early days. Her day generally began between
3 and
4 a.m. before any human being was up. At that early hour she would finish her bath in the Gangess
2 and get back to her room unnoticed by anyone. After that she would seldom come out of the room. Even for drying her luxuriant hair, she would wait till 1 p.m. when there would be no one in the neighbourhood of the Nahabat. She would then come out, and sitting on the steps of the Nahabat, bask in the sun and dry her hair. In fact she lived so quietly and unobserved by anybody that to quote her own words, 'The manager of the temple said, "We have heard that she lives here, but we have never seen her." '
This natural modesty and reserve of hers was, no doubt, very much appreciated by the Master. About this the Holy Mother once said: 'The Master used to say, "Dear Hridu (ie his nephew Hriday), I was extremely concerned about her when she first came here. She came from the country and did not know about the ways of city life.
3 I thought people would criticize her movements and we should all be hurt. But she is so wonderful that she has hidden herself completely from view.
4 I never saw her go outside for a wash or the like." When I heard about his remark, I became anxious about myself. I knew that whatever idea flashed in his mind, came to happen. With great earnestness I use to pray to the Mother of the Universe, "O Mother Divine, please be gracious enough to protect my modesty." '
None-the-less the Master was very careful that, continuous stay in that dark narrow room should not imperil her health. In fact, after staying there for some
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2 It is said that once, on going to the Ganga at that early hour without any light, she was about to tread on a crocodile lying on the shore. The Master, on hearing of it, advised her never to go without a lantern.
3 She herself narrated a funny story relating to her experiences of city life, illustrating how strange the environment appeared to her. She said: 'I had never seen water taps before. I came to Calcutta one day and entered a room where there was a tap. I opened the tap. Before the water rushed out, there came a hissing sound, like that of a snake, out of the tap. I was terror-stricken and ran from the room. I at once came to the other ladies of the house and cried, "There is a snake in that water pipe. It is hissing." They laughed and said, "There is no snake there. Do not be afraid. The hissing sound comes from the pipe before the water rushes out." Then we laughed and laughed till our sides began to ache.'
4 This does not at all mean that the Master wanted all women to be behind the Purdah and never take part in any activity outside. In fact several of his women disciples - Lakshmi-Didi, Golap-Ma and Gauri-Ma, for instance - were somewhat masculine in their temperament, without any exaggerated sense of feminine shyness. At least one of them, Gauri-Ma, started a public educational institution for women. The Master never asked these women to remain behind the Purdah. His idea was that the bashful and the forward were different types and they must be allowed to grow in their own way. It is significant in this connection to note the following words of the Holy Mother on Lakshmi-Didi; 'Lakshmi (the niece and disciple of the Master) used to sing and dance before the Master imitating the professional musicians. The Master said to me, "That is her attitude; but you must not imitate her and lose your modesty." '