Talks Excerpt 674 to 676 inclusive. Swamiji speaks about the power of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi.

From Mother Radha’s recordings of Swamiji.

Excerpt 674:
[Holy Mother] Sri Sarada Devi was understood by Swami Vivekananda more than by any other of Master’s [Sri Ramakrishna’s] disciples. He said to them, ‘You don’t know Holy Mother yet. The Mother’s blessing is a hundred thousand times more than the Father’s blessing.’ And how true.

Sri Ramakrishna became great because he worshipped Mother Kali. And who is Mother Kali? Master himself said, ‘That which is worshipped in the shrines, the mother that gave birth to me, and the one that is pressing my leg [i.e. Sri Sarada Devi] is the same Mother Kali.’  Master even saw the bad woman walking the streets, as Mother Kali.

The mantra that you utter is Sri Sarada Devi. Mantra is shakti, and it reveals the purusha or the devata Itself. So the mantra itself is Sri Sarada Devi. Respect it.

Holy Mother’s life is so very pure.  You should read about Mother, try to understand and to learn about her and try to live a life of modesty as she did. Mother’s life is very pure. She has come to uplift men and women alike. The gods came to uplift mankind.

You must read the lives of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda. You must become saturated with the teachings of these three. You must speak about it, live it, breathe it.

Swami Vivekananda, Swami Ramakrishnananda and others served the Master; but Swami Saradananda served Sri Sarada Devi. He was very devoted to her. He knew where the shakti came from.

Excerpt 675:
One day, when Swami Ramakrishnananda was in Bangalore, Holy Mother visited that ashrama. Mother happened to walk up to a small hillock. Swami Ramakrishnananda had the full vision of [Mother as] Ma Durga and was overwhelmed by emotion. He made sashtanga pranam (prostrated with his entire body touching the ground) and chanted the three mantras that we have in the [Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa] Prayer Books.

Om sarva mangala mangalye shive sarvartha sadhike; Sharanye tryambake gauri narayani namostu te; Shristi stithi vinashanam shakti bhute sanatani; Gunashraye gunamai narayani namostu te; Sharanagata dinarta paritrana parayane; Sarvasyarti hare devi narayani namostu te.

Translation: ‘O Auspicious One, who bestows auspiciousness upon all, the consort of Shiva, who fulfills every desire;
O protector, the three-eyed one, the fair-complexioned Gauri, salutations to You, Narayani. You are the eternal power behind creation, preservation, and destruction; The abode and embodiment of all cosmic qualities, salutations to You, Narayani. You are solely devoted to rescuing the helpless and distressed who seek your refuge; O Goddess, who removes the suffering of everyone, salutations to You, Narayani.’

These mantras are chanted in every Ramakrishna Ashrama, throughout the world. They represent the love that Swami Ramakrishnananda felt when he saw Holy Mother as Ma Durga. They represent the truth: who the Holy Mother was. They are from the Devi Mahatmyam.

Excerpt 676:
Mother’s shakti is very great. It is the shakti in the devatas that we worship. It is the strength, the power that sustains the universe.

When Sri Ramakrishna attained mahasamadhi [left the body], the great Shakti, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, supported the young monks and guided the organisation.

One person asked Sri Sarada Devi: ‘We see that Naren [Swami Vivekananda] is engaged in working at hospitals and doing other seva (humanitarian work). Do you think that he is following Master’s teachings?’ Holy Mother said, ‘Who can pray for 24 hours of the day? This selfless work is doing good to them and to the world.’ This is the best way to keep our minds occupied.

When Holy Mother visited the Benares [Varanasi] Ashram, she donated ten rupees for the work done there; and thus put a rubber stamp on Swami Vivekananda’s work. She said, ‘I saw Master [Sri Ramakrishna] himself supervising and permeating the whole ashram.’ That ten rupee note is still preserved, as an offering from Goddess Lakshmi.

No other Deity has proved what a miracle prasad can work. Holy Mother has proved it by giving prasad. Sri Ramakrishna transformed people through his teachings and by a mere touch. Swami Vivekananda gave many talks to transform people. Swamiji [Vivekananda] even showed his power by giving people visions. But Sri Sarada Devi did not do anything like that. She only used to cook and feed [people] endlessly. The people’s minds began to change and they did not even know that it was because they ate prasad prepared by Mother. They were gradually transformed.

Mothers must learn to prepare sattvic food. When Sri Sarada Devi cooked, all the sinners, prisoners and others who ate the food felt something had changed in them. They became sattvic. Some of them even renounced. This is the greatest proof of prasad: Mother converted and transformed people’s lives without lecturing.

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These recordings or the excerpts from them, were made from the early 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.