Ramakrishna

The human heart yearns for an infinite love. Through his extraordinary purity and devotion and his unprecedented spiritual disciplines and experiences, Sri Ramakrishna unleashed a spiritual current of grace, making this love accessible to all. It is important as spiritual aspirants to fill our minds with the sublime teachings of saints and sages who have realized the Goal. By their mercy our latent spiritual tendencies are awakened and new light is shed upon our own individual paths. We are immeasurably fortunate to have an accurate record of the conversations of such a world-teacher and incarnation of divinity as Sri Ramakrishna, who taught the universality of religion, the motherhood of God and the mystical path of love.

~Baba Bhajanananda 

Teachings of Sri Ramakrishna>>

You Wear My Words, Mother

You wear my words, Mother,

Around Your neck.

Around Your heart

They circle round,

Each word a sound, a thought, a voice,

A mind. Silent,

Mute with wonder.

Each drop of my blood,

That has but sought Your feet—

Blood that for age upon age,

Life upon life,

Has fallen upon the earth,

Like every fallen corpse…

Each drop echoes

Every final cry: "Where are You?"

I grew again and yet again,

A thirst mightier than any seed,

Thrusting me out of every clay prison

Only to gaze upon a sky of yet clay.

This battle is not for blood,

This sword smiles

Not for an ounce of dirt,

Not for any forsaken innocence.

This is a smile born of severance,

This is a joy known only by catching

Your reflection as I stared into eyes of pure pain.

These armies but walk into Your mouth,

Their sounds die as they fall upon Your tongue,

Their words consumed by Thee,

Seeds taken by the tree, tasted fruit,

Flowers cut and strung along Your thread,

These jewels, silent and flecked with red.

You wear my words, Mother.

Around Your neck.

Around Your heart.

~ Baba Ambikananda

 Full moon, August 31st, 2012

The Art of Seeing God

The Heart of Devotional Worship

  (This article by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati and Swami Ambikananda Saraswati was commissioned for, and first appeared in, the Winter 2001 issue of Light of Consciousness Magazine.)

 

Inside, the hush of anticipation is intense.  The temple, drenched in predawn murkiness, is full of all types of devotees, diverse souls seeking the same sanctuary at this early hour.  Monks sit silently at the foot of the altar, their orange robes almost glowing in the dimness; their fire defies the shadows.  No image is to be seen.  The large wooden double doors on the altar remain shut.  But the light coming from the crack under those doors tells you that something is about to happen.  In an instant the hallowed sound of the blowing conch pierces the silence and as the single note fills every corner of the hall, the doors are opened, light spills everywhere, and a thunderous tumult of bells, gongs and drums announces the glorious awakening of the sleepless, all-powerful Lord.  As the eyes of the divine image fall upon you, you fall to your knees, head to the floor, bowing.  Then you rise, and the clamor of instruments glides into a natural rhythm as the pujari offers flame, flower, water, perfume and cooling breeze to the living God.  The devotees know without a doubt that they have seen God, and that God has seen them.  This is darshan, the grace and beauty of the Hindu temple: you do not have to be a saint to see God.

 This scene is repeated morning after morning in thousands of temples throughout India.  Most of the world's major religions teach that God is everywhere and ever-present.  Yet these same religions recognize the power and importance of sacred sites; temples, mosques and churches are unlike other buildings.  The house of worship holds within it a special manifestation of divinity. Call it an "atmosphere" or a "presence", or whatever you like—it is a quality, immediate and unmistakable, and powerful enough to remind us that the Truth felt within those walls is indeed outside as well.  The lens held up to the sunlight will focus the all-pervading rays into a beam powerful enough to burn.    If the temple is the lens through which divinity is focused, then within the Hindu temple, the image of the deity is that blazing point of total convergence. 

It is surprising that some practitioners of religions who accept the divine presence within the sacred site often have great difficulty in accepting the same presence within the sacred image, and they will usually resort to derisive tones, calling it "idolatry."  But to recognize the false, we must have some notion of the true.  How does a thing become sacred?  What brings about that quality?  Why will the devotee trample across one stone presumably to worship another stone?  The answer lies within an object's connection to the divine.        

...There are symbols and symbols, the real ones and the false ones.  The mirage has got the appearance of water, but it is a delusive phenomenon which has nothing to do with water; whereas, the wave may be recognized as a true symbol of the ocean, because it rises out of it, is in touch with it, and also gets merged in it.  Like the ocean, it is made of the same substance, water.

~ Yatiswarananda, Swami. 

Meditation and Spiritual Life. Pg. 383. 

Ramakrsihna Math. Bangalore. 1995

The images in Hindu temples are not arbitrary; these are not golden calves, made up on a whim.  These are divine forms, revealed forms, possessing the necessary attributes that separate them from other forms, in the same way that a hundred-dollar bill possesses the particular elements that separate it from just another scrap of paper.             

While it is true that you do not have to be a saint to see God, there are gradations to darshan.  Inside the temple, the saint will not see the deity in same way as the scoundrel.  Just as we all have different physical eyesight, so we all have different spiritual vision.  But there is hope, and therein lies the incentive.  For though our corporeal vision generally deteriorates as we grow older, our spiritual vision should only improve.  It must improve, and become perfect: that is the goal of sadhana, spiritual practice.

If God is everywhere and ever-present then why is it that we are not continuously stunned in divine rapture?  We are not always conscious of the Divine presence.  The devotional schools of Hinduism stress the importance of invoking this presence through prayers, chanting and worship.

 Before we can truly see everything as divine, we must adopt an attitude of treating everything as divine.  But this is not pretense; this is process.  The mind and heart must be transformed.  One of the easiest ways to purify our heart and mind is to call to the Lord from the depth of our being.  God’s presence must be invoked and sustained by our heartfelt prayers and adoration.  This is called puja.  Puja can be as simple as offering your love and aspiration as a flower to the lord of your heart or as intricate as the ritualized worship in public temples. 

 It is perhaps best to begin a discussion of the elements of traditional worship with the One being worshiped.  There are 33 million gods and goddesses in the Hindu pantheon.  The label-loving western mind will immediately assume that "Hinduism" (itself a western label for the sanatana dharma or "eternal religion" of India) is "polytheistic"---or perhaps "henotheistic."  Dictionaries and encyclopedias will describe with anemic brevity the "Hindu god of [fill in blank]" or the "goddess of [fill in blank]".  Yet if asked, a devout follower of one of those gods or goddesses will say, "I am only worshiping God [that's a capital "G"]."  As the Rig-Veda declares:  "Truth is one; sages call it by many names."[1.164.46] 

The same mountain will appear differently when approached from different directions.  Theologically speaking, this is a revolutionary thought—even for so-called "sophisticated" modern minds.  It is this revelation which allows for the incredible richness, variety and complexity within India's religion.  As a result, we have the concept of the ishta devata, or "chosen deity."  The devotee chooses the face of Truth that is dearest to his or her heart and begins to cultivate a relationship of love, reverence and surrender.  We may look upon God as our Mother, Father, Child, Friend, or Lover. Because the Supreme Being is supremely gracious, we are allowed to approach and to worship that Being in so many beautiful ways.    

Each of these approaches carries with it its own unique form of puja.  Puja varies according to the deity worshiped, and, naturally, the region of practice.  Yet there are striking similarities as well, since certain elements of all forms of puja have their collective roots in Tantra.  Tantra is the esoteric science of transforming consciousness though dynamic spiritual practices.  These elements were absorbed into the Vedic system, eventually finding new expression.  Even in modern times the diverse traditions continue to influence and enrich one another. 

 

The heart’s need for the divine vision is by no means exclusive to India.  It is universal.  There are many temples in the US.  For example Kali Mandir is a traditional temple dedicated to bringing all the beauty and sanctifying power of traditional ritualistic worship to the West.  It is a temple of the Divine Mother of the Universe as the loving-fierce form of Goddess Kali.  Kali Mandir has grown into a beautiful blend of sincere Indian and Western devotees from different lineages, as well as aspirants with no formal affiliations—all attracted by the tangible living presence of the Divine Mother.          

Worship is performed daily to the awakened image of Ma Dakshineshwari (the Goddess from Dakshineshwar).  The puja performed at Kali Mandir follows the ritualistic tradition of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple, located in Bengal, just outside Calcutta.  This temple is renowned as the place where Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa lived, taught, and worshiped the Divine Mother with an awe-inspiring intensity.  Dakshineshwar has been a beacon for the universality of religion for over a century.

Once a month, large crowds of Ma's children gather for a special worship held on amavasya, the mystic night of the dark moon, an auspicious time for Kali worship.  Sincere devotees from far and wide come for this event.  They come from all over the state, some driving over four hours to see Her and sing Her names.  There are pious Indian families, who come together, sometimes four generations, bowing before Ma simultaneously.  Mendicant Hindu monks sit silently, their very presence infusing the atmosphere with sanctity.  Conservative Christian Fathers and young devotees from Los Angeles, pierced, dyed, and tattooed, whose pure-hearted sincerity will bring tears to your eyes, sit together waiting with anticipation.  Old, young, spiritual geniuses and the slightly crazy—they all find their way to Mother’s feet.  A glimpse of the devotees can change your life as quickly and thoroughly as a glimpse of the Mother.

 The puja is performed by a pujari, someone who has trained in the technical nuances of traditional ritual.  The pujari’s main function is to call forth Divinity, to make the Divine Presence felt.  To do this he or she must first awaken the Divinity within through a series of purifying acts, each one operating on increasingly subtler levels: 

 

With our actions, mind and speech, we have no other goal than You, Who by dwelling within, witnesses all beings, O Supreme Goddess.

This prayer, recited at the end of the puja, beautifully conveys the essence of devotional worship.  The act of puja is a conscious redirecting of our mind and the senses toward the ever-present Reality.  Our speech becomes purified through the recitation of the sacred mantras used in puja; our actions become purified through the use of mudras (hand gestures), pranayama (breath control), and the physical offering of gifts to the divine.  Our thoughts become purified through the various meditations and visualizations occurring throughout the worship.  Redirection, purification, and transformation: this is the process by which the Divine is awakened.               

Dusk has settled.  The altar is sparkling clean and exquisitely decorated.  Garlands of marigolds adorn the images, while trays piled with flowers await offering.  The lamps and incense are lit.  The pujari comes before the altar, bows, and sits down to meditate for a short time before starting.  The outgoing mind must now withdraw and patiently focus on the inner world.  As if being cued, everyone present settles down and begins to withdraw.  It is now so quite you could hear a feather drop.  Once in a while we encounter moments so peaceful, they seem like the soft pause between the breaths of Life Itself.  This is one of them.  Serene silence, the flickering of oil lamps, and the gently curling fragrant incense: God is waiting.  Slowly the pujari puts his hands together and begins to pray:

               May auspiciousness come form You, our Divine Guru.

               May auspiciousness come from You, our Divine Mother.

               May auspiciousness come from You, devotees of the Lord.

               May auspiciousness come from You, all the worlds.

This prayer helps to remind us that devotion is a gift.  Remembering this helps develop the humility necessary for spiritual advancement.  It is by the grace of our teachers, the devotees, and the Divine Mother Herself that we are blessed with the privilege and opportunity to worship Her.  The pujari, on behalf of the assembled devotees, therefore invokes their blessings before beginning the puja.        

All the mantras used in puja are spoken in Sanskrit.  Each mantra is a sacred formula—divine consciousness as sound vibrations  In linguistics there is the concept of the “speech act”.  For example, the speaking of a marriage vow is itself the act of becoming married.  When spoken with a focussed will, words have a tremendous power.   Considering that ordinary words possess the power to win or break hearts, topple governments, and transform civilizations, what can be said of the power of sanctified speech?

The pujari then begins the first stage of purification, acamana.  Three times, he pours a spoonful of water in his right palm, infuses it with the name of Lord Vishnu, and sips.  The scriptures stress the importance of sipping water charged with mantras for purification at the beginning of any religious act.  The worshiper feels that this consecrated water, like the Ganges, is flowing from the holy feet of the Lord.

Water is a central element in puja.  This water receives its purifying power through mantra.  In front of the pujari is the copper vessel and offering spoon that represents the womb of the Divine Mother. The pujari fills this vessel with water and begins to show a series of mudras.  His hands hover and glide, like birds, over this water, as if speaking fluently in some beautiful sign language.  The sacred rivers (the Ganga, Yamnuna, Godavari, Saraswati, Sindhu, and Kaveri), all of them personified Goddesses, are invoked into this water, which will now serve as an important purifying agent throughout the rest of the puja. 

Puja contains syntax unique unto itself, employing sacred conventions to express spiritual intentions.  The mudra is an example of one such convention.  Mudras are hand gestures that, like mantas, embody certain energies.  The hands naturally express emotions and ideas: we make fists when angry, throw up our hands when frightened or disgusted, wave, point, etc.  Similarly, certain hand gestures can express spiritual ideas.  Mudras also help concentrate the mind, by unifying body, mind and prana (vital force).

Shifting into a position almost resembling the Catholic genuflection, the pujari recites the sankalpa, the formal declaration of pure intent.  This keeps us mindful of our purpose in performing the ritual.  It is extremely dangerous to worship God with selfish motives.  Sri Ramakrishna would pray, “Oh Mother!  I do not crave bodily comforts.  I do not want name and fame.  I do not seek the eight occult powers.  I only want pure love for Thy Lotus Feet!”

The pujari now draws a Goddess yantra (mandala) with water on his seat, and offers it flowers, honoring and sanctifying Mother Earth, Who holds us all in Her lap.  Then the altar and articles of worship are subtly purified with water and mantras.

The system of puja is a tradition handed down from guru to disciple.  The pujari invokes his sampradaya, or line of gurus, therefore connecting himself with this unbroken chain of grace, and placing himself at a specific point within sacred time.

The pujari next places himself at a specific point within sacred space.  Through the sanctity of the worship itself, the place of worship becomes the holy yantra or realm of the Goddess.  This yantra has ten main entrance points: the eight cardinal directions, and above and below.  It is through these that energy can enter and leave the yantra.  The pujari moves his hand around his head, snapping his fingers while uttering the protective mantra “phat”, sealing these points, in order to contain the divine energies invoked during the worship.

Pouring water from the palm of his hand around himself, the pujari imagines being  protected by a ring of fire.  As our concentration deepens and our hearts begin to open up, we become sensitive to negative energies and astral entities.  This process creates a safe environment for performing the internal practice that follow. As these opening rituals continue, one of the many expert musicians begins to sing to the accompaniment of harmonium, drums and hand cymbals.  Some devotees continue to meditate throughout the puja but most repeat the line in chorus. Kirtan (call and response devotional chanting) is a great way to personally experience the transforming power and beauty of God’s many holy names.

Meanwhile the pujari begins performing  pranayama.  Prana refers to the vital force that animates our body and mind, and manifests outwardly as our breath.  Ayama means control.  Pranayama is the practice through which this "vital air" is consciously controlled or directed. While mentally chanting a bija (seed) mantra such as om, the breath is inhaled, held, and exhaled through alternating nostrils in a series of sequential durations.  This quiets the mind and purifies the 72,000 nadis (subtle nerves) in the body, allowing the free flow of prana and kundalini shakti (the Divine Mother as the power of consciousness, residing in the body).

Only a diamond can cut diamond.  The Tantric scriptures declare that, “Divinity alone can worship Divinity.”  The body and mind need to be divinized.  All the purification that has take place so far goes to support the following practice, one of the most crucial in puja, known as bhutashuddhi.  Consciousness, divine by nature, has no material form or shape, but rather takes on the qualities of its container.  Therefore the whole process of bhutashuddhi is to purify the container, the body and mind.  According to Tantra, this body and mind are composed of five gross elements (earth, water, fire, air, ether), and three subtle elements (mind, intelligence, ego).  In bhutashuddhi, all of these principles undergo total purification.

The pujari relaxes into the meditation pose and begins to recite a series of mantras.  In the process of this recitation, further pranayama, and accompanying visualizations, the physical body (which also represents the universe), is symbolically reabsorbed into its original source to allow the worshiper’s individual consciousness to become dissolved into the supreme reality.  This individuated consciousness is raised, along with the kundalini shakti, up from the base of the spine, piercing the chakras (the subtle energy centers within the body), and is finally united with the Supreme Consciousness in the thousand-petaled lotus at the top of the head.

With the body and mind now purified, the Divine Mother can be invoked within the heart through the appropriate mantras and mudras.  The pujari now creates a proper spiritual body for Her, in place of his own.  The Maha-Lakshmyashtakam states that, “The form of the Goddess consists only of mantra.”  According to Tantric philosophy, creation begins with vibration.  The supreme vibration is the universal sound om, which then divides into the fifty unique sounds of the Sanskrit alphabet.  These sound-letters join to create the world of name and form.  Each letter is recognized as a matrka, or mother-goddess.  Through the process of nyasa, each matrka is placed and worshiped within the pujari’s body.

The excitement continues to build as the pujari begins the traditional preliminary worship.  The guru is honored first, since the guru is the human channel of divine grace.  Next Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati, is worshiped as the remover of our material and spiritual obstacles.  Then the five Vedic deities (Shiva, Vishnu, Surya, Durga, and Agni) are honored, connecting us with ancient tradition.  As perfume, flower, incense, light, and sweets are offered, the music of the kirtan becomes intoxicating.  The drums and cymbals beat faster, and the singing falls into harmony with the pujari’s chanting.

Reciting a verse that describes the vision of Mother Kali seen by the sages, the pujari places a flower on his head and mentally worships the Goddess within his heart. He now prepares for the invocation of the all-pervading Mother into the image.  This is the moment of prana pritishtana, when God is humbly asked to come, sit, and face the assembled devotees.  These mantras and mudras are some of the most powerful ones used in the puja, and it is not difficult to perceive the manifestation taking place.  That transcendent Reality, in the form of the Goddess, now stands before us to receive our worship.

This is the magic moment.  She is here!  The devotees feel Her presence.  The Subtle One has become obvious.  The Absolute Existence, Knowledge and Bliss, invoked within the pujari’s heart and projected into the holy image can be seen and experienced. The devotees, all different and unique, offer their love, prayers, concerns, complaints and aspirations to their Mother.  Does She listen?  Is it only imagination?  The full hearts and shining faces of Her devotees give the answer. 

The pujari raises his hands before the Divine Mother, beckoning Her to sit.  He offers Her welcome, washes Her feet, and gives Her water and sweet milk to drink.  He bathes Her, clothes Her, gives Her bangles and other ornaments, perfume, hibiscus (Ma’s favorite flower), garlands, incense and light.  These external offerings are the symbolic tokens of our inner love, devotion and respect.  We want relationship.  We want to see God.  

Assistants clear space on the altar, making room for Mother’s meal.  Trays and trays of cooked foods, sweets, fruits, and refreshing spices are brought and laid before Her.  The mood suddenly changes and the devotees sing soulful songs while their dear Mother enjoys Her meal. When She is finished, the trays of food are taken back to the kitchen.  This food having been partaken by God is now prasad and is considered purified and blessed.  The devotees will feast on Her mercy after the puja. 

The pujari stands and blows the conch.  All rise for the concluding arati.  The air is now electric.  Every voice in the temple is glorifying the Divine Mother, chanting Jai Ma Jai Ma Jai Ma Jai Ma (Victory to the Mother!), while every pair of hands, every bell, drum, and cymbal, claps and clangs in unison.  The pujari offers a ghee lamp with five wicks, gently circling it around Her image.  Then he offers a spoon of burning camphor, water from a bathing conch, cloth, flower, and fan.  Symbolically, the elements of the material universe are being offered back into their Source.  But for the devotees present, this is simply the natural way to adore the Mother.  The conch is blown again three times, declaring spiritual victory, as all bow to Ma.  The worship is complete.

Puja is a way to fine-tune our minds to see God.  It is by no means the only way, for God is everywhere.  This universal vision is real puja. 

There Is No Rest In This Sleep

 

There is no rest in this sleep,

Yet a wanderer’s wish for freedom,

This longing for longing.

Not by fist defiant

Nor mind defined

Nor tongue held captive

Is Your Glory known.

 

This longing for longing.

Beneath this pale dry sun,

Beneath this crying moon,

I have sat far too long

Praying for the bolt to unlock
Your fire. 

 

Cast off the past!

Thread-bare,

Your cloak of modesty.

 You are here,  Ancient One.  You are here.

My voice cracks uttering Your Name,

Not boy, not man,

Only Your dream of imperfection.

Listen.  Listen.

This song, long ago forgotten,

Whose whispers bled through the seams.

Tore through scars…
 

 Pierce through my heart, as You must,

Break these bones, as You must,

Let me be crushed by the

Weight of all space,

And let that dust

Adorn Your naked feet.
 

What else can I give You?

Oh Mother Fire!

Upon this cackling pyre

Our earth melts

Blood bleeds

And our pride sheds its ash. 

 

Oh Mother Fire!

Burn through my core

Until the pure sap sizzles into smoke.

Ash and smoke.

Let them dance in Your hair.

What else can I offer? 

Let me walk across the shards

Of a million broken mirrors—

Just to see souls unhurt, untouched. 

Unrepentant.

And Your Glory unrivaled, unraveled.

Even unbending Time

Now bows low before You.
  

But these moments,

They will not dance

Along the edge of Your sword.
 

 Oh Mother of Flame!

Come out of Your hiding,

Shining, blazing,

Singing Your ancient song!

End this game. 

 

Oh Darkest One, 

You are here.  You are here.

I beg You, Awake!

Your laughter swallows my screams.

Your waking breaks my dream.

 

~ Baba Ambikananda
Summer Solstice 2012 

Vivekananda and the Worship of Kali in the West

 This article by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati was first published in the January 2013 issue of Prabuddha Bharata (Awakened India), a monthly journal of the Ramakrishna Order started by Swami Vivekananda in 1896


‘Sisters and brothers of America.’ These words changed the world. Swami Vivekananda’s now famous speech, given in 1893 at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago, was the modern world’s earliest formulations of what we know now as Hinduism. Swamiji became one of the most popular speakers at the parliament, and his success propelled him onto the American stage and then into international fame. This allowed him, along with his brother disciples and followers, to spread yoga and Vedanta in the West and to establish the dynamic work of Ramakrishna Math and Mission in the East.

Divine Foundation
 

But the story does not truly begin with Swamiji’s stirring words at the parliament. It does not even begin with the life of Vivekananda. The story begins with the heart of the Divine Mother responding to the crying need of the age. The story begins with Sri Ramakrishna.

Sprung from the direct experience of ancient sages, Indian culture had always been rooted in spiritual truth, which pervaded daily life. Invasion after invasion by foreign looters had cost India much, but its spiritual core remained strong, its eternal foundations resilient and adaptable to the ever-changing details of history. However, when the Europeans arrived in India, they quickly realized that in order to gain control of her wealth, they had to conquer her heart and soul as well. Many lands across the globe had fallen to European colonists, not only because of military strength but because of the introduction of European diseases such as small pox and plague, to which the local populations had no hereditary resistance. In such weakened conditions, conquest became comparatively easy. In the case of India, what was the disease that weakened society, making it possible for a handful of Europeans to control about two hundred million people? It was a materialistic world view that values wealth above people, and people above God. 

At the time of Sri Ramakrishna’s advent India’s ancient system of education and training was disappearing. The youth brought up in an occupied land began to identify with their occupiers and to doubt the religion and traditions that, to them, had led to such subjugation. They began imitating the West and saw India’s religious traditions as obstacles to their entering the modern world. But all attempts to revitalize India by destroying the traditions that had sustained her were bound to fail. Swami Saradananda asks:

‘How can India, whose soul is religion, survive if her religion is not restored to life? How is it possible for the atheistic West to eradicate the religious degradation that resulted from its own materialism?’1
 

We  read in the Bhagavadgita that the blessed Lord incarnates in every age, when there is a decline in dharma, for the protection of the righteous and the destruction of the wicked. Devotees of Sri Ramakrishna  recognize in him the latest incarnation, who came to restore the soul of India in her darkest hour, to restore her ancient dignity and spiritually uplift the world. Born in 1836, the very year that the British system of education was adopted in India, Sri Ramakrishna grew up in an orthodox brahmana family in the village of Kamarpukur. Although only some sixty miles from the urban centre of Calcutta, the seat of English colonial power, Kamarpukur was not influenced by Western culture and thought. In 1852 Sri Ramakrishna moved to Calcutta, joining his older brother Ramkumar. This move was not only across space, but also across time, for with this move Sri Ramakrishna encountered the nineteenth century.

Two years later he accepted to officiate as pujari, performer of puja, at Rani Rasmani’s newly-built Kali temple in Dakshineswar, which would become the stage of his unprecedented sadhanas and realizations. As Kali’s priest he began to ask himself if the goddess he was sincerely serving was real or not. If she was real, could one experience her directly? His intense longing for the vision of Mother Kali became so great, so overwhelming, that the Mother could not keep herself hidden from him any longer. The Master related his first vision of Kali to his close disciples: 

 
‘I had a marvelous vision of the Mother and fell down unconscious. … Within me there was a steady flow of undiluted bliss that I had never before experienced,  and I felt the immediate presence of the Divine Mother’ (212).

Even after this beatific vision Sri Ramakrishna was not satisfied and longed to have unbroken communion with her, sometimes rolling on the ground crying, ‘Mother, be gracious unto me! Reveal Yourself to me!’ (213). The Master later recounted:

‘Sometimes I would lose outer consciousness from that unbearable agony. Immediately after that I would see the Mother’s luminous form bestowing boons and fearlessness! I used to see Her smiling, talking, consoling, or teaching me in various ways’ (ibid.).

The Divine Mother also sent him teachers to initiate him into the complicated practices of tantra, the difficult abstractions of Vedanta, the varied devotional moods of Vaishnavism, and even the ‘foreign’ faiths of Islam and Christianity. Each he practiced with full sincerity. And the goal presented in each opened up to him as direct experience. In the heart of every tradition he saw his Mother Kali shining. Sri Ramakrishna’s famous declaration ‘yato mat, tato path; as many faiths, so many paths’ was not the result of intellectual comparison or of a modern open-mindedness. It came from his own realization, a gift of Goddess Kali to the world. The Master realized that his liberal view was singularly unique. He came to understand that the Divine Mother was working through his body and mind. She is the reality that Sri Ramakrishna incarnated. It was her message that Sri Ramakrishna revealed.

Vivekananda and Kali

Mother Kali was Sri Ramakrishna’s overwhelming reality. He sang to her, had visions of her, spoke intimately to her, and heard her voice. It was only by accepting Mother Kali that Swamiji could fully accept Sri Ramakrishna and become his pure instrument. The Master had already seen Narendra’s (Vivekananda's premonastic name) future in a vision. He understood that it was Narendra who would lead his disciples and devotees to accomplish the Mother’s mission in the world. But the young Narendra, like much of young Bengal, had been swayed by the persuasive teachings of Keshabchandra Sen and the Brahmo Samaj. The Samaj and the other socio-religious groups of the day, responded to the challenge of the West, not with atheism, but with a ‘Christianized’ form of Hinduism. In their attempt to purify Hinduism of what they saw as superstition, they preached that the various deities were false, and its members even signed loyalty oaths vowing not to bow down before images. Thus, Narenda’s close association with Sri Ramakrishna created a great dilemma for him, for he had witnessed the Master’s power, purity, and devotion, but could not accept the Hindu world that the Master lived in: a world of gods and goddesses, of ‘graven’ images, of visions and ecstasies. Swamiji later said of this time:

‘How I used to hate Kali! … and all Her ways! That was the ground of my six years’ fight—that I would not accept Her. … I loved him [Sri Ramakrishna], you see, and that was what held me. I saw his marvelous purity. … I felt his wonderful love. … His greatness had not dawned on me then. All that came after wards when I had given in. At that time I thought him a brain-sick baby, always seeing visions and the rest. I hated it. And then I too had to accept Her! ’ 2

 Like many major breakthroughs in life, Swamiji’s ‘accepting’ Kali came as the result of a personal crisis. With the death of Narendra’s father, his once affluent household was thrown into deep poverty. The young Narendra, although employable and qualified, could not secure any work to relieve his family’s suffering. He reached the point of despair. Perhaps all this was the arrangement of the Divine Mother, for in times of great need she manifests. The Swami recounts: 

It occurred to me that God grants the Master’s prayers, so I should ask him to pray on my behalf that my family’s financial crises would be overcome. I was sure that he wouldn’t refuse, for my sake. I rushed to Dakshineswar and importuned him, saying, ‘Sir, you must speak to the Divine Mother so that my family’s financial problems can be solved.’ The Master replied: ‘I can’t make such demands. Why don’t you go and ask the Mother yourself. You don’t accept the Mother—that is why you have all these troubles.’ I replied: ‘I don’t know the Mother. Please tell the Mother for me. You have to, or I won’t let you go.’ The Master said affectionately: ‘My boy, I’ve prayed many times to the Mother to remove your suffering. But She doesn’t listen to my prayers because you don’t care for Her. All right, today is Tuesday, a day especially sacred to Mother. Go to the temple tonight and pray. Mother will grant whatever you ask for, I promise you that. My Mother is the embodiment of Pure Consciousness, the Power of Brahman, and She has produced this universe by mere will. What can She not do, if She wishes?’ When the Master said that, I was fully convinced that all my suffering would cease as soon as I prayed to Her. I waited impatiently for night. At 9.00 p.m. the Master told me to go to the temple. On my way, I was possessed by a kind of drunkenness and began to stagger. I firmly believed that I would see the Mother and hear Her voice. I forgot everything else and became absorbed in that thought alone. When I entered the temple, I saw that the Mother was actually conscious and living, the fountainhead of infinite love and beauty. Overwhelmed with love and devotion, I bowed down to Her again and again, praying, ‘Mother—grant me discrimination, grant me detachment, grant me divine knowledge and devotion, grant that I may see You without obstruction, always!’ My heart was filled with peace. The universe disappeared from my mind and the Mother alone occupied it completely.3

Two more times Sri Ramakrishna sent him back to the temple, and all three times Swamiji forgot to ask for his family’s financial relief. The Master then granted that his family would not lack plain food and clothing. On Swamiji’s request, that very night the Master taught him a song, which Swamiji sang until dawn:

Mother, Thou art our sole Redeemer, 
Thou the support of the three gunas, 
Higher than the most high. 
Thou art compassionate, I know, 
Who takest away our bitter grief. 
Thou art in earth, in water Tou; 
Thou liest as the root of all. 
In me, in every creature, 
Thou hast Thy home; 
though clothed with form, 
Yet art Thou formless Reality. 
Sandhya art Thou, and Gayatri; 
Thou dost sustain this universe. 
Mother, the Help art Thou 
Of those who have no help but Thee, 
O Eternal Beloved of Shiva! (844).

The Master was so happy that he kept telling people over and over again: ‘Narendra has accepted the Mother Kali. That’s very good, isn’t it?’ (Ibid.).

During the years of his training, Narendra kept asking Sri Ramakrishna for an experience of nirvikalpa samadhi, the complete absorption of the self in the Divine. The moment came at Kashipur, during the Master’s final illness. Sri Ramakrishna was lying awake in his bed while Narendra was downstairs in another room absorbed in deep meditation. He felt as if a lamp was burning at the back of his head when his sense of individual existence drowned in the bliss of pure Being. When he regained normal consciousness, Sri Ramakrishna told him: ‘Now the Mother has shown you everything. But this revelation will remain under lock and key, and I will keep the key. When you have accomplished the Mother’s work you will fi nd the treasure again.’ 4 Even the realization of the non-dual Brahman comes as a gift from the Divine Mother.

‘Mother’s Work’

Vivekananda did not often mention Sri Ramakrishna in his public talks in the West. Even less did he reveal the centrality of Mother Kali in his life and thought. He focused, instead, on the message of the Master by presenting the broad underlying principles of religion, lecturing on the Upanishads, and preaching ‘what is good for universal humanity’.5 Though not openly preached, the swami could not keep his love for the Divine Mother hidden from his intimate disciples. ‘You see,’ he once said, ‘I cannot but believe that there is somewhere a great Power that thinks of Herself as feminine, and called Kali, and Mother.’ 6 Upon his return to India, he started the yearly observance of Durga Puja and Kali Puja at Belur Math, along with the daily worship of Sri Ramakrishna. Swamiji did, in fact, on occasions speak about the Mother:

Mother is the first manifestation of power and is considered a higher idea than father. With the name of Mother comes the idea of Shakti, Divine Energy and Omnipotence, just as the baby believes its mother to be all-powerful, able to do anything. The Divine Mother is the Kundalini (‘coiled up’ power) sleeping in us; without worshipping Her we can never know ourselves. All-merciful, all-powerful, omnipresent are attributes of the Divine Mother. She is the sum total of the energy in the universe. Every manifestation of power in the universe is ‘Mother’. She is life, She is intelligence, She is Love. She is in the universe yet separate from it. She is a person, and can be seen and known (as Sri Ramakrishna saw and knew Her). Established in the idea of Mother, we can do anything. She quickly answers prayers. She can show Herself to us in any form at any moment. Divine Mother can have form (Rupa) and name (Nama) or name without form; and as we worship Her in these various aspects we can rise to pure Being, having neither form nor name.7

Just as Sri Ramakrishna incarnated at a time when Indian culture was being threatened by materialism, so also Swamiji arrived in the United States at a cusp in Western culture, when simple religious beliefs were being undermined by the scientific method, the evolution theory of Charles Darwin, and the industrial revolution. The doctrines of the Church no longer satisfiedthe educated classes, who became Swamiji’s audience. To them he spoke his Master’s liberal and liberating message: that God not only exists but can be realized as a personal fact; that the religions of the world, including Christianity, are paths leading the sincere to this ultimate goal; that the truths of the Upanishads and methodologies of yoga were not antagonistic to rational enquiry or scientific scrutiny. 

As we celebrate Swamiji’s 150th birth anniversary, we look up to his legacy. In India he is a national hero, the prophet of the modern Hindu renaissance. We can see practically the transformative influence he has had on his motherland by inspiring generations of his monastic and lay followers to spread education, empower women, uplift the poor, serve the distressed, and distribute spiritual knowledge—all in the name of Sri Ramakrishna, the avatar of the age. 

But what is his enduring legacy outside of India? As the first Hindu sannyasin to preach in America, Swamiji prepared the stage for today’s interest in yoga, meditation, ayurveda, kirtan, and the many Hindu-based religious movements that are thriving. But we also see the more subtle effect of Swamiji’s work, the effect he has had on the intellectual and spiritual culture of the world. Sri Ramakrishna’s realization: ‘As many faiths, so many paths’ was first presented to the West by Swamiji during his opening address at the Parliament of Religions: ‘As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee’ (1.4). This once revolutionary idea is now widely accepted, even by many Christians. Although ‘Vivekananda’ is not a household name, his influence has acted as a leavening agent, fundamentally lifting the world view of millions.

Kali in the West

While in India this universal message has never been separated from the person of Sri Ramakrishna, in the West, we are only beginning to recognize the person behind the principles, the giver of the gift. As Swami Saradananda writes in his masterpiece Sri Sri Ramakrishna Lilaprasanga:

Will people come on their own to accept the Divine Mother’s liberal message ‘As many faiths, so many paths,’ or will they accept it through that person who became the instrument of the Mother and brought that message to the world? The answer to this question, as we understand it, must be determined by the questioner after seeing the result of the full realization of this doctrine either within themselves or in others. Until that realization dawns, silence is the best answer. But if the reader asks what we believe, we say that along with an authentic experience of this liberal attitude, one must have a vision of that person whom the Divine Mother, for the first time, sent to embody that doctrine for the good of the world. And one must pour out heartfelt love and respect for him who was free from ego and delusion. The Master will not demand this; no one else will prompt it; love for the Divine Mother will drive one to it spontaneously.8

Swamiji arrived in America in 1893. Within seven short years he established a network of societies to promote the teachings of Vedanta. Since then, these have spread to hundreds of centers, ashramas, monasteries, convents, study groups, and home shrines—all dedicated to Sri Ramakrishna. Swamiji once told Sister Nivedita:

‘The future, you say, will call Ramakrishna Paramahamsa an Incarnation of Kali? Yes, I think there’s no doubt that She worked up the body of Ramakrishnafor Her own ends.’9

When you love someone, you want to love what they love ,who they love. Sri Ramakrishna and Mother Kali cannot be separated. Though it has been 120 years since Swamiji first addressed his American sisters and brothers, Mother’s work in America is just beginning. She must have a special plan, for she not only sent Vivekananda, but also other companions of the avatara, such as Swamis Saradananda, Turiyananda, Abhedananda, Trigunatitananda, and Nirmalananda—all great saints and knowers of God.

As far as we know, the first traditional worship of Kali in America was performed in the 1940s by Swami Prabhavananda, a disciple of Swami Brahmananda, at Vedanta Society in Hollywood, California. Initially only very close devotees of the society were allowed to attend, for fear of upsetting the puritanical sentiments of their neighbors, or of provoking the cultural biases and prejudices of even some of their own members. But over the years the annual all-night Kali Puja has become more and more popular, a highlight in the devotional lives of both Indian and Western devotees.

Another example of Swamiji’s legacy is Kali Mandir in Laguna Beach, California. In 1993 Elizabeth Usha Harding, author of Kali, the Black Goddess of Dakshineswar, arranged for a beautiful Kali image to be brought from India, which was ritually awakened by Haradhan Chakraborti, the late main priest of the Dakshineswar Kali temple. He named her Sri Ma Dakshineswari Kali and explained that because the image was now ‘alive’, she needed to be worshipped every day. And Mother arranged for her worship, as devotees who had very little background in the intricacies of India’s temple puja standards now found themselves gradually adopting this vastly rich devotional tradition one detail at a time—out of a simple love and desire to please Mother. Haradhanji and his assistant Pranab Ghosal came annually for seventeen years, teaching the devotees Kali puja as practiced in Dakshineswar since the time of Sri Ramakrishna. There was never an intention to start a temple or establish a monastery. Over time this simple daily worship grew organically and slowly took on the form of a fully-functioning Hindu temple, where devotees, young and old, Western and Indian, householder and renunciant, can pour forth their hearts’ yearning to the Great Mystery at the centre of existence.

Sri Ramakrishna’s life and teachings point unequivocally towards spiritual freedom. It is not birth, not upbringing, not culture that decides your path. It is yearning. With yearning for the Divine, it does not matter what path you walk; and without yearning, you will not be able to walk any path. Sri Ramakrishna reveals the purest and safest approach to an oft en misunderstood goddess. There are many ways of worshipping Kali. While many may be authentic, not all are safe. Sri Ramakrishna  mastered the sixty-four branches of tantra—many difficult and controversial. But when the time came to train his own disciples, he made the path to God simple and beautiful. He said:

‘Pray to the Divine Mother with a longing heart. Her vision dries up all craving for the world and completely destroys all attachment to “woman and gold”. It happens instantly if you think of Her as your own mother. She is by no means a godmother. She is your own mother.’10

When Swamiji was in Kashmir, he performed severe austerities. After many nights of intense sadhana at Kshir Bhavani, he had the vision of Mother. Returning to the houseboat that he and his companions were renting, he raised his hands in benediction and placed the marigolds that he had offered to the goddess on the heads of all of the disciples saying, ‘No more “Hari Om!” It is all “Mother” now! … I am only a little child! ’ 11

Today, 150 years after his birth, we are still calculating the tremendous impact this ‘little child’ has had on the world. Sri Ramakrishna held the key to the Mother’s treasure, and SwamiVivekananda, in his brief, blazing life of service, accomplished her work, without a doubt. ButMother’s great miracle is that he then left the key for anyone of us to find, if we but surrender to her. ‘This attitude of regarding God as Mother,’ Sri Ramakrishna said, ‘is the last word in sadhana. “O God, Thou art my Mother and I am Thy child”— this is the last word in spirituality.’12

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References

1. Swami Saradananda, Sri Ramakrishna and His

   Divine Play, trans. Swami Chetanananda (St

   Louis: Vedanta Society of St Louis, 2003),80.

2. Sister Nivedita, The Master as I Saw Him (Kolkata:

   Udbodhan, 2005),149 – 40.

3. Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, 842– 3.

4. M, The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, trans. Swami

   Nikhilananda (Chennai: Ramakrishna Math,

   2002), 79.

5. The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda,

   9 vols (Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, I – 8, 1989;

   9,1997), 523.

6. The Master as I Saw Him, 140–I.

7. Complete Works,7.26–7.

8.  Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, 652.

9. The Mas ter as I Saw Him, 140.

10_. Gospel, 629.

11. His Eastern and Western Disciples, The Life of

   Swami Vivekananda, 2 vols (Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama, 2008), 2.381–2.

12. Gospel, 701.