Kali Puja in Kolkata........ Diwali Night
Sarada Devi (pictured), the Holy Mother, was the wife and spiritual counterpart of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a nineteenth-century mystic of Bengal. After Ramakrishna's death, Sarada Devi played an important role in the growth of the Ramakrishna Movement and remained the advisory head (spiritual guide) of the movement for the next 34 years. She also initiated several prominent monks into the Ramakrishna Order. Though uneducated Sarada Devi's spiritual insight and utterances are highly regarded by scholars and she always advocated education for women. In 1954, Sri Sarada Math and Ramakrishna Sarada Mission, a monastic order for women was founded in the honor of Sarada Devi. More: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Mother
Kāli Puja (Bengali: কালীপূজা, also known as Shyama Puja; Bengali: শ্যামাপূজা) is a festival dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kāli, celebrated on the diwali night, the new moon day of the Hindu month Kartik (October-November). While the rest of India worships goddess Lakshmi on Diwali, the Bengalis (also the Oriyas and Assamese of Eastern India) adore goddess Kāli on this day.
The festival of Kāli Puja is not an ancient one in Bengal and was practically unknown before the 18th century. It was introduced in Bengal during the 18th century, by King (Raja) Krishnachandra of Navadvipa and gained popularity with the Bengali elite; wealthy landowners began patronizing the festival on a grand scale. Along with Durga Puja, now - Kāli Puja is the biggest goddess festival in Bengal.
More: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali_Puja
Kāli is first mentioned in Hinduism as a distinct goddess around 600 CE. Goddess Kāli, associated with empowerment, is represented as the consort of Lord Shiva, on whose body she is often seen standing. She is the fierce aspect of the goddess Durga. The first appearance of Kāli in her present form is in the great epic, Mahabharata (Sauptika Parvan 10.8.64). She is called Kālarātri (literally, "black night") and appears to the Pandava soldiers in dreams. More: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali
Images of Bengal, India
Kali Puja in Kolkata........ Diwali Night
Sarada Devi (pictured), the Holy Mother, was the wife and spiritual counterpart of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a nineteenth-century mystic of Bengal. After Ramakrishna's death, Sarada Devi played an important role in the growth of the Ramakrishna Movement and remained the advisory head (spiritual guide) of the movement for the next 34 years. She also initiated several prominent monks into the Ramakrishna Order. Though uneducated Sarada Devi's spiritual insight and utterances are highly regarded by scholars and she always advocated education for women. In 1954, Sri Sarada Math and Ramakrishna Sarada Mission, a monastic order for women was founded in the honor of Sarada Devi. More: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Mother
Kāli Puja (Bengali: কালীপূজা, also known as Shyama Puja; Bengali: শ্যামাপূজা) is a festival dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kāli, celebrated on the diwali night, the new moon day of the Hindu month Kartik (October-November). While the rest of India worships goddess Lakshmi on Diwali, the Bengalis (also the Oriyas and Assamese of Eastern India) adore goddess Kāli on this day.
The festival of Kāli Puja is not an ancient one in Bengal and was practically unknown before the 18th century. It was introduced in Bengal during the 18th century, by King (Raja) Krishnachandra of Navadvipa and gained popularity with the Bengali elite; wealthy landowners began patronizing the festival on a grand scale. Along with Durga Puja, now - Kāli Puja is the biggest goddess festival in Bengal.
More: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali_Puja
Kāli is first mentioned in Hinduism as a distinct goddess around 600 CE. Goddess Kāli, associated with empowerment, is represented as the consort of Lord Shiva, on whose body she is often seen standing. She is the fierce aspect of the goddess Durga. The first appearance of Kāli in her present form is in the great epic, Mahabharata (Sauptika Parvan 10.8.64). She is called Kālarātri (literally, "black night") and appears to the Pandava soldiers in dreams. More: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali
Images of Bengal, India