In The Presence of Mother

Swami Saradeshananda

Mother disapproved of her householder devotees being indifferent towards their families and the resultant domestic upheaval. 'All households belong to God, and no other, and whatever may be the task entrusted to us there, we must always depend on Him and try to accomplish the task to the best of our ability'this was Mother's instruction to all her children. Regretting the negligence of some people in the discharge of their duties she used to say, 'Thakur, whose clothes were hardly ever in place, even he used to be so concerned about my welfare.'

Once when a devotee was very eager to present her with very expensive clothing, she refused to accept it. She said, 'If he is so anxious to spend money, let him buy a plot of paddy land for the benefit of sannyasins and devotees.' A plot of land was considered for purchase with the money given by the devotee but nothing came of it, as the owner changed his mind. Mother told one of her sons in this regard, 'My son, since the land could not be bought now and cash at one's disposal always tends to get spent, I have sent the money to Kedar at Koalpara for buying and storing paddy which is very cheap at this time. When the money is needed, we just have to sell the paddy.' Suitable land was not available for purchase but when the paddy was sold its price had increased fourfold.

When Mother's new house was built at Jairambati the village panchayat had levied a chowkidari tax on it and in the first year, in Mother's absence, Brahmachari Jnanananda had paid four rupees as the annual tax. The following year Mother was at Jairambati when the taxcollector came. She ordered the attendant to take steps to obtain exemption from paying the tax. Mother said to him, 'Now I am here and I may somehow pay the tax, but the sannyasins and brahmacharins who will live here after me, might even have to beg their food. How will they pay the tax? Try to get exemption from the tax.' She took the initiative in having a letter written to the President of the Union Board on her behalf and sent the son to deliver the letter to him. Though the tax for that year had to be paid, there was an assurance of exemption being granted the following year. Mother's timely reminder in that year succeeded in putting an end to the matter.¹

At Jairambati the postman used to deliver the Money Orders. Mother used to receive them with a thumb impression. Someone would attest the thumb impression and the postman used to count out the money and hand it over. Mother, clutching the money in her hand, used to go to her room and put it by. Then she would give the postman prasad and speak to him pleasantly. Nobody ever knew who sent the money, or how much. Later at an opportune time she would have an acknowledgement written and blessings conveyed. Even if an attendant was present and received the Money Order, Mother would forbid undue handling or counting of the money, saying, 'Son, even the tinkle of money generates greed in the poor; money is such a thing that it causes even a wooden doll to open its mouth.'

In the beginning many had doubted whether Swamiji's founding the Ramakrishna Mission and engaging the sadhus in the service of mankind was in keeping with the spirit of Sri Ramakrishna's teachings. They had raised this question before Mother from time to time. Sometimes she would say, 'All this work is Thakur's work.' At other times she would say, 'My son, work for your living. If you don't work who will feed you? Wandering about in the sun with a begging bowl will cause your head to reel. If you don't eat properly you will fall ill. Don't pay heed to such remarks. Work, eat well, sing the praise of God.'

Just as Mother encouraged japa and meditation, she was also careful to warn against overdoing them lest that should affect the brain. She forbade excessive practice of austerities although she did not approve of immoderation in matters of food and clothes, or in the style of living. The extreme hardships suffered by Sri Sri Thakur's sannyasin sons after his passing away had caused her deep anguish.

The affluence at the monastery at Bodh Gaya and the comfortable life of the monks there had reminded her of her sons wandering about in a state of destitution and she had wept bitterly and prayed to Thakur for them. That is why respected Jogin Ma had said to me one day: 'Whatever you see now (maths and ashrams etc.) have come to be through her grace alone. Whenever she came across any image of a deity, God worshipped in whatever form, she wept and prayed, "Thakur, give my sons some kind of shelter, give them food." Her prayers were answered.'

At Jairambati some women used to be horrified to see Mother initiating many of her sons to sannyasa and giving them the ochre cloth herself. Mother used to laugh joyouslyone more of her sons was saved from the trials and tribulations of domestic life.

Though Mother did not discourage her householder disciples in the usual practices of earning an income, marrying and leading a domestic life, she guided with great exultation those sons eager to renounce the world on the path of renunciation.

One of Mother's sons once wrote to her that he preferred to renounce the world rather than marry but his father was strongly opposed to it and was adopting various means to entangle him in domesticity. Mother was deeply moved on learning about her son's distress. With tearful eyes she exclaimed, 'See how a father himself wants to hit his son on the head with an axe and destroy himthe son has written to me in desperation.' She replied to the letter conveying her blessings and assurances; and by her grace the son's predicaments eventually came to an end. Gradually, his father's attitude changed and being favourably disposed towards his son, he supported him in his spiritual pursuits. The son too, in turn, did his utmost to serve his old father and succeeded in receiving his love and blessings when the end came.

On another occasion an old Brahmin wrote to Mother that the son whom he had educated and brought up with the expectation that he would be taken care of in his old age, had been initiated by Mother some time ago and had recently left his parents and joined an ashram to renounce the world. His mother, overcome with grief, had taken to bed. He himself was old and helpless. For him the world had come to an end. In moving words he had described their plight and had appealed to Mother to give his son back to him. When the letter was read out to Mother she was very upset and exclaimed, 'How that old brahmin must be cursing me! And he is certainly justified in doing so. With what hardships the son had been brought up with such high hopes, and now he has suddenly run away!' A letter was then written, warmly consoling and comforting the old brahmin. In it Mother said that she had no knowledge of the matter at all, that the son had not informed her of his plans and as he had renounced the world of his own volition, there was nothing she could do about it. Advising them to pray fervently to God, she assured them that God would surely answer their prayers and therefore, they should stop worrying so much. Later, Mother said to the writer of the letter [Swami Saradesha-nanda], 'My son, why do these fools behave in this manner, causing suffering to their parents and bringing suffering upon themselves? One has to visit an ashrama regularly over a period of time, live in the company of sadhus from time to time, so that parents may have an idea of their son's inclinations and get used to it. Then parting is not so painful.' Though the boy concerned was compelled to return home at that time, after spending some time with his parents he succeeded in persuading them to give their consent and renounced the world. However, as long as they lived he kept close contact with them maintaining a warm and cordial relationship.

For those of her sons who had renounced the world Mother had a special regard. Banku (Bankim), son of Mother's cousin, renounced the world early in life. When informed, Mother remarked 'He has done something worthwhile indeed. After all, what does this frame of bones and flesh signify? Just see, how I'm suffering from rheumatism! What is there in this body? Why such attachment to it? The end is bound to come some day. Then the remains of this body will amount to only one and a half seer of ashes, that is all that will remain, isn't it? Banku has given up worldly life and has chosen the spiritual path to attain God; he has done very well, he has done very well indeed!'

In this context another incident comes to mind. One evening, after dusk, an attendant [Swami Saradeshananda himself] was reading out letters to Mother. She sat on a mat on the floor, her legs stretched in front of her and a hurricane lantern burned nearby. The attendant was sitting beside Mother, his head bent. Suddenly he noticed a big scorpion advancing towards Mother. Apprehensive that it might sting Mother, he immediately crushed it with a powerful kick. There was no time to look for a stick or something else. Mother regarded the dead insect compassionately and murmured: 'Lost its life struck by a sadhu's foot.' Her manner implied that the scorpion had attained spiritual salvation thereby.

Mother's sannyasin-sons never expressed the slightest protest against her will. However, they proferred their heartfelt appeals and prayers at her sacred feet. She, too, fulfilled their wishes on certain occasions. When Mother's sons, foolish as they were, blurted out their inmost desires without hesitation, Mother was amused. Sometimes she paid heed to them, sometimes she didn't, skilfully diverting their attention to other matters so that the thought might slip away from their memory. Revered Kapil Maharaj had enjoyed Mother's special affection, having spent a long time in the sanctuary of her feet at Udbodhan. Once after a bout of illness at Jairambati, Mother had hardly recovered when he began to plead with her persistently to go to Kolkata. But Mother ignored all his pleadings. She confided to someone, 'They are penniless sadhus. At a moment's notice they may settle down somewhere or depart, without having to bother about anything. Just flinging a blanket over the shoulder, they can make off. Does that go for me? I have to take so many aspects into consideration before I decide on a course of action, so that none is inconvenienced.'

It is our nature to create an uproar over a trifle and suffer the consequences. Mother used to teach us to be patient and tolerant in all matters, to endure everything in silence, saying that he who endures lasts and he who doesn't, perishes.

We never saw Mother blaming others for her own sufferings. Her teaching was, 'We only experience the fruit of our Karma. Instead of blaming others, one should pray to God and bear all situations with faith in His mercy.'

Whoever had the fortune to spend even a few days at Mother's feet realized that in order to shape the spiritual life of her sons she taught them to develop strength of character, to practise detachment, forbearance, temperance, to worship God with firm faith, sincere devotion and complete surrender to His will in all circumstances of life. Just like Mother herself, her sons too never tended to excessive sentimentalism. All of them were serene, calm, composed and steadfast in their conduct.

(Concluded)