Holy Mother Sarada Ma: Sri Ramakrishna accepted his disciples only after thoroughly examining them. What an austere life they led at the Baranagore monastery after his passing away! Niranjan (Swami Niranjanananda) and others (Swami Vivekananda, Swami Brahmananda, Swami Turiyananda, Swami Abhedananda etc.) often starved themselves. They spent all their time in meditation and prayer.
One day these young monks were talking among themselves: “We have renounced everything in the name of Sri Ramakrishna. Let us see if he would supply us with food if we simply depend upon him. We will not tell anybody about our wants. We will not go out for alms!”
They covered their bodies with sheets of cloth and sat down for meditation. The whole day passed. It was late at night. They heard somebody knocking at the door. Naren (Swami Vivekananda) left the seat and asked one of his brother monks, “Please open the door and see who is there. First of all, notice if he has anything in his hand.”
What a miracle! As soon as the door was opened, it was found that a man was standing there. He had brought some delicious food from the temple of Gopala, on the bank of the Ganges.
They were exceedingly happy and felt convinced of the protecting hand of Sri Ramakrishna. They offered that food to Sri Ramakrishna at that late hour of the night and partook of the Prasada. Such things happened many a time.
MORAL: It was because Swami Vivekananda and his brother disciples were utterly sincere – they had surrendered all their personal desires for career, financial security and a comfortable life, and had dedicated their hearts and minds to doing their guru’s work of spreading the spiritual truths of Advaita Vedanta; it was because of this faithful surrender that Sri Ramakrishna’s graciously protected them even after leaving his body.
So, if we want to attract the grace of a God-realized guru like Sri Ramakrishna, then we too must get ready to sacrifice our ego, greed, cunningness and other vices along with our materialistic desires at his feet, and work hard to spread his spiritual teachings in the world.
Source: The Gospel of the Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, p. 137
