Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

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.