Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

Sunday, December 9, 1883

SRI RAMAKRISHNA was seated on the small couch in his room with Adhar, Manomohan, Rakhal, M., Harish, and other devotees. It was about two o’clock in the afternoon. The Master was describing to them the exalted state of Sri Chaitanya.

MASTER: “Chaitanya experienced three states of mind. First, the conscious state, when his mind dwelt on the gross and the subtle. Second, the semi-conscious state, when his mind entered the causal body and was absorbed in the bliss of divine intoxication. Third, the inmost state, when his mind was merged in the Great Cause.

“This agrees very well with the five koshas, or ‘sheaths’, described in the Vedanta. The gross body corresponds to the annamayakosha and the pranamayakosha, the subtle body to the manomayakosha and the vijnanamayakosha, and the causal body to the anandamayakosha. The Mahakarana, the Great Cause, is beyond the five sheaths. When Chaitanya’s mind merged in That, he would go into samadhi. This is called the nirvikalpa or jada samadhi.

“While conscious of the outer world, Chaitanya sang the name of God; while in the state of partial consciousness, he danced with the devotees; and while in the inmost state of consciousness, he remained absorbed in samadhi.”

M. (to himself): “Is the Master hinting at the different states of his own mind? There is much similarity between Chaitanya and the Master.”

MASTER: “Chaitanya was Divine Love incarnate. He came down to earth to teach people how to love God. One achieves everything when one loves God. There is no need of hathayoga.”

A DEVOTEE: “Sir, what is hathayoga like?”

MASTER: “A man practising hathayoga dwells a great deal on his body. He washes his intestines by means of a bamboo tube through his anus. He draws ghee and milk through his sexual organ. He learns how to manipulate his tongue by performing exercises. He sits in a fixed posture and now and then levitates. All these are actions of prana. A magician was performing his feats when his tongue turned up and clove to the roof of his mouth. Immediately his body became motionless. People thought he was dead. He was buried and remained many years in the grave. After a long time the grave somehow broke open. Suddenly the man regained consciousness of the world and cried out, ‘Come delusion! Come confusion!1 (All laugh.) All these are actions of prana.

“The Vedantists do not accept hathayoga. There is also rajayoga. Rajayoga describes how to achieve union with God through the mind — by means of discrimination and bhakti. This yoga is good. Hathayoga is not good. The life of a man in the Kaliyuga is dependent on food.”

Sri Ramakrishna was standing in the road by the side of the nahabat. He was on his way to his room, having come from the pine-grove. He saw M. seated on the verandah of the nahabat, behind the fence, absorbed in meditation.

MASTER: “Hello! You are here? You will get results very soon. If you practise a little, then someone will come forward to help you.”

M. looked up at the Master, startled; he remained sitting on the floor.

MASTER: “The time is ripe for you. The mother bird does not break the shell of the egg until the right time arrives. What I told you is indeed your Ideal.”

Sri Ramakrishna again mentioned to M. his spiritual Ideal.

MASTER: “It is not necessary for all to practise great austerity. But I went through great suffering. I used to lie on the ground with my head resting on a mound for a pillow. I hardly noticed the passing of the days. I only called on God and wept, ‘O Mother! O Mother!'”

M. had been visiting Sri Ramakrishna for the past two years. Since he had been educated along English lines, he had acquired a fondness for Western philosophy and science, and had liked to hear Keshab and other scholars lecture. Sri Ramakrishna would address him now and then as the “Englishman”. Since coming to Sri Ramakrishna, M. had lost all relish for lectures and for books written by English scholars. The only thing that appealed to him now was to see the Master day and night, and hear the words that fell from his blessed lips. M. constantly dwelt on certain of Sri Ramakrishna’s sayings. The Master had said, “One can certainly see God through the practice of spiritual discipline”, and again, “The vision of God is the only goal of human life.”

MASTER (to M.): “If you practise only a little, someone will come forward to tell you the right path. Observe the ekadasi.

“You are my very own, my relative; otherwise, why should you come here so frequently? While listening to the kirtan, I had a vision of Rakhal in the midst of Sri Krishna’s companions in Vrindavan. Narendra belongs to a very high level. Hirananda2 too; how childlike his nature is! What a sweet disposition he has! I want to see him too.

“Once I saw the companions of Chaitanya, not in a trance but with these very eyes. Formerly I was in such an exalted state of mind that I could see all these things with my naked eyes; but now I see them in samadhi. I saw the companions of Chaitanya with these naked eyes. I think I saw you there, and Balaram too. You must have noticed that when I see certain people I jump up with a start. Do you know why? A man feels that way when he sees his own people after a long time.

“I used to pray to the Mother, crying: ‘Mother, if I do not find the devotees I’ll surely die. Please bring them to me immediately.’ In those days whatever desire arose in my mind would come to pass. I planted a tulsi-grove in the Panchavati in order to practise japa and meditation. I wanted very much to fence it around with bamboo sticks. Soon afterwards a bundle of bamboo sticks and some string were carried by the flood-tide of the Ganges right in front of the Panchavati. A temple servant noticed them and joyfully told me.

“In that state of divine exaltation I could no longer perform the formal worship. ‘Mother,’ I said, ‘who will look after me? I haven’t the power to take care of myself. I want to listen only to talk about Thee. I want to feed Thy devotees. I want to give a little help to those whom I chance to meet. How will all that be possible, Mother? Give me a rich man to stand by me.’ That is why Mathur Babu did so much to serve me.

“I said further, ‘Certainly I shall not have any children, Mother. But it is my desire that a boy with sincere love for God should always remain with me. Give me such a boy.’ That is the reason Rakhal came here. Those whom I think of as my own are part and parcel of me.”

The Master started again for the Panchavati accompanied by M. No one else was with them. Sri Ramakrishna with a smile narrated to him various incidents of the past years of his life.

MASTER: “You see, one day I saw a strange figure covering the whole space from the Kali temple to the Panchavati. Do you believe this?”

M. remained silent with wonder. He plucked one or two leaves from a branch in the Panchavati and put them in his pocket.

MASTER: “See there — that branch has been broken. I used to sit under it.”

M: “I took a young twig from that tree — I have it at home.”

MASTER (with a smile): “Why?”

M: “I feel happy when I look at it. After all this is over, this place will be considered very holy.”

MASTER (smiling): “What kind of holy place? Like Panihati?”

Almost every year, for some time past, the Master had been attending the religious festival at Panihati.

It was evening. Sri Ramakrishna was sitting on the small couch in his room, absorbed in meditation on the Divine Mother. The evening worship in the temples began, with the music of gong and conch-shell. M. was going to spend the night with the Master.

After a time Sri Ramakrishna asked M. to read from the Bhaktamala, a book about the Vaishnava saints.

M. read:

There was a king named Jayamal who loved Krishna with all his heart. He followed with unfailing devotion all the rites and ceremonies associated with the adoration of Krishna, whom he worshipped under the name of Syamalasundara. Completely satisfied with his own Ideal Deity, he never directed his attention to any other god or goddess. One of the inflexible rules of his devotions was to worship the Deity daily till almost midday. He would never deviate from this practice, even at the risk of his wealth or his kingdom. Learning this secret, an enemy king invaded the kingdom during the morning hours. Jayamal’s soldiers could not fight without his command; so they watched the invasion silently. Slowly the enemy surrounded the moat of the capital; yet Jayamal did not come out of his shrine room. His mother came to him and wept bitterly, trying to persuade the king to fight. He said to her calmly: “Why are you worried? Syamalasundara gave me this kingdom. What can I do if He has decided to take it away? On the other hand, none will be able to do me harm if He protects me. Our own efforts are vain!”

And actually, in the mean time, Syamalasundara, the Deity Himself, had taken the king’s horse from the stable and had ridden fully armed to the field. Alone He faced the hostile king and alone destroyed his army. Having crushed the enemy forces, the Deity returned to the temple and fastened the horse near by.

Jayamal, on completing his worship, came out and discovered the horse there, panting and covered with sweat. “Who has been riding my horse?” he demanded. “Who brought it to the temple?” The officers declared they knew nothing about it. In a pensive mood the king proceeded to the battle-field with his army and there found the enemy, with the exception of their leader, lying dead. He was staring uncomprehendingly at the scene, when the enemy king approached, worshipped him, and said: “Please permit me to tell you something. How could I fight? You have a warrior who could conquer the entire world. I do not want your wealth or your kingdom; indeed, I will gladly give you my own, if you will tell me about that Blue Warrior, your friend. No sooner did I turn my eves on him than he cast a spell on my heart and soul.”

Jayamal then realized it had been none other than Syamalasundara that had appeared on the battle-field. The enemy king understood too. He worshipped Jayamal and through his blessings received Krishna’s grace.

MASTER: “Do you believe all that? Do you believe Krishna rode on that horse and killed Jayamal’s enemies?”

M: “I believe that Jayamal, Krishna’s devotee, prayed to Him with a yearning heart. But I don’t know whether the enemy really saw Him coming to the battle-field on a horse. Krishna might have come there riding the horse, but I do not know whether they really saw Him.”

MASTER (with a smile): “The book contains nice stories about devotees. Bur it is one-sided. Also, it abuses those who differ with its views.”

The following morning the Master and M. were talking in the garden.

M: “Then I shall stay here.”

MASTER: “Well, you all come here so often. What does it mean? People visit a holy man once at the most. But you all come here so often. What is the significance of that?”

M. remained silent. The Master himself gave the reply.

MASTER: “Could you come here unless you belonged to my inner circle? That means you all are my own relatives, my own people — like father and son, brother and sister.

“I do not tell you everything. If I did, would you come here any more? “Once Sukadeva went to Janaka to be instructed in the Knowledge of Brahman. Janaka said, ‘First give me my fee.’ ‘But’, said Sukadeva, ‘why should I give you the fee before receiving the instruction?’ Janaka laughed and said: ‘Will you be conscious of guru and disciple after attaining Brahmajnana? That is why I asked you to give me the fee first.'”

It was night. The moon rose, flooding all the quarters with its silvery light. M. was walking alone in the garden of the temple. On one side of the path stood the Panchavati, the bakul-grove, the nahabat, and the Master’s room, and on the other side flowed the Ganges, reflecting millions of broken moons on its rippling surface’.

M. said to himself: “Can one really see God? The Master says it is possible. He says that, if one makes a little effort, then someone comes forward and shows the way. Well, I am married. I have children. Can one realize God in spite of all that?”

M. reflected awhile and continued his soliloquy: “Surely one can. Otherwise, why should the Master say so? Why shouldn’t it be possible through the grace of God?

“Here is the world around me — the sun, moon, stars, living beings, and the twenty-four cosmic principles. How did they come into existence? Who is their Creator? What am I to Him? Life is indeed vain without this knowledge.

“Sri Ramakrishna is certainly the best of men. In all my life I have not seen another great soul like him. He must have seen God. Otherwise, how could he talk with God day and night, addressing Him so intimately as ‘Mother’? Otherwise, how could he love God so intimately? Such is his love for God that he forgets the outer world. He goes into samadhi and remains like a lifeless thing. Again, in the ecstasy of that love, he laughs and cries and dances and sings.”

Friday, December 14, 1883

At nine o’clock in the morning Sri Ramakrishna was standing on the southeast verandah near the door of his room, with Ramlal by his side. Rakhal and Latu were moving about. M. arrived and prostrated himself before the Master. Sri Ramakrishna said to him affectionately: “You have come. That’s very good. Today is an auspicious day.”

It was the last day of the Bengali month and the day of the full moon. M. was going to spend a few days with the Master practising spiritual discipline. The Master had said to him, “If an aspirant practises a little spiritual discipline, then someone comes forward to help him.”

The Master had said to M: “You should not eat every day at the guest-house of the Kali temple. The guest-house is intended to supply free food to monks and the destitute. Bring your own cook with you.” M. had accordingly done so. The Master arranged a place for the man to cook and he asked Ramlal to speak to the milkman about milk.

A little later Ramlal began to read from the Adhyatma Ramayana. The Master and M. listened while he read:

Rama had married Sita after breaking the great bow of Siva. On the way to Ayodhya with His bride, Rama was confronted by the warrior sage Parasurama, who was about to make trouble for Him. Parasurama threw a bow at Rama and challenged Him to string it. Dasaratha, Rama’s father, was seized with fear. With a smile, Rama took the bow in His left hand and strung it. Then, twanging the bow-string, He fixed an arrow and asked Parasurama where to shoot it. That curbed the pride of the warrior sage. Prostrating himself before Rama, Parasurama worshipped Him as the Supreme Brahman.

As Sri Ramakrishna listened to Parasurama’s hymn, he went into a spiritual mood and now and then chanted the name of Rama in his melodious voice.

Then the Master asked Ramlal to read about Guhaka. Ramlal read:

Guhaka, the pariah, was chief of the untouchables and an intimate friend of Rama. When Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana were starting into the forest to redeem Dasaratha’s pledge, Guhaka ferried them across the river. Rama embraced Guhaka tenderly and told him He was going to spend fourteen years in exile, wearing the bark of trees and eating the herbs, fruits, and roots that grew in the woods. He promised to visit Guhaka again on His way back to Ayodhya after the period of exile was over. The pariah king waited patiently. But when the fourteenth year had run out and Rama had not returned, Guhaka lighted a funeral pyre. He was on the point of entering it when Hanuman arrived as Rama’s messenger. In a celestial chariot Rama and Sita soon appeared, and Guhaka’s joy was unbounded.

After the midday meal Sri Ramakrishna lay down on his bed to rest. M. was seated on the floor. Presently Dr. Shyama and a few devotees arrived. The Master sat up on the bed and began to converse with them.

MASTER: “It is by no means necessary for a man always to be engaged in his duties. Actions drop away when one realizes God, as the flower drops of itself when the fruit appears.

“He who has realized God no longer performs religious duties such as the sandhya. In his case the sandhya merges in the Gayatri. When that happens, it is enough for a person to repeat just the Gayatri mantra. Then the Gayatri merges in Om. After that one no longer chants even the Gayatri; it is enough then to chant simply Om. How long should a man practise such devotions as the sandhya? As long as he does not feel a thrill in his body and shed tears of joy while repeating the name of Rama or of Hari. People worship God to win money or a lawsuit. That is not good.”

A DEVOTEE: “We find that everyone strives after money. Even Keshab Sen married his daughter to a prince.”

MASTER: “Keshab’s case is quite different. God provides everything for a genuine devotee, even without his making any effort. The son of a real king gets his monthly allowance. I am not talking of lawyers and men of that sort, who go through suffering in order to earn money, and who become slaves of others to that end. I am speaking of a real prince. A true devotee has no desire. He does not care for money. Money comes to him of itself. The Gita describes such a devotee as ‘content with what comes to him without effort’. A good brahmin, without any personal motive, can accept food even from the house of an untouchable. He does not desire it; it comes of its own accord.”

A DEVOTEE: “Sir, how should one live in the world?”

MASTER: “Live in the world as the mudfish lives in the mud. One develops love of God by going away from the world into solitude, now and then and meditating on God. After that one can live in the world unattached. The mud is there, and the fish has to live in it, but its body is not stained by the mud. Such a man can lead the life of a householder in a spirit of detachment.”

The Master noticed that M. was listening to his words with great attention.

MASTER (looking at M.): “One can realize God if one feels intense dispassion for worldly things. A man with such dispassion feels that the world is like a forest on fire. He regards his wife and children as a deep well. If he really feels that kind of dispassion, he renounces home and family. It is not enough for him to live in the world in a spirit of detachment.

“‘Woman and gold’ alone is maya. If maya is once recognized, it feels ashamed of itself and takes to flight. A man put on a tiger skin and tried to frighten another man. But the latter, said: ‘Ah! I have recognized you! You are our Hare.’ At that the man dressed in the skin went away smiling to frighten someone else.

“All women are the embodiments of Sakti. It is the Primal Power that has become women and appears to us in the form of women. It is said in the Adhyatma Ramayana that Narada and others praised Rama, saying: ‘O Rama, Thou alone art all that we see as male, and Sita, all that we see a female. Thou art Indra, and Sita is Indrani; Thou art Siva, and Sita is Sivani; Thou art man, and Sita is woman. What more need I say? Thou alone dost exist wherever there is a male, and Sita wherever there is female.’

(To the devotees) “One cannot renounce by the mere wish. There a prarabdha karma — inherited tendencies — and the like. Once a yogi said to a king, ‘Live with me in the forest and think of God.’ The king replied ‘That I cannot very well do. I could live with you, but I still have the desire for enjoyment. If I live in this forest, perhaps I shall create a kingdom even here. I still have desires.’

“Natabar Panja used to look after his cows in this garden during his boyhood. He had many desires. Hence he has established a castor-oil factory and earned a great deal of money. He has a prosperous castor-oil business at Alambazar.

“There is one sect that prescribes spiritual discipline in company with women. I was once taken to the women belonging to the Kartabhaja sect. They all sat around me. I addressed them as ‘mother’. At that they whispered among themselves: ‘He is still a pravartaka. He doesn’t know the way.’ According to that sect the pravartaka is the beginner. Then comes the sadhaka, the struggling aspirant, and last of all the siddha of the siddha, the supremely perfect. A woman walked over to Vaishnavcharan and sat near him. Asked about it, he answered, ‘She feels just like a young girl.’ One quickly strays from the religious path by looking on woman as wife. But to regard her as mother is a pure attitude.”

Some of the devotees took leave of the Master, saying that they were going to visit the temple of Kali and several of the other temples.

M. went walking alone in the Panchavati and other places in the temple garden. He thought about the Master’s assurance that God can be easily realized, and about his exhortation to lead a life of intense renunciation, and his saying that maya, when recognized, takes to flight.

At half past three in the afternoon M. again entered the Master’s room and sat on the floor. A teacher from the Broughton Institution had come with several students to pay a visit to Sri Ramakrishna. They were conversing together. Now and then the teacher asked questions. The conversation was about the worship of images.

MASTER (to the teacher): “What is wrong with image worship? The Vedanta says that Brahman manifests Itself where there is ‘Existence, Light, and Love’. Therefore nothing exists but Brahman.

“How long do small girls play with their dolls? As long as they are not married and do not live with their husbands. After marriage they put the dolls away in a box. What further need is there of worshipping the image after the vision of God?”

The Master glanced at M. and said: “One attains God when one feels yearning for Him. An intense restlessness is needed. Through it the whole mind goes to God.

A man had a daughter who became a widow when she was very young. She had never known her husband. She noticed the husbands of other girls and said one day to her father, ‘Where is my husband?’ The father replied: Govinda (A name of Krishna.) is your husband. He will come to you if you call Him.’ At these words the girl went to her room, closed the door, and cried to Govinda, saying: ‘O Govinda, come to me! Show Yourself to me! Why don’t You come? God could not resist the girl’s piteous cry and appeared before her.

One must have childlike faith — and the intense yearning that a child feels to see its mother. That yearning is like the red sky in the east at dawn. After such a sky the sun must rise. Immediately after that yearning one sees God.

“Let me tell you the story of a boy named Jatila. He used to walk to school through the woods, and the journey frightened him. One day he told his mother of his fear. She replied: ‘Why should you be afraid? Call Madhusudana.’ (A name of Krishna.) ‘Mother,’ asked the boy, ‘who is Madhusudana?’ The mother said, ‘He is your Elder Brother.’ One day after this, when the boy again felt afraid in the woods, he cried out, ‘O Brother Madhusudana!’ But there was no response. He began to weep aloud: ‘Where are You, Brother Madhusudana? Come to me. I am afraid.’ Then God could no longer stay away. He appeared before the boy and said: ‘Here I am. Why are you frightened?’ And so saying He took the boy out of the woods and showed him the way to school. When He took leave of the boy, God said: ‘I will come whenever you call Me. Do not be afraid.’ One must have this faith of a child, this yearning.

“A brahmin used to worship his Family Deity daily with food offerings. One day he had to go away on business. As he was about to leave the house, he said to his young son: ‘Give the offering to the Deity today. See that God is fed.’ The boy offered food in the shrine, but the image remained silent on the altar. It would neither talk nor eat. The buy waited a long time, but still the image did not move. But the boy firmly believed that God would come down from His throne, sit on the floor, and partake of the food. Again and again he prayed to the Deity, saying: ‘O Lord, come down and eat the food. It is already very late. I cannot sit here any longer.’ But the image did not utter a word. The boy burst into tears and cried: ‘O Lord, my father asked me to feed You. Why won’t You come down? Why won’t You eat from my hands?’ ‘The boy wept for some time with a longing soul. At last the Deity, smiling, came down from the altar and sat before the meal and ate it. After feeding the Deity, the boy came out of the shrine room. His relatives said: ‘The worship is over. Now bring away the offering.’ ‘Yes,’ said the boy, ‘the worship is over. But God has eaten everything.’ ‘How is that?’ asked the relatives. The boy replied innocently, ‘Why, God has eaten the food.’ They entered the shrine and were speechless with wonder to see that the Deity had really eaten every bit of the offering.”

Late in the afternoon Sri Ramakrishna was talking to M. They were standing on the south side of the nahabat. Since it was winter the Master was wrapped in his woolen shawl.

MASTER: “Where will you sleep? In the hut in the Panchavati?”

M: “Won’t they let me have the room on the upper floor of the nahabat?”

M. selected the nahabat because he had a poetic temperament. From there he could see the sky, the Ganges, the moonlight, and the flowers in the garden.

MASTER: “Oh, they’ll let you have it. But I suggested the Panchavati because so much contemplation and meditation have been practised3 there and the name of God has been chanted there so often.”

It was evening. Incense was burning in the Master’s room. He was sitting on the small couch, absorbed in meditation. M. was sitting on the floor with Rakhal, Latu, and Ramlal.

The Master said to M., “The sum and substance of the whole thing is to cultivate devotion for God and love Him.” At Sri Ramakrishna’s request Ramlal sang a few songs, the Master himself singing the first line of each.

Ramlal sang:

Oh, what a vision I have beheld in Keshab Bharati’s hut!
Gora, in all his matchless grace,
Shedding tears in a thousand streams!
Like a mad elephant
He dances in ecstasy and sings,
Drunk with an overwhelming love. . . .

Then he sang:

Though I4 am never loath to grant salvation,
I hesitate indeed to grant pure love.
Whoever wins pure love surpasses all;
He is adored by men; He triumphs over the three worlds. . . .

Sri Ramakrishna said to Ramlal, “Sing that one — ‘Gaur and Nitai, ye blessed brothers’.” Ramlal began the song and the Master joined him:

Gaur and Nitai, ye blessed brothers!
I have heard how kind you are,
And therefore I have come to you.
When I visited Benares,
Siva, Lord of Kasi, told me
Of the Parabrahman’s birth,
As man, in Mother Sachi’s home.
O Brahman, Thee I recognize!
Many a sadhu have I seen,
But never one so kind as you.

Once at Braja you were born
As Kanai and Balai, His brother;
Now, once more, in Nadia,
As Gaur and Nitai do you appear,
Hiding the shapes that then you wore.
In Braja’s pastures running freely,
Once you frolicked; now, for play,
You roll on the ground in Nadia,
Chanting aloud Lord Hari’s name.
Laughing, shouting, once you played
At Braja with your cowherd friends;
And now you chant Lord Hari’s name.

O Gaur, how cleverly you hide
The dark-blue form5 you wore at Braja!
But your slanting eyes betray you.
Through the blessing of your name
The sinner is set free, they say;
And so my soul is filled with hope.
Now with eager heart I hasten
To your feet: Lord! I implore you,
Keep me safe within their shadow.

You redeemed Jagai and Madhai,
Wretched sinners though they were;
I pray you, do the same for me.
I have heard that you embrace
All men as brothers, even the outcaste,
Whispering in the ears of all
Lord Hari’s life-renewing name.

Late at night M. sat alone in the nahabat. The sky, the river, the garden, the steeples of the temples, the trees, and the Panchavati were flooded with moonlight. Deep silence reigned everywhere, broken only by the melodious murmuring of the Ganges. M. was meditating on Sri Ramakrishna.