Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 110 on 23-April-2024

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

So we have entered into a very beautiful topic. Of course, whatever comes out of the mouth of Shri Ramakrishna is nothing but pure nectar from the Vedas. So we have been discussing visit to Vidyasagar. In our last class, Shri Ramakrishna had visited Vidyasagar and he was explaining about Brahman. What was he telling? What Brahman is, can never be expressed. This is borne out by so many scriptural statements. Also Shruti, Smriti, Nyaya, everything. Now I want to bring out some relevant incidents in the life of Shri Ramakrishna to make this one. In our last class, I have quoted in support of what Shri Ramakrishna had said. And before I go further, I want to just request you to keep something in mind. The more we study Shri Ramakrishna in the light of the scriptures, and the more we study the scriptures in the light of Shri Ramakrishna, then our understanding of Shri Ramakrishna will also become very wide and deep. So also our understanding of the scriptures also becomes wider. One of the reasons why God incarnates is to prove that every teaching of the Veda is absolute truth. That is very important for us because people go on claiming that we are devotees, we have faith in God. But very few people understand what they are talking about. Faith is called indirect knowledge. Many times we have dealt with this subject, but still it is worth dealing with it. So in Sanskrit, there is a beautiful word called Shraddha. No English translation can ever be given except in saying Shraddha. What is Shraddha? That which makes us do according to the faith like a ghost. Shri Ramakrishna often said that I never intended to practice any spiritual disciplines, but suddenly something possessed me and did not leave me for twelve years. It made me go through. And this is exactly what Bhagavad Gita also tells. Now our point is that there are certain types of knowledge which we can get in this world and certain types of knowledge we can never get through normal means of acquiring knowledge. So the means to acquire any type of knowledge is called Pramana. For example, worldly knowledge can be obtained Pratyaksha, direct experience. I see you, you see me. So no other proof is needed. This is called Pratyaksha Pramana. Pramana means proof. No doubt will be there. Of course, provided the mind is alert and it is not under the intoxication, neither is it entertaining lots of doubts and negative opinions etc. Under normal conditions, this is how it happens. Then Anumana. Some type of knowledge cannot be obtained directly. For example, one night you go to bed and you wake up the next morning and you open the window and you see that the whole street is flooded. Wherever you see, there is water. And even from the roofs, water is dripping now. Then what do you infer? You have not seen it raining at night, but you infer. This is called inference and it is called Anumana. This is also a Pramana, but based upon an event that had actually taken place. There is no inference without some fact. Only we have not witnessed that fact, but subsequently after the event takes place, we infer this must have happened. Or you see a car in wreck on the road and still smoking. An accident must have happened. We did not see the accident, but we infer. So, first is direct experience, called also Pratyaksha Pramana. Second is Anumana. So, these are the two proofs for any worldly type of knowledge. But there is a third type of knowledge that is called Shabda. It is also called Shruti. That is to say, whether God exists, what happens after death, whether Karmaphala follows us or not. So, pre-birth, what type of world we will be born into and what type of life we are going to lead. All these things are closed book for all of us. The only thing we can do is to go and rely upon the scriptures. That is called Shabda. Shabda means usually word, sound. But here Shabda has a special meaning. It means the teachings of the realized souls who confirm there is a God. He created this world. There are other worlds and there are other types of lives. And at the same time, there is nothing called death. It is only a temporary manifestation of the unmanifest. So these we have to believe. And not only that, the scripture tells us if we do something wrong, then even nobody may know. But two people will know. Even the most heinous crime that anybody commits, the person who is committing, he knows it. And he can never forget it. This is what they call in English language conscience. He feels guilty inside. Many people do not experience that feeling of guilt. But at the same time, they cannot escape. Unconsciously it troubles them. That is why they run away trying to forget it by drinking, dancing, whatever. Or if somebody has done something very good, what is called Dharmic Karma, and yet nobody knows about it. Very secretly he does it. But there is one who keeps a watch over all these things, Sarvasakshi. That is why fire is called Jata Veda. Everything that happens, he knows. So only the realized soul can tell there is no death. We are all coming from God. Creation from God means we are coming from God. We have to go back to God. But how we conduct our life, that determines what is going to happen either immediately or later on in this life itself or in future births. This also we discussed. Three types of Karmaphalas are there. You take a Marigold seed and you sow it. Within three days you get a sprout and within one month you get flowers. You sow a Banyan seed. It may take ten years even to become a moderately good tree, but it might live 500 years or 1000 years. So this is the result that comes in the future. But if I do something, either good or bad, exceptionally the result may not come in this life. So a little bit of result will come. For example, a person wants to become a good musician. So he goes on practicing. He approaches a teacher. He learns it. He goes on practicing. Even if he has got the voice of a donkey, it doesn't matter. But slowly his voice will become a bit smoother. And then what happens? He learns. Theoretically one can learn a lot, but the physical instrument must cooperate. But then next birth he will start exactly where he left. And because of his persistence, he might be born in a family full of musicians. And then his body becomes much more pliable and what we call suitable for the practice of music or for that matter anything. Sometimes we get child prodigies. So he goes on improving. And then a time will come when he is born. He is only waiting. Even two years, even three years. We know some children. They are called child prodigies. So somebody can recognize all the Indian ragas. I don't know much about the western music, but whether they have the concept of raga, I don't know about it. Probably not. Whereas Indians, they divided the whole time. And not only time, but also season. For example, midnight one raga. Early morning, three o'clock, another raga. Twelve o'clock at noon, another raga. Evening, another raga. Rainy season is called mallar. Or spring season, vasanta raga. So rishis have studied deeply nature. But you see this child prodigy, he has become so expert. From the very childhood. We see so many people, their, what is called, pitch is perfect. And their voice is so soothing. And their intellectual knowledge is unparalleled. These are called child prodigies. You must have heard about Mozart, or a great poet like Wordsworth, Shelley, Longfellow, Kalidasa, Bhavabhuti, etc. Where from these people have come? It is the karma phala. What they practiced in the previous births. And not one birth, but many births. And in spiritual realm also, that is absolutely true. You see some people in the same family. Ramayana is a beautiful example. So one child born to the same parents is purely tamasic, eating and drinking. And another person extraordinarily active, brahmanasura. And you can even say, in a way of speaking, anti-Christ, that is anti-God. And there is one absolutely dedicated through dharma to bhakti, represented by ibeshana. So we see the samskaras. No physical, any amount of physical logic cannot explain how this born in the same family to the same parents in the same social atmosphere cannot explain it. So this is called shabda. Now, we must have faith not only in the worldly knowledge, not only in spiritual realm, but even in worldly experience also, worldly interaction also, we must have tremendous faith. Without faith, we cannot live for one second more. Maybe, we see in the obituary column, somebody had died, maybe young man, young woman, some accident or somebody kills, as is happening practically every day of our life. So, does this person know what is going to happen? Supposing, you are travelling by bus. You have absolute faith that the driver of the bus is sober, not drinking, and he knows what he has got to do. So you are putting your faith in that driver. You are also putting the faith in the bus. So many times we see that a bus is going over the hills and valleys, and then something goes wrong, either with the driver or with the bus, brake failure, etc. Anything can happen. Next second, what happens, nobody knows. But it doesn't mean that there is no reason. Those who have to suffer, they suffer. Those who have to die, they die. Those who have to live, they live. And sometimes, even in the most horrible accidents, nothing is going to happen. But no science can explain why these things happen. But we are talking about faith. Only in that context, I want you to understand that Shraddha doesn't mean only about God, spirituality, afterlife. Even in this world, we require a tremendous amount of Shraddha. If a child is put into a school, a college, there is no guarantee that the child is going to pass brilliantly, that he is going to get a brilliant job. All that he can say, I will do my best. Then according to what is called Karma Siddhanta, the person can get, or may not get, or he may have to suffer his whole life also, we do not know. So, what are we discussing so far? We are talking about what is called Shraddha. What is Shraddha? That is faith in things which we have never experienced. But at the same time, a person who experiences tells us, so we have Shraddha, faith, in the person who tells us. And then we have faith, I know this person, he is reliable, he will never tell knowingly. First, he doesn't tell what is untruth. Secondly, he never tells what is harmful, injurious to me. He loves me and he wishes my welfare, so he tells me what is good for me. That acting on that faith. So it is absolute truth, as if I know it directly, but only Shraddha indicates indirect. That indirect faith with which we start, and even to have that indirect faith, cannot come simply by deciding. It comes only as a result of great Punyam. So if we have done for past many lives, and we see sometimes, this is very surprising, should not be surprising, but appears to be surprising, here is a person, and he appears to be absolutely normal, like any other worldly youth, and he is making extraordinarily good plans to get married. Suddenly, something possesses him, and he renounces the whole thing, runs away as it were, and takes to Sanyasa, life of Sanyasa. Or here is another person, he is just a normal type of person, one day suddenly he has an extraordinary experience, he had never any teacher, any guru, but this goes on and on, so suddenly he becomes an enlightened person. For example, Pramana Maharshi. So everything depends upon our past karma also, but we must have faith in the scriptures, that is very important. And what is the scripture telling? The scripture is telling that merely claiming that I have got faith, that is what billions of people claim, we are religious people, that means we believe in a God, and so many varieties of religious feelings are there, most prominent is called fanaticism. How stupid people can be, that we all believe in God, but God has created some people, He has got partiality, He created people, what is called, very partially, some people He makes them powerful, rich, beautiful, strong, and able to rule, some people slaves, and He creates animals only to be sacrificed, only to suffer, so He creates even the human beings also, some other religions should never be accepted as God's creation, all sorts of fanaticism we will see. But our important point here is, that can we talk about God, that is a very important point, especially can we talk about Brahman, we cannot talk about Saguna Brahma, we cannot talk much less about Nirguna Brahma, this is very important. That is why in the very first chapter of the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, when M himself encounters Sri Ramakrishna, and then M tries to advise Sri Ramakrishna, that people should be taught, they should not worship idols, just look at the timidity of this person, he understood and he expressed, albeit unconsciously, here is where it looks as though Shukadeva himself is teaching Raja Parikshit, that means a Sadguru is teaching a Sat Shishya, that was his unconscious impression, and now reason takes over, and then he goes to argue, and there are so many very important points we had already discussed, and M's idea about what is called knowledge. So when Sri Ramakrishna asked what type of wife, he said, I am afraid she is a good person, but I am afraid that she is ignorant. Now the first very idea is, what is your measurement of what is called goodness? He is telling two contradictory opinions. First he says good, we also say this person is a good person. What do we mean when we say he is a good person? The person who gives me happiness is a good person. However wicked he is, or she is. And the person who will bring me only unhappiness, this is the universal concept of what is called goodness. Even the child of a robber or a gang leader, mafia, for them, oh my dad is such a loving person, and mummy, you are the best mummy in the whole world, just because she gives me chocolates or cakes or ice cream, etc. This is our concept of goodness. Not to speak up, what is ignorance? Sri Ramakrishna never speaks from the worldly point of view, so even if he speaks about the world, he is only speaking from the viewpoint of the scriptures, never from a worldly point of view. So Sri Ramakrishna had disillusioned him, and then we have discussed already, is God with form or without form? Who is questioning? That means our talking about God itself is illegal actually, because we have never seen God, and for that also there is a beautiful incident, Sri Ramakrishna himself narrates, there was a great pundit, I think his name was Pandit Gauri, and he was the court pundit of Bhardwan, and at that time there was a terrible religious quarrel between the Vaishnavas and Shaivas. So who is great, Shiva or Vishnu? And then nobody could prove, they were all trying to quote scriptures and prove who is great. Of course, scriptures who are extolling Shiva, will extol that Vishnu is, practically from their view, Vishnu is an idiot, a stupid fellow, he doesn't know what to do, he does things which even an ordinary person doesn't do, and vice versa. So they could not of course decide what to do. And this court pundit, well respected, they asked him, what is your opinion? And this pundit seems to be extraordinarily intelligent, and then he replied, look, so far as I know, my 14 generations have neither seen Vishnu nor seen Shiva. Very interesting topic. So supposing, one among the 14 generations has seen only Shiva or seen only Vishnu, will he be able to decide? Because if we want to judge two things, we must have knowledge of both the things. Simply having knowledge of one thing will not do. So this idea appealed to everybody that it is useless to talk about God without seeing Him, and it is impossible to talk about God after seeing Him. Why is it? Because if we have to talk about it, we have to think about it. And our mind is absolutely limited. Our words are limited. So both will not function at all. This is what is being said here. So Brahman, what Brahman is, nobody could describe. And at another place, Sri Ramakrishna says, and all our devotees must remember that one, because if you read without remembering, it is completely useless. So this question came, what is Brahman? And Sri Ramakrishna, as usual, illustrated it with a beautiful incident. We don't get it anywhere. At least I have not got it anywhere. He says, Shukadeva only looked at it. Shankaracharya only looked at it. I think not Shankara, I forget somebody, Narada perhaps. So Narada saw it from a distance and became unconscious. And Shukadeva touched the water, the ocean of Brahman, and became unconscious. Sri Shiva had just taken a thimbleful of that ocean of Brahman, Brahma Sagara, and he became unconscious. Now who is going to tell? Sri Ramakrishna is going to illustrate this one. And this has been exactly the idea that has been described in our last class. That is where we have stopped. I have quoted, Unable to think, and much less to express, both the mind and speech, that means they cannot talk anything about it. And then in the end we have seen, So Sukha and Dukha, both happiness and unhappiness. So, Papa and Punya, Dharma and Adharma, they are also manifestation of Atman only. Such an extraordinary idea. What? Even Papam, what is called sinfulness, is also an expression of Atman? Of course. But to understand it, we have to rise above this worldly reasoning. Suppose you are watching a cinema, there is a villain. Villain means always a wicked fellow, adharmic fellow, and he is trying in all his ways to kill or to harm or to maim this hero who represents Dharma, heroism and courage and skillfulness, etc. Because even if somebody is a hero and he is a stupid fellow, it is not going to work out. So, many so-called heroes are zeros. There is nothing. But we enjoy both. Why? Because we know it is all for entertainment, Anandam. Hero, if he played his part, should give us Anandam. Villain, he should give I think even more Anandam than even heroes. And heroine, this is the subject all the time. Good and evil, fight between good and evil, Kurukshetram, between Pandavas and Kauravas, etc. That is what Taittiriya Upanishad wants to say. Ubey hi eva esha ete atmanam sprunute. Ubey means what? Most of us say, I should have done that. I have not done that. I should not have done that. But I have done that. What should be done, I have not done. And what should not be done, I have done. This guilty conscience, in case of both, and we suffer from them, especially after 60 years, when a person looks back, I should have done this and that, and so many things happen. But when a person realizes God, both these he understands. This is all a Leela. The whole world, Srishti is a Leela. Stithi is a Leela. And of course, Laya. That is also Srishti, Stithi and Laya. All these are nothing but the Divine. Playing with whom? It is not cat and mouse play. The cat also is Brahman, and the mouse also is Brahman. And how does it happen? This is, of course, making a little bit of fun. So in this life, the cat tortures the mouse, rat. And then in the next life, the rat becomes the cat, and the cat becomes the mouse. And then this play is going on. Both, it is nothing but a Divine play, beautifully called Leela or Rasa. In Vaishnavism, we have this, especially in the Bengali Vaishnavism, there is something called Viraha and Milana. That is separation and union. The whole burden of Vaishnava Padavali is only this Radha and Krishna. Radha represents, in the beginning, Radha and Krishna represent Viraha. They are not able to come together. They are not able to unite. But in the end, somehow they unite together. So this Leela. After unity, what happens? Again separation will come. So this is called, one is called Srishti, another is called Laya. So the Nirguna Brahma is where for some time it remains. So this Leela goes on and on and on. That is why it is said, Srishti is Anadi. That means Leela is Anadi. So Sri Ramakrishna was telling what Brahman is. Nobody was able to tell about it. But the word uttered by Sri Ramakrishna himself, has it come from? Even if you are talking negatively about somebody, is it not a description? No. We have to understand that Brahman is indescribable. That is not a description. Only telling the truth, I am not able to know. We will never be able to know. A limited instrument can never know the unlimited. It is only within the realm. We are not talking about Brahman. We are talking about our thoughts about Brahman. Our concept of Brahman. This is one of the most important points we have to understand. Let there be a hundred schools of philosophy. Advaita, Dvaita. Do you know that even among the Advaita, there are so many schools. So there is what is called Bhattamata. Then there are schools of difference between the disciples of Shankaracharya himself. So one interprets Advaita teachings in one way. Another person interprets another way. Because this is according to the people. So what is the point I am making? The point is we cannot talk about God. Because we don't know about God. But that should not lead us to think. Should we never talk about God? Should we never read about God? The point is we must have faith that there is God. And we are coming from Him. And because we are coming, He is our father and mother. So because He is our father and mother, we are His children. And the same nature the children also will have. They will have the same nature of the Karna. That is very important. If God is divine, we are also divine. We cannot be anything. Anything made out of gold must be only gold. To think otherwise... This is an ornament. And forget the gold. Only remember the name and form. And that is stupidity for excellence. So Advaita Vedanta wants to talk. What I want to tell here is that the human mind is incapable of thinking about what is the truth about God. The true nature of God, there is only one way. That is you can become God, but you cannot describe God. You cannot even think about God. The word description always brings before our eyes one person trying to tell to another person. No. Even within ourselves. If we are talking, Oh, can Brahman be like this? Can Brahman be like that? And this is also a description. Only we are talking to ourselves. That is an impossibility. Where the mind works, that is not Brahman. But a purified mind can point out the right way. Like a signboard. And in Sanskrit this is called Arundhati Nyaya. That is a signboard. So you want to go to the temple. So you go this way and you will get the temple. Or in the airports. This is hall number. So you are going to depart. Gate number. You proceed this way. Gates 1, 2, 3, like that. Pointer. But that is not the reality. You have to go actually to the place. Once we reach, there is nobody to describe because there is no second one. And this is what Sri Ramakrishna is telling. Nobody had succeeded because the limited can never describe the unlimited. And then Vidyasagar. Very sharp. He studied Vedanta. He studied grammar. He studied Sahitya. And this Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. Swami Vivekananda used to talk about him and say the greatest man that I have most tremendous reverence is Vidyasagar. And any Indian who doesn't know the basic facts about this Ishwar person like Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar I would say he is a traitor. He is not to be called an Indian at all. We must know about our Rishis, about our saints, about our great people. Not only the spiritual people but great people. Greatness is common to everybody. Great musician, great artist, great poet, great writer, great administrator. Greatness belongs to spirituality. Where there is absence of spirituality greatness will not be there. Only 15 minutes fame will be there. Nothing else will be there. That is why one person had enlightened me almost 60 years back. So I read this article in one of our magazines. Anything that is enduring must be related with spirituality. Great architecture, great sculpting, great music, great writing, Sahitya, anything great which is ever enduring must be spiritual. That is why Vedas, Upanishads, Bible, Quran, our Bhagavatam, Ramayana, they are eternal because they are deeply related with spirituality. Not to speak of even our Upanishads here. This is what Sri Ramakrishna was. In a way, he is talking about what the Taittiriya Upanishad and not only Taittiriya Upanishad, that is what Yajnavalkya has also taught to some of the other Pandits. That means it cannot be thought about it at all. So Naiti, whatever we know, it is not there. And that also Sri Ramakrishna illustrates. Once a servant wanted to wake up his master, entered into a room which is full of darkness. He did not know. And then he went on touching. This is not my master. This is not my master. And finally, when he progressed further and touched the master, then he knows this is the master. What is the point of this story? At first, whatever we know, that has to be denied that this is not Brahma. But that should never give us the idea that it is not Brahma. We should not say our body is not Brahma, our mind is not Brahma, this world is not Brahma. There can be nothing further from truth. What does it mean? That means what I am seeing, hearing, etc., Sarvam Kalvidam Brahma. But it is not, my knowledge is not, complete knowledge of Brahma. It is only the existence part of Brahma and a bit of knowledge about Brahma is what is called a partial knowledge of Brahma. Neti neti doesn't mean there is something else existing other than Brahma. Everything is nothing but existence, knowledge and bliss only. So, what happens at the end of the neti neti once a person reaches only through this method, what remains? This is not Brahman because I am experiencing it. So, when I do not know what I can experience, that is all not Brahman. What remains? That is the instrument through which we are negating everything. That final instrument itself has to be that also is not Brahman. That means the I-ness completely becomes merged. Human words again, transactional words in Brahman and I know what is Brahman. I am Brahman. Then starts the journey back iti after neti neti iti. This is Brahman. I am Brahman is called this is Brahman. So, the first part of the negation is not to say there is something other than Brahman, other than God. But this is only a very limited finite conception of God. That is what we have to understand the scriptures properly. For that, I am quoting this one. Sri Ram Krishna heard a lot. He heard. Did he hear Upanishads? Absolutely. And he said, I cannot speak Sanskrit. I cannot read or write Sanskrit. Perhaps, he can read. But, I can understand every word I have heard so many Pandits. And we forget sometimes Sri Ram Krishna is illiterate. He was not illiterate. He has not gone formally to school. The whole nature itself has enlightened him. Like Satyakamajabala, he was enlightened by nature in the form of a bull, in the form of a fire, and in the form of two birds. And by the time he returned to his Guru, he was a fully illumined soul. And this was one of the stories of Swami Vivekananda. And he used to say, knowledge is inherent as our very nature. What is necessary is an occasion. Just like fire is always in the firewood, but friction is necessary to bring it out. So, a Guru is a friction. A matchstick is a friction. So, every event, every experience is a friction to bring out knowledge. Every experience. Then we understand something. That is an important part. So, Sri Ramakrishna's words are... Why did I speak so much about this? Sri Ramakrishna's words are nothing but pure scriptures and we have to understand them in the proper way. Having heard from Sri Ramakrishna's mouth, this Vidyasagar, who must have read all these things much earlier, he said, that is a remarkable statement. I have learned something new today. Sri Ramakrishna is very often compared to Kalidasa. What is Kalidasa's speciality? The great poet Kalidasa. It is very important for us to understand the very name Kali's Dasa, that is a child of Kali or he who has obtained the grace of Kali. Kali means Divine Mother and only she is manifesting through this instrumentality which we call Kalidasa. Mother Saraswati herself is manifesting. This is the conception that everything is God. So, wherever you see greatness, that greatness is only a partial manifestation of God. Everything is manifestation of God. Everything is manifestation of God. To understand this one, we have to go on negating. What negating? This is only partial Brahman. This is also partial Brahman. The waking is partial. The dreaming is partial. The deep sleep is partial. If we go on persisting and then one day we ourselves like pole jumper that is a beautiful illustration. So, neti neti, that is I must rise to that height. That is the first neti. Then having risen to that height near the pole, then the very pole that had helped me to rise to that height must be thrown back and then we jump over. That jumping over is called Brahmanubhuti. I am just illustrating this pole jumper's condition. So, after first neti is to take up one thought and then negate all other thoughts. The second, that very first thought with which we negated all the other thoughts, we must transcend that one also. Then only we get over the limitation. And Shri Ramakrishna is illustrating So, there he is saying Upamah Kalidasasya Bharave Artha Gaurah Dandenah Padalalityam Maghe Sandhya Trayogunah Therefore, what is called ancient poets that is most refutable, what is irrefutable are most famous poets. Bana, Magha, Dandi. So, each was famous for some speciality in literature. But Kalidasa is famous for similes. Upamah, not Upma. Upamah Kalidasasya. Ramakrishna perhaps surpasses not really. It is equivalent to Kalidasa to illustrate. So, he is going to illustrate. And this is also a parallels in the Upanishads which we will come to. Master, a man had two sons. The father sent them to a preceptor to learn the knowledge of Brahman. After a few years, they returned from their preceptor's house and bowed low before their father. So, we assume that they must have obtained knowledge of Brahman. And the father, wanting to measure the depth of their knowledge of Brahman, first questioned the elder of the two boys. My child, you have studied all the scriptures. Now tell me, what is the nature of Brahman? And the boy began to explain Brahman by reciting various texts from the Vedas. And the father did not say anything. Why did he not say anything? Because the boy at least had learnt that he had an intellectual conception of what Brahman is not like. Not only not to speak what Brahman is like. That can be heard only through what is called Swaroopalakshana. But Tatastalakshana. Srishti Stithi Laya. As the Brahma Sutras explain. So, he went on quoting various texts. And this is what I understood. And the father appreciated. Definitely. But that is not the true wisdom. This is the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is information. Wisdom is to use it at the right time, in the right way and make one's life blissful. That is called wisdom. Then he asked the younger son the same question. But the boy remained silent and stood with eyes cast down. What a beautiful description! No word escaped his lips. The father was pleased and said to him, My child, you have understood a little of Brahma. Very interesting. As far as I am concerned, I am sharing only my thoughts with you. When the father heard that means this person did not say anything. Why did he not say anything? Brahman is indescribable. He must have studied all this, understood them properly. Even that I understood Brahman is indescribable is also a thought. What Brahman is cannot be expressed in words. But the father appreciated him better than the elder son. My child, you have understood a little of Brahman. So what Brahman is cannot be expressed in words, not even in thoughts. Because remember what are words? Silent words are called thoughts and loud thoughts are called words. Many times we know that there is nobody. We are not talking to anybody else. But all the time this monkey chatter is going on within our minds 24 hours a day. Is it going on in the deep sleep? I don't know. You ask yourself that question. So this is what he is telling. Sri Ram Krishna's interaction with... So here is something I am going to tell. Sri Ram Krishna elsewhere in the gospel is telling about Rishis like Jada Bharata, Dattatreya and Shukadeva, all knowers of Brahman. After realizing Brahman, Jada Bharata and Dattatreya could give no information about it. One's high consciousness vanishes after passing into Samadhi, after attaining the knowledge of Brahman. So Ram Prasad says if you cannot attain the knowledge of Brahman yourself, O mind, take Ram Prasad with you. This is again a very interesting question. When we are reading from the gospel, this kind of sentences and this happens to be a visit to Vidya Sagar, we have to connect. There is a link there. What is the link? There is a beautiful song. So, O mind, you do not know how to cultivate this field. Fellow lies your field. You have the land, but you are not cultivating this field. If only you had cultivated, you would have gathered all the four fruits of life. What are the four fruits? Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. Everything you would have obtained. Both Shreyas, not only prayers, but also Shreyas. But it cannot be explained. So, if you cannot attain, you do everything. What do you need to do? O mind, take Ram Prasad with you. That is to say, how can Ram Prasad help? So, if Ram Prasad cannot reach Brahman, then who is the second Ram Prasad? That is surrender yourself to God. And this is what Sri Ram Krishna is telling. The mind must dissolve. This is called taking Ram Prasad. Sri Ram Krishna illustrates it very beautifully. We will come to that. After that, Ram Prasad. See, look here. This is the interpretation of Sri Ram Krishna of that particular song. If you are not able to gather all the harvest, then you take Ram Prasad. What is this Ram Prasad? Sri Ram Krishna's interpretation. That is the ego. Ego must merge. Merge where? Merge into Brahman. Only then does one attain knowledge of Brahman. Two things are implied here. One is Sharanagati means complete annihilation of the limitation. When the limitation is removed, what remains is there unlimited. That is why it is said, when we obtain any type of knowledge and we remain separate, knowledge remains separate, the object of knowledge remains also separate. The instrument through which we have obtained that knowledge, this is called Triputi Karana. The knower, the object of knowledge, the instrument of obtaining knowledge and the resultant knowledge, all these will remain completely separate from each other. But when the same person obtains the knowledge of Brahman, what is that? Merges in Brahman. Then what remains? I do not, I am not there and does Brahman there? That also only in human words, that alone remains. This is the meaning of Yato Vachoni Vartante Aprapya Manasaasam. Ram Prasad according to Sri Ram Krishna's interpretation is the ego which is cultivating Dharma, Artha and Kama. But for Moksha he should completely merge in Bhagawan. There is no other way. Only then Brahma with Brahma Eva Bhavati. Then a devotee asks, Sir, did not Shukadeva attain ultimate knowledge? Ram Krishna Some say that Shukadeva only saw and touched the ocean of Brahman but did not dive deep into it. That's why he could return and impart spiritual instruction. According to others, he returned after attaining the knowledge of Brahman in order to teach mankind. He had to narrate the Bhagavatam to Parikshit and also teach people in various ways. So God did not merge his eye altogether. His eye of knowledge was attained. So there is a beautiful incident. Today's class I will just indicate before we proceed further. This incident is clearly mentioned by Swami Shardanandaji in his great master. One day Ram Krishna told to some of his would-be sannyas and disciples Today I will unravel everything and I will describe what happens. So when the Kundalini attains the Anahata Chakra, I see everything brilliantly shining like light. Every object in this world. And then when it goes to the Kanthadesha, that is what is called at the throat center it is called Vishuddha. And then much further experience is there. Then further it reaches in between the eyebrows that is called Ajna Chakra. And then there is only a thin partition between God and myself like there is a hurricane lantern. Very thin glass is there but the glass itself is not visible but that borderline is there. So if you if a moth wants to fall into that, it will never be succeed. It will only strike against the glass and it falls down and if the glass is hot enough it may also in a way of speaking get burnt or even die. That is what happens. Now I will tell you that is to say this is the state of Savikalpa Samadhi but there is still a barrier there is still some kind of thin duality but still duality is there. Now I will unravel to you what happens. And then he entered into final stage. Of course he could not speak and when he came back I will tell you this time again he merged, again and again he tried. Then a very funny statement he makes I want to tell you everything but my mother is not allowing me to tell you. And Swami Shardaranda funnily remarks that this man is a good man, he is trying to tell us and his mother must be very wicked mother he is shutting his mouth that means she doesn't want him to tell us. Did we at that time understand that Ram Krishna was attempting to do the impossible. So it cannot be told. We will discuss further these beautiful thoughts in our next class even further. Brahman can never be expressed completely but partially yes it is possible.