Lessons to learn from the lives of Sri Ramakrishna’s disciples – Part 7

Sri Ramakrishna understood the universality in the teachings of various religions of the world by practicing each religion for a certain period of time and realizing God through each of them.

When he was working as a priest of the Kali temple at Dakshineshwar (near Calcutta), he was seized by a desire to know whether the image in the temple is just a stone or the existence of such a Goddess is true. He yearned for a vision of the Mother of the Universe, Goddess Kali, and after many months of struggle he got a vision of the Divine Mother. Mother Herself then became the teacher and initiated him into the truths he sought.

His next desire was to get a vision of Lord Krishna. For this he practised Vaishnavism under the guidance of a vaishnava monk. He was amazed to find that it is the same Goddess Kali who is also visualized as Krishna! There are numerous sects in Hinduism and each sect claims its own deity as the ultimate God. Sri Ramakrishna practiced every sect of Hinduism and found they all reached the same goal.

He then aspired to know the truth of the various religions of the world. So he sought teachers of other religions. He found a Mohammedan saint and placed himself under him; he underwent the disciplines prescribed by him, and to his astonishment found that when faithfully carried out, these devotional methods led him to the same goal he had already attained. He gathered similar experience by following Christianity as well.

He went to all the sects he could find, and whatever he took up he went into it with his whole heart. He did exactly as he was told, and in every instance he arrived at the same result. Thus from actual experience, he came to know that God is unique. The goal of every religion is the same, that each is trying to teach the same thing, the difference being largely in method and more so in language.

Therefore he emphasized that through earnestness and yearning, all lovers of God will ultimately reach the same goal. His disciples followed this teaching of their Master (Sri Ramakrishna) and there are many instances in their lives when they supported and blessed non-Hindu devotees. Here are a few interesting anecdotes.

In January 1925, Swami Shivananda visited Cuddapah, a small town in the state Andhra Pradesh in India, where Hindu and Muslim devotees had together established ‘Ramakrishna Samaj’. Later the swami recalled his meeting with a highly esteemed muslim who had received the title of Khan Bahadur from the British Government. Khan Bahadur belonged to the Sufi sect of Islam but was very devoted to Sri Ramakrishna. Almost every morning and evening during the period of his stay, the swami found Khan Bahadur seated in a corner of the shrine room of the Samaj in deep humility, intently looking at the portrait of Sri Ramakrishna on the altar. He was convinced that the Prophet Muhammad was born as Sri Ramakrishna for the good of the world.

In September 1926, Swami Shivananda inaugurated the building of a new ashrama in Ootacamund. Learning that he was there, a muslim doctor and his family came all the way from Bombay to see him. In the course of the conversation, the doctor told the swami that his wife was particularly eager to speak to him. Subsequently, the doctor’s wife saluted the swami with great devotion and disclosed many intimate things relating to her spiritual life. Since childhood she had been a devotee of Krishna. She worshipped child Krishna and occasionally had visions of him. After reading about the life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, she became very much devoted to him. It was her conviction that her chosen deity Krishna was born again as Sri Ramakrishna. Swami Shivananda observed that she had profound love and devotion for Sri Ramakrishna. She was quite intense in her spiritual practices and Sri Ramakrishna had blessed her in many ways. While leaving she asked the swami to touch her head with his hand as it had once touched Sri Ramakrishna! Then she wept a lot. Swami Shivananda was greatly moved by her devotion and he told himself again and again, “Glory be unto the Lord! Blessed is Thy power.”

Sri Ramakrishna never encouraged a narrow outlook regarding religious faiths. Let us always remember his message, “As many faiths, so many paths.”

Lessons to learn from the lives of Sri Ramakrishna’s disciples – Part 6

In Part 5 we defined the meaning of ‘initiation’ (in a footnote) and how it helps a person in gaining spirituality. Of course, it is a very rudimentary definition since the writer of this blog is only a beginner in the path of spirituality and in no way be considered spiritually evolved. After writing the blog, we came across some good points about initiation that we wish to share in this part.

Swami Saradananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, once told the monks about the role of Guru and how a real Guru takes responsibility for the spiritual growth of the disciple: “It is not easy to give initiation. You will have to work for your disciples. An illumined guru has to perform special japam for their inner growth and spiritual welfare. The relationship between the guru and disciple is established by God. The real guru takes the burden of his disciples. He works for them through silent prayer and meditation. He has no rest until all of them have become illumined.”1

It reminds the beautiful story of the Good Shepherd that Jesus Christ told his followers. A shepherd had 100 sheep. One day, one of the sheep strayed away. When the shepherd counted his sheep and found there were only 99, he left all those 99 sheep and went in search of his lost sheep. He would not rest until he found it and brought it back. God is like that shepherd. When people do bad things they are lost from God and it makes Him very sad. But He would keep calling them gently until they find their way and return to Him.

Some people get initiation but after sometime they lose interest and stop practicing japa and meditation. Once, a young monk told Swami Brahmananda that he is practicing japa and meditation mechanically and not getting any taste for it and asked what should be done. The swami said, “In the beginning it is best to form a routine and follow it strictly. It does not matter whether you like or dislike it. … Do it for a period of at least four years. …if you have not made tangible progress, come back and slap my face.”2

Swami Brahmananda also said, “The effect of holy company definitely yields positive results. A bee hidden in a flower offered in worship touches the feet of God. Similarly, by association with a holy man one surpasses even the gods and attains liberation.”3

We always aspire for the choicest food, finest clothes, best institutions to get educated and renowned organizations to work with. It is equally important to seek the company of holy people.

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1,2,3 From the book God lived with them by Swami Chetanananda.

Lessons to learn from the lives of Sri Ramakrishna’s disciples – Part 5

Sri Ramakrishna looked upon every woman as the Blissful Mother – the Divine Mother, Goddess Kali. He would stand before those women whom society would not touch, and falling at their feet bathed in tears, saying, "Mother, in one form Thou art in the street, and in another form Thou art the universe. I salute Thee, Mother, I salute Thee."

Swami Vivekananda says, “Think of the blessedness of that life from which all carnality has vanished, which can look upon every woman with that love and reverence when every woman's face becomes transfigured, and only the face of the Divine Mother, the Blissful One, the Protectress of the human race, shines upon it!”

Only when one develops such an attitude it becomes possible to forgive and bless even people who have wandered from the path of virtue.

In Part 3 of this series we presented anecdotes from the life of Swami Brahmananda to show how he carried forward this attitude of Sri Ramakrishna and blessed even the sinners. Here is an episode from the life of Swami Shivananda expressing a similar attitude:

One morning Swami Shivananda (known as Mahapurush) was sitting on his cot. He seemed solemn and indrawn but suddenly said to the attendant standing near, “Will you go and see if there is someone who wants initiation?”1 When the attendant went out, he found a young woman from a village who wanted initiation. However, when enquired, he found out that she had kept bad company and gone astray, and had led a sinful life. In a sad tone she asked, “May I not see him [Mahapurushji] once?”

When the attendant returned, Swami Shivananda asked very earnestly, “Tell me, is someone there?” The attendant replied very reluctantly, “Maharaj it is a lady who wants initiation, but…” Mahapurush remarked, “What of that? Ask her to bathe in the Ganges and come to me after visiting the shrine. Sri Ramakrishna is the redeemer of the fallen. He came especially to uplift them. What will happen to them if he does not come to their rescue? One could not then call him the savior of the fallen.”

When the woman came to him after bath for initiation, he spoke to her as if he knew everything about her life: “What is there to fear, my daughter? You will certainly be blessed since you have taken refuge in Sri Ramakrishna, our Master and savior. Say this, 'Whatever sins I have committed in this life and in lives past, I offer them here [i.e., to the Master] and I will sin no more.' ” After initiation, the woman appeared to be an altogether new person.

There is a saying, “Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future.” An illumined guru purifies the minds of impure souls.

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1Initiation is the process of providing a mantra to a devotee who wants to get initiated into spiritual life. The mantra is usually the name of a God whom the Guru (spiritual teacher) thinks ideal for that specific devotee. Reciting the mantra kindles the spiritual fire in the devotee. As a small seed in course of time becomes a huge tree, cultivation of the habit of regular recitation of the mantra at specific hours of a day will yield great results in course of time. Readers who are hearing this for the first time may wonder whether it is really necessary to get such an initiation. Is it not sufficient to recite the name of my favorite God? In a majority of the cases, the Guru may suggest the name of one’s favorite God as the mantra for the devotee. But there may be some exceptions as well. The difference between them is exactly the same as taking the medicine prescribed by an expert physician after consultation and taking something of one’s choice and hoping that it will cure the illness. Another advantage in getting the mantra from a great Guru is that it is very powerful and yields great results even with little effort (even if it is the same as the one already being used for japa).

The most important point in the whole process is trust. The devotee should have complete faith in the Guru and recite the mantra regularly. Readers of this blog interested in getting such an initiation should contact the nearest branch of Ramakrishna Mission. Most of the branches have websites and one may even get information by writing to a branch of their choice.

Lessons to learn from the lives of Sri Ramakrishna’s disciples – Part 4

Mysterious is the divine will. A washerman donated two acres of land for setting up a branch of Ramakrishna Math! It happened in Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu, India.

Swami Shivananda, revered as Mahapurush Maharaj, was a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. Once when he was at Madras he contracted malaria and the doctors advised him to rest at a cool place. Accordingly, arrangements were made to send him to Springfield near Kunoor in Nilgiri Hills. When he went there he liked the place and wanted to open a centre there for the monks to practice sadhana.

God decided to fulfill His devotee’s wish. A washerman had a dream in which his chosen deity, Sitala, said to him, ‘Very soon some people will come to you for a piece of land to establish a monastry. Be sure to give them what they want.’ On getting this dream for three consecutive nights, he thought, ‘Nobody is coming to me for land.’ One day while searching for the land, the local devotees met the washerman and told him what they were looking for. Immediately he said, ‘For all these days I have been searching for you. Please come along and take two acres of land from my 22 acres.’ Forthwith, he executed a registered deed of transfer for it. Detailed plans were then made so that an ashrama could be established quickly.

True indeed are the words of Swami Vivekananda: “Are you unselfish? Then God is with you.”

Lessons to learn from the lives of Sri Ramakrishna’s disciples – Part 3

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna quotes Sri Ramakrishna’s words regarding sin: “He who says day and night, ‘I am a sinner, I am a sinner’ verily becomes a sinner.” “One should have such burning faith in God that one can say, ‘What? I have repeated the name of God, and can sin still cling to me?” “If a man repeats the name of God, his body, mind, and everything becomes pure.”

Swami Brahmananda upheld his master’s views regarding sin and sinners. Once he said to a monk, “If you can’t make a bad man good, why did you become a monk?” He was a friend and savior of the dejected, fallen, and lowly. Tara, an actress, described in her memoirs how Brahmananda’s love and blessings changed her life. Once she was depressed and restless, and life seemed unbearable to her. In such an unhappy state of mind, she went to Belur Math with Binodini, another actress of Bengal. It was past noon when they reached the Math. Swami Brahmananda had finished his lunch and was about to go to his room to rest. At that moment, the two ladies went and prostrated before him. Maharaj (Swami Brahmananda was referred that way) said, “Hello, Binode! Hello, Tara! So you have come! You are too late. We have finished our lunch. You should have let us know that you were coming.”

They could see how worried he was about them. He immediately ordered fruit prasad, and arrangements were made to fry luchis for them. They first went to the shrine and then had prasad, and afterwards were shown around the Math by a swami. Maharaj did not have his rest that day.

Tara wrote that although she had reverence for holy men, faith and respect, the thought that she was impure – a fallen woman, put fear in her heart. Hence when she touched Swami Brahmananda’s feet, she did it with much hesitation. Maharaj asked her, “Why don’t you come here often?” She replied, “I was afraid to come to the Math.” Maharaj said with great earnestness, “Fear? You are coming to Sri Ramakrishna. What fear can there be? All of us are his children. Don’t be afraid. Whenever you wish, come here. Daughter, the Lord does not care about the externals. He sees our inmost heart. There should be no fear in approaching Him.” She could not hold back her tears. Her lifelong sorrow melted as the tears fell from her eyes, and she realized: “Here is my refuge. Here is someone to whom I am not a sinner, I am not an outcast.”

Once Swami Brahmananda told a young man who had committed an immoral act [probably adultery] and was ashamed to show his face, “Look, if a mosquito sits on the horn of a buffalo does it feel it or register any pain? Know us to be like that.”

Another time he said, “Remove all fear and weakness from your mind. Never debase yourself by thinking about sin. Sin, however great it may seem in the eyes of man, is nothing in the eyes of God. One glance of His can uproot the sins of millions of births in a moment. In order to divert human beings from the path of sin, scriptures mention heavy punishments for the sinner. Of course every action bears a result, and evil actions disturb one’s peace of mind.”

Let us always remember these precious words of Sri Ramakrishna, “God is our Father and Mother. Tell Him, ‘O Lord, I have committed sins, but I won’t repeat them.’ Chant His name, and purify your body and mind. Purify your tongue by singing God’s holy name.”

And pray earnestly as Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi had said, “If a child dirties up the floor or the clothes of its mother, will the mother discard the child as bad? She will only clean the child and lifts it up. The same holds true of God as well. God will forgive you for all your mistakes if only you pray earnestly.”

Lessons to learn from the lives of Sri Ramakrishna’s disciples – Part 2

In this blog we narrate an interesting episode from the life of Swami Brahmananda, who was revered as the spiritual son of Sri Ramakrishna. Swami Brahmananda was a spiritual giant and President of the Ramakrishna Mission for more than 20 years.

After the passing away of Sri Ramakrishna in 1886 and until the formation of the Ramakrishna Order in 1897, Sri Ramakrishna's monastic disciples went to various holy places of India as wandering monks to practise sadhana. Sometime in 1893, Swami Brahmananda was on pilgrimage to Brindavan and other holy places of north India. He was accompanied by Swami Turiyananda. One day, when they were in Ayodya, Swami Turiyananda went to beg for food and was given some boiled kachu (an edible root). As soon as they had eaten, their throats began to sting and burn, and gradually their mouths and tongues swelled. Swami Turiyananda ran in search of lemon, an antidote for the allergy. It was out of season, but still he found a lime grove and after careful searching found a lemon in one of the trees and with the permission of the owner of the grove, took the fruit and ran to Swami Brahmananda. It immediately relieved his painful throat.

That night Brahmananda lamented, addressing Sri Ramakrishna, “Master, why did you take me from home if you could not provide a morsel of food? Tomorrow morning if I get hot kichuri [rice and lentils cooked together] and pickles, I shall understand that you are with me.”

The next morning the swamis went to bathe in Sarayu River. A monk arrived and said to Brahmananda: “Swami, I understand that both of you fasted yesterday. Please come to my cottage and have some prasad which I offered to Lord Rama.” The monk served hot kichuri and pickle to the swamis. They greatly enjoyed the meal. The monk then said: “Blessed am I! For the last 24 years I have been practicing sadhana here to have a vision or hear the voice of Lord Rama. Today the Lord has blessed me.” Tears trickled from the eyes of the monk. At Brahmananda’s request, the monk elaborated: “While I was sleeping last night, I saw Lord Rama touched my body with his soft hand and said: ‘Get up. I am hungry. Cook kichuri and offer it to me. Tomorrow morning you will see two devotees bathing at the ghat of Sarayu River. They are fasting. Offer my prasad to them.’ It is by your grace I had the vision of Lord Rama.”

While returning to their cottage, Brahmananda related to Turiyananda the mystery behind the incident.

This anecdote is mentioned in the book God lived with them by Swami Chetanananda (published by Advaitha Ashrama). God, indeed, lives with the devotees and answers their earnest prayers.

The devotee, in turn, should have unshakable faith -- not only in God but also in his/her abilities. As Swami Vivekananda says, “Faith, faith, faith in ourselves, faith in God - this is the secret of greatness. If you have faith in three hundred and thirty million of your mythological gods, and in all the gods which foreigners have introduced into your midst, and still have no faith in yourselves, there is no salvation for you. Have faith in yourselves and stand upon that faith and be strong.”

Lessons to learn from the lives of Sri Ramakrishna’s disciples – Part 1

Ganappa is one-year old today! In celebration of the first anniversary, we wish to present a series of articles providing interesting episodes from the lives of Sri Ramakrishna’s disciples.

Humility is the hallmark of nobility. It is the greatest of all the noble virtues. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa practiced humility in his life and also instilled this noble quality in the lives of his disciples. When Keshab Chandra Sen asked him how he looked upon himself, he told, “I am the dust of the dust of your feet.” Every one of his monastic disciples without exception had imbibed this quality of their master.

Swami Vivekananda, the foremost disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, stated about the uniqueness of his guru: “The man at whose feet I sat all my life – and it was only a few ideas of his I try to teach – could [hardly] write his name at all. All my life I have not seen another man like that, and I have travelled all over the world. When I think of that man, I feel like a fool, because I wanted to read books and he never did… He was his own book.”

Swami Vivekananda once paid a touching tribute to Sri Ramakrishna as follows: “my teacher, my master, my hero, my ideal, my God in life.” “If there has been anything achieved by me,” he said with deep feeling, “by thoughts, or words or deeds, if from my lips has ever fallen one word that has ever helped anyone in this world, I lay no claim to it; it was his. But if there have been curses falling from my lips, if there has been hatred coming out of me, it is all mine, and not his. All that has been weak has been mine; all that has been life-giving, strengthening, pure and holy has been his inspiration, his words, and he himself. Yes, my friends, the world has yet to know that man.”

There may be many students who think highly of their teachers. But for a world-renowned saint as Swami Vivekananda (about whom John Wright, a professor of Harvard University, wrote  “Here is a man more learned than all our learned professors put together.”) to think and say such words, it shows his extraordinary humility.