Gopal-ma had immense love for the disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. In July 1902, when the news of Swami Vivekananda’s passing away reached Kamarhati, she was in her room. She cried out in pain, “Ah, Naren is gone?” She felt dizzy, saw darkness all around, and fell to the floor, fracturing her right elbow.
Gopal-ma was then living there by herself, although the place was known to be haunted. When the landlady had lived there, a guard looked after the place, but since no one was there now to help her, Swami Saradananda appointed a gardener and sent a woman to take care of her broken arm. Seeing the attendant, Gopal-ma said: “Why have you come here? You will have to face a lot of hardship. My Gopala takes care of me. Where will you sleep? You must find a room. They are all under lock and key, so you will have to ask the priest to open one for you. Let me tell you frankly at the outset that there are some evil spirits around. Whenever you hear any strange noise, repeat your mantra wholeheartedly.” At night the attendant slept opposite Gopal-ma’s room, and she heard the sound of heavy, hurried footsteps coming from the roof and a rapping noise at the window. It was quite a test for her.
Gopal-ma had to face many such ordeals during her long and solitary stay in that garden house. She never felt lonely, however, for her beloved Gopala was with her day and night. Moreover, she did not want a companion because another person might interfere with her visions. As she had very little body-consciousness, she was reluctant to accept personal service from others. Independence is happiness and dependence is misery. She practised this Vedantic teaching in her life.
In 1903 Gopal-ma became seriously ill. Swami Brahmananda then sent one of his young disciples to nurse her. The boy brought fruits and vegetables for her and slept in a corner of her room. He awoke very early in the morning, however, when he heard Gopal-ma talking with someone:“Wait, wait! Even the birds have not yet sung. Let the morning come, my sweet darling, and then I shall take you for a bath in the Ganges.”
Later the young disciple said: “No one else lives in your room. With whom were you talking this morning?” “Don’t you know that Gopala lives with me? I was trying to control his naughtiness,” she replied. (Source: They Lived with God)
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On another day Gopal-ma invited Sri Ramakrishna for lunch at Kamarhati. The Master went by boat with Rakhal, a young disciple who later became Swami Brahmananda. She received them cordially, and after they had enjoyed the delicacies she had cooked for them, they went to a room upstairs that had been arranged for their rest. Rakhal fell asleep immediately, but the Master was wide awake. Presently a foul odour permeated the room, and he saw two hideous ghosts with skeletal like forms. They said to him humbly: “Why are you here? Please leave this place. Seeing you, we are in unbearable pain.” The Divine Presence was no doubt the cause of their pain, either because it reminded them of their own pitiable condition, or because evil spirits cannot bear that Presence.
Sri Ramakrishna immediately arose and gathered up his small spice bag and towel. In the meantime Rakhal woke up and asked, “Master, where are you going?” “I shall tell you later,” said Sri Ramakrishna. They both went downstairs to Gopal-ma and, after saying good-bye to her, returned to the boat. The Master then told the whole story to Rakhal, explaining that he did not say anything to Gopal-ma because she was staying there alone. At any rate, she knew that ghosts frequented the area; and Sri Ramakrishna knew that her spirituality protected her from their presence. (Source: They Lived with God)