The list of exalted Mother worshippers is long but, unfortunately, it has many holes in it. Many of Kali's saints are missing since they had chosen never to reveal their greatness in public and were content living obscure holy lives. M. described one such saint in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna:
A few days after the dedication of the temple at Dakshineswar, a madman came there who was really a sage endowed with the Knowledge of Brahman. He had a bamboo twig in one hand and a potted mango-plant in the other, and was wearing torn shoes. He didn't follow any social conventions. After bathing in the Ganges he didn't perform any religious rites. He ate something that he carried in a corner of his wearing-cloth. Then he entered the Kali Temple and chanted hymns to the Deity. The temple trembled. Haladhari was then in the shrine. The madman wasn't allowed to eat at the guest house, but he paid no attention to this slight. He searched for food in the rubbish heap where the dogs were eating crumbs from the discarded leaf-plates. Now and then he pushed the dogs aside to get his crumbs. The dogs didn't mind either. Haladhari followed him and asked: “Who are you? Are you a purnajnani [a perfect knower of Brahman]?” The madman whispered, “Sh! Yes, I am a purnajnani” My heart began to palpitate as Haladhari told me about it. I clung to Hriday I said to the Divine Mother, “Mother, shall I too have to pass through such a state?” We all went to see the man. He spoke words of great wisdom to us but behaved like a madman before others. Haladhari followed him a great way when he left the garden. After passing the gate he said to Haladhari: “What else shall I say to you? When you no longer make any distinction between ditch water and the water of the Ganges, then you will know that you have Perfect Knowledge.” Saying this he walked rapidly away.”97
A friend once remarked sadly that we generally only hear about saints after they are long gone. Why don't we hear about them when they are alive? Well, we do. The difficulty lies in weeding out the real ones from the pretenders. There are so many holy men, gurus, babas and people who claim to know God. How can one determine whether a person is holy or not?
That's not easy, because it takes a holy person to recognize another. But, one may try the cause and effect method and begin to find out about another by first looking into one's own mind to see how it is affected by the other person. When one comes in contact with a real saint, without fail, his or her influence will increase one's hunger for God. And this hunger for God is an ingredient needful for realization of God.
Though holy company is extremely important and provides the guideposts along one's spiritual path, one shouldn't forget that holy men and women can only point us in the right direction. They cannot walk it for us. The wonderful experience Moses had when he saw God in a burning bush can never quite give me the same experience. What it really tells me is that there is hope for me, too. If it is possible for one person in this world to see God, I, too, have a chance. Thus, a real saint inspires us to try for ourselves.
In lieu of saints, one can get holy company from books and, while a book, a word, is not the thing it denotes, it helps to focus one's mind. This book on Ma Kali, the Black Goddess of Dakshineswar, is only a blueprint. Nobody can define Kali. If it looks attractive and strikes a special chord within your heart, dear reader, you will have to make an effort yourself to experience her. Then, you will be the saint that still needs to be recorded in this book. And once your soul is burning with a desire to know the Great Mother Goddess, the rest will take care of itself. The Divine Mother will provide everything—teachers, money, opportunity. All will be favorable.
Throughout this book, we've talked at great length about people's love for the Divine Mother. So, we felt that an appropriate subject for the conclusion of this book would be the Divine Mother's love for all people. The more we thought about it, the less we could write. While one can fairly accurately write about our love for God, one cannot write about God's love for us. It's too much to put into words.
Therefore, the conclusion of this book will never be written.
Jai Kali!
97 The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, p. 491.