How the Lord Himself is deluded by His own maya — The Anahata sound — Reincarnation — The "ego of Devotion" — The "ego of Knowledge" — The signs of a jnani — The ego of a jnani — Jnani looks on the world as illusory — The state of a vijnani — Master's adherence to truth — A teacher must renounce the world — Synthesis of jnana and bhakti — Friction between different religious sects — Harmony of religions — Our duties to father and mother — Through divine love man transcends his worldly duties.
Saturday, April 5, 1884
IT WAS ABOUT EIGHT O'CLOCK in the
morning when M. arrived at the temple
garden and found Sri Ramakrishna seated on the small couch in his room.
A few devotees were sitting on the floor. The Master was talking to
them.
Prankrishna Mukherji was there.
Prankrishna belonged to an aristocratic family and lived in the
northern
part of Calcutta. He held a high post in an English business firm. He
was
very much devoted to Sri Ramakrishna and, though a householder, derived
great pleasure from the study of Vedanta philosophy. He was a frequent
visitor at the temple garden. Once he invited the Master to his house
in
Calcutta and held a religious festival. Every day, early in the
morning, he
bathed in the holy water of the Ganges. Whenever it was convenient, he
would come to Dakshineswar in a hired country boat.
That morning he had hired a boat and invited M. to accompany him to
Dakshineswar. The boat had hardly left shore when the river became
choppy. M. had become frightened and begged Prankrishna to put him back
on land. In spite of assurances, M. had kept saying: "You must put me
ashore. I shall walk to Dakshineswar." And so M. came on foot and found
Sri Ramakrishna talking to Prankrishna and the others.
MASTER (to Prankrishna): "But there
is a greater manifestation of God
in man. You may ask, 'How is it possible for God to be incarnated as a
man who suffers from hunger, thirst, and the other traits of an
embodied
being, and perhaps also from disease and grief?' The reply is, 'Even
Brahman
weeps, entrapped in the snare of the five elements.'
"Don't you know how Rama had to weep, stricken with grief for Sita?
Further, it is said that the Lord incarnated Himself as a sow in order
to kill
the demon Hiranyaksha. Hiranyaksha was eventually killed, but God would
not go back to His abode in heaven. He enjoyed His sow's life. He had
given birth to several young ones and was rather happy with them. The
gods said among themselves: 'What does this mean? The Lord doesn't care
to return to heaven!' They all went to Siva and laid the matter before
him.
Siva came down and urged the Lord to leave the sow body and return to
heaven. But the sow only suckled her young ones. (Laughter.)
Then Siva
destroyed the sow body with his trident, and the Lord came out laughing
aloud and went back to His own abode."
PRANKRISHNA (to the Master):
"Sir, what is the Anahata sound?"
MASTER: "It is a spontaneous sound
constantly going on by itself. It is
the sound of the Pranava, Om. It originates in the Supreme Brahman and
is heard by yogis. People immersed in worldliness do not hear it. A
yogi
alone knows that this sound originates both from his navel and from the
Supreme Brahman resting on the Ocean of Milk."1
PRANKRISHNA: "Sir, what is the nature
of the life after death?"
MASTER: "Keshab Sen also asked that
question. As long as a man remains
ignorant, that is to say, as long as he has not realized God, so long
will he
be born. But after attaining Knowledge he will not have to come back to
this earth or to any other plane of existence.
"The potter puts his pots in the sun to dry. Haven't you noticed that
among them there are both baked and unbaked ones? When a cow happens
to walk over them, some of the pots get broken to pieces. The broken
pots
that are already baked, the potter throws away, since they are of no
more
use to him. But the soft ones, though broken, he gathers up. He makes
them into a lump and out of this forms new pots. In the same way, so
long
as a man has not realized God, he will have to come back to the
Potter's
hand, that is, he will have to be born again and again.
"What is the use of sowing a boiled paddy grain? It will never bring
forth a shoot. Likewise, if a man is boiled in the fire of Knowledge,
he will
not be used for new creation. He is liberated.
"According to the Puranas, the bhakta and the Bhagavan are two separate
entities. 'I' am one and 'You' are another. The body is a plate, as it
were,
containing the water of mind, intelligence, and ego. Brahman is like
the
sun. It is reflected in the water. Therefore the devotee sees the
divine form.
"According to the Vedanta, Brahman alone is real and all else is maya,
dreamlike and unsubstantial. The ego, like a stick, lies across the
Ocean of
Satchidananda. (To M.) Listen to what I am saying.
When this ego is
taken away, there remains only one undivided Ocean of Satchidananda.
But as long as the stick of ego remains, there is an appearance of two:
here
is one part of the water and there another part. Attaining the
Knowledge
of Brahman one is established in samadhi. Then the ego is effaced.
"But Sankaracharya retained the 'ego of Knowledge'2
in order to teach
men. (To Prankrishna) But there are signs that
distinguish the man of
Knowledge. Some people think they have Knowledge. What are the
characteristics
of Knowledge? A jnani cannot injure anybody. He becomes like a
child. If a steel sword touches the philosopher's stone, it is
transformed into
gold. Gold can never cut. It may seem from the outside that a jnani
also
has anger or egotism, but in reality he has no such thing.
"From a distance a burnt string lying on the ground may look like a
real
one; but if you come near and blow at it, it disappears altogether. The
anger and egotism of a jnani are mere appearances; they are not real.
"A child has no attachment. He makes a play house, and if anyone
touches it, he will jump about and cry. The next moment he himself will
break it. This moment he may be very attached to his cloth. He says:
'My
daddy has given it to me. I won't part with it.' But the next moment
you
can cajole him away from it with a toy. He will go away with you,
leaving
the cloth behind.
"These are the characteristics of a jnani. Perhaps he has many luxuries
at home — couch, chairs, paintings, and equipage. But any day he may
leave
all these and go off to Benares.
"According to Vedanta the waking state, too, is unreal. Once a
wood-cutter
lay dreaming, when someone woke him up. Greatly annoyed, he
said: 'Why have you disturbed my sleep? I was dreaming that I was a
king
and the father of seven children. The princes were becoming well versed
in letters and military arts. I was secure on my throne and ruled over
my
subjects. Why have you demolished my world of joy?' 'But that was a
mere
dream', said the other man. 'Why should that bother you?' Fool!' said
the
wood-cutter. 'You don't understand. My becoming a king in the dream was
just as real as is mv being a wood-cutter. If being a wood-cutter is
real, then
being a king in a dream is real also.'"
Prankrishna always talked about jnana. Was this why the Master
described
the state of the jnani? Now he proceeded to describe the state of the
vijnani.
MASTER: "Jnana is the realization of Self
through the process of 'Neti, neti', 'Not this, not this'. One goes
into
samadhi through this process of elimination and realizes the Atman.
"But vijnana means Knowledge with a greater fullness. Some have heard
of milk, some have seen milk, and some have drunk milk. He who has
merely heard of it is 'ignorant'. He who has seen it is a jnani. But he
who
has drunk it has vijnana, that is to say, a fuller knowledge of it.
After having
the vision of God one talks to Him as if He were an intimate relative.
That
is vijnana.
"First of all you must discriminate, following the method of 'Neti,
neti':
'He is not the five elements, nor the sense-organs, nor the mind, nor
the
intelligence, nor the ego. He is beyond all these cosmic principles.'
You
want to climb to the roof; then you must eliminate and leave behind all
the steps, one by one. The steps are by no means the roof. But after
reaching
the roof you find that the steps are made of the same materials —
brick,
lime, and brick-dust — as the roof. It is the Supreme Brahman that has
become
the universe and its living beings and the twenty-four cosmic
principles.
That which is Atman has become the five elements. You may ask
why the earth is so hard, if it has come out of Atman? All is possible
through
the will of God. Don't you see that bone and flesh are made from blood
and semen? How hard 'sea-foam'3
becomes!
"After attaining vijnana one can live in the world as well. Then one
clearly realizes that God Himself has become the universe and all
living
beings, that He is not outside the world.
(To Prankrishna) "The fact is that one must have the
'spiritual eye'.
You will develop that eye as soon as your mind becomes pure. Take for
instance the Kumari Puja. I worshipped a virgin. The girl, to be sure,
had
all her human imperfections; still I regarded her as the Divine Mother
Herself.
"On one side is the wife and on the other the son. Love is bestowed on
both, but in different ways. Therefore it comes to this, that
everything
depends upon the mind. The pure mind acquires a new attitude. Through
that mind one sees God in this world. Therefore one needs spiritual
discipline.
"Yes, spiritual discipline is necessary. You should know that a man
becomes easily attached to a woman. A woman naturally loves a man, and
a man also naturally loves a woman. Therefore both fall speedily from
their spiritual ideal. But it also must be said that there is a great
advantage
in leading the life of a householder. In case of urgent necessity a man
may
live with his wife.
(Smiling) "Well, M., why are you smiling?"
M. (to himself): "The Master makes this much
allowance for householders
since they cannot renounce everything. Is complete and absolute
continence impossible for a householder?"
The hathayogi who had been living in the Panchavati entered the room.
He was in the habit of taking milk and opium. He did not eat rice or
other
food and had no money to buy the milk and opium. The Master had talked
with him in the Panchavati. The hathayogi had told Rakhal to ask the
Master to make some provision for him, and Sri Ramakrishna had promised
ito speak about it to the visitors from Calcutta.
HATHAYOGI (to the Master): "What
did you say to Rakhal about me?"
MASTER: "I said that I would ask some rich
visitors to help you. But —
(to Prankrishna) you, perhaps, do not like these
yogis?"
Prankrishna remained silent. The hathayogi left the room and the
conversation
went on.
MASTER (to Prankrishna and the others):
"If a man leads a householder's
life he must have unflagging devotion to truth. God can be realized
through
truth alone. Formerly I was very particular about telling the truth,
though
now my zeal has abated a little. If I said, 'I shall bathe', then I
would get
into the water of the Ganges, recite the mantra, and sprinkle a little
water
over my head. But still there would remain some doubt in me as to
whether
my bath was complete. Once I went to Ram's house in Calcutta. I
happened
to say, 'I shall not take any luchi.' When I sat down for the meal
I felt hungry. But I had said I would not eat the luchi; so I had to
fill my
stomach with sweets. (All laugh.)
"But my zeal for truthfulness has abated a little now. Once I said I
would go to the pine-grove, but then I felt I had no particular urge to
go.
What was to be done? I asked Ram (Ram Chatterji,
the priest in the Radihakanta temple.) about it. He said I didn't have
to go.
Then I reasoned to myself: 'Well, everyone is Narayana. So Ram, too, is
Narayana. Why shouldn't I listen to him? The elephant is Narayana no
doubt, but the mahut is Narayana too. Since the mahut asked me not to
go
near the elephant, then why shouldn't I obey him?' Through reasoning
like
this my zeal for truthfulness is slightly less strong now than before.
"I find a change coming over me. Years ago Vaishnavcharan said to me,
'One attains Perfect Knowledge when one sees God in man.' Now I see
that
it is God alone who is moving about in various forms: as a holy man, as
a
cheat, as a villain. Therefore I say, 'Narayana in the guise of the
sadhu,
Narayana in the guise of the cheat, Narayana in the guise of the
villain,
Narayana in the guise of the lecher.'
"Now my problem is how I can feed all of you. I want to feed everyone.
So I keep one at a time with me and feed him."
Prankrishna (looking at M. and smiling): "A fine
man, indeed! (To the
Master) He would not let us go till we put him ashore."
MASTER (smiling): "Why? What
happened?"
PRANKRISHNA: "He was in our boat. Seeing
that the river was slightly
rough, he insisted on being put ashore. (To M.) How
did you come?"
M. (smiling): "On foot."
Sri Ramakrishna laughed.
PRANKRISHNA (to the Master): "Sir,
I am thinking now of giving up
my work. One who is involved in activity cannot accomplish anything.
(Pointing to his companion) I am training him to do
my work. After I
resign, he will relieve me. Work has become intolerable."
MASTER: "Yes, work is very troublesome.
It is now good for you to meditate
on God for a few days in solitude. No doubt you say that you would
like to give up your work. Captain said the same thing. Worldly people
talk that way; but they don't succeed in carrying out their intention.
"There are many pundits who speak words of wisdom. But they merely
talk; they don't live up to them. They are like vultures, which soar
very
high but keep their gaze fixed on the charnel-pit. What I mean is that
these pundits are attached to the world, to 'woman and gold'. If I hear
that
pundits are practising discrimination and dispassion, then I fear them.
Otherwise I look upon them as mere goats and dogs."
Prankrishna saluted the Master and took his leave. He said to M., "Will
you come with us?"
M: "No, sir! Catch me going with you again! Good-bye."
Prankrishna laughed and said, "I see you won't come in the boat."
M. took a little stroll near the Panchavati and bathed in the river.
Then
he went to the temples of Radhakanta and Kali and prostrated himself
before the images. He said to himself: "I have heard that God has no
form.
Then why do I bow before these images? Is it because Sri Ramakrishna
believes in gods and goddesses with form? I don't know anything about
God, nor do I understand Him. The Master believes in images; then why
shouldn't I too, who am so insignificant a creature, accept them?"
M. looked at the image of Kali. Me saw that the Divine Mother holds
in Her two left hands a man's severed head and a sword. With Her two
right hands She offers boons and reassurance to Her devotees. In one
aspect
She is terrible, and in another She is the ever affectionate Mother of
Her
devotees. The two ideals are harmonized in Her. She is compassionate
and
affectionate to Her devotees, to those who are submissive and helpless.
It
is also true that She is terrible, the "Consort of Death". She alone
knows
why She assumes two aspects at the same time.
M. remembered this interpretation of Kali given by the Master. He said
to himself, "I have heard that Keshab accepted Kali in Sri
Ramakrishna's
presence. Is this, as Keshab used to say, the Goddess, all Spirit and
Consciousness; manifesting Herself through a clay image?"
M. returned to the Master's room and sat on the floor. Sri Ramakrishna
offered him some fruit and sweets to eat. On account of trouble in the
family, M. had recently rented a house in another section of Calcutta
near
his school, his father and brothers continuing to live in the ancestral
home.
But Sri Ramakrishna wanted him to return to his own home, since a joint
family affords many advantages to one leading a religious life. Once or
twice the Master had spoken to M. to this effect, but unfortunately he
had
not yet returned to his family. Sri Ramakrishna referred to the matter
again.
MASTER: "Tell me that you are going to your
ancestral home."
M: "I can never persuade myself to enter that place."
MASTER: "Why? Your father is making over
the whole house."
M: "I have suffered too much there. I can by no means make up my
mind to go there."
MASTER: "Whom do you fear?"
M: "All of them."
MASTER (seriously): "Isn't that
like your being afraid to get into the boat?"
The midday worship and the offering of food in the temples were over.
The bells, gongs, and cymbals of the arati were being played, and the
temple
garden was filled with joyful activity. Beggars, sadhus, and guests
hurried
to the guest-house for the noonday meal, carrying leaf or metal plates
in
their hands. M. also took some of the prasad from the Kali temple.
Sri Ramakrishna had been resting awhile after his meal when several
devotees, including Ram and Girindra, arrived. They sat down after
saluting
the Master. The conversation turned to the New Dispensation Church of
Keshab Chandra Sen.
RAM (to the Master): "Sir, I don't
think the Navavidhan has done
people any good. If Keshab Babu himself was a genuine man, why are his
disciples left in such a plight? I don't think there is anything at all
in the
New Dispensation. It is like rattling some potsherds in a room and then
locking it up. People may take it to be the jingling of coins, but
inside there
is nothing but potsherds. Outsiders don't know what is inside."
MASTER: "There must be some substance in
it. Otherwise, why should
so many people respect Keshab? Why isn't Shivanath honoured as much as
Keshab? Such a thing cannot happen without the will of God.
"But a man cannot act as an acharya without renouncing the world.
People won't respect him. They will say: 'Oh, he is a worldly man. He
secretly enjoys "woman and gold" himself but tells us that God alone is
real and the world unsubstantial, like a dream.' Unless a man renounces
everything his teachings cannot be accepted by all. Some worldly people
may follow him. Keshab led the life of a householder; hence his mind
was directed to the world also. He had to safeguard his family
interests.
That is why he left his affairs in such good order though he delivered
so
many religious lectures. What an aristocratic man he married his
daughter
to! Inside Keshab's inner apartments I saw many big bedsteads. All
these
things gradually come to one who leads a householder's life. The world
is indeed a place for enjoyment."
RAM: "Keshab Sen inherited those bedsteads
when his ancestral property
was divided. And for Keshab to take part in the division of property!
Whatever
you may say, sir, Vijay Babu told me that Keshab had said to him, "I
am a partial manifestation of Christ and Gauranga. I suggest that you
declare yourself as Advaita.' (An intimate
companion of Gauranga.) Do you know what else he said? He said that you
too were a follower of the New Dispensation." (All laugh.)
MASTER (laughing): "Who knows? But
as for myself, I don't even know
what the term 'New Dispensation' means." (Laughter.)
RAM: "Keshab's disciples say that he was
the first to harmonize jnana and bhakti."
MASTER (in surprise): "How is that?
What then of the Adhyatma
Ramayana? It is written there that, while praying to Rama,
Narada said:
'O Rama, Thou art the Supreme Brahman described in the Vedas. Thou
dwellest with us as a man; Thou appearest as a man. In reality Thou art
not a man; Thou art that Supreme Brahman.' Rama said: 'Narada, I am
very much pleased with you. Accept a boon from Me.' Narada replied:
'What boon shall I ask of Thee? Grant me pure love for Thy Lotus Feet,
and may I never be deluded by Thy world-bewitching maya!' The Adhyatma
Ramayana is full of such statements regarding jnana and
bhakti."
The conversation turned to Amrita, a disciple of Keshab.
RAM: "Amrita Babu seems to be in very bad shape."
MASTER: "Yes, he looked very ill when I saw him the other day."
RAM: "Sir, let me tell you about the
lectures of the New Dispensation.
While the drum is being played, the members cry out, 'Victory unto
Keshab!' You say that 'dal' (The word has the
double meaning of "hedge" and "sect".) grows only in a stagnant pool.
So Amrita said
one day in the course of his sermon: 'The holy man (Referring to
Sri Ramakrishna.) has no doubt said that
'dal' grows in a stagnant pool. But, brothers, we want 'dal', we want a
sect.
Really and truly, I tell you that we want a sect.'"
MASTER: "What nonsense! Shame on him!
What kind of sermon is that?"
The conversation drifted to the desire of some people for praise.
MASTER: "They took me to Keshab's house to
see a performance of the
Nimai-sannyas. I heard, that day, someone speaking
of Keshab and Pratap
as Chaitanya and Nityananda. Prasanna asked me, 'Who are you then?'
Keshab looked at me to see what I would say. I said to him, 'I am the
servant
of your servant, the dust of the dust of your feet.' Keshab said with a
smile,
'You can't catch him!'"
RAM: "Sometimes Keshab used to say you
were John the Baptist."
A DEVOTEE: "But Keshab also said you were
the Chaitanya of the nineteenth century [said in
English]."
MASTER: "What does that mean?"
DEVOTEE: "That Chaitanya has been incarnated
again in the present century of the Christian era, and that you are he."
MASTER (absent-mindedly): "What of
it? Can you tell me now how my arm can be cured? This arm is worrying
me so much."
They talked about Trailokya's music. Trailokya sang devotional songs in
Keshab's Brahmo Samaj.
MASTER: "Ah! How nice his songs are!"
RAM: "Do you think they are genuine?"
MASTER: "Yes, they are. Otherwise, why should I be so drawn to them?"
RAM: "He has composed his songs by borrowing
your ideas. While conducting the worship Keshab Sen described your
feelings and
realizations, and Trailokya Babu composed songs accordingly. Take this
song, for instance:
There is an overflow of Joy in the market-place of Love;
See how the Lord sports with His own in the ecstasy of Bliss!
He saw you enjoying divine bliss in the company of devotees
and wrote
songs like this."
MASTER (with a smile): "Stop! Don't
torment me any more. Why should I be involved in all this?" (All
laugh.)
GIRINDRA: "The Brahmos say that the
Paramahamsadeva has no faculty for organization
[said in English]."
MASTER: "What does that mean?"
M: "That you don't know how to lead a sect; that your intellect is
rather
dull. They say things like that." (All laugh.)
MASTER (to Ram): "Now tell me why
my arm was hurt. Stand up and deliver a lecture on that. (Laughter.)
"The Brahmos insist that God is formless. Suppose they do. It is enough
to call on Him with sincerity of heart. If the devotee is sincere, then
God,
who is the Inner Guide of all, will certainly reveal to the devotee His
true
nature.
"But it is not good to say that what we ourselves think of God is the
only truth and what others think is false, that because we think of God
as
formless, therefore He is formless and cannot have any form; that
because
we think of God as having form, therefore He has form and cannot be
formless. Can a man really fathom God's nature?
"This kind of friction exists between the Vaishnavas and the Saktas;
The
Vaishnava says, 'My Kesava is the only Saviour', whereas the Sakta
insists,
'My Bhagavati is the only Saviour.'
"Once I took Vaishnavcharan to Mathur Babu. Now, Vaishnavcharan was
a very learned Vaishnava and an orthodox devotee of his sect. Mathur,
on
the other hand, was a devotee of the Divine Mother. They were engaged
in a friendly discussion when suddenly Vaishnavcharan said, 'Kesava is
the
only Saviour.' No sooner did Mathur hear this than his ,face became red
with anger and he blurted out, 'You rascal!' (All laugh.)
He was a Sakta.
Wasn't it natural for him to say that? I gave Vaishnavcharan a nudge.
"I see people who talk about religion constantly quarrelling with one
another. Hindus, Mussalmans, Brahmos, Saktas, Vaishnavas, Saivas, all
quarrel with one another. They haven't the intelligence to understand
that He
who is called Krishna is also Siva and the Primal Sakti, and that it is
He,
again, who is called Jesus and Allah. There is only one Rama and He has
a thousand names.'
"Truth is one; only It is called by different names. All people are
seeking
the same Truth; the variance is due to climate, temperament, and name.
A
lake has many ghats. From one ghat the Hindus take water in jars and
call
it 'jal'. From another ghat the Mussalmans take water in leather bags
and
call it 'pani'. From a third the Christians take the same thing and
call it
'water'. (All laugh.) Suppose someone says that the
thing is not 'jal' but
'pani', or that it is not 'pani' but 'water', or that it is not 'water'
but 'jal',
It would indeed be ridiculous. But this very thing is at the root of
the
friction among sects, their misunderstandings and quarrels. This is why
people
injure and kill one another, and shed blood, in the name of religion.
But
this is not good. Everyone is going toward God. They will all realize
Him
if they have sincerity and longing of heart.
(To M.) "This is for you. All scriptures — the
Vedas, the Puranas, the
Tantras — seek Him alone and no one else, only that one Satchidananda.
That which is called Satchidananda Brahman in the Vedas is called
Satchidananda
Siva in the Tantra. Again it is He alone who is called Satchidananda
Krishna in the Puranas."
The Master was told that now and then Ram cooked his own food at home.
MASTER (to M.): "Do you too cook your own meals?"
M: "No, sir."
MASTER: "You may try it. With your meals take a little clarified butter
made from cow's milk. That will purify your body and mind."
A long conversation ensued about Ram's household affairs. Ram's father
was a devout Vaishnava and worshipped Krishna daily at home. He had
married a second time when Ram was quite young. Both the father and the
stepmother lived with Ram at Ram's house. But Ram was never happy with
his stepmother, and this sometimes created a misunderstanding between
himself and his father.
They were talking about this when Ram said, "My father has gone to the
dogs!"
MASTER (to the devotees): "Did you
hear that? The father has gone to the dogs and the son is all right!"
RAM: "There is no peace when my stepmother
comes home. There is always some trouble or other. Our family is about
to break
up. So I say, let her live with her father."
GIRINDRA (to Ram): "Why don't you
too keep your wife at her father's home?" (Laughter.)
MASTER (smiling): "Are husband and
wife like earthen pots or jars, that you may keep the pot in one place
and the
lid in another? Siva in one place and Sakti in another?"
RAM: "Sir, we are quite happy. But when
she comes the family is broken up. If such is the case —"
MASTER: "Then build them a separate home.
That will be a different
thing. You will defray their monthly expenses. How worthy of worship
one's parents are! Rakhal asked me if he could take the food left on
his
father's plate. 'What do you mean?' I said. "What have you become that
you cannot?' But it is also true that good people won't give anyone,
even a
dog, the food from their plates."
GIRINDRA: "Sir, suppose one's parents are
guilty of a terrible crime, a heinous sin?"
MASTER: "What if they are? You must not
renounce your mother even
if she commits adultery. The woman guru of a certain family became
corrupt.
The members of the family said that they would like to make the
son of the guru their spiritual guide. But I said: 'How is that? Will
you
accept the shoot and give up the yam? Suppose she is corrupt; still you
must
regard her as your Ishta. "Though my guru visits the tavern, still to
me he
is the holy Nityananda."'
"Are father and mother mere trifles? No spiritual practice will bear
fruit
unless they are pleased. Chaitanya was intoxicated with the love of
God.
Still, before taking to the monastic life, for how many days did he try
to
persuade his mother to give him her permission to become a monk! He
said to
her: "Mother, don't worry. I shall visit you every now and then.'
(To M., reproachfully) "And let me say this to you.
Your father and
mother brought you up. You yourself are the father of several children.
Yet
you have left home with your wife. You have cheated your parents. "You
have come away with your wife and children, and you feel you have
become
a holy man. Your father doesn't need any money from you; otherwise I
should have cried, 'Shame on you!'"
Everybody in the room became grave and remained silent.
MASTER: "A man has certain debts to pay: his
debts to the gods and
rishis, and his debts to mother, father, and wife. He cannot achieve
anything
without paying the debt he owes to his parents. A man is indebted
to his wife as well. Harish has renounced his wife and is living here.
If he
had left her unprovided for, then I should have called him an
abominable
wretch.
"After attaining Knowledge you will regard that very wife as the
manifestation of the Divine Mother Herself. It is written in the Chandi,
'The
Goddess dwells in all beings as the Mother.' It is She who has become
your
mother.
"All the women you see are only She, the Divine Mother. That is why
I cannot rebuke even Brinde, the maidservant. There are people who
spout
verses from the scriptures and talk big, but in their conduct they are
quite
different. Ramprasanna is constantly busy procuring opium and milk for
the hathayogi. He says that Manu enjoins it upon man to serve the
sadhu.
But his old mother hasn't enough to eat. She walks to the market to buy
her own groceries. It makes me very angry.
"But here you have to consider another thing. When a man is intoxicated
with ecstatic love of God, then who is his father or mother or wife?
His
love of God is so intense that he becomes mad with it. Then he has no
duty
to perform. He is free from all debts. What is this divine
intoxication? In
this state a man forgets the world. He also forgets his own body, which
is
so dear to all. Chaitanya had this intoxication. He plunged into the
ocean
not knowing that it was the ocean. He dashed himself again and again on
the
ground. He was not aware of hunger, of thirst, or of sleep. He was not
at
all conscious of any such thing as his body."
All at once Sri Ramakrishna exclaimed, "Ah, Chaitanya!" and stood up.
MASTER (to the devotees): "Chaitanya
means 'Undivided Consciousness'. Vaishnavcharan used to say that
Gauranga was
like a bubble in the Ocean of Undivided Consciousness.
(To the elder Gopal4)
"Do you intend to go on a pilgrimage now?"
GOPAL: "Yes, sir. I should like to wander
about a little."
RAM (to Gopal): "He [meaning the
Master] says that one becomes a
kutichaka after being a vahudaka. The sadhu that visits many holy
places is
called a vahudaka. He whose craving for travel has been satiated and
who
sits down in one place is called a kutichaka.
"He also tells us a parable. Once a bird sat on the mast of a ship.
When
the ship sailed through the mouth of the Ganges into the 'black waters'
of
the ocean, the bird failed to notice the fact. When it finally became
aware
of the ocean, it left the mast and flew north in search of land. But it
found
no limit to the water and so returned. After resting awhile it flew
south.
There too it found no limit to the water. Panting for breath the bird
returned
to the mast. Again, after resting awhile, it flew east and then west.
Finding
no limit to the water in any direction, at last it settled down on the
mast
of the ship."
MASTER (to the elder Gopal and the other
devotees): "As long as a man feels that God is 'there', he is
ignorant.
But he attains Knowledge when he feels that God is 'here'.
"A man wanted a smoke. He went to a neighbour's house to light his
charcoal. It was the dead of night and the household was asleep. After
he
had knocked a great deal, someone came down to open the door. At sight
of the man he asked, 'Hello! What's the matter?' The man replied:
'Can't
you guess? You know how fond I am of smoking. I have come here to light
my charcoal.' The neighbour said: 'Ha! Ha! You are a fine man indeed!
You
took the trouble to come and do all this knocking at the door! Why, you
have a lighted lantern in your hand!' (All laugh.)
"What a man seeks is very near him. Still he wanders about from place
to place."
RAM: "Sir, I now realize why a guru asks
some of his disciples to visit
the four principal holy places of the country. Once having wandered
about,
the disciple discovers that it is the same here as there. Then he
returns to
the guru. All this wandering is only to create faith in the guru's
words."
After this conversation had come to an end, Sri Ramakrishna extolled
Ram's virtues.
MASTER (to the devotees): "How many
fine qualities Ram possesses! How
many devotees he serves and looks after! (To Ram.)
Adhar told me that
you showed him great kindness."
Adhar, a beloved householder devotee of the Master, had recently
arranged some religious music at his house. The Master and many
devotees
had been present. But Adhar had forgotten to invite Ram, who was a very
proud man and had complained about it to his friends. So Adhar had gone
to Ram's house to express his regret for the mistake.
RAM: "It wasn't really Adhar's mistake.
I have come to know that Rakhal is to blame. Rakhal was given charge —"
MASTER: "You mustn't find fault with
Rakhal. He's a mere child. Even
now you can bring out his mother's milk by squeezing his throat."
RAM: "Sir, why should you speak that way?
It was such an occasion!"
MASTER: (interrupting): "Adhar
simply didn't remember to invite you.
He is absent-minded. The other day he went with me to Jadu Mallick's
house. As we took our leave, I said to him, 'You haven't offered
anything to
the Goddess in the chapel.' 'Sir,' he said, 'I didn't know one should.'
(To Ram) "Suppose he didn't invite you to his house.
Why such a fuss
about going to a place where the name of the Lord was sung? One may go
unasked to participate in religious music. One doesn't have to be
invited."