Govinda: “Revered sir, why does the Divine Mother have a black complexion?”
Master: “You see her as black because you are far away from Her. Go near and you will find Her devoid of all color. The water of a lake appears black from a distance. Go near and take the water in your hand, and you will see that it has no color at all. Similarly, the sky looks blue from a distance. But look at the atmosphere near you; it has no color. The nearer you come to God, the more you will realize that He has neither name nor form. If you move away from the Divine Mother, you will find Her blue, like the grass-flower. Is Shyama male or female? A man once saw the image of the Divine Mother wearing a sacred thread. He said to the worshipper: ‘What? You have the sacred thread on the Mother’s neck!’ The worshipper said: ‘Brother, I see that you have truly known the Mother. But I have not yet been able to find out whether She is male or female; that is why I have put the sacred thread on Her image.’ ”
–Sri Ramakrishna, The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
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Everyone is babbling about what happens after death.
This intoxicated poet who belongs to Goddess Kali
knows all opinions to be void of substance.
This mirror mind and rainbow body
are her marvelous play
through the transparent medium of her elements.
After death, her dancing elements flow on,
and simply Mother remains.
The singer of this liberating song
laughs loud and long:
“We will be in the end
what we were in the beginning,
clear bubbles forming and dissolving
in the stream of timeless Mother Wisdom.”
–Ramprasad