Maran Baarini

About 100 years back, Bipin Bihari Chatterjee got a message in his dream; following it she rescued an idol buried under about 10 feet of mud and cow dung in a neighborhood cow shed. Bipin Bihari took home the Dakshina Kalika idol and started worshiping her as “Maran Barini” – one who rescues from death. She was later identified as one of the 108 such idols distributed by Rani Rashmoni of Dakshineswar to 108 brahmins, dating her somewhere in mid 1800.

Over the generations, she is worshiped by the family till date and loved as one of the family. This year was not an exception. The family got together to worship her and seek her blessings.

Maa This Year

And with this a small piece of translation by Devdutt Patnaik I loved about Kali –

Shiva And Shakti

They say that Shiva never spoke a single word until Shakti came into his life as Parvati. She became not only his wife, but also his student, asking questions, discussing and deliberating with him, till he revealed the mysteries of life. So, one day, she asked him, “What is love?” All he did then was look at her and smile. “Tell me, please, what is love?” she asked, turning away to hide her blush. This is what he said: “When you come to me as Annapoorna, the goddess of food, and feed me and ask for nothing in return, I feel love, for you have taken care of my hunger unconditionally. When you come to me as Kamakhya, the goddess of pleasure, and hold me intimately as no one does, I feel love, for you have made me the object of your desire. This is bhog. This is one kind of love. But there is another kind of love.

“When you come to me as Gauri, demure and delicate, and allow me to dominate you, demand things of you, take you for granted, knowing full well that you cannot be dominated by anyone, I feel love. You made me play dice, laugh at the simple pleasure of games. You made me make you dolls and enjoy entertaining you. When you come to me as Durga, bearing weapons in your hand, and protect me, I feel secure and safe, and cared for, I also feel love. This is shakti, this is power. By granting me power over you, by defending me, protecting me, empowering me, you make me feel loved. This is the second kind of love. But there is yet another kind of love.

“When you dance atop me as Kali, naked with hair unbound, unafraid to be yourself, unafraid to be powerful and vulnerable and unafraid of being judged and mocked, I feel love. You make me open my eyes. I realise Lalita, the beautiful one, who is also Bhairavi, the fearsome one. I realise Mangala, the auspicious one, is also Chandika, the violent one. I see you totally, without judgement, and I realise I am capable of seeing the truth. That you allow me to see you fully, without judgement, tells me that I have become trustworthy. Thus you become the mirror, the Parvati darpan, that reflects who I am. You help me discover myself. You become my Saraswati. You reveal the true meaning of darshan. In joy, I dance. I become Nataraja.”

–http://www.speakingtree.in/spiritual-articles/faith-and-rituals/kali-as-krishna#commentlist