Goddess Kali is the ultimate form of feminine power

The true power of femininity often scares people and shakes them from within. A retrospective view of history would confirm this statement as millions of women were burnt and killed in the name of witchcraft and sorcery. There is still an innate fear of women who hold powerful positions in corporate office or government. Why does the culture all over the globe be scared of women gaining power?  And most important question what is the true potential of femininity?

To understand this, I will take the example of ancient Chinese philosophy. Yin is considered feminine and Yang is masculine. Yin is represented by black. It is understood that by use of this dark color, some of the traits of femininity are vilified. Darkness represents the absence of light. Our logical mind stops and imagination runs wild in the dark. This feeling based on intuitive nature and emotions is heightened in the case of women. The hormonal changes that happen to women in every menstrual cycle make them unreasonable and moody. The Taming Power of small or Hsiao Ch'u of i-Ching states how weak can use other unexpected tactics to gain control or fight its opponents.

This element of mystery and unpredictable nature makes feminity look evil. Especially in the case of witches, they are thought of using some supernatural power to fulfill their motives. The other scary part about women is their sexuality. Being blessed by nature to procreate makes them an integral part of evolution. They have been given a special responsibility that gives them an edge over their male counterparts. But their power to attract and make men go weak in their knees is formidable. Many strong and powerful men have fallen prey to this weakness and led astray from their goal. A prostitute has always been a threat to other marriage and societal institutions. All these give women a special and mysterious kind of power to prevail. So society has gloried women who aren't a threat and are submissive. 

You can compare feminity to the water element. When calm and controlled water can clean and have a soothing effect. But when it is out of control it can cause widespread destruction. But unlike water where we have accepted the multiple aspects of its nature when it comes to women we deny their dark and powerful side. 

Now coming back to goddess Kali, she was created by deva or celestial gods to destroy demon mahishasura who was given a boon that he would only be killed by a naked woman. But in the era when this occurred women were bought up in a very conservative way where showing flesh was even considered vile and offensive. Kali was born and trained by a sage to fight the demon. When she reached the war field, she didn't bother about her modesty and tore her clothes to win over the mahishasura. She was angry, fierce, and broke all rules of both society and warfare because her aim was to restore peace by killing the chaos-causing demon. This shows that sometimes one needs to go beyond all logic and channel their emotions to do something substantial. Hence she is the ultimate form of women's power. Her unrestrained, wild and unapologetic, her fierce scares even the bravest. She is like the river in the time of floods forceful and uncontained.

Kali represents that aspect of femininity that is not accepted in human society but is very much present. This chaotic force of nature is the uncontrolled energy. So, the Goddess Kali is also known as 'Shakti' or energy. In Hinduism, spirituality reflects science and vice versa. So the conversion of energy into matter is represented by kali(a.k.a Shakti) and her consort Lord Shiva. Her husband is the epitome of condensed energy or matter.

The concept of sustenance of energy through conversion from one form to another is shown in multiple stories of goddess Kali. She was believed to the incarnation of Adishakti or the primordial energy. So, as we know energy can't be created or destroyed, it manifests itself in different forms.