Kali and Shiva — The Meaning of the Divine Mother Standing on Shiva

During a conversation with his devotees, Sri Ramakrishna was asked by Govinda of Belgharia about the meaning of Yogamaya. Ramakrishna explained that it referred to the union of Purusha and Prakriti, and said that everything perceived in the universe was the outcome of this union.

He then pointed to the image of Kali and Shiva. Kali stands on Shiva’s chest, while Shiva lies beneath Her feet like a corpse. Kali looks at Him. According to Ramakrishna, this image represents the union of Purusha and Prakriti.

Purusha is inactive. For this reason, Shiva lies motionless on the ground. Prakriti acts in conjunction with Purusha. Through Her activity, She creates, preserves, and destroys.

Ramakrishna connected this explanation with the joined images of Radha and Krishna. He explained that these figures also represented the union of Purusha and Prakriti. To illustrate their relationship, he compared them to fire and its power to burn. Fire cannot be considered apart from its power to burn, just as that power cannot be considered apart from fire.

Elsewhere in the same conversation, Ramakrishna explained that Brahman and Shakti are not two separate realities. When the Supreme Reality is inactive, He is called Brahman or Purusha. When engaged in creation, preservation, and destruction, He is called Shakti or Prakriti. Ramakrishna compared this distinction to water, which remains water whether it is still or moving.

In his explanation of Kali and Shiva, Ramakrishna thus described the stillness of Purusha and the activity of Prakriti, whose actions take place in conjunction with Purusha. Creation, preservation, and destruction belong to this activity.

Source & Note

This article is based on Sri Ramakrishna’s The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The material has been edited and adapted for this publication.