Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna( Volume 2)

“Radha was mad with prema, ecstatic love of God. But there is also the madness of bhakti. Hanuman’s was such. When he saw Sita entering the fire he was going to kill Rama. Then, too, there is the madness of Knowledge I once saw a jnani behaving like a madman. He came here very soon after the temple garden was dedicated. People said he belonged to the Brahmo Sabha of Rammohan Roy. He had a torn shoe on one foot, a stick in one hand, and a potted mango-plant in the other. After, a dip in the Ganges he went to the Kali temple where Haladhari was seated. With great fervour he began to chant a hymn to the Divine Mother. Then he went up to a dog, held it by the ear, and ate some of its food. The dog didn’t mind. Just at that time I too was about to experience the state of divine madness. I threw my arm around Hriday’s neck and said, ‘Oh, Hride! Shall I too fall into that plight?’

“I became mad. Narayan Shastri came here and saw me roaming about with a bamboo pole on my shoulder. He said to the people, ‘Ah, he is mad!’ In that state I could not observe any caste restrictions. The wife of a low-caste man used to send me cooked greens, and I ate them.

“I touched my head and lips with the leaf-plates from which the beggars ate their food in the guest-house of the Kali temple. Thereupon Haladhari said to me: ‘What have you done? You have taken the food left by beggars. How will you marry off your children?’13 These words aroused my anger. Haladhari was my cousin, older than myself. But could that restrain me? I said to him: ‘You wretch! Isn’t it you who take pride in the study of the Gita and the Vedanta? Isn’t it you who teach people that Brahman alone is real and the world illusory? And yet you imagine that I shall beget children! May your mouth that recites from the Gita be blighted!’

(To M.) “You see, mere study of books avails nothing. One may recite the written part for the drum glibly from memory, but to play the drum is exceedingly difficult.”

The Master continued with the description of his divine madness:

“Once, for a few days, I was out on an excursion with Mathur Babu in his house-boat. We took the trip for a change of air. During that trip we visited Navadvip. One day I saw the boatmen cooking their meal and stood and watched them. Mathur said to me, ‘What are you doing there?’ I replied with a smile, ‘The boatmen are cooking, and their food looks very good.’ Mathur felt that I might ask the boatmen to give me a portion of their food; so he said: ‘Come away! Come away!’

“But I cannot do such a thing now. I am no longer in that mood. Now the food must be cooked by a brahmin observing ceremonial purity, and be offered to the Deity; then only can I eat it.

“Oh, what moods I passed through! At Kamarpukur I said to Chine Sankhari and the other chums of my boyhood days, ‘Oh, I fall at your feet and beg of you to utter the name of Hari.’ I was about to prostrate myself before them all. Thereupon Chine said, ‘This is the first outburst of your divine love; so you don’t see any distinction between one man and another.’ When the storm breaks and raises the dust, then mango and tamarind trees look the same. One cannot distinguish the one from the other.”

A DEVOTEE: “How can a householder keep on with his worldly duties if he is overwhelmed by such bhakti-madness or Love-madness or Knowledge-madness?”

MASTER (looking at him): “There are two kinds of yogis, the ‘revealed’ and the ‘hidden’. The householder may be a ‘hidden’ yogi. None recognizes him. The householder should renounce mentally, not outwardly.”

RAM: “You talk as if you were consoling children. A householder may be a jnani but never a vijnani.”

MASTER: “He may become a vijnani in the end. But it is not good to force oneself into renunciation.”

RAM: “Keshab Sen used to say: ‘Why do people go to him so much? One day he will sting them and they will flee from him.'”

MASTER: “Why should I sting people? I say to people: ‘Do this as well as that. Do your worldly duties and call on God as well.’ I don’t ask them to renounce everything. (With a smile) One day Keshab was delivering a lecture. He said, ‘O Lord, grant us that we may dive into the river of divine love and go straight to the Ocean of Satchidananda.’ The ladies were seated behind the screen. I said to Keshab, ‘How can you all dive once for all?’ Pointing to the ladies’, I said: ‘Then what would happen to them? Every now and then you must return to dry land. You must dive and rise alternately.’ Keshab and the others laughed.

“Hazra says to me, ‘You love most those endowed with rajas, those who have great wealth and name and fame.’ If that is so, then why do I love people like Harish and Noto? (Referring to Latu.) Why do I love Narendra? He can’t even afford salt to season his roast banana!”

Sri Ramakrishna left his room and went toward the pine-grove talking with M. A devotee followed them with water and towel. The Master was talking about his intended visit to the Star Theatre. He said to M.: “What Ram says applies to rajasic people. What is the use of reserving an expensive seat?”

About five o’clock that afternoon Sri Ramakrishna was on his way to Calcutta. M., Mahendra Mukherji, and a few other devotees accompanied him in Mahendra’s carriage. Thinking of God, the Master soon went into an ecstatic mood. After a long time he regained consciousness of the world, He observed: “That fellow Hazra dares teach me! The rascal!” After a short pause he said, “I shall drink some water.” He often made such remarks in order to bring his mind down to the sense plane.

MAHENDRA (to M.): “May I get some refreshments for him?”

M: “No, he won’t eat anything now.”

MASTER (still in ecstatic mood): “I shall eat.”

Mahendra took the Master to his flour-mill located at Hathibagan. After a little rest Sri Ramakrishna was to go to the theatre. Mahendra did not care to take him to his own house, for the Master was not well acquainted with his father. Priyanath, Mahendra’s second brother, was also a devotee of the Master.

Sri Ramakrishna was sitting on a cot over which a carpet had been spread, and was engaged in spiritual talk.

MASTER (to M. and the others): “Once, while listening to the various incidents of the life of Chaitanya, Hazra said that these were manifestations of Sakti, and that Brahman, the All-pervasive Spirit, had nothing to do with hem. But can there be Sakti without Brahman? Hazra wants to nullify the teachings of this place. (Referring to himself.)

“I have realized that Brahman and Sakti are identical, like water and its wetness, like fire and its power to burn. Brahman dwells in all beings as the Bibhu; the All-pervasive Consciousness, though Its manifestation is greater in some places than in others. Hazra says, further, that anyone who realizes God must also acquire God’s supernatural powers; that he possesses these powers, though he may or may not use them.”

M: “Yes, one must have control over these supernatural powers!” (All laugh.)

MASTER (smiling): “Yes, one must have them in one’s grasp! How mean! He who has never enjoyed power and riches becomes impatient for them. But a true devotee never prays to God for them.”

Sri Ramakrishna washed his face. A smoke was prepared for him. He said to M.: “Is it dusk. now? If it is, I won’t smoke. During the twilight hour of the dusk you should give up all other activities and remember God.” Saying this he looked at the hairs on his arm. He wanted to see whether he could count them. If he could not, it would be dusk.

About half past eight in the evening the carriage with the Master and the devotees drew up in front of the Star Theatre on Beadon Street. He was accompanied by M., Baburam, Mahendra, and two or three others. They were talking about engaging seats, when Girish Chandra Ghosh, the manager of the theatre, accompanied by several officials, came out to the carriage, greeted the Master, and took him and the party upstairs. Girish had heard of the Master and was very glad to see him at the theatre. The Master was conducted to one of the boxes. M. sat next to him; Baburam and one or two devotees sat behind.

The hall was brilliantly lighted. The Master looked down at the pit and saw that it was crowded. The boxes also were full. For every box there was a man to fan those who occupied it. Sri Ramakrishna was filled with joy and said to M., with his childlike smile: “Ah, it is very nice here! I am glad to have come. I feel inspired when I see so many people together. Then I clearly perceive that God Himself has become everything.”

M: “It is true, sir.”

MASTER: “How much will they charge us here?”

M: “They won’t take anything. They are very happy that you have come to the theatre.”

MASTER: “It is all due to the grace of the Divine Mother.”

The Chaitanyalila was about to be performed. It was a play about the early life of Sri Chaitanya, who was also known as Nimai, Gaur, Gora, and Gauranga. The curtain rose; the attention of the audience was fixed on the stage.

The first scene depicts a council of Sin and the Six Passions. On a forest path behind them walk Viveka, Vairagya, and Bhakti, engaged in conversation.

Bhakti says to her companions: “Gauranga is born in Nadia. Therefore the vidyadharis, (Demigoddesses.) the munis, and the rishis have come down to earth in disguise to pay their respects to him.”

She sings:

Blest indeed is the earth! Gora is born in Nadia!
Behold the vidyadharis, coming in chariots to adore him;
Behold the munis and rishis, who come, allured by the spell of Love.

The vidyadharis, munis, and rishis sing a hymn to Gauranga and adore him as an Incarnation of God.

Sri Ramakrishna watched the scene and was overpowered with divine ecstasy. He said to M.: “Look at it! Ah! Ah!”

Sages:            O Kesava, bestow Thy grace
Upon Thy luckless servants here!
O Kesava, who dost delight
To roam Vrindavan’s glades and groves!

Goddesses:    O Madhava, our mind’s Bewitcher!
Sweet One, who dost steal our hearts,
Sweetly playing on Thy flute!

Chorus:         Chant, O mind, the name of Hari,
Sing aloud the name of Hari,
Praise Lord Hari’s name!

Sages:            O Thou Eternal Youth of Braja,
Tamer of fierce Kaliya,
Slayer of the afflicted’s fear!

Goddesses:   Beloved with the arching eyes
And crest with arching peacock feather,
Charmer of Sri Radha’s heart!

Sages:            Govardhan’s mighty Lifter, Thou,
All garlanded with sylvan flowers!
O Damodara, Kamsa’s Scourge!

Goddesses:   O Dark One, who dost sport in bliss With sweet Vrindavan’s gopi maids.

Chorus:         Chant, O mind, the name of Hari,
Sing aloud the name of Hari,
Praise Lord Hari’s name!

As the vidyadharis sang the lines,

Beloved with the arching eyes
And crest with arching peacock feather!

the Master went into deep samadhi. The orchestra played on, but he was not aware of the outer world. 

Another scene: A guest has arrived at the house of Jagannath Misra, Nimai’s father. The boy Nimai plays about, singing with his friends, in a happy mood:14

Tell Me, where is My blessed Vrindavan?’
Where is Mother Yasoda?
Where Father Nanda and Brother Balai?
Where My twin cows, black and, white?
Tell Me, where is My magic flute?
My friends Sudama and Sridama?
Where My Jamuna’s bank. My banyan?
Where My beloved gopi maids?
Where is Radha, queen of My heart?

The guest closes his eyes while offering food to the Lord. Nimai runs to him. and eats the food from the plate. The guest recognizes Nimai as an Incarnation of God and seeks to please him with the Hymn of the Ten Incarnations. Before taking leave of Gauranga’s parents he sings:

Glory to Gora, the Source of Bliss!
Hail Gauranga, Redeemer of earth!
Help of the helpless, Life of the living,
Slayer of fear in the hearts of the fearful!
Age after age we see Thy play —

New sports unfolding, moods ever new;
New waves rolling, new tales to be told.
Thou who bearest the whole world’s burden,
Shower on us the nectar of Love!
Take away our grief and affliction:
Thou in Love’s pleasure-cave dost dwell.
Hope of the suffering! Chastiser of sin!
Scourge of the wicked! Victory to Thee!

Listening to the hymn, the Master was thrilled with ecstasy.

The next scene is at Navadvip on the bank of the Ganges. After bathing in the holy water, the brahmin men and women engage in worship by the riverside. As they close their eyes, Nimai steals their food offerings and begins to eat them. A brahmin loses his temper and says: “You scapegrace! You rascal! You are taking away my offering for Vishnu. Ruin will seize you!” Nimai holds on to the offering and is about to run away. Many of the women love him dearly and cannot bear to have him go away. They call to him: “Return, O Nimai! Come back, O Nimai!” Nimai turns a deaf ear to them.

One of the women, however, knows the irresistible charm that will bring him back. She loudly chants the name of Hari. Immediately he repeats the name of Hari and comes back.

M. was seated beside the Master. Sri Ramakrishna could not control himself. He cried out, “Ah!” and shed tears of love. He said to Baburam and M.: “Don’t make a fuss if I fall into an ecstatic mood or go into samadhi. Then the worldly people will take me for a cheat.”

Another scene: Nimai is invested with the sacred thread of the brahmins. He puts on the traditional ochre robe of the sannyasi. Mother Sachi and the women of the neighbourhood stand about while he begs for alms, singing:

Drop a morsel of food, I pray, into my begging-bowl;
Alone I roam, a new-made yogi, on the highways of the world.
People of Braja, you I love, and so, time and again,
I come to you; at hunger’s call I beg my food from door to door.
The sun is low, and I must seek my home on the Jamuna’s bank;
Into its waters fall my tears, as onward murmuring it flows.

The onlookers leave the stage. Nimai stands alone. The gods, in the guise of brahmin men and women, sing his praises.

Men:               Thy body gleams like liquid moonlight;
Thou hast put on man’s dwarfish form.
O Lord, Thee we salute!

Women:          Bewitcher of the gopis’ hearts,
Thou roamest in the shady groves
About Vrindavan’s vale.

Nimai:            Hail Sri Radha! Glory to Radha!

Men:               The youths of Braja are Thy friends;
Thou curbest haughty Madan’s15 pride.

Women:          Thy love has made the gopis mad;
In ecstasy the Jamuna thrills.

Men:               Narayana, Deluder of demons!
Refuge of the fear-stricken gods!

Women:         O Lover of Braja, Thou dost beg
The love of Braja’s comely maidens!

Nimai:            Hail Sri Radha! Glory to Radha!

Listening to the music, the Master went into samadhi. The curtain fell and the orchestra played on.

A new scene: Srivas and other devotees are engaged in conversation in front of Advaita’s house. Mukunda sings:

Sleep no more! How long will you lie
In maya’s slumber locked, O mind?
Who are you? Why have you been born?
Forgotten is your own true Self.
O mind, unclose your eyes at last
And wake yourself from evil dreams;
A fool you are to bind yourself
So to the passing shows of life,
When in you lives Eternal Bliss.
Come out of the gloom, O foolish mind!
Come out and hail the rising Sun!

Sri Ramakrishna praised the voice of the singer highly.

Another scene: Nimai is staying at home. Srivas comes to visit him. First he meets Sachi. The mother weeps and says: “My son doesn’t attend to his household duties. My eldest son, Viswarupa, has renounced the world, and my heart has ached ever since. Now I fear that Nimai will follow in his steps.”

Nimai arrives. Sachi says to Srivas: “Look at him. Tears run down his cheeks and breast. Tell, tell me how I can free him from these notions.”

At the sight of Srivas, Nimai clings to his feet and says, with eyes full of tears: “Ah me! Revered sir, I have not yet attained devotion to Krishna. Futile is this wretched life! Tell me, sir, where is Krishna? Where shall I find Krishna? Give me the dust of your feet with your blessing, that I may realize the Blue One with the garland of wild-flowers hanging about His neck.”

Sri Ramakrishna looked at M. He was eager to say something but he could not. His voice was choked with emotion; the tears ran down his cheeks; with unmoving eyes he watched Nimai clinging to Srivas’s feet and saying, “Sir, I have not yet attained devotion to Krishna.”

Nimai has opened a school, but he cannot teach the students any longer. Gangadas, his former teacher, comes to persuade him to direct his attention to his worldly duties. He says to Srivas: “Listen, Srivas! We are brahmins, too, and devoted to the worship of Vishnu. But you people are ruining Nimai’s worldly prospects.”

MASTER (to M.): “That is the advice of the worldly-wise: Do ‘this’ as well as ‘that’. When the worldly man teaches spirituality he always advises a compromise between the world and God.”

M: “Yes, sir. That is true.” 

Gangadas continues his argument with Nimai. He says: “Nimai, undoubtedly you are versed in the scriptures. Reason with me. Explain to me if any other duty is superior to worldly duties. You are a house-holder. Why disregard the duties of a householder and follow others’ duties?”

MASTER (to M.): “Did you notice? He’s trying to persuade Nimai to make a compromise.”

M: “Yes, sir.”

Nimai says to Gangadas: “I am not wilfully indifferent to a householder’s duties. On the contrary, it is my desire to hold to all sides. But, revered sir, I don’t know what it is that draws me on. I don’t know what to do. I want to cling to the shore but I cannot. My soul wanders away. I am helpless. My soul constantly wants to plunge headlong into the boundless Ocean.”

MASTER: “Ah me!”

The scene changes: Nityananda has arrived at Navadvip. After a search he meets Nimai, who, in turn, has been seeking him. When they meet, Nimai says to him: “Blessed is my life! Fulfilled is my dream! You visited me in a dream and then disappeared.”

The Master said in a voice choked with emotion, “Nimai said he had seen him in a dream.”

Nimai is in an ecstatic mood and becomes engaged in conversation with Advaita, Srivas, Haridas, and other devotees. Nitai sings a song suited to Nimai’s mood:

Where is Krishna? Where is my Krishna?
He is not in the grove, dear friends.
Give me Krishna! Bring me my Krishna!
Radha’s heart knows naught but Him.

At this song Sri Ramakrishna went into samadhi. He remained in that state a long time. The orchestra played on. Gradually his mind came down to the relative plane. In the mean time a young man of Khardaha, born in the holy family of Nityananda, had entered the box. He was standing behind the Master’s chair. Sri Ramakrishna was filled with delight at the sight of him. He held his hand and talked to him affectionately. Every now and then he said: “Please sit down here. Your very presence awakens my spiritual feeling.” He played tenderly with the young man’s hands and lovingly stroked his face.

After he had left, Sri Ramakrishna said to M.: “He is a great scholar. His father is a great devotee of God. When I go to Khardaha to visit Syamasundar, the father entertains me with sacred offerings such as one cannot buy even for a hundred rupees. This young man has good traits. A little shaking will awaken his inner spirit. At the sight of him my spiritual mood is aroused. I should have been overwhelmed with ecstasy it he had stayed here a little longer.”

The curtain rises: Nityananda is walking in a procession on the public road with his companions, chanting the name of Hari. He meets two ruffians, Jagai and Madhai, who are sworn enemies of all religious people. Madhai strikes Nitai with a piece of broken pottery. Nitai is hurt and bleeds profusely, but he pays no heed, inebriated as he is with the love of God.

Sri Ramakrishna was in an ecstatic mood.

Nitai embraces both Jagai and Madhai, and sings a song to the two ruffians:

Jagai! Madhai! Oh, come and dance,
Chanting Hari’s name with fervour!
What does it matter that you struck me?
Dance, dear friends, in Hari’s name!
Sing the name of our Beloved:
He will embrace you in love’s rapture!
Let the heavens resound with His name!
You have not tasted true emotion:
Weep as you chant the name of Hari,
And you will see the Moon of your soul.
Hari’s name would I lovingly give you;
Nitai calls you to share His love.

Nimai speaks to Sachi of his desire to enter the monastic life. His mother faints and falls to the ground.

At this point many in the audience hurst into tears. Sri Ramakrishna remained still and looked intently at the stage. A single tear appeared in the corner of teach eye. The performance was over.

Sri Ramakrishna was about to enter a carriage. A devotee asked him how he had enjoyed the play. The Master said with a smile, “I found the representation the same as the real.”

The carriage proceeded toward Mahendra’s mill. Suddenly Sri Ramakrishna went into an ecstatic mood and murmured to himself in loving tones: “O Krishna! O Krishna! Krishna is knowledge! Krishna is soul! Krishna is mind! Krishna is life! Krishna is body!” He continued: “O Govinda, Thou art my life! Thou art my soul!”

The carriage reached the mill. Mahendra fed the Master tenderly with various dishes. M. sat by his side. ‘Affectionately he said to M., “Here, eat a little.” He put some sweets in his hands.

With Mahendra and a few other devotees, Sri Ramakrishna left in the carriage for the Dakshineswar temple garden. The Master was in a happy mood. He sang a song about Gauranga and Nitai, M. sang with him:

Gaur and Nitai, ye blessed brothers!
I have heard how kind you are,
And therefore I have come to you. . . .

The Master and Mahendra talked about the latter’s intended pilgrimage.

MASTER (smiling): “The divine love in you is barely a sprout now. Why should you let it wither? But come back very soon. Many a time I have thought of visiting your place. At last I have done it. I am so happy.”

MAHENDRA: “My life is indeed blessed, sir.”

MASTER: “You were already blessed. Your father is also a good man. I saw him the other day. He has faith in the Adhyatma Ramayana.”

MAHENDRA: “Please bless me that I may have love for God.”

MASTER: “You are generous and artless. One cannot realize God without sincerity and simplicity. God is far, far away from the crooked heart.”

Near Syambazar, Mahendra bade the Master good-bye, and the carriage continued on its way.