Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 120 on 10-September-2024

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

We are in the chapter Visit to Eshwar Chandra Vidyasagar. In our last class we have been discussing about Vidyasagar. Put a question, is there any difference in the powers of men? And Sri Ramakrishna categorically said that not only men, in everything, big mountains, small mountains, and there are some mountains which have gold, there are some bare mountains, there are mountains where there are life-saving plants. As Hanuman was directed to go to Himalayas, find out Sanjeevani, even today nobody found out. So ants, big ants, small ants, mosquitoes, small mosquitoes, big mosquitoes, everything there is a difference is there. And all this difference is the manifestation of the Divine Mother only called Shakti. And then Sri Ramakrishna made fun, Have you grown two horns? Otherwise, why did we come to see you? Because Sri Ramakrishna was not invited by Vidyasagar. He himself got self-invitation through him, of course. Of course, Vidyasagar had agreed because he must have heard every day the famous Keshav Chandra Sen publishing about Sri Ramakrishna, quoting his teachings, etc. That is how Keshav Chandra Sen played a very important part in introducing Sri Ramakrishna to the contemporary Calcutta people and thereby to the whole world in a way of speaking. Now the topic had come that when a person attains God and then he comes back, Sri Ramakrishna calls such people Vijnanis. What type of attitude the Vijnanis have? So in the form of Sri Rama's question to Hanuman, How do you look upon me? Then that answer is a marvellous illustration. Why this attitude? Because every Jeevan Mukta has to identify, at least for transactional purpose, with this body and mind, with his or her formal body and mind. So Sri Ramakrishna connects these three attitudes with three ways of progressing in spiritual life. Really speaking, two steps of spiritual progress. One is complete identity with Brahman. So Dvaita means everything is different from everything else. Pisishta Dvaita means we are united, we are also different. Like every cell in our body is related to the body and yet the body concept is much greater. But when the spiritual progress takes place further, it is like reaching the roof in the words of Sri Ramakrishna, then I am Brahman and everything is Brahman only. But for transactional purpose, some attitudes are kept and they are called servant attitude or friend's attitude or paternal attitude or lover's attitude. So these are the things which we discussed many times of course in our last class. Now a very important teaching of Sri Ramakrishna. Every scripture categorically tells I am Brahman, you are Brahman, everything is Brahman. But why are we not able to know that fact? Not only know that fact, we do not even know that we are Brahman and we are not even bothered to know that maybe we are Brahman. So that is called because of the power of Maya. Maya, Ajnana, Avidya, Prakruti, Gunas. So many different names are there. That's what Sri Ramakrishna is trying to tell. I and mine alone is ignorance. And he elaborates a bit. I and mine, these constitute ignorance. And I is separate. Remember, behind Sri Ramakrishna's words, there is a deep meaning. The more we meditate upon them, the more meaning we derive. So I and mine. And this has been elaborately discussed by us in Mandukya Karika, what Gaudapada calls different types of identities. So the furthest identity is I am the house. Of course, in that language nobody says this is my car, this is my house. But brackets we have to understand. I am the house. I am the car. I am the wealth. I am my bank balance. Not only with inanimate objects, but this is my wife, these are my children, these are my parents, these are my friends. Even the identity. These are my enemies. All these enemies will come only when there is identity with the body and with the mind. When we are in deep sleep, there are no friends or enemies. Parents are children. So I and mine. And the first layer of agnana manifests in mine. What is that? Agnana explains my house, my wealth, my learning, my possessions. The attitude that prompts one to say such things comes of ignorance. That means manifestation of ignorance. And then what is the second one? I. And this I and mine. So in Tantric language, these are called three dwelling places of Kundalini. Muladhara, Swadhisthana and Manipura. So what do they represent? I and mine. I means eating, sex. Mine means just now what we discussed, my possessions, etc. So our first manifestation, first level of manifestation of agnana is possessions. Agnana means, remember, manifestation. Even though in language we say this is my house, for example. But if somebody does a harm to my house, then we say as if somebody had done harm to me. The house is not going to complain. The car is not going to complain. We are only complaining this person had destroyed or spoiled or broken, etc. And some people, most people, they die because of this. My son died. What your son has got to do with you? What have you got with your son? So there is a beautiful story and it is worth recollecting. I have remembered these stories many times in my talks. This happened in Mahapurush Maharaj's life. An initiated devotee lost her son. She almost went mad. She came and requested her Guru, Swami Sivananda, If I can see my son once, then I will not think about him. I will not be unhappy. That is a wrong statement because I will comment upon this upon completing the story. Strangely, Mahapurush Maharaj also said that yes, you will see your son. And one day during her meditation, her mind went to Goloka and there she saw her son playing with Bhagavan Krishna. She was extremely happy and she perhaps, we have to add in our imagination, that she never saw her son as happy as now when he was in the human body. So he was radiant with spiritual splendor. Then all her grief has disappeared. Now if somebody can see a son of somebody, our sons are somebody, but in hell, will it give happiness? So in the Mahabharata it is said Yudhishthira was extraordinarily sorrowful, very much grief-stricken, depressed. And he was asked, why? Because once my father appeared to me and said, appeared to me. I asked him. These are the Yudhishthira's words. Father, how are you? As we greet each other. No, I am not happy, my son. So Yudhishthira's father was supposed to be a very pious person, righteous person, Pandu Raja. Remember. And Pandu Raja was the son of Veda Vyasa himself. Both Dhritarashtra and Pandu were the real children of Veda Vyasa because their real fathers died without producing any children. Very horrible story this Mahabharata story. I am not happy. Where are you? I am in hell. What? You are in hell? Why are you in hell? Such a great person. Then he said, because I could not perform a great Ashwamedha Yagna, that great sacrifice, horse sacrifice. So Yudhishthira said, I have got Pitru Rina. I want to send my father to heaven. So I must do this Ashwamedha Yagna. And of course it has taken place, all those things. That is not my point. My point is, in this world nobody belongs to anybody. He himself answered Yaksha's questions and he asked Bhishma and Bhishma also said, it is ignorance to think anything belongs to anybody in this world. What happened to Yudhishthira's wisdom when the time came when he said this is my father, I am his son. Is it within the realm of Maya or not? See, through Mahabharata one can learn lots and lots of lessons. What is bondage? To think I and mine. So first level is possessions. Second level is stomach. Third level is sex. And they are represented by Moladhara, Swadhishtana and Manipura. So Ramakrishna condensed them, I and mine, into two words, Kama and Kanchana. Kanchana means mine, my wealth, my possessions. Kama means belonging to one's own body and mind, enjoying, eating, etc. What is Avidya? I and mine. And what is knowledge? You and yours, thou and thine is knowledge. On the contrary, the attitude born of knowledge is O God, thou art the master and all these things belong to thee. House, family, children, attendants, friends, all belong to you. That is a lower statement. Higher statement will be everybody is you. Everything is you. Sarvam khalo idam Brahma. And that is the goal we have to attain. And then only we will be free from all this Ajnana or bondage. Meditation on death. Next subject is Ramakrishna is advising to Ishwar Chandra Vidya Sagar and through him to each one of us, to the whole world. Not only to the present and those days, but until the next incarnation comes. And these teachings do not differ. We get it in Mahabharata also. So, what is the most surprising thing? Everyday, billions of creatures are dying and yet those who are not on death, living, they think death is never going ever to come. That is why I always insist I am okay so far. I am well so far. Next second, nobody can predict. Ramakrishna's teaching on meditation on death. What is meditation? Constant remembering is meditation. This is what he says. One should constantly remember death. Nothing will survive death. So, here also we have to understand what is sannyasa? There is a process called nyasa in every puja. That is the second step. As I mentioned many times, puja can be divided into four steps. First is purification called shuddhi. Second, renouncing our ownership of our body and mind. That is called nyasa. And if it is well done, it is called sannyasa. What is sannyasa? Sannyasa is to die forever. That is to say nothing belongs to me, neither body nor mind. Just as when a person is dead, whatever he owns previously, house, family, possessions, everything no more belongs to that person because they all go away. That is why names and cloths are changed. That's all. So, what is death? Here is Rama and he will be reborn. His name is changed. What name? Krishna. He got the name Krishna. Dress is changed. Do you think that if Krishna had dressed like Rama, any Gopi would have been attracted to him? Absolutely no. Rama's role was different. Krishna's role was different. Unfortunately, Ramakrishna's role was also different. So, one should continuously remember death. But we all know death will come. But we go on thinking it comes anytime to anybody, everybody not me. We ignore ourselves. That is what Yaksha Prashna So, this is the analogy of cloths being, Vesha being changed like actors change. Same actor acting as Krishna, acting as Rama. So, by seeing the dress, you understand that was Rama, this is Krishna and this is Ramakrishna. So, why are we born? Why is this creation? Bible gives a beautiful answer. God created a creature so that it can adore him. Very interesting teaching is there in the Gospel. From Sri Ramakrishna's own mouth, this statement comes out. He says that there was a time when I used to be very restless. If somebody did not worship me, I am so eager to be worshipped. He used to worship. But there was a time when he wants to be worshipped. Why? That bhava, daivi bhava I am the God. I am the Divine Mother. So, one of the questions if at all it comes is this. We are born. So, after hearing all this, why does God want us to be born and grow and become old and suffer what is called Shud-Urmi. Six-fold changes. Urmi means wave. Wave here means represents a change. Why are we born? So, here is to claim our birthright which is I am Brahman. To realize I am Brahman. This is called beautiful name. Five books are there. Famous books by this name. It is called Swarajya Siddhi. Attainment of one's own kingdom. That is simple words. I know who I am. So, we are born into this world to perform certain duties like the people who come from the countryside to Calcutta on business. Beautiful analogy. We come into this world. Sri Ramakrishna says there is a person. He is in a village. But he comes to a town or a city Calcutta. What for? He wants to do certain activities. Either do some duty, buy something, sell something or meet somebody. Whatever. And then once that business is over, he returns back. What does it mean? That idea that we have come from Brahman and we are born to do some business. What is that business? Really speaking from the highest point of view, there is no business. From transactional point of view to exhaust our karma phala. Anyway, it is a peculiar business. Why at all God only wants to be born as everything and wants to do, forgets willfully, consciously he becomes unconscious. And then he goes on suffering. And afterwards, I don't want to suffer. And then he does sadhana. And then he realizes. What does he realize? I was never born. I never suffered. I never wanted. That is what the famous second chapter of the Mandukya Karika. There is no sadhaka. There is no sadhana. There is no siddhi. There is no bondage. There is nothing. Everything is bhana, appearance only. Vedanta is very peculiar. We have to enjoy it. So, in gospel, one person came to Shri Ramakrishna and said, Sir, why are we suffering? And Shri Ramakrishna many times gives nice upadesha. But this time he was having a little bit of fun with that fellow. Tell me, Sir, who you are? Shri Ramakrishna knows who he is. But how does that poor fellow know who he is? So it is like that. Even funnier, one day Shri Ramakrishna was of course he was suffering at that time from throat cancer. One day somebody came and Shri Ramakrishna with a feeble voice pretended. That means he can shout when he wants. Other times feeble voice will come. So, he asked Shri, how much I am suffering? Then, it was I think Hari Maharaj, he said that, No, Sir. I see you are swimming in the ocean of bliss. And then Shri Ramakrishna changed his tone. He said, Sala Dorich, this rascal found me out. So, how do we understand? Very difficult. We have to reconcile these things and that requires meditation. So, we are born. Why? So, how to live in this world? These teachings are repeated again and again. How to live like a maid servant in a rich man's house? Ramakrishna tells, if a visitor goes to a rich man's garden, the superintendent says to him, this is our garden, this is our lake, this is our house, etc., etc. But if the superintendent is dismissed for some misdeed, he can't carry away even his mango wood chest. He sends it secretly by the gatekeeper and everybody laughs. So, these are the things. And then Shri Ramakrishna is graphically describing his observations. He was a very keen observer. Remember, he was a great imitator of human beings. He used to imitate some of the proud village pandits who want to exhibit to the illiterate villagers and how they take in the tobacco powder and then pretend to be what is called great scholars, etc., etc. After the Bhagavatam or Ramayana reading is over and they depart very proudly. I am somebody in this small village like a glow worm. He thinks I am the greatest in this world until the stars come out. And when the stars come out, they think they are the greatest. And then when the moon rises, they fail into insignificance. And when the sun rises, then the moon disappears. So, these are the comparisons. Shri Ramakrishna was a keen observer. Without that power, nobody can imitate the other person. So, Shri Ramakrishna is giving beautiful examples. God laughs on two occasions. He laughs when the physician says to the patient's mother, Don't be afraid, mother. I shall certainly cure your boy. And God laughs saying to himself, I am going to take away his life. And this man says, He will save it. There are profound meanings behind Ramakrishna's words. So, does God decide I want to kill this person? No. Again, recollect the quotation from Patanjali Rishi. So, God only is what is called like a factory manager. He distributes the wages according to how they work, what intelligence they use, etc. So, somebody is born because of Karmaphala and the person lives so long as his Karmaphala lasts. There is a beautiful saying in Hindi, you know. On every grain of rice, my name is written. That is to say, there is a certain quantity of rice I have to complete. That's why some people eat very little. And very difficult for them to kick off the body. God wants to kick him off, but there are so many grains of rice left out till he completes eating them. But there is a good health issue also. If a person eats less, then he will suffer much less. That is the fact. So, this is one example. A physician thinks he is the master, forgetting that God is the master. Forgetting that God works through one's own Karmaphala. And the second is to illustrate the whole world belongs to God. In fact, the whole world is God only. God laughs again when two brothers divide their land with a string saying to each other, this side is mine and that side is yours. He laughs and says to himself, the whole universe belongs to me. But they say, they own this portion or that portion. There is a beautiful Brahmana. Brahmana means a chapter. Every chapter in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is called a Brahmana. There is one Madho Brahmana. There is one Maitreyi Brahmana. There is one Anupravesha Brahmana. And there is one Jyotir Brahmana. So, various Brahmanas are there. But there is one Brahmana named as Antaryami Brahmana. Antaryami means indweller. So, Swami Vivekananda was very fond of quoting that he who is in the earth, who is the earth, whom the earth does not know, who from within controls the earth, he is that highest reality. So, everything we were also discussing both in our Taittiriya and Chandogya how this creation has come about. God or Atman manifests himself as the space Akasha, which further prosifies from the beyond subtlest level to the subtlest level, subtle level and still subtle level and gross level etc. So, as space, space as air, air as fire, fire as waters and waters as earth, earth as all these mountains, plants kingdom, animal kingdom which live only by eating each other. So, not only the whole world belongs to God, the world is God. That is the message we have to understand to reconcile this gospel with the Upanishads. So, that was the topic and these topics are the topics in the Upanishads and we have to remember who is the creator of Vedas or writer of the Vedas? God only. In the 15th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita I am the creator of these Vedas. That Veda means knowledge. I am knowledge. I am Chit Svarupa. But I am also the revealer of knowledge. Adi Guru. Guru Nam Guru. So, how to have this knowledge? Everything is Brahman or in simple words of Sri Ramakrishna, God Realization. He says in his five commandments, the very first commandment is the goal of life is God Realization. And then here, he is echoing Katopanishad. Is it possible to know God through reasoning, rationality, logic? Is it possible? No. Katopanishad. One cannot realize Brahman through reasoning because reasoning functions only in two known objects. For example, is this cloth better or is the other cloth better? Now we must have both the objects. Then objectively we measure their good points or bad points and one stands out, this is better than that. So, logic cannot be carried on unless we know both objects and God is not known to us and in fact, we also don't know about the world. Why does the scripture speak about the nature of the world? Because we do not know. What do we know about the world? It is God. What do we know about God? First of all, God doesn't exist and secondly, world is God. This is called ajnana. So, Ramakrishna wants to know and he is making, declaring the Katopanishad statement that is rephrasing. Can one know God through reasoning? That means no. Be his servant. Surrender yourself to him and then pray to him. What happens when we surrender, serve and then pray to him? Ramakrishna gives a very beautiful example. A small child wants to purchase a lollipop and it costs one paisa. So, the vendor is jingling his bells and tempting the child. The poor child wants to eat. It is very colourful also. So, he says, Mom, give me one paisa. She says, No. Your father asked me not to give you. Then he weeps. He falls at her feet, catches hold of her feet and starts weeping. That is what I call Brahmastra. Once this Brahmastra is discharged, no person on earth including God can withstand. Immediately the mother takes out from her edge of the sari and throws and says, Here get out of this place. And then the child doesn't hear that word. Catches hold of it, forgets mother, forgets everything, runs to the vendor. So, this is Sarva Dharma Parityajyam Aami Kamsharanam Raja Aham Tva Sarva Paapey Bhiyo Moksha Ishyami Mahasuchar. That is the message of every Avatar, every Acharya. To the contrary, they go on telling, You follow me. Of course, every Acharya tells that you surrender to God only. But they play so much of extra torturing, everything they do it. So, Shri Ram Krishna now turned his attention directly to Vidya Sagar and with a smile Well, what is your attitude? That means, do you think you are a servant of God? You are a friend of God? You are a child of God? Or you are a lover of God? At the beginning, we made the introduction that Vidya Sagar used to say I don't want to talk about God. So, very diplomatically, he says smiling, Someday, I shall confide it to you, Allah. This is another way of saying I don't want to talk about it. Once somebody asked him, How is it that you are not talking about God? He gave various replies. But one of the replies is Whatever I talk about God falls far short of what I want to convey. So, he did not. But he behaved as he used to say It is not important to think that God is like this or godless. But if somebody sincerely believes in God, then he should behave in such a way that everybody will say he is God on earth. So, he used to emphasize more on the character of the human being rather than all these what is called empty words like God, by God etc. And then, Sri Ram Krishna also laughs with him because he knows the inside of everybody including Vidya Sagar God cannot be realized through mere scholarly reasoning. And then, something happens. Intoxicated with divine love, the master sang Remember, before I go to that poem, we have to remember that when Sri Ram Krishna used to sing, several things used to happen. The first thing, he becomes one with the bhava, with the mood, with the feeling of that particular song, highlighting the meaning of that song. Secondly, he used to uplift everybody around him. At least temporarily, they used to, their minds used to rise, not as high as his, but to a great level, giving a glimpse as it were, far away glimpse that there is something mysterious and every mystic proves that one points out mysterious. That is why they are called mystics. That means if there is something in mist, you cannot see it completely. And yet you cannot also say I don't see anything. Indescribable. That is what he wants to convey. This is what Taittiriya Upanishad wants to convey and this is what Sri Ram Krishna wants to convey. This is what everybody wants to, every scripture, every saint, every sage wants to convey. What does the Taittiriya Upanishad say? And as I mentioned earlier, when we are singing the Vesper song, that is the idea. And it is rendered by a great, I think it is Ram Prasad, who can understand what is the nature of Mother Kali. And this is the English translation. So if you have a chance, you can listen who is there that can understand what Mother Kali is. Even the six darshanas, darshana means schools of philosophy, are powerless to reveal her. It is she, the scriptures say, that is the inner self of the yogi who in self discovers all his joy. She, that of her own sweet will, inhabits every living thing. The macrocosm and microcosm rest in the mother's womb. Now do you see how vast it is in the Muladhara? The yogi meditates on her. And in the Sahasrara, who but Shiva has beheld her as she really is within the lotus wilderness she sports besides her mate, the swan. When a man aspires to understand her, Ram Prasad must smile. To think of knowing her, he says, is quite as laughable as to imagine one can swim across the boundless sea. But while my mind has understood, alas, my heart has not. Though but a dwarf, it still would strive to make a captive of the moon. Continuing, the master said, Did you notice the macrocosm and the macrocosm and the microcosm rest in the mother's womb? Now do you see how vast it is? Again, the poet says, even the six darshanas are powerless to reveal her. She cannot be realized by means of mere scholarship. Let us recollect. Ram Krishna used to say that mere scholars are like vultures soaring in the sky high above, but their attention is completely fixed on rotting carcasses below. Then, how to realize? She can't be realized by scholarship, and that is what naisa tarkenam atirapaneya. Tarka means profound scholarship, study and mastery of the scriptures. That is what implied even the six schools of philosophy. That means one may study, master all the six schools of philosophy, but it is not possible to realize it. And then Ram Krishna says, how to realize? Because it is very easy to deny. This will not show you. That will not show you. This path is not right path. Fine, but is there a path you know of? Yes. And that is what he says. Ram Krishna's emphasis on faith and devotion. One must have faith and love. And then Ram Krishna illustrates. That is why it is said Ram Krishna is greater than Kalidasa as far as similes are concerned. Kalidasa is very popular for his, famous for his similes. Upamaha Kalidasa Sya. Ram Krishna continues. Let me tell you how powerful faith is. And then he narrates a beautiful story of which we must have read. A man was about to cross the sea from Ceylon to India. Ebeshna said to him the thing, tie this thing in a corner of your wearing cloth and you will cross the sea easily, safely. Then the story, I am not reading the story, but I will just tell in my own words. And the man was very happy because wherever he was looking he was seeing demons slurping their tongues against their mouth. Their mouths were watering. So Ebeshna understood it. And then immediately he protected him for one night and then he said to him you just tie this one, never look at it and then you just walk across and you will reach safely India. Where was Ebeshna? He was in Sri Lanka. So he started walking. But you know skeptics, non-believers, what happens? So after some time curiosity overcame. There is a saying in English, curiosity killed the cat. So like that curiosity had overcome him. What did he do? He wanted to see what is that most wonderful thing by the power of which I am able to walk on waters and if something like that happens to us also, we will be also wondering. That means see, here is something to be, it is not man's faith. It is Ebeshna's faith. If I tie this to this man he will walk safely. Of course the man must have faith in Ebeshna but he doesn't have the intellect to understand it. So midway, mid-sea he opened a small piece of paper. On it was written only the name Rama. Only this much. That means he lost his faith. The moment he lost his faith and immediately he sank. So faith is the raft which can carry us to the other shore safely. That is why Sri Ram Krishna used to say, if a man has acquired faith, he has acquired everything, he has achieved everything. And Sri Ram Krishna continues and now and then he also gives a little bit of fun. Sri Ram Krishna continues. There is a popular saying that Hanuman jumped over Desi through his faith in Rama's name but Rama himself had to build a bridge. If a man has faith in God, then he need not be afraid. Though he may have committed sin, nay, the vilest sin. And there is a beautiful song in Bengali and this is what Sri Ram Krishna through illustration, through songs, he wants to imprint deeply these teachings, precious jewels in the hearts of men and we get them only through the books nowadays. So there is a beautiful song illustrating the power of faith and that goes like this. Ami Durga Durga Durga If I utter the word Durga Durga Durga and then die how you are not going to liberate me, save me. We will see in the end who will win. That is the faith. If I utter Durga Durga Durga definitely it will save you from many things. If mother can save us from samsara sagra what is a little bit of this body, this mind and other things. It is nothing. So here goes the English translation of this song. Ami Durga Durga Durga bole jodi mori ma aakhire kaimone na tharao If only I can pass away repeating Durga's name how canst thou then, O blessed one withhold from me deliverance wretched though I may be. You see, very interesting. Now and then I will be inserting these comments because if a Gnani if a person is a Gnani he need not utter Durga Durga Durga. He knows that he is Brahman himself. But if a person is a wretched person but he has got faith. Faith means I know I am weak but I know you are my mother and I know even if I don't remember you like a child baby doesn't remember when to get up, when to go to toilet etc. But mother will be making arrangements for the baby until he can do it himself. So if only I can pass away repeating Durga's name how canst thou then O blessed one withhold from me deliverance wretched though I may be. Master continued faith and devotion. One realizes God easily through devotion. He is grasped through ecstasy of love. And then with these words the Master sang again. How are you trying O my mind to know the nature of God? You are groping like a mad man locked in a dark room. He means God is grasped through ecstatic love. How can you fathom him without it? Only through affirmation never negation can you know him. Neither through Veda nor through Tantra nor the six Darshanas. It is in love's elixir only that he delights. O mind he dwells in the bodies in most depths in everlasting joy and for that love the mighty yogis practice yoga from age to age from yoga to yoga. When love awakens the Lord like a magnet draws to him the soul. He it is says Ram Prasad that I approach as mother but must I give away the secret here in the marketplace from the hints I have given. O mind guess what that being is. There are two beautiful sentiments here. When love awakens the Lord like a magnet draws to him the soul. Ram Krishna comments elsewhere not here. When a devotee acquires a devotee is one only after he acquires devotion he says that very devotion draws the Lord. That means who is drawing the Lord? It is only a devotee now who is drawing the Lord. Earlier Lord was the magnet and the devotee is the needle. Now the devotee is the magnet and then God is like the needle. This beautiful concept Parasparam Bhavayantaha is expressed in Sufi teachings which you must be getting every day in such crystal clear language and then for this love only the mighty yogis practice yoga from age to age and when love awakens the Lord like a mighty magnet draws to him the soul and then what is the second point he that is Brahman says Ram Prasad that I approach his mother. So when I say when I call Ma I am not talking about any other being but I am only talking about God talking about Brahman the supreme reality and then what happens while singing the master went into Samadhi. He was seated on the bench facing west. The palms of his hands joined together his body erect and motionless. Everyone watched him expectantly. Now what happened? Everybody as I said earlier everybody is lifted up and Vidyasagar must have been extraordinarily fortunate because first he did not come to meet Sri Ram Krishna. Sri Ram Krishna went to meet him. Definitely there was some great quality because of which God was drawn to him. Vidyasagar too was speechless and could not take his eyes from the master. That means perhaps this is the first time Vidyasagar had seen Sri Ram Krishna that is definite and this is the first time Vidyasagar witnessed what it is called to sing. Remember Sri Ram Krishna was not only a singer. He was a superb singer. Gandharva Nindita Kantha and even Totapuri a hard dry Vedantin he was. He used to shed tears he could not control Ek Eare Ek Eare that means he was unable to control and Vidyasagar too must have been however skeptical he might show outwardly. He was a great lover. He used to love his mother so much. So once we love somebody we understand what is God's love because once you eat a sweet you know what every sweet tastes like. So he was speechless because not only because his sight was extraordinary very few people have seen this kind of sight but he might be speechless also because of the uplifted mind. His mind must have been uplifted far beyond his normal capacities and then everybody was silent. After a time Ram Krishna showed signs of regaining the normal state he drew a deep breath and said with a smile the means of realizing God are ecstasy of love and devotion that is one must love God he who is Brahman is here addressed as the mother. He it is says Ram Krishna. This is the explanation of Ram Krishna of that song that I approach as mother but must I give away the secret here in the marketplace means in the public from the hints I have given. Oh mind guess who that being is and who is that being. Naturally that question comes to us that is what Ram Krishna is telling nature of Brahman. Ram Krishna's own commentary on this song Ram Prasad asks the mind only to guess the nature of God he wishes it to understand that what is called Brahman in the Vedas is addressed by him as the mother. We also have to extrapolate but when Ram Krishna used to call my mother he is only addressing Brahman and Krishna clearly he said what you call Brahman I call mother and then he continues he who is attributeless also has attributes he who is Brahman is also Shakti. When thought of as inactive he is called Brahman and when thought of as the creator, preserver and destroyer he is called the primordial energy Kali. Beautiful commentary primordial energy means Kali Kali, the very word Kali, Kala deified and feminized that is called Kali. That's why worship of Kali is worship of Kala. Worship of Kala means creation sustenance, resolution everything takes place only in time. Birth growth, death everything takes place only in time. That is why another name for time is death or another name for death is time only. So when we talk of how Brahman and Shakti are identical like fire and its power to burn. When we talk of fire we automatically mean also its power to burn again the fire's power to burn implies the fire itself. If you accept the one you must accept the other Brahman alone is addressed as the mother. This is because a mother is an object of great love. One is able to realize God just through love, ecstasy of feeling, devotion, love and faith. These are the means and then he breaks into another song listen to a song and this particular passage is full of meaning which I would like to dwell upon it at some length in our next class. May Ramakrishna Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti Jai Ramakrishna