Chapter-6; Part-II
THE ASCENT TO MOTHERHOOD
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| Sri Ramakrishna |
The significance of this great rite on the
lives of these two souls can hardly be over-estimated. For Sri Ramakrishna it
signified the final triumph of the spirit over the body, the destruction of all
that is animal in man, the recognition of Divinity even where the ordinary man
is least disposed to see it. It marked the successful conclusion of his
spiritual strivings, and his establishment of the status of a divine man.
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| Sri Sarada Devi |
In the life of the Holy Mother, too, it had
a significance of equal importance. It symbolized her participation in Sri
Ramakrishna's life in a twofold sense. It has already been stated how the
Master, at the very time of his marriage, gave a powerful stimulus to his
wife's spiritual growth by the prayer he addressed to the Divine Mother. That
had brought about a gradual transformation in her, obliterating from her mind
even the last vestiges of the lower nature, so that when she again reappeared
in the concluding act of the drama of his spiritual endeavours, he found in her
a fitting partner in life, well-matched with him in every respect. And so by
the performance of that great rite, in which he surrendered all his spiritual
practices and their fruits before the Deity whom he identified with the Holy
Mother, he virtually made her a participant of all his austerities and
spiritual attainments. It is sometimes asked why the Mother did not perform
various forms of devotional practices like the Master. The answer to this
apparently puzzling question is to be found in the Shodasi Puja, by virtue of
which the Holy Mother became a full sharer in the spiritual glory of the
Master. Indeed, as we shall see, she did practise a good deal of austerities
afterwards, but they were not so for mental purification or for spiritual
attainment; they were mainly intended as an example to others or for the
benefit of her disciples. To use an analogy of the Master, she resembles in
this respect the type of plant that bears fruits first, and then the flowers.
As the spiritual counterpart of the great world-teacher Sri Ramakrishna, she
had no need to re-enact the same scenes of the one common drama which they were
together staging before mankind. She had other parts to play by way of
fulfilling and supplementing the Master's work.
In another sense also the Shodasi Puja is a landmark in her life. It made her a vital part
of Sri Ramakrishna's mission. In that rite the Master invoked in her the
presence of the Divine Mother-the same Supreme Energy that was manifesting
Itself through his own personality. Henceforth, just as in the case of the
Master, her body and mind became the venue of expression for that Energy. Her
future actions were all, therefore, devoid of any personal object, but meant to
fulfil the great mission that was being worked out through the Master. She and
the Master could henceforth be described as two bodies actuated by the same
spirit - the Divine Mother. As we shall see, for the rest of her life she
helped the Master in his work through personal service. After his passing away,
his mantle fell on her, and through a long period of spiritual ministry she
fulfilled what he had left unfinished.
SOURCE: saradadevi.info
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