09-08-2016 Tuesday
Holy Mother By Swami Nikhilananda: 197

Anguish and Reassurances – 21

Years later, when a devotee asked her about the need of it, she said: ‘Yes, it is necessary. Parvati, the Divine Mother, practised the austerity to obtain Shiva as Her husband.’ Then, to make light of the whole thing, she added: ‘I performed this austerity more or less to show; otherwise people would say: “What is extraordinary about her? She eats, sleeps, and moves about like ordinary people.” This is, you know, a kind of vow which women love to observe. Yes, they often observe such religious vows.’ When an intimate disciple wanted to know the real reason for her going through this ordeal, she said: ‘My child, I went through it for the sake of all of you. Can you practise austerities? This is why I had to do it.’ The Panchatapa allayed her mental anguish but it did not clearly reveal to her the central purpose of her life. This purpose only became known to her through a significant vision that she had at this time, which also demonstrated to her the meaning of Sri Ramakrishna’s embodiment.

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Holy Mother - Being the Life of Sri Sarada Devi Wife of Sri Ramakrishna And Helpmate in his Mission By Swami Nikhilananda p: 118

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