13-September-2020
Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play! 259
Passages from “Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play” – p: 254 – 255
By Swami Chetanananda
Vedanta Society of St Louis
CHAPTER 16
HOLY MOTHER AND MAHENDRA NATH GUPTA (M.) – 08
M.’s Stories of Holy Mother – 01
On different occasions M. recounted stories about Holy Mother to the devotees. These stories were recorded by Swami Nityatmananda and are excerpted here:
When the Master passed away, Holy Mother said, “His gross body is gone, but his spiritual body exists eternally.” Once Hriday teased Holy Mother, saying, “Aunt, if you call uncle ‘father,’ I shall give you five seers of sandesh [sweets]." Holy Mother replied: “You will not have to give me sandesh. I tell you on my own that he is my father, mother, guru, friend, and husband – he is everything to me.” She found the Master in every type of relationship. What faith she had!
Sometimes the Master talked to Holy Mother in front of the nahabat. Golap-ma, Yogin-ma, and Gauri-ma occasionally stayed with her. Brinda helped her do the household work.
The Master said to Holy Mother: “This mud hut of Kamarpukur is yours. Live on spinach and rice, and chant God’s name the entire day.” He gave Holy Mother his cottage in Kamarpukur and 400 rupees. Mathur gave some jewellery to the Master when he was practising sadhana as a confidante of Radha. That jewellery was sold for 400 rupees* (*Actually 600 rupees were invested and Holy Mother received 6 rupees per month from the interest.) and the money was invested in Balaram’s estate. It earned an annual interest of 30 rupees. The Master sometimes asked us: “Well, are 2 rupees a month enough for a brahmin widow? What do you think?” Nonetheless, he was oblivious of day and night, even to his wearing cloth. He was so concerned about Holy Mother. He set the example, so that others would follow.
One day Holy Mother was meditating and someone loudly called to her. Her meditation broke and she cried out. When he heard this, the Master rushed to the nahabat, and gradually Holy Mother became calm. The Master said to others: “During meditation, one should neither call nor make any noise near that person.”
The Master arranged for Holy Mother to sleep on the small cot in his room for eight months in Dakshineswar. Why? To teach devotees. They slept close to one another but had no physical relationship. His action was meant to bring strength and encouragement to the householder devotees so that they also could live like brother and sister. His marriage was an example for others. He demonstrated how to lead a married life.
The Master suffered in Dakshineswar after Mathur’s passing away. There was no one to look after him. He would eat cold spicy food at 1:00 p.m. His mat was torn, and his pillowcase and bedsheet were dirty; but his mind was on God. Gradually his health broke down. [When Hriday left], he wrote to Holy Mother: “There is no one to look after me here. I shall appreciate it if you come here.” Holy Mother returned to Dakshineswar and began to cook for him.
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