Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 161 on 07-April-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 Master with the Brahmo Devotees, October 28, 1882
The Question Raised by the Brahmo Devotee
Rāmakṛṣṇa was talking about the aspect of God with form and without form. One of the Brahmo devotees had put a question: Does God have forms? And can God be seen? Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's words are nothing but the very essence of all the Vedas, Upaniṣads, and the Bhagavad Gītā.
Many times I told you: the essence of all the Vedas is the Upaniṣads; the essence of the Upaniṣads is the Bhagavad Gītā; the essence of the Bhagavad Gītā is this Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa; and the essence of the Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is the very first chapter, wherein the subtlest spiritual points have been raised.
Never Put a Limit to God
One of the teachings of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is: never put a limit to God. Why? Because God is limitless. Whatever we think with sincerity, that is absolutely fine. But never say, "God is only the God of our religion, the God of our country. Everybody else's God is worthless." Such people do not understand what they are talking about. Because even according to them, God is infinite — God is only one. If that is true, and if they understand it properly, then nobody has any choice but to worship God — the same God — because there is no second God.
Only according to the language — and we use it every day of our life — the same object is called by many, many different names. Each country, each region has its own names.
Three Types of Spiritual Seekers
The most important answer Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gives is: one must first of all be sincere. Sit down and look into the mirror of your own mind and question yourself: "Do I really want only God?" The answer is no — I want, really speaking, many things from God. God is only an instrument of my storehouse, of my fulfilment. That is the worst type of person — who can say that honestly.
The next person says: "Yes, I believe in God, and I also want God, but not now. Let me first enjoy the world." Only many Hindus cherish that idea — that when we become old or retired from jobs, we will turn to God. And in the past, that was a reality; at some age, people used to retire. But now that word retirement has become redundant, because so many things are there to be done, and life has become intensely competitive. So the second class of people say: "We want the world; we want God also." That is why Tantras have developed. The speciality of Tantras is yoga and bhoga. But these people forget one fundamental fact: where there is bhoga, there will also be roga. Simply to say "I want only bhoga but no roga" — that is not going to happen. But that is one type of thinking.
But there is another type of people — rare people — who say: "I want only God, and I will use the world as an instrument, so that I can slowly approach." This is the Hindu methodology.
The Four Stages of Life and the Problem of Happiness
Life, therefore, has been divided into four stages, and these four stages have nothing to do with age. Even a 70-year-old man or woman can be in a childhood so far as understanding is concerned.
So we come to the understanding that as a person goes on growing up — not only physically but intellectually, understanding-wise — he will understand that what I am seeking I will not get. At first there will be hope, but later on he understands that everything has certain problems. Every enjoyment in this world has certain problems.
What is the first problem? The same object may not give the same happiness — or may even give unhappiness. It depends upon the circumstances. So whenever we talk about squeezing or deriving happiness from an object, we forget it not only depends upon the object — even more than that, it depends upon the subject. Am I healthy? Have I self-control? Etc. So first: everything is temporary. Second: no object gives the same amount of happiness every time; it is a different experience. Third: every enjoyment will bring in its wake the equal payment. The payment for enjoyment is suffering — not money, not anything else. What is the payment for good health? Ill health. The moment we become careless, we fall into the trap — whether it is eating excessively, working excessively, or sleeping excessively, we pay a heavy price.
As we go on evolving, we also learn our valuable lessons. Even after learning the lessons, it is not easy to change because of the old saṃskāras. They have become so deeply rooted that it is difficult to transcend them. So what is spiritual sādhana? It is to struggle, to war with our old worldly saṃskāras — and not only worldly saṃskāras, but even spiritual saṃskāras.
The Danger of Getting Stuck at Each Stage of Sādhana
Perhaps some of you will be surprised. "What is it you are trying to tell us? Even a spiritual saṃskāra can be a hindrance?" Yes — that is what Gauḍapādācārya says. We get happiness in doing japam and we get stuck there. We do not want to progress into dhyānam. Somehow, after a long time and after learning a hard lesson, we enter into dhyāna-loka and we get tremendous happiness there. Again we get stuck, and then again blows will come. Then again we progress into savikalpa samādhi, and it is even more joy-giving, more satisfaction-giving, and we get stuck again.
"I think this is the last stage I am in." Nothing could be further from the truth. Then we progress; we understand one day that this is also limited happiness. That is why we have seen in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad that even Brahmaloka Ānanda falls under only the ānanda of saṃsāra, avidyā, anātmā. That is why it falls under ānandamaya kośa. So what is Brahmaloka Ānanda? When a person learns to live only in ānandamaya kośa without coming down to vijñānamaya — much less manomaya, prāṇamaya, or annamaya. That is the highest in the dualistic world, in the saṃsāric world, in the avidyā world. But we get attached, and we should not get attached.
Visions Are Not the Final Goal
Having a few visions will not do. I have narrated a beautiful incident. There was a very great bhakta, and he went to see Ramaṇa Maharṣi. This bhakta was a devotee of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa. He had many real visions of Kṛṣṇa, and he wanted to share that joy with Ramaṇa Maharṣi. So he joyfully narrated. Ramaṇa Maharṣi, of course, was not indifferent, but he looked at him at the end of the narrative and said: "Whatever comes will also go away. So if you had a vision, the vision comes and the vision goes. But if you are yourself, then you will never come and you will never go. Whatever comes has to go. Whatever has a birth has to have a death. Even the birth of a vision must be accompanied by the death of a vision."
So until that time, we have to keep awake: "Did I reach the goal, or am I deluding myself that I have reached the goal?" That is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa wants to answer.
Here a very important point has to be noted. A Brahmo devotee may be asking an intellectual question — we do not know. Because later on, life shows that even on 1st January 1886, which we celebrate today as Kalpat̤aru Day, many devotees were touched by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. They were lifted up. Many of them had varied types of visions according to their saṃskāras. But later on it was found that they could not keep it.
And the great master ends with the episode of Vaikuṇṭhanāth. Because he was also touched by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, but then he said: "I could not bear it. I had to pray, 'Oh Lord, please take it away. I cannot stand to live in this highest plane.'" And it is only to give a glimpse.
So what I am trying to tell you is this: the visions came by the grace of the Guru and the visions disappeared. But most of them did not sit down and think: "This has happened by the grace of our Guru. Now I have to make it my own." Which is what Swami Brahmānandaji replied to Vijayakṛṣṇa Gosvāmi at Vṛndāvan. Asked by Vijayakṛṣṇa Gosvāmi, "Why do you need to practise such tremendous tapasyā, kaṭhora tapasyā?" — Mahārāj replied: "Ṭhākur had given everything to us, but we have to make it our own." And Vijayakṛṣṇa Gosvāmi perhaps understood that statement.
So every devotee that went to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had some higher experience — to prove to himself that there is definitely a higher life. So that is only to give a glimpse into it. So even if we are given such a privilege, we should not cut capers with joy saying, "Oh, I have realised God." No. It is only to say there is a higher and higher realm. We have to make it our own. We have to live in that realm — not simply go and visit and come back like tourists.
God with Form, Without Form, and Beyond Both
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is answering on October 28, 1882, that God is with form, God is without form, and God is beyond both form and formlessness. Now Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa explains this concept.
The forms and aspects of God disappear when one discriminates in accordance with the Vedānta philosophy. Now here Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa means by Vedānta philosophy: Jñāna Mārga, Advaita Mārga. Most of us are advised by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa that this is not a path suitable for us. For Kali Yuga, Bhakti Yoga is the only way. So that is what he is going to tell also.
Then the ultimate conclusion: one who is travelling in the path of Jñāna Mārga practises discrimination by saying, "This is not real, this is not real — Neti, Neti." So through that discrimination, he comes, and after negating everything, what remains? That Brahman alone is real, and this world of names and forms is illusory.
Is this the final step? No. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa himself explains. And by God's grace, usually what happens — Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says this is something we do not get in the scriptures — is that after Samādhi, most aspirants will give up the body after 21 days. But there are some people whose bodies and minds God keeps, so that the teaching of the scriptures, the life of the Jīvanmukta, is a living scripture. And every scripture, as we know, is the teaching of the spiritual experiences of a particular saint — whether it is Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, or Islam, any -ism we can think of.
The Path of Neti Neti and What Remains
So forms and aspects of God disappear. Why do they disappear? Because every form is a limitation. Every name is a limitation. Every idea, every thought is a limitation. So a discriminating person understands: after negating everything, what remains? The negator remains. I remain — and I am Brahman. That is the only conclusion.
But Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says it is not to say one should not think of the forms of God. It is possible for a man to see the forms of God or to think of him as a person. And how is it possible? He explains: only so long as a man is conscious that he is a man — that he is a devotee — then it is possible, because the greatest spiritual truth is that what one thinks of oneself, his thinking of God also will be the same. If I am good, I think others are good. If I am evil, I think everybody is evil. So if I am a mixture of both, everybody is a mixture of both. We cannot escape from this law.
So as we go on purifying ourselves, our wrong and negative notions slowly disappear, and we come to know: "I am none other than Brahman." And when this person looks at the world, he finds everything is nothing but the manifestation of Brahman — just as a pot is nothing but the manifestation of clay alone, but with a particular form, a name, and a particular purpose.
Why Kṛṣṇa and Kālī Appear Dark Blue: The Illustration of Distance
And then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa explains: why is it that Kṛṣṇa or Kālī are three and a half cubits high? Not only that — why are they black? So there is blue and black — both colours are used in Rāmakṛṣṇa's words. And there is a beautiful song also. "He is my mother — black, blue." Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is explaining:
"Do you know why images of Kṛṣṇa and Kālī are three and a half cubits high? Because of distance. The longer the distance, the smaller they appear. That is why the sun — how vast it is, how many earths it can swallow — appears to be a small disc because of the distance. But if you go near it, you will find the sun so big that you will not be able to comprehend it. Why have the images of Kṛṣṇa and Kālī a dark blue colour? That too is on account of distance — like the waters of a lake, which appear green, blue, or black from a distance."
You need not go to a lake. Just look up in daytime in the sky. You will see various colours — there will be blue if it is crystal clear, and then there will be varieties and hues of clouds floating there. And these clouds assume different forms. You can imagine: it is a chariot, it is a car, it is an elephant, it is a horse, it is a human being, it is a woman, etc.
So why are these depicted as blue? Our Ṛṣis have not simply done it purposelessly. They understood. So why is their colour dark blue? That too is on account of distance, like the water of a lake. So go near — take the water in the palm of your hand — and you will find that it has no colour. The sky also appears blue from a distance. Go near, and you will see that it has no colour at all.
"Therefore I say that in the light of Vedāntic reasoning" — that means in the light of Jñāna Mārga — "Brahman has no attributes." The real nature of Brahman cannot be described. Why can it not be described? Because during our Upaniṣadic talks we have discussed this point, which Śaṅkarācārya explains so simply: to describe anything, there must be attributes. At least there must be five attributes — Jāti, Pravya, Koṇa, Kriyā, Sambandha. But Brahman does not fall under any attributes. An attribute limits an object; it separates an object. Every attribute is used in our day-to-day life to separate. "You bring that blue book" — or "that small book, the third book from the bottom" — these are attributes: it is the third book if you count from the bottom; it is a blue-coloured book. It is to separate — for the person who has to bring it, or even for myself. So any attribute limits. And Brahman is limitless; He is Ananta. Therefore, one should never attempt to describe him through attributes.
Encouraging the Brahmos: The Path of Bhakti
But so long as your individuality is real, the world also is real, and equally real are the different forms of God and the feeling that God is a person. So long as I think I am a person — so long as I think that other objects, other people, other beings living or non-living are real — I have to think God also is a person, is an individual. But through Bhakti, slowly we can progress. So this is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says beautifully.
And Swami Vivekānanda gives a beautiful illustration. Supposing you are a photographer. You take a camera and travel towards the sun. At first, your photograph will be very small — maybe a small speck. But as you approach nearer, the speck grows and grows and grows until your camera will not be able to capture anything in that brilliant light. Pure light alone remains. That is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is telling.
We do not need to quarrel about whether a person is worshipping an image, because even when some people claim "we are worshipping the formless aspect of God," they are only thinking of that as a person — but in the form of qualities. "He is compassionate. He is motherly. He loves us. He is the creator. We are the created creatures," etc. So long as we think I am a person, God also remains a person only.
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Warning to the Brahmos
And then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is encouraging. Specifically he says: "You are not Brahma Jñānīs. You are not treading the path of Jñāna. Do not commit that mistake." Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's grace is limitless. Why is he telling that? Because the Brahmos — some of them at least — must have been thinking: "We are far superior to the superstitious Hindus who go on worshipping, bowing down, falling down at every stone image, every Śivalinga. Any stone can be a Śivalinga. But we are far superior — we only think of that infinite Brahman." Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is breaking that illusion: "You are not Jñānīs. Your intellect is dull. You cannot think of God without attributes. You had better adopt the path of Bhakti."
And if we study the life of the Brahmo devotees — especially Keśav Candra Sen — at the beginning, before he came into contact with Rāmakṛṣṇa, he was only talking about "Father God," because he was deeply influenced by the Christian concept of God. Christianity never accepted — even today — that God can also be worshipped as Mother. The best they could do is to think of Mother Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ, as an interceder. So if somebody prays: "Mother, I committed a mistake. Please recommend me to your son to forgive my sins and take me to Paradise" — that is the role assigned to her. Whereas in India, we are thoroughly soaked in the idea of the Mother.
Even the Advaitins worship Mother Sarasvatī. She is the Divine Mother, the giver of knowledge. They cannot escape. And the whole morning will go only in the temple. It is said of the great Paramācārya of Kāñcī Kāmakōṭi Pīṭha that he used to enter the temple of Kāñcī Kāmākṣī at early morning 3 o'clock, and he would sit without movement, completely absorbed in the thought of the Divine Mother, until late in the afternoon. Only after 3 or 4 o'clock would he slowly come back to external consciousness. So what is he doing? He must have realised that, excepting through the grace of the Divine Mother, nothing is possible. And the Divine Mother is none other than God only. Call her by the name Lakṣmī, Sarasvatī, Durgā, Kālī, etc.
The Universal Nature of the Divine Mother
Here also one more important point I want to remind you. Many times there are people who worship Mother Sarasvatī, and there are people who worship Mahālakṣmī. So what is the idea? The idea is that Mahālakṣmī is there only specially to bestow wealth. Nothing could be further from the truth. If the Mother gives you the greatest wealth in this world, does it automatically make you a happy person? There is no chance. Because when you are sleeping, are you a happy person? Or are you a person who feels happiness when you are worried about your wealth, property, courts, and fearful of what others can do to you?
She is the Divine Mother. Lakṣmī is the Divine Mother. You read the Lalitā Sahasranāma, you read the Sarasvatī Sahasranāma, you read the Durgā Sahasranāma, the Kālī Sahasranāma — every attribute belongs to every one of these names. Even in the Caṇḍī we get it. When Śumbha accused the Divine Mother: "You are fighting with me with the help of so many other Śaktis" — she says: "I am alone. These are all myself only. There is no other Śakti besides me. I alone manifest as Śakti, as Bhakti, as Bhukti, as Yoga, as Roga, as Bhoga, as Nidrā, as Jñāna, as Intelligence, as delusion — everything. I alone manifest. These are all her manifestations."
So therefore Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is giving this highest Vedic teaching: you cannot describe Brahman. But how do you understand Brahman? As you shed your negative thoughts and limited thoughts, as you become less individual and more universal, your concept of God also becomes less individual and more universal. That is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is telling. So long as your individuality is real, the world also is real, and equally real are the different forms of God and the feeling that God is a person. Therefore, he is encouraging the Brahmos: yours is the path of Bhakti, and that is very good; it is an easy path.
Sufficiency of One Name and the Role of the Guru
"Who can fully know the infinite God? And what need is there of knowing the infinite? Having attained this rare human birth, my supreme need is to develop love for the lotus feet of God." And what is love? Oneness with God. Even if a man says to a woman "I love you," he means: "I think you are my own self."
And then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gives the highest teaching — most often with a beautiful illustration. Sometimes he bursts into a beautiful song. Sometimes he makes a little bit of fun. But sometimes he gives a simile like Kālidāsa.
So he says: "If a jug of water is enough to remove my thirst, why should I measure the quantity of water in a lake? I become drunk with even half a bottle of wine. What is the use of my calculating the quantity of liquor in the tavern? What need is there of knowing the infinite?" So he says: "I can become free — I can become a mukta — by surrendering myself to God. That is enough for me. And one form of God, one name of God, one mantra of God as given by my Guru — that is sufficient."
And here also Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says — elsewhere, not here — that you must not practise spiritual disciplines on your own. You will have to follow the path of bhakti, and for that, you must humbly approach a Guru.
The Secret of Guru Bhakti
So what should be my relation with the Guru? I do not care what my Guru is, even if he is not spiritual — that is not the point. The point is: I decided to see and to learn how to look upon another person as God. Suppose you come across a saint. He is like God, and you look upon him as God. You have no merit because anybody can do the same thing, as the greatness is in that person. But if you can think of another person who is not at all great as God, as the greatest — then he becomes like a mirror. Slowly he reveals the truth about yourself. That is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is telling through the path of bhakti.
And if I follow my Guru's instructions — and never ever follow the path without the instruction of a Guru — because I am choosing deliberately a person upon whom I can exercise my spiritual outlook. That is the secret of Guru Bhakti. Like Ekalavya. Ekalavya should have abandoned Droṇācārya, because Droṇācārya did not accept him for whatever reason. But he said: "I have chosen you. I want to worship you as God, as Guru, as God. So I will look upon you as God. And God, through you, will teach me." And he became a greater archer than Droṇācārya could ever teach, because of that Guru Bhakti.
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is telling: don't go on thinking whether God is infinite, whether God has a thousand qualities or fifty thousand qualities. No. You just follow the direction.
So somebody asked Swami Brahmānandaji: "Why do you want to follow a Guru?" He gave a very cogent reply. He said: "The human mind is very restless. One day it likes the name of Rāma. Another day of Kṛṣṇa. It depends upon whose company you are keeping, which cinema you are watching, which book you are reading. If you are reading the Rāmāyaṇa, Rāma must be the greatest. Bhāgavatam — Kṛṣṇa must be the greatest. Viṣṇu Purāṇa — Viṣṇu must be the greatest. Devī Purāṇa — Devī must be the greatest. The mind is oscillating. But the only way is that I will ask my Guru whatever path he says, and throughout my life I will try to stick to it." That is called Eka Bhakti. And that is why a Guru is necessary — that is one of the reasons, not all reasons.
How Do We Know We Are Progressing Towards God?
And then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: how do we know we are progressing towards God? And then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is describing this — because even though he did not read books. Why did he not read books? To prove to the world that bookish knowledge is not a necessary condition for progress in spiritual life, let alone God realisation. Therefore he wanted to prove this. Therefore he also did not endow his disciple Advaitānanda to learn anything. It is not that he was lacking intelligence. But Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's will was: "Let him remain as an example to the world. Illiteracy is no bar for spiritual progress."
Swamiji brings out this beautifully — by doing one's own karma. Illustrating the teachings of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad Gītā, there was a housewife who understood: "Serving my husband as God, looking upon him as God." And again our inferior minds go on questioning: "How can a wife look upon her husband as God if he is a drunkard, lecherous, cunning, inferior?" That is not the point. Just as I mentioned with the Guru — the scriptures prescribe: once you are married, whatever the person may be, that is not the criterion. From your own eyes, he is none other than God.
Even if God himself comes, the scripture then shows the life of Bhakta Puṇḍarīka. That is how the Puṇḍarīka in Āḍakṣetra has come. He became reformed. He was a very wicked person in his youth. But by God's grace and pūrva-janma saṃskāra, he became an extreme devotee of God, Lord Kṛṣṇa. And one day he was serving his parents, and then Lord Kṛṣṇa came. "Oh, how is it that you are not visiting me nowadays?" Then what did this devotee do? He threw a brick. He said: "Oh Lord, you will have to wait for your turn. Now I am serving my parents, and they are my God, not you. Once I finish service and they go to sleep, then I am free. Then I will serve you." And the Lord was highly pleased. Following one's duty — this is called Karma Yoga. Just do your own dharma but turn it into Karma Yoga, not mere karma, and you will reach the same goal.
Again and again Lord Kṛṣṇa emphasises this point — in the beginning of the third chapter also, when Arjuna enquired which path is greater. He says: "Both these — Jñāna Yoga (he calls it Sāṃkhya Yoga) and Karma Yoga — both are valid paths to take you to the highest goal."
Swami Vivekānanda's Devotion to His Mother
So this is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa has done throughout his life, and Swami Vivekānanda preached throughout his life. In this connection, I am remembering: Swami Vivekānanda became world famous, and he returned to India and was at Belur Maṭh. And his mother came one day and said: "Bilé, when you were young, you fell sick. So I took a vow in Mother Kālī's temple in Kolkata that you will strip yourself naked — excepting for a gopīnātha — and you will roll and do pradakṣiṇam around her image in the temple. But I never had any opportunity to tell you this, but I wish it would be fulfilled." Immediately, he fulfilled his mother's wish. One day, soon after that, he took some devotees, went to Mother Kālī's temple, stripped himself completely naked — and so many people were astounded. The world famous Vivekānanda is rolling like an ordinary superstitious devotee. There are so many people who do it with faith. The Divine Lord sees everything. He will reward everybody. He only sees who is sincere and who is not sincere.
The Test of Spiritual Progress: Transformation of Life
So that is what Rāmakṛṣṇa wants to tell. How to know whether we are progressing in spiritual life? The important point is: whether a person is following Bhakti Yoga, Rāja Yoga, Jñāna Yoga, or Karma Yoga is not important. Whether a person is worshipping Kṛṣṇa or Jesus or Buddha is not important. What is important is: is your life transformed? Are you becoming less selfish? Are you acquiring identity with the larger whole? That is important.
So in the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha — which is called the highest book on Jñāna Yoga, a beautiful illustration of the Rāmāyaṇa in a spiritual way — as you know, there are a few books on the Rāmāyaṇa. Especially three books are there: the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha Rāmāyaṇa, the Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa, and later on Tulasī Dāsa wrote his Rāmcarita Mānas — a beautiful unity of all the Mārgas, especially Bhakti Mārga.
The Seven Planes of the Mind According to the Vedas
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is describing — because he must have heard about this from Totāpuri Mahārāj or somebody — the various states of the mind of a Brahma Jñānī. What are these various states? As a person is travelling towards the knowledge of Brahman, how his mind becomes more and more purified — less selfish, more universal, expanded — until finally it identifies itself with the whole world. These are described in the Vedas. Everything — the root cause of every piece of knowledge — is only Veda.
But Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, before proceeding, says: "The path of knowledge is extremely difficult. One cannot obtain Jñāna if one has the least trace of worldliness and the slightest attachment to women and gold." This definitively he says: "This is not the path for the Kali Yuga." So one cannot obtain Jñāna, right knowledge, if the mind is attached to worldliness. What is worldliness? Women and gold — lust and money. That is Kāma and Kāñcana. But they include other things: the desire for money, the desire for eating, the desire for name and fame, the desire for a higher position, the desire to be well known in society. So many desires — and they are endless. That is why he says this is not a suitable path for this Kali Yuga.
And elsewhere he says: what is this Kali Yuga? Why is it not suitable? "In the Kali Yuga, man's mind is fixed on his body, so he cannot think 'I am not the body.'" That is why he says a man is totally identified with the lowest of objects, that is the body. Dehā buddhi will not go. And that is what Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa also says in the Gītā, especially in the twelfth chapter: it is very difficult for those who have dehā buddhi, dehātma buddhi — "I am the body." For such people, that highest concept of Saccidānanda is impossible.
The First Three Planes: Worldliness
Now Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa comes to the seven planes. According to Tantra also there are seven cakras, which are roughly equal to these planes — that is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is reconciling.
"The Vedas speak of seven planes where the mind dwells. When the mind is immersed in worldliness, it dwells in the three lower planes — at the navel, the organ of generation, and the organ of evacuation. In that state, the mind loses all its higher visions. It broods only on woman and gold." And as I said, the other desires are there — name and fame, "I want money, I want a great house," etc. Such persons are called worldly people.
The Fourth Plane: The Heart — First Glimpse of Spiritual Consciousness
But the spiritual life starts with the fourth plane. "The fourth plane of the mind is at the heart. When the mind dwells there, one has the first glimpse of spiritual consciousness. One sees light all around. Such a man, perceiving the divine light, becomes speechless with wonder and says, 'What is this?'" His mind does not go downward to the objects of the world. Why does it not go down? Because the higher the plane where we dwell, the higher the happiness. And it is a law that once a person attains a higher happiness, he will not desire a lower happiness.
The Fifth Plane: The Throat — Freedom from Ignorance and Illusion
Hence Rāmakṛṣṇa proceeds. "The fifth plane of the mind is at the throat. When the mind reaches this, the aspirant becomes free from all ignorance and illusion. He does not enjoy talking or hearing about anything but God. If people talk about worldly things, he leaves the place at once."
Observe carefully: when you are in the company of people, what do they talk about? Wherever their mind dwells, that is what they talk about. A foodie talks only about food. A person with desire for money only talks about money. Whatever be the subject, these people will bring it to their own pet desires. If a person is after name and fame, he will talk about such persons. If a person is after position, he will be a fan of people with greater power, etc.
So you can open your eyes and see why so many people are fawning on our president. "Oh, he is the wisest man" — that shameless open confession: "I am the follower." Do they really believe that? No — because they are expecting some drops will fall here and there, some leavings will fall out of that plate, and that could be more than what they imagine. They are after that. How arrogant, how dishonest — but what I feel like doing at times after hearing this news is laughing. These very people — as if a person has bought a small piece of sugar cane and after chewing, after squeezing all the rasam, he will throw it — like that, these people are kicked out mercilessly and they do not wake up. Again, they will do it to the next person. That is called Mahāmāyā.
So the fifth plane of the mind is at the throat. When the mind reaches this, the aspirant becomes free from ignorance and illusion. He does not enjoy talking or hearing about anything but God. If people talk about worldly things, he leaves the place at once.
So when you feel "I cannot tolerate this talk," without any hesitation — if necessary, tell a white lie — and get out of there, because I can guarantee you will get great relief. And Swami Adbhutānandaji says something else: if you cannot think of God, it is far better to sleep off than to gossip about useless things, because sleeping off will not produce more worldly saṃskāras. Do not strengthen the worldly saṃskāras — whereas talking, gossiping, especially finding the faults of other people, does exactly that. Gossip can also be finding the virtues in the other person — that really helps. But how many people do it? Our egotism does not allow us to do that.
The Sixth Plane: The Forehead — Unbroken Vision of God's Form
"And then the sixth plane is at the forehead. When the mind reaches it, the aspirant sees the form of God day and night" — unbroken vision of the beauty of the form of God. But he passes a small remark: "But even then a little trace of ego remains. At the sight of that incomparable beauty of God's form, one becomes intoxicated and rushes forth to touch and embrace it. But one does not succeed. It is like the light inside a lantern — one feels as if one could touch the light, but one cannot, on account of the plane of glass." So this is the description about the sixth plane — the sixth cakra, ājñā cakra.
The Seventh Plane: Samādhi and Union with Brahman
"In the top of the head is the seventh plane. When the mind rises there, one goes into Samādhi. Then the Brahma Jñānī directly perceives Brahman." Here perceives means — not "I am looking at a book, I am looking at you, I am speaking with you" — no. He perceives: "I am Brahman." We have to understand that. When the mind is in the sixth plane, "I see Brahman" — that is called Savikalpa Samādhi. But in the seventh plane, there is only I am. Even to say "I am Brahman" — there the word Brahman does not exist, the mind does not exist, words do not exist.
"But in that state, his body does not last many days." This is a saying which we do not usually get in any scripture. "He remains unconscious of the outer world. If milk is poured into his mouth, it runs out. Dwelling on this plane of consciousness, he gives up his body in 21 days." That is the condition of the Brahma Jñānī.
Conclusion: Bhakti Is the Easy Path for Kali Yuga
Then, having described these things, now he must have been saying — addressing the modern Brahma Jñānīs, the followers of Keśav Candra Sen, etc.: "I do not think you are fit even to look at Jñāna Mārga. So yours is the path of devotion. That is very good and an easy path." Why is this? Rāmakṛṣṇa is telling: "After all, your goal is to reach God. If there is an easy path, a shortcut, where you can reach without much difficulty, why do you want to travel the difficult path? There is no need."
And then Rāmakṛṣṇa wants to break that seriousness. "Once a man said to me, 'Sir, can you teach me quickly the thing you call Samādhi?'" — because Rāmakṛṣṇa was famous all over as one who could go into Samādhi again and again.
Rāmakṛṣṇa continues: "After a man has attained Samādhi, all his actions drop away — all devotional activities such as worship, japam, and the like, as well as all worldly duties cease to exist for such a person." Why? Because it is said: karma, action, is meant to fulfil an unfulfilled desire. But when a man attains God, all his desires are completely fulfilled. Brahmaṇā saha samāśnute — as we have seen in the second chapter of the Taittirīya Upaniṣad: Brahmavidyā apnoti param. Satyaṃ jñānam anantaṃ Brahma. One who attains — what happens? Vipraścit. Brahmana saha samāśnute. At once he experiences Brahmānanda by becoming one with Brahman. Brahmānanda means all infinite ānanda, which includes every one of the small ānandas we experience sometimes. So there is no need for action. Action is needed only when desire remains.
And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa also gives a beautiful example. We will talk about it 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!