'DEWDROPS': How Holy Mother’s Words Healed Me – Book Recommendation
- mainakmajumdar9
- Nov 23
- 5 min read
There comes a moment in every seeker’s life when the noise of the world begins to fade and one starts to listen, not to the voices around, but to the whisper within. For me, that moment arrived not in the midst of travel or conversation but through the gentle turning of pages as I read a small book called Dewdrops: Daily Quotes from the Holy Mother.
It was not the first time I had read about Holy Mother, 'Ma Sarada Devi', wife of one of the greatest Saint ‘Sri Ramakrishna', the quiet flame that burned beside one of India’s greatest mystics. But something was different this time. The book felt less like reading and more like remembering as if her words had been waiting for me, patiently across time.
I began writing about Ma Sarada not as a scholar but as a pilgrim who had found water after a long journey across the desert of thought. Her story, simple and luminous did not demand belief; it only asked for attention.
Ma Sarada Devi was born on 21st December 1853 in Jayarambati, a quiet village in Bengal where the earth still remembers the rhythm of prayer. She was not surrounded by luxury. Her hands learned the language of simplicity tending the fields, cooking, cleaning, caring for others and through those small acts, she touched the infinite.
She was married to Sri Ramakrishna at a very young age as per the traditions in those times, the man who would one day awaken the world with his realization of God in all beings. But destiny did not bind them in the ordinary sense. When she came to Dakshineshwar years later, she found not a husband waiting but a soul absorbed in the divine. And yet, there was no distance between them.
Sri Ramakrishna looked upon Sarada Devi as a special manifestation of Divine Mother of the universe. In 1872, on the night of the Phala-harini-Kali-puja, he ritualistically worshipped Sarada Devi as the Divine Mother, thereby awakening universal Motherhood latent in her. When disciples began to gather around Sri Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi learned to look upon them as her own children.
Sri Ramakrishna saw in her, the mother of the Universe. One night, during a sacred ritual, he worshipped her as the Divine Mother herself awakening in her the consciousness that she was not merely a woman, but a living embodiment of compassion and purity. From that day onward, Sarada Devi was no longer just a person; she became Ma, the mother to all who came to her. The relationship that Sri Ramakrishna shared with Holy Mother was very pure, divine and spiritual.
In a world obsessed with power, beauty and recognition, Ma Sarada chose invisibility. She lived in a small room, cooked for her disciples, washed her own clothes and smiled even when her body was weary. She never preached in temples or wrote great scriptures. Yet her silence carried the force of mountains, her tenderness the strength of oceans.
There is something profoundly moving about a woman who does not seek to be known and yet becomes eternal. She had no desire but to lead only through love and compassion. And perhaps that is the greatest lesson spirituality can offer us that peace is not found in escaping the storm, but in standing still within it.
Her life was not a succession of miracles, but a meditation in motion. She cooked, she served, she blessed and through those everyday acts, she taught that divinity does not descend only in moments of revelation, but in the smallest gestures of love.
When I began reading Dewdrops, I did not expect it to change me. It was a thin volume, just a collection of her sayings, she had spoken to her disciples long ago. But as I read, something began to shift. Her words were like small mirrors each one reflecting a truth. One saying stayed with me for days:
“Each has to get results of the actions he earned for this life. A pin at least must prick where a wound from a sword was due.”
The first time I read it, I felt a strange stillness. There was no anger in those words, no resignation — only acceptance. It was as if she were telling me, “Whatever happens was always meant to happen. And whatever you are meant to learn, life will find a way to teach you gently, if you listen and harshly, if you resist.
Another of her sayings touched me even more deeply:
“One must bear with everything, because everything is determined by actions (karmas). Again, our present actions can counteract the effect of past actions.”
In those lines, I found both humility and hope; the humility to accept what cannot be changed and the hope to act rightly now. Ma Sarada’s wisdom went further, it whispered that when you want peace, the universe also conspires to bring you silence.
I did not write about Ma Sarada Devi to describe her life. Her life needs no description; it is written in the hearts of those who still find strength in her quiet words. I wrote because her presence brought peace to my own restless heart.
In her simplicity, I saw the reflection of something eternal that true spirituality is not in withdrawing from the world, but in embracing it with gentleness. That forgiveness is stronger than pride and patience deeper than knowledge.
When I think of Ma Sarada, I see her sitting in the courtyard at Jayarambati — the dust beneath her feet, the sound of village life around her, and her face calm as the evening sky. People came to her with their pain and she absorbed it like the earth absorbs rain. They came to her with guilt, and she smiled as if to say, “You are already forgiven.”
As I close the book, Dewdrops, I feel as though I have touched something sacred, not outside me but within. Her words linger like the fragrance of sandalwood long after the flame has gone out.
In a world that celebrates speed and ambition, she teaches stillness. In a time when everyone wishes to be heard, she teaches the power of listening.
And as I write these lines, I realize that peace is not a destination. It is a way of being that Ma Sarada Devi lived every day of her life. Perhaps that is why her disciples called her The Holy Mother.
Who am I to rate this book. I am just an ordinary soul. However, if I were to rate the book, I would give it 9 out of 10 for its ability to evoke devotion, peace, spirituality and introspection in equal measure.
(Please note: These are my personal thoughts based on reading this book. Your views, facts and opinions after reading the book may differ. Feel free to comment if you believe any facts in this article should be reconsidered and re-examined. Thank you once again for pointing it out.)
That’s all from me in this brief article. I hope you enjoyed my personal thoughts and opinions. Please share your views or comments on the book review and recommendation of the book: 'DEWDROPS' Daily Quote from the Holy Mother, which is published by Adhyaksha, Sri Ramakrishna Math.
This book is about conversations of the Holy Mother had with her disciples and devotees, which have been compiled in the book published by the Math. To benefit the larger section of the devotees, this book brought out an English version of that booklet with some modifications, titling it as Dewdrops. The book thanks Smt. Latha Balasubramaniam for helping in the compilation of these quotations. (Taken from the Book : DEWDROPS)
You may visit my sub-stack page at: https://majumdarbookreviews.substack.com/
Thank you for visiting my Book Recommendation and Book Review Page: https://majumdarbookreviews.asia
Thanks and regards,
Mainak Majumdar, Book Critic
References and for further reading:
Comments