadu Shanthikarma routine
* Milla Kepeema
* Lighting clay-lamps
* Dalumura Thebeema (offering flowers)
* Bisokapa situveemaa
* Dinner
* Yahan dekma and kala pandam
* Offering pideni
* Thorana ritual
* Pattini dance
* Thelma dance
* Acrobatic performances
* Vaahala performance
* Yahan performance
* Alms for gods
* A mba offering
* Devol dance and fire performance
* Gara Yaka dance
* Milk offering
* Paying reverence to gods

 

Source: www.dailynews.lk (29 November 2016)

Don’t affront Goddess Kali – the Benevolent Mother

by Dr. Prasanna Cooray

People have been worshiping Goddess Kali from time immemorial in this part of the world. They make vows to Her requesting various favours from Her. She, the Benevolent Mother, answers their prayers. Thus, Kali worship continues with great respect for this form of deity among Her followers. In Sri Lanka Kali is worshiped by Tamil Hindus and Sinhala Buddhist, shoulder to shoulder, with utmost veneration.

In a spectacle of turnaround of events, Kali worship has become famous among the Sri Lankan politicians in the public sphere as well. The politicians in Sri Lanka for a long time were anyway frequenting Kali, seeking favours from Her. But that was in private. This time around, they have gone public, asking Her to usher wrath on their political opponents.

They, on more than one occasion, went on coconut dashing sprees supposedly to invoke curse of Kali on the government for imposing VAT on goods and services. Indeed, VAT has become a thorn in the flesh for the people in this country, and needs to be fought on all fronts. So, one has to but tip one’s hat for the concern of the opposition towards freeing the public from the clutches of menacing VAT. But for that they should find the right forums without abusing Mother Kali. For, Kali is the Mother of Benevolence, and malevolence is not Her way.

I am no persona to comprehend all the mystery that surround Mother Kali, something no one in one life time will ever be able to do. Nevertheless, that may not prevent anyone from seeking the truth surrounding Kali, and that could be a rewarding exercise for anybody in this lifetime. More you learn about Her, more you will be intrigued, and further you would want to learn of Her.

In mundane sense Kali is perceived a personal deity. Some of Her devotees worship Kali that way. But in an esoteric sense, Kali is much more than that and is the power pervading the universe.

Kali, interests me for particularly two reasons. One, She represents time. Second, She is depicted a woman.

Kali, according to scripture, is considered one of the main forms of Shakti. (In comparison in science too, time is one of the seven basic units, along with mass, length, temperature, electricity, amount of substance and light). And nothing escapes time. In an academic sense Kali is considered the primordial energy which animates space, and is perceived as the linear sequence of events which is called time.

Although Kali sometimes is referred to as the goddess of death, in fact, She is thought to bring the death of the ego. Kali and Her consort Shiva, give the idea of liberation by dissolving the illusion of the ego. According to mythology, She killed many a demon, Rakthabija, the "asura" representing incessant evil mental process, being notable. Commonly Kali is depicted holding Rakthabija’s severed head in one of Her hands, adding devilish flavor to Her image. This has led to She being labeled as a demon by some.

For people who are attached to their ego would not be able to comprehend the idea of Kali; and She will appear in a wrathful form to them. Only through meditation and worship Kali will be perceived. Thus, people who are engaged in spirituality, removing the illusion of ego, will find Kali in a different form. Kali will appear as sweet, affectionate, and overflowing with love for them.

Secondly, Kali in Hinduism is depicted in a female form. (This is in contrast to the Tibetan Buddhism, where Her analogy, entitled Kaal, is depicted a male). The notion of time as a female form for the devotees brings a feeling of reverence for both time and femininity. As much as they comprehend the value of time, they comprehend the value of womanhood, especially the Mother. Likewise the time, femininity too is perceived transcending. The relationship the devotees have with Goddess Kali is one of Mother and Her Child.

A male Kali devotee will show utmost respect to womanhood. He sheds his ego (which is associated with machismo). He perceives potential Kali in all women as much as in his own mother.

The famous Kali devout Swami Vivekananda expresses the notion of Divine Mother succinctly as, "The Saktas (a major tradition of Hinduism, where metaphysical reality is considered feminine and the Devi (goddess) is supreme) worship the Universal Energy as Mother; it is the sweetest name they know. The mother is the highest ideal of womanhood….Mother is the first manifestation of power and is considered a higher idea than father. The name of mother brings the idea of Shakti, Divine energy and omnipotence…The Divine Mother is the Kundalini sleeping in us; without worshipping Her, we can never know ourselves. All merciful, all-powerful, omnipresent – these are attributes of the Divine Mother. She is the sum total of the energy in the Universe. Every manifestation of power in the universe is Mother. She is Life, She is Intelligence, She is Love. She is in the universe, yet separate from it. She is a person, and can be seen and known – as Sri Ramakrishna saw and knew Her. Established in the idea of Mother, we can do anything. She quickly answers prayers". (Inspired Talks, My Master and Other Writings)

The insights of gruesome image of Kali

 

What you see with your naked eye may not be the reality always. That is true for both science and spirituality. And that is so for Kali as well.

Kali is commonly depicted with Her two right arms raised, Her palms extended granting gifts of insight and wisdom to Her children. Her upper left arm holds the sword (of enlightenment) which delivers the blow to the ego releasing the soul from the tyranny of self-intoxication. In Her lower left hand, She holds the severed head of the ego (Rakthabija). Identification with the body is what gives rise to the illusion of the "I" or ego. Thus, the seemingly gruesome presentation of a severed head depicts the act of compassion, which is bestowed by the Mother to Her devotees.

Mother Kali wears a garland of skulls, which are reminiscent of Her many children whom She has liberated from the grip of the "I-am-the-body" (materialistic) delusion and the hypnotic tyranny of birth and death.

Kali is often depicted standing on the bosom of Her consort Shiva. The ardent Kali devotee Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (also the personal guru of Vivekananda) defines it as, "It signifies the yoga, or union, of Purusha (Father God) and Prakriti (Mother God). Whatever you perceive in the universe is the outcome of this union…Kali stands on the bosom of Shiva; Shiva lies under Her feet like a corpse. All this denotes the union of Purusha and Prakriti. Purusha is inactive; therefore Shiva lies on the ground like a corpse. Prakriti performs all Her activities in conjunction with Purusha. Thus She creates, preserves, and destroys. That is also the meaning of the conjoined images of Radha and Krishna". (The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)

To sum up, Kali worship is a revered tradition of utmost esteem for the Kali devotees. It should not be abused, and this goes without saying for the politicians in this country as well. Still our memories are fresh of how once a flamboyant politician of yesteryear ran amok at a famous Kali temple in a bull in a china shop act. And to this day, he is still kicking his heels in political sin bin. That is not due to the malevolence of Mother Kali, but to the natural laws of nature. 

 

Source: www.island.lk (26 November 2016)