Interviewer:
Gurudev, Namaskar.
Gurudev:
Namaskar, son.
Interviewer:
Welcome everyone to today's episode. For those watching, welcome to the YouTube channel, "Gupta Sadhok Shyama Khepa.com". Please watch and subscribe to this channel. Today, we have come to Gurudev to discuss a very important subject.
Interviewer:
Tarapith is one of the most significant sites for Sadhana (spiritual practice). Many seekers and laypeople alike travel to Tarapith, drawn by the pull of the Mother. You have practiced Sadhana at Tarapith for a long time. Could you please tell us something about it?
Gurudev:
Well, among the Ten Mahavidyas, the second is Tara. The first is Kali. Generally, Kali is used for different purposes. We Sadhaks (practitioners) usually don't work directly with Kali initially, even though she is our primary deity.
Gurudev:
We must complete our Kali Sadhana before moving on to Tara. In the context of Kali, there is Kalighat, which is known as the Kali-kshetra. There are specific rituals to be performed there and at the cremation grounds (smashan). Once those rituals are completed and the Sadhak feels that Mother is pleased, they look for the next path. The second path is Tara.
Gurudev:
So, we go to Tarapith. The Tarapith you see today was not like this 30 or 40 years ago. It was quite terrifying. When we went there for Sadhana 30 years ago, we faced many obstacles. We spent many nights near the funeral pyres. Even in the biting cold, with temperatures around 5-6 degrees, we would huddle near the heat of the pyres while performing our chants (Japa). This wasn't a one-day thing; it went on for a long time. But that version of Tarapith is gone now.
Gurudev:
Although Mother Tara is still there and the cremation ground is still famous, there is no longer a quiet place for intense Sadhana. Now, consider Ramprasad. He was a great devotee of Kali. But later, he realized—or rather, his guru, Krishnananda Agambagish, came from Navadvip and told him he must perform Tara Sadhana. Ramprasad replied, "I understand nothing but Kali. Kali is in my hands, Kali is in my mouth." But because his Guru ordered it, he had to perform Tara Sadhana.
Gurudev:
Usually, Sadhana involving a corpse is done for Tara, not Kali. Kali is a lover of blood; she loves sacrifice. She is the "Chandi with loosened hair who loves sacrifice." But no major ritualistic "work" is done directly on her. People might say otherwise, but we practitioners don't. Kali is the first and final knowledge. One masters Tara because all the rituals involving corpses and similar intense practices are done through her.
Gurudev:
That is why Ramprasad said, "The name of Tara is the essence of this world." For the householders going to Tarapith, they aren't going for cremation ground rituals; they are going for the Darshan (vision) of the Mother. For a worldly person, Tara is the essence, and seeing her removes many dangers. This is for the householder. But a householder doesn't sit on a funeral pyre to practice. That is the work of a Sadhak.
Gurudev:
Sadhaks go to Tarapith to perform their own rituals, to increase their self-awareness and gather spiritual energy. Now, when we think of Tarapith, we think of Bama Khepa. He is inseparable from Tarapith. The Brahma Shila (sacred stone) there is the true form of Tara. During the Churning of the Ocean (Samudra Manthan), Mahadev (Shiva) drank the poison. Mother Tara then saved Mahadev by nursing him.
Gurudev:
When Mahadev was writhing in pain from the poison, which came out along with the nectar, Mahadev offered to drink it to save the world. He took the poison in a conch and held it in his throat, becoming Nilkantha (the blue-throated one). Mother Tara saw his suffering and came to nurse him with her nectar-like milk. Later, Sage Vashistha brought the Brahma Shila and established it there.
Gurudev:
Vashistha worried, "I have brought this sacred stone, but I will eventually die. Who will look after it?" It is said Vashistha was reborn as Bama Khepa. Even today, when we worship Bama Khepa, we must mention the name of Vashistha, for he is the same soul. Bama Khepa protected that stone.
Gurudev:
Nowadays, people are often shown a stone after 8 PM at the temple. But that is not the original Shila. If anyone saw the original Brahma Shila with their naked eyes, they would go blind, go insane, or die. It is kept in a secret place known only to the priests (Pandas). It is bathed in a secret room where the priest must be blindfolded. The priest who performs this service is chosen through a divine dream from the Mother.
Gurudev:
The priest who performs the worship will never tell anyone that he worships the Brahma Shila. It takes only a few minutes; he bathes it and leaves. This is the reality of Tara. As I said, she is for everyone—laypeople seek her protection, and saints perform intense rituals there. There are many complex rituals involving corpses and the cremation ground.
Interviewer:
Regarding these rituals—they aren't meant for the public to witness, are they?
Gurudev:
Never. A Sadhak goes, does his work at night, and returns. He never performs these rituals in public. They are very secret. It is said Mother Tara visits the cremation ground once every night.
Gurudev:
At 3 AM, she goes to bathe at Mundamalitala. She removes her garland of skulls and bathes at the Kaaler Ghat. There is a particular path she takes that only the very elderly locals might know. People stay away from that path at night. Nowadays, many don't know these things; they just shout "Tara, Tara."
Gurudev:
There are the "Eight Taras" (Ashta Tara). Among them, the most fierce are Ugra Tara, Ekjata, and Neel Saraswati. Ugra Tara is like Durga herself. Neel Saraswati is associated with the silk-cotton tree that Bama Khepa once burned to release a trapped soul. Ekjata resides in the funeral pyre. These forms are very formidable.
Gurudev:
Bama Tara is the form Bama Khepa worshipped. Ramprasad famously sang: "The Mog (pirates/outsiders) call you Tara, the Christians call you God, the Muslims call you Khoda/Allah." You are the magic of the universe. To master Tara, one should first master Kali. Kali and Tara are essentially one and the same.
Gurudev:
Many people lose their way while practicing at Tarapith. It is said Mother Tara turns some into dogs or snakes if they fail. There are different "types" of dogs there. Some are "Vaishnava" dogs—they stay away from the pyres. Others are "Tantrik" dogs. Bama Khepa had dogs named Lali, Phuli, and Kalu. He would get angry if someone called Kalu just a dog; he called him "Kalu Baba," saying he was a practitioner from a previous life who had faltered.
Gurudev:
These dogs are part of the Tantrik community. There is a bridge that separates the two areas—one side for the Vaishnavas and one for the Tantriks. Tarapith is truly awe-inspiring.
Gurudev:
Mother Tara has three eyes. Her roar makes the world tremble.
Interviewer:
Are these what you call the "Kulluka"?
Gurudev:
No, the Kulluka are different. There are about 14 or 15 Kulluka mantras dedicated to various deities that must be recited. Every deity has one. Without practicing Tara, one cannot truly become a Tantrik.
Gurudev:
One more thing—Mother is called "Tara" because of her eyes. Her left eye is slightly crossed. The pupil of the eye is also called "Tara" (star). Because of her unique gaze, she is given the name Tara. This is her core essence. We have collected these truths from the traditions there.
Interviewer:
We have heard in great detail about Tarapith and its Sadhana today. Friends, please watch "Gupta Sadhok Shyama Khepa.com" and subscribe. We will hear more valuable insights from Gurudev in the future. Gurudev, Namaskar.
Gurudev:
Namaskar, Namaskar.
Spiritual Insight
Tarapith stands as the second of the Ten Mahavidyas—Tara, the goddess who protects and transforms. This profound discourse reveals the layers of mystery surrounding this sacred site. The Tarapith of 30-40 years ago was terrifyingly different—practitioners spent nights huddled near funeral pyres in freezing 5-6 degree temperatures, performing their japa while facing real obstacles. The path is clear: one must complete Kali Sadhana at Kalighat before approaching Tara. The Brahma Shila—the true form of Tara—is so powerful that viewing it with naked eyes would cause blindness, madness, or death; it is bathed by blindfolded priests chosen through the Mother's divine dreams. The legendary Bama Khepa is identified as the reincarnation of Sage Vashistha, who originally established the stone after the Samudra Manthan when Tara nursed the poison-stricken Shiva. Gurudev describes the "Eight Taras" (Ashta Tara)—Ugra Tara, Ekjata, Neel Saraswati, Bama Tara—and how practitioners who fail may be turned into dogs, becoming part of the Tantrik community that inhabits the cremation ground. The name "Tara" itself derives from her eyes—the left eye slightly crossed, the pupil representing the star that guides seekers across the ocean of existence.