(RECORDED BY AN ANONYMOUS LADY DEVOTEE)
After giving me spiritual initiation, the Holy Mother said, "Look, dear, I do not usually give initiation to a young widow. I have given it to you only because you are a noble soul. See that you do not betray me. A spiritual teacher has to suffer for the sins of his disciples. Always repeat the name of the Chosen Ideal like the ever-moving hand of a clock."
Another time when I saw her before leaving for my father-in-law's place, she said, "Don't mix with other people, don't get involved in others' affairs. Say: 'Dwell, O Mind, within yourself; enter no other's home.' The Master was fond of coconut balls. When you go back home, please prepare coconut balls and offer them to him. Increase your service to
him as well as your Japa and meditation, and read books about the Master."
One day the Mother and I were alone together; there was none else present. The Mother said, "Look here, don't get too close and intimate with men. You should not do so even with your father or brother; what to speak then of other men?"
She instructed me not to visit frequently the Math or other places where monks lived. She used to say, "You see, you may no doubt be going there with a good heart and with deep devotion, but if your visit affects the minds of the monks, it would cause you harm."
She asked me not to go on pilgrimage frequently or in the company of any and everyone. She told me, "Whenever you have some money in hand, feed some holy men." Pointing towards a woman devotee who was sitting in front of us, the Mother said, "Here is someone who was sorely cheated on her pilgrimage. Going on pilgrimage means courting hazards on the way; be not taken too much with it. Staying in your own home, you can achieve more than you could by wandering. It all depends upon your aptitude."
One day five women-devotees were criticizing another devotee. On hearing this, the Mother remarked, "You must have respect for her. It was she who brought you here first."
I wanted to bring up a child of another family, and asked for