Navaratri Day 7 - Kalaratri Ma

Kalaratri Ma

On the seventh day of Navaratri we celebrate Goddess Kalaratri. Her complexion is as dark as the night. Her cascading hair is let loose and She wears a garland that radiates light as bright as lightning.

During Navaratri celebrations at Shree Peetha Nilaya, since last year, everybody is given the opportunity to offer rose water and oil to the Feet of Tara, which is another aspect of Kali or Goddess Kalaratri. These offerings are mixed together, blessed by the Mother and distributed back to people after being blessed.

Goddess Tara (left) and Oil offering to Her Feet (right)

Sri Swami Vishwananda said in previous years, “In this form of Ma Bhagavati She is the personification of the Ultimate, showing that everything comes from Her and everything eventually will merge into Her. She is ready to give anything you ask. She can appear as being very terrifying, but actually She is very innocent. She gives always. That’s why She is called Subhankari, which means the One who is always giving, who is always doing good for Her Devotees. And as a Mother She took this aspect to fight the demons, to kill and purify this world, to save the people, to save Her children. The same as a Mother who would do anything for Her child, even taking the aspect of Kalaratri or Kalika Devi. But She is not how we see Her. She is very soft in a fierceful way.”

“Don’t try to comprehend the Divine with your mind, because the Divine can appear soft and at the same time terrifying, can appear calm and at the same time very wild. Like Her, She is soft, look at Her face, how beautiful She is. Very soft, but yet She is wild, with a big tongue outside. So Maha Bhagavati takes all our negativities on Her, so that we can be free because She wants us to be free. She wants us to really surrender to the Divine and to be ourselves, who we really are. All the little demons that we create in our mind, they are all jumping. They are called Mahishasur, Raktabija, Sumbha and Nisumbha, Chandamunda. They are all jumping left and right. Ma in this form says, ‘Give them to me and I shall sort them out. One by one I shall devour them.’ So don’t have fear. Offer them to the Mother.

When you come to offer your obedience to Her, to offer your respect to Her, pray to the Mother saying, ‘Kalaratri, as you are dark, take all of these things. I offer all this negativity of myself to you. Hey Jagadamba, remove all this and make us bright like Katyayani, make us shine our true light. Whenever we are in distress, come to our rescue. You are the Mother, so why wait? Come! Take whatever form, in whatever way, but just come. Come and deliver us. Come and save us. Come and remove us from our afflictions.”