Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 072 on 25-October-2022

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

Om Jananim Sharadam Devim Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Sritva Pranamami Moho Rumoho In our last class, we were talking about the great qualities of Hanumanji. He also mentioned, Swamiji mentioned that Hanumanji, Hanuman is the ideal for the entire world. Why he is the ideal? Because he represents the four Purusharthas. Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. And these are called in our last class, four fruits. There was a beautiful Bengali song by an author called Dasarathi Roy, well known for his devotional compositions. So it goes, Amar Ke Phulair Abhaab. In Bengali, the translation of which goes like this, Am I in need of fruit? I have the fruit that makes this life fruitful indeed. Within my heart, the tree of Rama grows, bearing salvation for its fruit. Under the wish-fulfilling tree of Rama, do I sit at ease, plucking whatever fruit I will. But if you speak of fruit, no beggar am I for common fruit. Behold, I go leaving all the bitter fruits for you. What are the fruits we are talking about? This is the greatest subject in Hinduism. And it is said that God himself incarnates in every age. When we forget about these four fruits of life, and they have a marvellous Sanskrit word, Purusharthas. We will discuss in a little bit detail what they are. In fact, we did that many classes back. But it is very good to remind ourselves of this topic. Because this is the most important topic, and this is the only topic, in fact, which we should be bothering about. So what is the concept of Purusharthas? The very word Purushartha, Purusha purushena arthyate iti purusharthah. No non-human being can ever desire these things. In fact, the whole of the Vedas are divided under four parts. Mantra, Brahmana, Aranyaka, and Upanishad. Four stages of life. Brahmacharya Ashrama, Grihastha Ashrama, Vanaprastha Ashrama, and Sanyasa Ashrama. And each one of these states or stages of life, we are supposed to acquire one particular Purushartha. First, a student has to learn everything in this world. All knowledge falls under this category. Who am I? What is the goal of life? And how to attain that goal of life? What is the pathway or pathways? This is the only learning. And that is what Shri Ramakrishna... Very interesting concept, you know. When his eldest brother, Ram Kumar, wanted him or scolded him, Why are you not attending the school? He said, What am I going to do with this knowledge? Which knowledge is completely useless for a human being? He was not talking about himself. He was talking about all of us. What was he really talking about? That knowledge which will not make me understand what are the fruits of life and what are the Purusharthas. How many Purusharthas? All the desirable fruits by any thinking human being can be classified only under four. So what is the real Purushartha? Even though it is said there are four Purusharthas, really speaking, Param Purushartha is only one. What is it? To know who I am and to be that. This is the ultimate. Why is it? Because everybody is searching for three things. I don't want to die. I don't want to be ignorant or unconscious. And I don't want to be unhappy. Asatoma, Sadgamaya, Tamasoma, Jyotirgamaya, Mrityorma, Amrutangamaya. These are the only goals of life and nothing else. That is representing that I want to become God. I want to be Sat. I want to be Chit. I want to be Ananda. So can I become? Yes. Our scriptures tell us and only our scriptures, only scriptures tell us not only you can attain, you cannot in fact neglect. Consciously or unconsciously, all of us are striving only to attain to that. I want to be, I want to know and I want to be happy. So this is the first part of life and the whole concept, who am I and what is the goal of life and how to attain to that goal of life, what are the means, what are the ways, what are the pathways, what are the roads. These answers the quest of every bit of knowledge and that is called knowledge. The rest is called avidya or ignorance and that is what exactly we are talking about here. Instead of calling them purusharthas, in this particular song called four fruits of life. What is a fruit? That which is enjoyable. We grow, we sow a seed, we take care of the plant and then at the end we all want, we grow a tree because we want the fruit. What do we want to do with the fruit? We want to enjoy the fruit. The sweet fruit, the healthy fruit and the fruit that fulfills all our desires, that which gives us health, both physical and mental and happiness, that is the real fruit of life and these four are called purusharthas. The word purushartha is a very important word, very valuable word. Purusha means a human being, first of all. Secondly, he is not any human being. A baby cannot think, a madcap cannot think and a man possessed by lust, anger, etc. cannot think. Only a person who has both his body and mind under control can think and only a thinking person can deliberately set about a goal. That is why it is called purushena arthiyante iti purusharthaha. Only a thinking human being after right thinking, after exercising reason, etc., he will come to know. So what are those things? We all know them. There is absolutely no doubt about it. All of us, we can recite them even with closed eyes. Dharma, artha, kama and moksha. These are the four. And what are they really? This is called evolution in life. First, we must become dharmic. That is the first step of the ladder called life. Secondly, we have certain things to fulfil, both physically, mentally, intellectually, morally, aesthetically. This is called artha and kama. And then there will come a time, if we have followed, if we have really progressed, evolved, then comes that state of life where we understand clearly two things. What I am seeking for cannot be got in the external world. It can only be got in the spiritual world, internal world and not outside. But outside instruments are very necessary. When a person understands, he will focus upon internally. He will turn away. This is called vairagyam. This is also the beginning of sanyasa. That what I am seeking, I will not get outside. What I am seeking, I will get from within my own self. In fact, I myself is what I am really seeking. But not the I that we understand at this moment, but the real I. So this is the third stage of evolution. And evolution doesn't happen automatically. Just as we grow in age, evolution automatically doesn't happen. And very interestingly, Freud, he outlines certain stages of life. And one of the things he says is oral stage. When you look at a baby, whatever things the baby catches hold of, when it comes to his hand, to her hand, he will just put it in his mouth. Oral means mouth. That is why oral dispensation. Either medicine in the form of tablet or liquid or whatever it is, oral prescription. And then interestingly, in yoga also, this observance of silence, yogasya prathamam dvaram, maunam, keeping control over what we want to speak. Maunam doesn't mean we don't want to speak. Maunam means speak what is necessary, how it is necessary, how much is necessary, in precise words so that there is no mistaken notion about it, either by ourselves or other people. So, oral stage. What does Freud say? That most people, they grow up. They may be 80, they may be 90, but they have not gone beyond oral stage. What is he talking about? He is talking about people who want everything for themselves. A baby wants everything for itself. Doesn't want to share even a little bit. I have seen it so many times. I have given a big chocolate and the baby was very happy to receive it, not even grateful. And immediately after giving to the baby, I ask the baby, Baby, you give me a small bit of it. No, not at all. I will not give. What are we talking about? But this is not a fault of the baby because it has not learned. It is the most natural state of the baby. But as we grow, if we do not outgrow that oral stage, then we are immature, we are mad and the whole world, a big country wants to grab another piece of land belonging to somebody. Wars take place. A man wants another man's wife. A woman wants another man, another woman's husband. And property, jobs, everything. Me, me, me. That is called oral state. And the attempt to overcome this oral stage and say everybody equally deserves. And this equidistribution, let me enjoy, let others enjoy, let everybody enjoy, let live and let live, this stage is called Dharma. In a very narrow sense actually. But I must become a Dharmic person. The word Dharma has got many connotations. We will briefly discuss because there was one Kane, a great scholar from Maharashtra. He has written nearly, I don't remember exactly, but 11 or 12 huge encyclopedias of Dharma called Dharma Shastra. All the Dharmas from different viewpoints. What does really Dharma mean? Of course, we are not going to go into it. We will briefly discuss. So when a student learns rightly from the teacher, and that is what exactly Shri Ramakrishna was telling, what is the use of that education which will not give me permanent solution for these problems of life, which will not take me to God, which will not lead me away from this bondage of samsara. I do not wish and I discard it. I spit that knowledge. Of course, his eldest brother was not in a condition then to understand it. This Shri Ramakrishna called it this oral state education. Education which will not make us understand what is oral stage and much less how to overcome it. And that is what we need to understand. That complete understanding that there are higher ideals in life. This is not the only one. Oral state is okay for a baby, but when we don't remain, nobody remains a baby forever. The moment we step out of babyhood, we must be growing along with other lines. And to grow along with other lines, as we are expected to grow, that is called evolution. And that evolution is what Hinduism is talking about. So we will talk about it very briefly. First of all, we said that there are four Purusharthas. We all know them. Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. So according to our Vedas, the purpose of the Vedas and the purpose of an incarnation is to establish the validity of the Vedas, the scriptures, to prove that the scriptures are teaching the right thing, the truthful thing. So Vedas are divided. The first part of the Veda tells us what is the goal of life because that is our true nature and then how to attain. Second part of it is we are growing. Still we are in ignorant state. We have a body. We have a mind. Therefore there are bodily desires. There are mental desires and there are other desires also. Higher desires are there. For example, to become a musician or a sculptor or a poet. These are called aesthetic values and these are much higher than even intellectual values. It is said about Charles Darwin that he regretted very much that had he developed a little bit of aesthetic sense, his life would have been much more happy and fruitful than mere intellectual satisfaction. But there is a higher level even to this aesthetic sense and that is called moral sense. So that which comprises morality, aesthetic sense, intellectual values and of course physical and mental values, the whole lot that is posed by the name of Dharma. So we have to know all about what is Dharma, etc. I will come to that point very shortly. So when we get this knowledge, intellectually we understand that's not enough. We have to enter into the practical field and we have to fight. This life is nothing but a Kurukshetra. Dharmakshetra, Kurukshetra, Samaveta, Yuyutsavaha, Mamakaha, Pandavas, Shiva, Kimma, Kurvata, Sanjaya. All of us are in this battlefield. So the Bhagavad Gita teaching is not some historical event merely. It might have taken place but it is taking place every single day of our life both outside as well as inside, within us. What is happening between Russia and Ukraine is nothing but one type of battle. But the true real battle is between ourselves, between Dharma and Adharma, between Purusharthas and misunderstanding and misapplication of these Purusharthas. So that is the first stage. Second part of the Veda tells us, gives us various means, various instruments how to become healthy both physically, mentally, intellectually, etc. And that part is very beautifully explained in Brahmanas that is you perform these activities. So if an ordinary person's growth, in fact I would say everybody, even a Sanyasi in this life, in the past he must have gone through them, otherwise we will never get that knowledge, that Vairagyam, that I had enough, I don't need them. That is called Vairagyam. You are not renouncing anything. You are voluntarily giving up, saying I had my fling, I know what it is, I don't need it. That is called true Vairagyam. That alone will remain. If it is temporary Vairagyam, it is not going to remain at all. So this is what we need to learn really. And this is called Artha and Kama. Again I will talk briefly about them. Then when a person really evolves, mentally, morally, aesthetically, intellectually, then that person will understand I am seeking something. I know what I am seeking. And what I am seeking is not to be obtained anywhere in this world. Therefore I must seek God. God is the final fulfilment. And at that stage, when a man turns his attention away from the externality and directs it purposefully with absolute self-control internally, that is called Vanaprasthashrama. And the main sadhana practice here is called Upasana or continuous thinking about God, unbroken thinking about God. That is called meditation, called contemplation. I don't mind by what name we call it, but to think continuously about God. Thinking about God is thinking about myself in fact, because each soul is potentially divine. And when I progress, then I enter into the fourth stage. So this third stage, so many different types of Upasanas, and these Upasanas have been roughly classified into two categories. The first classification is different Upasanas suited for different mentalities. Those who are form-oriented, those who are sound-oriented, etc. And the second division that comes is there is a lower Upasana. When a person has reached the goal of that lower Upasana, he or she need not do that one. He can go into the higher Upasana. And so there is a gradation of lower and higher, but there is a gradation for different types of minds to suit. First division is to suit different mentalities. Second is, it is an ascending from the lower to the higher. That is why every Guru will not give a Upasana, exactly the same Upasana to everybody. There is so much of difference there. So this is the third stage. And Aranyaka means a solitary place. Usually the word Aranyaka is translated as a forest. But forest can be terribly disturbing. If there are wild animals and they don't keep quiet, don't think it is a peaceful place. Sometimes a corner in one's house can be much more peaceful than anywhere else outside. Whether you go to the top of a mountain or to the depth of a forest, there may be a lot of other distractions. There may be thorns, there may be twigs, there may be stones, there may be wild birds, wild animals, wild insects. All sorts of disturbances can be there. But Vanaprasthashyama means where you find out a solitary place, whether it is inside or outside. And Sri Ramakrishna has given three hints. He said, Bhone, Kone, Mone. First try to go outside your house. That is called Bhone. Bhone means Aranya. That is a solitary place where rarely people visit and it is away from all sorts of disturbing noises. If you can find, that is marvellous. But if it is not available, come home and then sit with a great worry-free state of mind in a corner of your house. Find out which is the quietest. Not the kitchen, where there is a lot of noise going on. Not the toilets, where there is a lot of noise going on. Especially in a householder's house, continuous noise is going on. Neither kitchen nor toilet. But it must be some place which is the quietest in the house. That is called Kone. Bhone, Kone. But if we fail to get such a thing, accept the inevitable and then you sit. And then close your eyes. Try to withdraw your mind. This is called Mone in the mind. Mone, Kone, Bhone. But nowadays also, there is technical, technology has advanced a little, quite a bit. And we can get some noise cancelling headphones. However much noise is coming from outside, 80% of it can be eliminated by using these noiseless, what is called noise cancelling headphones. Those who can afford and most of us can afford because we waste so much of money in unnecessary things. You put them on or put some earplugs or some way, find out some way to reduce noise as much as possible. So, that is what we need to do. So this is the third stage of the Ashrama that is called Manaprastha Ashrama. And when we progress, a time will come when a person says that I have nothing to do with the world, I have everything to do with God and that is called Sanyasa Ashrama. Sanyasa means complete detachment from everything that pulls us down externally or internally. Non-attached state is called Sanyasa Ashrama because if we are non-attached, nothing really worries us. In brief, these are the four stages of life. Now let us discuss briefly what do we mean by Dharma. And I mentioned the word Dharma has three primary duties, three primary meanings are there. Bhagawan, He says in the fourth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita Dharma Samstha Panarthaya Sambhava Me Yuge Yuge Whenever it is necessary, when Dharma goes down, when Adharma increases, I incarnate myself to establish Dharma. What is the meaning of Dharma? First of all, if you still remember, I hope and pray that you remember because quite a number of times I have brought out this meaning. The very first meaning of Dharma is our true nature, man's true nature. What is man's true nature? That each soul is potentially divine. People forget, we forget, therefore God incarnates. In this age also He incarnated and in Bhagavad Gita times Shri Krishna says that you are not either born, Ajaha, Amrut Yohu, you don't have birth, you don't have death, you are not the body, you are not the mind and that is what His main teaching is. Same thing Swami Vivekananda following the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna put each soul is potentially divine. So the goal of life is to manifest this divinity within and that which helps us to manifest this divinity within more and more is called Dharma and that which hides our true nature that is called Adharma. The first meaning of Dharma is to remind ourselves that we are divine, we are children of immortality, our nature is Amrutattva. This is the first meaning. Second meaning of Dharma is we are born with this body and mind and there is a maximum potentiality this body can attain and much more potentiality what this mind can attain. In fact so much is there. But even though so much potentiality is there because of our Prarabdha Karma it restrains our development. There is a limit until which we can go in this very birth physically or mentally. That is why it takes a long time many many many lives even to become an expert musician as an example. But life after life so one life after another life every opportunity if the man takes and uses his time his opportunity, his life then he will go on growing. This is the second meaning of Dharma. God has given us, each one of us a body, a mind and the outside world. What is the function of the body? It is the Shariram Adhyam Kalu Dharma Sadhanam. This is the only instrument. What is the mind? That is also Dharma Sadhanam. What is the world for? That is also Dharma Sadhanam. The world is like a mirror. It helps us how to correct ourselves. This is the most marvellous example given by so many Swamis when they are talking about this spirituality. Why has God created this world? It is like a mirror and we don't know what we are. We don't know how our face looks like unless we see the reflection in a mirror. And the world, it has both. It is a help. It is also a hindrance. It is a mixture of Dharma and Adharma. And this mixture of Dharma and Adharma is called Maya. And it is not meant to pull us down. It is in fact meant to help us. My child, I am placing before you these two dishes. One is a dish of immortality, Amruta. Another is a dish of poison. But I will not dictate to you what you should choose or discard. So I have given you the buddhi. I have given you the intelligence. Now I am giving you an opportunity to exercise that intelligence and take the right decision. So in that sense, the world is not a hindrance but it is the most helpful thing. If the world is not there to show us like a mirror what we are really, not what we are thinking we are, but how our face, our person really is, then we will never be able to make any progress. We will be roaming in this, caught in this whirlwind of samsara forever and ever. The second meaning of dharma is make complete usage of this body-mind. Develop the body, develop the mind and interact with the world in the proper way that we are supposed to do. And the scripture gives us excellent guidance in this matter. This is the second meaning of dharma. And third meaning is God also, according to our social circumstances, gave us certain duties. Now what are we talking about? First of all, we are talking about ourselves. Then we are talking about our body, mind and the world complex. Third, we are talking about we are also social beings. And so we have to help each other. I cannot live without others and others cannot live without me. We are what we call threads and threads of the same fabric of the entire social fabric. And when there is a disharmony between individuals, it is like as Shri Krishna tells us or Kata Upanishad even more specifically tells us if all the four horses are pulling the chariot in four different directions and the result will be completely counterproductive. And a person who can control the horses unify them and then direct them all the time and a whip is completely necessary all the time until we reach the goal. And what are those four horses? That is four what we call faculties of human being activity, emotion, will and intellect. So God has devised according to our station in life, according to our capacity, according to the particular guna that we are born with. I mean sattva guna, rajo guna, tamo guna, of course not pure, no guna is pure. It's a mixture of everything that is there. So this is what we need to understand. Okay. So we are talking here this is the duties. Three meanings we have found out of dharma. First is about our real nature. So we know what is the goal of life. Second is we have been made conscious, we have a body, we have a mind and we have this marvellous world. The world is not an obstruction. The world is but a help provided we know how to use it. The world is there only to help us progress and in fact Sankhya Yoga tells us the world is there to kick us in the shin, in the back, on the legs if we are misbehaving. My child, you are straying into my house. This is not your house. Your house is God's house. I am Prakruti and you are always trying to run into my compound and play with myself. I will not allow you. I will first try to make you understand nicely and if you are not willing to learn nicely I will give the necessary what is called carrot and stick methodology to direct me. The world is the God's grace. How wonderful it is to understand the world is not Mahamaya, the world is not Bhranti, the world is not Mithya. It is the very grace of God it is there to help us at every stages of our life and the world will provide us the appropriate lesson which is necessary at every stage of our spiritual growth. So we have then the body-mind complex with the world then we have certain duties which are meant only to help us grow extensively and internally so that we can go. This is one understanding this is the real purpose of goal of a God incarnating as a human being. Now we will talk a little bit what is Dharma. As I said we have got three instruments body, mind and the world. So we must develop a harmonious development. Our body must grow in Dharma. A child can be only fed what is boiled rice, boiled vegetables, boiled dal and a small quantity and very well boiled that is what every mother instinctively does it and even animals they eat the hard stuff, turn it into beautiful digestible milk so that the offspring is capable of drinking that and get nourished and grow and until it is capable of taking food for itself. So this Dharma means first severe Dharma. What does it mean? I will come to that point but it means keep it healthy, keep it strong. That is what Swami Vivekananda has meant that muscles of iron and nerves of steel and a mind which is made up of that strong resolve. This is what we need to grow. This was Swami Vivekananda's advice to all the students of India, young youth of India this is the only way for salvation, there is no other way. So this is the first meaning of Dharma, Sharira Dharma. Eat what is suitable, eat in the right quantities etc. Keep the mind and body in the maximum healthy state and then our relationship with the world also should be very healthy that which helps us to grow, keep our body, mind healthy and that type of activity, that type of attachment, that type of relationship with the world which helps us grow physically, intellectually, aesthetically and morally, ultimately spiritually, that is called Dharma. So there is Sharira Dharma, Body Dharma, there is a Manoha Dharma, how to develop intellectually, there is a Kala Dharma, how to develop aesthetically, there is a Moral Dharma, that is what we are emphasizing. So one has to speak truth, one has to behave in the most righteous way but neglecting Hindus talk about this fourth stage of Dharma terribly, they never talk about the other three types of growth of the Dharma and that is what the main cause of ruination of India. So to learn all about Dharma not only that, everybody wants happiness. If a person wants health, a person wants happiness, if a person wants to grow then he has certain ways of behavior and how to mould every character in a particular way, these Shastras have given elaborate details and sometimes as I said, these details are so overwhelming, so confusing, sometimes we have lots of problems are there and in the name of Dharma this our elders like our priests, our Brahmins so much ruined India and Swami Vivekananda used to say, it is this misinterpretation of what is called Dharma by these Brahmins, that is the main root cause of India's degeneration. People instead of trying to understand what these scriptures really are meaning, they are trying to impose upon us. For example, how many millions of women have been unnecessarily tortured, burnt alive, like the west has used to burn widows in the name of witches, so India used to burn all in the name of Dharma Shastra, this is called Sati. How they have kept the so called lower classes and then Swami Vivekananda was the only person, was first person, who found out what is the real root cause of India's degeneration and then he also showed us, this is the diagnosis and this is the treatment and that treatment is called right type of education. Even today we are struggling and most people don't understand what is right type of education and much less strive to give the right type of education. But I will give you just a hint, any scoundrel, who is a great scholar and who is highly intellectual and he can teach so many things, even he can expound Swami Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, all the great sages and saints of India. But who is lacking character himself and I don't want to name but so many so called even Sanyasins, they are worthless characterless fellows, pure simple hypocrites trying to deceive people, they have not developed any type of character but because they just don a type of cloths, Vesha, Udharani Mittam, Bahukrita Vesha, as we have been discussing in the Bhaja Govindam Sutra, Jetilo Mundi Lunchita Keshaha, Kasha Ayambara, Bahukrita Vesha, Pashyanna Pichana Pashyati Mudaha, Udharani Mittam, Bahukrita Vesha. So, even respectable organizations of monks etc, they are absolutely characterless fellows because how do we know they are characterless? Because only a person who has money can donate money. Only a person who has knowledge can give knowledge. Only a person of character can give character to other people. But simply preaching in the name of character, citing the quotations of great people is not going to do it at all. It will not serve the purpose. Nobody is going to be transformed. If any transformation comes in any human being, that can be brought about only by men of character and not by anybody else. So, this is the first part of meaning of Dharma. Then a person understands these things, enters into the second stage of life, which I call, prefer to call experimenting and experiencing. Get married. Why? Because it is a natural desire will be there. Man wants woman, woman wants man. But the scripture will never tell us that this is unnatural, this is wrong. Everybody should become a monk or nun. The scripture will never tell that. Like a growing of a child, especially a sick child, the scripture tells us that you must grow in character. And for that, an empty number of rules and regulations are given and all these things, especially two goals of a grahastha life, this is called artha and kama. The subject is vast, but as I said, I don't want to bore you. I want to give very briefly. You are very intelligent people. If you wish to understand, you can understand. First of all, taking artha. Artha means, usually translated as that money, wealth to fulfill all our desires. And kama is translated as what we call fulfillment of the desires. In simple words, artha means acquire all that is necessary to enjoy, fulfill our wishes. Kama means fulfill them. And as far as it goes, the meaning is fine. But there is seriously something very seriously wrong. Sri Ramakrishna seems to go against the scriptures and say dharma he accepts, moksha he accepts, but artha and kama says maya is nothing but artha kama. What does he really mean? Was he condemning, especially sexual relationships? No. What he is telling is any fulfillment of desire and any instrument for the right fulfillment of the right desire must be acquired rightly. So, dharmic way of acquiring the instruments, dharmic way of fulfilling one's desires and very briefly I am going to tell about first of all, artha means what? Instrument. Money is not the only thing. And there are three types, four types of arthas or let me say three types of arthas are there. And any lacuna, any lacking of any one of these three instruments will not fulfill our desires. What are these three things? First is the body, second is the mind, third is the object. So, very briefly, any object that we want to enjoy, of course we know money is the means, money is an instrument, money is a value only to acquire things. I want a good house and a good car and a good refrigerator, good bed, good furniture and good everything in a good locality, etc. It requires money. But that money has to be earned rightly and honestly. That is the first fulfillment. Suppose there is a rich man and he is earning okay and he buys sweets but he has spoiled his body, indulging himself in eating all sorts of things and the body has become completely unhealthy and he cannot even digest anything. What is the good of having so much of wealth if the body is not properly looked after from the very beginning, if it is not healthy? So a healthy body is one which can enjoy any type of these instruments, these objects of enjoyment. It need not be only food, it may be a good bed, may be music, it may be something to see nicely, a good film for example or it could be a comfortable temperature, it could be a good smell, shabda sparsha roop or asa gandha. All these things, the body must be in a prime condition. The sense organs must be in their strongest position and to keep this body in that strongest position so that they can really enjoy that is called sharir dharma and this is part of the, what are we talking? Artha. All these fall under the category of Artha. Then we have got mind. Supposing here is a person, he is earning everything rightly and his body is very healthy but he is completely worried about his job, about his business, about so many unnecessary things and a worrying mind, as we know, you can, you smoke so many times, your mouth is chewing, your tongue is tasting but your mind is worried and you cannot get real happiness from it. So the mind must be worry-free. So all these three, the objects we have to acquire, must be acquired dharmic way and the body must be kept through right diet, etc. Second and third, the mind must be kept worry-free and only when we live a dharmic life, then the squeezing of that happiness from the combination of these three conditions is incomparable. That is the first point. Is this all? No. When we want to enjoy something, that also requires, so suppose, I always try to explain things with some examples, supposing you want to eat something nice and it is rightfully acquired and you are enjoying it. But there are certain rules are there. First rule is, be grateful to God, offer it to God because it is by God's grace we have obtained these things and this is what our scripture is telling. Don't simply open your mouth and swallow, I did not cheat anybody and I will eat. That is the first condition. Offer it to God, take it as prasada, our joy, I can assure you, will only become double fold, it will never become less. Not only that, when we are enjoying something, it must be enjoyed at the right place, at the right time and in a right manner. I told you about the right manner, offer it to God. Right place means what? So my favorite example is, you can't take a first class suite, go into a public toilet and then secretly enjoy it. It will not be enjoyable at all. It must be in a very clean place, free from all evil smell. Smell means not only physical, even mental smell, etc. And then you, by thinking about God and then by sharing it with others, if there are people to share around and then eat in the right quantities and at the right time, not at midnight, not when we are not supposed to eat, the time is divided, this is the time for activities, this is the time for rest and this is the time for meditation, this is the time for studies, this is the time for different activities. So, right time, right place, right attitude with right sharing, if we can enjoy and it is everybody's experience, if we can fulfill these conditions, then our enjoyment will have no parallel at all. This is what is called Artha and Kama. So, Dharma Artha. Artha related to Dharma and Kama related to Dharma. Enjoy it. A child can enjoy only childish portions and a grown up person can enjoy better. When a person becomes old, he cannot enjoy. When the same person becomes diseased or ill, then he cannot enjoy properly. All these things have to be taken under consideration and as I said, this is the briefest way of explaining and our Dharma Shastras is varied details are there. Sometimes I am afraid there is so much that they make confusion in the mind. But I will just give one example. Supposing yesterday was Kali Puja night and Kali Puja is done at night. Suppose somebody says it is Divine Mother's night, it could be Shivaratri also, whole night I have to wake up and for the sake of waking up they go on making lot of noise and music and the real purpose of fasting, the real purpose of what is called keeping awake at night is completely forgotten. Suppose this person enjoys the Puja for two hours, after that he says I will not be able to enjoy this one. Better you go, make a salutation, go home, sleep well and next morning you continue your enjoyment of the Puja mentally. That is far more beneficial than trying physically to force the body and mind to do something and only getting satisfaction. I kept awake whole night and I did the whole Puja and then it has its satisfaction but it is nothing compared if we use a common sense. This is all about Artha and Karma. Then when we continue obeying the scriptures and doing this, that is directing our life, controlling our life, in this way, enjoy Artha and Karma according to Dharmic way and that is the essence of the Grihastha's life. Then a time will come when the mind evolves and it doesn't say I don't want, it says I don't need. I have seen it, I have enjoyed to the highest I am completely fulfilled. I know what it is. It is a repetition of what I have enjoyed. Now I know all these things are not of trouble and the only thing to be relied upon, secure is only God. Then the mind becomes very anxious to think about God and we go inward and that is called going inward and that is called Upasana Prasthasana. That is called Upasana part of the Vedas which as I said different Upasanas to suit various mentalities and there are variations of higher and lower Upasanas and higher and higher Upasanas when the scripture knows clearly, the Guru knows clearly when to prescribe it, only when that Sadhaka really attains to the perfection of what he has been doing then the next higher step is indicated. This is the third part of the Aranyaka and the Veda tells us through the medium of the Guru. Then comes a time, will come when we progress when we approach nearer and nearer to God. This is what Vaishnavas call Sayujya Salokya, Samipya Sarupya and the last is Sayujya. Advaitic interpretation of Sayujya is, I cannot tolerate any distinction with any separation between God and myself and that when a person's mind naturally reaches that state, it is called Mukti, a seeker of Mukti and complete liberation. This is the purpose of Sanyasa Ashrama and all these stages are four natural growths. They have nothing to do with the growth of the body. They are actually stages in the evolution of consciousness and these four Dharma, Artha, Kama, Upasana and Moksha these are called Chaturvidha Purushartha. These are called four fruits of life and when a person attains God he is sitting as it were and says when I want to enjoy whatever fruit I want to enjoy I am sitting like a Jeevan Mukta who enjoys whatever he wants to enjoy whenever he wants to enjoy and in fact Jeevan Mukta's life is nothing but bliss and bliss and that is what Hanuman is trying to indicate. You think I who am sitting under the tree of God, do I lack any fruits and I leave all these fruits and anything other than God is a bitter fruit. I leave them to you and I depart with this pot of nectar and this is the most marvelous symbolism of this story. Without that immortality man is dead whether he is killed or not he himself is the killer. This is called Atmaha. These are beautiful ideas and we will proceed further in our next class. Om Jananim Sharadam Devim Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Sritva Pranamami Muhur Moho May Sri Ramakrishna Holy Mother and Swami Vekaranda bless us all with Bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna