I have visited quite a few places of historical interest in my life but one which beckons me from time to time is the Belur Math which is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission founded by Swami Vivekananda, an Indian Hindu monk who influenced the whole universe with his teachings on spiritualism and religion. Located on the banks of the river Ganges spread across 40 acres it is a marvel of architecture and a place of serene beauty and charm. The campus has temples dedicated to Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda in which their relics are enshrined. Swamiji was the disciple of Ramakrishna one of the best known Hindu saints of the 19th Century and Sarada was Ramakrishna’s spiritual consort.
The Ramakrishna temple resembles a temple, a mosque and a church when viewed from different positions. It houses the marble statue of Ramakrishna seated on a hundred petalled lotus over a marble pedestal. When one enters this temple and meditates for an hour sitting on the floors reciting “Om” one is believed to connect with god and the supreme. In the evening, prayers are held inside the temple when scores of disciples sit together and join in singing the hymns and devotional songs. The feeling one gets while sitting inside cannot be expressed only in words but has to be felt in mind and spirit.
The other temples which are worth mentioning here are those of Swamiji’s and Sarada Devi’s. The former’s temple stands on the spot where his mortal remains were cremated in 1902. Beside the temple stands a bel(bilva) tree in place of the original bel tree under which he used to sit. The temple of Sarada Devi who is considered to be the holy mother is situated overlooking the wide bathing ghats facing the sacred river Ganges.Both temples exude a certain purity and divinity about the place.
After visiting the temples inside the campus another place where people are most eager to see is Swami Vivekananda’s room where he lived. Most of his articles are preserved here which were used by him at different places and times. In the courtyard in front of this room stands a mango tree under which Swamiji used to sit on a camp cot and meet visitors and devotees.
There is an old shrine also located to the northeastern side of the Ramakrishna temple.This shrine gains importance because it awakens the hallowed memory of Swami Vivekananda and other direct disciples of Ramakrishna who used to worship,meditate and sing devotional songs here.
Another structure which catches my eye and that of other visitors is the Samadhi enclosure where the earthly remains of seven of the sixteen direct monastic disciples of Ramakrishna were cremated. Their names are engraved on the marble plaque which stands here. Besides these the Belur Math premises include the two storied Ramakrishna museum which hosts art efacts used by Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda and some of his disciples. These include the long coat worn by Vivekananda in the West along with articles belonging to some of his western disciples. The museum chronicles the growth of the movement and Bengal of those times.
In conclusion it could be said that visiting such a holy place enlightens a person as put by Swami Vivekananda in his own words-“The spiritual light that this place will emit will flood the whole universe.”
