Passages from Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play! 12-December-2021 - 316
Satwik Joglekar
12-December-2021
Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play! 316
Passages from “Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play” : 319
By Swami Chetanananda
Vedanta Society of St Louis
CHAPTER 20
Holy Mother in the Midst of Her Family – 04
Worldly but Blessed Brothers – 01
Holy Mother’s father died in 1874 and her mother in 1906. Although Holy Mother had been blessed with godly parents, she was truly unfortunate regarding her other relatives. Her brothers Prasanna, Kalikumar, and Barada were greedy, selfish, and quarrelsome; her sisters-in-law were opportunists and jealous of one another; and her nieces were demanding, annoying, jealous, and eccentric. Holy Mother was the eldest among five brothers and one sister. Her sister, Kadambini, died soon after she was married, leaving no offspring. Her brother Umesh died at the age of eighteen or nineteen, unmarried. Abhaycharan, the youngest, died from cholera after finishing medical school, leaving his insane wife, Surabala, who was pregnant with their daughter Radhu. The remaining three brothers—Prasanna, Kalikumar, and Barada—lived to old age.
Prasanna and Barada spent most of their time in Calcutta and supported their families by performing rituals in different homes. Prasanna married Ramapriya and had two daughters — Nalini and Sushila (also known as Maku). When Ramapriya died in 1905, Prasanna married Subasini, who bore him three children — Kamala, Bimala, and Ganapati. Nalini and Maku were later married but had unhappy lives. They were tossed between irresponsible husbands and their stepmother, who disliked them, so they lived mostly with Holy Mother.
Barada married Indumati, and they had two sons — Kshudiram and Vijaykrishna.
Kalikumar lived in Jayrambati and made his living through priestly duties and farming. Kalikumar was short-tempered and never got along with his brothers. He loved power and wanted to control the family affairs, and he always pestered Holy Mother for money. Kalikumar married Subodhbala and had two boys — Bhudeb and Radharaman.
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