For Indian’s temple and god plays a vital role in their lives. People blindly have faith on god and they prey for their betterment of life. You will get thousands of temples in India, out of which many are renowned for one or the other reason. Straight in the West Bengal, Kolkata, there is a famous temple where people throng from every corner of India and also from the world. This famous attraction is the Kali Temple of Dakshineswar.
Dakshineswar kali temple is the Hindu temple of goddess Kali, which was built by the wealthy widow Rani Rashmonibetween the years 1847 and 1855. She built this temple because of the dream she had about goddess kali. The temple took care by the head priest whose responsibilities were handed over to his younger brother named Ramakrishna after his dead. The day when Ramakrishna started his service in the shrine, he was filled with an unusual form of love of God, which in Hinduism is known as Maha-Bhava.
Ramakrishna fall in love for the deity so much that he completely forgotten the outside world. Each and every moment he sat in front of the deity, fall on to the ground, engrossed in the spiritual trances, lost all other consciousness, and simply go on crying and recalling the goddess’ name as ‘Ma’ that is Mother. He was frequently getting into God-intoxication and so was relieved from the duties of temple priest. Still, he was allowed to live in the temple compound. There is a huge history of the relationship of Goddess Kali and Ramakrishna. The Kali Temple of Dakshineswar was very much famous for the spiritual vision of Ramakrishna.
The 12-spired temple has a large courtyard, which is enclosed by 12 other temples, devoted entirely to Lord Shiva. There is a belief that Ramakrishna had a vision of other forms of gods and goddess like Shiva, Radha-Krishna, Kali, Sita-Rama, Mohammed, and Christ in his dream. His practice was just to convey the strong devotion to each deity, so they could manifest physically in front of him. It is something strange when people listen to the history of the temple and the life of Ramakrishna, but they salute to that innocent priest who lived and sacrificed his entire life in search of his mother goddess Kali. People blindly believe that goddess Kali live in this temple and fulfill everyone’s wishes.
Tourists from India as well as from the outside country visit to this temple with a deep, hearty wishes and beliefs. Exploring the Kali temple of Dakshineswar is a great experience that is unique in its form. This Bengal architectural structure has something that makes everyone curious to know more about the past happenings of the temple and the life. The temple was built in the traditional Nava-Ratna style that is the nine spires style of the Bengal architecture. It is a three storeyed temple facing towards the southern direction. Standing high on a platform with stairs, the temple covers an area of 46 feet with an elevation of more than 100 feet.
The temple has Garbhagriha, which is known as sanctum Santorum and houses the goddess Kali’s idol. This god is recognized as Bhavatharini. Goddess Kali stands on the chest of Lord Shiva who lies down. The idol is placed on a silver adorned thousand PetaledLotus. The temple apart from 12 shrines of Shiva includes Kali’s companion, along the riverfront, one temple of Radha-Krishna, one bathing Ghat on the river, one bookshop, and a shrine to Rani Rashmoni. There is a chamber right in the northwest side corner situated just ahead of the last Shiva temple out of other 11 shrines. It is the place where Ramakrishna had spent a substantial part of his life. Visitors die to see the location where Ramakrishna lived and the surrounding areas of the temple.
He died in the year 1886, which is at the age of 50, but his life, spiritual practices, and the temple of Kali continued to draw pilgrims from every corner of India and the world. The ecstatic trances occurred was the major draw that people love to explore and listen. Well, many people believe that Kali, Ramakrishna and his wife Sarada Devi still living at the religious destination that is the Kali temple of Dakshineswar.
