“I’m the Mother of the virtuous; I’m the Mother of the wicked”

Once Emperor Akbar asked Birbal, “Who is the most beautiful child amongst all the children in my kingdom?” Pat came the reply, “Jahapanah, I know one such child who is the best amongst all the children in your empire. I can show you that child and you can judge yourself.” Accordingly, one day, both in disguise, walked all through crossing different localities, reached the filthiest of all places, a slum. The whole place was full of stench and obnoxious smell. From a distance Birbal showed Akbar a shabby house where the most beautiful child stayed. They waited there for sometime and suddenly from inside the house came out a very ugly looking small kid with torn clothes, disheveled hairs. Behind him came out his mother and took the child on her lap and started cajoling him, as he was crying. By the very sight of the child, Akbar was furious and he started scolding Birbal for such a cheap joke of his. This conversation between Akbar & Birbal, who were both in disguise made the Mother loose her temper as both were criticizing her son. She shouted at them and made it very clear and emphatically told them that her child was the best in the world. Then Birbal told Akbar, “Jahanpanah, for every Mother her own child is the most beautiful kid compared to others.”

The above story vividly describes a typical average earthly biological mother who devotes herself faithfully to the discharge of her household chores, takes good care of her own children, weeps for them in their sorrow, laughs with them in their state of joy and considers only them as her very own and none else beyond the realms of her family. On the contrary, the aspect of Divine Mother represents grace, compassion, and love for all the sentient as well as the insentient beings. The Devi Mahatmyam commonly reffered as Chandi describes this all encompassing feature of Divine Motherhood in a beautiful verse, “Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu Matrirupena Sansthita….”, Salutations to that Power who is residing in every being in form of Mother.

Such a portrayal reflects in the life of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, the spiritual companion and helper in Sri Ramakrishna’s earthly mission. One day she invited a Muslim person Amjad (who was once a bandit and a desperado), for a meal, which was arranged on the porch of her house. Holy Mother’s niece began to throw the food at Amjad’s plate from a distance. She noticed this and said: “How can one enjoy food if it is offered with such scorn? Let me serve on him properly.” After Amjad finishes his meal, Mother cleaned the place with her own hands. Her niece shrieked: “Aunt, you have lost your caste!” “Keep quite”, Mother scolded her and added: “As Sharat is my son, exactly so is Amjad.” Sharat (Sw. Saradananda) was a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, the Secretary of the Ramakrishna Mission and a monk possessed of saintly virtues and Amjad was a man of disreputable character. Her behaviour on this occasion bears out her remark: “I am the Mother of the good and I am the Mother of the wicked. Whenever you are in distress, just say to yourself, I have a mother.”

To the Master, Sri Ramakrishna, she was the Goddess of Wisdom in human form. To her disciples she was the Divine Mother herself. To her devotees she was a more real mother than their own earthly mother. To the seekers of truth she was the final word, and to sinners she was the last refuge.

Her love and compassion were all-engulfing. By her love she conquered everybody. Her compassion flowed not only to humans but also to animals. She used to say, “He is unfortunate indeed who does not feel my compassion. I do not know anyone, not even an insect, for whom I do not feel compassion.” She was the embodiment of Sri Ramakrishna’s message of the Motherhood of God.

Although she is not there in her mortal frame in our midst but in her invisible form she continues to shower her blessings, even today, to anyone who accepts her as the real Mother and surrenders to her. Holy Mother Sri Sarada Dive is our Real Mother, not an adopted or a vague mother.

A Unique “Kalpataru”

A Unique “Kalpataru”

A “Kalpataru” is an imaginary wish fulfilling tree. We find a reference of which in our Purana and the epic Mahabharat. While the ocean was being churned by the Gods and the demons, in quest of Amrita, first came out the poison, then an elephant, then a pot of Amrita and finally the Kalpa Vriksha (tree). The striking feature of this tree is, whenever and whatever we wish, sitting under it, it gets fulfilled immediately irrespective of good or bad results. Hence we have to be very cautious while desiring anything from the Kalpataru.

This reminds us of a story which Sri Ramakrishna narrated in the Gospel. A person while walking through a forest felt tired and took shelter under a tree. Unaware that the tree under which he had taken shelter was a Kalpataru (a wish fulfilling tree), he desired for food to appease his hunger, a bed to take rest, someone to massage his body etc., and lo, everything came from nowhere to him in a jiffy. While taking rest after a good meal, a stray thought came in his mind, what if a tiger comes now and pounces on me? The very next moment a tiger jumped on him and he was killed.

Who knows, we may also some day land in a similar situation, may sit under a kalpataru and ask for something unwanted and make our life miserable? Imagine, a child pestering his Mother for a bottle not knowing that it contains poison. Will the Mother hand over the poison filled bottle to the kid? Jokes apart, it’s never going to happen. How can she, being a Mother do such a thing to the very child, she had borne for 9 long months, taking utmost care and vigil, sometimes even ignoring her suffering for the sake of the child? She knows what is good and bad for the kid and hence will act accordingly, which may never harm the child.

Similarly, sitting under a kalpataru if we desire for dharma-artha-kama-moksha, our wishes may get fulfilled accordingly. But alas, we always think in terms of the level of human mindset and fall a pray to its bitter consequences viz. bondage, misery etc. Let’s recall the incident which happened at the garden house of Cossipore on the 1st January 1886. Sri Ramakrishna became Kalpataru on that day and blessed everyone irrespective of the gathering. But here we find Sri Ramakrishna’s greatness and uniqueness as he knew the dangers of keeping the options open for the devotees to ask for something from him. Hence, without giving them an opportunity, he himself blessed them and granted everyone with the highest form of knowledge and illumined their self. The Lord of Death, Yama tells Nachiketa in the Katha Upanishad “My child, this knowledge (Atmatattwa), many of us do not even get to hear, let aside knowing it, in many of our lives. If by any chance one gets to hear about it, the person is unable to understand the deeper imports and subtleties of it. He really is unique and rare, who can understands the deeper imports of that highest knowledge, knowing which one goes beyond the cycle of birth and death, and that is you Nachiketa”.

What is the real meaning behind Sri Ramakrishna’s utterance “Let you all be illumined.” It means Realization of Self or Realization of God. In his own words he explains us that “the goal of human life is God Realization.” The definition of the word "Knowledge" (Jnana) according to him was nothing but, "to know God" and rest everything was ignorance and mundane. To help the human race in this very pursuit, of getting the highest form of knowledge viz. God Realization, he had once again taken a human form as he did in the Dwapar and the Treta Yuga as Lord Rama and Lord Krishna. Sri Ramakrishna never had any worldly desire as He was "Tyagishwara" nor any such motive behind taking a human birth, except the sole purpose of helping the suffering humanity in their pursuit for God realization. Shankaracharya in his Bhashya for the introduction to the Bhagawad Gita says “Swaprayojana Abhave Api Bhutanu Graha Jigrikshaya”, it is absolutely without any ulterior motive that an incarnation takes a human birth. To ameliorate the miseries and sufferings of human race and to pull us out of the cycle of birth and death, was also the very basis of Ramakrishna's life. His character is unique in this respect and hence Swami Vivekananda writes about him as “Avatara Varishtha”, greatest amongst all the incarnations. He stands leagues apart from the rest of the herd compared to all other avataras. His whole life was meant for doing good to the world.