Born in British India to an itinerant Sanskrit scholar, and member of the highest Brahmin caste, Rama had no place to call home. The family passed from village to village. At each site, Rama's father recited Sacred Legends in exchange for donations of whatever listeners could spare. When her father died, Rama' brother recited. At Raichur, faced with falling attendance, Rama stepped out of women's traditional place and recited before an audience.
At Calcutta, Rama sat for the Sanskrit Title Examination, received the title Pandita, and began a new career as a lecturer. She met her husband, bore a child, and became a widow. To support herself, Rama returned to lecturing, and decided her vocation was to rescue child widows. A community of Anglican nuns in Pune sponsored Rama's education in England. At Cheltenham, Rama accepted Christian baptism, and decided to pursue further education in Philadelphia. In America, Rama raised funds to build her school for child widows in Pune.
Rama's Christian faith alarmed both Indian and American sponsors who wanted a secular school for Hindu child-widows. In response Rama established a mission at Mukti, near the village of Kedgaon, in 1889. Here she could serve widows and children as well as sponsor Christian mission outreach to the surrounding areas. Over time, Rama relied solely on God for everything her projects needed. Today the Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission serves women and children throughout the region.
Rama's Labyrinth is the true inspirational story of one woman's quest for self-discovery and spiritual growth.
