The mythology, rituals, meditations, and practices used in Tantric worship of the goddess Kali in the tradition of Kashmiri Shaivism • Reveals the practices of Vamachara, known as the Left-hand Path but more accurately translated as the Path of Shakti • Includes a Kali ritual from the Nirrutara Tantra, translated here for the first time • Presents devotional chants, meditations, and mudras specific to Tantric worship of Kali According to traditions going back to pre-Vedic times, Kali sprang from the third eye of the Goddess Durga as a destructive and terrifying manifestation of feminine power sent to lay waste to the forces of evil. Throughout India to this day, Kali is worshipped as the destroyer of bondage, capable of liberating her devotee from all rules and subjugation. In Tantric Kali, Daniel Odier presents the mythology, practices, and rituals of Kali worship in the Tantric Kaula tradition within Kashmiri Shaivism. He reveals the practices of Vamachara, commonly known as the Left-hand Path but more accurately translated as the Path of Shakti. In this tradition the body itself is Kali’s temple, and it is therefore unnecessary to reject or deny the body to know union with the divine. Instead, nothing is regarded as pure or impure and there is complete freedom from rules. Focused on working directly with forbidden emotions and behaviors, this path allows the seeker to transcend obstacles to liberation through sexual union. According to the Kaula Upanishad, “In your behavior do the opposite to what the norms dictate but remain in consciousness.” This is the essence of Tantra. Kali is absolute reality: manifested as woman intoxicated by desire, she frees the tantric practitioner from all desire except union with the divine. The author includes an evocative ritual from the Nirrutara Tantra--never before translated into any Western language--containing devotions to the 64 yoginis according to Matsyendranath, founder of the Kaula path. Offering devotional chants, meditations, and mudras specific to Tantric worship of Kali, this empowering book provides practices and teachings for those on the Tantric path to liberation.

This title looks at Kaalai and her worship in Kaula Tantra."

This update of tantra for the 21st century manages to be snappy and cutting-edge at the same time it remains faithful to the profound truths of an infamously renegade spiritual tradition. For over a thousand years, Tantra has shocked, scandalized, and yet continually infiltrated and revitalized the most ancient philosophies and religions of the world. In this little volume, you will learn why - and discover how it is even more relevant than ever in this period of drastic transformation and change. The principles of tantra lie at the heart of yoga, alchemy, Buddhism, holistic medi- cine, sexuality, and clarify the central dynamic that faces humanity as we attempt to attain a new planetary consciousness - one that promises move us beyond linear time, three-dimensional space and the con- fines of causality! Step into a new and elec- tric way of living..... Rudolph Ballentine, MD is the author of Diet and Nutrition and Radical Healing and former President of the Himalayan Institute. He worked closely with and studied under the guidance of Swami Rama for 20 years.

Encountering Kali explores one of the most ramarkable divinities the world has seen. The Hindu goddess Kali is simultaneously understood as a blood thirsty warrior a deity of ritual possession a tantric sexual partner and an all loving compassionate mothe. Popular and scholarly interest in her has been on the rise in the west in recent years. Responding to this phenomenon McDermott and Kripal`s volume focuses on the complexities involved in interpreting Kali in both her indigenous south Asian settings and her more recent Western incarnation. Through the shifting lenses of scriptural history temple architecture political reflection and the goddess`s recent guises on the Internet the contributors pose questions that illuminate our understanding of Kali while addressing the problems and promises inherent in every act of cross cultural interpretation.

One of the most unconventional yet immensely popular deities in the Hindu pantheon, goddess Kali essentially represents the dark and contrary aspects of the cosmos. Her naked form and association with violence, blood and gore challenge the very concept of divinity. Yet, over the centuries, she has come to represent a whole gamut of conflicting images-from bloodthirsty ogress to benign goddess. So today while she is venerated as Chamunda, a deity who verges on the macabre and grotesque, she is also adored in household shrines in one of her milder forms, Dakshina-Kali. It is this evolution of Kali-from her origin as a tantric goddess to her metamorphosis into a divinity in mainstream religion-that Seema Mohanty captures brilliantly in this book. Drawing upon a variety of sources-rituals associated with the worship of Kali, tales from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Puranas, the Tantras and Agamas, folklore and films-she has succeeded in portraying in engrossing detail the myriad manifestations of the enigmatic deity that is Kali.

Scholar Jeffrey J. Kripal explores the life and teachings of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a 19th-century Bengali saint who played a major role in the creation of modern Hinduism. The work is now marked by both critical acclaim and cross-cultural controversy. In a substantial new Preface to this second edition, Kripal answers his critics and addresses the controversy.

Kali is the Goddess who takes away darkness. She cuts down all impurities, consumes all iniquities, purifies, Her devotees with the sincerity of Her Love. Now we can worship Her according to the ancient tradition. Kali Puja is a treasure house of Her Wisdom. It contains abundance Kali's tools for living: Her sattvic worship, Her Hundred Names, Her Thousand Names, Her Armor, the mantras for offering bhanga, alcohol, animal sacrifice and how to give birth to spiritual children. These offerings have great spiritual significance when performed with the mantras which explain the meanings and appropriate circumstances for such worship.

The sages of Tantra taught that when we follow the path of Shakti, the sacred feminine principle personified by the goddesses of yoga, we awaken the full potential of our own inner energies. Kali, teaches Sally Kempton, may be both the most powerful—and misunderstood—goddess of all. Kali—her name means “Black One”—is the original Dark Goddess, whose hidden gift is ecstasy. She brings both fierceness and love, destruction and rebirth—and untamed courage and freedom for those willing to fully comprehend and embrace her many gifts. In this e-book, readers are invited to explore teachings, stories, meditations, prayers, poems, mantras, invocations, and rituals to align with this cosmic force of radical transformation. Kali as the Mirror of Our Own Inner State Kali the Blood Drinker The Two Faces of the Dark Goddess Kali and the Ego Kali’s Fierce Forms Kali’s Role in Spiritual Liberation Contemplation: The Felt Sense of Kali in Your Life The Tantric Kali: Deity of Heroes The Kali Woman: Archetype of Feminine Power, Sexuality, and Force A Kali Asana Practice A Contemplation on Kali’s Audacity The Shadow Kali Kali as the Inner Voice of Destructive Rage Dialoguing with Kali (a guided practice) Kali as the Human Teacher A Visualization Practice for Offering Your Negative Tendencies to Kali’s Fire Unlocking the Hidden Kali Meditation: Kali as the Great Void

Yogic Secrets of the Dark Goddess unfolds the mystic beauty of Kali, the most powerful but misunderstood of the great goddesses of India. Probably the most comprehensive and innovative examination of Ma Kali in recent decades, the book reveals all dimensions of life and consciousness in Kali’s tranformative dance.

The "Bhairava-Kali-Dharma: Manifestations of Tantra" book is an encyclopedia of a radically transforming tradition of mysticism and magic of the god Bhairava and the goddess Kali. The book gives an all-embracing overview of this tradition at multiple levels, making it easier for its readers to develop a proper understanding. This work brings them closer to success in practicing the mystical and magical path of Kali and Bhairava and passes the energy of the deities onto those who read it. The book will give a better grasp into what Adinath Jayadhar and Siddheshwari Jayadhar are talking about in their "Abhichara - the Magic of Tantric Mystics and Warlocks".