Cremation, Caste, and Cosmogony in Karmic Traditions.

Some Muslims believe that Kali’s powers will protect
them more than any other god. A few decades ago
Muslims also performed rituals to Loki – the god for
wealth – for achieving wealth and prosperity. Muslims
also come to Ambikapur Shashan Ghat and pray to Kali,
and they may sacrifice male goats, money, milk, and
sugar. Nevertheless, while Hindus believe that Kali is
the most powerful of all gods and goddesses, Muslims
still believe Allah is the supreme godhead. Though it is
impossible to rank Kali and Allah against each other, the
Muslims respect Fatima as the daughter of Mohammed,
and she is conceived as the Mother of the Muslim
World. Kali is the Mother of the Hindu World and as
such they are equal, but not sisters, since they manifest
themselves in two different paths and religions.
Kali, Ganga, and Chinnamasta
The agricultural prosperity in Faridpur depends more on
the floods than on local rainfall. The floods never fail
entirely in procuring the life-giving waters to the crops,
although they sometimes are inadequate for the higher
lands. The volume of the flood in the low lands may
sometimes make the cultivation difficult in the lower
regions. The main problem, however, is not the total
amount of water, but the rapidity of the rise and fall of
the water level, which may destroy the crops (Khan
1977:25, 78). The water-world is a part of the
cosmology. Kali is more important than Shiva because
she is the Mother. Being a Mother is cosmogonically
more precious than being a Father. Women have more
passion and energetic power than men since they carry
babies for nine months and give birth. The hydrological
cycle is completed as one informant presented the
cosmogony: Ganga is the Daughter of the Rain-Father
Shiva, and the almighty, Mother Kali. Thus, Ma Kali and
Ma Ganga are identical but still different, and therefore
they might be perceived in mother-daughter relations or
as sisters.
Not only Kali Ma and Ganga Ma are sisters, but all
rivers are connected and seen as sisters, and all water is
perceived as water from Ganga. The rivers have
different colours, and during flood periods the various
colours from the different sisters of Kali are mixed
together. The flood itself is not perceived, however, as a
sister of Kali. Despite the nutritive aspect of Ganga, she
is also vengeful and destructive, and the devotees pray
directly to Ganga during times of flood. When Ganga
kills, the devotees may also pray to Kali, but such a
prayer is indirect through Kali as a medium, and
therefore most people pray directly to Ganga when she
attacks. They need the life-giving water, but not the
death-giving water. Padma is the almighty river, which
erases the sins of all humans. Even if the river kills a lot
of people during periods of flood, it does not become
contaminated, polluted, or less holy, because Ganga is
Ganga; the supreme river of all rivers which always
remains pure and divine. There are two ways by which
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people are killed by the river. Those who commit suicide
by drowning themselves in Ganga will not go to heaven,
and this is seen as immoral and has nothing to do with
religion and the divine, purificatory powers of Ganga. If
people die randomly or normally by Ganga during times
of flood, then it is seen as a natural death, and the future
incarnation is determined by the deceased’s karmic
debts.
There are different perceptions of the religious rationale
behind the annual floods. On the one hand, the flood is
not seen as a deluge killing only sinful people, and
according to some beliefs only God knows why and
when Ganga will start killing in what seems to be a
random process. This is beyond worldly matters, and
decided and determined by the gods. On the other hand,
there are beliefs that when Ganga kills during times of
flood, she only kills those who are enemies of society,
and in this regard the flood is a kind of deluge erasing
sins on earth. Finally, the pragmatics argue that Ma
Ganga is not responsible for death during times of flood,
and it is each and everyone’s responsibility to take care
of him- or herself. Kali takes and gives life. If a village
is attacked by for instance cholera, small pox, or other
diseases, then it is the work of Kali. Good and bad
people die equally by the powers of Kali, but she may
also save their lives. Those praying to Kali if attacked by
diseases might get their lives back. Thus, Kali may
return a life in the sense that she is not killing the victim.
Moreover, infertile women pray to Kali for fecundity,
and if they become pregnant and receive a child, then
they sacrifice a male goat to Kali. Despite her fearful
imagery, Kali is worshipped and loved as a Mother, and
she enlightens and creates rationality among humans so
that they can live peacefully together. Thus, the general
opinion is that Kali is not taking life but giving life. Kali
is justice, and she kills only those who are harmful to her
and society in general.
God has many powers, one is Ganga and another is Kali,
but Kali is the most supreme and powerful of them.
Ganga is a special mother and a pathway to God, but
Kali is the supreme Mother who encompasses all the
powers of the world. Both Ganga and Kali remove sins,
but in various ways. Mother Ganga is perceived more as
a personal goddess who removes an individual’s sins if
he or she prays to the river and takes holy baths. Kali
destroys sins, and evil in general, on a worldly and
cosmic level. Kali kills and destroys enemies of peace
and humanity, and she will protect the humble people
who pray to her. Although there are other gods who may
fulfil the same aims, for instance Saraswati who is the
goddess of education and knowledge, all the other gods
and goddesses can only fulfil one particular type of
prayer because they possess one particular, divine
capability. Kali possesses, on the other hand, all divine
qualities. Kali is therefore the most powerful and
supreme goddess of them all, and she can help the poor
and powerless devotees with any kind of problems. A
sacrifice to Kali is the best, fastest, and safest way to get