him a suitable spouse. She found Sarada Devi in
a neighboring village. After the marriage, Sarada
Devi returned to her family and Sri Ramakrishna
continued his spiritual practice and priestly
duties at Dakshineswar Temple near Calcutta
(Kolkata).
At the age of 18, hearing rumors that her
husband was suffering from mental illness, she
went to him at the temple. Finding him deeply
engaged in spiritual disciplines, she became his
first disciple and began her own spiritual journey
under his direction and care. He instructed her
in the spiritual life as well as the importance of
household duties and their role in the meditative
life. Ramakrishna considered her an embodied
representative of the Divine Mother. From this
time forward, Sarada Devi became known as the
Holy Mother and spent the rest of her life shar-
ing the wisdom and insight of Sri Ramakrishna’s
teachings to all who went to her.
Sri Ramakrishna died in 1886, leaving the
33-year old Sarada Devi as the lineage holder
of the Ramakrishna Order. In addition to teach-
ing and caring for her disciples, she guided the
activities of the Ramakrishna Organizations,
spending most of her time in service to rural
communities in Bengal and the disciples of the
Ramakrishna Order in Calcutta. Serving the poor
and disadvantaged women of Bengal, she became
committed to advancing the education of women
to promote women’s independence and social
awareness.
From 1886 until her death, Sarada Devi
touched the lives of hundreds of devotees through
her simple and pure devotion to the spiritual life.
As Holy Mother, she never turned away anyone in
need. She valued equality and did not discrimi-
nate among disciples by caste, religion, gender,
or nationality. Her unconditional compassion
inspired a new spiritual movement. The core of
her teaching, as of Ramakrishna’s, was the rec-
ognition of the divine in everything. She died in
Calcutta on July 21, 1920, 34 years after the death
of her husband.
The Sri Sarada Math, the world’s largest inde-
pendent women’s monastic order, was estab-
lished in 1954 as the women’s complement to the
VEDANTA SOCIETIES RAMAKRISHNA MAT H AND MISSION,
to perpetuate the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri
Sarada Devi, and Swami VIVEKANANDA. The math is
located on the bank of the GANGES River near Dak-
shineswar Temple, where Sri Ramakrishna served
as priest. Sri Sarada Math has nuns in residence in
centers throughout the world.
See also NIVEDITA.Further reading: Amalaprana, Eternal Mother (Cal-
cutta: Kolkata Paperback, 2004); Atmaprana, Sri
Sarada Devi and Sri Sarada Math (New Delhi: New
Delhi Paperbacks, 2003); Swami Gambhirananda,
Holy Mother Shri Sarada Devi (Mylapore: Ramakrishna
Math, 1955); Swami Nirvedananda, The Holy Mother
(Calcutta: Calcutta Paperbacks, 1983); Lizelle Rey-
mond, The Dedicated: A Biography of Nivedita (Madras:Sri Sarada Devi (1853–1920), wife of Sri Ramakrishna,
incarnation of Holy Mother, and inspiration for Sarada
Math/Monastery (Courtesy Vedanta Society, San Francisco,
California)
K 386 Sarada Devi, Sri