Kolkata, March 10, 2026
Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, on Tuesday morning broke out of his bureaucratic shell as he interacted with the monks of Belur Math in Belur in Howrah, which is the international headquarters of the Swami Vivekananda-founded Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission.
Kumar, on Tuesday morning, started his day early as he first went to Belur Math to have a feel of the pristine spiritually involved with the place. There he was seen interacting with the monks of that iconic institution in a free mood.
Enlightened by the teachings of India’s spiritual-cum-philosophical icon, Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and blessed by the affection of the latter’s wife and spiritual consort, Sarada Devi, Swamiji founded Belur Math and said, “The unblemished rays out here will enlighten the entire world and will change the pattern of the human thought process.”
Since then, Belur Math and the monks associated with it have remained dedicated to Swamiji’s lessons of ‘Human service is service to God.’
From Belur Math, the CEC went to the nearby iconic Kali temple at Dakshineswar, famous for Shri Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi, Swamiji, and the temple’s founder and the great Indian philanthropist, Rani Rashmoni.
In fact, Swamiji received his ‘Brahmagyan (spiritual lesson to dedicate life for human service)’ from Shri Ramakrishna at this temple. It is widely believed by the followers of Shri Ramakrishna and Swamiji worldwide that the association between Goddess Kali and Shri Ramakrishna was not that of a Goddess and her priest but that of a mother and her son.
To recall, on Monday, Kumar visited another iconic Kali Temple at Kalighat in South Kolkata, which is very close to the residence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. There, he was shown black flags and “go back” posters by the Trinamool Congress activists.
Later on Tuesday, the CEC, along with other members of the ECI’s full Bench, is scheduled to hold a crucial meeting with top bureaucrats and senior police officers of the state government, including Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty and the state’s acting Director General of Police Peeyush Pandey. The meeting is scheduled to start around 10 A.M.
This will be followed by a press conference to be addressed by the CEC. The Commission’s full Bench will return to Delhi later in the day today.(Agency)
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