Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 087 on 23-May-2023

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

OM JANANIM SHANATAM DEVYAM RAMAKRISHNAM JAGAD GURUM ADHA PADME DAYO SHRIDHVA PRANAMAMI MUHUR MUHUR We have been studying the Master's visit to Keshav Chandra Sen. I have been speaking about the role of Keshav Chandra Sen in the life of Sri Ramakrishna and in that connection we discussed that in the life of any incarnation, in fact in the life of each one of us, nothing happens by chance, by accident. That is the most amazing fact we have to accept. What is the benefit? The benefit is if someone is giving me pleasure, joy, that is also because of our Karma phala. And if someone is giving us suffering, unhappiness, we are responsible. Each one of us are squarely responsible for what is happening in our life. There is no such thing called accident and once we understand it, that itself will lead to tremendous amount of self-knowledge and transformation. The fact that we do not accept ourselves is the greatest drawback. It is the greatest cause for most of the miseries of our life. We blame everybody excepting ourselves. But by the same token, we also have to praise ourselves. This is what is called Karma Yoga. I am responsible for my fate. Many Hindus, we discussed this matter many times in the past, but it is very well to remind ourselves of this, that every event is tailor-made in our life for what purpose? For our further progress, for our further evolution. Every event, there is not a useless event, meaningless event that happens. So when we accept ourselves, this is what in modern psychology, they call it living an authentic life. What does it mean? It means the first factor in leading an authentic life is to accept ourselves as we are. But we cannot accept ourselves as we are until we accept I am responsible for whatever I am. And strangely, sometimes sadly also, a fact that happens is many things cannot be explained only by looking at our life in this present life. For that, a belief is needed that there was a past life, there is an unknown cause, means Hinduism doesn't accept unknown causes. We may not remember them, but we are squarely responsible. But when we look at a baby who is autistic, disabled, we won't be able to understand. Anyway, what is the point? The point is we all come together, not by accident, but by the Divine Will. And we all part also by Divine Will. And everything that comes into our life, living, non-living, has a place, a definite place and a role to play in our lives. So a Master's visit to K.S. Chandrashekhar and why? I am going to read out some marvellous research, selections from some research that has been done. But in my two classes, I think, I have been explaining Brahma Samaj had played a very great role by the Will of God. And it is related to the Avatar. Even the birth of Ravanasura, the birth of Kamsa, etc. are very closely related to the birth of an Avatar. The Avatar doesn't come only because of those either Ravanasura or Kamsa. They come because these figures only represent the culmination of all of our Karma that is being accumulated slowly. When the time comes, then the Divine Lord will come and He will bring tremendous changes. Part of those changes can be complete destruction as it happened in the case of Kurukshetra. Both the armies of Pandavas and the armies of Kauravas were annihilated. Most of us do not take notice. By the end of Kurukshetra war, by the end of 18th day, very few people were left out among the fighting soldiers excepting some women and some children and some servants. Most of the people were annihilated. That is why it is said, if there is a war between two nations or two people, nobody gains. Everybody will be the loser only. But such is the dispensation of the Divine but for the greater good. I tell you something very important. I was in Cherrapunji for five years and it is a hilly area. And at the end of the summer season, a bit of grass has grown and it becomes dry. And the villagers, they burn everything, all the surrounding hills. They start fire at the bottom and it goes on spreading upwards and upwards. And within a day or two, everything is reduced to ashes. What is the reason? Because there will be grazing there for animals and as soon as the rainy season comes, Cherrapunji is famous for six months rainy season. So as soon as the rainy season comes, fresh new grass will come. So this is a well-known phenomenon that for the time being with a limited vision, something seems to be destructive, non-creative, but it will be tremendously creative. But the main point I wanted everybody that comes into our life has a role to play. We have a role to play in their lives. So also this Keshav Chandra Sen, etc., they all have a great role to play. So that is what we have been talking about. Brahma Samaj was bringing a much-needed social reform. And in that connection, let us remember the Mughals came and they played a role. Yes, they also destroyed, they also created. British people came, they also destroyed, they also created. Nobody, whether they are knowing or not, contributes a lot, takes away also a lot. But intelligence lies in understanding. Nobody can merely take away. Everybody also will have to give. As Swami Vivekananda puts it, Nature wrenches a person's hands if he is not willingly opening them and giving out. Somehow or other, nature will make it. So the Brahma Samaj played a very important role in building the modern Indian society. And it has removed a lot of unwanted things which were holding down our society. It started the modern education. It abolished evils like Sati, child marriage, etc. And it brought about social reforms. But the most important part, it also encouraged women's empowerment. So we were discussing these were some of the positive aspects of Brahma Samaj. But there is something, however, time is... the world is changing. This is a modern world. In the modern world, the outlook of people has changed. There was a great historian, Will Durant, an American writer, with the help of, with the cooperation of his wife, they have produced nearly 11 volumes, the story of civilization. And Kristall clearly, he names, which is very fascinating, the epochs. Even if they continue for millions of years, the age of superstition, the age of faith, the age of reason. And we are in the age of reason. It is not that because we are English educated, we became endowed, imbued with rationality. This is a very natural upward evolution that has to take place. And the culmination of that rationality, unfortunately, has become thwarted, as it were. So it is not happening, especially in the field of religion. Even now, there are very powerful forces who believe their religion alone is the reality. Their understanding of God is the correct opinion. And anybody who doesn't accept it and follow, then they will go to the other place. Sri Ramakrishna's main contribution as an incarnation of God is twofold. Main contribution. First of all, he wanted to bring about in the field of religion, that is, God is infinite. God is one, but He is infinite. And nobody should try to limit Him. But the next part is even more important. There are infinite paths. A child can reach God. Man can reach God. Woman can reach God. Educated, uneducated. Everybody can reach God in their own way. In their own language. Jato Mat Tato Path. But even more important than that is, if man doesn't become spiritual, if he doesn't recognize he is not merely a body-mind psychosomatic complex, there is something deep which is urging the person to move forward. Then misery, unhappiness, depression, mental sickness, that will be the result. This awakening of divinity was what was preached by Swami Vivekananda. Each soul is potentially divine. But the implications of this statement are tremendous. First thing, we understand divine, that only spiritual God. But Swami Vivekananda's definition does not stop only with the spiritual meaning. It also means that everybody is different. Everybody has different talents. Somebody may cook well. Somebody may sleep well. Somebody may serve well. Somebody can rule well. Somebody can do scientific research very well. Each one of us has a potentiality. That divine spiritual principle should be manifest only in the form of God-given talents. That is called self-effort. So if I have some intelligence with regard to administration, I must try to manifest my spiritual divinity by becoming a good administrator. Now you can extend these examples, a good cook, a good housewife, a good student, and a good husband, a good officer, a good soldier, a good citizen, a good everything. This is the only way. But what is happening nowadays, students are becoming rebellious. They think they are Gods. So a lot of wrong is going on. And we are also becoming like sheep, allowing only popular images. It may be external beauty. It may be sportsmanship. We start admiring merely the physical and not recognizing the character of the person. Character is being downgraded for the sake of externalities. And this we can change. Ramakrishna said that each body is capable of something. Each mind is capable of something. The first thing is we have to recognize what we are capable of. And let us do what we are capable of, not because God will be pleased. We say, let us serve God. God doesn't require any service. In fact, it is a nuisance. If somebody wants to serve me, and more often than not, it becomes a greater obstacle for my freedom, for my happiness. If I can do what that person wants to do, out of mistaken respect or notion, I can do much, much better by doing it myself. It saves me time, and I can do much better, and I can become a very happy person. But the attitude is fine. But we have to find out what we are capable of. And if we don't offer, and if we are carried away by the desire for wealth, what Ramakrishna calls Kama and Kanchana, if we are not caught by Kama, we are caught by Kanchana, nowadays so many stories are coming out. So, what am I talking about? We have to focus upon this Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, I am telling. When society seems to go down, some irrepressible spirit seems to manifest through some people, and they understand, better than other people, that the society as a whole requires some changes. And Brahmo Samaj, Theosophical Society, Prathana Samaj, Arya Samaj, everybody, though they have got some defects, some faults, played a very important role, and they are all directly or indirectly related to the advent of the Avatar. That is an important point for us to understand. So, Ramakrishna had to come into contact with Brahmo Samaj. Now, the British government, which I was referring, one of its greatest contributions, which many people without understanding, they condemn the English education which they introduced. Even the English people, their motive may be bad, but it is an irresistible command that has come from the Divine Mother, that India, if it has to progress, modern India requires English education. It is not the education that is at fault, modern or ancient. We neither follow the ancient nor follow the modern education. But this is the means and some people are realizing it. So, it united the country. Language is the most important part to unite any particular society. Then many innovations, etc., have to be taken. Ideas will be spreading and whether we like it or not, English is the medium. It was, it is and it will be in so far as we can see into the foreseeable future. English will be the medium through which ideas will be learned, exchanged. That is how knowledge spreads. That is the specialty of human beings. Whatever a person learns can be instantaneously transferred to anybody who is ready to receive it. So, this Keshav Chandra Sen, that idea that we have to educate our modern young men and more importantly, women. It was started by them and that's what Swami Vivekananda realized quickly. That as far as spirituality is concerned, this Brahmo Samaj, etc., they don't have much to contribute. But as far as modern education and needed social reforms are considered, then they have contributed a lot. And many such societies are contributing even today. When you open your eyes, there are not only evil people, many good people are also there. So it was the will of the Divine Mother. Sri Ramakrishna never did anything and we cannot do anything without the will of the Divine Mother. What is the difference? Sri Ramakrishna knew it and accepted it, surrendered himself to the Divine Mother and only with the least bit of resistance, Divine Mother was able to function. In our case, our ego stands in the way. So we have to learn to humble ourselves, to surrender ourselves and to surrender is not to fold our hands and say, I surrender myself to you. That is an okay notion, but not enough. Whatever, as I said, talent, whatever capacity God has given us, we must develop it and use it, even though God doesn't require it, in the service of God, for our own good. And that's what Sri Ramakrishna needed. And he realized it quickly, the old orthodox systems, they did very well, but certain changes needed to be done. And that can be done only through the modern education and that's what the British people have introduced. I mentioned some of the contributions, I am not going to repeat them. This is not only true about India, it is true of every other nation on earth, in the past, in the present and in the future. If we do not open our door, then others will come forcibly. They think that they are the aggressors, but they have something to take, to destroy, something to give, to construct also. Let us remember it. This is a very beautiful thought we have to cherish. Nobody can only destroy, everybody also will contribute. The Divine Mother will see to it, the capacity to give, the capacity to receive, both are balanced. So, Brahmo Samaj played a very important role. What was the important role? From the time Sri Ramakrishna was made to come into contact with Brahmo Samaj by the will of the Divine Mother, of course, a new phase started in the life of Sri Ramakrishna. For the first time, he was brought into very close contact with the modern educated English people and they formed the backbone of his future organizations. And it is through them, who understands the orthodoxical ideas, at the same time, who understands that the modern education is also very much necessary. That was what Swami Vivekananda categorically mentioned in his speeches. The West has to sit at the feet of India and learn about spirituality. We need not be ashamed about it. But equally, India has to sit at the feet of these Western nations, learn from them their patriotism, their feeling for their country, their scientific outlook, the innovations that they are doing, and more importantly, how to use those innovations for their proper purpose. So, with this background, I will be reading out some of the things. Around 1875, Sri Ramakrishna was seized with a strong desire, in brackets we have to put it, by the will of the Divine Mother, to meet Keshav Chandra Sen, who had then become the most prominent Indian socio-religious leader. Remember, this title is socio-religious, not socio-spiritual, because he has to learn a lot from Sri Ramakrishna. In fact, if we analyze Brahma Samaj, one of the things that strikes us amazingly, crystal clearly, is that it is a hodgepodge of the best ideas of all religions. There are Christ's teachings and Muhammad's teachings, and from every religion, Keshav Chandra Sen has gathered, of course, including the orthodox. But they did not understand the orthodox Hinduism, but that was the part that Ramakrishna had to impart to him. But this idea that there can be so many paths to the same goal, was part of Brahma Samaj's, what is called, unconscious agenda. So, Sri Ramakrishna had this, what is called, seized with a desire. That means what? That means he is helpless, he was helpless, he has to do it, because the mandate has come from the Divine Mother. So, Sri Ramakrishna one day, received in a divine ecstatic state, prompting that he should meet Keshav. He heard from the lips of the Divine Mother that Keshav will assist her work. As he was musing over the idea, Ramakrishna had a vision and which he described later. I had seen Keshav before I actually met him. I had seen him and his party in my Samadhi. In front of me sat a room full of men. Keshav looked like a peacock sitting with his tail spread out. The tail meant his followers. I saw a red gem on Keshav's head that indicated his rajas, his power. Keshav said to his disciples, please listen to what he, meaning Sri Ramakrishna, is saying. This was in the vision of Sri Ramakrishna. I said to the Divine Mother, Mother, these people hold the views of Englishmen. Why should I talk to them? Until that time, Sri Ramakrishna had the notion that all these modern educated people are worthless chaff. But then the Divine Mother opened His eyes and the Mother explained that in future, it would be like this in the Kali Yuga. That was His words. So one great characteristic of Sri Ramakrishna, He was always eager to see great places and meet great men who had excelled in something or other. It had become almost a passion with him. Once, he wanted to meet some great scholar and somebody discouraged him. Why do you want to see? He is a very arrogant person and he will not respect you. That was the idea. Sri Ramakrishna said, no, no, I saw a great power in him. And it is that power, he may not realise, but that power belongs to my Mother. So I am not going to see a person, I am going to see my Divine Mother manifesting in a person like this. The exact idea, as I quoted many times, is almost at the fag end of the 10th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. yad yatvi bhūti mat-sattvaṁ śrīmad-urjitaṁ eva vā tattva deva avagacchatvaṁ mama tejo aṁśa sambhavaḥ So Sri Ramakrishna was always eager, even when the other persons were not eager to see him. The world reached Sri Ramakrishna, that is the news reached Sri Ramakrishna, that Brahmins like Devendranath Tagore and his young lieutenant Keshav Chandra Sen and others, they prayed to God fervently and that was enough for Sri Ramakrishna. He persuaded his disciple, his devotee Madhur Nath Vishwas to take him one day, very probably during the annual Brahma festival in January 1864 to the Brahmo Samaj at Yerashanko. Later he recollected his experience. Many years back, I had been on one Wednesday to the Brahmo Samaj at Yerashanko. I saw at that time, remember, this Keshav Chandra Sen was a young youth, only 23 years old at that time. That is when Sri Ramakrishna is explaining, I saw at that time, young Keshav in the pulpit conducting the service and hundreds of worshippers sitting on either side of him. I looked intently and saw that Keshav's mind was absorbed in Brahman. His float had sunk. From that day, my mind became attached to him. The rest in the congregation, I found were as if they were sitting with weapons. Seeing their faces, I found that in their mind, the attachment for the world, egotism and passions were very, very strong. That is what Sri Ramakrishna meant by weapons, historical self-denying. But what made Keshav Chandra Sen so great? Here is a description by Swami Prabhananda. Historical self-denying trigger formed the backbone of Keshav's genius. He had enforced it upon himself and he wanted to enforce it upon others. Thus in the garden house, with his intimate followers, Keshav spent the days in devotion, scriptural reading, meditation and conversation on spiritual subjects. He began to cook his food under a tree and observe strict rules of discipline for attaining self-mastery and detachment. From this description, we have to understand that Keshav Chandra Sen was not a very ordinary person. If we look at any great person, greatness does not come without self-sacrifice, without tapasya. Whatever be the field, whether it is sports or politics or administration or aesthetics, in any field. While the Brahma movement launched social reforms and aroused religious fervor among the people of the then capital of India, the Paramahamsa of Dakshineswar quietly built up a spiritual tower which radiated waves of spiritual power and faith among all, irrespective of caste and creed, age and sex. Around 1875, Ramakrishna was seized with a strong desire to meet Keshav Chandra Sen who had then become the most prominent Indian socio-religious leader. Depending as he always did on the Divine Mother, Ramakrishna one day received in a divine ecstatic state promptings that he should meet Keshav. He heard from the lips of the Divine Mother that Keshav will assist her work. This is very important for us to understand. As he was musing over the idea, Ramakrishna saw a vision which he described later. I had seen Keshav before I actually met him. I had seen him and his party in my Samadhi. In front of me sat a room full of men. Keshav looked like a peacock sitting with his tail spread out. The tail meant followers. And I also saw a red gem on Keshav's head. That indicated his power. He said to his disciples, Please listen to what Ramakrishna is saying. I said to the Divine Mother, These hold the views of Englishmen. Why should I talk to them? Then the Mother explained that this will be the nature of people in future. So this is the background. Now Keshav and his followers, Ramakrishna was telling, Keshav and his followers got from here the names of Hari and the Divine Mother. What does it mean? Were they not praying to God earlier? Yes. But the idea of thinking God as the Mother, Most Loving, Lovable, Protecting, Nourishing God in the form of the Motherliness. Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu Matru Rupena Samsthita Even though all of you know, but still I feel like cautioning you. Whenever we say, whether it is Narayana, Shiva, or Divine Mother Kali, or Parvati, or Lalita Amba, we should not bring the idea of male or female, feminine or masculine. It is the qualities, the masculine justice, equality, strict enforcing of laws. Whereas the Mother aspect of God, it represents what is called Kshama, forgiving everything, equally distributing worthy or unworthy, her love and everything, and looking upon them with equal sight, Samadarshana, and bearing with infinite patience, whatever we do. So only a Mother can do that, and that is called Feminism. And that is what we will have to understand. God with Motherliness, Motherly qualities, God with Fatherly qualities, both are necessary. That is why in the Visishta Advaita system, God Narayana is described as He is Nigraha Anugraha Samarthaha. Nigraha means if a child is not listening properly, behaving properly, living a good life, he will be punished. But if a person is doing everything in the right way, Anugraha, Kripa, compassion will come. But this Nigraha is also another form of Kripa. That is what we have to understand. So, Keshav and his followers got from here the names of Hari and the Divine Mother, that is Nama Sankirtana, chanting the name of God. Before that they used to only chant, so Hari Om Tat Sat, Sat Chit Brahma, etc. That is not catering to the emotional side of people's hearts. But now Shri Ramakrishna went, he received something and whenever we come into contact with anybody, this unconscious exchange takes place, receiving and giving also. So they became more devoted, they became more mellowed about their idea of God. Shri Ramakrishna was seized and then he wanted to meet Keshav. So what did Shri Ramakrishna do? He sent one of his devotees Narayana Shastri to call on Keshav. Narayana Shastri was one of the greatest persons. He was the only person blessed in this world by Shri Ramakrishna. Shri Ramakrishna bestowed Sanyasa ceremony, with ceremony bestowed him, initiated him into Mahavakya, what he himself received from his own Guru Totapuri. What about the direct disciples? He did not directly initiate them. He gave them an ochre cloth, no doubt. But in the real ceremony, the only person who received monastic direction was Narayana Shastri. He was one of the greatest scholars and had he been working in the world, we don't know what he would have done. But he was very fortunate to become the direct Sanyasi disciple of an Avatar and I cannot describe how great he was. So he was very intelligent. Shri Ramakrishna sent him. The Master later recounted the events of the visit. Before meeting Keshav, I asked Narayana Shastri to visit him and tell me what he thought of him. Here also, we have to understand something very interesting. Ramakrishna was not very eager to meet any of the followers of Keshav Chandra Sen. He was only eager to meet Keshav Chandra Sen. But since Keshav Chandra Sen had a great following, he had to meet. But later on, Ramakrishna had picked up all the best things that Keshav Chandra Sen had gathered, all the highest characters like Narendra, Swami Brahmananda, future Swami Prakhal, Tarak, Hari, etc. So this Narayana Shastri went, maybe he spoke with Keshav, we don't know. He reported that Keshav was an adept in Japa. Narayana Shastri was able to understand that really speaking, Keshav Chandra Sen was an advanced spiritual sadhaka and he was an adept in Japa. Even to know whether a person is adept in Japa or not is not possible for ordinary people like us. And Narayana Shastri knew astrology and remarked that Keshav had been born under a very good star. Then only, I went to visit Keshav in the garden house in Belgaria. On the morning of 14th March, 1875, in the company of his nephew Hridayaram and Sriram Krishna went to the Kulthala residence of Keshav. Because he did not know, he thought Keshav was at home, but learned that he was then staying in the garden house in Belgaria, another place. So he returned to Dakshineswar and again next morning, in the company of Hridayaram, set off in an old hackney carriage for Belgaria. Before entering the carriage, he went into an ecstatic mode. He was heard muttering several times during the journey, Will you go? Will you go to see Keshav? Such requests were repeated several times and they were followed by his answer, Yes, I shall. That is, the Divine Mother said, I shall definitely go. Because Sriram Krishna's going is Divine Mother's going. Divine Mother's going is Sriram Krishna's going. There is no difference. So this mode of Sriram Krishna persisted even during his journey. Finally they reached Jai Gopal Singh's garden house sometime around 9 o'clock in the morning. Hriday got out and went inside the garden house. A beautiful graphic description of what happened there. So Hriday went inside and said to Keshav, My maternal uncle is fond of Bhajans and discourses on Hari. When he hears them, he often enters into Samadhi. What Keshav and others understood by hearing the name Samadhi, God alone knows. Very soon we will see what I mean. He has heard that you are a great devotee and so he has come to hear you talk about God and His glories. With your kind permission, I will bring him here. Keshav of course consented. Let us see the beautiful scenery. Hriday Ram helped Sriram Krishna out of the carriage and led him into the garden. They went first to the garden pond where they washed their hands and feet at its southwestern bathing Ghat. Keshav and others were having several services, morning service and night service etc. We don't know how many. The morning service was over. Keshav and his companions were seated on the steps of the large bathing Ghat on the eastern side. They were just preparing to take bath. Their attention was now drawn to Sriram Krishna. Aged about 40, thin, almost a mess, Keshav, with a short untrimmed beard and uncared for hair. He had dressed himself in only a single piece of red border cloth, one end of which tucked in folds, was hanging over his left shoulder. He had neither a shirt nor a chadar to cover his body. He was barefooted. Hriday Ram, on the other hand, hefty and tall, stood as a striking contrast by his side. Arriving there, what did Sriram Krishna do? As was his habit, he humbly bowed low to Keshav and others present. What happened? It seems neither Keshav nor his companions returned the salute. However, they offered the visitors carpets to sit on. Evidently, Keshav and his friends regarded them with great caution and took Sriram Krishna for an ordinary man. Many people mistook Sriram Krishna for an ordinary man. But only those who have tremendous insight can recognize him. Only one great man can recognize another great man. As they say, set a thief to catch a thief. Sriram Krishna spoke with a slight but endearing stammer in rustic Bengali. Is it true, gentlemen, that you have the vision of God? I have a desire to know what it is like. That's why I have come to see you. Simple meaning that I hope you have progressed in spiritual life and I want to know how much you progressed, what type of spiritual understanding you developed. What Keshav Singh replied? Of course, none of the others. We know that none of the others have replied. If there were any spiritually advanced companions of Keshav, we don't know. And there was this Pratap Chandra Majumdar and he went to America. And he was stung with this scorpion of jealousy at the fame of Swami Vivekananda. Until Swamiji stepped into America, this Pratap Chandra Majumdar was the darling of many Americans because he was praising that there is nobody like Christ, no religion like Christianity. Anyway, as soon as Swamiji came, he broke this spell and many people wanted to hear only about Christianity and Christ. Swami Vivekananda broke the spell and said, God is not partial. He reveals Himself to everybody equally. Everyone is His child and there are infinite paths. Every religion is true provided one is sincere. Every religion is capable of leading one exactly to the same goal which has put a lot of meaning into the so-called brainwashed Americans who are eagerly waiting for this divine message. And they said, if this Hindu religion has advanced so much, we don't need to enlighten them. On the other hand, this man is enlightening and Swami Vivekananda, funnily he said, so don't think I am an exceptional case. Like me, hundreds of thousands of people are available in India and they took it for granted that every street corner produces a Swami Vivekananda. Anyway, so it is useless to try to go and preach religion to places like India. We have been misled and that led to a drastic cut-off of the reduction of the income the missionaries used to get and they even plotted to kill Him, remove Him from this earth. Wonderful incidents were there. But definitely they maligned His name by associating Him with women, immoral behavior, etc. and Pratap Chandra Majumdar was extremely helpful for such people. And if this is the character of a person, I don't know whether he is spiritually advanced or not. But he had an inkling in the presence of Sri Ramakrishna. Later on, he wrote a book praising all that is unknown to himself that Sri Ramakrishna was an embodiment of spiritual life, etc. So we don't know what Keshav replied. He was humble enough, he had progressed enough to understand that I will not say anything without understanding. But later on the same Keshav, the more he came into contact with Sri Ramakrishna, the more he understood Sri Ramakrishna, the better he understood and then he said, even I may not call Him an avatar, a prophet, but certainly people like Sri Ramakrishna had to be kept in a glass case like very precious artifacts had to be kept and taken good care of them. He had such high regard. Even though I am forestalling, when he was about to die, Keshav Chandra Sen one day invited Sri Ramakrishna to his own prayer room and worshipped the feet of Sri Ramakrishna. But strangely, he said, please do not say that I worshipped your feet because at the same time, he was very conscious that such news might bring his own name and fame a little bit down. Anyway, we don't know. Then what happened? After some talk, when we meet somebody, How are you? Where are you? Who are you? etc. Introduction is over. The visitor and Sri Ramakrishna burst forth in his melodious voice with a well-known song of Ram Prasad. See, everything that Sri Ramakrishna does has a profound meaning. In fact, what he was doing was only the will of God, will of the Divine Mother as we say. So he is meeting Keshav and he is being taken. He is bowing down to Him. Everything is the will of the Divine Mother. Deliberately Sri Ramakrishna doesn't do anything. Later on, he said, these modern educated people, they did not know how to bow down. So I had first to bow down. They learned how to bow down before a holy man. Only from here Sri Ramakrishna is to say. So they did not understand. They did not appreciate. But we don't know what is going on. In Keshav Sen's mind, I am sure that he had a greater inkling than all his followers. Then Sri Ramakrishna had a certain methodology. He breaks into melodious bhajans. And there is no way I can convey. Anybody who hears Sri Ramakrishna once or even Swami Vivekananda, they can never forget it in their lives. Such long lasting influence will be there. Not only the musical way but the deep ideas. Sri Ramakrishna often used to implant deep spiritual ideas into the minds and hearts of the people, into the very unconscious of the people, through his bhajans. People will not know we are hearing some nice bhajans etc. And which Swami Vivekananda used to insert in the form of his talks. How do we know? Because he himself said later on, that I did not merely talk, I gave them something and they know that they received something. So if that was the case of Swami Vivekananda, we have to understand how true it is of Sri Ramakrishna. So Sri Ramakrishna burst into a song. What was the song? Ke jana re, Kali ke maa. The gist of this song is, nobody can understand what God is. Ke jana re, Kali. Kali means your God, we have to understand. Divine Mother Kali means only God. Who? What is the nature of God? Shraddh darshane, na payi darshan. Even the six darshanas, six schools of philosophy. That means no human mind can ever understand that is because, Yato vacho nivartante, aprapya manasaasaha. Gayatri Upanishad crystal clearly verse 4 saying, God is beyond both body and mind, mind and speech. Nobody can do it. In fact every day, devotees of Sri Ramakrishna sing, Namo Namo Prabhu Vaakya Mana Ateeta, Mana Vachana Ek Adhaar. Who is there that can understand what Mother Kali is? Even the six darshanas are powerless to reveal her. It is she, scriptures say, that is the inner self of the yogi who in self discovers all his joy. She that of her own sweet will inhabits every living being. This was the gist of the song. Before the audience could grasp the import of the song, a singer became, Sri Ramakrishna became so much immersed in the divine spirit as to lose all perception of the external world. In other words, he entered into Samadhi. He entered into Samadhi. His whole body relaxed and then became slightly rigid. Both his hands lay on his lap with the fingers loosely interlocked. That we see in the popular, what is called puja room photograph. It is a photograph. It is not a picture of Sri Ramakrishna. Tears of joy streamed down his cheeks. Now and then, flashes of smile crossed his face. He sat motionless, his eyes unmoving. So oblivious was he of the outer world that he seemed not even to breathe. His hair stood on end. It was an extraordinary sight to the onlookers. This was the description in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. What I wanted to make us understand that when Sri Ramakrishna entered that stage, anybody who is within that periphery, he will be transported with joy. We may not understand it, but far above, like whoever hears the speech of Swami Vivekananda, their minds used to be pitched to the highest string, as he used to say. And even though these people did not understand, maybe sometimes later on they doubted that maybe he was a fake. He was doing it. But if they only turned their attention to what was happening within their hearts, then they would have understood at least a little that this cannot be fake. Why? Because a fake will produce only fake feelings. A genuine person will only produce genuine feelings. Never is it possible for a fake person to produce real feelings, nor for a real person to produce fake feelings. But these people, most of the people, except Keshab Chandra Sen, he understood at least to some extent. But the description was, they did not regard this state of ecstasy as more than a mere fainting or something resulting from nervous debility or perhaps as some magical feat. My point is that whenever we are with somebody, if we carefully examine our reaction, our heart, our feelings, our emotions, we can understand things better. So these people did not care, excepting Keshab Chandra Sen. Sri Ramakrishna was oblivious to the entire external world and he was completely unaware of what was happening. But these people's attention, what happened? It was riveted. They could not understand, but they could not explain. They could not take off their eyes as if a powerful magnet was drawing their attention. How fortunate they were, God alone knows. Presently, Hridayaram loudly chanted the sacred syllable OM into his uncle's ears and he also requested others to join him. As requested, all those present joined in the chanting and as this created an intense spiritual atmosphere, it helped the Paramahamsa return gradually to the world of sense. We have to understand this. Of course, Yama was not there, but he later heard it and inserted it in his description. So Sri Ramakrishna came back slowly to external consciousness. But one thing is there that by chanting of OM in the presence of Sri Ramakrishna along with Hridayaram and others created an intense spiritual atmosphere. This they cannot deny. He with an extraordinarily sweet smile began to speak at first in a semi-conscious state but always in homely and impressive language using metaphors and illustrations taken from life which held his listeners' attention and stimulated their imagination convincing them that Ramakrishna was a divine person and not an ordinary man. What was the result? Keshav Chandra Sen was a changed man. He was what we call a hooked man. Others, some unconscious promptings made him bow down their heads at his feet but they were still sceptical and they will remain sceptical only and his words as well as mode of expression cast a spell over his audience. They were caught in the net of Sri Ramakrishna and a new phase opened in the life of Sri Ramakrishna. They used to come and visit him. He used to come and visit them and Keshav Chandra Sen was so much captivated that his weekly newspaper, daily newspaper everything was full of Sri Ramakrishna and I will speak about it in my next class. Om Jananem Sharadam Deveem Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum Adapatmetayoh Sritva Pranamami Moho Moho May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. Ramakrishna