Kali and Sri Ramakrishna – The Living Presence of the Mother

 For Sri Ramakrishna, Kali was not simply the deity worshipped in the temple at Dakshineswar. His relationship with the Divine Mother became the central reality of his spiritual life. Harding describes his worship of Kali as something that gradually moved beyond ordinary ritual, as his longing for the Mother became more and more intense.

When Sri Ramakrishna first served as a priest of the Kali temple, he worshipped the image of the Mother with extraordinary devotion. His longing to see Her became so strong that ordinary temple duties were no longer enough for him. He prayed to Kali, sang to Her and wept before Her, asking that She reveal Herself to him. His desire was not for an idea about God, but for direct experience of the Mother.

Harding describes Sri Ramakrishna's worship as unusual even to those around him. At times he would place flowers on his own head before offering them to Kali. At other times he would give food intended for the Mother to a cat, or even eat it himself. He would climb onto the image of Shiva beneath Kali and embrace Him. Some people considered such actions improper, but Mathur Babu, who had come to understand Sri Ramakrishna, protected him and instructed the temple officials not to interfere with his worship. 

Sri Ramakrishna's relationship with the Mother was also expressed through his songs. During Kali Puja at Dakshineswar, he would sing about Kali with such intensity that he entered states of ecstasy. On the night of Kali Puja described by M., the temple grounds were illuminated, music filled the nahabat, and devotees gathered throughout the garden. Sri Ramakrishna listened to songs about the Divine Mother and became absorbed in Her. 

Later that night, when Ramlal entered his room, Sri Ramakrishna asked him to sing something about the Divine Mother because it was the day of Her worship. The songs brought him into an ecstatic state, and he sang one after another. For him, the festival was not merely a ceremony taking place in the temple. Kali was the Mother to whom his whole being was directed. 

His devotion was also closely connected with the image of Kali at Dakshineswar. During the Kali Puja celebration, the image was richly decorated and surrounded by offerings, flowers and light. Devotees came into the shrine to worship Her, while others sat beside the Ganges performing japa. Sri Ramakrishna himself would sometimes fan the image with a chamara, treating the Mother as one who was present before him. 

Harding also records that Sri Ramakrishna's relationship with Kali was not limited to moments of ritual worship. Mathur Babu, who served and protected him for fourteen years, came to regard Sri Ramakrishna in relation to both Kali and Shiva. At one point Mathur saw Sri Ramakrishna as Kali when looking at him from one direction and as Shiva when looking from another. 

The connection between Sri Ramakrishna and Kali also appears in the way he spoke about the Mother. Harding presents Kali as the Universal Power and as both the gentle and terrible Mother. Sri Ramakrishna spoke of Her as the power through which creation and destruction take place.

At Dakshineswar, the image of Kali is known as Bhavatarini, the Mother who is the Saviour of the World. Harding notes that nobody knows who gave the image this name or when it was given. In the trust deed signed by Rani Rasmani in 1861, however, Kali is named Sri Sri Jagadiswari Mahakali. 

For Sri Ramakrishna, the Mother remained the object of an intense and personal devotion. His worship, his songs, his tears and his states of ecstasy were all connected with Kali. The temple at Dakshineswar provided the place in which this relationship unfolded, while the image of the Mother remained at the centre of his worship.

Harding's account of Sri Ramakrishna therefore returns again and again to the same relationship: the priest and the Mother, the devotee and Kali. At Dakshineswar, Kali was not only worshipped according to established ritual. She was the Divine Mother whom Sri Ramakrishna sought with complete devotion.

Source & Note

This article is based on Elizabeth U. Harding’s Kali: The Black Goddess of Dakshineswar (Nicolas-Hays, 1993). The material has been edited and adapted for this publication.