Passages from Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play! 19-December-2021 - 317
Satwik Joglekar
19-December-2021
Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play! 317
Passages from “Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play” : 319 – 321
By Swami Chetanananda
Vedanta Society of St Louis
CHAPTER 20
Holy Mother in the Midst of Her Family – 05
Worldly but Blessed Brothers – 02
The members of Holy Mother’s immediate family were all associated with her life in various ways. Her sisters-in-law were much younger than she, and she taught them their household duties, including how to cook.
Only a jeweller knows the value of a jewel; an eggplant seller knows only eggplants. Neither Ramakrishna’s nor Holy Mother’s relatives recognized the divinity of the two. Ramlal, Lakshmi, and Shivaram considered the Master to be merely their uncle. Prasanna, Kalikumar, and Barada thought of Holy Mother simply as their sister, and to their children she was merely an aunt. Divine beings cannot play the role of humans if people recognize their true nature. One can know God only through His grace. The Upanishad says: “The Atman is attained by that person whom It chooses.”5 [Katha Upanishad, 1:2:23]
Girish Ghosh once remarked that Holy Mother’s brothers must have performed bone-breaking austerities in a previous life to have obtained her as their sister.
Kalikumar always took advantage of Holy Mother’s goodness with a view to getting some money from her and also to show his power. In 1917 he proposed that the family observe Sri Ramakrishna’s birthday festival in a grand way in Jayrambati.
Holy Mother responded: “Look, Kali, I do not have the devotion and energy that you have, so I cannot observe the Master’s birth anniversary on such a large scale myself. You make a feast for the entire household as well as some villagers with whatever vegetables are available in this village. As you see, my health is failing day by day.”6 [Swami Ishanananda, Matri Sannidhey, Udbodhan Office: Calcutta, 1969, p. 170] Kalikumar took money from her and arranged the feast.
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