Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 097 on 10-October-2023

Summary

The lecture revolves around Sri Ramakrishna's teachings on April 9, 1882 in Calcutta on why God created wicked people with sinful tendencies. It explores this question through the lens of holy company or satsang.

Holy company refers to associating with spiritually wise or advanced people. As per the saying, "you are the company you keep," we tend to become like those we associate with regularly. Satsang with saints, devotees and spiritual seekers transforms our nature from tamas or evil tendencies to sattva or purity. It awakens longing for God, devotion and the spiritual path. Through spiritual practice in holy company, we gain control over body and mind, developing dispassion and discrimination.

Cultivating holy company is essential to change inherent selfishness and ignorance. Without it, evil persists and suffering continues in the world. Even with selfishness, if everyone were holy, the baby would absorb those sattvic qualities. But amidst selfishness, the baby learns selfish ways for self-preservation. Limited selfishness only for peaceful living is acceptable.

The lecture examines the metaphor of holy company using the mango tree and its fruits as desires. The sense organs like the eyes are the tree loaded with fruits of sensory experience. Ignorance and temptation are the gatekeepers preventing enjoyments without payment. Even desire for God, japa or devotion can become greed. Pride in being God's devotee and jealousy of others' progress are also desires. Love confined to family is lust.

Sri Ramakrishna reminds that wicked people are necessary in the world just as the unruly tenants requiring a harsh administrator. He explains God's creation of evil using the Divine Mother's play requiring both good and evil to continue the game. If she embraced everyone, the play would cease. When tired of the game, she lifts the devotee into her lap. Sri Ramakrishna experienced this directly when he saw the boys torturing the grasshopper. He realized through holy company with the Divine Mother that he was everything - the grasshopper, the boys and the stick causing his own suffering. This ended in a deep samadhi.

Such holy company with the Divine Mother during his spiritual practices in Dakshineswar transformed Sri Ramakrishna from wicked to saintly. He conquered extreme lust, anger, greed and evil actions through holy company. It awakened direct realization of his identity with the Divine Mother by purifying his mind. When the neighbor asked about wicked people, Sri Ramakrishna could explain through his own experiences.

Evil exists for creating saints. The saint has no lust, anger or greed. But they were once great sinners who awakened and controlled the mind and senses. Bondage causes suffering. Liberation comes by realizing our identity with the Divine. Sri Ramakrishna said holy company with him would implant divine love and grow devotion. But association with wicked people sharing cynical, atheistic and problematic ideas can destroy spirituality.

Holy company provides living examples of teachings. Sri Ramakrishna could test the scriptural truths in his own life. Holy company cleans the mind's mirror to reflect divine light. Lust, anger, greed cannot co-exist with holy company. It uplifts, transforms and unifies the soul with cosmic oneness.

The lecture analyzes the idea that labeling nations as evil creates polarized conflicts. Our concepts of good versus evil depend on personal beliefs based on propaganda or affiliation. True wickedness requires daring to translate evil thoughts into actions. Social fears restrain our latent wickedness. We secretly applaud villains displaying our own suppressed tendencies.

Hinduism's approach reconciles evil's existence through holy company through some of the below ideas:

1) God alone creates and becomes everything. Multiplicity inevitably contains duality.

2) Good and evil transform continuously. Karmic fruits cause happiness or sorrow.

3) Maya's cosmic play appears real but isn't. We are mice in the cat's game.

4) Opposites are imperative to understand happiness.

5) Existence means suffering for Buddha. Escape samsara's cycle.

Holy company with the Divine Mother reveals that we alone create our suffering. God is the cosmic player and the played, beyond good-evil duality.

The lecture emphasizes holy company. Regular satsang uplifts through its living presence. Holy company provides the toolbox of teachings to realize God directly. It models the possibility of overcoming latent wickedness. It fills the mind with sattva, conquering lust, anger and greed. By its purifying influence, it creates saints out of sinners. It teaches the divine purpose behind the perplexing mix of good and evil. It transports consciousness from dualistic maya into unitive reality.

Detailed Transcript

In our last class, we have been studying the very useful teachings of Sri Ramakrishna. What is the benefit of Holy Company? On Sunday, April 9, 1882, Sri Ramakrishna was seated with his devotees in the drawing room of Pranakrishna Mukherjee's house in Calcutta. It was between 1 and 2 o'clock in the afternoon. There is another benefit from Holy Company, and many benefits are there. One benefit is that by associating with holy people, we ourselves become holy. There is a beautiful saying in the English language: "We are what we eat. Tell me your friends, and I will tell you who you are. Tell me what type of books you read, and I will tell you what type of person you are." So, association tells us about ourselves because we like certain types of foods depending upon the type of guna we have. According to Vedanta, three types of gunas are there: Sattva guna, Rajoguna, and Tamoguna. Every other guna, that is the quality of a person, every samskara in the whole world, is only derivatives. They affect different manifestations of infinite combinations of these three: Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. What we call evil or evil people, etc., is only Tamoguna Pradhana. That's why Sri Ramakrishna says that both ways it works. If we deliberately, with awareness and a lot of willpower, effort, cultivate holy company, good company, devotee's company, scriptural company, then we slowly change our nature because every habit becomes a habit only with great repetition, and repetition, especially in good things, requires a tremendous amount of willpower. So, what is the first benefit? We become holy. What is the second benefit? We develop a tremendous amount of discrimination. We develop dispassion. We develop control over our body and mind. Finally, it begets longing for God. Holy company begets longing for spiritual life. Devotion will come to God. Sharanagati will come to God. These are some of the benefits.

Naturally, if we do not cultivate holy company, then what happens? What do we see in this world? We see a lot of suffering, a lot of what we call evil. Evil means suffering. Suppose evil is happiness, and evil can be happiness that we, normal people with very ordinary power of thinking, never suspect that we are mostly evil people according to Hinduism or Vedanta. Vedanta is a correct word for Hinduism actually. The word Hindu is a misnomer actually. We should be called Vedantins, Vedantikas, followers of Vedanta. What is Vedanta? Teachings of Vedas, that is called Vedanta. Whether it be Dvaita Vedanta of Madhvacharya, Visishta Advaita Vedanta of Ramanujacharya, or even Advaita of Shankaracharya, any school of philosophy, combined, goes by the common name Vedanta. Vedanta means the teachings of the Vedas. And Vedas need not be only Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharvana Veda. Every science, teachings can be a Veda. What is a Veda? That which gives us knowledge about Atheendriya Gnanam, that is, that which is beyond the sense organs, that is called Veda. Normal science gives us better knowledge, a better explanation about this world, which we are experiencing all the time. For that, we don't need Vedas. But we need to know the nature of the world, which we do not actually understand. So Vedas give us two types of knowledge: that which is obtained through the sense organs, but the nature of this world, similarly, whether there is life after death, Paraloka, other world, and Bhagavan, Ishwara. Because no amount of logic can prove to us there is a God, there is a life, and there are other worlds, which can never be experienced through our sense organs. That knowledge we should come. But we also have to be very clear, we are in the world, we are experiencing the world from birth to death. Then why should the scripture tell us? Because even while experiencing, we do not understand the nature of the world, that it is changeful, death can come at any time. Everybody is going to go through what is called dualities. Nobody will experience unmitigated one-sided happiness or wealth, etc. Life goes on changing. Life will not stop at a moment. Like a river, it goes on moving. That is why it is called Samsara. Always it is moving, changes, and it is dependent. It is dependent upon what? Our consciousness. If I am unconscious, I don't know about the world, much less I know about myself. I have to be awake, but I am not taking into consideration everything is changing. I become old, I don't want to accept, I try to cover myself with so many things, etc. The nature of the world and the nature of God, both knowledge we have to get only from the scripture. And every saint who realizes God or who has advanced in spiritual life also teaches exactly the same truth. That's why this holy company is very, very necessary. Now here comes a tremendous fact. So what is the fact? So here comes a neighbor on this April 9, 1882. It was a Sunday. It was 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Sri Ramakrishna was sitting in the drawing room of Pranakrishna Mukherjee's house in Calcutta, and some people were invited, and some people came themselves, knowing that a great Paramahamsa was coming, and as we discussed earlier, Yashachandra Sen was the main instrument through which people in Calcutta and outside Calcutta came to know about this great soul called Sri Ramakrishna. And in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna and also in the life of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna Leela Prasanga, which we are discussing in Kannada language, we have come to elaborate discussion about Yashachandra Sen, who was also inspired by the Divine Mother and endowed with some powers by the Divine Mother to assist in the Dharma Sthaapana of Sri Ramakrishna. So here is a neighbor asking, "Why has God created wicked people?" Earlier, we saw, "Why does a man have sinful tendencies?" And very interesting, if we really study it with the light of Swami Vivekananda's teaching, at one point, he says, "It is a standing liability to call man a born sinner. Man is a sinner, accepted. Man is not a born sinner, completely unacceptable. Why? Because by birth, each soul is potentially divine. But by our actions, we deviate. We forget, and because of what we call Maya, Avidya, Agnana, etc., we identify with the body-mind, and we go on doing mostly evil. Unselfish people are very rare. Only spiritual people are unselfish people. By the way, we have to understand a simple fact, that an unselfish person cannot be a worldly person, and a worldly person cannot be an unselfish person. What is the conclusion? Parishashika Nyaya. So only a spiritual person can become an unselfish person, and only an unselfish person can become a spiritual person. Selfishness and worldliness, unselfishness and spirituality must be clubbed together. So, why does a man have sinful tendencies? Is it from the very beginning? The short answer is no. A baby, for example, is a good example. It doesn't have sinful tendencies. But as the baby grows up, he sees all around, and if everybody is unselfish, the baby will never become selfish. The only way a baby can achieve some self-interest against these ever-worrying countries, nations, or it is in societies, individuals, is by becoming selfish. Even protecting oneself against evil people in a way that is also selfish. And we have to become selfish. There is no way we can escape from being selfish. But there is a limit. If selfishness is limited only to peaceful living, it is absolutely acceptable, and one must be selfish in that sense. Taittiriya Upanishad, many times I have brought up this, broached this subject. That even in Taittiriya Upanishad, the very first chapter, in the 11th Anuvaka, a blueprint for life is given, several commandments. Satyam. First, what is it? Satyam Bruhiyat. Only truthfulness has to be upheld. Satyam Vada Dharmamchara and practice righteousness. Swadhyayan Maa Pramadaha. If everybody is unselfish, if everybody doesn't have sinful tendencies, where is the need for this commandment that you have to speak truth, you have to practice. Dharma means actually unselfishness. What is unselfishness? That there are no other people. Everything is me. Putting oneself in the other person's shoes is called morality, and that is the root of unselfishness. But thinking, I am separate from everybody, and I want to look for my own interest, that is called immorality, actually. Do we have sinful tendencies? No. Only we don't know when it started. Janma Janmantara. Because there is no answer when was the first birth given and how did God create everybody with different tendencies. Ultimately, the responsibility can be attributed only to God. That is a very important point because devotees of God, they want to defend their God that God can only create good tendencies. He cannot create evil tendencies. This is not correct reasoning because when the whole world is created, and we see evil people, good people, and neutral people, we have to accept that somebody has created them like that. So Hinduism doesn't shrink, doesn't hesitate to tell, unlike some other religions who posit two Gods. One is the creator of evil, and one God who creates only good things. But that war between two Gods will never come to an end. So Hinduism frankly says it is God only who created. So, if a person with evil tendencies goes on repeating his evil tendencies, first of all, he will go on growing stronger, stronger, and still stronger. If a person has good tendencies, he will also grow. He becomes a better man, becomes the best man, good, good, or goodest man. Then, how does God create? So, the categorical answer is that God is not creating for somebody else. He is only playing a solitaire game against himself. That is called Leela. If we do not accept this grandest idea that everything is Maya. What is Maya? Appears to be real, not at all real. Another word, very commonly used word is called Mithya. Just like our dreams, we only create while experiencing a dream. Everything looks very, very real. But truly speaking, when we wake up, we understand it is all nothing but ideal dreaming. Neither good effects nor evil effects. There is no killer. There is no killed. Unable to understand this analogy, many people criticize Hinduism as a dreamy philosophy, unrealistic philosophy, impractical philosophy. But they don't understand, they don't study Hinduism. Hinduism has to be studied, not independently. You take up some books and then read the books. One is not going to understand. One has to go to a saint and then understand. Why he is there? So, Rama Krishna was such an incarnation of God. And even if people don't accept that he is an incarnation, they certainly accept that he was a realized soul. That one has to accept. Only from that standpoint, he knows the truth. Who is a God realized soul? He knows the truth. And so, every single teaching that came from Rama Krishna's mouth is a scripture for us. What you call Veda is nothing but the discoveries, the uncoverings of the Rishis only. Nothing else. It is not what we call human creation. It is not paurushaya. It is apaurushaya. In this background, why does a man have sinful tendencies? Because of selfishness. But we don't need to have sinful tendencies. How can we avoid? What is sinful tendency? Trying to obtain something by hook or crook, by deceitful means, by hurting, harming other people. That is how we develop sinful tendencies. But Vedanta or scriptures, Vedas, Upanishads, Gita, or Gospel tell us a different story. You have desires? Yes. You have infinite desires? Yes. There is a way not to fulfill one desire, but every single desire. How? You go to God, and every single desire, because God is infinite, infinite desires can be fulfilled by realizing what? That I am that infinite. I don't need to go anywhere. I am happiness. But that comes only at the end. So this play cannot go on without these sinful tendencies. But there are also people equally, maybe even more, with good tendencies, virtuous tendencies, that we forget. But another factor also, what we call a sinful person today, after some time, he alone becomes a saint. And what we now call a saint had a past in which he did a lot of sinful things. If God comes and tells a saint, "Look into your past, you have so many past lives," and says whether you were born as a completely devoted person from the very beginning, an innocent baby, or you did a lot of evil things, and a saint will be the first person to admit, "I have done even more than anybody had done, things which I should never have done."

But every sinful person is going to become a saint. That's what Swami Vivekananda says. Each soul is potentially divine. What does that mean? To become divine is unstoppable.

Now, the second question is, why has God created wicked people? And who are wicked people? This is where we need to connect with the earlier sentence. A person who has evil thoughts, and those evil thoughts are called sinful tendencies, evil tendencies. The person who says, 'I have these thoughts, I own this mind with these kinds of thoughts,' becomes a wicked person.

Actually, there is something very interesting as well. Most of us are very wicked people. We have so many wicked thoughts running through our minds. Only because of our cowardice, our fear of policemen. Suppose there are no police, and any government says, 'You can be as wicked as possible, and we will reward you according to the greatness of your wickedness.' Then, each one of us will be competing for the first prize. But we are frightened the police will catch us, put us in jail, and we have police fear, jail fear, and neighbor's fear, social fear. People will be looking down.

But what does social fear mean? I look down upon you, and you look down upon me. 'Why are you wearing this dress?' 'Because that is fashion.' 'Why do you say so?' 'My neighbor says so.' You ask that fellow, 'Do you say this is fashion?' 'Yes.' 'Why do you say so?' 'Because my neighbor, he is wearing the dress.' Nobody knows who has set that trend. So, we are all like that.

But you know what? It is very rare for a sinful person, a person with sinful tendencies, to become a truly sinful person, meaning actually doing a lot of evil actions. Translating those tendencies into actual deeds requires a tremendous amount of courage, self-faith, dare-devil-ness, which we often lack. That's why I have a sneaking suspicion that all of us admire the villains more than the heroes. Search your heart and you'll find the answer.

Yes.

Okay. Now, what are we talking about? Why are there wicked people? This is a question that troubles everybody, and it's a question that very few people have come to answer.

Now, I will give you the present conflict that is going on between Israel and Palestine, Hamas or Hezbollah or whatever it is. Now, here is the way to analyze it. Ask Hezbollah or Hamas people who are the evil people, and they will tell you every single Israeli is an evil person. You ask an Israeli person. Every Hamas person or Palestinian is evil. Not only that, they will also name other countries, etc. And I am afraid there are so many co-religionists who also support that event. Now, how do we know who is evil? One may be more evil or both are equally evil. Whatever it is, it is a fact that is taking place.

Now, what is my point? My point is we don't know who is really evil because we are so much swayed, brainwashed by reading the news, and what is the medium of this news? If we read a Congress newspaper, we have one view. And if we have a BJP newspaper, we have another view. My view is what newspaper I read; that is my view. So much of slavishness is going on.

But every religion, especially religion, because religion talks only about God, has to deal with this problem. Why is there evil? Why is there suffering? Because Srishti means suffering. So I have squeezed or summarized into five points how Indian philosophy, that is our Upanishads and our saints, give us the answer. They also thought about it, and we have to accept those things. There are five answers coming.

First of all, who created? Is it man's creation or God's creation? The ultimate answer is God only created both good and evil. The moment God created, as we read, study, listen to talks, in practically every Upanishad, God became the Brahma or Ishwara, Saguna Brahma, Hiranyagarbha, etc., or Divine Mother. The ultimate responsibility, authorship, creatorship goes only to God. Because if there were to be no world, there would be no. But the world itself means creation itself means multiplicity. Multiplicity means duality. Duality means good and evil, happiness and unhappiness, black and white, birth and death, are inevitable. So good and evil, it is only God who created, but only remember, He Himself has become.

Then second, how do we justify them? Can God be good or evil? Because only a good person can create good. He cannot create evil. "I will be good, but I will create evil." Such a thing is irrational, illogical, and unacceptable. So a wicked person can create goodness. That is also impossible. So God only created both good and evil. But there is a deeper truth. What is it? Good becomes evil, evil becomes good. There are no two absolutes. Good is separate, forever it is good. Evil is separate, forever it is evil. Such a thing doesn't exist. They are continuously changing, good into evil, evil into good. Good food, just now cooked, is good food. After some days, it becomes poisonous, evil food. Evil also becomes good. Poison, for example. Is poison only evil? No. Poison is the remedy for most of the virulent diseases. Poison is the greatest remedy. So good and evil are not absolutes. One thing is changing intermittently, all the time. So if it is too cold, it is evil. If it is too hot, that is also evil. So they are one and the same, changing their forms according to our karma phala.

And second, what is the Hinduism's answer, Vedantic answer? Life is a Leela. Leela means that which is appearing as though real, but really real. Ramakrishna mentions this so many times. From Nithya to Leela, Leela to Nithya. Before realization, this world of good and evil is very real. But even from a commonsensical point of view, they are completely changing, all the time changing. So, life is a Leela, creation is a Leela. That is what Shankaracharya, he doesn't use the word Leela, but he uses a very meaningful Sanskrit word Iva. Iva means as if. That means it is not real, but it appears to be real, like a cinema, like a drama, like a dream, etc. That is the second answer.

Third, we are not that advanced to understand. So, we have to understand what is this Leela? It is an English word that is not really applicable here. So, there is a popular phrase, cat and mouse play. But if we analyze deeply, who is the cat? God is the cat. Who is the mouse? We are all the mice. Not mouse, ear is also psychology. When I am suffering, I never think other people are suffering. I only think that I am the only person in the whole world who is going through this horrible suffering. Everybody is in a much better position. There is something to be explored. I am just giving you the hints. So, what is the third answer? Here, that is what comes. The concept of Dharma and Adharma. Whatever we have done in the past life, Punya and Papa, and that comes to us in this life as Prarabdha Karma. So, Prarabdha Karma means some people enjoy more and suffer less. Some people suffer more and enjoy less. And here also, something very interesting. When we are eating Rasagulla and thoroughly enjoying them, we never complain. Oh, why God has created this Karmaphala? Why did He make me so happy? We never question. We only question on one side. When we are suffering, we question. No, if we accept Karmaphala, we accept both. And not only that, there is something very deep. That is the fourth answer by Hinduism. By nature, one can never know what is happiness without the knowledge of the opposite. Several times we discussed this one. If we don't know what is white, we will not know what is black, or we will not know what is black if we don't know what is white. So we must have knowledge of both good and evil, happiness and unhappiness, birth and death, friend and enemy, loss and gain, victory and defeat. These are called dualities. That is, at the same time, we know both. Only in the background of this completion, that is knowing the opposite, can we really distinguish and say, this is not that and that is not this. Happiness is not unhappiness. Unhappiness is not happiness. And if we don't know that, we will not be able to distinguish it. And in deep sleep, that is what happens. We never have this dualistic experience. And therefore, what is the fourth one? By nature, if we always prefer or choose happiness, then we will never know what is happiness. It is like going to the sun and asking, what do you do at night? Do you sleep? So the sun will not be able to answer you. Why? Because he doesn't know what is called night. But at least you can go and ask him, what a beautiful light you are giving us. Light? What do you mean by light? Because if he doesn't know what is darkness, he cannot even know what is light. So you should never ask the sun, good morning, if you say, he will never be able to answer because from the viewpoint of the sun, there is no morning, afternoon, night, no darkness, no light, nothing is there. So this is the fourth answer. If we want to be saints, we must know what is sin. If we want to be happy, we must have experience, not only in knowing by reading books, but by going through and actually, happiness is coming out of unhappiness is happiness and coming out of happiness is called unhappiness. This is the fourth answer.

And then the last one, which I have, it is not only suffering of karma phala, existence itself is evil. Who says? Bhagavan Buddha. And what does he say? Life is full of suffering. Is life full of suffering? Did he suffer all the time? What was he talking about? He is not talking about the dualities called happiness and unhappiness, good and evil. He is talking about existence itself. The manifestation of existence, to be more precise. That is if there is birth, what we call in Vedanta, Shadurmi. That is Asthi Jayate Vardhate Viparinamate Apakshiyate Vinasyate. Sixfold change. That is there is birth, there is growth, there is old age, there is disease, there is suffering, and there is death. It is inevitable. And this is what Buddha calls. You may wish to be reborn again even if you are the luckiest person. That means suffering is minimized. It is impossible. In fact, without suffering, you can never enjoy. Several examples, several times I have given. The hungrier you are, the more you enjoy food. The thirstier you are, the more you enjoy, especially cool drinks. And the more tired you are, the more you enjoy rest. So, it is absolutely necessary for us to experience life in a positive light to come out of the negative light. But negative light also is indispensable, and therefore Buddha is telling, 'Don't wish for a happy life, however good it is. Don't wish for birth. Get out of birth. Get out of Shadurmi, and that is what he called Nirvana.'

So, during one of our president's talks, Swami Bhuteshanandji delivered a beautiful discourse. At that time, I was a Brahmachari, and he commenced speaking about the Gospel of Sri Rama Krishna. This is what he conveyed: When contemplating the existence of evil, we often wonder why the Divine Mother has created evil in the world. She could have easily avoided the creation of bondage. In response to this, Sri Rama Krishna, a master, said that if she didn't create both good and evil, akin to the granny's game of hide and seek, her play would cease to continue. For her play to persist, it necessitates the presence of both good and evil. If everyone is in her embrace, how can the game proceed? Nevertheless, if someone grows weary while participating, she extends her hand, intentionally allowing them to touch her, and removes them from the game because she loves each grandchild. The point here, as Swami Bhuteshanandji emphasized, is that while she may play, it comes at the cost of our lives, resembling a game of cat and mouse, as previously mentioned. It's akin to Aesop's fable where the frogs tell the boys, "It may be a game for you, but it's death for us." This teaching was expounded upon multiple times in the Gospel. So, those among us who claim that it means death to us, these are the words of Sri Rama Krishna. Now, tell me, sir, who are you? Are you anything other than her? If, at times, she plays with her eyes covered or open, does that amount to tormenting anyone? The master reiterated on numerous occasions that, "Oh Rama, you are the cause of your own suffering. Only the one who places themselves in bondage suffers. In the book 'Sri Rama Krishna, the Great Master,' Swami Shardaanandji provides a beautiful example. After dwelling continuously in Nirvikalpa Samadhi for six months, Sri Rama Krishna received a directive from the Divine Mother: 'Now, dwell in Bhavamukha.' This is a marvelous state where all Jivanmuktas live. It exists on the border between Nithya and Leela, allowing them to experience both. It's like a person sitting on the doorstep of a room, able to see both inside and outside. Similarly, a person in a Bhavamukha state, as commanded by Sri Rama Krishna, must remain in this world. In fact, this is what happens to every realized soul who is still living, also known as a Jivanmukta.

One day, Sri Rama Krishna ventured towards the Panchavati and encountered a grasshopper. In Telugu, it's called a Tuniga, and in its rear end, a small stick had been inserted. Young boys often engage in such activities in villages. They held onto both wings of the grasshopper and inserted the stick, making it move. Sri Rama Krishna recounted his initial reaction: "I was deeply pained at first, thinking about how much suffering this creature must endure. But then, I started laughing, realizing that, 'Oh Rama, you have become the grasshopper, the mischievous boy, and even the small stick. You yourself suggested the idea to the boy to insert the stick into the grasshopper's rear end, causing your own suffering.' With this realization, I entered a deep state of Samadhi, which lasted for a considerable time. Every experience and teaching of Sri Rama Krishna holds profound significance. In particular, his words, 'Oh Rama, you cause your own suffering,' are significant."

So, who is responsible for the suffering? A wicked person? Who is the wicked person? Rama. Who is suffering? A supposedly good, albeit weak person. I wouldn't say innocent, but rather weak, as their karma must have involved some wrongdoing. The philosophy of karma, while profound, can also be unsettling. If one were to tell people in Ukraine, Gaza, or Israel that they are the cause of their own suffering, it could lead to severe repercussions. Mahatma Gandhi once addressed the Jewish people, who were enduring significant suffering, stating that it was the Western powers that created the troubled and desolate place for them after World War II, out of selfish intentions. There were alternative locations, and even today, if the Americans had chosen to provide a single state for the Jewish people, they might have accepted it without much issue. However, deliberate and malevolent intentions drove the creation of that situation. What a world we live in. Still, one could argue that it is all the will of the Divine Mother. I won't delve too deeply into this, but both the philosophy of karma (Karma Siddhanta) and the philosophy of divine play (Leela Siddhanta) must be acceptable to every devotee of God. There isn't a definitive solution, as the only answer is that God is the creator. Yet, within that answer lies another unfathomable statement: who causes the trouble? God alone. Who suffers the trouble? God alone. There's no other way. This is what Sri Rama Krishna signifies.

Now, this discussion has covered why evil tendencies exist and who created them, and how Indian philosophy approaches this topic. Let's return to the actual Gospel. When asked about the origin of these evil tendencies, the Master explained that it is the will of God, part of His divine play. Within His Maya, both ignorance (avidya) and knowledge (vidya) coexist. Darkness, in this context, serves to emphasize the glory of light. Undoubtedly, anger, lust, and greed are considered evils. Why, then, did God create them? Sri Rama Krishna provides a beautiful answer: these negative tendencies exist to create saints. But what is a saint? A saint is one who is unacquainted with anger, lust, and greed. Such a saint does not exist in the three worlds. So, who is a saint? Initially, they were a sinner, prone to intense anger, overwhelming lust, and insatiable greed, as well as profoundly wicked actions. However, at some point, they awoke, conquered their senses, and realized the truth. What do we mean by senses? These senses are like sense organs. For example, the eye can be compared to a magnificent mango tree, laden with ripe Alphonso mangoes during the season. This vision creates desires, and when one approaches, an uneducated gatekeeper brandishes a large stick, preventing them from looking at the mangoes without payment. The entire situation of wanting to read more books, engage in more Japa, and think about God more fervently can also be considered a form of greed. To be proud of being a devotee of God and to experience intense jealousy when someone else progresses in their spiritual journey is another facet of these desires. Thus, everything, including love, has both positive and negative aspects. For example, loving only one's family or children is not love but is rather referred to as lust.

Sri Rama Krishna proceeds to emphasize that wicked people have their role and are necessary. For instance, when unruly tenants created chaos on an estate, the landlord had to send Golak Choudhury, who was known for his harsh and intimidating administration. The tenants trembled at the mere mention of his name. Ruffians and troublemakers, in other words, are essential in certain situations. To illustrate this, the author shares a personal experience from Bangalore. A family purchased a lovely house at a low price. However, a troublemaker learned of this and occupied the house, forcing the family to sell it to him. When a more significant troublemaker arrived, the family had no choice but to vacate the premises. The story serves to illustrate the necessity of such individuals.

May Sri Ramakrishna Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti Jai Rama Krishna

Note: The lecture transcript was edited for grammar and punctuations using artificial intelligence, so it may contain inaccuracies. The summarization is provided for informational purposes only, and the original audio lecture should be referenced for complete accuracy. Viewers should use discretion when citing any summarized content edited by AI.