Passions should be directed to God — Money is the source of trouble — Do your duties and remember God — Means of Self-realization — Keeping the pictures of holy persons — God in human forms — Divine Incarnation — Master and Keshab — God, the scripture, and the devotee are identical — Brahman and Sakti — Difficulties of householder's life — The three gunas — The bondage of "woman and gold" — Corrupting influence of lust — Prema — Strict rules for sannyasi's life — The sannyasi is a world teacher.
Saturday, May 24, 1884
SRI RAMAKRISHNA was sitting on the small
couch in his room. Rakhal,
M., and several other devotees were present. A special worship of
Kali had been performed in the temple the previous night. In connexion
with the worship a theatrical performance of the Vidyasundar
had
been staged in the natmandir. The Master had watched a part of it that
morning. The actors came to his room to pay him their respects. The
Master, in a happy mood, became engaged in conversation with a fair
complexioned young man who had taken the part of Vidya and played his
part very well.
MASTER (to the actor): "Your acting
was very good. If a person excels in
singing, music, dancing, or any other art, he can also quickly realize
God
provided he strives sincerely.
"Just as you practise much in order to sing, dance, and play on
instruments,
so one should practise the art of fixing the mind on God. One should
practise regularly such disciplines as worship, japa, and meditation.
"Are you married? Any children?"
ACTOR: "Yes, sir. I had a girl who died.
Another child has been born."
MASTER: "Ah! A death and a birth, and all
so quickly! You are so young!
There is a saying: 'My husband died just after our marriage. There are
so
many nights for me to weep!' You are no doubt realizing the nature of
worldly happiness. The world is like a hog plum. The hog plum has only
pit and skin, and after eating it you suffer from colic.
"You are an actor in the theatre. That's fine. But it is a very painful
profession. You are young now; so you have a full, round face.
Afterwards
there will be hollows in your cheeks. Almost all actors become like
that;
they get hollow cheeks and big bellies. (Laughter.)
"Why did I stay to watch your performance? I found the rhythm, the
music, and the melody all correct. Then the Divine Mother showed me
that it was God alone who acted in the performance in the roles of the
players."
ACTOR: "Sir, what is the difference between lust and desire?"
MASTER: "Lust is like the root of the
tree, and desires are branches and twigs.
"One cannot completely get rid of the six passions: lust, anger, greed,
and the like. Therefore one should direct them to God. If you must have
desire and greed, then you should desire love of God and be greedy to
attain
Him. If you must be conceited and egotistic, then feel conceited and
egotistic
thinking that you are the servant of God, the child of God.
"A man cannot see God unless he gives his whole mind to Him. The
mind is wasted on 'woman and gold'. Take your own case. You have
children
and are occupied with the theatre. The mind cannot he united with God
on
account of these different activities.
"As long as there is bhoga, there will be less of yoga. Furthermore,
bhoga
begets suffering. It is said in the Bhagavata that
the Avadhuta chose a kite as
one of his twenty-four gurus. The kite had a fish in its beak; so it
was
surrounded by a thousand crows. Whichever way it flew with the fish,
the
crows pursued it crying, 'Caw! Caw!' When all of a sudden the fish
dropped
from its beak, the crows flew after the fish, leaving the kite alone.
"The 'fish' is the object of enjoyment. The 'crows' are worries and
anxiety.
Worries and anxiety are inevitable with enjoyment. No sooner does one
give up enjoyment than one finds peace.
"What is more, money itself becomes a source of trouble. Brothers may
live happily, but they get into trouble when the property is divided.
Dogs
lick one another's bodies; they are perfectly friendly. But when the
householder throws them a little food, they get into a scrap.
"Come here now and then. (Pointing to M. and the others)
They come
here on Sundays and other holidays."
ACTOR: "We have holidays for three months,
during the rainy and
harvest seasons. It is our good fortune to be able to visit you. On our
way
to Dakshineswar we heard of two persons — yourself and Jnanarnava."
MASTER: "Be on friendly terms with your
brothers. It looks well. You must have noticed in your theatrical
performance
that if four singers sing each in a different way, the play is spoiled."
ACTOR: "Yes, sir. Many birds are trapped in
a net; if they all fly together
and drag the net in one direction, then many of them may be saved. But
that
doesn't happen if they try to fly in different directions.
"One also sees in a theatrical performance a person keeping a pitcher
of
water on his head and at the same time dancing about."
MASTER: "Live in the world but keep the
pitcher steady on your head; that is to say, keep the mind firmly on
God.
"I once said to the sepoys from the barracks: 'Do your duty in the
world
but remember that the "pestle of death" will some time smash your hand.
Be
alert about it.'
"In Kamarpukur I have seen the women of carpenter families making
flattened rice with a husking-machine. One woman kicks the end of the
wooden beam, and another woman, while nursing her baby, turns the
paddy in the mortar dug in the earth. The second woman is always alert'
lest the pestle of the machine should fall on her hand. With the other
hand
she fries the soaked paddy in a pan. Besides, she is talking with
customers;
she says: 'You owe us so much money. Please pay it before you go.'
Likewise,
do your different duties in the world, fixing your mind on God. But
practice is necessary, and one should also be alert. Only in this way
can
one safeguard both — God and the world."
ACTOR: "Sir, what is the proof that the
soul is separate from the body?"
MASTER: "Proof? God can be seen. By
practising spiritual discipline one
sees God, through His grace. The rishis directly realized the Self. One
cannot know the truth about God through science. Science gives us
information
only about things perceived by the senses, as for instance: this
material
mixed with that material gives such and such a result, and that
material
mixed with this material gives such and such a result.
"For this reason a man cannot comprehend spiritual things with his
ordinary intelligence. To understand them he must live in the company
of
holy persons. You learn to feel the pulse by living with a physician."
ACTOR: "Yes, sir. Now I understand."
MASTER: "You must practise tapasya.
Only then can you attain the goal. It will avail you nothing even if
you learn
the texts of the scriptures by heart. You cannot become intoxicated by
merely
saying 'siddhi' over and over. You must swallow some.
"One cannot explain the vision of God to others. One cannot explain
conjugal happiness to a child five years old."
ACTOR: "How does one realize the Atman?"
Just then Rakhal was about to take his meal in the Master's room. He
hesitated at the sight of so many people. During those days the Master
looked on Rakhal as Gopala and on himself as Mother Yasoda.
MASTER (to Rakhal): "Why don't you
eat? Let the people stand aside if
you wish it. (To a devotee) Keep some ice for
Rakhal. (To Rakhal)
Do you intend to go to Vanhooghly? Don't go in this sun."
Rakhal sat down to his meal. Sri Ramakrishna again spoke to the actor.
MASTER: "Why didn't all of you take your
meal from the kitchen of the Kali temple? That would have been nice."
ACTOR: "All of us don't have the same
opinion about food; so our food is
cooked separately. All don't like to eat in the guest-house."
While Rakhal was taking his meal, the Master and the devotees sat on
the porch and continued their conversation.
MASTER (to the actor): "You asked me
about Self-realization. Longing is
the means of realizing Atman. A man must strive to attain God with all
his
body, with all his mind, and with all his speech. Because of an excess
of
bile one gets jaundice. Then one sees everything as yellow; one
perceives
no colour but yellow. Among you actors, those who take only the roles
of
women acquire the nature of a woman; by thinking of woman your ways
and thoughts become womanly. Just so, by thinking day and night of God
one acquires the nature of God.
"The mind is like white linen just returned from the laundry. It takes
on the colour you dip it in."
ACTOR : "But it must first be sent to the laundry."
MASTER: "Yes. First is the purification of
the mind. Afterwards, if you
direct the mind to the contemplation of God, it will be coloured by
God-Consciousness. Again, if you direct the mind to worldly duties,
such as the
acting of a play, it will be coloured by worldliness."
Sri Ramakrishna had rested on his bed only a few minutes when Hari,1
Narayan, Narendra Bannerji, and other devotees arrived from Calcutta
and
saluted him. Narendra Bannerji was the son of the professor of Sanskrit
at
the Presidency College of Calcutta. Because of friction with other
members
of the family, he had rented a separate house where he lived with his
wife
and children. Narendra was a very simple and guileless man. He
practised
spiritual discipline and, at the time of meditation, heard various
sounds —
the sound of a gong, and so on. He had travelled in different parts of
India
and he visited the Master now and then.
Narayan was a schoolboy sixteen or seventeen years old. He often
visited
the Master, who was very fond of him.
Hari lived with his brothers at their Baghbazar house. He had studied
up
to the matriculation class in the General Assembly Institution. Then he
had
given up his studies and devoted his time at home to the contemplation
of God, the reading of the scriptures, and the practice of yoga. He
also
visited the Master now and then. Sri Ramakrishna often sent for Hari
when
he went to Balaram's house in Baghbazar.
MASTER (to the devotees): "I have
heard a great deal about Buddha. He
is one of the ten Incarnations of God. (Hindu
mythology speaks of ten Incarnations of God.) Brahman is immovable,
immutable, inactive, and of the nature of Consciousness. When a man
merges his
buddhi, his intelligence, in Bodha,
Consciousness, then he attains the
Knowledge of Brahman; he becomes buddha,
enlightened.
"Nangta used to say that the mind merges in the buddhi, and the buddhi
in Bodha, Consciousness.
"The aspirant does not attain the Knowledge of Brahman as long as he is
conscious of his ego. The ego comes under one's control after one has
obtained the Knowledge of Brahman and seen God. Otherwise the ego
cannot
be controlled. It is difficult to catch one's own shadow. But when the
sun
is overhead, the shadow is within a few inches of the body."
A DEVOTEE: "What is the vision of God like?"
MASTER: "Haven't you seen a theatrical performance? The people are
engaged in conversation, when suddenly the curtain goes up. Then the
entire mind of the audience is directed to the play. The people don't
look
at other things any longer. Samadhi is to go within oneself like that.
When
the curtain is rung down, people look around again. Just so, when the
curtain of maya falls, the mind becomes externalized.
(To Narendra Bannerji) "You have travelled a great
deal. Tell us
something about the sadhus."
Narendra told the story of two yogis in Bhutan who used to drink daily
a pound of the bitter juice of neem-leaves. He had also visited the
hermitage
of a holy man on the bank of the Narmada. At the sight of the Bengali
Babu dressed in European clothes, the sadhu had remarked, "He has a
knife
hidden under his clothes, next to his belly."
MASTER: "One should keep pictures of holy
men in one's room. That constantly quickens divine ideas."
BANNERJI: "I have your picture in my room;
also the picture of a sadhu living in the mountains, blowing on a piece
of
lighted charcoal in a bowl of hemp." (Many
wandering monks smoke Indian hemp.)
MASTER: "It is true that one's spiritual
feelings are awakened by looking
at the picture of a sadhu. It is like being reminded of the
custard-apple by
looking at an imitation one, or like stimulating the desire for
enjoyment
by looking at a young woman. Therefore I tell you that you should
constantly
live in the company of holy men.
(To Bannerji) "You know very well the suffering of
the world. You
suffer whenever you accept enjoyment. As long as the kite kept the fish
in
its beak, it was tormented by the flock of crows.
"One finds peace of mind in the company of holy men. The alligator
remains under water a long time. But every now and then it rises to the
surface and breathes with a deep wheezing noise. Then it gives a sigh
of
relief."
ACTOR: "Revered sir, what you have just
said about enjoyment is very
true. One ultimately courts disaster if one prays to God for enjoyment.
Various desires come to the mind and by no means all of them are good.
God is the Kalpataru, the Wish-fulfilling Tree. A man gets whatever he
asks of God. Suppose it comes to his mind: 'God is the Kalpataru. Well,
let
me see if a tiger will appear before me.' Because he thinks of the
tiger, it
really appears and devours him."
MASTER: "Yes, you must remember that the
tiger comes. What more shall
I tell you? Keep your mind on God. Don't forget Him. God will certainly
reveal Himself to you if you pray to Him with sincerity. Another thing,
Sing the name of God at the end of each performance. Then the actors,
the singers, and the audience will go home with the thought of God in
their minds."
The actors saluted the Master and took their leave.
Two ladies, devotees of Sri Ramakrishna, entered the room and saluted
the Master. They had been fasting in preparation for this visit. They
were
sisters-in-law, the wives of two brothers, and were twenty-two or
twenty-
three years old. They were mothers of children. Both of them had their
faces covered with veils.
MASTER (to the ladies): "Worship
Siva. This worship is described in a
book called the Nityakarma. Learn the rituals from
it. In order to perform
the worship of God you will be preoccupied for a long time with such
religious duties as plucking flowers, making sandal-paste, polishing
the
utensils of worship, and arranging offerings. As you perform these
duties
your mind will naturally be directed to God. You will get rid of
meanness,
anger, jealousy, and so forth. When you two sisters talk to each other,
always talk about spiritual matters.
"The thing is somehow to unite the mind with God. You must not forget
Him, not even once. Your thought of Him should be like the flow of oil,
without any interruption. It you worship with love even a brick or
stone as
God, then through His grace you can see Him.
"Remember what I have just said to you. One should perform such
worship as the Siva Puja. Once the mind has become mature, one doesn't
have to continue formal worship for long. The mind then always remains
united with God; meditation and contemplation become a constant habit
of mind."
ELDER SISTER-IN-LAW: "Will you please give
us some instruction?"
MASTER (affectionately): "I don't
give initiation. If a guru gives initiation
he must assume responsibility for the disciple's sin and suffering. The
Divine Mother has placed me in the state of a child. Perform the Siva
Puja
as I told you. Come here now and then. We shall see what happens later
on through the will of God. I asked you to chant the name of Hari at
home.
Are you doing that?"
ELDER SISTER-IN-LAW: "Yes."
MASTER: "Why have you fasted? You should
take your meal before you
come here. Women are but so many forms of my Divine Mother. I cannot
bear to see them suffer. You are all images of the Mother of the
Universe.
Come here after you have eaten, and you will feel happy."
Saying this, Sri Ramakrishna asked Ramlal to give the ladies some food.
They were given fruit, sweets, drinks, and other offerings from the
temple.
The Master said: "You have eaten something. Now my mind is at peace.
I cannot bear to see women fast."
It was about five o'clock in the afternoon. Sri Ramakrishna was sitting
on
the steps of the Siva temples. Adhar, Dr. Nitai, M., and several other
devotees were with him.
MASTER (to the devotees): "I want
to tell you something. A change has been coming over my nature."
The Master came down a step and sat near the devotees. It seemed that
he intended to communicate some of his deeper experiences to them.
MASTER: "You are devotees. I have no
hesitation in telling you this.
Nowadays I don't see the Spirit-form of God. He is revealed to me in
human
form. It is my nature to see the form of God, to touch and embrace Him.
God is saying to me, 'You have assumed a body; therefore enjoy God
through
His human forms.'
"God no doubt dwells in all, but He manifests Himself more through
man than through other beings. Is man an insignificant thing? He can
think
of God, he can think of the Infinite, while other living beings cannot.
God
exists in other living beings — animals, plants, nay, in all beings —,
but He
manifests Himself more through man than through these others. Fire
exists in
all beings, in all things; but its presence is felt more in wood. Rama
said to
Lakshmana: 'Look at the elephant, brother. He is such a big animal, but
he cannot think of God.'
"But in the Incarnation there is a greater manifestation of God than in
other men. Rama said to Lakshmana, 'Brother, if you see in a man
ecstatic
love of God, if he laughs, weeps, and dances in divine ecstasy, then
know
for certain that I dwell in him."
The Master remained silent. After a few minutes he resumed the
conversation.
MASTER: "Keshab Sen used to come here
frequently. As a result he
changed a great deal. Of late he became quite a remarkable man. Many a
time he came here with his party; but he also wanted to come alone. In
the
earlier years of his life Keshab didn't have much opportunity to live
in the
company of holy men.
"I visited him at his house in Colootola Street. Hriday was with me. We
were shown into the room where Keshab was working. He was writing
something. After a long while he put aside his pen, got off his chair,
and
sat on the floor with us. But he didn't salute us or show us respect in
any
other way.
"He used to come here now and then. One day in a spiritual mood I said
to him: 'One should not sit before a sadhu with one leg over the other.
That increases one's rajas.' As soon as he and his friends would
arrive, I
would salute them before they bowed to me. Thus they gradually learnt
to salute a holy man, touching the ground with their foreheads.
"I said to Keshab: 'Chant the name of Hari. In the Kaliyuga one should
sing the name and glories of God.' After that they began to sing the
name
of God with drums and cymbals.2
"Do you know how my faith in the name of Hari was all the more
strengthened? Holy men, as you know, frequently visit the temple
garden.
Once a sadhu from Multan arrived. He was waiting for a party going to
Gangasagar. (Pointing to M.) The sadhu was of his
age. It was he who said
to me, 'The way to realize God in the Kaliyuga is the path of bhakti as
prescribed by Narada.'
"One day Keshab came here with his followers. They stayed till ten at
night. We were all seated in the Panchavati. Pratap and several others
said
they would like to spend the night here. Keshab said: 'No, I must go. I
have some work to do.' I laughed and said: 'Can't you sleep without the
smell of your fish-basket? Once a fishwife was a guest in the house of
a
gardener who raised flowers. She came there with her empty basket,
after
selling fish in the market, and was asked to sleep in a room where
flowers
were kept. But, because of the fragrance of the flowers, she couldn't
get to
sleep for a long time. Her hostess saw her condition and said, "Hello!
Why are you tossing from side to side so restlessly?" The fishwife
said: "I
don't know, friend. Perhaps the smell of the flowers has been
disturbing my
sleep. Can you give me my fish-basket? Perhaps that will put me to
sleep."
The basket was brought to her. She sprinkled water on it and set it
near
her nose. Then she fell sound asleep and snored all night.'
"At this story the followers of Keshab burst into loud laughter.
"Keshab conducted the prayer that evening at the bathing-ghat on the
river. After the worship I said to him: 'It is God who manifests
Himself, in
one aspect, as the scriptures; therefore one should worship the sacred
books,
such as the Vedas, the Puranas, and the Tantras. In another aspect He
has
become the devotee. The heart of the devotee is God's drawing-room. One
can easily find one's master in the drawing-room. Therefore, by
worshipping
His devotee, one worships God Himself.'
"Keshab and his followers listened to my words with great attention. It
was a full-moon night. The sky was flooded with light. We were seated
in
the open court at the top of the stairs leading to the river. I said,
'Now let
us all chant, "Bhagavata — Bhakta — Bhagavan."' All chanted in unison,
'Bhagavata — Bhakta — Bhagavan.' Next I said to them, 'Say, "Brahman is
verily Sakti; Sakti is verily Brahman."' Again they chanted in unison,
'Brahman is verily Sakti; Sakti is verily Brahman.' I said to them: 'He
whom
you address as Brahma is none other than She whom I call Mother. Mother
is a very sweet name.'
"Then I said to them, 'Say, "Guru — Krishna — Vaishnava."'3
At this Keshab said: 'We must not go so far, sir. If we do that, then
all will take
us for orthodox Vaishnavas.'
"I used to tell Keshab now and then: 'He whom you address as Brahma
is none other than She whom I call Sakti, the Primal Energy. It is
called
Brahman in the Vedas when It transcends speech and thought and is
without
attributes and action. I call It Sakti, Adyasakti, and so forth, when I
find
It creating, preserving, and destroying the universe.'
"I said to Keshab: 'It is extremely difficult to realize God while
leading a
worldly life. How can a typhoid patient be cured if he is kept in a
room
where tamarind, pickle, and jars of water are kept? Therefore one
should go
into solitude now and then to practise spiritual discipline. When the
trunk
of a tree becomes thick and strong, an elephant can be tied to it; but
a
young sapling is eaten by cattle.' That is why Keshab would say in his
lectures, "Live in the world after being strengthened in spiritual
life.'
(To the devotees) "You see, Keshab was a great
scholar. He lectured in
English. Many people honoured him. Queen Victoria herself talked to
him.
But when Keshab came here he would be bare-bodied and bring some fruit,
as one should when visiting a holy man. He was totally free from
egotism.
(To Adhar) "You are a scholar and a deputy
magistrate, but with all that
you are hen-pecked. Go forward. Beyond the forest of sandal-wood there
are many more valuable things: silver-mines, gold-mines, diamonds, and
other gems. The wood-cutter was chopping wood in the forest;
the brahmachari said to him, 'Go forward.'"
Sri Ramakrishna came down from the steps of the Siva temples and went
to his own room through the courtyard. The devotees were with him. Just
then Ram Chatterji came and said that the Holy Mother's attendant had
had an attack of cholera.
RAM (to the Master): "I told you about
it at ten o'clock this morning, but you didn't pay any attention to me."
MASTER: "What could I do?"
RAM: "Yes, what could you do! But there were Rakhal,
Ramlal, and others. Even they didn't pay any attention."
M: "Kishori has gone to Alambazar to get medicine."
MASTER: "Alone? Where will he get medicine?"
M: "Yes, alone. He will get it at Alambazar."
MASTER (to M.): "Tell the nurse what to do
if the illness takes a turn for the worse or if the patient feels
better."
M: "Yes, sir."
The ladies mentioned before saluted the Master and were about to take
their leave. Sri Ramakrishna again said to them: "Perform the Siva Puja
according to my instruction. And have something to eat before you come
here. Otherwise I shall feel unhappy. Come another day."
Sri Ramakrishna sat down on the porch west of his room. Narendra
Bannerji, Hari, M., and others sat by his side. The Master knew about
Narendra's family difficulties.
MASTER: "You see, all these sufferings are
'because of a piece of loin-cloth'.4
A man takes a wife and begets children; therefore he must secure a
job. The sadhu is worried about his loin-cloth, and the householder
about
his wife. Further, the householder may not live on good terms with his
relatives; so he must live separately with his wife. (With a
laugh) Chaitanya
once said to Nityananda: 'Listen to me, brother. A man entangled in
worldliness can never be free.'"
M. (to himself): "Perhaps the Master is referring to
the world of avidya.
It is the world of avidya that entangles a householder."
M. was still living in a separate house with his wife, on account of a
misunderstanding with the other members of his family.
MASTER (to Bannerji, pointing to M.): "He
also lives in a separate house.
You two will get along very well. Once two men happened to meet. One
said to the other, 'Who are you?' 'Oh, I am away from my country', was
the
other's reply. The second man then asked the first, 'And who are you,
pray?' 'Oh, I am away from my beloved', was the answer. Both were in
the
same plight; so they got along very well. (All laugh.)
"But one need not have any fear if one takes refuge in God. God
protects His
devotee."
HARI: "Well, why does it take many people such a long time to realize
Him?"
MASTER: "The truth is that a man doesn't
feel restless for God unless he
is finished with his enjoyments and duties. The physician says,
referring to
the patient: 'Let a few days pass first. Then a little medicine will do
him
good.'
"Narada said to Rama: 'Rama, You are passing Your time in Ayodhya.
How will Ravana be killed? You have taken this human body for that
purpose alone.' Rama replied: 'Narada, let the right time come. Let
Ravana's
past actions begin to bear fruit. Then everything will be made ready
for
his death.'"
HARI: "Why is there so much suffering in the world?"
MASTER: "This world is the lila of God. It
is like a game. In this game
there are joy and sorrow, virtue and vice, knowledge and ignorance,
good
and evil. The game cannot continue if sin and suffering are altogether
eliminated from the creation.
"In the game of hide-and-seek one must touch the 'granny' in order to
be free. But the 'granny' is never pleased if she is touched at the
very outset.
It is God's wish that the play should continue for some time. Then —
Out of a hundred thousand kites, at best but one or two break free;
And Thou dost laugh and clap Thy hands, O Mother, watching them!
In other words, after the practice of hard spiritual
discipline, one or two
have the vision of God, through His grace, and are liberated. Then the
Divine Mother claps Her hands in joy and exclaims, 'Bravo! There they
go!'"
HARI: "But this play of God is our death."
MASTER (smiling): "Please tell me who
you are. God alone has become
all this — maya, the universe, living beings, and the twenty-four
cosmic
principles. 'As the snake I bite, and as the charmer I cure.' It is God
Himself
who has become both vidya and avidya. He remains deluded by the maya
of avidya, ignorance. Again, with the help of the guru, He is cured by
the
maya of vidya, Knowledge.
"Ignorance, Knowledge, and Perfect Wisdom. The jnani sees that God
alone exists and is the Doer, that He creates, preserves, and destroys.
The
vijnani sees that it is God who has become all this.
"After attaining mahabhava and prema one realizes that nothing exists
but God. Bhakti pales before bhava. Bhava ripens into mahabhava and
prema.
(To Bannerji) "Do you still hear that gong-like
sound at the time of
meditation?"
BANNERJI: "Yes, sir. Every day. Besides, I
have visions of God's form. Do
such things stop after the mind has once experienced them?"
MASTER: "True. Once the wood catches fire,
it cannot be put out. (To the devotees) He knows
many things about faith."
BANNERJI: "I have too much faith."
MASTER: "Bring the women of your family
with those of Balaram's."
BANNERJI: "Who is Balaram?"
MASTER: "Don't you know Balaram? He lives
at Bosepara."
Sri Ramakrishna loved guileless people. Narendra Bannerji was
absolutely
guileless. The Master loved Niranjan5
because he, too, was without guile.
MASTER (to M.): "Why do I ask you to
see Niranjan? It is to find out if he is truly guileless."
Sunday, May 25, 1884
Mother, this is the grief that sorely grieves my heart,
That even with Thee for Mother, and though I am wide awake,
There should be robbery in my house. . . .
He continued:
In the world's busy market-place, O Syama, Thou art flying kites;
High up they soar on the wind of hope, held fast by maya's string.
Their frames are human skeletons, their sails of the three gunas made;
But all their curious workmanship is merely for ornament.
Upon the kite-strings Thou hast rubbed the manja-paste of worldliness,
So as to make each straining strand all the more sharp and strong.
Out of a hundred thousand kites, at best but one or two break free;
And Thou dost laugh and clap Thy hands, O Mother, watching them!
On favouring winds, says Ramprasad, the kites set loose will speedily
Be borne away to the Infinite, across the sea of the world.
MASTER: "'Maya's string' means wife and children.
Upon the kite-strings Thou hast rubbed the manja-paste of worldliness.
"The three gunas — sattva, rajas, and tamas — have men under their
control.
They are like three brothers. As long as sattva exists, it calls on
rajas
for help; and rajas can get help from tamas. The three gunas are so
many
robbers. Tamas kills and rajas hinds. Sattva no doubt releases man from
his
bondage, but it cannot take him to God."
VIJAY (smiling): "It is because sattva, too, is a
robber."
MASTER (smiling): "True. Sattva
cannot take man to God, but it shows him the way."
BHAVANATH: "These are wonderful words indeed."
MASTER: "Yes, this is a lofty thought."
Listening to these words of the Master, the devotees felt very happy.
MASTER: "'Woman and gold' is the cause of
bondage. 'Woman and gold'
alone constitutes samsara, the world. It is 'woman and gold' that keeps
one
from seeing God. (Holding the towel in front or his face)
Do you see my
face any more? Of course not. The towel hides it. No sooner is the
covering
of 'woman and gold' removed than one attains Chidananda, Consciousness
and Bliss.
"Let me tell you something. He who has renounced the pleasure of a
wife has verily renounced the pleasure of the world. God is very near
to
such a person."
The devotees listened to these words in silence.
MASTER (to Kedar, Vijay, and the other devotees):
"He who
has renounced the pleasure of a wife has verily renounced the pleasure
of the
world. It is 'woman and gold' that hides God. You people have such
imposing
moustaches, and yet you too are involved in 'woman and gold'. Tell me
it
isn't true. Search your heart and answer me."
VIJAY: "Yes, it is true."
Kedar remained silent.
MASTER: "I see that all are under the
control of woman. One day I went
to Captain's house. From there I was to go to Ram's house. So I said to
Captain, 'Please give me my carriage hire.' He asked his wife about it.
She
too held back and said: 'What's the matter? What's the matter?' At last
Captain said, 'Ram will take care of it.' You see, the Gita,
the Bhagavata,
and the Vedanta all bow before a woman! (All laugh.)
"A man leaves his money, his property, and everything in the hands of
his wife. But he says with affected simplicity, 'I have such a nature
that I
cannot keep even two rupees with me.'
"A man went to an office in search of a job. There were many vacancies,
but the manager did not grant his request. A friend said to the
applicant,
'Appeal to Golapi, and you will get the job.' Golapi was the manager's
mistress.
"Men do not realize how far they are dragged down by women. Once I
went to the Fort in a carriage, feeling all the while that I was going
along
a level road. At last I found that I had gone four storeys down. It was
a
sloping road.
"A man possessed by a ghost does not know he is under the ghost's
control. He thinks he is quite normal."
VIJAY (smiling): "But he can be
cured by an exorcist if he finds one."
In answer to Vijay Sri Ramakrishna only said, "That depends on the will
of God." Then he went on with his talk about women.
MASTER: "Everyone I talk to says, 'Yes,
sir, my wife is good.' Nobody
says that his wife is bad. (All laugh.) Those who
constantly live with
'woman and gold' are so infatuated with it that they don't see things
properly.
Chess-players oftentimes cannot see the right move for their pieces on
the board. But those who watch the game from a distance can understand
the moves more accurately.
"Woman is the embodiment of maya. In the course of his hymn to Rama,
Narada said: 'O Rama, all men are parts of Thee. All women are parts of
Sita, the personification of Thy maya. Please deign to grant that I may
have
pure love for Thy Lotus Feet and that I may not be deluded by Thy
world-bewitching maya. I do not want any other favour than that.'"
Surendra's younger brother and his nephews were present. The brother
worked in an office and one of the nephews was studying law.
MASTER (to Surendra's relatives): "My
advice to you is not to become
attached to the world. You see, Rakhal now understands what is
knowledge
and what is ignorance. He can discriminate between the Real and the
unreal. So I say to him: 'Go home. You may come here once in a while
and
spend a day or two with me.'
"Have a friendly relationship with one another. That will be for your
good and make you all happy. In a theatre the performance goes well
only if
the musicians sing with one voice. And that also gladdens the hearts of
the audience.
"Do your worldly duties with a part of your mind and direct most of it
to
God. A sadhu should think of God with three quarters of his mind and
with one quarter should do his other duties. He should be very alert
about
spiritual things. The snake is very sensitive in its tail. Its whole
body reacts
when it is hurt there. Similarly, the whole life of a sadhu is affected
when
his spirituality is touched."
Sri Ramakrishna was going to the pine-grove and asked Gopal of Sinthi
to take his umbrella to his room. Arrangements had been made in the
Panchavati for the kirtan. When the Master had returned and taken his
seat again among the devotees, the musician began her song. Suddenly
there came a rain-storm. The Master went back to his room with the
devotees, the musician accompanying them to continue her songs there.
MASTER (to Gopal): "Have you brought
the umbrella?"
GOPAL: "No, sir. I forgot all about it while listening to the music."
The umbrella had been left in the Panchavati and Gopal hurried to fetch
it.
MASTER: "I am generally careless, but not
to that extent. Rakhal also is
very careless. Referring to the date of an invitation, he says 'the
eleventh'
instead of 'the thirteenth'. And Gopal — he belongs in a heard of cows!"6
The musician sang a song about the monastic life of Chaitanya. Now
and then she improvised lines: "He will not look upon a woman; for that
is against the sannyasi's duty." "Eager to take away men's sorrows, he
will
not look upon a woman." "For the Lord's birth as Sri Chaitanya
otherwise
would be in vain."
The Master stood up, as he heard about Chaitanya's renunciation, and
went into samadhi. The devotees put garlands of flowers around his
neck.
Bhavanath and Rakhal supported his body lest he should fall on the
ground.
Vijay, Kedar, Ram, M., Latu, and the other devotees stood around him in
a
circle, recalling one of the scenes of Chaitanya's kirtan.
The Master gradually came down to the sense plane. He was talking to
Krishna, now and then uttering the word "Krishna". He could not say it
very distinctly because of the intensity of his spiritual emotion. He
said:
"Krishna! Krishna! Krishna! Krishna Satchidananda! Nowadays I do not
see
Your form. Now I see You both inside me and outside. I see that it is
You
who have become the universe, all living beings, the twenty-four cosmic
principles, and everything else. You alone have become mind,
intelligence,
everything. It is said in the "Hymn of Salutation to the Guru': 'I bow
down
to the Guru by whose grace I have realized Him who pervades the
indivisible
universe of the animate and the inanimate.'
"You alone are the Indivisible. Again, it is You who pervade the
universe
of the animate and the inanimate. You are verily the manifold universe;
again, You alone are its basis. O Krishna! You are my life. O Krishna!
You
are my mind. O Krishna! You are my intelligence. O Krishna! You are my
soul. O Govinda! You are my life-breath. You are my life itself."
Vijay was also in an ecstatic mood. The Master asked him, "My dear sir,
have you too become unconscious?" "No, sir", said Vijay humbly.
The music went on. The musician was singing about the blinding love
of God. As she improvised the lines:
O Beloved of my soul! Within the chamber
of my heart
I would have kept You day and night!
the Master again went into samadhi. His injured arm rested on
Bhavanath's
shoulder.
Sri Ramakrishna partly regained outer consciousness. The musician
improvised:
Why should one who, for Thy sake, has given up everything
Endure so much of suffering?
The Master bowed to the musician and sat down to listen to the
music.
Now and then he became abstracted. When the musician stopped singing,
Sri Ramakrishna began to talk to the devotees.
MASTER (to Vijay and the others): "What
is prema? He who feels it,
this intense and ecstatic love of God, not only forgets the world but
forgets
even the body, which is so dear to all. Chaitanya experienced it."
The Master explained this to the devotees by singing a song describing
the ecstatic state of prema:
Oh, when will dawn the blessed day
When tears of joy will flow from my eyes
As I repeat Lord Hari's name? . . .
The Master began to dance, and the devotees joined him. He caught M. by the arm and dragged him into the circle. Thus dancing, Sri Ramakrishna again went into samadhi. Standing transfixed, he looked like a picture on canvas. Kedar repeated the following hymn to bring his mind down from the plane of samadhi:
We worship the Brahman-Consciousness in the Lotus of the Heart,
The Undifrerentiated, who is adored by Hari, Hara, and Brahma;
Who is attained by yogis in the depths of their meditation;
The Scatterer of the fear of birth and death,
The Essence of Knowledge and Truth, the Primal Seed of the world.
Sri Ramakrishna gradually came back to the plane of normal
consciousness.
He took his seat and chanted the names of God: "Om Satchidananda!
Govinda! Govinda! Govinda! Yogamaya! Bhagavata — Bhakta — Bhagavan!"
The Master took dust from the place where the kirtan had been sung and
touched it to his forehead.
A little later Sri Ramakrishna was sitting on the semicircular porch
facing
the Ganges, the devotees sitting by his side. Now and then the Master
would exclaim, "Ah, Krishnachaitanya!" (One
of the names of Gauranga)
MASTER (to Vijay and the others): "There
has been much chanting of the Lord's name in the room. That is why the
atmosphere has become so
intense."
BHAVANATH: "Words of renunciation, too."
The Master said, "Ah, how thrilling!" Then he sang about Gauranga and
Nityananda:
Gora bestows the Nectar of prema;
Jar after jar he pours it out,
And still there is no end!
Sweetest Nitai is summoning all;
Beloved Gora bids them come;
Shantipur is almost drowned,
And Nadia7
is flooded with prema!