Master's visit to Keshab — Keshab's serious illness — Brahman manifesting Itself as the universe — Signs of a true devotee — Identity of Brahman and Sakti — Master's love for pure-souled disciples — Meditating on God and not on His glories — Different classes of worshippers — Meaning of Keshab's illness — Master's own illness — Master praises Keshab — Advice to the worldly-minded — Ideal householder's life — Solitude and holy company — God and the world — Virtue and vice.
Wednesday, November 28, 1883
AT TWO O'CLOCK in the afternoon, M.
was pacing the foot-path of
the Circular Road in front of the Lily Cottage, where Keshab
Chandra Sen lived. He was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Sri
Ramakrishna.
Keshab's illness had taken a serious turn, and there was very little
chance of his recovery. Since the Master loved Keshab dearly, he was
coming
from Dakshineswar to pay him a visit.
On the east side of the Circular Road was Victoria College, where the
ladies of Keshab's Brahmo Samaj and their daughters received their
education.
To the north of the college was a spacious garden house inhabited by an
English family. M. noticed that there was a commotion in the house and
wondered what was going on. Presently a hearse arrived with the drivers
dressed in black, and the members of the household appeared, looking
very
sad. There had been a death in the family.
"Whither does the soul go, leaving behind this mortal body?" Pondering
the age-old question, M. waited, watching the carriages that came from
the
north.
About five o'clock a carriage stopped in front of the Lily Cottage and
Sri
Ramakrishna got out with Latu and several other devotees, including
Rakhal.
He was received by Keshab's relatives, who led him and the devotees
upstairs
to the verandah south of the drawing-room. The Master seated himself
on a couch.
After a long wait he became impatient to see Keshab. Keshab's disciples
said that he was resting and would be there presently. Sri Ramakrishna
became more and more impatient and said to Keshab's disciples: "Look
here,
what need is there of his coming to me? Why can't I go in and see him?"
PRASANNA (humbly): "Sir, he will come
in a few minutes."
MASTER: "Go away! It is you who are
making all this fuss. Let me go in."
Prasanna began to talk about Keshab in order to divert the Master's
attention. He said: "Keshab is now an altogether different person. Like
you, sir, he talks to the Divine Mother. He hears what the Mother says,
and laughs and cries."
When he was told that Keshab talked to the Divine Mother and laughed
and cried, the Master became ecstatic. Presently he went into samadhi.
It was winter and the Master was wearing a green flannel coat with a
shawl thrown over it. He sat straight, with his eyes fixed, deep in
ecstasy.
A long time passed in this way. There was no indication of his
returning
to the normal plane of consciousness.
Gradually it became dark. Lamps were lighted in the drawing-room, where
the Master was now to go. While he was slowly coming down to the plane
of ordinary consciousness, he was taken there, though with great
difficulty.
The room was well furnished. At the sight of the furniture, the Master
muttered to himself, "These things were necessary before, but of what
use
are they now?" Seeing Rakhal, he said, "Oh, hello! Are you here?" Then,
seating himself on a couch, he again lost consciousness of the outer
world,
and, looking around as if seeing someone, he said: "Hello, Mother! I
see
that You too have come. How You are showing off in Your Benares sari!
Don't bother me now, please. Sit down and be quiet."
The Master was in a state of intense divine intoxication. In the
well-lighted
room the Brahmo devotees sat around the Master; Latu, Rakhal, and M.
remained near him. He was saying to himself, still filled with divine
fervour:
"The body and the soul! The body was born and it will die. But for the
soul there is no death. It is like the betel-nut. When the nut is ripe
it does
not stick to the shell. But when it is green it is difficult to
separate it from
the shell. After realizing God, one does not identify oneself any more
with
the body. Then one knows that body and soul are two different things."
At this moment Keshab entered the room. He came through the east
door. Those who remembered the man who, had preached in the Town Hall
or the Brahmo Samaj temple were shocked to see this skeleton covered
with
skin. He could hardly stand. He walked holding to the wall for support.
With great difficulty he sat down in front of the couch. In the mean
time
Sri Ramakrishna had got down from the couch and was sitting on the
floor,
Keshab bowed low before the Master and remained in that position a long
time, touching the Master's feet with his forehead. Then he sat up. Sri
Ramakrishna was still in a state of ecstasy. He muttered to himself. He
talked to the Divine Mother.
Raising his voice, Keshab said: "I am here, sir. I am here." He took
Sri
Ramakrishna's left hand and stroked it gently. But the Master was in
deep
samadhi, completely intoxicated with divine love. A stream of words
came
from his lips as he talked to himself, and the devotees listened to him
spellbound.
MASTER: "As long as a man associates
himself with upadhis, so long he
sees the manifold, such as Keshab, Prasanna, Amrita, and so on; but on
attaining Perfect Knowledge he sees only one Consciousness everywhere.
The same Perfect Knowledge, again, makes him realize that the one
Consciousness has become the universe and its living beings and the
twenty-four
cosmic principles. But the manifestations of Divine Power are different
in different beings. It is He, undoubtedly, who has become everything;
but
in some cases there is a greater manifestation than in others.
"Vidyasagar once asked me, 'Can it be true that God has endowed some
with greater power and some with less?' I replied: 'If that were not
so, how
is it that one man may be stronger than fifty'? If that were not the
case,
again, how is it that we have all come here to see you?'
"The soul through which God sports is endowed with His special power,
The landlord may reside in any part of his estate, but he is generally
to
be found in a particular drawing-room. The devotee is God's
drawing-room,
God loves to sport in the heart of His devotee. It is there that His
special
power is manifest.
"What is the sign of such a devotee? When you see a man doing great
works, you may know that God's special power is manifested through him.
"The Primordial Power and the Supreme Brahman are identical. You
can never think of the one without the other. They are like the gem and
its brilliance. One cannot think of the brilliance without the gem, or
of
the gem without its brilliance. Again, it is like the snake and its
wriggling
motion. One cannot think of the wriggling motion without the snake, or
of the snake without its wriggling motion.
"It is the Primordial Power that has become the universe and its living
beings and the twenty-four cosmic principles. It is a case of
involution and
evolution.1
"Why do I feel so restless for Rakhal, Narendra, and the other
youngsters?
Hazra once asked me, 'When will you think of God if you are always
anxious about these boys?' (Keshab and the others smile.)
That worried
me greatly. I prayed to the Divine Mother: 'Mother, see what a fix I am
in!
Hazra scolds me because I worry about these young men.' Afterwards I
asked Bholanath about it. He said to me that such a state of mind is
described
in the Mahabharata. How else will a man established
in samadhi occupy
his mind in the phenomenal world, after coming down from samadhi? That
is why he seeks the company of devotees endowed with sattva. I gave a
sigh of relief when Bholanath told me of the Mahabharata.
"Hazra is not to blame. During the period of struggle one should follow
the method of discrimination — 'Not this, not this' — and direct the
whole
mind to God. But the state of perfection is quite different. After
reaching
God one reaffirms what formerly one denied. To extract butter you must
separate it from the buttermilk. Then you discover that butter and
buttermilk
are intrinsically related to one another. They belong to the same
stuff.
The butter is not essentially different from the buttermilk, nor the
buttermilk
essentially different from the butter. After realizing God one knows
definitely that it is He who has become everything. In some objects He
is
manifested more clearly, and in others less clearly.
"When a flood comes from the ocean, all the land is deep under water.
Before the flood, the boat could have reached the ocean only by
following
the winding course of the river. But after the flood, one can row
straight to
the ocean. One need not take a roundabout course. After the harvest has
been reaped, one need not take the roundabout course along the balk of
the field. One can cross the field at any point.
"After the realization of God, He is seen in all beings. But His
greater
manifestation is in man. Again, among men, God manifests Himself more
clearly in those devotees who are sattvic, in those who have no desire
whatever to enjoy 'woman and gold'. Where can a man of samadhi rest his
mind,
after coming down from the plane of samadhi? That is why he feels the
need of seeking the company of pure-hearted devotees, endowed with
sattva
and free from attachment to 'woman and gold'. How else could such a
person occupy himself in the relative plane of consciousness?
"He who' is Brahman is the Adyasakti, the Primal Energy. When inactive
He is called Brahman, the Purusha; He is called Sakti, or Prakriti,
when
engaged in creation, preservation, and destruction. These are the two
aspects
of Reality: Purusha and Prakriti. He who is the Purusha is also
Prakriti.
Both are the embodiment of Bliss.
"If you are aware of the Male Principle, you cannot ignore the Female
Principle. He who is aware of the father must also think of the mother.
(Keshab laughs.) He who knows darkness also knows
light. He who knows
night also knows day. He who knows happiness also knows misery. You
understand this, don't you?"
KESHAB: "Yes, sir. I do."
MASTER: "My Mother! Who is my Mother?
Ah, She is the Mother of
the Universe. It is She who creates and preserves the world, who always
protects Her children, and who grants whatever they desire: dharma,
artha,
kama, moksha. A true son cannot live away from his mother. The mother
knows everything. The child only eats, drinks, and makes merry; he
doesn't
worry himself about the things of the world."
KESHAB: "Yes, sir. It is quite true."
While talking, Sri Ramakrishna regained the normal consciousness of
the world. With a smile on his face he conversed with Keshab. The
roomful
of men watched them eagerly, and listened to their words. Everybody was
amazed to find that neither Keshab nor the Master inquired about each
other's health. They talked only of God.
MASTER (to Keshab): "Why do the
members of the Brahmo Samaj dwell
so much on God's glories? Is there any great need of repeating such
things
as 'O God, Thou hast created the moon, the sun, and the stars'? Most
people
are filled with admiration for the garden only. How few care to see its
owner! Who is greater, the garden or its owner?
"After a few drinks at a tavern, do I care to know how many gallons
of wine are stored there? One bottle is enough for me.
"When I met Narendra, I never asked him: 'Who is your father? How
many houses does he own?'
"Shall I tell you the truth? Man loves his own riches, and so he thinks
that God loves His, too. He thinks that God will be pleased if we
glorify
His riches. Once Sambhu said to me, 'Please bless me, that I may die
leaving my riches at the Lotus Feet of God.' I answered: 'These are
riches
only to you. What riches can you offer God? To Him these are mere dust
and straw.'
"Once a thief broke into the temple of Vishnu and robbed the image
of its jewels. Mathur Babu and I went to the temple to see what was the
matter. Addressing the image, Mathur said bitterly: 'What a shame,
Lord!
You are so worthless! The thief took all the ornaments from Your body,
and You couldn't do a thing about it.' Thereupon I said to'Mathur:
'Shame
on you! How improper your words are! To God, the jewels you talk so
much about are only lumps of clay. Lakshmi, the Goddess of Fortune, is
His Consort. Do you mean to say that He should spend sleepless nights
because a thief has taken your few rupees? You mustn't say such things.'
"Can one ever bring God under control through wealth? He can be
tamed only through love. What does He want? Certainly not wealth! He
wants from His devotees love, devotion, feeling, discrimination, and
renunciation.
"One looks on God exactly according to one's own inner feeling. Take,
for instance, a devotee with an excess of tamas. He thinks that the
Divine
Mother eats goat. So he slaughters one for Her. Again, the devotee
endowed
with rajas cooks rice and various other dishes for the Mother. But the
sattvic
devotee doesn't make any outer show of his worship. People don't even
know he is worshipping. If he has no flowers, he worships God with mere
Ganges water and the leaves of the bel-tree. His food offering to the
Deity
consists of sweetened puffed rice or a few candies. Occasionally he
cooks
a little rice pudding for the Deity.
"There is also another class of devotees, those who are beyond the
three
gunas. They have the nature of a child. Their worship consists in
chanting
God's name — just His name.
(To Keshab, with a smile) "Why is it that you are
ill? There is a
reason
for it. Many spiritual feelings have passed through your body;
therefore it
has fallen ill. At the time an emotion is aroused, one understands very
little
about it. The blow that it delivers to the body is felt only after a
long
while. I have seen big steamers going by on the Ganges, at the time
hardly
noticing their passing. But oh, my! What a terrific noise is heard
after a
while, when the waves splash against the banks! Perhaps a piece of the
bank breaks loose and falls into the water.
"An elephant entering a hut creates havoc within and ultimately shakes
it down. The elephant of divine emotion enters the hut of this body and
shatters it to pieces.
"Do you know what actually happens? When a house is on fire, at first a
few things inside burn. Then comes the great commotion. Just so, the
fire
of Knowledge at first destroys such enemies of spiritual life as
passion,
anger,
and so forth. Then comes the turn of ego. And lastly a violent
commotion
is seen in the physical frame.
"You may think that everything is going to be over. But God will not
release you as long as the slightest trace of your illness is left. You
simply
cannot leave the hospital if your name is registered there. As long as
the
illness is not perfectly cured, the doctor won't give you a permit to
go. Why
did you register your name in the hospital at all?" (All laugh.)
Keshab laughed again and again at the Master's allusion to the
hospital.
Then Sri Ramakrishna spoke of his own illness. (To Keshab)
-"Hriday
used to say, 'Never before have I seen such ecstasy for God, and never
before have I seen such illness.' I was then seriously ill with
stubborn
diarrhoea. It was as if millions of ants were gnawing at my brain. But
all
the same, spiritual talk went on day and night. Dr. Rama of Natagore
was
called in to see me. He found me discussing spiritual truth. 'What a
madman!' he said. 'Nothing is left of him but a few bones, and still he
is
reasoning like that!'"
MASTER (to Keshab): "All depends on
God's will.
O Mother, all is done after Thine own sweet will;
Thou art in truth self-willed, Redeemer of mankind!
Thou workest Thine own work; men only call it theirs.
"In order to take full advantage of the dew, the gardener
removes the
soil from the Basra rose down to the very root. The plant thrives
better on
account of the moisture. Perhaps that is why you too are being shaken
to
the very root. (Keshab and the Master laugh.) It may
be that you will do
tremendous things when you come back.
"Whenever I hear that you are ill I become extremely restless. After
hearing of your last illness I used to weep to the Divine Mother in the
small hours of the morning. I prayed to Her, 'O Mother, if anything
happens
to Keshab, with whom, then, shall I talk in Calcutta?' Coming to
Calcutta,
I offered fruits and sweets to the Divine Mother with a prayer for your
well-being."
The devotees were deeply touched to hear of Sri Ramakrishna's love for
Keshab and his longing for the Brahmo leader.
MASTER: "But this time, to tell the truth,
I didn't feel anxious to that
extent. Only for two or three days did I feel a little worried."
Keshab's venerable mother came to the east door of the room, the same
door through which Keshab had entered. Umanath said aloud to the
Master,
"Sir, here is mother saluting you."
Sri Ramakrishna smiled. Umanath said again, "Mother asks you to bless
Keshab that he may be cured of his illness."
MASTER (to Keshab's mother): "Please
pray to the Divine Mother, who
is the Bestower of all bliss. She will take away your troubles.
(To Keshab) "Don't spend long hours in the inner
apartments. You will
sink down and down in the company of women. You will feel better if you
hear only talk of God."
The Master uttered these words in a serious voice and then began to
laugh like a boy. He said to Keshab, "Let me see your hand." He weighed
it playfully, like a child. At last he said: "No, your hand is light.
Hypocrites
have heavy hands." (All laugh.)
Umanath again said to the Master from the door, "Mother asks you to
bless Keshab."
MASTER (gravely): "What can I do?
God alone blesses all. 'Thou workest Thine own work; men only call it
theirs.'
God laughs on two occasions. He laughs when two brothers divide land
between them. They put a string across the land and say to each other,
'This side is mine, and that side is yours.' God laughs and says to
Himself,
'Why, this whole universe is Mine; and about a little clod they say,
"This
side is mine, and that side is yours"!'
"God laughs again when the physician says to the mother weeping
bitterly because of her child's desperate illness: 'Don't be afraid,
mother.
I shall cure your child.' The physician does not know that no one can
save
the child if God wills that he should die." (All are silent.)
Just then Keshab was seized with a fit of coughing, which lasted for a
long time. The sight of his suffering made everyone sad. He became
exhausted
and could stay no longer. He bowed low before the Master and
left the room, holding to the wall as before.
Some refreshments had been arranged for the Master. Keshab's eldest
son was seated near him. Amrita introduced the boy and requested Sri
Ramakrishna to bless him. The Master said, "It is not given to me to
bless
anyone." With a sweet smile he stroked the boy's body gently.
AMRITA (with a smile): "All right,
then do as you please."
MASTER (to the devotees): "I cannot
say such a thing as 'May you be
healed.' I never ask the Divine Mother to give me the power of healing.
I
pray to Her only for pure love.
"Is Keshab a small person? He is respected by all, seekers after wealth
as well as holy men. Once I visited Dayananda, who was then staying at
a garden house. I saw he was extremely anxious about Keshab's coming;
he went out every few minutes to see whether he had arrived. I learnt
later
on that Keshab had made an appointment with him that day. Keshab, I
understood, had no faith in the sacrifices and the deities mentioned in
the
Vedas. Referring to this, Dayananda said: 'Why, the Lord has created so
many things. Could He not make deities as well?'"
Continuing, the Master said: "Keshab is free from the pride of a
small-minded
religious teacher. To many people he has said, 'If you have any
doubts, go there ( To Sri Ramakrishna.)
to have them solved.' It is my way, too, to say: 'What
shall I do with people's respect? Let Keshab's virtues increase a
millionfold.'
Keshab is certainly a great man. Everyone respects him, seekers after
wealth
as well as holy men." Thus did Sri Ramakrishna praise Keshab before the
latter's disciples.
After partaking of the refreshments the Master was ready to leave. The
Brahmo devotees accompanied him to the cab, which was standing in the
street. While coming down the stairs the Master noticed that there was
no light on the ground floor. He said to Amrita and Keshab's other
disciples:
"These places should be well lighted. A house without light becomes
stricken
with poverty. Please see that it doesn't happen again."
Then Sri Ramakrishna left for Dakshineswar with one or two devotees.
On his way, to Dakshineswar from Keshab's cottage Sri Ramakrishna
stopped at Jaygopal Sen's house. It was about seven o'clock in the
evening.
In the drawing-room Jaygopal's relatives and neighbours had gathered.
Vaikuntha, Jaygopal's brother, said to the Master: "Sir, we are worldly
people. Please give us some advice."
MASTER: "Do your duty to the world after
knowing God, With one hand
hold to the Lotus Feet of the Lord and with the other do your work."
VAIKUNTHA: "Is the world unreal?"
MASTER: "Yes, it is unreal as long as one
has not realized God. Through
ignorance man forgets God and speaks always of 'I' and 'mine'. He sinks
down and down, entangled in maya, deluded by 'woman and gold'. Maya
robs him of his knowledge to such an extent that he cannot find the
way of escape, though such a way exists.
"Listen to a song:
When such delusion veils the world, through Mahamaya's spell,
That Brahma is bereft of sense
And Vishnu loses consciousness,
What hope is left for men? . . .
"You all know from your experience how impermanent the world is. Look at it this way. How many people have come into the world and again passed away! People are born and they die. This moment the world is and the next it is not. It is impermanent. Those you think to be your very own will not exist for you when you close your eyes in death. Again, you see people who have no immediate relatives, and yet for the sake of a grandson they will not go to Benares to lead a holy life. 'Oh, what will become of my Haru then?' they argue.
The narrow channel first is made, and there the trap is set;
But open though the passage lies,
The fish, once safely through the gate,
Do not come out again.
Yet even though a way leads forth,
Encased within its own cocoon,
The worm remains to die.
This kind of world is illusory and impermanent."
A NEIGHBOUR: "Why, sir, should one hold
to God with one hand and
to the world with the other? Why should one even stretch out one hand
to hold to the world, if it is impermanent?"
MASTER : "The world is not impermanent
if one lives there after knowing God. Listen to another song:
O mind, you do not know how to farm!
Fallow lies the field of your life.
If you had only worked it well,
How rich a harvest you might reap!
Hedge it about with Kali's name
If you would keep your harvest safe;
This is the stoutest hedge of all,
For Death himself cannot come near it. . . .
"Did you listen to the song?
Hedge it about with Kali's name
If you would keep your harvest safe.
Surrender yourself to God and you will achieve everything.
This is the stoutest hedge of all,
For Death himself cannot come near it.
"Yes, it is a strong hedge indeed. If you but realize God, you
won't
see the world as unsubstantial. He who has realized God knows that God
Himself has become the world and all living beings. When you feed
your child, you should feel that you are feeding God. You should look
on
your father and mother as veritable manifestations of God and the
Divine
Mother, and serve them as such. If a man enters the world after
realizing
God, he does not generally keep up physical relations with his wife.
Both
of them are devotees; they love to talk only of God and pass their time
in spiritual conversation. They serve other devotees of God, for they
know
that God alone has become all living beings; and, knowing this, they
devote
their lives to the service of others."
NEIGHBOUR: "But, sir, such a husband and
wife are not to be found anywhere."
MASTER: "Yes, they can be found, though
they may be very rare. Worldly
people cannot recognize them. In order to lead such a life both husband
and wife must be spiritual. It is possible to lead such a life if both
of
them have tasted the Bliss of God. God's special grace is necessary to
create such a couple; otherwise there will always be misunderstanding
between them. In that case the one has to leave the other. Life becomes
very
miserable if husband and wife do not agree. The wife will say to her
husband
day and night: 'Why did my father marry me to such a person? I
can't get enough to eat or to feed my children. I haven't clothes
enough to
cover mv body or to give to my children. I haven't received a single
piece
of jewelry from you. How happy you have made me! Ah! You keep your
eyes closed and mutter the name of God! Now do give up all these crazy
ideas.'"
DEVOTEE: "There are such obstacles,
certainly. Besides, the children may
be disobedient. There is no end of difficulties. Now, sir, what is the
way?"
MASTER: "It is extremely difficult to
practise spiritual discipline and at
the same time lead a householder's life. There are many handicaps:
disease,
grief, poverty, misunderstanding with one's wife, and disobedient,
stupid,
and stubborn children. I don't have to give you a list of them.
"But still there is a way out. One should pray to God, going now and
then into solitude, and make efforts to realize Him."
NEIGHBOUR: "Must one leave home then?"
MASTER: "No, not altogether. Whenever
you have leisure, go into solitude
for a day or two. At that time don't have any relations with the
outside
world and don't hold any conversation with worldly people on worldly
affairs. You must live either in solitude or in the company of holy
men."
NEIGHBOUR: "How can one recognize
a holy man?"
MASTER: "He who has surrendered his body,
mind, and innermost self
to God is surely a holy man. He who has renounced 'woman and gold' is
surely a holy man. He is a holy man who does not regard woman with
the eyes of a worldly person. He never forgets to look upon a woman as
his mother, and to offer her his worship if he happens to be near her.
The
holy man constantly thinks of God and does not indulge in any talk
except
about spiritual things. Furthermore, he serves all beings, knowing that
God
resides in everybody's heart. These, in general, are the signs of a
holy man."
NEIGHBOUR: "Must one always live in
solitude?"
MASTER: "Haven't you seen the trees on
the foot-path along a street?
They are fenced around as long as they are very young; otherwise cattle
destroy them. But there is no longer any need of fences when their
trunks
grow thick and strong. Then they won't break even if an elephant is
tied
to them. Just so, there will be no need for you to worry and fear if
you
make your mind as strong as a thick tree-trunk. First of all try to
acquire
discrimination. Break the jack-fruit open only after you have rubbed
your
hands with oil; then its sticky milk won't smear them."
NEIGHBOUR: "What is discrimination?"
MASTER: "Discrimination is the reasoning
by which one knows that God
alone is real and all else is unreal. Real means eternal, and unreal
means
impermanent. He who has acquired discrimination knows that God is the
only Substance and all else is non-existent. With the awakening of this
spirit of discrimination a man wants to know God. On the contrary, if a
man loves the unreal — such things as creature comforts, name, fame,
and
wealth —, then he doesn't want to know God, who is of the very nature
of
Reality. Through discrimination between the Real and the unreal one
seeks
to know God.
"Listen to a song:
Come, let us go for a walk, O mind, to Kali, the Wish-fulfilling Tree,
And there beneath It gather the four fruits of life.
Of your two wives, Dispassion and Worldliness,
Bring along Dispassion only, on your way to the Tree,
And ask her son Discrimination about the Truth. . . .
"By turning the mind within oneself one acquires
discrimination, and
through discrimination one thinks of Truth. Then the mind feels the
desire
to 'go for a walk to Kali, the Wish-fulfilling Tree.' Reaching that
Tree,
that is to say, going near to God, you can without any effort gather
four
fruits, namely, dharma, artha, kama, and moksha. Yes, after realizing
God,
one can also get, if one so desires, dharma, artha, and kama, which are
necessary for leading the worldly life."
NEIGHBOUR: "Then why should one call the
world maya?"
MASTER: "As long as one has not realized
God, one should renounce
the world, following the process of 'Neti, neti'. But he who has
attained
God knows that it is God who has become all this. Then he sees that
God, maya, living beings, and the universe form one whole. God includes
the universe and its living beings. Suppose you have separated the
shell,
flesh, and seeds of a bel-fruit and someone asks you the weight of the
fruit.
Will you leave aside the shell and the seeds, and weigh only the flesh?
Not at all. To know the real weight of the fruit, you must weigh the
whole of it — the shell, the flesh, and the seeds. Only then can you
tell
its real weight. The shell may be likened to the universe, and the
seeds to
living beings. While one is engaged in discrimination one says to
oneself
that the universe and the living beings are non-Self and unsubstantial.
At
that time one thinks of the flesh alone as the substance, and the shell
and
seeds as unsubstantial. But after discrimination is over, one feels
that all
three parts of the fruit together form a unity. Then one further
realizes
that the stuff that has produced the flesh of the fruit has also
produced
the shell and seeds. To know the real nature of the bel-fruit one must
know all three.
"It is the process of evolution and involution. The world, after its
dissolution, remains involved in God; and God, at the time of creation,
evolves
as the world. Butter goes with buttermilk, and buttermilk goes with
butter.
If there is a thing called buttermilk, then butter also exists; and if
there is
a thing called butter, then buttermilk also exists. If the Self exists,
then
the non-Self must also exist.
"The phenomenal world belongs to that very Reality to which the
Absolute belongs; again, the Absolute belongs to that very Reality to
which
the phenomenal world belongs. He who is realized as God has also become
the universe and its living beings. One who knows the Truth knows that
it is He alone who has become father and mother, child and neighbour,
man and animal, good and bad, holy and unholy, and so forth."
NEIGHBOUR: "Then is there no virtue
and no sin?"
MASTER: "They both exist and do not exist.
If God keeps the ego in
a man, then He keeps in him the sense of differentiation and also the
sense of virtue and sin. But in a rare few He completely effaces the
ego,
and these go beyond virtue and sin, good and bad. As long as a man has
not realized God, he retains the sense of differentiation and the
knowledge
of good and bad. You may say: 'Virtue and sin are the same to me. I am
doing only as God bids me.' But you know in your heart of hearts that
those are mere words. No sooner do you commit an evil deed than you
feel
a palpitation in your heart. Even after God has been realized, He keeps
in the mind of the devotee, if He so desires, the feeling of the
'servant
ego'. In that state the devotee says, 'O God, Thou art the Master and I
am
Thy servant.' Such a devotee enjoys only spiritual talk and spiritual
deeds. He does not enjoy the company of ungodly people. He does not
care for any work that is not of a holy nature. So you see that God
keeps
the sense of differentiation even in such a devotee."
NEIGHBOUR: "You ask us, sir, to live in
the world after knowing God. Can God really be known?"
MASTER: "God cannot be known by the
sense-organs or by this mind;
but He can be known by the pure mind, the mind that is free from
worldly
desires."
NEIGHBOUR: "Who can know God?"
MASTER: "Right. Who can really know Him?
But as for us, it is enough
to know as much of Him as we need. What need have I of a whole well
of water? One jar is more than enough for me. An ant went to a sugar
hill. Did it need the entire hill? A grain or two of sugar was more
than
enough."
NEIGHBOUR: "Sir, we are like typhoid
patients. How can we be satisfied
with one jar of water? We feel like knowing the whole of God."
MASTER: "That's true. But there is also
medicine for typhoid."
NEIGHBOUR: "What is that medicine, sir?"
MASTER: "The company of holy men, repeating
the name of God and
singing His glories, and unceasing prayer. I prayed to the Divine
Mother:
'Mother, I don't seek knowledge. Here, take Thy knowledge, take Thy
ignorance. Give me only pure love for Thy Lotus Feet.' I didn't ask for
anything else.
"As is the disease, so must the remedy be. The Lord says in the Gita:
'O Arjuna, take refuge in Me. I shall deliver you from all sins.' Take
shelter at His feet. He will give you right understanding. He will take
entire responsibility for you. Then you will get rid of the typhoid.
Can
one ever know God with such a mind as this? Can one pour four seers of
milk into a one-seer pot? Can we ever know God unless He lets us know
Him? Therefore I say, take shelter in God. Let Him do whatever He
likes. He is self-willed. What power is there in a man?"