Bali Mangti Kali Ma (Mother Kali demands sacrifice)

                                CHILD SACRIFICE: FROM ANCIENT TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY

Human beings have been murdering each other at a fantastic rate since Cain gained the dubious distinction of becoming the first man to murder another, and that his own brother Abel. A special way of murdering humans is through the act of ritualistic human sacrifice. It is a common misconception that human sacrifice was practiced only by tribal barbarians in the deep Amazon or in the jungles of Africa or by the bushmen of Australia. However as evidenced by history, almost all cultures from the ancient Babylonians to the Phoenicians to the Hindus of India to the druids of Britain to the civilizations of the new world such as the Aztecs have all sanctioned human sacrifice as a State religion. It has been practiced openly and ritualistically in civilizations that would be considered to have been culturally advanced, not barbaric or tribal. And sadly this satanic practice has claimed more children as victims than adults. Jeremiah 19:5 “They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind”. This practice of burning living children in a fire, infants in most cases, predated Jeremiah by a thousand years or more and continued longer after he was dead. The Canaanites who were displaced by the Israelites under Moses and Joshua were famed for this abominable practice which was also one of the main causes of God’s judgment befalling these nations. Deuteronomy 18:10-12 / There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, ... and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.

The descendants of the Canaanites, the Phoenicians not only embraced this practice but elevated it to a whole new level. The city of Carthage in Northern Africa was established around 800 BC, a short time after the reign of Solomon in Israel, and was finally destroyed in 146 BC by the Romans. Carthage was the capital of the considerable Phoenician empire and one of the largest cities of ancient times. Quote: “In a single child cemetery called the Tophet by archaeologists, an estimated 20,000 urns were deposited between 400 BC and 200 BC, with the practice continuing until the early years of the Christian period. The urns contained the charred bones of newborns and in some cases the bones of fetuses and 2-year-olds”.  Quote: “The ancient city of Carthage was the capital of the Phoenician empire. Their civilization was advanced culturally and highly educated. But recent archaeological expeditions have revealed its most notable feature - the high incidence of child sacrifice. Archaeological relics have been uncovered, such as the altars on which children were sacrificed and stone markers, which marked the burial place of the remains. Stone carvings on the markers depict children who were sacrificed. Clay jars were used to hold the remains. Entire burial grounds full of these slaughtered children have been uncovered”.

This link provides details on the extent and methodology of this abominable practice in the Americas. Watch the Mel Gibson movie ‘Apocalypto’ (not for the faint of heart) to see how the Mayans did homage to their gods by ripping the hearts out of living victims.

The Incas of South America sacrificed humans, particularly children in vast numbers; more evidence of this evil practice is being discovered all the time. Modern anthropologists always try to excuse such practices and do not evaluate them in terms of good and evil. However any way one looks at it, burning innocent infants and children in the fire, skinning your victims alive, ripping livers and hearts out of them while still living is pure evil and cannot be justified under any circumstance. There is no excuse that can be offered to justify the roasting of little children and infants in a fire; it is done to satisfy the bloodlust in the heart, and for no other reason.

The sub continent of India has fared no better in this respect having an ancient history of human sacrifice including that of innocent children and infants. In the movie ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’, a fair amount of time is spent on scenes that depict the Kali sacrifice ritual practiced by the ancient Thuggee cult in India.

Although viewed by most as fiction, the thuggee storyline of the movie is based on historical fact. As devout worshipers of the murderous goddess Kali the thugs are estimated to have sacrificed some two million people to their bloodthirsty deity. In the temple of Kali in Calcutta (the city is named after the goddess), till the early 19^th century at least one male child was sacrificed daily, even today animal sacrifices continue nonstop in this temple since human sacrifice has been outlawed, at least officially. ‘The blood must flow’ according to the priests of the goddess or else she may appear in person and claim her own sacrifices which seems to terrify them no end. As a child growing up in Northern India I can still remember devotees of Kali coming around occasionally with their faces painted black, a blood red false tongue hanging out of their mouth and a garland of false skulls around their necks. The sight was terrifying to say the least, even for the adults who would march the children indoors and lock all the doors. The drawing of Kali on this link is not far from what the devotees look like as they march up and down the length and breadth of India. http://basilicum122.googlepages.com/Kali.jpg/Kali-full.jpg.

There are plenty of temples to Kali in India, particularly in the south, some of the more famous ones located in Calcutta and Delhi. The question that begs to be asked is if human sacrifice that has been officially banned is still being practiced in India?‘Old habits die hard’ is an ancient saying and experience would tell us that it is a true saying. Traditions die even harder and even though the land of India has seen much modernization, especially in urban areas, traditions that date back two thousand years or more still dictate the life of millions in rural areas. For instance India has a long history of ‘HONOR KILLINGS’, young girls and young women are most often the victims in such cases. One would think that this practice might have ceased or diminished in the 21^st century. However news sources report on a very frequent basis that this heinous crime is being perpetrated on a daily basis across India. This 2002 National Geographic article reports that “Hundreds, if not thousands, of women are murdered by their families each year in the name of family "honor."  I was in India recently for a few months and I read several reports of ‘HONOR KILLINGS, of both males and females by their own families. Here’s a report of a young man of 21 murdered in the very presence of police for daring to marry a girl out of his own caste. The authorities in most of these cases rarely take any action and there are rarely any charges laid let alone convictions handed down to the culprits. Here are two more links to major western media news sources that have reported on this deadly practice in many parts of India. Though the official estimates are that about 5000 women are killed each year in the name of ‘honor’, the actual number could be ten times or a hundred times higher and no one would be any the wiser. In India as a matter of fact millions of people, particularly women and children could disappear each year (and untold numbers do) and there would be no way of proving otherwise.

Since the power of tradition has such a powerful hold on peoples across the world but especially in Eastern cultures, how can we sure that the thousands of years old tradition of child sacrifice to various deities, particularly Kali is not happening in modern India today? Sadly far from having to dig deep to find evidence that this may be happening, there are too many official and unofficial reports that that this is happening regularly even today for us to dispute the fact. The only thing disputable is the number of victims; given the fact that authorities initially attempt to ignore these reports, and the populace themselves are generally fearful of the practitioners of these cults it is very likely that the actual number of victims is much higher than any official estimate. pattern that emerges in these news reports is that it seems only individuals are implicated in these crimes, a corporate body such as the temple priesthood or other holy men at whose instigation, and by whose blessings, these crimes are committed are almost never implicated. Since these ‘Holy Men’ are the ones demanding these sacrifices, it is almost certain that they themselves participate in such activities. The numbers of children sacrificed by individuals each year in India is estimated to be in the hundreds if not thousands; I believe it can be said with certainty that there exist in India organized cults such as the ancient Thuggee cult that practice human sacrifice ritualistically and ceremoniously as shown in the movie Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom. From time to time reports do surface of high ranking officials and politicians who are themselves devotees of Kali; in 1972 a senior Maharashtra politician was involved in sacrificing 11 young virgins in order to procure treasure. Four people were hanged in this case but the politician was not one of them, Wealth and power are the main reasons people commit these terrible acts. A BBC News article confirms that the numbers of victims of child sacrifice are intentionally under reported by authorities: “The prison warden told us of over 200 cases of child sacrifice in these parts over the last seven years. He admitted many of the cases go unreported because the police are reluctant to tarnish the image of their state. He told us incidents of child sacrifice are often covered up. Many of those killers are behind bars - but, chillingly, others poisoned by the same sinister beliefs remain at large”.  What a world we live in where the ‘Image of the State’ is more important than the life of a child.

News reports such as the ones below prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that ‘child sacrifice’ is very much a part of the modern India of mega malls, BMW SUVs and 7 star hotels. The headline of this news report reads, “Ritual human sacrifices of children and teens in India”, the story is not referring to the days of the British Raj or a time a thousand years ago, it is reporting on events that occurred very recently. Here’s an excerpt: “Alex Perry Atapur described a sacrifice ritual in a Time Magazine article, “If the goddess were to grant Khudu Karmakar the awesome powers he expected from a virgin's death, the victim had to be willing, had to know what was happening, watch the knife, and not stop it. But even tranquilizers couldn't lull 15-year-old Manju Kumari to her fate. In his police confession, Karmakar says his wife, daughter and three accomplices had to gag Manju and pin her down on the earthen floor before the shrine. In ritual order, Karmakar wafted incense over her, tore off her blue skirt and pink T shirt, shaved her, sprinkled her with holy water from the Ganges and rubbed her with cooking fat. Then chanting mantras to the "mother" goddess Kali, he sawed off Manju's hands, breasts and left foot, placing the body parts in front of a photograph of a blood-soaked Kali idol. Police say the arcs of blood on the walls suggest Manju bled to death in minutes.” The headline of the Time Magazine article, ‘Killing for mother Kali’ is much the same as the title of this article, ‘Bali mangti Kali Ma’. Here’s a quote from the article that reveals the motivation of the people involved in these practices, “In secret ceremonies, however, the grizzly practice lives on. Quite simply, say the faithful, known as tantrics, Kali looks after those who look after her, bringing riches to the poor, revenge to the oppressed and newborn joy to the childless”. Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,322673,00.html#ixzz0dGmwxeKN

 For those with strong stomachs here’s another story reported in the UK newspaper, The Guardian.  “For the sake of your family,' he (the tantric holy man) told her, 'you must sacrifice another, a boy from your village.' Ten days ago Sumitra and her two sons crept to their neighbour's home and abducted three-year-old Aakash Singh as he slept. They dragged him into their home and the eldest son performed a puja ceremony, reciting a mantra and waving incense. Sumitra smeared sandalwood paste and globules of ghee over the terrified child's body. The two men then used a knife to slice off the child's nose, ears and hands before laying him, bleeding, in front of Kali's image”. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/mar/05/india.theobserver.

The Time magazine article contends that modernization actually empowers ancient traditions rather than destroy them: “Far from ancient barbarisms that refuse to die, sacrifice and sorcery are making a comeback. Sociologists explain the millions who now throng the two main Kali centers in eastern India, at Kamakhya and Tarapith, as what happens when the rat race that is India's future meets the superstitions of its past. Sociologist Ashis Nandy says: "You see your neighbor doing well, above his caste and position, and someone tells you to get a child and do a secret ritual and you can catch up." Adds mysticism expert Ipsita Roy Chakaraverti: "It's got nothing to do with real mysticism or with spiritualism. It comes down to pure and simple greed." Tarapith in particular is a giant building site of new hotels, restaurants and stalls selling plastic swords and postcards of Kali's severed feet. Judging by the visitors here, Kali appeals to both rich and poor: the rows of SUVs parked outside four-star hotels belong to the ranks of businessmen and politicians lining up with their goats behind penniless pilgrims. ("The blood never dries at Tarapith," whispers one villager.”)
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,322673,00.html#ixzz0dGnmWehw.

Wealth and power have always been intoxicants whose irresistible lure has hardened people into shedding blood in ways that are almost unimaginable. In ancient Carthage the image of Moloch that was sculpted from brass had his arms outstretched ready to receive offerings from worshipers. The image was heated to a high temperature till it was red hot, and then a live infant was placed by the priest on the arms. The screams of the victim were drowned out by loud drums and music. Earlier this year (yes, in 2010) BBC News again carried a story titled, ‘Witch-doctors reveal extent of child sacrifice in Uganda.’ There is a very disturbing video as a companion to this story but the real disturbing fact about it is that it is true, not a Hollywood horror picture. This ancient practice though performed in secret in the modern world is yet a major part of our modern world; the true extent of the problem on all continents is something only God (and the devil) would know. Technology does not equate to morality, does not make people good, in more likelihood it has the reverse effect. Therefore for us to think that modernizing of the world through education and technology is sufficient to make us all ‘good’ is a fallacy. If anything people are probably more greedy in modern times than at any time in the past. Thus it does not come as a surprise that even ‘educated’ business people and politicians do not shy away from shedding innocent blood in their ungodly pursuit of wealth and power. This website among many others reveal that human sacrifice, and more particularly child sacrifice is not a thing of the past, as much as we may wish that it was. There are also far too many credible reports of ritual human sacrifice being practiced in western countries for one to believe that this is only a third world problem. Murdering each other is a human problem and ritual human sacrifice, even that of innocent children and babies is tragically not a thing of the past.

Psalm 16:4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.