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Kali Puja

Bhagaban Sri Ramakrishna Dev said, “I wept before the Mother and prayed. “O Mother, please tell me, please reveal to me what the yogis have realized through yoga and the jnanis through discrimination.” And the Mother has revealed everything to me. She reveals everything if the devotee cries to her with a yearning heart. She has shown me everything that is in the Vedas, the Vedanta, the Puranas, and the Tantra.” (Excerpts from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, tr. by Swami Nikhilananda, Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, New York, 1973,p. 579.)
“The Divine Mother revealed to me in the Kali temple that it was She who had become everything. She showed me that everything was full of Consciousness. The image was Consciousness, the water was Consciousness, the altar was Consciousness, the water vessels were Consciousness, the doorsill was Consciousness, the marble floor was Consciousness-all was Consciousness.
 
I found everything inside the room soaked, as if were, in Bliss – the Bliss of Satchidananda. I saw a wicked man in front of the Kali temple, but in him also I saw the Power of the Divine Mother vibrating.
That was why I fed a cat with the food that was to be offered to the Divine Mother. I clearly perceived that the Divine Mother Herself had become everything – even the cat. The manager of the temple garden wrote to Mathur Babu saying that I was feeding the cat with the offering intended for the Divine Mother. But Mathur Babu had insight into the state of my mind. He wrote back to the manager: “Let him do whatever he likes. You must not say anything to him. (Excerpts from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, tr. by Swami Nikhilananda, Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, New York, 1973,p. 345)
“To my Divine Mother I prayed only for pure love. I offered flowers at Her Lotus Feet and prayed to Her: “Mother, here is Thy virtue, here it Thy vice. Take them both and grant me only pure love for Thee. Here is Thy knowledge, here is Thy ignorance, take them both and grant me only pure love for Thee. Here is Thy purity, here is Thy impurity. Take them both, Mother, and grant me only pure love for Thee. Here is Thy dharma, here is Thy adharma. Take them both, Mother, and grant me only pure love for Thee.” (Excerpts from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, tr. by Swami Nikhilananda, Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, New York, 1973, pp.138-139)
Maa Kali is the fearful and ferocious form of the mother goddess Durga. She assumed the form of a powerful goddess and became popular with the composition of the Devi Mahatmya, a text of the 5th – 6th century AD. Here she is depicted as having born from the brow of Goddess Durga during one of her battles with the evil forces.
As the legend goes, in the battle, Kali was so much involved in the killing spree that she got carried away and began destroying everything in sight. To stop her, Lord Shiva threw himself under her feet. Shocked at this sight, Kali stuck out her tongue in astonishment, and put an end to her homicidal rampage. Hence the common image of Kali shows her in her mêlée mood, standing with one foot on Shiva’s chest, with her enormous tongue stuck out.
Kali Puja is done to diminish the ego and all negative tendencies that hinder spiritual progress and material prosperity. Performed on the night of Kartik Amavasya, which falls in October/November, Kali Puja is an intense invocation to the fearsome goddess. The main purpose of the puja is to seek the help of the goddess in destroying evil – both in the outside world and within us.
The legend goes that long ago the demons, Shumbha and Nishumbha, disturbed the peace of Indra, the king of gods, and his empire (heaven). After extensive and endless battles, the gods lost all hope and the demons became stronger.
The gods took refuge in the Himalayas, the holy mountains, the home of Lord Shiva and Parvati. The shaken gods sought protection from Mahamaya Durga, the goddess of Shakti. Kali was born from Durga’s forehead as Kal Bhoi Nashini, created to save heaven and earth from the growing cruelty of the demons. Along with Dakini and Jogini, her two escorts, she set on her way to end the war and kill the devils.
There was chaos all around. After slaughtering the demons, Kali made a garland of their heads and wore it around her neck. In the bloodbath, she lost control and started killing anyone who came her way. The gods started running for their lives. The only source of protection seemed Lord Shiva, Durga’s consort.
Seeing the endless slaughter, Shiva devised a plan to save the world. He lay down in the path of the rampaging Kali. When the goddess unknowingly stepped on him, she regained her senses. The well-known picture of Ma Kali, with her tongue hanging out, actually depicts the moment when she steps on the Lord and repents.
That momentous day is celebrated ever since. Kali, also called Shyama Kali, is the first of the 10 avatars (incarnations) of Durga. Kali Puja is performed essentially to seek protection against drought and war, for general happiness, health, wealth, and peace. It is a tantrik puja and performed only at midnight on Amavasya (new moon night) in November.
Sri Sri  Kali Puja is celebrated to seek the blessings of the goddess in destroying evil and get her blessings for general happiness, health, wealth and peace. The Puja  rituals of Sri Sri  Kali Puja usually take place at night. Devotees perform the Puja using red hibiscus flowers as it is said to be her favourite.
Sri Sri  Kali Puja, also known as Shyama Puja or Mahanisha Puja, is a festival  celebrated in Ramakrishna Math, Barasat with due éclat. Here in the outer sanctorium of  the temple  is situated the  ‘panchamundi asan’ of Sri Ramkanai Ghoshal, the father of Mahapurush Maharaj, Swami Shivananda, who was also a devout sadhak.
 Preparation for arrangements starts from much advance. Untiring endeavour of the monks and volunteers and devotees give ashrama premises a festive look during kali Puja. Worship of the Divine  Mother kali accompanied with devotional songs (Kali Kirtana) continues throughout the whole night. The joy of the devotees knows no bound.

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