The Compassionate Mother - Brahmachari Akshaychaitanya 023

 

 

 

13-September-2020 (Sunday)

Passages from:

THE COMPASSIONATE MOTHER SRI SRI SARADA DEVI – 023

 

Chapter 5

SARADA ACCEPTS THE MASTER’S WORSHIP – 02

 

While watching the preliminaries of the worship, Sarada entered into a semi-conscious state. The worshipper [the Master] sat facing the east; towards his south was the decorated seat of the deity. Now, beckoned by him, Sarada came and sat on this seat facing the north. He then took some sanctified water from a pitcher placed in front and ceremoniously sprinkled it again and again on her. Thereafter he uttered the appropriate sacred chants and prayed, “O Thou eternal virgin, Thou Mother Tripura Sundari, the source of all power, do Thou open the gates of perfection. Sanctifying her [Sarada’s] mind and body, do Thou manifest Thyself through her and ordain all good.”

 

Then he mentally identified the different limbs of Sarada with the corresponding parts of the deity with appropriate mantras and considering her as none other than the deity Herself, worshipped her duly with the different kinds of offerings. Thereafter, with his own hands, he took some portion of the consecrated eatables and put them in her mouth. Losing her outer consciousness, she became fully absorbed in samadhi. Uttering the sacred chants in a semi-conscious state, the Master too gradually became completely absorbed in samadhi. Thus the worshipper and the worshipped, both fully absorbed in samadhi, became unified in the transcendental plane. [Sri Ramakrishna the Great Master]

 

Both the worshipper and the worshipped had left the mental plane and became united in the transcendental. And there they merged, only the two physical bodies remained at that spot. Now try to understand, O my mind, the real meaning of this marriage! [A Portrait of Sri Ramakrishna]

 

Many hours passed in that state. It was past midnight when the Master, in a semi-conscious state, offered himself to the deity. He first offered a bel leaf (on which was written his name), the rosary, the different articles of clothing and ornaments he had used at the time of his spiritual practices, and also the fruit of his spiritual disciplines; then he offered even himself at the feet of the goddess.

 

The Shodashi worship was the conclusion of the Master’s worship of deities. After this, he never performed worship of any of the other deities whatsoever. It was, as if, the Holy Mother’s worship was the ultimate end and the culmination of all worship. [A Portrait of Sri Ramakrishna]

 

When the worship was over, Sarada’s absorption in the transcendental plane also came to an end. After mentally bowing down to the Master, she then went to the Nahabat.

 

Regarding Sarada’s behaviour at the time of Shodashi worship, Sharat Maharaj (Swami Saradananda) said, “At the time of worship, the Mother was so deeply absorbed in samadhi that she was completely oblivious to the happenings outside. The Master had adorned her with new clothes after removing the old ones. He then made obeisance to her and placed a garland at her feet. All the while the Mother knew nothing of these. In later days Lakshmi Devi used to tell the bashful Mother, ‘The Master had dressed you up with new clothes after removing the old ones. Even then, you knew nothing!’ On this day, she had even partaken of some sanctified meat; whereas, at other times, she never used to take meat.”⁶ [⁶ See Saradananda Prasanga by Akshaychaitanya. Swami Gambhirananda, in his Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, says (p. 50): When the Mother said that at the commencement of the ceremony, the Master painted her feet with liquid lac-dye, put vermilion on her forehead, clad her with a new piece of cloth, and put betel and sweets into her mouth, Lakshmi Devi asked with an amused smile. “You are so shy, my dear, how did he put clothes on you?” The Mother simply replied, “I was not quite myself then.” – Ed.]

 

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The Compassionate Mother Sri Sri Sarada Devi

The Oldest Biography of Sri Sarada Devi by Brahmachari Akshaya Chaitanya

Translated by Swami Tanmayananda

Revised and Edited by Swami Shuddhidananda

Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata, 2009. p. 49 – 51