Sri Ma moved in this manner with the kirtan party for a few moments. After such bhavas she would lie in a samadhi for many hours. It was always Bholanathji who decided when to try and rouse her. She had this kheyala of obeying him, so when he called her repeatedly, she would somehow open her eyes and say, "You want me to get up?" in lisping and slurred tones. At this time he would ask the women to rub her hands and feet gently and keep talking to her and make her answer some questions. In this way slowly Sri Ma would be drawn back to the ordinary world. Didi Gurupriya writes in wonder "It amazed me that Sri Ma so naturally entered into a state of God-intoxication, a state which is coveted by sadhakas of all time. No, not God-intoxication, her state could not be called that, I do not know how to describe a state which was at once sublime and yet normal".
This interplay of the dimensions of normalcy and transcendence was a constant and inalienable feature of Sri Ma's behaviour. Sometimes it was likened to a sudden play of lightning in the skies. One description is, "It was like simultaneously experiencing sunlight and moonlight. Before one could be dazzled and overwhelmed by the rays of the sun, one would be soothed and reassured by the gentle moonbeams".
These states were frequent and visible to all at this time but they had happened in her childhood and while she was with Revati Mohan's family as well. They had not been understood by her companions of those times and been dismissed as some mild kind of fits which would pass away as she grew older. Sri Ma's overall deportment was so radiant and cheerful that it was easy to discount a few signs of sudden withdrawals into an inner world of mystery.
The halcyon days of happy gatherings round Sri Ma were rather short lived. Sri Ma set out on her travels in 1927. Baba Bholanath liked to visit places of pilgrimage. They travelled quite extensively. The devotees of Dhaka gradually got accustomed to Sri Ma's frequent absences. It became clear that Sri Ma had the kheyala to leave Dhaka. The devotees had built a small Ashram for her but Sri Ma's kheya1a to move out proved too strong. Accompanied by Bholanath and Bhaiji Sri Ma left Dhaka on June 2, 1932.
Travelling in a haphazard way she happened to arrive at Dehra Dun. From here they found their way to Raipur a remote village in the interior. They took up their abode in the dilapidated Siva Temple a little way from the village. This was the beginning of a new way of life for two of them. Bholanathji devoted himself to his sadhana wholeheartedly. Bhaiji tried his hand at rendering such services, which so far he had received from his own servants. To sweep and clean, wash clothes, cook primitive kind of food was hard work for him. Sometimes Sri Ma helped him out but in general she wandered around alone or sat surrounded by the village women.
When she returned to Debra Dun she and Bhaiji stayed at the Manohar Temple in Ananda Chowk. Bholanathji spent almost 3 years in Uttarkashi in doing his own tapasya; In Dehra Dun she came in touch with all the Kashmiri families who resided nearby. Sri Hari Ram Joshi became a devotee and a great admirer of Bhaiji. He was a man of strong convictions; moreover he had the courage of his convictions. Having given his allegiance to Sri Ma, he tried his best to bring all his friends to her feet. He was instrumental in introducing Sm. Kamala Nehru to Sri Ma. This proved to be a meeting which led to other ties being forged with other people from far and near. Sm. Kamala Nehru's one-pointed devotion to Sri Ma was remarkable in its depth and strength. She carried her memories to Switzerland and so influenced some of her friends, that they came to India to see Sri Ma. Mahatma Gandhi came to know a lot about Sri Ma from Kamalaji. He was so impressed by all that he heard that he sent his trusted right-hand man Sri Jamnalal Bajaj to Sri Ma. He in his turn became so dedicated a devotee that Sri Ma had the kheyala to travel to Wardha after his unexpected death and so met Gandhiji himself. In later years Sri Jawaharlal Nehru and Indiraji came to Sri Ma drawn to her inevitably by their memories of the last days of Kamalaji.
The Raja Sahab of Solon, met Sri Ma around this time. He became one of the foremost devotees and was known to all as Jogibhai. Dehra Dun became another Dhaka. The tradition of joyous gatherings spread to other towns such as Delhi, Meerut, Lucknow, Solon and Simla.At Simla the festival of Hari-kirtan under the aegis of the Hari Sabha received a new lease of life in Sri Ma's presence and by Bholanathji's enthusiastic participation. Bholanathji had rejoined Sri Ma on coming down from Uttarkashi. He had been introduced to the new devotees and accepted whole-heartedly as Pitaji (father).
The swelling tides of the happy crowd unknown to themselves were facing two crises : Bhaiji passed away in Almora in August 1937 and Bholanathji himself left his sorrowing family of devotees in May 1938 in Kishenpur Ashram. The passing away of Bholanathji resulted in a new understanding of Sri Ma and her ways. Sri Ma had been a very devoted wife and she had tirelessly rendered personal service to him whenever he had been ill. During his last illness she was constantly at his bedside. He died with her hand on his head and breathing the word ananda. It was felt that he was giving expression to his own state of an ananda and peace.
Most of the devotees had thought that Sri Ma would be distraught but they were amazed to see that there were no signs of grief. She remained as serene as always. She noted their reaction and said gently, "Do you start to wail and cry if a person goes to another room in the house? This death is inevitably connected with this life. In the sphere of Immortality, where is the question of death and loss? Nobody is lost to me". Sri Ma's followers began to understand a little of the meaning of her total detachment and yet an over-flowing compassion for her people.
As the years passed the enigma of her personality deepened; from the very moment of her birth she had been fully self-conscious; when she engaged in sadhana, everything was revealed to her by her own kheyala. She was practically an illiterate village girl but when she began to teach she spoke in the language of erudite scholars never making the slightest mistake in her logical presentation of a thesis. She seemed fully aware of all doctrinal differences, never confusing one with the other in her conversations with the learned pandits; yet she had not been initiated into any particular religious order or trained by any yogic instructor. She had not encountered any Guru who could have exerted any influence on her life. In fact she had never retired from the world to become a recluse, neither did she withdraw herself from her kith and kin. She had not performed sadhana as it is generally understood in the tradition, yet she could speak with authority on all aspects of the life of a religious quest for enlightenment. Such are the facts why the word 'unique' is applied for describing her.
This interplay of the dimensions of normalcy and transcendence was a constant and inalienable feature of Sri Ma's behaviour. Sometimes it was likened to a sudden play of lightning in the skies. One description is, "It was like simultaneously experiencing sunlight and moonlight. Before one could be dazzled and overwhelmed by the rays of the sun, one would be soothed and reassured by the gentle moonbeams".
These states were frequent and visible to all at this time but they had happened in her childhood and while she was with Revati Mohan's family as well. They had not been understood by her companions of those times and been dismissed as some mild kind of fits which would pass away as she grew older. Sri Ma's overall deportment was so radiant and cheerful that it was easy to discount a few signs of sudden withdrawals into an inner world of mystery.
The halcyon days of happy gatherings round Sri Ma were rather short lived. Sri Ma set out on her travels in 1927. Baba Bholanath liked to visit places of pilgrimage. They travelled quite extensively. The devotees of Dhaka gradually got accustomed to Sri Ma's frequent absences. It became clear that Sri Ma had the kheyala to leave Dhaka. The devotees had built a small Ashram for her but Sri Ma's kheya1a to move out proved too strong. Accompanied by Bholanath and Bhaiji Sri Ma left Dhaka on June 2, 1932.
Travelling in a haphazard way she happened to arrive at Dehra Dun. From here they found their way to Raipur a remote village in the interior. They took up their abode in the dilapidated Siva Temple a little way from the village. This was the beginning of a new way of life for two of them. Bholanathji devoted himself to his sadhana wholeheartedly. Bhaiji tried his hand at rendering such services, which so far he had received from his own servants. To sweep and clean, wash clothes, cook primitive kind of food was hard work for him. Sometimes Sri Ma helped him out but in general she wandered around alone or sat surrounded by the village women.
The Raja Sahab of Solon, met Sri Ma around this time. He became one of the foremost devotees and was known to all as Jogibhai. Dehra Dun became another Dhaka. The tradition of joyous gatherings spread to other towns such as Delhi, Meerut, Lucknow, Solon and Simla.At Simla the festival of Hari-kirtan under the aegis of the Hari Sabha received a new lease of life in Sri Ma's presence and by Bholanathji's enthusiastic participation. Bholanathji had rejoined Sri Ma on coming down from Uttarkashi. He had been introduced to the new devotees and accepted whole-heartedly as Pitaji (father).
The swelling tides of the happy crowd unknown to themselves were facing two crises : Bhaiji passed away in Almora in August 1937 and Bholanathji himself left his sorrowing family of devotees in May 1938 in Kishenpur Ashram. The passing away of Bholanathji resulted in a new understanding of Sri Ma and her ways. Sri Ma had been a very devoted wife and she had tirelessly rendered personal service to him whenever he had been ill. During his last illness she was constantly at his bedside. He died with her hand on his head and breathing the word ananda. It was felt that he was giving expression to his own state of an ananda and peace.
Most of the devotees had thought that Sri Ma would be distraught but they were amazed to see that there were no signs of grief. She remained as serene as always. She noted their reaction and said gently, "Do you start to wail and cry if a person goes to another room in the house? This death is inevitably connected with this life. In the sphere of Immortality, where is the question of death and loss? Nobody is lost to me". Sri Ma's followers began to understand a little of the meaning of her total detachment and yet an over-flowing compassion for her people.
As the years passed the enigma of her personality deepened; from the very moment of her birth she had been fully self-conscious; when she engaged in sadhana, everything was revealed to her by her own kheyala. She was practically an illiterate village girl but when she began to teach she spoke in the language of erudite scholars never making the slightest mistake in her logical presentation of a thesis. She seemed fully aware of all doctrinal differences, never confusing one with the other in her conversations with the learned pandits; yet she had not been initiated into any particular religious order or trained by any yogic instructor. She had not encountered any Guru who could have exerted any influence on her life. In fact she had never retired from the world to become a recluse, neither did she withdraw herself from her kith and kin. She had not performed sadhana as it is generally understood in the tradition, yet she could speak with authority on all aspects of the life of a religious quest for enlightenment. Such are the facts why the word 'unique' is applied for describing her.
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