Chapter (অধ্যায়): PILGRIMAGESPage: 60 of 89
ing for a day at Rajahmundry to have a bath in
the Godavari and for two days at Puri again to
have the darshan of Jagannath.
The last pilgrimage she undertook was in
1912, when she visited Varanasi for the third time
in a large party consisting of some senior monks,
devotees, and a few of her relations. On this
occasion she stayed at Varanasi for about two and
a half months and so could visit at leisure all the
important temples and sacred places around the
city. During her stay at Varanasi she met the wellknown
saint Chameli Puri. She was so much impressed
by the spiritual power and withal the
childlike appearance of this holy man that she
remarked she felt no inclination to go to see any
other saint. As a mark of reverence she sent him
some fruits, sweets and a blanket.
One day she went to Sarnath, the place where
Buddha preached his first sermon, and which is,
as such, a sacred place of pilgrimage to the Buddhists.
Here she saw many Westerners admiring
with interest the ruins of the ancient city. She
remarked that the very people who once built
those buildings were now admiring them in great
wonder.
The Ramakrishna Mission Home of Service
at Varanasi had by that time developed into a
well-established institution serving the sick and
distressed. She visited it at the earnest prayers of