Khandana Bhava Bandhana Lecture 03 on 05 May 2019
We are discussing the Avatāra Stroram, Khaṇḍana bhava bandhana. We have come to Mocana aghadūṣaṇa.
Mocana means one who frees. Frees from what? Freedom is always from bondage.
Aghadūṣaṇa - Different types of sins are there. Some sins are, what we call very small sins, a white lie for example, or somebody has stolen small food, a small amount of food. These are what we call small sins. But killing somebody, especially in the old times, three types of killings - Gau-hatyā - killing a cow, Bhrūṇ-hatyā - killing a small child or fetus. And Brāhmiṇ-hatyā. These are supposed to be Ghora-aprādhs.
An Avatāra can free a person. That is what He does - Mocana.
Agha means Pāpa, any sort of Pāpa. And an Avatāra removes it. But, an Avatāra doesn't merely remove the Karma-phala. Whenever we are talking about Pāpa we have to talk about two separate facts -
- The impulse – the Saṁskāra which produces Pāpa, a root.
- And, the actual action itself.
It is the actual action which produces the Karma-phala because this is connected with Karma. Suppose, in your mind you go on thinking some thoughts - that will not produce any Pāpa, Phala. But, it if you go on thinking, In course of time, it will translate itself into action. So that's why Holy Mother says, to one young monk, that mental sin is no sin. But we have to understand, She might have said it for one… It applies only for that particular person.
What we need to know is… Many culpable thoughts we do think actually in our… But it will not really fructify our like our dreams. But if we cherish them, go on thinking, then what happens? Its force becomes too much and one day we will just do it also. First, we do it in the form of words, then we will do it in the form of actual actions. So important Point, only actually whatever action has been done, it alone will you give Karma-phala.
If it is - if it is a mere thought it will was not be translated into action. But as I said, if we go on brooding upon it, it will gather strength, and one day it will come in the form of the Karma and Karma-phala. But mentally it is a waste of time.
So in the in his mind also it remains only as a thought. But it will not translate until you translate it. I don't like you and therefore I will not do this for you or I will do this for you, is action.
It is not an action. It only poisons you - the person who thinks. It is a sin, but the seed is not going to give fruits, Only, when it is put in the soil it will mentally impact you. It won't affect anybody else, but it will impact you. What I am saying is that you can cherish all horrible thoughts in your mind without doing.
( 5:55 mins )
We are specifically dealing here with what does an Avatāra do. He cuts the very root.
What I am saying is the fine distinction- a thought until it is translated into action, will not be called Karma, and it won’t bear Karma-phala. It will only affect the person who is thinking.
Thought is a Karma at the mental level. If you don't allow it to come out in a gross physical form, then you are safe. Then the next is how it will poison us who is thinking the negative thought.
By thinking you are killing a person you are not committing a sin. But you are harming yourself mentally. Physically, nothing will happen to you know, no police is ever going to catch you - ‘you thought of killing and I will come and catch hold of you’. But these small waves go on gathering together and one day it can become a tsunami.
So that is why Nārada Bhakti Sūtra, He says तरंगयिता अपिमे संगत्समुद्रयन्ति ( Tarangayitā apime sangatsamudrayanti ). It starts with small, small wavelets, but if we give them freedom, then they will grow and grow and grow. One day, It becomes Samudra. That is a very good analogy. Small wave doesn't harm.
There is no accident without thinking. You are not thinking about the accident, but you're thinking about something else which you are not supposed to think. Two types of things are there. One is you know, there is something you don't see, it has nothing to do with your thought. Some small digging is there, hole is there and you have not seen it. So you know anybody can have that kind of accident. That is one type of accident, but we are talking about where life is involved.
If there is an accident Karma phala will be there. Immediately police will come, insurance fellow will come, all those things will come. But, it has resulted in a physical action. If in your mind the accident happened, then police are not going to come and catch you. Only if it really happens. If it is an accident in the dream, dream police will come and catch you, which is your own mind.
( 10:22 mins )
This is the great distinction we have to make, the seed also according to our scriptures is very dangerous. Dangerous! That is why Tarangayitā - Taranga means a small wave. If you go on allowing them, immediately they gather strength and one day it will burst.
What I'm saying… It is safe to think about bad thoughts - that's not what I'm saying. So Karma-Phala is related to Karma. Karma is physical and mental. Mental means, it only affects us. But as a result of it, it will also affect our other actions. If your mood is not alright, your behavior will be affected.
Is that point clear or still not clear. Yes. Correct. A negative thought is only at the thought level, it will only affect the person who is having it. A called negative thought will only harm us.
Okay, let me put it this way. There is a physical Karma - physical result. We are here talking about physical Karma. There are so many people whose physical Karma begins only with a thought. No thoughtless physical Karma will be there.
What is thoughtless physical Karma? A person who is habituated to think in such a way that afterwards he need not put any effort there, automatically that mind is working in a wrong way. That is what we call physically. But when we do something physically, it affects others also. When it is Mānasika karma, it only affects that particular person.
So it is a Karma-phala, but we don't call it Pāpa. Pāpa is something which manifests physically, externally, and harms somebody.
Every action - physical, mental or verbal, it will create Pāpa - Pāpa or Punya or both. A negative thought will create a negative Karma-phala , but that will not impact the other people. That's the point I'm trying to explain to you, that if you hate somebody it is a negative thought. But that hatred some of it the other person also feels. But then we will not have any control over it, because the way we do things also is affected by that.
The way you interact with a person, it shows physically. So there is a fine distinction between physical and mental. So if there is a negative thought in our mind, it will definitely impact us. The only distinction is it won't impact anybody else. So in that sense it is wrong.
( 15:15 mins )
And Holy Mother is not saying that since it is not a Pāpa you go on cherishing it. She is saying that it is not a Pāpa. Yes.
Every thought - negative thought, positive thought, has its own impact. Sooner or later it will come out. But we have to first control the external actions, then slowly internal thinking. Thinking is called action, it will have an impact.
What does an Avatāra do? When a person realizes I am doing something wrong… already he has done something wrong. Karma-phala is there, Pāpa-phala is there, that means more suffering is due to him. Sri Rāmakrishna, if He wants, He can say your Karma-phala is canceled, you don't need to suffer. But He will not stop there. Because a person who takes refuge in an Avatāra, he is already a Bhakta. So, He also helps him uproot the very negative thoughts from within him. That is what is called Mocana. So the word Mocana means freeing. Freeing on two levels -
- Physical level Karma pala
- and mental level thinking.
Both he will remove. The seed also He will remove. You know how He does it? He re-plants it with a positive thought. So this is - Yogā Śāstra, Pātaṅjali is telling so beautifully Pratipakṣha Bhāvanam.
So if there is a negative thought, simply saying that let me remove this negative thought, that is not going to help us. Because it would only re reinforce. ‘I'm not going to get angry. I am not going to get angry. I'm not going to get angry’ (in a gradually increasing semitone). Bring in the opposite thought. ‘I am peaceful. I am peaceful’ - Shānti. This is called Pratipakṣha Bhāvanam. Just the opposite thought.
Jagabhūṣaṇa - an Avatāra is an ornament. What is in an ornament? An ornament is one which enhances the beauty of a person. So if it is a female, then usually or they wear the ornaments, naturally their beauty will be enhanced.
But here we are talking about… what is the best ornament of any human being? Character, sweetness, love. The Power of love is incalculable. If a person is full of love, even animals sense it. This is something very wonderful. Animals also, they have got a sense of smelling chemicals.
Now, it will be nice for all of you to know that if there is any emotion ( emotion is at the thought level ), It will bring about a chemical change in the body. Can you understand that?
If somebody is angry it brings about… anger is a thought, but it will bring about a lot of chemical changes. His adrenaline is coursing, he will tremble, and he is uncontrollably shaking, his heart is racing, he is ready for either fight or flight. All these changes take place. How do they take place? Through chemicals. And these chemicals, animals, even children…
Parents try to smile. Husband and wife get into a quarrel, but when the child comes they smile, ‘My honey’, but he knows inside, it is untouchable. This fellow is trembling with all emotions. That is how they are impacted.
So, what is the the greatest ornament for anybody in the whole world? A person of character. Character means what? He is lovable. There is something in human beings, if you see a truthful person you will recognise him. You cannot recognise directly, but you sense this person can be trusted.
( 20:20 mins )
One example I am giving. If you're walking in the street, a woman is also walking with a child. She doesn't give the child to you and say, ‘Please look after him for half an hour. I have got some work, I will complete it and come back to you.’ Will any mother trust you? She will not trust. Even though you are not thinking anything bad, but she will not trust because of her general experience.
So Swāmi Vivekānanda, one day He was taking a walk in a park. A woman - poor woman with her only child, she had to do some urgent work, marketing Etc. She saw a completely stranger. She said, ‘Can you look after my child? I may take half an hour, 45 minutes.’ Swāmiji said, ‘Yes Madam, you go and look after it.’ So after 45 minutes, she came and happily collected the child.
How did He generate this kind of trust trustworthiness? Because, He was an embodiment of trustworthiness. I'm just telling you that even illiterate people Etc. they can sense it.
And second incident, Swāmi Vivekānanda was returning to India via Egypt. They came by ship to Egypt and from there they have to come by train. So one day He and some of His American followers they were walking in the street. They did not know that they had entered into a red light district. So many women were calling, ‘Hey come here, come here, come here’, like that. The devotees understood. Swāmiji was absorbed in talking about something. He did not understand it. But, after sometime of this calling, He saw on both sides woman were lined up, and then He saw one group. He said ‘Children of the Divine mother, what a state you have come down.’ Like that, He started saying.
The moment He came near what do you think was the reaction of the people? They were all, ‘Man of God, man of God’. Some closed their eyes and ran away. Some people, they turned their faces and started veiling, some came near and were touching the dress of Swāmi Vivekānanda.
You see, they could realise that He was the son of God. If, we were there, we would think who is this crazy fellow walking here? You know, innocent, but because of whatever reason they were forced, but that Divinity will never go from within them. It's a most wonderful… like that many incidents are there.
Sri Rāmakrishna’s life, incidents Galore. Māthur Bābu wanted to test Him. So, he took Him into the quarters of the public women. And he left Him in a Room and went away. Then He saw, ‘Mā, Mā’ like that. Immediately the woman, they took a stick and came to beat Māthur Bābu, ‘You want us to go to hell. This is a saint whom you have brought here’. How did they recognise He was a saint?
Even Māthur Bābu could not recognise. He thought He was a crazy fellow. How did these woman, how did they recognise?There is something, you know, Purity is there. For some reason they had to behave like that.
Like your, Subbulakshmi. Had not her husband rescued her she would have been still one of the deva dāsis serving public men, but he understood it. You know that what I am talking about? Subbulakshmi! Yes she came out. So, there are some things, many many innocent people are there, they may be poor but there is an innate sense.
So Jagabhūṣaṇa. Jagabhūṣaṇa means He is the Shining ornament. Anybody who meditates upon Sri Rāmakrishna, genuinely, tries to follow… Meditation always means following the person's footsteps and developing character. Don't forget, I want you to keep it in mind.
( 25:14 mins )
I am meditating on Rāma, but no change has come in the mind, he is not a devotee of Rāma. Meditation of God, Rāma means… Meditation in Sanskrit is called Upāsana. Upāsana means, the person becomes!
They give an example anology - Kīṭa-Bhramara-nyāya. Kīṭa a small insect, it is frightened of a wasp. It goes on thinking, (out of fear) and then it becomes, they say, Bhramara. It becomes Bhramara. An insect becomes a Bhramara.
That means if we go on meditating upon somebody, means deeply thinking about it, we will become that person. If we don't, that is not meditation, that is some pretence.
So Kaṃsa had become who? Krishna. Because day and night he was thinking only, ‘Krishna is coming, Krishna is going to finish me off’, like that. So if Krishna eats rasagulla, what does the rasagulla become? If Krishna eats up Kaṃsa, what do you think he will become? Does Kaṃsa become Krishna or does Krishna become Kaṃsa?
This is called Upāsana. Upāsana means - coming near. Near means - becoming like that. Becoming like that completely Oneness is achieved. Clear?
These are all descriptions about Avatāra. It applies to Sri Rāmakrishna. That is why we are supposed to meditate upon this. Then meditation has to follow… upon meditating upon the meaning of it.
चिद्घनकाय ( cidghanakāy ) Kāy means - body. Ghan means - condensed, made out of Chit. Means what? Pure Consciousness.
Here In this case, we have to translate it into knowledge, Knowledge condensed. Why? He is the source of all knowledge.
So what is the meaning of it? In the Upanishads it is said that the only knowledge is Brahmavidyā. ब्रह्मविद्यां सर्वविद्याप्रतिष्ठाम ( brahma-vidyāṁ sarva-vidyā-pratiṣṭhām ). Brahmavidyā is the support of every other Vidyā.
Very briefly I will tell you what it is. Brahman means Sat, Chit and Ānanda.
Any Vidyā, any knowledge, that takes us towards Sat, Sat means what? Good health, also good character. Satsang we call it.
What is the next Point? Chit. Chit means knowledge. Knowledge means what? Only positive knowledge! I am not the body mind, I am pure Brahman, I am God that is the true knowledge. Why? because that is what every knowledge…If I study something, very deeply, become a research scholar, then what does it to do to me? It must help me to live longer, to live healthily, to reform our character, and ultimately to make me more happy. If any knowledge doesn't make us happier, do you call it knowledge?
Always keep this in mind. Any knowledge must make us more happy, more healthy, then only it is true knowledge. Otherwise as they say in English language, ‘Operation successful patient expired’. What is the use of that - operation successful patient expired. That is not going to help. So Chit also means pure consciousness.
Now it is not only applicable to Sri Rāmakrishna and Avatāras. We are also Chit only. Chit means what? Consciousness! In our case, what is consciousness? Thought.
The whole universe is nothing but a thought. You are looking at me. What are you looking at? Your thought! You are not looking at me. This object, whatever it be, has a created an idea in your mind. You are looking at your idea of me or whatever object. You are acting and interacting with that idea or with me. Are you able to follow it?
( 30:19 mins )
See every action, I am only giving an example, every information coming out of our five sense organs is nothing but information. Is information an object or is it an idea?
So we're dealing with this word. There is nothing concrete here. What you call concrete is also an idea in your mind. Yeah, if you're put under hypnosis and the fellow says, ‘This is a swimming pool, you swim’, happily you go on swimming here. If somebody hypnotises you & says, ‘This is a tiger’, what will you see? You will see only a tiger. So much effect is there. We are dealing with - ideas dealing with ideas, mind dealing with mind.
Let us look at it from the other side. The whole universe came out of where? God. Is God Chit or Achit? Chit! So out of Chit can Achit come? Therefore whatever is the seed, the plant will be the same. Whatever is the cause, the effect will be the same. So if God, Brahman is Sadchidānanda, what is this whole universe then? Sadchidānanda only. Only thing is because of ignorance, covering of ignorance, we are not able to look at it in this way. But the whole Universe is nothing but Brahman.
So what is the speciality of an Avatāra? You can really perceive that it is vibrating with Chit, Pure Consciousness. Whoever goes within the periphery of that Pure Consciousness, their Consciousness will also be awakened.
Let us look at it from another side. On 1st January, that is only one example, because Sri Rāmakrishna was doing it every day, umpteen number of times. He touches. And immediately the other person's Consciousness comes out awakened.
Now who can… Can Achit ever awaken Chit? It is impossible. So what are we talking about? In Sri Rāmakrishna, the Chit is so vibrant, so full, that He can transform anybody's character. Character can be transformed only by an idea. And our body also can be transformed only by an idea. Yes. This is the greatest truth.
So simple example I am telling, here is a sick person and doctor comes. And somehow, somehow the patient knows, this is a wonderful doctor. The moment he hears a wonderful doctor is coming to treat me, half of his disease has already been cured. What cured him? Idea! Idea only cured him.
Then what is medicine? This medicine is good for you. Whether the medicine cures are not I'm not sure, but the idea that this medicine can cure, that idea alone will really help it. That is why it is said it is not really the medicine, it is the enthusiastic doctor and his knowledge, which will bring about the cure.
Sri Rāmakrishna can change the character of any person, this is what Swāmi Vivekānanda said - Kapāla mochana - He can free even the greatest sinner. So Sri Rāmakrishna had come into contact with many sinners. Of all of them, we say Girish Chandra Ghosh was the greatest. Just by coming in contact with Him, his whole character has changed. It took some time because the thickness of the ignorance was too much.
( 35:06 mins )
So that is where we can also connect. Why we are like this? Because of ignorance. Is ignorance a concrete thing or is ignorance a type of knowledge? Knowledge!
So ignorance the word ignorance can be understood in two ways -
- One is I don't know anything about it. Suppose I ask you, ‘Do you know such and such a person?’ You have never heard, or come in contact, or read about him. What will be your answer? Here It means you don't know.
- But I ask about somebody else, and you say, ‘I know him very much, he is a very bad person’. Actually, I know he's a very good person. What is your idea? Very bad person. So here, ignorance means, you know the person, but it is wrong knowledge.
It is in the secondary sense, we are talking about. Ignorance means you are not unconscious, you are seeing.
What is this? This is a table. That is what we answer. You ask this table. Don't say it is a table. It is an object. Ask a wood worm what is it? It says it is Food. Ask a man, he says it is a wooden table. Ask a physicist, he says it is nothing but Atoms, energy. Ask Sri Rāmakrishna. ‘It is my Divine Mother’.
There is no Achit here. There is nothing called such a division - this is consciousness and this is unconsciousness / non-consciousness. There is no such thing. So only Pure Consciousness alone is there, but because of the… Here also important point is the table is not Achit. My ignorance is the Achit.
Because, the same object when Sri Rāmakrishna looks at it, He looks at Brahman! Yes.
So the object is not changing. The object is in our minds. We have to change, not the object but ourselves. We should not, we cannot change the world. We have to change ourselves. This is the one.
Cidghanakāy - He is the condensed embodiment of pure Consciousness, Pure Knowledge. Consciousness always manifests as knowledge
Then - ज्ञानाञ्जन-विमल-नयन वीक्षणे मोह जाय ( jñānāñjana-vimala-nayana vīkṣaṇe moha jāy )
What is the difference between a saint and a Sinner? Both of them are having collyrium.and Añjana means collyrium. Ladies put in the eyes. So if you see there is something wrong with the eyes the eye doctor also will put. What does he put? Some eye drops so that will clear our vision, obstruction, into our Visions to some extent.
But always He is having jñānāñjana. So if somebody puts on jñānāñjana like, somebody puts on a black colored specs, how does he look at the world? Black!. Like a jaundiced person - jaundiced añjana. He looks at everything as yellow.
But here jñāna… jñāna is opposite to ignorance. Therefore whatever Sri Rāmakrishna looks at, Holy Mother looks at is Holy. That's why She is called Holy Mother. Because whatever She looks at is Holy for Her, and we also feel the Holiness.
How do we feel Holiness? She is my mother. I call Her Holy Mother. And when I go there I call Her Holy Mother. If She is my mother and if She is Holy, what am I? I'm also Holy only. That relationship, this is very important - when we say Thākur is our mother-father - त्वमेव माता च पिता त्वमेव ( tvameva mātā ca pitā tvameva ), we have to understand we are establishing a relationship between God and ourselves. That is called true understanding. Yeah.
So what are the points there is nothing Achit in this world.
Sri Rāmakrishna had completely put on.. anybody who acquires that Divine Knowledge, this is what we call Jñāni. A Bhakta also is a Jñāni. So what does a Bhakta do? He puts on an añjana. What añjana? Bhakti añjana. So what does he see? A Viṣṇu Bhakta put some Viṣṇu añjana? What do you think he will see? Only Viṣṇu.
What do you think Sri Rāmakrishna will see? Only Brahman - Himself.
( 40:35 mins )
So - vīkṣaṇe moha jāy - He is always having that añjana . So then what happens?
Vimala Nayana - His eyes become Crystal Clear, 20 by 20 vision. That means what? He knows a thing exactly as it is, not as we see it.
When such a person compassionately looks at us, what happens? Our moha… Moha means what? Ajñāna añjana, will melt away. So, how does He do it?
दिव्यं ददामि ते चक्षुः पश्य मे योगमैश्वरम् || ११/8|| ( divyaṁ dadāmi te chakṣhuḥ paśhya me yogam aiśhwaram ll 11/8 ll
11th chapter of The Bhagvad Gitā. Arjuna was looking at everything in a human light, hatred, rāga dveṣa. And out of His grace, Bhagavān Krishna, what did He do now? He has given him that particular contact lens, special, contact lens - divyaṁ dadāmi te chakṣhuḥ - The moment he puts it on, he saw every thing in a divine light.
What is the divine light? Truth! What is the truth? Sṛṣṭi is always accomplished by Sthiti & Laya. So you are only seeing Sṛṣṭi. You are not seeing Laya.
So what is this Kurukshetra? कालोऽस्मि लोकक्षयकृत्प्रवृद्धो ( kālo ’smi loka-kṣhaya-kṛit pravṛiddho )
I am incarnated to annihilate the whole world. This is a beautiful idea, Hindu philosophy whatever is - सृष्टिस्थितिविनाशानां शक्तिभूते सनातनि। ( sṛṣṭisthitivināśānāṁ śaktibhūte sanātani | )
They don’t stop at Sṛṣṭi & Sthiti, because this is a fact of life. Visually they represent it. On the right side of the divine mother, 2 hands are there. What are those 2 hands? What is this hand? Sṛṣṭi.
What is Sṛṣṭi? Abhaya! Abhaya means what? You are going to survive. ‘Ok I am going to survive. And how am I going to enjoy my life’. ‘I will give you whatever you deserve. Not whatever you want. Whatever you deserve. I will give you through your Karma-phala.
We are only looking at it. We are not looking at the left side. What is on the left side? One, what is called, skull, decapitated, head. And one sword. What is Jñāna? We are talking about Jñāna. Jñāna is to say - anything that is born is liable to die. If we keep that view in point, lot of benefit will come. Fearlessness will come.
But there is also an ajñāna. What is the ajñāna? We know death will come, but it is not going to come at this moment. It is going to come some other time. And when that time comes, even your idea of when it is going to come, when that time comes you will still postpone it further. This is called ajñāna.
A jñāna says, ‘Let It Come. What does it matter to me?’ And by the way birth and death also have to be looked at in the light of knowledge. What is light of knowledge? There is no birth or death! An unmanifest come into manifestation is called birth. The table previously it was in the form of a piece of wood. Now it has become a table. Now you burn it. It is goes back to its constituent elements.
jñānāñjana-vimala-nayana - His eyes are completely pure, that means He knows the truth exactly as it is. Therefore He doesn't fear death. He doesn't fear anything in this world. He can't Hate you, because He knows He is none other than you. Vīkṣaṇe - when such a person bestows his grace that person also acquires the same vision.
( 45:05 mins )
Vīkṣaṇe moha jāy - Moha means delusion. Jāy means destroyed.
What is the antidote for ajñāna? Jñāna! He gives Jñāna. What does He do? He bestows the right knowledge. Upon whom? Upon everybody. But are we ready to receive it?
That is why first of January 1886, Sri Rāmakrishna bestowed His grace upon one, I think Vaikunta Nath Sanyal. He started having visions of Sri Rāmakrishna. After two three days he came and said I'm not able to bear it. So please take it away. So Sri Rāmakrishna, had taken away.
The point is Sri Rāmakrishna was ready to give, had given. But the person was incapable of taking it. Arjuna’s condition was also same. After some time he said I am frightened. We are all frightened of Laya. Other things okay, but Laya, that is the problem.
Jñānāñjana-vimala-nayana vīkṣaṇe moha jāy
So Sri Rāmakrishna always has the collyrium. So also every Jñāni, every Incarnation will have that collyrium. What is the difference then between one Jñāni and Sri Rāmakrishna or Avatāra?
Other Jīvan-muktas, they can't give you, because they have just sufficient for their own self. It is exhausted. But Sri Rāmakrishna has, He is manufacturing and storing in a huge this thing. Even now He has got. If we are earnestly praying, what do you think He will give you? What is our prayer? Thākur, grant us Bhakti, Jñāna, Viveka & Vairagya.
That is our prayer. So that is what He will give also. In fact He is not with holding it. We are saying, ‘I prayed okay. I did not mean for You to give just now, a little bit later on.’ Because, if He gives right now I have to change my whole attitude towards my property.
Yeah, I told you one incident that happened. One lady, a little older. She came and told me you are like my son. Immediately, I told her don't forget me in your will. After 2 days, she comes, ‘It was a mistake for me to call, you are my Bābā, not my son’.
So are we ready? This is the question. If Sri Rāmakrishna bestows Bhakti, Viveka, Vairagya, you know what happens? There is a conflict between us.
Māthur Bābu prayed for Bhāva. Sri Rāmakrishna had given it by prayer to the Divine Mother, ‘He is weeping so much, give him a little bit of Bhāva’. And after three days he said, ‘Bābā, this will not suit me, because all my zamindari affairs are going to the dogs. So you please take it back. It is an ornament for you only’.
Why? Because they hold Samskāra. The new Samskāras - they are conflicting. Unless we empty ourselves, it becomes a poison actually.
There has to be Self-effort. Always He is ready to give, provided we are ready to receive it. He is always ready to give, we are not always ready to receive it.
He has given us sufficient knowledge to understand I am here, and there is a way. I can also go through this. That much knowledge He has given.
He is giving - he has already given. He has given the inspiration. The worldly path is not for us. Absolutely! You can't go back to your worldliness now. But then He has also given you the body, the instruments, and He wants you to use those instruments, to move a little bit forward, so that you can gain more.
( 50:00 mins )
So, otherwise you are saying you make butter and pump it into my stomach. I don't want… even if you take it also, you pump it. I don't want to even take the trouble of swallowing it. This is our condition.
But, He knows it, that is why He will wait patiently. When we get hungry, ‘Okay, you just gave me, I will take it myself’. Everything ultimately is His Grace, I tell you. But at this stage we can only take little by little, because when the stomach is not all right, even the richest food will turn into poison. Yes. Best food will turn into poison
ज्ञानाञ्जन-विमल-नयन वीक्षणे मोह जाय | ( Jñānāñjana-vimala-nayana vīkṣaṇe moha jāy | )
भास्वर भाव-सागर चिर-उन्मद प्रेम-पाथार। ( bhāsvara bhāva-sāgara cira-unmada prema-pāthār | )In this sentence 2 times the word samudra has come, Sāgara. Bhāsvara bhāva-sāgara means Ocean. Patha, in Bengali, means Ocean.
So, prema-pāthār - He is an ocean of love.
We will start from there. So who can love? What is the meaning of love? You see, we take love as an emotion. Love as an emotion is not love, It is Kāma. The knowledge that ‘I am this’ is called love.
I hope you're following what I'm trying to tell you? When a mother says ( she doesn’t even say ), ‘This is my child’, She loves the child. Why does she love the child? She doesn't love the neighboring child. Because, she has the identity, ‘This is an extension of me’, that knowledge is called love. Knowledge of identity. This and this is the same - that is called a love, Prema.
Swāmiji gave the definition of morality. What is morality? To feel ones identity with everything else is called morality. Otherwise, it is not true morality. It could be a force of society, force of scriptures, force of Guru, but not coming from inside ourselves.
Prema-pāthār - He is an ocean. Ocean means what? Our love gets exhausted only with few things. After that ( our love is so small ), there is nothing left out to distribute. But an incarnation is an ocean of love. How can He be an ocean of love? Because He knows the whole universe is nothing but me. So, who is loving whom?
So here I want to introduce a thought from the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. There is a statement, “Ātmā is dearer than the son”. Any type of love always… Do we really love anything in this world? Question yourself. Do I love anybody? Do I love my mother? Do I love my father? My wife? My husband? Anybody?
Do I love my devotees? Only, some devotees. Those who bring me first class mangoes, I love them. Those, who bring second-class, third-class mangoes, my love also will be second class, and third class. Those, who don't bring me anything but always eager to take from me…
Funny example, but truth is, the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, Upaniṣad is a source of knowledge. It is telling, we really don't love anything. We only love ourselves.
What is our nature? What is my nature? Don't even say ‘our nature’. What is ‘my nature’? Ānandam?
So any object which we think is capable of giving me Ānanda, I love. How long do I love? as long as it gives me pleasure. That is why we say in our language, Sugarcane, you buy one piece of sugarcane, how long do you love It? As long as the juice is there. The moment it is there what do you do? Every object in this world is exactly the same thing.
So what I'm trying to tell you, for an Avatāra, He is a realized soul, He knows the whole world is nothing but my own manufacture.
( 55:10 mins )
आत्मौपम्येन सर्वत्र समं पश्यति योऽर्जुन |
सुखं वा यदि वा दु:खं स योगी परमो मत: ||
ātmaupamyena sarvatra samaṁ paśhyati yo ’rjuna
sukhaṁ vā yadi vā duḥkhaṁ sa yogī paramo mataḥ ll ( Gita 6.32 )
Ātmaupamyena -Everything is a reflection in my own self. They give the example, you enter into a room full of mirrors. What do we see? Only your own reflection in a thousand mirrors. This, is the best example. Every object is this world is nothing but… Theoretically it is true, practically also it is the truth.
Only a Jñāni knows. Ajñāna means I am different, everybody's different, everything is different. Jñāna means there is no such differentiation. That is why, Prema-pāthār means inexhaustible source of love! He cannot but love because He doesn't see anything else other than Himself.
Bhāsvara bhāva-sāgara - Sāgara means ocean. Ocean of what? Bhāva. Bhāva means -
- First meaning of bhāva is moods.
- Second meaning of bhāva is ideals.
- Third meaning of bhāva is expression of these moods.
All these three meanings are embedded in this bhāva.
First, let us take the first meaning, what is it? Moods! What is mood? Emotion is a mood, intellect is a mood, concentration is a mood, then activity is a mood.
- So if we are endowed with intellect, what is our path? Jñāna mārga.
- If it is emotion - Bhakti mārga.
So He is an ocean of moods. That means He is an ideal for everybody.
Then what is this second meaning we have taken? Ideals. Somebody is a patriot, Sri Rāmakrishna is an ideal as a patriot. Somebody is a scientist, Sri Rāmakrishna was one of the greatest scientists in this world.
Who is a scientist? A person who deals with science is not a scientist. A person who deals with things scientifically is a scientist. It is a question of mental attitude. Not a question of a Deparment or field of knowledge.
So, what is it? Sri Rāmakrishna was practicing Islam, for example, He was dressing like a Muslim. He wanted to eat food like a Muslim. He was saying Namāz also like a Muslim. In every way! And then the description goes Hindu Gods and Goddesses became abominable to him. He removed all the pictures and everything of Hindu gods and goddesses. Not a trace of it, because He could not tolerate. So what is He doing? He is putting Himself in the shoes of an earnest Muslim Sādhaka. So He is an ideal.
If you are a christian, when He practiced Christianity also, exactly the same thing, He did. Only thing is, for saying Namāz He went into a mosque near Dakshineswar. But for saying Christian prayers, He said, ‘Mother show me how they pray from outside’, because if He goes inside, they won't allow him to come into the Dakshineswar temple. For that purpose He did not go.
But He was a scientist. What is a scientist? Dress in the same way, think in the same way, utter words in this same way, behave exactly in the same way, in every way become one with that. This is called scientific attitude.
It can be music. It can be literature. It can be poetry. It can be anything. Now I hope you understood the difference between scientific temperament and being a scientist. Science is one particular branch of knowledge. Scientific temperament means an attitude, the person's attitude. Many scientists, unfortunately, do not have scientific temperament. If they had, they would never oppose anybody's ideas without proof.
( 1:00:06 )
Einstein supposed to be the greatest scientist of our century, and when other great scientists have come with completely, seemingly, opposite ideas, he did not have the large heartedness… He said you are wrong. Towards the end, he said you are right. You understand, now? Is he a scientist? Was he a scientist? We call him a great scientist. He was specialised in physics, but he lacked the scientific temperament.
Many scientists, they said there is no God. I say that is unscientific. What you can say, what right you have got to say is, ‘So far, I don't know whether God exists or not. But, I will not issue any statement whether He exists or not. But I will just say this’. This is called scientific temperament. So a scientist has no right to say whether there is a God or not because God is neither proved nor disproved. This is the most wonderful thing for us to understand.
Sri Rāmakrishna was the greatest scientist not because He was dealing with science, but because He took every field in a scientific temperament. That itself deserves a wonderful talk - how Sri Rāmakrishna was a great scientist.
Those who are doctors, they know that it was the doctors who were opposed to other doctors, when they proposed better methods. For example, assisting in, what is called, Maternity Ward - assisting women to give birth to babies. They used to put their dirty hands on the bodies of every woman. The result was more than 70% of mortality. One doctor found out.
In the Reader's Digest earlier they used to publish condensed books. You know, a big book, which is very popular, they will condense it into 1/4 its size. Either three books, or four books in one-one volume. That's where I read this.
One American doctor found out that if the doctor attending the Maternity Ward, and all the other people, wash their hands with Soap, dettol soap and water, and put on gloves, and deal with the patient, that woman most likely will not die. All the other doctors lifted, Lāl jhanḍā. ‘These, all newfangled ideas unproven ideas. We have been doing it for so many years like this’. Then he said, ‘You give me a chance. Give me one ward. You don't enter it. Give me permission. Whoever is working in my ward, I will implement this’. They waited for three months. The Statistics was an eye-opener, 90% of the mortality rate had come down. Because there were some factors which he could not understand also.
You see, here is a fact. So then the hospital wily-nilly passed a rule, because theres a little bit extra work and extra expense also. They have now to provide this dettol soap, then they have to provide gloves, and then extra time for washing etc., but the results showed, in every ward the mortality rate has come down by more than 90% .
Why am I giving you this illustration? Only with one purpose - doctors were supposed to be scientific. They were not scientific at all. So that is how even scientists oppose other scientists when they come up with better ideas, until it becomes an established fact and they can no longer deny it.
Sri Rāmakrishna was a supreme… So He is an ocean of ideas. Bhāsvara - Bhāsvara means living.
They can help a Christian. They can help a muslim. They can help a Hindu, they can help a person who doesn't belong to any religion because there are, so many principled people are there.
- So first I said mood. He supports every mood.
- Then I said the Pathways - Karma-yogā, Bhakti-yogā, Rāja-yogā, Jñāna-yogā. Any yogā, any religion, that is what He says clearly. Yogasahāy - later on it comes.
- A third idea is that any feeling that comes… Suppose here is a person, he says ‘I don't believe in any yogā or religion, but I want to serve my country’. How to serve? Śiva-jñāne Jīva Sevā. A devotee looking upon another person as God. A patriot looking upon another person as God - there is an enormous difference.
( 1:05:44 mins )
What is the difference?
- Here, He is God in this form - first case.
- In the second case, I treat him like God.
You understand? No need to believe in God. I I treat him like God. Yes, go ahead. That is a pathway for you.
So many examples are there in life, to prove that even some person who is considered irreligious by everybody, he also progresses in life.
I will end this class with a story from Tolstoy. Perhaps some of you know this story already. There was a village. There were two Muslims. A rich man and a very poor man. Both of them wanted to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca.
So the rich man decided to go, ‘I’m getting old I want to go’. The poor man wants to go but he had no means to go. The rich man has money, but he needed somebody's assistance. So he asked this poor man, ‘You come as my attendant and look after me, so both of our desires will be fulfilled’.
So both of them started. They have to come to a seashore, board the ship, cross the sea, and then enter into… travel for some time and then come to Mecca.
So before coming to the seashore, they were camping in a village just for one night, the next day they will proceed. This poor man, he went out to have a walk. And then he entered into some street he heard painful groaning. Somebody was groaning. He said, ‘What is this? Who is groaning?’ He went to see. There was a helpless old woman, suffering, nobody to look after her. His heart melted in pity. He said what is the use of my doing pilgrimage? Here is a person who is a living God like my own mother or grandmother. And he stopped.
Now, the rich man, He looked for him. He was nowhere. Next morning he searched for sometime. ‘Maybe he has gone back, maybe something happened’. I cannot wait. So with somebody’s help he went to the seashore, boarded the ship, reached Mecca.
That year, the number of pilgrims were uncountable. You know, have you seen pictures when pilgrims go to Mecca? Millions, Huge crowds, even from the space you can see the photographs. YouTube is full of that. Like ants, everywhere!
So this fellow several times he tried to come near that Stone. They have to touch the Stone. He could not approach. What was his great astonishment? But every time he is looking at that Stone, where some priests were performing some rituals, next to the priest was his poor assistant.
He was thinking, ‘How did he come? He did not come with me. I did not see him on the ship. How did he ever come here? Maybe he came by some other means. I don't know’. So he tried to reach him. For four days he tried and failed to go anywhere near. After that, there's another pilgrimage, he finished it, boarded the ship, came back home.
After two three days in the village, the rich man met the poor man. He asked, ‘What happened to you?’ So then the poor man said ‘In that village, I saw an old woman suffering terrible. I said, well, what is the point of pilgrimage? Here is a lady who requires help. Nobody is helping her. I will serve her. So I started serving. It took several days. But ultimately she died’. Then he said, ‘My companion I searched for you. You had gone. There was no way for me to go to Mecca. I returned few days back’.
Then this Rich man said that every time I looked at the Stone, I was seeing you. The poor man said, ‘I don't know anything about it’. With this, Tolstoy closes the story.
( 1:10:32 mins )
What does that mean? He was serving whom? God. Therefore he was serving, he was seen worshiping God, very nearby, enjoying it. That was a vision, really the person was not there, in our sense. Metaphorically, Yes! That is what Swāmi Vivekānanda meant Śivajñāne Jīvā Sevā.
And new ideas have come now. Previously only four yogās. I mentioned earlier 2 yogās were added by Sri Rāmakrishna. What were the yogās? Vyākultā yogā & Sevā yogā. Holy Mother added another yogā. What is it called? Smaraṇa yogā.
Then new ideas had come with Sri Rāmakrishna. What is the ideas? That you are a doctor and you do your duty properly. These are not new ideas. These are ideas already there in the Bhagavad-Gītā? We are going to discuss them shortly. So all these ideas have got a life as it were. Previously ideas were there but lifeless. Why do I say lifeless? If any religion doesn't produce a realized soul, that religion is a lifeless religion.
So the only proof of the validity of any religion is what? What is the proof of a good mango tree? It must produce good mangoes, at least a number of mangoes. A tree, first class, big, with so many branches, so many leaves, green, shiny, but no mangoes. What do you feel like? Cutting it. It is totally useless.
So, Hindu religion has been producing. Other religions very rarely. That's why they are more ritualistic, more dead than alive. But with the life of Sri Rāmakrishna everybody has got new life as it were. That is what is called Bhāsvara bhāva-sāgara.
A housewife. You just do your duties, look after husband, look after your children, and do what a housewife is supposed to do. You will reach the same goal illustrated by Mahābhārata story, Dharma-vyādha story.
These ideas were there. What does an Avatāra do? The ideas which were hiding, He will remove, He will bring it back, and breathe new life into them, and holds them up for everybody to follow. What a wonderful idea? That is the meaning of Bhāsvara bhāva-sāgara - He is an ocean of living, shining, practical new ideas, ideals which can take one to God realization.
चिर-उन्माद ( cira-unmāda ) one word. Cira means forever. Unmāda means Madness. Madness means intoxicated. Intoxicated with what? Only one - God. An intoxicated person is always a happy person. You have to remember that. Sri Rāmakrishna was intoxicated only with God. In His eyes, nothing else will appear - Cira-unmāda
So all these are characteristics, at least a little bit, we also have to develop.
- People also must be intoxicated with God.
- We must never criticize anybody because Bhāsvara bhāva-sāgara.
- And we must also become people of love. Now we are people of hatred. Our love is, what is called, more of your business love than any love in this world. So this is the meaning - only God is loved, one's own self is loved. Every object is an instrument for that love. This is the ultimate truth.
But if we can hold on to the idea of me and the world are not different. सर्वं खल्विदं ब्रह्म ( sarvaṁ khalvidaṁ brahma ) – That is the only ultimate realization.
Totāpuri acquired the first part - I am Brahman. Second part - The world is not Brahman, that was his idea. But the world is none other than Brahman with Nāma Rūpa. 11 months he had to stay with Sri Rāmakrishna. And in His company, through His grace, Divine Mother bestowed upon him that knowledge. What? ‘Whether I close my eyes, open my eyes everything is nothing but Brahman’.
( 1:15:55 mins )