From the Gospel – 11

Sri Ramakrishna says, "There are innumerable pathways leading to the Ocean of Immortality. The essential thing is to reach the Ocean. It doesn't matter which path you follow. Imagine that there is a reservoir containing the Elixir of  Immortality. You will be immortal if a few drops of the Elixir somehow get into your mouth. You may get into the reservoir either by jumping into it, or by being pushed into it from behind, or by slowly walking down the steps. The effect is one and the same. You will become immortal by tasting a drop of that Elixir.

 

Innumerable are the ways that lead to God. There are the paths of jnāna, of karma, and of bhakti. If you are sincere, you will attain God in the end, whichever path you follow. Roughly speaking, there are three kinds of yoga: jnanayoga, karma yoga, and bhaktiyoga.

What is jnanayoga? The Jnāni seeks to realize Brahman. He discriminates, saying, 'Not this, not this'. He discriminates, saying, 'Brahman is real and the universe illusory.' He discriminates between the Real and the unreal. As he comes to the end of discrimination, he goes into samādhi and attains the Knowledge of Brahman.

What is karmayoga? Its aim is to fix one's mind on God by means of work. That is what you are teaching. It consists of breath-control, concentration, meditation, and so on, done in a spirit of detachment. If a householder performs his duties in the world in a spirit of detachment, surrendering the results to God and with devotion to God in his heart, he too may be said to practise karmayoga. Further, if a person performs worship, japa, and other forms of devotion, surrendering the results to God, he may be said to practise karmayoga. Attainment of God alone is the aim of karmayoga.

What is bhaktiyoga? It is to keep the mind on God by chanting His name and glories. For the Kaliyuga the path of devotion is easiest. This is indeed the path for this age.

The path of karma is very difficult. First of all, as I have just said, where will one find the time for it nowadays? Where is the time for a man to perform his duties as enjoined in the scriptures? Man's life is short in this age. Further, it is extremely difficult to perform one's duties in a spirit of detachment, without craving for the result. One cannot work in such a spirit without first having realized God. Attachment to the result somehow enters the mind, though you may not be aware of it.

To follow jnanayoga in this age is also very difficult. First, a man's life depends entirely on food. Second, he has a short span of life. Third, he can by no means get rid of body-consciousness; and the Knowledge of Brahman is impossible without the destruction of body-consciousness. The Jnāni says: 'I am Brahman; I am not the body. I am beyond hunger and thirst, disease and grief, birth and death, pleasure and pain.' How can you be a Jnāni if you are conscious of disease, grief, pain, pleasure, and the like? A thorn enters your flesh, blood flows from the wound, and you suffer very badly from the pain; but nevertheless, if you are a Jnāni you must be able to say: 'Why, there is no thorn in my flesh at all. Nothing is the matter with me.'

Therefore bhaktiyoga is prescribed for this age. By following this path one comes to God more easily than by following the others. One can undoubtedly, reach God by following the paths of jnāna and karma, but they are very difficult paths.

Bhaktiyoga is the religion for this age. But that does not mean that the lover of God will reach one goal and the philosopher and worker another. It means that if a person seeks the Knowledge of Brahman he can attain It by following the path of bhakti, too. God, who loves His devotee, can give him the Knowledge of Brahman if He so desires.

But the bhakta wants to realize the Personal God endowed with form and talk to Him. He seldom seeks the Knowledge of Brahman. But God, who does everything at His pleasure, can make His devotee the heir to His infinite glories if it pleases Him. He gives His devotee both the Love of God and the Knowledge of Brahman. If one is able somehow to reach Calcutta, one can see the Maidhan and the museum and other places too. The thing is how to reach Calcutta.

By realizing the Divine Mother of the Universe, you will get Knowledge as well as Devotion. You will get both. In bhava samādhi you will see the form of God, and in nirvikalpa samādhi you will realize Brahman, the Absolute Existence-Knowledge-Bliss. In nirvikalpa samādhi ego, name, and form do not exist.

A lover of God prays to the Divine Mother: 'O Mother, I am very much afraid of selfish actions. Such actions have desires behind them, and if I perform them I shall have to reap their fruit. But it is very difficult to work in a detached spirit. I shall certainly forget Thee, O Mother, if I involve myself in selfish actions. Therefore I have no use for them. May my actions, O Divine Mother, be fewer every day till I attain Thee. May I perform, without attachment to the results, only what action is absolutely necessary for me. May I have great love for Thee as I go on with my few duties. May I not entangle myself in new work so long as I do not realize Thee. But I shall perform it if I receive Thy command. Otherwise not.' "


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'Lover of God!' What a beautiful phrase! As this love for God starts filling one's heart, all cravings for name, fame, wealth, sexual pleasure, etc. disappear without trace. Therefore, let us crave for this love for God.  

From the Gospel – 10

M: "Is it possible to see God?"

MASTER: "Yes, certainly.  Living in solitude now and then, repeating God's name and singing His glories, and discriminating between the Real and the unreal - these are the means to employ to see Him."

M: "Under what conditions does one see God?"

MASTER: "Cry to the Lord with an intensely yearning heart and you will certainly see Him.  People shed a whole jug of tears for wife and children.  They swim in tears for money.  But who weeps for God? Cry to Him with a real cry."

Continuing, he said: "Longing is like the rosy dawn.  After the dawn out comes the sun.  Longing is followed by the vision of God.

God reveals Himself to a devotee who feels drawn to Him by the combined force of these three attractions: the attraction of worldly possessions for the worldly man, the child's attraction for its mother, and the husband's attraction for the chaste wife.  If one feels drawn to Him by the combined force of these three attractions, then through it one can attain Him. 

The point is, to love God even as the mother loves her child, the chaste wife her husband, and the worldly man his wealth.  Add together these three forces of love, these three powers of attraction, and give it all to God.  Then you will certainly see Him.

It is necessary to pray to Him with a longing heart.  The kitten knows only how to call its mother, crying, 'Mew, mew!' It remains satisfied wherever its mother puts it.  And the mother cat puts the kitten sometimes in the kitchen, sometimes on the floor, and sometimes on the bed.  When it suffers it cries only, 'Mew, mew!' That's all it knows.  But as soon as the mother hears this cry, wherever she may be; she comes to the kitten."

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Editor’s note: In whatever situation we may be placed, let us not forget the Almighty and pray to Him for guidance and help.

From the Gospel – 9

MASTER (To Shrish): "What is your idea about the most essential thing in life?"

SHRISH: "God exists and He alone does everything. But the attributes we ascribe to Him are not the right ones. How can a man conceive of Him? His nature is infinite."

MASTER: "What need is there of your counting the number of trees and branches in an orchard? You have come to the orchard to eat mangoes. Do that and be happy. The aim of human birth is to love God. Realize that love and be at peace.

Suppose you have entered a tavern for a drink. Is it necessary for you to know how many gallons of wine there are in the tavern? One glass is enough for you. What need is there of your knowing the infinite qualities of God? You may discriminate for millions of years about God's attributes and still you will not know them."

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Editor’s note: The aim of human birth is to love God. Once we realize that love, we understand that this world is completely under His control, nothing can ever go wrong here, everything that happens is for our good, and therefore we can be at peace.

From the Gospel – 8

M. (humbly): "How, sir, may we fix our minds on God?"

MASTER: "Repeat God's name and sing His glories, and keep holy company; and now and then visit God's devotees and holy men.  The mind cannot dwell on God if it is immersed day and night in worldliness, in worldly duties and responsibilities; it is most necessary to go into solitude now and then and think of God.  To fix the mind on God is very difficult, in the beginning, unless one practises meditation in solitude.  When a tree is young it should be fenced all around; otherwise it may be destroyed by cattle.

"To meditate, you should withdraw within yourself or retire to a secluded corner or to the forest.  And you should always discriminate between the Real and the unreal.  God alone is real, the Eternal Substance; all else is unreal, that is, impermanent.  By discriminating thus, one should shake off impermanent objects from the mind."


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Editor’s note:  To those readers who may ponder, “I am too busy, where do I have the time to search for holy men or God’s devotees? Where will I find a secluded corner for meditation?”, our answer will be the following: (i) whenever and wherever possible, recite the name of God; (ii) avoid worldly talk (gossip) or leave the place where such talk is happening. Do not do either of these openly, do them discreetly (without being noticed, your behaviour should appear natural). Soon, holy people will come by themselves and befriend you, and you will find a secluded place to meditate. Everything will happen gradually, in course of time. In the spiritual journey, do not expect instant results. Have complete faith in the Almighty and soon you will find how He takes complete responsibility of your life.

From the Gospel – 7

Sri Ramakrishna on different forms of worship: “God Himself has provided different forms of worship.  He who is the Lord of the Universe has arranged all these forms to suit different men in different stages of knowledge.

The mother cooks different dishes to suit the stomachs of her different children.  Suppose she has five children.  If there is a fish to cook, she prepares various dishes from it - pilau, pickled fish, fried fish, and so on - to suit their different tastes and powers of digestion.”

From the Gospel – 6

Here are a few more words of Sri Ramakrishna about preaching.

KESHAB (to the Master): "How long will you hide yourself in this way? I dare say people will be thronging here by and by in great crowds."

MASTER: "What are you talking of? I only eat and drink and sing God's name. I know nothing about gathering crowds. Hanuman once declared: 'I know nothing about the day of the week or the position of the moon and stars in the sky. I simply meditate on Rama.'"

KESHAB: "All right, sir, I shall gather the crowd. But they all must come to your place."

MASTER: "I am the dust of the dust of everybody's feet. If anyone is gracious enough to come here, he is welcome."

KESHAB: "Whatever you may say, sir, your advent cannot be in vain."

                                                               * * * * *

On another occasion, when Sri Ramakrishna was discussing with Dr Sarkar regarding himself, he says: "Once I went to a certain place with Mathur Babu. Many pundits came forward to argue with me. And you all know that I am a fool. (All laugh.) The pundits saw that strange mood of mine. When the conversation was over, they said to me: 'Sir, after hearing your words, all that we have studied before, our knowledge and scholarship, has proved to be mere spittle. Now we realize that a man does not lack wisdom if he has the grace of God. The fool becomes wise and the mute eloquent.' Therefore I say that a man does not become a scholar by the mere study of books.

Yes, how true it is! How can a man who has the grace of God lack knowledge? Look at me. I am a fool. I do not know anything. Then who is it that utters these words? The reservoir of the Knowledge of God is inexhaustible. There are grain-dealers at Kamarpukur. When selling paddy, one man weighs the grain on the scales and another man pushes it to him from a heap. It is the duty of the second man to keep a constant supply of grain on the scales by pushing it from the big heap. It is the same with my words. No sooner are they about to run short than the Divine Mother sends a new supply from Her Inexhaustible storehouse of Knowledge.

You know I am a fool. I know nothing. Then who is it that says all these things? I say to the Divine Mother: 'O Mother, I am the machine and Thou art the Operator. I am the house and Thou art the Indweller. I am the chariot and Thou art the Charioteer. I do as Thou makest me do; I speak as Thou makest me speak; I move as Thou makest me move. It is not I! It is not I! It is all Thou! It is all Thou!' Hers is the glory; we are only Her instruments. Once Radha, to prove her chastity, carried on her head a pitcher filled with water. The pitcher had a thousand holes, but not a drop of water spilled. People began to praise her, saying, 'Such a chaste woman the world will never see again!' Then Radha said to them: 'Why do you praise me? Say: Glory unto Krishna! Hail Krishna! I am only His handmaid.' ”

One distinguishing quality of truly great people is their humility. 

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A note from the Editor:  When I read for the first time the views of Sri Ramakrishna on teaching and preaching in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (presented in Parts 4, 5 and 6), I pondered for many days whether I have the authority to write anything about Sri Ramakrishna or about any other holy person or about God. Then I decided to get the answer from Sri Ramakrishna himself. I got the answer that I should continue what I am doing and also that I should do it much more. As I am very keen that whatever I am writing here should be really worthwhile I am not able to do this more frequently. I hope and pray that Almighty would feed me with enough energy, leisure, and shraddha (the most important requirement) to do this work as much as He would desire.

From the Gospel – 5

Pundit Shashadhar was one of the renowned Sanskrit scholars of his time – a pillar of orthodox Hinduism, which had reasserted itself after the first wave of Christianity and Western culture had passed over Hindu society. His clear exposition of the Hindu scriptures, his ringing sincerity, and his stirring eloquence had brought back a large number of the educated young Hindus of Bengal to the religion of their forefathers. Sri Ramakrishna visited Pundit Shashadhar at his residence on June 25, 1884.

Sri Ramakrishna explained to the Pundit about the futility of lecturing to worldly people thus: "You may deliver thousands of lectures, but they won't make the slightest impression on worldly people. Can one drive a nail into a stone wall? The point of the nail will sooner break than make a dent in the stone. What will you gain by striking the tough skin of the crocodile with a sword? The sādhu's water-bowl, made from the shell of a bitter gourd, may visit the four principal holy places of India with its owner, but it will still remain as bitter as ever. Your lectures are not helping worldly people very much; and you will realize this by and by. The calf cannot stand on its legs all at once. Now it drops to the ground and now it stands up. So it learns to stand finally on its legs and walk.

There is no harm in teaching others if the preacher has a commission from the Lord. Nobody can confound a preacher who teaches people after having received the command of God. Getting a ray of light from the goddess of learning, a man becomes so powerful that before him big scholars seem mere earthworms.

When the lamp is lighted the moths come in swarms. They don't have to be invited. In the same way, the preacher who has a commission from God need not invite people to hear him. He doesn't have to announce the time of his lectures. He possesses such irresistible attraction that people come to him of their own accord. People of all classes, even kings and aristocrats, gather around him. They say to him: 'Revered sir, what can we offer you? Here are mangoes, sweets, money, shawls, and other things. What will you be pleased to accept?' In that case I say to them: 'Go away. I don't care, for these. I don't want anything.'

Does the magnet say to the iron, 'Come near me?' That is not necessary. Because of the attraction of the magnet, the iron rushes to it.

Such a preacher may not be a scholarly person, but don't conclude from that that he has any lack of wisdom. Does book-learning make one wise? He who has a commission from God never runs short of wisdom. That wisdom comes from God; it is inexhaustible. At Kamarpukur I have seen people measuring grain. It lies in a heap. One man keeps pushing grain from the heap toward another man, who weighs it on a scales. So the man who weighs doesn't run short of grain. It is the same with the preacher who has received a commission from God. As he teaches people, the Divine Mother Herself supplies him with fresh knowledge from behind. That knowledge never comes to an end.

Can a preacher ever lack knowledge if but once he is favoured with a benign glance from the Divine Mother? Therefore I ask you whether you have received any commission from God."

HAZRA: "Oh yes, he must have it. (To the pundit) Isn't it true, sir?"

PUNDIT: "Commission? No, sir, I am afraid I haven't received any such thing."

HOST: "He may not have received the commission, but he preaches from a sense of duty."

MASTER: "What will a man accomplish by mere lectures without the commission from God? Once a Brahmo preacher said in the course of his sermon, 'Friends, how much I used to drink!' and so on. Hearing this the people began to whisper among themselves: 'What is this fool saying? He used to drink!' Now these words produced a very unfavourable effect. This shows that preaching cannot bring a good result unless it comes from a good man.

A high government official from Barisal once said to me, 'Sir, if you begin the work of preaching, I too shall gird my loins.' I told him the story of people's dirtying the bank of the Haldārpukur and of its being stopped only when a constable, armed with authority from the government, put up a notice prohibiting it.

          

So I say, a worthless man may talk his head off preaching, and yet he will produce no effect. But people will listen to him if he is armed with a badge of authority from God. One cannot teach others without the commission from God. A teacher of men must have great power…. Chaitanyadeva was an Incarnation of God. How little is left of what he accomplished – not to speak of a lecturer who preaches without authority from God! What good will a lecturer do?

Therefore I say to you, dive deep in God-Consciousness. Nothing will ever worry you if you but realize God. Then you will get His commission to teach people."

From the Gospel – 4

In a discussion regarding whether God is formless or with form, M. (Mahendranath Gupta, the recorder of the Gospel) says that he believes God to be formless. In reply to this, Sri Ramakrishna tells him, “You believe in God without form; that is quite all right.  But never for a moment think that this alone is true and all else false.  Remember that God with form is just as true as God without form.  But hold fast to your own conviction."

…

M: "Sir, suppose one believes in God with form.  Certainly He is not the clay image!"

MASTER (interrupting): "But why clay? It is an image of Spirit."

M. could not quite understand the significance of this "image of Spirit".  "But, sir," he said to the Master, "one should explain to those who worship the clay image that it is not God, and that, while worshipping it, they should have God in view and not the clay image.  One should not worship clay."

MASTER (sharply): "That's the one hobby of you Calcutta people - giving lectures and bringing others to the light! Nobody ever stops to consider how to get the light himself.  Who are you to teach others?

He who is the Lord of the Universe will teach everyone.  He alone teaches us, who has created this universe; who has made the sun and moon, men and beasts, and all other beings; who has provided means for their sustenance; who has given children parents and endowed them with love to bring them up.  The Lord has done so many things - will He not show people the way to worship Him? If they need teaching, then He will be the Teacher.  He is our Inner Guide.”

God is the only teacher.

From the Gospel – 3

M. (humbly):"How ought we to live in the world?"

MASTER: "Do all your duties, but keep your mind on God.  Live with all - with wife and children, father and mother - and serve them.  Treat them as if they were very dear to you, but know in your heart of hearts that they do not belong to you.

A maidservant in the house of a rich man performs all the household duties, but her thoughts are fixed on her own home in her native village.  She brings up her Master's children as if they were her own.  She even speaks of them as 'my Rāma' or 'my Hari'.  But in her own mind she knows very well that they do not belong to her at all.

The tortoise moves about in the water.  But can you guess where her thoughts are? They are on the bank, where her eggs are lying.  Do all your duties in the world, but keep your mind on God.

If you enter the world without first cultivating love for God, you will be entangled more and more.  You will be overwhelmed with its danger, its grief, its sorrows.  And the more you think of worldly things, the more you will be attached to them.

First rub your hands with oil and then break open the jack-fruit; otherwise they will be smeared with its sticky milk.  First secure the oil of divine love, and then set your hands to the duties of the world. 

But one must go into solitude to attain this divine love.  To get butter from milk you must let it set into curd in a secluded spot; if it is too much disturbed, milk won't turn into curd.  Next, you must put aside all other duties, sit in a quiet spot, and churn the curd.  Only then do you get butter.

Further, by meditating on God in solitude the mind acquires knowledge, dispassion, and devotion.  But the very same mind goes downward if it dwells in the world.  In the world there is only one thought: 'woman and gold'.

The world is water and the mind milk.  If you pour milk into water they become one; you cannot find the pure milk any more.  But turn the milk into curd and churn it into butter.  Then, when that butter is placed in water, it will float.  So, practise spiritual discipline in solitude and obtain the butter of knowledge and love.  Even if you keep that butter in the water of the world the two will not mix.  The butter will float.

Together with this, you must practise discrimination.  'Woman and gold' is impermanent.  God is the only Eternal Substance.  What does a man get with money? Food, clothes, and a dwelling-place - nothing more.  You cannot realize God with its help.  Therefore money can never be the goal of life.  That is the process of discrimination.  Do you understand?"

M: "Yes, sir.  I recently read a Sanskrit play called Prabodha Chandrodaya.  It deals with discrimination."

MASTER: "Yes, discrimination about objects.  Consider - what is there in money or in a beautiful body? Discriminate and you will find that even the body of a beautiful woman consists of bones, flesh, fat, and other disagreeable things.  Why should a man give up God and direct his attention to such things? Why should a man forget God for their sake?"

From the Gospel – 2

Ishan of Bhawanipur asked Sri Ramakrishna, “Sir, why have you renounced the world? The scriptures extol the householder’s life as the best.”

Master: “I don’t know much about what is good and what is bad. I do what God makes me do and speak what he makes me speak.”

Ishan: “If everybody renounced the world, they would be acting against God’s will.”

Master: “Why should everybody renounce? On the other hand, can it be the will of God that all should revel in ‘woman and gold’ [meaning lust and greed] like dogs and jackals? Has He no other wish? Do you know what accords with His will and what is against it?

You say that God wants everybody to lead a worldly life. But why don’t you see it as God’s will when your wife and children die? Why don’t you see His will in poverty, when you haven’t a morsel to eat?

Maya won’t allow us to know the will of God. On account of God’s maya, the unreal appears as real and the real as unreal. The world is unreal. This moment it exists and the next it disappears. But on account of His maya, it appears real. It is only through His maya that ego seems to be the doer. Furthermore, on account of this maya a man regards his wife and children, his brother and sister, his father and mother, his house and property, as his own.

There are two aspects of maya: vidya and avidya. Avidya deludes one with worldliness, and vidya – wisdom, devotion, and the company of holy men – leads one to God.

He who has gone beyond maya, through the grace of God, views alike both vidya and avidya. Worldly life is a life of enjoyment. After all, what is there to enjoy in ‘woman and gold’?  As soon as a sweetmeat has gone down the throat, one doesn’t remember whether it tasted sweet or sour.

But why should everybody renounce? Is renunciation possible except in the fullness of time?...”

Lot more on Renunciation in Part 3…

From the Gospel – 1

We wish to present some highly inspiring passages from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. We trust a dose of the powerful words of the Master (Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa) everyday will be sufficient to kindle spirituality, renunciation, and earnestness to realize God as well as imparting discrimination to shun lust and greed.

According to Sri Ramakrishna, three qualities – pride, hatred, and fear – obstruct an aspirant in realizing God. Here are some words of the Master regarding pride:

Master: “Oh, how vanity turns a person’s head! There was a scavenger woman in the temple garden at Dakshineshwar. And her pride! And all because of a few ornaments. One day a few men were passing her on the path and she shouted to them, ‘Hey! Get out of the way, you people!’ If a scavenger woman can talk that way, what can one say about the vanity of others?”


“Rain-water never collects on a high mound; it collects only in low land. Similarly, the water of God's grace cannot remain on the high mound of egotism. Before God one should feel lowly and poor.

One should be extremely watchful. Even clothes create vanity. I notice that even a man suffering from an enlarged spleen sings Nidhu Babu's light songs when he is dressed up in a black-bordered cloth. There are men who spout English whenever they put on high boots. And when an unfit person puts on an ochre cloth he becomes vain; the slightest sign of indifference to him arouses his anger and pique.”

One day during the rainy season of 1881, Sri Ramakrishna and a number of devotees visited Surendra’s house…. Surendra approached the Master with a garland and wanted to put it around his neck. But the Master took it in his hand and threw it aside. Surendra’s pride was wounded and his eyes filled with tears. He went to the west porch and sat with Ram, Manomohan, and others. In a voice choked with sadness he said, “I am really angry. How can a poor Brahmin know the value of a thing like that? I spent a lot of money for that garland, and he refused to accept it. I was unable to control my anger and said that the other garlands were to be given away to the devotees. Now I realize it was all my fault. God cannot be bought with money; He cannot be possessed by a vain person. I have really been vain. Why should he accept my worship? I don’t feel like living any more.” Tears streamed down his cheeks and over his chest.

In the meantime, Trilokya was singing inside the room. The Master began to dance in an ecstasy of joy. He put around his neck the garland that he had thrown aside; holding it with one hand, he swung it with the other as he danced and sang. Now Surendra’s joy was unbounded. The Master had accepted his offering. Surendra said to himself, “God crushes one’s pride, no doubt, but He is also the cherished treasure of the humble and lowly.”

Pride, pride, pride. As mentioned in paragraph 2 above, there is no limit to the pride of people. Pride of good features, pride of youthfulness, pride of wealth, pride of good education, pride of charity, there is no end to the list of things that people pride over. Why, even the pride that “I am honest,” “I have never told a lie,” “I have not cheated anybody” will not let a person realize God. We have to keep a constant watch over our actions and should not let pride enter in any form.