When a friend asked me "...Ramakrishna or Holy Mother?" I replied "They are the same." There is the seed and then the tree. That's how I feel about it. If you need shelter, then ask Mother because she can never say no to her beloved children. Below is a little bit about her. Do find out more if you like.(1853 - 1920]
"When Holy Mother came to Dakshineswar at the age of sixteen, Sri Ramakrishna asked her whether she had come to pull him down to a worldly life. Without hesitation she said, "No, I am here to help you realize your Chosen Ideal." From then on, Holy Mother lived with Sri Ramakrishna as his spiritual companion, devoted wife, disciple, and always the nun. She was the embodiment of purity. Her mind was never sullied by the faintest breath of worldliness, though she lived with Sri Ramakrishna for the greater part of fourteen years.
"Holy Mother was an unusual awakener of souls. With her disciples she served as teacher, dissolving their doubts, as mother, who through love and compassion won their hearts, and as the Divinity, who assured them of liberation. Herself nearly illiterate, through simple words she taught them the most profound truths. Her affectionate maternal love tamed their rebellious spirits; but her great power lay in her solicitude for all. Often she said, "I am the Mother, who will look after them if not I ?" She encouraged them when they were depressed because of slow spiritual progress, and she took upon herself their sins and iniquities, suffering on that account.
"Holy Mother was conscious of her divine nature, but she rarely expressed this awareness. For many years Sri Ramakrishna practiced great austerities and formally renounced the world, but Holy Mother lived as a simple householder, surrounded by quarrelsome and greedy relatives. As a teacher she taught the realization of God alone is real, and everything else, impermanent. The human body so treasured by most people, survives cremations as only three pounds of ashes. She was fully aware of her disciples' present limitations and their future possibilities. No one went away from her with a downcast heart.
-- Swami Nikhilananda
"Holy Mother and the Ideal of Indian Womanhood."
Published by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras, India.
1 comment:
Hi Sumishta! Wonderful to see your new blog. I just came home from the Ananda Ashrama....it's beautiful, as usual. I've decided to take a little retreat there next weekend for the Ramakrishna Puja. Everyone deserves to retreat now and again, to get outside of this world and focus on those very personal and lasting spiritual experiences. This blog will be a retreat. :) Reading the entried and seeing Swami P.'s photo is uplifting. I'll definately be checking back. Do you have an RSS feed activated? I'll check. love from L.A., Nalini
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