Mother- September 2019

    The year 1860. Sri Sarada Mani attained her seventh year. According to the family custom, Sri Ramakrishna went to his father-in-law’s house to spend a few days there.

    In later days, Holy Mother had a hazy remembrance of this visit.  She remembered how, of her own accord, she had touched her husband’s feet in salutation and had fanned him. Every one present had become amused on seeing this because a little girl like Sarada had saluted her husband. Later, Hriday Ram, the Master’s nephew, who had accompanied him on this occasion, sought her out and worshipped her feet with lotus flowers to her great embarrassment.

    Shortly after this, Sri Ramakrishna, returned to Kamarpukur with his wife, and after spending some days there, he returned to Calcutta. The Holy Mother also returned to her parental home, Jayrambati.

    Holy Mother remembered one or two funny incidents of those days. Brahmani (Yogesvari, the Brahmin Sannyasin woman  who instructed Sri  Ramaknshna in Tantric practices) was then  with in Kamarpukur. ‘The Master addressed her as mother, and I therefore  looked upon her as my mother-in-law. I was rather afraid of her.  She was very fond of red-pepper. She used to cook her dishes — all hot stuff. Often she offered me these preparations. I would  silently eat them and wipe out the tears from my eyes. When she  asked me how I liked them, 1 would say in fear, “Very nice.”  My sister- in-law, however, would remark, ‘Oh ! they are very hot.’ I noticed  that the Brahmani would be displeased at such remarks. She would  say, ‘Why do you say so? My daughter approves of these dishes.’

    While she was thirteen, she once went to Kamarpukur. Being  very young and new to the house, she used to feel afraid to go to  the outside tank for her bath. One day, coming out of the back door of the house, she was thinking of her difficulty, when, all of a sudden, she found eight women near her. As she proceeded to the street  leading to the tank, they escorted her, four of them walking in  front and the other four behind. They bathed with her in the tank  of the Haidars, and came back with her to the house. This happened for several days.