LIFE OF SRI SARADA DEVI

CHAPTER-8 : IN THE SERVICE OF THE MASTER; PART-IV

The Holy Mother, no doubt, liked to put on these ornaments with which the Master presented her affectionately. But she loved him and his reputation for saintliness more than these. For, one day officious Golap-Ma said to her, 'Mother, Manomohan's mother says, "The Master is a man of such great renunciation, and yet the Holy Mother wears ear-rings and other gold ornaments. Does it look well?'" Next morning, when Yogin-Ma, another woman disciple of the Master, visited her, she noticed that the Mother had only a pair of gold bracelets on her wrists. She had taken off all other ornaments because of the previous day's remarks. After much persuasion Yogin-Ma succeeded in making her put on the ear-rings and one or two ordinary ornaments. She never put on all of them any more, because immediately after, the Master fell ill.

Presentday Panchavati

In various other ways also did the Master try to please her and make her feel how close she was to his heart. Here are a few instances. Once at Dakshineswar there was a complexion contest, the competing parties being the Master himself and the son-in-law of a devotee. Both were noted for the brightness of their complexion. ( In those days Sri Ramakrishna had golden complexion. It was in later days that he became dark) the Master appointed the Holy Mother to be the umpire and then he and the other competitor walked side by side on the Panchavati (see Picture) ground for her to see and judge. The impartial umpire that she was, she gave her verdict in favour of the other man, whom she pronounced to be a shade fairer than the Master.

Once, while the Holy Mother was with the Master at Kamarpukur, she and one of the ladies of the family were eager to go to see the performance of some strolling players, but the Master would not let them go. When he saw 'how disappointed they were, he was greatly concerned and tried to console them. He himself acted out a play he had but once seen, giving the words, the songs, the music, and everything. They were so carried away by his performance that they forgot all about the one they had missed.

Another funny incident that took place at Kamarpukur may be narrated in the Mother's own words. 'At Kamarpukur,' she said, 'Lakshmi's mother and I used to cook. She could cook very well. One day the Master and Hriday were taking their meals together. Referring to a preparation made by Lakshmi's mother, the Master said, "O Hridu, the one who has cooked this may be compared to the physician Ramdas." And tasting the curry prepared by me, he said, "Ah, whoever has cooked this is Srinath Sen." Now Ramdas was a renowned physician while Srinath Sen was only a quack. So he meant that Lakshmi's mother was an expert and I only an amateur. At this Hriday said, "What you say is true. But you can get your Srinath Sen at all times. She can render you all kinds of service, even massage your feet. You have only to send for her and she comes. But physician Ramdas takes a big fee for his visit. Besides, you cannot get him at all hours. Further, people at first consult a quack. This quack is your friend at all times." The Master said, "That's true, that's true. She is always available.'"

Trigunatita

Amidst all this gay talk and the familiar relationship of everyday life, the Master always maintained an attitude of perfect reverence towards the Holy Mother. He never failed to notice the core of purity and spiritual power that lay behind her veil of modesty and meekness. He looked upon her as a divine being - as a veritable embodiment of Saraswati, the Goddess of learning - born to confer knowledge on mankind. He knew that, being his Sakti, she would have to continue his spiritual ministry, and he commissioned her to do accordingly. 'The people round about live like worms in darkness,' he said to her. 'You should look after them.' In his own lifetime he asked one of his young disciples, Sarada Prasanna, who came to be known as Swami Trigunatita (see Picture) in later days, to take initiation from her, telling him, by means of a Vaishnava couplet, (The couplet that the Master sang runs; (Sanskrit Passage) 'Infinite and inscrutable is the Maya of Radha. Crores of Krishna and crores of Ramas are brought forth, saustained and dissolved (by it).' that her spiritual power was no less than his own. When the wife of Kalipada Ghosh approached him for some spiritual aid to divert her husband from evil ways, the Master directed her to the Holy Mother. By the Mother's blessing the conversion did take place, and Kalipada became one of the great lay devotees of the Master. He imparted to her all the great Mantras that he had made dynamic by his austerities and devout contemplation, leaving instruction with her to initiate people with these. While speaking about her way of initiation, she said in later days, 'I have received all these Mantras from the Master himself. Through these one is sure to achieve perfection.' In his last days at Cossipore, Sri Ramakrishna said to her very feelingly, 'Well, won't you do anything? Am I to do all' To this the Holy Mother replied, 'I am a woman. What can I do?' But the Master said, 'No, no. You have much to do.' It was due to his vivid perception of her mission in life that he sought so much to bring her into close contact with his select devotees like Latu, Yogen, Rakhal and Narendra, besides the numerous women devotees who flocked to him. Through this close association with devotees the Master developed in her a better realization of her grave responsibilities as his spiritual counterpart and released her latent sense of motherliness toward all beings. She could therefore say, when questioned by a devotee why she survived the Master, 'You' must be aware that the Master looked upon all in the world as Mother. He left me behind for demonstrating that Motherhood to the world.'

Being aware of her great spiritual powers, he was very particular to shield her from slights or insults, because he knew that, if her anger was really roused, it would have very serious consequences on those who caused it. Once Hriday showed disrespect to the Holy Mother in the presence of Sri Ramakrishna. She bore it calmly and returned to the Nahabat. Sri Ramakrishna, anxious for Hriday's welfare, said to him, 'Well, you often slight me. But don't you do that with her. You may be saved if the being that resides in this body (ie in him) raises its hood, but if the being that is in her is angry, even Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesvara won't be able to save you.' (Hriday did not, however, profit by this instruction. The consequences of it will be seen in Chap.9).  In his own conduct the Master was always careful to see that he did not wound her feelings or even go against her wishes, when even she gave positive expression to any, as it sometimes happened on questions of fundamental principles. The following are some instances of this. In those days many devotees brought large quantities of sweets and fruits to Sri Ramakrishna. The Holy Mother who was very generous by nature, would keep a little of it for the Master and practically none for herself, and distribute nearly the whole of it among the devotees and the children of the neighbourhood. One day the Master saw this, and interpreting it as a sign of extravagance, said to her in a complaining tone, 'How can you manage, if you spend in this manner?' In spite of all her submissiveness to the Master, her feelings were a little wounded at these words, because they seemed to question that magnanimity and liberality of nature which were hers as the mother of all. So she was seen to walk away from the place with a grave face. The Master at once understood the situation, and called out rather nervously to his nephew, 'Look here, Ramlal, go and pacify your aunt. If she is angry, I shall be undone.'

To cite another instance, an old woman used to visit the Holy Mother at the Nahabat and spend long hours in conversation with her. The woman had led an unclean life. Sri Ramakrishna knew this, and told the Mother that it was not quite desirable for her to associate with her. What exactly his idea was in assuming such an attitude is difficult to say; for he knew very well that the Holy Mother was above every possibility of corruption. Probably his idea was that it might set a bad example to his women devotees, and make them unmindful of maintaining the sanctity of the home atmosphere. Whatever that might be, his wish on this point clashed with the Holy Mother's attitude of motherly' sympathy for all, whether good or bad. So, as Yogin-Ma noticed, when in spite of the Master's prohibition, that woman continued to visit her now and then, addressing her as 'Mother,' she would, with great maternal affection, make her sit, talk to her kindly, and give her something or other to eat. Sri Ramakrishna noticed all this, but did not comment on it or show any annoyance. By nature he never tolerated any wrong action on the part of his devotees and his acquiescence in the Holy Mother's conduct in this respect means that he understood the depth of her sentiment and approved of it in his heart of hearts. ( Cf. also the example of a woman taking away the plate of food for the Master from the Holy Mother's hand, mentioned a few paragraphs above.) At one time a woman unknown to any of the devotees used to visit the Master. She was at first taken to be mad, but afterwards it turned out that she was a follower of the path of Madhura Bhava (conjugal relation with the Deity). One day she indiscreetly proposed to the Master that she be allowed to maintain towards him the peculiar mental attitude sanctioned by her sect. This irritated him very much, and he began to abuse her loudly. The Holy Mother was hearing all this from the Nahabat, and she blushed as a mother would do if her daughter were insulted in her presence. She at once sent Golap-Ma to fetch the woman to her, with the remark, 'Just see, even if she had said anything indiscreet, he could have sent her to me instead of abusing her in this manner.' When Golap-Ma brought the woman, the Mother received her very kindly and said to her, 'My daughter, if he feels annoyed at your presence there, you can very well come to me.' 

SOURCE: saradadevi.info/SHM_book