HOLY MOTHER'S ASSURANCE

       Holy Mother's Assurance:

"Once in Udbodhan House, Golap-ma* cleaned the toilet and then after changing her cloth, she began to cut fruit for offering. Nalini could not bear it. She asked Golap-ma to bathe in the Ganges, but Golap-ma ignored her. Later the Mother commented: "How pure Golap's mind is. How high-souled she is. Therefore, she does not discriminate so much between pure and impure things. She does not bother about rules regarding external purity. This is her last birth."

The concept of ''last birth" is a controversial topic. According to the Katha Upanishad, "When all the desires dwelling in the heart fall away, then the mortal becomes Immortal and here attains Brahman."

Krishna says in the Gita: "At the time of death, a person who leaves his body remembering me alone, he attains my being. Of this there is no doubt."(8:5)

Buddha said that nirvana is possible when a person becomes free from desire.

Ramakrishna said,  "For those who come 'here,'  it will be their last birth." The word  'here' may be interpreted as referring to God. When a person realizes God, his heart becomes illumined and all desires disappear, so he will not have to come back again. Holy Mother was omniscient and she knew the destiny of each individual. She reassured her disciples that the Master would come to receive them at their time of death.

*Golap-Ma was the disciple of Sri Ramakrishna and Holy Mother's companion. Sri Ramakrishna's touch transformed her ( a poor, grief-stricken widow) into a dedicated saint.

-Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play

Grateful thanks to 

HOLY MOTHER'S ASSURANCE

Whenever You Call On Me, I Shall Appear Before You

In December 1910, Holy Mother went to Kothar, in Orissa, to recuperate from an illness. She was accompanied by some monks and devotees. The party stayed at a house that Balaram's family owned. One noon when everyone else was resting, the Mother left her room and sat on a veranda, her legs extended in front of her. Ashu was with her and watched her as she sat deep in thought. Her eyes were wide open, but indrawn. In an abstracted mood, the Mother said:

"This repeated journey to the earth! Is there no escape from it? Wherever there is Shiva, there is Shakti. They are always together. It is the same Shiva again and again, and the same Shakti too. No escape.

"People do not understand how much the Master suffered for their sake. All those austerities! Did he need them for himself? Still he performed them for people's welfare. Can they themselves practice spiritual disciplines? Where is the power, the vigour? That is why the Master did all that. Do you know that song?"

"Which one?" asked Ashu.

"Behold, the Lord of the lowly has come for the lowly!' Really my children are beggers. Can He remain still if they call on the Mother? At once the Lord comes down."

"Is Chaitanya also God?"

"Yes, yes. It is the same God. He comes down again and again. It is the same moon that shines night after night. No escape. He is in the clutches of His creatures. They are His own. Who will look after them if not He?

"He said: 'Whenever you call on Me, I shall appear before you.' Remember this and never forget it. If you call on Him, you will realize Him. He is the Wish-fulfilling Tree."

"I know only my Mother."

"It is the Master who taught the name of Mother. Did people know before that God is Mother? It is Her creation. She gives birth to all beings and again swallows them. To swallow means to give liberation. It is all Her sport, Her play."

-Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play

Grateful thanks to