Dear Self
The journey that started on Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi Tithi Puja (5 January 2021), ends today on Her Tithi Puja (26 December 2021). No more posting would be done from today onwards. This undertaking was possible only due to the Grace of Sri Sarada Devi.
All the posts are available for all to read at following locations:
Also, you can read notes on 'Gospel of Holy Mother' and Her various biographies at:
Om Saradarpanamastu _/\_
A couple of days after the Mother’s passing away, a respected couple who were the Mother’s disciples came to Belur Math. They had come from far away to see Holy Mother, but their hopes were dashed to pieces. Swami Shivananda consoled them, saying: “The Mother is now all-pervading. One can now see her in everything and every being. Anyone who calls on her wholeheartedly will see her. Previously she lived in a particular place. Now she is everywhere.
Do not grieve. Call on her with a sincere and longing heart, and she will reveal herself to you.”
- ‘Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play’
by Swami Chetanananda, P757
I heard many things about Jesus Christ from Nivedita. She read many beautiful stories about him to me. Ah, Jesus came to deliver people in this world and how much suffering he had to undergo. He joyfully endured all. Despite all those persecutions, he loved people and forgave them unconditionally. His own disciple betrayed him. Ah, they killed him with nails in his hands, feet, and chest. In spite of that terrible torture and pain, he ungrudgingly forgave them. He prayed to God to not take offence at what they did.
Is it possible for human beings to have such love, power of forbearance, and forgiveness? Who can endure this way other than God? God came as Jesus to teach divine love to the people of the world.
- Holy Mother, ‘Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play’
by Swami Chetanananda, P223
Just after the [Holy Mother’s] cremation, Swami Shivananda said to the monks and devotees at Belur Math: “The Divine Mother Sati’s body was divided into 51 pieces and fell in 51 places throughout India. Those places became Shakti-pithas or Devi-tirthas.
And today that very Sati’s entire body has become mixed with the ground of Belur Math, so you can imagine what a great and holy place Belur Math is.”
- ‘Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play’
by Swami Chetanananda, P757
[In a letter, Swami Premananda writes about Holy Mother:]
“Who has understood the Mother? There is not the least trace of splendor. The Master [Sri Ramakrishna] had at least the brilliance of wisdom. But what about the Mother? For her even that glow is wanting. What a great power is that! The poison that we cannot assimilate we pass on to the Mother. The Mother takes on every one on her lap. Infinite Power! Limitless mercy! ...
She is giving shelter to all, eating everybody’s food, and assimilating all. Remember the mercy of the Mother, that infinite compassion of the Mother in weal and woe, in success and failure, in famine and pestilence, in wars and revolutions.
Glory unto the Mother!”
- ‘Sri Sarada Devi The Holy Mother’
by Swami Tapasyananada, P227-28
Umesh Babu had asked the Mother, “After the passing away of the Master, you have been living in this world and ministering to the spiritual needs of the people. We have not heard of the spiritual consorts of other incarnations doing such a thing. In all those cases, it has been the followers of the incarnation that have taken care of spiritual ministration. What is the reason for this novelty?”
The Mother replied, “My son, don’t you know that the Master used to see Divine Mother in all beings? This time he has left me behind in order to teach the Motherhood of God to the world.”
- ‘The Compassionate Mother’ by Br Akshayachaitanya, P150
[Letter] Written [by Holy Mother] in May 1918 in Calcutta to Kamala Bala Sengupta in Sadarpur:
My dear daughter,
I am pleased to receive your letter. Always try to lose yourself in the name of the Master. Make an effort to see him in everything and every being in this world. Try to know that both good and bad are the results of your karma, which come from God. When you understand this, you will attain happiness and peace. I hope you are doing well.
Please accept my blessings,
Your Mother
- ‘Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play’ by Swami Chetanananda, P508
After spending a year in the holy places of the north, they [Holy Mother and other devotess] proceeded to Calcutta by way of Allahabad, where at the sacred confluence of the Ganges and the Yamuna, the Mother offered the remaining portion of the Master’s nails and hair.
Of this the Mother said, ‘Is the Master’s hair an ordinary thing? When I went to Prayag (Allahabad) after his demise, I carried with me his hair for immersion in the holy water. As I took up the hair in hand with a view to offering it in the placid water of the confluence of the Ganges and the Yamuna, a wave leaped up unawares and took away the hair from my hand and hid itself again in the placid water around. That holy place snatched away that thing from my hand for it own sanctification.’
- ‘Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi’ by Swami Gambhirananda, P145
Is there any easy way to keep the mind focused on God in the midst of worldly responsibilities? This is a universal question. A woman devotee asked: "Mother, we are doing our household duties day and night, and we become tired, fulfilling the orders and desires of everybody around us. We don't even get five minutes a day to call on the Master. What will happen to us? Will he not bestow any mercy on us?"
Holy Mother responded: "Surely the Master will bestow his grace on you, my child. He is all-knowing. He dwells in the hearts of all. He will definitely know if there is any sincere longing in you. Moreover, do you yourself do the household work, my child? It is the Master who makes you do everything. This world belongs to him. Nothing happens without his wish. Even the leaves of the tree do not move without his will. No action can be performed without the wish of Krishna. Know for certain that it is the will of God that such longing has dawned in your heart. Those who love God, He protects them. Whether you love Him or not, He loves you. In this world, there are monks and householders. God thinks more about householders. The Master used to say, 'A monk is supposed to call on God, but there is a heavy load of 20 maunds on the back of the householder.' So he thinks of the householder more. Have a little recollectedness of the Master. Call on him with a longing heart. Think of and reflect on him. At the end of the day call on him shedding two tears. My child, what do you have other than those two teardrops? Everything in this world belongs to him, but those two teardrops are yours. Please offer them to the Master. He will be tied by your love. My child, don't be afraid. This time the Master came to make an easy path to realizing God.
- ‘Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play’
by Swami Chetanananda, P693-94
Lavanya Chakrabarty recorded in his reminiscences:
In 1912 at Lakhmi Niwas in Varanasi I met a woman with a veil near the main door. Looking at her face, I asked: “Are you the Mother?”
“Yes, my son, I am your mother.”
“My mother!”
“Yes, I am Mother of you all.”
“Our Mother!”
“Yes, my son, I am the Mother of the Universe.”
A devotee asked, “Mother, people call you Bhagawati.”
Holy Mother replied, “It does not matter what others say. I tell you myself that I am Bhagawati.”
- ‘Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play’ by Swami Chetanananda, P594
A woman asked: "Mother, all children do not have the same desire to learn. Some children lack liveliness and eagerness. How can we enhance the natural curiosity in their minds so that they can develop normally?"
The Mother answered with a smile: "What do you mean? You have become a mother and now you expect me to know what is going on in your children's minds? Listen. One should communicate with them in a simple and intimate way. Chat with them. You should allow them to play with children of their own age. Never scold them too much and never physically abuse them. If you reprimand them severely or beat them, they may be frozen with fear and will run away from you. They will understand easily if you lovingly help them understand. Never refuse to answer their questions by rebuffing them or threatening them. If you scold and intimidate them, they will be afraid to ask questions, which will impede the natural development of their minds."
- ‘Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play’ by Swami Chetanananda, P693
Holy Mother could see the sincerity in the hearts of devotees, so she taught each one differently.
One day, finding the Mother alone, Sarajubala asked her: "Is it permissible to perform worship to the Master during a woman's monthly cycle?"
Holy Mother told her what the Master had suggested: 'If your mind is distraught if you do not perform the worship, then do it; there will be no transgression in it. But if you have any compunction, then don't do it. If you are at all hesitant, don't perform worship.”
However, some days later she answered the same question differently from another woman:
“How is it possible to serve the deities under such a condition? Don't perform any ritual at that time."
- ‘Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play’ by Swami Chetanananda, P483
Sabina Bibi, an elderly Muslim woman, purchased mangoes and jack-fruits in Kotalpur and sold them in Jayrambati. Holy Mother often bought fruit from her. Holy Mother called her “aunt”. During Muslim festivals, the Mother would send offerings to the darga (a tomb of a Muslim saint) in Shiromanipur. One day Mapheti [a Muslim cart-driver whom Mother hired frequently] asked: “Mother, you are a Hindu. Why do you send sweets and other offerings during Muslim festivals?”
She repled: “My son, is God different? All are one. You see, the Master practised Islam sadhana and prayed like the Muslims. Names of God are many but He is one.”
Mapheti once had a divine vision of the Mother. From then on he believed the Holy Mother was a pir, or saint.
- ‘Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play’ by Swami Chetanananda, P431
Once a fallen woman came to Udbodhan House and fell at the Mother’s feet. Holy Mother embraced her and said: “Come to me, my daughter. Now you have realized what sin is. You are repentant. I shall initiate you with a mantra. Offer yourself at the feet of the Master. Don’t be afraid.”
Some aristocratic women from Baghbazar, including Krishnabhavani, Balaram’s wife, heard that the Mother had given shelter to a woman of questionable character, so they decided to stay away. Krishnabhavani told this to Golap-ma, and she reported it to Holy Mother. She remarked: “Those who have taken refuge in me will come here. What can I do if someone’s coming to me stops other’s coming?” Later Krishnabhavani came to the Mother and apologized for her wrong judgement.
- ‘Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play’ by Swami Chetanananda, P444
The sister from Navasan now said, "Mother, for you all children are equal. But to those who want to know the desirability of marriage, you give permission to marry. To those who want to renounce the world, you give instruction praising renunciation. Should you not take them all on the one path that is good for all?"
To that the Holy Mother said in reply, "Will they abstain because of my prohibition if their desire for enjoyment is strong? And to those who have understood by virtue of great merit that all this is Maya's play, and believe that God alone is the reality, should I not offer a little help and encouragement? Is there any end to the miseries of the world?"
- The Gospel of the Holy Mother, P393
