Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hailed the Hindu goddess Kali, saying that the deity’s blessings will always be with the Indian people.
Speaking virtually at an event to mark the centenary celebrations of Indian Hindu monk Swami Atmasthananda (1919-2017), Prime Minister Modi recalled that Indian saints have always believed that everything in the world is “pervaded” by the “consciousness” of the Goddess. The remarks were delivered in Hindi.
“Swami (Lord) Ramakrishna Paramahansa was one such saint who had a vision of Mother Kali, who had surrendered his whole being at the feet of Mother Kali,” Modi stated at the event, which was organised by renowned spiritual organisation Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission.
“The same consciousness is seen in West Bengal’s tradition of worshipping Goddess Kali. The same feelings are reflected in the beliefs of people of Bengal and across the country,” he said.
“They were felt by Indian philosophers such as Swami Vivekananda. Swami Vivekananda was known for his intellectual brilliance and a towering personality. Yet he was energised like a child when he used to worship Goddess Kali,” the Indian leader stated.
While Paramahansa (1836-1886) was the founder of the organisation, his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda is one of its best-known modern thinkers. Vivekananda’s legacy has often been invoked by Prime Minister Modi and other influential members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Modi’s remarks came amid a massive controversy among devotees of the Hindu goddess after a newly unveiled posted by Indian-Canadian filmmaker Leena Manimekalai depicted Kali holding a pride flag and smoking a cigarette.
The controversial movie poster of Goddess Kali
© Photo : Twitter
The controversial poster has triggered a spate of police complaints in India for hurting “religious sentiments” by local units of the BJP and other Hindu organisations such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).
On July 5, federal lawmaker Mahua Moitra, an MP from West Bengal, sought to defend the filmmaker after stating that the latter had the right to defend Kali as a “meat-eating and alcohol-accepting goddess, as every person has his or her unique way of offering prayers.” Moitra said while responding to a question about the row over the poster, while speaking at a media conclave.
Moitra hails from West Bengal, which is ruled by Trinamool Congress, an opposition group which is in power in the eastern state.
“The party should desist from imposing it on people of other parts of the country such as West Bengal where Hindus follow their well-established rituals for centuries. Who is the BJP to teach us how to conduct puja of Goddess Kali in a particular way?" Moitra said on Thursday, doubling down on her defence of the film poster.
The opposition MP has also been booked for “outraging” religious sentiments over the remarks in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Assam among others, as per officials in respective states.
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