Ahalyabai of Indore. Its magnificent 70-foot spire
is totally covered with over a ton of gold plate,
giving it its popular name of the Golden Temple.
It enshrines a Shiva LINGAM that is considered one
of the 12 jyotirlingas, or lingams of divine light,
in India.
Further reading: Diana L. Eck, Banaras, City of Light
(New York: Columbia University Press, 1999); Stella
Kramrisch and Raymond Burnier, The Hindu Temple
(Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1976); K. K. Moorthy,
The Lord Shiva to Be Adored: A Mini-Compendium of
300 Saivite Shrines, Inclusive of the Dwadasa Jyotirlinga
Kshetras, Pancabhutashtas, Pancharamas Plus Those
Situated in Nepal Srilanka and Vietnam and Indonesia
(Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh: Message, 1995).
Vithoba (Vitthoba, Vitthala)
Vithoba is a form of VISHNU or KRISHNA; his main
shrine is in Pandharpur, Maharashtra. This was
the favored shrine of the Maharasthran saint
TUKARAM, whose poetic songs are often addressed
to this divinity. Vithoba is worshipped in Maha-
rashtra and in Karnataka (where he is called Vit-
thala). The god is generally depicted standing on
a brick (his name derives from the Marathi word
for brick) with his arms resting on his hips. In one
hand is a pouch with pebbles in it and in his other
hand is a conch.
It is said that Krishna, accompanied by the
RISHI (seer) NARADA, once went to visit a certain
Pundalika to observe his devotion to his elderly
parents. They arrived while he was taking care of
his parents. Without stopping his work, he threw
a brick at Krishna and asked him to wait.
Further reading: G. A. Deleury, The Cult of Vithoba
(Poona: Deccan College, Postgraduate and Research
Institute, 1960); Kusumawati Deshpande and M. V.
Rajadhyaksha, History of Marathi Literature (New Delhi:
Sahitya Akademi, 1988); Eleanor Zelliot and Maxine
Bertsen, The Experience of Hinduism: Religion in Maharas-
tra (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1988).
Vivekananda, Swami (1863–1902)
founder of Vedanta Society and Ramakrishna Math
and Mission
Swami Vivekananda was a great teacher of Hin-
duism for the modern world. His missionary
work played a major role in the consolidation
of ADVAITA VEDANTA in India and its spread to the
West. He founded the VEDANTA SOCIETY in the
United States and the RAMAKRISHNA MAT H AND
MISSION in India.
Narendranath Datta was born on January
12, 1863, in Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal,
to aristocratic Bengali parents: Viswanath Dutta
and Bhuvaneswari Devi. He meditated from a
very early age and entertained spiritual ques-
tions from childhood. His inquiries about GodSwami Vivekananda (1863–1902), founder of the
Vedanta Society in the United States and the Rama-
krishna Math and Mission in India (Courtesy Vedanta
Society, San Francisco)K 494 Vithoba