Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother
Contributed by Amrita M. Salm, Ph.D. and Prem Reid
Holy Mother (1853-1920) was born in Jayrambati, a village in West Bengal, India to loving, pious, and hard-working parents. Sri Sarada Devi was Sri Ramakrishna’s wife and spiritual counterpart. Known as Holy Mother to her devotees, she was a guide and inspiration to the young monks and devotees of the Ramakrishna Order, a worldwide spiritual movement. She exemplified the ideal disciple, nun, wife, teacher, and mother to her many spiritual children.
Sri Sarada Devi
Typical of young village children more than a century ago, Sarada was devoted to God and spent much of her time assisting her mother with household chores, caring for her younger siblings, and serving others. Sarada did not have any formal schooling, yet learned the Bengali alphabet. At the age of six, as was the custom, she was betrothed to the God-intoxicated saint, Sri Ramakrishna. She continued to live at home with her parents while Sri Ramakrishna continued his spiritual practices at Dakshineswar, a temple complex near Calcutta (now known as Kolkata).
About ten years after her marriage, Sarada walked nearly a hundred miles from her village to the temple garden to meet her husband, having heard negative rumors regarding his state of mind. Instead, she found him to be welcoming, gentle, and kind. He inquired if she had come to drag him down to the world. She replied, without hesitation, ”No, I am here to help you.” Sri Ramakrishna had been doing intense spiritual practices for over a dozen years and had reached a state where he saw God in all beings and considered all women to be manifestations of the Divine Mother.
In 1872, Sri Ramakrishna worshipped Holy Mother as Sodashi, an aspect of Mother Kali, awakening the latent motherhood in her. She began to look upon the growing number of devotees as her own children. During this time, she felt that a pitcher of bliss overflowed from her heart.
Holy Mother’s marriage to Sri Ramakrishna was unique: he was an all-renouncing monk, and she lived as a nun, serving him with love and attending to all the household duties.
After the death of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother went on some pilgrimages, had many spiritual visions, and then went to live in his village of Kamarpukur. She had no means and lived in poverty. Once Ramakrishna’s disciples learned of her condition, they brought her to Kolkata. Endowed with a mother-heart, she began to accept spiritual seekers and embraced everyone without regard to their pure or sinful lives. Holy Mother became the guiding light and guide to the new Order of monastics and devotees. Having been raised in an orthodox, rural setting, Holy Mother was most progressive in her views. She encouraged women to become educated and supported Swami Vivekananda’s plans for the rejuvenation and uplift of India’s women and the masses.
Holy Mother’s forbearance, love, compassion, wisdom, and acceptance of all people, and the reverence that Sri Ramakrishna’s direct disciples and others had for Holy Mother did not affect the routine of her daily life. She continued to serve the devotees - cooking for them, washing clothes, sweeping the floors, and carrying out the duties of an ordinary outer life while remaining calm and insightful and exhibiting forbearance, love, compassion, wisdom, and acceptance of all people. She showered her love and blessings on everyone.
Not only did Holy Mother look upon all as her children, whether they were from her village or members of the ruling British military, but she also looked upon animals and inanimate objects as manifestations of divinity. She told one of her attendants, who had not been kind to a stray cat, to treat it lovingly since she was also in the cat.
Mother’s advice was simple and straightforward. She reminded one who came to her that “You always have a Mother.” Regarding a question about meditation and a restless mind, Holy Mother advised one devotee to just look at Sri Ramakrishna’s picture. She advised another, “Don’t be afraid. Human birth is full of suffering, and one has to endure everything patiently, taking the Name of God.”
Sri Sarada Devi suffered repeated attacks of malaria, yet worked unceasingly and practiced self-denial, which affected her already poor health. She left her body on July 21, 1920. Swami Vivekananda regarded Holy Mother as the ideal for women in the modern era and said that the spiritual awakening of women had begun with her birth. As he desired, a women’s order was founded with Holy Mother’s life as the ideal. A temple in her honor can be found at Belur Math, in her village of Jayrambati, and wherever Sri Sarada Math centers are found. She is also revered in hundreds of thousands of personal shrines in all parts of the world.
Holy Mother’s last message, five days before her passing, was, ”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.”
Sister Nivedita, Vivekananda’s Irish disciple, spent many years working in Kolkata for the uplift of India and started a girls’ school in Kolkata. She also had the privilege of closely associating with Holy Mother. Regarding Holy Mother’s life, she said, “Her life was one long stillness of prayer.”
Suggested Readings
Swami Chetanananda. Sri Sarada Devi: A Divine Life in Pictures. Vedanta Society of St. Louis, 2015.
Nikhilananda, Swami. Holy Mother Being the Life of Sri Sarada Devi Wife of Sri Ramakrishna and Helpmate in His Mission. New York: Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, 1962.
The Gospel of The Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi. Recorded by Her Devotee-Children. Chennai: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1984.
Apurvananda, Swami. In the Divine Realm. Translated by Swami Vimohananda, Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama, 2016.
Read the Series: Our Inspiration
