We have now come to the end of Sri Ramakrishna's sadhana, the
period
of his spiritual discipline. As a result of his supersensuous
experiences he
reached certain conclusions regarding himself and spirituality in
general.
His conclusions about himself may be summarized as follows:
First, he was an Incarnation of God, a specially commissioned person,
whose spiritual experiences were for the benefit of humanity. Whereas
it
takes an ordinary man a whole life's struggle to realize one or two
phases of
God, he had in a few years realized God in all His phases.
Second, he knew that he had always been a free soul, that the various
disciplines through which he had passed were really not necessary for
his
own liberation but were solely for the benefit of others. Thus the
terms
liberation and bondage were not applicable to him. As long as there are
beings who consider themselves bound. God must come down to earth as an
Incarnation to free them from bondage, just as a magistrate must visit
any
part of his district in which there is trouble.
Third, he came to foresee the time of his death. His words with respect
to this matter were literally fulfilled.
About spirituality in general the following were his conclusions:
First, he was firmly convinced that all religions are true, that every
doctrinal
system represents a path to God. He had followed all the main paths
and all had led him to the same goal. He was the first religious
prophet
recorded in history to preach the harmony of religions.
Second, the three great systems of thought known as Dualism, Qualified
Non-dualism, and Absolute Non-dualism — Dvaita, Visishtadvaita, and
Advaita — he perceived to represent three stages in man's progress
toward the
Ultimate Reality. They were not contradictory but complementary and
suited to different temperaments. For the ordinary man with strong
attachment
to the senses, a dualistic form of religion, prescribing a certain
amount
of material support, such as music and other symbols, is useful. A man
of
God-realization transcends the idea of worldly duties, but the ordinary
mortal must perform his duties, striving to be unattached and to
surrender
the results to God. The mind can comprehend and describe the range of
thought and experience up to the Visishtadvaita, and no further. The
Advaita,
the last word in spiritual experience, is something to be felt in
samadhi.
for it transcends mind and speech. From the highest standpoint, the
Absolute
and Its manifestation are equally real — the Lord's Name, His Abode,
and the Lord Himself are of the same spiritual Essence. Everything is
Spirit,
the difference being only in form.
Third, Sri Ramakrishna realized the wish of the Divine Mother that
through him She should found a new Order, consisting of those who would
uphold the universal doctrines illustrated in his life.
Fourth, his spiritual insight told him that those who were having their
last birth on the mortal plane of existence and those who had sincerely
called on the Lord even once in their lives must come to him.
During this period Sri Ramakrishna suffered several bereavements. The
first was the death of a nephew named Akshay. After the young man's
death Sri Ramakrishna said: "Akshay died before my very eyes. But it
did
not affect me in the least. I stood by and watched a man die. It was
like a
sword being drawn from its scabbard. I enjoyed the scene, and laughed
and
sang and danced over it. They removed the body and cremated it. But the
next day as I stood there (pointing to the southeast verandah
of his room),
I felt a racking pain for the loss of Akshay, as if somebody were
squeezing
my heart like a wet towel. I wondered at it and thought that the Mother
was teaching me a lesson. I was not much concerned even with my own
body — much less with a relative. But if such was my pain at the loss
of a
nephew, how much more must be the grief of the householders at the loss
of their near and dear ones!" In 1871 Mathur died, and some five years
later
Sambhu Mallick — who, after Mathur's passing away, had taken care of
the
Master's comfort. In 1873 died his elder brother Rameswar, and in 1876,
his beloved mother. These bereavements left their imprint on the tender
human heart of Sri Ramakrishna, albeit he had realized the immortality
of
the soul and the illusoriness of birth and death.
In March 1875, about a year before the death of his mother, the Master
met Keshab Chandra Sen. The meeting was a momentous event for both
Sri Ramakrishna and Keshab. Here the Master for the first time came
into
actual, contact with a worthy representative of modern India.