September 22, 2015 Tuesday: Mother As I Saw Her (Being Reminiscences of Holy Mother Sarada Devi)
22-September-2015 (Tuesday)
Mother As I Saw Her – Second Part
Swami Saradeshananda
3. Complaints of an Ashrama Head against Assistants
The head of an Ashrama, finding that the assistants under him were not obedient to him cent per cent, brought his problems to the Mother. All the assistants there were the disciples of the Mother and were ever ready to do her bidding. He thought that if the Mother asked them, they would obey her implicitly. The Mother loved him very much, She had great faith in him and often praised his intelligence and hard work. So he had the conviction that the Mother would, at his request, ask them to obey him implicitly in all matters. But the Mother never agreed to his proposal. She firmly rejected his request and explained to him gently, “The boys have become sadhus to call on God and make their lives blessed. They are doing their best for the Ashrama, and will always do so. They are now of age, and have their mind and intelligence fully developed. So discriminating between good and bad, between what is beneficial and harmful, if they want to lead an independent life, you are not to be impediment in their path. And even if you put them under restrictions, they will not remain subservient for long at the cost of their own convenience. If you find any difficulties in getting you work done, it is you who have to explain it to the tactfully. They have always been obedient to you and will remain so hereafter too. Love can achieve anything. You can never make one obey you by force or by adopting a round-about way.” The Head of the Ashrama, however, did not follow this advice of the Mother, with the result that he had soon to meet with dissensions.
[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 203 – 204]
