Story of Gopal Ma - one of Sri Ramakrishna's greatest disciples.

[Guest guest]

Namah Shivaya all.

 

Here is a story of one of Sri Ramakrishna's greatest disciples. This

story is a celebration of both Thakur and the disciple, Gopal Ma, or

Gopaler-Ma as is written in this article.

 

PLEASE NOTE that is a LOOOONG article, and that it is likely to move

you! so, please read it when you have time, and where you can express

your feelings freely!

 

Jai Ma!!!!

 

 

 

 

Householder Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna

Life of Sri Gopaler Ma (Aghoremani Devi)

 

'Ah, there is nothing inside this body but God. He fills it through

and through' - Sri Ramakrishna on Gopaler-ma.

 

'Ah! This is the old India that you have seen, the India of prayers

and tears, of vigils and fasts, that is passing away' - Swami

Vivekananda about Aghoremani Devi to his western disciples after a

visit to her.

 

It is hard to believe how the infinite God actually assumes a finite

human form and plays with human beings. But this play was actually

enacted in the life of a woman devotee of Sri Ramakrishna. She was

known as Gopaler-ma, or 'Gopala's mother'. Gopala, or cowherd boy, is

an epithet of the child Krishna. Gopaler-ma's given name was

Aghoremani Devi, but she came to be called Gopaler-ma because of her

fervent devotion to the infant Krishna, which culminated in Lord

Krishna appearing before her as a child of seemingly solid physical

form. Aghoremani attained this high mystic experience by living a

life of austerity and renunciation, and through her steadfast love

for her Chosen Deity, Gopala.

 

One way to approach God, according to traditional Hinduism, is by

practicing any one of five dualistic attitudes, or moods. These

attitudes, or moods, are manifested in the relationship between the

devotee and God, and they are: shanta bhava, the peace and stillness

felt in the presence of God; dasya bhava, the attitude of a servant

towards his Master; sakhya bhava, the attitude of a friend towards a

Friend; vatsalya bhava, the attitude of a parent towards a Child;

madhura bhava, the attitude of a lover towards the Beloved. The idea

behind this classification is to help the spiritual aspirant

intensify his relationship with God according to his own inner

nature. This is a natural path to God-realization. Gopaler-ma

attained her vision of God through the practice of vatsalya bhava,

the attitude of a mother towards her child.

 

Aghoremani Devi was born of a brahmin family about the year 1822 at

Kamarhati, a northern suburb of Calcutta. Following the social custom

of child marriage, she was married at the age of nine. Her wedding

was the first and last time she saw her husband, for he died before

the marriage was consummated, leaving her a widow of fourteen years

of age. However, she was initiated into spiritual life by her

husband's family guru and, with the child Krishna as her Chosen

Deity, she was given the 'Gopala mantra'. Since a Hindu brahmin widow

does not remarry, the love and energy that Aghoremani

would have given her husband and children were diverted towards her

beloved Gopala. It was Divine Providence that her one-pointed

devotion was to make her a saint instead of a faithful housewife.

 

After the death of her parents she went to live at the temple garden

of Govinda Datta at Kamarhati, where her brother was the priest of

the Radha-Krishna temple. It was a large estate, located on the bank

of the Ganga. Govinda's widow, the owner and manager of the temple,

was a very pious woman who lived like a nun. She practiced severe

austerities, such as sleeping on the floor, bathing three times and

eating one meal a day, and observing religious vows, daily worship,

japa and meditation. She was looking for a companion, and through her

priest she found Aghoremani, who had a similar nature and spiritual

inclination. Aghoremani was also very happy to have the opportunity

to live in a solitary, holy place on the bank

of the Ganga.

 

Aghoremani was short but well built, with a tawny complexion and a

face that shone with the glow of purity. It is an ancient custom in

India for monastics and orthodox widows to shave their heads because

they do not care for external beauty, and following their example,

Aghoremani shaved her head. In later years she donned the ochre

cloth, the traditional garb of the renunciant.

 

By selling her jewellery and husband's property Aghoremani received

about five hundred rupees, which she invested in securities and left

in her landlady's care. With the three or four rupees a month

interest earned on the investment, she had to manage her living.

Sometimes the landlady helped her, but from time to time Aghoremani

was forced to draw on her capital.

 

Spiritual life is not a matter of show. The more hidden it is, the

stronger and more fruitful it becomes; the more it is expressed, the

weaker and more superficial it becomes. For this reason mystics like

to remain hidden. Aghoremani, like other mystics, was a person of few

words, and she led a quiet, contemplative life in the temple garden

of Kamarhati. Many years later Sister Nivedita described her

surroundings:

 

How beautiful was the Ganga, as the little boat crept on and on! And

how beautiful seemed the long flight of steps rising out of the

water, and leading up, through its lofty bathing-ghat, past the

terraced lawn, to the cloister-like verandah on the right, where, in

a little room, built probably in the first place for some servant of

the great house at its side, Gopaler-ma had lived and told her beads

for many a year... Her own little room was absolutely without

comforts. Her bed was of stone, and her floor of stone, and the piece

of matting she offered her guests to sit on, had to be taken down

from a shelf and unrolled. The handful of parched rice and sugar

candy that formed her only store, and were all that she could give in

hospitality, were taken from the earthen pot that hung from the roof

by a few cords. But the place was spotlessly clean, washed constantly

by Ganga-water of her own sturdy carrying. And in a niche near her

hand lay an old copy of the Ramayana, and her great horn spectacles

and the little white bag containing her beads. On those beads,

Gopaler-ma had become a saint! Hour after hour, day after day, for

how many years, had she sat day and night absorbed in them!

 

The tiny room where Gopaler-ma spent the greater portion of her life,

was at the southwest corner of the building. It had three windows on

the southern side through which she could see the Ganga. Inside the

room were large earthen pots containing rice, lentils, spices, and

other things, which she purchased in quantities to last for six

months. Fresh vegetables were bought once a week at the local market.

She kept her few articles of clothing in a tin trunk, and her cooking

pots and pans were neatly stacked in one corner. Both her inner life

and her outer life were well organized. This is a sign of a yogi.

 

The scriptures say that the practices of an illumined soul are meant

for spiritual aspirants to emulate. Gopaler-ma's life, devoid of

comfort and luxury, and filled with intense longing for Gopala,

demonstrates how essential austerity and concentration are to

realization. Thus it is both important and helpful for seekers of God

to know such details as the daily routine, behavior, habits, and mode

of life of an illumined soul.

 

Gopaler-ma arose at two o'clock in the morning, washed her face and

hands, then started her japa, which continued until eight o'clock.

Next, she cleaned the Radha-Krishna temple, washed the worship

vessels, picked flowers, and made garlands and sandal paste. She was

neat, clean, and meticulous. She would bathe twice a day, mornings in

the Ganga and evenings in the pond. After bathing in the Ganga, she

meditated for some time under a vilwa tree in the temple garden.

Next, she collected dry wood and leaves for her cooking fire. She

usually cooked rice, dal, bitter squash, and potato. Her food

offering to Baby Gopala was worth seeing. She would place a wooden

seat on the floor for Gopala and offer cooked food on a banana leaf-

plate, which she set before him. Afterwards she would partake of the

prasad and then rest for a while. She practiced japa again then until

evening, when she would attend the vesper service of Radha-Krishna

and listen to devotional singing. Her supper was always very simple,

usually consisting of a few offered coconut balls and a little milk.

Again she would start her japa, which continued until midnight. With

rare exception, she followed this routine daily for over thirty

years -- from 1852 to 1883. Perhaps the only break of any consequence

in her routine came when she went on a pilgrimage with her landlady

to Gaya, Varanasi, Allahabad, Mathura, and Vrindaban.

 

One day, prior to meeting Sri Ramakrishna, she was cooking as usual,

but the fire would not burn, the wood was heavy with moisture, and

there was an adverse wind which blew the smoke into her eyes. Finally

when the bit of rice and curry was done and she was about to pour it

out on the leaf, the same adverse wind blew away the leaf. Then she

began to scold God for making everything so bad for Gopala. As she

was talking, a little boy brought back the leaf, held it out flat on

the ground until she had put the food on it and then disappeared. She

began to feed her Gopala; but suddenly she began to ask herself who

that little boy was and she realized that it was Gopala himself. From

that moment she became mad. All day and night she kept crying, 'Where

is my Gopala? Where is my Gopala?' She could not sleep or eat. Only

at night would she prepare a little food for Gopala, and everyone

thought that she had really become mad.

 

 

By the 1880s Sri Ramakrishna's name had begun to spread, and it was

in the fall of 1884 that Gopaler-ma first went to Dakshineswar, along

with her landlady and another woman, to seek an audience with the

holy man. As Kamarhati and Dakshineswar are both on the Ganga, they

went the three miles by boat. Sri Ramakrishna received them

cordially, gave them some advice on devotion, and sang a few songs.

He asked them to come again, and graciously, in turn, the landlady

invited Sri Ramakrishna to visit her temple garden at

Kamarhati. He accepted the invitation.

 

Only a jeweler understands the value of a jewel. Sri Ramakrishna

recognized the spiritual magnitude of both Gopaler-ma and the

landlady, and, praising them in his sweet manner, he said: 'Ah! What

a beautiful expression on their faces! They are floating in the ocean

of bliss and devotion. Their eyes are soaked with divine love'. On

another occasion Sri Ramakrishna commented about Gopaler-ma, 'During

Krishna's incarnation she was a fruit-seller of Vrindaban and she

would feed Gopala the sweet fruits'.

 

After her first visit Gopaler-ma felt an irresistible attraction for

Sri Ramakrishna and she noticed a change in her life. Off and on she

would think about Sri Ramakrishna, 'He is a nice man and a real

devotee'. She decided to see him again soon.

 

A few days later, while she was practicing japa, her desire to see

him became so intense that she immediately left for Dakshineswar by

herself. It is an ancient custom that one should not visit God or a

holy person empty-handed, so on her way she bought two pennies' worth

of stale sweets, which was all that she could afford. She was

confident that he would not eat them, since so many people bought

better offerings every day. But no sooner had she arrived at

Dakshineswar than Sri Ramakrishna asked: 'Oh, you have come! Give me

what you have brought for me'. She was embarrassed, but she

reluctantly handed over the stale sweets to him. Like a hungry boy he

started to eat them with great relish and said to her: 'Why do you

spend money for sweets? Prepare some sweet coconut balls, and when

you visit this place bring one or two of them with you. Or you may

bring a little of the ordinary dishes which you cook yourself. I want

to eat your cooking'.

 

That day Sri Ramakrishna did not talk about God or religion. He only

inquired about this food or that food. As Gopaler-ma later related:

 

I thought: 'What a strange monk. He talks only about food. I am a

poor widow. Where shall I get so many delicacies for him? Enough! I

shall not come back again'. But as soon as I crossed the gate of

Dakshineswar garden, I felt he was, as it were, pulling me back. I

could not proceed further. I had a hard time persuading the mind, and

at last I returned to Kamarhati.

 

A few days later she came to Dakshineswar on foot, carrying some

ordinary curry that she had cooked for Sri Ramakrishna. He relished

it and said: 'What a delicacy! It is like nectar'. Tears rolled down

Gopaler-ma's cheeks. She thought the Master appreciated her humble

offering only because she was poor. During the next three or four

months Gopaler-ma visited Dakshineswar several times, always carrying

some plain good for the Master. Invariably he asked her to bring some

new food on her next visit. Sometimes she would think in disgust: 'O

Gopala, is this the outcome of my prayer? You have brought me to

a holy man who only asks for food. I shall not come back again'. But

as soon as she returned to Kamarhati, she would again feel that

irresistible attraction, and her mind would long to see the Master.

 

At the invitation of Govinda Datta's widow, Sri Ramakrishna went to

visit the temple garden of Kamarhati. He attended the worship service

of Radha-Krishna and sang many devotional songs. The landlady and

others there were very much impressed, seeing the Master's ecstasy

during the kirtan. After taking some prasad he returned to

Dakshineswar.

 

It was the spring of 1885. One morning at three o'clock Gopaler-ma,

as usual, started to practice japa. After finishing the japa she

began pranayama and was about to offer the result of the japa to her

Chosen Deity when she noticed that Sri Ramakrishna was seated at her

left with his right fist clenched. Startled, she wondered: 'What is

this? How did he come here at this odd hour?'

 

As she later described:

I looked at him in amazement and thought, 'How did he come here?'

Meanwhile Gopala [as she called Sri Ramakrishna] kept on smiling

sweetly. As I took courage and grasped his left hand, Sri

Ramakrishna's form disappeared and in place of it appeared the real

Gopala -- a big child of ten months old. His beauty and look beggar

description! He crawled towards me and, raising one hand,

said, 'Mother, give me butter'. This overwhelming experience

bewildered me. I cried out so loudly that if there had been men

around they would have assembled there. With tearful eyes I said, 'My

son, I am a poor, helpless widow. What shall I feed you? Where shall

I get butter and cream, my child?' But Gopala did not listen to

me. 'Give me something to eat', he kept on saying. What could I do?

Sobbing, I got up and brought some dry coconut balls from the hanging

basket. Placing them in his hand, I said, 'Gopala, my darling, I

offer you this wretched thing, but don't give me such

a poor thing in return'. I could not perform japa at all that day.

Gopala sat on my lap, snatched away my rosary, jumped on my

shoulders, and moved around the room. At daybreak I rushed to

Dakshineswar like a crazy woman. Gopala also accompanied me, resting

his head on my shoulder. I distinctly saw Gopala's two tiny, rosy

feet hanging over my bosom.

 

When Gopaler-ma arrived at Dakshineswar, a woman devotee was present.

Her words vividly describe that meeting with the Master:

I was then cleaning the Master's room. It was seven or half past

seven in the morning. In the meantime I heard somebody

calling, 'Gopala, Gopala' from outside. The voice was familiar to me.

I looked and it was Gopaler-ma. She entered through the eastern door

like an intoxicated person, with disheveled hair, staring eyes, and

the end of her cloth trailing on the ground. She was completely

oblivious of her surroundings. Sri Ramakrishna was then seated on

his small cot. I was dumbfounded seeing Gopaler-ma in that condition.

The Master, in the meantime, entered into an ecstatic mood. Gopaler-

ma sat beside him and he, like a child, sat on her lap. Tears were

flowing profusely from her eyes. She fed the Master with cream,

butter, and sweets which she had brought with her. I was astounded,

for never before had I seen the Master touching a woman in a state of

ecstasy...After some time the Master regained his normal

consciousness and went back to his cot. But Gopaler-ma could not

control her exuberant emotion. In a rapturous mood she began to dance

around the room, repeating, 'Brahma is dancing and Vishnu is

dancing'. Watching her ecstasy the Master said to me with a

smile, 'Look, she is engulfed in bliss. Her mind is now in the abode

of Gopala'.

 

Gopaler-ma's ecstasy was boundless. Her vision, conversation, and

play with her beloved Gopala continued: 'Here is Gopala in my arms...

Now he enters into you [pointing to Sri Ramakrishna]...There, he

comes out again...Come, my child, come to your wretched mother'. Thus

she became convinced that Sri Ramakrishna was none other than her

Gopala.

 

Only a mystic understands the language and behavior of another

mystic. Sri Ramakrishna was happy to see her ecstasy, but then, in

order to calm her, he began to stroke her chest and feed her with

delicacies. Even while eating, Gopaler-ma said in an ecstatic

mood: 'Gopala, my darling, your wretched mother has led a life of

dire poverty. She had to make her living by spinning and selling

sacred thread. Is that why you are taking special care of her today?'

>From this time on Aghoremani Devi was known as Gopaler-ma.

 

Gopaler-ma stayed the whole day at Dakshineswar, and then, before

evening, Sri Ramakrishna sent her back to Kamarhati. The same baby

Gopala went with her, nestled in her arms. When she reached her room,

she started to tell her beads as before, but it became impossible.

Her Chosen Deity, for whom she had practiced japa and meditation all

her life, was now pestering her, demanding this and that, as he

played in front of her. When she went to bed, Gopala was by her side.

She had a hard bed without a pillow and he began to grumble. At last

she cradled his head on her left arm and said: 'My child, sleep

tonight in this way. Tomorrow I shall go to Calcutta and ask the

daughter of the landlady to make a soft pillow for you'.

 

The next morning she went to the garden to collect dry wood for

cooking. Gopala also accompanied her and helped her. Then, as she was

cooking, the naughty child began to play tricks on her. She tried to

control him, sometimes with sweet words, and sometimes through

scolding.

 

Modern man, inclined to be skeptical and scientific, has great

difficulty in accepting as real such experiences as Gopaler-ma's.

However, from the traditional Hindu point of view, there are much

finer states of consciousness than the one in which we experience the

sense world, and this has been substantiated again and again by the

experiences of saints and seers. When the mind is pure and saturated

with Spirit, such high states of consciousness are possible. Gopaler-

ma meditated on her beloved Gopala so much that her mind became very

pure. As a result, she entered the superconscious realm, and wherever

her eyes fell, she saw Gopala. In this realm of mystical experience,

verbal expression, mental cognition, and intellectual reasoning do

not function. The only consciousness is the direct consciousness of

God.

 

A few days later Gopaler-ma went to Dakshineswar to visit the Master.

After greeting him she went to the nahabat, or concert room, where

Sri Ramakrishna's spiritual consort, known as Holy Mother, lived. It

was Gopaler-ma's habit to practice japa whenever she had time and

opportunity. While she was doing japa in the concert room, Sri

Ramakrishna came there and said: 'Why do you practice so much japa

now? You have plenty of visions!'

 

Gopaler-ma replied: 'Shall I not practice japa any more? Have I

attained everything?'

 

'Yes you have attained everything'.

 

'Everything?'

 

'Yes, everything'.

 

'What do you say? Have I really accomplished everything?'

 

'Yes, you have. It is no longer necessary for you to practice japa

and austerity for yourself, but if you wish, you may continue those

disciplines [pointing to himself] for the welfare of this body'.

 

Thus assured by Sri Ramakrishna three times, she said: 'All right.

Whatever I do henceforth will be for you'.

 

Her visions and play with Gopala continued for two months. During

this time she was always in an ecstatic mood. She had to force

herself to continue her daily routine of bathing, cooking, eating,

japa, and meditation. Gradually her divine intoxication subsided; yet

she continued to have several visions of Gopala a day. Since she had

become convinced that Sri Ramakrishna and Gopala were one and the

same, she had fewer visions of the form of Gopala and more of Sri

Ramakrishna while meditating, with the voice of Gopala

instructing her through him. She went to Sri Ramakrishna one day and

said to him, crying: 'Gopala, what have you done to me? Did I do

anything wrong? Why do I not see you in the form of Gopala as before?'

 

Sri Ramakrishna consoled her, saying: 'In this Kali Yuga if one has

such visions continuously, one's body does not last long. It survives

only twenty-one days and then drops off like a dry leaf'. Since

Gopaler-ma had experienced the bliss of constant divine inebriation,

it was difficult for her to live without it. She had no interest in

mundane things. Just as a worldly person is always restless for

worldly objects, in the same way her heart was restless for the

continuous vision of Gopala. She felt a pain in her chest and thought

it was due to the pressure of gas. But Sri Ramakrishna

told her: 'It is not gas. It is caused by your spiritual energy. How

will you pass your time if it goes away? Let it be with you. When you

feel too much pain, please eat something'.

 

Sri Ramakrishna used to receive gifts of sweets, fruits, and rock

candy from various people, but he could not eat all of it. There were

some business people who would offer gifts to him believing such

offerings to a holy man would bring them prosperity. This type of

food invariably contaminates the mind of the eater. Consequently, the

only devotees Sri Ramakrishna would give these things to were Swami

Vivekananda and Gopaler-ma. He knew that the minds of these two great

souls were in such a high realm that they could never be affected by

eating such food.

 

One day Gopaler-ma came to see the Master with some women devotees.

Pointing to her, he said to those present: 'Ah, there is nothing

inside this body but God. He fills it through and through'. Then the

Master fed Gopaler-ma with various delicacies and gave her some food

which he had received from several Calcutta business people. At this,

Gopaler-ma said, 'Why are you so fond of feeding me?'

 

Sri Ramakrishna replied, 'You have also fed me with so many things in

the past'.

 

'In the past? When?' she asked.

 

'In your previous life', he said.

 

During the Car Festival of Lord Jagannath in 1885, Sri Ramakrishna

went to Balaram Basu's house in Calcutta. Balaram had invited many

devotees for the celebration. While he was there the Master spoke

highly of the God-intoxicated state and visions of Gopaler-ma, and at

his behest, Balaram sent a man to bring her. Just before her arrival

the Master was talking to the devotees when suddenly he went into

ecstasy. His body assumed the pose of Gopala, crawling on both knees,

one hand resting on the ground, the other raised, and the face turned

up as if he were expecting someone. Gopaler-ma arrived then and found

Sri Ramakrishna in the posture of her Chosen Deity. The devotees were

amazed, seeing that divine sight.

 

'Truly speaking, I don't care for this stiff posture', she said. 'My

Gopala should laugh and play, walk and run. But what is this? He has

become stiff like a log. I don't like to see this sort of Gopala!'

 

It was a striking feature in Sri Ramakrishna's life that whenever any

mood would come over him he would be fully identified with it. Even

in his later years, when he would sing, dance, or make gestures like

a woman or a child, people were amazed, seeing their precision and

spontaneity. His voice was sweet and melodious, and his movements

were natural, simple, and beautiful. There was not an iota of

insincerity or display in his behavior and action.

 

Sri Ramakrishna stayed in Calcutta for a few days and then left for

Dakshineswar by boat. Some of the devotees, including Gopaler-ma,

accompanied him. Balaram's family had lovingly given Gopaler-ma some

necessary items of clothing and utensils in a bundle which she was

carrying on the boat. The Master came to know from other devotees

what was in the bundle. Immediately he became grave, and without

directly referring to the items, he began to speak about

renunciation. He said: 'Only a man of renunciation realizes God. The

devotee who is simply satisfied with another man's hospitality and

returns empty-handed, sits very close to God'. He did

not say a single word to her, but he kept looking at her bundle.

Gopaler-ma understood.

 

The Master always watched over his devotees so that they might not

deviate from the path of nonattachment. He could be as soft as a

flower, and again as strong as a thunderbolt. His superhuman love

conquered the hearts of the devotees, so a little indifference from

him would give them unbearable pain. Gopaler-ma was stung with

remorse and thought of throwing the bundle away. But she kept it, and

when she reached Dakshineswar she related everything to

Holy Mother. She was ready to give all the items away, but Holy

Mother stopped her and said: 'Let the Master say what he wants. There

is no one to give you gifts, and moreover, you have been given some

things which you need'. Nevertheless Gopaler-ma gave some of the

things away. Then she cooked some curries for the Master and carried

the tray of food to him. Seeing her repentance, he behaved with her

in his usual manner. She returned to Kamarhati feeling much relieved.

 

After God-realization the illumined soul is carried along by the

momentum of his past karma, but he ceases to be affected by it. He

behaves like a witness, completely unattached to the world. He

continues his daily routine, and he helps other people towards

realization. Gopaler-ma also followed her old routine. But from time

to time she would visit the Master, and whatever visions she had

during meditation she would relate to him. Once he said to her, 'One

should not disclose one's visions to others, because it stops

further visions'.

 

One day, however, Gopaler-ma and Swami Vivekananda (then called

Narendranath) chanced to be present at Dakshineswar at the same time.

Gopaler-ma was uneducated, unsophisticated, simple, and a devout

worshipper of God with form; Narendranath, on the other hand, was

learned, sophisticated, intelligent, and a staunch believer in the

formless God. As a member of the Brahmo Samaj, he looked down on

worship of God with form. Sri Ramakrishna had a tremendous sense of

humor, so he engaged these two devotees, with their opposing points

of view, in a discussion by requesting Gopaler-ma to relate her

visions to Narendranath.

 

'But will there not be harm in telling them?' she asked. Assured by

him that it would be all right, she related all her visions in detail

to Narendranath with overwhelming joy and tears.

 

Devotion is contagious. Narendranath, in spite of his manly exterior

and faith in rationalism, could not control his tears. His heart was

filled with love and religious fervor. The old lady now and then

interrupted her story to say: 'My son, you are learned and

intelligent, and I am a poor, illiterate widow. I don't understand

anything. Please tell me, are these visions true?'

 

'Yes, Mother, whatever you have seen is all true', Narendranath

assured her.

 

On another day, Gopaler-ma invited Sri Ramakrishna for lunch at

Kamarhati. This time the Master went by boat with Rakhal, a young

disciple who later became Swami Brahmananda. She received them

cordially, and after they had enjoyed the delicacies she had cooked

for them, they went to a room upstairs which had been arranged for

their rest. Rakhal fell asleep immediately, but the Master was wide

awake. Presently a foul odor permeated the room, and he saw two

hideous looking ghosts with skeletal-like forms. They said to him

humbly: 'Why are you here? Please go away from this place. Seeing

you, we are in unbearable pain. The Divine Presence was no doubt the

cause of their pain, either because it reminded them of their own

pitiable condition, or because evil spirits cannot bear that Presence.

 

Sri Ramakrishna immediately arose and gathered up his small spice bag

and towel. In the meantime Rakhal woke up and asked, 'Master, where

are you going?' 'I shall tell you later', said Sri Ramakrishna. They

both went downstairs to Gopaler-ma and, saying good-bye to her, left

on the boat. The Master then told the whole story to Rakhal,

explaining that he did not say anything to Gopaler-ma because she was

staying there alone. At any rate, she knew that ghosts frequented the

area, and Sri Ramakrishna knew that her spirituality protected her

from their presence.

 

'One who has steadfast devotion to truthfulness realizes the God of

Truth', said Sri Ramakrishna. His own life was based on truth, and

whatever he said invariably came true. One day Gopaler-ma cooked for

the Master at Dakshineswar. When he found that the rice was not

properly boiled, he indignantly said: 'Can I eat this rice? I shall

not take rice out of her hand anymore'. People thought that the

Master had only warned her to be careful in the future. But shortly

afterwards it so happened that cancer developed in his throat, and

from then on he could only eat thin porridge and liquids.

 

As the illness grew worse, Sri Ramakrishna was moved from

Dakshineswar to Calcutta, and then Cossipore (a northern suburb of

Calcutta) for treatment. Gopaler-ma now and then would come to serve

him. One day the Master expressed a desire to eat a special kind of

thick milk pudding. Yogindra, a young disciple, was sent to Calcutta

to buy the pudding from the market. On the way, however, he stopped

at the house of Balaram Basu, and when the women devotees heard about

his errand, they asked him to wait and let them cook it. They meant

well, reasoning that the homemade food would be of better quality

than the market food. Yogindra agreed. But when he returned

with the pudding and told the Master the reason for his delay, the

Master scolded him: 'I wanted to eat the market pudding, and you were

told to buy it. Why did you go to the devotee's house and give them

trouble over it? Besides, this pudding is very rich and hard to

digest. I will not eat it'. Indeed, he did not touch it, but he asked

Holy Mother to give the pudding to Gopaler-ma. As he explained: 'This

is given by the devotees. Gopala dwells in her heart. Her eating it

will be the same as my eating it'.

 

After the passing away of Sri Ramakrishna, Gopaler-ma was grief

stricken and for a long time lived in seclusion. After a while,

however, repeated visions of the Master consoled her bereaved heart.

Once she went to attend the Car Festival of Jagannath in Mahesh, on

the other side of the Ganga. There she had the cosmic vision of the

Lord. She saw her beloved Gopala not only in the image of Jagannath

in the chariot, but also in the pilgrims who were pulling the

chariot. 'I was then not myself', she said. 'I danced and

laughed and created a commotion there'.

 

Occasionally she would visit Sri Ramakrishna's monastic disciples at

the Baranagore monastery. At their request she would cook a couple of

dishes and offer them to the Master.

 

The human mind is a mysterious phenomenon. In general, people are not

happy because their minds are always craving worldly comforts and

luxuries. The mind becomes impure when it is involved with mundane

things, and it becomes pure when it becomes desireless. The impure

mind suffers, and the pure mind enjoys bliss. It is very difficult to

give the mind to God if it is preoccupied with many worldly

possessions. Gopaler-ma's mind, however, was always God-centered.

Just as the needle of the compass always points to the

north, so also her mind was always directed towards God. Mercilessly

she would drive away all distracting thoughts.

 

One day, after Sri Ramakrishna had passed away, some of his disciples

went to see her and found her room full of mosquitoes and other

troublesome creatures. Although she did not appear to mind them and

kept on repeating the Name of the Lord, it distressed them to see her

in such discomfort, so the next day one of the disciples brought her

a mosquito curtain. That night when she sat down to repeat the Name,

she found her mind constantly wandering to the curtain, thinking

whether a cockroach or a rat might not be eating off a corner of it.

Seeing this she said, 'What! This wretched curtain thus to take my

mind away from my Gopala!' and without ado she made it up into a

bundle and sat down again to her devotions with the mosquitoes

all about her.

 

The next morning the disciples were just getting up at the Math when

Gopaler-ma appeared. She had walked all the way [at least five miles]

and must have started at three o'clock. She laid the bundle down.

 

'What is it?' someone asked.

 

'It is the curtain you gave me yesterday. It takes my mind away from

God. I don't want it', was her answer; and nothing could persuade her

to take it back.

 

One day in 1887 Gopaler-ma came to Balaram's house in Calcutta. A

number of devotees were also there who were aware of her high

spiritual experiences, and they began to ask her some questions. She

said to them: 'Look, I am an old, illiterate woman. What do I know

about the scriptures? Why don't you ask Sharat, Yogin, and Tarak?'

But they persisted, so finally she said: 'Wait, let me ask Gopala. O

Gopala, I don't understand what they are talking about. Why don't you

answer their questions? Hello, Gopala says this...' In

this way Gopaler-ma answered the abstruse questions of the devotees.

They were amazed. That remarkable question and answer session ended

abruptly, however, when Gopaler-ma suddenly said: 'O Gopala, why are

you going away? Will you not answer their questions anymore?' But

Gopala had left.

 

In 1897 Swami Vivekananda returned to India from his first visit to

the West. Later he sent three of his Western disciples, Sister

Nivedita, Mrs. Ole Bull, and Miss Josephine McLeod, to Kamarhati to

meet Gopaler-ma. She received them cordially and kissed them. As she

had no other furniture in her room, they sat on her bed. She then

served them with some puffed rice and sweet coconut balls and shared

some of her spiritual experiences with them. When they returned to

Calcutta, Swami Vivekananda said: 'Ah! This is the old India that you

have seen, the India of prayers and tears, of vigils and fasts, that

is passing away'.

 

Once two women devotees came to Swami Vivekananda at Balaram's house

requesting initiation, but he sent them to Gopaler-ma. She was

reluctant, however, and said to Swamiji: 'My son, what do I know

about initiation? I am a poor widow'.

 

Swamiji replied with a smile: 'Are you an ordinary person? You have

attained perfection through japa. If you cannot give initiation then

who can? Let me tell you, why don't you give your own Ishta-mantra to

them? It will serve their purpose. Moreover what will you do with

your mantra anymore?

 

Gopaler-ma initiated the women but was unwilling to accept any gift

or offering from them. When she was persuaded, she followed the

custom and accepted two rupees from them so that the disciples might

not be hurt. She had no greed or desire for worldly objects. Her

simple instruction was:

 

Listen, offer your body and mind to God. Initiation is not an

insignificant thing. Do not leave your seat without repeating ten

thousand japa in each sitting. While practicing spiritual discipline

disconnect yourself from the thoughts of the world. Start your japa

at 3 o'clock in the morning so that nobody is aware of it; and again

practice in the evening.

 

She had immense love for the disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. When the

news of Swami Vivekananda's passing away reached Kamarhati, she was

in her room. She cried out in pain, 'Ah, Naren is gone?' She felt

dizzy, saw darkness all around, and fell to the floor, fracturing her

right elbow.

 

Gopaler-ma was then living there by herself, although the place was

known for being haunted. During the time the landlady lived there, a

guard looked after the place, but since no one was there now to help

her, Swami Saradananda appointed a gardener and sent a woman to take

care of her broken arm. Seeing the attendant, Gopaler-ma said: 'Why

have you come here? You will have to face a lot of hardship. My

Gopala takes care of me. Where will you sleep? You must find a room.

They are all under lock and key, so you will have to ask the priest

to open one for you. Let me tell you frankly at the outset that there

are some evil spirits around. Whenever you hear any strange noise,

repeat your mantra wholeheartedly'. At night the attendant slept

opposite Gopaler-ma's room, and she heard the sound of heavy, hurried

footsteps coming from the roof and a rapping noise through the

window. It was quite a test for her.

 

Gopaler-ma had to face many such ordeals during her long stay in that

garden house by herself. She never felt lonely, however, for her

beloved Gopala was with her day and night. Moreover, she did not care

for a companion because it might interfere with her visions. As she

had very little body-consciousness, she was reluctant to take

personal service from others. Independence is happiness and

dependence is misery. She practiced this Vedantic teaching in her

life.

 

In 1903 Gopaler-ma became seriously ill. Swami Brahmananda then sent

one of his young disciples to nurse her. The boy brought fruits and

vegetables for her and slept in the corner of her room. He awoke very

early in the morning, however, when he heard Gopaler-ma talking with

someone: 'Wait, wait! Even the birds have not yet sung. Let the

morning come, my sweet darling, and then I shall take you for a bath

in the Ganga'.

 

Later the young disciple said: 'No one else lives in your room. With

whom were you talking this morning?'

 

'Don't you know that Gopala lives with me? I was trying to control

his naughtiness', she replied.

 

As her health grew worse, the disciples of Sri Ramakrishna arranged

for her to be moved to Balaram's house in Calcutta. But Sister

Nivedita expressed a desire to serve this saintly woman, so Gopaler-

ma was taken to her residence. A cook was appointed, and Kusum, one

of Gopaler-ma's disciples, attended to her personal needs. In return

Gopaler-ma gave Nivedita maternal affection and support. Her presence

in the house created an atmosphere of spiritual serenity.

 

'I feel thrilled', Nivedita wrote in a letter at that time, 'when I

am with Gopaler-ma. The words of Saint Elizabeth sound in my

ears, "What is this to me that the Mother of my Lord should visit

me?" For I believe that Gopaler-ma is sainthood as great as that of a

paramahamsa -- a soul fully free. I feel that if I can only worship

her enough, blessings will descend on all whom I love, through her.

Could more be said?'

 

To see God in everything is the culmination of Vedantic experience.

Gopaler-ma had a pet cat in whom she used to see Gopala. One day it

was lying peacefully on Nivedita's lap when Kusum came and pushed it

away. Immediately Gopaler-ma cried out: 'What have you done? What

have you done? Gopala is going away -- he is gone'.

 

Those who carry the Lord in their hearts always enjoy festivity. They

never get bored or pass a single dull moment. The body of Gopaler-ma

was deteriorating day by day, but her mind was floating in bliss.

When Holy Mother went to see her, Gopaler-ma sighed: 'Gopala, you

have come. Look, you have sat on my lap all these days; now you take

me on your lap'. Holy Mother took Gopaler-ma's head on her lap and

caressed her affectionately.

 

The end came on July 8, 1906. Gopaler-ma was carried to the Ganga,

where she breathed her last at dawn, touching the holy water of the

river. A monk bent over her and whispered in her ear the words that

the Hindu loves to hear in his last hour: 'Om Ganga Narayana! Om

Ganga Narayana Brahma!'

 

Thus the curtain fell on the divine drama of Gopaler-ma. The monks

went to her room and found her two most precious possessions, the

rosary, which had passed through her fingers millions and millions of

times, and a picture of Sri Ramakrishna, who had appeared before her

as Gopala. Nivedita took the rosary, and the picture was sent to

Belur Math, where it still rests on the altar of Holy Mother's temple.

 

Once, being asked for some advice from a disciple, Gopaler-ma

said: 'Ask advice from Gopala. He is within you. No one can give

better advice than he. This is the truth. Cry with a longing heart

and you will reach him'.

 

(They Lived With God - Life Stories of Some Devotees of Sri

Ramakrishna - by Swami Chetanananda, Advaita Ashrama, Publication

Department, 5 Dehi Entally Road, Calcutta 700 014.)

[Guest guest]

It was indeed very beautiful. Thankyou very much.

 

Chris

 

 

, "manoj_menon" <ammasmon@s...>

wrote:

> Namah Shivaya all.

>

> Here is a story of one of Sri Ramakrishna's greatest disciples.

This

> story is a celebration of both Thakur and the disciple, Gopal Ma,

or

> Gopaler-Ma as is written in this article.

>