Sri Sarada Devi - The Third Umpire!

Though Ma,(as Sri Sarada Devi, the consort of Sri Ramakrishna) was affectionately called by her devotees, chose to remain out of the limelight like the proverbial fruit hidden behind the leaves, she did play a pivotal role after the passing away of Sri Ramakrishna.

These instances are available mostly only in Bengali sources, making them not accessible to the non-Bengalis. 

The first instance is when Swami Vivekananda returned from his foreign travels, he started building hospitals &  schools. Sri 'M', the author of "The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna", confided to Ma his reservations about it, stating that Sri Ramakrishna (as readers of "The Gospel" are only too aware), discouraged those activities in his devotees, urging them to get self-realisation first. Ma assured him that 'Naren' (as she was affectionately addressing Swami Vivekananda) was doing precisely Sri Ramakrishna's bidding, as the Master's teaching was quite different to his monastic disciples from that to his  householder devotees.

In the second instance, Ma ruled against Swami Vivekananda, when he wanted to celebrate Durga Puja in Belur Math in the traditional way, including animal sacrifice. She firmly opposed it & had her way. She herself was a strict vegetarian, eschewing even fish, which even Bengali Brahmins consume! In a way, she was even more modern than Sri Ramakrishna, who expressed the thought that Goddess Kali would be offended if he refused her Prasad, including meat offerings & would just taste it!

So, in cricket terminology, if Sri 'M' & Swami Vivekananda were like the two on-field umpires instrumental in bringing Sri Ramakrishna's teachings to the world, Sri Sarada Devi was like the third umpire, capable of over-ruling them when occasion demanded!