Three Kinds of Madness | Kālī vs. Laxmī vs Sarasvatī

On this very auspicious Laxmī Pūrnimā (Autumn full moon) I want to discuss the topic we’ve been meaning to discuss for sometime now: “Kundalinī emergency” or “spiritual crisis" & how to say safe.

First, we distinguish between three different kinds of “lunacy”with an emphasis on the destabilizing, “not so fun” kind that can sometimes induced by intense spiritual practice! I argue that the kind of divine madness we see in great realized souls like Sri Ramakrishna is fundamentally different in nature and flavor than the kinds of mental illness that we sometimes fetishize in the name of spirituality but is really a destabilizing and painful experience for ourselves and others.

Although outwardly, the "spiritual" kind of madness might resemble the "not so fun" kind, they are not the same and in this lecture we carefully explain why. We also make a reference to a politicized use of "madness" to disenfranchise groups or ideologies that don't fit into the norm as defined by the powers that be, just so that we can be nuanced in our use of the word "madness" or "lunacy" or "craziness", which are all themes that are very central not just to mysticism and spiritual as a whole but specifically to Mother Kālī & her cremation ground retinue!

You'll notice much of this talk is expanding on ideas that you might have first encountered here in the Why is Kālī Crazy? talk.

And since it was Laxmī Pūrnimā we made sure to have plenty of asides on Mā Laxmī as the embodiment of abundance in every sense of the word. We tell a few Purānic stories to show the secrets of calling in abundance & also, I make a case against understanding "money" (which we point out as a rather superficial conceptual structure) to be the only symbol for wealth! 

Naturally, this took us into a discussion of the Goddess in all her aspects as Kālī, Laxmī & Sarasvatī (as encountered in the Devī Māhātmyam) and as per the next three big moon celebrations (Laxmī Pūrnimā followed by Śyāma Kālī Pūjā followed by Sarasvatī Pūjā) that come after Navarātri, the 9 Nights of the Goddess. 

We make a few arguments as to why the cremation ground/cemetery is so important for spiritual life as representing that realm beyond the conscious, "civilized" mind of concepts which we are attempting to venture into as part of spiritual quest, in our journey from the finite to the Infinite! 

It was a rather rich talk, if I may so myself.
May it be an offering to the Divine Mother! 
Jai Mā!