September 27, 2015 Sunday: Mother As I Saw Her (Being Reminiscences of Holy Mother Sarada Devi)
27-September-2015 (Sunday)
Mother As I Saw Her – Second Part
Swami Saradeshananda
6. Superficiality of people’s Devotion – 2
It is very difficult for hard-headed, worldly-minded people to have depth and steadfastness in their devotion for God. Quoting the Master on this point, she would say, “The Master used to say that a worldly person is like a spring mattress. Sit on it. It goes down, but the moment you get up, it springs back at once. The regard and devotion for God which worldly-minded men entertain, is just like a drop of water on a hot plate – it evaporates in no time.” It is very difficult to call on God in an atmosphere of worldliness. That was why the Master used to advise people to lessen as far as possible their worldly entanglements and then practise meditation and devotion. She used to be very much pained to find in some of her sons a great desire for enjoyment and an attraction for fine food and clothing. On account of unfulfilled desires in respet of these, a great dissatisfaction was present in their minds always. She sometimes gave them good advice, but seeing as she did in their weakness within, in all vividness, she could only feel sorry for them and keep quiet. She knew that they would not be able to save themselves in their present condition and that unless they had enjoyments to their satisfaction, the capacity for renunciation would not be generated in them. If perchance the talk arose of checking them, she would say with great sorrow, “They have great desires raging in their hearts. That is why they are acting like this.”
[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 206]
