Mantra Initiation

 

Gaya

Sri Ramakrishna used to say that his body had come from Gaya. When his mother passed away, he asked me to offer Pindam (funeral cakes) at Gaya. I replied I was not entitled to perform those rites when the son himself was alive. The Master replied, "No, no, you are entitled to do it. Under no circumstances can I go to Gaya. If I go, do you think it will be possible for me to return?"* So I did not want him to go there. And later on I performed the rites at Gaya. 

                   - Holy Mother, The Gospel of the Holy Mother, P64

  * Tradition has it that the birth of Sri Ramakrishna was heralded by the vision his father had at Gaya of the Deity, who announced that He would be born as his son. Hence the spiritual association he had with Gaya was likely to overwhelm him if he went to that place. 

Motherhood

 

Desires cause Rebirth

As long as a man has desires, there is no end to his transmigration. It is the desires alone that make him take one body after another. There will be rebirth for a man if he has even the desire to eat a piece of sweetmeat. It is for this reason that a variety of foodstuffs are brought to Belur Math. Desire maybe compared to a minute seed. It is like a big banyan tree growing out of a seed, which is no bigger than a dot. 

Rebirth is inevitable so long as one has desires. It is like taking the soul from one pillowcase and putting it into another; only one or two out of many men can be found who are free from all desires. Though one gets a new body on account of desires, yet one does not completely lose spiritual consciousness if one has to one's credit merits from previous births. 

              - Holy Mother, The Gospel of the Holy Mother, P89

Pure Mind

 

Redemption of Mankind

 

Did We Come for Eating rasagollas?!

Another day, when I visited the Mother, I heard the monks telling her, "Mother, after your recovery this time, we will not allow anyone to receive initiation from you. You have to undergo a lot of suffering by taking upon yourself the sins of your disciples." The Mother smiled softly and said, "Why, my dear children? Did Sri Ramakrishna come only to eat rasagollas'?" That silenced all. O Mother! How much indeed did you express in those few words: ignorant that we are, how little could we understand!   

This reminded me of another episode. A woman from a respectable family had fallen on evil ways. But perhaps due to some merit of previous life, she fortunately came in contact with a holy man. Under his guidance, she realized her mistake and became repentant. He advised her to visit the Holy Mother. 

One day she came to meet the Mother at the Udbodhan Office. She felt shy to enter the prayer-hall. So standing near the doorstep, she confessed to the Mother all her dark past, and said, "O Mother, what will be my fate? I am not even fit to enter this holy shrine to meet you." The Mother herself went forward and embracing the woman, told her lovingly, "Come, child, come inside. You have understood what sin is, and you are also repentant of your deeds. Come, I shall initiate you. Surrender everything at the feet of Sri Ramakrishna. Why should you fear?"   

Accepting the sins and afflictions of mankind on her own shoulders and raising the 'fallen', it is only the all-compassionate Mother, who can smilingly say, "Why! Did Sri Ramakrishna come only to eat rasagollas?" 

           - The Gospel of the Holy Mother, P70-71

Wild Elephant

 

Alert and Careful

Sri Ramakrishna spoke about nothing but God. He used to tell me, 'Do you notice this human body? Today it is and to-morrow it is not. And coming to this world it suffers no end of misery and pain. Why should one worry about taking another birth? God alone is eternally true. If one can call on Him, it is good. Taking a body one has to suffer from its accompanying troubles!' 

The other day Bilas said to me, 'Mother, we have to be always very alert. We always tremble with fear lest we should think any unholy thought.' That is very true. A monk is like a bleached cloth, and the householder is like a black one. One does not notice the spots in a black cloth so much, but even a drop of ink looks so prominent on white linen. The monk's life is always beset with dangers. The whole world is engrossed in lust and gold. The monk must always practise renunciation and dispassion. 

Therefore Sri Ramakrishna used to say, 'A monk must be always alert and careful.' 

                     - Holy Mother, The Gospel of the Holy Mother, P57

Human Birth

 

Attachment to Body

 

Effects of Words

“… … In the end the woman confessed to him [i.e. to Sri Ramakrishna] all her sins and was thus released from their evil effects.”   

Nalini: How is it possible, Mother? How can one be absolved from sin by simply expressing it in words? Is it possible to wash away sin in this manner? 

Mother: Why not, my dear child? Sri Ramakrishna was a perfect soul. Certainly one can be free from sin by confessing it to one like him. And one thing more, if at a certain place people talk of virtue and vice, those present there must take a share of those qualities. 

Nalini: How is this possible? 

Mother: Let me explain. Imagine a man confessed to you his virtue or vice. Whenever you think of that man you will remember his virtuous or sinful acts. And they will thus leave an impression upon your mind. Is it not true, my child? 

                     - The Gospel of the Holy Mother, P36-37

No Waste

A man came with a basket of fruits. The fruits were meant for offering. He asked the monks what he should do with the basket. They told him to throw it out in the lane. The Mother got up and went to the porch. She looked at the lane and said to me, "Look there. They have asked him to throw away such a nice basket! It does not matter for them in the least. They are all monks and totally unattached. But we cannot allow such a waste. We could have utilized the basket at least for keeping the peelings of the vegetables." She asked someone to fetch the basket and wash it. The basket was kept for some future use. I learnt a lesson from her words. 

                                - The Gospel of the Holy Mother, P34

Mind

 

Carefulness in Service

“New devotees should be given the privilege of service in the shrine room. Their new zeal makes them serve the Lord carefully. The others are tired of service. Service, in the real sense of the word, is not a joke. One should be extremely careful about making His service perfectly flawless. But the truth is, God knows our foolishness and therefore He forgives us." One woman devotee was near her. I do not know if these words were directed towards her. The Mother was asking her to be careful in picking the right kind of flowers and in making sandal paste for the purpose of worship, as also in not touching any part of the body, cloth or hair while working in the shrine.

 "One must work in the shrine room with great attention," said she, "Offerings and the rest should be made the proper time." 

                                - The Gospel of the Holy Mother, P31

Saptarshi Loka