Swamiji tells how his garland was offered at Mother Kali’s feet.
Swamiji: It was [the Divine] Mother's doing [construction of the Kali Temple at Dakshineswar] from the beginning.
That's why it's divine, because very few temples are built on desirelessness. Some temples, or many temples, are built because people get into trouble or desire children, or things like that, and they say, 'Well if everything's fulfilled, I'll do this. If I get a kingdom, I'll do this.'
Very few places in India . . . this is one of the few places [the Kali Temple], where God himself instructs to build a temple. So the temple there (a rather sorrowful thing) [situation] is left there by [in the hands of] the trustees. [One of our beloved Gurubhais, a close disciple, devotee and personal attendant to Swamiji, has researched the topic, and says available information indicates that following the death of Mathur Babu, the son-in-law of the Rani Rashmoni, members of the family were appointed as trustees. The trustees (not unusual or unexpected with competitive family-members, perhaps) have never managed to see eye-to-eye on the management of the complex. So the trusteeship rotates annually, with each of the two family factions getting its chance to manage the property and activities. The priests mercifully remain a constant.]
Swamiji continues: It [the temple and precinct] still doesn't lose the power – doesn't lose the 'Devi-ness' or divineness of my Mother [Kali/Bhavatarini]. It doesn't lose the history that this great sadhana [by Sri Ramakrishna] was performed, that the whole revolutionary thought against materialism started there. Blessed still, is the smaller kutir where Master got into Nirvikalpa samadhi. [Our Gurubhai clarifies that this was a tiny sadhana kutir/temple (just a few square metres in size) in what was known as the panchavati – where a good deal of Sri Ramakrishna's sadhana was performed. The little structure had been allowed to fall into disrepair, but following complaints, it has evidently been refurbished, and fenced off for protection purposes.]
This very same small kutir-temple, was the sacred space in which the first recorded episode of Sri Ramakrishna experiencing nirvikalpa samadhi [non-dual superconsciousness] took place, under the guidance of Tota Puri, a naga [naked sadhu.] He was a jnani and Advaitin, whom Sri Ramakrishna referred to as 'Nangta', and he played the role of 'non-dual tutor' to Sri Ramakrishna. It's after him, that the swamis of the Ramakrishna Order take their monastic name suffix of 'Puri', indicating their Guruparampara [spiritual lineage].
Question from a devotee referring to the mini kutir/temple: It was Master's [Sri Ramakrishna's] initially, but..?
Swamiji: Every time they tried, the trustees said 'press on' [maintain the status quo] because in India as you know, some of the evil deeds go to hide behind a holy place. If they give away those things, they're washed out. But then family comes in. . the trustees.
A devotee asks: The descendants of the . . who? [Clearly the Rani Rashmoni – visionary and sponsor of the Dakshineswar temple. Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi herself said that the Rani Rashmoni – of the fisherperson caste, so a non-Brahmin – was actually one of the attendants of the goddess Kali herself, who came to earth to play her role in constructing the temple].
Swamiji: They [the descendants] also had the same pride. Why? . . . Why should they give away such a great thing? But from a looking-after [maintenance] point of view, it would have been good if they gave it to . . .[The Ramakrishna Math and Mission?]
Swamiji now relating an historic moment for the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa, which was founded in 1942, by Swamiji's Guru, Swami Nischalananda Puri. Gurudev – as we Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa devotees have always referred to him – had left the body in 1965.
Says Swamiji: The first time I went there [to India], in 1968/69, I was not certain of many things. I was standing in a line, a long line [at the Dakshineswar Kali temple] and I had a lotus [flower] and a garland in my hand. I was looking and feeling so depressed. In the presence of [the Divine] Mother, I was feeling depressed. Because I went with a false conception that everything will be alright, and everybody will talk to me and be happy. But there I found it was not so.
I was standing in the line and I'm saying, 'Ma, if I am truthful and I'm truly your son, then I want this pujari [temple priest] to take this garland and not put it on your neck; he must put it at your feet.' But before I could reach [the front of the line] – I was about fifty or sixty people away from it – Mother showed a sign. The pujari looked at me and signalled, 'Come here.' I broke the line and went to him.
He took the garland . . and he just took it to put on the [murti of Mother's] neck, and inside me I shook and thought, 'Oh no! You're not pure. You're not truthful'. But suddenly he took the garland and put it by the [Mother's] leg. He picked up the lotus from the garland and gave it to me. I have kept the lotus. The same lotus is still kept, dry, on top. [In Swamiji's upstairs shrine at Avoca ashram?]
Swamiji: Be happy because She's still living – no matter how the shrine [at Dakshineswar] is kept, she's still living. Signs like this can happen. You all can get it. Go with the desire to have certain things fulfilled and ask Her for it. She will fulfil it. But the greatest desire, is to have desire to know Her. You've always heard you must have no desires. The greatest thing is to ask Her to have desire to know Her.
To listen to Swamiji's telling of this exquisite event, please click on the link below. Jai Sri Ramakrishna!
Duration 03:52
NEW! For a fresh daily reading recorded and transcribed by Team Radha Ma and Brother Tim, Click HERE.
The original audio recordings of these posts were made by close Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa and Swami Shivapadananda devotee, Mother Radha. The audio editing and noise reduction of the original 1970s-onwards tapes, has been lovingly engineered, over many years, by her son and our dear gurubhai, Brother Tim. May Sri Ramakrishna and Swamiji bless them both.
Admin tip: Underlined words are links. If you click on them, they'll take you to an explanation of the particular word or term. [In these overviews, Admin comments are typically in a smaller green font, and square bracketed, like this statement.]
Dear reader, if you spot typos or or other errors, please feel free to email the site admin on info@imbizo.com with your suggested correction/s.
Context: As always, care should be taken to remember that what Swamiji was saying, may have been very specific to the needs of people with him at the time. Please bear this in mind.
Links to our Guruparampara (spiritual lineage) organisations, which will broaden your knowledge base: Ramakrishna Math and Mission and our alma maters, the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa and the Sri Sarada Devi Ashram in Durban. The Ramakrishna Centre of Johannesburg is also active in Gauteng province in South Africa.
There are various publications [The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna etc.] which you can download at no charge, from the Ramakrishna Centre of SA website page, HERE.