Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 055 on 01-March-2022

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

Om Jananim Sharadam Devim Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Sritva Pranamami Mohur Moho Today is one of the most auspicious of all the auspicious days. It is Mahashivaratri. We are all aware of it. I pray to Lord Shiva, may the Lord give us Mukti. If it is possible and if you wish, it is better to come to Varanasi. This is what is called the direct path to Mukti. No need to do Japa, Tapa. You can even abuse God and do any blessed nonsense you want to do. Just by the fact of dying here, one can get Mukti. Such is the divine ordinance passed by Lord Shiva. Whoever dies, whichever Jiva dies, whether it is a mosquito and whether it is an ant, they will all get Mukti. These are the words that came out of the mouth of our Divine Mother, Holy Mother Sharda Devi. I have to tell you something very interesting. Previously, I was very hesitant in killing certain things. But after coming here, gladly I am able to kill mosquitoes, bugs and anything without the least twinge of conscience because I know that they are going to Mukti Kshetram. That is the most important thing we have to understand. This greatness of dying in Kashi was recorded in the Shiva Purana, in many other Puranas, especially Skanda Purana. But is it a tale or is it a truth? How do we know? That's why great people come to confirm the truths that we read in the scriptures. So here is a vision of Sri Ramakrishna. Perhaps some of you have read them. Here is the greatness of Varanasi. Sri Ramakrishna once had the vision of Shiva at the famous Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi. Manikarnika Ghat is also known as the burning Ghat of corpses, those who die here. Of course, Manikarnika Ghat is not the only Ghat. There are so many other Ghats. At any of those Ghats, the dead bodies are brought according to their convenience or desire and then they are burnt here. But of all the Ghats, Manikarnika Ghat is nearest to Lord Shiva, Vishwanatha and it is the most famous. Sri Ramakrishna was staying at Varanasi and one day by boat he came to this Manikarnika Ghat. Before he got down from the boat, he had this beautiful vision confirming what we intuitively believe in. Here it goes. Sri Ramakrishna is describing later on. I saw a tall white person with tawny matted hair walking with solemn steps to each pyre in the burning Ghat raising carefully every Jeeva and imparting into his ear the mantra of Supreme Brahman. On the other side of the pyre, the all-powerful Mahakali was untying all the knots of bondage gross, subtle and causal of the Jeeva produced by past impressions and sending him to the indivisible sphere by opening with her own hands the door to liberation. Thus did Vishwanatha, the Divine Lord of the Universe, endow Jeeva in an instant with the infinite bliss of experiencing non-duality which ordinarily results from the practice of yoga and austerity for so many cycles. Thus did Lord Shiva fulfil the perfection of the Jeeva's life in a trice. Since we have been discussing the visions of Sri Ramakrishna, I thought today we have to remind ourselves after all what these great people experience and what they experience is what is recorded in the scriptures and every now and then a great Mahapurusha comes to confirm that these are not mere imaginary tales or writings but it is the absolute truth. With this faith how many millions of Hindus in the past and at present and in future after reading this experience of Sri Ramakrishna will get their faith completely confirmed and come to Varanasi in the hope of dying. But of course the Lord's grace is necessary but above all the Jeeva's desire I don't want anything else I want only Mukti and I don't have the power to go through so many lives of Tapasya but here I lie down at the door of the Lord completely dependent upon His mercy and that is how I am going to have Mukti. So this vision is a marvellous vision. First of all Sri Ramakrishna says the vision of Shiva that he had tallies with the description of Lord Shiva giving. By this we should never understand that Lord Shiva looks like a Hindu, looks like having fair skin. This is according to our own beliefs. We can see the vision of any great God or Goddess. That's why sometimes I make fun Krishna is a cowboy and in America there is a special place called Texas and in Texas most of the people used to be cowboys. So why not consider if an American becomes a devotee of Krishna and imagines him to be a cowboy of Texas. Is it right vision? Yes absolutely Krishna will have absolutely no objection at all to it. Sri Ramakrishna has seen photographs of Lord Shiva. Why is the Lord white? White colour indicates Sattva Guna. As I mentioned when we discussed about the symbolism of some of the forms of especially Mother Kali, Mother Durga etc. The visions that our Rishis had created especially in the Puranas it is not mere physical description but there is a symbolism, there is a meaning behind. So what is this whiteness? Whiteness represents Sattva Guna and then Lord Shiva is draped with tiger skin. What is the tiger? The tiger of Kama, lust, anger, greed etc. Lord Shiva had destroyed Kama. That's why one of his epithets is Kamari. He is the destroyer of the Lord of Kama. Then he has got snakes all over especially one big snake. What is a snake? Snake is Maya. All the time Lord Vishnu is sleeping on the spring mattress, Adisesha. What is Adisesha? It is Saguna Swaroopa. The Saguna Swaroopa of God is called Maya, Yoga Maya. So if a person can become a Yogi then Maya becomes Yoga Maya. A Samsarist Maya is not Yoga Maya, it is Bhoga Maya, it is Roga Maya. But a spiritual aspirant's Maya is transformed Maya, it is a Yoga Maya. Yoga means that which unites us with God. So this Maya, what Sriram Krishna used to beautifully phrase it, is called Vidya Maya. A Vidya Maya is what binds. Vidya Maya is what helps us obtain liberation. So this Vidya Maya is represented by this poison and that poison is represented by this snake and that is why in popular Tantric Yoga books, the browsing of the Kundalini, the Kundalini is the Maya, the concentrated power, energy of all the Samskaras put together. If those Samskaras are of worldly nature, Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Mada, Matsarya, then their activities, their resultants, their propensities, will be confined only to the lower three chakras. That means eating, sleeping, sex life, which again perpetuates the Samsara cycle. But if a person turns, he puts a restraint on all these impulses, joins all those emotions together, it becomes a huge powerhouse of energy and forces his way through the Sushumna. Sushumna means spiritual path, upper path, path of evolution. And the ultimate goal is to go through several stages, which are graphically described as seven chakras. A chakra is a stage or a state of consciousness. Then one after the other, the Sadhaka pierces, rises above and then finally joins Shiva, Shakti and Shiva. They join together. Kundalini Shakti or Maya now becomes Parabrahma. And afterwards, again it comes down through the same Sushumna path. But as Sri Ramakrishna confirmed it, this Yoga Maya may start at the Muladhara, but it will never again come down to Muladhara. At best, Sri Ramakrishna says, after the union with Lord Shiva in the Sahasrara, the Yoga Maya, that means our body-mind, our mind especially, our Jeevatma level of consciousness, at best comes down only to the heart's level, Hridaya, Anahata Chakra. And it will never come down. That means it will ever be conscious of God. And so at that stage it will be talking about God, thinking about God, speaking about God, listening about God, dancing, doing bhajans, whatever it does. And this is fully conscious state. When it goes to the upper stage, gradually, then it goes deeper and deeper states of absorption until then it reaches the forehead. And that is called Ajna Chakra. He becomes such a sadhaka, becomes the master of the entire Yoga and the entire Maya. And there is only a small barrier, a pure white glass as it were. His vision is unobstructed, excepting for this glass partition, the light is shining in its full glory. But a time will come when the sadhaka doesn't want even this little bit of separation. He will merge with the Lord Shiva never again to be separated. So this is what Sri Ramakrishna was trying to tell. Here what is interesting for me, for you and for everybody, first of all when we have visions, we see them in familiar formats. If I am a male, I am more likely to see a male format. But if I am a devotee of the mother, then I see the mother. It is not gender variation, it is the love variation. So Bhakti variation. If it is Bhakti, it is the Divine Mother. If it is Jnanam, it is the Nirguna Paramatma. That is how it goes. So Shiva appeared to Sri Ramakrishna and what was He doing? He will go to each Jeeva and He will touch and He whispers Taraka mantra. Taraka means that which saves a person. What is it that can save? Not from ordinary bondage, what is called Ashtapasha. Eight types of bondage, Lajja, Grena, Bhaya, Kola, Sela, etc. But permanently from the Vidya, that is Tattvamasi. And the person who initiates Jeeva into this Mahavakya Mantra, Maha Mantra, is none other than Lord Shiva. And Shiva is pure Chaitanya. When pure Chaitanya itself is revealing itself, the Jeeva has no option but to shed its Ajnana and realise Aham Brahmasmi. But then the Prarabdha Karma, the Sanchita Karma, the Agami Karma, they remain behind. That is when Divine Mother. We are all in the realm of the Divine Mother. Unless the Divine Mother releases us from the clutches of the body, mind, identity, we cannot move forward even a billy centimeter. Therefore the Divine Mother with the sword of knowledge cuts and then the Jeeva is no more a Jeeva. He becomes Atma. He sheds the Jeeva aspect of the Jeevatma. He knows I am Atma. There is no Paramatma. Atma is only one and then he attains Mukti. This is most important. So I will also have to narrate. Once Swami Brahmanandaji was staying here. He was a person who experienced Nirvikalpa Samadhi and yet he was one of the greatest devotees and he was supposed to be the eternal companion of Bhagawan Krishna. That's why these teachings are called eternal companions. So I make a light meaning out of it. This eternal companion which is the title of the teachings of Swami Brahmanandaji, it should be our eternal all the time companion. It will clear our doubts. It will inspire us and it will give insights into further sadhana and until we reach the goal this companion is required for us. So Swami Brahmanandaji was living here in Varanasi for some time. At the same time Holy Mother was living. Perhaps Holy Mother wanted to teach Sharanagati to a devotee, Sharanagati to the Divine Mother. We don't know what was in her mind. So she sent a devotee to ask Swami Brahmanandaji why should we worship the Mahamaya and as soon as Rakhal Maharaj, that was his earlier name, he heard it, he went into an ecstatic state, jumped up from his bed and started dancing and he explained, even the greatest Gnani by the grace of Mother he might even have experienced Nirvikalpa Samadhi but if it is her will she can make him as ignorant as anybody else, any other Jeeva. So until Mother cuts all the bonds and opens the door to the Kingdom of Liberation, nobody can attain Liberation. This is called Sampoorna Sharanagati, complete surrender to the Divine Mother and to call upon God as Mother is the easiest thing anybody can do. So on this Mahashivaratri day, my earnest prayer and blessings to all the devotees that pray to Lord Shiva, if His grace is there, anything is possible, at least let us at the last moment be here in Varanasi, give up the body and it is guaranteed Mukti. Oh, if I die in Bangalore or in other places, not guaranteed but of course God's grace, anywhere we can get Mukti also. That is a completely different issue altogether. So this is the explanation I just wanted to share with you. Now we will go back to our subject of visions. It is a marvellous subject. Now the moment we hear the word vision, a peculiar idea creeps into our mind. We think that we don't have visions and only a few people and that too since they are practising spiritual disciplines, they will be blessed with some visions. In a way they are right. In a way it is not a complete explanation. So what we need to understand, this is what I feel, that even we have a vision. Why do I call it a vision? Vision means seeing something, imagining something and then experiencing it as a reality. Is this not what we are doing? In the waking state we are seeing. Supposing a person sees a mango tree and there may be people who do not like mangoes. Please do not be surprised. There are some people who do not like mangoes. I came across one such Swami. Unfortunately he passed away a few years back and once when I was at Bangalore, I got first class mangoes and the Swami happened to visit me and I wanted to fill his plate with the sweetest mangoes. I think it was Banginapalli if I am not wrong totally and he said I don't like mangoes and then immediately you know what happened? My heart left in joy, greatest joy and I said may there be many more people like you so that I do not need to share mangoes among so many people. So some people are very fond. Suppose you see a mango tree. What are you having? You are having a vision. What is the vision? Your idea of the mango tree. If you like mangoes then it is a good tree. It is a joyous tree. As soon as you see and especially in mango season it will produce tremendous joy even the very appearance just like a man who loves a woman and a woman also who loves a man or a mother who loves naturally her children. The moment she beholds the child's face the mother is more glad than the child. So any object when we are seeing we are not seeing as it is. We are having a peculiar lens we put in front of our eyes that is called vision and then the peculiarity of this vision is in whatever way we are looking at ourselves we exactly look at everything only in that light. What do I mean? Supposing a person thinks that he is the body. Body is gross, external. This having some particular form and shape etc. and this modifies, this constricts everything that is including God and I make sometimes fun. There was a great artist in South India especially Kerala. He painted this Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and all those things. If you observe carefully the dress is pure South Indian dress. If a North Indian has to paint Rama he will paint purely in the North Indian style. You know the way South Indian especially Tamil ladies put on their saris in a very peculiar way almost like the dhoti of a man. So this is how we can distinguish. So we are so much body bound. God is first of all human being and he is having qualities like us. He may be having more hands. He or she may be having more hands and according to Hinduism excepting Brahmaji who is imagined having white beard and an old man every God or Goddess, clean shaven, young, beautiful in our age whether it is Lakshmi, whether it is Saraswati whether it is Parvati, Gauri excepting of course Mother Kali so beautiful young woman, princesses that is how depict. Why? Because our Divine Mother, my Divine Mother why should she be old? She is ageless and yet for me she is a human being because as a human being I can get response only from my Mother from my beloved, especially from my Mother whatever I want. Unhesitatingly I will go to my Mother and I can open my heart. Many times I cannot perhaps open my heart to my Father but such is the influence of the Mother. Anyway, Hindu Gods and Goddesses they are young, beautiful, beautifully decorated and sometimes their saris can be fashions even for ordinary beings. Anyway, what I wanted to tell you that if an American has to think of God that person is body minded his idea of God will be more like an American. So if an African has to do then that curly hair, thick lips, protruding thick lips and everything peculiar because we become accustomed to a particular form all weight, all unconscious and we project these ideas that is what I call God. Similarly, if I am hungry God must be food. If I am thirsty, God must be water. If I am tired, God must be the softest mattress in the whole world. What do you think a child is doing? So he wants a warm mattress and the best warm mattress is on the chest of the Mother. As soon as the Mother takes and suckles him and he is completely satisfied inside warm, outside warm he lies on the chest of the Mother and immediately the baby has such a peaceful slumber until the baby awakes again with hunger. What am I trying to tell you that this is the vision. If a person by chance rises above this body level and becomes identified with the mind God becomes what is called knowledge. I forgot to add if we have a gross body level God is mostly considered as the aspect of Sat. If the same person's mind rises above then his mind will be rising above and that will be the aspect of Chit, knowledge. But if a person rises to the causal level then he will be filled with joy. That is the special characteristic of Sushupti Avastha, Karana Avastha, Anandamaya Kosha. Then for such a person the Ananda aspect of God becomes more emphasized. What I am trying to tell all the time we are seeing only God. But if we have got body understanding then we see Nama and Rupa and whether it is a tree, whether it is a mosquito whatever the object even a mountain, even a table it will be only Nama Rupa aspect will be there. That is the point I wanted to emphasize. Now before going further I also want to tell you something I have repeated but you might have forgotten that visions are of three types. Rather let me say visions is of two types. One, the experience of what is called Nirvikalpa Samadhi and we cannot call it a vision because the moment we enter into that state all Dvaita, reality, separation, secondness becomes annihilated and there is only a unitary experience and that is called Aham. And there is no word. Even when we use I had experience I was in Samadhi but it is only when we come down to a far lower level we use this description to convey our idea. Truly speaking that when I am alone there is no need for words no need for mind no need for much less for the body because there is no necessity there is no desire there is no object and there is no second even to think that who is this person as against which I am so and so to separate. But as soon as the mind comes down then the mind level Saguna and this Saguna a person who has experienced Saguna vision that vision falls into three categories. Briefly to recollect what I had told much much earlier Ram Krishna used to have his three kinds of visions the lowest of that type is called some kind of Bhava Samadhi Samadhi. This many times gives an indication of the future events. In any case these are what we call intuitive experiences. It is not reason it is not imagination but straight forward looking into the future through intuition without the obstruction of the mind. Direct perception of reality at a particular level. So Ram Krishna used to have these visions and he used to see his devotees and he used to foretell tomorrow such and such a person will come such and such an event will take place etc. etc. The second type is much higher these are called Kalanandas that is aesthetic experiences. Say Ram Krishna for example may be hearing a beautiful meaningful song rendered very beautifully especially by naturally talented people like Narendranath Triloknath Vishwar etc. Triloknath Sanyal etc. Then say Ram Krishna used to enter into an ecstatic state but these experiences are called aesthetic experiences because this is an art music, painting, sculpture poetry etc. And this is one under the aesthetic experience there is something called natural beautiful sceneries. So one day when Say Ram Krishna was 7 or 8 years old he was walking out in the Kamarpakur fields as we know Kamarpakur is a very small village even today not a big village slightly it has grown during the last few years it is almost a small town like that it has become earlier it was just you step out another 2-3 buildings and you are in the fields he was walking in the fields it was rainy season the whole sky was covered with thick black clouds and suddenly Ram Krishna saw a huge flock of white cranes started flowing in a formation and then this scenery has made him immediately become ascend to the aesthetic level and then fall down unconscious everybody thought it was a he was suffering probably from murcha fits but then later on as soon as that experience came to an end nothing happened to Ram Krishna his health has not been affected he said no this is not murcha this is an extension I was all the time completely conscious of my own experience and I was in the greatest joy so whether an appropriate trained person listens to a classical music whether it is Beethoven Mozart or many great western music composers like that or in India classical ragas etc. rendered beautifully by very talented musicians immediately only such great refined souls enter into the very mood the very bhava of that music and that is a special type of experience and it is often compared as substitute brahmananda and Ananda K. Kumar Swamy one of the greatest writers along with Sister Nivedita had written a beautiful book explaining this aesthetic experience I do not remember unfortunately the title of the book so this is the much higher experience second type of experience but when Ram Krishna was meditating on the gods and goddesses his mind is deeply absorbed and then it was his natural tendency of the mind to be soaring to the formless quality less indescribable aspect of reality called nirguna brahman it is only with greatest difficulty he was able to bring his mind down this is what we can understand so these are the three types of visions whenever we are reading or hearing about the visions of any great soul we should not blankly take it as the highest spiritual but we have to take it some of them fall under one or more of these three categories ok with this understanding let us read something from the gospel of Sri Ramakrishna remember all these quotations are from the gospel of Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Ramakrishna while doing sadhana of Vaishnavism he had one type of experiences when he was doing tantric sadhana he had different types of experiences and when he was doing Vedanta sadhana he had completely a different type of experience now let us read a little bit Sri Ramakrishna is describing how many other visions I saw while meditating during my sadhana once I was meditating under the bell tree when Sin, Papa Purusha appeared before me and tempted me in various ways he came to me in the form of an English soldier he wanted to give me wealth, honor, sex pleasure various occult powers and such things then I began to pray to the Divine Mother note here the peculiarity how Maya Sin means Maya Avidya Maya Maya by Sri Ramakrishna is classified into two the binding Maya the releasing Maya Avidya Maya that which binds Vidya Maya that which releases Avidya Maya strengthens our what Sri Ramakrishna used to call unripe ego Kacha Ami but the Vidya Maya ripens strengthens what is called Paka Ami Sri Ramakrishna was referring if there are some seeds and these seeds are straight away come into contact with soil immediately and a little water and soil immediately they sprout but if the same seeds are roasted or better word even boiled and then dried they appear to be beautiful seeds but if you sow nothing happens they are good only to eat but not to be sown so Sri Ramakrishna during his sadhana naturally for us also sins will appear only we may not see in such graphic way but whenever we are tempted and then immediately we may fall for that temptations they are so concrete so real like dreams so Papa Purusha Papa appeared before me Papa's function is only to tempt people to commit Papa so he came to me in the form of an English soldier now this is for Sri Ramakrishna what was his opinion of an English soldier we don't know because most of the soldiers they are drunkards they are lecherous fellows whenever they see some helpless women or girls they use it to catch hold of them and forcefully break them do what men do so that is why some idea about these English soldiers was there in the mind of the Sri Ramakrishna anyway that is what I think if you have better ideas you are welcome to that so what did this English soldier want what he wants himself give me wealth, give me honor, give me sex pleasure, various occult powers and such things in other words prayaha in other words worldly things then Sri Ramakrishna was telling I could clearly see this is the influence of Maya do I want it his mind has rejected then what do I want I want to get out of these temptations so Sri Ramakrishna is telling I began to pray to the Divine Mother now Sri Ramakrishna is continuing I am telling you something very secret the Mother appeared I said to her Mother kill him Mother I still remember that form of the Mother her world bewitching beauty she came to me taking the form of Krishnamai but it was as if her glands moved the world what a marvellous description this also a little bit I have to understand Mother you kill because who can overcome Maya only the grace of God daivihesha mama maya duratyaya ma mevaye prapadyante mayam etam taranthite accepting through my grace nobody can overcome my Maya because my Maya is Divine Maya Divine Maya is endowed with Divine Power it is not in the realm of any human power to destroy to reduce it to kill it to mitigate it so that is why prayer is the only way and then what did the Mother do she immediately took up a trident and killed him but Ramakrishna is remembering I still remember that form of the Mother, her world bewitching beauty Maha Maya, how does Maha Maya come, world bewitching beauty it is not only kama it comes in the form of tempting food, tempting sound, tempting smell tempting touch etc. you know what do you do in winter season you are putting on a blanket suddenly your room has become a bit coldish and you wish that the blanket should give a little more warmth so what do you do, you curl up a little more and try to cover yourself up albeit with semi-consciousness so that you will not be disturbed in your sleep so this is how world bewitching beauty who can withstand it she is the cause of Srishti she is the cause of Stithi and she is the cause of the Samhara also so this world bewitching doesn't mean only this mutual attraction of this gender sexes, it also can mean for a child the Mother, the most beautiful woman in the whole world, similarly for a mother, this wrinkled just now born baby some people say it is worse than a just born baby monkey and with all those wrinkles and all those things, only 2-3 days after he has been suckling the mother's nourishing milk, he becomes more presentable, rounded, his cheeks will be filling out and etc. until that time, it is a horrible sight, but for whom? In the eyes of other people, for the mother she is the most beautiful baby in the whole world, she will give up her life for that baby and in the eyes of that baby, somehow by the sound, the baby recognizes, this is my mother and so long as she is nearby, her voice is reassuring, I am in safe hands we have to understand that one so this divine mother wanted to give occult powers and occult powers are very real and they come to people who really practice spiritual disciplines, but the problem will be, they reinforce the ego, soon the person falls down from his ideal that's why Sri Ramakrishna used to quote Krishna and Krishna itself said to Arjuna even if you possess one occult power, you will never be able to come to me because that will drag you down and down and down instead of evolving you will be getting yourself involved involution Sri Ramakrishna continues now I am telling you something very secret a mother appeared kill him mother, then Sri Ramakrishna became silent remaining, resuming his reminiscences, he said how many other visions I saw but I am not permitted to tell them, someone is shutting my mouth as it were I used to find no distinction between the sacred Tulasi leaf and the insignificant Sajjana leaf Sajjana leaf is a kind of small eatable leafy vegetable and it is not valued much whereas this Tulasi is considered as the what is spouse of Vishnu mother Tulasi and practically every household will be having Tulasi Mancha which they consider the most purifying agent etc so while practicing tantric disciplines Sri Ramakrishna had this idea removed, there is absolutely no difference between anything and anything every object is that one manifestation of Divine Mother just like even if billion pots are made, there is no distinction all of them from one to the billion they are completely made up of clay and not even a trace of any other material is there so the feeling of distinction is entirely destroyed that means I started seeing Divine Mother in everything, I see a Tulasi leaf, I see Divine Mother I see this ordinary leaf meant for eating, I see the same Divine Mother, I see a dog same Divine Mother one day Sri Ramakrishna saw at Panchavati, a dog and a bitch mating together you know usually in rainy season they do that mating business Sri Ramakrishna saw but immediately he said I started seeing Shiva the dog is Shiva and the bitch that is Shiva Shakti, Parvati they are sporting together in his eyes everything is Divine, that is called Yoga to see, to be able to see God everywhere so then there is another vision, once I was meditating under the banyan, when I was shown a Muslim with long beard being a Muslim, you know for many Hindus, Muslims are bugbears many people they don't admit Muslims into their householders they have to be outside because they eat this beef cow meat, which is which animal is so sacred to Hindus and then He means God came to me with rice in an earthen plate He fed some other Muslims with the rice and at the end also gave me a few grains to eat, the mother showed me that there exists only one and not two two, not two it is Satchidananda that has taken all these various forms, He alone has become the world and its living beings, again it is He alone who has become food in fact in Taittiriya we get this, both food and eater of the food a man of realization he understood I become this, I am the subject, I am the object for example in your dream, you may imagine you are eating nice mango, so who was eating, you are eating what was the mango, it is only you, you yourself have transformed yourself into both the individual in your dream as well as all the every other object that he is experiencing in the dream state but at that time if someone were to tell you that this subject and object both are wrong, they are just everything is pure consciousness we will not believe, but as soon as you wake up you say, it is I myself am the creator of this both seeing myself and my whole entire dream world that is what we have to understand so Sri Ramakrishna was telling that at that time God put me in such a state that I had to listen to those who lived with me so the mother showed me that there exists only one it is Satchitananda alone then there were some devotees here is a statement, it is he who has become food in Taittiriya there was one Rishi who had this realization and immediately his mind came down, he recollected his divine experience in Samadhi, he started singing, from his mouth came these words aham annadaha aham annam aham annam aham annam aham annam, I am the food I am the food, I am the food aham annadoh I am the enjoyer of the food I am the enjoyer of the food I am the enjoyer of the food that means I am manifesting in the form of both the object and also subject, here anna means food, food means not what we call eatable things, food means anything we experience is called food that means every object is what we experience, the entire world is the object and the entire world is the food, aham annadoh aham annadoh, aham annadaha oham annadaha oham annadaha oham annadaho ahag pitasmi that is how his ecstatic singing goes aloud now Sri Ramakrishna was explaining this to Girish M and the others I have the nature of a child Hriday said to me, uncle ask the mother for some occult powers, at that time Sri Ramakrishna was like small baby and Hriday served him so faithfully, so lovingly including cleaning his toilet, everything Sri Ramakrishna naturally had to depend upon Hriday and one day Hriday told him, uncle you please request Divine Mother to give you some occult powers and Sri Ramakrishna said I was like a child and I felt like a child who sees darkness all around unless someone is with me I felt as if I should die unless Hriday was near me you see, I am in that state just now, while I am speaking to you, my inner spirit is being awakened now Sri Ramakrishna says that at once I went to the temple to ask her about them at that time I was in that childish state and then Sri Ramakrishna had a peculiar vision what did he see? He saw a middle-aged ugly fat prostitute and she was what is called, passing stool he was able to see the back side of her body and the stool coming out of her sorry, I have no option but to describe what it is and what was Mother showing? that our siddhis are like the filth that is coming out will anybody seeing that kind of thing ask oh I love this filth very much I would like to have some part of it but in fact that is what people do in the worldly life, they are not doing anything better but this vision gives a better idea what we are doing all the time so Sri Ramakrishna said Mother showed me that having occult powers is like that because they bind they increase the egotism that is what he was telling Sri Ramakrishna uttered these words, he was on the point of plunging into samadhi and losing consciousness of time and space but he was trying with the utmost difficulty to control himself he said to the devotees in an ecstatic mood, I still see you but I feel as if you have been sitting here forever, I don't recall when you came or where you are and then Sri Ramakrishna was again telling, I have direct visions of those things one day I was passing back of the kothi when my whole body burst into flames as it were like the fire in a Homa, that is another experience then Sri Ramakrishna's mystic experiences do you know what I saw just now in my ecstatic state there was a huge meadow covering an area of 7 or 8 miles through which lay the road to Shri Hor I was alone in that meadow I saw a 16 year old Paramhamsa boy exactly like the one I had seen in the Panchavati a mist of bliss lay all around, out of it emerged a boy 13 or 14 years old, I saw his face, he looked like Poorna both of us were naked then we began to run around joyfully in the meadow Poorna felt thirsty he drank some water from a tumbler and offered me what was left I said to him, brother I cannot take your livings there upon he laughed went back, washed the glass and brought me fresh water Sri Ramakrishna was again in Samadhi he regained consciousness and began to talk to M then the question came, M was asking 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 in our earlier classes we have mentioned that these are the 5 commandments of Sri Ramakrishna and here he is only describing the 4 commandments excepting the last one which is live like a maid servant and that means perform Karma Yoga be a Karma Yogi 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 and then the Master started singing himself cry to your mother Shama and whoever is fortunate to hear the singing of Sri Ramakrishna it is indescribable continuing Sri Ramakrishna said longing is like the rosy dawn after the dawn, out comes the sun longing is followed by the vision of God then he says intense longing is needed God reveals Himself to a devotee who feels drawn to Him by the combined force of these 3 attractions Sri Ramakrishna is answering M and under what conditions does one see God? Sri Ramakrishna is explaining that first the attraction of worldly possessions for the worldly man, second the child's attraction for its mother and third the husband's attraction for the chaste wife if one feels drawn to Him by the combined force of these 3 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 3 forces of love these 3 powers of attraction and give it all to God then you will certainly see Him What was Sri Ramakrishna telling? That all our attention is on Kama and Kanchana and that we have tremendous attraction if we can combine those attractions and direct it towards God under those circumstances we will definitely be able to see God and then Sri Ramakrishna continues, it is necessary to pray to Him with a longing heart and then the path to be followed Sri Ramakrishna is explaining Sharanagati. A kitten knows only how to call its mother crying mew mew it remains satisfied wherever its mother puts it that means whatever God God is satisfied to give us to grant us a devotee after Sharanagati should be able completely to surrender to Him and as the mother puts the kitten sometimes in the kitchen sometimes on the floor sometimes on the bed when the kitten suffers it cries mew mew that is all it knows but as soon as the mother hears this cry wherever she may be the cat comes to the kitten and takes care so if the devotee has that kind of Sharanagati as soon as the child the sadhaka cries immediately wherever the mother comes and the mother can come in various forms not necessarily as God but does exactly what is needed to strengthen protect the baby to strengthen the baby and to help it to grow these are marvellous ideas we will discuss it in our next class which will be 15th of March Om Jananim Sharadam Devim Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum Pada Padmetayoh Sritva Pranamami Mohormohoho May Shri Ramakrishna and Shri Matarji be with you.