Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 172 on 08-September-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: The Purpose of Spiritual Activity

Before we start, this is what I would like to add to what we discussed in our last class: the purpose of any type of spiritual activity is only to purify our minds – not to gain something, not to reach something, but to remove the obstacle. We were God, we are God, we will be God.

Why Bhakti Yoga?

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa preferred Bhakti Yoga. Why? Because people in this Kali Yuga are very, very, very emotional. Even one word can alter the relationship completely. And we are always, most of the time, eagerly looking forward for any word of praise, approval, etc. So every yoga – what does it do? Its function is not to give us something positive, but to remove the obstacle – which in other words is called citta-śuddhi.

Purification of Mind

As our minds become more and more pure, our image – but we think it is the image of God – becomes clearer and clearer. By "image" I mean our knowledge about God. Naturally, God means tremendous amount of happiness. Existence means fearlessness. Consciousness means confirmed knowledge. So the purpose of any type of yoga is to purify our mind. Purification means to give up attachment and to develop love of God.

Only Grace Can Give Realisation

So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa emphasises again and again that only the grace of God can give God realisation. What happens when our minds become one hundred percent pure? Then our mind becomes like a mirror – pure, clean, new mirror. And when we stand with this purified mind – that is to say, we become bereft of all the pañcakośas – what is there? Ātman beyond the pañcakośas. There can be only one thing – call it Turya, call it Ātmā, call it Brahma – and that alone stands.

Yoga as Purification

That is what Patañjali Ṛṣi wants to emphasise: Yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ – nirodha means purification actually. So then how do we know this is his interpretation? Because the very next sūtra he says: tadā – when our minds become completely pure, then we only behold the Puruṣa, nothing else. That is what every scripture tells us.

The Path of Bhakti Is Easier

But what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is telling: the process of purification is easier through the path of bhakti. Otherwise, there is every chance "I conquered lust, I conquered anger, I conquered miserliness, I conquered jealousy, egotism, pride" – but those very things take us to help us to go towards God because "I want to desire more and more of God." As our minds get purified, our attachment to God, our desire for God – we cannot stand. Sometimes even death can occur – viraha-vedanā.

Transforming the Passions

And if anything obstructs our path, then we feel very upset, angry – we would like to destroy that obstacle, which is nothing but āsuri sampat – what we call demonic qualities. Then tremendous lobha – what is lobha? Insatiable greed. What does it mean? I am not satisfied even with Brahmaloka. I will not be satisfied until I get the very Infinite. Just look at this anomaly: when I get Infinite, there would be nothing to be desirable because I become everything. Then whom am I going to feel jealous about? To whom am I going to proclaim "I am the greatest, latest and greatest"? Whom am I going to feel any competition? No – because one cannot do that; the second is necessary to manifest all these good or evil qualities, even for the good qualities.

Serving One's Own Self

"I want to be charitable" – towards whom? "I want to be loving" – somebody whom I want to serve. So even if I want to serve my Guru, a time will come when, by His grace, we realise that I am not serving anybody – I am serving my own Self. That is why Swami Vivekananda says: if a beggar appears before you, you put him on a high pedestal and say "Thank you for giving me this wonderful opportunity to serve you." But thereby nobody is served. Even from the Karma Siddhānta point of view, if I help somebody, I am only acquiring virtue. If I do not, I am only acquiring vice – puṇyam and pāpa. Then what about the other person? Nobody can be helped, and nobody can be stopped from getting help.

The Grand Opportunity

Then what about our duty? Should we not do it? No – it is a grand opportunity for us to acquire more merit. Merit means happiness. That is how we have to understand. So that is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: not dayā – not compassion – Śiva-jñāne jīva-śiva – that is, every jīva, look upon him as God. Is it imaginary looking upon? No – that is a fact. Because after realisation, what happens? Whatever I look at is nothing but Brahman – sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma.

Vishnu Is Everything

There is a beautiful hymn by Śaṅkarācārya. Therein he says: when I encounter other person, the other person is laughing at me – who is laughing? Viṣṇur hasati – Viṣṇu is laughing. Somebody else gets angry with me – who is getting angry? Viṣṇuḥ kupyati. And sometimes they beat us black and blue – who is beating? Remember the story of the sādhu who was being pelted with stones by village boys. Swamiji met him and when asked, "Why are you not preventing these boys from hurting you?" He went on laughing and then replied: "Thus plays the Father – God – He is playing. I see God playing. All the boys are nothing but Gods."

Only Grace Can Help

Like that, but to overcome the obstacles – however we may talk about spirituality, high scriptural teachings – it is only the sheer grace of God that can really purify, that can really help us. What is the reason? The reason is that He who has covered us with this ignorance – He alone can remove it because He alone has the power.

Śaṅkarācārya on Grace

That is why even the greatest Advaitin Ācārya Śaṅkarācārya, in his Vivekacūḍāmaṇi, says: every good thing that we obtain – devānugraha-hetukam – comes only because of the grace of God: a human birth, a deep desire for liberation, and the greatest good fortune of obtaining the company of great spiritual persons. We need not talk about liberated souls – we don't need.

The Sufi Master's Teaching

Once a Sufi master was asked – because this disciple heard about this Sufi master and then went and did not find anything great in him – so he asked: "Where can I find a great Sufi master, a self‑realised soul who can help me?" Then very humbly, without revealing himself, the Sufi master said: "What is it you want? From where you are, you want to move one foot forward. For that purpose, you do not need a realised soul. A realised soul is helpful only when you have reached almost God – only the last step. Only such a master can help you in that state. But so long as you are far away – this is your first step – if somebody, a student from an upper class who is intelligent, can help you to add 2+2+2 – you do not know what is 2+2 or multiply 2×2 or divide 2−2 – even an intelligent student in your own class who understood it is more than adequate. And when you have mastered that first step, then somebody who knows the next step can help you. You do not need someone who is ten steps ahead." That is a very humbling teaching – very good.

Purity of Heart

So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "Now God cannot be realised without purity of heart. One receives the grace of God by subduing the passions such as kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, mātsarya – lust, anger, greed, egotism, jealousy, pride, etc. Then one sees God." What is the distance from ourselves to God? Only these six. The moment we can reduce lust, we are far nearer to God – similarly anger, similarly greed.

The Process of Ruin

And this process is so beautifully explained in the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā by Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa: dhyāyato viṣayān puṃsaḥ saṅgas teṣūpajāyate, saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ, kāmāt krodho 'bhijāyate, krodhād bhavati saṃmohaḥ, saṃmohāt smṛti-vibhramaḥ, smṛti-bhraṃśād buddhi-nāśaḥ, buddhi-nāśāt praṇaśyati – "How does a man court ruin? He goes to ruin because by association slowly a desire arises." Even a desireless man, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says, if he keeps company of even a purest of women, slowly the desire will come in course of time. And that desire – that attachment comes. Attachment results in desire. Desire results in anger. If somebody is obstructing, something is obstructing – as soon as anger comes, then we become deluded. Delusion means we lose the power of discrimination – what is right and what is wrong.

The Danger of Anger

When a person is angry, even a mother can kill a baby. Actually in Bangalore, some few years back, a mother clubbed her three‑year‑old daughter so that she died on the spot – all because the husband wanted to watch one channel on the TV and there was only one TV, and the wife wanted to watch another channel. And the daughter supported the father – and that was the reason. So when a person becomes angry, he loses all power of discrimination. And what happens? As soon as discrimination is lost – smṛti-bhraṃśaḥ – the memory – "This is my daughter, this is my father, this is my teacher, this is God" – smṛti-bhraṃśād buddhi-nāśaḥ – as soon as memory is lost, what to do, what not to do – and that power is lost – buddhi-nāśāt praṇaśyati.

Turning the Passions Towards God

But the commentator says: those very things can take us to God. How? Go on cultivating holy company. Slowly attachment grows. In the beginning, we may not like good company. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa tells that story of two friends – they got bored and they wanted to have a walk. While walking, one of them came across a brothel – public house – and he said: "I will forget myself, I will be entertained" – and then he went inside. The other person, he was more religious‑minded – he went for someone who was speaking on the Bhāgavatam – so he went to attend that. Very soon, both of them got bored with both these associations. But the first fellow started regretting: "How wise my friend is! He is enjoying discourse on God, whereas I am stuck in this brothel." The other fellow also started regretting: "What a fool I have been! I should have followed my friend. He is having a grand time, whereas I am stuck with this blah blah blah of this speaker."

Developing Taste for Satsaṅga

What I am trying to tell is: even to enjoy satsaṅga it takes time. Go on eating – there is a beautiful saying in Bengali: as you go on eating, you develop taste for it. So however bitter it is, distasteful it is, by continuously forcing oneself to eat, slowly a transformation will come. Similarly, whether it is bad company or holy company – by associating – in the beginning: "Oh, how long? This person is going on and on and on and on. There is no stop switch – only starter switch." No – who are doing it? We see this scene also in the Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. Sometimes some friends accompany real devotees, and the devotees were enjoying Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's talk. And the companions – they are not enjoying. "How long are we going to stay here? How long?" – "Oh, just a little bit. Just let me hear this one." But it is not coming to an end. So they get disgusted and say: "We will wait for you in the boat." Why cannot they wait here itself? Because they are getting bored. When they go to the boat, then what happens? They can talk their rubbish to their heart's content. They can go on gawking here and there. They can do whatever they like. But here, you have to keep quiet and listen to the words of God Himself. I say, how fortunate even these people were! They had a glimpse of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, they heard Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, they saw Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. Probably sometime later, they definitely – the effect of seeing an avatāra cannot go in vain. But for the moment, they might get bored.

God's Grace Is Essential

But if there is God's grace, then what happens? Mānuṣya-janma is possible and desire for God also. There is a beautiful Sanskrit saying: īśvarānugrahād eva puṃsāṃ advaita-vāsanā – "That is the desire to realise God is the sheer grace of God, otherwise it will not arise." So we have to be always prayerful, trying to surrender ourselves to God. Then God's grace surely will descend upon us.

Sincere Prayer

But even to overcome these obstacles, sincere prayer is necessary. That was the remedy prescribed by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa to Swami Yogananda. He thought by doing some yogāsanas, somehow we can conquer lust. He did not understand at that time that lust is – it is called manasija – born of the mind, especially born of the imagination. When a man falls in love with a woman and vice versa – imaginations flare up: "I will be happy whole life." But a little bit of discrimination will show how fallacious that reasoning is, that understanding is. If somebody loves a sweet, do you think whenever he eats this sweet, his happiness not only comes but it grows? Anything too much – go on eating sweets later on – it may so happen that even whole life, if he is given plenty – morning sweet, noon sweet, night sweet, in between sweets – he might develop a terrible disgust for the very same sweet. And the company of a man or a woman is no exception. That is why a little bit of separation is very good, and a little bit of quarrel now and then – domestic quarrels enhance the domestic bliss. And anyway it will happen, because no two people are born with the same saṃskāras. Even Śiva and Pārvatī quarrelled. Viṣṇu and Lakṣmī quarrelled – and the result was temples like Tirupati. Brahmā and Sarasvatī also must have quarrelled. In this world, nobody is free. Because such is the company – we love our own company: ātmanas tu kāmāya sarvaṃ priyaṃ bhavati. But if we understand a bit and pray to God: "O Lord, I am too weak – who can conquer this unconquerable Māyā?"

The Bhagavad Gītā on Māyā

That is why Bhagavān says in the Bhagavad Gītā: daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā, mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṃ taranti te – "My divine Māyā is not only inscrutable, it is very difficult to get over it – impossible to get over it. But they who surrender to Me" – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa puts it very poetically. So when a man surrenders himself to the Divine Mother, she says: "This is my man, my child" – she says to Māyā: "Now you leave my child alone. Go and occupy the other people – possess the other people." So that is what God does. Not only that – He does not say "you just remove yourself." No – "You turn you – the avidyā – now manifest your vidyā and help my child. I am longing to see him. He is longing to see me" – no doubt. Who is longing to see whom more? It is God who is longing to see us more than ourselves.

The Cow and Calf Analogy

And in the Vedas, it is described like a cow which has given birth to a new calf and it is separated. The calf is hungry and it is crying – but the mother hears it even from miles together, and with uplifted tail it runs. I have seen such a scene in Cherrapunji – I was astonished – "Oh, this is what the Vedas are describing!"

Purity of Heart Through Grace

So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "God cannot be realised without purity of heart. One receives the grace of God" – this is where Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa wants to emphasise. "God cannot be realised without purity of heart – but how can we obtain purity of heart? One receives the grace of God by subduing the passions – lust, anger, and greed, etc. – then one sees God."

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Own Efforts

"I tried many things in order to conquer lust." He did not tell what he did, but he is telling – because it would be wrong to think he is an incarnation of God, so he will not suffer from lust and other things. No. Swami Śaradānandaji highlights a wonderful psychological point in his Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, the Great Master. He says: "First we think that the more we progress in spiritual life, the subtler our mind becomes, the obstructions, obstacles become less." But Swami Śaradānandaji says the contrary: the subtler our mind becomes, our lust, anger, greed – all these sixfold enemies – they grow stronger. How much a time it takes? Suppose there is a small stone on your path – you can just kick it out, pick it up, throw it out. A bigger stone – you bring some crowbar or something and put it aside. But suppose a thought is coming – "I do not want to worry" – just try. "I do not want to worry" – with each such thought, the worry grows and grows and grows very fast. You get angry with somebody – "I do not want to be angry with him" – it grows by the second, by the millisecond. Grace of God is necessary.

The Story of Totāpurī

We have discussed sufficient number of times the story of Totāpurī, who at last realised what he attained was all due to the grace of the Divine Mother. If she had not removed all the obstacles, then he would not have even moved one centimetre forward in spiritual life.

Sincere Prayer

So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's advice is: "Let us try our best – but our effort will be totally useless unless it is supported by the grace of God." And the grace of God is obtained only by sincere, wholehearted prayer. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was asked by somebody: "Will God listen to my prayers?" Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "I can assure you one hundred times that God will listen – but it must be sincere prayer. It must fill from the bottom of your heart. It will not do."

The Example of the Supplicant

He gave some similar example, but I am giving: suppose somebody wants money, so you pray to God: "O Lord, I feel very bad – so many people are suffering in this world. If I had money, I would have liked to help them – but I do not have money. Will You please make me a rich man?" And then suppose God gives riches – and then he goes on laughing: "I fooled God. Actually, I wanted money only for myself." Do you think God is such a fool? He does not understand? He knows what we are thinking. Like Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say: "I can see the thoughts of a person like things put in a crystal‑clear almirah covered with glass." So nobody can deceive God.

God Is Within Us

And another factor we have to keep in mind: God is not seeing from outside – God is within us. So whatever is inside, He is illumining. So the light knows everything. That is why it is said in Hindu lore that God is witnessing each one of our actions in the form of the sun in daytime, and the same God is watching us in the form of the moonlight. Moonlight means what? It could be starlight – there would be some light. For God, there is nothing called darkness. He can watch everything, so we should be very sincere. God understands: "My child wants to come, so he can only struggle like a baby. He can only perhaps lie down helplessly and cry." But the mother understands, and then she comes running wherever the child is.

The Kitten Example

For that he gives the example of a kitten. So do not become like the jñānīs whom he compared to the young ones of a monkey – but devotees – genuine devotees – he compared with kittens – because whatever God does, the kitten is very happy. "My mother knows everything" – it does not think, it knows instinctively.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Efforts to Conquer Lust

So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "To conquer lust, then one sees God. I tried many things in order to conquer lust." What are all the things he tried, we do not know. He did not explain – because even if he explains, we cannot really understand.

The Incident of the Betel Nut

There is one beautiful incident in his life. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was almost in a state of madness, and he was a young man. Worldly people inferred that all this madness is only because he is longing to get married and do something. So Cāṇḍramaṇī Devī called him back. He came. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was very fond of eating betels – betel nut. Indians – most Indians are quite – they like, they love after food to chew what we call pāna, and the main ingredient is betel nut. Betel nut has an intoxicating effect – effect is there. Probably many people do not know – if anybody eats raw betel, it is highly intoxicating – toxic, intoxicating. We have to understand that because when I was in Cherrapunji for five years – in Cherrapunji, this betel nut grows quite extensively – those local Khasiya people, most of them are addicted. And then I also tried a little bit – so the head goes reeling in the beginning until one gets a little bit accustomed. But it is cured and it is added with some flavoured masālā, and that is what we use in these pānas. So the effect is there, no doubt about it.

The Exorcists' Recognition

So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was fond of eating these betel nuts. Cāṇḍramaṇī Devī once called some people who control some demigods, etc. – so she called some of them. They came and they really had that power. So they tried, but very soon they realised that no – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was not possessed by any evil spirit. And then they told Cāṇḍramaṇī – because they recognised something: "Grandmother, your son is not suffering from madness – he is suffering from the madness of godhood. He wants only God." And then surprisingly, I do not know how they came to know – maybe the mother possessed one of them and tells these words – they addressed him: "O Gadāi, you are eating too much betel. Do not you know this betel nut increases lust?" And then immediately he understood.

Powers Are Real

But my point is – even these powers are real. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa also accepts. Swami Vivekananda was cursed by a Muslim Fakir because he became jealous of Swamiji – because one of his disciples was more attracted to Swami Vivekananda than to his Guru. So because of his curse, he had to come down. Then he went to Calcutta. When this happened probably at Dehradun, he went to Calcutta. He met Holy Mother and he complained: "Your old man could not do anything – could not counter this puny Fakir." Then Holy Mother laughed and said: "My son – even that power is also Thākur only. Thākur only is manifesting in the form of that Fakir's power."

How Did the Fakir Get Power?

And how did the Fakir get the power? He must have been initiated by a Guru. He must have been practising that mantra – and japa certainly will prove – as we have seen Gaurī Paṇḍit. He worshipped the Divine Mother. He was initiated into Tantric practices. As a result, he got the boons – nobody can defeat him in a debate, and he could perform homa with nearly thirty‑forty kilograms of dry wood on his left hand – and he lights a fire and he pours ghee offerings for two hours with his outstretched arm. We cannot even stretch out our arm excepting for a few short seconds. That is certainly divine power. So divine powers are there – black magic is there. What is black magic? The power of the mantra used for evil purposes is called black magic – nothing else.

The Tantric Rite

And then there is another incident – once Swami Brahmanandaji, Swami Śivānandaji, Swami Yoganandaji – all three – they probably complained – Yoganandaji definitely complained – but Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gave them a Tantric rite. We do not know what Tantric rite he gave – they did not disclose it. Probably it is not meant for general public, because if we do not do these things properly, the result will be even more terrible than anything else. So everything has to be done properly. There is a belief: if Tantric practices are done in the right manner as they are prescribed to be done, then one gets the result like scientific result – but the slightest deviation, wrongdoing, can bring terrible curse, terrible disaster. But we have lost faith – we have more faith in AI than in the scriptures.

Mahāpuruṣa Mahārāja

So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa prescribed some Tantric rite to these three would‑be monks, and they practised it. Mahāpuruṣa Mahārāja said: "I conquered lust." Swamiji was shocked – of course Swamiji never suffered from this, so to say – and he said "What?" and then he said "Then you are a Mahāpuruṣa." Since then, Swami Śivānandaji was called by everybody as Mahāpuruṣa. Anyway, these are marvellous things. So only by the grace of God one becomes pure, and through that purity one sees God. So the desire to realise God, the sādhanā to reach God, and the realisation – everything depends upon God.

Avidyā and Vidyā Māyā

So Avidyā Māyā trains us; Vidyā Māyā furthers our progress. So both Avidyā Māyā and Vidyā Māyā both help us in every field, really speaking. And we should never condemn – the Divine Mother manifests as Avidyā Māyā. That is the greatest grace – because if you ask a child to understand Einstein's theory of relativity, it is impossible. But this Avidyā Māyā says: "Now join the kindergarten – then nursery – then elementary school – middle school – high school – college – university – then you can try to understand the higher truths." So Avidyā Māyā is a preparation. And when that preparation is complete, that is what Śaṅkara calls Sādhanā-Catuṣṭaya-Sampanna Adhikārī.

The True Nature of Māyā

So what are we talking? What am I talking about? Talking about from the jñānī's point of view, Māyā is the negative force which brings us down. But according to the teachings of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, that very Māyā – first, it is her grace. She wants to take each one of the jīva by the hand and train him to become fit for śravaṇa, manana, nididhyāsana. And then she takes us by hand all the way to God. And then she points out – like the sattva guṇa – "Where is your house? Then you go there. I have brought you. You do not belong to this forest. Your house is there. There only you will be safe."

The Story of the Three Robbers

The story of Rāmakṛṣṇa – that is a man in a forest was caught by three robbers – indicates. So Avidyā Māyā in the form of the two robbers – Tamoguṇī and Rajoguṇī. So what did Tamoguṇī do? He wanted to destroy. No – Tamoguṇa wants – if you misbehave, you will be destroyed. Rajyoguṇa says: if you do these things, then you will get more result. And when a person goes through these three things – two things – then Sattvaguṇa takes: "Now come – you are ready to return back to your own home." Until then, it is not a destruction – it is just a preparation. This we could not have understood by hearing only the Advaitins talking continuously about Māyā. No – it is Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's grace – it is the Divine Mother. And is he telling something new? No – that is what exactly earlier I quoted: daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī – this Māyā comes in the form of these three guṇas. And it is "My Māyā" – "My Māyā" means what? Myself. I am manifesting. I come to my children. First, I will punish them until they overcome tamoguṇa. Then I inspire them to go on doing, be active – because without action, without being active, one cannot achieve anything – either worldly or much less spiritual. Thus a person goes on progressing.

The Sculptor Analogy

And one day when Avidyā Māyā, Rajoguṇa, Tamoguṇa, have finished us by removing all the unnecessary things – that is why I compare Avidyā Māyā to a sculptor. Usually when we see a beautiful sculpture, then we say: "Oh, the artist – the sculptor is a very talented person – so he made Kṛṣṇa." No – what is the truth? He un‑made Kṛṣṇa. That whole piece of stone or marble or wood, whatever it is – it contains innumerable any form you want. You want a man, you want a woman, you want a dog, you want a mountain, you want a river, you want a house – you want anything – everything is potentially there in that piece, either wood or metal or granite or marble, whatever it is. So what does the carpenter or sculptor do? He chips away what is not wanted. You want Rāma – so all non‑Rāma bits are chipped away. You want Kṛṣṇa – all non‑Kṛṣṇa bits are chipped away. You want Kālī – all non‑Kālī parts are chipped away – because if that potentiality is not there, nothing will come out.

Michelangelo's Creativity

That is how Michelangelo has created the David and Goliath sculpture – a huge sculpture – because another great popular artist before him rejected this whole piece of Italian marble because a huge crack appeared. But Michelangelo was creative. So instead of saying "this is a useless piece for what I want to do," he reversed his desire and said: "What can I do with this? What is possible with this break?" And then he said: "If I have to create two legs, tremendous amount of gap is needed – and nature had already created that big gap. All that I have to do is chip away a little bit further." And when he exhibited this one – even today, I think it is in Venice – that the whole – perhaps through Google, I do not know – you can see what Michelangelo has created. So that is why he is a creative artist. Every creative artist – he asks: "What can I do with this?" Ordinary people like us, we say: "I want to do this – so how am I going to use this?" A creative person says the other way: "This is the piece I have got. Now what is the best I can do with this piece?"

The Spiritual Artist

So a spiritual artist – here is a piece. What is that raw material? Our body, our mind. So what have I got? How much rajas, how much tamas, how much sattva? And with this material, what can I do? Can I become – can I follow Jñāna Mārga? No. Can I follow Yoga Mārga? No – my mind is restless. Can I follow Karma Yoga? Probably not – because I look down, I hate, I have terrible amount of jealousy and all those things. Then what can I do? So I can take God's name. I can slowly – that is, I am a very emotional person – so develop emotion and direct it towards God. That is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "You develop your kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, mātsarya – but mod bhariyā thā – you direct it towards God." Many times I discussed it, because these are important points we miss.

The Stories of Great Lovers

We read many times the stories of Tulasīdāsa, Bilvamaṅgala, Ratnākara, Saint Augustine, etc. So they developed enormous amount of love, but they misdirected it towards the opposite sex. So there are famous lovers who could not live without each other. When a person loves too intensely – no human being can ever stand intense love. So our vessels to receive, either good or bad, are very limited – including that includes love also. If somebody loves us a little bit, then we can tolerate it. If it is too much, then we lose our sleep. If somebody is always wanting to be with you because he loves you and he follows you wherever you go – what a terrible nuisance that person is creating! Instead of being – if you love, then see that I am happy. If you want me to be very happy, then you remove yourself to a great distance and leave me alone. If any lover beloved has to tell to the lover like this – how many lovers are capable of accepting such kind of advice?

The Infinite Alone Can Receive the Infinite

So when a person's love transcends human limitations, there is only one being who can stand and receive even more. The Infinite alone can receive the Infinite – not to speak of these puny bits of too much love. So it is for that love that Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to call Bhakti Mārga. Once somebody asked Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa asked somebody: "Do you love anybody?" He was that person who was asked – he was quite proud, thinking he was completely detached. So he replied, probably expecting Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa would praise him for his detachment: "Sir, I do not love anybody or anything." Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "Durāsada – you are a scoundrel, you are a dry fellow." Whether he is a jñānī or a gnānī, he cannot progress towards God. First thing is love.

Love for Guru and Scriptures

In the case of the jñānī, the love goes in the form of love for the Guru, love for the scriptures, and absolute faith in the words of the teacher, in the scriptures – because God Himself is manifesting in the form of the scriptures. Where did we get it? In our last Bṛhadāraṇyaka class, we have seen that all the four Vedas – Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda, Atharvaṇaveda – have come out spontaneously, so naturally, easily, from the out‑breathings – that means what is inside comes out. So what is inside? What is God? Knowledge. That knowledge comes in the form of these four Vedas. That is why he who does not have faith in the scriptures cannot move forward – not only in spiritual life but in any type of life.

Experience Is Essential

So that is one thing. Then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa – in order to encourage the devotees, now and then he talks about his experiences – because any paṇḍit scholarly person can talk about anything that is said in the scriptures most eloquently, but minus experience. If that person has not experienced even a little bit, then his talks are dry as dust. It will not change anybody. This is the most wonderful psychological fact we have to realise. If I have to give something, I must have something. If I have money, I can distribute money. If I have knowledge, I can give knowledge. If I have musical knowledge, I can teach others, pass on to others musical knowledge. By the way, musical knowledge and the capacity to sing are totally different things.

The Example of the Senior Swami

There was one of our senior Swamis who was a vice president. I heard that in his old age – after seventy – he developed a tremendous love for music, and he was a very intelligent, persistent and capable Swami. So he plunged into it. Very soon he mastered everything, but you know – he cannot sing – because at seventy years of age, to develop that singing is not possible. Even at seven years of age is too late – start with any singing only when the child is even one year old, then you engage – two years old, slowly sā rī gā mā pā dha nī, etc. So along with tāla – especially South India – South Indian music is called Karṇāṭaka music. Karṇāṭaka music is called tāla pradhāna, laya pradhāna. Whereas North Indian music – Hindustani music – is called bhāva pradhāna – emotion‑oriented. South Indian also has emotion – but I think a little bit more of dry knowledge is there. Too much of this one – especially when they sing so fast – that is terrible. Sometimes only those words are coming. How many people – what they feel – God alone knows. Nice to hear, but it will not provoke too much of bhakti within us.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's First Samādhi

So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa spices his talks. What was the first thing he said? "When I was ten or eleven years old and lived at Kāmārpukur, I first experienced samādhi. As I was passing through a paddy field, I saw something and was overwhelmed." So he did not elaborate further – but what he said – we all know that it was rainy season. One day, daytime, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was moving in that paddy fields with some flattened rice, which he was eating now and then – his mother must have tied like Kucela's wife tied to his upper cloth. Suddenly the whole sky was clouded with thick black clouds, tiny clouds – and against that complete black background, pure white flock of swans started flying in formation. And by the way, they do that way because that way they can fly longer distances without the wind breaking down or making them tired. How it works, I do not know, but scientists have proved that definitely it takes away at least fifty percent of their labour. Otherwise they would not – they learnt it by naturally perhaps.

The Aesthetic Experience

So a pure white flock of haṃsas – swans – flying below that complete black cloud background – and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had a highly developed sense of aesthetics, and he immediately entered into samādhi. What type of samādhi? Bhāva-samādhi. He fell down unconscious. People were frightened – maybe some disease had come, fits, etc. No – later on, he said: "My heart was filled to the brim with indescribable joy." But after he came to consciousness, nothing adverse had happened. Then his mother and others were completely very happy.

The Four Types of Ānanda

So if aesthetic joy is so much, how much could be moral joy? And if moral joy is called dharmānanda – kāla – or viṣayānanda, medhānanda, kalānanda, dharmānanda. Finally, which includes everything – all these four – is called Brahmānanda. Now this Brahmānanda – any person who is spiritual, who is emotional – he must develop even this kalānanda, aesthetic happiness. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's deep experience is describing this kalānanda. It is much nearer to spiritual experience than to viṣayānanda – our worldly experience.

Conclusion

Such beautiful things are coming – so we will discuss 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!