Daily Katha

Wednesday, 6 December 2023

Work is the key to nonattachment

One day Holy Mother said to Surabala: "Look, one should always do something. Work keeps the body strong and the mind pure." She said to Aunt Bhanu, "You remember previously when I was in Jayrambati, I was engaged in household work day and night." Holy Mother took Surabala's hand and said: "Look, Golap is busy all the time. One can cut the bond of attachment by performing action, and then comes nonattachment. One should not live without performing action even for a moment." So Surabala began to do some housework. Thus the Mother's household ran smoothly for a year.

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Tuesday, 5 December 2023

Steadiness in between all the discomforts - Contentment

Sister Nivedita loved to give gifts to Holy Mother. On 24 February 1904, Nivedita wrote to Miss MacLeod, after Holy Mother had returned to Calcutta from a visit to Jayrambati: "The Holy Mother is here, so small, so thin, so dark, worn out physically I should say, with village hardship and village life. But the same clear mind-the same stateliness, the same womanhood, as before. Oh, how many comforts I would like to take her! She needs a soft pillow, a shelf, a rug, so many things. She is so crowded with people about her always. I would like to give her a beautiful picture, a piece of bright colour. But I suppose one must wait. Meanwhile, there is not a change in her. "

Sarala (later Pravrajika Bharatiprana) was a student at Nivedita's school. She recalled a memorable visit that Sister Nivedita paid to Holy Mother in Udbodhan House: After the Mother's return from Jayrambati, one afternoon Sister Sudhira and I went to see her in Udbodhan House. Sister Sudhira remarked: "Mother, you have become very dark and lean."

"Our village is in open fields, you know," the Mother replied, "and so the complexion becomes dark. In addition, I had to work hard there." Meanwhile, Sister Nivedita came, bowed down to the Mother, and took her seat. Whenever Sister Nivedita visited the Mother, I watched her sit absorbed for a long time in front of the Mother. She would bow down to the Mother with full prostration and an indescribable wave of bliss would flow over her entire face. She seemed a joyful child closely looking at the face of her Mother. Once the Mother presented Sister with a palm-leaf fan that had woolen lace around the edges, which she had made herself. Receiving that fan from the Mother's hand, she was beside herself and exclaimed, "This fan has been made by Matadevi and she has given it to me." This she repeated again and again and touched that fan to her head and chest. And to those who were present there, Sister touched that fan to their heads, including myself. Observing her exuberant joy, the Mother remarked: "Do you see how Nivedita is thrilled having this trivial thing? Ah, how simple she is and what deep faith she has as if she is a Goddess! How much devotion she has for Naren! Because he was born in this country, she has left her home and family and come to do his work with her heart and soul. What devotion to the guru! And what love for this country!"

Monday, 4 December 2023

Love and Compassion

Due to social pressure, some widows practised such rigorous austerities that it seemed they would kill themselves. The Mother advised one such widow, "At night, first offer chapatis, milk, fruits, and sweet to the Master and then eat them." According to the custom of those time a widow was not supposed to eat cooked rice twice a day. The Mother modified the rule for the sake of that widow's fragile health.

Kshirodbala Roy, a young widow from Bangladesh, came to Udbodan House for initiation. She was a very austere woman and observed the local customs to excess. She recalled:

Staring at me intently, the Mother asked, "My child, what do you take Ekadashi day?" I replied, "Formerly I used to eat sago, but learning the it is adulterated with various other things, I don't take it now. As s as she heard this, the Mother said, "No, no, I say you should take sago will keep your body cool." Then with deep sorrow in her voice the Mother said: "Child, you have been practising much austerity. I say, don't do any further. Your body has almost turned into a piece of wood. How will you perform spiritual practices if your health is broken, my child?"

She asked whether I used oil. I said, "I haven't used it ever since I widowed." On hearing this the Mother said. "The use of oil keeps the heat cool. Therefore use oil." I said: "As I have not used it for a long time. I have begun to hate the feel of it. I shall not be able to use oil, Mother." Golapes said, "Though she is very young, she has ruined her health by fasting and practising other austerities." Gauri-ma said, "Dear, why have you cut of your hair?" I said, "Widows in our part of the country do not grow ther hair." Gauri-ma replied: "Without hair, one's eyesight deteriorates Sne you have dedicated your body to Sri Krishna, how does your hair belong to you, dear?" Yogin-ma then said: "This body is the temple of God. It's wise to keep it fit." But the Mother said: "You have done well. Keep one's hair gives rise to a feeling of fashionableness to some extent, for one has to take care of it. So what you have done is right. You have overcome the craze for luxuriant locks, and you have also come here. You have now achieved that for which you lived so austerely. Now, I say don't indulge such austerities any longer. You will have initiation tomorrow. Come here at eight o'clock in the morning. It will be nice to take a holy dip in the Ganges and when see Mother Kali on the day of initiation."

Once the Master was still alive, Yogin-ma took her widowed aunt into Dakshineswar. It was an Ekadashi day and she was fasting, taking neither food nor water. She had fasted the previous day also. When this elderly woman arrived at the nahabat, she was gasping and could not stand erect. The Mother held her and asked, "Shall I give you a little sherbet?" The woman refused because she was fasting. After a while the Mother and Yogin-ma took her to the Master's room. While going up the steps, she almost fell. Immediately the Master came forward and held out his hand to her. The Master asked: "Why is she gasping?" Yogin-ma explained the situation. Then the Master said to Holy Mother, "Why did you not give her a little sherbet?" The Mother replied that she had offered it, but the widow refused to take it. The Master then took some sugar from his shelf, mixed it with some Ganges water, and said to the woman, "Please drink." She looked at the Master's face and then drank without another word. She said gratefully: "Father, my heart is cool now." Ramakrishna and Holy Mother never encouraged the mortification of the flesh. One cannot concentrate on God if one suffers from hunger pangs. The Master said: "Religion is not possible on an empty stomach." Holy Mother also said: " First calm your body with food and drink and then call on God." This is a very practical teaching.