Sri Ramakrishna’s Prayer to the Divine Mother was published in the December 2005 edition of Prabuddha Bharata Magazine.
O Mother, I throw myself on Thy mercy; I take shelter at Thy Hallowed Feet. I do not want bodily comforts; I do not crave name and fame; I do not seek the eight occult powers.
O Mother, I throw myself on Thy mercy; I take shelter at Thy Hallowed Feet. I do not want bodily comforts; I do not crave name and fame; I do not seek the eight occult powers.
Be gracious and grant that I may have pure love for Thee, a
love unsmitten by desire, untainted by selfishness – a love craved by the
devotee for the sake of love alone.
And grant me the favor, O Mother, that I may not be deluded
by Thy world-be-witching maya, that I may never be attached to the world, to “woman
and gold” conjured up by Thy inscrutable maya!
O Mother, there is no one but Thee whom I may call my own.
Mother, I do not know how to worship; I am without austerity; I have neither
devotion nor knowledge.
Be gracious, Mother, and out of Thy infinite mercy grant me
love for Thy Lotus Feet.
Translated by Swami Purananda