Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 156 on 27-January-2026

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 Meeting of Great Souls

Sri Ramakrishna was travelling in a ship arranged by Keshav Chandra Sen. When the boat came, Sri Ramakrishna was talking with Vijayakrishna Goswami. Some time back, Vijayakrishna Goswami had resigned from the Brahmo Samaj and came out. Ever since that time, there was a kind of dislike for each other, we can say, but they were great souls, both of them.

When the boat came with Brahmos to invite Sri Ramakrishna, they could not ignore Vijayakrishna Goswami. So along with Sri Ramakrishna, he also came—not only because of their invitation, but more importantly, both Vijayakrishna Goswami and Keshav Chandra Sen understood Sri Ramakrishna much, much better than many other people. Naturally, Vijayakrishna Goswami wouldn't like to be disassociated from Sri Ramakrishna, so he also went. But then it was an embarrassing situation.

The Root of Conflict Among Followers

I do not know why it should be embarrassing. "Okay, we don't like each other's ideas, but that doesn't mean we should be inimical to that." But you know, the followers of these great souls—all the troubles come from them.

Sri Ramakrishna illustrated it with a beautiful analogy: Shiva was Rama's Guru, and Rama was Shiva's Guru. What is a Guru after all? When we learn from each other, that is called Guru. If I learn from you, you are my Guru. If you learn from me, then I am your Guru. And continuously we are going on learning from each other. Whole life is nothing but learning, which is called updating.

Sri Ramakrishna's Reconciliation

So now, they were sitting there very closely, but a kind of embarrassment was there. Sri Ramakrishna noticed it. He wanted each one to have their own opinions. Opinion is not important. Whether your opinion is helping you to move forward in life—in whichever direction, secular direction or spiritual direction—it doesn't really matter. One can only do whatever amount of intelligence the Divine Mother has given.

Yā devī sarvabhūteṣu buddhirūpeṇa saṃsthitā

Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namaḥ

Sri Ramakrishna wanted to reconcile them. And we have studied that one in our last class. He gave the wonderful analogy: Shiva and Rama, there was some difference of opinion, and they started fighting. Really speaking, these are Puranic stories. Shiva is Rama; Rama is Shiva. Who is going to fight with whom? But their followers—their quarrels do not come to an end.

The Problem with Followers

Why? Not only because actually we think that their fans are their Gurus. But the fan of a real Guru doesn't want to have anything to do with this kind of quarrels. "Can I progress taking my Guru's life and instructions as an inspiration to my life?"—that would be their outlook. But if sometimes there is some kind of misunderstanding or whatever, occasionally, for a very temporary period, it is a very temporary phenomenon. Very soon their own śraddhā will overcome that one.

Because what is spiritual life? To look upon everybody as God. But these people, the followers, they have absolutely no intention of ceasing their quarrels. Why? Because they are not interested in spirituality. They are interested in bloating their egotism by associating their names with their respective Gurus.

A Lesson for All Sincere Seekers

So that is what Sri Ramakrishna had advised them. How much their advice, Sri Ramakrishna's advice had been taken in by both Keshava and Vijaya, we do not know. But if one is sincere, this is a lesson for all of us. Because I have seen many followers of Sri Ramakrishna: "My Guru is greater than your Guru"—criticizing one's Guru by other people. So I criticize your Guru. What is the purpose? I have nothing to do with your Guru. But just to feel, "My Guru is above all these things, so He must be a greater person."

At least, has it something to do with the Guru? No. "If my Guru is great, I must be great because He had initiated me. That means He knows my worth more than even I know myself."

Anyway, all of us, if we are sincere, we have to be extremely careful that we do not criticize anybody. Even if it is a bad Guru, we should not criticize. Why? Because a bad Guru is very necessary—for whom? For a bad follower. Because only sometimes punishment, sometimes depriving them of their possessions, that will bring them to the right path, as it were, to their senses.

The Need for Contrast in Life's Drama

So this is what Sri Ramakrishna is thinking: "O Keshav, you have a religious society, and so Vijay thinks he must have one too." Everybody loves. But I think all these are necessary.

Sri Ramakrishna as a Rasika

While Sri Krishna Himself, God incarnate, played with the gopīs at Vrindavan, and then Sri Ramakrishna—not only He was a great spiritual teacher, He was also a rasika, an extraordinarily tasteful enjoyer of things. And one of the means of such things is to enjoy literature, music, poetry, sculpture, any sort of thing—what is called aesthetic enjoyment.

Spiritual people and aesthetic enjoyment do not go—what I call—they are not opposites; they always go together. There is no such thing as to say, "I am a spiritual person but I don't like all these arts, etc."

The Five Spheres of Progress

Progress towards God includes progress in all the five spheres: Viṣayānanda, Medhānanda, Kalānanda, then Dharmānanda, Brahmānanda. Because as we move towards God, God alone is manifesting in all these five forms, and each one is higher than the lower one. So if we are moving towards God, we cannot but pull up.

We have seen in the lives of many great writers, great scientists, etc., they lacked total lack of interest in music, etc. Some of them liked poetry but not music; some of them music but not poetry. So that navarasa, we call it, the kalānanda—aesthetic enjoyment has been divided into nine parts. And there are wonderful textbooks which in detail explain how this can be implemented. It is a marvelous study by itself.

Examples of Sri Ramakrishna's Aesthetic Sensibility

And Sri Ramakrishna was a rasika in every way. Just as an example, he was lying seriously ill at Kasipur, and then one day the direct disciples were themselves preparing some curry. Sri Ramakrishna came to know about it and said, "You should add spices in such a manner that the smell from the kitchen should reach my nostrils, because it is the spices that is the very rasa of eating."

The normal things also have rasa. You must know, I think you know it, that normal food has food value—protein, carbohydrates, etc. But a taste comes from adding certain things. For example, add even a bit of salt to some things which are a little bit sour, etc. You will see how much it enhances the enjoyment.

So most of us are slaves only to this rasa svādhana. The real food may be rotten food—what they call junk food. But anyway, I don't want to delineate on that too much. What is important is Sri Ramakrishna was an embodiment of rasa.

The Importance of Love

And then one day, Sri Ramakrishna asked one of His devotees, "Whom do you love?" And that fellow—he thought, he might have thought, or maybe he is telling the truth—"No, I do not love anybody." Sri Ramakrishna got annoyed and said, "Nothing is going to happen to this rascal. No improvement is going to take place."

Love as the Foundation of Spiritual Progress

Because the more we love, even worldly things, the more chance is there of progressing in spiritual life. How come? Because the same love which is developed, expanded to a great extent, when the occasion comes—first of all, that capacity to love enormously becomes our property. Second, when due to experiences our love for the object gets broken, then that very love can be now turned towards God.

If my love towards the world—means my body, my mind, my possessions—is only one person, my love to God also will be only one person. Remember this. That is why great kings, great bhogīs (enjoyers), heroes—only they could become great saints.

The Role of the Gunas

An ordinary person who is dull, who is tamasic—that is also another angle we have to take. Tamasic person: everything is suppressed, remains non-manifest, only potential form. But as rajoguna comes out, it bursts out slowly into activity. But when the sattvaguna starts slowly improving, all this becomes very, very refined. That refined enjoyment is what we call prasādasvādana.

Then our even selfishness becomes less; unselfishness becomes more, because we understand—sattvaguna means our jñāna. Sattvāt sañjāyate jñānam. From sattvaguna, more and more right knowledge arises. Rajoguna is mixed knowledge. Tamoguna is opposite knowledge.

So this progress in spiritual life can be compared, gradually progressing from a lower guṇa to a higher guṇa. And when a person is full of sattvaguna, his mind becomes extraordinarily happy.

The Role of Gandha (Smell)

That's why food doesn't mean, as I mentioned earlier, only full of spices, but even in their very natural state, every food material has its own, endowed with its own special taste, because the gandha (smell)—that is the quality of the earth, pṛthvī devatā, gandha—and it is the gandha which attracts us. Durgandha repels us. This is a marvelous truth. Most of you must be knowing that one. I am just telling you.

The Necessity of Troublemakers in the Divine Drama

So Sri Ramakrishna is analyzing: if there is a drama—now you can say cinema, movie, whatever it is—there must be contrast. Not only there must be comedy, but tragedy. And so Sri Ramakrishna, in his own inimitable way, is telling that when Krishna himself is God incarnate, he played with the gopīs at Vrindavan, but troublemakers like Jatila and Kutila appeared on the scene.

You may ask why? The answer is: a play does not develop without troublemakers. Sri Ramakrishna often used to compare people like Pratap Chandra Hazra to the Jatila and Kutila. If Sri Ramakrishna wanted, he could have gotten rid of this Pratap Chandra Hazra long, long back. But he wanted him to keep by his side. But that is also part of his līlā.

So in Sri Ramakrishna's life, we see Raṣika played a great deal, another gardener—so many people have played wonderful roles: Kalipada Ghosh (Drunkard), Girish Chandra Ghosh, and on the logical side, Narendranath. On the emotional side, so many devotees—they were just delighted. Even there was a mad woman also who loved him, and Sri Ramakrishna did not reject her. It is the disciple's wrong understanding that made her suffer a little bit. But she does not mind.

Advice on Making Disciples

And then Sri Ramakrishna gives a beautiful advice to Keshav: "You do not look into people's nature before you make them your disciples, so they break away from you."

What is the best way? From the moment you decide or you become a Guru, decide it is God who is the Guru. So some people may stick with me. Some people may not stick with me. So both are absolutely acceptable. And let them be there as long as they want. Otherwise, let them go away. It makes no difference.

The Nature of Human Attachment

In fact, whether you need not be a Guru—even as a family member, do you think every minute everybody is loving you? There cannot be a worse wrong notion than that. In this world, who loves whom? Nobody loves anybody. Everyone loves only ātmanastu kāmāya sarvam priyam bhavati. It is only that which contributes for our own selfish enjoyment. Anything that contributes towards that becomes dear, not anything else.

Even Swami Vivekananda's Experience

So everybody, even though Sri Ramakrishna advised like this to Keshav, how many people have that insight? Even Swami Vivekananda did not have. Who suffered from the disciples' misdeeds more than Swami Vivekananda? His closest disciples: Swami Kripananda in America, Miss Müller in England—study in England—and so many other people have discarded Swami Vivekananda.

You will see so many people associated when Swamiji first landed there, and how many have accepted Swami Vivekananda? And how long they have accepted? This is a very fascinating study, if you want to go inside this.

So people are different. Naturally, their activities also will be different. Their understanding will be different. Their reaction will be different. And if we can keep that in mind, then when people come, welcome. If they go away, more than welcome.

There is a beautiful saying in Hindi: Lakh lakh guru mile, chela na mile ek—"You can get Gurus by thousands, but how many genuine disciples can you get?" It is extremely difficult.

The Command from God

The Authority to Teach

"To teach others, a man can teach only if God reveals Himself to him and gives the command. Narada, Shukadeva, sages like them, had such a command from God. And Shankaracharya had it too. Unless you have a command from God, who will listen to your words?"

Now we have to pause a little and ask: Did Keshav Chandra Sen have a command from God? How do we know whether he had a power from God? But whether he had a command from God? "You teach others"—that's a different issue.

We have to separate these two issues. There are some very talented people; millions of followers are there, but they become admirers. But the moment they get someone else, they run away there. That is also not important.

True Transformation

What's important: are there people who really have śraddhā in what you are teaching and trying to follow according to their best capacity? That is important. If anybody can bring transformation in the other person, that person, that Guru, that teacher, is definitely not only blessed but authorized by God. Because transformation can come only from God, from nobody else.

But the rest—one or two days they remain disciples. And Keshav Chandra Sen had experienced this many a time. Sri Ramakrishna used to advise him. Sometimes Keshav Chandra Sen comes to Sri Ramakrishna and then confesses: "Such and such people, not only they left me, but they left me abusing me."

Sri Ramakrishna used to repeat this fact: "Let them go away." What is the remedy? The remedy is: don't make an appointment with anybody. Then you will not have any disappointment. This is a beautiful saying from Swami Chinmayanandaji Maharaj.

Who Will Transform Their Lives?

So unless you have a command from God, who will listen to your word? "Listen" means what? Not listening. Who will be transforming their life following your teachings? You yourself are not doing it. Because once Sri Ramakrishna commented upon, Keshav had a deep desire for name and fame. And any person who has that deep desire cannot be a great spiritual person also.

Sri Ramakrishna's Prayer for His Disciples

But on the contrary, once Sri Ramakrishna prayed to the Divine Mother: "O Mother, please endow Vijayakrishna, Kedarnath, etc. with a little bit of Thy power. Let them teach others. And then all the preliminaries—I do not need to be a nursery school teacher. But when they come to the PhD level, then I am always ready to do my best."

So he prayed to M, etc. And he kept Naga Mahashaya as one of the most brilliantly shining spiritual son. As not only he was an ideal for householders, he was more than ideal even for sannyāsins.

The Love of Sensations

Sri Ramakrishna is remarking, which is very appropriate even to today's situation: "The people of Calcutta love sensations."

What does it mean? Sri Ramakrishna explains: "You may see them digging a well at a certain place. They say they want water. And if they strike a stone, immediately they give up that place. They begin digging at another place. And there, by chance, they find sand. They give up the second place too. Next, they begin at the third. And so it goes."

The Need for God's Command

"But it won't do if a man only imagines that he has God's command. God does not reveal Himself to man and speak—only then God reveals Himself, no doubt about it. And then one may receive His command. How forceful are the words of such a teacher! They can move mountains."

The Power of Faith

"Just observe Jesus Christ saying: 'If you have the amount of a mustard's faith in what I say, in God, then you can move—if you point out to a mountain and say, "You move from here to that place," immediately it moves.' Because it is not moving by my power. It is God's power. And I have complete faith in God's power."

The Futility of Mere Lectures

"But mere lectures—people will listen to them for a few days and then forget them. They will never act upon mere words."

Ramakrishna, master of analogy, immediately gives an illustration: "So at Kamarpukur, there is a small lake called Haldarpukur. And some people used to befoul its banks every day. And when others came later on in the morning to bathe and see what they have done, they abused the offenders loudly. But that did not stop. Next morning, they would find the same thing.

"Then the villagers finally informed the authorities. A constable was sent, who put up a notice on the bank, which read: 'Commit no nuisance.' They stopped the miscreants at once. Because the constable had the authority. He can punish. And nobody wants to be punished."

The Badge of Authority

"To teach others, one must have a badge of authority. Otherwise, teaching becomes a mockery. A man who is himself ignorant starts out to teach others—like the blind leading the blind. Instead of doing good, such teaching does harm. After the realization of God, one obtains an inner vision. Only then can one diagnose a person's spiritual malady and give instruction."

The Danger of Vanity

"Without a commission from God, man becomes vain. He says to himself, 'I am teaching people.' And then the moment a person thinks, 'I am the teacher,' and then 'I have some students, some disciples,' and then when those disciples stop admiring, move away, or even abuse the teacher—and the payment: earlier he got some amount of pleasure in thinking, 'I am somebody,' and now he thinks even more, 'I am more than somebody, because I am deeply offended.'"

So this vanity—"I am somebody"—comes from ignorance.

Liberation from the Sense of Doership

"A man verily becomes liberated in life if he feels: 'God alone is the doer. He alone is doing everything. I am doing nothing.'"

And this essence of this, as we know, immediately when we hear this kind of words, we should be able to connect it with something we already know, and we sing. What is that song? People think, "I am doing." But the moment that person is bestowed, God's grace comes into him, then—I bestow upon such people buddhi (buddhi means right understanding). Even now buddhi is there, but it is more akin to buddhu than buddhi.

"He alone is doing everything; I am doing nothing."

The Story of the Weaver

And Ramakrishna's illustration: there was a weaver, and he used to say—and I mentioned this parable many times, and these parables require tremendous amount of meditation, contemplation, to derive their meaning.

So what should we do? So at the end, as you can recollect, the magistrate found out this honesty of this person who has spoken out frankly, and then he believed in this man. He said, "I am setting you free." And this man came out saying, "By Rama's will, I am set free."

But if you think a little bit further: if magistrate happens to say, "Law is law; you are caught red-handed, so I am putting you in jail for 6 months, 2 years, 10 years, 15 years," or saraśceda in earlier days, or in some parts of the followers of Islam, "We will cut off the hands," or "You will be beaten if you are caught like that"—what would this weaver have said? Rāmecchā.

And when a person says Rāmecchā, would it be a grumbling statement, helpless statement—"What can I do, God's will"? No. A joyous statement: "God has something greater to give to me, so wherever my mother keeps me, that would be the best place for me," as Sri Ramakrishna gives the example of the kitten.

The Root of All Suffering

Sri Ramakrishna continues: "Man's sufferings and worries spring only from his persistent thought that he is the doer."

In fact, the whole Yoga Mārga is to get rid of the idea that I am the doer. And when we get rid of that idea, that one single idea—"I am the doer, the desirer, the enjoyer"—everything follows. "Doer" doesn't come alone: "I want to do this," and "I know what to do, what not to do."

Then lot of action brings reaction; reaction brings action. So endless net of mahāmāyā is woven around all such egos, until—Sri Ramakrishna so beautifully illustrates—that when the carder takes out entrails and goes on carding, until then, in Holy Mother's words: Hum hai—"I am, I am"—then it becomes Tu hai, tu hi, tu hi.

That sound also is very peculiar; Sri Ramakrishna takes advantage to give this analogy: Hum ba—no, Tu hi, tu hi, tu hi—"You, you are, your will." And then it becomes free.

So man's suffering comes only from that: "I am the doer, so I am responsible; so I am irresponsible; I am free; I am bound; I am great; I am worse"—everything springs from that.

The Question of Doing Good to the World

"You people"—directly addressing, because Ramakrishna understood that really these people, they have the tremendous egotism: "We are better than most people; we belong to the Brahmo Samaj; we are doing lot of good to society; and we are followers of the great Guru, Keshav Chandra Sen," etc., etc.

"You people speak of doing good to the world. Is the world such a small thing? And who are you to pray to do good to the world?"

And then somewhere else he says that: "Is this world so small that any Tom, Dick and Harry can do good? It is so vast. What good can you do? Rather you will do more harm than good."

First Realize God

Then what is the way out? "First realize God. See him by means of spiritual discipline. If he imparts power, then you can do good to others. Otherwise not."

So after God realization, you do not exist. But if God wants to occupy your body-mind, later on such people are called jīvanmuktas. And you don't exist; you don't say "I want to do good." It is God who decides.

I gave the example many times: when a river merges in the ocean, its name, its form, everything totally disappears. It assumes the form of the sea water. And if that sea water again flows back through that very same river, it is not that river any longer; it is the sea only.

Like that, a jīvanmukta is none other than Brahman, specially manifest in that purified individual's body and mind. And there must be a purpose for setting an example to the whole world. But that is not for any of the jīva to do it; only God can do it.

The Power of Sri Ramakrishna's Name

That is why I say "Ramakrishna"—so mantra, is it a great mantra? Not only Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya, Om Namaḥ Śivāya, Om Namo Nārāyaṇāya, Om Namo Bhagavate Rāmakṛṣṇāya. No, you focus upon it, and you go on repeating it. You will see, it may take time, but if you sincerely do that, then gradually, little bit by little bit, change will take place in your life, in my life, in everybody's life.

The Question About Giving Up Activities

Now a Brahmo devotee is putting question like our question-answer session: "Then, sir, we must give up our activities until we realize God?"

This devotee has not understood anything, because Bhagavān Krishna, when he was teaching Arjuna—Arjuna might have had the same type of doubts—then he said: It is not possible for any human being to keep quiet, even for a millisecond. Why? Because the mind is restless.

The Restlessness of Mind

Do you think that you are thinking, "I want to think about this; I want to think about that," and then your mind is obeying you, and you start thinking about those things? Like a helpless straw being swiftly carried away in a current of water, our activities, our thinking, everything is controlled by the mind. We are the slaves of the mind—our thoughts.

And it is extremely restless, and it is very much varied. We don't know why suddenly a thought comes from somewhere. And by that time—and maybe you are doing japa—by that time you become aware of it, the japa time is over. But some remembrance of somebody insulting you, somebody doing good to you, or a pleasurable moment, or very suffering moment, everything—these we keep in our mind.

Why? Because whatever affects us deeply, that remains longer in the memory.

The Impossibility of Stopping Activities

So Brahmo devotee is asking that: Can we stop? He did not stop to think whether we can really stop the activities. So first realize—we will realize God. How will you realize God? Simply you think, "I will realize God," and God comes running: "Oh, you want to realize me"? We have to go through so much of rigmarole.

The Glory of God's Name: The Story of Narada

So there is a beautiful story. Once there was a person, and he wanted to know: What can God's grace do? He went to Narada, and he asked Narada. Narada said, "From my own experience, I will tell you what happens."

Now this Narada was a vastly learned person, as we have seen in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad, especially in the 7th chapter. He was the walking encyclopedia of Vedic knowledge—we have to remember, the same Narada.

So Narada said that: "I heard that the glory of Shiva Nāma—Shiva—is so great, and even if once it is uttered, of course with faith, immediate, instantaneous result will come."

So he said, "Is it true? Let me test it." So he was searching for some subject to make his experiments. He saw a small insect, and he went and uttered the name of Shiva, Shiva Mantra, as if he initiated. And that insect, happily was crawling, and suddenly it fell back upon its back, dead, with all its legs in the air.

Narada became shocked: "I thought it will get very happy life, and this is what I find." So he ran to Shiva and said, "Is it true that your name has such a great power?" He said, "Of course, yes." Shiva said, "Yes, I know it."

"But what is this, Lord? I went and uttered your name in front of an insect."

Shiva said laughingly, "You go and experiment further."

The Progressive Deaths and Rebirths

So this time, Narada saw a small animal, and he went and uttered the name of Shiva. And that poor animal immediately fell down dead, with its legs up in the air. And Narada was even more confused. But Shiva's words cannot go wrong. Shiva was by his side, and he was smiling.

So he chose a buffalo. The moment Narada uttered Shiva's name, that also was dead. Then an elephant, then a human being—fell down dead. Then there was a brāhmaṇa passing by: "Hey, come here!" And he uttered Shiva's name, and in a twinkling of an eye, he fell down dead.

Narada was thoroughly confused. He thought something wonderful will happen. Then he asked, "Lord, I am really totally lost. What is the explanation?"

The Third Eye of Knowledge

Shiva said—he gave him a third eye to Narada. Third eye means eye of knowledge, jñāna-cakṣu. And Narada immediately understood. What did he understand?

That insect which fell down dead upon hearing the name of Shiva—he became a bigger animal, reborn instantaneously. It was reborn as a bigger animal, and the moment it heard Shiva's name, it gave up its ghost, became a buffalo. And it gave up its buffalo, this one, and became an elephant. And it died as an elephant and instantaneously reborn as a human being. And he died instantaneously and then was reborn as a brāhmaṇa. And now, as soon as he heard, instantaneously he gave up his body and became completely liberated.

The Lesson

What we perceive as death is a great spiritual progress because of the glory of Shiva's name. That is why so many people come here in trillions, I would say, nowadays. How many people are coming to Varanasi, especially every Shiva Kṣetra, so that they can become blessed? Every temple in India is thriving nowadays. That is a marvelous phenomenon. Why? People are very, very religious people, I have to say.

So the name of, glory of, power of God's name is indescribable. Whether we utter it consciously or unconsciously, it will have its power. At least when we are uttering the thought of God's name, is it preventing some lower thought or not? The more we remember God's name, the negative effect is: it is not allowing any inferior thought to enter—harmful thought. But gradually it purifies our mind. Citta śuddhi takes place.

So God's name is really great. But the point here Sri Ramakrishna wants to tell is that God realization can come only through activity.

Making the Unconscious Conscious

Only unconscious thoughts must be made conscious. That is why the very first progress in spiritual life, according to Patanjali Rishi, is pratyak-pravaṇatā. The moment a thought wants to sprout in our mind, we become instantaneously aware: "Oh, such and such a thought." Is it good? If it is good, encourage it; allow it to grow stronger. But if it is unspiritual, it is easy to get rid of it at that stage.

Just like a small seedling—very easy to pull it out along with roots and others. Once it becomes like a huge banyan tree, it becomes very, very difficult. That is why in the 15th chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā, the Lord compares the entire saṃsāra to a huge tree whose roots are in God and which is spreading towards the world.

The Right Kind of Activities

So Sri Ramakrishna is replying: First of all, you cannot stop activities. Secondly, you should not stop activities. Thirdly, you should convert all those activities into spiritual activities. This is what He is trying to tell.

"No, why should you? You must engage in such activities as contemplation, singing His praises, and other daily devotions."

What About Worldly Duties?

Now hearing this one, a Brahmo devotee got a doubt: "But what about our worldly duties, sir? Duties associated with earning money and so on?"

So this is where many people get confused. So that is why Sri Ramakrishna's advice, fifth commandment to M: "Live like a maidservant in a rich man's house."

The Maidservant's Attitude

What is the maidservant supposed to do? She does everything, from scrubbing the floor, utensils, to cleaning the beds, cooking, everything. And she even says about the children of the master, "My Rama, my Hari," and so on. But with every activity, she knows: "I am only a maidservant, and I have my own home."

So she knows, she is aware. She will never even entertain: "I am the mistress of this house; I can do whatever I like." "I am a servant; I can be kicked out any time." She knows it too well.

What do we do? "I am the—this house is mine, and I am the master of this house."

The Story of the Brahmin and the Garden

And this beautiful idea—the Ramakrishna, the master of creating beautiful stories. Some stories he created; some stories he heard from others.

So one of the stories, if you remember: There was a brahmin who was cultivating a wonderful, beautiful garden, bringing from different places very valuable plants. Everybody was admiring, and he himself was very proud.

So one day, a cow entered, and it started destroying the precious plants. And the brahmin's ego got so much hurt. Immediately he started belabouring the cow, and because of that, it fell down dead.

And an Indian thought stream: killing a cow, killing a brāhmaṇa, killing a woman, killing a pregnant woman, and killing babies—these are called greatest heinous sins.

But he also studied a little bit of Vedanta. Said: "The presiding deity of the hand which killed this cow—who killed the cow? Not I. My hand killed the cow. And who is—who is inspired, who is the in-charge of the hand? Indra. So let the sin go to Indra."

We know the story; I don't need to repeat it. So Indra came and asked, "Who created this marvelous garden?" "I did! I did! I did!" But when Indra slowly led this foolish brahmin where the cow was still lying dead, and "Who killed this cow?"—now all this time he was telling, "I did this," but now he can't say, "I did not do this." And the sin came and occupied the brahmin.

The Lesson of the Story

So it is not the action that really affects us. It is the attitude with which, outlook, we perform. That's why Krishna said that: "You kill. Don't think that you are going to kill. You are not master of birth or death. I am the master. I made them to be born, and I have already killed them. But they are still—no, no, I killed them in the form of time."

So past is also part of time; future is also part of time. So even if they are here now, "I have already killed them. I decided in this war who is going to be killed and who is going to be alive. You just develop that attitude of instrumentality." That is the Karma Yoga.

Performing Duties in the Right Spirit

So Sri Ramakrishna says, "Yes, you can perform them too. But first of all, he is telling: as much as you need for your—"

So here also doubt can come: How do we know? Inflation is not going up. So after next year, or next month, if the tariffs are going up, then the prices also will go up. Then how can I live? You are asking me to do dāna (charity). What is the answer?

The Law of Karma

The answer is: It is not how much you accumulate or how much you lose; how much you deserve to have because of your first puṇya-karma, pāpa-karma. This is called karma-siddhānta.

Even if you are the richest person on earth, still you have to eat; you have to sleep. How much can you eat? Only as much as your stomach can digest. How much time can you sleep? Even if you have got the poshest bed, even then, if your mind is worried, you cannot sleep.

According to your puṇya-karma only, you can do that. So therefore, you do as much as you need for your livelihood. Don't worry about the future. For one thing, you may die next second. Where is your future then? Or anybody whom you consider "my family members"—they may also die. Everyday they are dying.

Prayer for Detachment

Because Ramakrishna continues: "At the same time, you must pray to God in solitude with tears in your eyes that you may be able to perform those duties in an unselfish manner."

Ramakrishna is telling beautifully that if you want to have this attitude—"Let me perform them in a detached spirit"—before that, prior to that, you have to go many times, as many times as necessary, into solitude and pray to God: "O Lord, bestow upon me Your grace in the form of right understanding that You make me do." That is the only way.

Praying for Fewer Duties

"So you should say to him: 'O God, make my worldly duties fewer and fewer. Otherwise, O Lord, I find that I forget Thee when I am involved in too many activities. I may think I am doing unselfish work, but it turns out to be selfish.'"

Ramakrishna's profound statement: "I may think I am doing unselfish, but it may turn out to be selfish."

In fact, it does. "People who carry to excess the giving of alms or the distributing of food among poor fall victims to the desire of acquiring name and fame." This is the one dominating desire: "I want peace prize, even though I am falling into pieces."

The Advice to Shambhu Malik

Shambhu Malik once talked about establishing hospitals, dispensaries, and schools, making roads, digging public reservoirs, and so forth. I said to him: "Don't go out of your way to look for such works. Undertake only those works that present themselves to you under oppressing necessity, and those also in a spirit of detachment."

"It's not good to be involved in many activities. That makes one forget God."

Beautiful teachings which we will discuss in our next class.

Closing Prayer

Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum

Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

Jai Ramakrishna!