Message from the Gospel – 16. God's True Nature

Sri Ramakrishna says, "The nature of Brahman cannot be described.  About It one remains silent.  Who can explain the Infinite in words? However high a bird may soar, there are regions higher still.  What do you say?"

PREACHER: "Yes, sir, it is so stated in the Vedanta philosophy."

MASTER: "Once a salt doll went to the ocean to measure its depth.  But it could not come back to give a report.  According to one school of thought, sages like Sukadeva saw and touched the Ocean of Brahman, but did not plunge into It."

"Once I said to Vidyasagar, 'Everything else but Brahman has been polluted, as it were, like food touched by the tongue.' In other words, no one has been able to describe what Brahman is.  A thing once uttered by the tongue becomes polluted.  Vidyasagar, great pundit though he was, was highly pleased with my remarks.”

"It is said that there are places near Kedār that are covered with eternal snow; he who climbs too high cannot come back.  Those who have tried to find out what there is in the higher regions, or what one feels there, have not come back to tell us about it.”

"After having the vision of God man is overpowered with bliss.  He becomes silent.  Who will speak? Who will explain?”

"The king lives beyond seven gates.  At each gate sits a man endowed with great power and glory.  At each gate the visitor asks, 'Is this the king?' The gate-keeper answers, 'No.  Not this, not this.' The visitor passes through the seventh gate and  becomes overpowered with joy.  He is speechless.  This time he doesn't have to ask, 'Is this the king?' The mere sight of him removes all doubts."

PREACHER: "Yes, sir, it is so described in Vedanta."

MASTER: "When the Godhead is thought of as creating, preserving, and destroying, It is known as the Personal God, Saguna Brahman, or the Primal Energy, Ādyāśakti.  Again, when It is thought of as beyond the three gunas, then It is called the Attributeless Reality, Nirguna Brahman, beyond speech and thought; this is the Supreme Brahman, Parabrahman.”

"Under the spell of God's maya man forgets his true nature.  He forgets that he is heir to the infinite glories of his Father.  This divine maya is made up of three gunas.  And all three are robbers; for they rob man of all his treasures and make him forget his true nature.  The three gunas are sattva, rajas, and tamas.  Of these, sattva alone points the way to God.  But even sattva cannot take a man to God.”

 

"Let me tell you a story.  Once, a rich man was passing through a forest, when three robbers surrounded him and robbed him of all his wealth.  After snatching all his possessions from him, one of the robbers said: 'What's the good of keeping the man alive? Kill him.' Saying this, he was about to strike their victim with his sword, when the second robber interrupted and said: 'There's no use in killing him.  Let us bind him fast and leave him here.  Then he won't be able to tell the police.' Accordingly, the robbers tied him with a rope, left him, and went away.”

"After a while the third robber returned to the rich man and said: 'Ah! You're badly hurt, aren't you? Come, I'm going to release you.' The third robber set the man free and led him out of the forest.  When they came near the highway, the robber said, 'Follow this road and you will reach home easily.' 'But you must come with me too', said the man.  'You have done so much for me.  We shall all be happy to see you at our home.' 'No,' said the robber, 'it is not possible for me to go there.  The police will arrest me.' So saying, he left the rich man after pointing out his way.”

"Now, the first robber, who said: 'What's the good of keeping the man alive? Kill him', is tamas.  It destroys.  The second robber is rajas, which binds a man to the world and entangles him in a variety of activities.  Rajas makes him forget God.  Sattva alone shows the way to God.  It produces virtues like compassion, righteousness, and devotion.  Again, sattva is like the last step of the stairs.  Next to it is the roof.  The Supreme Brahman is man's own abode.  One cannot attain the Knowledge of Brahman unless one transcends the three gunas."

One has to transend the three gunas – sattva, rajas, and tamas – to understand the nature of Brahman. It cannot be described in words as it is beyond speech and thought. Each aspirant has to understand It only through personal experience. Every experience may be different as who can experience all of the infinite in one go? So the mystery about God will remain forever! 


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'MASTER' stands for Sri Ramakrishna as he was referred in the Gospel.