Evolution of love

ANANDAMAYI

There is no conflict in Her, no urge to action or inaction disturbs the serenity of Her will. She is completely enveloped by a glow of that Supreme Truth which forms the bed-rock of all principles and practices of religion and of the moral codes of the world and which has been revealed to the human mind in different ages for the good of the universe.

A glimpse of that Truth, a suggestion thereof, shines forth in all Her actions, words and songs. Her life illustrates the great fact how man, while doing his everyday duties meekly, joyfully, and maintaining social relations fully can yet advance on the spiritual plane.

A time has arrived for us to take stock of the amount of good that is being done to our social life by crowds of people that are swelling the number of sannyasis and sadhus. Stepping out of the boundaries of family life and the pale of civic rights and responsibilities, to try to open up easy paths of spiritual uplift for family, society and nation is not a very simple matter.

There are persons who have reached high levels of spiritual greatness by retiring from the world and living a life of seclusion in solitary ashrams or mountain caves. Their individual greatness does not pull up the general level of culture of the masses of people to any appreciable extent, nor are the standards of mass-life raised higher.

Through their inspiration many ashrams are established in different centers of the country, the spires of the temples erected therein may shoot up high into the sky, the glamour of worship and the hymns and devotional music sung morning and evening induce many people from far and near to spend more and more money upon the enterprise, free distribution of prasad may attract crowds of hungry men like flies from the surrounding regions; but the influence of such institutions built up at the expense of so much labor and money hardly goes to make our social life healthier and brighter, neither by spreading knowledge and literacy nor greater love for men nor again, by fostering a more ardent desire for the life Divine.

Our society is getting more and more crippled through mutual jealousy, rivalry and petty squabbles over trifles. Those who are strong at heart with a spirit of social responsibility and selfless service hardly find scope for real and efficient social work, being half paralyzed by stagnant, social ideas of the class seclusion of orthodox olden times. On the other hand one meets at every step opposition to all efforts at reform.

The culture by which physical and mental health is made secure, which makes man strong and hardy through realization of God’s grace in all the walks of life, which refines and transforms our narrow, selfish impulses into an unselfish spirit of service and self-sacrifice irrespective of caste and creed is fast disappearing from our country and there is hardly any doubt that the scope and field of such culture is gradually shrinking amongst us.

It is time for us to inquire as to what has brought about such a state of affairs. We have fallen into the narrow grooves of time-worn cults and prejudices. The ideas and ideals of olden times and those of the present age have met face to face and have produced a slack-water in our social and religious life. Mother stands at the parting of ways.
We always find in Mother’s life and in all Her activities an ardent desire to secure the welfare of the world, throwing the burden of looking after Her body upon others and releasing Herself completely from all cares for Her own bodily comforts and ease. She has thus made Herself absolutely free to advance the cause of the helpless and oppressed, of the sick and destitute, as well as to help the rich and powerful who ever suffer from the various physical and mental maladies of their surfeited and pampered lives.

Her life is an eye-opener to us all. She shows by Her everyday activities how we can link every minute detail of life with the Infinite and how we can cultivate a new spirit, a new outlook in our relations with men and things and make this world a place of new joy and hope and peace.

From the worldly standpoint She possesses nothing to call Her own. All places of the common man, temples, dharmasalas, public ashrams and huts are now Her only places of residence,—places where all people from the highest to the lowest may flock freely to Her without any obstruction. She has devoted Herself wholly and completely to the good of the world. All living beings are Her own kith and kin. She says, as mentioned previously,

“I find the whole world to be one vast garden, you are all flowers blooming in this garden with your individual beauty and grace. I move about from one corner of it to another. What makes you feel so sad when I leave you, only to be in the midst of your brothers over there?“

On another occasion She said,

“I have no need of doing or saying anything; there never was any need, neither is there now, nor will there ever be in future. What you found manifested in me in the past, what you see now and what will be observed in the future is only for the good of you all. If you think that there is something peculiarly my own, I must tell you that the whole world is my own.”

The glories of the creative activities of the Universal Mother that we find revealed everywhere in this world, can be noticed in all Her words and actions, in Her social intercourse with all classes of people everywhere. To those who are devoted to Her, She is like a little child demanding tokens of their love for Her; to those who are distressed owing to disease or other worldly troubles, Her motherly anxiety to give them relief takes shape in various acts of redress. All these attitudes proceed from a reservoir of a mighty spiritual power always working in the background.
She has shown equal regard and reverence for all religions, for all social institutions and laws, for all types of education. This illustrates the great truth that everything in this world is the embodiment of one Supreme Being. She says,

“All religious thoughts flow in one direction, as all streams flow into one ocean; and we are all one.” If anybody puts the question to Her: “To what caste do you belong ? Where is your home?“,

Mother at once answers with a laugh, “From your worldly standpoint this body belongs to East Bengal and is Brahmin by caste; but if you think apart from these artificial distinctions, you will understand that this body is one of the members of the one human family.”
At times She has been heard to say, “Have faith in this body. Your whole hearted faith will open your eyes.” She also says from time to time, “I know nothing. I say what you pour into my ears.” And then, —“This body is but a toy-doll; just as the Master desires to play with it through you all, it goes on playing.”

From these and other remarks it is evident that in Her Person the power that lies behind this phenomenal world has assumed shape. Her activities emanate from one fountain­head and flow back into it. She has no sense of duality. She often says, “You are the epitome of the Universe”; at another time She was heard to declare, “I am Truth Infinite.”