Swamiji turns a concept about Radhu – Holy Mother’s niece – on its head. Disc 140 – track 10.

To listen to Swamiji speaking, please fully open the post and then click below.

Swamiji is talking about Radhu, the Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi’s supposedly mentally unstable niece. [This site admin has always had that concept of Radhu, too – until today.] This is a very short clip. But perhaps essentially so, as Swamiji presents a spiritual bombshell of the kind that will undoubtedly for some people, take time to accept, assimilate, digest and acknowledge.

By way of context, Radhu had been in Holy Mother’s care from when she was a baby. She was an extremely fractious child and her demands on Holy Mother’s time and energy became worse, if anything, as she grew older. She was by any standards, plain abusive to Holy Mother. Ungrateful, petulant, given to outbursts of rage and a constant drain on the Holy Mother’s time and energy.

Our concept of Radhu from reading about all of this was [in my case] a sense almost of outrage, that she could treat Holy Mother in such a fashion. And various writers have presented Radhu as being clearly mentally unbalanced, with no social skills, verbal or behavioural filters, or consideration for anyone except herself. The kind of nightmare person we’d hate to have in our family or immediate social circle. But here [the verbatim transcript of Swamiji speaking, is below] Swamiji turns those concepts on their head.

[Sounds like Swamiji was saying that Radu was in] Master’s [Sri Ramakrishna’s] paramahamsa state. If she doesn’t want to accept worldly things, you think she’ll be ordinary? [Swamiji makes a snorting sound at the absurdity of the idea.] She didn’t want to go for worldly things, Radhu. Radhu was only after [Holy] Mother’s blood. To keep her down at earthly level. She was definitely God-conscious. Make no mistake. Being ‘Mother-conscious’ all the time, what conscious she is, may I ask one question?  All the time, Mother-conscious. Demanding from Mother, swearing at Mother, doing everything to Mother. If you can do that to God, tomorrow you’ll get moksha! [Swamiji and devotees laugh together at this delightful notion]. Ja [yes], go and swear at Master, go live with him, do what you like, you must get God-realisation. Some people – even in the [Ramakrishna] Mission were telling me about Radhu and I laughed. Mad? Radhu was not mad. She was mad – but mad after Mother. Isn’t that a higher ‘madness’? You’re looking at it from your mentality point of view.

Pravrajika Atmaprana [is, by the sound of it] asking if a Radhu of the world would then accompany Mother in all her incarnations. To which Swamiji responds: In all her incarnations? That’s very good. That’s very nice. A mad woman accompanying God all the time – can she be mad? That’s what my big question is. Can darkness accompanying light every time, can it ever be dark?

Ramakrishna said that all are mad in this world. Some are mad after God. That woman is mad after Mother. She’s not mad after an ordinary being. A person in the street she’s not mad after. Radhu is a great grace to us sinners, to keep Mother all the time there, so she can be actually conscious of giving her grace. Swamiji chuckles. If she weren’t, she won’t be conscious of giving anything. You see the light [different perspective] on Radhu now?

Like someone came to Turiyanandaji maharaj [a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna] and said to him, I can believe that Ramakrishna was an incarnation of God, this I can believe. I know this through experience, but [Holy] Mother I can’t believe. She can’t be God as well. Turiyanandaji said, ‘But she was God.’ The devotee replied, No, she was an ordinary woman. To which the response was: A king will get married to a street woman, no?  That’s what he said. [All chuckling. Swamiji really enjoying the absurdity of the notion. Stupid, isn’t it? he says]. Swamiji: If you say he’s [Master] a king, how can he get married to a street woman?

You see how to get spirituality? You have to get relationships right. Now you see what your concept of Radhu was yesterday? Look at it now in your mind. I worship her [Radhu], I pray to her. Thank you, Radhu, thank you. You in a different way, served like Radha [consort to Lord Krishna]. Like Radha served in a different way, you served like that. Thank you so much.

The free-to-read, 396 page Flipbook version of Swamiji’s biography is available by clicking HERE.

These recordings were made from the 1970s onward, by Mother Radha, a close devotee of Swamiji’s and edited for uploading here by our gurubhai and her son, Brother Tim. Please be mindful that what Swamiji was saying may have been specific to an individual or a group of people with him, at the time.