Descent of The Goddess At Shihar

We are happy to publish this small book telling the story of Shihar village blessed often by the presence of Sri Ramakrishna and by the advent of Sri Sarada Devi. Shihar is the fortunate place where the Mother of the Universe herself chose to appear to announce her birth in the home of Shyamasundari Devi. She then assumed a most ordinary guise as Shyamasundari's daughter Sri Sarada Devi. It is known from the Puranas that the advent of the Mother of the Universe would take place under a Bel tree. This place of Her advent on earth is indeed a Shakti Pith. The Holy Mother, Sri Sarada Devi herself said, 'I am that eternal Adyashakti, the Mother of the Universe. I have come only out of compassion for the world. I have come in every age and I will come again.'

We hope this booklet about Sri Sarada Devi and Sri Ramakrishna at Shihar will convey their message of spiritual bliss of lives lived with God and godly people. May it be a guide to pilgrims to Shihar and help them to find it a heavenly place on earth.

Shihar would have been like any other interior village of West Bengal if the Divine Mother of all existence had not lavished her blessings on it by her advent there.

Most religions are based on the idea that God incarnates as a human being or savior. According to one religion there can be only one incarnation, according to another religion there are two and according to Hinduism there are many; some say ten, some say twenty-four and others say innumerable are the incarnations of God. Who can decide which is true? Or, if all are false; or for that matter, if all are true? Some God-realized soul, learned in the scriptures would be an authority on this subject.