Kali Puja — The Night Ramakrishna Appeared as the Divine Mother

On the dark night of the new moon, the devotees gathered in Sri Ramakrishna’s room to worship Kāli. Flowers, sandal paste, vilwa leaves, red hibiscus, rice pudding, sweets and other offerings had been placed before him. Ramakrishna asked for incense and offered the articles to the Divine Mother. Then he asked the devotees to meditate, and they closed their eyes.

Girish was the first to offer a garland of flowers at Ramakrishna’s feet. M. followed with flowers and sandal paste, and the other devotees came forward in turn. Niranjan placed a flower at the Master’s feet, calling out to the Mother before bowing down and touching Ramakrishna’s feet with his head. The devotees cried out in praise of the Divine Mother.

At that moment, Ramakrishna entered deep samādhi. His face shone with an extraordinary light, and his body became motionless. He raised both hands in a gesture associated with granting boons and giving assurance, like the gesture seen in images of the Divine Mother. He appeared to have no awareness of the external world.

The devotees watched him in silence and wonder. To them, he seemed to embody the Divine Mother Herself.

They began singing hymns. Girish sang of the Mother’s dark hair, Her radiant feet resting upon Shiva, and Her contrasting expressions: at one moment gentle and smiling, at another filling the heavens with terrible laughter. In another song, he praised Her as the power present in the three gunas, the One who creates, sustains and destroys the world, yet transcends the qualities through which She manifests.

Behari sang to Shyama, asking Her to reveal Herself within his heart when his final breath departed. He imagined gathering red hibiscus flowers from the forest and laying them at Her feet, offering them with the sandal paste of love.

M. and the other devotees continued with songs about the Mother’s will and grace. One hymn praised Her as the source of peace and joy, while another expressed the longing of a devotee whose mind knew nothing but Her feet. The songs also spoke of death: the devotee turned to the Mother and asked what he should say when confronted by the King of Death.

The singing continued, moving between descriptions of the Mother’s power, Her mysterious nature and the devotee’s longing for Her. Gradually, Ramakrishna returned to ordinary consciousness. He then asked the devotees to sing another song to Mother Shyama, describing Her divine ecstasy and play in the world. When that song ended, he asked them to sing of the Mother playing with Shiva.

Source & Note

This article is based on Sri Ramakrishna’s The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The material has been edited and adapted for this publication.