(One)
Man is essentially business-minded. Because of this, he bustles’ about in all directions, but he can hardly gather in his spoils. I had been to Rampur or Shampur or Madhupur or Jadupur. Whom you see and what you know? I can’t say that. What then? What answer shall I make to myself? I don’t care to know where you have been but what have you brought?
I’d been to many a place—that was, however, to satisfy my own mind. To gratify one’s own eyes. What eyes are meant here? The eyes with which we seek and get—to gratify the eyes of flesh. If you say—no, my eye of flesh isn’t gratified, my eye of knowledge is. Then give me an answer to that. Come forward with that.
Like one of those jackdaws which swarm at a holy shrine, you’ve gone round the holy shrine. You’ve gone places you’ve indulged in your leisure and comfort, you’ve gratified your eye of flesh. Where’s that eye of knowledge? Then why do you fail to express subtle things, why blind? It makes little sense to say to yourself, for the sake of the peace of mind, that you’ve gone places. You should ponder over just one thing—“In vain have I searched for somebody; my mind keeps hankering for him.” Have you been able to find him? Let me have him.
So the point is whatever you do, know hear, recognize, and understand in advance all that you can about it from the neighborhood. You fling yourself down on that spot, wholeheartedly. Here I mean to stick to death. There you are! Die. You’ll find then that you have come alive again. You’ll take on a new body. What did he say? What word did he leave behind? He shapes the body. He kills and brings back to life. You had been to many a place, my son, what did you get out of that? You do everything but once done
(No. of words – 336)
(Two)
Prosad: It’s indeed very difficult—Mother, to come to a settled conclusion by way of reasoning and understanding. Thus it is—we are like street pariah dogs. Everyday we hang around in front of a house, so the master of the house takes a fancy to us. Is it not in this mood that we go round the shrines?
Mother: Everyday in front of a house—a house, indeed. We are pariah dogs. We don’t know that we are ignorant. We are rushing ahead in the dark. That’s why we stand in front of a house everyday. Then in this instance we have a motive—acting on that we go to that door everyday. So that the master of the house or his wife will take a fancy to us as he or she goes on seeing us day by day. They will go on tossing us a handful. After a time they will call us in. Then they will call us close to them and later still closer.
Then they will say, “Look there, did you pour out all the milk into Khoka’s (a little boy) dish, eh? Didn’t you keep back a little for Lucia (a cat)? The house-maid then gives it a portion of Khoka’s milk.—Well, you didn’t give Bhutto (a dog) anything to eat today, eh? Oh, don’t give him that little portion of milk. Bhutto will have to be given that. Then she is already getting fond of Bhutto, but Bhutto doesn’t know of that. So he hangs around with his eye on that particular spot.
Since he’s a stray dog, he roves about. But he has his eye on a particular spot, eh? Since he is a worldly man—sinks in worldly affairs, but he has his eyes on a particular spot. Why, though you’ve your eye on a particular spot—won’t you eat if somebody gives you food some day? Eh, what harm is there in eating? –‘He has given me the food to eat, so I’ve eaten. But I’ve my eye on a particular spot.’ Or you won’t bow down?
That is, if loved, you won’t accept that love? Or in return of that love, you’ll call him names? Just imagine, you’ve gone to Addya Pith (a monastery in Kolkata). The Brahmin (the priest) comes and puts a bit of holy water and flowers in your palm. Won’t you have it or you’ll throw it scattering away? He gives you a ‘sandesh’ (a sweetmeat) as a ‘puja’ offering, won’t you eat that?
So you pitch upon a particular spot.—‘Pish, this master of the house—hang it, do they give anything worth having? They only give pulses and rice. Let me go there.’ Let him thus go about, how that master of the house will be getting fond of him. He’s after all a pariah dog. But if he sticks on, he’ll find people getting fond of him.
(No. of words – 485)
(Three)
Prosad: But which master of the house has that infinite tenderness, how can he make sure of that?
Mother: You don’t have any need for knowing that. You need know nothing. If you don’t have enough knowledge to reason that out--if you don’t have, you go to the house of a particular master of the house.
Yes, to a particular master. Just imagine that the man happens to be a murderer. He kicks and beats you with a broomstick for a few days. You think, that’s your portion. But once you go in, you can size up the owner. You stick on. Your knowledge wasn’t quite enough. You should think enough before you take the vow. But since you’ve come into his house, by taking a vow, as it were, you don’t go out again. Stick on.
Stick on, don’t run away. This time as you stick on, you’ll find that as a result you have given your heart to the master of the house. He’ll take your heart and lead you about. Then he’ll make himself scarce again.
That is, the revered Guru or many a sheep in human form--will step forth in person. (A young cheat and swindler passing himself off as a Guru, deceives a ‘Santhal’ couple. That’s an unspeakably delicious story told by the Mother).—He craves so much for food but doesn’t get it.
Your patience is then weighed. It crosses the limit of your forbearance. Who’s that master of the house? He then points the way and buzzes off. That’s your business-like mind, isn’t it?
Know—listen, listen, listen—gather information. What, why, when, where—get the answers to these questions, do get. Once get them, slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly—“No, when I don’t find anything by searching, when I have reasoned from every angle and find that I’ve made no error anywhere, I at last take the plunge. There! I’ll take whatever there’s in store for me. I stick on there. But you’ve to put in a very long spell of time.
Siva or Sitala or Kali— / Whoso may have me in their clutches; / If my thralldom isn’t over / I’ll simply be lost there.
Who are these? Whoever it is, Siva or Sitala or Kali—if I can’t end my thralldom, eh? I’ll then be sacrificed in that very condition. Who can do that to me, who has got that power? Sitala? Kali? Siva? What impudence! I am held in my thralldom. Can they put an end to me, and take me away?
But I needn’t call anybody, if I can end my own thralldom all by myself. Then they themselves will call you away. Let me know myself first. Let me search myself to begin with. Why should I call them; they will call me. Let me know myself first.
(No. of words – 461)
Ma-Mahajnan, a matchless spiritual genius, expressed her entire creation in a state of "Conscious Trance” which has all been stuffed with highly philosophical values and strong literary sense. She could not attend even Primary School due to extreme poverty. Strangely, she was taught all by herself in the School of Nature. The weird and wonderful life is possibly the souse of her vast experience and profound realization.
Listen to Ma-Mahajnan: “I may as well tell you in advance; I haven’t read about any Yoga, I am, in fact, innocent of any learning. Just believe me; you should know this in advance. In fact, if you speak in English, I won’t understand that. I am a perfect ignoramus.”
Listen to what I tell you briefly about the early phase. Listen first about my life. I was married off at the age of thirteen. I was the second wife , my husband married for the second time and thus I came into his family. I didn’t get any chance for schooling.”
You’ll perhaps weep to hear how I came as a wife, driven by utter poverty or how they packed me off. After that all at once I slowly progressed in the domain of that ‘Nothingness’.--Please refer to “I’m the Mother; the Nothingness, too.”.