Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 171 on 25-August-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 ||
Introduction: Complete Surrender to the Divine Mother
Rāmakṛṣṇa is talking about complete surrender to the Divine Mother. According to Vedānta, any knowledge other than the knowledge of the Ātman is called ignorance. Ignorance means that which only makes us suffer, whereas the knowledge of the Ātman is the only thing that makes us free forever. It makes us remain in bliss – in unbroken bliss forever and ever. We come to have this kind of knowledge only by the grace of the Divine Mother.
Nirguṇa Brahma and Saguṇa Brahma
We have to be very clear here: what is the relationship between the Supreme Brahman – Nirguṇa Brahma – and Saguṇa Brahma? Nirguṇa Brahma – no attributes are imposed – to look upon one without a second. But to think about Nirguṇa Brahma is not possible: yato vāco nivartante, aprāpya manasā saha – "Speech returns unable to comprehend, along with the mind." Mind is a limitation; much less speech is much more limitation.
The Difficulty of Expression
This is a wonderful piece of knowledge. Can we really express what we feel one hundred percent? If someone succeeds in expressing one percent of what one actually understands, then he becomes one of the greatest expressers. He may be a good writer, a good speaker, a good painter – all these are means of expression. Our day‑to‑day conversations, dialogues, talks are rubbish in comparison with that. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa understood this.
Why Did He Not Pursue Worldly Knowledge?
As we discussed many times, why did he not pursue purposefully – why do I say "purposefully"? Because he was extraordinarily intelligent. He had the greatest power of memory, and he never forgot. When he wanted something, it would come to his mind exactly at the right time, at the right place, and his motivation is always good. That is why – just to recollect – when I was explaining about the Gāyatrī mantra, we have seen the meaning: dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt – "O Divine Mother."
Brahman and Śakti Are One
Here Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say: what Vedānta calls Brahman, I call Śakti – Divine Mother. There is no difference between Brahman and Śakti. When there is activity, Brahman is necessarily called Śakti – energy, time, space, and causation. But when there is no mind even to think about Brahman, one does not say "now I will not think, so I will be in contact with Brahman" – no, that is completely wrong. Having thoughts and having no thoughts – both are conditions of the mind. As long as a person goes on thinking, either "I will think" or "I will not think" – both are thoughts only, vṛttis only.
Deep Sleep and Thought
Just like in the deep sleep state, a person does not enter with the thought "Now I will be in the deep sleep state." No – only when he forgets about that thought is it called the deep sleep state. So Śakti is the concept of Nirguṇa Brahma according to the limitations of the mind – our minds. That is why Swami Vivekananda used to say: "As man grows, God also grows." What he means is: as our understanding, our capacity, our intelligence to understand things grows, our capacity to understand God also grows. Not that God grows, but our understanding grows.
The Prayer of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa
That is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa wants to say: "I say to the Divine Mother: O Mother, I do not need to understand. Please give me love for Thy lotus feet." When a person understands, not only that "I do not need to understand" – really, "I cannot understand." Why is there no need to understand? Because nobody says "I want to understand myself." But of course we say "I want to know myself." But even common persons think "I am so‑and‑so" – with that idea, he never feels that "let me question somebody about myself." Only what we do not know – something of which we have no knowledge – the desire arises.
The Nature of Ānanda
That applies to Ānanda also: when I know "I am happy," the question of seeking happiness does not arise. Here I am going to speak about a marvellous point. Even if I am happy for one millisecond, for that millisecond, I do not feel that I am the body‑mind, because Ānanda is Brahman. At that time, for that one millisecond, I become one with Ānanda – I become one with Brahman. But because it is caused by some external instrument, as soon as that instrument vanishes, that experience also vanishes. That oneness with Brahman also vanishes. All that we say is "I was happy." If anybody can say "I am happy" – not only "I was," but "I am happy" – he is a blessed person.
Humility and Knowledge
So that is why when a person progresses, the more a person progresses, the more a person understands: "I know very little." In the first stage, a person thinks "I know much." And then when his knowledge increases, in accordance with the increment of the knowledge, he also feels: "Oh, so much more is there. I thought only this much is there." So like that, his knowledge – unexplored, unknown knowledge – every step reveals more and more of unknown knowledge. When a person really is very learned, he becomes very humble. What is that humility? "I know very little." And humility leads to even more correct knowledge – right knowledge, satyam.
Claims of Great Knowledge
So that is why if you find anybody who claims "I am a great knower, I am a great paṇḍit, intellect," you have to understand that he really did not understand much. Not only that – he is moving in the opposite direction. Humility is like making more space. When a person becomes humble, he is filled by God Himself because there is more space. But when a man thinks "I know much," it is like keeping too many things in a small space – and then expecting "What am I going to do? Lot more things I have – where am I going to keep?" So that capacity to empty what is less valuable in order to keep what is more valuable – that is called humility.
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Humility
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa knew – we need not think about Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa whether he was humble or not. In order to test people like us, even people like M – "What do you think about me? How much knowledge have I?" Once he asks M – what can M say? He said: "Sir, you are as fathomless as Brahman, of whom we do not know anything." So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is telling us – he is not telling us, he is commanding us: "Prayer to the Mother: O Mother, I do not need to understand."
The Song – Make Me Mad
That is why there is a beautiful Bengali song: Dāimā āmāi pāgala kori – "O Mother, make me mad, mad with Your love, mad with bhakti towards You." That means a madman – he does not know anything about the world. We should become mad – then only there is a chance for us. That is called humility. "I do not need to understand. In fact, I cannot understand – but just give me love for Thy lotus feet."
Why the Lotus Feet?
It is a purely Indian expression. Why somebody questioned me: "Why always in Hindu devotional literature do we go on repeating 'Thy lotus feet' – pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ?" It is because if we can get the feet, then we can get everything. There is a beautiful illustration by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. Once Rādhā painted Kṛṣṇa – she must have been the greatest artist, and who could know Kṛṣṇa better than Rādhā? She painted it, and the painting came to life and ran away – of course it is a divine play. Then Rādhā, who was also the same śakti of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, said: "Okay, next time I am going to paint you perfectly, just like this – but next time I will cut off your feet. Let me see how you can run away."
Brahman Cannot Be Understood
So we should never say "I want to understand Brahman" – He cannot be understood. That is why in the Kena Upaniṣad it is said: "He who knows – all our sense organs – the eye cannot see Him. He is the one who can see the eye, because He is the eye of the eye." śrotasya śrotram – "ear of the ear"; cakṣuṣaḥ cakṣuḥ – "eye of the eye." He is the body of everybody. He is the knower – He is the pure consciousness without which nothing can be known.
The Continuous Prayer
So this is a prayer continuously that should come from the very bottom of our heart. There was a time when Narendranāth – he was extraordinarily intelligent, and he had tremendous capacity for memory, just a little bit lower than Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. So there came a time in his spiritual progress when he said: "If only I could forget everything that I know, then there is a chance for me to understand better."
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Potential
Earlier I was referring to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa – if he wanted, he could get everything. He could be the best AI model – not only he can read billions and billions of books. In fact, that is the statement given in the very first mantra of the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad: whatever was past, whatever is present, whatever is future – that is all Oṃkāra eva – sarvaṃ oṃkāra eva. Oṃkāra means Brahman. So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa could have become the greatest scholar if he wanted, but he wanted to prove something.
The Hindu Stages of Life
Hindu society, we have to remember, had divided people into various categories of understanding. He who has the lowest understanding is called Śūdra; a little slightly more understanding – Vaiśya; more understanding – Kṣatriya; and much more understanding – Brāhmaṇa. But even as a Brāhmaṇa, Hinduism divides even such a Brāhmaṇa's life into four stages of gradually increasing real knowledge. So there is a beautiful verse: janmanā jāyate śūdraḥ – "everybody, including a Brāhmaṇa's son, every baby, is an ignoramus." But by studying the scriptures under a competent Guru with complete faith and concentration, he will be called dvija – "twice‑born."
The Four Āśramas
That is why Yajñopavīta is given – that is a stage which is called Brahmacaryāśrama – to learn about the goal of life, our nature, how to know who we really are. And then Gṛhasthāśrama, then Vānaprasthāśrama, finally Sanyāsāśrama. What are these four stages from the highest point of view? Gradually progressing in the sphere of knowledge – theoretical knowledge – Brahmacaryāśrama. Put it into practice – experience happiness and unhappiness, increase your faith in the scriptures: "If I am happy, that is because I did dharmic actions. If I am not, I did the opposite." Then instead of knowledge, we step into wisdom, and wisdom says: "You are searching at the wrong place." Then the mind becomes withdrawn. Withdrawing means directing our attention to search in the right place. Where is the right place? hṛdayākāśe marudhāti rājitam nirvikalpam – "turn the mind inwards and then progress through upāsana."
The Final Stage
And then finally we enter into what we call Sanyāsāśrama – means what? Complete oneness – unity – with whom? With our own Self. Until now I am thinking: "I am this possessions, I am this body, I am this mind, I am the waking state, I am the dream state, I am the deep sleep state." Now these are all limited states. I am that unlimited state which sustains all these limited states – every limited state. "I am Brahman."
Progress in Knowledge
So in this way we can understand: everything is progress in knowledge – about whom? About our own Self. There is no separate being called Brahman. Even today we cherish this wrong notion: "God is somewhere high up in Vaikuṇṭha, Kailāsa, or Paradise, Kingdom of Heaven, and He is looking down upon us with a thunderbolt according to Christians, and with a gadā and śaṅkha, or a triśūla – trident – according to Viṣṇu‐bhaktas or Śiva‐bhaktas – to hurl it down." No – these are all meant so that we can turn towards Him.
God Loves Himself
God loves us – does He love us? No – He does not love us. He loves Himself, because He knows we are none other than Him. But we do not know that fact. That is why a baby can forget its mother – but the mother never forgets the baby.
The Prayer for Bhakti
Grant me bhakti for Thy lotus feet. The question comes: "How much love should I ask God?" One drop – that is enough. One drop of nectar – you simply put it in your mouth, you become immortal forever. You do not need the whole ocean. And then: "The aim of human life is to attain bhakti. As for other things, the Mother knows best." As I go on pondering over these words, more and more meaning unravels itself.
What Is the Goal of Life?
What is the goal of life? Not jñānam, but bhakti. What is jñānam? That Brahman or God is my mother, my father, my friend – tvam eva mātā ca pitā tvam eva. So everything is none other than Bhagavān only. But even though it is true, even the gender discrimination can make heaven and hell difference. If we think of God as father – which the Abrahamic religions (both Christianity, Judaism, as well as Islam) do – their concept of God is father, protector, but a great judge, and He will not tolerate even the slightest deviation from His directions. Whereas if it is a concept of the mother, we can deviate as much as we want. But mother understands even the dirtiest child.
Holy Mother's Compassion
As Holy Mother says with regard to Padmavinoda: "My child was playing in the dirt. Now I have to take him in my lap, wash him, put on new dress, and then suckle him." What is the new dress? From a worldly dress to a spiritual dress. Suckle him because without me he cannot be sustained. I have given birth to him – it is my responsibility to sustain him, to nourish him. And then what happens when my child falls ill? Then I will take him into my lap and let him rest. Until that time he will be playing.
The Garden of Mangoes
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa wants to illustrate: "I have come to the garden to eat mangoes. What is the use of my calculating the number of trees, branches, and leaves? I only eat the mangoes. I do not need to know the number of trees and leaves." So what is Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa telling us? That "I have come to the garden." What is this garden? This saṃsāra – this creation. Why did I come to eat mangoes? Because I want to play for some time. I played, and then I became tired, and I became hungry, and I want to eat now. So this very saṃsāra in which I can play – there are also gardens – and by "mangoes" what does it mean? It is a famous fruit in India, and most of humanity loves mangoes. So it gives me joy.
What Does a Mango Represent?
What does a mango represent? Happiness. What does a sweet represent? Happiness. What does a beloved represent? Happiness. Anything I love – love means happiness. And as long as an object gives me happiness, I love it. But then, as we were discussing in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, every object only acts as a mirror to reflect, to guide us: "What you are seeking is within yourself."
The Mirror Analogy
It is a beautiful analogy. We are seeking something – then you see, we have to put a mirror. Where do you use a mirror really? When you are seeking something, do you really use it? I use it – sometimes you know what happens: something has slipped and then fallen down and it has gone under the almirah. Now I cannot bend – even if I bend, I cannot see. What do I do? I take a mirror, I take a torch, and I put a lit torch and I put a mirror there, angle‑wise. And then whatever is there beneath the almirah, I see: "Oh, here is where I have lost what I thought – a valuable thing, very important thing." I get it.
What Is Valuable?
What is a valuable thing? Anything can be valuable if that is the only thing which can save our life – nothing else. So I have come to this garden deliberately after playing. What is this garden? Where it is the holy company in the garden – because there are many gardens – bitter gourd garden is there, other gardens are there. But I do not want to go to those gardens. I want to come where the best fruits – it could be mangoes, oranges, plums, pears – anything that I love – is available there.
Wisdom: Do Not Calculate
And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: what is wisdom? "Do not calculate. I only eat the mangoes. I do not need to know the number of trees and leaves." What does Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa mean? He means that do not waste your time in so many other things. But then we go on searching what we should not search for, where we should not search for. But then that is also part of the game.
The Parable of the Myopic Friend
That is why I narrated one beautiful small parable, so to say. There were two friends three miles apart, and one of them is highly myopic – he cannot see anything without specs. Once he thought he lost his specs and so he searched – but of course he could not see anything. So he thought he wanted to take the help of his friend, and it was night, so he ran three miles to reach his friend and knocked at midnight. The friend opened and came to know: "You please help me to find my specs which I seem to have lost." And the friend laughed and said: "You fool! How did you run three miles when you cannot see anything whether you are running in the eastern direction or western direction?" Then the man understood: "Oh, all the time – even to search for my specs, I need my specs." But I totally forgot about it.
The Necessity of the Journey
This is the small parable. The question now is: Is it necessary for this person to run three miles? Yes – it was necessary to run three miles to know it was completely unnecessary to run. That wisdom – "I should not search here and there; I should search in the right place" – for that purpose, guruṃ evābhīśaye – one should take recourse to a person who knows, who is a Guru. A Guru is one who knows what I am searching for. He knows exactly what I am searching, and he can guide us unerringly to that place.
Why Count the Leaves?
So I do not need to know – but I go on counting, making me tired until that wisdom dawns: "Why am I counting the leaves? I have come to the garden to remove my hunger, to remove my thirst. Let me drink coconut water, etc."
The Greatness of the Gospel
Now, this is the greatness of the Gospel. M not only gives the sayings, the teachings, but the background story – as if we can visualise Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa at Dakṣiṇeśvara or wherever he goes, and what he is doing, who was with him, and what they were doing. This is called Līlā-dhyāna.
The Night Conversation
So M continues: Bāburām, M, and Rāmadāyāl slept that night on the floor of the Master's room. It was an early hour of the morning about two or three o'clock. The room was dark. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was seated on his bed and now and then conversed with the devotees.
The Nature of the Conversation
We have to understand – when we are not only reading but studying with an open eye, this Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, like the Gospel of the New Testament – Gospel means "good news" – we have to understand that Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa does not go on talking irrelevantly. Whatever comes to his mouth, it all depends upon which people are present in front of him and what they require.
Discrimination – Dayā and Māyā
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is now talking about discrimination. He himself raises the question: "What is discrimination?" And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa exclaims, "Remember that dayā – compassion, and māyā – attachment – are two different things." What is the very first act of discrimination? "Am I under the spell of māyā or dayā?" So what is the distinction? This is the very first thing we have to understand.
The Two Paths – Śreyas and Preyas
Dūramete, viparīte, viśucī – Yamarāja starts teaching Naciketā: "There is this path of śreyas, and there is this path of preyas." Dūramete – "they are far distant from each other." Viparīte – "one is going in one direction, another is going in another direction." And not only that – they yield totally opposite results. One liberates us, another binds us more and more. And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says these are two different things. Yamarāja continues, and the essence of what Yamarāja taught to Naciketā is being squeezed and expressed in the simplest language by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa.
Attachment Means "Mine"
Attachment means the feeling of "mine" towards one's relatives. They may look like very ordinary words, but pay special attention. We are all attached. Who is this person? "This person is my husband, my wife" – and we are naturally attached. What is attachment? "I am my husband, I am my wife." So when a person is attached to the husband – that is wife – then she feels: "If husband is happy, wife is happy; husband is unhappy, wife also is unhappy." Vice versa. Now extend it to children, to parents, to friends, to one's own religion, to one's own property, possessions – everything. So when I say, for example – I am only expanding it to enjoy this Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa more and more.
The Four Yogas
Otherwise, we can finish the whole thing in three sentences of Swami Vivekananda: "The goal of life is to realise God – which means to know myself that I am God, and to manifest this forgotten truth and to know who we really are. There are infinite pathways, and all these infinite pathways can more or less be divided into four pathways of Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Rāja Yoga, Jñāna Yoga. And the last – practise either one or two, or combine everything, and know who you are. That is called free – I am a free person. I am not a saṃsārī. To know 'I am the body' is to say 'I am bound.' To know 'I am the mind' is to know 'I am bound.' What is freedom? 'I am not the body, I am not the mind,' etc."
The Psychology of Attachment
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is pointing a profoundly psychological fact. When I look at my husband, I do not feel that this is another person. Of course he is my husband – but it does not matter that he is another person. How can his pain, his happiness, his wellbeing, his prosperity, his power be mine? No – I feel, as it were, "I am my husband." So if something threatens him, I am threatened. That is what is called when we use words like "empathy" or "sympathy" – that means "similar feeling" – "like the other person." I am putting myself – I am identifying myself. He is not the other person – I am that other person. That is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa means.
Attachment Means "I Am"
Any attachment means "mine." So funny thing is there: if somebody says "this is my house," so "I am the house." "This is my money" – "I am the money." "This is my dog" – "I am the dog." "This is my donkey" – "I am a donkey" – looks funny, but no – that is the truth. So what is this "mine" towards one's relatives? It is the love one feels for one's parents, one's brother, one's sister, one's wife and children – and you can go on adding, etc., etc., etc.
The Illusion of Attachment
So what happens when we feel attached to anything in this world? We feel we are that object. The moment attachment is there, that object disappears and I identify myself as that particular object. What a pity!
Compassion Is Love for All Beings
Compassion, on the other hand, is the love one feels for all beings of the world. It is an attitude of equality. There is a beautiful story. There was a great Christian saint. Somebody had given him a very precious, invaluable antique of, I think, Jesus Christ or a cross – something like that. Other than that, he did not possess anything at all. One day a robber entered into his room, which is bare of everything excepting this precious antique, and then the person threatened: "Give me whatever you have." And gladly the saint said: "Look there – whatever I possess is in that box on that shelf." So the thief ran there, caught hold of the box, opened it and found this invaluable antique – he knew it. And then he was going away. And then the saint called him and said: "Hey, I told you where to find it – you have not even said thanks to me." And somehow the thief said "Thanks to you" and ran away.
The Saint's Compassion
But then the fellow was probably a very miserly fellow, so he went on to rob some other people also in that mood. Somehow he was caught, he was brought before the magistrate, and then he asked – he was caught with the goods that he had stolen. Everything was identified. To their surprise, they found this precious antique, which everybody knew the saint was having. And then the saint was sent for. He was asked: "Is this your antique?" – "Yes, it is mine." – "And this person had stolen it?" – "No, no – he came to me yesterday night. He asked me politely: 'Do I have anything valuable?' I said: 'Yes, there is valuable.' I pointed out to him, and then he took it, and while going he also thanked me. So it is not that he stole from me – but I had given him, exactly given it away."
The Story of the Desert Father
I think there is a French novel – I forget the name – some silver candlesticks a thief steals from a bishop, and the bishop does exactly that. And it is not just a story – a fable in the life of Pauhārī Bābā – he had considered the thief as Śrī Rāma, apologised to him, and then placed the bundle which the thief threw away out of fright and started running, and said: "Pardon me, Rāma, for interrupting Your work by waking up." And that thief became converted – just like in that story, that thief also joined soon the Christian mission and became a great saint. So many stories are there.
The Desert Fathers
I cannot restrain myself, but I will tell you a beautiful story from the Desert Fathers. There was a very famous saint – a Desert Father. They are called Desert Fathers because some Christians totally renounced the world and went into the Egyptian deserts. They found out some caves and led a very austere life. In those days, printing presses were not there, so some of the monks, as a service to humanity, started copying the Bibles. And then when they completed, they presented it to somebody whom they revered as their token of their devotion.
The Stolen Bible
So somebody had given a very precious illustrated Bible, and the father kept it. Soon another man joined him – it was a tradition in those days that the new brahmacārīs or novices are sent. One novice was sent, and he lived with this father. He knew about this Bible, and he knew it was invaluable. Then one day he stole it and ran away. He went to the next town and went to a merchant who buys these kinds of precious books, etc., and said: "I want to sell it – how much will you give me?" The man said: "I will give you eighteen shillings" – something like that – the merchant said: "I do not know the value of it – leave it with me tonight; come tomorrow morning, I will give you the money if I think it is worth it."
The Merchant's Discovery
So the monk went away. Next morning he came, and the merchant said: "Yes – here – I will give you eighteen dollars – you sell it to me." And then the monk was curious: "How did you know?" He said: "Yesterday I went to that famous monk – not knowing that it was his copy only – this novice had stolen – and I asked Abba – Abba means father – 'Abba, is this book worth eighteen shillings? One man had demanded.' Abba said: 'No, no – not eighteen shillings – it is worth more than twenty shillings. Do not cheat the other person – give him more.' Of course, the merchant had demanded eighteen – that is how I came to know."
The Monk's Repentance
The monk heard everything in stunned silence and asked: "Did the monk say anything more?" He said: "No – only he said, 'It is definitely worth more than eighteen shillings.'" And the monk said: "I do not want to sell it" – took back the Bible, ran to his Abba, fell at his feet and said: "Abba, I have committed a crime. Please pardon me – take back your book." The monk said: "My son, I do not need it – I have read it many times – you keep it." But the monk said: "I will never have peace of mind in my whole life if you do not accept it." And then out of compassion, the Abba accepted the Bible, and that disciple remained until the death of this Abba and himself became one of the greatest saints in those days.
The Lesson of Tolerance
By the way, it is what is called the fourth century after Christ. Many, many people had renounced their homes and went – some of them were butchered by Muslims and also by many people. This terrible intolerance between one religion and another – how many Christians were burned to death and vice versa – the holy crusades – wars have taken place. Whereas Rāmakṛṣṇa had come to teach the real truth: "Infinite is God; infinite are the ways to God." But here we have to be cautious and say even though infinite are the ways, it does not mean a person can follow whatever he wants. No – a person must follow. He must have a right guide who will teach him according to his receiving capacity, slowly guide him, take him up along with him – like the Everest guides – some of the Sherpas – like that, until it takes him and then give him satisfaction.
The Mount Everest Story
By the way, you know that the first British mountain climber who climbed Mount Everest – there was also a Sherpa, the name of the Sherpa who carried his goods. Not only carried, but he also went and climbed Mount Everest not once – I think quite a number of times guiding these aspiring mountaineers. His name is hardly mentioned – it is only the first climber. That is what the Western press really tells. Now of course people recognise he was one of the people.
What Is Real Compassion?
Anyway, coming back – what is meant is that what is compassion? That this person might have been tempted, but he is also God, and one day the godliness will manifest in him. He never cherished any negative feeling towards this person – and that is called real compassion. So many people became saints – first, they were doing wrong things, but to their great good fortune, God had shown mercy. We have so many stories. The most famous story is that of Ratnākara, who later on became famous as Vālmīki.
Compassion Is the Grace of God
Rāmakṛṣṇa is trying to tell something referring to that. So if you see anywhere an instance of compassion – as in Vidyāsāgar – know that it is due to the grace of God. Through compassion, one serves all beings. So we have to reformulate what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said.
Māyā and Compassion
Māyā – what is it? Attachment. What is attachment? The feeling "I am money, I am the house, I am my property, I am my parents, family, co‑religionist, etc." I become all those things – that is called "mine." What is compassion? We have seen in the last Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad we have been connecting – so the disciple is taken to the highest path where the lesser things are included in the higher things. The many slowly are included in the one. And then there will come a stage which is both beyond one and many – and you cannot even say it is one. Only when we are in the realm of the mind – saṃsāra – can we say "oh, that is one and this is many" – ekam sat – so that is one – ekameva advitīyam – "there is no second." Who can issue this statement? Not one who is merged in Brahman – only by a person who had that experience, comes out, separates himself – that too by God's will only – he can say that, and nobody else.
Vidyāsāgar's Compassion
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa admired: "Īśwarcandra Vidyāsāgar was a really very compassionate soul. He dedicated his whole life in the service of Indians, especially the widow remarriage." Why not? A girl is married and her husband dies – sometimes even before they met for consummation, sometimes they might have lived for a few years together – but the husband is very old compared to her. Parents used to fight with each other to marry their youngest daughters to very old men because they belonged to the kūlīna Brāhmaṇa class. How many girls had to suffer early widowhood! Many times these widows were also burnt – purely for the sake of the money. The widow possesses automatically – that means when the husband is rich and there is no issue, and the widow is left with all that – if we can burn that widow, then all that property will go to these scheming relatives. That is what happened.
Through Compassion, One Serves All
But through compassion, one serves all beings. Even this sentence we have to take with a big pinch of salt. Through compassion, one does not serve anybody – one serves only oneself. Why? Compassion means feeling of oneness, not towards a few people but towards everything.
The Story of Nāmadeva
The story of Nāmadeva: he walked from Vārāṇasī – Kāśī – to Rāmeśvaram with a half‑pitcher of water, with which he bathed Lord Śiva in Kāśī, and the other half should be poured on the Śivaliṅga at Rāmeśvaram. Just before entering the Rāmeśvaram temple, he saw a donkey dying of thirst, and he ran there and poured every drop of it into the mouth of the donkey – whether the donkey survived or not, that is not the point here. The point is: he saw the same Lord Rāmeśvara – Śiva – in the donkey. If a person can see God in a donkey, why not in other things? So that is the vision we must have.
Compassion Means Seeing God in All
Compassion rarely means what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa meant. Compassion means for us: "I am in a position to help, and it gives me a peculiar joy to help other people. So I get some satisfaction and I show compassion not upon everybody – I mean to show sympathy and help people towards whom we are attached." That is a normal thing. But a compassionate person helps everybody. But even in that compassion, it is not to feel "I am superior to you," but to feel "I am blessed, privileged even to do this little thing." It is only God's grace which has given me this tremendous privilege.
That is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said one day explaining Vaiṣṇava tenets:
- Nāma-ruci – tremendous taste towards God's name – and that is the very first thing we have to acquire.
- Vaiṣṇava-sevā – service to all devotees, but not only devotees – to anybody who is a good person. Because by serving them, by cultivating association with them, we also can become like that.
- These are three graduated steps. First, to develop taste for God – love for God. Only then the association becomes really fruitful – a natural desire to go and hear the holy people, to serve them arises. So when a person associates with the holy person, what is the idea? "This person is God Himself. God Himself is manifesting as this great sādhu, sannyāsī, holy person." And after some time, extend that feeling of seeing God not only in good and great people but in everybody.
It Is Not Compassion – It Is Service to Shiva
So when Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa came to the third tenet, he said: "It is not compassion – who are you to show compassion? You are the most miserable of creatures. You have no capacity even to be compassionate towards your own self – what to speak of others?" And then – Śiva-jñāne jīva-śeva – "serving Śiva, you should look upon first. This is not a jīva – this is a wonderful opportunity given to me by God – God Himself has given this opportunity. So I am serving Lord Śiva Himself." That is the real meaning – that is called Śiva-jñāne jīva-śeva.
The Story of Balicakravartī
And just now I remembered – and we have to remember like these connections – in the Bhāgavatam, there is the story of Balicakravartī. Balicakravartī was the grandson of Prahlāda, one of the greatest devotees of Bhagavān Viṣṇu. Such a person cannot be devoid of Viṣṇu‐bhakti. Once he was performing a yajña. He made a promise: "Whoever – whichever Brāhmaṇa comes to me – I will fulfil whatever he wants. I will not say I will give you only this much."
Lord Viṣṇu as Vāmana
Viṣṇu became compassionate – He wanted to bestow sarvajñatvam – ātmajñānam. Not that He needed anything – took the form of a dwarf – Vāmana – came. As soon as he came, Śukrācārya, the Guru of Balicakravartī, cautioned, warned: "Bali, do not give anything – this is that crafty, clever Viṣṇu. He is coming to deprive you – everything you have, you are going to lose." And he uttered these words. But he did not know what those words really meant.
Bali's Response
But Balicakravartī turned and said: "You should have said – you are the most stupid Guru. It is my misfortune to choose you. Because if he is really Lord Viṣṇu – not to speak of anybody – then I should consider it as the greatest privilege. Everybody is running to God, and God is coming to beg of me. I am not going to leave this greatest opportunity." So when this Vāmana came, and then he gave everything – "I only want three footsteps."
The Three Footsteps
What is it? "I want your body, I want your mind, I want your causal body – all the three bodies. I want you – surrender yourself." That surrender is called bali. It is nothing but complete self‑surrender to the Divine. Bali unhesitatingly gave it – after all, he was the grandchild of Prahlāda. And immediately Lord Viṣṇu puts His foot on his head, giving a certificate: "This is one of My children – My beloved child." Thereafter, that is the real bali – bali means complete self‑surrender. That is the meaning, the purpose of bali.
Conclusion
Beautiful thoughts are there. We will talk about them 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!