What is the attitude of a God realized sage towards women? How does he look at them? Does he shun women, because they would cause him to lose his brahmacharya (celibacy)? What if a sex worker came before such a sage? How would he treat her? The answers to all these questions is found in the life of Sri Ramakrishna:
– Swami Vivekananda on Sri Ramakrishna
Worshipping God as the Divine Mother, the Master saw only the Divine Mother in every woman. Speaking about Shri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda has said:
“This man (Shri Ramakrishna) meant by worshipping woman, that to him every woman’s face was that of the Blissful Mother, and nothing but that. I myself have seen this man standing before those women whom society would not touch, and falling at their feet bathed in tears, saying, ‘Mother, in one form Thou art in the street, and in another form the universe. I salute Thee, Mother, I salute Thee.'”
Narrow-minded critics, however, strongly disapproved of Shri Ramakrishna’s loving and protective attitude towards drunkards, prostitutes and other impure persons. They accused him of not rejecting them on moral grounds.
The respected German orientalist Max Muller responded to these accusations by writing, “If, as we are told, he did not show sufficient moral abhorrence of prostitutes, he does not stand quite alone in this among the founders of religion.”
Now we turn to the special feeling that Shri Ramakrishna kept in his heart for women. Because he worshipped God as Mother, Ramakrishna saw only the Divine Mother in all women; therefore, he could not bear to see his Mother undergo difficulties of any kind. We read in the Gospel of two young mothers, the wives of two brothers, who fasted before visiting Shri Ramakrishna.
After giving them both much satisfaction and showing them his deep affection, Shri Ramakrishna said, “Why have you fasted? You should take your meal before you come here. Women are but so many forms of my Divine Mother. I cannot bear to see them suffer. You are all images of the Mother of the Universe. Come here after you have eaten, and you will feel happy.”
Then the Master served them by requesting Rakhal to feed them from the various Temple offerings of food, fruit, sweets and drinks. Shri Ramakrishna was greatly relieved and said, “You have eaten something. Now my mind is at peace. I cannot bear to see women fast.”
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