The affectionate term "Holy Mother" refers to Sarada Devi (1853-1920), Ramakrishna's wife and spiritual counterpart. According to the custom then prevalent in India, she was betrothed to him while still a child. At the age of 18, she left her parental home to join her husband, who lived some sixty miles away, near Calcutta.

By that time Ramakrishna had dedicated his body and mind to the spiritual search and lived the life of a monk. Yet he received Sarada very kindly, feeling that Divine Providence had brought her. After nursing her to recovery from an illness contracted on the journey, Ramakrishna one day asked her why she had come to join him. She replied that she had come only to help him in his chosen way, which as she well knew meant the way of complete renunciation of all earthly ties for the sake of God-realization. Thus, instead of seeking conjugal fulfillment, she became his first disciple.

Sarada Devi was a spiritual and intellectual leader in her own right. She served Ramakrishna

Although by all accounts she was a modest and self-effacing woman, the movement started by Ramakrishna continued to grow in prominence and become quite influential in the waning days of British colonial rule. Swami Vivekananda, because he was a man and because of his family background, perhaps had more of an impact politically back in Calcutta, but Sarada Devi remained the head of the religious community in Dakshineswar. Before his death, Ramakrishna encouraged his disciples to treat her as if she were their mother, paralleling the role of Kali as the mother of humanity. She nurtured them accordingly, helping with personal matters. Moreover, she was an important interpreter and teacher of Ramakrishna's thinking for all comers.

Quotes

• "I am the mother of the righteous, I am the mother of the wicked as well. Never fear. Whenever you are in distress, just say to yourself 'I have a mother.'"
• "I tell you one thing. If you want peace of mind, do not find fault with others. Rather see your own
  
  
  
  faults. Learn to make the whole world your own. No one is a stranger, my child; the whole world is your own."
• "God is one's very own. The more intensely a person practices spiritual disciplines, the more quickly he attains to God."
• "Never fear. He is ever looking after you. Do His work and practice Sadhana. A little work daily drives away idle thoughts from the mind."
• "Call on the Lord who pervades the entire universe. He will shower His blessings upon you."
• "The mind is rendered pure as a result of much austerities. God who is purity itself cannot be attained without austerities."

Affiliated Organizations

• - The women's wing of the Sri Ramakrishna Math

Books of Interest

• Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother - Swami Tapasyananda ISBN 997-1
• Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi - Swami Gambhirananda ISBN 186-7
• The Gospel of the Holy Mother ISBN 001-1
• The Holy Mother as I Saw Her - Swami Saradeshananda ISBN 626-3
• Sri Sarada Devi : a Biography in pictures ISBN 02101
• In the company of the Holy Mother - her direct disciples ISBN 02103

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