Sarada Devi

Sri Sarada Devi (1853-1920) was the wife of Sri Ramakrishna. During the lifetime of Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi's modesty meant she kept a very low profile. But she was a great spiritual personality herself and she came to play an important role in leading the Ramakrishna movement after the death of Ramakrishna.

Sarada Devi - Biography

Sarada Devi was born in 1853 in a small village near Calcutta, quite close to where Ramakrishna was born. From a very early age she prayed God to have purity in abundance. Looking at the full moon, she would say: "O God, there are dark spots even on the moon. But make my character spotless."

At the very early age of 5, according to the cultural tradition of the time, she was betrothed to her husband Sri Ramakrishna. At the time Sri Ramakrishna was going through his intense period of sadhana. So intense many of his family thought he was losing his mind. They thought that marriage would help bring his mind back to the worldly realm. However in the marriage to Sarada Devi, Ramakrishna saw the hand of the Divine Mother and so agreed to the proposal.

Sarada Devi didn’t go to live with her husband until the age of 18. She had been hearing rumours about the “madness” of her husband and so felt a sense of duty to go and visit him in Calcutta. Thus she set off walking almost 60 miles to Dakshineswar where she met Sri Ramakrishna. On meeting Ramakrishna she was relieved to know the rumours about Ramakrishna were baseless - her husband was a genuine spiritual man, who exuded not only kindness, but also often went into spiritual ecstasies.

From 1872 Sarada Devi lived at Dakshineswar as a devoted wife and the first disciple of her husband Sri Ramakrishna. Their marriage was celibate and unconventional. For Sarada Devi it was a period of intense spiritual practise and service to her husband, Ramakrishna. Her life revolved around devotional practises, cooking and looking after the needs of Ramakrishna and his disciples. Ramakrishna had a very delicate constitution and struggled to eat food from the temple. Therefore Sarada Devi would cook with the utmost care so as to be able to feed Ramakrishna. Her life was a very simple and, characterised by humility, modesty and a loving spiritual disposition. At the time she observed the practise of purdah. (veiling of body) and was rarely seen by other male disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. Thus they were not fully aware of her spiritual realisation until after his passing.

Sarada Devi often prayed to see people without any faults. She later said that seeing faults in people doesn’t help them but hinders your own progress.

"I tell you one thing my child -- if you want peace, do not find fault with others. Rather, see your own faults. Learn to make the world your own. No one is a stranger, my child; the whole world is your own. "

- Sarada Devi

A significant event took place when Sarada Devi had been living with Sri Ramakrishna for about a year. Sri Ramakrishna had undergone intense spiritual disciplines. He practised spiritual disciplines from many religions and spiritual traditions. However his principle deity was Kali, the Divine Mother. On one occasion of worshipping the Divine Mother he asked Sarada Devi to sit in the seat of the Divine Mother. Thus Ramakrishna completed the “Shodasi Puja” (worship of the Divine Mother) with Sarada Devi taking the place of the Divine Mother. Both attained a very deep spiritual consciousness in which Sarada Devi became identified with the spiritual devotion of Ramakrishna and became absorbed in the consciousness of the Divine Mother.

After the death of Sri Ramakrisna, Sarada Devi was distraught feeling a great emptiness in her life. However after his cremation, Ramakrishna appeared to Sarada Devi saying

“What are you doing? I have not gone away, I have only passed from one room to another.” This vision greatly helped her and contrary to Hindu tradition she continued to wear a red-bordered Sari and ornaments. She was later criticised for doing this but she felt no reason to mark the death of Ramakrishna in the usual way.

After the passing of Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi went on a pilgrimage to Vrindavan, a place associated with the life of Sri Krishna. Here she had frequent ecstasies and profound experiences. However despite her elevated spiritual consciousness her outer life proved to be quite difficult. When she returned to her family home she was treated badly by some of her family members. In particular one of her brothers died prematurely leaving behind his wife and daughter, both of whom suffered from temporary insanity. Sarada Devi coped with Surabala and later Surabala's daughter Radhu with utmost patience and forbearance, never criticising fate or seeking to avoid her responsibilities.

However after a while the disciples of Ramakrishna came to know of her suffering and so arranged a place for her to stay. Also after a while she became to be respected as a Guru in her own right. Sarada Devi had participated in the Sadhana of Ramakrishna and through the Shadosi Puja had become one with his spiritual realisation. Swami Vivekananda always held Sarada Devi in the highest regard. Before making his momentous journey to America in 1893 he sought her blessings and guidance -blessings she gladly gave.

Sarada Devi thus began to initiate many seekers into the Ramakrishna order. When her fame started to spread the number of disciples seeking initiation began to increase significantly. Unlike Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi was not picky about which disciples she accepted. Her motherly heart did not want to reject anybody who came for spiritual initiation.

" I can never refuse anyone who addresses me as Mother. "

- Sarada Devi

It is also said she took on the sins of her disciples and her body suffered as a consequence. She also used to get up at 2am so that she could do sadhana, not for her benefit, but for the disciples she had accepted and whom she looked upon as a son or daughter.

" I am the mother of the wicked, as I am the mother of the virtuous. Never fear. Whenever you are in distress, say to yourself, 'I have a mother.' "

- Sarada Devi

After a debilitating illness Sarada Devi passed away on July 1920, her body was taken to Belur Math and cremated. There were over 7,000 well wishers present at her funeral.

Richard Pettinger

Sarada Devi - wikiquote

• Open your grief-stricken heart to the Lord. Weep and sincerely pray, 'O Lord, draw me towards You; give me peace of mind.' By doing so constantly you, will gradually attain peace of mind.
  • Thus Spake the Holy Mother. p. 78.

• Pray to God with tears in your eyes whenever you want illumination or find yourself faced with any doubt or difficulty. The Lord will remove all your impurities, assuage your mental anguish, and give you enlightenment.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 344.

One who makes a habit of prayer will easily overcome all difficulties and remain calm and unruffled in the midst of the trials of life.

• • Swami Aseshananda. Glimpses of a Great Soul; a Portrait of Swami Saradananda. p. 43.

• We have to surrender ourselves completely to the Lord with faith and devotion in Him, serve others to the best of our capacity, and never be a source of sorrow to anybody.
  • Swami Saradeshananda (1976-1981). "The Holy Mother's Reminiscences". Vedanta Kesari.

• Such is life, here today, gone tomorrow! Nothing goes with one, except one's merit and demerit; good and evil deeds follow one even after death.
  • In the Company of the Holy Mother. pp. 124-125.

• He who thinks always of the Lord, which way can evil come to him?
  • (1969)"Holy Mother". Prabuddha Bharatha.

• Certainly you will have doubts. There will be questionings and faith will return again. That is how faith is established.
  • In the Company of the Holy Mother. p. 305.

• Give up this dry discussion, this hodge-podge of philosophy. Who has been able to know God by reasoning? Even sages like Suka and Vyasa are at best like big ants trying to carry away a few grains of sugar from a large hea
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. pp. 188-189.

• He who has really prayed to the Master, even once, has nothing to fear. By, praying to him constantly one gets ecstatic love (Prema Bhakti) through his grace.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 363.

• Is faith so cheap, my child? Faith is the last word. If one has faith, the goal is practically reached.
  • The Temple Dedication Souvenir.

• Does one get faith by mere studying of books? Too much reading creates confusion. The Master used to say that one should learn from the scriptures that God alone is real and the world illusory.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 348.

• The Mother of the universe is the Mother of all. From Her have come out both good and evil.
  • In the Company of the Holy Mother. p. 115.

• Does it matter in the least to God whether you believe or not? Even the sage Suka Deva was to Him like a big ant at the most. Infinite is He. How much can you understand of Him?
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 327.

• Why do people argue? Even the wisest of men have not found God through argument! Is God a subject for argument?
  • In the Company of the Holy Mother. p. 200.

• God is one's very own. It is the eternal relationship. He is everyone's own. One realizes Him in proportion to the intensity of one's feeling for Him.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 302.

• God cannot be realized without love. Yes, sincere love.
  • A Short Life of the Holy Mother. p. 88.

• The grace of God is the thing that is needful. One should pray for the grace of God.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 301.

• He who will pray to God eagerly will see Him.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 231.

• If one calls upon Him repeatedly, He becomes compassionate; and so a devoted attachment comes into being. This love for love's sake should be hidden from all eyes.
  • In the Company of the Holy Mother. p. 295.

• Realization of God cannot be achieved without ecstatic love for Him.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 290.

• The whole world is a dream; even this (the waking state) is a dream ... What you dreamt last night does not exist now.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 302.

• Everything, husband, wife, or even the body, is only illusory. These are all shackles of illusion. Unless you can free yourself from these bondages, you will never be able to go to the other shore of the world.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 261.

• However strong or beautiful this body may be, its culmination is in those three pounds of ashes. And still people are so attached to it. Glory be to God.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 261.
  • Context: In Hindus, when a person dies he is cremated in fire. Sarada Devi is referring to this as "three pounds of ashes".

• What an illusion Mahamaya has conjured up! Here is this infinite world, and what one claims as his possession will be left behind at death. Still men cannot understand this simple truth.
  • Swami Nikhilananda. Holy Mother. p. 121.

• The world is the Lord's. He created it for His own play. We are mere pawns in His game. Wherever He keeps us and in whatever way He does so, we have to abide by it contentedly.
  • Swami Saradeshananda (1976-1981). "The Holy Mother's Reminiscences". Vedanta Kesari.

• When God first created man, He endowed him with the spirit of goodness. As a result, men were born with wisdom …. they took the Name of God and …. were liberated from the bonds of life. God thought, 'This will not do….In the end…..He mingled in profuse quantities of the spirit of materialism and that of vanity. Now the game of life went on with a swing!
  • In the Company of the Holy Mother. pp. 212-213.

• Let me tell you one thing. There is great complexity in this creation. The Master does one thing through one man and another thing through another person. Oh, it is so inscrutable!
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 312.

• In the course of time one does not feel even the existence of God. After attaining enlightenment one sees that gods and deities are all Maya.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 297.

• A person may have no relatives anywhere, but Mahamaya may make him keep a cat and thus make him worldly. This is how She plays!
  • Swami Nikhilananda. Holy Mother. p. 218.

• One must have reverence for one's Guru. ... One's chance of salvation lies in one's reverence for him. Observe how the disciples of the Master revere him. Out of this reverence for him they revere not only all the members of his family, but even the cats from his home-district!
  • In the Company of the Holy Mother. p. 178.

• If you do a good act, it cancels the effects of your evil deeds. If one prays, takes the Name of God and thinks of Him, the effects of evil are cancelled.
  • In the Company of the Holy Mother. p. 68.

• No doubt, God alone has become all these objects, animate and inanimate, but in the relative world all beings act and suffer according to their past Karma and innate tendencies.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 361.

• We suffer as a result of our own actions; it is unfair to blame anybody for it.
  • Swami Saradeshananda (1976-1981). "The Holy Mother's Reminiscences". Vedanta Kesari.

• The creation itself is full of griefs. How can one understand joy if there is no sorrow? And how can everyone be happy at the same time?
  • In the Company of the Holy Mother. pp. 66-67.

• No one can suffer for all time. No one will spend all his days on this earth in suffering. Every action brings its own result, and one gets one's opportunities accordingly.
  • In the Company of the Holy Mother. pp. 66-67.

• Each has to get the results of the actions he earned for this life. A pin at least must prick where a wound from a sword was due.
  • In the Company of the Holy Mother. p. 348.

• One suffers as a result of one's own actions. So, instead of blaming others for such sufferings, one should pray to the Lord and depending entirely on His grace, try to bear them patiently and with forbearance under all circumstances.
  • Swami Saradeshananda (1976-1981). "The Holy Mother's Reminiscences". Vedanta Kesari.

• You see, my son, it is not a fact that you will never face dangers. Difficulties always come, but they do not last forever. You will see that they pass away like water under a bridge.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 370.

• Don't be afraid. Human birth is full of suffering and one has to endure everything patiently, taking the Name of God. None, not even God in human form can escape the sufferings of the body and mind.
  • Thus Spake the Holy Mother. pp. 72-73.

• Even Avataras, saints, and sages have to undergo the ordeal of suffering, for they take upon themselves the burden of sins of omission and commission of ordinary human beings and thereby sacrifice themselves for the good of humanity.
  • Thus Spake the Holy Mother. pp. 72-73.

• People complain about their griefs and sorrows and how they pray to God but find no relief from pain. But grief itself is a gift from God. It is the symbol of His compassion.
  • In the Company of the Holy Mother. pp. 220-221.

• My son, forbearance is a great virtue; there's no other like it.
  • In the Company of the Holy Mother. pp. 124-125.

• One must be patient like the earth. What iniquities are being perpetrated on her! Yet she quietly endures them all. Man, too, should be like that.
  • The Message of Holy Mother. p. 17.

• The happiness of the world is transitory. The less you become attached to the world, the more you enjoy peace of mind.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 226.

• There is no treasure equal to contentment and no virtue equal to fortitude.
  • (1969)"Holy Mother". Prabuddha Bharatha.

• My child, I bless you from my heart that you live long, attain devotion, and enjoy peace. Peace is the principal thing. One needs peace alone.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 315.

• Even the impossible becomes possible through devotion.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 229.

• The world is going on because not all can be free of desires. People with desires are born again and again.
  • Swami Nikhilananda. Holy Mother. p. 217.

• As long as a man has desires there is no end to his transmigration. It is the desires alone that make him take one body after another. There will be rebirth for a man if he has even the desire to eat a piece of candy.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 292.

• Desire may be compared to a minute seed. It is like a big banyan tree growing out of a seed, which is no bigger than a dot.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 292.

• Rebirth is inevitable so long as one has desires. It is like taking the soul from one pillow-case and putting it into another. Only one or two out of many men can be found who are free from all desires.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 292.

• The body means the existence of desire, otherwise it would not have existed. It all ends when one no longer has any desires. C84 In the Company of the Holy Mother. By Her Direct Disciples. Calcutta : Advaita Ashrama, 1980
  • In the Company of the Holy Mother. p. 84.

• This world is moving around like a wheel. That indeed is the last birth in which one gets completely rid of all desires.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 297.

• It is best therefore to surrender all desires at the feet of God. He will do whatever is best for us. But one may pray for devotion and detachment. These cannot be classed as desires.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 349.

• In one word, one should desire of God desirelessness. For desire alone is at the root of all suffering. It is the cause of repeated births and deaths. It is the obstacle in the way of liberation.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 369.

• Do you notice this human body? Today it is and tomorrow it is not. And the world is full of misery and pain. Why should one be eager to have another birth? The body is never free from its attendant troubles.
  • Swami Nikhilananda. Holy Mother. p. 204.

• The difference between a great soul and an ordinary man is this: the latter weeps while leaving this body, whereas the former laughs. Death seems to him a mere play.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. p. 253.

• Whether you jump into water or are pushed into it, your cloth will get drenched. Is it not so? Meditate every day, as your mind is yet immature. Constant meditation will make the mind one-pointed.
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother; Life and Conversations. pp. 351-352.

Ramakrishna Quotes on KNOWLEDGE

"Rama said, 'brother, go beyond both knowledge and ignorance.'
He who has knowledge has ignorance also.
If a thorn has entered your foot,
get another thorn and with its help take out the first;
then throw away the second also."

In response to the question from "M",
'Should one throw away both knowledge and ignorance?'
"Yes. That is why one should acquire *vijnAna.
You see, he who is aware of light is also aware of darkness.
He who is aware of happiness is also aware of suffering.
He who is aware of virtue is also aware of vice.
He who is aware of good is also aware of evil.
He who is aware of holiness is also aware of unholiness.
He who is aware of 'I' is also aware of 'you'."
*vijnAna=Special KNOWLEDGE of the Absolute

"The rishis of old attained the knowledge of Brahman.
One cannot have this so long as there is the slightest trace
of worldliness. How hard the rishis laboured !
Early in the morning they would go away from the hermitage,
and would spend the whole day in solitude,
meditating on Brahman. At night they would return to the hermitage
and eat a little fruit or roots.
They kept their mind aloof from the objects of sight,
hearing, touch, and other things of a worldly nature.
Only thus did they realize Brahman as their own inner consciousness."

"The path of knowledge leads to Truth,
as does the path that combines knowledge and love.
The path of love, too, leads to this goal.
The way of love is as true as the way of knowledge.
All paths ultimately lead to the same Truth.
But as long as God keeps the feeling of ego in us,
it is easier to follow the path of love."

"Think of Brahman, Existance - knowledge - Bliss Absolute,
as a shoreless ocean. Through the cooling influence,
as it were, of the bhakta's love, the water has frozen
at places into blocks of ice. In other words, God now and then
assumes various forms for His lovers and reveals Himself
to them as a Person."

"The jnAni, sticking to the path of knowledge,
always reasons about the Reality, saying,
'Not this, not this'. Brahman is neither 'this' nor 'that';
It is neither the universe nor its living beings.
Reasoning in this way, the mind becomes steady.
Then it disappears and the aspirant goes into samAdhi.
This is the KNOWLEDGE of Brahman.
It is the unwavering conviction of the jnAni that
Brahman alone is real and the world illusory."

"God doesn't appear easily in the heart of a man who feels
himself to be his own master. But God can be seen the moment
His grace descends. He is the Sun of knowledge.
One single ray of His has illumined the world with the
light of knowledge. That is how we are able to see one
another and acquire varied knowledge.
One can see God only if He turns His light toward His own face."