Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 091 on 18-July-2023

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

In our last class, we have dealt with a very important subject. What happens to people who are mentally challenged or sick? Elaborately, I had discussed a few points about Karma, the theory of Karma. But today has come up a related but even more interesting question. We will deal with it first and I want to be a bit thorough so far as possible. This is the question. Does a mentally challenged person create Agami Karma in this life? This question has been divided into two parts. This is the first part. Can such a person, a mentally challenged person, create new Karma? Second, are they conscious of their actions and can take responsibility for it? This is the second question. First, I will deal with the second part of this question. There are mentally challenged persons. They can be of two types. One type, people are not conscious of themselves, who they are, why they are. Very, very small self-awareness percolates into their life, just enough to breathe, to express, I am hungry, I am having some pain, suffering, etc. But there are some people, like Jada Bharata, for all purposes, they behaved like mentally challenged persons. But there are also descriptions of Jeevan Muktas. If you recollect, Balavat, like children, Jadavat, like an inert creature, Pishachavat, like a ghoul, Unmadavat, like a madcap. Sri Ramakrishna had himself undergone all these states, one after the other. And he had come across many people. We know, those who read the life story of Sri Ramakrishna, definitely they can recollect. And if they cannot recollect, there is something very seriously wrong with their reading of Ramakrishna's life. So, what happens to these people? We know that Karmaphala, if we do some action, then that action must produce Karmaphala. The question now is, does every Karma produce a result? Yes, of course, every Karma produces a result. But not in the sense we are specifically discussing. Karmaphala which leads to Prarabdha Karma, Agami Karma, etc. Not in that sense at all. So, whatever Karma we do, you move your left hand to the right, right hand to the left, there will be a result. It is inevitable. Karma means there will be some change. That change is called Karmaphala. Even if you move one inch from one side of the chair to the other side of the chair, that is also Karma. In that sense, we are not talking about whether we can create that kind of Karmaphala by every action. No. Again, actions are of two types. Mechanical actions and consciously done actions. Mechanical actions. So, we are moving our hands, moving our heads. And so many things we are doing. Our breathing is going on. Our heart is beating. Our nervous system is working. Blood is flowing. So many things are happening. These are mechanical actions. Mechanical actions and Karmaphala do not go together in the secondary sense. In the primary sense, yes. If the heart doesn't move, if that Karma doesn't produce, then that person will go out of the circulation. But in the secondary sense, whether we can create a specific type of Karmaphala, for that we have to understand deeply some things. So, you know, animals do not have Karmaphala. They do Karma, but they do not have Karmaphala. Children, they do Karma and they even have ego. I am playing and I am going to beat up that fellow. All these things they do. But Karmaphala will not come. Why? Because even though they are doing, they do not know what they are doing. Even that consciously doing something is purely because of the Prakruti's control over them. Deliberately, consciously, they are not doing it. That is a point I will come to very soon. So, animals do not have Karma. Children do not have Karma. And mad cats do not have Karmaphala. That is why even if a grave murder is committed, and if that person can prove that I am mentally sick, mad, he will not be punished in the regular way, but he will be kept in an institution. But there are two types of madness. Temporary madness and permanent madness. What is temporary madness? Two people are talking. They have some difference of opinion and they start shouting at each other. Very soon, feelings arise and that is what we get. Wherever there is a football match, these are called hooligans. Especially, England is very famous for these football hooligans. And they have been banned in several other countries because they create problems everywhere. What is the point? They are temporarily mad. So, when they go out of that arena, they are perfectly sane. But temporarily, they are overcome. Two people, they get excited, they quarrel, they forget, and one can murder the other fellow. Even law takes into account and says, this is not a premeditated murder. It is only temporarily the person became mad. Mad means what? He is not in charge of his own self. So, the question of these people creating karma doesn't arise. Now, an important point. Most of us are blissfully ignorant. What is karma? And what is Karma Yoga? What am I talking about? There are mechanical actions. The wind is blowing. A fire is burning. The birds are flying. So many things happen. This is mechanical action. Our own physical body is completely doing its own function. It is called mechanical action. But that is just Karma. Karma Yoga, we have to understand. Especially in the form of Karma Phala, we have to have a deeper understanding. Here is the understanding. First of all, if we have to reap Karma Phala, we have to use our willpower. That is the most important point. Behind every action, we expect Karma Phala to come. Three kinds of yoking of our will should happen. What is it? Karma, Phala, Sankalpa. I must deliberately choose. This is what I want to achieve. I want to become a doctor. I want to become a statesman, a politician, a teacher. Same thing we can also say. I want to take revenge upon somebody. There are so many instances. I will not go into the specifics, except giving some examples for clarity of thought. So, this is the first Sankalpa. I want this fruit, this desire to be fulfilled. And my willpower should be there. What about children? Children also say, I want to play. Why? Because I will enjoy. That is also a desire. But there is no Sankalpa there. It is their nature which guides them. So, that is why Bhagavad Gita gives profound insights into this. Sankalpa, Prabhaan, Kamaan, Sarvaan, Tyakthva. Definitely we have to unyoke, ununite, separate our will, so-called will. Each one of us has a terribly developed will. That will should be deliberately yoked, united. This is the result I want. That is the first thing. Secondly, if I want that result, I have to do these actions. So, my will will have to be yoked to those actions. There is a beautiful English saying, and that tells, hell is paved with good intentions. What does it mean? It means intentions are there, will is not there. That is why they go to the other place. Do they want to go to hell? No. But they did not do. Why did they not do? Because if not yoked there, either to heaven or to the actions thereof. So, what is the first one? Sankalpa. I want this result. What is the second thing? So, simply wishing will not do. Then it becomes only a dream. I have to do something about it, and I require sufficient willpower to accomplish what I want to do. This is the second Sankalpa. Yoking of the will, not only to the karma phala I desire, but to the actions which will take me, give me, yield me, that particular result. The third thing is there must be a strong will. What is it? I am the doer. I have done this. I want to do this. I want to achieve this one. And that is called egotism. Terrible amount of egotism is there. What is that? That too. Oh. So, this is what is known as three types of will attached to this. And that is very important. Now, progress in Karma Yoga, what is it? Consists in giving up these three Sankalpas, one after the other, which means detachment of the will in radial stages. Now, before going into Karma Yoga, we have to understand what is called Karma. What is it? Five conditions are necessary. Then alone, something can be termed as a Karma. First, if the work has to become Karma, it must be done by a living being. Karma is going on all over the world. As I mentioned, the wind is blowing, and animals are doing, the body is also doing, machines are also doing, cars are working, trains are going, everything is being done. But we don't call it Karma. It is a mechanical action. And behind many of these machines, there is a conscious living agent. So, these things are not called Karma really. So, it must be done by a living being. That will not do. Animals also are living, children are living, mad people are living, and non-humans are also living. That will not do at all. So, what is the thing? Agency. There must be an agency. What is it? I determine to have this result, and I know by what way I am going to achieve the result I am desiring. And I will be responsible, I will be working hard, I will be reaping the result. This is called agency. Simply, it means that Ahamkara should be attached to it. Millions of cells in our bodies are doing work, but they don't get what is called Karma phala. Karma Yoga is not a far-off thing at all. Only if there is an agent who integrates everything and feels that this is what I am doing, this is the second characteristic of any Karma, then this is called also Kartritva Bhava. Kartritva Bhava. That is what we need. And Kartritva Bhava, that means I am the agent, that involves a third thing. What is that third thing? That I want to experience some definite result. I plan deliberately. I think about it. I discriminate about it. So many options are there. No, I want this particular result. And the person who does it, he is called Kartritva Bhava. Apply it now to madcaps, they don't know what they are doing. Apply it to children, they don't know what they are doing. So, every form of Karma, if it is to be called Karma, should be based on expectation of some desirable result. And every desirable result has only one end. I want to enjoy it. This is one of the characteristics of Karma. This is the third. What is the fourth one? Moral obligation. People who are intelligent, who are discriminative, they know, if I do this thing, then I must obey, what we call in Sanskrit, Dharma. Dharmic way of doing things, it should not harm, hurt, or some form of loss to other people, giving pain to other people. This is called moral obligation. I live in a society, and I must live in such a way, that there should be absolutely no irresponsibility. This is called responsibility. I feel responsible for my actions. Only when I feel responsible, I will be getting the result of what I want. Remember the story in the Gospel of a Brahmin. He killed a cow, and deliberately he felt responsible for everything in the garden, excepting for the killing. And he said, Indra is the Adhishtatra Devata, residing deity of the hand, and hand killed this cow. So the Papa, the sin of killing the cow, goes to him. That is sheer hypocrisy. When a person feels responsible, both for good or evil, only for such a person, that is called Karma. Otherwise, it is a mechanical Karma. So a person should be deliberately thinking, what could be the pros, cons, good or evil consequences, and he must obey some moral laws. For example, if a conscious being kills another person, he knows that police can catch him, they can punish him, they can kill him, they can put him behind the bars, etc. And only when the person knows all those things, and still does something, that alone will bring the Karmaphala. So, not only that, there is something very interesting also. Each one of us are living in our society, especially religions. They control many things. There are two major types of religions. One is our Hinduism. Another is called Semitic religions, meaning Judaism, Christianity and Islam. According to them, what is called morality, that means, dharmic responsibility, is based on the belief that there is an agreement, covenant between God and us. If we do this, He will give the rewards. If we do something else, He will punish us. Whereas, in Indian religion, whatever be the religion, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, etc. It is based on the law of Karma. According to which, every action we do has not only a personal effect, but a cosmic effect. If I do something wrong, it doesn't merely affect me. It affects other people. It affects many, many things. So, it will return to the person in the form of Karmaphala. And what is the unity between these two? That every Karma, good or evil, has a far greater effect than our immediate understanding. So, association with life means living, integration, assuming that I am the agent, influence of desires, moral obligation, and the inevitability of cosmic result. If these five characteristics are there, then this is the distinction between Karma and mechanical action. And so, as I mentioned, children and mad people, etc., etc., they do mechanical action, not thinking. No child will think, Oh, let me do something and then I will enjoy, but I will not get the effect. These children are not aware of Karmaphala at all. Mad people are not there. Even temporarily mad people also will not think about it. But deliberately scheming, trying to do something, that person will get whether good or evil. There is nothing called unconsciously doing good or unconsciously doing evil. And if you ask psychologists, they will give a resounding answer. What is that? There is nothing called unknowingly doing something. Unconsciously we can do, not unknowingly. What is it? For so many years together, according to the Western psychologists, according to Indian psychologists. Who is the master of Indian psychology? Patanjali Rishi. Janma janma antara samskaras suddenly cause us to do something of which even we may not be aware of it. These fivefold causes have been beautifully described in the Bhagavad Gita. In chapter 18, verse 14, Bhagavan Krishna says, What does it mean? Whatever action, right or wrong, that a man does by his body, mind and speech is caused by five factors. The living body, the agency, the sense organs, the movements of vital air and the supernatural factor which is called agrishta. Any work which does not involve these five factors can never be called karma. This is an important point for all of us to know. And why is it important? It is only by overcoming all these five that Karma Yoga helps us break the bonds and becomes a spiritual discipline. So what did we discuss? What is Karma? Only when we do these things, all these five factors. And then what is Karma Yoga? If we can break our bonds, that means get out of all these five factors. How? By surrendering ourselves to God. Then the effect of Karma will not attach to us. We become free from both good and evil. Remember, I will keep the good result. I will only offer to God the bad result. That is not Karma Yoga. Everything, my whole body, mind, everything will be surrendered. That means what? Not I, not I, but Thou, Thou, in the language of Ramakrishna. Now coming back to the question earlier, what is the condition of the mentally challenged person? As I mentioned, there are two types of people possible. One person is not at all aware. And for this life, he has to exhaust his karma phala, he cannot create. But even by exhausting, he will be given a new choice. But there are some people extraordinarily intelligent, very talented, but they lack what they call some social abilities. And that is what we call autistic people, etc. But people were astonished how some autistic people can calculate, some autistic people can remember everything, even hundreds of yellow books. Yellow books means telephone numbers, etc. Some people can paint so beautifully, as if they had what is called photographic memory. Beautiful talents are there, which even the people with all the body and mind intact can never even imagine to do it. But one thing is there, so if these people are unable to function their mind, what are we talking about? Mostly we are talking about the function of the mind. If the mind is not alert mentally, kartritva bhava, and deliberate thinking, I want this result, these actions will bring the result, and I am attached to these actions, from the beginning to the end. From sankalpa, I want this to be done, until I start enjoying. Continuously there is a feeling, I am responsible for this, and therefore I am enjoying it. That one word, I am responsible, if that is absent in any mentally challenged person, that person can only exhaust the karma, but cannot create any new karma in this life. This is the answer so far as I know. This is what Bhagavad Gita tells. This is also what Hindu psychology, crystal clearly tells us. So, I have answered both. Some of them cannot create, but some of them have highly progressed in life. For whatever reason, they are challenged persons, but especially mentally challenged persons, from whose point of view? Our viewpoint. Chadavarata, if we come across, we definitely label him as a mentally challenged person. That's why he is called Chadavarata. But he was the most enlightened person in the world. Rare, but such persons can be there. The second is, are they conscious of their actions, and can they take the responsibility for it? This is what I discussed throughout. If they feel responsible, they can create karma, they can exhaust karma. Most of them, so far as we know, they are not responsible. They don't even know what is called responsibility. So, for them, merely they will exhaust their karma phala. But our Hinduism is great. It says they will be given, afforded another choice, from where again they can restart. Because what happens? Then they become conscious. Their minds start functioning. But they have to think. But it may take time for them to deliberately stop whatever wrong actions they have been doing and turn towards God or whatever it is called. This is a very, very beautiful discussion. Why in spiritual life, you call it Karma Yoga or devotees will call it Sharanagati. What is it? All these five factors. I don't decide, God decides. And I will do whatever is necessary without doing, without desiring, expecting anything out of it. But my only goal is I want to please the Divine Lord. He is responsible and He will look after me. The whole agency is transferred from oneself to the other, which is the Divine. For such persons, they will go beyond all karma phala and the whole spiritual sadhana is to go only beyond the karma phala. So, these are what I wanted to give. It took time. But I hope it will clarify some of the ideas that we have. Now, we go back to our class. Sri Ramakrishna, remember, had been given revelation about Keshav Chandra Sen. He will be playing, Keshav Chandra Sen will be playing a very important role in the mission of Sri Ramakrishna, in the mission of the Divine Mother. Sri Ramakrishna knew it. He had prior visions about it. And that is the real reason why Sri Ramakrishna loved Keshav Chandra Sen. Now, we have to understand something very important. Whatever Sri Ramakrishna does, he never does like any of us, ordinary, what is called, ignorant human beings like us. What do I mean? Let us say that Sri Ramakrishna used to love Narendranath very much. We all know that. When Narendranath used to come, the whole world used to disappear from Sri Ramakrishna's mind. Now, Narendranath himself knew it. And it is so obvious. The moment Sri Ramakrishna hears Narendra's voice or his appearance, so his face will be beaming forth like somebody meets a beloved, and like that. Then even the devotees felt apprehensive, jealous, complaining also. So many things have happened. Now, Narendranath himself has protested, Sir, why do you love me so much? Because this is excessive and it is so exhibitive. Everybody notices it. Sri Ramakrishna never cared for it. So many incidents are there. I will not go into it right now. And then Narendranath felt perhaps embarrassed. Because the moment he comes, he knows the behavior of Sri Ramakrishna will change totally. One day he complained. Why do you love me so much? Perhaps if you love me like that, your future fate will be like Jadavarta. And Sri Ramakrishna, one thing was there, he believed Narendranath to be absolutely truthful. No untruth will ever escape. So he got frightened in a way. Nervous. What? Will I become like Jadavarta? And then he ran to the Divine Mother. Asked. Very peculiar question. Why Mother? Why do I love Narendranath? Look at this. When we love something, somebody, we know definitely why we are loving. Because joy will come, etc. And there is a person who says, I don't know why I love. Then Mother explained, You love Narendra because you see more manifestation of God in Narendra than in anybody else. And if you do not see this manifestation of God, then you will not love. Sri Ramakrishna became assured. And then he came back. And then he said, You upset me very much. I asked. And then he uttered something very, very significant. And he said, The moment I do not perceive God in you, I will refuse even to look at your face. Just imagine what are we talking about and what was Sri Ramakrishna doing really. As if we understood Sri Ramakrishna, why he loved somebody, why he used to tell some people, so nice buildings, nice gardens, go and watch them. What a marvelous reply he has given. And how does it work? I go into ecstasy by just thinking about it. Imagine there is a powerful magnet. Whom does the magnet attract? Does it attract mud particles or wooden particles? No. There must be iron particles. And the more the iron, the nearer the distance, the more will be the attraction. Is it doing consciously? No. You ask it, why do you attract? Oh, I love to attract. No. It is a very natural thing that happens. Sri Ramakrishna's mind is a divine mind. That divine mind will not do anything human. To attribute that whatever Sri Ramakrishna is thinking or doing is human is to be very unintelligent ourselves. So if Sri Ramakrishna loved somebody, it is because he sees God. If Sri Ramakrishna was not attracted to somebody, that means the manifestation of God is much less. Not that it is not there. There is nothing which is not God. But the manifestation is much obscured. This is the key to understand Sri Ramakrishna's life. But if we apply the same thing to Keshav Chandra Sen, why did Sri Ramakrishna love? First of all, Divine Mother said, this is also a part of my glory. Who made Keshav Chandra Sen very glorious? Who gave that power to him so that his talks were so powerful, so charismatic? Thousands of people used to be drawn. Why? Is it because of the ideology? Is it because of the words? Is it because of the voice? May be voice. May be beautiful arrangement of words. But that is not the main thing. yad yad vibhuti mat sattvam sri madhur jita me vava tattva deva avagacchatvam mama tejo amsa sambhava There is something extraordinary. It is only God. So even mud particles also is nothing but manifestation of Brahman only. But they do not exhibit so much of chit and much less ananda. This is what we have to understand. Sri Ramakrishna was attracted because he saw Divine Mother in Keshav Chandra Sen. This is the key and we have to understand this one. So Sri Ramakrishna, he loved Keshav Chandra Sen and needless to say, Keshav Chandra Sen also fell in love with Sri Ramakrishna. There was pure spiritual love. How do we know? Many a time, Keshav Chandra Sen had told the devotees of Sri Ramakrishna that you do not know with whom you are mixing. He is that rare material. His body itself, not to speak of his mind, should be kept in a glass case and to be protected. So delicate, the slightest touch can damage that body, not of course the mind, never the mind, the body. Who gave that understanding to Keshav Chandra Sen? Only the Divine Mother has given that understanding. And if the Divine Mother gave that understanding, then Keshav Chandra Sen must have been really great and he was great in every way. And then, you know, in the end, Keshav Chandra Sen one day took him to his house and took him upstairs to his puja room and then worshipped the feet of Sri Ramakrishna. Only one thing he said, Sir, please don't tell anybody. Let it be a secret. So the Master loved him because of that. That's why when Keshav Chandra Sen died and that happened when Sri Ramakrishna was alive, Sri Ramakrishna could not get up from the bed for three days. After reading this one, what is the difference between Sri Ramakrishna and myself? If my husband or wife dies, I will not be able to get up for six months. Not everybody. Some people may be jumping up and down with joy also. That's a different issue altogether. So Sri Ramakrishna visited. Something very funny or great happens here. When Sri Ramakrishna visited Keshav Sen's house, Keshav was told that Sri Ramakrishna had come to your house and he came to the drawing room, pressured to go out. Keshav Chandra Sen was about to visit a sick friend but seeing Sri Ramakrishna, immediately he cancelled it. And then the Master said to him, Very strange. You have so many things to attend to. Besides, you have to edit a newspaper. You have no time to come to Dakshineswar. So I have come to see you. When I heard of your illness, I vowed green coconut and sugar to the Divine Mother for your recovery. Now two things we notice here. That you don't have time. Because Sri Ramakrishna knew from the time Keshav Chandra Sen came into contact with Sri Ramakrishna. In fact, Keshav Chandra Sen never knew about Sri Ramakrishna. Sri Ramakrishna only visited after hearing about him. All because of the will of the Divine Mother. Let us never forget. Unless Sri Ramakrishna receives a command from the Divine Mother, he will never be doing anything in life. He will not even lift a blade of grass. So he received the commandment. He went there. Of course, it took some time for Keshav Chandra Sen. And the funny thing was, very few of the followers of Keshav Chandra Sen had ever remained loyal to Sri Ramakrishna, even afterwards. We see only Keshav Chandra Sen. A few people, they were destined to be drawn. Vijayakrishna Goswami was one of them. But most of the other people, no. So Sri Ramakrishna is telling, you have no time to come to Dakshineswar. So I have come to see you. This is something very, very noteworthy for us to take note. And then he says, when I heard of your illness, I vowed green coconut and sugar to the Divine Mother for your recovery. Now, this is a very ordinary custom. We all do it. In South India, whether we want to get some desire fulfilled, somebody is sick, we want that person to recover, we go to Tirupati, run to Tirupati, and offer him some offerings, praying, O Lord, please bestow your grace, etc. Sri Ramakrishna himself is doing. Now, did you notice, Sri Ramakrishna knew, I am a realized soul. And whatever happens, whatever comes, Sankalpa, they are called Satya Kamaha, Satya Sankalpaha, the very wish and the very determination, Sankalpa. Whatever desires come into the minds of these great souls, they will be immediately fulfilled. It is impossible. There is a desire in their minds and that will not be fulfilled. That is never going to happen. So, this is the way we have to understand them. Then why did not Sri Ramakrishna simply do Sankalpa? Let Keshav be completely healthy. Because in this Avatar, whereas this is the difference of the manifestation between different Avatars, if it is Sri Krishna, categorically, he never used, you surrender yourself to God. Of course, he said that in the Bhagavad Gita and especially in the Bhagavatam also, but mostly he said, Sarva Dharmaan Parityajya Maam Ekam Sharanam Vraja You surrender yourself to Me. Aham Tva Sarva Paape Bhyo Moksha Ishyami Maasu Chaha Rarely Sri Ramakrishna used the word, I am going to do this now. This is a very important thing. So, this is something for us to take note. Simply he said, I surrendered myself to Mother and if I pray to Mother, Mother will definitely help. There is also meaning behind it. All of us, ordinary people, what do we do? We take offerings to the temple. Sri Ramakrishna, instead of doing anything, he is encouraging us, if you encounter this kind of situations, you also take something, a fruit, a flower, something, and you pray. Praying is our part. Whatever happens is God's will or the person's prarabdha. But Sri Ramakrishna also, like Bhagavad Gita tells, our part is to wish well, to do the best, but we have to remember, ultimately it is God who determines whether a person recovers, whether a person does anything good, whether he will have to suffer. Everything is God's will only. That is the second point. First point I want to bring again, that if we do not have time, then God himself will come to us, provided we have no time because we are doing what God wants us to do. What is the example? I hope you remember, there is a very holy place in Maharashtra called Pandharipura. The whole Pandharipura and the Lord Krishna in Pandharipura, He is called Vitthala. Vitthala means God. So how did He come to be there? There was a devotee called Kundalika. At first he led a good life. Later on he led a very evil type of life, neglecting his parents. But he must be having good samskaras. So he learned some lessons. Then he became totally devoted to God. But he was made to understand serving my parents, Matru Devo Baba, Pitru Devo Baba is my greatest service to God Himself. So he stopped going to the temple, which he used to do earlier. And then he started only serving God. And then God Himself came to him. Why did God come? Because you have no time to come. That means what? If a person is engaged in useless activities, I don't have time to come to you, then definitely God will not bestow His grace upon him. But here definitely God bestowed His grace because he knows that Kundalika was serving his parents and through that he was serving God Himself. If you remember, Swami Vivekananda's Karma Yoga, in one of the stories, each is great in his own place. That is, there was a Dharmavyadha, a righteous butcher, and he was serving his parents. And through that, he became one of the greatest jnanis. It is a marvellous story from the Mahabharata. He was called Dharmavyadha. You better go through that. So these are the things we have to remember. Now Sairam Krishna says, I know you are doing what my Divine Mother's will. You are following. So how come? Before you were doing something very religious actually, very nice things only. But now you are only propagating Divine Mother. How? By talking about Sairam Krishna, by quoting his teachings, by popularizing him, where Sairam Krishna lives, what he does, and advising everybody. Such a great person in those days. If Keshav Chandra Sen recommends, go and meet this great saint. I have never met a person like him. Naturally, people will have more inclination to visit. That is why, Mahapurushaha Enapataha Gataha By whatever way the great souls have trod, and that is what most of the common people are likely to follow. So this is what had happened. Then I also mentioned earlier, several of the Brahmo members, they, first of all, started thinking of God as Mother all because of Sairam Krishna. Then Sairam Krishna told, that you are professing, that you are meditating upon Nirakara Brahma. It is not possible. It is only for very highly advanced souls, what you call Nirakara Brahma. You are not Jnanis. We still clearly, Sairam Krishna enunciated, you are not Jnanis, you are Bhaktas. Because you are praying to God. You may be touting, that we are praying to the Nirakara. Unlike illiterate Hindus, who are running after idol worship, etc. Sairam Krishna made them understand, nobody worships an idol. Everybody is worshipping the divine only. Some of them take the help of what we call, an idol, a pratika, or a pratima, or a symbol, or an icon, or a picture, or a photograph, etc. or even a book like Sikhs. They only worship Guru Granth Sahib. But all this is meant to direct our minds towards only God. So, several of the members were genuinely transformed. And the result of it was, you know, they first started thinking of God in terms of a loving mother. And then some of them were highly talented. Like Triloknath Sanyal, he belonged to Brahma Samaj. And under the influence of Sairam Krishna, he composed many songs. Previously, this knowledge, that God can be worshipped as a divine mother, and the name mother is sweeter than anybody else, was not known to Brahmins. But by coming into contact with Sairam Krishna, they came to know. And this Triloknath Sanyal was given again by the Divine Mother an extraordinary talent. And that talent is the ability to compose the ideas conveyed by Sairam Krishna into beautiful poetry. And one of them is Very simple translation I will give you. Oh Mother, You are beauty. There are two versions here. You are, that beauty, is just illuminating the entire dark cave. Nibidadhara means dense darkness. Oh Mother, like a lightning, powerful lightning, that the beauty of Your form is shining. This is one version. But some people, and which I like that version, is Chamake Arupa Rashi. Rupa means form. Arupa means formless. Oh Mother, Thy formless beauty is sparkling, lighting up the whole place in this deep darkness. And that is why, Tai, that is why, Yogis, spiritual aspirants, what do they do? Giri Guha Vashi. They seek solitude. They seek solitary caves, etc. in Himalayas, on mountains, etc. And they go deep, out of the sight of ordinary people, Guha Vashi. What do they do? Dhyan Dhori. Because when they enter into deep darkness, there alone they are able to behold that beautiful form. It is a mystical song, laden with deep meaning. That means what? When the mind becomes absolutely quiet, that is called darkness. Darkness means what? No other thought ever arises in the mind. That is the comparison here. And in that, when there is no thought, then the Divine shines. This is what Kena Upanishad tells beautifully, Prati Bhaava Viditam. Every thought points out that the pure consciousness, you are able to think, and you are able to be aware of that particular thought. Remember, if I am not conscious of an object, that object doesn't exist for me. If I am not conscious or aware of a thought, then the thought itself cannot stand. And that awareness, which illumines every thought, that is the real form. What is the form? What is the form of light? If I ask you that question, you will have to think and understand. Light. It is light. What is the form of light? Light. That's all. Knowledge. That's all. What is the form of knowledge? Knowledge. That's all. There is no special form. Ananta Adhar Koje In the lap of the infinite, Maha Nirvana Hillole. Maha Nirvana. Remember Buddha's Nirvana. That means everything has been absolutely destroyed, extinguished. But it is moving, it is activated with tremendous force. Hillole means just unimaginable force is moving everything this way and that way. But amidst that, Chirashanti Parimal a beautiful fragrance. What is that fragrance? Chirashanti. That is infinite peace. Peace that passeth all understanding. Abhirala means unceasingly. Jaya Bhashya. It is floating. What a marvellous poetical expression. If at all there is something, I can even say that even there like Rabindranath Tagore's poems which indicate in this way that Divine, Ishwara. So this is a profound song composed by Triloknath Sanyal. After coming into contact with Sri Ramakrishna, that is what happens. Now remember, these great souls and this reminds me of another great soul who was none other than Swami Vivekananda. And he was there in Kashmir. He went to visit Ksher Bhavani and also some other Divine, Vaishnavi Devi etc. And then one day he came out staggering and then a poem just poured out of his ecstatic state. And this is the one. This is called a mystical song. Deeply mystical song. The apt title for it is Kali the Mother. Perhaps we can go a little bit deeper into it in our next class. But here it is. The stars are blotted out. Just remember earlier. The stars are blotted out. The clouds are covering clouds. It is darkness. Vibrant. Sonent. In the roaring, whirling wind. Just see. Are the souls of a million lunatics just loose from the prison house. Wrenching trees by the roots. Sweeping all from the path. The sea has joined the free. Remember, 20 years back, the great tsunami that killed nearly 200,000 people. Just imagine if you can. Wrenching trees by the roots. Sweeping all from the path. And the sea has joined the free. And shreds of mountain waves to reach the peachy sky. A flash of lurid light reveals on every side a thousand thousand shades of death, begrimed and black. Scattering plagues and sorrows. We have to meditate upon this song. What is that scattering? It could be wars that are going on. It could be killings. It could be earthquakes. Just remember a few months back in Turkey, what happened? Nearly more than 50,000 people were blotted out within a few seconds. But this is all the expression of the Divine Mother. Nataraja Tandavan Rithya. Divine Mother's Tandavan Rithya. Dancing mad with joy. Come, Mother, come. And then Swamiji continues. For error is thy name. Death is in thy breath. And every shaking step destroys the world forever. Means forever. Thou time, the all destroyer. Come, O Mother, come. Who dares misery love? This is the clinching message by Swami Vivekananda. Who dares misery love? And hug the form of death? Dance in destruction's dance? To Him, the Mother comes. We will discuss some important points in our next class. Om Jananem Sharadam Devem Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum Pada Padmetayo Sridhva Pranamami Moho Moho May Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. Ramakrishna