Saradeshwari Ashram & Gauri Ma

By Nirod Baran Chakraborty, Ph.D.

Saradeshwari Ashram headquarters - now situated at 26, Gauri Mata Sarani, Calcutta, India - is a place of solace, peace and spiritual uplifting. It was established by Gauri Ma (Mother Gauri), the only nun disciple of Sri Ramakrishna - the latest and the most complete incarnation of God, of whom Swami Vivekananda along with other illustrious personalities were monk disciples. The specialty of Sri Ramakrishna was that he was a God-intoxicated man who considered the relationship with God as the goal of human life, practiced spiritual quest in all extant religious paths like the different schools of Hinduism, Christianity and Islam and concluded that all religions are true, each being the different manifestations of one universal religion (Sanatana dharma). Swami Vivekananda, in his Chicago address, expressed the view of his great preceptor without mentioning his name and received a great ovation from the Western audience.

Sri Ramakrishna entrusted Swami Vivekananda with the task of teaching the masses and Gauri Ma with the responsibility of educating women so that they could manifest the divine motherhood latent in them. Gauri Ma translated her preceptor's advice into practice and established Saradeshwari Ashram in 1895 with two ends in view. The first end is to educate women so that the women could become good house wives, rearing up families to abide in households of peace and happiness. It is said that the mother who rocks the cradle rules the world. If educated mothers can be prepared, then, likewise, good children will be available. And these children make our future society. The other end is to prepare women to take up spiritual life as nuns for the realization of God and to guide society in a spiritual direction. Widows of good families are also accepted in the ashram if these individuals have a spiritual bent of mind necessary for training a person tor higher spiritual fulfillment.

The ashram maintains free medical assistance, knitting and sewing centers for the deserving candidates. Classes in scripture are held and discussions are arranged on different auspicious occasions, and devotional music is presented which gives the devotees a spiritual lift. The Ashram maintains a school which is principally residential. Of course, some day scholars will also be accepted. Guardians are eager to send their girls to this school, but many students cannot be

taken in, as no government help is accepted and the financial capacity of the Ashram is limited. Saradeshwari Ashram has two branches - one at Nabadwip (West Bengal, India) and the other at Giridih (Bihar, India). Recently, a branch of this ashram has begun to develop in Ganges, Michigan, USA. Saradeshwari, the divine consort of Sri Ramakrishna, laid the foundation stone of the Ashram headquarters in Calcutta and it was dedicated to her sacred name. Though Gauri Ma established the main Ashram, its expansion was due to the efforts of Durga Ma who was the successor to Gauri Ma and a disciple ofSaradeshwari herself. Later on, Subrata Ma took the main responsibility of running the Ashram and her mantle has fallen on Bandana Ma at present.

The Mother cult in India has a long tradition, and it has taken a new shape in the hands of Sri Ramakrishna who worshipped God as the Mother Divine, the embodiment of Divine Love which expresses the essence of God who is all Love. Sri Ramakrishna saw the Divine Mother in all ladies and de¬sired that others also would have the same sight. The Mothers of Saradeshwari Ashram represent that Divine Love which is boundless and universal. An acquaintance with them changes the lives of the devotees, and they are surcharged with spiritual inspiration.
Gauri Ma, the founder of Saradeshwari Ashram, in her spiritual quest, practiced austerities. She was humble and averse to advertisement and fame. She literally begged from door-to-door to establish the Ashram; and her unique love for the Ashram dwellers was the main spring for their nourish¬ment and contentment at the initial stage of the Ashram. Later on, the Divine Consort of Sri Ramakrishna took the responsi¬bility for praying to her great husband so that the Ashram did not suffer from financial stringency. Her prayer was granted. From that time onward, the Ashram has received financial sup¬port flowing in from un imagined quarters. Sri Ramakrishna presented Gauri Ma to act as a companion for Sri Sarada Devi while she lived in her austere quarters at Dakshineswar. Later on, Gauri Ma became a friend of the wife of Sri Ramakrishna, who, at times, even advised Sri Sarada Devi to act according to Gauri Ma's suggestions.
Damodarji, God in a stone form, who is better known as Lalji Maharaj, was the deity worshipped daily by Gauri Ma who always carried Him with her during her outings. He is the presiding and guiding deity of Saradeshwari Ashram. Gauri Ma was the holy wife of this deity, and she had a unique loving relation with him, a relationship to be mystically appreciated and apprehended rather than intellectually comprehended. Gauri Ma had a melodious voice, and her music pleased both her preceptor and Sri Sarada Devi. Her outer appearance was hard, but her inner heart was full of the milk of motherly affection. She was a terror to the wicked but an affectionate mother to the real devotees. She had a rare sense of humor and the special capacity of discussing the implications ofIndian devo¬tional and spiritual scriptures. She could argue with her oppo¬nents so convincingly that they had to reluctantly admit defeat. Saradeshwari Ashram, like its founder, does not believe in advertisement or pblicity. Rather, shining with its own light, it inspires and shows a reliable path to spiritual fulfillment that never falters.