31-March-2012 (Saturday)
Reminiscences of The Holy Mother!!!
SWAMI GAURISWARANANDA - 06

I was already grown up. I looked young only because I was short for my age. Anyway, when I approached Mother she was happy. She said, “Well, if you desire initiation, then spread out the asana and sit here after saluting the Master.” Besides Mother’s own, there were two asanas of carpet for any couple to be initiated together. I spread out one of those before Mother, and after offering pranam to the Master and Mother, I sat down. Taking water from the kosha with the kushi, she sprinkled it on me saying, “May the sins of previous birth perish, may the sins of the present birth, committed consciously or unconsciously, perish.” Thus she purified my body. Then she mentioned a god and suggested, “He is your Ishta isn’t he?” Lest I fail to understand, she repeated, “It is him that you revere most, adore most, don’t you? I shall impart that mantra to you which symbolizes him.” Upon this, I replied, “Mother, you have guessed correctly that I revered him the most. But now that I have gone through the Master’s teachings, all gods and goddesses are one and the same to me. Well, if I ask for a particular mantra, will you give that to me?” Mother said, “Speak.” When I mentioned the mantra, she asked, “If you receive this mantra, will that make you happy?” I said, “Yes.” Then she pronounced the relevant mystic words and showed me how to repeat the mantra 108 times. After telling me a few dos and don’ts, she said, “Always consider your Guru and your Ishta to be one and the same, never consider them separate.” At that time I had not known that after receiving initiation one has to make an offering to one’s Guru. Besides, I did not have a single paise with me that day. After having food at home I used to walk to school, and from school I used to walk down to Jayrambati. So money was not necessary at all. However, Mother did not mention gurudakshina. After the ceremony, when I touched Mother’s feet by way of salutation, she said, “On this day one has to lay one’s head at the feet in order to salute,2 because she who was the mother so long has now become the Guru.” (2 Previously when the author had placed his head at her feet, she had said that touching feet with the hand would suffice.) She herself guided me, and I too laid my head at her feet by way of pranam. Mother placed both hands on my head to bless me and said, “Now let us go, you must have something to eat. It’s quite late and you must be hungry.” As soon as I went out of the room, Jnan-da enquired, “Have you made any offering?” I replied, “No, how could I? I don’t have a single paise in my pocket.” Then Jnan-da drew out the handkerchief from his pocket and gave me all the money he had, coins of every denomination, amounting to two and a half rupees or three. When I approached the Mother’s room again with the money, she said, “What is it, son?” I showed her the money. “Where did you get it?” She wanted to know. I replied, “Jnan-da gave it to me.” At that she said, “Alright, give it to me,” and accepted the money. When I saluted her again with my head on her feet, she blessed me with her hand on my head, and said, “Now come and have some food.” She took some puffed rice on a small plate for herself and gave me some too. We sat side by side and ate. Mother passed some puffed rice into my plate from hers and said, “Eat, my son, I am old and my teeth are getting loose, I can’t chew any longer.” In reality she was giving me her prasad, without my praying for it. Nowadays devotees who are initiated, first take their guru’s prasad before they have anything to eat. And here was I having prasad, unsought, that Mother in her compassion had let me have.

(REMINISCENCES OF Sri Sarada Devi by Monastics, Devotees, and others - Compiled and Edited in Bengali by SWAMI PURNATMANANDA - Translated by MALOTI SEN GUPTA : P 79-81)

Location: Bangalore, India