Charter of Mystics of Kali

The foundation document of the organization “Mystics of Kali”, as published in the October 1997 edition of Ferment, and adopted on November 29, 1997 at a worship meeting in the Sydney suburb of Balmain.

1. Name:
“Mystics of Kali”

“Mystics”: people whose religion is based on living experience. People who accept that the element of mystery is an eternal part of life, and who are therefore remain open to the new.

“Kali”: a name of the dark and radiant Goddess, the other self of the God; a name which has been used in worship by some of the great mystics of India. Today people all over the world are discovering that Kali’s name and image can help them to understand their own experiences of the sacred.

Like India’s great mystics, we affirm the value of all the names and forms which people of various countries have found to express their sense of ultimate and all-pervading worth. In honouring one sacred name, we honour them all.

2. Aims:

(i) To develop, in ourselves and in the community, acceptance and understanding of the vision of Kali as a shared experience of the divine.
(ii) To conduct worship meetings in which our experience of Kali is expressed and developed.
(iii) To provide means of communication between people for whom Kali is important.
(iv) To promote study of writings which express the experience of Kali, including the Devi-Mahatmya, the shakta Tantras, the songs of Sri Ramprasad Sen, the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
(v) To examine modern interpretations of spiritual experience in the light of our experience of Kali.
(vi) To promote mutual acceptance, dialogue and cooperation between different religious communities.

3. Membership:


Membership is open to people who fulfill the following conditions:

(i) They honour the images of Kali.
(ii) They accept the charter of “Mystics of Kali”.
(iii) They are willing to cooperate with the founder and existing members of “Mystics of Kali”.
(iv) They pay the membership dues, and supply their addresses to the person designated by “Mystics of Kali”.

People who join Mystics of Kali remain free to join other spiritual organizations also.

4. Decision making:


Major decisions of the organization must be approved both by its founder and by the majority vote of a members’ meeting. Members unable to come to meetings can make their views known by letter, and can authorize other members to vote on their behalf.

5. Use of tantrik elements in worship:

We see in Goddess Kali’s image the reconciliation of apparent opposites, such as spirituality and physicality. The shakta Tantras provide a precedent for worshipping the Goddess with elements that engage the senses; such as wine, meat and nakedness.

We respect the right of each adult worshipper to choose whether or not to worship using tantrik elements like these, and to decide whether or not to attend gatherings where others do so.

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The drawing reproduced at the head of this page is by the founder of Mystics of Kali, Colin Robinson. It expresses an individual vision influenced by the traditional Kali Yantra.

Drawing © Colin Robinson 1995

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