SYNOPSIS
Holy Mother Sri
Sarada Devi was the ideal Indian woman. Her life was
dedicated to manifesting the divine power of the
Motherhood of God. She was silent testimony to the
truth of the Hindu scriptures. Her divine husband
moulded her life so that she became a 'spiritual
dynamo' to bless humanity. Even now her power over
the minds and hearts of women all over the world is
growing. The current of her spiritual energy is
transforming the lives of ordinary people even in
far off lands Sri Ramakrishna said to her, 'After my
passing you will have to do many things. You will do
much more than I have done.'
Holy Mother's
spiritual power has been attested to by innumerable
people who experienced it. Her chief attendant,
Swami Saradananda, who was also the first Secretary
of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, avowed he had
never seen a mind so great as hers, nor did her ever
expect to see in his lifetime another person like
her in respect of intelligence and depth of
understanding of all problems.
What was it about
Holy Mother which made her so great as a Guru?
First, she was
divinely commissioned by Yugavatar Sri Ramakrishna
and she was a knower of god in her own right. Her
mind was subtle and could see into the heart of all
things
Second, Holy Mother
was not a pundit of the Holy Scriptures like the
Gita and Upanishads, but she knew the spirit of the
holy books and how to apply their principles to the
problems of life. For example she stressed the
importance of 'Introspection', the need to look
within, to resolve spiritual and mental problems.
Particularly, regarding the mental problems of young
people - like what to do with anger, obsessive
desire, and jealousy, she was and is a real guide.
What is the way to
manage those enemies of our mind so that we can
enjoy peace and a prosperous life? The way, Holy
Mother emphasized, lies first in regarding them
lightly, not taking them too seriously, because they
are natural human emotions and come to everyone.
But, she said, one must constantly practice
restraining the mind from going too far a field. The
sense organs - eyes, ears, the organs of taste and
touch and smell - must be restrained from going out
to enjoy their natural objects. Then peace comes.
Just as the Gita (3.7) says: 'He who restrains his
senses with his mind and directs his organs of
action to work, with no feeling of attachment he is
indeed superior.
So Holy Mother also
stressed that one should always keep busy with some
useful work to prevent unwanted thoughts from
conquering our mind. Anger., lust and jealousy are
the greatest enemies of spiritual life -
'all-devouring and the cause of all sin' as Gita
says (3.37). Jealousy is the root of all since it is
nothing but thwarted desire to possess and enjoy
sense objects., sometimes those objects belong to
other people and sometimes they are simply beyond
our power to get. Jealousy is the natural reaction
of mind when we cannot get some wanted object. We
cannot get that thing for some reason or other and
feel frustrated and angry.
Thirdly, Sri Sarada
Devi was our real Mother, such a mother who really
felt the sorrows of her children and wanted with her
whole heart to remove the thorns in our life. She
never opposed the wishes of her children by force,
but she would warn them of the consequences of their
dangerous actions. At last she always gave perfect
freedom to all.
To some therefore
who could not practice self control she would grant
freedom to enjoy life - even all its poisons - for
she saw that there was no other way for that person
to get educated about what was right and wrong. A
disciple wanted to know if all people can get fid of
desires. Holy Mother was a real, loving, intelligent
mother and guide, she replied: 'How can they? If
they could, then the creation would come to an end.
The world is going on because not all can be free of
desires.' So to them she remarked: 'why do you worry
so much? Fulfil all your worldly desires; afterwards
you will enjoy abiding peace with Sri Ramakrishna.
For you he has created a new heaven.
To he spiritual
children Holy Mother would say, these feelings of
desire, are in everybody, they will always remain as
long as the body is there. So far as possible we
should take no regard of innocent desires that come
and go in our minds daily. As the Lord says in the
Gita (2.14) ' Notions of heat and could, of pain and
pleasure, arise only from the contact of the senses
with their objects. They come and go; they and
impermanent. Endure them, O Bharata! But the more
dangerous desires like lust and anger however, we
should control so they will not express themselves
in out Behaviour with others. Otherwise we will
create bad relations with Mother always emphasized
'to be detached' from all fleeting emotions so they
do not get overly important. Her instruction to the
devotees also always took into account their special
cases. A disciple asked how to get rid of
insignificant desires which cropped up in his mind.
Mother said, 'In your case these are not real
desires. They are only fancies that appear and
disappear. The more they do so, the better for you.'
So Holy Mother used
to say, that along with practice and nonattachment,
we should always exercise our God-given power of
endurance: 'Sa, Sa. Sa! (Bengali), she used to say
to say, one who can endure all the good and bad that
comes and keeps his faith in God will succeed in the
end and survive all the problems of life with flying
colours.
Mother's message
has immense meaning for the people of today who find
themselves in a state of permanent unhappiness and
dissatisfaction in spite of rapid progress in wealth
and facilities. It is seen that people have become
increasingly effective in managing their careers and
social lives, but are equally ineffective in
managing the most fundamental aspect of their
lives-which is the ability to have peace of mind.
Accordingly, this book is intended to provide some
guiding tips on how one's life may be managed
effectively in light of Holy Mother's teachings and
is being released as a special publication to
commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Holy
Mother.
May all be blessed
by the love and guidance of Holy Mother Sri Sarada
Devi, the Holy Master Sri Thakur, and Swami
Vivekananda. May the holy three, with the Lord of
the Gita, bless the readers, protect them, and save
them forever!
CONTENTS
| Preface |
i |
| Publisher's
Note |
iv |
| Introduction |
1 |
| Meet Your
Ideal: Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi |
10 |
| Introspect
to Improve |
19 |
| Manage Your
Thoughts |
29 |
| Practice!
Practice! Practice! |
55 |
| Control Your
Anger |
63 |
| Curb Your
Jealousy |
73 |
| Appendix I -
What is SDM |
81 |
| Appendix II
- Watching Thought Flow |
83 |
| Appendix III
- Inspiring Words from Holy Mother |
85 |
