Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play! 28-March-2021 - 282
Satwik Joglekar
28-March-2021
Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play! 282
Passages from “Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play” – p: 283 – 284
By Swami Chetanananda
Vedanta Society of St Louis
CHAPTER 18
MAHAMAYA’S MAYA – 07
Pilgrimage to Puri – 01
In November 1904 Holy Mother and some companions went on pilgrimage to Puri by train. Her party included her Uncle Nilmadhav, Surabala, Radhu, Lakshmi, Golap-ma, M.’s wife, Chunilal’s wife, Kusum, Swami Premananda, her attendant Ashu (Trigunatitananda’s brother), and a servant. A second-class car was reserved for the Mother and her female companions; the three men went by an inter class car. The distance from Calcutta to Puri is 300 miles. Holy Mother and her companions boarded the train in the evening and reached Puri the next morning. Most of the party stayed in Kshetravasi’s Math, a guesthouse owned by Balaram’s family that was near the Jagannath temple. Premananda stayed in Shashi Niketan, near the sea. When Holy Mother arrived in Puri, she went straight to see Lord Jagannath in His inner sanctuary, as arranged by Balaram’s family. They were wealthy and influential people in Orissa. Every morning Holy Mother and her party visited the deity, and they also attended the evening vesper services regularly. As she wished to hear of the glory and history of Lord Jagannath, a priest came one day to read to her from an ancient scripture. On this occasion the mahaprasad, cooked food that had been offered to Jagannath, was purchased from the temple stall and 50 priests were fed. The Mother ate Jagannath’s mahaprasad every day in Puri.
In Puri the Mother developed an abscess on her foot. She suffered terribly but would not consent to surgery. One day in the temple someone pressed against her abscess and she cried out in pain. When Premananda learned of this, he brought a doctor the next day. The devotees bowed down to her that day as usual, and she sat with her face veiled as was her custom. The doctor also bowed down to her, holding his lancet ready. When he touched her foot, he quickly pierced the abscess with the lancet and left, saying, “Mother, please forgive me for my offense.” Premananda was waiting outside. Holy Mother was very upset and scolded Ashu when he pressed the abscess to clear it out. However, this relieved the Mother’s pain immensely. Ashu washed the wound with a solution of margosa leaf and bandaged it. After a few days of care, she was fully cured. She then heartily blessed her sons.
--