Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 132 on 25-February-2025

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

OM JANANIM SHARADAM DEVIM RAMAKRISHNAM JAGADGURUM PAHADAPADMETAYOH SRIDHVA BRANAMAMI MUHURMUHU Discussing Sri Ramakrishna's advice to householders. It was Thursday, August 24, 1882. Ramakrishna is telling, God has created the world in play as it were. Deeply significant words, in play means Leela, as it were. That means what Advaitins call Mithya is called by the Bhaktas, devotees, Leela. So this is called Leela. This is called Mahamaya, the great illusion. We have to understand, great illusion is only Mithya, not only the world. World itself is the Mahamaya. It is not that Mahamaya is somebody sitting there and creating an illusion. It is the Divine Mother Herself who has become everything in this world. She is the world. Not that She is creating the world and sitting somewhere and supervising it, rewarding or punishing. No, She Herself has become this entire world. Then had She become Mithya, Mithya means that which is seemingly real, not really real. And Sri Ramakrishna has used beautiful words for this and that clarifies lot of things. Sri Ramakrishna says, I use two words, Mithya and Leela. Mithya means it remains as it is. Leela means it appears to be something else and they can never be separated. They are one eternally. And Sri Ramakrishna continues, therefore one must take refuge in the Divine Mother, the Cosmic Power itself. And then Sri Ramakrishna sang and danced and the devotees danced around Him. We have to meditate upon this. How are the devotees feeling? Having kept Sri Ramakrishna in their midst and Sri Ramakrishna was entering into Samadhi, Mohor Moho again and again and again, He is trying to come out. But His natural tendency is pulling Him. And that is what just now we have been discussing, He wants to be in the Nithya. But His very Kripa, compassion wants to make Him come out. It is a solitaire game. You must have heard about it. It is a game which one plays as it were. So there was a small joke. There were two friends. One of the friends one day entered into the room of his friend and found him playing solitaire game. And in that solitaire game, the friend was cheating himself. So his friend who came to visit him asked him, don't you catch yourself? Then the other man smiled and said, no, I am too intelligent to be caught. What a marvellous statement this is. I am playing a solitaire game. I am cheating myself and I am too clever to catch myself. All this play both in the consciousness, Chit and also Chidabhasa. That is called Nithya and Leela. Just one hint, if this man knows, I will not allow myself to be caught. Ask yourself this question, was he not aware that he was cheating himself? Because to be not to be caught, one has to be aware that he is doing what he is doing and he will take sufficient care not to cheat himself. This can apply in the dualistic world. But in the non-dualistic world, how do you explain this? Because the cheated and the cheater are exactly one and the same. And yet, that is what we also do in this world. When we are dreaming, as it were, we are playing some other game. As it were, we are creating. That is why the study of the states of dream and dreamless have been so earnestly taken up by our commentators, especially in the Mandukya Upanishad with Godapada's Mandukya Karika. If we can understand dream completely or to a great extent, then we can turn our whole life into a dream. Anyway, as we progress in sadhana, we will definitely understand this principle better and better. So the master is continuing. When you plunge in the water of the ocean, you may be attacked by alligators. Here also we have to remember Sri Ramakrishna's earlier statement. He says there are invaluable jewels in countless numbers in every ocean. We should not forget that. So why do we plunge into this ocean in greed of these invaluable jewels? How many are there? There is no need to compete. If there are infinite, for infinite number of people, infinite number of jewels will be available. And that is the main topic or sutra of the second chapter of the Taittiriya. Every word of Sri Ramakrishna has a deep meaning. So the master is telling that there are countless number of jewels. And he called it Ratnakara, an ocean of Ratnas, jewels. And at the same time, what was Sri Ramakrishna telling? If you dive, plunge in the water of the ocean, you may be attacked by alligators. But they won't touch you if your body is smeared with turmeric. I don't know whether really turmeric will help you. Don't try, Sri Ramakrishna told. So I will try once. Better you buy a ticket for an aeroplane or whatever it is, anyway. So what are these alligators? There are no doubt six alligators. What are they? What we call normally Shadripu, lust, anger, avarice and so on, within you, in the soul's fathomless depths. But protect yourself with the turmeric cup. What is the turmeric? Discrimination and renunciation. And in this context, what does it mean? Ocean means this world. And this world also has got infinite number of what is called Dharma, Artha and Kama. That is one side. These three are called Prayas and Moksha, liberation. That is knowing one's own true nature. And that is called Sreyas. Both Sreyas and Prayas, both approach. This was the teaching of Yamadharma Raja to Nachiketa. We find this in the Katha Upanishad. When Nachiketa asks, you teach me about that state which is beyond both Dharma and Adharma. And then he says, Sreyascha, Prayascha, Manushyam, Etau. So both approach. Both are tremendously attractive. But Prayas is infinitely more attractive at the beginning. Why? Because it is immediately available. Sreyas is only after long payment, heavy payment, after a long time, that's available. So both are there. So there are invaluable jewels and also alligators are there. So this is how Hiram Krishna is explaining. No doubt, the six alligators, what are they? We call them Shadripu, six enemies. Lust, Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Madha and Matsarya. Within you, in the soul's fathomless depths. As I said, every word is infinitely deep, fathomless deep. What is this? Soul's fathomless depths. That means deep unconscious. So I narrated the story of Vishwamitra many a time. Vishwamitra wanted to become exactly equivalent to Vasishta. But of course, we the readers would never equate Vishwamitra and Vasishta. But Vishwamitra was a great soul, very great soul. And Swami Vivekananda is supposed to be Vishwamitra's manifestation. Anyway, this Vishwamitra, he wanted to become, to be called that Brahma Varishta. Brahma Vit Varishtaha, great Brahma Jnani. And then he did Tapasya for 1000 years. Tell me, think over it. What is Tapasya? So that is why, Taittiriya Upanishad, in the third chapter, Bhrigu Valle, he says, Tapo Tapasa Brahma Vijnasa Svaha. Seek out your own nature by Tapasya. What is Tapasya? Deep thinking. Tapasya is very deep thinking. It has nothing to do, not eating food or standing on one's leg or bearing cold and heat. No doubt, they are helpful. But that is not real Tapasya. If a man, he performs all these things, so-called endures a lot of suffering and voluntary suffering, but his mind is running after what Sri Ramakrishna calls Siddhis, various occult powers, then he is no good at all. Tapasya means deep thinking. Deep thinking means deep amount of discrimination, dispassion, control over the mind, etc. But what is the terrible mistake we ordinary devotees commit? On one side, the name of God is going on. I am sure every one of us sit and then go on prescribed period of time, maybe half an hour, maybe one hour, many hours, go on thinking about God. That is, what does it mean? We are not thinking about God. We are mechanically repeating the name of God, Japa. But Japa is not repetition. Japa is remembrance. Remembrance of what? God. Remembrance of God means what am I doing? What God expects me to do? Am I able to overcome my internal enemies? There is no external enemy, only internal enemy and they create everything. That is the topic we are discussing. And am I trying to slowly make them turn towards God? That is the topic we are going to actually talk about today. So this is what Sri Ramakrishna is telling. And what is the story of Vishwamitra? Thousand years, that means for a long, long time, he did Tapasya. Tapasya means what? He was repeating the name of God, no doubt about it. But he was not practicing Vivekananda Vairagya. How do we know? Because Indra, by the way, I explained, I will explain any number of times. Indra is not the enemy of spiritual aspirants. Many of us, after reading the Puranas, we come to the conclusion that there are real, sincere devotees trying to advance towards God. But this Indra, he is terribly frightened of his position, which no real devotee would ever aspire, care, even if it is offered, he is not going to take. But why would Indra do? And after all, this man was only praying to God, thinking of God, trying to surrender himself to God. Then what was God doing? We have to understand it was God only who was obeying, who was obeying the commandments of God. Now you go and attempt. Why? Because if somebody is not aware of the workings of his own inner mind, inevitably, and if you look back in your own lives, what you are trying to hide, that circumstances will come exactly which reveal to you or which should reveal to you all the problems which we have, not externally, but within ourselves. Every sincere devotee must experience this one. So Vishwamitra was thoroughly unaware how much of lust, how much of anger, how much of greed was hiding within himself. What do I mean by greed? Greed means if he was an intelligent person, he would have thought, why am I competing against Vasishta? Vasishta, he struggled and he obtained God-realization. And I can also struggle. I can also attain. And he became a God-realized soul. I would like to become a God-realized soul. And once I become a God-realized soul, will there be any difference between he and me? You see, as a competition, I also would like to be a Naira Brahman, just like you. What type of shallow thinking is that? If I am a lover of God, you are a lover of God, there could be no enmity between us. There would be indescribable joy because we love people who love what we love. And there would be no dvaitam. You are one God-realized soul. I am another God-realized soul. Don't you dare to think there is a lot of difference between us. Absolutely. No, but did Vishwamitra understand this one? Why he was doing it all? He didn't understand. God one bestowed his grace in the form of temptation. And by the way, temptations are the greatest show, showering of the grace of God. Because if we don't want something really from the bottom of our heart, such things will not come to us. Only we are hiding. We want something and then we are hiding that fact. Then temptations will come. This is the greatest psychological fact. So this woman, for man, woman, that is to say the body at the body level, whosoever is body conscious for that person, another type of body becomes an irresistible attraction. So a woman came. We know the story like a pack of cards loosely stacked. Immediately slightest blow of the wind, breeze of the wind, immediately it fell down. And then he married and then he understood the reality about lust. And then what was God's grace? He understood there is nothing here. What was I seeking? And what did I come to? And that particular thing which was hidden to him was revealed to him. My child, be aware. This is lurking within you. And he understood only after getting married. That is why Brihasthashrama is created by God. What we are seeking, we will not get anywhere excepting in God. And that God is within each one of us. So immediately he went back. And then the Puranas tell us this is the story of India. Because India is called Bharata Desha. And Bharata, because of the king who ruled with the greatest efficiency, his name was Bharata. And Bharata was the son of who? Shakuntala. Who was Shakuntala? The daughter of Vishwamitra. The first time. Now the same explanation. So he was not aware that terrible anger is also hidden. And anger is Kama, turned, frustrated, thwarted, is called Krodha. And immediately next time also after 1000 years Tapasya, he did not understand. So much of anger was hidden. Again God wanted to bestow His grace and then again same woman came. This time he understood. Last time you made me fall down. How dare you come again second time? Why? They will come a billion times. Then where is the need for you to become angry? Because we seek only something when we don't get the equivalent Ananda elsewhere. Vishwamitra was not getting more happiness than when he looked at a woman. That means Kama was still hiding. But now it has changed its shape. Like Mahishasura changes its shape into a lion, into an elephant, into a buffalo, into a human being, etc. So immediately he looked angrily. All his Tapasya is gone. And the Deva Kanyas, you have to understand. Aiyo Papa, he burned those fellows. No, no, there was no fellow. It was all dream girls only. It was all fantasy only. Then he understood. Oh, I thought I conquered lust. But it came in another form like Mahishasura. And this is called Krodha. I will never again fall tempted. He became an extremely observant or discriminating person. And to be discriminating, there should be another quality available. That is called consciously observing. Continuously being aware of what thoughts are passing in our mind. And that's why Yudhishthira Maharaj used to say, Develop a continuous awareness of your own self. So this is the story of Vishwamitra. And this is what Ramakrishna is telling. That is the first point. The first awakening into spiritual life is the consciousness, awareness. That all these are Rik, Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Mada, Matsarya. All these are lurking within myself. Just below the surface. And that's why the example of ocean is very important. Supposing some tigers or some deadliest enemies are there on earth. You can see it. But here what happens? Though it looks very calm and quiet, beautiful ocean. But just below the surface, all these are awaiting. As soon as the first opportunity comes, like alligators, they will just pull the person down. Within a second, the person's fate can be completely changed. This is what Ramakrishna is telling. So this is the first point. We will have to be continuously aware. And among these six, which is ruling us? Is it lust? Is it anger? Is it avarice? And by the way, these are not six. This is only one. Kama is the only one. And Kama manifests in the form of what we call Krodha, Lobha, Modha, Moha, Madha, Matsarya. So one enemy in six different dresses. And that is what we have to be aware. If we think that I have conquered Kama, it comes in the form of Krodha. If I think I have conquered that one, it comes in the form of Lobha, then Moha, Madha, Matsarya. These are six faces, six facets, six different dresses of the same Ahamkara. That is called Kara. Aham is Brahmam. And Aham plus Kama, Ahamkara. Aham plus Krodha, Ahamkara, etc. Now you can... So that is the point. We have to be careful. That is called Viveka. Once we realize we are subject, we are weak for this particular aspect of Ahamkara, then we have to take measures how to counter it. Then we go on to the second point. What is the second point? Are these Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Madha, Matsarya, are these really our enemies? In another context also, I discussed this point very elaborately. First of all, three Gunas. Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. First of all, they are not three separate Gunas. One Guna, like a dimmer switch, at the highest point, the most illuminating. At the middle point, neither light nor darkness. At the lowest point, we are hardly able to see anything. Just like that, a Guna is one, but it manifests in the form of three. Either Sattva is dominant, Rajas is dominant, or Tamas is dominant. And as I also explained, these three manifestations of one Guna, which is called Prakruti, which is called Maya, or Avidya, they are not our enemies. They need not be our enemies. They cannot be our enemies. But we should have that intelligence to use it properly. Just to remind ourselves again and again and again, if we want to think about God, Sattva Guna is the appropriate Guna which can help us. If we are driving a car or doing something so delicate, even one second's carelessness can destroy the whole experiment. Then which Guna is needed? Prajna Guna is needed. Extreme alertness, like driving a car in India. But when we want to have dreamless, deep sleep, Tama Guna is the best Guna. What is the point? Every Guna is best at its own specialist function. That is exactly the same thing should be applied to Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Mada, Matsarya. And this is what Sri Ramakrishna is trying to tell us. That is the subject matter. This is what very briefly we discussed in our last class. Sri Ramakrishna is telling, these Shudraipus are also our greatest friends, helpers, and it is the grace of God. That is the subject. And this is what Sri Ramakrishna has to say. What can you achieve by mere lecturing and scholarship without discrimination and dispassion? Hearing these words of Sri Ramakrishna, a Brahmo devotee, how can one find God? Sri Ramakrishna says, by developing love for Him. You must think constantly that God alone is real and everything else is of a fleeting nature. Yashwatha tree alone is permanent. Its fruit lasts but a few days. Beautiful words. We will have to think deeply about them. So what is the way out? Only by developing love for God. And then what is that love for God? When can we develop love for God? We can love anything only when we are convinced it is real. However tempting. Suppose you go to a shop and it is written, a most tasty fruit or sweet. But in small letters, it is highly poisonous. Whoever takes this, he will die. And in our, what is called blindness, we will not read these small letters. We only read very, very tasty sweet or fruit and immediately we fall victims of temptation. We should read correctly. If we come to know, if you read that small letters, Oh, the reality is it may be tasty, but it is deadly. And no man who wants to live will ever swallow it again. So once, unless, until and unless we can discriminate and find out what is real, we will not develop love for reality. Actually, what we are seeking is reality. When a man falls in love with a woman or vice versa, what are both of them seeking? That this spouse will love me eternally. How can he love eternally? When he is worried about his job, he cannot love you. When he is asleep for eight hours, he will not think not only not you, the whole world disappears, not to say of you. And when his mind is directed toward discharging as a doctor, as a lawyer, as a clerk, as anybody, then his mind is completely free from the thoughts of anybody else. How much fraction of a time anybody can think of, even though declares I love you, but the point is not to be missed. I do all those things for love of you. I love you. Let us have children and we have to bring them up lovingly and do our best for their future. It is this which makes him forget directly what is called love and devote all his time. But the goal is only that love. What is the point? Point is we think this is going to last forever. But then what is the reality? Even the slightest disease, illness, accident, death or anything can upset this whole situation, circumstances. What happens to our love? The slightest change in the circumstances, our entire concept of love just bursts beyond the seams. The seams, as it were, they cannot hold any longer. But are we aware of it? We think whatever is we are holding is permanent. So what is the definition of reality? That which will always be there, unchanging and independent, that is called reality. But when we with a Viveka Drishti and this is called is Aparoksha Anubhuti also and this is also called Drishya Adrishya. That is whatever is appearing can be deceptive. What is not appearing that we have to delve into. That Viveka should be there. But we do not have that one. But we will have that one after going through a lot of experiences. Definitely we are going to develop these things. So what is Ramakrishna saying? God alone is real. Because what is the definition of reality? Trikala abadhitam satyam. Whatever never undergoes any change, remains exactly as it is in time. Time means change. God is real. That means reality is that which is unchanging, not subject to time. There is no birth. There is no death. It is eternal. And that alone is real. And that which is real, eternal, that is called God. Everything else is of a fleeting nature, temporary nature. That's why Ramakrishna always illustrates the Ashwatha tree alone is permanent. But fruits come, fruits go, leaves come, leaves go. But the tree will remain for a long time. Don't pull the logic toward the extreme. But the Ashwatha tree also can be felled down. That is why it is called Ashwatha. What is the etymological meaning of na shva? Shva means tomorrow. That which doesn't exist next second, it can be cut. It can be burned. It can be totally destroyed. Shva means tomorrow. Tomorrow means what? Next second. And that which is subject to destruction at any given time, that is called Shvatha. What is Ashwatha? That which is not subject, real Ashwatha. That is why Sri Ramakrishna says, I am the real tree. I remain the same. Viyaya means that which slowly becomes less and less. But Aviyaya, opposite meaning. God alone is that. Everything else is temporary. This whole universe is nothing but temporary. Then the Brahma devotee who questioned earlier says, But then, sir, lust and anger are the real enemies. What can we do about them? This is our opinion. These are insurmountable obstacles. Impossible to conquer lust and greed. And scriptures agree. Sri Ramakrishna agrees. Every saint also agrees. That doesn't mean that they have to remain as enemies. No. They can be turned the other way around. They can be our greatest helpers. That is the topic. That's what Sri Ramakrishna expresses. Turn the six enemies around. Around means what? There are only two factors in this world. One is world, that is the created. Another is God, the unchanging factor. The karana, mula karana, the original cause. Which is called God, Brahman or Yahweh or Father in heaven. Whatever name you call. So turn the six enemies around. What does Sri Ramakrishna mean? Use these very enemies so that we can progress towards God. Have lust for union with the Atman. Show anger to those who are an obstacle in the way to God. Have greed to attain Him. Once future Swami Turiyananda, Hari Maharaj. Because everybody has to go through the same experiences. Because it is nature's chemistry, chemical factory. So he was suffering from lust and he was aware of it. He did not want to be a victim of lust. So he approached Sri Ramakrishna and he said, How can I overcome lust? And Sri Ramakrishna gave a marvellous reply. He said, Why? Lust is no. Increase it. Don't try to destroy it. Increase it a thousand fold. Means many, many, many fold. And turn it towards God. In fact Sri Ramakrishna need not have said, Turn it towards God. Because whenever lust increases to such a proportion, then no worldly object is capable of receiving. And we will understand thoroughly. I want to possess this a billion fold. I lust for this. And if that lust increases, it can only become one thing. It can only become Kama becomes now transformed into Prema. Prema is love of God. Because if there is, I explained also earlier, but I cannot express it enough to drive it into your understanding also. If any limited object is capable of receiving, only limited amount of burden. If on a child you go on putting, increasing, you just put one small paper bag on his head, happily he will carry it around. Put one kg, he will not be a baby. Cannot be carrying. A child cannot carry. Much less greater weights. So like that, any person in this world is incapable. And by the way, when we say any person, it means any object. Any object in this world. Because every person is an object. We are the subject. Everybody else, whether it is parents, wife, husband, children, friends, enemies, they are all what is called Vastu, objects only. One subject, everything else is an object, including Acharya, including God. Only when we transcend the subject-object dichotomy, then we become Advaitins. There is no subject. There is no object. Both are subsumed into that one indivisible Satchitananda Brahman. So when we start loving Swami Vivekananda, use it to make marvellous observations. And one of these observations is very beautiful. You know, we hear historically, so Laila and Majnu, Anarkali and that Mohammedan prince, etc. Examples like that. So they were truly true lovers. And then when love increases so much, what do you think they see in each other? So one of the recollections is Laila and Majnu were disliked by the king because they fell in love. And they were tied to two separate pillars facing each other. And very soon they have to be beheaded. And then somebody was observing that as the butcher was approaching to behead them, and they were not even aware of the approach of the butcher because their love. So the man was looking at the face and forgot himself. And the woman was looking at him. She forgot herself. What to speak of death? What to speak of butcher? Butcher's knife, etc., etc. This is a concept very difficult even for us to even understand. But that is what sometimes we do also. When there is a terrible danger, a mother rushes forgetting herself totally. Her only object will be, how can I rescue my baby from this poisonous cobra, which is about to strike my baby? Or a car is running. We see actual incidents. A baby was somehow crawled into the path of a racing truck. And I saw that on a video. So the woman just rushed, snatched the baby, and pulled him out of these wheels of that truck. Just inches. Otherwise, he would have been crushed. Probably she also would have been crushed. And some of them have been crushed also. So what I am telling is what Swami Vivekananda observed. If somebody can develop love like Laila and Majnu, then they are the nearest to God. All that they need to do is, and that time will come, like Beluva Mangala, like Tulasi Dasa, and so many. We are going to see those examples also, given by some of the direct disciples very soon. So this is what Sri Ramakrishna is telling, that this was the contribution of actually Ramanuja. He says, the love, the intense love for God is absorbable, perceivable only by God. When our love grows beyond certain limit, no object in this world will be able to tolerate it. They cannot take it. They don't have. Because it is like a terrible, huge weight on the head. And that is why Sri Ramakrishna is telling, you increase your lust so much, that ultimately the only object of this thousand-fold lust will be God. But at that time, there will be no lust. That lust becomes, what is called, it possesses us. So how do we know whether our lust is thousand-fold or only one-fold? If lust is in a small measure, then we possess it. And the same lust turns into uncontrollable. Then it becomes like a spirit possessing us. At that stage, it is no longer, it can be called lust, but it is called love. And that is why every lover is like a madcap. Especially in Sufism, we get, is mad with the love of Allah. Or Allah became mad with the love of His devotees. There is no difference. Anal Haq. I am Allah. That is the understanding. In brief, this is what Sri Ramakrishna is advising to Hari Maharaj. And this is what he is telling here. He must have told this to umpteen number of people. But we do not know who are they. Because M used to come only on Saturdays, half day, Sunday and holidays. Rest of the time, Sri Ramakrishna used to ask His intimate devotees, whom he wanted to bestow His grace and instruct how he can progress, to come on Tuesday, come on a special day, alone, when nobody else is around. And if somebody else is around, as it happens in the case of one devotee, and he told him that you come alone to me, when nobody, don't bring your friend like that. So have lust for union with the Atman. But show anger to those who are an obstacle in the way to God. Have greed to attain Him. The greatest greed is only, the insatiable greed, can only be satisfied with God because He is infinite. If you have to say, me and mine, say it in relation to Him. As for example, my Krishna, my Rama. If I have pride, let it be like the pride of a Bhishma, who said, I bow to Rama. This head shall never bow to anybody else. So there are certain things we will have to discuss. Now, this is what we get in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. And this is a created story based upon Mahabharata story. The Panchapandavas, especially Yudhishthira, was advised to do a great Yajna. And then he performed it. And then in that Yajna, all the result has to be offered to somebody. Somebody had to be honoured. And then Yudhishthira invited so many people, whom he conquered. And then he invited so-called Vibhishana, the king of Sri Lanka. That is from Rama's time. And Vibhishana, he also came. Sri Krishna was asked, or Yudhishthira was kept there. Sorry, Yudhishthira was sitting there. And he will not bow his head to Yudhishthira. That is what he is telling. This head, I bow to Rama. This head shall never bow to anybody else. And Krishna, he was Rama only. Because if Krishna was asked who you are, in my past birth, I was Rama. He would have said, like Sri Ramakrishna. He who was Rama, now became Krishna. So Sri Krishna, immediately he understood. He bowed down, Shastanga Pranam to Yudhishthira. And Vibhishana observed it. He knew that my Rama alone has reincarnated in the form of Krishna. Since his Rama was bowing down, he had no objection to bow down. He bowed down. This is what had happened. So there are so many wonderful things are there. Earlier, I quoted also a beautiful saying from Bhagavatam. Kamat gopyah, or gopyah kamat. Bhayat kamsah, dveshat shishupaladayah. So these very enemies are Kama, Bhaya, and then Dvesha. Now we have to include the other ones also. Through them, when they are increased enormously, and directed towards God, then God became gracious to them. And they became all liberated. Even Putana, she has used what is called Vatsalya Bhakti. But her purpose was to kill. But she must have been extraordinarily fortunate woman to be able to suckle Bhagavan Himself. And when Bhagavan suckles, He will turn every poison into Amrita. Remember, the husband or brother-in-law of Mirabai did not want Mirabai to live. So they sent a pail of Visha. That is squeezed from a cobra. And they did not hide the fact. The person who brought, a maid servant, told, Rana sent this and it contains Visha. And he orders you to drink. What did Mirabai do? She took it marvellously, happily. Whatever she enjoys, it must first be offered to Krishna. And she offered it to Krishna. And whatever is offered to Krishna, immediately becomes Amrita. Amrita Mathana was going on. Samudra Mathana is a symbolical story of which I also had discussed. Then the first thing that came is Halahal Visha. And it is a symbolic story. That is to say, terrible worldliness, attachment. And then Bhagavan Vishnu advises all the Devatas and Asuras, Offer it to Shiva. And some Pauranikas, they transform it into to ridicule Shiva. Whatever Vishnu did not want or whatever is bad, that he will offer to Shiva. This is a ridiculous type of understanding. Vishnu and Shiva, they are not two different. Vishnu is Shiva. Shiva is Vishnu. So what did Shiva do? Immediately he drank, saved the whole world. That's why he was called Meelakanta. This is a Pauranik story. But the symbolism is, Shiva means what? Knowledge. Shiva stands for knowledge. What is the knowledge? That this is what happens. First Vigna will be Laya. Second Vigna will be Vikshaipa. Third Laya will be Kashaya. And all these put together is called Halahal Visha. And then only Amruta will come, Ananda will come. Shiva gladly drank. That means he removed the obstacles of all these devotees. So they went on working. Finally Dhanvantari comes out with a Kamandalu full of Amruta. There are so many things to be talked about that. But my point is, if these very so-called enemies are no enemies, like any knowledge can be an enemy, any knowledge can be also the greatest friend. For example, you can use an aeroplane to traverse long distances in the shortest possible time. But you can also send bombs. And then especially nowadays they are going on using drones, drone technology. No human being is necessary. And then they go and bomb somebody. How they killed is a very fascinating story for those who are interested. We are not interested here. What is meant is, these six enemies are our greatest friends if we only know how to use them. There are beautiful sayings of the direct disciples which we will talk about in our next class. May Ramakrishna Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna.