WOMEN SAINTS FROM WEST BENGAL

Dr. Ritu Bhattacharyya, Professor Marketing, Bharati Vidyapeeth’s Institute of Management

Studies and Research
Dr. D.Y. Patil, Director and HOD Marketing, Bharati Vidyapeeth’s Institute of Management Studies
and Research
Dr. Sangita Kohli, Lecturer, Somaiya College, Vidya Vihar, Mumbai
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CONTEXT
Kolkota /Calcutta is the capital of West Bengal and is located on the east bank of the River
Hooghly. Kolkota has always been a centre for reforms. Reforms whether social, educational,
cultural or economic have had their roots in Bengal. The people of Bengal have always been
proactive in the working for improvement of society. Women have always had a very special
position in the society. This is mainly due to a number of social movements undertaken by
reformers to liberate women. Bengal has also been home to a number of Women Saints over a
period of time. Their contribution to society has differed depending on the period to which they
belong but all of them have enriched the society and have given selflessly to the society. Society
has given these Women Saints a very big status, that of MAA or MOTHER. MAA in Bengal does
not only denote mother but also goddess and these saints were considered to be above mortal
humans. A good example of this is that, though Mother Teresa was granted sainthood she is still
known as Mother and not Saint in Bengal.

INTRODUCTION
In ancient India, women occupied a very important position, in fact a superior position to, men. The
words for strength and power are also feminine -"Shakti'' means "power'' and "strength.'' All male
power comes from the feminine. In Vedic times women and men were equal as far as education
and religion was concerned. Women participated in the public sacrifices alongside men. Some
Vedic hymns, are attributed to women such as Apala, the daughter of Atri, Ghosa, the daughter of
Kaksivant or Indrani, the wife of Indra. In early Vedic times women also received the sacred thread
and could study the Vedas. The Haritasmrti mentions a class of women called brahmavadinis who
remained unmarried and spent their lives in study and ritual. Panini's 1 distinction between arcarya
(a lady teacher) and acaryani (a teacher's wife), and upadhyaya (a woman preceptor) and
upadhyayani ( a preceptor's wife) indicates that women at that time could not only be students but
also teachers of sacred lore.

WOMEN AND SAINTHOOD

Feminist theologians have long argued that having God in the form of a woman would be
empowering for human women. In West Bengal\, the Shakta tradition worships an all-powerful
goddess, variously called Devi or Shakti or Kali. In the goddess traditions of India, there are also
several different forms of mysticism. In West Bengal, we see three major types of goddess
mysticism.

1
Indian grammarian. His Ashtadhyayi, one of the first works of descriptive linguistics, presents
grammatical rules for Sanskrit

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 1. In the tradition of Folk Shaktism, the goddess is associated with nature and supernatural
power (siddhi), and the worshipper is aware of her through dreams and in possession
trance.
2. In Tantric or Yogic Shaktism, the goddess may act independently or be a part of a divine
couple, and the worshipper reaches her through the practices of kundalini yoga,
meditation, asceticism, and possession within the ritual cakra.
3. In Shakta bhakti, the goddess oversees the universe, and controls both creation and
destruction. She may exist in nirguna form, Asan Ocean of consciousness, or in saguna
form, as a particular goddess (usually in the form of Kali, occasionally Tara, Durga and
Lakshmi). Mysticism is passionate love of the goddess, especially as mother, and union
with her through love.

All three of these types have both male and female worshippers of the goddess. However, in
modern West Bengal, the women with the highest status are those who are identified with the
goddess, and such women are viewed with higher respect than any male devotee. Female
mysticism has social power in West Bengal- it makes men become devotees of their wives, thus
giving wives power in the home; it creates groups of male disciples who support the woman, so
that she need not work; it allows women to be heads of ashrams and yoga centres, and to be
called ‘Stri-guru’ or ‘Guru Ma.’ It lets widows and low-caste women, who normally have low status
in India, become valued leaders, healers, and teachers.

THE SAINTS
SHRI SARADA DEVI - MAA

Born in a tiny village of Bengal, devoid of modern amenities, the little girl, Sarada, was something
out of the ordinary in her mental make-up. Sarada was married to Shri Ramakrishna at the age of
5. From 1872 Sarada Devi lived at Dakshineswar as a devoted wife and the first disciple of her
husband Sri Ramakrishna. Her life revolved around devotional practises, cooking and looking after
the needs of Ramakrishna and his disciples. Her life was very simple and, characterised by
humility, modesty and a loving spiritual disposition. She stood out in unique splendour as an
endearing mother, enfolding all who came to her with her limitless affection, which was not
reserved for any particular group. Shri Sarada Devi was a universal mother who served her
disciples with the same care as a mother serves the children she gives birth to. She would strive
her most to provide her children with the best food available in the place that would suit the
requirements of different individuals. Like a true Indian mother, she would not take her meals
before her children were fed.

Sarada Devi often prayed to see people without any faults. She later said that seeing faults in
people doesn’t help them but hinders your own progress. "I tell you one thing my child -- if you want
peace, do not find fault with others. Rather, see your own faults. Learn to make the world your own.
No one is a stranger, my child; the whole world is your own. " No barrier of caste, creed or colour
could stand before the unimpeded flow of her limitless love. Freed entirely from the shackles of
society, the Holy Mother had liberty, equality and fraternity as the very breath of her life. She was
very courteous and liberal in her attitude towards others. Once when her niece refused to feed a
Muslim, Sharda Devi was upset and fed the man with her own hands and then cleaned the plates
and place herself.

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Sarada Devi’s aura and simplicity began to attract many seekers into the Ramakrishna order.
When her fame started to spread the number of disciples seeking initiation began to increase
significantly. Unlike Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi was not picky about which disciples she accepted.
Her motherly heart did not want to reject anybody who came for spiritual initiation. Her teachings
were based on simplicity, acceptance of all and humility.

ANANDAMAYI MA

Anandamayi Ma was born in East Bengal (now Bangladesh) in 1896. Anandamayi Ma was very
sensitive to religious ritual as a child. At temples, she would also see religious figures emerging
from religious statues and re-entering them. She married at 13 years of age to Ramani Mohan
Cakravarti or Bholanath. In 1918 she and her husband moved to Bajitpur where she began to do
Shaivite and Vaisnavite spiritual practice.

At the core of Anandamayi Ma’s teaching was the identity of the individual Self ( ātman) with the
Absolute (brahman) and the unity of all existence. She recommended a fundamental reorientation
of life in order to realize one's identity with the Absolute. What drew people to her was her powerful
yet gracious presence that seemed to bear a living testimony to them. Her life, like lives of many
Hindu women saints, was marked by enigma and paradoxes. From 1926 she came to be called
Anandamayi Ma by her disciples, for they saw her in a state of constant bliss. Anandamayi Ma did
not recognize sectarian, religious caste, or gender differences at the level of the Self. Her teaching
did not emphasize charitable work, even though schools, hospitals, and veterinary clinics were and
still are run by her ashrams. Her disciples explain that in Anandamayi Ma inherently spiritual view,
the solution to human suffering had to be sought through spiritual advancement. This would lead
people to see others as a part of the self. Charity would not be needed then.

SISTER NIVEDITA

She was born in Ireland on October 20, 1867 to parents. She was very intelligent and hard
working, loved music, art, and the natural sciences. After her education, she spent ten years in
teaching. She began to doubt the truth of the Christian doctrines; this was the time when she met
Swami Vivekanand, visiting England. She attended all his lectures The Swamiji's words that
selfishness, ignorance, and greed were the evils which brought suffering to the world, pierced
through her mind and heart and her life changed for ever. Swami Vivekanand impressed by her,
urged her to help the women of India. In response Nivedita left England and arrived in Calcutta.
Swami Vivekanand initiated her to be his disciple She started to study Gita and practice meditation.
This helped her to cast off her pride in English culture and became humble. Salvation for one self
and the welfare of the world were two of the ideas she pledged herself to follow, for this, she lived a
simple pure, and holy life to realize God and humbly work for the welfare of the people. Nivedita
worked manly with the women in Bengal. Her main concern was the health of women. She went
to remote areas to educate women on health and hygiene. She struggled hard during the plague
and during the floods in Bengal. She set up a training centre for midwives because the traditional
methods of childbirth were very unhygienic and led to a number of women dying during childbirth.

Through her unbroken, unending toil Nivedita wore herself out. She knew not the meaning of rest.
For miles Nivedita waded through the water and rendered service to the victims of flood and

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famine, in village after village. She harnessed the youth of Bengal in organizing relief for the
affected people. Unmindful of her own health, she went on serving the poor and saving the
distressed

MOTHER TERESA

Was born (1910) in Akopje, Kosovo in what is now the Republic of Macedonia. At the age of 18
she was given permission to join a group of nuns in Ireland. After a few months of training she
travelled to Calcutta, India where she formally accepted the vows of a nun. In her early years she
worked as a teacher in the slums of Calcutta, the widespread poverty made a deep impression on
her and this led to her starting a new order called “The Missionaries of Charity”. The primary
objective of this mission was to look after people, who nobody else was prepared to. Realising the
pathetic condition of the widows in Bengal she started a special home of these women who were
discarded by their own families. Her dedication to the poor and the old was immense. Nothing
could stop her in her work for the poor and invalid. She personally picked up the diseased and old
from the gutters of Calcutta and housed them at The Missionaries of Charity. She realised that the
need was very large and the recourse available with her were few, she then appealed the rich
nations to contribute towards her work. The Missionaries of Charity now has branches throughout
the world including branches in the developed world where they work with the homeless and
people affected with AIDS.

Looking at her dedication and self less service many business houses joined hands with her to
help her in her service. She opened homes for children, women , old, sick , she also opened
schools for children where they were given education and vocational training to make them self
reliant. Though in Christianity nuns are referred to as ‘Sisters’ the people of Calcutta called her
“Mother” which the whole world then adopted because only a mother can give the kind of self less
service given by her. Malcom Muggeridge through a book and a documentary called “Something
Beautiful for God’ first brought Mother Teresa’s work to wide public attention.  

Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Prize "for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome
poverty and distress, which also constitute a threat to peace." She refused the conventional
ceremonial banquet given to laureates, and asked that the $6,000 funds be given to the poor in
Calcutta. When Mother Teresa received the prize, she was asked, "What can we do to promote
world peace?" Her answer was simple: "Go home and love your family.”

CONCLUSION

Saints across the world are revered by the people for their self less service to the society. It is
always easy for men to attain sainthood because the society does not put too much pressure on
men who seek to renounce the world but it is not the same for women. Women by nature itself are
unable to leave their families viz their children and husband to seek a higher order. Families are
also apprehensive, due to social pressures, to let their daughters seek the path of god. Women
who have sought this path have got their orders from God himself, and all of them were born with
special powers. Families have always tries to suppress these powers as was done in case of
Meera Bai, Sharda Devi and Anand Mai Maa, whose family married them off to do away the stigma
of society. But the higher order received by them forced their husbands to accept their thinking
and let them serve the people and God. Since it is more difficult for women to attain saint hood

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people in Bengal have always addressed them as MAA or the Goddess in the form of Durga the
nurturer, Saraswati the tutor and up lifter and Kali the destroyer of all evil rituals.

References:

1. Mother as Revealed to me- by Bhaiji.

2. Sad Vani - by Bhaiji.

3. Words of Anandamayi-translated by Atmananda.

4. As the Flower sheds its Fragrance -by Atmananda

5. Anandamayi – the Mother of Bliss.

6. Kali the Mother-by Sister Nivedita

7. The Master as I saw Him -by Sister Nivedita

8. Something Beautiful for God- Malcom Muggeridge