All for Her

No one is a stranger my child, 

make the whole world your own.

-Sri Sarada Devi

- The Divine Mother -

I am the empress of all that lives.

I am the sovereign power in all the worlds.

I am the bestower of all treasure.

I am the knower of the supreme.

Among those to whom homage shall be offered,

I am the first.

Everywhere the gods worship only me,

who am diverse in form

and permeating everything.

Whoever breathes,

whoever eats or sees or hears,

does so through me alone.

Unknowing,

they depend upon me.

Hear now, one and all,

the truth as I declare it.

This truth revered by gods and men alike,

I am myself revealing to you.

Whom I will, I make terrible or benign.

Whomsoever I wish, I make mighty—

a brahmana, a seer, a sage.

I transcend heaven above

I transcend earth below.

This supreme greatness have I attained.

– Vag-Ambhrni Sukta (Devi Sukta), Rig Veda

Some Untold Stories of the Holy Mother

Lecture by Swami Chetanananda

Swami Chetanananda signing his book 

"Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play"

at Santa Barbara Vedanta Society March 2016
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The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. A mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them. A mother’s heart is a patchwork of love. 

Some mothers are kissing mothers and some are scolding mothers. A mothers love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved. A mother is the truest friend we have, when suffering and heavy trials befall us. The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which we will always find forgiveness. Mothers can reach farther down into the heart and offer healing love that can pull a soul back into light from darkness. A mother never gives up hope for her child. Never finding fault with others she will fight to the death when her precious offspring is faced with unjust treatment or needless suffering. A moms hug lasts long after she lets go.

Quick to forgive she is the first to offer food and the last to eat. She assumes the best in those around her and works tirelessly to make them comfortable and included. Encouragement is something she does naturally. A Mother's love is the spirits fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible. A mother always has faith that a child can change their errant ways. Being a mother means that your heart is no longer yours; it wanders wherever your children do. Mother is a verb, not a noun.

Sarada Devi The Bestower of Knowledge
Lecture by Swami Sarvadevananda

That which is Shakti is also Brahman.
That which has form, again, is without form.
That which has attributes, again, has no attributes. 
Brahman is Shakti;
Shakti is Brahman.
They are not two.
These are only two aspects, male and female, 
of the same Reality, 
Existence-Knowledge-Bliss
Absolute.

- Ramakrishna -

Watch Video

Swami Sarvadevananda interviewing Tulsi Ma a disciple 

of Sri Sarada Devi the Holy Mother 1966

Perfection will come when you are completely identified with the Divine Mother and feel yourself to be no longer another and separate being, instrument, servant, or worker but truly a child and eternal portion of her consciousness and force. Always she will be in you and you in her ; it will be your constant, simple and natural experience that all your thought and seeing and action, your very breathing or moving come from her and are hers. You will know and see and feel that you are a person and power formed by her out of herself, put out from her for the play and yet always safe in her, being of her being, consciousness of her consciousness, force of her force, Ananda of her Ananda. When this condition is entire and her supramental energies can freely move you, then you will be perfect in divine works; knowledge, will, action will become sure, simple, luminous, spontaneous, flawless, an outflow from the Supreme, a divine movement of the Eternal.

- Sri Aurobindo

Mother and Mind
Lecture by Swami Chidbrahmananda

Divine Shakti

My child, you have been extremely fortunate in getting this human birth. Have intense devotion to God. One must work hard. Can one achieve anything without effort? You must devote some time for prayer even in the midst of the busiest hours of the day. 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, relieve your mental anguish, and give you enlightenment.

-Holy Mother Sarada Devi

Sarada Devi The Bestower of Knowledge

Lecture by Swami Sarvadevananda

Hymn to Holy Mother 

Prakritim Paramam by Swami Abhedananda

To the Divine Shakti embod­ied in human form, the giver of boons and dis­peller of fear, who quenches the fire of mis­ery and fills with joy the hearts of those who take refuge in Her; to Thee my salu­ta­tions, O Supreme Being, O Mother of the worlds!

Redeem Thy chil­dren, bestow­ing Thy mercy, full of faults, deluded, and with­out merit as we are! A ver­i­ta­ble ship fer­ry­ing us across the ocean of Sam­sara art Thou;
To Thee my salu­ta­tions, O Supreme Being, O Mother of the worlds!

Aban­don­ing the flow­ers of worldly enjoy­ment, always drink, O hon­ey­bee of my mind, the nec­tar of eter­nal peace at the lotus of Mother’s feet—the sure panacea for the dis­ease of world­li­ness. To Thee my salu­ta­tions, O Supreme Being, O Mother of the worlds!

Bestow Thy grace, O great Divin­ity, on us Thy chil­dren, bow­ing in pros­tra­tion before Thee, and grant us shel­ter at Thy feet, O Com­pas­sion­ate One. To Thee our salutations!

Though ever cov­ered with the veil of mod­esty, Thou, O Mother Sarada, art really the Power that bestows spir­i­tual illu­mi­na­tion on human beings. Pro­tect us from sins ever­more, O grace embod­ied! To Thee our salutations!

To Her whose life is fused into one with Ramakrishna’s, whose delight con­sists in absorp­tion in thought and talk of His glory, whose per­son­al­ity is soaked and suf­fused with His spirit; to Her our salutations!

To Her whose nature is sanc­tity, to Her whose life is sanc­tity, to Her who is the very embod­i­ment of sanc­tity; to Her I bow down, again and again!

To the gra­cious Mother Sarada, the embod­i­ment of mercy and the granter of devo­tion and knowl­edge, to Her who is wor­shipped by the chief of yogis, to Her who (with Sri Rama­kri­shna) has given a new rev­e­la­tion for the present age, and who relieves the mis­eries of devo­tees tak­ing refuge at Her feet; to Her do I ever bow down in worship.

Bind­ing our mind to Thee with the bonds of Thy love, Thou does trans­mute our very vices into virtues. Com­pas­sion­ate as Thou art with­out any con­sid­er­a­tion of merit, Thou dost, lo! Take even unwor­thy ones into Thy lap!

Mother, be pro­pi­tious and grant what I in humil­ity beseech. May Thou be ever affec­tion­ate to us, Thy chil­dren; and cast­ing even a drop of Thy love on our long-parched heart, ren­der it cool and peaceful.

Tak­ing shel­ter at the lotus feet of the Mother, Sarada Devi, and Rama­kri­shna, the teacher of the world, I salute them again and again.

Holy Mother: Ideal for the Modern World

Lecture by Pravrajika Shuddhatmaprana

THE LOVING ASPECT OF HOLY MOTHER
Article by Swami Tathagatananda

Mahasamadhi

Sri Sarada Devi 

The Holy Mother 

1853-1920

Mother left her earthly body and entered into Mahasamadhi on this day in 1920. Worshipped during her lifetime as a manifestation of Divine Motherhood, Sri Sarada Devi's throne was the earthen floor. Her only adornments were the white sari with a thin red border and two simple gold bracelets. In place of bow, trident and other divine weapons, Mother carried a broom and basket. To take darshan of Mother was to help her with the daily chores of cleaning and preparing food for offering. Her principal concern was that her children have enough to eat. All who came were her children. Mother's benediction was an outstretched hand of welcome which bade one always to come again.

"Jaya Jaya Janani"

Victory to you, O Mother Sarada, embodiment of compassion. 

You are the primal energy and supreme manifestation of the divine.

You, Mother, are the refuge of even the lowliest of the lowly. 

Mother, you are the savior of the world, giver of fearlessness, 

remover of all pain and suffering. 

You are the mother of all creatures in the universe, ever engaged in protecting all.

O Mother, you remain covered with a veil of humility and shyness; 

to you both the wicked and the virtuous bow their heads. 

Victory to you, O Mother Sarada, embodiment of compassion.

Read about Sri Sarada Devi
by Swami Tapasyananda

Worship of the Divine Mother

Lecture by Swami Atmajnanananda

Unsolicited Grace: Accounts of Holy Mother

Sarada Devi Relics Stolen from Belur Math

Holy Mother Puja

Sri Sarada Devi

"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 body and mind. I tell you one thing my child — if you want peace, do not find fault with others. Rather, see your own faults. Learn to make the world your own. No one is a stranger, my child; the whole world is your own."
(From Sri Sarada Devi’s last words, spoken before passing away on July 21, 1920)