tives so that they may not be offended; but try somehow to avoid taking meals on that day. If you cannot do that, then on the day of the
Sraddha ceremony eat what is offered t6 Vishnu or other gods. The devotees can partake of the food of the
Sraddha ceremony if it is offered to God.
Lalit Babu: Many a time there remains an excess of unused food-stuff procured for the
Sraddha ceremony. Can one cook and eat that?
Mother: Yes, you can. That will not injure you, my child. A householder cannot help it.
Prabodh Babu: Mother, the Master loved renunciation, but how little we practise it!
Mother: Yes, you will acquire it slowly. You make some progress in this life, a little more in the next and so on. It is the body alone that changes, the Atman always remains the same. Renunciation of 'lust' and' gold'!
The Master used to say, "I can change Kamarpukur into gold, if I so desire, by requesting Mathur Babu to do so; but what good will that do? It is all transitory." Regarding some devotees, the Master used to say that it was their last birth. He would remark, referring to some devotee, "You see, he has no desire whatsoever for anything. This is his last birth."
The devotees prostrated themselves before the Mother and took leave of her.
Speaking about the objection of certain people that some of Sri Ramakrishna's Sannyasin disciples, being Sudras, are not entitled for Sannyasa, according to orthodox rules, the Mother said, "The disciples of Sri Ramakrishna are Jnanis and therefore Sannyasins. A Jnani can be a Sannyasin. Take the case of Gaurdasi. A woman cannot be initiated into Sannyasa, but is Gaurdasi a woman? She is more than a man! How many men are there like her? See what she has achieved-built a school, acquired horses, a carriage, and so forth. The Master used to say, 'If a woman embraces Sannyasa, she is certainly not a woman; she is really a man.' He further used to say to Gaurdasi, I am pouring water, you will make the clay.' "
JAYRAMBATI
28th March, 1913
It was morning. I entered the inner apartment of the Holy