Kali - Godess of Destruction

Picture from Sacred Source

Because sometimes destruction is good.

"Kali is often depicted as either a black or blue woman with a bright blood red protruding tongue. She wears a necklace of bloody heads, earrings of dead bodies and holds a sword in each 4/6/8 hands.
Kali is often referred to as a "death Goddess," yet she is so much more. She is a Goddess of death and destruction. Of birth and rebirth. Of light and dark. Of freedom and independence. It is through her destructive dance that we find a new path. She is the Goddess we turn to when we need strength, power, and passion. Kail, which translates into "The Black One", is one of the most popular of Hindu Goddesses." http://www.themagickshop.com/Kali/Kali.html

While watching a movie today about a man from America that went to India to work for a bit, I came across a funny bit of info. It is customary to eat with your right hand. I looked it up and came up with other facts worth sharing. Just a matter of different cultures in different parts of the worlds...

• Eating can be a quite sensitive point. It is often done with the fingers, and requires a bit of practice to get it right. Rule one is eat with your right hand only. In India, as all across Asia, the left hand is for wiping your bottom, cleaning your feet and other unsavory functions (you also put on and take off your shoes with the left hand), while the right hand is for eating, shaking hands and so on. (makes sense for Hygiene!)
• The other rule to be aware of when eating or drinking is that your lips should not touch other people's food. Don't for example take a bite out of a chapatti and pass it on. When drinking out of a cup or bottle to be shared with others, don't let it touch your lips, but rather pour it directly into your mouth. This custom also protects you from things like Hepatitis. Although in the west it is not considered sociable not to share, during the tour, we'll follow this rule. Keep your own water bottle, and learn the pouring method, which takes some practice, especially in a moving train. It is customary to wash your hands and feet before and after eating. Half bath in Ananda Marga...
• Kissing, or embracing, hugging between opposite sex are regarded as part of sex; do not do them in public. It is not even a good idea for couples, to hold hand. Unlike what we are used to in many western countries it's normal for men to hold hands as a sign of friendship.
• Be aware of your feet. When entering a private home, you should normally remove your shoes (follow your hosts example); when sitting, avoid pointing the soles of your feet at anyone, at the altar or at Guru's photo. Accidental contact with one's foot is always followed by an apology.
• As mentioned in most of Asia the left hand is used to wipe your bottom. After passing stool, while pouring water from behind with the right hand, you clean the area with the middle finger of the left hand. Just keep pouring water and using your fingers till it's clean. For most people from the west this is really difficult to do, but the sooner you get used to it the better. And one complex less. Beside toilet paper is often not available, the diameter of the toilet pipes is less and there is often no flush system. So even if you can get it, toilet paper tends to clog the drain quite easily, and then your host has to somehow open it again...

http://www.indiatour.dadaksa.com/etiquette.htm