Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 128 on 31-December-2024

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

OM JANANIM SHARADAM DEVIM RAMAKRISHNAM JAGADGURUM PAHADAPADMETAYOH SRIDHVA PRANAMAMI MUHURMUH We are studying the gospel of Shri Ramakrishna and one of the most important, I would say the only teaching of Shri Ramakrishna like Shri Rama, like Shri Krishna is Sharanagati and there are two types of Sharanagati Shri Ramakrishna often mentions. The first type is that of the Gnani and the second type is that of the Bhakta and we all know whether Gnani says Aham Brahmasmi or Bhakta says I am your devotee, I belong to you. Both are two expressions of self-surrender only. But there is a great deal of difference when a man says I am Brahman. There is a great danger of falling. That is what Shri Ramakrishna wants to illustrate. First I will read out what he said then we will discuss a little bit. It is rather easy for a child to stumble if he holds his father's hand but there can be no such fear if the father holds the child's hand. A man doesn't have to suffer anymore if God in His grace removes his doubts and reveals Himself to him. So two important points Shri Ramakrishna wants to highlight in this short passage. First of all, there are two types of Sharanagati and what is it? Shri Ramakrishna gives a beautiful example and let us remember He always observes things very closely. Every great person learns from nature. As we have learnt from the Srimad Bhagavatam that there was a great soul. He became enlightened solely due to observing nature. So when he was asked how did you become such an enlightened soul? He said I learnt whatever I have learnt. I learnt from nature and I have 24 Gurus. Why only 24 Gurus? We can have any number of Gurus. So who is a Guru? A Guru is one from whom we learn our lesson. Learning the lesson doesn't mean hearing through one ear and forgetting through the other ear but to bring about appropriate change. How do we know that we are bringing a change in our lives? Just as if anyone is travelling towards a destination, every step forward is putting a step behind. That is what Shri Ramakrishna means. When a person is steadily progressing towards the East, we don't need to do anything to get rid of the West. Automatically the West will distance itself and that is what should happen. So life is a journey from happiness to happiness, from a lower happiness to a higher type of happiness. And if we are travelling, we should feel very practical. If it is cold outside and there is a fire burning or it could be a heater, nowadays as we approach the heater, our discomfort arising from the cold will become less and less and our comfort zone will increase. So there are two types of Sharanagati, means Sadhana. Sadhana means what? Get rid of Anatma and identify with Atma. Whether through devotion, Bhakti or through Gnanam, it means exactly the same thing. But how do we know we are progressing? Because we have to do Sadhana. And even a little bit of Sadhana, once wholeheartedly remembering God, must bring us forward nearer to God. How do we know? Because we become better people, we become truthful people, we become happier people. Like the example in the fire, as we approach God, who is nothing but Sat, Chit and Ananda, our comfort zone increases and that heat makes us our own. We become the heat gradually. Very beautiful example, as we approach the fire, our body becomes more and more warm. And anybody with a cold hand happens to touch and immediately that person also feels the comfort. This analogy means if anybody comes into touch with a truly spiritual Sadhaka, he becomes more and more joyous, inspired and more comfortable. Because we are comfortable only in the company of those who love us and who cherish us, who wish our welfare. And that is what Satsanga really means. So Sri Ramakrishna is illustrating. There is a child and he may stumble if he holds his father's hand. This is a beautiful analogy. But Sri Ramakrishna's observance comes to the fore. In the villages, in the rainy season, in between two pieces of land, there would be a small ridge, very narrow ridge. A grown-up person can walk comfortably, but a child walking by his side might even fall. But if the father holds, then even if the father falls, he will not allow his child to fall. Because all his love is centered, focused in the child. But of course here we are talking about God. The young ones of the monkeys hold on to its mother and the young ones of the cat hold on to the mother. Our mother holds on to the babies. So the second method is the devotee's method. The first method is called self-effort. The second method is called complete self-surrender depending upon Divine Mother's grace. And then Sri Ramakrishna continues. A man doesn't have to suffer anymore if God in His grace removes his doubts and reveals Himself to him. Remember, every word that comes from Sri Ramakrishna's mouth is Veda Vakya. That is why in Kannada the translation of the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is very aptly named as Vachana Veda. It is Veda in very plain and simple language, Vachana, words. No need for commentaries. But of course as we delve deep, our understanding becomes deeper. But even a child can understand these words. So it is the grace of God. That is what is important. Sri Ramakrishna always emphasized Sharanagati. Children take refuge in the Divine Mother because She creates the illusion. And She alone can destroy, can remove that illusion. That is why when Sri Ramakrishna had a vision of Shiva uttering the Taraka mantra into the ears of the Jivatma at Manikarnika's heart, then Sri Ramakrishna saw that behind Shiva, as soon as Shiva utters the mantra, that means Shiva is telling to the Divine Mother, This is our child. And immediately Mother cuts with Her sword all the bondages and sets Him free and sends Him into the Mukti Rajya. And that is why it is very important. Whenever we say Divine Mother, Shakti, it has nothing to do with gender. That which creates is the Divine Mother. Because in this world also only a female can create. But Divine Mother is not a female or male. It is a concept. Conceiving Brahman as Saguna means only the female, gender only. But it is not to be confused with, as we know, male and female. Sri Ramakrishna continues and is talking about how can we get this grace. So there must be intense yearning. That is what He wants to convey. There is a beautiful text book on Advaita Vedanta. A text book means an introduction to all the words that Vedanta uses specially. A jargon of the technical words. What does Maya mean? What does Brahman mean? What do the five sense organs mean? What do the pancha bhutas mean? What do the three avasthas, Jagrat, Swapna, Sushupti really mean? What is Turiya? So these are the common words, technical words, jargon that is used. Every science has its own technical words. Whether it be poetry or economics or science, anything. So there is that book Vedanta Sara and it says something. Who is likely to succeed in spiritual life? And it says, Deepthasaraha Jalarasimeva. Imagine there is a person, his head had caught fire and he is seeing a pool of water in front of him. And do you think he will be quesitating? What should I do now? Or instinctively he wants to run and jump into the water to quench his burning head. Deepthasaraha means a head which is on fire. So this is called intense yearning. That is what Ramakrishna wants to say. How does a person obtain God's grace? We are all praying to God. Whether it is Krishna, Rama, Vishnu or Tirupati Venkateshwara or Kashi Vishwanatha. Please kindly bestow your grace upon me. But why is it he wants to give? It is not that he is waiting for our application to reach him. Like Indian clerks who will delay as long as possible to process any file. God is not like that. Because He is everywhere, His grace is blowing. And God and His grace are not two separate factors. God is grace. Grace is God. Like heat is fire and fire is heat. Ramakrishna is continuing. But this grace of God descends upon him only after he has prayed to God with intense yearning of heart and practiced spiritual discipline. When we hear these kinds of words, our normal meaning comes to the fore. What is the normal meaning? So we have to pray and we have to do something that is called Sadhana. And then God listens to our prayer. And then He decides, let me bestow my grace. That is not the idea here. Where God is, His grace is there. 24 hours for eternity, that grace is available. But if we do not have the receiving capacity, even if we go to a very generous person and he wants to give, but we don't have a receiving utensil, a vessel, then we won't be able to receive even if he wants to give more. Another illustration is, so there is a rich man, he wants to feed poor people. And supposing one of our old swamis goes there, and then the rich man invites him, makes him sit, says he wants to serve him, give him as much as he wants to eat. But how much can he eat? The giving is not a problem, but the receiving is a problem. How much can this old person really digest? Of course, one can eat a little more, but even eating becomes very problematic. So God's grace is not a problem, but receiving God's grace is a problem. Every sadhana is meant only to open ourselves for the reception of God's grace. And tomorrow is the first day of the new year, and we know in Ramakrishna order, everywhere we celebrate, it is called Kalpataru. Taru means a tree. Kalpa means whatever desires a person has. Kalpavriksha, Kalpataru, there are many other names are there. Kamadhenu. Dhenu means a cow. Kama means what? You want milk, it will give. You want gold, it will give. You want soldiers, it will give. You want kingdom, it will give. And that is what God is. Of course, Swami Saradanandaji, interestingly, did not want to give that name Kalpataru, but in spite of his efforts, the word Kalpataru has become established now. And what was Swami Saradanandaji's objection to this name Kalpataru? Because Kalpataru gives whatever a person desires, irrespective of whether it is good for him or it will destroy him. And there is a story also. We will have to remember any number of times. Sri Ramakrishna himself gives that beautiful story. There was a traveller and he started walking. In those earlier days, people had to walk. And after walking for many, many hours, he felt very tired, very hungry, very thirsty. He saw a small tree. There was a bit of shade. So he laid himself down. But since he was very hungry and thirsty, he decided, Aha! If I can get some nice food. And, you know, when we desire, we don't simply say, I want nice food. We will say, what type of nice food? So for South Indians, South Indian food. For Mexicans, Mexican food, etc. So this person must have been imagining and what was his shock? That he found himself a big plate full of his favourite dishes and drinks. Happily, without thinking, he consumed the whole lot. He said, now if I can have a beautiful bed. By that time, he was half dozing. His kalpa, his imagination is flying high. If I can have a cot, beautiful soft cot, then it would be marvellous. Immediately, he found himself on a cot. And immediately he thought, everything is wonderful. But if only a beautiful lady comes and starts massaging my body, how marvellous it would be. Probably he was accustomed to all these things. We have to imagine. Because even to imagine, a poor man is eating only Jola Roti. He cannot imagine a king's food. So the best what he experiences, that only he will do. So this person must have been accustomed. Immediately, a beautiful lady came and not only beautiful, very soft hands started sitting and started massaging him. So much of delight. And he became even more impelled in his own imaginations. In that, suppose this is a wonderful, happy time. But if suppose a hungry tiger comes and gobbles me up. The moment he thought, immediately a hungry tiger came and gobbled him up. Why? Because the Kalpataru doesn't discriminate what to give, what not to give. You want it, I will give it. Only you need to want it. So, Swami Sharada had that objection. Because Sairam Krishna is not only a Kalpataru, but she is the Divine Mother and she knows exactly what to give, how much to give and what not to give for the welfare of the child. So that discrimination is lacking. That is why Sharada Nanaji wanted to obstruct it. So this is what Sairam Krishna is trying to tell him, tell all of us. His grace depends upon him only after he has prayed to God with intense yearning of heart and practiced spiritual discipline. There is a real relationship between intense yearning. This is called Parama Vyakulata. Yearning means Vyakulata, intense means Parama Vyakulata. So, those who do not practice spiritual disciplines and thereby transform their lives, their actions, their thinking, their speech and their activities, for such people, God's grace will not be able to, he will not be able to receive and get any benefit out of it. If a sick person is given rich food, he will only suffer more, he becomes only more sick. And then immediately, Sairam Krishna, he is giving a beautiful illustration. The mother feels compassion for her child when she sees him running about breathlessly. She has been hiding herself. Now she appears before the child. So, we have to make up a little bit of background. So, the child has got up and he had been fed and then the child wants to play and then he plays and then he becomes tired and mother wants to play a little bit with the child. So, she is hiding. Now the child is extremely restless to see the mother and jump into her lap. So, the child is running here and there but the mother is hiding and smiling with loving gaze. But then she finds the child is getting tired. There is water running about breathlessly. So, now suddenly she appears a little bit of her. She shows herself and the child suddenly, Oh, my mother is hiding here. I have discovered her. I have discovered her. I am touching her. Immediately, she goes and touches. Sairam Krishna gives the same example of a granny playing hide and seek with her grandchildren. So, he says that we have to do sadhana. Then only we will behave. Doing sadhana produces intense yearning. That means we become extremely unhappy if we do not think about God. We are extremely restless. The mind is restless to see God. And that is called running about breathlessly. So long, the mother is watching everything from the beginning to the end. My child is not really hungry. So, when he is hungry then it will be okay. But how does the child become hungry? By playing. So, we have to play this game of samsara. Then a time will come when we become terribly tired. And this is beautifully expressed in a beautiful Bengali song composed by Girish Chandra Ghosh after he read about the condition of Bhagwan Buddha. And this incident is based upon the incident in the Lalita Istara Mahapurana. It is a Purana outlining, detailing the life of Bhagwan Buddha. So, Why do I come? Where from have I come? Where am I going? And why do I come again and again? Why do I go and play this game of joy and sorrow? Who is it that is making me play? Even if I want to quit out of it, I am not able to quit out of it. Like this, beautifully the song goes. It is a big song actually. And it is there in the Gospel for those who want to refer to it. So, God is watching all the time. And Shri Ram Krishna says in some other place, a man is completely immersed in this samsara of Mahamaya. And he tells himself, I am so happy. I am enjoying my life. And God echoes, you are so happy. Yes, you are very happy. This samsara is full of joy. And then, after many a birth, the person becomes very, very unhappy, suffering. And he doesn't see a way out. Oh Lord, is there no way out? Then, what have I done with my life? Why did I waste so much of my life? And God says, yes, why did you waste so much of your life? God merely echoes what we do. But he is witnessing all the time. So, if we do not ever feel restless for God, will God go on doing that? He says, no. The mother will be watching the child and calling again and again. When the child doesn't want to give up, she goes, smashes all the things, the dolls with which he is playing and catches hold of his hand and drags him forcibly. And that is a very painful way. That is to say, when miseries come, unhappiness comes, sorrow comes, suffering comes, and that is the greatest grace of Mahamaya. And that is what Holy Mother says, misery is a gift of God. So, this was the topic. So, Ramakrishna was explaining that God makes us run a little bit here and there. And M was listening silently. Then he asks, the thought immediately comes. Thoughts come only when we pay attention while reading, while hearing, etc. Otherwise, no. So, M says to himself, but why should God make us run about, thought M. And then we can also ask, why can't we have nice dreams? This is a beautiful example I am giving. So, every day, practically all of us have dreams. Can we say with our hand on our hearts that every day, every dream of ours, every night is a very happy and pleasant dream? After all, a dream is made up of our own imaginations. So, we may not be at all happy or a little bit happy, but most of it is only donkey's work. Can we not create a heaven in our dreams? What prevents us? After all, we have to imagine very positive things. I am a king and I have got a beautiful family, and then I have got a beautiful husband, beautiful wife, beautiful children, like that farmer who was a gnani. That we can imagine. And I have wonderful friends, wonderful colleagues in the office. The weather is like Bangalore weather, very pleasant. So, like that, go on imagining. What is wrong with that? And if we can cultivate this imagination, that is the greatest sadhana, actually. What is meditation? It is a positive imagination. Imagine the highest possible place. That's why Swami Brahmanandaji Maharaj used to say, whenever you are sitting for meditation, the first thing you do is imagine that your Ishta Devata is highly pleased with you, and she is like our grandmother, and her grandparents are much more loving than even parents. Grandparents are not bothered whether our character is shaped or not. It is only parents, that is why they want to discipline for our own good, of course. But whatever parents forbid, grandparents secretly give us chocolates, lozenges, dolls, whatever we like. Anyway, so, why don't we imagine God as our grandmother, and then highly pleased, all that we need to do, run into mother's lap, and then jump, and then tell me a story, and this way we can solve every problem. I am telling you, you can solve the problem. Suppose you are thinking, what shall I do? You imagine your Ishta Devata, and then you are sitting in his or her lap, and as we are talking here, you also talk with your Ishta Devata, and then you are conscious, aware that it is my imagination, but surprisingly the results will be otherwise. So, we are not wise, but we are otherwise, and when an otherwise person talks with God in his imagination, the wisdom shines out. So, somehow, our intuitive heart, it understands, this is the solution, this is the way I have to do, and this is the best I can do, and I accept it, and problem is, when we accept something, then most often the problem will get solved, or even if it is not solved, it doesn't bother us very much, it helps us very much. So, take it to a greater length, and in a way, this is also called Leela Dhyana. So, you cannot do normal Dhyana properly, for that highly disciplined mind and body are necessary. Shama, Dama, the Sadghuna, then Viveka Vairagya, but it is not that difficult to imagine and do this Leela Dhyana. So, imagine, some of you have visited some holy places, any of you have come to Varanasi, and then you imagine I am going to Vishwanatha Temple, Mother Annapurna Temple, Vishalakshi Temple, but don't bring in the memories of that huge crowds crushing you, and you are forced to jostle with them. No, there is nobody and not even the Pujari, the Lord's Puja is over, and you are entering into the temple, and it is all yours. You create your own Vishwanatha Temple, Annapurna Temple in your own hearts, where don't allow any crowds to enter, anybody, not a single person, not even your mother, father or anybody, you alone will enter there, and you and your chosen deity, that's all, nothing else. So, this is the way one has to do it. Hearing this, M's mind, he was listening attentively, and he was, immediately thought came, but why should God make us run about? So, he is not thinking, why should not God make us run about? After all, it is a play, so we also can ask, just like I was quoting, that why can't we create pleasant dreams every night, anytime, but for that we have to practice, to look upon everything in a positive light, that is called power of the positive thinking. There was one person, Norman Vincent Peale, his famous book is, Power of Positive Thinking, and really it has a power, what is spiritual life? Power of Positive Thinking. Everything is thought about as only positively, because if I believe in God, and God has created, and whatever is happening in the world must be only very beneficial, very positive, and this is the only solution, there is no other solution for peace of mind. So, M was thinking, he did not utter the words, but Sri Ram Krishna, he could know what is going on, he can gauge every single thought. So, immediately Sri Ram Krishna, that means Divine Mother Kali, who is working, there is no difference between Sri Ram Krishna and the Mother Kali or Divine Mother. Here, he uttered, it is his will that we should run about a little and it is great fun. How can it be great fun? We may say, Ram Krishna is telling again and again that it is God's will that we should run about a little. What run about a little? What is little? 84 lakh 84 lakhs. Only 84 lakhs? God knows. It means countless births. Birth itself is what is called besought with tremendous amount of difficulty. How many babies die? A mother can be crushed, a female mosquito, a female ant, a female fly, anything can, how many billions are being squashed, crushed by natural enemies, etc. And then this is what Sri Ram Krishna calls a little bit. But he says, it is his will that we should run about a little. It is a great fun. But we also have to understand something deep. Supposing you are dreaming and then how much time a normal dream lasts? Scientists calculate it is no more than one and a half minutes. Maximum one and a half minutes. Alright, if you don't trust it three minutes, five minutes, fifteen minutes, you can add a little bit. But within that fifteen minutes how many places you have gone? How far have you travelled? And what are all impossible things you have seen? If you have seen a bungee jump, you tie a piece of long length of rope and jump down a huge mountain into a river. So the rope will hold you just a few feet above the river. But when you are jumping, looks as though endlessly you are coming down. If you have seen such kind of scenes again and again and you like them, one day perhaps you can dream and you are jumping actually and when you are jumping actually you are experiencing actually. It is not a dream in dream. Dream is not a dream while dreaming. Only upon waking up, it becomes a we call it a dream. So this is called God's dream. It is called Leela. What is the point? In dream time, space, causation, they become so vastly expanded to travel from here to Mars. So to have this bungee jump in South America, all these things how much time will it take? Very, very, very short time only it takes. Not long time. But you can travel anywhere, come back again. In fact it is wonderful thing to recollect Naga Mahasaya one of the greatest devotees of Sir Ram Krishna who was no less than a great monk. He never went on a pilgrimage. During his last few days, Sharad Chandra Chakravarti was serving him with great devotion and then Naga Mahasaya felt I did not go on any place of pilgrimage. Sharad, you tell me, mentioned some of the names of the places of pilgrimage because Sir Ram Krishna, Thakur had come. He wants to show me and immediately he said I don't know which order he said which how many places he mentioned but a few were mentioned. He said this is Kashi. Immediately Naga Mahasaya found himself hovering above Kashi and then Sir Ram Krishna was showing. Look there that is the temple of Lord Vishwanath. Look there that is the image of the Shiva Linga of Lord Vishwanath. See how puja is being done. How many devotees are with clasped hands. They were all witnessing in ecstasy and look at this. This is Mother Annapurna's temple and he was seeing Annapurna. My guess is Ram Krishna was not showing a stone Shiva. He was seeing Shiva because Sir Ram Krishna himself was Shiva. Remember how Sir Ram Krishna was made, requested to act on Shiva in his village Kamarpur when he was a small boy because the actor who was supposed to play that role suddenly he took ill. So Sir Ram Krishna agreed and then he was dressed and he became one with Shiva and when he came to this stage people felt Lord Shiva living Shiva is living here and that is a very common phenomena in the life of Sir Ram Krishna. Whenever if a song is going on on Mother Kali, his very body posture indicates he had become Mother Kali. If Krishna songs were going, he becomes Krishna or Rama or even Christ. Once a devotee came and then he was appearing like that. I have told you also that one on Mr. Mishra. He was a Christian and Sir Ram Krishna said I saw a sanyasi coming to me one hour before and this man entered and then he told his story, I am actually a monk only outwardly I don't want to appear as a monk so look here and inside there was the ochre cloth and then Sir Ram Krishna stood up and shook hands with him and then Mr. Mishra said you do not understand what he is. He is really Jesus Christ. So those Ram Chandra Dutta you look into me whatever you want to see you will see. Bhagavan Krishna told Arjuna whatever you want to behold you behold because everything is in me everything is me. So we have to understand that this is called Leela. Leela doesn't mean God creates me and you and then puts us in samsara and then makes us suffer. God is dreaming as it were. This marvelous Leela. Why do we call it Leela? Because God knows this is my creation deliberately I have created. Imagine yourself that you are taken forcibly into a dungeon and then somebody is beating black and blue and this is what you are imagining intensely and that will not create. You may pretend you may moan you may cry out oh don't beat me so much I am unable to bear but you are able to enjoy it because this is how people acting in the dramas do. This is how day dreams we can do but as soon as a dream comes it is no day dream at all it is a nightmarish dream most of the time. So my point is so why can't we have some nice spiritual dreams and that comes only if we really enjoy spiritual incidents. Nagamahasaya he used to have this whenever his aunt used to tell her stories about Gods and Goddesses this Nagamahasaya used to go to bed as a small boy and he used to get up next morning and say Aunty I have seen all the Gods and Goddesses you have mentioned because his mind was so pure. He is not saying these are all cock and bull stories somebody has created like that. No. This real truth we understand only when we progress a little in spiritual life that this is all play and even if one man is killing the other man, if one nation is bombing the other nation and then destroying thousands of people like America has done in Hiroshima and Nagasaki when we study history and it is a real fact and we forget when we are listening to the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna it is a different mind set but when we are reading history it is a different mind set. So that is real. This is only imaginary. This is our present idea but one day we will wake up and understand that just like our dream which we ourselves have created we ourselves have entered we ourselves have become everybody and everything and we ourselves are praising and blaming us and beating and loving and hating us everything that goes on in our dream. Only difference is when we are watching a drama or a cinema we are acutely aware that this is a cinema, this is a drama but when we are dreaming we are not aware that. If we can develop that capacity to witness this is a dream this is my imagination, these are my thoughts, there is no reality in it, it is only a make believe then we will enjoy it enormously. Actually that is what a poem is, that is what a painting is, that is what a sculpture is. Just take a painting, what is it? A person a painter or an artist he has imagined in his mind I would like to bring about. So it is, you know that it is totally an action of imagination but brought to life by his artistic talents. You feel, oh how much this person is suffering but at the same time you know it is only a painting and this is called aesthetic enjoyment, this is not reality. So if we can develop that kind of understanding with regard to our events, all the events that are happening in our day to day life then only we will be able to understand we will have a glimpse of what is called really Leela, make believe that is why we cannot understand it is a make believe that is what Bhagavan Krishna in the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita says When a man thinks that I am killing this person I am the doer of this action called killing and another person thinks that I am being killed I am going to die, this person is going to kill me that means I am the experiencer of this person's actions both are under false impression they do not know the truth there is no death, therefore there is no killer, there is no killed, there are no two people, one to kill another to be killed it is the same Atman which is playing this dual role anyway this is what is called world in play as it were, God has created the world in play as it were, and every play if we know it is a play is a very pleasant thing but Ram Krishna gives us something wonderful, this is called Mahamaya, the great illusion, here Mahamaya is a great illusion this is like a musician creates an illusion this Mahamaya herself creates the illusion that is the whole creation is an illusion, the maintenance Srishti is an illusion Sthithi is an illusion and Laya is also an illusion to understand that you have to again take that example of the dream suppose you are dreaming that you are a potter and you are creating a pot you created a pot, that is called Srishti, and then for some time you used it and you got tired of it, then you had broken it, and this pot is real, its birth is real, its sustenance is real, and its destruction is real so long as we are in the dream and then you come out, two factors you have to say, that first thing is, it is all just thought, nothing is real second is, you yourself have become the pot you yourself have been there for some time and you yourself was broken because there is no pot other than you if you understand that, it is a moralist thing by God's grace otherwise you have to think yourself, you have gone to pot, so this is called Mahamaya and so long as this Mahamaya continues, we are not able to understand it, therefore one must take refuge in the Divine Mother, the Cosmic Power itself, this is the final teaching of Ramakrishna Sharanagata Deenartha Paritraana Parayane Sarvasya Aarti Hare Devi Narayani Namostu She is waiting like a mother when are my children going to come to me, the moment a child cries out in pain in distress, Mother and Mother is ever awake, that's why she is called Kamakshi Meenakshi, Vishalakshi she never closes her eyes she is ever ready whenever my child cries I am ready to respond to my child, so one must take refuge Sadhana is to take refuge in the Divine Mother It is She who has bound us in the shackles of illusion that is to say She has not really bound us just like in a dream, somebody binds you, who binds you you yourself bind yourself only, that's all so somebody when I am saying that you bind yourself rarely we create such a dream, you take a length of rope or iron chain and you put it round your ankles or hands like police handcuffs and then you break it, the key is not there rarely people dream about it but then you find yourself in the same situation that you create food and you are eating food and it has created indigestion or stomach upset and then you are running to the doctor everything appears to be absolutely true, the point is not only we are suffering or enjoying in dream the point is we ourselves have created other people, other objects we have become the one mind has become universal mind has become everything so long as the dream lasts but we cannot understand we think everybody is separate from myself when we wake up we understand that so what does Ram Krishna want to convey here it is she who has bound us with the shackles of illusion that I have bound myself in my dream and I feel it is real, is that real so long as the dream lasts it is real, when we wake up suppose you imagine you have bound yourself tightly and self-locked yourself and then you wake up after some time and then will you run to the bathroom or not how are you able to run because you know it is only my imagination I am not really bound I am free this as if I am shackled that is called shackles of illusion illusion is not real like a musician creates a lot of things they are not real but it looks as if they are real but Ram Krishna says this Mahamaya what is this illusion I am not the Atman I am not Brahman but I am a helpless human being I am male, I am female that is called illusion and the realization of God is possible only when those shackles are served again profound meaning is there in this statement realization of God what does it mean realization like Arjuna replies to Bhagwan Krishna my illusion or delusion is gone I woke up that I am not Arjuna I thought I was Arjuna but I know I am none other than Atma Brahman Paramatma Aham Brahmasmi and awakening to that fact is called realization because that is the truth that is the real but one has to get rid of these shackles only when those shackles are severed then only it is possible this is what Ram Krishna means that take refuge so this is marvelous thing this is what Gaudapada wants to convey to us this profound truth there is no Sadhaka there is no Sadhana there is no Sadhya and there is no illusion there is no Mukti because when Vandana itself is not there, Mukti is not there but all this is possible in the dream that we call this Samsara Sagara such beautiful thoughts which Vedanta is struggling to convey to us Ram Krishna conveys in simple words but to understand at least to some extent the depth of Ram Krishna's words we require the torch light of scriptures that is why Swami Vivekananda said to understand scriptures we need the light of Sri Ram Krishna's life and teachings but he did not say the other thing to understand Sri Ram Krishna we require the scriptures so Sri Ram Krishna helps us to understand scriptures and scriptures help us to understand Sri Ram Krishna much better but both are possible only when we do sincere Sadhana and earnestly pray transform our life and take refuge in the Divine Mother May Sri Ram Krishna Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti Hey Ram Krishna and tomorrow happens to be the auspicious Kalpataru Mahotsava on that day in 1886 1st January 1886 Ram Krishna had awakened the spiritual consciousness of so many of his devotees may the same Kalpataru repeat in our lives also may we come closer to the Divine Lord Jai Ram Krishna