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."

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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.