The Mother As I Saw Her

Everything depends on the mind. Nothing can be achieved without purity of mind. It is said, "The aspirant may have received the grace of the Guru, the Lord and Vaishnavas, but he comes to grief without the grace of 'one'." That "one" is the mind. The mind of the aspirant should be gracious to him.    — Holy Mother

Sri Sarada Devi, The Holy MotherAs the consecrated wife and spiritual companion of Sri Ramakrishna and a spiritual teacher and luminary in Her own right, Sri Sarada Devi, known worldwide as the Holy Mother, is a unique phenomenon in the realm of sacred beings. Perhaps the testament of Sri Ramakrishna Himself is the best recourse to take when attempting to describe Her. Once, when She was massaging His feet, She asked Him what He thought of Her. He explained to Her that the same Mother (Bhavatarini/Kali) that was in the Dakshineswar Temple and the same Mother that had given Him birth was now sitting before Him holding His feet. Though admittedly, this was an assessment coming from a being who saw the Divine Mother everywhere, more specific praise was forthcoming. In later years, when both of Them had discovered the full divine potential in each other, He was heard to say that the Goddesses Kali, Sarasvati and Lakshmi had manifested in the present age as Sri Sarada Devi.

This type of adoration coming from such a source is revealing. However, one does not have to look far before a boundless ocean of praise is discovered, written and spoken not only by monks, householder devotees and the public at large, but also by those who lived with Her daily. One such person, who later became a swami in the Ramakrishna Order, wrote of Her in a hymn:

Victory to Sri Sarada, who is mother, friend, saint and teacher in one!
Whose life was spent in efforts to remove ignorance from the minds of those precious spiritual children who took refuge in Her.
O Mother of the entire universe and savior of the world, protector of the devotees who transmits the boon of liberation,
Who shows concern for the world but remains ever absorbed in God realization.
Salutations unto Thee.

Holy Mother was born in 1853 in a village in India only a few miles from Sri Ramakrishna's birthplace. Far from coincidence, the two had a profound mission to accomplish and were destined to marry and become spiritual father and mother to thousands of aspiring beings. Though they lived a celibate life, the family that grew up around them is as diverse as the imagination can allow. From the highest ever-perfect soul such as Swami Vivekananda, to the humblest devotee and the most downtrodden unfortunate, including those laboring under evil propensities, the Great Master and Holy Mother received them all as children and tended to their many problems, needs, desires and aspirations according to their capacity and temperament. It is said that Sri Sarada Devi was the Master's first disciple. Though this is true in the historical and chronological sense, She being the first to come to Him after His sadhana (spiritual discipline) phase, the Master Himself said of Her, "She is my power. Without Her I could not even lift a finger."

Sri Sarada DeviThat the Holy Mother is so understated, historically, as well as among the devotees of Sri Ramakrishna and the western following of Swami Vivekananda, is due to several factors. First, She was only a small girl of five when She was married to Sri Ramakrishna, He being over twenty-three at the time. It was both practical and fortunate that She was given training by Him in worldly and spiritual matters when she later joined Him at the Dakshineswar Temple in Her late teens. Secondly, Her own subtle and humble nature demanded that She remain behind the scenes at all times, serving the growing spiritual family and working as the hidden power behind Sri Ramakrishna's work and mission. Thirdly, many eastern cultures have strict rules around modesty and decorum whereby women are hidden and protected as society dictates. These strictures were heavily in effect in mid-nineteenth century Calcutta, the scene of Their Mahalila (Divine Play), during Holy Mother's lifetime.

By the Master's own admission, powerful aspects of the Divine Mother of the Universe were manifest in Holy Mother. Besides Her important part in His work of raising the suffering, tending to the devotees and serving the Master Himself, She would eventually take over His mission and oversee its crucial growth and evolution when He was no longer able.

After Sri Ramakrishna's mahasamadhi in 1886, Holy Mother, then just 33 years old, became the lineage holder of the Ramakrishna Order. During the initial years after His passing She returned to Sri Ramakrishna's ancestral village and lived a simple and austere life interspersed by several pilgrimages. Once, while visiting Bodh Gaya, the sight of how the monks there lived in comfort compared to the impoverished conditions of Her own monastic sons, caused Her to pray intensely to the Master for a place where His disciples could live and worship accordingly. Later, when land for a monastery had been secured, due in part to Swami Vivekananda's inspiring work in India and abroad, the Holy Mother received the many devotees and visitors that came due to Sri Ramakrishna's growing fame. The monastic and householder devotees of the Master alike acknowledged Her as the Mother of the Ramakrishna Order and She assumed and dispatched all duties allotted Her with concern and efficiency.

When a person takes refuge with God, life's goal changes-- God Himself reverses his destiny. Does he grow a pair of horns? No, but he can distinguish good from evil, discover knowledge and pass beyond the reach of life and death. You must find Him in your meditations. Who has seen more than this, to whom has He actually spoken?... it is in spiritual transports one sees Him, talks with Him, and so on...   — In the Company of Holy Mother, p. 57

One of the more important of these duties involved initiating the growing number of seekers who were attracted to Sri Ramakrishna and the direct disciples. How fortunate were those who received direct mantra diksha (transmission of the mantra during initiation) from the Divine Mother of the Universe Herself through the open and pure channel of Sri Sarada Devi! Hundreds of these souls were granted admission into spiritual life and instruction in sadhana by Holy Mother.

As part of Sri Ramakrishna's mission, as well as Swami Vivekananda's work in India and throughout the world, the upliftment of the suffering masses was of paramount importance. In line with this task, the development and emancipation of women played an essential part, for the Master and His foremost disciple knew that no regeneration of society would be possible if this was not accomplished. The Divine Mother of the Universe simply would not manifest in the collective heart of humanity if the divine Shakti power (Dynamic Mother Reality) lying dormant in all beings was not propitiated and revered.

In this respect, the Holy Mother represents the ideal of contemporary womanhood, the perfect example of fully awakened, fully illumined Shakti power. As Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda removed the veils of weakness and ignorance covering the minds of human beings everywhere, the Holy Mother opened the floodgates for divine feminine expression showing a way to liberation and acting as an example for women the world over to follow. In Her is seen the exquisitely balanced blend of power and modesty, strength and humility, detachment and compassion, purity and practicality. By accepting Her as the ultimate standard for the women of contemporary times, immaculate Shakti power will emerge and homes, families, schools, workplaces and spiritual centers will again become pure and divinized.

O Sarada, propitious Goddess, killer of misery in souls resigned, Savior of religion in every age, By saints and sages worshiped, O Mother, kind, Give us love and wisdom, Thou, O Grace incarnate, to Thee we bow.

 

Suggested Reading:

ramakrishna in samadhiSri Ramakrishna, the God-intoxicated, God-realized being of nineteenth century India, was born in 1836 of poor but pious parents in a small village in Bengal. Entering mahasamadhi (final absorption into Absolute Reality) in 1886, He nevertheless exercised a profound spiritual influence on the peoples of the world over this fifty-year period. That influence remains and continues today, becoming more and more pronounced as the effects of his God-centered life manifest in our contemporary human culture.

Born on earth together with his consecrated wife and spiritual consort, Sri Sarada Devi, known lovingly as the Holy Mother, these two divinities of the Kali Yuga (the present age) closely resemble other divine couples of the past such as Sita and Rama of the Treta Yuga and Radha and Krishna of the Dvapara Yuga.

Swami Vivekananda, one of Sri Ramakrishna's closest disciples, echoes similar sentiments in one of his devotional songs about his Master:

Behold, Sita's beloved has returned again. The One whose knowledge remains ever-perfect and whose selfless love embraces even the outcast shunned by society. Throughout the three worlds there is no equal to this incomparable One, for He is the Supreme Being whose presence alone saves and benefits the world.

The renowned swami was no less expressive of Sri Ramakrishna's divinity in his poems:

The nectar that has been obtained by churning the infinite ocean of the Vedas, into which Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and other gods have poured their strength, which is charged with the life-essence of the Avatars--Gods incarnate on earth, Sri Ramakrishna holds that nectar in His person, in its fullest measure.

Recognized by many as the Avatar of the the Kali Yuga, a complete Divine Incarnation, Sri Ramakrishna was an ecstatic holy man, illumined sage, incomparable spiritual teacher, perfected yogi, loving husband, selfless servant of humanity and consummate devotee of the Mother of the Universe all in one. Even these praises cannot adequately describe Him.

The Divine Incarnation is recognizable in part by the many luminaries and realized beings that attend upon Him in His lifetime. Accompanied by a quartet of perfected beings called Ishvarakotis and a host of illumined yogis, adept sages and other holy beings both male and female, the Paramahamsa (Great Swan), as He is often called, accomplished many spiritual victories in His brief lifetime. Among the most obvious of these are:

  1. the resurrection, elucidation and transmission of the timeless message of the Sanatana Dharma
  2. the awakening of Mother Kali and the revelation of Divine Mother Reality through intense personal disciplines
  3. the acknowledgment and demonstration of the Universal Truth of all Religions through His direct spiritual experience
  4. the establishment of the sacred religious order that bears His name

 

In addition, His powerful influence served to stem the tide of western materialism that threatened to deluge Mother India just prior to His advent on earth. This feat saved and revived the timeless and indescribably precious spiritual teachings of India, a wealth of the most profound and ancient scriptural wisdom known to mankind's history, formulated over many centuries by an illumined, God-centered race.

ramakrishna standingFilled with divine power yet egoless and humble, of unsurpassed knowledge yet unschooled and unlettered, a lifetime celibate yet married with an extended family of mind-born children, this enigmatic and mystical figure was nonetheless down to earth and practical. Simple and unostentatious, devoid of material wealth, possessed of an encyclopedic knowledge of the ancient scriptures and an uncanny ability to fathom the depths of the human mind, Sri Ramakrishna was known as the "King of the Devotees" due to His natural and inherent faith in God. He realized God as the formless Reality called Brahman, and worshiped the same as God with form, called Shakti and this is also one of His gifts to humanity. By affirming that Divine Reality is both formless and imbued with form, He put to death the age-old doubts surrounding this and other philosophical quandaries.

Besides experiencing the various types of samadhi (subtle states of divine union) listed in the sacred scriptures of India, Sri Ramakrishna, known as the "Great Master", entered spiritual states that were both unknown and unrecorded in the history of religion. His unique and comprehensive way of expressing Truth attracted aspirants and illumined beings alike.

Praises from thousands of devotees who have committed their lives to the ideal He exemplifies, as well as salutations and respects from various notables such as Swami Vivekananda, Swami Brahmananda, Mahatma Gandhi, Sri Aurobindo, Romain Rolland and many others in both secular and spiritual fields, reveal Him to be one of those extremely rare beings who visit the earth in times of crisis with a transformative message of Truth. Such a being provides both solace for those who suffer and timely solutions for the ills of relative existence.

As Sri Krishna states in the sacred Bhagavad Gita:

Numerous births I assume throughout time, O beloved,
but beings ever fail to recognize Me.
They are reborn again and again, yet remain unaware of their true nature
These lives of Mine are mere appearance, Arjuna.
In truth, I am timeless, birthless and deathless
Being of imperishable origin, I create perishable nature and enter into all things.
When deluded beings gain in strength, O Arjuna,
and falsehood masquerades as righteousness
It is then that I incarnate in divine form to light the Way
Defeating the evil-doers while lifting up the suffering masses,
I establish on earth the true path to Brahman.
It is for these reasons that I assume a body.
And know this too, O Arjuna:
Those who believe in Me, take refuge in Me and have devotion,
when they leave this earth, they gain My realm and return no more.

 

Suggested Reading:

 

"My Mother is the principle of consciousness. She is akhanda satchidananda; indivisible Reality, Awareness, and Bliss. The night sky between the stars is perfectly black. The waters of the ocean depths are the same. The infinite is always mysteriously dark. This inebriating darkness is my beloved Kali...."

Reality with attributes, saguna brahman, has been unanimously declared by the Vedas, Puranas, and Tantras to be Mahakali, the primordial energy of awareness. Her Energy is like the rays of the sun. The original sun is attributeless Reality, nirguna brahman, boundless awareness alone. Proceed to the Original through its Radiance. Awaken to non-dual Reality through Mother Kali. She holds the key. — Sri Ramakrishna in "Great Swan", by Lex Hixon, p.184

durgaFar too little is known about the Divine Mother of the Universe and what little of this is available comes to us in the form of either scriptural references couched in archaic language or contemporary representations of the Divine Mother emphasizing limited concepts which concern arcane metaphysics or the worship of nature and the elements. Whereas neither of these interpretations are objectionable, each presenting a portion of the picture of what She embodies, it is time, especially in this auspicious day and age when the Avatar of Kali, Sri Ramakrishna, has appeared in our midst, to offer up a more comprehensive rendering of Her all-pervasive presence and all-enthralling appearance.

In such an undertaking, we must naturally part company with those who maintain that the infinite Mother of the Universe is merely an anthropomorphic goddess, merely a nature spirit, merely a universal power, merely a concept or a symbol for Reality, merely a feminine principle. Her appearance in form always springs from Her formless essence called Brahman, and the two are inseparable.

"The calm sea is the Absolute; the same sea in waves is Divine Mother. She is time, space, and causation. God is Mother and has two natures, the conditioned and the unconditioned. As the former, She is God, nature, and soul (humanity). As the latter, She is unknown and unknowable. Out of the Unconditioned came the trinity god, nature, and soul, the triangle of existence...
A bit of Mother, a drop, was Krishna, another was Buddha, another was Christ. The worship of even one spark of Mother in our earthly mother leads to greatness. Worship Her if you want love and wisdom." — Swami Vivekananda, Inspired Talks, July, 1895

 

The five elements are only Her tools for fashioning the universe and obey Her will. She is never restricted to the physical universe alone, but instead remains fully detached yet intrinsically involved — a baffling secret which only She knows how to implement. She is the living Reality underlying and animating all sentient and insentient beings and objects, perpetually existing as their very essence and is therefore the Conceiver of all concepts, the Symbol for all symbols the eternal Subject. Finally, She is the Shakti of the gods, pure and changeless, transcendent and genderless, permeating everything with limitless Consciousness.

kaliThroughout the three worlds She is acclaimed as the Deva Devi Svarupaya, the essence of all gods and goddesses the ancient, primordial Mother of the Universe whose nature is non-dual Truth. This ever-present Goddess epitomizes both the bliss of unlimited Awareness, static and supine, and the diverse play of universal projection, dynamic and fascinating. She manifests countless beings abiding in an infinite set of worlds, seen and unseen, gross and subtle, hidden and exposed.

Her existence is confirmed by the holy scriptures since She is perceived intellectually by means of the six Darshanas, Her perpetually flowing streams of eternal spiritual knowledge. She is approached and contacted by the devotees through intense sadhana — spiritual disciplines prescribed by the guru — and She is intimately accessible through contemplation and meditation. Ultimately, She is to be realized as the essence of limitless Consciousness, infinite, indivisible, all-pervading and Absolute.

Eternal salutations to Sri Durga, to Sri Kali, the boundless ocean of spiritual Wisdom worshiped as the Divine Mother of the Universe!

Manifestations of Her glory show in power of immeasurable might,
Throughout the universe, powers that swell the sea of birth and death,
Forces that change and break up the Unchanged and changed again.
Lo! Where shall we seek refuge, save in Her? — Swami Vivekananda, from "Hymn to the Divine Mother"

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