This is from an undergraduate student pursuing cognitive psychology. You’ve briefly talked about Goddess Kaali in one of your old lectures. One aspect of the Goddess perhaps interests you, i.e., consciousness and creativity. Jung contended with this aspect during his visit to Calcutta during 1930s and Erich Neumann subsequently discussed this partially in his book. The image of Kaali is showcased as standing over penis and chest of a dead man and holding a severed head in her left hand. The worship of the Goddess gives life to the man. The underlying symbolism, according to the scripture, is as if a spirit of masculinity judged and organized by femininity has shaped the human consciousness over millions of years and the man sacrifices his immediate, self-absorbed gratification at the altar of the Goddess in order to be alive.

Regarding the creativity aspect, the Goddess is shown as the Great Mother, the epitome of creative excellence who destroys her creation at her own will. This creative prowess provides the foundation of the very existence and worshipping her will render human beings immortality. That’s why she is Kaali. Kaal, in Sanskrit, means time and Kaali is someone who resides beyond time.

About your podcast India, Europe and the Biblical Revolution, with all due respect to your incredible work Prof. Peterson, next time you decide to have a meaningful conversation about India, please look for someone who knows the stuff he is talking about and somewhat less biased and ignoramus. Highlighting one aspect you talk about a lot, a book as the basis of Abrahamic religions. One of the key distinctive features of India is that she cultivates polytheistic values and there are two or three consequences that flow from polytheism. Firstly, we do not believe in imposing one God or one book on everybody else, and therefore everybody is entitled to choose for themselves a certain form of the deity. Hence, the concept of diversity and individualism is inextricable from the Indian experience and, finally, no Indian religion including Buddhism and Jainism propagates that there is only one God or only one way to reach the almighty.

India sure had her fallibility. However, there has been hardly any inconsistency between acknowledging the mistakes and what the civilization had been subjected to in the hands of tyrannical colonial rule under Muslim dynasties and British reign, which is painfully absent is this discussion.

I read your book Maps of Meaning when I was 15, a book that my mom gave to her boyfriend a.k.a. my dad 12 years back. Finally, you might've heard this a million times, thanks for what you're doing. it's God's work and may God bless you and your family!