The secrets of Saradananda’s great success in his active life were his humility and his respect for the human dignity of others. In 1918 Umananda wrote from Vrindaban to tell Saradananda that he was coming to Calcutta to see him. But the letter was somehow misplaced. When Umananda arrived, Saradananda reprimanded the younger monk for leaving the centre without previously writing to him; and although Umananda said that he had written, the swami did not believe him. Later, when Saradananda discovered the letter, he tearfully regretted his conduct. He approached Brahmananda, then president, with the request that he should be relieved of the secretaryship of the Order. Saradananda told him the whole story and lamented: “He was right; I scolded him without reason. I must send for him and beg his forgiveness.” Brahmananda asked him not to go so far. But Saradananda could not rest until he actually apologized to the monk for his mistake and begged his forgiveness.
Saradananda knew human nature very well. Those monks who were unbalanced or who had been rejected by other centres, would take shelter in Udbodhan with Holy Mother and Saradananda. The swami adopted three basic methods to make these monks work: He gave them freedom, he put his trust in them, and finally he poured his love and affection on them. He was ajatashatru, a person whose enemy has never been born. In 1919 the head of a centre had problems with his monastic workers and Saradananda wrote to him: “Each soul is eternally free, so each person desires to be free in every respect of his life. A real leader never obstructs others’ freedom; rather, he teaches how one should enjoy freedom properly even in the field of action.” In another letter he wrote: “The causes of friction and factions in the monastery are: anger, hatred, intolerance for others’ mistakes, incompatibility between the mind and the speech [meaning, taking the course of untruth and duplicity], and above all, an effort to control the monks through tricks and politics instead of unselfish love.”
Once Saradananda advised a devotee: “If you want to work, depend on God and stand on your own feet. Don’t depend on any human being — even myself. If nobody comes forward to help your work, resolve to do it alone, even at the cost of your body. When you have such courage, strength, and dependence on God, only then are you eligible to do work.”