Informative

Most powerful tantric temples of India Series | Part 7-Kalighat Temple

Lord Shiva’s wife Sati threw herself in the fire for the insult she received from her father. Unable to withstand the agony of his lost love, Shiva carried her corpse and started performing his cosmic dance – Tandava, roaming around the earth in extreme rage. While Lord Shiva was carrying the corpse of his wife Sati, her toes of the right foot fell to one place, on the marshlands, where the Holy river the Ganges meets the sea. That place was known as Kalighat. Ages passed. Kalighat became Kalighata, to Calicatta to the vibrant city we know today, as Kolkata. Even today, the power of Sati, also known as Shakti, watches over the city, as a mother watches over her child.

Kalighat temple is considered as one of the most powerful Shakti Peeth among the 51. Located in one of the oldest neighborhoods of the city of Joy – Kolkata, Kalighat has a special place in the hearts of Tantra worshippers.  

A square-shaped building with a truncated dome, is a classic example of Bengali temple architecture, with a pink walled temple of Kali looks similar to the mud and thatch-roofed huts of the nearby villages. Even though the current building was constructed about 200 years ago, many ancient texts mention this place as the abode of Mother Goddess Kali. 

The roof is topped with three spikes, and a temple flag on the middle one. South facing door of the sanctum sanctorum allows you to get closer to Mother Goddess.

The idol of Mother Goddess Kali is very unique. Protruding tongue, teeth, and four hands, everything is made of pure gold. Lower hands carrying scimitar and the severed head of the demon Shumbha. Two other hands are in Abhaya and Varada Mudra (hand gestures). The message is very clear here. Scimitar in the hands of Mother Goddess represents the double-edged sword of the ultimate knowledge, and the severed head of the demon represents the ego of a devotee.

Unless and until you cut loose the ego within your head, you cannot reach the divine knowledge, saying Mother Goddess to us. Abhay and Varada Mudra represent that the Mother Goddess is bestowing her protection and blessings over the devotees, who have come here to attain salvation.    

A spacious rectangular pavilion, also called Natmandir is connected to the main shrine. People, especially belonging to Tantra and Shakti sects can be seen here, meditating, and often holding prayer beads, chanting mantras in a rhythm, echoing within four walls of the temple. Often, Yadnyas or fire rituals can be seen here. Even amongst the chaos of the streets surrounding the temple, once a devotee sits here for meditation, gets that tranquil feeling of being extremely closer to that cosmic power, neglecting the complete chaos going around him, as well as within his subconscious, and there lies the true power of this Shaktipeeth.

There are few other shrines of Radha Krishna, Lord Shiva, and Bhairava that can be found on the premises. A small, but well-constructed pond, named Adi Ganga lies on the left side of the Sanctorum. Newlywed devotees believe that the water is as pure as the water from the Ganges, and bathing in this water will grant them a child.  

Animal Sacrifice

In the narrow space in between Natmandir and Sanctum, there lies a corridor called Harikhat-Tola, or a sacrificial post area. Within an enclosed area, there is a rectangular stone and entrapment, and a small mound of sand before it, to soften the blow of a sacrificial sword. Every day, one goat is sacrificed here, and the meat is distributed as a blessed offering.

In many ways, Kalighat acts as a bridge between two worlds. Located on the backdrop of the ever-changing skyline of vibrant Kolkata city, once you enter the premises, you reach a completely different world. As the stream of sacrificial blood meets the sin purifying pond of Adi Ganga, it causes turmoil in our subconscious. But, as soon as you pay a visit to the Mother Goddess Kali, sitting in a central shrine, you soon realize that death and rebirth are two sides of the same coin. Legends like Guru Ramprasad Sen, Guru Ramakrishna Paramahansa, and Swami Vivekananda were known to meditate in the exact place, right here. This place has undoubted potential to carry a true seeker to salvation.

Mother Goddess Kali is undoubtedly a complex celestial power source, representing creation and destruction, birth and death, sacred and unsanctified at the same time. Swamiji says the best way to approach Mother Goddess is as her child. Her Mudras or the hand gestures offer protection and unconditional blessings to everyone, whoever to take abode to her holy feet. When you will reach to the holy feet of Mother Goddess, she will provide you abundantly, says Swamiji.

Even though the temple is closed due to the ongoing pandemic situation, you can experience her power, while sitting at home, with the help or visualization during meditation. So, next time, when you will sit for the meditation, think about the warm embrace of the Mother Goddess Kali. Pray her to destroy all the negativity within you. Pray to her that she will clear obstacles in your path towards progress, and pray to her so that she will empower you with spiritual immunity.

His Holiness Shree Chamunda Swamiji has aided us with a very powerful mantra to pray to Mother Goddess Kali. 

-Sitting in a comfortable meditation pose, with your eyes closed, chant ‘Kleem Kalikaye Namah’, to invoke the celestial powers of Mother Goddess Kali within you. 

-With the help of the rosary, chant this mantra at least 108 times every day, and you shall experience the grace of her, in the form of positivity and changed perspective to see the events occurring in your life. 

If you are facing some unresolved sorrows in life, she will show you the path to walk on, which will set you free from these sorrows, by installing courage within you, and by expelling the darkness from your subconscious.    

Kalighat temple is a very powerful place of worship. Many traditionalists will ask you not to go there, as, like you, they also have heard stories of animal sacrifice and black magic being performed there. 

But, as Swamiji says, Kali is our Mother. Even though she appears as an exasperated deity, no one can love you so much, so unconditionally, and forgivingly than her. The relationship you have with your mother is a very personal issue, and no one has the right to come in between a child and his mother. So, next time, when you will be in Kolkata, do not forget to pay a visit and meditate in this ancient powerhouse of Shakti. It will aid you to grow spiritually, enriching your subtle experience. 

Please write to us at info@ChamundaSwamiJi.com to get more information on Tantra, Mantra, and meditation. 

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This blog series is dedicated to all these Tantra temples, once were considered as a powerful source of divine energies to achieve enlightenment, but now, lost somewhere in urbanization.

Jai Ma Kaali.