It was the new moon night (5 June 1887), an auspicious occasion for Phalaharani Kali Puja. This special festival is also observed in the Kali temple of Dakshineswar. The Master made a special arrangement for privately worshiping the Divine Mother as Shodashi in his room rather than performing it in the temple. At the right side of the worshiper’s seat, a low wooden sear, beautifully painted with rice powder pigment, was placed for the goddess to sit on during worship. The sun had set and the new moon night arrived in a veil of deep darkness. It was 9:00 in the evening when the preparation s for the mystical worship were complete. The Master had sent a message to Sarada beforehand to be present during the worship, and now she arrived in the Master’s room. The Master sat for worship.

The Master finished the preliminaries and sanctified the articles of worship by repeating the mantras. He then beckoned for Sarada to sit on the decorated wooden seat. While she was watching the worship, Sarada had already entered a semiconscious spiritual state. So without fully knowing what she was doing, she moved like one who is spellbound and sat facing north on the right side of the Master, who was seated facing east. According to the scriptural injunctions, he repeatedly sprinkled sanctified water on her from the pitcher placed in front of him. He then uttered mantras and invoked the deity with the following prayer:

“O Divine Mother Tripurasundari! O Eternal Virgin, possessor of all power! Please open the gate of perfection. Purify her body and mind, and manifest Yourself through her for the welfare of all.”

Then he performed the ceremony of nyasa in accordance with the injunction of the scriptures, and worshiped Sarada with sixteen items as a veritable manifestation of the Devi. After offering food, he took some of it and put in in her mouth. Sarada lost outer consciousness and went into samadhi. While uttering mantras in a semiconscious state, the Master also wend into deep samadhi. Thus, the worshiper and the worshiped became fully united and unified in the Atman, the Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute.

Some time passed in this way. It was long after midnight when the Master gradually regained partial consciousness of the world. In that semiconscious state he offered himself to the Devi manifested in the person of Sarada, and then forever surrendered at her feet himself, the result of his sadhana, his rosary, and everything else. He then bowed to her with this prayer:

“O Consort of Shiva, the most auspicious of all auspicious beings! O Doer of all actions! O Refuge of all! O three-eyed goddess of golden complexion! O Power of Narayana, I salute You again and again.”

The worship was completed. The Master’s sadhana culminated in this worship of the Divine Mother in the body of a woman who was an embodiment of spiritual wisdom. Both his divine and human aspects had archived ultimate perfection.
~
Ramakrishna and His Divine Play by Swami Saradananda (Translation by Swami Chetanananda)

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