sufficiently distinguishable by the stress that the one or the other receives according to time and circumstances. On the one side they look quite human and their activities resemble those of worldly men. But unaffected by this aspect, there exists in them another strand so different from anything in the common run of men, carrying with it a sanctifying influence that dissipates the darkness of ignorance from those who come in contact with them. In spite of the apparent conflict between these two phases of life, they coexist in perfect harmony in such great men, adding significance to their lives from the viewpoints - of pure spiritual aspirants as well as of those who are in quest of worldly ideals. Such has been the case with some of the great incarnations like Rama and Krishna mentioned in Hindu scriptures.
In the life of the Holy Mother, too,
this analysis holds good. In the latter part of her life, we see her surrounded by two distinct types of people - her relatives on the one hand and her disciples on the other. These two
groups approached her with quite different motives, the first to gain whatever material advantages they could from her, and the second to serve her and benefit spiritually by her contact. In the preceding chapter her dealings with her relatives have been considered in brief, and in the present one her relations with those who went to her for spiritual illumination will be dealt with. It is, however, pertinent to inquire how she could fulfill both these apparently incongruous duties without detriment to either. Could it be that there were two watertight compartments in her personality, so that the spiritual side could remain