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Saradamani's Holy Motherhood: A Reappraisal
Abstract
Saradamani's reputation as the Holy Mother of the Ramakrishna Order is derived from two predominant factors. First, her devotees and disciples loved her as their own mother and worshipped her as a goddess. This status was acquired by her as she was the widow of the late Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, who had himself been considered a god. Second, and more important, Sarada's conduct and moral character endeared her to everyone who came in contact with her. As she treated all of her associates as her own children, Saradamani not only compensated her deprivation of biological motherhood but through her appropriation of the values of the Calcutta middle class, she discovered sources of empowerment in a pre -- eminently male monastic order within a patriarchal society. Thus, while the success of Sarada's holy motherhood may be owed largely to her personal qualities, its historical significance must be comprehended in the context of the evolving concept of Hindu (especially Bengali) motherhood of her time.
I consider [Sarada Devi] to be one of the greatest, nay -- THE GREATEST -- if you permit me to say -- achievement of Sri Ramakrishna in this world.... Divine, yet human, a real woman, but saintly, the MOTHER has an irresistible appeal to me. She was so modest that only few could fathom her greatness while she was alive (R. B. Rybakov's letter of November 30, 1986, cited in Purnatmananda, 1997: 7).
Introduction
Like her husband, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (Gadadhar Chattopadhyay, 1836 -- 86), priest of the Kali temple at Dakshineshwar (near Calcutta), Saradamani Chattopadhyay (1853 -- 1920), was transformed from an obscure, semi -- literate child -- bride of an ecstatic young man into the Holy Mother, indeed a goddess, Mother of the Universe (Jagajjanani), the popular designation of the Goddess Kali. This paper examines the process of her divine identification, with a view to concluding that Sarada's divinity was predicated upon a conjunction of her circumstances and character, that her being the widow of a godman helped her acquire the privilege, through her charming and affectionate nature, and behavior, the quintessential maternal qualities brought her the spontaneous respect and love of innumerable devotees and disciples. This study questions the traditional hagiographical claims for Saradamani's incarnational...