July 19, 2015 Sunday: Mother As I Saw Her (Being Reminiscences of Holy Mother Sarada Devi)
19-July-2015 (Sunday)
Mother As I Saw Her – Swami Saradeshananda
The Mother as a Paramahamsa:
Mother’s Grace on Rashbehari Maharaj – 1
Rashbehari Maharaj, who was a favourite of the Holy Mother, had the good fortune to stay at the feet of the Mother for a long time both at the Udbodhan and at Jayrambati and had ample experience of her deep love and affection. We would like to describe here an incident depicting the grace that the Mother bestowed on him. Once when he was living at Jayrambati, he was passing through a restless state of mind. In great distress and worry, he implored the Mother to do something to bring him mental peace. The Mother asked him to take refuge in the Master and tried to console him in various ways, but his mind did not attain peace. His entreaty still continuing, the Mother bestowed on him a special grace, filling his mind with a unique joy, which settled in his mind as a mood never experienced before by him. His days began to be spent in a transport of joy. The world about him was still the same, and his activities like bathing, eating and sleeping were being carried out in the same way as before. But he felt that all these were taking place as if in a dream. They were passing before his eyes like pictures. And all through, there was the continuous experience of a flow of joy. After a few days were spent this way, he had to go to a neighbouring village one morning. A certain person of that place, finding a Sadhu before him, welcomed him and made Pranam by placing his head on Rashbehari Maharaj’s feet. After that he started subbing the feet on his head, forehead and chest. From that time the high state of Rashbehari Maharaj’s mind started gradually vanishing, and within two or three days it became normal as of old. Rashbehari Maharaj used to remark sorrowfully, “I knew that the man’s ways were not good, that he was of a low character. But the pathetic way he fell at my feet, melted my heart; and without paying any heed to what was happening to me, I felt sorry for him. It is really difficult for one to hold on to such a high state of grace for long.” But the memory of that experience of joy remained always fresh in his heart.
[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 171]
