Ananga Manjari: the secret incarnation

Image of Sri Laxmi Devi Ma

Lakshmi Devi was a niece of Sri Ramakrishna and one of his female disciples. 

She was the daughter of his brother Rameshwar. After becoming a widow early in life, she lived with Sri Ramakrishna and Sarada Devi (the Holy Mother) at Dakshineswar. She later became a spiritual teacher, inspiring many with stories and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna. 

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa on Laxmi Devi Ma

At the age of twelve, she was married to Sri Dhanakrishna, a young man who was a descendant of Srinivasacharya Prabhu. When Ramakrishna came to know about this, he said to his nephew Hridaya, “Lakshmi will soon become a widow.”
Hridaya said, “Why do you forebode such disaster?”
Then Ramakrishna replied, “O Hridaya! Lakshmi is not ordinary.

She is the incarnation of my family goddess Shitala. Ma told me so even before her birth. Has she come to lead a householder’s life with a man belonging to the class of ordinary jivas? She has to rise high in sadhana and do immense good to this world.”

— From *The Saints of Bengal* by O.B.L. Kapoor, disciple of Sri Gouranga Das Babaji Maharaj (of the Nityananda Parivar, Radharaman Charan Das Dev lineage).

Once Lakshmi Devi went from Dakshineshwar to Sarada Ma, who was then living in a house in Baghbazar in Calcutta. At that time, a festival was going on at the house of Sri Kunja Mallika. Sri Radharaman Charan Das Babaji had come to grace the festival with his devotees. The main attraction of the festival was the kirtan of Radharaman Charan Das Babaji. Lakshmi Devi went to attend his kirtan.

Wonderful sattvika-bhavas appeared on his body during his dance and kirtan. At that time, she went into samadhi. After the samadhi, she said to her devotees, “Radharaman Charan Das Deva is the manifestation of Ananga Manjari.”

— From the diary of Sri Nimai Charan Das, a disciple of Lakshmi Mani Devi.

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