I suppose I did not express myself well, either..
My meaning about "lost cause" was that Radhu is generally viewed as "difficult"...I get the idea that she was someone that the general population had to adjust to and "put up" with...

Mother herself seemed to be perplexed, as she once made the statement that she had raised Radhu with such care...

I now believe that there was something in Radhu that was better than what the world saw...

Her last known statement, pertaining to her own critical illness (that Mother was taking care of everything) shows her clarity and faith...

Location: North Carolina

Dear Sister Rosemary,


RE: "I get the idea that she was someone that the general population had to adjust to and "put up" with."

Comment: In my humble opinion, the general population didn't have too much to do with Radhu. Mother was the one, who had to 'put up' with her.

Here are some pertinent excepts from: "In the Company of The Holy Mother":

Swami Ishanananda:

A few months later I was staying at the Belur Math. Radhu was ailing at the 'Udbodhan'. She could not bear any sound. So Mother moved with her to the boarding house of the Sister Nivedita Girl's School.

I used to go there very often to meet Mother. She was very much worried, and said, "Of a truth, where am I to go with her? There is solitude in the country, but there is no medical help worth mentioning."

At noon of the birthday celebrations of Swami Vivekananda, I heard all of a sudden that Mother was leaving for her vilage. In obedience to Sharat Maharaj's order, I hurried to the 'Udbodhan' at evening, so as to able to accompany Mother.

Going upstairs, I found Mother arranging some coir ropes. As soon as she saw me, she said, "I am going to the village along with this unlimited responsibility (meaning Radhu's care). What about your coming with me? You all are my only hope there."

Radhu was undoubtedly the albatross in Mother's life.

RE: "I now believe that there was something in Radhu that was better than what the world saw..."

Comment: Again, I don't think that 'the world' saw too much of Radhu, since she was Mother's 'unlimited responsibility'. I believe that you made a comment, a few posts back, Rosemary, that 'Just perhaps, Radhu was struggling with her mental illness'. Actually, methinks that you have 'hit the nail on the head' with this one. So, if Radhu was indeed mentally ill, she deserves every bit of our compassion and understanding, just as Holy Mother continuously 'put up with her annoying demands', until the time came for her to leave her mortal frame and become absorbed into the Infinite Ocean of Perfection. Swami Vivekananada said it so well:

"But only one thing is certain; the mighty river is rushing towards the ocean, and all the drops that constitute the stream will in time be drawn into that boundless ocean. So, in this life, with all its miseries and sorrows, its joys and smiles and tears, one thing is certain, that all things are rushing towards their goal, and it is only a question of time when you and I, and plants and animals, and every particle of life that exists must reach the Infinite Ocean of Perfection, must attain to Freedom, to God."

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As tomorrow is Easter I'll confess, I've always felt Judas received a bum rap. If we accept the Hindu idea that God takes human birth for a purpose and that the incarnations bring with them those who are needed to carry out that purpose... Judas' role is clear. He is the one who brought about "Easter." Without the so-called "betrayal" -- which Jesus knew about -- there would have been no resurrection. Folks can talk about "what might have been". But with God there are no "might have beens."

Incarnations write their own divine play, not chance. And returning to Judas, The Gospel of John, the youngest of the gospels, associates Judas with Satan; The three early gospels make no such claim. Judas is not any more or less significant, he simply plays a role. But how devastating it must have been to see, with your own eyes, that your actions brought about the death of your Master... even if he instructed you to do so.

Radhu is part of Mother's play. Firstly, she is what Sri Ramakrishna said she was: the 'tie" to keep Mother's consciousness in and on the world.

But everything about Mother's life can be said to have significance. I think Radhu has a great importance, along with other members of Mother's family.

If Mother had lived a perfectly peaceful life surrounded by an ideal family, and if Radhu had been a wonderful niece, sunshine and light ....

Would Sri Sarada Devi have been OUR Mother? When she said "I am the Mother of the virtuous and the Mother of the wicked....Know that you have a Mother," would we have BELIEVED her?

Again, if Mother had lived a perfect, trouble-free life, would that have set an example for us? How many of us would related to such an existence?

Who among us is an ideal child? Who among us has simple, easy lives. But we know Mother understands the struggles we face because she met with the same kinds of challenges. We are assured of of Mother's acceptance and love because we see it reflected in her life. We see the affect of Mother's love. Radhu did know who her aunt was and what she had done for her.

An American Swami I know once explained each aspect of the nativity in terms its significance with respect to Jesus' incarnation. It was not recorded, and I have so regretted it because the beauty and depth was astounding. Christmas came alive in a way that it never had before. That same swami taught us to look at the divine play on earth in terms of the central Diivine figure, rather than dwelling on some particular aspect or person.

May the affirmation of Eternal Life, the universal message of Easter, find resonance in our hearts.

Location: san Diego, California, USA

Dear Sister Jayanti,

Thanks for sharing your Easter thoughts.

RE: Eternal Life

Swamiji had this to say about that:

" Thank God, nothing is eternal except Himself. He alone can bear it, I am sure. Eternity of nonsense!"

Again, this is what Swamiji had to say about our old friend, Judas:

"PS. Now I am going to be truly Vivekananda. Did you ever enjoy evil! Ha! ha! you silly girl, all is good! Nonsense. Some good, some evil. I enjoy the good and I enjoy the evil. I was Jesus and I was Judas Iscariot; both my play, my fun. "So long as there are two, fear shall not leave thee." Ostrich method? Hide your heads in the sand and think there is nobody seeing you! All is good! Be brave and face everything - come good, come evil, both welcome, both of you my play. I have no good to attain, no ideal to clench up to, no ambition to fulfil; I, the diamond mine, am playing with pebbles, good and evil; good for you - evil, come; good for you-good, you come too. If the universe tumbles round my ears, what is that to me? I am Peace that passeth understanding; understanding only gives us good or evil. I am beyond, I am peace."

The foregoing is excerpted from a letter to Miss Mary Hale, written on 28th March, 1900, when Swamiji was residing at 1719 Turk Street, San Fransisco.

Read the whole letter HERE

Wonderful excerpt from Swamiji!

Location: san Diego, California, USA

Thanks to you both for the interesting slant on Judas.
I think it would be helpful to have corrective lenses on our eyes, so that we could see what was meant to be seen.

Lots to think about from this slant...


Jai Ma!

Location: North Carolina

I often wonder what the message is for us, in Mother's relationship with Radhu. I see your point, Web Admin, but I don't feel like I'm quite getting the whole picture.

When the Master discerned Mother's desire for having children, he said to her, "Do you really want to go through what your parents suffered?" (referring to the death of her brother...)

But then, her desire was answered in the form of Radhu....also there was hostility from her sister in law, who expressed the idea that Mother was trying to take over with her child....

Whatever happened to Radhu's child?

Location: North Carolina

Dear Sister Rosemary,

Concerning Radhu's child, I haven't read any further information. Perhaps Sister Jayanti and/or the other visitors to Mother's Courtyard may have some ideas on that.

RE: "Mother's desire for having children"

Here are some appropriate quotes from "In the Company of Holy Mother",
concerning Mother's desire for children:

Every normal woman feels the urge of motherhood, which has been planted in her heart by the Lord Himself. Women who are creative in body satisfy this urge through physical offspring, but a rare few, creative in spirit, satisfy the same urge through children of the spirit.

Sarada Devi consequently became mother to innumerable spiritual children. Before the full realiazation of her divine motherhood, once in a while she felt a desire to possess ordinary children. She had been told that a woman without offspring was regarded in Hindu society as unlucky and inauspicious.

One day her own mother bitterly complained that on account of Sarada's marriage to an insane man, who was not interested in worldly life, she would never hear the sweet and soothing word "mother". Sri Ramakrishna reassured her with the promise that her daughter would have so many children that her ears would ache, as it were, by constantly hearing the word "mother".

When Sarada Devi once complained to her husband in the same strain, he said, "Why should you worry about children? I shall leave for you many children, all pure as gold, the like of whom women do not obtain through the austerities and prayers of millions of lives." Sarada Devi was satisfied. Gradually her hidden motherhood began to express itself in her outer activites.

Nahabat Guestbook

This question on Judas pops in my mind.. If he knew beforehand of his own part in the death of his Master, then why commit suicide? Why this act of violence against himself?

Thanks...

Location: North Carolina

There is not 100% agreement that Judas committed suicide. At least one account says he fell.

Nonetheless, his remorse is easily imagined. Even Jesus prayed that he might not have to be crucified. If God incarnate can so pray, a disciple can surely feel doubt and confusion, regret, loss. Although Jesus is said to have told the disciples that he was going to be put to death, they did not understand. Perhaps Judas did not understand either, until it was "too late".

Also, when we follow God's lead, we do not always know the "whys" or of the future. The moment when Jesus was seized must have seemed the most hopeless moment in time. How does one face one's self, what to speak of Jesus' other disciples and followers?

Or..... pure speculation, maybe it was not suicide. Maybe it was liberation. Having completed his role...

But this is reaching beyond Jesus, the central player. :)

Location: san Diego, California, USA

The fundamental idea of Christianity, is the Crucifed Lord,
re-incarnating Himself within his devotees, through the Sacrament
of Holy Communion. A wonderful concept!

Vedanta is one of the world's most ancient religious philosophies and one of its broadest. Based on the Vedas, the sacred scriptures of India, Vedanta affirms the oneness of existence, the divinity of the soul, and the harmony of religions. Vedanta is the philosophical foundation of Hinduism; but while Hinduism includes aspects of Indian culture, Vedanta is universal in its application and is equally relevant to all countries, all cultures, and all religious backgrounds.

Thanks for the answers. My upbringing in religion is so myopic (if that means nearsighted), that it is hard for me to branch out with other possibilities...

I truly appreciate the topic and the discussion and the replies to my questions...it is a fascinating subject to me...and helpful, also...

Location: North Carolina