Teachings of Sri Sarada Devi - Part I: The Mystery of Life and God Consciousness

In this Part I, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi’s teachings on THE MYSTERY OF LIFE AND GOD-CONSCIOUSNESS are presented.

1. Mother: "The world is the Lord's. He created it for His own play. We are mere pawns in His game. Wherever He keeps us and in whatever way He does so, we have to abide by it contentedly. We suffer as a result of our own actions; it is unfair to blame anybody for it. We have to surrender ourselves completely to the Lord with faith and devotion in Him, serve others to the best of our capacity, and never be a source of sorrow to anybody."

2. Disciple: "If there is a God, why is there so much misery in this world? Does He not see? Or hasn't He the power to remove these evils?"

Mother: "The creation itself is full of grief. How can one understand joy if there is no sorrow? And how can everyone be happy at the same time? There is a story that once Sita said to Rama, 'Why do you not remove everybody's miseries? Make everyone in your kingdom—all your subjects—happy. You can do it if you like.' Rama answered, 'Can everyone be happy at the same time? Well, they can, if you so desire. Why not satisfy all their needs from the royal treasury? Just as you wish.'

"Then Rama called Lakshmana and said, 'Go and tell everyone in my kingdom that all their needs will be supplied from my treasury.' When the people heard this, they came and explained their needs. The treasury was laid open. Everyone lived in happiness. But such was the dispensation of Rama that soon the roof of the royal palace showed cracks and water seeped through. Masons were sent for to repair the crack. But there were none to be found. Where was any labourer to be found? The subjects also came and complained that because there were no masons or workmen, their houses and buildings were falling to pieces. Then, seeing no other way, Sita said to Rama, 'We cannot suffer in the wet like this! Let everything be as it was. Then we can get workmen again. Everybody cannot be happy at the same time.' 'So be it,' answered Rama. In the twinkling of an eye everything was as it used to be. One could get workmen again. 'Lord, it is true that this life is only a game of yours!' said Sita.

"No one can suffer for all time. No one will spend all his days on this earth in suffering. Every action brings its own result, and one gets one's opportunities accordingly."

Disciple: "Then is everything the fruit of Karma?"

Mother: "What else, if not Karma?"

3. "Each has to get the results of the actions for which he earned this life. A pin at least must prick where a wound from a sword was due."

4. "Such is life, here today, gone tomorrow! Nothing goes with one, except one's merit and demerit; good and evil deeds follow one even after death."

5. "One suffers as a result of one's own actions. So, instead of blaming others for such sufferings, one should pray to the Lord and depending entirely on His grace, try to bear them patiently and with forbearance under all circumstances.

6. "My son, forbearance is a great virtue; there's no other like it.”

7. "One must be patient like the earth. What iniquities are being perpetrated on her! Yet she quietly endures them all. Man, too, should be like that."

8. "There is no treasure equal to contentment and no virtue equal to fortitude." 1

9. "You see, my son, it is not a fact that you will never face dangers. Difficulties always come, but they do not last forever. You will see that they pass away like water under a bridge."

10. "Don't be afraid. Human birth is full of suffering and one has to endure everything patiently, taking the Name of God. None, not even God in human form, can escape the sufferings of the body and mind. Even Avataras, saints, and sages have to undergo the ordeal of suffering, for they take upon themselves the burden of sins of omission and commission of ordinary human beings and thereby sacrifice themselves for the good of humanity."

11. "People complain about their griefs and sorrows and how they pray to God but find no relief from pain. But grief itself is a gift from God. It is the symbol of His compassion. ... Tell me, who is there in the world who has not had to bear sorrow? Vrinda once said to Krishna, 'Who said you are merciful? As Rama you filled Sita's life with sorrow; as Krishna you fill Radha's life with sorrow. In Kamsa's prison your parents weep for you night and day. Yet we call upon you, because he who takes your Name has no fear of death.'

12. "The Mother of the universe is the Mother of all. From Her have come out both good and evil."

13. Disciple: "Where does this initiative for good and evil originate? You may say from our previous life; but where is the source of it all?"

Mother: "Even a blade of grass cannot stir without the will of God, my son. When a creature falls on good times, his thoughts turn to prayer; when he falls on bad times, all is evil. It is all according to God's will. It is God alone who expresses His will through the actions of man. What powers did Naren (Swami Vivekananda) have by himself? It was because God acted through him that he achieved what he did. The Lord knows what He is about to perform. But should a man surrender himself totally at His feet, He will do everything for him. One must bear with everything, because it is all due to cause and effect, according to one's Karma. And Karma counteracts the effects of one's previous Karma…. If you do a good act, it cancels the effects of your evil deeds. If one prays, takes the Name of God and thinks of Him, the effects of evil are cancelled."

14. Disciple: "If God is the father and mother of all, then why does He make us commit sin?"

Mother: "No doubt, God alone has become all these objects, animate and inanimate, but in the relative world all beings act and suffer according to their past Karma and innate tendencies. The sun is one, no doubt, but his manifestation differs according to objects and places."

15. Disciple: "If everything happens according to the will of God, then why does He not annul the law of Karma?"

Mother: "Yes, if He wills, He can shorten the period of evolution. But we do not know His will."

16. "Let me tell you one thing. There is great complexity in this creation. The Master does one thing through one man and another thing through another person. Oh, it is so inscrutable!" 2

17. "Does it matter in the least to God whether you believe or not? Even the sage Suka Deva was to Him like a big ant at the most. Infinite is He. How much can you understand of Him. 3

18. "Pray to God with tears in your eyes whenever you want illumination or find yourself faced with any doubt or difficulty. The Lord will remove all your impurities, assuage your mental anguish, and give you enlightenment."

19. "He who thinks always of the Lord, which way can evil come to him?"

20. "Open your grief-stricken heart to the Lord. Weep and sincerely pray, 'O Lord, draw me towards You; give me peace of mind.' By doing so constantly you will gradually attain peace of mind."

21. "Certainly you will have doubts. There will be questionings and faith will return again. That is how faith is established."

22. "Does one get faith by mere studying of books? Too much reading creates confusion. The Master used to say that one should learn from the scriptures that God alone is real and the world illusory."

23. "Why do people argue? Even the wisest of men have not found God through argument! Is God a subject for argument?"

24. "Give up this dry discussion, this hodge-podge of philosophy. Who has been able to know God by reasoning? Even sages like Suka and Vyasa are at best like big ants trying to carry away a few grains of sugar from a large heap."

25. Disciple: "How can one stop reasoning?"

Mother: "Reasoning does not disappear as long as one has not attained to perfect knowledge.”

26. Disciple: "All I want to know is whether there is anyone whom I may call my own."

Mother: "Yes, such a One exists…. He Himself has become our father and mother. He Himself brings us up as our parents. It is He alone who looks after us. Otherwise where were you and where are you now? Your parents brought you up, but at last you realized that you did not belong to them".

27. "God is one's very own. It is the eternal relationship. He is everyone's own. One realizes Him in proportion to the intensity of one's feeling for Him."

28. "God cannot be realized without love. Yes, sincere love."

29. Disciple: "How does one get love of God?"

Mother: "The grace of God is the thing that is needful. One should pray for the grace of God."

30. "If one can regard God as one's own and call on Him without seeing Him, that is God's grace."

31. "He who will pray to God eagerly will see Him."

32. "If one calls upon Him repeatedly, He becomes compassionate; and so a devoted attachment comes into being. This love for love's sake should be hidden from all eyes."

33. "He who has really prayed to the Master, even once, has nothing to fear. By praying to him constantly one gets ecstatic love (Prema Bhakti) through his grace. This Prema, my child, is the innermost thing of spiritual life. The Gopis of Vrindavan attained to it. They were not aware of anything in the world excepting Sri Krishna. A line in one of Nilakantha's songs says, 'One should cherish with great care this precious jewel of Prema.' "

34. "Call on the Lord who pervades the entire universe. He will shower His blessings upon you."

35. "What does a man become by realizing God? Does he grow two horns? No, what happens is that he develops discrimination between the real and unreal, obtains spiritual consciousness, and goes beyond life and death. God is realized in spirit. How else can one see God? Has God talked to anyone who is devoid of spiritual fervour? One envisions God in spirit, talks to Him and establishes a relationship with Him in spirit.”

36. "In the course of time one does not feel even the existence of God. After attaining enlightenment one sees that gods and deities are all Maya. Everything comes into existence in time and disappears in time. Deities and such things really disappear at the dawn of enlightenment. The aspirant then realizes that the Mother alone pervades the entire universe. All then become one. This is the simple truth."


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1 fortitude (from Merriam-Webster online dictionary): strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage.

2 Master: Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.

3 Read the story of sage Suka in the Mythological stories section.