Mother As a Form of Divine Love

6 January 2002, 12:08am IST
Swami Deshikatmananda.

The mother aspect of god is glorified in the hindu scriptures. in the sapta sati or hymns to the mother, her divinity is acknowledged. in the hindu tradition, the names of pancha ratnas or the five jewels, are remembered by the married women. they are sita, savitri, damayanti, mandodhari and tara. these women were known as pativrata siromani, or women whose penance was for the sake of their husbands. chastity has the power to make the woman tejo maya or one who emits an aura of light. in other religions, the mother aspect of god is not accepted, let alone worshipped. but in the hindu tradition, the mother aspect of god as durga, kali or vaishnavi are accepted and worshipped to attain mukti or liberation from worldly desires. the divine manifestation of the mother may be worshipped as an idol in the form of clay or metal. bhagwan sri ramakrishna demonstrated to the whole world that the divine mother can be realised by worshipping even a stone image with the longing of a devoted heart. he worshipped the stone image of the goddess kali with a heart full of love, and had a powerful vision of her. he was able to experience the presence of the divine mother everywhere and in all beings. he worshipped his own wife sri saradamani devi as the symbol of the divine mother and as an expression of divine love. when the divine love expresses itself through a woman, she becomes a universal mother. for her there is no distinction of caste, creed, religion or nationality. all the barriers are broken and her love captures the hearts of all. sri sarada devi’s love was such. she, as the eldest daughter, had to shoulder a great responsibility for her family. she was a tremendous support to her mother shyama sundari devi. she did the humblest of chores, without the slightest ahankar or ego, even after she had started to be venerated by thousands of followers as holy mother. when sri ramakrishna married her, she was 5 years of age. by the time she became a young woman, he had already taken sanyasa. she then became a disciple of sri ramakrishna. holy mother sri sarada devi showered her love for everyone, whether a muslim, a christian or an untouchable. divinity and humanity were deeply ingrained in her nature. wonder-struck at her character, brahmachari rashbihari once asked her: ‘‘are you the mother of all?’’ ‘‘yes’’, she replied. ‘‘even of these lower creatures?’’ pressed the inquirer, to which she replied in the affirmative again. a brahmachari once saw a muslim of dark appearance, emaciated body, ragged clothes and with a sorrowful expression, tottering into the mother’s compound. with an endearing voice mother called out to him, ‘‘amzad, my son come in’’. he then started narrating about his suffering to the mother. in the evening, the brahmachari noticed that the man’s face was lit up with a happy smile and he was altogether a changed person. he had bathed and rubbed oil over his rough skin; then he had a full meal and walked home, blessed as he was by mother’s divine grace. there are innumerable such incidents in mother’s life which are an eye opener, for the modern women. holy mother sri sarada devi is a role model for modern women as a good daughter, sister, chaste wife, active worker and as a mother of all. her wisdom were unique. as a sangha janani or the mother of the ramakrishna mission, she had to solve many vital problems of the organisation even when swami vivekananda was spreading the message of vedanta or non-dualism. her opinion was final and accepted by all. according to the philosophy of vedanta, the world is non-dualistic in nature. this means that everything in the world is pervaded with brahman or the supreme consciousness. vedanta puts forward the view that this universe is full of ananda or bliss of the supreme being or god, and life on earth is the unfolding of this spirituality in every being. vedanta, in other words, contains the essence of the vedas. holy mother said once, ‘‘but one thing i tell you — if you want peace, my daughter, don’t find fault with the others, but find fault rather with yourself. learn to make the whole world your own. nobody is a stranger, my dear; the world is yours’’.