Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 165 on 02-June-2026

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

Opening Invocation

ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् |

पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ||

Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadgurum |

pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ ||

Sunday, November 19, 1882

It was the auspicious occasion of the Jagadhatri Puja, the festival of the Divine Mother. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was invited to Surendra's house in Calcutta. Surendra, as we all know, was a beloved household devotee of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, and he served Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. After the passing away of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, Surendra had supported the first and second monasteries to a very great extent. It is all because of Surendra that we owe the entire Rāmakṛṣṇa Saṅgha today. So this is what we need to understand.

So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was invited, and naturally Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa would be very happy to go there. This is one of the methods by which Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa wanted to propagate his message. Bālārām Basu's house was the very first, and then Suresh Mitra's house—that is the second house. But before going to Suresh's house, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa first went to the house of Mano Mohan, who was also a very close devotee of Rāmakṛṣṇa. The master was seated in Mano Mohan's parlour. Then he issued a beautiful saying. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said, "God very much relishes the bhakti of the poor and the lowly, just like the cow relishes fodder mixed with oil cake."

What does Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa really mean by "the poor and lowly"?

As you have been—I'm sure reading the WhatsApp messages from the Imitation of Christ—the lowly and the poor does not refer to the social status of people or low-caste people. Of course nowadays the low caste are trying to extract extra privileges by claiming that they belong to the lowest class. Rāmakṛṣṇa was not referring to the caste system. He whose egotism is very low, whose ahaṅkāra and mamakāra are very low—that is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa means. "Poor" means external possessions are just a few, maybe just needed or even less than that, but his egotism is totally dependent upon God.

And then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, master of similes like Kālidāsa, is telling this. This is a very common phenomenon; anybody who owns these animals knows it. So while giving fodder, if there is oil cake—oil is liked by everybody, not only by human beings. Anything that is fried in oil, or if people are very wealthy, ghee (clarified butter)—somehow we all like it, even though it may not be very good for health. So oil cake will be not only rich but also sweet and tasty. Naturally, even animals like food that is more tasty. And then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa immediately gives a beautiful example: King Duryodhana showed Kṛṣṇa the splendour of his wealth and riches, but Kṛṣṇa accepted the hospitality of the poor Vidura.

God runs after the devotee as the cow after the calf

God is fond of His devotees. He runs after the devotee as the cow after the calf. Now I have to tell you something, even though I have mentioned it any number of times; we can repeat it. I was almost for five years in one of our centers in the northeast. It is called Cherrapunji, presently located in Meghalaya state, and we had a dairy where plenty of animals—cows—were there. I read in a quotation from the Veda that God runs after His devotees like a cow that has newly given birth to a calf. I read about it, and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is probably giving that reference here. The cow runs after the calf when just after birth the calf is helpless and it just emits a lowly sound. Had I not witnessed it, I would not have really understood Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's utterance to the extent that I understand now.

One day morning, around 9 o'clock, I entered into the cowshed. The previous day, one of the cows had given birth to a calf. Cows are very lovely, very affectionate, very lovable. So it was Indian custom, as you know, we just let the calf suck the milk only for a few seconds; it won't fill its stomach. Then the milkman goes on milking, and afterwards the cows are let out for grazing. Cherrapunji is full of hills, so all the cows had gone. So when I entered, this poor calf was mooing, calling for its mother in its own language: "Mā, I am hungry."

Reminiscence of Rakhal (Swami Brahmananda)

That brings also a reminiscence in the life of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. At that time, Rakhal Maharaj (Swami Brahmanandaji in the future) was called Rakhal. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was looking upon him as his own son. We cannot imagine a fourteen-year-old young man sitting in the lap and suckling Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's breast as if he were suckling his mother's breast. But people have seen these; these are the divine līlās we have to understand.

So, one day this Rakhal was very hungry. He frankly told, "I am very hungry." And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, anxiously like a mother, went to the Gaṅgā and then he called out, "Gaurī, my child Rakhal is very hungry." And somehow this lady was doing something at home. She felt such a tremendous pull that immediately—by that time she also learned that whenever I visit Rāmakṛṣṇa, I have to carry something, some eatable. So quickly she prepared (or she had—I don't know) and then ran to the Gaṅgā, jumped into a boat, and then reached. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was awaiting with great anxiety. As soon as he saw, he cried out, "Gaurdāsī, did you bring something?" She said, "Yes." And then he shouted, "Rākhal, come and eat."

Rākhal was a little bashful. He said, "Do you need to advertise my hunger to the whole world?" He was annoyed. See the līlā: if Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gets annoyed, then there is some meaning. But if a devotee gets annoyed at God, it is unthinkable. But Rakhal Maharaj was not looking upon Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa as God; he was his own mother, and a child has unrestrained demands over his mother. So he is shouting, "Why are you going on advertising my hunger?" Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was very innocent. He said, "What is wrong with it? You said you are hungry. I called Gaurdāsī, she brought food. Come and eat. That's what you want to do." Such is the child nature of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa.

The Mahābhārata background: Duryodhana and Vidura

So you see, in this case, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa must have heard about the Mahābhārata incidents. Kṛṣṇa was sent as a messenger of peace, and Duryodhana schemed that he wanted to put him into his own net by bribing. One way of bribing is giving money, etc. Another way of bribing is by showing immense honour. Duryodhana, being a prince, came with all his royal retinue and fell at the feet of Kṛṣṇa, welcoming him: "We have arranged an elaborate reception for you. The best dishes will be served to you. Dancing girls will be dancing. I know very well how you enjoy dancing with those poor village girls, but I am providing you with the most sophisticated city girls. Nothing will be wanting." But whom is he going to fool? Himself. Because Śrī Kṛṣṇa knows Duryodhana from bottom to top, or top to bottom, all the time—not only in this life, but janma janmāntara.

In fact, Śrī Kṛṣṇa declares—we have to understand it clearly—that "I am Īśvara. I dwell in the hearts of every being, not only human beings—whether it is a tiger, whether it is a mosquito, whether it is President Trump or Prime Minister Modi or the North Korean president."

ईश्वरः सर्वभूतानां हृद्देशेऽर्जुन तिष्ठति |

भ्रामयन् सर्वभूतानि यन्त्रारूढानि मायया ||

īśvaraḥ sarvabhūtānāṃ hṛddeśe'rjuna tiṣṭhati |

bhrāmayan sarvabhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā ||

We should never forget that God knows everything—past, present, future, everything. He is the creator, He is the planner. He determined what particular event should take place at what time. And if you are still not remembering, in the eleventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā, when Arjuna was unable to recognize Kṛṣṇa's universal form—we can never recognize the universality of God; for that, we have to completely eliminate egoism—so Arjuna asked, "Who are you?" Then He says, "Kālo'ham" (I am Kāla, time), and in time, creation, sustenance, and destruction—sṛṣṭi, sthiti, laya—everything takes place.

This is what we need to understand clearly: that this world is not run by any one of us. It is run only by God's will, and for that, God had created certain presiding deities. For example, the presiding deity of each one of our hands is Indra. The presiding deity of our eye is Sūrya Bhagavān; that is how we are able to see. The presiding deity of our mind is the moon, Candradeva. There is no part, no atom in our body which is not controlled by God. He created, He presides over, He decides what to do; He is playing the game. Only mischievously did He create this feeling that "God has nothing to do with me. I am the owner of this body-mind complex. I do whatever I like." In the end, we understand that nothing is in our hands.

So we have to learn a great lesson. Kṛṣṇa knew everything: who is playing Duryodhana? And did Duryodhana recognize Him? Absolutely not—at that time, nor when his thighs were broken by Bhīmasena. Again, Kṛṣṇa assisted Bhīma because for nearly twelve years the Pāṇḍavas were in vanavāsa. And then what was Duryodhana doing? He knew: as soon as these people return, there is going to be unavoidable war. And in that war, Bhīma had promised, "I will break your thighs and I will drink the blood of Duśśāsana." So Duryodhana knew that was going to happen, but "let me prepare." So he prepared what is called a gadā of very heavy weight, and he was practicing jumping up and down. When the Pāṇḍavas found out that Duryodhana was hiding in a lake, they insulted him and called him out. Duryodhana's egotism was very sensitive; he could not tolerate. Immediately he came out of the lake, and the Mahābhārata tells that he knows jala-stambhana—what does that mean? He knows how to create a beautiful oxygen space even though he is deep at the bottom of the lake, and he can survive as long as he wants. This is a special type of skill called jala-stambhana. Stambhana means you just stop the water from entering.

Anyway, he could not tolerate the insult. He came out, and Bhīmasena could not do anything because this man was practicing for nearly thirteen years jumping up and down, and Bhīmasena was getting tired. At that time, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself showed him by some sign that the next time he jumps, break his thighs. And that had happened.

This is just a background; I am enjoying it. I hope you are also enjoying. So Duryodhana was lying down, and it seems somebody went later on and asked, "Oh prince, you are a very wise person. You are not a foolish person. You knew very well that if I did this, the inevitable result would be that all the Kauravas would be destroyed—there is no doubt about it. So why did you not stop this, so that you could have lived? They also could have lived. In fact, you could have been invincible because both you and the Pāṇḍavas together could have been like the USA and Iran becoming friendly, or the USA and China; if they become friends, they become almost invincible. And if Russia joins them, these three countries, the most powerful countries in the world, then no country can withstand them. But this is a tremendous play."

Then somebody asked, "Why did you not think about it?" Not that he did not know. Duryodhana himself confesses:

जानामि धर्मं न च मे प्रवृत्तिः जानाम्यधर्मं न च मे निवृत्तिः ||

jānāmi dharmaṃ na ca me pravṛttiḥ jānāmyadharmaṃ na ca me nivṛttiḥ ||

"I know what is just—the thing to be done. I know what should not be done. I know what is right and what is not right," he says. "But there is somebody sitting in my heart, and He is not allowing me to do what I want to do." That is exactly what Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa was telling: yantrārūḍhāni māyayā—Īśvara is playing this puppet game with everybody.

Why are we recollecting these incidents? Do they have anything to do? Yes—that is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa wants to convey. Very soon he is going to convey this idea that everything is God's will. By His very saṅkalpa (will), He is creating, He is maintaining, He is sustaining; everything is happening by His will. None of us have even a hundredth part to say anything, to deny anything, to stop anything, or to start anything. Clearly we have to understand:

यथेच्छसि तथा कुरु || yathecchasi tathā kuru ||

So, "Whatever you want to do, O Lord, You do." This is called śaraṇāgati bhava. This is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was replying. After all, who was Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa? He who was Kṛṣṇa, He who was Rāma. He Himself clearly remembers how He misled Duryodhana by taunting him.

So Kṛṣṇa accepted the hospitality of the poor Vidura. And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa continues: "God is fond of His devotees. He runs after the devotee as the cow after the calf." So when I was in Cherrapunji, one day I entered into the cowshed and this calf was moaning. Then, to my astonishment, I saw the mother cow with lifted-up tail, moaning, running towards the cowshed. She came there and then started suckling the calf. Of course, if any servants were there, they would not have allowed it. But I was just watching, enjoying the whole play. Then I remembered that Vedic saying that God is fond of His devotees, like He always wants to feed and nuzzle His children. God cannot live without devotees. True devotees, of course, cannot live without God. So He runs after the devotee, and the cow runs after the calf.

The master's song

Then the master sang; he burst into song. The teaching of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa runs through songs, through teachings, through analogies, through similes—so many things. This is the song:

"And for that love, the mighty yogis practice yoga from age to age."

That means it is not easy to get this devotion—bhakti. They want to have that bhakti. What type of bhakti? The bhakti of the gopīs of Vṛndāvana.

Uddhava and the love of the gopīs

There is a beautiful episode again. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa recounts Uddhava, the closest friend of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa. There are so many parallels in the Bhāgavatam to the life of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. We can say it is a mini-play of Śrī Kṛṣṇa again manifesting in the form of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. So this Uddhava was not only the closest friend, he is the greatest devotee. That is why the last message of Śrī Kṛṣṇa is called the last message of Kṛṣṇa to Uddhava; it is called the Uddhava Gītā. There are three famous Gītās: we know the Bhagavad Gītā; we also know about the Anu Gītā—after the war is over, what happened; we also know the Uddhava Gītā, which forms a majority portion of the eleventh skandha of the Bhāgavatam.

And one who gets this love for God—so yogis want to enjoy that love. They don't want to be jñānīs. What I mean is, a true jñānī is a true bhakta. But the people who go on saying "not this, not this" will not enjoy pure ānanda as devotion gives the ānanda. This is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is referring to: "For that love, the mighty yogīs—not ordinary kuch ka gopīs—mighty yogīs practice yoga from age to age." That means they don't care how many yugas are passing away, but they want one drop of that love that drowns the whole world, that transforms the whole world into an ocean of amṛta.

When love awakes, the Lord, like a magnet, draws to Him the soul. Probably it would be better to say: when that love awakes, the devotee draws the Lord to Him like a magnet. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa himself says sometimes God is the magnet and the devotee is the needle, but the reverse also he says is true. Sometimes the devotee becomes a magnet and God cannot stay away from him. So wherever Prahlāda was there—we are also going to get that story soon.

Duryodhana's welcome and Kṛṣṇa's response

So let us recollect what happened. Duryodhana came to receive Kṛṣṇa with all that magnificent royal welcome, and anybody would have been completely mesmerized: "I am honored so much." After all, Kṛṣṇa was living a poor life. But no—He is the divine Lord. Nobody understands it. That is why, He says, human beings insult Me without knowing My true nature. So here, Duryodhana thought, "Śrī Kṛṣṇa is after all a village boy and he is not much educated either. So he is not a city person. He will be mesmerized by the charms of all these maidens." You have to imagine: Duryodhana must have gone with all the Miss Universes gathered to attract Kṛṣṇa. After all, he heard about Kṛṣṇa's dalliance with the gopīs. So he thought, "Gopīs are village maidens"—not only maidens. We should not understand that Śrī Kṛṣṇa was dallying only with unmarried girls; He was also dallying with married women. But that is the purest love, and if we do not understand, don't even go to read that episode of the Rāsa-līlā that comes in the tenth chapter (daśama skandha) of the Bhāgavatam.

What did Kṛṣṇa do immediately? He said, "My job is not done. I am supposed to bring about peace, and if I accept your hospitality, I may be influenced by you for honoring me so much. But I will accept your invitation after the work is done—after my mission is accomplished." And with that, He said goodbye, and immediately He ran to Vidura's house. Poor Vidura was there only, but he did not know; he had not informed him, "I am going to your house." But Vidura, one of the greatest devotees of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, knew immediately where Kṛṣṇa was heading. So he immediately followed Kṛṣṇa a few minutes later.

And what was his great astonishment? Vidura's wife was an even greater devotee of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa than Vidura. She was not expecting—she was probably aware Kṛṣṇa was coming, but that He would come to Vidura's house to spend the whole night there? Nobody knew it, neither Vidura nor his wife. So she was overwhelmed. Guests have to be entertained, and they had some banana. What was this mad devotee doing? Vidura's wife was peeling the bananas, throwing away the banana fruit, and offering the peelings to Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa was unaware because it was offered with such bhakti.

पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति ||

patraṃ puṣpaṃ phalaṃ toyaṃ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati ||

Immediately He started swallowing. Vidura met this sight; he was astonished. He understood. There is a beautiful song composed by one of the greatest saints in Karnataka: "Vidurana bhāgyavidu, Vidurana bhāgyavu idu" (This is the greatest fortune that can befall any person). And that came to Vidura, referring to this particular incident.

Chaitanya Mahāprabhu

Now Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "Chaitanya used to shed tears of joy at the very mention of Kṛṣṇa's name. God alone is the real substance; all else is illusory." Now Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was referring to Chaitanya. And about Chaitanya, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say that ever since Chaitanya suddenly transformed himself into a devotee of God—a devotee of Kṛṣṇa—he used to be in three states. When he was conscious of the outer world, he would sing and he would dance. When he was half-conscious, he would only dance a little, but he was not aware of the external world. Tears of bhakti used to flow like rivers from his eyes. But most of the time he used to be unconscious. That is how Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, at the end of his life, for eighteen years never left Purī. He mistook that Purī was Vṛndāvana and the sea at Purī was Yamunā. How many times he lost consciousness, jumping into the sea, and every time some fisherman would come and rescue him.

So Chaitanya used to shed tears. What about Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa? Because it is said Chaitanya reincarnated himself as Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. If we study the teachings of both Chaitanya Mahāprabhu and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and compare the incidents in the life of Chaitanya Mahāprabhu and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, we will find many, many similarities. Both were worshippers of Śakti, both were tremendously devoted to their gurus, both used to be in the same state. If you open your eyes and read the Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, exactly like Chaitanya, many times Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to go into samādhi. That is how Chaitanya Mahāprabhu used to be unconscious. Many times half-aware, vaguely aware of the external world. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, like a mad elephant, used to dance, used to sing, but when he was fully conscious, he used to converse and talk, and that is the result of this Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa.

The Gospel as Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa Himself

Why are we studying this one? Not that there is a profound secret and we want to squeeze out that secret. The Gospel is none other than Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. So if you possess a copy of the Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, you have possessed Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. This is also based upon Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's own statement: Bhāgavata, bhakta, Bhagavān. One day Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa saw a ray of light coming from the feet of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa in the Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa temple, touching the Bhāgavatam, and like a triangle coming and touching his own heart and going back to the lotus feet of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa. Since that time, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa coined: "Bhāgavata, bhakta, Bhagavān—they are one and the same." Where one is present, the other also is present. So as if Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is talking to me, to you—every time you open the Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, he is talking to you.

Incident of Pūrṇacandra Ghosh

Incidentally, I remembered just now an incident. Pūrṇacandra Ghosh was one of the six Īśvarakoṭis. He was not a monk, but mentally he was more than a monk. There was an incident in his life once. The circumstances in his life were not very good; he was terribly depressed. He did not feel like living; he wanted to commit suicide. So he said, "Tomorrow I will get up, read the Gospel, and then commit suicide." So next morning he got up, and then he opened the Gospel (in Bengali—of course, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa Kathāmṛta) at random and started reading. And the very first thing that his eyes fell upon was the passage: "Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was deeply concerned about the welfare of Pūrṇacandra Ghosh." The statement is there in the Gospel. And then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was answering through that Gospel: "Why are you so worried? I am thinking about your welfare. It is my duty to look after you. So you just eat, drink, make merry, and be happy." Pūrṇacandra Ghosh thought, "If Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is concerned and looking after me, why should I worry? Let me be a child and enjoy." With that, his resolve to commit suicide disappeared in a trice. His heart was definitely filled with tremendous, indescribable joy, and that joy can come only through love.

Remember always this beautiful psychological fact: where there is love, there is joy, concentration, unbroken memory, and absolute interest. They are all synonymous words. If anybody says, "I love, but I'm not happy," we have to understand there is really no love. So why was Pūrṇacandra Ghosh so happy? Because of that love. And these mighty yogīs just want ānanda, whether he is a jñānī or a karmī. What do people want? They want ānanda. Ānanda is another name for God. Any person who says, "I want to be happy" is, in other words, saying, "I want to be God" or "I want to be in the presence of God"—the presence of happiness. Even pleasure is nothing but a happiness that we derive in the presence of God. And that object which a person mistakenly thinks will give happiness is the instrument to bring out the presence of God from within himself.

God alone is the real substance; all else is illusory

So God is the real substance, and all else is illusory. What is this "illusory"? Illusory means it is an instrument. My body is an instrument, my mind is an instrument. Every event that happens in my life is an instrument. If a person gets married, that wife is an instrument; husband is an instrument; parents are instruments; children are instruments. So if a person is getting joy because of that person's love for any one of them—any friend, any religion, any scripture, any piece of knowledge—then we have to understand that book, that person, that object is merely a mirror reflecting the joy that is within oneself. Since we are not able to see God (that is, ānanda) within ourselves, we require a mirror. Just like we cannot see our own face, we require a mirror to correct ourselves. The whole world is a mirror. What for? To correct ourselves so that we can be our own selves. So if somebody has a very unhappy face, the mirror reflects it, and nobody wants that. If somebody thinks, "My hair is not done, my face is not done properly; it must be cleaned up," he takes the help of the mirror. Only you apply it to spiritual life: "I need to be corrected." And for correction, this world acts like a very faithful mirror, and that will help us.

A happy event is also a lesson for us to learn; an unhappy event is another lesson to be learned. Either happy or unhappy, we have to understand that everything in this world is only temporary—everything is changing. So we cannot expect the same thing from the same object all the time. There is no object which is not changing. That change-for-nature is called mithyā. But every mithyā has to have an adhiṣṭhāna, a support without which it cannot even exist. A reflection cannot exist unless the original object is there. A billion mirrors cannot reflect if the object is not there in front of the mirrors. So, like that, the whole world is created. This is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa wants to convey.

We have to grow by learning our lessons. So loving people, hating people, dharma and adharma, right and wrong—everything has to teach a lesson. So anybody who wants to progress in spiritual life, the first thing the person has to ask is: "I am born—what am I? What is the lesson I have to learn? I am growing up—what is the lesson I have to learn? I am getting married—what is the lesson I have to learn? I have quarrels with family members—what is the lesson I have to learn?" This very body, which I am feeding and nourishing, is slowly changing, is deserting. The hair will desert us, the teeth will desert us, the skin will desert us. Every part of the body gives us up. What is the lesson I have to learn? So who is it that will never change, that will ever be mine? Only one fact: that is God, and nothing else. That is the lesson we have to learn.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa continues, and this is what is called: "God alone is the real substance; all else is illusory." Brahma satyaṃ jagat mithyā—this is the translation by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: "God alone is the real substance; all else is illusory."

The snake and the precious stone

"Man can realise God if he wants to, but he madly craves the enjoyment of woman and gold." Then Rāmakṛṣṇa immediately gives an illustration: "The snake has a precious stone in its head but is perfectly satisfied to eat a mere frog." It is a belief among many Indians that some cobras carry a very precious stone. I don't know whether it is true or not, but what is important is that the snake itself is totally unaware of the stone, much less its preciousness, and it is eating a mere frog—that means a worthless something—and is perfectly satisfied.

But one thing—perhaps we can interpret it this way: the poison of a snake. If somebody can squeeze a few drops of the venom of a venomous snake, it can save us from certain death if a person is bitten by a particular snake, etcetera. And in future, how many medicines as a cure for how many diseases can be prepared out of the venom of this one? God alone knows. So what is the most precious stone? What is more precious than living, than health, than enjoying life, living a long time? So the venom which is in the head of many snakes—that is the most precious thing, and medical science has recognized it and is trying. What is called snake farms are there where regularly this venom is extracted, and it is a big business.

Bhakti is the one essential thing

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa continues: "Bhakti is the one essential thing." What is the most essential thing in life? Bhakti. That is what Advaita tells us: acquisition of the knowledge that "I am Brahman" is the only essential thing in life. This is how Swami Vivekananda had put it: "Each soul is potentially divine, and the goal of life is to manifest this potential divinity. And it can be realised either through karma yoga, bhakti yoga, jñāna yoga, or rāja yoga, and that alone can make us completely free. This is the whole of religion. Everything else is secondary detail." So this is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says. Bhakti means what? Knowledge of God. Bhakti means love. Love is the outcome of knowledge. Every child loves the mother. Why? Because it knows, "I cannot survive without the mother." The child doesn't think so much; it knows instinctively. That is why it cannot bear separation from its mother. And if anybody can realize that God is my mother and I cannot exist separated from my mother, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gives the beautiful example: a child is playing; suddenly he feels hungry, and then he says, "Mā, jābo" (I want to go to mother). And nobody can stop the child. The child will not stop crying piteously until the mother comes running and takes it up in her arms and starts suckling him. It is not only the suckling, but the very presence. The child wants to be loved, to be petted, to be kissed by the mother. Without that affection—it is the affection of the mother that is most wanted, not merely the external nourishment called milk.

Reasoning and faith

And then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is telling: "Who can ever know God through reasoning?" During our talks on the Upaniṣads, many times we had the occasion to refer to śruti-sammata tarka. So the first primary authority is that Brahman exists, God exists, and the goal of life is Ātma-jñāna or God-realization—to know that I am divine. But to understand the teachings of the scriptures (the Śruti), we require the help of reasoning. What is reasoning? In this case, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa tells many times that discrimination is a process whereby we know: God alone is permanent; everything is temporary. So we are trying to find out permanency in temporary things, and it will take some time for us to wake up. But then at last, by going through terrible hazards, terrible suffering, how many lives—they say caurāsī lākh janam jāgī tyāgī moha tā anurāga śrīhare—so "Śrī Rāmacandra bhajo," so worship Śrī Rāmacandra. This is the truth, but everybody will wake up. There is no doubt: everybody will feel hungry. That hunger is called spiritual hunger. What is spiritual hunger? "I know I am divine. So long I have been asleep to this fact. Now I know for certain."

उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत ||

uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata ||

Approach those who can tell you, guide you, and learn from them. Follow their footsteps and reach what they have reached, and life will be blessed.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is telling: "God can never be proved by any amount of reasoning. Who can ever know God through reasoning? I want love of God, but do I care about knowing His infinite glories? One bottle of wine makes me drunk. What do I care about knowing how many gallons there are in the grog shop? One jar of water is enough to quench my thirst. I don't need to know the amount of water there is on earth. Come to think of it, how much water is there in this world, how many oceans are there, and who needs all that? But if we get sufficient to quench our thirst, God will give whatever is necessary, unless we throttle our own resources with stupid quarrels, trying to use water as weapons of war. Why? Since the river is flowing through my country, I will not allow any other country to share it. And if I have several states, every state is quarreling with the other state, not knowing that if you alone survive, you will not survive for long." The whole country should be looked upon exactly in the same way. How much money, how much environmental pollution we are creating by spending billions and countless billions in developing weapons of destruction—that is not going to help us. If only that money were diverted for the welfare of human beings, everybody would have more than sufficient. Modern science can show us how we can have plenty of food. But at the same time, as the Taittirīya Upaniṣad teaches us, it doesn't mean we splurge ourselves in overeating, creating health problems for ourselves. No, it is not good at all. So there must be:

अन्नं न निन्द्यात् | अन्नं परिजक्षीत | अन्नं बहु कुर्वीत ||

annaṃ na nindyāt | annaṃ parijakṣīta | annaṃ bahu kurvīta ||

So all these are great teachings. Let us know how to derive, how to squeeze the highest amount of happiness from ordinary things. That is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa wants to say, but he is not saying that reasoning should not be used. First, faith in the scriptures. To understand the scriptures properly, use the aid of reasoning.

Let me give you a small example. There are some religions where whatever is written in the book—even if it is an interpolation by somebody else—that is taken as gospel truth, the word of God, and then hatred: "Anybody who doesn't believe in our scripture, in our religion, will go to the direst of the hells." Should they not have this kind of buddhi (intelligence)? We don't care whether a person believes in a religion or believes in a scripture. What is necessary is what type of life you are living. Is it something where you are growing by becoming less selfish, becoming more unselfish, caring and sharing with others whatever you have, not contemplating any harm to anybody? In other words, develop a noble character, become a gentleman, and that is more important than anything else.

This is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is telling: "What do I care about knowing His infinite glories? One bottle of wine makes me drunk. A little bit of love of God can make me a happier person. What do I care to know how many scriptures there are, how many religions there are, how many pathways there are? Let us not be trying to obtain a PhD by studying various religions and trying to do something about it. One jar of water is enough to quench my thirst. One mantra from my guru—sadguru—is more than enough. I don't need to know anything else. Blessed I will become." This is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is trying to tell.

Arrival at Surendra's house

And after this, he left. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa left Mano Mohan's house, and then it must be nearby. He arrived at Surendra's house. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa arrived at Surendra's house, and many devotees had assembled there, including Surendra's elder brother, who was a judge. But the master is telling something which teaches us a great lesson for all of us. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, addressing this judge (Surendra's brother), is uttering: "You are a judge—that's very good. But remember, everything happens through God's power. You are the president of your nation—very good. But remember, everything happens through God's power. It is God's power which made you the president, the vice president, the prime minister, the minister, the MP, the MLA—anything; it is He who has given you your high position. That is how you became a judge."

People think it is they who are great: "We obtained this through our cleverness, through our effort, and I am responsible for what I got." No. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gives a beautiful simile: "The water from the roof flows through a spout that is shaped like a lion's head. It looks as if the lion were bringing the water out through its mouth. But look at the source of the water: a cloud gathers in the sky and rain falls on the roof; then the water flows through the pipe and at last comes out through the spout." So everything is given by God. That is the message of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, and it has wonderful implications.

We will further enjoy this talk 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!