Review on ‘Mother Reveals Herself’ by Bhaiji (Jyotish Chandra Roy)
Anyone calling out for God,
from any land,
in any language,
and in any age,
Remember, their cries reach this heart,
Like the waves of the ocean crashing onto the shore.
– Shree Shree Mā Ānandamayee
Shree Shree Mā Ānandamayee (the bliss permeated Mother) is omnipresent, without boundaries or limits encompassing all the dimensions of space and time that the Vedas describe. Bhaiji’s exceptional, evolved, spiritual state enabled him to grasp the infinite magnitude of Mā’s true Being. His questions to Mā, which form the basis of this book, illustrated that he understood the different aspects of spiritual evolution and their essence, and he recognized the importance of maintaining authentic records for posterity. It is our good fortune that through these records we are able to learn about the ‘līlā’ of Shree Shree Mā Ānandamayee from Her childhood through the completion of Her ‘sādhan līlā’ – a period spanning 36 years (1896 to mid-1932).
Through Mā’s narration of simple incidents in Her early life, we learn about Her divine childhood, set against the backdrop of the prevailing social customs in rural Bengal at that time. The main mode of transport then was by boat and steamer traversing the rivers and rivulets that criss-cross the region that is now Bangladesh. Mā frequently traveled by these modes, as well as by palanquin when appropriate. The tranquillity, cultural integrity and cohesion of late 19th century rural Bengal, from where Mā emerged, is virtually unimaginable in the 21st century.
In almost every one of these early incidents related in the first few chapters, one gets glimpses of Mā’s divinity and the play of ‘mahāshakti’ (divine creative power). That She was an unusual child can be noticed in Her behavior – the complete absence of desire or want or bodily discomfort, the devotion to duty, truthfulness and Her ever-cheerful disposition. Her deft handling of the many challenging domestic chores She was called on to perform as a thirteen-year-old married girl are glimpses of a karma yogin. Men and women, young and old, irrespective of caste or creed were attracted to Her divine beauty and demeanor that had irresistible magnetism.
In the subsequent chapters the narration shifts to a unique firsthand description of incredibly profound and esoteric yogic processes, as Mā underwent many different aspects of sādhanā – bhakti, tāntric, yogic, and gyān – that spontaneously manifested in Her during Her play of sādhan līlā. Her profound and precise descriptions of the progressive stages to the Absolute will be of tremendous interest to spiritual seekers who will find ample guidance for their own spiritual practice as well as be warned of the pitfalls if one is not alert. Many similar aspects in the narration may be new and startling to a discerning reader. For Mā to give such a candid and detailed description of these sādhanās is a blessing for the serious spiritual aspirant and yogic practitioner and a unique event in the history of world spiritual literature.
