Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday visited the Kali temple at Dakshineswar near here, before crossing the Hooghly to reach Belur, headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission and Ramakrishna Order, where he spent two hours.
He sat in meditation for nearly 20 minutes in the river-facing room where Swami Vivekananda stayed in Belur, senior monks of the Ramakrishna Order told The Hindu .
Mr. Modi arrived in the morning and visited the main temple and prayer hall as well as the old temple where Sri Ramakrishna was worshipped. He then visited the shrines of Sri Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda and Swami Brahmananda.
Mr. Modi also visited the sprawling museum within the complex, before meeting with the president of the Order, Swami Atmasthananda Maharaj, with whom the BJP leader has had a close association since 1968. As a student, Mr. Modi used to frequent the Ramakrishna Ashrama in Rajkot, where the Swami was the then monk-in-charge.
