BEG ONLY FROM THEM

BEG ONLY FROM THEM

MAA KALI manifested this time in a tangible form as Thakur and Sarada Devi, the Male personality of the Supreme Reality and Its Power DIVINE, as the Female personality. They descended in this valley of woes to bring succour to the erring, suffering humanity; and to slake the thirst of the spiritually thirsty. Whom else should we beg but them who are ever eager to grant boons to all who seek ?
   ONE DAY THE MOTHER WAS explaining that since human gifts do not last long, one should not beg from people, not even from one's father or from one's husband. Then she added: "When the Master gives, it overflows all limits." SWAMI GAMBHIRANANDA, HOLY MOTHER SRI SARADA DEVI, 495.

How true! When Thakur gave he gave without any calculation, for he knew no mathematics, even as a school boy! The same was true of Sri Maa. Thakur had liked Girish's play  "The Life of Chaitanya" at the Star Theatre. He asked Girish if he could show him another of his plays, and said that Girish must charge something. Girish said: "All right, you may pay eight annas."Thakur said:"Then you must take one rupee."

  One day Thakur told his young disciples that he desired to eat food they could obtain by begging. At this Naren and others decided that the first person to be approached should be the Holy Mother. The Mother gave them sixteen annas. Sixteen annas make one rupee; sixteen stands also for fullness and abundance.
Thus both Thakur and Maa signified their bestowing on all that they could wish for. Whoever supplicated them with whatsoever desire, be it for removal of material wants, worldly afflictions, relief from physical maladies, or spiritual illumination, they granted their prayers.

  IN FINANCIALCRISES:
   What a sincere soul Tejchandra was! The Master used to frequent his house. Someone had deposited two hundred rupees with him. One day he discovered that he had been robbed of that amount and suffered from terrible mental agony. He came to the bank of the Ganga and prayed to the Master with tears in his eyes, "O Lord, what have you done to me?" He was not rich enough to make up that amount. The Master appeared before him and said: "Why do you weep so bitterly?.The money is there under a brick on the bank of the Ganga." Not only did Thakur remove his mental affliction, he Graciosly granted Tejchandra his vision too!
RAMAKRISHNA AS WE SAW HIM, 30.

   OWING TO CONTINUOUS DROUGHT the crops in the fields of Jayrambati began to be scorched away. The helpless farmers told the Mother, "This year, Mother, there is no hope of keeping our childern alive.." Their distress moved her, and she went with them to see the
fields. There she could not control her feeling of dismay, and supplicated with extreme humility, "Alas, Master! What's this that you have done! Should every one die of starvation?" That very night rain poured down in torrents and the crop was so good that the peasants had no such happy memory for many years past.
HOLY MOTHER SRI SARADA DEVI, 447.

IN DISEASE AND PHYSICAL SUFFERINGS:
      ONCE JAGDAMBA DASI, MATHUR'S WIFE , had an attack of dysentry. It worsened so much that the doctors gave up all hope for her life. Extremely anxious, Mathur beseeched Thakur's help. Thakur entered into an ecstatic state and granted his prayer. Jagdamba Dasi came round but as a consequence Thakur himself had to suffer  with stubborn diarrhoea for six months. It was as if millions of ants were gnawing at his brain. Nothing was left of him but a few bones, but the devotee had his prayer granted. In the Mother's life also we come across many instances where bhaktas, suffering terriblly  from physical maladies were cured through her blessings. To quote an incident: Once at
'Udbodhan',  Napharchandra held the feet of the Mother
and with his eyes full of tears said, "Mother, I am in imminent danger. Some of my grand-daughters and a grand-son have died of influenza. And now some more grand-daughters and the only surviving grandson are in a precarious condition. Mother, you will have to so ordain that my line is not broken." The Mother uttered in a solomn voice, "No, you need have no fear." That comforted the gentleman ; he wiped his tears and departed happily. He had his wish fulfilled.
HOLY MOTHER SRI SARADA DEVI, 448.

AS SPIRITUAL GURUS:  Countless seekers came to Thakur and Maa seeking spiritual illumination-- people from all walks of life, the young and the old, of various castes and creeds. Their doors were open to all. On many occasions we see Thakur giving completely contradictory advice under similar situations.  The story of Niranjan  and Jogindranath, coming to Dakshineswar by boat is ofen quoted and is well known. We shall illustrate this through another example. On hearing that Ishan was building a house on the bank of the Ganga to practice spiritual discipline, the Master observed, "Let me tell you that the less people know of your spiritual life, the better it will be for you. Devotees endowed with sattva meditate in a secluded corner or in a forest or withdraw into the mind." On the other hand, he advised Shyam Babu, an elderly man, who wanted to devote his time to  contemplation, to build a quiet place for meditation, saying that it would not be possoble to think of God amidst worldly confusion. To each particular sect also he prescribed remedy suited to their need. To the Brahmos he said: 'Why should I produce only a monotone when I have an instrument with seven  holes? Why should I say only "I am He" or " Btahma, Brahma". I want to make merry with God through all the moods.'
THE GOSPEL, 1009-- 1010

TO THE VAISHNAVAS HE SAID, "Why should I be one- sided? The worshippers of Vishnu and the worshippers of Shakti will ultimately reach the same goal." To the Vedantists he would say: "Let us give up 'I am He' and keep 'Thou and I' to enjoy the fun." To the Shaktas he said: "Shiva, Kali, and Hari are but different forms of that One." To those who believed in God with form and others who believed in the Formless Reality and fought over it, he explained that the same Satchidananda assumed forms under the cooling influence of bhakti and again became formless with the rise of the sun of Knowledge.
In the case of Holy Mother also all cosiderations of her personal suffering, fitness of place or person, in matters of initiation were brushed aside. None was refused -- sinners, lunatics, criminals, outcastes or fallen. Even when not well, she initiated a Parsi devotee;  initiated Brahmachari Girija during her period of mourning; initiated a youth just released from Police  custody in an open field; a porter on the railway station,
who weepingly beseeched her. Impelled by divine mercy she did not refuse even the criminals and took upon herself the burden of their sins and as a result, suffered from various diseases.

SO WHOM SHOULD WE BEG BUT THAKUR AND MAA, who like the kalpataru fulfill all our prayers? But one must pray going near the kalpataru.

BEG ONLY FROM THEM