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[from http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7830/kali.htm ]

Subject: KALI: Fierce face of the mother Goddess
                                   
  Millions of Indians see Kali as both benevolent and malevolent. She is
  Mother to her devotees and Death to their enemies. During the British
  Raj, Kali worshippers were discredited as renegade Thuggies. Were these
  simply zealots the British could not control by political means or were
  they freedom fighters united under a religious banner? Or, were they
  really just very clever roughs as the British accused? British policy
  was very clear, oppose their rule and you are a traitor to your country!
  
  Kali, the Dark One. West associates black, dark, colours with evil.
  Hinduism sees black as the colour which unifies all other colours.
  Science sees black as the colour which attracts energy. Kali worshippers
  see the dark maiden as one who eclipse's the powers of her enemy and
  raises hopes in the hearts of her devotees. Bearing the standard for the
  oppressed, She seeks to restore balance in a world that has gone too
  far. Rama-Krishna Paramhansa described her as the most beautiful, kind,
  considerate, passionate mother of mankind. Like a diamond, Kali is both
  hard and beautiful. She too has many facets, covering a myriad
  identities. It is for us to find the aspect of Kali that suits us most.
  
  Good and evil, kind and cruel, severer and serine, none of these
  dualities are mutually exclusive. There is no pure "black" or "white" in
  any of us, there are always a thousand shades of grey in-between.
  Goddess Kali embodies and amplifies these characteristics so that we may
  see our-selves in her, and learn to balance our precocious nature for
  good, rather than bad. A lioness is a merciless hunter to a wildebeast
  and a doting, caring, parent to her cubs. Her teeth seek the jugular of
  her prey and yet, when she picks up her child, the same teeth are so
  tender as to leave no mark on their necks! Similarly, Kali is a
  frightful warrior for the forces of evil in the universe, and she is a
  considerate mother to her devotees.
  
  Kali has symbolised the overloaded creative energy. In her zeal to rid
  the world of evil, she has taken on a frightful form. Her beautiful form
  is made fierce by being covered in the blood and mire of battle.
  Devotees see this as an act of an overprotective mother, butchering evil
  forces least they should harm her beloved children. Passion and force of
  the female energy is seen in various forms in the Eastern religions.
  Kali is one of the extreme forms of the feminine energy.
  
  Yet, Western religions see this as a potential threat from the fairer
  sex. Eastern religions do not try to contain/ restrain the female
  energy. They consider both male and female to be equally essential in
  maintaining the overall balance of the universe. Whereas the Western
  theology has portrayed the female as an adversary. Since the time of
  Eve, women have been attributed with such wily crafts as treachery,
  cunningness etc. They have always been portrayed as a weaker vessel,
  object of men's desire and worthy of their contempt! Eastern mythology
  sees the female as an equal partner, not just a spare rib. As the active
  energy of the Universe, goddess reigns over such matters as knowledge,
  wealth, health and war. Some of the most important positions of the
  Hindu, Buddhist and Jain Pantheon are occupied by goddess. Some hold far
  greater powers and honours than many male gods.
  
  Potential energy of the Universe is defined as the "male" energy, and
  kinetic energy is defined as the "female" energy. Each is incomplete
  without the other. Both are essential for the Universe to exist or
  survive. Shiva, the potential of the Universal Spirit, sits motionless.
  Shakti, female - kinetic component of the Universal Spirit, is the cause
  of "creation" as we know it. Without the will and determination of
  Shakti, also termed Maya (illusionary power of the Great Spirit), the
  universe would not exist nor would it be constantly sustained. Yet, it
  is not enough to create and sustain any creation eternally. Dissolution
  is an equally important component of this equation. Kali, in her various
  forms, prompts creation, assists sustenance and helps in the general
  clear-up afterwards!
  
  To most Eastern religions, death is not an end, it is merely a
  transitory period between births. Hence, death holds none of the horrors
  described in the Sematic religions ( Judaism, Christianity and Islam ).
  As rebirth offers a fresh chance of making a good life, death is often
  seen as a welcome chance to redo the things and make up for all the
  short falls. As all life is seen to be illusionary, a play set on a
  grand scale, life and death are seen as a series of secnes, punctuated
  at intervals, to allow the actors to play different roles. Kali, roaming
  the funeral grounds, gathers the lost souls and reassigns them their
  part in the universal play.
  
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                             (c) Bhagwat Shah
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