July 8, 2015 Wednesday: Mother As I Saw Her (Being Reminiscences of Holy Mother Sarada Devi)
08-July-2015 (Wednesday)
Mother As I Saw Her – Swami Saradeshananda
The Incident of Tice cooked in Clarified Butter – 1
O do not remember exactly whether it was on the same day, or some other, that a consignment of Biran rice, noted as very delicious and of high quality, was received from a son of the Mother residing in Assam. It was to be cooked by a son of the Mother in steam as Ghee-Bhat or rice prepared in clarified butter. Many of the inmates of the house were sceptical about the possibility of cooking rice in steam, without knowing that Biran rice comes out well only when cooked in steam. But when the son succeeded in cooking an excellent rice dish in steam, he was the recipient of congratulations from all quarters. The Mother, too, was happy and excited like a little girl, and called out to everyone to come and see it. She was saying, “See how beautifully the boys have cooked in steam the rice mixed with clarified butter! It is considered as Ajyanna, a very pure and sacred food.” She then offered it to the Master in a happy vein. Putting a little of the Prasada in a bowl, she said, “Let me take a little of to Kali (her brother). It is Ajyanna, a very sacred food.” And took it herself to Kali-Mama. Then she fed the sons, waiting on them herself. At the time of the cooking she had asked the sons what curry preparations went well with this rice, and had them prepared accordingly. About this rice preparation in clarified butter, the Mother said that it was the Ajyanna, a very sacred food, which was never polluted (ceremonially) by others touching or tasting t. One day at Dakshineswar, when the Master held a pot of Ghee (clarified butter) in the hand he was eating with, the Mother was taken aback. She cried out in alarm, “What have you done? The whole of the Ghee is now polluted.’ At this, the Master smiled and said, “Ghee is never defiled this way.” Thus, even in little things, how excited the Mother would be and become happy or dejected like a little girl! Those who had noticed it, have the picture permanently imprinted in their hearts.
[Mother As I Saw Her (Being Reminiscences of Holy Mother Sarada Devi) – Swami Saradeshananda. Translated by Prof. J. N. Dey. Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore Madras-600004: p 167 – 168]
