Message from the Gospel – 4. Woman (Man) and Gold Are the Obstacles

Throughout the Gospel, there are many references to ‘woman and gold’ and Sri Ramakrishna emphasizes time and again how they obstruct spiritual progress.

A point to be noted here is that the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna recorded in the Gospel are day-to-day conversations of Sri Ramakrishna with his devotees. As the audience happened to be men, he used the words ‘woman and gold’. If the audience were women, he would have probably said, ‘man and gold’. Generalizing, we may say, any type of attraction towards the opposite sex is a weakness, an obstacle, as it takes away the mind from God. It is a negative quality and should be eliminated.

The second obstacle to spiritual progress is gold. Although the word ‘gold’ has been used, it may be generalized as ‘greed’. A worldly person, no doubt, has to undertake materialistic pursuits. There is no harm in working hard and earning money in the right way. But when people become greedy, they start indulging in illegal activities to usurp others’ wealth, and their degradation begins. Greed pushes them to commit all possible crimes.

Sri Ramakrishna says, " 'Woman and gold' alone is the obstacle to yoga.  Always analyse what you see.  What is there in the body of a woman? Only such things as blood, flesh, fat, entrails, and the like.  Why should one love such a body?”

"A man practises spiritual discipline, but his mind is on 'woman and gold' – it is turned toward enjoyment.  Therefore, in his case, the spiritual discipline does not produce the right result.”

"A man may live in a mountain cave, smear his body with ashes, observe fasts; and practise austere discipline; but if his mind dwells on worldly objects, on 'woman and gold', I say, 'Shame on him!' But I say that a man is blessed indeed who eats, drinks, and roams about, but who keeps his mind free from 'woman and gold'.”

“'Worldliness' means 'woman and gold'."

“'Woman and gold' is the cause of bondage. 'Woman and gold' alone constitutes samsara, the world. It is 'woman and gold' that keeps one from seeing God. (Holding the towel in front of his face) Do you see my face any more? Of course not. The towel hides it. No sooner is the covering of 'woman and gold' removed than one attains Chidananda, Consciousness and Bliss.”

MASTER (to Kedār, Vijay, and the other devotees): "He who has renounced the pleasure of a wife has verily renounced the pleasure of the world. It is 'woman and gold' that hides God. You people have such imposing moustaches, and yet you too are involved in 'woman and gold'. Tell me if it isn't true. Search your heart and answer me."

VIJAY: "Yes, it is true."

Kedār remained silent.

MASTER: "I see that all are under the control of woman. One day I went to Captain's house. From there I was to go to Ram's house. So I said to Captain, 'Please give me my carriage hire.' He asked his wife about it. She too held back and said: 'What's the matter? What's the matter?' At last Captain said, 'Ram will take care of it.' You see, the Gitā, the Bhagavata, and the Vedānta all bow before a woman!” (All laugh.)

"A man leaves his money, his property, and everything in the hands of his wife. But he says with affected simplicity, 'I have such a nature that I cannot keep even two rupees with me.'”

"A man went to an office in search of a job. There were many vacancies, but the manager did not grant his request. A friend said to the applicant, 'Appeal to Golapi, and you will get the job.' Golapi was the manager's mistress.”

"Men do not realize how far they are dragged down by women. Once I went to the Fort in a carriage, feeling all the while that I was going along a level road. At last I found that I had gone four storeys down. It was a sloping road.”

"A man possessed by a ghost does not know he is under the ghost's control. He thinks he is quite normal."

VIJAY (smiling): "But he can be cured by an exorcist if he finds one."

In answer to Vijay, Sri Ramakrishna only said, "That depends on the will of God." Then he went on with his talk about women.

MASTER: "Everyone I talk to says, 'Yes, sir, my wife is good.' Nobody says that his wife is bad. (All laugh.) Those who constantly live with 'woman and gold' are so infatuated with it that they don't see things properly. Chess-players oftentimes cannot see the right move for their pieces on the board. But those who watch the game from a distance can understand the moves more accurately.”

"Woman is the embodiment of māyā. In the course of his hymn to Rāma, Nārada said: 'O Rāma, all men are parts of Thee. All women are parts of Sita, the personification of Thy māyā. Please deign to grant that I may have pure love for Thy Lotus Feet and that I may not be deluded by Thy world bewitching māyā. I do not want any other favour than that.' "

"But on attaining the state of the paramahamsa one becomes like a child. A child five years old doesn't know the difference between a man and a woman. But even a paramahamsa must be careful, so as not to set a bad example to others."

MASTER (to Bankim): "'Woman and gold' alone is the world; that alone is māyā. Because of it you cannot see or think of God. After the birth of one or two children, husband and wife should live as brother and sister and talk only of God. Then both their minds will be drawn to God, and the wife will be a help to the husband on the path of spirituality. None can taste divine bliss without giving up his animal feeling. A devotee should pray to God to help him get rid of this feeling. It must be a sincere prayer. God is our Inner Controller; He will certainly listen to our prayer if it is sincere.”

The two great Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata describe how great men fall due to lust and greed. Ramayana describes how Ravana, in spite being an accomplished warrior and a great devotee of Shiva, fell due to his lust to possess Sita. On the other hand, Mahabharata teaches that Duryodhana’s greed to rule the entire kingdom and his unwillingness to part with even five villages as requested by Yudhishthira led to the complete destruction of Kauravas.

Remembering the lessons taught by the two great epics, let us pray like Narada, “Oh God! Please grant that I may have pure love for Thy Lotus Feet and that I may not be deluded by Thy world bewitching māyā. I do not want any other favour than that.”