Black History Month; P.B. Randolph

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Black History Month; P.B. Randolph

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Paschal Beverly Randolph (P.B. Randolph) was a 19th Century magickian, a spiritualist and founder of the Rosicrucian movement in the United Sates.

Like Paul Lafargue he was a mulatto but one who initially denied his Negro roots.

( 8 Oct. 1825 - 29 July 1875 ), physician, philosopher, and author, was born in New York City , the son of William Beverly Randolph, a plantation owner, and Flora Beverly, a barmaid. At the age of five or seven Randolph lost his mother to smallpox, and with her the only love he had known. Randolph later stated, "I was born in love, of a loving mother, and what she felt, that I lived." His father's devotion is questionable. In 1873 Randolph hinted at his own illegitimacy, stating that his parents "did not stop to pay fees to the justice or to the priest."

Randolph 's mother possessed a strong temperament, unusual physical beauty, and intense passions, characteristics that Randolph inherited. Later many, especially his enemies, perceived Randolph as being of "Negro descent," which he denied. Sent to live with his half-sister, Randolph was ignored, unloved, and abused and eventually turned to begging on the streets.

Being born in New York to a 'free black' woman, his reluctance to be considered a Negro at the time is understandable. And since his upbringing was in the time and area of the Gangs of New York, plagued by nativism as it was, it is also understandable.

But by the time of the Civil War he was an outspoken advocate of Negro Rights.

Born poor and of mixed race in 1825 and raised (more or less) by prostitutes in the Five Points slum of New York, Randolph was self-educated and prickly proud. Creating himself, he picked and chose just how "black " to be. He could de-emphasize his African heritage in the face of prejudice--after his suicide, a newspaper said he was "part Spaniard, and inherited all the suspicious distrusting qualities of the people of that nationality. " At other times, he emphasized it, as during his Civil War Black Nationalist phase, when he worked briefly as a teacher for the short-lived Freedman 's Bureau, an agency designed to educate freed slaves but only halfheartedly supported by the federal government.

Yet when some Northerners advocated a scheme to ship freed slaves to Africa, Randolph, speaking for the slaves, emphasized "American: " "We men of color were born here; so were our fathers and mothers down a long line of ancestry....Are all our sufferings to be rewarded by our removal to African deserts and barbaric climes and places?...No! Never! Here is our home, and here we mean to stay, and on this soil will die, and in it be buried. "

And like Lafargue he was an internationalist, traveling and training as well as lecturing in Europe. As with many in the occult movement of the 19th Century he was a social reformer. And like his contemporary Virginia Woodhull, Mrs. Satan, he was an advocate of womens rights and Free Love.

Randolph is to be remembered for his philosophical works on love, marriage, and womanhood. He provided new and unique insight into the then taboo world of sexual love. He aided the education, rights, and equality of both women and blacks. He foresaw the evils of tobacco and drug abuse. Finally, Randolph, through his position as the Americas' first Supreme Grand Master of the Fraternitas Rosæ Crucis, directly or indirectly touched the lives of more than 200,000 neophytes (students) comprising the Fraternitas and other Rosicrucian orders.

P.B. Randolph 's life story demonstrates also how reform-minded American Spiritualism turned into "occultism. " Spiritualism was well-intentioned, "scientific " but also passive, linked to social reform (early feminism, the abolition of slavery) but also to faddishness, most notably "free love, " which could, depending on who was talking, mean anything from a partnership of equals to mere spouse-swapping. ( "You and I were meant to be soul mates. ") Occultism, on the other hand, is individualistic, rooted in personal development and self-improvement, and generally not connected to any social or political philosophy.

With the democratic decline in Europe after the revolutions of 1848 and the Paris Commune secret societies were formed for the purposes of pursuing democratic as well as socialist revolution. In England and the Commonwealth they were formed for the purposes of pursuing trade unionism which had been banned as an illegal combination.

That secret societies should form for finding and revealing secret knowledge, was thus a natural outgrowth of this period and was coincidental with the growth and popularity of fraternal orders after the Civil War in America and across Europe.

His patron both in Spiritualism as well as getting him work with Lincoln was Colonel Ethan A. Hitchcock, a noted military officer as well as practicing alchemist. Like other occultists, John Dee comes to mind, he too was also a spy. The secrecy of the occult overlaps with the secret society of intelligence gathering. They share a similar cosmological outlook that is the search for hidden or secret knowledge.

As happens in the Occult community, as in the political one, sectarian differences are frequent and lead to rivalries and mutual denunciations. Such was the case with P. B. Randolph, who is credited with founding the Rosicrucian movement in the United States.

He faced attack by rivals for hegemony over the occult movement in America denouncing him for his Luciferian ideas from the likes of Madam Blavatsky and her Theosophists and from the white supremacist founder of the American Scottish Right of Freemasonry; Albert Pike. Ironic because both of them are also accused of being Luciferians.

Such is the case of 19th Century occult wars not only in America but in Europe where again competing orders of Rosicrucian's charged and counter charged each other as being in league with Lucifer.

The Luciferian charge comes about from Randolph's advocacy of free love, which was also embraced by American Anarchists at the time. His theories were outlined in his book Eulis and in his other famous treatise; Magia Sexualis

Today we would call his practices sex therapy, where he discussed sexual dysfunction with his patients, and as a Doctor he practiced mesermism, the passing of hands over the body to affect the magnetic energies. He also advocated the tantra practice of heightened sensuality by controlling the male orgasm and ejaculation.

 In 1870 he founded the Order of Eulis, which kept its teachings
secret because of the sex and drugs.  Some people must've talked,
though: H. P. Blavatsky denounced Randolph as immoral, a charge also
leveled at the Luciferian Freemason Sir Albert Pike.  An occult war
followed.  In 1872 his "Rosicrucian Rooms" were raided by police and
he was jailed for distributing "Free Love" literature.  Fires,
robberies, and disease followed, and on July 29, 1975, he shot
himself.  His friends and followers claimed that Blavatsky's curses
had nailed him.  Blavatsky founded the philosophical society the same
year.

By the 1870s many of Randolph's writings dealt with 
occult aspects of  love and sexuality.

Randolph, as a physician, also counseled many of his patients on matters of
family relations, marital bliss and the art of love. These acts of kindness and
concern were sometimes taken as conduct condoning "free love."

In February 1872, he was arrested and imprisoned for promoting
"free love" or immorality. Although acquitted of all charges, as it was discovered in
court that the indictment was merely a clever attempt by former
business partners (now enemies) to obtain his book copyrights, Randolph
never recovered from the humiliation of the proceeding.

Although dying at age 49, Randolph was a prolific writer, producing many books
and pamphlets on love, health, mysticism and the occult.

And further confusion was sown with his initiation into a mystical Gnostic cult from Syria/Iraq which mistakenly has been associated with the Yezedi.

The Yezedi created a sensation amongst some 19th Century scholars who had finally discovered a genuine devil worshiping cult. And the devil they worshiped was Lucifer.

Despite my best googling efforts the only references I could find to Ansaireh is that referred back to the region in Syria/Iraq which is named after a Mountain.

Gertrude Bell in her diary refers to visiting the region and the Yezedi who dwelled there. Which may have been the reason the author of the introduction to Magica Sexualis thought Randolph had been initiated into their religious teachings.

During his journeys to Paris, Pascal became aware of several works which were being published in France and Germany dealing with the Ansaireth or Nusairis of Syria. 25 There was much discussion, in the Rosicrucian circles that Randolph traveled in, of the purity and sublimity of the teachings of the Ansaireh. Books by Niebuhr, M. Catafago, Victor Langlois and others told of these mysterious hill dwellers in Northern Syria who were neither Jews, Christians or Muslims. They may well have been the people that modern anthropology has identified as the Yezidi, the devotees of the Peucock god, Melek Ta'aus.

PBR tells how the chief of the Ansaireth, Narek El Gebel, arrived at the Rosicrucian Third Dome in Paris with letters of introduction and then, recognizing Randolph's abilities and character, invited him to come to Syria and to study with the Ansaireth. Randolph went to Syria and was initiated into the Ansairetic Brotherhood. Upon his return to America, he established the Priesthood of Aeth based on the Ansairetic Mysteries

There were a variety of Christian and Islamic sects in the region. Including the Druze and Nusairis and one of the last surviving gnostic sects the Mandaens. As well as Kurds and Yezedi, Sabians all of whom faced persecution from the Turks for being dhimmis.

In another part of this Consular District there seems to have been little change from the old times of rapine and bloodshed in Turkey. I allude to the Ansaireh mountains, stretching from the valley of the Orontes to Mount Lebanon. On a late occasion a member of the Medjlis of Tripoli, passing through a Christian village in pursuit of the revolted Ansaireh, set fire to it, and, when the inhabitants conveyed their moveable property of value into their Church (…), it was broken open and plundered. This case, with many others equally abominable, of simultaneous occurrence, was laid before Her Majesty’s Consul General for Syria, the perpetrators of the outrages being under the jurisdiction of the Pasha of Beyrouth, and will thus have already come under Your Excellency’s notice. (Aleppo, 31st March, 1859; FO 78/1452 (No. 11), Skene to Bulwer, Constantinople)

The author of the introduction to Magica Sexualis is mistaken in associating the Ansairth with the Yezedi. As I said the Yezedi at the time had become somewhat of a sensation amongst certain Christian religious and historical scholars. And the Nusairis refer to an Islamic Shi'a Sunni sect.

Randolphs Rosicrucian Order and his fellow occultists of the time were fascinated with the recent discoveries of Gnosticism and the Gnostic's. Finding a living Gnostic religion which offered initiation would have been more in keeping with their occult traditions.

I suspect Randolph had been initiated into the the mystery religion of the Mandaens. Whose followers were in the same region of Syria at the time.

Within the Middle East, but outside of their community, the Mandaeans are more commonly known as the Ṣubba (singular Ṣubbī). Likewise, their Muslim neighbors will refer to them collectively as the Sabians (Arabic al-Ṣābiʾūn), in reference to the Ṣabians of the Qur'an. Occasionally, the Mandaeans are also called the "Christians of St. John" (a misnomer, since they are not Christians by any standard), based upon preliminary reports made by members of the Barefoot Carmelite mission in Basra during the 16th century.

Other groups which have been identified with the Mandaeans include the "Nasoraeans" described by Epiphanius and the Dositheans mentioned by Theodore Bar Kōnī in his Scholion. Ibn al-Nadim also mentions a group called the Mughtasila, "the self-ablutionists," who may be identified with one or the other of these groups. The members of this sect, like the Mandaeans, wore white and performed baptisms.

The similarity of beliefs about healthy living, not eating meat, avoiding tobacco, reincarnation and sexuality strike me as Mandaean rather than Yezedi.

According to E.S. Drower in the introduction to The Secret Adam, Mandaeans believe in marriage and procreation, and in the importance of leading an ethical and moral lifestyle in this world, placing a high priority upon family life. Consequently, Mandaeans do not practice celibacy or asceticism. Mandaeans will, however, abstain from strong drink and red meat. While they agree with other gnostic sects that the world is a prison governed by the planetary archons, they do not view it as a cruel and inhospitable one.

The Rosicrucian movement he founded still exists today publishing his works;

SEERSHIP; Guide to Soul Sight


The importance of Randolph cannot be underestimated. His works influenced later magickal and occult practitioners including Eliphas Levi as well as the Ordo Templi Orientis in particular Theodore Reuss and Aleister Crowley.

Oppenheimer’s use of sacred text in sex scene angers Hindu right wing in India

Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi

THE GUARDIAN
Mon, 24 July 2023 

Photograph: Melinda Sue Gordon/AP

Christopher Nolan’s biopic Oppenheimer has prompted outrage among the Hindu right wing in India, who have alleged that a sex scene featuring a scared text has offended religious sentiments.

The blockbuster tells the story of Robert Oppenheimer, known as the father of the atomic bomb and includes a sex scene in which the tortured physicist, played by Cillian Murphy, reads
the Bhagavad Gita to his lover Jean Tatlock, played by Florence Pugh.

The words he reads aloud, which he translates from Sanskrit, are those of the god Krishna – “I am become death, the destroyer of worlds” – a quote the real Oppenheimer recalled after the first detonation of the atomic bomb he had invented. Oppenheimer taught himself Sanskrit and during his life, he spoke of drawing from the Hindu text.

The presence of the Bhagavad Gita in the middle of the sex scene prompted a member of India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) government to call the film an “attack on Hinduism”.

In an open letter, Uday Mahurkar, an information commissioner, said the scene was “a direct assault on religious beliefs of a billion tolerant Hindus”. He alleged it amounted to “waging a war on the Hindu community” and almost appeared to be part of a “larger conspiracy by anti-Hindu forces”.

Anurag Thakur, the information and culture minister, was among those to demand that the scene be removed and called for action to be taken against India’s Central Board of Film Certification. The film was rated U/A, which recommends parental guidance for viewers aged under 12.

Oppenheimer has proved popular with Indian audiences, taking £1.2m on the first day alone, the biggest box office opening day for a Hollywood film in India this year.

The blockbuster is not the first to fall afoul of rightwing Hindu groups since the BJP government came to power. The BBC/Netflix television adaptation of A Suitable Boy was also accused of hurting religious sentiments by senior BJP ministers and subjected to police complaints for a scene of a Hindu girl and Muslim boy kissing near a temple.

Tandav, an Amazon series, was forced to delete several scenes after its creators faced charges in court and were summoned by the BJP government for allegedly insulting Hindu gods and the office of the prime minister.

‘Oppenheimer’ Sex Scene Involving Sacred Text Stirs Backlash in India: ‘It Amounts to Waging a War on the Hindu Community’

IT'S CALLED TANTRA

Ryan Lattanzio
Mon, 24 July 2023 

Updated: Variety has added to reports that a nude scene featuring Florence Pugh in “Oppenheimer” was censored with a computer-generated black dress to secure release in India and the Middle East.

Earlier: A sex scene in “Oppenheimer” is facing backlash and protests in India, where a moment involving J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) and his lover Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh) reading a sacred Hindu text in bed together has sparked outrage and reportedly censorship.

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“Oppenheimer” was passed with a U/A certificate — meaning children under 12 can see the film with parental guidance — by India’s Central Board of Film Certification. Christopher Nolan’s three-hour IMAX-shot epic also performed well at the box office in India, where Nolan has a strong contingent of fans. But now officials in India are calling for the movie to be further censored despite it now allegedly featuring a CGI-created dress superimposed over Pugh’s naked body during one post-coital moment later in the film. (IndieWire has reached out to “Oppenheimer” studio Universal about this allegation shared online and seemingly corroborated by India-residing audiences as well as those in Indonesia.)

The scene criticized by Indian officials involves Oppenheimer and Tatlock mid-intercourse when she stops to pull a copy of the “Bhagavad Gita” out of a bookshelf and asks Murphy to read a passage. He reads, “I am become Death, destroyer of worlds,” which came to mind for Oppenheimer during the detonation of the atomic bomb he developed out of Los Alamos. The “Bhagavad Gita” is featured in the “Mahabharata” and depicts dialogue between a prince and the divine Krishna mid-battle.

In a letter addressed to Christopher Nolan shared on Twitter, India’s Information Commissioner and Save Culture Save India Foundation founder and Hindu nationalist party affiliate Uday Mahurkar called the film a “scathing attack on Hinduism” over the weekend.

Mahurkar wrote: “It has come to our notice that the movie ‘Oppenheimer’ contains a scene which make a scathing attack on Hinduism. As per social media reports, a scene in the movie shows a woman makes a man read Bhagwad Geeta aloud while getting over him and doing sexual intercourse. She is holding Bhagwad Geeta in one hand, and the other hands seems to be adjusting the position of their reproductive organs. The Bhagwad Geeta is one of the most revered scriptures of Hinduism. Geeta has been the inspiration for countless sanyasis, brahmcharis and legends who live a life of self-control and perform selfless noble deeds. We do not know the motivation and logic behind this unnecessary scene on life of a scientist. But this is a direct assault on religious beliefs of a billion tolerant Hindus, rather it amounts to waging a war on the Hindu community and almost appears to be part of a larger conspiracy by anti-Hindu forces.”

The letter concluded, “We urge, on behalf of billion Hindus and timeless tradition of lives being transformed by revered Geeta, to do all that is needed to uphold dignity of their revered book and remove this scene from your film across world. Should you choose to ignore this appeal it would be deemed as a deliberate assault on Indian civilisation.”

According to Variety, India’s minister for information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur requested per NDTV that the scene be deleted entirely.

THE FAUX OUTRAGE IS NOT ABOUT HINDUISM BUT HINDUIST NATIONALISM

HINDUISM IS FAR MORE VARIED THAN THAT

SEE

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for WENDY DONIGER 

KALI IS A FAVORITE OF THELEMITES

Goddess Kaali smoking cigarette on film poster sparks massive uproar on Internet, complaint filed

Leena Manimekalai said that the documentary revolves around the events that take place one evening, when Goddess Kali appears and strolls on the streets of Toronto.

THE REAL REASON FOR THE PROTEST IS THE 

LGBTQ FLAG NOT SMOKING

 The poster depicts a woman dressed in the costume of Goddess Kaali while waving an LGBTQ+ flag. She is seen smoking a cigarette in the photo.

Edited By: India TV Entertainment Desk

New Delhi

Updated on: July 05, 2022

Goddess Kaali, Leena Manimekalai

A controversial poster showing goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette has sparked off a massive uproar on the Internet. Netizens have been calling out the makers and accusing them of hurting religious sentiments. Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit was also one of them. He slammed the poster drawing parallel between it and Nupur Sharma's statement. He also called for the arrest of the film's director Leena Manimekalai.

Not just him, but there were many who alleged that the Hindu deity was being disrespected and demanded strict action against the filmmaker. Many also raised points on freedom of expression and noted that they want the Indian judiciary system to intervene and take strict action against the film.

Police complaint filed against Director Leena Manimekalai

A Delhi-based lawyer on Monday filed a police complaint against Director Leena Manimekalai over a controversial poster of her new documentary. The said controversial poster was shared by Manimekalai on social media on July 2. In the poster, Goddess Kaali has been shown smoking a cigarette.

It has sparked off a massive uproar on social media with demands to arrest the director trending on Twitter. "The Director has hurt my religious sentiments by showing Goddess Kali smoking which is highly objectionable and not acceptable in any manner," Jindal told IANS.

Demanding an immediate registration of FIR against the independent director, Jindal said that such a deplorable picture in context to the Hindu Goddess is extremely outrageous, atrocious and hurting the sentiments and belief of Hindu community.

"This deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of Hindu Community through highly objectionable video and photo from her twitter account by the accused which is well circulated in social media and all public platforms is an offence under section 295A ,298, 505, 67 I.T Act and 34 IPC and therefore penal action should be taken against the accused," the complaint filed with the Cyber Cell of Delhi Police read.

The lawyer further said that the objectionable video clip and photo must be banned and removed from the internet on immediate basis considering the defamatory impact and enrage it would cause to Hindus as it has disparaged the religious beliefs of a particular community.
About Leena Manimekalai's documentary 'Kaali'

According to a Tamil news portal, Manimekalai said that the documentary revolves around the events that take place one evening, when Goddess Kali appears and strolls on the streets of Toronto.

--with IANS inputs

Netizens slam poster of goddess Kali smoking a cigarette

THIS IS RIDICULOUS SINCE KALI IS ABOUT TRANSGRESSION AND TABOO BREAKING, SMOKING A CIGARETTE IS HARDLY HER WORST TRANSGRESSION, AS WE CAN SEE IN THESE PICTURES OF HER

TMC's Mahua Moitra Claims Kali Is Meat-eating, Alcohol-accepting Goddess To Her

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra while talking about a controversial film poster has said that it is up to individuals how they view their gods.

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra File Photo

UPDATED: 05 JUL 2022 8:39 PM

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Tuesday stirred a controversy by saying that she has every right as an individual to imagine Goddess Kali as a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting goddess, as every person has the right to worship God and goddess in his or her own way.

While the BJP went hammer and tongs against Moitra and wondered if it was the official stand of West Bengal’s ruling party to insult Hindu gods and goddesses, the TMC distanced itself from the comment and condemned it.

While taking part in India Today Conclave East held in Kolkata, the Krishnanagar MP said it is up to individuals how they view their gods.

“If you go to Bhutan or Sikkim, for example, when they do puja, they give whisky to their god. Now, if you go to Uttar Pradesh and say that you give whisky to your god as prasad, they will say that is blasphemous,” she said. Moitra said that people have the right to imagine their gods or goddess in the way they want.

“For me, Goddess Kali is a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting goddess. And if you go to Tarapith (a major Shakti peeth in West Bengal's Birbhum district), you will see sadhus smoking. That is the version of Kali people worship (there). I, within Hinduism, being a Kali worshipper, have the right to imagine Kali in that way; that is my freedom,” she said.

Moitra said this when asked about a film that had courted controversy after it had put up posters showing Goddess Kali smoking. Moitra said, “I have the freedom to do it (envision a meat-eating goddess) as much as you have the freedom to worship your god as vegetarian and white-clothed.” After her comments went viral, Moitra issued a clarification attacking the Sangh Parivar.

“To all you sanghis - lying will NOT make you better Hindus. I NEVER backed any film or poster or mentioned the word smoking. Suggest you visit my Maa Kali in Tarapith to see what food & drink is offered as bhog. Joy Ma Tara,” she tweeted. The BJP wondered whether insulting Hindu gods and goddess is the official stand of the TMC.

“TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee should clarify it. This is not the first time that such instances have been reported. Earlier too TMC leaders have done the same. We think this is the official stand of the ruling TMC to hurt the sentiment of Hindus to get votes,” BJP state vice-president Rathindra Bose said. The ruling TMC, however, distanced itself from the comments and condemned the remarks by Moitra.

“The comments made by @MahuaMoitra at the #IndiaTodayConclaveEast2022 and her views expressed on Goddess Kali have been made in her personal capacity and are NOT ENDORSED BY THE PARTY in ANY MANNER OR FORM. All India Trinamool Congress strongly condemns such comments,” the party said in a Twitter post.

‘Kali’ Controversy: Shashi Tharoor Says Taken Aback By ‘Attack’ On Mahua Moitra

‘Kali’ Controversy: TMC MP Moitra has stirred a controversy with her remarks that she has every right as ‘an individual to imagine Goddess Kali as a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting goddess’.

TMC MP Mohua Moitra.(File photo) LSTV/PTI Photo

UPDATED: 06 JUL 2022 2:55 PM

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said he is "taken aback by the attack" on Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra for her comments on Goddess Kali, and urged people to "lighten up and leave religion" to individuals to practice privately.

Moitra on Tuesday stirred a controversy with her remarks that she has every right as "an individual to imagine Goddess Kali as a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting goddess", as every person has the right to worship god and goddess in his or her own way

While the BJP severely criticised Moitra and asked if it was the official stand of West Bengal's ruling party to insult Hindu gods and goddesses, the TMC distanced itself from the comment and condemned it.

Reacting to the row, Tharoor said on Twitter, "I am no stranger to malicious manufactured controversy, but am still taken aback by the attack on @MahuaMoitra for saying what every Hindu knows, that our forms of worship vary widely across the country. What devotees offer as bhog (offering) says more about them than about the goddess".

"We have reached a stage where no one can say anything publicly about any aspect of religion without someone claiming to be offended. It’s obvious that
@MahuaMoitra wasn’t trying to offend anyone. I urge every1 to lighten up & leave religion to individuals to practice privately," he said.

While taking part in India Today Conclave East held in Kolkata, Moitra had said it is up to individuals how they view their gods.

"If you go to Bhutan or Sikkim, for example, when they do puja, they give whisky to their god. Now, if you go to Uttar Pradesh and say that you give whisky to your god as prasad, they will say that is blasphemous,” she had said.

(With PTI inputs)

The 'Kaali' Controversy, Freedom Of Expression And Remarks By Mahua Moitra: All You Need To Know

Answering a question on the row over a poster depicting an actor dressed up as the Goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette, TMC leader Mahua Moitra said that she personally has no problem with the poster.

TMC MP Mahua Moitra.

UPDATED: 07 JUL 2022 

Following the controversy over the 'Kaali' row, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra's recent remarks on Goddess Kaali have stirred another controversy. Answering a question on the row over a poster depicting an actor dressed up as the Goddess smoking a cigarette, Moitra said that she personally has no problem with the poster depicting Kali the way the director wanted to.

Speaking at a media conclave, she said, "When you go to Sikkim, you will see that they offer whiskey to Goddess Kaali. But if you go to Uttar Pradesh, and if you tell them that you offer whiskey to the goddess as ‘prasad’, they will call it blasphemy."

She further said, "Kaali to me is a meat-eating, alcohol-accepting Goddess."

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However, Moitra's fierce statement was quick enough to garner angry comments and responses from leaders and people over hurting religious sentiments. Police in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday registered a case against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra over her remark about Goddess Kaali. The First Information Report (FIR) was registered by the crime branch in state capital Bhopal under section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (outraging religious feelings).

"Moitra's statement has hurt religious feelings of Hindus. We will not tolerate disrespect to any Hindu Gods and Goddesses at any cost," said Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in a statement.

Also Read | Leena Manimekalai's Searing Portrayal Of Violence Against Women In 'Maadathy' Is Powerful Cinema

Moitra on Tuesday stirred a controversy with her remarks that she has every right as "an individual to imagine Goddess Kaali as a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting goddess", as every person has the right to worship god and goddess in his or her own way.

While the BJP severely criticised her, her party, TMC, distanced itself from the comment and condemned it.

TMC's official Twitter account also issued a statement on social media condemning her remarks. "The comments made by @MahuaMoitra at the #IndiaTodayConclaveEast2022 and her views expressed on Goddess Kali have been made in her personal capacity and are NOT ENDORSED BY THE PARTY in ANY MANNER OR FORM. All India Trinamool Congress strongly condemns such comments," the tweet put out by the official handle of TMC read.

Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said, "Freedom of expression cannot be reserved for Hindu Gods and Goddesses while for the rest one must tip toe around religious sensibilities. I am offended with the movie poster on Ma Kali, respect has to be equal for all&FoE should never become a tool to offend- deliberately."

Reacting to the statement, MEA official Varun Puri said, "#MahuaMoitra comments on Maa Kali hurt religious sentiments of Hindus. Her upbringing is such that these offending remarks are expected from her mouth. I demand strict actions against her with immediate effect."

In her defence, Moitra said, "To all you sanghis- lying will NOT make you better hindus. I NEVER backed any film or poster or mentioned the word smoking. Suggest you visit my Maa Kali in Tarapith to see what food & drink is offered as bhog. Joy Ma Tara."

According to media reports, Moitra has unfollowed the official Twitter handle of the TMC after her party distanced itself from her comments on Goddess Kaali.

Further, Moitra said she, a “worshipper of the deity”, was not afraid of saffron camp “goons”. She also said that “truth doesn't need back up forces”.

"Jai Ma Kali! The goddess Bengalis worship is fearless & non-appeasing." she tweeted. "Bring it on BJP! Am a Kali worshipper. I am not afraid of anything. Not your ignoramuses. Not your goons. Not your police. And most certainly not your trolls. Truth doesn't need back up forces," Moitra added.

Opposition Hits Out

Shortly after, the BJP went at the remark hammer and tongs and wondered if the ruling party of West Bengal had adopted a policy of "insulting Hindu gods and goddesses".

"According to the norms of the Sanatan Hindu dharma, Goddess Kali is never worshipped as a goddess who consumes alcohol and meat. Hindus had been revering Goddess Kali for ages as a symbol of power against evil. Her comments have hurt religious sentiments. We demand her arrest in the light of the statement against Goddess Kali," BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said.

Also Read | Before ‘Kaali’, 10 Bollywood Films That Landed Up In A Controversy

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Suvendu Adhikari said hundreds of police complaints had been lodged against Moitra across the state.

"The TMC government and the state police have been very active in seeking police action against Nupur Sharma. But they have not taken any action against Mahua Moitra. There can't be a different set of rules for BJP and TMC leaders. We will wait for ten days and then move the court," the saffron camp MLA said.
Social media draws a parallel between Moitra and Nupur Sharma

Moitra stirred up a hornet’s nest just days after now-suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma created a controversy with her remarks on Prophet Mohammad, which triggered protests across the nation.

Following Moitra's 'offensive' statement, Twitter soon compared Moitra's statement with Nupur Sharma's controversial remarks, which had incited violence across many states, demanding the arrest of Moitra.

One user said, " #MahuaMoitra said Goddess Kali is a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting goddess. Freedom of speech is only for insulting Hindu Gods? Who gave them this freedom? What if we Hindu do the same as Muslims are doing against #NupurSharma."

What is the Kaali controversy?

The controversy erupted after filmmaker Leena Manimekalai shared the poster of the film on social media. The poster depicts a woman dressed in the costume of Goddess Kaali while waving an LGBTQ+ flag. She is seen smoking a cigarette in the photo.

The Toronto-based Aga Khan Museum that hosted the event, where the film poster was shown, landed in trouble. It has expressed deep regret for "inadvertently causing offence" to members of the Hindu and other faiths.

The Indian High Commission in Canada has urged the organizers to withdraw all provocative material.

In a statement, the High Commission said that they have received complaints from leaders of the Hindu community in Canada about the "disrespectful depiction of Hindu Gods on the poster of a film showcased as part of the 'Under the Tent' project at the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto."

"Our Consulate General in Toronto has conveyed these concerns to the organizers of the event," read the statement.

"Toronto Metropolitan University's project presentation was hosted at the Aga Khan Museum in the context of the Museum's mission to foster intercultural understanding and dialogue through the arts. Respect for diverse religious expressions and faith communities forms an integral part of that mission," the statement said.

The poster was shared by Manimekalai on social media on July 2.

FIR against filmmaker

An FIR has been lodged against filmmaker Leena Manimekalai in Lucknow over a poster of her documentary 'Kaali' allegedly depicting the goddess in a disrespectful manner. Earlier, an FIR against her was lodged in Delhi as well.

The FIR was registered at the Hazratganj police station against Manimekalai, a filmmaker based in Canada's Toronto, producer of 'Kaali' Asha Associates and editor Shravan Onachan on Monday night, police said.

The FIR was lodged under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and sections 66 and 67 of the Information Technology Act.

Under attack for the poster, Manimekalai on Monday said she will continue to use her voice fearlessly till she is alive.

"I have nothing to lose. Till the time I live, I wish to live with a voice that speaks what I believe without fear. If the price for that is my life, it can be given," she wrote in a tweet in Tamil in response to an article on the controversy.

The filmmaker also urged people to watch the documentary to understand the context behind the poster.

The President of a right-wing organisation was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly issuing a death threat and abusing through video the maker of the film 'Kaali'.

(With inputs from PTI)

Mahua Moitra's Comment On Kali: 

Has TMC Sacrificed Its Bengali Identity Before National Aspirations?

Madyapana-pramattikang or intoxicated with consumption of alcohol is how goddess Kali has been visualised in Svatantra-tantra.

Beautifully decorated clay made idols of Hindu Goddess Kali in Kalighat, Kolkata

 Getty Images

UPDATED: 07 JUL 2022 

The poster of filmmaker Leena Manimekalai’s Kaali, described as a performance documentary, showed a person dressed as goddess Kali smoking a cigarette. As some people found the poster to be offensive to their religious sentiments, Trinamool Congress (TMC) Lok Sabha MP was asked during an interview at a TV channel for her comments on the controversy. Moitra said she visualised goddess Kali as a deity who accepted alcohol and meat and that there existed the practise of offering the goddess meat and alcohol.

Hell broke loose on the MP following her comment, as not only did some people find her comments to have hurt their sentiments but also her own party was quick to distance itself from her comment and condemned her remarks in a rather surprising move.

People whose sentiments were hurt by seeing a person dressed as Kali smoking a cigarette may not be aware that during the height of the swadeshi movement in Kolkata and other parts of West Bengal, in the first decade of the twentieth century, the ‘bishuddho swadeshi’ Kali brand cigarette had gained significant popularity.

 The Kolkata-based East India Cigarette Manufacturing Company had appealed to ‘Hindu brothers’ in advertisements to smoke Kali cigarettes if they wanted to improve the conditions of the native people. No sentiment was reported to have been hurt in Kolkata, the heartland of Kali worshippers. Etymologists have often suggested that the name Kolkata came from Kalikshetra, or the land of Kali.

While Goddess Kali may not have been seen in any of her avatars to be smoking cigarettes, it’s a different case altogether when it comes to meat and alcohol.

Madyapanapramattikang or intoxicated with consumption of alcohol is how goddess Kali has been visualised in Svatantra-tantra, according to sixteenth-century Tantra practitioner and scholar Krishnananda Agambagish’s book, Brihat Tantrasar. The same book says the Shmashan Kali has been visualised as bamahastena madyapurna samangsakang, or a pot full of meat and wine in her left hand.

 

Goddess Kali idol decorated at Puja pandal, Kali puja also known as Shyama Puja

 | Photo: Getty Images

In Tarapith, one of West Bengal’s major Shakti peeth located in Birbhum district, the bhog offered to goddess Kali includes fried shol fish, goat meat and karonbari or alcohol. Tara is worshipped as Shyama on the day of Kali puja. Whiskey bottles are offered to the goddess. Devotees are given one drop of alcohol each after it has been offered to the goddess. These are all common knowledge.

Moitra herself had cited the case of Tarapith but such practice of having alcohol as an offering to goddess Kali is no exception in West Bengal. At the famed Shmashan Kali temple at Andharia in the Beliabera area in Jhargram district attracts devotees from Jharkhand and Odisha, the bhog is prepared with goat meat, wax gourd and alcohol. At Siddheshwari Kali puja at Dainhat in East Bardhaman district, alcohol is used in place of Gangajaal and five types of fish are offered as bhog. At Nalateshwari Kali puja in Nalhati of Birbhum district, the bhog includes rice, meat, spinach and alcohol.

Not just in West Bengal, temples established by Bengalis outside the state boundary have similar examples. At the century-old temple of Chhinnamasta, an avatar of Kali, at Rajrappa in Ramgarh district of Jharkhand founded by a Ghosal family, meat and alcohol are mandatory for the puja.

Keeping the temples aside, more than 20,000 community Kali pujas take place in West Bengal and in a majority of such community pujas in makeshift pandals alcohol is used during the puja. The most common practice is to offer country liquor, called Deshi or Bangla, but rum and whiskey are also offered.

Temples of Shmashan Kali, which is worshipped in Hindu crematoriums, and Dakat Kali, another form of Kali puja which was started by dacoits decades ago, are many in West Bengal and alcohol and meat are an integral part of these pujas.

It is, though, not mandatory that alcohol must be offered to the goddess. At Dakshineswar Kali temple where the puja follows Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s traditions, no meat is offered and coconut water is used instead of alcohol. But they offer five types of fish dishes. Alcohol is not part of the puja at Kolkata’s Kalighat either but goat meat and several types of fish are offered as bhog.

A vegetarian bhog to goddess Kali, as is offered at Adyapith in Kolkata, is also part of the practice. But examples of the use of alcohol and meat will be endless.

All these make the TMC’s condemnation of Moitra’s comments surprising from a party that is born and based in West Bengal, all the more so because the party chief herself is an avowed devotee of Kali and the puja is also organised at her residence. Besides, a majority of TMC leaders in Kolkata and in the districts are involved in the organising of community Kali pujas.

It is difficult to imagine she and her party’s leaders are unaware of the diverse practices of Kali puja observed in the state, especially when it is one of the state’s biggest religious events.

On Tuesday, soon after leaders and supporters of the BJP started targeting Moitra and her party for her comments on Kali, on social media and in statements to the media, stating that it hurt their religious sentiments, the TMC jumped on to condemn her statement.

What did the party think while responding to the controversy? Did it consider whose sentiments were getting hurt? Which side should the party take when one group of Hindus are offended by the practice of another group of Hindus? This is what the party seemingly failed to decide.

The TMC had earlier pegged itself as a force defending Bengal’s cultural and religious practices from northern and western Indian practices of Hinduism. In April 2017, when Ram Navami and Annapurna Puja coincided, and the organisations belonging to the BJP-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) camp took out massive Ram Navami processions across the state in an unprecedented scale, the chief minister accused the BJP of imposing alien culture on Bengal and disrespecting Annapurna, who is Bengal’s own.

That Bengali cultural regionalism dominated the TMC’s political moves to a large extent till the 2021 assembly elections when they repeatedly branded the BJP as outsider and Borgi (eighteenth-century Maratha invaders to Bengal). They, however, were often in doubt and did not want to miss out on the devotees of Ram and Hanuman as well and therefore started organising Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti themselves, even though they were never major religious events in the state.

However, the party’s national aspirations, as reflected since the 2021 Assembly election victory in its expansion drive outside West Bengal, eying the 2024 Lok Sabha election, seem to have weakened the party’s Bengali regionalist plank so much that they are now even scared to defend their home state’s popular religious practices.