Swami Vivekananda regarded Holy Mother Sarada Ma as Divinity itself. Once he remarked at the Belur Math, “Mother is the incarnation of Bagala in the guise of Saraswati. Outwardly she is all peace, but inwardly she is the destroyer of the power of evil.”
(Note: Goddess Bagala represents one of the terrific aspects of Shakti, the Divine Power who slays demons and smashes people’s delusions, while Goddess Saraswati represents the Wisdom aspect. Sarada Ma was an incarnation of both these aspects.)
After his return from the West, whenever Swami Vivekananda visited Sarada Ma, he would often become overwhelmed with devotion as he reached the door of the Mother’s house and could move no farther. On one of these occasions the Mother herself brought him in, holding him by the hand.
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In the course of a letter he wrote from America to a brother disciple, Swami Vivekananda said, “You have not yet realized how precious Mother is. People will not understand her now, but they will, gradually. Brother, there will be no salvation of the world without the help of Shakti, the Divine Power. Why is it that our country is the weakest and most backward of all countries? Because Shakti (womanhood) is held in dishonor here. Mother has been born to revive this wonderful Shakti here.”
(Note: Swami Vivekananda regarded all women as manifestations of Shakti, the Divine Power, and Holy Mother as Her special manifestation.)
“Without the grace of Shakti nothing will be accomplished. What do I find in America and Europe? The worship of Shakti, the worship of Power. Yet they worship Her ignorantly, through sense gratification. Imagine then what a lot of good they will achieve when they worship Her with purity, looking upon Her as their Mother!”
“I am coming to understand things every day; my insight is opening out more and more…Let Ramakrishna disappear, that does not frighten me. But it will be a calamity if people forget Mother…Don’t be angry with me. None of you has understood Mother. Her Grace upon me is one hundred thousand times greater that that of the Master!”
“About Mother I am a little fanatic. I can do anything if she gives the order. I shall give a sigh of relief when you purchase a piece of land and install this living Durga there…Brother, when I think of Mother, I say to myself: ‘Who is this Ramakrishna?’ I say this because of my fanaticism. Whether Ramakrishna was God or man – you may say whatever you like. But, brother, shame upon him who is not devoted to Mother!”
The above post has been taken from the book Reminiscences of Sri Sarada Devi. It is a most excellent book, to understand who the Holy Mother really was. This book can be purchased from the Advaita Ashrama bookstore. If you want to develop a strong inner relationship with Mother then do read this book! Reading this book also reveals a darker aspect of Indian society, which is the horrible caste prejudices that were rampant in Indian society of that time.
