Riverbank Communion

Dakshineswar Kali Temple and Belur Math draw upon each other’s energy and encourage followers to explore beyond orthodoxy, to integrate vision, imagination and compassion, writes B MANGALAM The journey from Dakshineswar Kali Temple on the eastern bank of the Hooghly to Belur Math on its western bank is steeped in legends, dreams, mystic visions and an aura of faith that is utterly fascinating. We are told that in 1847, Rani Rashmoni decided to visit Kashi/Banaras to worship Kali with a huge royal entourage. The night before she was to embark on her journey, Ma Kali appeared to her in a dream and asked her to build a temple for her on the banks of the Ganga at Kolkata itself. The rani set about getting the temple built and it was completed in 1855. The murti of Kali, known by the name Bavatarini here, is housed in a beautiful structure, placed over a platform with stairs on two sides leading to the sanctum. The temple boasts of nine spires, a bathing ghat, a verandah with columns and a large pavilion facing the sanctum. Across the temple,12 Shiva Lingas are housed in a row in individual cubicles and a shrine to Radha- Krishna is located on the temple’s verandah. A lovely reminder of Bengal architecture, the temple exudes calm despite the teeming crowd braving a downpour on a Sunday morning. Kali stands decked in jewels with a resplendent crown, atop the chest of Shiva on a silver lotus. Devotees throng the platform to let her cast a sidelong glance at them and bless them. Years ago, another young man stood before this deity in rapture and wailed loudly over many dark nights when he thought this Bavatarini had not granted him her darshan. He was known to undertake rigorous sadhanas, tantra, lose his consciousness, dance in ecstasy and remain still in samadhi He was also the official priest at this temple for 30 long years from 1856-1886. This was Ramakrishna Paramhansa who played a vital role in mid-19th century Bengal in forging faith with service to humanity, spirituality with social service, and looked at marriage as companionship of souls. Married off at the age of 23 to five-year-old Sarada Devi to cure him of his fits of ‘insanity’ — his spiritual experiences and instances of ecstasy were construed as insanity by his family and villagers — Ramakrishna treated his wife as his spiritual consort. He trained her in sadhana, taught her Advaita by drawing upon the domestic, feminine space and chores to underline the need for women to rise above their allotted roles in the family and elevate themselves in the spiritual path. He often told Sarada Devi that women may immerse themselves in the household, but should not let the household take over them — just as a boat sails over water but does not let the water enter the boat to avoid sinking. Sarada Devi joined him at Dakshineswar when she turned 18 and became an integral presence at the temple, and later at the Ramakrishna Math founded by his disciples. She was revered as Mother by his disciples and she cooked for them, nurtured them with maternal love and guided them in spiritual as well as administrative matters of the Math. Ra Ganapathy’s biography of Sarada, Amma, was serialised in the Tamil weekly Kalki in 1972. Republished by the Ramakrishna Mission in 2014, it is at present out of stock and unavailable. My mother had carefully preserved the chapters every week and later got them bound in one volume. She used to narrate incidents from the biography to us over the long winter nights in the seventies. My visit to Belur brought back those memories. That bound volume in faded pages occupies a cherished place in my bookshelf and I flip over the pages with tender care on long summer afternoons to re-energise from memories of my mother and of this astonishing woman who is the spiritual mother for the vast followers of the Math. The couple’s endearing affection and mentoring of their star disciple, Vivekananda has handed over a valuable legacy to young and old alike. He carried his guru’s message of all religions as different ‘pathways’ to One God at the Parliament Of The World’s Religions in 1893. This proved to be an important milestone in the East-West journey and dissemination of advaita thought. Along with other disciples, Vivekananda was instrumental in founding the Ramakrishna Math in 1886 and Ramakrishna Mission in 1897 at Belur. The Dakshineswar temple and Belur Math share spiritual as well as topographical proximity. A visit to the temple can be followed by a ferry ride to Belur Math. It is a memorable ride over the Hooghly, revered as the Ganga by the devout and locals alike. The ferry takes a leisurely 45 minutes to traverse from Dakshineswar Ghat to Belur Ghat. The view from Ratan Babu Ghat is delightful and elevating. One can see the majestic spires of the Kali temple and the syncretic architecture of the four temples of Belur Math simultaneously. Trees and shrubs in full bloom — gulmohurs, chandnis, gudails — dot the riverbank and the serene tranquillity is momentarily paused by happy shouts of young boys mounting the ferry and diving headlong for a thrilling swim in the river. The two temples’ spiritual communion continues in the physical plane to this date, facing each other, drawing upon each other’s energy and encouraging followers to explore beyond orthodoxy, to integrate vision, imagination and compassion. The entrance gate at Belur Math is an impressive arch that carries the symbols associated with all the major religions of the world. Spread over a lush ground of 40 acres, the premises house temples dedicated to Sri Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi, Brahmananda and Vivekananda, and a museum that holds great historical interest and cherished relics. The structure epitomises the central tenet that all religions are equal and offer different ways to reach God who is but One. The architecture borrows from Hindu, Islamic, Buddhist, Christian styles and traditions and freely amalgamates them to present a harmonious whole. The stupa-like pillars at the entrance, the gopurams and chattris, the dome at the top of the centre, the pulpit like sanctum, the windows reminiscent of the Mughal era and the shape of a Cross, signifying Christ’s Passion marks the architectural style of the Belur temple. Vivekananda’s wide travels aided him to fuse multiple styles and Brahmananda ably executed his vision. The meditative tranquillity of the Belur Math premises gets transposed to the bhog of payesh that one is served at noon as one leaves, pondering over possibilities of discovering the divine within. Shiva Temples A series of 12 identical Shiva shrines are built within the premises of the Dakshineswar temple. These shrines are located close to the banks of the Ganga. The interiors of the temples are done in white and black stone and each temple houses a black stone Shiva Linga. The temples are constructed in the Aat Chala Bengal temple architecture style. Prayers are offered here every day, and Sri Ramakrishna is said to have meditated here to attain enlightenment. Ramakrishna Temple In the sanctum sanctorum of the temple in Belur Math is Sri Ramakrishna’s marble image enthroned on a marble lotus platform with Brahmi Hansa engraved on it. Swami Vivekananda envisioned that anyone who comes to the temple would realise the principle of universal brotherhood propounded by the master. The foundation stone for the temple was laid by Swami Sivananda on March 13, 1929, and the temple was consecrated on January 14, 1938. Post your comments at speakingtree.in