by conceiving each of these Deities as forming a regular family group consisting of a father, mother, children, servants, heavenly abodes and all kinds of special paraphernalia characteristic of each group. By describing Sri Sarada Devi as a revelation of the Motherhood of God, are we to look upon her merely as an addition to this already long list of Mother-Goddesses?
A naive Hindu mind, devoted to the cult centering on Sri Ramakrishna, may not see more meaning than this in the statement and may feel satisfied that a votary pays the highest compliment to Sri Sarada Devi by recognising her as an incarnation of Lakshmi or Parvati. But the world culture today requires a theology spelt in more universally understandable terms than what is known to the language of Hindu mythology. Besides, anthropomorphism has its limitations. A liberal mind may accept its validity as an aid to human thought in its development towards higher stages of abstract thinking and subtle perception, but anthropomorphism as an end in itself and as unrelated to more universally understandable implications, has very little to commend itself in the modern cultural milieu.
The message of Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Sarada Devi is universal in its significance and should not be allowed to fall into narrow theological ruts. They convey the spirit of that universal philosophy of religion known today as the Vedanta, and accordingly even features that look merely personal in them are expressions of universal principles. In such a context, a striking statement as the one under consideration, that the Master left the Holy Mother in the world to reveal