First Durga Puja at Belur Math

The Durga Puja, and the associated Kumari Puja of Belur Math and also of the other ashrams of the Ramakrishna Order have become a great cultural and spiritual heritage of our country. Every year lakhs of people come to the Math to witness the worship, pray to the Mother and fill their lives with Her Grace, which gets specially manifested in this worship. This article describes how the first Durga Puja in image was celebrated under the guidance of Swami Vivekananda. Originally published in the Oct 1989 issue of The Vedanta Kesari, the article is reproduced here with a little editing and abridgment.

- SWAMI VIMALATMANANDA

That was in October of 1901. The autumn festival was being held for the first time at the Belur Math which was consecrated only three years before. That was the first Durga Puja in image at the Math. It was, however, not the first occasion Mother Durga was being worshipped by the Ramakrishna Order. Swami Shivananda, the 2nd President of the Order, said, “Swami Vivekananda introduced the worship of Mother Durga at the monastery at Baranagore. Of course, the worship used to be performed in a consecrated pitcher (ghata) in those days.” But the worship of 1901 had one distinction— Swamiji had introduced for the first time in Belur Math the worship of Mother Durga in image.

Many orthodox pundits and Brahmins of the neighbouring places used to criticise Swamiji and the other sannyasis of Belur Math for their innovating and liberal ideas, their modes of work, and especially their nonobservance of the customs regarding caste and food. Even these bigoted people who considered themselves ‘custodians of Hinduism’ gave up their animosity and attended the Puja. They became convinced that the sannyasis of the Ramakrishna Order were truly ‘Sanatani Sannyasins’. According to Sarat Chandra Chakravarty, (a lay disciple of Swamiji), Swamiji’s main purpose in conducting this Durga Puja was to remove all unsavoury doubts and scepticism from the minds of the orthodox.

Swamiji had not seen Durga Puja for a decade. He intended to see it that year. The decision to celebrate Durga Puja in image at the Math in 1901 was his own. He had cherished this idea since several months before. He asked Sarat Babu to bring the book