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Swami Vivekananda, who was a veritable embodiment of Lord Shiva, liked the 4^th-of-July festival.  In fact, he took his own liberation on this day from his earthly duties in 1902.

A large crowd of devotees attended this year’s 4^th of July anniversary function.  While Swami Bhajanananda bathed Shiva with many substances, holy waters and fragrances, Kali Mandir’s kirtan group made sure that Shiva heard ecstatic chants.  When the little kids started dancing, we all knew, God was pleased.  Jai Shiva Shankara hara hara bombom.

We took a lot of photos.  Check out the 4^th of July photo album.

All through life, we run breathlessly after our dreams never quite catching them, and if we actually do get what we want, we are not satisfied and start runnng after yet another dream.  This madness does not stop until we do. Sri Ramakrishna used to say, “People run after all sorts of things.  They are mad for money, husband, children, but they call me mad because I am mad for God.”

When we fall in love with God, life becomes sweet.  We may get what we desire from the world or we may not get it.  It does not matter when the heart is deeply happy within.  Go to the office, clean the house, stress over a test at school, work at an unpleasant job  — these activities comprise only the hard shell over the lava of love that flows underneath.
Sri Ramakrishna said that in this dark age of kali yuga the forms of God most awake are Ma Kali and Gopala Krishna.  If you earnestly pray to Ma Kali, to baby Krishna, you will get quick results.

One of the devotees here at Kali Mandir has a very special relationship with Ma Dakshineswari Kali.  Some time ago, he came every day in the afternoon and swept Ma’s courtyard.  When he stopped, we asked him about it.  “I promised Ma that I’ll sweep Her courtyard every day for a week if She gives me a job.”  Yes, he got the job he wanted.  Some time after, we saw him sweeping again.  “Did you lose your job?” we asked.  “No, but my friend needs a job.”  When we did not see him sweep again, we guessed that the friend also got a job.  This devotee has such a childlike dependence on Ma.  She cannot help but respond quickly to his needs.

Ma is here for all of us.  If we just call on Her with a longing heart, She showers Her love and blessings.  If we just exhibit a little bit of shraddha, She puts us on Her lap and takes care of every little detail in our life. What is preventing us from sitting on Her lap and living the dream?  The only thing that stands in our way to the highest bliss is our ego.  Let it go.

Debuda at Dakshineswar from cover of DVD produced by Ramakrishna Mission

The bad news is that we have run out of time.  Due to Homeland Security restrictions, we could not get a date for Debuda’s visa application interview until late in May.  This does not give us enough time to arrange for airline tickets, advertise and work on all the details that make our Kali Puja Festivals a success.  We usually work diligently for at least three months ahead of the festival to bring all the elements together that people have come to love and appreciate over the years.

With a heavy heart, we had to make the decision to call this year’s Annual Kali Puja festival off and pour our energies into producing a wonderful Kali Puja festival in 2011.

Haradhanji was always there for everybody who came to him.  He refused none.  For seventeen years, he travelled from Kolkata to Laguna Beach to perform the annual Kali Puja for us.  He gave us love, affection and awakened our Sri Ma Dakshineswari Kali for us.

Sri Haradhan Chakraborty in front of Ma Dakshineswari Kali, Laguna Beach

Moreover, he demonstrated how a mere mortal can have a truly  intimate relationship with the Divine Goddess Kali.  None of us who witnessed his pujas will ever forget the experience.  Haradhanji is with Ma & lives on in our hearts.

Sri Haradhan Chakraborty in front of Ma Bhavatarini Kali, Dakshineswar

It’s exciting to look at these photos and turn back time.  The workers in the picture don’t yet know the impact the temple they are building will have on the world, but we know.  Ma Bhavatarini Kali, the Great Goddess of the Universe, is about to awaken.  Sri Ramakrishna, the modern avatar of unknowable depth, is about to arrive and demonstrate how to love God.

The photo showing the temple in its unfinished state, helps us better understand the difficulties involved with building such a large, beautiful compound.  By Ma’s grace, the impossible is possible.  Perhaps some day Kali Mandir will also be successful in building a large, beautiful temple for  Sri Ma Dakshineswari Kali, hopefully at the location of Anneliese’s School where we hold our annual Kali Puja festivals.

Dakshineswar is a holy place where God likes Her temples to be built.  This village sprung up around a Shiva temple built by the legendary King Banraja (king of the forest) who lived about a thousand years ago.  Prompted in a dream, the king miraculously found a Shiva lingam which he then had installed by the name of “Dakshineswar.”  To this day, Baba Dakshineswar is worshipped in a small temple on the banks of the Ganga north of the Kali temple.  Sri Ramakrishna visited this temple during his stay in Dakshineswar.

King Banraja was not the only one who got prompted by God to build a temple in Dakshineswar.  Rani Rasmani, a wealthy lady who lived at the Janbazar palace in Kolkata, also had a dream just as she was about to go on a pilgrimage to Benares.  Ma Kali appeared in her dream and asked her to build a temple for Her.

Baba Dakshineswar Shiva lingam in the village of Dakshineswar

After a long search, she bought a 20-acre plot of land along the Ganges in the village of Dakshineswar.  The Rani hired the contractor Mackintosh & Co, and temple construction began in 1847.  It took eight years at great expense to complete.  Rani Rasmani spent 50,000 rupees for land, 160,000 rupees for building an embankment along the river, 900,000 rupees for the Kali temple complex and 226,000 rupees for property used as an endowment for the maintenance of the temple.

Old photo of the Kali temple seen from the tank on the eastern side of the temple.

As the temple construction progressed, the Rani contracted a sculptor to make the Kali image.  The image was finished but the Rani was still dealing with construction and not ready for the installation.  One night, she had a dream.  Ma Kali appeared and said, “How long will you keep me confined in a box?  I feel suffocated.  Install me as soon as possible.”  When the crate which stored the image was opened, workers found the statue of Kali moist with perspiration.  Ma Bhavatarini Kali was quickly installed with great pomp on Snan Yatra, May 31, 1855.  Sri Ramakrishna’s elder brother Ramkumar officiated as the priest.

In the early 1900s, Ma appeared in a dream to Annada Thakur, an Ayurvedic doctor, saying, “I am Adyashakti and want to be worshipped as Adya Ma.”  In another dream, Sri Ramakrishna told him to build a temple to Ma.  Annada Thakur bought a plot of land in Dakshineswar and began construction of the Adyapith temple in 1928.

Dakshineswar today draws millions of pilgrims from all over the world who come to see Ma and get Her blessings.

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