Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 153 on 16-December-2025

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

Opening Invocation

OM JANANIM SHARADAM DEVIM RAMAKRISHNAM JAGADGURUM PAHADAPADMETAYOH SRIDHVA PRANAMAMI MUHURMUHU

ओम् जननीम् शर्दाम् देवेम् रामक्रिष्णम् जगत् गुरुम् पादपत्मे तयोस्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुरु मुहु

The Question on Renunciation

A Brahmin devotee was questioning Sri Ramakrishna: "Sir, can't we realize God without complete renunciation?"

Before we go into what Sri Ramakrishna replied, I would like to pass my own comment on this: No, we cannot realize God without complete renunciation.

Understanding True Renunciation

What is renunciation? Giving up the world—this is the normal meaning we get. What is real renunciation? Renounce the idea that you are not God. Renounce the idea that I am the body and mind.

And supposing 99% I know I am divine, and 1% I really feel that I am the body and mind—how much percentage did I really renounce? 100%, there is no renunciation, because there is nothing called 99% knowledge and 1% ignorance. They don't go together.

Dispelling Common Misconceptions

So people are frightened of renunciation. Usually it brings in pictures of leaving one's home and going to solitary places, making the body undergo hardship, enduring cold and heat, etc. They are all excellent. They help us. But they are not the goals, ends by themselves. They are supposed to help us get rid of the feeling that I am separate from God.

In this world, what do we feel? I am separate from not only everybody, everything, but I also feel I am separate from myself.

Swami Brahmananda's Illustration

This beautiful idea—Swami Brahmanandaji gives a very telling example: Supposing somebody's leg or hand is lost due to some accident. Then, does that person feel that I am only now 90% or 80% or 75% because I have lost either a leg or a hand or both? No. His egotism will remain 100%. He may have some disabilities because these instruments are no longer there to help him, but his feeling that "I am the body"—there is not the slightest diminution.

The Essence of Complete Renunciation

Therefore, complete renunciation means what? First of all, renunciation means not renouncing the body, not renouncing the mind. They can be there as much as they want, but the feeling that "this is my body, I am this body"—no. The moment we can say, "This body is God's body, this mind is God's mind, and I also belong to God"—that is called complete renunciation.

If anybody can keep this idea, not as an intellectual thought but with 100% feeling, then he is a realized soul, and he should keep it for all the time. Because we also sometimes emotionally feel, "I am yours," especially when we are rescued from dangers or deep trouble. Then we feel temporarily, "Lord, I belong to you." But then, in course of time, again, from where that comes—this egotism crops up.

The Persistent Nature of Ego

That's what Sri Ramakrishna says: You cut the very branches and even the trunk of an aśvattha (banyan tree). Next day, small saplings start coming, new leaves start coming. Very difficult.

And we have to know that one can realize God only by God's grace. And this idea has been so beautifully brought out by Swami Vivekananda in his hymn, Oṃ hṛdayamṛtam, where he outlines our feelings: I know intellectually everything, but I have no feeling. Therefore, tasmāt tvām eva śaraṇam mamādīna bandho—four times he says.

Sri Ramakrishna's Humorous Response

Now, Ramakrishna replies, making a bit of fun. We have to understand it.

The Master, with a laugh: "Of course you can. Why should you renounce everything? You are all right as you are, following the middle path—like molasses, partly solid and partly liquid." What an example!

The Game of Knacks

"Do you know the game of knacks? Having scored a maximum number of points, I am out of the game. Therefore, I cannot play the game. I can't enjoy it. But you are very clever. Some of you have scored 10 points, some 6, and some 5. You have scored just the right number. So you are not out of the game like me. The game can go on. Why? That's fine."

And hearing these words, all the devotees laugh.

The Gospel Truth Behind the Humor

Now, every word that comes out of Sri Ramakrishna's mouth is a gospel truth. Gospel means good news. Good news means spiritual news.

So Sri Ramakrishna was making fun: "You are better than me because I am out of the game, because I realized God."

A God-realized soul—if his body and mind are functioning, he is called jīvanmukta, living free. Do you think this person is not playing the game? He plays double game. What is the double game?

The Divine Actor

So he is like an actor, a very great actor. So he is trying to become identified with the role he has been assigned, but at the same time, he knows in his heart of hearts that "I am only acting." "I am a rich man, but I am acting like a tramp, like a drunkard." But he has got that great talent to make it appear to the audience as if he is a marvelous actor.

So this is what we are trying to find out here: that a jīvanmukta, even though he says, "I am out of the game," is deeply within the game. And this is only to make fun. "You are very fine. You are enjoying this world. You are also enjoying the other world."

Sri Ramakrishna's Serious Teaching

Then he became serious. Sri Ramakrishna tells seriously: "I tell you the truth. There is nothing wrong in your being in the world. But you must direct your mind toward God. Otherwise you will not succeed."

The Two-Handed Approach

"Do your duty with one hand and with the other hold to God. But after the duty is over, you will hold to God with both hands."

This is the real teaching of Sri Ramakrishna. Now you are in this condition, and that is why you are asking this kind of question. But you yourself will understand. Therefore, you will not ask the question whether we have to renounce completely. You will know in your heart of hearts there is no two legs putting on two boats traveling in opposite directions.

So I tell you the truth: there is nothing wrong. This is absolute truth.

The Teaching of Yoga Vāsiṣṭha

And this is exactly what we find in Yoga Vāsiṣṭha. When Rāma, Śrī Rāmacandra, was overcome with tremendous renunciation, then Viśvāmitra comes and asks Vasiṣṭha, "Please tell him what our own Guru had taught us"—because it seems both Viśvāmitra and Vasiṣṭha were instructed in this highest Advaitic truth by the same Guru.

Then Vasiṣṭha starts. That is why it is called Yoga Vāsiṣṭha Rāmāyaṇam.

Different Interpretations of the Rāmāyaṇa

So there are Vasiṣṭha Rāmāyaṇam. And as you know, there are wonderful Rāmāyaṇas. Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa depicts Rāma as an incarnation of dharma, embodiment of dharma. Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa interprets Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa in a symbolic way, and Sri Ramakrishna also interprets it in a symbolic way.

Sri Ramakrishna's Symbolic Interpretation

Rāma, Sītā, and Lakṣmaṇa were traveling in the Daṇḍakāraṇya, forest called the Daṇḍaka. Sri Ramakrishna interprets: Śrī Rāma is the paramātmā, Lakṣmaṇa is the jīvātmā, and Sītā—because of Sītā, mahāmāyā—the jīvātmā thinks "I am separate from Rāma," but he has the highest devotion to paramātmā and he wants to behold his chosen deity all the time.

But this māyā means mind, means thoughts, means worldly thoughts. They do not allow to perceive God directly. They do not allow to see the consciousness that has to be there behind every single thought, which Kena Upaniṣad says: that which is behind every single thought, that is your true nature.

Then he prays: "O Mother, I can never overcome you, but out of your boundless grace, you stand aside or you turn into vidyāmāyā. Then let me behold my paramātmā."

The Ultimate Goal

Very wonderful truth, deep truth is behind Sri Ramakrishna's words. Because however devoted the jīvātmā is, so long as he thinks "I am the body and mind," however pure that body and mind, "I want to see Rāma" is not the end of the goal. "I am Rāma." Aham brahmāsmi—that is why we see both in the Māṇḍūkya Kārikā as well as in the Chāndogya: tat tvam asi śvetaketo—at least eight times that is repeated.

So in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad also: brahma asti—Brahman exists. Asti iti upalabdhavyam—Brahman, God exists. One should realize this truth. But it should not remain "God remains. I want to be a devotee. I want to see God. I want to serve God." They are all means to approach nearer to God. They are greatly helpful. But brahma asti should be converted into brahmāsmi—"There is Brahman" to "I am Brahman." That should be the ultimate goal.

Living in the World While Doing Sādhana

So that is what Sri Ramakrishna is telling: There is nothing wrong in being in the world. In fact, how does a person or where does a person live when he is doing spiritual practice? Do you think there is a non-world going where, escaping where, hiding where, the aspirant practices sādhana? Sādhana can be done only through this body and mind.

The Teaching of Taittirīya Upaniṣad

That's what we are going to find out in the third chapter of Taittirīya Upaniṣad: when Bhṛgu approached the God-realized soul, Brahman-realized soul, who happened to be his own father. So when the father starts teaching, he is not teaching his son, he is not a father, and the listener is not the son. The father becomes ācārya, guru, and the student becomes yogya śiṣya, sādhanā catuṣṭaya sampanna śiṣya. We have to remember, worldly relationships—they do not come there.

Varuṇa's Teaching Method

So when asked, "Teach me about Brahman," Varuṇa says, indirectly, not directly, in very clipped words, very concise words, Varuṇa replies: First he says that this body, this mind, these pañcakośas—annamaya kośa, prāṇamaya kośa, manomaya kośa, vijñānamaya kośa, ānandamaya kośa—all these are the means to slowly progress in spiritual life or slowly approach Brahman and finally claim. And until a person identifies himself with Brahman, it is brahma asti—Brahman exists, and that would be the inspiration, that would be the magnet. But he has to completely merge himself; then only he can claim brahmāsmi—"I am Brahman." But he can't do straight away. So he has to practice.

The Two Types of Definitions

And for that purpose, first Varuṇa defines what is Brahman. This is called taṭastha lakṣaṇa, secondary definitions of Brahman. Svarūpa lakṣaṇa is the primary definition, and taṭastha lakṣaṇa means secondary definition or accidental definition.

What is it? He from whom this whole world comes out, He by whom this creation is maintained, and unto whom the creation returns. That is, from whom, from which cause, final cause, causeless cause, the whole creation has come out, and which is maintained for some time by the same cause—just as clay becomes pot, clay remains as pot, protecting, identifying the pot as the pot. And when the pot breaks or is destroyed, then all the time it is clay only, but pure clay can be understood only when we remove the names and forms, nāma and rūpa, and along with that goes prayojana.

The Path Through the Pañcakośas

So this is the teaching. But how to reach that Brahman realization? Then he says: annam, prāṇam, cakṣuḥ, etc., indicating the pañcakośas.

You have to climb in order to reach the roof of a five-storied building. You are at the ground floor. So start reaching. Until a person reaches the first floor, he is progressing only in the ground floor, not first floor—ground floor. So he is progressing towards the first floor. And that reaching first floor, he says, "I am not merely individual anna. I am the cause of this entire fifth creation or this physical creation." That is called anna brahma. "I am anna brahma."

Then same process: that anna brahma is an effect and the cause is prāṇa brahma. So he starts climbing. When he reaches the second floor, then he says, "I am prāṇa brahma." Then "I am mano brahma." "I am vijñāna brahma." "I am ānanda brahma." But he has to go even on the fifth floor to the roof beyond the fifth floor. That is called "I am ānandam." Ānandam brahma puccham pratiṣṭhā—this is the process.

The Complete Method

That is why what Varuṇa does: first he defines Brahman, then how to reach that Brahman, what spiritual practices one has to do. Then he says: annam, prāṇam, indicating annamaya kośa, prāṇamaya kośa, manomaya kośa, vijñānamaya kośa, ānandamaya kośa. And then ultimately he beholds, and he cannot hold himself. He becomes one with pure Brahman. That is called brahma puccham pratiṣṭhā—the cause of everything, all the pañcakośas. That means all the five levels of creation is none other than Brahman. That is the process.

The World as a Means to Realization

And what are we talking? Sri Ramakrishna is telling: there is nothing wrong in your being in the world. But then he did not say—we have to add—in fact, you cannot go out of the world until you realize that "I am Brahman." But this world is the only means.

The Body as a Temple

Deho devālaya prokto—this body is considered as a big temple. That is why hṛdaya guhāra. Jyotiḥ jyoti ujjvala hṛdi kandarā—in everybody's heart, that daharakāśa is there, which we have studied in the Chāndogya. And also it is there in the Taittirīya, but indirectly. In every Upaniṣad, it is there.

So there is not only nothing wrong, it is impossible to get out of the world, but the world can act as a ladder. What can a ladder do? It can take one up, but it can also bring down a person.

The Necessity of Directing the Mind to God

So therefore, that is what Sri Ramakrishna is telling: "But you must direct your mind towards God." Directing mind towards God means look up and start climbing the ladder. "Otherwise, you will not succeed." You will have to suffer the limitation. Limitation means bondage. Limitation means suffering. Simple translation: limitation = suffering. Because the mind wants unlimited, and the body can give only limited. The mind also can give only limited, but it desires infinite.

So how to succeed? "Do your duty with one hand and with the other hold to God."

Understanding the Two-Handed Teaching

So God has given two hands. With one hand—that means with a small percentage of your time, your energy and your thought—dedicated to the world. Profound words of wisdom. What does it mean? It means that you cannot go on hoping, "I will get the whole world." Find out what is needed for a very satisfactory life, living.

So much money, definitely needed. So much food, definitely needed. So much of a house—that much is needed. There are so many cars which are very good, and sometimes they can give a very good service. With less petrol, one can travel. But they don't look like beautiful cars. They look like what is called dignified autorickshaws. But they do take you from place one to place two, point one to point two. If that is all that you wanted, then a spiritual aspirant should say, "This is more than sufficient."

Simplifying One's Needs

You require less money, and therefore you can work less. Therefore, you can get more time. This is called simplifying one's needs. All these ideas are embedded in these deep words of Sri Ramakrishna.

So he says here, profound words: "Do your duty with one hand and with the other hold to God." Because many people dream vainly that "now I am very busy. I need both hands to discharge my duties. And when I retire, then with both hands I will go on holding to God." That is impossible. Start practicing. One hand means attachment in the right manner to the world. Second hand: detachment to the world and direct that mind towards God.

Only when we practice for a long time, when we retire, then we will not find any problem in thinking about God. Otherwise, God becomes a bore. Our own presence is the greatest bore. That is what people call: "I am alone, I am bored."

When Duty is Over

So Sri Ramakrishna again is telling: after the duty is over, once the duty is over—what do you mean by duty is over? Duty means what? Duty means sādhanā catuṣṭaya sampannaham. Through the performance of one's duties as worship is called the highest yajña.

Everything as Worship

That is what Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa so beautifully puts in the Gītā: that the whole everything—eating, drinking, sleeping, closing the eyelids, opening the eyelids, everything—aśnan, svapan, gacchan, unmeṣan, nimeṣan, indriyāṇi, indriyārtheṣu vartante. So one should think they are functioning for some purpose, but that they all belong to God. "I have nothing to do with them." Aśnan, gacchan, svapan, paśyan, śṛṇvan, spṛśan, jighran, aśnan, gacchan, svapan, śvasan, pralapan, visṛjan, gṛhṇan, unmiṣan, nimiṣannapi—Bhagavad Gītā says like that.

Then what happens? That becomes the greatest yajña in life. And this is the only way to get out of this wheel of saṃsāra. There is no other way.

Knowing When Duty is Complete

So after the duty is over—how do we know duty is over? Many people cling. And that's why I am repeating again and again. So many parents, they have children. It is their duty to give the best education they can give. And when the children grow up, and supposedly they have acquired some degrees, and most of them wish to get married—that is fine. So let them get married. And now, once the children get married, there is no duty of the parents.

So many of our devotees—I am not talking about worldly people—so many of our, especially Indian devotees, they go on clinging to their children, that all their wealth should go to their children only. I don't know how far selfishness can go beyond this. If the children really require support, give them what they need. But your duty is to bring them up.

The Example of the Mother Bird

And Sri Ramakrishna gives the example: A mother bird goes on feeding the chicks. And when they are capable of finding their own food, and the mother bird knows, "It is time for me to bring forth some more chicks," so it pushes away. But this lazy fellow wants to be with the mother again and again because mother and father were feeding. Now it pushes on. So at last the chick realizes that it has to stand on its own feet.

And that is a most marvelous concept, and every devotee, householder devotee of Sri Ramakrishna should know—not only householder devotee of Sri Ramakrishna, even the sannyāsins. This selfless service, sevā, is meant to purify the heart. And once the mind becomes purified, then they should not cling in the name of work.

True Service to Sri Ramakrishna

"We are old, but we want to serve Sri Ramakrishna." But what Sri Ramakrishna really thinks about them? What do they mean by service to Sri Ramakrishna? Whether really Sri Ramakrishna requires their service or what type of service Sri Ramakrishna requires them—few people give thought to it.

Supposing there is a person, he is serving the society by educating or by serving the patients, etc. But supposing there is another person, he acquired deep devotion to God and he is leading a marvelous spiritual life, giving up the so-called external activities. Is that a service?

The Story of Mahatma Gandhi's Movement

Once a devotee, at that time, Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation movement was gaining momentum, and everybody was running, trying, claiming that "I am a follower of Mahatma Gandhi non-cooperation movement." Indians are experts in non-cooperation.

Presently, somebody told a most marvelous speech, and in that speech, he said: Who is the greatest enemy of India? Not other countries, not any other country—our own people who are trying to pull down each other. As soon as some people start climbing up, going up, the other people cannot tolerate—their stomachs burn, their eyes burn. They want to pull down the other person and throw them below them. This is called non-cooperation.

And it is the Indians, if you study history, who allowed the foreign countries to come and invade. If the Indians cooperated together, lived together, fought together, no foreign country had the power to come and invade India. Unfortunately, sadly, the same truth continues even today. Whether it is a householder or a monk, two monasteries cannot live together. They go on criticizing each other, even if it is completely unnecessary.

But Sri Ramakrishna had come to enlighten us.

The Story of the Householder in Varanasi

So he is telling: how do we know our duty is over? Because when once our duty to the world is over, our duty to God starts. And a person knows crystal clearly, "It is time for me."

There is a beautiful story. I might have told you many times, but it is worth repeating. M. recollects this story. There was a devotee of Sri Ramakrishna, and he was a householder. And he had a granddaughter whom he loved tremendously. And the granddaughter was very fond of her grandfather.

But there came a time when the girl was only a few years old. The man decided, "I have to follow Sri Ramakrishna." So he told his family people and came over to Varanasi, because most many Hindus want to give up their bodies here with the faith that Lord Śiva grants them liberation. He started staying here and then living here.

And incidentally, when Swami Vivekananda came, there was a rich man who was living in a garden, and he gave up everything. He became a sannyāsī, and he took shelter in a big garden, huge garden. In those days, land was plenty. And then he met Swami Vivekananda. And then, Swami Vivekananda later on found out, this man, when he was asked, "Since how long you are staying in this garden?" says, "More than 40 years."

"Oh, so you must be knowing the Varanasi thoroughly." He said, "No, after the first day, I never stepped out of this garden. In fact, I do not even today know who is the owner of this garden."

You look at this tremendous statement. These are called kuṭīcakas.

Living in Solitude

So Sri Ramakrishna appreciates them. That is what he says: If you are a householder, now and then go into solitude. But when your duties are over, you start living in a permanent nirjanasthāna. Nirjana means non-dependence upon anybody excepting God. It is not merely a solitary place, but it is a place where it is a state of the mind where the person never depends upon anybody else, only totally upon God. That is the real meaning of nirjana—no dependence upon anybody excepting God.

That is what is: "After the duty is over, you will hold to God with both hands." That means the mind is given up totally. Of course, it doesn't come in a day. It takes many, many births. But we have to start somewhere.

The Mind is Everything

And then Sri Ramakrishna proceeds: "It is all a question of the mind. Bondage and liberation are of the mind alone."

This is a great psychological law. "The mind will take the color you dye it with. It is like white cloths just returned from the laundry. If you dip them in red dye, they will be red. If you dip them in blue or green, they will be blue or green. They will take only the color you dip them in, whatever it may be."

The Influence of Environment

"Haven't you noticed that if you read a little English, you at once begin to utter English words—'put, put, it, mit.' Then you put on boots and whistle a tune, an English tune, and so on. It all goes together. Or if a scholar studies Sanskrit, he will at once rattle off Sanskrit verses. If you are in bad company, then you will talk and think like your companions. On the other hand, when you are in the company of devotees, you will think and talk only of God."

A marvelous aid for our spiritual progress. Everything is in the mind. So māyā is another name for mind.

Vidyāmāyā and Avidyāmāyā

But we should not forget: māyā, according to Sri Ramakrishna, has two aspects—vidyāmāyā and avidyāmāyā. So when a person starts thinking about the facts of life, birth is followed by death. Good is followed by evil. Of course, evil is again followed by good. Happiness is followed by unhappiness.

In fact, you must have heard me telling so many times: the payment for happiness is unhappiness. The more unhappy one is, and when that unhappiness is removed, though temporarily, his joy will be very great.

The Example of Hunger

I gave the example: if a person is only 10% hungry, his enjoyment will be 10%, however rich the food is. On the contrary, if a poor man is 100% hungry, he is starving, then even the most ordinary food—roṭī and all—will give him the highest pleasure that is imaginable. The pleasure is not coming neither from the rich food nor from the what we call poor type of food. It depends upon how much we need that food. So that is the general rule.

The more you are tired, the more you enjoy your sleep. The more thirsty, the more your enjoyment of the drinks. Even ordinary water in the deep summer—and you walked in the sun for a long time and you are terribly thirsty—you don't hesitate. Even if it is a roadside pipe, tap, you want to drink. People were doing that before the piping system had come and all that.

Bondage and Liberation

So Sri Ramakrishna wants to tell that bondage is of the mind, liberation is also of the mind. And many times I have quoted you that marvelous truth, which people perhaps did not understand. What is that truth? So that truth is that Ramana Maharshi says: a poor man is dreaming that he is in svargaloka. And for that time, so long as he is thinking, he is in svargaloka. And a king was dreaming of narakaloka. And what happens? He will be in the narakaloka. There is no doubt about it.

So that is what happens. This is what we have to understand. So if you are in the company of bad people, bad thoughts will come. And if you are in the company of devotees, you will think and talk only of God. The mind is everything.

The Illustration of Different Relationships

And then Sri Ramakrishna himself is beautifully illustrating: "A man has his wife on one side and his daughter on the other. He shows his affection to them in different ways. But his mind is one and the same."

A very beautiful illustration. So the husband—towards this man, he looks at his wife as a husband, and the same man looks at his beautiful daughter as a father. Same mind. But what a difference it makes. So that is what Ramakrishna wants to illustrate. So bondage is of the mind, and freedom is also of the mind.

Freedom Through Right Thinking

"A man is free if he constantly thinks, 'I am a free soul.'" And that is what thinking of God really means. When a person with complete faith is thinking about God, he says, "I have nothing to worry. God takes care of everything. He is all-knowing. He is all-powerful. And He loves me. And I took refuge under Him. He will look after me." That's what Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says.

So a man is free if he constantly thinks, "I am a free soul." And who can think that "I am a free soul"? Only a person who is thinking of God. To think "I am a free soul" or to say "I am continuously thinking of God," there is no difference between these two. It is the same.

The Divine Child

"How can I be bound? Whether I live in the world or in the forest, I am a child of God, the king of kings. Who can bind me? If bitten by a snake, a man may get rid of its venom by saying emphatically, 'There is no poison in me.' In the same way, by repeating with grit and determination, 'I am not bound, I am free,' one actually really becomes so. One really becomes free."

Understanding Sri Ramakrishna's Example

Of course, even devotees, they read this one. Suppose really a venomous snake had bitten a person and he has tremendous willpower and he is thinking about this positive thought: "I am free. This poison cannot do anything to me." If a question is put to a devotee, "Do you really feel so? Is it too true?" then that person may say that, "Well, Sri Ramakrishna was illustrating, but he doesn't really mean it. How can my thinking counter the effect of virulent poison?"

Well, if a person continuously thinks that "I am not bound, I am free, because my mother is mahāmāyā. She loves me. She will liberate me. I am going to be liberated"—so many sādhus, devotees, they live in Varanasi, thinking Śiva is going to make me free.

But sometimes they think about themselves. Do you know what they say? "Oh, is it true? Am I fit to get mukti? In no way. I have got so many worldly thoughts, ambitions, desires, aspirations, kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, mātsarya—what is called the six deadliest enemies of every human being."

Animals and the Present Moment

They are not enemies of animals, because animals don't waste their time in thinking of the past and in planning for the future. They only think about God. God means what? Today, at present, I am alive.

That's why when you watch these documentaries, you will find that a tiger has chased a, let us say, deer as an example—caught hold of it, killed it, and eat it. And the other herd is watching with fearful eyes. How long? After few seconds, their nature, hunger, or the desire for survival, it drives them.

There, they also know two things: that now the tiger is satisfied. It's not going to waste its energy anymore chasing us. So for some time, we can be free. Of course, if you are intelligent, clever, you can say maybe another tiger is going to be waiting to ambush them.

What is important is: they live in the present. A baby lives in the present. A true devotee always lives in the present. Anybody who thinks about the past and future is not a devotee of God, because thinking of past and future means: What did I do? Why did I do? And what am I going to expect? These are nothing but thoughts of bondage.

World or Forest—It's All in the Mind

So, "How can I be bound? Whether I live in the world or in the forest"—now, very interesting fact Sri Ramakrishna is telling. If everything is related to the mind, does it really matter whether a person is in the world or in the forest?

The Story from the Mahābhārata

For that, I am going to give you a small example. In the Mahābhārata, there are many beautiful stories. But there is a story of a Brahmin ascetic, and he was sincerely practicing concentration, and he acquired some powers.

One day, a crow, a bird in the tree, made nuisance, and what is called its mala (excrement) had fallen on the Brahmana sitting beneath the tree. And he became angry. He looked up, and the bird was burnt to ashes. After that, he became very proud. "Oh, I am somebody. I have acquired some powers."

Then he went for begging alms, stood in front of a house very proudly, but outwardly very humble. "Mother, give me some alms," he must have said. And then the housewife said, "My son"—because she was much younger than him, or older than him—and then she said, "It will take a little bit of time. I am at present serving my husband. As soon as I finish, I am going to give you alms."

And then the reaction in this young Brahmin ascetic was: "Oh, how wretched this woman. I am a sannyāsī monk, and I have this power. And how dare she show disrespect by delaying the alms. Who is this worthless husband whom she is serving?" Maybe this kind of thoughts were passing.

And the lady knew crystal clearly—like Sri Ramakrishna was able to see the contents of one's mind like a person sees objects kept in a glass case. So immediately she said, "My son, I am not a crow to be burnt like what you did in the forest."

This man was shocked. Nobody knew. Just few seconds before this event happened. How did this woman come to know?

The Butcher's Teaching

Then she came out, gave alms. Then she said, "You are still raw. You are very immature. Go to such and such a village, and there a person will show you the right way to attain Brahman."

And this man by this time had acquired some faith in her words. He went, upon inquiry, he found out: this man was a butcher. He used to hunt animals, kill them, cut them into pieces, sell them to people. That was his butcher's way, even today.

"So this butcher to teach me about Brahman?" But to his second shock, the butcher looked at him and said, "Oh sir, please wait a little. I know that such and such a lady had directed you to come to me. I will be with you shortly. This is my dharma."

Then there is a beautiful conversation. This is called Dharma Vyādha Saṃvāda Mā Kauśika Saṃvāda in the Mahābhārata.

The Lesson

So where was this ascetic? In the forest. What was the state of his mind? Full of pride. Where was this other person, this lady and butcher? In the world. They were married, and then they were serving. One was serving her husband. Another was killing animals and selling them. And they were far more advanced in spiritual life than anybody else.

So this is a most wonderful thing we have to understand: that when a person goes on thinking, it doesn't matter whether he is in the forest or in the world. Why? Because the thought "this is a world" is a thought in the mind. "This is a forest" is also another thought in the mind.

The Right Mindset

So what is that mindset? "I am a child of God. I am the king of kings. Who can bind me?" Prahlāda is a bright example of this.

So in the same way, Sri Ramakrishna says, by repeating with grit and determination, with complete faith, "I am not bound. I am free," one really becomes so. One really becomes free.

The Kitten and the Monkey

Sri Ramakrishna very often used to give the example of a kitten. Two types of people are there. One filled with egotism. Another: complete surrender to God.

So this child, the offspring—one is of that, one of a cat, kitten. Another is one of the monkey. Beautiful analogies.

What was Sri Ramakrishna saying? That the one of the monkey, it clings to the mother. That means, "I am capable of holding on to God," not understanding, "I am not capable of holding on to God unless God allows me to hold on to Him."

Whereas the kitten, it just cries, "Mā," and wherever mother is, it hears it. It comes running. A beautiful example.

The Story of the Drunkard

And then Sri Ramakrishna gives in his gospel a beautiful example. There was a drunkard. Everybody saw him as a drunkard. And then they thought, "This person is the worst of humanity. He is going to suffer the sufferings of hell after death."

But then, this man had wonderful faith in Gaṅgā. So according to his wish, and then he was brought to the Ganges. There is a beautiful custom in Bengal. So when a person comes to know that mother or father or somebody or grandmother is not going to survive for long, then that person is taken to the holy Gaṅgā, and a part of the body, probably the legs, will be immersed in the water. And that is enough, touching the Ganges. And then if the person manages to die, give up the body, that person will become sinless and attains to a higher state. Somehow this faith is there.

The Drunkard's Faith

So this drunkard was brought, and then he looked at Mother Gaṅgā and said, "Mother, I know you are there to wash off the sins of all your children. And that is why freely I have drunk." But having drunk, what other things he had done, God alone knows. So a person generally only doesn't become a drunkard. He also becomes subject to other things.

"But I know, I have that faith." And happily, consciously, he gave up his body.

Now, outwardly, he was spending one of the worst type of life. What was he really doing in his mind of minds? He had that unshaken faith that "at the end, I am going to touch the holy Gaṅgā, and I am going to get liberation."

The Gospel as Scripture

This is a marvelous truth. The more we dive into the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, the more we enjoy. And corresponding teachings from the Upaniṣads absolutely correspond with the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, because he is God. All the śrutis came out of God's mouth. And so, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is a śruti. The Gospel of the Holy Gospel—that is also the New Gospel they call it—is also nothing but the greatest scripture in the world.

So when we study with devotion, these truths reveal themselves in the heart of the hearts of such aspirants. And beautiful teachings are there. We will talk about them in our next class.

Closing Prayer