houses. Still angry, the Holy Mother too came back and sat down. No sooner had she sat than she burst out laughing. "What a play of Mahamaya! Here is this wide earth, spreading endlessly. This bit of land too remains there always. Puny man cannot understand even this much!" Saying this, she rocked with a prolonged laughter.
Six months had passed after Radhu's child was born but still she could not stand up because of weakness. She could only crawl about. What was worse, she got addicted to opium. The Holy Mother's health too was not good. Now and then she would have attacks of fever. She was trying to wean Radhu away from opium eating. But Radhu was quite cross over it all the time. That morning the Holy Mother was cutting vegetables. Radhu came and was waiting for opium. The Mother understood and said, "Radhu, why don't you stand up? I cannot bear with you any more. For your sake I left all my spiritual practices. How do you think I can meet so much expense?" At this mild rebuke Radhu got angry, and taking a big brinjal from the wicker basket in front, she hit the Mother very hard on the back with it. As I turned my eyes at that thudding sound, I saw the Holy Mother rise, curling her back in pain. Immediately that spot was swollen. Looking at the Master, the Holy Mother prayed, "O Lord! Do not take notice of her actions. She is an idiot." Touching the dust of her feet to Radhu's forehead, she said, "Radhi, never once did the Master speak harshly to this body, and you give me so much trouble! How can you understand where my place is? Simply because I put up with you, what do you think of me?" Radhu burst out weeping.
A few days after this incident one day, Radhu's mad mother, out of some whim, searched for her son-in-Iaw, Manmatha, in many places. She even got into the pond in her search and came to the conclusion that he was drowned, and that it was all the manipulation of the Holy Mother. She then ran to the Holy Mother in her wet clothes, fell at her feet and started shouting and weeping, "Oh dear, Oh sister-in-law, my son-in-law is drowned in the pond. Oh dear, what is to be done now?" This was a bolt from the blue to the Holy Mother. She was upset and called to us, "Come quickly. Just hear what this mad woman is saying." We all rushed there. Hari said that he saw Manmatha playing cards with his friends. "Make haste and bring him here," said the Holy Mother. We 'immediately left and returned with the son-in-Iaw. Seeing him,