Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 078 on 17-January-2023

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

OM JANANIM SHARADAM DEVIM RAMAKRISHNAM JAGADGURUM PADA PADME TAYO SHRITVA PRANAM AMI MOHO RUMOHO HO So in our last class, we have been extensively talking about Gopi's Prema. Who is a Gopi? Every sincere spiritual soul is a Gopi. It is said, I don't know in which Purana, maybe Narada Purana, that once Narada had requested the Divine Lord, I want to taste the very acme of the bliss of Bhakti. And the Lord told him, you be born as a Gopi, then you will understand the very peak of devotion. We should always keep in mind, whatever be the path that we are following, progress in spiritual life must be determined by three characteristics. The first characteristic, remember the characteristics of Brahman or God, Sat, Chit, Ananda. Just as a person, when he approaches fire, he himself feels the warmth, then greater warmth, then very hot, finally he becomes fire itself. So when we progress towards God, with this analogy, we grow in Sat. Sat means purity, holiness, goodness, gentlemanliness. Second, Sat means Satyam, we become truth speakers and we become truth seekers. And finally, we realize that Supreme Reality, whatever we see is none other than the same Divine in the form of Is. The table is, the tree is, the person is, the friend is, the enemy is, is, is. When we look at the Is, there is no friend or enemy, good or evil. When we look, when we forget, then Nama, Rupa and Guna, form, name and qualities will be obsessing, possessing us and that is called bondage, Samsara Kundana. When we approach nearer to God, our wisdom grows. When we approach nearer to God, our bliss grows. As a result, after all, whatever we are after in this world is not for the sake of anything in this world. It is to become blissful. So to become, in simple words, we want to be happy, happier and happiest. Everything is for the sake of happiness. This great truth has been taught long back in one of the most marvelous Upanishads called the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. The Divine Lord is telling in the form of Yajnavalkya. Why did I say the Divine Lord is telling? Because another name for God is Gnanam. Yajnavalkya doesn't exist. Only Yajnavalkya in the form of knowledge exists. See Ramakrishna doesn't exist. Ramakrishna in the form of knowledge or knowledge in the form of Ramakrishna. Knowledge in the form of Ramakrishna. Knowledge in the form of Rama. In fact, nothing else, nothing exists in this world. Even for ordinary people, except in the form of knowledge. When we say, for example, I see a tree. The tree comes to us in the form of knowledge. When I see an animal, that animal comes to us in the form of knowledge. And if it gives us happiness, we call it a good person, good tree, good fruit, etc. Good event, good weather, good atmosphere, etc. But when the same thing produces the opposite effect within us, then we call it bad. Intrinsically, there is neither good nor bad. So when a seeking soul approaches the Divine Lord, then he acquires the qualities. He becomes a Sat. He becomes Chit. And he becomes blissful. He does not acquire knowledge, but he becomes knowledge. This is how. Let us look at ourselves and say, Am I afraid of death, then I am far away from God, because that is ignorance. Then, am I able to objectify myself? Am I able to observe the world? Am I able to live in this world in the way that I am supposed to live, as directed by the scriptures? In the later stage, we don't need any scripture. Our own intuition will tell us. And in fact, our reaction will be like that. I will give you a small example. Some person had given a glass of water to Sri Ramakrishna. Sri Ramakrishna was very thirsty. He went to a house and one known person had brought a tumbler full of water. Sri Ramakrishna knew nothing about that person and he could not touch even the water. Some devotee who knew Sri Ramakrishna, who must have witnessed these kind of events in the past, immediately took the same tumbler from the person, went inside, threw out the water, washed the tumbler, brought out water from the same place and this time there was no difficulty. So did Sri Ramakrishna think about it and then react? No. Automatically, he reacted. And that is what happens. But until that intuition is developed, we require the guidance of the Guru, and the guidance of the scripture, guidance of every wise person. And if we prick our ears and then ready to receive the wisdom, even they say, even from the mouth of children, we can learn a lot of things. This is a very marvellous subject. Sri Ramakrishna himself is narrating later on, why do Paramahamsas want to keep the company of small children? Because to be a Paramahamsa is to be like a small child. Remember, not to be childish, but to be a child. What is the characteristic of a child? Everything is temporary. He gets hurt, he cries, temporary. He quarrels with somebody, temporary. He gets attached to something, temporary. Next moment, he forgets. And when he feels like sleeping, he sleeps in the arms of the mother, in the arms of anybody, on the floor, in dust, anywhere. Because he is not thinking, Oh, I don't have a good bed. This is a very hard bed, hard mattress, etc. Simply, he gives in. His body is so flexible. And then the most important thing is, a child has not yet learned how to hide his feelings and express the opposite, untruth. Whatever he feels like laughing, he will laugh. He feels like crying, he cries. And that is the characteristic. And most important thing is, what modern psychologists call an authentic life. What is an authentic life? You live according to your mind's thoughts, not pretending to be otherwise. That's why when Sri Ramakrishna used to listen to songs, he is so moved. He can sing, he can shed tears, he can dance. He is not thinking, What do other people think about me? I am an old man and I am thinking and I am dancing. I am shedding tears. Am I afraid of public's opinion? It is a marvelous fact in the life of every saint. He becomes absolutely one. This is what in Bengali he used to call, Sri Ramakrishna used to call, Man Mokha Aakora. Make the mind, speech and action absolutely one. This is called an honest person. This is what we call a trustworthy person. In our day-to-day life, we have this feeling, this person is very trustworthy. I can speak whatever I want. I can also do whatever I like. This person is not going to betray me. We may have some friends like that. So this is what Paramahamsa learned and that is called real progress in spiritual life and that is the nature of a Gopi. They did not know anything except in Krishna and that Rasaleela. We have seen they have absolutely no attachment to the husbands, to the children, to brothers. Can we imagine? Here are Gopis. Most of them were married and they had their husbands. They had their children. Husbands, in-laws, maybe a little bit possible to renounce them. But children, is it possible for any mother to forget the child? No. When it comes to God, everything can be given up. Remember, this is the ideal. We all want to become Gopis. But there is also something very special. What is that speciality? If any person has got a female body and the enjoyment that female body gives to a devotee is incomparable. In Vaishnava literature, this is called Madhura Bhakti. We have seen in our past classes. Now I will resume what is coming from the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. Now just a little background. We have touched it upon in our previous classes. It was now late in the evening and time for M's departure. But he felt reluctant to go and instead went in search of Sri Ramakrishna. Why did he go? He had been fascinated by the master's singing and wanted to hear more. At last, now M finds Sri Ramakrishna. Where did he find? In front of the Kali temple in Dakshineswar. There is a hall. It is called Nat Mandir. That is where devotees can sit. They can hold singing parties or dancing parties or some pandit can expound a scriptural exposition. So that is the place where devotees can take shelter when it is raining. It serves many purposes. It is a big hall and it is a beautiful hall. And there are round pillars are there if you had gone there. And at that time electricity was not there. That's where it was evening and there is a dim light. And what was Sri Ramakrishna doing? And here is the graphic description by M. At last, he found the master facing alone in the Nat Mandir in front of the Kali temple. A lamp was burning in the temple on either side of the image of the Divine Mother. The single lamp in the spacious Nat Mandir blended light and darkness into a kind of mystic twilight in which the figure of the master could be dimly seen. These are marvellous descriptions. This is the type of atmosphere we have to create. Not too much light and not too less light. There were two small lamps in oil lamps by the side of the image of the Divine Mother. And there is a single lamp in the Nat Mandir. And it is very difficult to see anything. It's a kind of twilight in a way of speaking. That is what happens at dawn and dusk. And the whole nature undergoes very special transformation. And that can be very helpful in meditating, in reading, in many things. M had been enchanted by the master's sweet music. We discussed it elaborately. But just to recall it. Why was M enchanted? First of all, it is not a classical type of music. Mostly it is bhajan and it is what is called Vaishnava Upadavali. A particular style where the devotees of Vishnu sing. And a particular style where the devotees of the Divine Mother sing called Shama Sangeet. And some bhajans also. And when Shri Ram Krishna used to sing, first of all, His voice is a divine voice. Secondly, when He used to sing, He used to be absorbed in the mood. That is the second thing. Third thing is that He never remembers anything. And such is the influence. Even Totapuri, His Advaitic teacher, who did not even understand complete Bengali words, used to shed tears upon hearing His disciples' music, bhajan. Ek yaare, ek yaare, He used to cry. Tears used to pour out. He did not understand. Why was it? That is why it is said, when a great singer sings, even hardest stones melt. So M had been enchanted. And unequivocally, He says He has never heard such kind of singing from anybody else in His whole life. And second comes only, only second place to Narendra. Afterwards, anybody else. So, He had been enchanted because He had been influenced. Influenced means the thoughts of God, the thoughts of Divine Mother, the thoughts of dispassion, the thoughts of discrimination. They become enlivened when a person hears such kind of music. What happens when an ordinary person, a worldly person with a worldly motive sings? Maybe sometimes we are carried away by emotion, but emotion means electronic motion. As soon as the devotion comes, it becomes emotion and emotion naturally departs to be replaced by something else. But when a person is in the presence of a Ramana Maharshi or a Ramakrishna or a Swami Vivekananda or a Holy Mother, any saint or sage, they are transformed. Even the illiterate people at Jesus Christ's time, they use it too. Who is this man? Is he not the son of our carpenter Joseph? And yet he speaks as if with authority. Of course, he spoke with authority because he was living that life that is called authentic life. And he was also given special grace by God that you will bring these people to me. So M had been enchanted by the master's sweet music. With some hesitation, he asked Ramakrishna whether there would be any more singing that evening. No, not tonight, said Ramakrishna after a little reflection. Then as if remembering something, he added, but I am going soon to Balrambos's house in Calcutta. Come there and you will hear me sing. And M immediately agreed to go. He did not know who is Balrambos, but he agreed to go. Because in those days, it was not difficult to find out, especially the devotees of Ramakrishna. And by the way, Balrambos's house is one of the most sanctified places in Calcutta. Ramakrishna used to say, that is my visitor's room in Calcutta. More than 100 times, Ramakrishna visited Balrambos's house. And on many nights, he stayed there. And Balrambos was one of the greatest devotees. Not only he was a devotee, his entire family including the servants were all just swelling with devotion, according to Ramakrishna. Then Ramakrishna was quite intelligent. He is asking, do you know Balrambos? M, no sir, I don't. Master, he lives in Bosepara. M, well sir, I shall find him. Because it is not very difficult. You go to Bosepara and say, there is one Balramboso. Do you know? Anybody will direct. It was not that crowded in those days. And of course, Balramboso was coming from quite a good family. He was a Jamindar's family. So a huge house. If you have the opportunity, you can go. That place has become now part of the Ramakrishna order. Wonderful place. So M says, well sir, I shall find him. The master laughed. Why did the master laugh? Because he was delighted. Why was he delighted? Well, you are my own. And you come there. It is not only singing. Here singing is the greatest gift. Sri Ramakrishna gives to other people to convey his ideas. M bowed low before Sri Ramakrishna and took his leave. He had gone as far as the main gate of the temple garden. When he suddenly remembered something and came back to Sri Ramakrishna, who was still in the Nath Mandir pacing up and down like a lion. In the dim light, the master all alone was pacing the hall, rejoicing in the Self. As the lion lives and roams alone in the forest. Such an apt analogy. And Swami Vivekananda called Sri Ramakrishna Atmarama. This is the idea. What does Atmarama mean? That is completely merged in the bliss of Atman. This is called Samadhi. It is called Nirvikalpa Samadhi. One who is absorbed in himself, in the Atman or Self. But there is something we have to understand. In the Bhagavatam, Suta. Suta means a person who can tell all the Puranas. They have been specially trained in South India, in Bangalore, etc. We know that they are called Bhagavatars. That is the storytellers of Bhagavata, Ramayana, Mahabharata, etc. They sing and they also dance a little bit. And they also explain it in very dramatic words. It is all a one-man show. And with very few instruments, for a few hours they carry on. In South India, it is called Hari Katha. They tell stories from these Puranas, especially these three. Prasthanatraya, Puranatraya, Bhagavatam, Ramayanam, and Mahabharata. They can take incidents like Vijendra Mokshana or like Kucher Sudha Maupakhyana or like Rukmini Vibhaha, etc. Beautifully, they bring out the Vedantic truths. So, such people in the olden times are called Sutas. Actually, these Puranas and Tantras are the side effects of... In the olden times, Rishis and Munis used to perform long Satra. Satra means Yajna, Yaga, etc. There is one which runs for 12 continuous years. Dvadasha, Varsha, Satra. Many of them may be a month, 15 days. Some of them are only for one day or a few hours. So, depending upon who is conducting that one. And when it is a long type of Yajna or Yaga, many people like nowadays in temples and a special festival, a lot of people come. There is Bhajan and there is sometimes expositions on the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Ramcharitmanas, etc. So, when priests are engaged in doing things, what do the common people do? Because they don't understand Mantra, Tantra, etc. So, that is when these people come, they expound the highest Vedantic truths in the form of small stories. Nowadays, how this Amara Chitra Katha has come into being and that is what is called Puranas. And then when they used to do these Yajnas and Yagas, they used to, what we call, arrange certain things in a certain way. For example, bricks. We don't need knowledge of bricks, but how to arrange those bricks, in what formation, and these kinds of special rituals have resulted in what we call nowadays Tantras consisting of Mantra, Yantra, etc. That is Sri Chakra, etc. So, the origination of Tantras, the origination of Puranas are from the Vedic times only. So, in the Bhagavata Mahapurana, one of the greatest Mahapuranas, this Suta storyteller, he is describing the effect of Sri Krishna. There are people, they are called Munis. Muni means completely merged in Mauna. Mauna means Amatra. Amatra means Turiya Stithi. They are called Atma or Amasya. That is, each one of them is completely merged in Samadhi. And Nirgrandha, they have absolutely no knots, that means no bondage of the Samsara. But even though they are like that, Api, Urukrama means here, Vishnu is called Urukrama. That means He can transcend with one step on one Loka. We see in Vamana Avatara, with three steps, He occupied the Earth, occupied the Heaven, occupied in between. And then He asked Bali Chakravarti, where shall I put my third foot? And then Bali says, put it on my head, because that is the only place. Remember, it is a symbolic story. What is the symbolism? That if the Lord must be there, both in the heart and also in the head, like Shri Krishna put His feet on Kaaliya. Even Kaaliya had become one of the greatest devotees of God and he became free, because here the Garuda, the Guru, releases him from all sorts of unhappiness, bondage, when he sees the footsteps of God. This is what every Guru does. By the way, in case you don't remember, Garuda is the Vahana of Vishnu and a Guru is also called Garuda. Why? Because a Guru carries Bhagawan to the disciple and reveals, here is your Ishta Devata, you look into Him. So whoever carries God to us, He is the greatest benefactor to all of us. So this is called Guru. And that is what we have to pray, O Lord, let Your grace flow to me in the form of Your child, who has realised You, who is with You, who can carry You to me, an undeserving person. So Urukrama means Vishnu and then even this Atmarama, what do they do? As soon as they detect the presence of the Saguna Brahma, here we are talking about not Nirguna Brahma, even those who are devoted to the Nirguna Brahma become so much enchanted by the Saguna Brahma. Kuruvanti Ahaitukin Bhaktim Ittham Bhoota Guno Harihi So all the Atmaramas, those who take pleasure in Atma and Spirit and become completely submerged in the Nirvikalpa Samadhi, especially those established in deep Samadhi, though freed from all kinds of material bondages, yet desire to see, to hold the enchanting form. And why? Because such is the greatness, Mahatmya, that they cannot resist. These are called Atmaramas Chamunayaha. Now there is a beautiful something is there. There was a great Advaitin called Madhusudana Saraswati and he has written this in his sayings. What is it? That before realization of the Self, this Saguna Brahma becomes a bondage because you think of God and you are the subject, God is the object. But once you realize that it is the same roof with which the entire house is made, so it is the same Brahman who is manifesting in the form of the world. What happens? And in inimitable language, Madhusudana Saraswati describes it, Dwaitam Pandhaya Mokshaat Prak Before one attains Moksha, this duality only strengthens the bondage. Prapte Bodhe Manushaya But once a person realizes that I am the Atma, Bhakti Artham Kalpitam Dwaitam For the sake of enjoying this divine Leela, Advaita Dapi Sundaram This is the crucial word. This Savikalpa is Bhakti, devotion. Advaita Dapi Sundaram More beautiful than even Advaita. And that is most marvelous thing. Sairam Krishna used to say that every Jeevan Mukta, He says, It is there. I know I am the Self. But I want to worship the Lord and I want to enjoy my divine Lord. It is very difficult for people like us to understand. So supposing there is a Jeevan Mukta. And then what does he do? He goes on meditating. And on what? And why? So many times M found Sairam Krishna in deep meditation. And by the way, meditation doesn't mean only sitting. It can be done by a person who knows God. He can sit. He can lie down. He can sleep. He can stand up. He can walk. He can fight enemies. And yet he sees only God. That was what Sri Krishna had advised Arjuna. That you remember Me and fight. But what to remember? That everything is the Leela of God. Oh Arjuna, you are God. Duryodhana is God. Bhishma, Drona, they are also God. And this fight is also God. Birth is also God. Death is also God. And all the unhappiness is also God. Happiness is also God. What is not God? Everything is Brahman only. But to understand it, we must lift our mind to a particular state. Then we understand what is viraha, what is milana, what is separation and what is union. So many times, M came upon when no one was there. Ramakrishna was deeply absorbed. So what does Ramakrishna meditate upon? There is a story that once Narada visited Sri Krishna. He was curious to know. He knew that Narada knows that Sri Krishna is none other than Bhagavan Vishnu. And Rukmini is none other than Lakshmi, Mahalakshmi. And all the Gopis are none other than His own devotees. Bhagavatam, in fact, graphically describes even Shrutis, that is Vedas. They started wondering. We are only teaching so many things. But we ourselves, we are like... As a devotee expresses, I am like a donkey that carries all the beautiful books. Or even there is a saying in Sanskrit, a donkey carries bundles of sandalwood. But it never enjoys sandalwood because it is a donkey. So also, the Shrutis, we are only teaching, but we don't know. Then they prayed to the Divine Lord. And the Divine Lord took pity and said, Next time I am going to incarnate as Krishna and then you incarnate yourself as Gopi. Then you will have first-hand experience of what every devotee of Mine was, is and will be enjoying. So it is said Shrutis, Munis, Rishis and everything in the Gokula is something divine. Both the Munis. Earlier we discussed, 64,000 Rishis, according to Sri Ramakrishna, had been advised by Sri Rama, take a female form and be born in Gokula. And I will come and sport with you. I will show you what is called Sagunananda. Bhaktyartham Kalpitam Dvaitam. Advaitadapi Sundaram. Just now we have seen that one. So Narada, he wandered and he wandered into the various places. And then in Gokula, Sri Krishna had many, many wives and He was also a very wise man. If He puts two wives in one place and there would be an inevitable Kurukshetra war. And therefore He constructed exactly like a colony so that nobody can point out that house is better than my house or my house is better than that house. So everybody was having exactly the same thing. And Narada wondered that how does Sri Krishna please so many of his wives? And then he entered into one. Out of curiosity, he found Sri Krishna sporting with his wife. He thought now the other Gopis had it. So he saluted from a distance and entered into the next palace. And he found Sri Krishna was expounding scriptures to Rishis and Munis. He was shocked. Earlier he saw him sporting with his wife. Here he is expounding. He carried on. He went to the third palace, third queen. And there he saw Sri Krishna was tending to the flower garden. He entered into the fourth. And he saw Sri Krishna milking the cows. And he entered into the next one. And he saw Sri Krishna deeply absorbed in meditation. And then Narada's curiosity was aroused. So he waited. And after some time, Krishna opened His eyes and welcomed Narada. Narada said, Lord, I know You are the Lord of the Creator of the entire universe. Now we being devotees, we meditate upon You. And what do You meditate upon? And then Krishna smiled and said, Why, Narada? Parasparambhava yantaha. You meditate upon Me and I cannot help but meditate upon all of you. I want to know what was your past, what is your present, and what will be your future. What type of dangers come? So before, like a mother, who will be thinking about the future of her children? So I have to think everything about you. And that includes even punishment if we do not learn our lesson. So this is what M found. That he came across Sri Ramakrishna meditating. And he might have asked Him, I don't know. Then Sri Ramakrishna said, I am meditating on my devotees who are all visiting here. And how they are receiving my teaching. How they are progressing in spiritual life. What obstacles they encounter during their journey. And how to help them to overcome them. And we don't know the details. But we know a few things. Sadhu, Gavada, don't visit that person. Like that Sri Ramakrishna used to warn some of his disciples. Don't eat so much. Don't eat so much of Ghee. Don't visit that particular place. Only you visit here. We get so many such incidents. I leave it to you to recollect it from his life. And Sri Ramakrishna's meditation is on God? Yes, on God. Does he meditate on his devotees? Yes, he does only meditation on his devotees. Is it not self-contradictory? No. Why is it not self-contradictory? Because in the eyes of a knower of Brahman, everything is Brahman. Sri Ramakrishna knew. Like every parent knows, every mother knows. My children are small now, but they will grow up. They will grow up and manifest their own potentiality. My children are all going to grow up and manifest their divinity. But there may be some obstacles. So like a loving mother, before the child can encounter, Sri Ramakrishna will be removing or he will be, what is called, warning. He will be giving a crystal clear indication. This is going to be your special obstacle. Take very good care. And we know some incidents where some of his devotees, they became instantaneously alert. See, there is something we have to understand. When we are studying the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna was not telling everything publicly. General teachings which can be grasped and which is the essence of the scriptures, and that he used to tell in front of everybody. But sometimes it so happens, we know, that when a particular devotee comes with a particular doubt, somehow the subject just opens up in front of Sri Ramakrishna and he will expound it. It might not benefit everybody sitting in front of him, but this person thinks, I have come with this doubt. I never expressed it. But Sri Ramakrishna is the Antaryami. He knows what is happening in my mind and he cleared all my doubts. Not to speak of Sri Ramakrishna. Many times I have also seen when I speak, I have absolutely no clue what I am going to say. But something comes up, maybe some random remark made by a devotee or I am quoting something and suddenly my mind went there. And then quite a number of times I heard that people come and said, I heard that. How did you know that I was struggling with that particular idea, unable to understand it clearly? Today my doubts have been cleared. I said even now I don't understand how it got cleared. Maybe Sri Ramakrishna spoke through this instrument, but I am not deliberately, I was not speaking. It happens in the many, many cases also. Even if nobody is speaking, you have some problem, you open a book at random and then you get the solution. Or somebody at random speaks something and you get the solution. If we are earnest, if we are in need, the Divine Lord will provide it. There is no doubt about it. So what does a mother meditate upon? That's what Sri Ramakrishna was indicating that a tortoise lays its legs in the sand on the bank of a tank or a sea, we know that, and worries deeply. But where is her mind? All the time meditating upon its would-be children, hatching children. And that is what Sri Ramakrishna used to do. And I think this is what every parent does. You just recollect. So what does Sri Ramakrishna meditate upon? On her children, on the devotees, and how they should be taught, how they will progress, what obstacles they can encounter, etc., etc. Now, tempting Sri Ramakrishna, completely merged. Sri Ramakrishna was pacing up and down, but Sri Ramakrishna immediately took notice. Why did he take notice? He should never have taken notice. He must have been absorbed in Samadhi. Why did he break his Samadhi? Simple answer. Sri Ramakrishna doesn't need any meditation. He doesn't need any Samadhi. Why? Because he is continuously in Samadhi. What does it mean? Get rid of the idea. Samadhi means you become like a stone, and you will be completely unaware of the entire world. No. Samadhi means seeing the God, whether you close the eyes, open the eyes, see God everywhere, see Brahman everywhere. That is called Samadhi. It is a knowledge. It is not what the body does, closing the eyes or opening the eyes. So, the master noticed, and because he knows everything, the Divine Mother is doing everything in the form of Ramakrishna. So, master, M. What makes you come back? M. Perhaps the house you asked me to go to belongs to a rich man, which is true. They may not let me in, which is not true. I think I had better not go. I would rather come and meet you here, master. Oh, no. Why should you think like that? Then Ramakrishna makes a remarkable statement. What is that? Just mention my name. Just mention my name. Say that you want to see me, and then someone will take you, someone will bring you to me. This is a most meaningful statement. Ramakrishna was not an object in the past. He is not an object in the future. Ramakrishna is ever-present. Where? Everywhere. Wherever we are, wherever a loving devotee is there, Ramakrishna is present. And He knows our past, present and future. But are we in earnest? Are we like children who are absorbed in play? Or are we really wanting? We have done with the play. We are hungry and we want to go to mother. Are we like that? No. That's why Ramakrishna is telling, just mention my name. Take my name. Just mention my name. Say that you want to see me. But what is Ramakrishna telling? Ramakrishna's words are having very deep meaning. What is he telling? Say that you want to see me. Do you want to see me? Then just mention my name. And then someone will take you to me. And who is that somebody? If I want God, then somebody will take me to God. Who is that someone? A Guru. Anyone who takes me to God is a Guru. So these are very deeply significant words. Just mention my name. My name means what? Ramakrishna or Krishna? No. Shri Krishna says, whoever takes refuge in Me, and I will... So not only that, whoever worships Me, in whatever other form, whatever form, all forms belong to Me, all qualities belong to Me, all names belong to Me, I am the only one. I am Om. So Ramakrishna means, don't think it is a sectarian God we are talking about. In fact, there is something very important I want to mention here. There are devotees who approached Me in the past. Some of them are devotees of Rama. Some of them are devotees of Krishna. Especially these two. And then they have taken initiation from the Ramakrishna order. And maybe they got the name of Ramakrishna. And then now they have a conflict that perhaps my Ishtadevata was Rama or Krishna. And then I want... In fact, Krishna's name is more prevalent than Rama. Rama bhaktas are very less. But these Krishna bhaktas are everywhere. So there is a conflict. My Guru gave me the mantra of Ramakrishna. And how to resolve that conflict? Then I say, now you have got a wonderful chance. So at least those who want Ramakrishna as their Ishtadevata, they are bound only Ramakrishna. You are a devotee of Rama, so Ramakrishna includes Rama's name. You are a devotee of Krishna, it includes the name of Krishna also. Now you can think of Ramakrishna either as Ramakrishna or as Rama or as Krishna or as Kali. We find this amazing fact in the life of Sri Ramakrishna that whichever devotees came to him, he manifested to that devotee out of his boundless grace exactly like the Ishtadevata. For Madhur Babu, for example, he saw Sri Ramakrishna's body, Shiva and Kali. For Gopalerma, it was Krishna. For Swami Vivekananda, it was Sri Rama. Perhaps most of the people don't know, Sri Ramakrishna initiated Narendranath into Rama mantra. That is the most important thing for all of us to understand. So Sri Ramakrishna is telling, you want to see me? Are you sure you want to see me? Do you want to see me as one of the thousand other objects? Or do you want to see me only? And then just mention it. Where to mention? To whom to mention? You don't need to mention anywhere. Simply say, I want to see Ramakrishna. I want to see Rama. I want to see Krishna. Even if you don't utter, even if you just think, I want somebody who can take me to Rama or Krishna or Ramakrishna and then someone will come and will take you to me. This was what Swami Vivekananda was telling. There is an invariable law. That law is when the field is ready, the seed must come. When we are ready, the Guru will come in some form or the other. So that is the most meaningful statement. M nodded his assent and after saluting the Master, took his leave. We enter now into the next chapter. In the company of devotees, March 11, 1882, Master at Balram's house. About 8 o'clock in the morning, Ramakrishna went as planned to Balram Bose's house in Calcutta. It was the day of the Dola Yatra. That is related to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu when Bhagavan Krishna and Radha are kept in a palanquin in a swing and then the whole day, colour sprays have been done and people become very colourful that day. So in Brindavan especially, they don't care whether you are a monk or a householder, especially the children and you also cannot say anything. So that is why that day, it is good to go naked, almost naked, because you take one bath, everything will be over. You put on fancy dress, then you will become very, very, very colourful and will remain very colourful for a long time to come. So it was the very holy festival, Dola Yatra. Ram, Manomohan, Rakhal, Nitya Gopal and many other devotees were with him. M too came as bidden by the Master. How did he come? Because the door is completely open. What happened then? As usual, when Sri Ramakrishna is there, no other talk will come excepting God. Talk about God, sing about God, meditate upon God and be soaked, be absorbed, because Sri Ramakrishna will not allow you. You are thinking about God or you are thinking about the world. Alternatively, they are going on or you are singing and you are planning what happened yesterday and what I should do day after tomorrow. No, it will not be possible. Like a powerful magnet which attracts everything within its power to itself and will transform them. All the iron filings also will become only magnets. If anything comes nearest to fire and that object also will become fire. That is what happens when you put firewood, when you put a piece of paper, anything that is there, a sari, anything will be there. Even human bodies also. What happened? The devotees and the master sang and danced in a state of divine fervour. Several of the devotees were in an ecstatic mode. Nitya Gopal's chest glowed with the upsurge of emotion and Rakhal lay on the floor in ecstasy, completely unconscious of the world. The master put his hand on Rakhal's chest and said, peace, be quiet. When this emotional upsurge takes place, there are several consequences to be had. That is when Ramakrishna noticed it. He went and touched the chest because he who can put us into that ecstatic state alone can bring us down. This was Rakhal's first experience of ecstasy. He lived with his father in Calcutta and now and then visited the master at Dakshineshwar. About this time, he had studied a short while in Vidyasagar school at Shampukur. Anyway, so many devotees were in a trance. Then what happened? When the music was over, the devotees sat down for their meal. Balaram stood there humbly like a servant. Nobody would have taken him for the master of the house. M was still a stranger to the devotees having met only Narendra at Dakshineshwar. This is the scenario. What is the important lesson we have to learn? That when we meet, at least for this time being, for example, we are having this gospel class. So for the time being, you make a Sankalpa that we will listen to this, we will observe what is being talked about and you can add any things that you want according to your understanding but don't fly away. Don't pay attention to what is being talked about. Sri Ramakrishna used to call this like a cow. All day it goes on eating because it has to fill its huge stomach but at night what does it do? It does two things. First of all, the cows also need tremendous amount of rest but even while resting, automatically they bring up the food which is not digested, which is not chewed but which is swallowed just to fill up. Like a beggar, he goes for begging and he fills his jewelry and then he comes back home and then he starts eating, enjoying. So the whole night the cows go on what we call chewing the Khad. In Bengali, it's called Jabarkata and this is what Sri Ramakrishna used to give as an example and he used to say that the devotees when they read something, when they meditate of course and when they attend a talk then listen Shravana. After that go and do the Manana. This Manana is what we call chewing the Khad. You have heard it before but make it your own and once the knowledge becomes our own and then we have to transform our life which is called Nidhidhyasana. So wherever Sri Ramakrishna went, wherever these meetings have been held, everywhere this same condition because a person like Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, Swami Vivekananda could uplift the minds of people to a very higher place and then a few days, that was the scenario and a few days later Yama visited the Master Dakshineshwar. It was between four and five o'clock in the afternoon. The Master and he were sitting on the steps of the Shiva temple looking at the temple of Radhakanta across the courtyard. The Master went into an ecstatic mood then he starts condemning bigotry. Our whole problem is that one religion condemns every other religion which indicates that that person never understood his own religion much less than any other religion. The very first thing that happens if a person becomes truly religious is that he stops condemning everything. He says, God has created, God is teaching everybody and God knows what to do, what not to do. Let me pray to God so that I can progress in my own chosen path and then as we go forward, the understanding is given to us. God is really looking after everybody including the worldly person, including the evil person. It may surprise you but we will talk about it in our next class. May Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna.