Devotion, Now Online Too: Technology in the Service of the Mother

At the head of the Padma, on the main stream of the Ganga, Lalgola Raj Kali Bari has drawn people for generations. Today that pull reaches mobile screens too. Can devotion happen online? Our answer is simple: devotion lives in the heart; technology only shortens the road.

Yā devī sarvabhūteṣu buddhirūpeṇa saṃsthitā; namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namaḥ.

Devi Mahatmya (Chandi)

The Mother is knowledge; knowledge is technology

In the Chandi, the Mother dwells in all beings as intelligence. Technology is the fruit of human intelligence, so serving her through it is itself worship. As a doctor uses a stethoscope and a farmer a pump, we use a website to make seva easier.

What you will find on the website

• Puja schedule and a Bengali calendar with Amavasya, Purnima and festival dates.
• Seva and dakshina requests from home, with a token number.
• The history of the temple, the Rajbari precinct and the Lalgola temple circuit.
• Contacts for the purohit, dhakis and the team in one place.

Elders first

Our most valued visitors are elderly devotees, so the text is large, the buttons simple and the site in three languages. Beyond Facebook and WhatsApp, remember one address in the browser: lalgolakalibari.in. A request to grandchildren: open it once on your grandparents’ phones.

Let technology stay humble

Technology is never a substitute for coming to the temple; no screen can give the feeling of standing before the Mother. Online simply keeps us informed and connected, and brings distant devotees closer. Let old devotion and new technology walk hand in hand, at the Mother’s feet.