Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 168 on 14-July-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 ||
We are studying the Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa.
At Surendra's House – Sunday, November 19, 1882
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: The Vedas say that God is beyond mind and speech. The meaning of this is that God is unknown to the mind attached to worldly objects. But certainly, it means God is known to a pure mind. Hence, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says, it is necessary to seek the company of holy men, practise prayer, and listen to the instruction of the Guru.
The Three Commandments
Beautiful commandments:
- Cultivate the company of holy men – satsaṅga.
- Practise prayer – wholehearted, sincere prayer. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say that sincere prayer brings definite results. God certainly listens to our sincere prayers. But when do we become really sincere? Only by obeying the instructions of the Guru.
- Listen to the instruction of the Guru.
The Two Aspects of Guru Bhakti
That is why we are to look upon the Guru in two ways. Merely saying “my Guru is God” – Guru Brahmā, Guru Viṣṇu – will not really affect anybody unless we obey completely the teachings of the Guru, the instructions of the Guru.
We also have to make the Guru a target for our spiritual practice, as I have mentioned many times regarding target practice. What does it mean? It means it does not matter what my Guru really is. He may be a worldly person, he may be an ignorant person, he may be an immoral person – but I have decided to make him a target for my spiritual progress. In which way? I will look upon him as none other than Brahman – God – and in no less a way. If he abuses me, I will take his abuses as blessings. And if he does not love me, that is all the better; I need not think about anything else. But I have decided to look upon him as my father, mother, teacher, God, Guru – whatever you want. Nātha, tumi sarvasvamāra – “O Lord, you are my everything.” So my Guru is everything. That is true Guru Bhakti.
Even if the Guru is not gracious towards us, if our concept of Guru becomes so gracious, we become realised souls. That is why Swami Brahmanandaji used to say: “We really have to look upon Guru as God Himself. Whatever comes from his mouth should be looked upon as God's direct instructions. If one can do that, then ultimately the Guru – that means God in the form of the Guru – takes one to the ultimate stage, points out and says, 'Here is your iṣṭa devatā, chosen deity.'”
And then what does the Guru do? Rāja Mahārāja says: “What can the Guru do? Because he is not separate from God, he merges in God.” That indicates God has taken the form of a human being so that He can instruct us, take us by the hand, and slowly take us nearer to God – and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, whatever he spoke, he practised in his life.
God Reveals Himself to a Pure Mind
So that is what he is telling: God is unknown to an impure mind, but God reveals Himself to a pure mind. So he gave the instructions: cultivate holy company, practise prayer and meditation and japam, and above all, listen to the instruction of the Guru.
The instruction of the Guru falls into two types:
- He will understand what our nature is and give us an appropriate mantra.
- He will tell us how we have to conduct our life. Many times we are in such situations that we may not be able to decide what to do and what not to do. So we can approach our Guru and we will get the directions.
But suppose the Guru is not alive or is not available – then what can one do? Definitely, the Guru is not a limited human being; it is God only. So wherever Guru is, he will come, and the instructions can come through many forms.
The Incident of Kedar
I mentioned to you the incident of Kedar. Kedar was a very great devotee of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. At some point of his life, he was working at Dhaka (now Bangladesh), and he was longing for the vision of God, but he was not getting it. One day he went to the top of a small hill with the intention of committing suicide, and when he was about to do that, suddenly he saw a small boy who said: “Don't do that. You will get what you want soon.” Kedar had taken it too hard – how did this boy come to know what I wanted and what I am going to do? But he believed God came in that form. So he waited, and a few days later he happened to come to Calcutta, heard about Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, came to Dakṣiṇeśvara, met him, took shelter, and he became blessed. He became one of the close devotees of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa.
So you see, God can come in the form of a dog, in the form of a bird, in the form of a small child, and so many things.
The Story of the Jāmindār
I also mentioned to you, by the way, there was a jāmindār who was thinking of renouncing but was not able to make up his mind. One day he was passing through his jāmindārī, and towards evening, almost the sun was about to set, a washerman had collected some dirty clothes but had not started the process of cleaning them for whatever reason. He had an eight‑year‑old daughter, and that small girl shouted: Bābā, anek belā hoiche – “It is already so late. When are you going to burn the dirty clothes?” There was a process: they would heat the water, add some chemicals, put the clothes there, and then the dirt would come off easily; then they would spread them and in the hot sun they would soon become dry, then collect and deliver them. In those days, ironing and other things were not necessary – even today it is not necessary actually for many clothes.
This jāmindār happened to hear that small girl's voice. The girl meant: “You are delaying cleaning these dirty clothes.” So she was cautioning her father. But the same words woke up this jāmindār. Here there is a peculiar word for the clothes – bhāsanā. It means clothes, and it also means old saṃskāras (impressions). The jāmindār understood the second meaning: “You have so many old saṃskāras; you have to burn them and then acquire new saṃskāras. Already you are old.” The moment he heard these words, a great awakening had come, and he immediately renounced the world then and there, gave his servant his horse and his clothes, and sent a message: “I am not going to return. I am going to take to sannyāsa.”
Very interesting story. He reached a famous Vaiṣṇava Guru and approached him, begging: “Please grant me sannyāsa.” But the Guru was a wise, realised soul. He understood: “Still, this man is not ready.” He said: “You wait for some time; I will do that.” So this man was waiting – and Gurus can take any number of years. Meanwhile, the jāmindār, who was a very intelligent merchant and businessman, started selling something, set up a shop, and started selling very honestly with very small profit. He also started giving away in charity to people who could not afford to pay. Whatever profits he earned, he distributed to all the poor people. He was behaving, in other words, like a true sannyāsīn.
There was a famous person in Vṛndāvana at that time who was very popular – until this person came from Bengal. He was well known to be a great person of charity. But when this Lālā Bābā came, he became even more popular. Then the other person started having envious feelings towards this man. After some time, Lālā Bābā awoke and said: “What am I doing? I came here to take up sannyāsa, and again I started my old business.” Of course, he was intelligent and very successful, so he sold everything to somebody and distributed the whole money. One day, as a beggar, he came and stood in front of this previous charitable person, waiting for bhikṣā (alms). One of the members of the family saw this, excitedly ran and informed the father: “You see, that famous Lālā Bābā who surpassed you in charity is standing in front of our house as a beggar – come quickly!” That man also understood the greatness and the humility of this person, and with great respect, he offered something to him. Then Lālā Bābā went and now approached his Guru and said: “Am I ready?” The Guru said yes, and he gave him sannyāsa and said: “Śarvakṛṣṇa, you go and start some educational institutions and also some charity houses where pilgrims can be served.” Even today, there are so many such institutions started by this Lālā Bābā.
Purification of the Heart (Chitta Śuddhi)
Purification – that is the most important thing. When our mind becomes pure, that is called the purpose of yoga – that is called citta śuddhi (purification of the heart). Yogaś citta vṛtti nirodhaḥ – citta vṛtti nirodha means not suppressing the thoughts, but purifying the heart. Then the heart becomes like a mirror. In that mirror, if one stands in front of it, it will show the true nature of the person.
There is a beautiful story – perhaps created by some people, supposed to be from the Mahābhārata, which I do not think it is, but it serves our purpose. Śakuni and others were always trying to harm the Pāṇḍavas. Once there was a marriage party, and they had to go to Kṛṣṇa's house. There was a peculiar seat: anybody who stood on that seat would only tell the truth. I will give you only the shortest version possible. Kṛṣṇa asked: “Were you planning to cheat, to kill, to murder the Pāṇḍavas?” Śakuni Māma (Uncle Śakuni) was the key person; he used to inspire the other three – Duryodhana, Duḥśāsana, Karṇa, and Śakuni – the four famous wicked people, the gang of the four. Śakuni said: “No, we love the Pāṇḍavas. They are great people. We are not going to harm them.” Kṛṣṇa smilingly, very deceptively, said: “Māmā, are you telling the truth? Then you just stand on this seat.” Cleverly, Kṛṣṇa invited him to stand, and Śakuni thought: “Who is going to know? I will just tell the same thing that I told earlier.” The moment he stood up, unknown to himself, the words came out: “Yes, we were planning to steal, to kill, to dethrone, and we will not stop until the Pāṇḍavas are completely eliminated.” Everybody was stunned because this person was known to be a very clever speaker. But in front of Kṛṣṇa, in front of everybody, he was telling whatever real thoughts they were having about how to kill the Pāṇḍavas, openly, unbeknown to himself.
So when we do karma yoga, our minds become like that pure mirror or that pure seat, and it will not allow us – it will show us what we really are, not what we think we are, not what others think we are.
The Gradual Path of Purification
Anybody who practises all these things that Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa instructed – Kṛṣṇa instructed, Rāma instructed – such a person's mind slowly, gradually (may take many lives – aneka janma siddhiḥ tato yāti parāṃ gatim) – through happiness and unhappiness, through suffering and enjoyment, slowly our intellect becomes purified. One day the mind becomes pure, and when we look into that pure mind – and this is what we call intellectual understanding (vijñānamaya kośa) – we understand who we are.
Then slowly this is not the pañcakośa vijñānamaya. This is what in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad Ajātaśatru was telling: this vijñānamaya puruṣa – that is a person who knows who is pure Brahman – where has he gone? As much as we tried to call him out, he did not respond very easily. And how did he come out? From where did he come out? That vijñānamaya puruṣa is totally separate from the pañcakośa vijñānamaya, where even we decide to do something, and that taking decision is possible only when we are established in the vijñānamaya kośa.
The Mirror of the Mind
So this is what happens. Citta śuddhi will happen – that is called citta vṛtti nirodha in yogic language. Then when a person looks into his mind – that means we are always looking into the mind only. Are you looking outside? Are you seeing a mango tree, a person of your family, or an enemy of yours? Not really. You are looking in the mirror of your mind, which is also called the mirror of the heart, because the sense organs go outside, take impressions like photographs, and then present them to the mind. And what we are seeing are those movie pictures, so to say. We are looking at them.
As I mentioned in my last class, this is what Śaṅkarācārya had beautifully written in the Dakṣiṇāmūrti Stotram: viśvaṃ darpaṇa dṛśyamāna nagarī tulyaṃ nijāntargatam. I gave the example: you sit in front of a TV and watch a cricket match, and you are jumping up and down, shouting, becoming grief‑stricken, all thinking that the match is going on right in front of your eyes – because there is no less experience; I would say it is a better experience than sitting among thousands of people. Maybe you are not able to see clearly, but if you sit in front of a big monitor (nowadays the whole wall can become a monitor), and these people who are taking the movie will highlight those special moments – even the ball touching the edge of the corner – they say “yes, this person had really touched it” or “it has gone beyond, it did not touch” – crystal clearly one can see. Without that, our knowledge would be practically one tenth or even less.
The True Self and the Reflection
So what I am trying to tell: when the mind becomes pure, the pure mind will only show the actual original me – that is, I am cit, not cidābhāsa, but I am pure cit. But that cit is standing in front of the mirror – that is called cidābhāsa – like a reflection. What does it tell? Nobody uses the reflection for any practical purpose except for correcting one's own self – that is the most marvellous thing we are all doing every day. So even though we are given the impression that we are looking at the outside world, no, you cannot look. It is through the tinted glasses of the five sense organs only; whatever impressions they bring and present to me in the form of pictures and photographs, that alone we are seeing. We do not know whether there is any outside world at all. All that we know is what is presented in front of us – and very often it is highly distorted by our saṃskāras. These distortions are like patches of dirt, impurities that are sticking on the mirror, and they also deflect the true image; they give a false image – “this is my friend, this is my enemy, this is my beloved, this is my child, this is my property.”
Where are all these people when we are in deep sleep? Nothing belongs. That is why deep sleep is the greatest mirror which can show our true face to ourselves. That is what we have been discussing in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. Ajātaśatru wanted to point out: deep sleep is the nearest analogy for us to understand what we really are, what our true nature really is.
Divine Love After Purification
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa – this is what he is telling. Satsaṅga purifies our hearts, then it also brings in divine love. Divine love makes us think only of the divine, and through that we get tremendous joy. Once we start getting that joy – incomparable, and no worldly object can give that much joy – worldly objects can only reflect a distorted image, and that too they do not give any happiness from themselves; they only give a distorted image of our own happiness. But here is a pure, unbroken bliss, uncontaminated by any of the dualities.
That is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: after the purification of the heart, one obtains divine love, because once we see that true face – which is nothing but Brahman – we cannot but love. That is what is again in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad said: that Ātman is the dearest object. There is nothing which is nearer, dearer, and most beloved than one's own Ātman. Whether it is a wife, a son, family members, or properties, nothing in this world can come anywhere near. So this ātma prema is the preṣṭa prema – the highest love.
Everyone Loves God Unknowingly
We all love only happiness. We all love God. Why do we love God? We say mistakenly, “No, I don't love God” – but everybody loves God only. How? A worldly person says, “Yes, I don't believe in God” – he is like a fool saying, “I don't believe that I exist.” He is looking at his own image in the mirror and saying, “I don't believe I exist.” How foolish it is even to say “I exist” – one must exist. So when a worldly person says, “I love the sweet, I love my wife, my husband” – the mother says “I love my children” – the children become mirrors, the husband becomes a mirror, the wife becomes a mirror, everything in this world becomes a mirror. But depending upon the condition of the mirror, it is only reflecting that love which is within themselves – that is the love which is reflected, and that love comes back to us. “Oh, my wife loves me, my husband loves me, and I am so happy.” Love and happiness are inseparable. And if we do not understand that that love is only an emanation, a manifestation of our own Ātman, then purification is very necessary.
Every single spiritual practice that we do is nothing but purification. Impurity is called avidyā – Māyā – or another word is limitation – limitation in the form of time, in the form of space, in the form of object – deśa, kāla, nimitta. This is called avidyā, manifestation of avidyā. So we are looking through a prism at our own reflection, which is called the creation – the world – and what we see is a distorted image of our own Self.
Brahman Looking at Himself
Who is looking? Brahman looks at Himself without any mirror – then He knows Aham Brahmasmi. When Brahman looks through the pure prism of time, space, and causation, He knows “I am the creation, I am the world.” But when Brahman looks through a distorted, impure prism of time, space, and causation, then He says “I am an individual, I am a jīva, and this is the world.” But all through it is nothing but Brahman and Brahman alone.
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says that when we see through a purified mirror and we see our own face, that face is called Ātman, and that Ātman is the nearest, dearest, most beloved. Therefore, that Ātman brings – we are attracted to it helplessly. That attraction, being like a small iron particle attracted forcibly to a huge powerful magnet, is what we call bhakti, attachment, love, etc. Even when a worldly person says “I am attached to my family”, he means he is attached to the happiness he is seeing reflected in their faces or in them as mirrors. Then he does not understand at that stage – he is attracted to himself, not to those people. So long as he sees them and experiences that special attachment, it becomes strong depending upon how much joy one derives from it. When the joy becomes less, then he feels disgusted; he may even feel enmity – all those things will appear. But when a person's mind becomes pure, he sees nothing but his own reflection, which is Sat, Cit, and Ānanda – and seeing Ānanda and experiencing Ānanda is nothing but love. This is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa wants to say.
The Authority to Teach
Then one sees God through His grace. Then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa – another subject we have already discussed many times – who is authorised to teach others? One can teach others if one receives that command from God after seeing Him. So two conditions:
- One should see God.
- One should directly receive a commandment from God.
Why is this distinction? Because many people are fortunate to see God, but every person who sees God does not receive the commandment to teach others. That is why in the Gospel we find Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa praying to the Divine Mother: “Mother, give a little bit of Your power to Kedar; give a little bit of Your power to M.” So this is what you will have to do. Only a few people are given authority. On what basis? Because the person who wants to teach must have some understanding, must have a good voice, must have the capacity to express. Everybody does not have this capacity. Some people do not even feel like opening their mouths.
Swami Vivekananda's Five Signs
We have seen these beautiful things that Swami Vivekananda used to show – he used to say, just to remind you, five things. He used to show one, two, three, four, five – heart. What does He mean? That capacity to understand rightly, and one must also be blessed with the right equipment – here meaning diction, the type of words that come out. A grumbling voice, indistinct words, inappropriate words – if they come out, it will not be good teaching at all; it will be no teaching at all. There must be a very attractive, powerful voice. But above all, the person must feel: “I am not teaching others; I am only talking with God about my own experiences, and solely only through His grace.”
Kādyatvibhūtimat sattvaṃ śrīmadūrjitameva ca, tathādeva vāgācchatvaṃ māmatejo aṃśa sambhavam – this is the essence of what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa wants to tell.
Caution Against Premature Lecturing
Then he cautions devotees: before one gets this authorisation – and authorisation can be got only after one realises God – before that, one should not lecture, because one's understanding may be very distorted. I see so many people – I am giving you an example – there are so many modern preachers, not from the Rāmakṛṣṇa order but from outside. Some of them have beautiful diction, beautiful expression, beautiful voice – everything is there. But they have become unconscious fanatics. “Nobody can have the knowledge of Brahman or God except through one path – the path of jñāna.” How do they know? In contrast, when we look at Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's teachings, he says: God is infinite, and infinite are the paths by which one can see God.
First of all, do you want to see God? Are you longing to see God? Dīptasiro jalarasiṃ bha – when one's head is on fire, then is it possible to have nice ChatGPT and go on asking, or do you want to go to the nearest source of water and quench the fire which is burning the head? Nobody is given a choice in that matter. So, are you burning for that, and are you doing whatever is necessary – whatever your Guru, your teacher, had asked you to do? All these things are very necessary.
The Simile of the Dilapidated Temple
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is an unsurpassed teller of similes, a creator of similes. There is a song with a small story, and we have heard it many times. There was a village; there was a dilapidated temple – there was no image, full of the droppings of various birds and other things. A foolish fellow called Paddalochan one day took up a conch, entered into that dilapidated temple, and started blowing the conch. The villagers at first mistook – probably some rich man had repaired the temple and installed an image, and the pūjārī was blowing the conch. “Let us go!” They all ran. And what did they find? This fellow sitting knee‑deep in the droppings of all the owls, etc., and he is only blowing the conch.
Taking that picture into mind, somebody has created a beautiful song: “You have set up no image here within the shrine, O fool – blowing the conch, you simply make confusion worse confounded. You should first cleanse the shrine of your heart; then you should install the deity and arrange worship. As yet nothing has been done. What can you achieve by blowing the conch shell and simply making a loud noise?”
Whom Is Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa Referring To?
Whom is Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa really referring to? He is referring to every religious person – religiously, and sometimes they definitely go through hardship, for example, while visiting Amarnāth. Sometimes even there is danger to life and various difficulties. Even then, there are people who dare to go there and worship. The image is dripping water coagulating into ice – the Śivaliṅga is actually an ice liṅga. Sometimes it melts more, and hardly there is any symbol of any liṅga; sometimes it is frozen, especially in winter seasons, and it is very big. But Hindus have a belief that Lord Śiva is self‑manifest – svayambhū. So millions of people make pilgrimage to all these places – Char Dham. There are people – I have seen them here in Vārāṇasī in terrible winter season, early morning at two o'clock, shivering terribly – they endure all those things, not only young people but even old people. Similarly, I have seen them sweltering in unbearable heat – forty‑five to fifty degrees – and standing in patience. So they have some sincerity, but then they have no Guru, most of them, and they do not practise any spiritual disciplines. They do not transform their old saṃskāras. Such people – they do big pūjās, and some effect will be there, no doubt about it, but it is very little.
But there are people who go on preaching, who cheat people. Now you see so many news stories – about this Rāma Mandir at Ayodhyā and Tirupati Laddus – God Himself was being fed with artificial stuff. All the governments are doing them, and they claim “we are religious people, we believe in God.” So some insiders also must have been involved in this nefarious business. There is no doubt about it. But what I am trying to tell you is that if one sincerely wants to be a spiritual person, this kind of outward show will not do.
The Real Practice
So what should they do? First of all, they should clean – citta śuddhi has to be done. That is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa clearly means. And citta śuddhi can be attained only by cultivating holy company and by putting into practice what the Guru wants to tell us.
All these things, when they do for perhaps many, many lives – śanaiḥ śanair uparamet buddhyā dhṛti-gṛhītayā, ātmasaṃsthaṃ manaḥ kṛtvā na kiñcid api cintayet – as the Bhagavad Gītā says, progress can be made in very slow steps, at least at the very beginning. So this is how we will have to practise spiritual disciplines. If we fall a hundred times, God will not take it into consideration – but whether we are trying to get up and move, take a step forward – that is what God really looks for.
The Brahmo Samāj and Image Worship
Now, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is telling something else: if you are religious and the Brahmo Samāj is only created as a religious institution, and people say “we believe in the formless aspect of God” – even M fell a victim to that; later on he understood it is not possible. He did not understand why he was so much attracted to his Guru. If anybody, instead of saying Rāma or Kṛṣṇa, says only Brahman or Īśvara, but at the same time is tremendously devoted to one's own Guru – what happens? One's own Guru is a substitute for Saguṇa Brahma or Rāma or Kṛṣṇa or Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. Without understanding that, one should be advised not to worship images.
So when M was coming to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, what was the image worship he was doing? Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was the image for him, so far as he was concerned. And then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's talks impressed him, and he chose Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa as his Guru. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa also initiated him and started guiding. A person like Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa accepting another person as his disciple means the disciple has nothing to worry. That is what Holy Mother used to say: “Whomsoever I initiate, that person has nothing to worry – this would be his or her last life, and at the end, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa will come and give them liberation.”
Sometimes I feel, joking a little, and say: Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa would definitely give mukti to these people – not because they deserve it, but because the people who take shelter in Holy Mother are such troublesome people – only Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gives liberation to them; He would not get proper rest. So for His own self‑interest, He gives: “All right, it is very easy for me to give mukti. So I will send you into Brahma Loka, into Brahma Samudra – you melt there. Now, oof, I am so free from all these problems.” That is what Viśvanātha has been doing for eons. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa should have learned that lesson much earlier – I would have advised Him: “Follow the footsteps of Śiva – give mukti to every devotee who comes to you even once, who abuses you even once. And then it is not what good you are doing for them; it is how much good you are doing to yourself – how much rest you are going to get anyway.”
Positive Thinking – Pratipakṣa Bhāvanam
A person who believes in God and goes on harping on sin – what happens? As I said, it becomes like cognitive behavioural therapy. The more we dwell upon bad saṃskāras, the stronger they become. “I want to conquer lust. I want to conquer anger. I want to conquer greediness, jealousy. I want to conquer jealousy. I want to conquer jealousy – what right has he got to be appreciated by other people more than me?” – all these kinds of things are going to happen. So what should we do? Pratipakṣa bhāvanam – that is to say, think of the opposite. That would be the most marvellous thing I tell you, because it is the opposite that acts as a poison and transforms. Actually, it is not destruction. A bad quality is not bad, but the purposes for which that quality is used – that is bad. So is lust bad? No, lust for God is the highest love for God. Only those who suffered are those who developed tremendous unbearable lust – like Bilvamaṅgala, Tulasīdāsa, Ratnākara, etc. – only they quickly realised God. That is what we need to understand.
That is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa several times mentioned: “If you are angry, then turn your anger to God – 'Why are You not coming? What business have You got? Pay attention to what I am saying!' If you have desire – after all, what is lust? A most happiness‑giving object is desired intensely – that is called lust. Lust means day and night a person is like a ghost controlled by this desire – 'I want the fulfilment of this desire.' If I can be possessed by the same desire but for God, then it will be the greatest blessing.”
That is why several times I have quoted: akāṇḍe prītir icchā tāriṇī nāma. What is kāma? Lust – that I want to enjoy any worldly object – that is called kāma – desire for worldly, temporary, momentary pleasure. But if the same kāma is directed as kṛṣṇendriya prītir icchā – my senses are longing to behold Kṛṣṇa, to hear Kṛṣṇa's flute, to smell Kṛṣṇa's body fragrance, to taste Kṛṣṇa's lips, and to embrace Kṛṣṇa, become one with Him – kṛṣṇendriya prītir icchā – that is called prema. Kāma and prema are not two different desires; they are absolutely the same, but depending upon to which object they are directed. That which takes us down is called kāma; that which takes us out of the net of Mahāmāyā is called prema.
Do Not Dwell on Sin
So a devotee should never harp on negative things. “Oh, I am such a sinner. Oh, I have committed so many crimes.” Okay, you might have committed – api cet sudurācāro bhajate mām ananyabhāk, sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi saḥ. So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is telling to Vijay. Vijay became a beloved devotee, not a disciple – I think you understand the difference between a devotee and a disciple. One who is devoted is a devotee, but one who has accepted discipleship under a person is called a disciple. This is the difference between a bhakta and a śiṣya. So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's greatest devotee is Vijay Kṛṣṇa Goswāmī. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa pulled him out of the Brahmo Samāj, which was obstructing his further spiritual progress – that was a wrong path for him. So He was telling: “Will you tell me one thing? Why do you harp so much on sin? By repeating a hundred times 'I am a sinner', one verily becomes a sinner.”
The Incident of the Pretended Madman
There is a beautiful incident – and these incidents, every time I mention them, you are not going to get a new incident, but we have to remind ourselves how practical Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was, what a great teacher He was. Once a man had borrowed some money and he did not want to return it – which itself is a great sin. But in order to escape the need for paying back, he started pretending to be mad. With great effort – CBT – “I am mad, I am mad, I am mad” – he started imitating. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's eyes were very keenly observant; He observed it immediately, pulled him up, and said: “Don't do that. Return that money. I already see a little bit of madness creeping into you, because you are meditating on madness, you are shouting 'I am mad', you are trying to imitate as if you are a mad person. All these things, if you do, then slowly, slowly you will turn out mad in the end.”
There is a funny incident: there was a Telugu actor who became very famous. He was a family man. One day he was talking with his wife and he said: “I love you very much.” Immediately she retorted: “By playing as a lover in so many films, you have become now accustomed to utter these words – 'I love you, I love you' – and acting in that way. So is it a real statement, or is it what you are doing in the cinemas that has become a habit?” He kept quiet because he could not distinguish whether it was truly an act of acting or an act of real feeling, emotion.
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is telling: by repeating a hundred times “I am a sinner” – coming back to this story – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa cautioned this devotee for his own good: “I already see some mild manifestations of that same madness. If you go on like this, you are really going to be mad.” That devotee immediately understood, by the grace of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, stopped pretending, and after some time – I hope, I do not know – he might have returned that money.
The Power of Positive Thinking
One should have such faith as to be able to say: “What? I have taken the name of God – how can I be a sinner? God is our Father and Mother. Tell God: 'O Lord, I have committed sins, but I will not repeat them.'” This is what Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa was telling in the Bhagavad Gītā: api cet sudurācāraḥ – “O Lord, definitely for sure I have committed lots of sins, but now I know what I had; then I am taking refuge in You. I am taking a vow – I will not repeat them. It might take some time, but I will not consciously do any more.” That is what he says: sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ. So this person had determined in the right way, and śīghraṃ bhavati dharmātmā – he is going to become, transform into a great person very soon. śaśvac chāntiṃ nigacchati, kṣipraṃ bhavati dharmātmā – even those who are considered the most immoral of all sinners can safely, easily cross over this ocean of material existence by seating themselves in the boat of divine knowledge.
Remember, all the words of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa are not ordinary words. tavakathāmṛtaṃ tapaḥjīvanam – great sages have praised you. ṛṣibhiḥ bahudhā gītaṃ chandovibhiḥ vividhaiḥ prathak – Arjuna himself says that all the Vedas are praising You only. So a false statement can never come out of a Puruṣa who is satyam jñānam anantam brahma.
So a devotee should try to develop the power of positive thinking – only positive thoughts. “I might have been somebody, but now I have turned my direction. I have taken refuge in God. I have faith in God – He will lift me up.”
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!