Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi - an Introduction

Dear friends

Recently, we had the good fortune of reading “Teachings of SRI SARADA DEVI, THE HOLY MOTHER” at saradadevi.info.

Sri Sarada Devi, the consort of Sri Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, was born on December 22, 1853, at Jayrambati in West Bengal, India. She started meditating from her childhood and she is said to have had mystic visions and experiences. In May 1859, at the age of 5 years, she was betrothed to Sri Ramakrishna, a priest at that time in a temple at Dakshineshwar near Calcutta. After marriage she was left with her parents as it was the custom in those days. In 1872, when she was 18 years old, she went to Dakshineshwar to live with Sri Ramakrishna. By then Sri Ramakrishna had already embraced the life of a sanyasin and hence their marriage was never consummated. She lived at Dakshineshwar till 1885.

After Sri Ramakrishna's death in August 1886, Sarada Devi stayed most of the time either at Jayrambati or at the Udbodhan office, Calcutta. The disciples of Sri Ramakrishna regarded her as their own mother, and after their guru's passing looked to her for advice and encouragement. The followers of the Ramakrishna movement regard Sarada Devi as an incarnation of the Divine Mother.

Sri Sarada Devi’s words of reassurance, to her devotees from far and near, "I am the mother of the wicked, as I am the mother of the virtuous. Whenever you are in distress, only speak this to yourself, 'I have a mother'.”

Has anybody said anything more meaningful or more powerful? Has anybody ever given such an assurance?

As rightly mentioned by Swami Vireswarananda in his Foreword to the book titled “Teachings of SRI SARADA DEVI THE HOLY MOTHER” (published by SRI RAMAKRISHNA MATH, Mylapore, Chennai 600 004, India), “There is, however, a need for knowing about the teachings of the Holy Mother, because there one finds a proper guidance for decent living here in this world and finally for realizing God. In Her teachings I sincerely feel there is more practical value because Her instructions are so clear, detailed, beyond all ambiguity and backed by Her own life. She stands as an exemplar, not as a mere instructor. As She once said when someone asked Her, ‘Mother, will you please tell something in the way of instruction?’ Mother replied, ‘Don't you see me doing? What else can I say?’ That is it. She did everything She said, and that gives more inspiration and guidance for our lives here.”

We have tried to segregate her teachings under various topics with the sole purpose of adding clarity. Each topic has to be read and re-read several times to grasp the depth of the precious messages, before proceeding to the next topic. We sincerely hope that our efforts will immensely benefit the readers. After reading any of these topics, if you feel you got something valuable, if you feel more positive towards life, or satisfied that your precious time was spent in reading something good / constructive, please let us know. That will energize us to work harder. Also, share this, talk about this, with as many like-minded people as possible.

Wishing you all a wonderful day!

Team Ganappa