one occasion. At dusk I read them all to the Holy Mother. She heard them through and said, "Did you notice how many children have written with how many different desires? Some Say, 'I pray so much, meditate and tell so' many beads and yet nothing happens.' Others write about the anxieties, fears, wants, diseases and sorrows of this world. I cannot hear any more of this. I say to the Master, 'O Lord! In this world and in the next, you alone have to save them.' Where is the yearning? They speak so much of their devotion and earnestness on the one hand, and on the other they are so pleased with any little enjoyment they come to have and say, 'Ah! How merciful is He!' That is the measure of their devotional hankering. They say, 'How is Radhu's health?' That is to please me-this anxiety for Radhu. As soon as I pass away, no one will even look at Radhu." The sister from Navasan now said, "Mother, for you all children are equal. But to those who want to know the desirability of marriage, you give permission to marry. To those who want to renounce the world, you give instruction praising renunciation. Should you not take them all on the one path that is good for all?" To that the Holy Mother said in reply, "Will they abstain because of my prohibition if their desire for enjoyment is strong? And to those who have understood by virtue of great merit that all this is Maya's play, and believe that God alone is the reality, should I not offer a little help and encouragement? Is there any end to the miseries of the world ?"
Nalini-Didi and others argued among themselves for some time and finally asked the Holy Mother, "Aunt, what kind of false description is good?" The Holy Mother, expressing her wonder at the question, said, "False description is by itself bad. In that how can there be good and bad again?" After a little talk of this sort, she said, "But then it is better to be described as a rich man though falsely. If anyone were to be told that he is quite rich; whatever humility or displeasure he may show in his face upon hearing these words, in his heart of hearts he will feel quite happy." The Mother now passed on to another topic and said, "Now to another question. Well, let me see if you can tell what object is to be prayed for from God?" Nalini-Didi replied, "Why, aunt; wisdom, devotion, objects that make you happy in life, all these are to be prayed for." The Holy Mother said "To say in one word, we must pray for
Nirvasana, freedom from desire.