In March 1881 Holy Mother travelled to Dakshineswar (Fifth Visit) from Jayrambati with her mother, her brother Prasanna, her niece Lakshmi, and some neighbours. They travelled via Telo-Bhelo. On the way to Dakshineswar they stopped at Tarakeswar to perform a special ceremony in which Holy Mother made an offering of her nail clippings and hair to Lord Shiva in gratitude for her recovery from a recent illness. They then went to an apartment that Prasanna had rented in Calcutta.
Holy Mother recalled: The next day we all went to Dakshineswar. No sooner had we arrived than Hriday, for some unknown reason, began to ask: ‘Why have they come? What have they got to do here?’ He was rude and discourteous. My mother did not respond. Hriday was from Sihar, and my mother came from the same village. Nonetheless, Hriday did not show any respect to my mother. My mother said: “Let us all return home. With whom shall I leave my daughter?” For fear of Hriday, the Master remained quiet. We left the same day. Ramlal called a boat so that we could cross the river. While we were leaving, I mentally prayed to Mother Kali: “Mother, if you bring me here again, I shall come.”
Hriday used to treat Holy Mother rudely; he probably wanted to control the Master by serving him and did not want any rival. The Master cautioned him, saying: “Look here. You may insult me, but don’t hurt her feelings. If He who dwells in this [meaning himself] hisses, you may somehow get by; but if He who dwells in her hisses, no one—not even Brahma, Vishnu, or Shiva—will be able to protect you.”
There is a saying: Pride must have its fall. Within two months of this incident, Hriday arranged his own downfall. Trailokya, a son of Mathur, came to Dakshineswar with his wife and children to attend the annual Snanyatra festival in May 1881. Hriday was conducting the worship in the Kali temple, and Trailokya’s 8-year-old daughter was there without her parents. Suddenly Hriday was seized with a desire to worship the goddess in the person of this little girl, and following Tantric rites he offered flowers and sandal paste at her feet. It was the sandal paste that betrayed Hriday. Trailokya’s wife noticed it as soon as her daughter returned from the ceremony. When she heard what Hriday had done, she was horrified, for it was believed that if a brahmin worshipped a girl of a lower caste, she would be widowed soon after her marriage. When Trailokya saw his wife crying and learned the cause, he became furious and ordered Hriday to leave the temple precincts immediately.
Ramlal then became the main priest of Kali. Puffed up with pride, he began to neglect the Master, who often remained unconscious due to ecstasy. His food would dry up on his plate and there was no one to look after him. The Master sent repeated messages to Holy Mother asking her to return to Dakshineswar. Finally, he sent the following message to her through Lakshman Pyne of Kamarpukur: “I am experiencing great difficulty here. After becoming a priest in the Kali temple, Ramlal has joined the group of other priests. Now he pays no heed to me. Please come by all means, any way you like—in a litter or a palanquin. I shall bear the expenses—be it ten rupees or twenty.” (Source: Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play)