Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna( Volume 2)

SRI RAMAKRISHNA had come to Calcutta. It was the first day of the Durga Puja, the great religious festival, and the Hindus of the metropolis were celebrating it. The Master intended to visit the image of the Divine Mother at Adhar’s house. He also wanted to see Shivanath, the Brahmo devotee.

It was about midday. Umbrella in hand, M. was pacing the foot-path in front of the Brahmo Samaj temple. Two hours had passed but the Master had not yet appeared. Now and then M. sat down on the steps of Dr. Mahalnavish’s dispensary and watched the joy and mirth of the people, young and old, who were celebrating the Puja.

A little after three the Master’s carriage drove up. As soon as Sri Ramakrishna stepped out he saluted the temple of the Brahmo Samaj with folded hands. Hazra and a few other devotees were with him. M. bowed before the Master and took the dust of his feet. The Master told him that he was going to Shivanath’s house. A few minutes later several members of the Brahmo Samaj came and took him to Shivanath’s. But Shivanath was not at home. Shortly afterwards Vijay Goswami, Mahalnavish, and several other Brahmo leaders greeted the Master and took him inside the Brahmo temple.

Sri Ramakrishna was in a happy mood. He was given a seat below the altar. There the Brahmo devotees sang their devotional music. Vijay and the Brahmo devotees sat in front of the Master.

MASTER (to Vijay, with a smile): “I was told that you had put up a ‘signboard’ here that people belonging to other faiths are not allowed to come in. Narendra, too, said to me: ‘You shouldn’t go to the Brahmo Samaj. You had better visit Shivanath’s house.’

“But I say that we are all calling on the same God. Jealousy and malice need not be. Some say that God is formless, and some that God has form. I say, let one man meditate on God with form if he believes in form, and let another meditate on the formless Deity if he does not believe in form. What I mean is that dogmatism is not good. It is not good to feel that my religion alone is true and other religions are false. The correct attitude is this: My religion is right, but I do not know whether other religions are right or wrong, true or false. I say this because one cannot know the true-nature of God unless one realizes Him. Kabir used to say: ‘God with form is my Mother, the Formless is my Father. Which shall I blame? Which shall I praise? The two pans of the scales are equally heavy.’

“Hindus, Mussalmans, Christians, Saktas, Saivas, Vaishnavas, the Brahmajnanis of the time of the rishis, and you, the Brahmajnanis of modern times, all seek the same object. A mother prepares dishes to suit the stomachs of her children. Suppose a mother has five children and a fish is bought for the family. She doesn’t cook pilau or kalia for all of them. All have not the same power of digestion; so she prepares a simple stew for some. But she loves all her children equally.

“Do you know my attitude? I love all the preparations of fish. I have a womanly nature. (All laugh.) I feel myself at home with every dish — fried fish, fish cooked with turmeric powder, pickled fish. And further, I equally relish rich preparations like fish-head, kalia, and pilau. (All laugh.)

“Do you know what the truth is? God has made different religions to suit different aspirants, times, and countries. All doctrines are only so many paths; but a path is by no means God Himself. Indeed, one can reach God if one follows any of the paths with whole-hearted devotion. Suppose there are errors in the religion that one has accepted; if one is sincere and earnest, then God Himself will correct those errors. Suppose a man has set out with a, sincere desire to visit Jagannath at Puri and by mistake has gone north instead of south; then certainly someone meeting him on the way will tell him: ‘My good fellow, don’t go that way. Go to the south.’ And the man will reach Jagannath sooner or later.

“If there are errors in other religions, that is none of our business. God, to whom the world belongs, takes care of that. Our duty is somehow to visit Jagannath. (To the Brahmos) The view you hold is good indeed. You describe God as formless. That is fine. One may eat a cake with icing, either straight or sidewise. It will taste sweet either way.

“But dogmatism is not good. You have no doubt heard the story of the chameleon. A man entered a wood and saw a chameleon on a tree. He reported to his friends, ‘I have seen a red lizard.’ He was firmly convinced that it was nothing but red. Another person, after visiting the tree, said, ‘I have seen a green lizard.’ He was firmly convinced that it was nothing but green. But the man who lived under the tree said: ‘What both of you have said is true. But the fact is that the creature is sometimes red, sometimes green, sometimes yellow, and sometimes has no colour at all.’

“God has been described in the Vedas as both with attributes and without. You describe Him as without form only. That is one-sided. But never mind. If you know one of His aspects truly, you will be able to know His other aspects too. God Himself will tell you all about them. (Pointing to two or three Brahmo devotees) Those who come to your Samaj know both this gentleman and that.”

Vijay still belonged to the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj. He was a salaried preacher of that organization but could not obey all its rules and regulations. He mixed with those who believed in God with form. This was creating a misunderstanding between him and the Brahmo authorities. Many Brahmos disapproved of his conduct. The Master suddenly looked at Vijay and began to talk to him.

MASTER (to Vijay, smiling): “I understand that they have been finding fault with you for mixing with those who believe in God with form. Is that true? He who is a devotee of God must have an understanding that cannot be shaken under any conditions. He must be like the anvil in a blacksmith’s shop. It is constantly being struck by the hammer; still it is unshaken. Bad people may abuse you very much and speak ill of you; but you must bear with them all if you sincerely seek God. Isn’t it possible to think of God in the midst of the wicked? Just think of the rishis of ancient times. They used to meditate on God in the forest, surrounded on all sides by tigers, bears, and other ferocious beasts. Wicked men have the nature of tigers and bears. They will pursue you to do you an injury.

“One must be careful about these few things. First, an influential man who has much money and many men under his control. He can injure you if he wants; you must be careful while talking to him; perhaps you may have to approve what he says. Second, a dog. When it chases you or barks at you, you must stand still, talk to it gently, and pacify it. Third, a bull. If it runs after you with lowered horns, you must calm it with a gentle Voice. Fourth, a drunkard. If you arouse his anger, he will abuse you, naming fourteen generations of your family. You should say to him; ‘Hello uncle! How are you?’ Then he will be mightily pleased and sit by you and smoke.

“In the presence of a wicked person I become alert. If such a man asks me whether I have a pipe for smoking, I say, ‘Yes, I have.’ Some people have the nature of a snake: they will bite you without warning. You have to discriminate a great deal in order to avoid the bite; otherwise your passion will be stirred up to such an extent that you will feel like doing injury in return. The companionship of a holy man is greatly needed now and then. It enables one to discriminate between the Real and the unreal.”

VIJAY: “I have no time, sir. I am entangled in my duties here.”

MASTER: “You are a religious teacher. Others have holidays, but not so a religious teacher. When the manager of an estate brings order to one part of it, the landlord sends him to another part. So you have no leisure.” (All laugh.)

VIJAY (with folded hands): “Sir, please give me your blessing.”

MASTER: “Now you are talking like an ignorant person. It is God alone who blesses.”

VIJAY: “Revered sir, please give us some instruction.”

The Master glanced around the Brahmo temple and said with a smile, “This is nice too — a mixture of crystals and syrup.1 There are crystals, and there is syrup too.

“I have scored too many points and am therefore out of the game. (All laugh.) Do you know the game called ‘nax’? It is a game of cards, and anyone scoring above seventeen is out of the game. Those who score fewer points — say five, seven, or ten — are clever. I have scored too many and am out of the game.

“Once Keshab Sen gave a lecture at his house. I was present. Many people were there. The ladies were seated behind the screen. Keshab, in the course of his talk, said, ‘O God, please bless us that we may dive and disappear altogether in the river of bhakti.’ I said to Keshab with a smile: ‘If you disappear altogether in the river of bhakti, then what will be the fate of those behind the screen? By all means dive into the river, but you had better come back to dry land now and then. Don’t disappear in the river altogether.’ At these words Keshab and the others burst out laughing.

“Never mind. One can realize God in the world, too, if only one is sincere. ‘I’ and ‘mine’ — that is ignorance. But, ‘O God! Thou and Thine’ — that is knowledge.

“Live in the world like a maidservant in a rich man’s house. She performs all the household duties, brings up her master’s child, and speaks of him as ‘my Hari’. But in her heart she knows quite well that neither the house nor the child belongs to her. She performs all her duties, but just the same her mind dwells on her native place. Likewise, do your worldly duties but fix your mind on God. And know that house, family, and son do not belong to you; they are God’s. You are only His servant.

“I ask people to renounce mentally. I do not ask them to give up the world. If one lives in the world unattached and seeks God with sincerity, then one is able to attain Him.

(To Vijay) “There was a time when I too would meditate on God with my eyes closed.2 Then I said to myself: ‘Does God exist only when I think of Him with my eyes closed? Doesn’t He exist when I look around with my eyes open?’ Now, when I look around with my eyes open, I see that God dwells in all beings. He is the Indwelling Spirit of all — men, animals and other living beings, trees and plants, sun and moon, land and water.

“Why do I seek Shivanath? He who meditates on God for many days has substance in him, has divine power in him. Further, he who sings well, plays well on a musical instrument, or has mastered any one art, has in him real substance and the power of God. This is the view of the Gita. It is said in the Chandi that he who is endowed with physical beauty has in him substance and the power of God. (To Vijay) Ah, what a beautiful nature Kedar has! No sooner does he come to me than he bursts into tears. His eyes are always red and swim in tears, like a chanabara in syrup.”

VIJAY: “At Dacca he is constantly talking about you. He is always eager to see you.”

Sri Ramakrishna was about to depart. The Brahmo devotees bowed low before him and he returned their salute. Then, getting into the carriage, he set out for Adhar’s house to see the image of the Divine Mother.

Sunday, September 28, 1884

It was the day of the Mahashtami, the most auspicious day of the worship of Durga, the Divine Mother. At Adhar’s invitation Sri Ramakrishna had come to Calcutta to see the holy image at his house. Before going there he went to Ram’s. Many devotees, including Narendra, Baburam, M., Niranjan, Vijay, Kedar, Ram, and Surendra, were present. Balaram and Rakhal were still at Vrindavan.

MASTER (looking at Vijay and Kedar, with a smile): “This is a nice reunion today. You two have the same spiritual mood. (To Vijay) Well, what about Shivanath? Did you — ?”

VIJAY: “Yes, sir, he heard that you had been to his house. I haven’t seen him, but I sent him word. He knows about it.”

MASTER (to Vijay and the others): “Four desires have come into my mind. I shall eat fish curry cooked with egg-plant. I shall visit Shivanath. The devotees will repeat the name of Hari over their beads, and I shall watch them. And the Tantrik devotees will drink consecrated wine, eight annas’ worth, on the ashtami3 day, and I shall watch them and salute them.”

Narendra was seated in front of the Master. He was about twenty-two years old. While Sri Ramakrishna was talking thus his eyes fell upon his beloved disciple. At once the Master stood up and went into samadhi. He placed one foot on Narendra’s knee. He was in a deep spiritual mood, his eyes unblinking, his mind completely unconscious of the outer world. After a long time he came down to the relative plane of consciousness; but he still appeared dazed, for the intoxication of divine bliss had not altogether left him. Speaking to himself in that ecstatic state, he repeated the name of God He said: “Satchidananda! Satchidananda! Satchidananda! Shall I repeat that? No, it is the day of the Divine Mother, the Giver of the bliss of divine inebriation. O Mother, full of the bliss of divine inebriation! Sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni. It is not good to keep the voice on ‘ni’. It is not possible to keep it there very long. I shall keep it on the next lower note.

“There are different planes of consciousness: the gross, the subtle, the causal, and the Great Cause. Entering the Mahakarana, the Great Cause, one becomes silent; one cannot utter a word.

“But an Isvarakoti, after attaining the Great Cause, can come down again to the lower planes. Incarnations of God, and others like them, belong to the class of the Isvarakotis. They climb up, and they can also come down. They climb to the roof, and they can come down again by the stairs and move about on a lower floor. It is a case of negation and affirmation.4 There is, for instance, the seven-storey palace of a king. Strangers have access only to the lower apartments; but the prince, who knows the palace to be his own, can move up and down from floor to floor. There is a kind of rocket that throws out sparks in one pattern and then seems to go out. After a moment it makes another pattern, and then still another. There is no end to the patterns it can make. But there is another kind of rocket that, when it is lighted, makes only a dull sound, throws out a few sparks, and then goes out altogether. Like this second kind, an ordinary jiva, after much spiritual effort, can go to a higher plane; but he cannot come down to tell others his experiences. After much effort he may go into samadhi; but he cannot climb down from that state or tell others what he has seen there.

“There is a class of devotees, the nityasiddhas, the ever-perfect. From their very birth they seek God. They do not enjoy anything of the world. The Vedas speak of the homa bird. It lives very high in the sky. There the mother bird lays her egg. She lives so high that the egg falls for many days. While falling it is hatched. The chick continues to fall. That also goes on for many days. In the mean time the chick develops eyes. Coming near the earth, it becomes conscious of the world. It realizes it will meet certain death if it hits the ground. Then it gives a shrill cry and shoots up toward its mother. The earth means death, and it frightens the young bird; it then seeks its mother. She dwells high up in the sky, and the young bird shoots straight up in that direction. It doesn’t look anywhere else.

“Those who are born as the companions of an Incarnation of God are eternally perfect. For some of them that birth is the last.

(To Vijay) “You have both — yoga and bhoga. King Janaka also had yoga and bhoga. Therefore he is called a rajarshi, both king and seer. Narada was a devarshi, and Sukadeva a brahmarshi. Yes, Sukadeva was a brahmarshi. He was not a mere jnani; he was the very embodiment of Jnana, Divine Knowledge. Whom do I call a jnani? A man who has attained Knowledge and has done so after much effort. Sukadeva was the very image of Knowledge, in other words, a form of concentrated Knowledge. He attained Knowledge spontaneously, without any labour.”

Saying this, Sri Ramakrishna came down to the normal mood. Then he talked freely with the devotees. The Master asked Kedar to sing.

Kedar sang: 

How shall I open my heart, O friend?
It is forbidden me to speak.
I am about to die, for lack of a kindred soul
To understand my misery. . . .

Kedar sang several other songs. After the music the Master again talked to the devotees. Nandalal, Keshab’s nephew, was also present with a few Brahmo friends. They were sitting near the Master.

MASTER (to Vijay and the other devotees): “A man brought a bottle of consecrated wine for me; but I couldn’t even touch it.”

VIJAY: “Ah!”

MASTER: “I become intoxicated at the mere thought of God. I don’t have to take any wine. I feel drunk at the very sight of the charanamrita.5 I feel as if I had drunk five bottles of liquor. When a person attains such a state he cannot help discriminating about food.”

NARENDRA: “As regards food, one should take whatever comes.”

MASTER: “What you say applies only to a particular state of the aspirant’s mind. No food can harm a jnani. According to the Gita, the jnani himself does not eat; his eating is an offering to the Kundalini. But that does not apply to a bhakta. The present state of my mind is such that I cannot eat any food unless it is first offered to God by a brahmin priest. Formerly my state of mind was such that I would enjoy inhaling the smell of burning corpses, carried by the wind from the other side of the Ganges. It tasted very sweet to me. But nowadays I cannot eat food touched by anybody and everybody. No, I cannot. But once in a while I do. One day I was taken to see a performance of a play at Keshab’s house. They gave me luchi and curries to eat. I didn’t know whether the food was handed to me by a washerman or a barber; but I ate quite a little. (All laugh.) Rakhal had asked me to eat. (To Narendra) “With you it is all right. You are in ‘this’ as well as in ‘that’.6 You can eat everything now. (To the devotees) Blessed is he who feels longing for God, though he eats pork. But shame on him whose mind dwells on ‘woman and gold’, though he eats the purest food — boiled vegetables, rice, and ghee.

“Once I had a desire to eat dal cooked in a blacksmith’s house. From my childhood I had heard the blacksmiths say, ‘Do the brahmins know how to cook?’ I ate the dal, but it smelt of the blacksmith. (All laugh.)

“I received the Allah mantra7 from Govinda Rai. Rice was cooked for me with onions8 in the kuthi. I ate some. I ate curry in Mani Mallick’s garden house, but I felt a kind of repulsion to it.

“When I went to Kamarpukur, Ramlal’s father was frightened. He thought I might eat at any and every house. He was frightened to think I might be expelled from the caste; so I couldn’t stay long. I came away.

“Both the Vedas and the Puranas describe pure food and conduct. But what the Vedas and the Puranas ask people to shun as impure is extolled by the Tantra as good.

“Oh, what a state of mind I passed through! I would open my mouth, touching, as it were, heaven and the nether world with my jaws, and utter the word ‘Ma’. I felt that I had seized the Mother, like a fisherman dragging fish in his net. Let me recite a song:

This time I shall devour Thee utterly. Mother Kali!
For I was born under an evil star,
And one so born becomes, they say, the eater of his mother.
Thou must devour me first, or I myself shall eat Thee up;
One or the other it must be.

I shall besmear my hands with black,9 and with black my face;
With black I shall besmear the whole of my body.
And when Death seizes me, with black I shall besmear his face.
O Mother, I shall eat Thee up but not digest Thee;
I shall install Thee in my heart
And make Thee offerings with my mind.

You may say that by eating Kali I shall embroil myself
With Kala,10 Her Husband, but I am not afraid;
Braving His anger, I shall chant my Mother’s name.
To show the world that Ramprasad is Kali’s rightful son,
Come what may, I shall eat Thee up — Thee and Thy retinue —
Or lose my life attempting it.

“I almost became mad — such was my longing for God.”

Narendra began to sing:

O Mother, make me mad with Thy love!
What need have I of knowledge or reason? . . .

Listening to the song, the Master again went into samadhi. Coming down to the normal plane, he assumed the attitude of Girirani11 and sang the agamani. He sang, intoxicated with divine love:

Tell me, my Uma, how have you fared, alone in the Stranger’s house? . . .

He said to the devotees, “Today is the Mahashtami. The Mother has come; that is why I feel such an awakening of spiritual emotion.”

KEDAR: “Lord, you are here. Are you different from the Divine Mother?”

Sri Ramakrishna looked in another direction and sang in an absent-minded mood:

Ah, friend! I have not found Him yet, whose love has driven me mad. . . .

Again he became ecstatic and sang of the Divine Mother. As he sang Vijay suddenly stood up crying the name of Hari. Sri Ramakrishna, full of divine love, began to dance with Vijay and the other devotees.

The music was over. The Master, Vijay, Narendra, and the other devotees sat down. All eyes were fixed on Sri Ramakrishna, who began conversing with the devotees. He asked about their health. Kedar spoke to him humbly in a soft, sweet voice. Narendra, Chunilal, Ram, M., and Harish were sitting by the Master.

KEDAR (humbly): “How can I get rid of my dizziness?”

MASTER (tenderly): “One gets that. I have had it myself. Use a little almond oil. I have heard that it cures dizziness.”

KEDAR: “I shall, sir.”

MASTER (to Chunilal): “Hello! How is everything?”

CHUNILAL: “Everything is all right with us now. Balaram Babu and Rakhal are well at Vrindavan.”

MASTER: “Why have you sent so many sweetmeats? (To Harish) Wait a day or two before coming to Dakshineswar. You are not well. You may fall ill again there. (To Narayan, tenderly) Sit here. Sit by me. Come to Dakshineswar tomorrow and have your meal there. (Pointing to M.) Come with him. (To M.) What do you say?”

M. wanted to accompany Sri Ramakrishna to Dakshineswar that very day. He became thoughtful.

Surendra stood near Sri Ramakrishna. He was in the habit of drinking and often went to excess. This had worried the Master greatly, but he had not asked Surendra to give up drinking altogether. He had said to him: ‘.’Look here, Surendra! Whenever you drink wine, offer it beforehand to the Divine Mother. See that your brain doesn’t become clouded and that you don’t reel. The more you think of the Divine Mother, the less you will like to drink. The Mother is the Giver of the bliss of divine inebriation. Realizing Her, one feels a natural bliss.”

The Master looked at Surendra and said, “You have had a drink.” With these words he went into samadhi.

It was dusk. Regaining partial consciousness, the Master sang:

Behold my Mother playing with Siva, lost in an ecstasy of joy!
Drunk with a draught of celestial wine. She reels, and yet She does not fall. . . .

Then he chanted the name of Hari, clapping his hands occasionally. In a sweet voice he said: “Hari! Hari! O mind, chant the name of Hari! Sing the name of Hari!” Then he chanted: “Rama! Rama Rama! Rama!”

Now the Master began to pray: “O Rama! O Rama! I am without devotion and austerity, without knowledge and love; I have not performed any religious rites. O Rama, I have taken refuge in Thee; I have taken shelter at Thy feet. I do not want creature comforts; I do not seek name and fame. O Rama, I do not crave the eight occult powers; I do not care for a hundred occult powers! I am Thy servant. I have taken refuge in Thee. Grant, O Rama, that I may have pure love for Thy Lotus Feet; that I may not be deluded by Thy world-bewitching maya! O Rama, I have taken refuge in Thee.”

As the Master prayed all eyes were turned toward him. Hearing his piteous voice, few could restrain their tears.

Ramchandra Dutta came in and stood near him.

MASTER: “Where have you been. Ram?”

RAM: “I was upstairs, sir.”

Ram had been making arrangements for feeding the devotees on the roof of the house.

MASTER (to Ram, with a smile): “Isn’t it better to stay down below than to be high up? Water accumulates in low land but flows down from a high mound.”

RAM (with a smile): “That is true, sir.”

Supper was ready on the roof. Sri Ramakrishna and the devotees were taken there and sumptuously fed. Later the Master went to Adhar’s house with M., Niranjan, and others. The Divine Mother was being worshipped there. It had been Adhar’s earnest prayer that on this sacred day Sri Ramakrishna might bless his house with his presence.