Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 059 on 26-April-2022

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

Om Jananem Sharadam Devim Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Sritva Pranamami Mohor Moho In our last class, Sri Ramakrishna was graphically describing the state of the human beings. Sri Ramakrishna had classified every human being into four types. The bound, the struggling, the liberated and the ever liberated. About this last type of human being, who is ever liberated, called Nityamukta. Very few references are there anywhere. It's only after studying the gospel, the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, we come to know about the Nityamukta state. Sri Ramakrishna gives a beautiful example. We have to remember that Sri Ramakrishna had grown up in a village, which is very small and it has several advantages. True Hinduism, that is to say, the worship of God in many forms, as Shiva, as Shakti, as Vishnu and in many other forms. It is all done in the villages. Villagers do not have that much of religious discrimination or big hypocrisy or bigotism, fanaticism. As now some of the fanatics are inciting people, when most Hindus and Muslims and Christians lived very peacefully side by side. Sri Ramakrishna grew up in such an atmosphere. There are more than three water tanks, where people grow fish, take the fish, catch the fish, eat the fish, etc. Sri Ramakrishna had given a beautiful example. When a fisherman casts his net into the tank, then some fish are never caught because they know they are very intelligent, and some other fish are caught, and there is a type of fish which immediately understands that it is going to die, and jumps up and all the fishermen cry out, there goes a big one, escapes a big one. Then there are some fish which are awakening a little bit later, and they struggle and struggle, but most likely they are not liberated, they cannot get out of the Mahamaya's net. Similarly, there are some fish, and these are compared to utter worldly people by Sri Ramakrishna, and they never think there is any danger. They go to the deepest part, lowest part of the net, and closing their eyes think that we are safe, nothing is going to happen to us. What a marvellous illustration! We are the fish, and we are caught in the net of the Mahamaya. There are people who are ever liberated, and there are people who understand they are bound and struggling their level best. Certainly, some of them will be liberated. It doesn't mean others will not be liberated. Whoever is struggling will be liberated, but we have to remember that slowly, slowly, we have to practice certain things, whereby we have to get rid of the Maya's net, which is nothing but, in Sri Ramakrishna's words, Kama and Kanchana, lust and gold. What are these lust and gold? Our egotism is nothing but lust and gold. Why is it? Because ego means pure consciousness. Egotism, whatever is added to the ego, that is what is called Ism, Tism, etc. What is that? Shuddha Chaitanyam, pure consciousness, plus I am the body, I am the mind, and from this identity with the body comes Kama and Kanchana. I have lack. Kama means desire. Desire means I do not have some things, so I cannot live without those things. And here also we have discussed certain things are legitimate. There are, for every human being, certain hierarchical needs. For example, we have to eat, we have to drink, we have to put on dress to protect ourselves from inclement weather, and these are basic minimum hierarchical needs. Psychologists classify these needs into psychological, moral, aesthetic and intellectual needs. We see it even in the same family. Some people become aesthetic, some people want to become very intelligent, they want to pursue research work, etc., want to be more intellectual. Some people are very idealistic, principled people, moral people. Some, surprisingly, even if the parents are not spiritual, they show spiritual inclinations from the very beginning. This proves two things for us. One, parents do not give birth to the personalities. They give birth only to the body. In the same family, we can have an atheist, we can have a believer, and we can have also a person who is neither. This is well illustrated by the family of Ramanasura, Vibheshana and Kumbhakarna. And each one of us probably will have to go through all these states. In fact, when we are children, we are Kumbhakarnas, and that's good. The problem is not when we are children, but when we grow up and still remain Kumbhakarnas, that is going to be the real problem. Then as soon as we come of age, the chemical factory starts overworking, then we become Ramanasuras, men and women running after each other. This is Kama, Kamana. And once this Kama enters, and its intensity differs from person to person, both in men and women, in animals, in everything, in every creation. And accordingly, they require certain instruments. So according to Sri Ramakrishna, money is an instrument. Sri Ramakrishna never taught such a weird theory that money is an enemy of God. No, money is not an enemy. Even marriage is not an enemy. Loving other human beings is not an enemy. Enemy is to be completely identified with the body. But a Grihastha Ashrama, a Brahmachari Ashrama, a Vanaprastha Ashrama, a Sanyasi Ashrama. Ashrama means a state of spiritual consciousness. So whichever state we are in, if we are aware what is the goal of life, that is very good. If not, and if we are bound, and not realize that we are bound, binding means only one thing, that we are tremendously suffering. Because if we are happy, most people do not realize happiness is a greater bondage than even suffering. Suffering doesn't allow us to keep quiet. It makes us struggle to get out of suffering. That is the most natural thing. And it is the most natural thing for a happy person to go on sleeping in that state, never wanting to progress, but glow will come. But the reason is, whether it is happiness or unhappiness, they are both changeable. They do not stay in the same state. So if any of the ashramins living in that particular ashrama is conscious and struggles to be the best of that ashrami, a student, a very good student, a householder, a very good householder, a vanaprasthi, a very good vanaprasthi, and a sanyasi, a very good sanyasi, that is the best anybody can do in obtaining liberation. But unfortunately, all the default will be there in every ashrama. Students, instead of focusing upon their studies, they focus upon very trivial things, especially nowadays, where the society has not had their full approval. Not only that, if anybody is missing, we cannot keep up like other people, not sociable like other people. The parents feel guilty that there is something laconic within us, that we have failed to bring up our children, they can't get a boyfriend, they can't get a girlfriend, and they encourage their children to keep up with others, to put on weird dresses so that the body can be exhibited in any form, any type of temptation. That is why this is called Kali Kaala. That is why Sri Ramakrishna says, in this Kali Kaala, man is annagata prana. Man is annagata prana. Annagata means body-oriented, body-identified. At no time in history, this did not happen. But according to our Puranic theory, the same situation is being repeated again and again and again. This is the theory of ages, Yugas, Satya Yuga, Rita Yuga, Dwapara Yuga and Kali Yuga. This is not the first time it is happening and this will not last. After some time, the age of truth will come. Then it will go down. Again people will come. Nothing is going to change in this world. So Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda used to say, this world is like the curly dog of a tail. But Sri Ramakrishna is telling, there are some human beings who struggle, but they may not succeed in this life. So they are like the fish who struggle but are incapable of coming out of the net. But the worst type of people, they never think about what is going to happen next second, whether there is going to be death, disease, old age, decrepitude, loss of job. Many things can happen. And just open, let us open our eyes. Let us see what is happening all over the world. I am not tired of repeating this marvelous truth. Whatever is going to happen, is going to happen. Whatever is not going to happen, is not going to happen. So simply focusing, some evil things are going on between Russia and Ukraine, etc. etc. Because Ukraine did not know what was going to happen. Russia does not know even now that what is going to happen. Because they think we have the power. They don't know there is a power behind their power. There is a controller. There is an Antaryami. There is an Ishwara. If they do not misbehave, then they will be saved. What is misbehavior? Attributing that we are doing everything. But if they say, O Lord, it is Thy doing. I am mere instrument. That person will be saved. That is one of the most important points in the Bhagavad Gita also. We have been talking about it. Surrender yourself completely, 100% to Me. Because your body belongs to Me. Your mind belongs to Me. Your Dharma belongs to Me. Your struggle belongs to Me. Your indolence also belongs to Me. It is I who is the inner controller, indweller, inner controller, the ruler, Anushashitaram. But we only realize it at the end of long, long suffering. So that is what we need to understand. So Shri Ramakrishna had illustrated the state of human beings, dividing them into four categories. The point we have to take away with us from the last class is Ramakrishna added there are ever-free souls like Narada, etc., who are there only for the good of the world. And Swami Vekananda and some of his brother disciples, Swami Brahmananda, Swami Yogananda, Swami Niranjananda, and Poornachandra Ghosh. They are some of the inner circle, he said. They are Nityamuktas, ever-free. He is going to describe also about them. There was a profound silence because Sri Ramakrishna could really make people understand in his presence. When people go out of his power of influence, what happens? They revert back. That's a different issue. But so long as they are in his company, profound peace will come, profound joy which they can never experience will come, and most important, profound understanding comes when they are hearing his words because they are not ordinary words at all. Naturally, one of the devotees is asking, Sir, is there no help then for such a worldly person? Of course, the question itself is redundant. Why? Because when God creates, He doesn't create a world where He says, I am ensigning you for eternal hell. No compassionate God will ever do that for His own children. So the Master is replying, certainly there is. From time to time, he should live in the company of holy men and from time to time go into solitude to meditate on God. Furthermore, he should practice discrimination and pray to God. Give me faith and devotion. Once a person has faith, he has achieved everything. There is nothing greater than faith. We will come to this. We have already discussed in a way when we discussed the five commandments of Sri Ramakrishna. The usefulness of power of holy company, but we have to discuss about them again and again. Ramakrishna's five commandments cultivate holy company. Now and then go into solitude and pray. Then always practice discrimination that everything is temporary. I have made up my own formula. Anything can happen to anybody at any time, at any place, in any way. There is no prediction. Nobody can predict what's going to happen either to us or to anybody next second. That is why most of the time I say, How are you? So far so good. That's what we have to practice. Please practice it all the time. So far so good. Why? We don't know what is going to happen. There was a beautiful Telugu cinema on Ramayana. Sri Rama went to Sri Lanka, fought Ravana, and tested Sita through the fiery ordeal, brought her back, and within a few days the spies came and told Rama that some washerman was passing very bad remarks about Sri Rama. This woman, his wife, went and stayed for one year. Even if such a situation happens to me, I will never take her back. Sri Rama was pained. He knew what was Sita, but he had no option. I have to insert some footnote here because so many of us criticize. Having known the purity, the unsulliedness of Sita, who was the chastest of women, in our Purana it is said every woman should remember five chaste women. One of them is Sita, another is Draupadi, Anasuya, etc. Such a woman, and who knows better than Sri Rama, but for the sake of setting an ideal, he had to give up. So Lakshmana was commanded. Lakshmana was the greatest devotee of Mother Sita. Even though in Valmiki Ramayana Sita misbehaved horribly. When she thought Rama was under severe danger, she even accused Lakshmana having known him so thoroughly, you are desiring me. I think for that only she had to go through her karma phala. Anyway, the point is Lakshmana was commanded take Sita away from me. I never want to see her face again. And then Lakshmana, who knew the great character of Sita, whom he considered as more than his own mother, he was driving the chariot, and the cinema directors have created. Who can know what is going to happen next minute? And that song is the most profound song. This is what we are talking about. Nobody knows what is going to happen next second itself. But to keep this, we should require holy company. Now you see, we are having this gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. And so you are able to hear what I am able to say. You are able to hear what Sri Ramakrishna is able to say. This is the goodness, power of holy company. But we also have to practice continuously. Yes, at first it will be broken practice, but in course of time, slowly, slowly, habit makes it easier for us to remember. So start going on telling, so far so good. That's very good. So Sri Ramakrishna is telling, certainly there is a way out. From time to time, a devotee should live in the company of holy men and from time to time go into solitude to meditate on God. We will talk about this particular issue. Holy company. Sri Ramakrishna is telling later on in this very gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. Because this is not the only time he is telling. So many times Sri Ramakrishna refers. In fact, if I summarize the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, perhaps you can put the whole teachings maybe in one page, which I have tried to do in the form of the five commandments of Sri Ramakrishna. So Sri Ramakrishna is saying, one must take the trouble to seek the company of holy persons. Why? Sri Ramakrishna was a great observer. Nothing escapes his power of observation. That is why he was capable of understanding the nature of the world. If we observe, we will also be able to become wise people. But unfortunately, we do not practice it even though we are experiencing such things again and again. So Sri Ramakrishna is a great observer. This is what Swami Yathiswaranji Maharaj used to say, continuously cultivate being conscious of everything. The art of being aware of everything. This is not to criticize. This is not to pass judgment. But this is to learn. What can I learn? Open your eyes. Somebody died. What can I learn? Open your eyes. Somebody died in my own home. What can I learn? Only the people, other people die. I will not die. Further, observe curious things. Somebody died. You observe, maybe in your neighbour's house. And you know what a grief. Many times unbearable grief. Maybe sometimes not. Anyway, if he is a very old person, quietly they do it. And they do miss, certainly they miss, their parents, mother, father, etc. But how long? Even you observe. Go to the funeral. Nowadays, most people go to a crematorium. Observe. There will be a slot of time given. And observe. Open your eyes and observe. As soon as half the period is over, already many people start looking at their timepiece. They've got other urgent things waiting. And you may also be doing, if it is somebody else's, this thing. So what does it mean? It means our life cannot wait for the death of other people. We have other things. But when our own body is brought to these crematoriums, let us remember, even other people will be doing exactly what we have been doing. Will anybody be missing in this world? There can be no greater delusion that will be missing. We have all seen our parents, our grandparents, who were at one time so beloved. We can never even imagine separation from them. But as soon as they die, that unbearable grief, as if we cannot live. And then what happens? Immediately, very soon, other things take over. Our minds are occupied. How much are we grief-stricken? For how long? Maybe for a short time, if at all. The dead people must thank us for remembering so much of time. But the most important point is not that. It is to remember, same thing happened to me, other people care for nothing when we die. And we think that others love us. We love other people. We have to be separated from them. They have to be separated from us. And when we die, we don't care. When they die, we forget very soon. How do we know? Because a person cannot sleep if he cannot forget. Even when we are lying in the midst of hundred corpses, and there are situations, I can go on and on and on. When Second World War is going on, when hundreds of Jews are lying dead in a tightly packed train carriage, there are other people who are struggling how to breathe, how to get out, how to escape planning and getting despaired and getting hope, etc., etc. A graphic study has been done by Viktor Frankl because he was also captured. He was a psychiatrist, rather social psychologist, and he wrote a beautiful book Man in Search of Meaning. That is, if we don't get a meaning, then we will not be able to live at all. This meaning is what we are seeking. And that is what Swami Vivekananda says, each soul is a potentially meaning-seeking soul. What is the meaning? Who am I? That is the only thing. Only he spelled it out, each soul is potentially divine. So, this is just a small something I wanted to insert. So, why we have to keep the company of holy people in his own home? A man hears only worldly talk. Each word of Sri Ramakrishna is very precious. Just stop here and think about it. In your own family, each one of you who is listening to this talk, how much time your other family members talk about God? In fact, for that matter of fact, how much time do you speak about God to other people? I am afraid, just a few minutes, only when you go into the shrine and you read books like Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, for a short time, you say your prayers, rest of the time, you are planning, you are thinking about the past, what you have done, and what you are doing, what you are going to do in future, how to live long time, how to be happy, how to accumulate money, how to enjoy, and planning even holidays, etc., etc., etc., everything is going on. Funny examples spring to my mind, so I can't help sharing them with you. Here is a person, is a family, one of the, maybe the father, the mother, grandmother, grandfather, somebody is dead, and the children are of course grief stricken, because they are the nearest to what we call childhood associations are there. They loved us very much, we also loved them, there is no doubt. Supposing, one of the family children have got to get married soon after this. Now, what is the person thinking? So this unexpected event has happened, and what is going to happen to that marriage? Can it be done at the, what is called, fixed time, or does it need to be postponed, and if so, how long? I have to consult a priest, and then if the marriage takes place later, and some unintended consequences will take place, etc., etc., etc., how many trains of thoughts are rushing in our mind, in and out, thinking the pros and cons. Is it called really spiritual life? So, when we keep Holy Company, we are reminded again and again. So, in his own home, it is very rare to get a company. Of course, there are exceptions, like Holy Mother, she was so eager, she was wanting to be in the company of Sri Ramakrishna, to hear what He is speaking, to listen to the divine songs He used to sing, or in His presence, divine singers like Narendranath, like Trilokanath, Sanyal, used to sing in His presence. There were many, many wonderful singers who were there, but that is a very rare thing. People used to come running so many times. So, it is very difficult to get Holy Company in one's own house. And then Sri Ramakrishna says, in his own home, a man hears only worldly talk. Man means not only man, a man, a woman, husband, wife, every member of the family, hears only worldly talk. The disease of worldliness has become chronic with him. And then Sri Ramakrishna illustrates what happens, what is this chronic disease. A caged parrot sitting on its perch repeats Rama Rama, but let it fly to the forest, and it will swag in its usual way. This is one version. Another version is when a cat catches the same parrot, then its natural sounds will come. What does it mean? However much we may repeat Rama Rama, and it is only lip-dip service, but when death catches us, all the worldly thoughts we have been accumulating, both consciously and unconsciously, come and catch. Then, what is the way? Sri Ramakrishna is showing a way out. And this is what I call, and this is what Bhagavan Krishna calls Sharanagati, complete self-surrender. Sri Ramakrishna did not say it, but he is explaining to us. If we want to understand the 66th verse of the 18th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, which is, and the other most marvelous shloka, In the same 18th chapter, just a few verses earlier, I do not remember the exact number, 5-6 verses earlier, Bhagavan Krishna is telling, what can human beings do? What can anybody do? What can a tiger do? It was created by God to be a tiger and kill. It is not a cruel animal. That is its nature. A crocodile has its nature. An owl has its nature. And a Ravanasura has its nature. What can the poor Ravanasura do? A Duryodhana was created by Krishna. I have to illustrate this one, even though I have done it quite a number of times. You see, Pandavas received the invitation to go and gamble. And then Yudhishthira immediately accepted. His excuse was because he was addicted to this gambling. He was a slave of gambling. And when he gambles, he loses all his common sense, which is amply proved. But anyway, that is not the point. When Yudhishthira accepted it, he went there. He was thinking Duryodhana and he will be playing. But Duryodhana was clever. They hatched a scheme. Shakuni was a master deceptionist. What you call an easy hand in cheating other people in changing the cards. Shakuni was a past master. He will play and Yudhishthira should have instantaneously refused. He did not refuse. So you know what happened. And then he lost all common sense. He bet his entire kingdom, then his brothers, then himself, then his wife. Everybody was bet. And that was very idiotic, stupid of those things. But I will explain this point also later on. Then Draupadi was dragged and then she pleaded to Dhritharashtra this is what happened, somebody told him and Dhritharashtra he understood the enormity of it not by himself, but he was advised what are you doing? If this thing takes place your name will become bad, your children are wicked children. He granted a boon to Draupadi. Whatever Yudhishthira had lost, everything I am giving back as if the gambling has not taken place. And they were very glad all because Draupadi saved them and they started back. But Duryodhana would not keep quiet. He went and forced, blackmailed his father and again invitation was sent. Now this time did Yudhishthira wake up? He did not. He came, he lost everything. This time after losing everything the condition was for 13 years they had to practice living in the forest 12 years and 1 year incognito they had to live. Now the point is this this happened of course after that they wanted their half kingdom back but Duryodhana refuses. There is a Kshetra war. Practically everybody was dead. Not only Kauravas, most people do not understand that even Pandava army 18 Akshavani's completely lost excepting a few Pancha Pandavas and probably 3 or 4 other people who were with them like Krithavarma. Everybody has been practically inherited. Then later on Shri Krishna was explaining had I been there had I been where had I been at that time when you are gambling I could have prevented unfortunately I was engaged in everything. What a stupid statement to be given by Shri Krishna himself. This is called pure deception because he knows everything. Who wrote the script? He wrote the script. How do we know? Because in the 11th chapter he says that I am time. I have written the script of this world. I have killed them in the form of time long before. Even if you refuse to fight they are not going to be alive I will take somebody as an instrument make somebody an instrument and then I am going to finish them all in the form of time because I have already finished. I am very fond of giving this example. Supposing a person just imagine nobody knows about Mahabharata but a cine director conceived a story like this Mahabharata and he had taken a full film of the Mahabharata where exactly the same events have taken place. Now the audience is sitting and it has been done in a superb way. Everybody is enjoying that. The audience do not know what is to come. The director knows whatever is coming and the actors are given at appropriate times this is how you act and this is how you do it. So Yudhishthira is acting as though he was an addict, as though he was writing, losing everything, he was betting everything and Duryodhana also I hate this Yudhishthira and Pandavas and I want to deprive them and I will take revenge upon Draupadi, I will insult her etc. etc. etc. Then the same Gita Upadesha will take place. At the end all the audience knows what is the story. But the director the people who acted they know the whole story beforehand because now the director will be handing over the whole script so they can practice the appropriate emotionalism and really acting at home. Don't think that a person comes to the stage and tries to act. These people have to practice again and again and again. If something happens you know what happens, the director cut, cut, cut until he thinks it has come out either acceptable or very beautifully it has come out. Now what is my point? The point is Sri Krishna's excuse that had I been there I would have prevented this disaster taking place. This is a false statement. He knew that. And in the script also it is written had I been there I would have been advising you in the right way and the whole Mahabharata war will not take place and Mahabharata story will not be there and then we will be deprived of such a marvellous thing and most perhaps joyous news, there will be no Sudgita class at all, there will be no Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna class. What is my point? Everything is a drama. God became the world, God became the good, God became the evil, God is acting. Is it believable? Yes, believable because we are God. When we go into the dream state we are God and then we call it a dream state. But when we are in the waking state, we don't call it a drama, we call it the results of my past karma. The moment I say this is the result of my past karma, I have chosen my parents, I have chosen my family, I have chosen this particular body, this particular circumstances, particular everything. Who is the God? I am completely independent because I could not have got my karma phala if I were not free at all. Only that which is done with a free will will apply to karma phala, karma siddhanta, otherwise no. So with my egotism, with my full thinking, I have done in the past many lives and the present life is a result of my own creation, not God's creation, my own creation. But only we do not know why we are creating but there is an Antaryami, He is called God. Now what is the whole point? The whole point Sri Ramakrishna says my children that it is sufficient for you to know that you are suffering, you are bound because so many tragedies are there but there is a way out. What is that? Take complete refuge, Sarva Dharmaan Parityaja, give up all the notions that I can do, practice, I can take to Karma Yoga or Raja Yoga or Gnana Yoga or Bhakti Yoga and I am bound and then I am bound by my own will and I am going to be free by my own will. These are all completely useless type of attempts. Sarva Dharmaan Parityaja you are nothing, you do not even exist. Only I am, you are a puppet, realize that you are a puppet. When a puppet realizes that I am a puppet and whatever the puppeteer makes me do, I will have to do it, he is speaking through me, here also something very interesting. A puppeteer cannot make the puppet speak, he can only make the puppet move but the puppeteer himself like a ventriclist he will go on speaking through different, here is Ravana, here is Hanuman puppet, here is Ravana puppet and there is a conversation between them, here is Sita and she is talking with Hanuman, all these puppets he will be moving with a string but so beautifully and that is seen, the puppeteer is not seen, the puppets are seen to moving and we think that the puppets are moving, puppets are speaking, puppets are fighting etc. This mind boggling idea that it is Ishwara, it is Brahman who has become this entire world, it is Brahman who is play acting. As I mentioned when the waker who becomes an Ishwara as soon as he enters into a dream world, creates the entire dream world and goes on play acting creating the entire world, he creates himself as an individual and he creates his friends, his enemies, his India, his foreign countries, western countries, his religion, other people's religion, everything that we see in the waking state is created but so long as that experience called dream is taking place, the man is completely bound but then when he comes out he understands that my friend is me, my enemy is me, good is me, evil is me, everything that happened is only my imagination and I can change my imagination, I am the master of my imagination. How do we say that I am the master of my imagination? That depends upon if you attend this gospel class and listen attentively, there is likely you will repeat the same experience in your dream that you are attending a gospel class and you are listening to these beautiful words of Sri Ramakrishna and all those things but if you read nightmarish books and then see cinemas which are horrible, what they call horror movies or what they call action movies, kicking and killing, the essence is the same. One fellow struts like a hero and goes on moving. What is the next movie? Same movie, this fellow's name is different, dress is slightly different, that the face is exactly the same face and his enemies are also the same fellows. Sometimes this fellow becomes a victim and the other fellows become heroes and this is going on. So what we do in the waking state, if we can practice in a right way and that is called holy company then surely we can create a better dream world, there is no doubt about it. Now what is the point? Let us come back to the point. Sri Ramakrishna is telling this mind boggling truth that everything is the will of God. We don't have any separate will at all and that is what let us read. Master to the devotees, both worldliness and liberation depend on God's will. It is God alone who has kept man in the world in a state of ignorance and man will be free when God of his own sweet will calls him to himself. It is like the mother calling the child at mealtime when he is out playing. When the time comes for setting a man free, God makes him seek the company of holy man. So earlier we have seen when the devotee questioned what is the way out, the very first thing Sri Ramakrishna is repeating. I say repeating because we have seen it in the very first chapter also. On the very first visit itself, sorry, I don't know first visit or second visit, I don't remember, the five commandments of Sri Ramakrishna. First commandment is if you want to be free, if you want to realize, then always cultivate holy company. This is repeated any number of times, umpteen number of times. So what is it telling? Let us go back. Both bondage and liberation depend on God's will. It is God alone who has kept man in the world in a state of ignorance. So take special note of it. Not that I want to be in bondage, but I am helpless. God wants me to act as if I am ignorant, as if I am a worldly person, as if I am intoxicated by worldly desires, as if I am completely identified with the body, as if I have no choice but to stick to the body. I am the body. Who has given this? God alone has kept man in the world in the state of ignorance and let us remember the Vedantic dictum. First comes avidya. Avidya means ignorance. Ignorance means not knowing who I am. And avidya produces what? Asmita, egotism. I am the body, I am the mind, I am the son of so and so, brother, husband, wife, child, friend, enemy of so and so, so and so. Everything that we think about ourselves, this comes from, that is called asmita. And in this world, our experiences vary. Some are pleasure giving, some are pain giving. So we are running towards, attached towards pleasure giving experiences. We want to repeat them an umpteen number of times. This is called raga. And the opposite is vishnu. We want to run away with all our intelligence and energy from those scenarios which give us unhappiness and suffering. But this is all also God's will. And when God decides that He will free man, then of His own sweet will, calls to Himself. Sri Ramakrishna always follows like Kalidasa with a simile. Children are playing and sometimes children are very hungry also, but the intoxication of play doesn't allow them to come and close the gate. It is so absorbing, intoxicating. But the mother calls my children, food is ready, I know you are hungry, please come. But the children sometimes ignore. Then mother goes, then breaks the toys or breaks the game and then drags them unwillingly. All for what? For the good of the children. God also is, Sri Ramakrishna is giving us assurance God will call us all of us. So, further, it is God who makes him restless for spiritual life. So, when do we seek holy company? When we want to progress in spiritual life. But who is going to give us that desire? Who is going to plant that desire, who is going to nourish it, who is going to strengthen it, who is going to protect it? It is all God only. So, what does he do? He makes the aspirant. First of all, he makes a person, from a worldly person to a Jignasu, a spiritual aspirant, wanting to know the highest truth. Then he makes him seek holy company. Then, this is all Sri Ramakrishna is telling that God makes him seek the company of holy man. Then he will make him restless for spiritual life as a result of cultivating this holy company. And so, after some time, it is God alone who will bring the Guru. It is God alone who will show the way. It is God alone who removes all the obstructions like kama, krodha, loba, moha, mada, matsarya. And it is God alone who ultimately removes all these obstructions and makes it for some feel, I am progressing in spiritual life. But when the aspirant is progressing, he is progressing with the idea, it is only God's grace which removed all these obstacles. And then ultimately, he will understand, I can never become the finite, can never become one with the infinite unless the Divine Lord gives him that knowledge. So, from the beginning to the end, from creation to liberation, it is all God's will, God's will and God's will. Naturally, this brings a question which is an eternal question. If everything is being made by God, then what is my role? Yes. Sri Ramakrishna emphatically gives the answer. He says, God has planted a small wisp of freedom. The idea that I can think for myself, I am free to think what I want to think. I am free either to choose worldly life or spiritual life and I can develop anything. So, a germ of that through our actions. And what action should we do for that? Every scripture says do this and do not do this. So, this question is being posed by a neighbour. Can one get this longing for God through frequenting the company of holy men? In other words, what is the effect of holy men? So, do we become more restless? This is what Sri Ramakrishna earlier said. It is God who makes a person restless for spiritual life. A neighbour's question is, if we cultivate holy company, can we get this restlessness for the realisation of God? Master, yes, it is possible. It is possible means yes, definitely it is possible. But Sri Ramakrishna tells us, a most marvellous truth He places in front of us which I want to elaborate a little bit. So, this is the answer. Yes, it is possible, but not for a confirmed scoundrel. Sri Ramakrishna gives some examples. I will come back to this later on. A sannyasin's kamandalu made of bitter gold travels with him to the four great places of pilgrimage but still does not lose its bitterness. That is to say the nature of the kamandalu is, it is made out of bitter gold something bitter and it travels along with the sadhu. That means it is having holy company and it absorbs the teachings and it listens to the teachings and seems to absorb it and it along like kamandalu when a sannyasin goes on pilgrimage, he takes a dip at all the holy places a kamandalu also takes place. What change has come in the kamandalu? Water pot, nothing has come. It will remain. So a Zen story also is like that that once a disciple of many many years, he was practically an old man, dared to ask his guru, Sir, can I also not become a guru in my own right? The guru understood. He said, yes, surely do one thing, you just go on a pilgrimage, taking a bitter gold, I will give you bitter gold but the condition is whenever you take a dip in all the holy waters you must also see that this bitter gold also is deep. And then the disciple did not understand. He did not have that buddhi to understand. He went on pilgrimage, completed it and he fulfilled the guru's commandment. He took a bath and he gave a bath to this bitter gold. And when he returned joyously, then the guru asked him, let us cook this bitter gold and eat it. And when it was inedible, then the guru looked at the disciple. Then the understanding dawned on him that unless a change comes, pilgrimage I went. But just as this bitter gold went on a pilgrimage, but no change has taken place. No change has taken place in me also because if I had been changing for good, if I had been progressing in spiritual life, my guru himself would have asked me to go and start another ashrama where I could be directing people. I myself am ignorant. I have not still become perfect and that is why I asked. The desire to be a guru itself is an indication that I have not progressed. So what are we talking about here? Holy Company is very necessary. Listening to Holy Company is absolutely a must, but putting the teachings of the Holy Company instructions and changing ourselves. Without that, it is impossible to progress in spiritual life. This is a key point. We will be talking in our next class.