Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 133 on 11-March-2025

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

OM JANANIM SHARADAM DEVIM RAMAKRISHNAM JAGADGURUM PADAPADMETAYOH SRIDHVA PRANAMAMI MUHURUM OHO We are reading the advice to householders. This is the chapter in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. Thursday, August 24, 1882. Sri Ramakrishna was speaking of six passions – lust, anger, avarice, delusion, pride and envy. The whole of Maya can be comprised of these six. Sri Ramakrishna says these are our enemies, but he also says these are the greatest helpers, because what are these things? Intensified desires. Desires intensified, but directed towards unspiritual or worldly objects. In either case, whether a person's desire is for the world or for God, both of them must be directed only, they must have intensity. Unless there is a certain intensity of desire, it cannot be turned into a pursuit, sincere pursuit. For example, you are not very thirsty, you are not very hungry, a little bit, then you will not take it urgently. Okay, I can wait for another one hour, two hours, three hours, but if it is unbearable, then you will run. Until I get it, I will not be able to rest. My mind will be terribly restless. Intensity should be there. Tremendous force should be there, either of kama, krodha, lobha, moha, madha, matsarya. Most of us, our mind is very weak, not strong. That is why our desires are there and desires will express themselves only according to the strength of the mind. If the mind is weak, desires also will be weak. Now, here also we have to understand, do the desires really become weak? No. Their manifestation becomes weak. When a person has terrible hankering for name, for fame, for power, for position, when the same person is sick, the strength of the desire has not become less. But the strength of the mind, which is an instrument for the fulfillment of that desire, that becomes very weak. But as soon as the same person recovers, then he will do his best to obtain his desires. Now, what we need to understand, one or two beautiful points are there. I will just come to that point. I want to read a little bit. So, this is what we had discussed actually. This is only a reminder. So, we are talking about a Brahma devotee. He is asking Ramakrishna, Lust and anger, are they real enemies? What can we do about them? The question itself has been turned upside down by Ramakrishna. So, what was the question? Lust and anger, are they real enemies? No. What can we do about them is a separate question. But are they enemies? That was what we were discussing in our last class. And this is what Ramakrishna was telling Sri Ramakrishna. Turn the six enemies around 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. If you have to say, me and mine, say it in relation to Him, to God. As for example, my Krishna or my Rama, if you have pride, let it be like the pride of Vibheshana, who said, I bow to Rama. This head shall never bow to anybody else. This was what we were discussing in our last class. Now, what we need to understand here? What is it that hides God from us? It is only avidya and Shankaracharya, a master psychologist that he was. And every spiritual person must become a master psychologist because there is nothing excepting psychology. You want to be happy, happiness is a state of the mind, psychology. How do you feel about it? You are getting very ordinary food, ordinary house, ordinary everything, dress. But if you feel, I am so happy, you are the happiest person. If you feel miserable, then you are a miserable person. It is not the possessions, it is our attitude. A rich man, he may suffer from inferiority complex and a poor man may suffer from a superiority complex. It is not what a person has, but what is his relationship with his desires. So, Ramakrishna is telling that these six mentioned, kama, prudha, lobha, moha, madha, matsarya, they can be tremendous great enemies. They can also be great friends, provided we know how to use them as friends. Because the greater the desire, greater will be the strength. But whether that strength is used for harming, hurting other people or for helping other people, strength is necessary. And one of the important points is, we are always talking about ahamkara. So, we have to be very careful. I spoke about this subject also many times. In this, there are two words, aham and kara. Aham is pure existence, pure chit, pure sat, pure ananda. But what is the problem? Aham is not the problem because aham is existence and existence can never be gotten rid of. But it is the kara that is the problem. Kara means what? Whatever we join this aham and become identified with it. So, we join aham, dehaha, I am the body and I feel I am the body. So, there are three things are here. Aham means pure chaitanyam and then it first of all forgets. That is the first step in this samsara, bondage. I am atman, no, I am not the atman. Remember, these things happen simultaneously. This is a snake and this is a rope. Simultaneously, it is not that first this is not a rope, then this is a snake. It does not take one after the other. As soon as we understand that this is not a rope, we must see something there. Otherwise, this becomes a blank. No, there must be something. So, like that aham, if I am not atman, then it must be something else. So, there are three things that we identify with. One is the possessions. That is the grossest attachment and another is the body and another is the mind. So, these are the three levels and how do we know? There is a gross body and there is a subtle body. There is a causal body. So, when we are in the gross body, we are completely identified with the physical body. Consequently, with the whole world. And when we are, that is called Jagra Davastha or waking state. And when we somehow change it and we do change it at every time, every minute, every millisecond, we are identifying either with the body and the world or the mind or the Karana Sharira or which is called unconscious state. So, these are the three obstacles. We have to identify in which state we are. But to put it a little more concretely, our first identity will be my house, my car, my bank balance, etc. And somehow, if we can forget about it, then we become identified with my stomach. So, a simple example I am giving. When a person loves, I want to eat sweet, I love sweets, his mind is running after the sweet. But when his stomach is aching, he forgets the sweet but he becomes identified with the body. And then mind. What is the mind? People should respect me and they should know I am very powerful. People should know I have so much of money, I can do whatever I like. Or I am a Brahmana, I am a Pandit, I am a big doctor, etc., etc. And even Gundas, they have also the greatest, what you call, egotism. If any one Gunda challenges the other Gunda or passes what we call light remarks or derogatory remarks, and the other Gunda gets so angry, he might even murder him. How dare he talk about me like that? So, these are all nothing to do with the body. Body is perfectly okay, possessions are also okay, but the mental hurt, mental worry. So, when we are talking about these six Kshatrus, with which level we are identifying? Is it with the possessions or is it with the body or is it with our thoughts? Mind means thoughts. These are called Vrittis, Pratyayas. Most of us, we are not even aware of the distinction between these three. So, that is why the Kundalini lies in these three states, Muladhara, Swadhishtana and Manipura. Each is related to one particular level of consciousness. Is it in the possessions, is it in the body or is it in the mind? Only after hectic struggle, slowly we start to rise beyond these three and that happens mostly after lots and lots of suffering, after lots and lots of going through so many difficulties and learning our lessons and trying to correct ourselves. Only it happens at that time. So, you see how many are there. All these comprise of what? Avidya, any attachment. I am not the Atman, that is the first step. Then I am something else, that is the second step. And then related to these things, our desires also will in accordance express themselves. That is why the Shankaracharya beautifully puts it in the psychology, Avidya, Kama and Karma. First is forgetting I am my real nature, I am not the Atman. Then if I am not the Atman, I must be somebody because the I can never remain empty without identification. It must have identity either with the Atman or with something other than the Atman. So, what Avidya does, it does both actions. First it covers about my real nature and then it projects I am something else. And that projection can be in any one of these three forms, either possessions or body or mind. And when this mind gets into the higher stage, then we will see that higher stage that is called Sushupti. There is no apparent duality. Still it is a state whereas Advaita is not a state. Advaita is just me, I, whatever I am. But everything else other than that is a sthiti or avastha, Jagrat avastha, Swapna avastha, Sushupti avastha etc. So, what is the point we were discussing? That our Ahamkara is nothing but this identity with the possessions, with the body and with the mind. And just a little bit more elaboration so that we can understand crystal clearly what I am talking about. So, when somebody says my bank balance is great, but then you know when a person is sick, when a person is old, when a person is in Sushupti or coma, what has he got to do with possessions? Even the greatest emperor, greatest president is just an animal when he is sick etc. But somehow if that idea of possessions, that is called Mahimna. In Chandogya Upanishad we have seen. So, what is the support for Brahman? Sve Mahimni Edhiva na Mahimnaha Brahman is its own support. And then if you remember, what is the support of ordinary people like us? So, Dara, Dasa, Go, Ashwa, Hasti, then possessions Kretra, Ayatana etc. I have seen that elaborately. So, Ahamkara is nothing but feeling identity with the possessions, with the body, and then with the mind. Why is this distinction, threefold distinction so very necessary? Because the first thing that we have to tackle with is grossest, easiest. So, therefore our possessions. If we don't, if we forget, if we don't remember, possessions make no difference. If a person loses his memory, he doesn't even know what he is. He doesn't know how much money is there. Old age usually, amnesia or temporary disability to remember anything. Memory has a lot to do with all these things. So, you see how marvelous this psychology is. When even the most powerful, richest person, talented person is in coma, as if he is a very ordinary person, not at all that great person, either possession wise or knowledge wise or whatever wise. It is all nothing but, Avidya is nothing but dealing psychology. Then from this Avidya, if we are identified with the possessions, our desires become more related to possessions. I want more money etc. If our identity shifts to body, then I want to remain young. I want to remain more beautiful. I want to be admired by other people. So, when a person says, I want to be admired, then he means the body. Even the greatest donor, his photo should come. Why? Because how do people identify who the person is? Only through his physical body. So, therefore a photo must be there. So, they are admiring me etc. That applies to everybody. If the identity shifts to the body from the possessions, then all our desires will belong to the body. And if the attention shifts to the mind, then his name and fame, power and position, all those things are mental phenomena. I am a great soul. If I just tell something like this, everybody will become running etc. And if somebody doesn't look at me or thinks I think they are not respecting me, I can feel greatly offended. See how this really works in our day-to-day life psychology. That's why this psychology is very very important for all of us to understand. Our Avidya is in psychology. It belongs to the mind. Our Sadhana, our Samsaric life belongs to the mind. Our Adhyatmika life, spiritual life also belongs. Our intellectual life also belongs to psychology. So, as I mentioned earlier, whether it is Vishayananda, Medhananda, Kalananda, Dharmananda, these four, if you notice, disappear when we are in the Sushupti state. So, what a marvellous thing it is. So, these are all invited. Ahankara, if there is Ahankara, there will be Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Mada, Matsarya will be there. And how these apply? With the points just now I have mentioned, very briefly I will mention. What is the first thing? Kama, desire. What did I say just now? Kama, either it belongs to the possessions or it belongs to the body or it belongs to the thought. Even when a person says I am happy or unhappy, that doesn't belong to the body also. So, when a person has developed a great thought, I am a happy person, very positive thought, then whether he has possessions or not, whether he is sick or healthy, he remains much more happy and contented than people who have so many other things. So, Kama. Then what happens? The rot starts spreading more. When we think I have this desire, I am not obtaining this desire. And because of what? Because if it is nature, say a farmer, he has cultivated certain things and the crop is ready, just then either a storm comes or a terrible locusts or a plant disease comes or an invasion by something else comes and all the crops will fail, he can't blame anybody, then he will blame damn nature. And if he is a believer, God is not gracious to me. Even when a person says very nicely, you are not being very nice to me, to God, he is only blaming God, you must remember it. That is a suppressed form of Krodha. When desire becomes thwarted, it turns into Krodha. That is, this is the cause of my non-obtainment of my desire. And that feeling comes. And then in old age especially, I cannot enjoy, even if I am a billionaire, I can only probably eat some soup. I cannot eat any solid food. And then Lobha, possessions. Oh, I must have. What is that possession? It is a satisfaction in the mind. Oh, I have so many things other people don't have. So that is a thought in the mind. Then Moha, that belongs to the mind also. Very high level of the mind. What is Moha? Delusion. What is delusion? Mistaking the right for the wrong and the wrong for the right. Then comes Madha. I have everything. I should be a happier person. But I cannot bear it that the other person is not recognizing me for what I am. I am very proud. And this pride need not be always mine. If my son is the biggest doctor or my husband is the president of a big country, that also generates a tremendous amount of pride. So it can be anybody with whom you are identified. Then ultimately comes Matsarya. Matsarya means what? Eat. Matsarya belongs to what? I cannot tolerate the other person. If the other person is less than me, I'm very happy. But if the other person in any way, either health, beauty or wealth or name and fame or a better singer, a better devotee, jealousy creeps in. And this is how the whole psychology works. Either it is rooted or deeply attached to the possessions or if not to the body or if not to the thoughts and it is shifting from one to the other for how many janmas? Billions and janmas. But this is called Ahamkara. Ahamkara like Mahishasura changes. As you know the story, Mahishasura changes into a human being then into a buffalo, into a lion, into an elephant and then again back into a buffalo. That means Ahamkara changes. What does it mean? Our Ahamkara shifts from one object to the other either to the possessions or to the body or to the thoughts or again body and again possessions. All these things happen not simultaneously. That is a very important point. Simultaneously, one cannot be identified with all the three. The nature of the mind is the mind can identify itself even it be for a very short time to only one idea, one thought, one pratyaya. But if it can be kept that is called concentration. This is how we have to understand the whole Maya is nothing but this what is called Ahamkara. And if a person has got Ahamkara, he is a worldly person. And if a person doesn't have Ahamkara, he is a spiritual person. So then this Ahamkara when it is merged in Brahman and that is the way of the Gnana Marga, then he becomes one with Brahman. That Kara disappears, pure Aham remains. Aham, Aham, only this one. And if he is a devotee, what he says is I deliberately merge my Kara into God, my Ishta Devata. And that is called Sharanagati, complete self-surrender. And this is how it happens. So these are a few points we have to understand. To summarize what we have spoken so far for nearly half an hour is that first of all Ahamkara only manifests Ahamkara. The moment Ahamkara comes, that is called Abhidhya. Aham now forgets Aham and becomes Kara. That is called Abhidhya. And through that identification, that identification can be with the possessions, with the body or with the thoughts. At any given time, our mind is continuously identifying for a short time with any of these things. And only in the state of deep sleep, it is not doing it. So this is the important point. But the most important point is that this Abhidhya first degenerates into Kama. And wherever there is a desire, there must be an activity. Even my desire is an activity of the mind in the form of thought. And if the thought persists, it becomes strong. It has to be translated into action. And that is called Karma. Abhidhya, Kama, Karma. Karma to Kama, Kama to Abhidhya. Abhidhya to Kama, Kama to Karma. This running up and down through the whole scale of this instrument, that is called Samsara or transmigratory experience. Let us keep these points in mind. Then there is an actor. When Shri Ramakrishna was speaking thus, there was an actor. And he is asking, Sir, what is the difference between lust and desire? Very subtle question. Lust and lust means here Kama. And desires are any number of small branches. Shri Ramakrishna is explaining. Lust is like the root of a tree. And desires are branches and twigs. So he is stating a marvelous truth through the simplest words, Saral Kothai Shri Khale. But what depth of meaning is there in his words? So long as there is a root. And this root is called Kama. And Kama is because of what? Identity. Forgetting I am Atman. I am the body-mind complex. In other words, I am Jeevatma. And this Jeevatma runs from the waking dream to dreamless or from the possessions to the body to the thoughts. And again. So again and again running within these three platforms, that is called the life of some transmigratory world. This Jeeva being born again. Why is Jeeva reborn? Because of desires. Why are there desires? Because of identity or forgetting. I am the Atman and identifying with. I am the possessions. I am the body or I am the mind. So this here is the answer. Lust is like the root. And the root of lust is ignorance. And unless that root called ignorance, that is what Sri Krishna says in the 15th chapter. So one has to take the axe of Asanga. And completely you have to destroy that root. But that root can be destroyed only from each level. First, I must be detached from the possessions. Second, I must be detached from the body as far as possible. Then only the fight starts with the real Kurukshetra will come. So this is how we have to understand. Sri Ramakrishna further says, One cannot completely get rid of the six passions. Lust, anger, greed and the like. Therefore, one should direct them to God. In fact, directing them to God is what is called evolution in life. What does a scientist do? He has got also desires like an ordinary person. Perhaps many lives he was only desiring, I want to get married and I want to get some good job. And I want to get some children and a house. That's all. But over the number of years, he becomes refined. Evolution takes place. Then what does he do? I want to become a great scientist. It's a great improvement. I want to become a great singer. I want to become a great speaker. I want to become a great leader, political or otherwise. So these higher desires mean harder work. So slowly nature is training us. What purpose? You go on fulfilling the desire. And what happens to the desire? Like Raktabija, it goes on becoming stronger and stronger and still strong. And then finally it becomes so great. And about which we are going to talk very soon here in today's class. So the person's lust or desire and consequently Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Mada, Matsarya. All of them, the moment desire becomes stronger to that extent. His anger also becomes the same strength. And that's why I give an example. When a person goes to a gym and then goes on strengthening his muscles. And then his hands have become extraordinarily strong. Whether he takes a small pebble and throws at you or a stone and throws at you. There's a big difference. When a baby throws the same things at you. When the strong man throws at you. When a baby throws, it will never reach you perhaps. But when the strong man says, it might even kill. Even a pea with the strength of the strong man can make you blind or can even kill you. Because the strength, it is not the pea. It is the strength behind the pea. If I take a bullet and throw it at you mildly, it might perhaps hurt you. But it will certainly not kill you. Put the same bullet in the most powerful gun. So the gun makes the bullet all the more stronger. So the more we progress, then the strong becomes our desire also. But that is the way of evolution. We have to progress. There is no other way. We have to do that way only. And so that is why the whole nature has made the whole life in such a way. Our desires go on growing and growing and growing. And then second thing that happens is not only desires grow, but desires, every desire doesn't become strong. So it becomes fixated. I want to become a great scientist. I want to become a great musician or a great cook or a great administrator, great PM, great MLA, etc. etc. Because our enlightened intellect understands. So one cannot be master of all trades. One can be jack of all trades, not a master. So here also when it grows through exercise, the desire becomes so vast, so powerful. Then comes the Bhagawan's Leela. That very avidya maya now makes him turn towards vidya maya. I want my desire to be fulfilled. Look at the story of Hiranyakashyapu. His hands were itching. I want to fight. Why? Don't you have so many Rakshasas in your own kingdom? Even Kumbhakarna, you could fight with Kumbhakarna also in the case of Ramanasura. And Hiranyakashyapu can kill, can fight anyone. No, because his strength had become so strong, especially his desire. I want to be Olympic gold title person only. And then who is the continuous gold winner? Only God, Narayana. So if I can defeat Him, it is as good as defeating everybody else. This is called in Sanskrit, Prathama Malla Nyaya, analogy of the last person. So first there will be a fight between so many people. Then they go to the next stage. Only there will be finally two contesters. And then when that contester, one defeats the other, he attains the gold medal. So last Olympic gold medalist holds on that title. And then after five years, another person, he challenges. If he can defeat the previous gold winner, and then he will get the title. It's called Prathama Malla. That means the greatest opponent till that time. If you can fight with him, it is as good as fighting a million other lesser strong people. That's called Prathama Malla, means the last person who is the greatest wrestler. And it applies, apply this to any field. The greatest singer, if I can compete with him and then sing better than him, that is called defeating that Prathama Malla. A last person, a highest person, if I can defeat it. And when a desire becomes stronger and stronger, how driven by this desire, people go on climbing in which sometimes knowingly that we may not come back alive. We may slip. We may be caught in landslides. We may die also. But that strong desire drives them. This is the beautiful psychology. And that is called evolution. It is this evolution. I want nothing but God. That is what is true purpose of evolution. Why? Because before evolution, involution must come. And that involution is called we are coming from God. That means God himself has come down and now he has played for some time. He wants to go back and he wants to become again. Remember, I am God. It is just a Leela play as if he came down, as if he forgotten and as if he remembered again. This is the solitaire game he is playing. So either he is in the state of Nitya or he is in the state of Leela. So Shri Ramakrishna is telling all these what you call six manifestations of our desires. Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Madha, Matsarya. And they are not six actually. One putting on the dress of the other, one after the other. Kama becomes Krodha or Krodha becomes Lobha. Lobha becomes Madha. Madha becomes Matsarya etc. So they are not six enemies. One enemy in different disguise for the time being. So either we are overcome like Vishwamitra by lust or we are overcome by anger. How dare you come and tempt me and make me fall. Don't you know? I know what you are up to. All your tricks I know. And then he looked at these Apsarasas with great anger and they all became reduced ashes. What does it mean? Don't take literally that he killed all of them. He burned them. No, no, no. That means what? You are like ash to me. If ash comes and then takes the form. If a skeleton comes and says I am the most beautiful person in this world. So why don't you marry me? Which person is willing to marry a skeleton, a ghost? So that is what we need to understand. And Sri Ramakrishna says therefore one should direct them to God. If you must have desire and greed then you should desire love of God etc. Now I mentioned earlier even the disciples of Sri Ramakrishna had to overcome them. Only a few things were mentioned. Swami Brahmanandji had to suffer. Swami Turiyanandji had to suffer. Swami Yoganandji has to suffer. What about the other people? Everyone has to suffer. If people have not suffered from Kama only who can escape the suffering? Either the person must be God-realized soul or he must be a piece of stone not alive. Then there is no question of problems in between. Even as we say a mosquito also will have Kama, Krudha, Lobha, Moha, Madha, Matsarya. I don't know but I presume and I believe that if you thwart a mosquito it will be waiting for vengeance and it will take revenge. So at night it will wait for you and then when your hand is touching the mosquito curtain from outside some mosquitoes will suck you up. So every sadhaka must go through this. That is the way of the nature. And therefore when we study the sayings of these direct disciples we get these hints. Because everybody's problem is the same and everybody's solution is also the same. It cannot be different. Let us study a few of them. How to overcome for example lust? A disciple once asked Sri Ramakrishna how he was to conquer lust. Although he was passing his days in religious contemplation, evil thoughts, what are evil thoughts? Thoughts about sex etc. were arising in his mind. To him the master said there was a man and he gave a beautiful story. There was a man who had a pet dog. He used to caress it and carry it about in his arms, lay with it and kiss it. A wise man seeing this foolish behaviour of him warned him not to lavish such attention on a king. For it was after all an irrational brute and might bite him one day. The owner took the warning to heart and putting away the dog from his arms resolved never again to fondle or caress it. But the animal could not at first understand the change in his master and would run to him frequently to be taken up and caressed as before. Beaten several times, at last the dog ceased to trouble his master anymore. This is called training the dog and we have to train also our mind in the same way. Such indeed is your condition. The dog that you have been cherishing so long in your bosom will not easily leave you. Though you may wish to be rid of it, however there is no harm in it. Do not caress the dog anymore but give it a good beating whenever it approaches you to be fondled. And in course of time you will be altogether free from its importunities. This is a beautiful story against psychology. What are we talking about? What was Sri Ramakrishna talking about? What is that dog? That dog is called our Samskara. Everything, our whole life is nothing but interplay of the Samskaras. So that is the dog here, our Samskaras. What is the Samskara? I want... I enjoyed that sweet. So I enjoyed my company with that person. Or any happy experience that we have. Remember, happy experience. We want it again and again and again. This was what? Who was that person? That is Swami, I think, Yogananda. Then Swami Shivananda. He was asked a question later on, perhaps when he was the president. How are we to free ourselves from lust? And then his reply is this way. My child, does anyone become completely free from lust? But then by repeating the Lord's name again and again, it gradually subsides. Keep yourself far away from all the things which give rise to negative feelings. Whenever such feelings come to mind, pray to Thakur with folded hands. This is the advice of Swami Shivananda. Beautiful again spiritual saying. So this spiritual warfare should go on and on. What was Swami Mahapurush Maharaj? What was he telling? Does anyone become completely free from lust? If we ask any question, when we are not realized souls, then we are not free. Because what is the answer? We have not realized. Why did we not realize? Because of lust. There is some lust which is obstructing. So if a person realizes, Second chapter, beginning itself. And all his desires are completely fulfilled. That is what he says. That's why he says, So, O my child, do not imagine that one day you will be free from all the desires. The only state when we are free from Kama, Kruda, etc. And as I said, they are not the six thoughts. They are the same thought taking different shapes. So when we are in a comatic condition, unconscious state or in Sushupti state, then so long as the instrument is not functioning, the moment the instrument functions, again it will come. Sri Ramakrishna used to narrate a beautiful story. There was a type of physical yoga a man was practicing. So by doing that one, there is a belief, if the tongue can be turned completely inwards, touching his throat, then he will attain some kind of Siddhi, some kind of Samadhi. So this man, he was a practicing magician, maybe. And by accident, his tongue has touched the inside. And then he became lifeless. And until then, it was come delusion, come illusion, see all of you, my magic tricks, he was performing. But when his tongue turned, he became as if lifeless. So the man was taken away, buried for perhaps 100 years or 1000 years. Then accidentally, he was discovered. And then he was dug out. And then in that process of digging out, his tongue became loose and came back to its normal position. And immediately, he came back to consciousness. And immediately, he started, come illusion, come delusion. What a beautiful weaving of story by Sairam Krishna. He was performing, exactly he lost consciousness. And he was remembering and he continued what he was doing before, even after 1000 years, even after 1000 births. If we are completely mesmerized by this Maya, then we will be repeating the same thing. So what is the lesson? Only a person who has become identified with God, he will be free. Not other people. Until that time, even to the last minute, delusion can come. Even Totapuri Maharaj did not bow down to the Divine Mother, by whose grace he had attained to that high state. And he had to sit at the feet of Sairam Krishna for 11 months. And then he has to learn the lesson, Sarvam Kalimayam Jagat. Everything is the Divine Mother. Everything belongs to the Divine Mother. Nothing belongs to me. Body, mind, possessions, my achievements, my progress in spiritual life. So if somebody is ignorant, that is also Mother's will. If somebody is a very knowledgeable person, that is also Mother's will. So take refuge at the feet of the Mother. This is what Swami Shivanandi was telling. Until God Realization, nobody can become free from lust. But by repeating the Lord's name with faith, and that was the advice given by Sairam Krishna to his disciple Swami Yogananda, who at first did not believe. Later on, only he believed. And then he says, go on praying intensely to God with complete longing. But at the same time, keep yourself far away from all the things which give rise to negative feelings. Whenever such feelings come to mind because of the Samskaras, pray to Thakur with folded hands. He will come and save you. And Swami Turiyanandaji explains everything in psychological terms. And then this is what he is telling. A mere suppression of passions helps little. Most of us suppress our feelings, good or bad. There must be a high ideal along with self-restraint. So on the one side, we should observe a diet. I should not eat this. I should not eat that. And I should eat this. So both should be there. Without a high ideal, the passions will find another outlet. What a marvellous statement when we meditate upon this. If we don't have a high ideal and I want to conquer my lust, etc., it is not going because the karma will go either through the doorway of anger or delusion, or a desire for possessions and the pride and the jealousy, etc., etc. That is why Maharaj quotes, Take refuge in Me and control the senses. So both at the same time. And then he goes on. As for example, lust. The Master explained, what is lust? It is a desire to get something. Then desire to get Him. And strengthen this desire greatly. So what is lust? Karma is I lack something. Therefore I am not happy. I have what is called in Vedantic language, I am not Purna. I am finite. I lack something. A Purna. So when I get this, if I get this thing, I become Purna. And then I will remain. But anything other than God is a finite thing. Finite thing is Mithya. Mithya means what comes and goes. And therefore, it is not going to help. In the short run, sometimes it helps. In the long run, no. So Shri Ramakrishna is telling that Kama is good. Because there is a beautiful saying in Bengali, Atma Indriya Preeti Iccha, Tari Naam Kaam. If I want to enjoy myself, whatever it is, even listening to bhajans, even to taking God's name, if it is only for my sake, for my own happiness, that is called Kama, lust. Krishna Indriya Preeti Iccha, Dhoore Prem Naam. But the same thing, if it is I want to please, then visha, even poison, turns into nectar. So desire to get God and strengthen this desire. And as our desire for God increases, our desire for other things also becomes less and less. Then Duryodhana continues, there must be a psychology behind lust. And what is that? It is the desire to obtain oneness. Lust also is an aspect of that love. Just now I quoted, if it is worldly objects, limited objects, finite objects, it is called lust. If the desire is for infinity, for God, and God means infinity, it is called Prema. Radha, Gopis, they all had Prema. But men take a wrong course. They begin with the gross. Hence their failure to carry it up to the pure substance called God. But what happens? We take to the gross. And that is why in Tantra, there is a man who is advised to do sadhana with a woman. And Shri Ram Krishna warrants a person who has become a Veera, a hero. Only he is advised that too by a master who is an enlightened master. Under his guiding presence, like Shri Ram Krishna was guided by Bhairavi Brahmani, one should not venture into these things. That is why Tantric practices are divided into three categories. One is called Vasu. Second is called Veera, higher than that, middle. And the highest is called Divya. When we are in the lower state, that means desire, they rule us. We are all animals. That is why Shiva is called Pashupati. So a Guru will not allow to come into contact with any tempting object. Strict rules are there. But after some time, the Guru says, slowly now you practice with somebody. Because by this time, he is able to control his desires. And that is called the state of Veera. Even Shri Ram Krishna warrants one may fall down also. It is not good. Matru Bhava is the best. But when the same person goes into the Divya Bhava, he sees everything as the Divine Mother. So Shri Ram Krishna also had to go through these fiery ordeals. One night, Bhairavi Brahmani brought a most beautiful young woman. We don't know the details, but she must have instructed, that is my guess, that you become naked. Let this young woman also be naked. Sit in her lap and perform japa. Shri Ram Krishna was at first very much pained. Is it possible? And he runs for refuge to the Divine Mother. Mother, I am your helpless weak child. Can I do this? And next, immediately Veera, a heroic idea possessed him. And he sat. And then the moment he turned mala just a few times, and immediately he forgot. He entered into deep Samadhi. I don't know how fortunate that woman was, that keeping God Himself in her lap. She must have definitely undergone. We know nothing about that person. So many people are like that. So under the guidance of a Guru, only a person can progress. If anybody is arrogant enough to think, my Guru knows nothing and I can do whatever I like, ruin is sure to come. We will stop here and discuss further in our next class. Om Jananim Sharadaam Devi Ramakrishnam Jagat Gurum Pada Padmetayo Saritva Pranamaame Mohan Moho May Ram Krishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna