~~OM~~
Photo of the week – May 17 – May 23, 2008
(Picture taken April 2008 at Devi Mandir, Napa, CA)
Shree Maa and Her Mother!
Temple of Divine Mother
By Sharon Steffensen
from YOGAChicago; September – October 1998; Vol. 5, No. 5
Chicago was blessed when Shree Maa came to visit early this summer. Originally from Digboi, India, in the Arunachala Range of the Himalaya Mountains, she has lived in California since 1984 but has begun to travel in the U.S. only since last year. She is a poet, an artist, an excellent singer, and healer. She feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, and heals the sick as part of her worship, as a demonstration of her love for God.
Shree Maa teaches that every home is an ashram, a place of worship, that all actions can be service to God and expressions of devotion, and that life itself is worship. Following is a story about Shree Maa’s life with an accompanying message from Maa.
She knew from her birth that she was divine. Her first recollection was the sound of the voice of Ramakrishna, the 19th century Bengali mystic whom she considers to be her guru, saying, “Oh, you came again. Much more needs to be done in this Age of Darkness. You’ve got to show what divine life means, what is spiritual practice, and what is sacrifice.” With that instruction, she began her life’s work.
Shree Maa’s birth was predicted by Swami Bhuvananda Saraswati, a great saint and religious leader from the northeast corner of India where her family lived. She never cried. Her parents never knew when to feed her or change her diapers. At the age of three she began practicing the Sun Salutation, reciting mantras and making offerings.
When she was seven, Shree Maa began to wander into the forests to visit sadhus, seekers who had renounced the material world in pursuit of a spiritual life. By the time she was nine, she knew every tree in the forest and spent most of her free time in meditation.
Shree Maa was loved by all who knew her and was popular with both faculty and fellow students. In her community she became involved with social service organizations, organizing fund-raisers and festivals for worship or celebration.
Throughout her high school and college years, Shree Maa became more and more introspective until her family became concerned that she was spending too much time in meditation. When their pressure became too great, Shree Maa made plans to run away. After writing a note and packing a few belongings, she reached for the door and looked up at a picture of Jesus that hung over the door. Looking into his eyes, she heard a voice deep within her saying, “I am with you always. You don’t need to run away to find me.”
Shree Maa returned to her shrine room and sat in solitude. She looked at the picture of Ramakrishna blessing her from her altar, and suddenly she heard his voice: “You must finish your college education. I have much work that must be done by you, and to accomplish that, you must be educated.”
After college, Shree Maa spent years wandering in the Himalayas, impervious to fear of the pythons, bobcats and Bengal tigers that roamed the area. She had few possessions other than the simple clothing she wore, and sometimes went for days at a time without food. Her body weight reduced to little more than 60 pounds. People who saw her in deep communion with God for hours and days at a time called her the Goddess of the Mountain, the Goddess of the River, or simply Shree Maa, the Respected Holy Mother.
She experienced such deep samadhi, for prolonged periods, that she radiated an aura of illumination. When she returned to the awakened state, often there would be many people from nearby villages who had heard of the meditating yogini in the forest and left their homes and jobs in nearby villages to sit with her.
Stories told by the villagers made Shree Maa famous and her capacity as a spiritual messenger grew. Soon there was a continual stream of politicians, government workers, businessmen, farmers, villagers, and housewives flocking to see her wherever she went.
When she expressed a desire to travel throughout India, her disciples and devotees from the railway colony provided her with a first class railway pass to cover all her expenses. On one of those journeys, she visited The Ramakrishna Mission in Calcutta, where she stayed in the former house of Shree Sarada Maa, Ramakrishna’s wife. There is a striking physical resemblance between the two women, and even their voices are the same. Devotees would gather outside the house to receive Shree Maa’s blessings. In the evenings she would share spiritual inspiration and stories. Often she would sing. Most of the time, however, she would sit with her eyes closed, totally absorbed in her love for God, and others would join her in meditation.
In 1980, she met Swami Satyananda Saraswati, an American who had been living in India for 20 years. They traveled together with Maa’s devotees throughout India, and in 1983, when she received an instruction from Ramakrishna to go to the U.S., Swamiji came with her. They established a temple in Martinez, California, and lived a simple life dedicated to daily worship.
As word spread of Shree Maa’s presence, thousands came to seek her blessings. In 1992, a new home, Devi Mandir, was found for the temple in Napa Valley, California, open to the public on Sundays. When she received instruction again from Ramakrishna to step out from her seclusion and begin sharing her love and wisdom in person throughout the world, she began a tour, which included Chicago this past summer.
Chicago was blessed to have her.
~~OM~~
Photo of the week – Apr 11 – Apr 17, 2008
(Picture taken March 2008 at Devi Mandir, Napa, CA)
Bara Maa, Shree Maa’s Mother, is visiting from India.
~~OM~~
Question: What do you think contributed to the birth of Shree Maa, who is regarded today as a Divine Mother? Did you perform spiritual practices, austerity, tapasya, or did you pray for a spiritual child? Did you know that you would give birth to a spiritual child?
Bara Maa: Yes, I prayed, I did puja, and my Guru said that my child would make a major spiritual contribution to this world. So I knew. But I am sure every mother prays that her child will be happy and lead a productive life. The difference with Shree Maa was that she radiated light from the time she entered into the womb. And my Guru specifically said that she was a divine child. I had total faith that he would not tell me that if it wasn’t true.
Question: Did you know Shree Maa would become recognized as a Divine Mother?
Bara Maa: Yes, I understood completely that something special was to come from her.
Question: Do you believe it was God’s grace that brought Shree Maa into your family?
Bara Maa: Of course. A pure soul chooses where he or she will take birth according to the karma to be fulfilled. We cannot force a soul to take birth in our home. The soul will choose. That is Grace.
Question: Did you have to make any special arrangements to care for Shree Maa as a child, that were different from the other siblings?
Bara Maa: She was my first, so everything I did was special. Every child is special. They all require something unique.
We came from a big family. Can anyone actually know who they really are, and what they have come to do? Can they know how big they are, how important they are, how important they are destined to become? Who am I, will only be known through our karma.
Shree Maa often sat with her eyes closed. Wherever she sat, a crowd gathered. Our house was always full of people.
So many people came to test her. She would sit with her eyes closed. One time a tantrik sadhu came with a bag hung from his shoulder. He ordered Shree Maa to sit beside him. She did not move from her meditation. He called to her again and again, but she did not move. Suddenly he got up and left in a hurry, afraid that he would be discovered to be a fraud.
Many other sadhus visited; even government officials. They were all amazed. Shree Maa knew the most intimate details of Sarada Devi’s life, even told stories about Ramakrishna that no one else knew, but everyone recognized to be authentic.
One Kalika Sadhika came and said she is a fraud. She tied some mustard seeds in a cloth and put it under Shree Maa’s pillow, while Shree Maa was sitting in meditation. She said that this would “cure” her from the obvious affliction from which she was suffering. When Shree Maa awoke from her meditation, everyone had left, and she immediately went into her room and threw her pillow out from the window. How did she know that something was done? How did she know what to do to remedy the matter?
One time on Amamashya we were celebrating Kali Puja. We were all complaining that Shree Maa continued fasting. She didn’t eat anything. We had prepared a big pot of rice. Nobody wanted to eat until Shree Maa ate, so we all complained again and again. Then she went into the kitchen, picked up the pot, and ate the entire contents. She ate all the rice prepared for so many people!
I always observed Akshar Tritiyam Vrat, the Vow of Worship for the third day. I worshipped Mangala Chandi, and I offered whatever I had to give. I wrote my own songs, and offered them as an appropriate gift to the Goddess.
~~OM~~
Bara Maa: When Shree Maa was sitting for the class ten examinations, she would always fall into meditation. She would close the books and sit with her eyes closed for hours together. My brothers would scold me: “It’s all your fault! You used to take her to sing kirtan and visit saints and have sat sangh. That is why she isn’t paying attention to her studies now!”
I would reply: Who can say what God has planned for each of us? I don’t know if it is best for her to keep her eyes open in the book or to keep her eyes shut with God inside.
Now that I am here in America to see what she has done with her life, I think she made the right decision.
~~OM~~
One couple told Shree Maa that even though they loved each other very dearly, they sometimes had arguments and fights. Shree Maa looked at the husband and said, “You are so simple. Why do you let duality enter and cause trouble? Don’t give room for duality. Always think, “I belong to God, God belongs to me.” When any other thought comes, remember this.”
~~OM~~
A young devotee was sitting at Shree Maa’s feet and confessed to Mother, “Mother, I get angry with my wife. What to do? When I am coming home from work, I think, “Oh, how sweet and patient is my wife. I should not get angry with her.” But somehow, when I get home I just lose it.” What to do Maa?” Maa smiled and said, “Don’t get angry. Talk to me. Think of me. I am ever with you. Just talk to me and don’t let anger manifest.” The young man smiled and we all felt blessed that our Mother is ever with us!
~~OM~~
Many of Maa’s devotees came to have Her darshan even if for just a few hours from different places in India. One such devotee is Mr. Mitra, an extremely successful lawyer in the Kolkata High court. Mr. Mitra recounted how he met Maa many decades ago when he was a young man. He said he was not at all interested in meeting any saint and even today he said, “I don’t know about God. I know Maa. She is my everything.”
As a young man in college, he went to escort a family member who wanted to have Shree Maa’s darshan but when he saw Maa he was spell bound. In his own words, he said “I became crazy. Wherever Maa went, I tried to go there – by hook or crook. I waited outside the house, in a park, anywhere and anyhow I tried to have Maa’s darshan.”
At that time, he was studying for his M Com (Master of Commerce) exams. He went to see Shree Maa and took with him a packet of incense sticks and other offerings as is customary in India. In the house where Maa was staying, were many devotees waiting for Maa to open Her eyes from deep meditation to do arati. There was a big pile of incense boxes before Maa which had been brought by the many devotees. Maa opened Her eyes and got up to do arati. From the big pile, She picked the “Vaishak” brand that Mr. Mitra had offered and took out one incense stick. She used that for arati. She handed the rest of the packet to Mr. Mitra.
There was a month left for his M Com exam and each day Mr. Mitra took out one incense stick and broke it into a little piece and lit it to guide his studies. Needless to say, Mr. Mitra did very well in his exams and later following Shree Maa’s advice he went to law school and has since been practicing law with “truth”. As Mr. Mitra recounted this story, he smiled and handed a packet of the Vaishak incense and said, “Please light one tonight at arati time.”
~~OM~~
One of Shree Maa’s young cousins was reminiscing about her childhood days with Shree Maa. She said that she loved Shree Maa very much as a child but she was very young when Maa left their family house. “She was a mystery to all of us!” Maa’s cousin exclaimed.
In response, I heard myself saying, “We stay with Her everyday now and see Her night and day and yet She is a mystery to us also.”
Next day, all of Maa’s relatives had left and the house we were staying in was quiet. As usual, Shree Maa awoke before dawn and conducted Her Nitya Karma (everyday worship). After worship, She blessed us with tilaks. Everybody was remembering the beautiful days we had spent with Shree Maa’s family and other guests. We recounted this conversation with the young cousin. Shree Maa smiled endearingly and said, “God is a mystery.”
~~OM~~ Trilochan was six years old when I was leaving India. I was carrying a small Casio keyboard around with me, in order to accompany Shree Maa in small events and sat sangh. I turned to him before I left and said, “You take this and learn how to play.” His Dad, Sheojee Tiwari, asked, […]
~~OM~~ Shree Maa and Swamiji at Annapurna Temple We awoke at close to 2 am, all of us excited to get ready to go to Annapurna Temple. Flowers and puja articles were assembled and everybody trooped into different cars. The cars are parked a distance away from the temple and we walked through the narrow […]
~~OM~~
Question: Bara Maa, we heard that Shree Maa never cried much as a baby. How did you manage to take care of Her? You were so young then – did you have other people to help you? How was Shree Maa as a little infant?
Bara Maa: I did everything from time to time according to a schedule. I knew when to rub her with oil, when to give her bath, when to feed her, when to change her. It was easy to do it all by myself because she was so silent.
Question: Can you tell us the story of Shree Maa’s birth and tell us about your Gurudev? What advice did He give you? What sadhana did you do?
Bara Maa: My Gurudeva’s name was Bhuvananda Saraswati. My husband and I were walking up towards the Kamakhya Temple. He called to us to come into his ashram. I was pregnant at the time. He said that our child would be very special and would be a spiritual light in this world. My husband asked him how he knew. He replied, “Look at the light that is coming from your wife. This indicates the birth of a great spiritual being.”
He initiated me in the mantra Drim. It is the bija mantra for Patience. He also taught me the hamsah mantra. I used to sit on a little bench in the kitchen and make japa. Sometimes I would rise up off the bench, and find myself lying on the floor unconscious. I used to picture the energy flowing from the muladhara to the sahasrhara, and concentrate on my third eye. The energy became so intense that my third eye began to bulge. People would ask me what was wrong because I had a little ball bulging from my third eye.
Question: How was Shree Maa different from your other children?
Bara Maa: When I was pregnant with her I radiated light. It was not so with the other children. They were more normal. They cried and were very active. Shree Maa sat in any place I put her. Everyone would be attracted to Shree Maa. No matter where I took her, people would come around to see her.
Question: What foods did Shree Maa like?
Bara Maa: Shree Maa grew up eating dahl, rice and vegetables.
Question: What were Her favorite activities?
Bara Maa: She loved to do puja. It was her favorite game. That is about all she would do, either preparing or performing some kind of worship.
Question: We have heard a little about Didima (Grandmother) from Shree Maa. Can you tell us more about her? What kind of a mother was she to you?
Bara Maa: Didi Maa was a very strong lady. She had a strict discipline. She kept accounts to the penny, made sure the children studied, made sure the kitchen was always clean and the house was always organized.
Question: Can you tell us more about your family – your brothers and your home in Digboi. We want to know more about the place where Shree Maa spent Her childhood.
Bara Maa: The house had 8 rooms and two kitchens. One was for vegetarian food and the other for non-vegetarian. I would help cook in both kitchens.
Question: Maa told us that you always took Her to visit sadhus and saints. Can you tell us more about who these sadhus were?
Bara Maa: Narayan Swami often came to visit us. And we often went to see Trailinga Sadhu. He was from South India and he worshipped the 18 armed Durga.
Question: Where were they – how did you take Maa there?
Bara Maa: Trailinga Sadhu lived close enough to walk to his ashram. I would take Shree Maa with me even at night we went to see him after all my house work was complete. One night he said it is getting late. You should not be walking home alone with your young daughter. You better leave now. I went outside with Shree Maa and started to walk home, and I noticed that he had sent two guardians to accompany us to make sure we did not have any problems. When we got home I saw the guardians vanish. We were always protected.
My brothers always got mad at me. They would say, “Why are you taking the little one to visit sadhus? She will become afflicted.” Later they blamed me because she did not want to study. They said, “You see, this is the result of your visiting sadhus all those years and now she isn’t paying attention to her studies!”
Question: Bara Maa, we heard you were a very gifted singer. Can you tell us how you learnt music?
Bara Maa: I learned music only from hearing. I had no formal training. I never had a teacher. But I was a good singer, and Shree Maa was even better. She would sing along with me, and that was the only training she ever had. One time our family had a victrola record player, and we had some of the big records playing Rabindra Sangeet. She used to listen to those records a lot, and she would sing along with them.
Question: Can you tell us about how you taught Shree Maa music? We heard a little about Maa winning music contests – can you share more about it with us?
Bara Maa: In this way she entered the competition and won.
Question: Bara Maa, was Shree Maa always in meditation and doing puja even as a little child? Did She ever play with other children of Her age? Did you see Her playing?
Bara Maa: She was always playing puja. She had her family, cousins and friends: Paltu, Taku, Seema, Kali, Khukhu. They all joined in puja. I never saw them playing other kids games.
Question: Bara Maa, we are so grateful to you for coming to America and sharing your love and wisdom. Do you have any advice for us, on how to make our life pure and come close to God?
Bara Maa: Everyone of us has our own karma. But even still we must want to meditate and make japa of the divine names. Saying the names alone is not enough. We also want to live a spiritual life. Fill your lives with joy and love, and divinity will always surround you.
~~OM~~
(a) Baro Maa, we heard that Shree Maa never cried much as a baby. How did you manage to take care of Her? You were so young then – did you have other people to help you? How was Shree Maa as a little infant?
I did everything from time to time according to a schedule. I knew when to rub her with oil, when to give her bath, when to feed her, when to change her. It was easy to do it all by myself because she was so silent.
(b) Can you tell us the story of Shree Maa’s birth and tell us about your Gurudev? What advice did He give you? What sadhana did you do?
My Gurudeva’s name was Bhuvananda Saraswati. My husband and I were walking up towards the Kamakhya Temple. He called to us to come into his ashram. I was pregnant at the time. He said that our child would be very special and would be a spiritual light in this world. My husband asked him how he knew. He replied, “Look at the light that is coming from your wife. This indicates the birth of a great spiritual being.”
He initiated me in the mantra Drim. It is the bija mantra for Patience. He also taught me the hamsah mantra. I used to sit on a little bench in the kitchen and make japa. Sometimes I would rise up off the bench, and find myself lying on the floor unconscious. I used to picture the energy flowing from the muladhara to the sahasrhara, and concentrate on my third eye. The energy became so intense that my third eye began to bulge. People would ask me what was wrong because I had a little ball bulging from my third eye.
(c) How was Shree Maa different from your other children?
When I was pregnant with her I radiated light. It was not so with the other children. They were more normal. They cried and were very active. Shree Maa sat in any place I put her. Everyone would be attracted to Shree Maa. No matter where I took her, people would come around to see her.
What foods did Shree Maa like?
Shree Maa grew up eating dalh, rice and vegetables.
What were Her favorite activities?
She loved to do puja. It was her favorite game. That is about all she would do, either preparing or performing some kind of worship.
(d) We have heard a little about Didima (Grandmother) from Shree Maa. Can you tell us more about her? What kind of a mother was she to you?
Didi Maa was a very strong lady. She had a strict discipline. She kept accounts to the penny, made sure the children studied, made sure the kitchen was always clean and the house was always organized.
Can you tell us more about your family – your brothers and your home in Digboi. We want to know more about the place where Shree Maa spent Her childhood.
The house had 8 rooms and two kitchens. One was for vegetarian food and the other for non-vegetarian. I would help cook in both kitchens.
(e) Maa told us that you always took Her to visit sadhus and saints. Can you tell us more about who these sadhus were?
Narayan Swami often came to visit us. And we often went to see Trailinga Sadhu. He was from South India and he worshipped the 18 armed Durga.
Where were they – how did you take Maa there?
Trailinga Sadhu lived close enough to walk to his ashram. I would take Shree Maa with me even at night we went to see him after all my house work was complete. One night he said it is getting late. You should not be walking home alone with your young daughter. You better leave now. I went outside with Shree Maa and started to walk home, and I noticed that he had sent two guardians to accompany us to make sure we did not have any problems. When we got home I saw the guardians vanish. We were always protected.
My brothers always got mad at me. Why are you taking the little one to visit sadhus? She will become afflicted. Later they blamed me because she did want to study: You see, this is the result of your visiting sadhus all those years and now she isn’t paying attention to her studies!
(f) Baro Maa, we heard you were a very gifted singer. Can you tell us how you learnt music?
I learned music only from hearing. I had no formal training. I never had a teacher. But I was a good singer, and Shree Maa was even better. She would sing along with me, and that was the only training she ever had. One time our family had a victrola record player, and we had some of the big records playing Rabindra Sangeet. She used to listen to those records a lot, and she would sing along with them.
Can you tell us about how you taught Shree Maa music? We heard a little about Maa winning music contests – can you share more about it with us?
In this way she entered in to the competition and won.
(g) Baro Maa, was Shree Maa always in meditation and doing puja even as a little child? Did She ever play with other children of Her age? Did you see Her playing?
She was always playing puja. She had her family, cousins and friends: Paltu, Taku, Seema, Kali, Khukhu. They all joined in puja. I never saw them playing other kids games.
(h) Baro Maa, we are so grateful to you for coming to America and sharing your love and wisdom. Do you have any advice for us, on how to make our life pure and come close to God?
Everyone of us has our own karma. But even still we must want to meditate and make japa of the divine names. Saying the names alone is not enough. We also want to live a spiritual life. Fill your lives with joy and love, and divinity will always surround you.
~~OM~~ >Double Click the Video to Play< Listen to Shree Maa and Swamijis’ travels in the holy city of Banaras.