GOVINDA: “Revered sir, why does the Divine Mother have a black complexion?”
MASTER: “You see Her as black because you are far away from Her. Go near and you will find Her devoid of all colour. The water of a lake appears black from a distance. Go near and take the water in your hand, and you will see that it has no colour at all. Similarly, the sky looks blue from a distance. But look at the atmosphere near you; it has no colour. The nearer you come to God, the more you will realize that He has neither name nor form. If you move away from the Divine Mother, you will find Her blue, like the grass-flower. Is Śyāmā male or female? A man once saw the image of the Divine Mother wearing a sacred thread.9 He said to the worshipper: ‘What? You have put the sacred thread on the Mother’s neck!’ The worshipper said: ‘Brother, I see that you have truly known the Mother. But I have not yet been able to find out whether She is male or female; that is why I have put the sacred thread on Her image.’
“That which is Śyāmā is also Brahman. That which has form, again, is without form. That which has attributes, again, has no attributes. Brahman is Śakti; Śakti is Brahman. They are not two. These are only two aspects, male and female, of the same Reality, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute.” (Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
Male and female moods coexisted in the Master.
Every one of the Master’s devotees has seen to a greater or lesser degree the coexistence of masculine and feminine moods in him. Once Girish experienced this and boldly asked, “Sir, are you a man or a woman?” The Master replied with a smile, “I don’t know.” Who will now decide what the Master meant when he made that remark? Was he saying this from the point of view of one who has realized the sexless Atman, who experiences “I am neither a man nor a woman,” or was he acknowledging the coexistence of both male and female characteristics within himself? (Source: Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play)