Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 127 on 17-December-2024

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

OM JANANIM SHARADAAM DEVIM RAMAKRISHNAM JAGAD GURUM AADHA PADME TAYO SHRITVA PRANAMAMI MUHUR MUHUR Sri Ramakrishna always gives beautiful analogies to make it easier for us to understand what he is talking about. And earlier we have seen a servant wants to come into touch with his master, so he enters into a dark room and goes on saying this is not the master, whatever touches, until he touches the master and then says iti iti, this is the master. This famous methodology in Advaita Vedanta is called Neti Neti. It doesn't really matter. By the path of iti iti, that means the path of devotion and Neti Neti, the path of Jnana Marga, both reach the same goal. But always what we need to keep in mind, progress is not measured by how much of spiritual practices we are acquiring, but how many spiritual qualities we are acquiring. The whole purpose of the world seems to be only a gymnasium so that we can acquire spiritual qualities and japa, dhyana, studies, swadhyaya, etc. are meant only to help us to acquire these qualities. What is the acquisition of spiritual qualities? It is transforming our life or even better, approaching God nearer and nearer or even better, gradually identifying ourselves with God. And this is what Sri Ram Krishna is telling through this analogy of the servant touching in a dark room everything and saying this is not what I want and finally he touches the master. It doesn't matter which path we undertake. Important point always we have to remember is transformation of our life which means acquiring spiritual qualities. Many people I have experienced think they are progressing spiritually because they are practicing spiritual disciplines more and more. For example, more japa, more puja, more recitation of scriptures, etc. They are meant only as upakaranas, instruments. If we have the instruments, but if we do not transform ourselves, it is practically useless. Simple example I will give you. Maybe a person has got excellent kitchen and equipment and he can also be an expert cook. So he prepares a marvelous dish, but if he doesn't eat or even after eating he cannot digest and then becomes stronger, healthier, then all this is totally useless. So spiritual practices are very important to acquire these qualities. That means another example I will give you. Suppose there is a rose. It is small, but we come across nowadays especially hybrid hybridization is taking place. They make a perfect rose, much bigger, not necessarily huge, but much bigger, much more beautiful looking, multi-layered petals that is far superior, color is wonderful, but if they can add beautiful fragrance that is the best rose. So these qualities are improving the rose's bigness, perfect color, perfect formation and fragrance. And incidentally, this is not my analogy, this is what in the Bhashyams of Shankaracharya, especially in the Chhandogya, sorry, this Taittiriya itself in the second chapter, Brahmanandavalli, Neelam, Utpalam, Sugandhi, that is a lily and it is of blue color and it is big and it is fragrant and that is what we all want to develop. And externally, instrumentally, we are developing these things. The endeavor of all the sciences, whether it is cooking science or computer science or spatial science, they are trying to improve the instruments, but the very purpose for which we are improving and we are making these things. They are not bringing any transformation. On the contrary, if we look at the world, the world, the situation in the world is becoming worse and worse as our knowledge is increasing abundantly, greatly. That is why all this transformation, inner transformation, when it doesn't take place, outer transformation takes place and outer transformation will not be for good. Only when the man becomes better, outer transformation also becomes better. A simple example from the life of Sri Ramakrishna. Once Sri Ramakrishna was taken by Mathur Babu to his estate. He had a big estate in Bihar and at that time a terrible famine was going on for 2-3 years and people were dying in droves. First animals will die, then human beings will die. And if anybody had studied the 1943 famine created by the British Raj itself, how many millions of people in Bengal had died in such horrible ways. They sold themselves, men and women, all because of what? Because of our stupidity. There was no inner transformation and consequently there was no outer transformation. What do I mean? We have even now enough resources to make ourselves one of the best countries in the whole world. The huge Ganges that is flowing in the Bengal, it could have created tremendous amount of food material everywhere. But what were people doing? They were clinging only to their own 5000 year old agricultural practices. Whereas during the same period, let us look at the western worlds, how they were producing, overproducing food. Anyway, the point I wanted to make is that God has given enough resources to all of us and outer transformation should come as a sequence of inner transformation. Otherwise, it is highly dangerous. Any external manifestation, expansion without corresponding inner transformation is not only neutral but it is terribly disastrous. All the knowledge through which we have developed such horrible instruments like the modern fighter jets, drones now and in every field of life is being mercilessly misused by what we call self-interested people. And the amount of money we are spending on it, if only we can direct it towards the welfare of few people, the world would have been vastly superior. But such doesn't seem to be the Divine Mother's will, whatever we have to say. Anyway, what Sri Ramakrishna wants to say here is that spiritual practices are very good but practice itself should aim at transforming ourselves like however good, however effective the medicines are. But the medicines have to be taken, a disease has to be tackled and health should be improved. That is the real result of any type of treatment. Why not apply the same thing to spiritual medication also? Sri Ramakrishna continues, he wants to distinguish what is the difference between a Jnani and a Vijnani. Interestingly, in the Taittiriya Upanishad, in the second chapter which I just now referred as, it is called Brahmavalli, Anandavalli are combined together, Brahmanandavalli. So, according to Shankaracharya, Jnana and Vijnana, both have got special meanings. A Jnani is one who has got general information, a Vijnani is Visesha Jnana. Of course, in the Upanishads, it means spiritual knowledge. Primarily, it means according to Advaita tradition, scriptural understanding because we can get the information about God, about the other world, life after death, etc. only from the scriptures. Sri Ramakrishna is talking now about a Jnani. According to him, a Jnani is one who completely has faith in God and is making best efforts, is steadily progressing in spiritual life but a Vijnani is one who is best among the Jnanis. He directly experienced God but even that word experienced is applicable only in the world. Once I experienced a beautiful scenery, once I experienced a beautiful dish, very tasty dish, we are talking about the past tense. But a person who sees God doesn't say I saw God and that was a past event. Never like that. In the case of God, it is an ever-present experience. I see God, not I saw God or I am going to see God. I see God all the time and no one else is there excepting God. And such a person is called Vijnani. A Jnani is still to progress but among the Jnanis, some people have too much of intimacy. That means Sarvatra Brahma Darshanam. So Sri Ramakrishna says it is quite a different thing when one talks to the master intimately, when one knows God very intimately through love and devotion. A perfected soul has undoubtedly attained God but a supremely perfect has known God very intimately. So even among those who had visions of God, there are two categories, lower and higher. In fact, our scriptures make three categories. Brahmavit, Brahmavit Taraha, Brahmavit Tamaha. What is called superlative degrees are employed here. Sri Ramakrishna is talking. People like Sri Ramakrishna, Avataras are these special Vijnanis. They can go inside, they can come outside and they are very intimate. What does it mean? Not like two friends being very intimate. No. Intimate means that they practically are each other. There is no curtain, no limitation between them. If Sri Ramakrishna speaks, it is God speaking. And when God speaks, it is Sri Ramakrishna speaking. That is what we need to understand. So here Sri Ramakrishna's words, we have to understand. We cannot become Vijnanis just because we wish to become Vijnanis. In this connection, I remember the example of Mahapurusha Maharaj. You know, in the Ramakrishna order, we have got this faith that whenever God incarnates, He comes along with some intimate disciples and they will always come. He has got a crockery of intimates. So sometimes He chooses some of them whenever He incarnates, not all of them. For example, Jesus Christ had twelve disciples. Of them, two disciples came along with Sri Ramakrishna because the source of the incarnations is exactly the same. That is why Sri Ramakrishna had declared, He who was Rama, He who was Krishna, but don't stop there. He who was Buddha, He who was Jesus, it is all because the same special power of God puts on different dresses and is known as Rama, Krishna, Christ, Buddha, etc. But every time, the power will not be the same. This is something so marvellous. We can only get this intimation from the Puranas. That is why Krishna is called Poornavatar. Why? Because He can be an ideal for any type of person. So Krishna is an ideal, an ideal lover, an ideal husband, an ideal friend, an ideal parent, an ideal disciple, an ideal teacher, an ideal warrior. Anyway, since we are talking, we have to enjoy this Leela of Sri Ramakrishna. Sometimes we can refer to other Leelas of other incarnations. So if we take to Bhagavatam, Sri Krishna, after killing Kamsa, etc., late in life, because exactly like Sri Ramakrishna, he skipped all the school, used to play with male companions, but Sri Krishna had no such discrimination. Male, female, everybody is completely accepted. And if one is female, much, much better than any males. But he used to sport both with the Gopas as well as Gopis also. So suddenly his parents were released and then they understood our child did not go through the school. We don't get any story of Sri Krishna and Balarama going to school at any time. Then later on, they were sent to Guru Sandipani. That is where this story of Kuchela, etc., we get. Anyway, what I am trying to tell, Sandipani knew who Sri Krishna was. He said, Lord, You are the creator of the Vedas and You are the embodiment of the Vedas. And that is why in the 15th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, we get Sri Krishna declaring unilaterally, I am the writer or creator of the Vedas and I am the knower of the Vedas. So Sandipani said, it is redundant that you will have to sit under my feet and then learn. Then Krishna seems to have replied, No, I have to fulfill the normal injunctions. Otherwise, if I don't go to school, then everybody will also follow me excellently, very eagerly and I will be the great ideal. So I have to accept it. Anyway, it is a beautiful story. Sri Krishna is called Poornavatara. Why? The animals loved Him. When He used to take the animals to graze, they used to look longingly at Him. When Krishna is near, He said He loved nature. That is why even the worship of Govardhana Parvatha is part of that holistic attitude. Why are we worshipping Indra and others? They are remote Gods. But the nearest God is this Govardhana. It is giving us grass for the animals, food fodder for the animals and sweetest fruits for all of us. The point I wanted to highlight is this. When Sri Krishna, wherever, suppose at noon, is sitting there under a tree and even unseasonally, if it is a mango tree, at the time of Krishna, there was no mango tree which will yield sour mangoes or Andhra Avakaya. It will only yield the sweetest. And when He sits under any tree, that tree voluntarily sheds all the fruits upon Him. And this is proved by Russian scientists and by many other people, what we call plant kingdom. Like animal kingdom, they have their own language and they can respond to the love and care given. Many times I have cited the example and that is why sometimes we call people, whatever they touch, I mean whatever vegetables or flowers they touch, they are called green fingers. And when some people after that touch the same and they will instantaneously dry up and then die. That means they have also consciousness, they also expect love, trust, friendship. This is well known. Now what was the point? Point was Sri Krishna was a perfect lover of nature. He never wanted to hurt or harm anything. So how many avataras we get? Did you get from Sri Rama? So he was starving, he has to go in the Dandakaranya for hunting. Hunting means what? Animals are coming, lovingly coming, Oh you kill me, you kill me, I am a great bhakta of yours. Did you ever get any such information in the Ramayana? They used to run away. But when Krishna used it to go, the flowers, the fruits, the honey bees, the entire nature becomes absorbed in thinking about God. Anyway these are the lessons we have to learn from the Bhagavatam. That is why he is called Poornavatar. Only one example I want to tell you that supposing you ask Sri Rama, You come Sri Rama, you come, Sri Krishna invites him because he was the Poornavatar to Krishna. Here nice ladies are there, very beautiful. Let us have one what is called dancing party on the banks of the Yamuna. What do you think will be the response of Sri Rama for that? He cannot do many things. That is why Sri Rama as an avatar is only a partial avatar, not Poornavatar. Small children, Sri Krishna will love. Small cows, Sri Krishna loves. And big cows, Sri Krishna loves. Just ask one question, whom did not Sri Krishna love? Everybody loved Sri Krishna. That is why Krishna is called Poornavatar. So even among avatars there are differences. So even among the Jnanis there are differences. And what is the difference? We have seen earlier when Vidyasagar had asked this question, Sri Ramakrishna replies, Did you grow two horns that we have come all the way to see you? Because the glory of Mahamaya is more manifest in you in the form of many wonderful qualities. You are not only Vidyasagra, you are also a Dayasagra. So what is our point? That spiritual practices must develop spiritual qualities. We should never judge our spiritual progress by how much time we are devoting to spiritual practices. But what is the result? Just like we should never say my doctor is a great doctor and he knows many wonderful medicines. That is not the criteria. Criteria would be how much am I being cured of my disease? How much health am I regaining? And the more effective in my transformation? And to that extent the physician, whoever it may be, Ayurvedic, Allopathic, Homeopathic or anything great. By the results we judge. That's what Jesus Christ said once. He was very hungry and he wanted to eat and the tree has no fruits and he cursed it. Your life is useless because when we want something to eat and you cannot supply it. The purpose of your very existence is completely useless. So this is called practical Vedanta. So just as there are differences in human beings, there are differences in insects, in birds, in everything. In mountains, in rivers, in everything. So there is also a difference between knowers of Brahman. Brahmavit is the lowest. Brahmavitaraha is a little better. Brahmavitamaha is the best. And such people, they are called the Vijnanis. Not only that, power also is different. So even some liberated souls, they are not much of an inspiration to most people. I am only quoting from the Gospel and the life of Sri Ramakrishna. So many great spiritual personages started visiting Dakshineshwar. And one day a terribly mad cap had come to Dakshineshwar. And Sri Ramakrishna instantaneously realized he was a great soul. And such was his attire, the dress, the hair and then stinking maybe also. So even beggars refused to share the food from the refuge heap. Then they were being served food. Then he had no option but to go to the refuge heap where past food, maybe previous nights or some other food was thrown out. And by tons of food was used to be prepared by Rani Rasmani at that time. Only he had to eat, picking up from the refuge heap which was actually giving plenty of food. So this mad cap put one hand on one dog and then the dog did not mind. He did not mind. So both were eating from the same refuge heap. But Sri Ramakrishna recognized him and told the same thing to Hridu, his nephew. But when the same sadhu came to the temple and sang a hymn to the Divine Mother, Sri Ramakrishna felt. Nobody else had felt. This was the only special experience of Sri Ramakrishna. That mother was so pleased. The whole temple was shaking when he was hymning, doing stotram of the Divine Mother. Anyway, there are differences even in the incarnations of God. That is why Swami Vekananda was forced spontaneously in Navagopal Ghosh's house who constructed a new shrine. From Swami Vekananda's mouth had spontaneously come out this pranama mantra. Even Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was considered as an incarnation of God. In fact, Sri Ramakrishna was considered as a reincarnation of Chaitanya and Nityananda in one body. But Sri Ramakrishna was much more. He was a perfect Christian. He was a perfect Muslim. He was a perfect Buddhist. He was a perfect Hindu. He was a perfect Jnani, perfect Bhakta, perfect Yogi, perfect Karma Yogi. When we study the life of Sri Ramakrishna, we do not pay so much of attention to it. So many people when they want to light, they take a match and waste so many matches. But if Sri Ramakrishna strikes once perfectly, the very first match catches fire and the work is finished. What is the secret? The secret is he pays his full attention. Such a perfect Karma Yogi never existed. That is why Swami Vivekananda hymns Him in the Khandana. Pranarpana Jagata Tarana Krintana Kali Dor. From the very birth itself is for the service of this humanity. Krintana Kali Dor. He wants to break the bondage of the Kali. Sri Ramakrishna had offered his entire life at the feet of the Divine Mother. For the good of the world. An Avatar always comes only. So this is what Sri Ramakrishna many times said in the Gospel. We come across this distinction between a mere Jnani and a Vignani. So whenever we come across this word Vignani, we have to remember what we discussed today. Then M had a question. When one sees God, does one see Him with these eyes? It is the question more or less from our behalf. So just as we see any object in this world, do we see God? First I will give you a small explanation. No, it is not like seeing any object. Because the first fundamental principle of Vedanta is whatever we see, hear, taste, touch or smell is not me. If we apply this rule, if I see God, I am not God. And whom do we see? Something other than me. That is not the Advaitic vision. This is Dvaitic vision. What is Dvaitic vision? Worldly experience. Dvaita means, remember always, it is world. Dvaita means Mithya. Dvaita means Maya. Dvaita means bondage. Dvaita means finiteness. So with these eyes, can we see? And the same question, probably meaning the same, Arjuna asked Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. I want to see you. Then Sri Krishna's reply was also the same. He says, you will not be able to see me with these present eyes that you are having. That is why, I will give you divine eyes. So if you put on the black specs, you see everything as black. And they say, if anybody has got jaundice, then everything appears to be yellow. That is why a young man, so he is in his full youthful vigour, whenever he looks at a woman, she looks in a completely totally different way. When a greedy businessman looks at anything, that is why it is said, you know, this is some quotation that comes somewhere. So a few people were sitting and a buffalo was going on the road. So there was this person who used to make shoes, shoemakers we call it. And then he is looking at that buffalo. How was he looking? Oh, how much skin can I get, leather can I get from this buffalo? And there was a Brahmana sitting there. And he is looking, how much milk does this cow give, so that from the milk I can make ghee, curds and every product that a cow gives or a buffalo gives, cow is very useful for yajnas and yagas. So he is calculating, a farmer who has a big family and he wants some cows for feeding his children or for his morning bed coffee or whatever. He looks for the cow which gives the best milk. So like that, every person. Supposing there is somebody who is an eater of beef. When he is looking at the buffalo, how many kgs of juicy meat I can get from this same buffalo or same cow. So you see, all our visions are quite different. A young man looks at the world in one way, parents look at the children in one way, a baby looks at the world in another way and a Vedanti, I mean the fellow who lost all his teeth, he looks at the same world in a different way. When a fellow suffering from romantic problems in his old age, unable to move from his bed, his concept or his vision of the world is totally different. So every changing circumstance dictates what type of vision we can have. When we are hungry, look one way. When you are thirsty, look another way. When you are angry, look your whole world has become an angry world. This is the most important thing for us to understand. So when M put this question, Sairam Krishna is answering, No, God cannot be seen with his physical eyes. In what eyes? Then Sairam Krishna is not telling. Elsewhere he said, but God can be seen only with God's eyes. That brings to me, many times people question that even non-believers in God, even murderers, thieves, pickpockets, wicked people, these anti-social elements, if they die in Kashi, they get Mukti. How can God give? The simple answer is, in our eyes, all these differentiations exist. But in the eyes of Shiva, everybody is Shivoham, Shivoham. So we forget about this, Shiva is God and therefore He can see only in His own. Even if He wants to see like ourselves, He will not be able to see. Just as we cannot see how He sees, He cannot also see how we see. So this is what He says, God cannot be seen with His physical eyes. In the course of spiritual discipline, one gets a love body endowed with love eyes, love ears and so on. One sees God with those love eyes. One hears the voice of God with those love ears. But this is not possible without intense love of God. One sees God alone everywhere when one loves Him with great intensity. We have a beautiful saying in Telugu language, Kaaki Pilla Kaaki Ki Muddu. So a mother crow hatches a young one and it loves it. It dies in the process of protecting it if enemies attack. The crows simply peck the enemies. Sometimes they die also. We know there is a beautiful film that had come, The March of the Penguins. How the females after giving birth, they become starving almost because for months together they have not eaten food. So they transform the chick or rather the egg to the father's legs in that intensely freezing cold. And they have to walk hundreds of miles to the sea and gorge themselves with food so that they can feed the chick and then maybe their husbands also and then walk back and many many of them go to death because there are other prey animals which are waiting for this kind of mothers while coming back. If we observe closely the nature, we can get lot of lessons, no doubt about it. And in the Bhagavatam, there is the story of Avadhuta whose Gurus, 24 Gurus were all mostly non-human beings only including the earth, the air, the water, the fire and the space, etc. Anyway, so Sri Ram Krishna gives this example. It is like a person with jaundice. Whatever he sees, everything appears to be yellow. Then one feels, what does this person who puts on the specs of God, what does he say? Verily, I am verily He. I am He. Aham Brahmasmi. One who thinks of God day and night beholds Him everywhere. It is like a man. Then Sri Ram Krishna is continuing. Beautiful analysis will come. Sri Ram Krishna is further continuing his talk. It is like a man seeing flames on all sides after he has gazed fixedly at one flame for some time. You can experiment. So you light up a candle and fixedly look at it for some time and then you try to look anywhere, you will see flames everywhere. This is a normal psychological condition. Sri Ram Krishna was continuing with this analogy. And then M was listening. What was he talking? But that is not the real flame flashed through M's mind. See, even though he was so fortunate to be with Sri Ram Krishna, not trying to understand what Sri Ram Krishna is really meaning, these doubts, if we are there, probably we will go to sleep. Anyway, but that is not the real flame. He did not speak out. He was only thinking like that. Sri Ram Krishna who could read a man's inmost thought said, He says, Yes, that is true. What you thought is absolutely right with regard to external objects. But one does not lose consciousness by thinking of Him who is all spirit, all consciousness. By thinking of consciousness, one does not lose consciousness. Because that is the very nature of consciousness. Chaitanya. And then Sri Ram Krishna, he made a little bit light remark. There was one Brahma devotee. His name was called Sivanath. And Sivanath visited Sri Ram Krishna many times. Sri Ram Krishna appreciated Sivanath very much. But there came a time when Sivanath started criticizing, looking at Sri Ram Krishna. And he once made a remark, Sri Ram Krishna was in a very high spiritual state when I first met him. Later on, he seems to have lost his high spiritual state. It is like a village idiot trying to pass remarks on Shakespeare or Kalidasa. It is like that. So Sri Ram Krishna, he cannot forget this one. He is even mentioning, Sivanath once remarked that too much thinking about God confounds the brain. Thereupon, in the presence of Sri Ram Krishna, he uttered these words. Sri Ram Krishna is not one who lets it go. Not because he wants to criticize and confront. He wants to enlighten. That is his only way. Whether Sivanath really wants to listen or not is immaterial. But we are listening to these words. We will get the benefit. Thereupon, I said to him, How can one become unconscious by thinking of consciousness? It is a profound statement. That is to say, many people say this person is thinking about God and he was thinking too much about God and then he became mad. It is possible. But what do we become when we think of madness? When we think of madness, we become mad. When we think of jealousy, then we become jealous. When we think of food, then we become foodie. That is possible in this material world. But with regard to God, if I think of God, I will become God. And M, immediately he understands. Yes, sir. I realize that. It is not like thinking of an unreal object. How can a man lose his intelligence? Here, intelligence means consciousness. If he always fixes his mind on Him whose very nature is eternal intelligence. There is a beautiful, marvellous statement by Shankara. So, what is called Atman, which is another name for Purna Chaitanya. So, So, consciousness can never lose consciousness. Consciousness is eternal. Why? Because, consciousness is not an attribute. Consciousness is the very nature of God. This is what, that remark, Shri Ramakrishna is telling only, repeating only, Upanishadic statements, but in simple, plain language. This is what he is telling. And M understood by the grace of Shri Ramakrishna. And Shri Ramakrishna was pleased with that. And then he says, with pleasure, it is through God's grace that you have understood that. Every statement that is issued from the mouth of Shri Ramakrishna is only a statement from God. Or you can say Divine Mother. So, what he is telling, Dhiyo Yonaha Prachodayat. Unless the Divine Mother bestows that Medha, that Dhi, special power of understanding, higher spiritual truths, one cannot really understand this. This is what Shri Ramakrishna is reiterating. Unless it is through God's grace that you have understood that. Without God's grace, that means God has endowed you with that special power of understanding. That is what we are all praying through the repetition of the Gayatri Mantra. And then Shri Ramakrishna continues. The doubts of the mind will not disappear without His grace. Doubts do not disappear without Self-realization. This is again another replica or restatement of the Upanishadic statements. In Mundaka Upanishad, we get this statement. All the knots, that means all the ignorances of the heart will be sundered aside. So, samshaya means doubt. All doubts will go only when God's grace comes. God's grace and God are not two separate things. Like the heating power of fire is not separate from fire. We use the word, in Sanskrit this is called the sixth, what is called Linga. That is the case of the sixth case of possessing. Suppose you say this man's house, so this house belongs to this person. What does it mean? If man is different, house is different. But you cannot apply the same thing. Fire is different and it has the power of burning. So the burning power of fire is separate. Like we understand this is the possession of this person. Because in this world, person is different, his possessions are different, even his body is different because at the time of death, body is left behind and the person moves on. But in the case of fire, fire is not burning. Fire does not have the action called burning. It is a profound spiritual statement and it requires great intellect even to understand it. I will try to explain my best. These profound ideas are always contained in the utterances of any realized soul because a God realized soul when he speaks, that soul is not speaking. It is only God who is speaking and God's speech is called Upanishads, Vedas, etc. So suppose you say this person is walking. X or Ram, Rama is walking. It is an action. So he can walk. He can stop walking. So when he is walking, we say he is walking. When he sits down, he is not walking. He is sitting down. When he starts lying down, we say he is lying down. What does it mean? When he sits down, the action called walking stops and the action called sitting starts. And the same person is lying down. The action called sitting stops and the action called lying down starts. So a person is eating. That is the action. A person is speaking. Another action. So when a different action starts, the previous action is stopped. I hope you are able to understand it or I hope I am able to convey it to you. But supposing you say, apply it to fire. Fire is burning. Suppose it is an action. Then what happens? Fire stops burning. Can you imagine? At any time, fire stops burning. 24 hours. So long as there is a fire, it burns because it is not an action. It is its very nature. So even though we use the burning power of fire, it is not to be understood like the possession of a person. It is the very nature. Therefore, that is the first point that fire and its burning power or its heat or its limiting power are not different. It is fire only expressed in that way. But the second one is most important. So, you put some pieces of paper in fire and the fire is burning the pieces. What do we say? The fire is turning the paper into ashes as if it is doing an action. But fire doesn't do any action because every action starts in time, space and for a reason. But when fire is burning, then fire has nothing to do. You ask the fire, did you burn? It says, no, I know nothing about it. So apply this also to the sun. Sun is shining. So, light of the sun, light of the moon. We go on talking like that as if it is the sixth case which is called possessive case. So the person and his possession are totally different from each, including our body and mind. So, the moment we use the sixth case, his body. So, for example, we say he has a beautiful body. But do we say that? We say that he is a beautiful person as if beauty and the person is one and the same. So, because of some accident, because of some disease or because of old age, because of worry, suppose the same body, will it remain beautiful or will it become ugly? Even one cannot see, sometimes it burns so much, becomes so ugly. Then what do you say? That person is an ugly person. No, the person is not ugly, but his body, that is his possession. Our houses may be burned. Our bank balance may be looted, hacked. Anything can happen. So, God and His grace should not be equated with this type of understanding. It means God is grace, grace is God, sun is the light, light is the sun. So, we should not say conventionally the light of the sun or sun's light, sunlight. No, it is the same, one and the same. This is the distinction between right understanding and wrong understanding. This is what Sri Ramakrishna is telling, that the doubts of the mind will not disappear without His grace. Not that God is sitting somewhere and then you pray to Him and then He says, alright, I will give a bit of my grace, like a rich man giving a bit of his riches. No, God Himself comes in the form of an understanding mind which is called Dhi. And many times I explained it, Panchabhoothas. When we are drinking Ganges water, we are not drinking something else, we are drinking Mother Ganga because Mother Ganga is the Ganga. When we are eating any type of food, we mean every living creature. We are eating what? Annapurna. Annapurna is not a goddess. Sitting somewhere and giving us some food which is like our mother prepares food. In fact, when we are babies, we are eating our mother only. Any calf that drinks milk from its mother is only eating or drinking its mother only. What a wonderful thing it is. God is like that. God and His grace, there are no two separate things. That is why Sri Ramakrishna says that the breeze of God's grace is ever-blowing because God and His grace are same, one and the same. So, we know that God cannot be absent even for a second. And therefore, the grace of God also cannot ever be absent. But then, what is the problem? The problem is whether we are able to receive that grace, use that grace, so unfurl your sails, whether we are able to take advantage of that grace and move forward in our desired direction. That is a different issue. All spiritual practices are meant only to become a fit instrument so that we can receive the ever-present God's grace, ever-present God and ever-present God's grace so that we can move towards Him and know Him, know that I am He. That is the essence of what Sri Ramakrishna wants to say. So, Sri Ramakrishna concludes that one need not fear anything if one has received God's grace because he has become receiving God's grace, one becomes God Himself. Beautiful thoughts. We will further continue in our next class. Aum Jananem Sharadam Devem Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum Adapadme Tayo Sritva Pranamami Mohur Mohur May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna.