Nation Wants To Know/ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar On Importance of Dev Kali Mandir and Ashok Singhal Quest For Ram Temple

The deep, timeless and spiritual connection between the Dev Kali mandir in Ayodhya and Ram Janmabhoomi has come to the fore. Talking exclusively to Republic's Editor-in-Chief, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar revealed how revival of the Dev Kali temple was important behind the dream of establishing Ram Temple in Ayodhya turning into a reality.  

Role of Former VHP President Ashok Singhal

The spiritual leader also highlighted the then-Vishwa Hindu Parishad President Ashok Singhal's role in restoring the Kali temple in 2002. Recollecting the incident, Sri Sri told Republic, "Singhal had come from Kanchipuram to meet me in my Bangalore Ashram. He (Singhal) was so disappointed after talks between the Shankaracharya and prominent Muslim leaders had failed. He had asked me if the Ram temple would ever be built. I had a premonition that it will happen after 14 years and asked him to pray for it. Everything is possible". Sri Sri further revealed that Singhal and then-Prime Minister Atal Bijari Vajpayee were not in talking terms at that time. 

Vision of Dev Kali And Its Importance Behind Ram Mandir's Revival

Sri Sri further said that the day after he met Singhal, he had a vision. "The next morning during meditation, I had a vision of a Devi temple that was in a dilapidated state. It was only when a renowned nadi astrologer from Tamil Nadu informed me that Devkali temple, originally built as Kuladevi (family deity) of Sri Ram was lying neglected for years. He said that the ancient nadi leaves revealed that all obstacles for the construction of Ram Mandir would be removed once the Devkali temple was restored."

Sri Sri said that after the discussion with the nadi astrologer, they started searching for the ancient temple in Ayodhya. " After a lot of search, we found two temples - Choti Kaali and Dev Kali. The pond was a dumpyard. We cleaned it and filled with fresh water. After the temple consecration, there was no blood shed in the entire Ayodhya. We found a proper time and muhurath and performed Vedic rituals to establish the temple that lied in ruins."