Last Updated on January 21, 2025 by Swami Satyananda Saraswati
Shri Ratanti Kalika Puja is a very special night devoted to the worship of the Divine Mother Goddess, Shri Kali Maa.
Goddess Kali takes away the darkness of Her devotees. She is a form of Pure Energy. She is Anandabhairavi Maa – the Bliss Beyond All Fear. She is the Shakti that helps us to become free.
On the auspicious days where we perform the Kali Puja, we learn to surrender to Her as we pray, sing, and ask Her to transform our darkness into Pure Light.
Celebratation at Devi Mandir
Ratanti means “Celebrated” or “Beloved.”
The Ratanti Kali Puja falls on the 14th day of the dark fortnight of the month of Paush, which will be on the evening of Monday, January 19th, 2015.
In the Devi Mandir, we will begin the celebration at 6:00 pm PST.
During this special celebration, the energy at the temple is both palpable and intoxicating! We invite you to join us either at the temple or on live webcam as we perform the puja specifically oriented towards loosening the bonds of the Great Ego – giving up our darkness in a way that has been practiced for thousands of years.
Three Benefits to Joining the Worship
While Kali Maa is worshiped daily at the Mandir during the Cosmic Puja, on Kali Puja nights, we focus our attention solely on Her. It is believed on this day, the Goddess blesses Her devotees with the following benefits:
Our Puja
On these blessed evenings of transformation, we sing Her dhyanam, establish a pot, and make offerings of yogurt, milk, sandalwood paste, kum kum, sindur, cloth, and all our darkness of egotism and attachment, along with many delicacies that Mother Kali enjoys to eat, such as kitchari and daikon/carrot salad.
Kali murti handmade by Shree Maa and Swami Satyananda Saraswati at the Devi Mandir, Napa, CA
We sing Her 108 names and chant the Kali Sahasranam, or 1,000 names of Kali Maa, around the sacred homa fire.
We also perform several of the tantric offerings described in the last section of Swami Satyananda Saraswati’s Kali Puja book. We offer red wine, symbolizing our love and passion, with special mantras and mudras, and perform a symbolic animal sacrifice of our animalistic nature, cutting the duality of our ego, using a squash as our victim.
After the puja, we sing songs, partake in Kali’s prasad, dance, and relish the moments of pure being and freedom that our Dark Night Mother so graciously bestows upon her devotees.
Kali Traditions at the Devi Mandir
The Devi Mandir evolved from the tradition of Sri Ramakrishna, who loved and worshiped the Goddess Kali for many years in the Dakshineshwar Temple, just outside of Calcutta.
Shree Maa and Swamiji visited Dakshineshwar frequently on their tours of India.
Swamiji also worshiped Kali for many years in India, and when he met Shree Maa, he saw the manifestation of the Divine Mother, who he had adored so intensely during his years of tapasya.
Thus, the worship of Divine Mother Kali plays an important role in the spiritual tradition of the Devi Mandir.
For more wisdom on the Goddess Kali, and to learn her stories, recipes, and mantras, please visit our Ways to Worship Kali page.