Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

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.”