Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

Opening Invocation

ॐ जननीं सारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगदगुरुम पादपद्मे तयो: श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहु :

Om Jananim Saradam devim Ramakrishnam jagadgurum Padapadme tayoh shritva pranamami muhurmuhuh.

Narada Bhakti Sutras: On Obtaining Divine Grace and the Company of Great Souls

We are studying Narada Bhakti Sutras. In our last class, we discussed how to obtain bhakti: mukhyās tu mahat-kṛpayaiva or bhagavat-kṛpā-leśād vā. Indeed, kṛpā-nidhir kāli heale - when we receive even a trace of divine grace, we will get sat-saṅga as a result - the company of people who can help us.

The Challenge of Recognizing Great Souls

So how to get the company of great people? Is it so easy? Maybe four or five people may get satsaṅga. And then once a person gets satsaṅga also, it is difficult to recognize who is a great person.

So many people, saints, appear to be madcaps.

The Story of Ramana Maharshi and the Foreigner

One day a foreigner came to Ramana Maharshi. He reached the ashram and wanted to meet Ramana Maharshi. They said he had just gone out for a walk and would come back. "You wait here."

He was restless. Immediately he started, wanting to see Ramana Maharshi. So he went on the way and just peeped in. There was a small low area. What was his shock - so many monkeys were sitting there!

One old man with just a gopīna (loincloth), sitting there, was distributing peanuts. And when one monkey wanted to have more and stretched out, he immediately said, "You fellow, that's all your share. Don't take other people's share." He also took only that much and was happily eating.

This man said, "Oh my God, what a madcap." So he went and sat, but could not get darshan. He came back, sitting.

After some time, the one whom he called a madcap came and climbed onto the bed, and then he understood - that was Ramana Maharshi. Who do you understand? You see, this is a very peculiar situation.

The Test of True Seekers

Suppose you heard of a Mahatma and you go to see him. There would be a specified place; they will tell you, "In this room, on this chair, he will be sitting." If a man is sitting there, you will recognize, "Ah, this is the person." But suppose he wants to play a trick upon you. So he will put on householder's clothes and sit there, and ask one of his disciples to sit in his place.

And what do you think? You will come and make aṣṭāṅga praṇāms to the person who is sitting because that is your idea - that this is the Mahatma. But the real Mahatma is laughing at you.

The Story of Two Swamis

I'll tell you a nice story. There was a town in a hilly area where a big hill stood. One Mahatma was reputed to be there. People wanted to go and see him. The old Mahatma would be staying there on the height of the hill. And there was another young Swami whose ashrama was a little bit on the hill, on the way.

So people naturally stopped at the ashrama - beautiful temple - and they would be fed very nicely, visitors were very nicely and lovingly looked after. Then they said, "Swami, we want to have darshan of that other Swami. How can we go there? Please show the way."

He said, "Oh Rama, you want to see that rascal, that hypocrite? You want to see that hypocrite? You know he is the most deceiving person on earth."

Naturally, 99% of the people, after hearing this - here is a Swami who so lovingly received us nicely, talked with us nicely, fed us nicely. Why would a sannyasi tell lies about it? They would salute him and return back. So many times this happened.

The Sincere Seeker's Persistence

But there was one man who was very sincere. He said, "Why should I believe this man? I want to go and see." So he persisted. Then he took the trouble. It was a very troublesome path. He reached.

Then he found this was the greatest Mahatma - really, really great Mahatma. Then he asked, "Swami, do you know there is a young sannyasi here? Twenty-four hours he is abusing you. And so many people who heard about you want to see you, but the moment this Swami talks - twenty-four hours he is only criticizing - they are deprived of coming and seeing you. Do you know that?"

Then the Swami said, "Yes, yes, I know that."

"Then why are you not saying anything?"

Then he said, "Why am I not calling him?" So the moment he called, the call came. Immediately the young Swami rushed there, fell in śāṣṭāṅga praṇāms. The visitor was surprised.

This was the fellow who was criticizing, and now he made more śāṣṭāṅga praṇāms than anybody else. And so much love, so much humility, so much bhakti. The visitor was stunned. "What is this? This person is..."

Then he told, "Swami, I can't understand. There you were criticizing. I was also about to turn away. Somehow I persisted. And as soon as you called, you come and do this. So what is it?"

The Guru's Instructions

Then the young Swami said, "Alright, you had your darshan, come, let's go. I will tell you." Then, as they were coming back, he told, "He is my real guru. Whatever spirituality I have, all got from him only."

So then he told me, "Now you go and live independently and teach good things, help people." So the man made śāṣṭāṅga praṇāms: "Guruji, you did great good... What I have today is all because of you. What can I do to serve you?"

The guru asked him, "Do you really want to serve me?"

"Yes."

"Then you establish your ashram. Whoever wants to come and meet me, stop them there by criticizing me, send them away. Because those who listen to these things and turn away are not real sincere bhaktas. Those who persist, then... These are all useless fellows. You are saving my time, you are saving your time, we are saving their time also."

That is how Mahatmas live.

The Rarity and Recognition of Great Souls

So even if you hear about them, to recognize them is very difficult. So durlabhāḥ - very rare to come across. Even if you come across, agamyāḥ - very difficult to recognize them. But once you have this good fortune, amoghāś ca - once they say something, it is like God himself saying that. This is what we discussed.

Labhyate'pi tat-kṛpayaiva - very difficult, very rare. But how to get it? Pray to God. Only if you pray to God - and God knows whether you really want it or you are only reading some books and saying "give me some satsaṅga" - He knows it. If you really deserve it, He will give you satsaṅga.

So that's what it is: the company of great people is attainable only through God's grace.

The Power of Great Souls

Then how is it that these people are so great, Mahatmas? Why do their words become amogha? Amogha means infallible. Once they say something, it has to happen. There is no difference between God and His devotees.

Because what do you think? Devotees are thinking always only about God. And what do you think God is thinking about? Only His devotees. God is thinking about His devotees, devotees are thinking about God.

The Magnetic Analogy

Because when God thinks about devotees, what does it mean? It means when a clean iron piece approaches a powerful magnet, will there be any difference between them? Immediately they will unite. Why? Because the devotee emptied himself or herself, so God has to come.

This is the analogy we give: this room - you want to keep something very huge. How can you keep it? You have to vacate all these things. So also our hearts - we are telling God, "Please come." You know how you are calling? Through meditation.

What is meditation? "You come and sit in my heart. I want to contemplate." You are calling. He is also saying, "Yes, I want to come." What is the problem? You have bolted the door and locked it a hundred times. And then you say, "Welcome, welcome, I want to see you."

He says he is knocking, and you are also shouting. But he cannot come. How can anybody come if you don't open the door? What is that door? That locked door is lack of bhakti. Formally you can do rituals, this, that, worship. But that's what everybody is doing.

The Nature of Our Prayers

So do you want God? For God's sake, do you want God, or are you wanting to obtain something from him? Selfish love. Tirupati Venkateshwara, Sathya Sai Baba - why do you think millions of people are visiting Sathya Sai Baba? Do they go and say to him, "I want bhakti, I want viveka, I want vairāgya"? They are suffering from some disease or some want, and they have faith that if he blesses, then they will get relief. That's all.

Even with God, nobody calls for God.

The Story of the Old Woman and Death

There was a village where there was an old woman, a very poor woman. She used to go into the forest, collect firewood and come back. One day she saw a lot of firewood lying there. In her greed, she bundled it. But she was unable to lift it up. She tried many times but could not lift it up.

At last she got very tired and said, "O death, Yamadharma Raja, when are you going to come?"

For the first time, Yamadharma Raja heard somebody calling him, "Please come." So he came running and said, "Mother, what can I do for you?"

"Please help me lift this bundle onto my head."

So we are calling on God - because of our love for him or because of our necessity, where he is the supplier? He knows it. But if you call sincerely, he will grant that also, according to your karma. He won't give it outright, otherwise you won't be able to bear it.

The Analogy of Mother and Child

We also do this unconsciously. Say, if you see a small child saying, "I am very hungry, give me food," how much food will you give to a baby? The baby wants more: "No, no, no, you are giving me less." Why? Because jealousy starts. Suppose he is sitting with his elder brother and mother is serving this much for the elder brother. This fellow says, "What is this partiality? You are giving my elder brother so much and you are giving me only this much."

How can he understand? How can the mother explain to him? "Your capacity to eat is only this much. So I know how much will fill your stomach." But that fellow doesn't understand: "You are giving more to my elder brother and very less to me."

Many times it happens, you know. Laddū is preferred. Mother gives one full laddū to the elder brother and breaks it into small pieces and gives it to the small child. He gets very angry: "No, throw it away, I don't want it. You gave him full laddū, so you have to give me full only."

The mother understands. So she goes inside, prepares a small laddū the same size and then serves. Why? Because broken we don't want - we want full. So now the child is not seeing that his big laddū and mine is small laddū. "I want full, I don't want any less." This is human nature.

So then he is very happy: "I am also getting full laddū." "How many laddūs have you eaten?" "I have eaten one laddū." "How many laddūs have you eaten?" "I have eaten one laddū." But if the same is in a broken format, he doesn't feel it. It's purely psychological. We are all like that.

The Unity of God and Devotee

So a devotee is the closest being to God. In fact there is no difference between them. Why? Because accepting that there is a body and mind, the devotee will not think "I am the body" or "I am the mind." He thinks "I am divine, I am a child of God." That's what he thinks.

The Story of the Childless Devotee

Sometimes a devotee is more powerful than God. There is a story. What happened? There was a devotee of God, and he had everything except children. He was married but had no children. He was praying.

Lord Vishnu came, and then the devotee prostrated: "Pranāms unto you, Lord. Only one small lack - I don't have children. Me and my wife, we want children."

God looked at them and said, "In this life, you don't deserve any children. It is not in your fate to have children."

So one devotee was witnessing this. God himself said, "From the horse's own mouth, you are not going to have children." What hope is there?

So several years - some 15-20 years - passed. This devotee who witnessed this scene again happened to visit that devotee's house. This time he saw 5-6 children running here and there, playing. He said, "Whose children are these?"

"My children."

The devotee was stunned because he heard God himself saying, "You are not fated to have children." Then he ran to Lord Vishnu. He said, "Lord, Lord, I witnessed that day. I heard from your own mouth that he is not going to have any children."

Then Lord Vishnu smiled and said, "What can I do? Once my devotee Narada visited this devotee's house. And with full bhakti, the devotee respected him, revered him, worshipped him, fed him, served him. And Narada was pleased. So [Narada said], 'May you have many good children. Be blessed.'

"Now, my words can be false, but I will not allow my devotee's words to become false."

The Parallel in Mahabharata

The same thing happened in Mahabharata also. Lord Krishna had taken a vow: "I will not take up any weapon." Bhishma heard that Lord Krishna took a vow: "I will not take up a weapon. I will give advice - free advice in advisory capacity - and be a charioteer."

Charioteer means here buddhi. Buddhi means we are all guided by our understanding. So if the understanding is given by the Lord himself, then we will never go wrong. We will always be happy. All our problems are because of buddhi-nāśa.

So the Mahabharata war was going on. Bhishma took a vow: "I will see that you will take up a weapon." And one day he promised Duryodhana - because Duryodhana accused him that "you are partial to Pandavas, that's why you are not really showing your prātāpa" (prowess).

Bhishma was stung and said, "Tomorrow you will see my prātāpa." And then he was killing right and left and nobody could stand. Arjuna was nothing.

Krishna saw: "If Bhishma is allowed to destroy, then there is no hope for Pandavas. The only way is he has to take his chakra." He got down and took the chakra.

Immediately Bhishma came down, prostrated and said, "O Lord, how gracious you are. You are ready to give up your vow, but you will not allow your devotee's vow to be unfulfilled." This is called Bhagavat-prīti.

The Nature of Devotees' Words

So there is absolutely no difference between God and his devotees. Therefore, whatever they think, they are satyasaṅkalpa, satyakāma. Satyakāma means they desire only what is true, and they also give only what is good. Whatever saṅkalpa comes from them, it will be fulfilled. Why? Because they never tell a lie in their life.

That is why Ramakrishna used to say: "He who can observe truthfulness for twelve years - after that, whatever comes out of their mouth, it will be fulfilled."

But then one thing you have to understand: they will never desire anything that a person doesn't deserve, because only God will work through them.

The Unity Formula

So tasmin taj-jane - tasmin means in God and his children, his devotees. Taj-jana - people belonging to God. Bheda-abhāvāt - there is no difference.

See, loving parents - simple example: husband and wife in a family, very loving. If the wife says to somebody, "I will give it to you," and the husband comes and learns his wife promised something to somebody, do you think he will not fulfill it? Because it is a matter of family prestige. Otherwise people will come to know both of them are quarrelsome, they are not loving each other.

So anything - if your son promises something, he will fulfill it. And if you promise something, your son also will fulfill that. That is how families run.

So tasmin taj-jane bheda-abhāvāt - therefore, the company of holy people is equivalent to the company of God only. Because they know nothing except God. Whatever they think is God, whatever they talk is God, whatever they do is only for God.

Stories of Devotion

The Story of Raghunath Das

There is a beautiful incident in the Gospel. There was one Raghunath Das, a very great devotee. He was a soldier and was a devotee of Sri Rama. All the time he would be chanting God's name, but he would be fighting also.

One day, from his own side, a Muslim man came and stabbed him when he was doing kīrtana. He was unaware of it - he stabbed him, and he was on his deathbed.

Soon after that, other soldiers came and asked him, "Sir, tell us who stabbed you, so that we will finish him."

You know what he replied? "It is only Rama who stabbed me." Sri Ramakrishna narrates this: "Rama who stabbed me."

The Story of Rama and the Frog

A funny story also was there. You know, Rama and Lakshmana were in search of Sita. So they went to Pampa Sarovar, and they were very thirsty. They wanted to drink water.

So Rama put his kodaṇḍa (bow) in the earth. They went, had their drink, and when they came back, Rama was shocked because blood was flowing from the tip of where he put it - blood was coming out. He understood some creature must have been there.

So he removed it. There was a frog. So he said, "Hey, why did you not shout?"

The frog replied, "Oh Rama, when others want to kill me, I call 'Rama, Rama.' When Rama himself wants to kill me, whose name shall I take?"

You know what is the answer? "You take God's name only."

So there is no difference between God and his devotees.

Ramakrishna's Vision

That is why Sri Ramakrishna understood something very, very important. One day he was sitting in Radhakanta temple. (Do you want to visit? Where do you want to go? Dakshineswar. So there are three temples: Shiva temple, twelve temples, Radhakrishna temple, and of course, Mother Kali's temple.)

So Sri Ramakrishna was one day sitting in the corner of the Radhakrishna temple where Bhagavata Pandit was reciting Bhagavata. Sri Ramakrishna was almost in a semi-conscious state. Suddenly he had a vision.

A ray of light was coming from the lotus feet of Bhagavan Krishna, touching the Bhagavatam, came and touched Sri Ramakrishna's heart and went back to the feet of Krishna.

So from that day he was apt to say, "Bhagavata, Bhakta, Bhagavan" - there is no difference between Bhagavan, Bhakta and Bhagavata. Where there is Bhagavata, there is Bhagavan and there is Bhakta. Where there is Bhakta, there will be Bhagavan and Bhagavata. Where there is Bhagavan, there will be Bhakta and Bhagavata. Three in one, one in three. That is the truth.

Narada's Teaching: Tadeva Sādhyatam

Therefore, what does Narada want to say? Tadeva sādhyatam, tadeva sādhyatam - twice Narada is repeating.

Tat, eva, sādhyatam - two meanings are given. Tat means "that alone should be achieved, that alone should be striven for."

What does "that" mean? Two interpretations are there. One interpretation is bhakti - Bhagavat-bhakti alone has to be striven for. That should be our goal.

But a better translation, better interpretation would be mahat-saṅgaḥ - you strive by praying to God, etc., to obtain the company of Mahatmas. To obtain the company of Mahatmas. Because the Mahatmas are much more gracious than God himself.

Why Mahatmas are More Accessible

It is very difficult to please God directly. But devotees? Somebody asked, "Does God answer all prayers?" One of our swamis said, "Yes, every prayer he answers. Most of the time the answer is 'No.'" "I want money" - "No." "I want position" - "No." "I want to pass this exam" - "No, no, no."

Because if he grants what we don't deserve, then we will be ruined. Every politician runs to Tirupati Venkateshwar: "I want to win." And if God says "Yes, yes," he has problems. Both opposite party candidates are praying for the same thing. Even God cannot make both win.

So he has to say no. If he is clever: "Okay, this election I will make you win, next election I will make the other people win." Because people have paraspara-viruddha (mutually contradictory) desires.

Why? Because the resources of this world are not infinite. Now we are realizing even sunlight is not infinite. The sun is slowly dying.

Immediately, you know: "Oh my God, when is he going to die? In the next five years, ten years?" No, no, no, no. A few billion years it will take. But it is slowly dying. That is the nature of anything that comes into being - it has to die.

The Importance of Holy Company

So tadeva sādhyatam - twice Narada is repeating: "Don't forget." What is it? Strive to obtain the grace of Mahapurushas, Mahatmas. Because once you attain the company of Mahatmas, your bhakti is guaranteed. You will have to get bhakti - there is no other way.

Kṣaṇam api sajjana-saṅgati eka

Bhavati bhava-arṇava-taraṇe naukā

Beautiful śloka. One minute of company of the sajjanas will become the greatest speedboat to take us across the ocean of samsāra. It is true. So, just one minute.

The Story of Triliṅga Swami

Sri Ramakrishna illustrates this with a beautiful incident. One man went to Varanasi. There was a great soul called Triliṅga Swami. And this man, a very sincere devotee, had a question: "Swami, when can I see God? And what happens when I have darshan of God?" Two questions.

So the Swami did not answer for a few minutes. Then suddenly he started weeping, sobbing. The visitor was stunned. There were other people also watching him. They didn't understand: "What is this? This man asked a question and this man is sobbing."

After a few minutes, he started laughing so joyfully. The other man made śāṣṭāṅga praṇāms and said, "Thank you for the answer."

What is the answer? If anybody can weep for God like that, then he will obtain the darshan of God. Once he gets the darshan of God, he will be as joyful, blissful, as the Swami has shown.

So Ramakrishna, referring to this incident, was telling: "If that man had not put that question, and if the Swami had not answered that way, that man would never have got answers to his questions."

So this is the greatness of Mahatmas. They are capable of seeing our future. They can see what problems we have, what obstructions, what is obstructing our spiritual progress. But for that, we have to be 100% sincere, and we have to be ready to receive their grace.

The Problem of Insincerity

Everybody comes and asks, "Give me instructions. Tell me." And real Mahatmas are not going to answer you. Because you are equipped with two ears - this is the reason we are not sincere. We are not wanting the answer. We feel we have to talk something.

So if it is a worldly person, we talk worldly nonsense. If we go to Mahatmas, we think we should talk something spiritual.

One fellow came to me one day and said, "Swami, I have a small question." It was time for me to go and eat food. "Yes, one small question." I was ready to answer, and he said, "What is this question? How can I attain nirvikalpa samādhi?" Very small question!

I said, "Do you want instantaneous samadhi or do you want it after many, many janmas? Which answer do you want?"

He said, "What is the difference?"

"Difference is, if I tell you the process, then you have to do japa, dhyana, tapasya, meditation for several lives. At the end of it, you will get it. What is instantaneous? I will just take a big rod and give you one blow. Immediate samadhi!"

See, people go on asking. That's what we are asking also: "Give me bhakti."

He says, "How can I give you bhakti? There is no place for bhakti in your heart. You have filled your heart with all sorts of love." All sorts of love, not for God. A little bit for the house, a little bit for the car, a little bit for money, a little bit for family. That is what we have - attachment. That is called love.

We have love - we love money, we love our body, we love our family, we love everything - but there is very little place for love of God. He wants to come. We are also saying we want him to come, but we are not ready for him to come. We have to empty the whole thing. We have to vacate everything, because you can't fit a big thing into a small room which is filled with all sorts of things.

The Need for Purification: Yama and Niyama

People are unable to understand. That is why yama and niyama. What is yama and niyama? You all have heard about it.

Yama is vacating all the non-godly things already in the room. What is niyama? Clean the place so that it would be a fit place for God to come. Then only.

You can't invite a gentleman and then show him the toilet and say, "I kept one chair there, and I will serve you some snacks and some coffee." Will any one of us do that? If at all any place is dirty, before the person comes, we want to at least... all the dirt will go underneath the carpet for the time being. Otherwise, he will not come and he will not stay.

The Story of the Poor Devotee and the King

Ramakrishna illustrates this very beautifully. There was a kingdom, there was a king, and there was a poor man. That poor man had tremendous bhakti for the king, and the king knew it.

So one day the poor man invited: "Raja, if you visit my home, I will consider my life blessed."

The king loved him. He said, "Yes, I will come to visit." So he fixed a date.

Two, three days before, the king sent his servants to clean the street and then to pitch a tent with his own provisions - what he was accustomed to eat, his own cook and utensils, whatever was necessary, and some servants.

So the next day when he went, the chair was ready (which came from the palace only), and everything was tip-top. The raja cannot be expected to use what the poor man has - the poor man doesn't have anything.

So he visited, he sat down: "Bah, I am so happy you made such beautiful arrangements. How could you do that?"

He was wondering, but all arrangements were made by whom? Only by himself. Then he appreciated the poor man and then he also rewarded him and came back.

So why did the king do that? Because he knew the poor man was very sincere, but he couldn't afford such arrangements.

Saying this, Ramakrishna is telling: "When God bestows his grace, first he will send his servants to clean the whole place, to arrange the place and make the seat ready for God to come."

You know who are the servants? Viveka, vairāgya, śamādamādi ṣaṭka-sampatti, mumukṣutva, bhakti, jñāna - all these are the servants.

Ramakrishna used to say also: "Just before the sun rises, the whole horizon becomes pink - uṣākāla we call it. So just before God-realization, tremendous faith, viveka, vairagya, bhakti, jñāna, ekāgratā, śraddhā - all these good qualities flood in. What do they do? They clean and wipe everything and get it ready for the Lord of the Universe to come."

So we have to pray not for God's grace now - we have to pray for these servants to come. And that will come by the company of great people.

The Parable of the Beggar and the King

Rabindranath Tagore - have you heard about Rabindranath Tagore? Marvelous poems, especially Gītāñjali - it got a Nobel Prize award. There's one beautiful... I can never forget that poem.

One day, there was a beggar in a place. Every day he used to go and beg. People would give a little bit of rice, a little bit of food, food materials, sometimes curry, sometimes some sweets, whatever there was. Very poor fare, so he begs.

So one day, early morning, he started. The moment he stepped outside, he saw the golden chariot of the king of that country.

The beggar was thinking within his mind: "Today, whose face have I seen first in the morning - what great good fortune! Today, the king himself has come. I will never be able to meet him, but he is coming my way. Surely he will see me, surely he will give me something, and when a king gives, it will be kingly gifts."

So with the greatest hope, my heart filled to the brim with the greatest hope, he was hurrying towards him. And he was also hurrying towards me.

The chariot came near me, and then I stood there. The king, to my astonishment, got down and was coming towards me. The nearer he was coming to me, the more my heart was leaping in hope and joy.

He came near me - who can describe the state of my mind? He came near me, put his hands out like that and said, "What will you give me?"

I was shocked - instead of him giving me, he is asking me, "What will you give me?" I cannot refuse my king. So I searched in my bag - it was already full of these grains. I took the littlest grain. I was terribly disappointed. The littlest grain that I could see in my bag, begging bowl, and gave it to him.

He accepted it, smiled at me, and slowly went back into his chariot, and the chariot disappeared.

You can imagine what was my terrible disappointment. So I went to a few houses, got something, came home. With the greatest disappointment, I emptied my bag.

Suddenly I became awake. What did I see? One little golden grain!

I said, "You fool, why did you not give the whole bag into the king's hands?"

What a beautiful poem, you know. So what does that mean? "You give me what you have, I will give you what I have. If you don't give me, how are you going to get from me?"

But you know, this person never understood. "I wept. Why did I not have that buddhi to empty my whole bag? Today I would have been a king in my own right."

And this is the truth. We don't want to give to... When we go to God, what do we give? The smallest thing that is possible.

Stories of Proper Devotion

Swami Adbhutananda's Lesson on Offerings

Astonishing - this is what we do. I will illustrate it. Swami Adbhutanandaji, Sri Ramakrishna's disciple, was at Varanasi. He knew some devotees in Calcutta. One day a devotee from Calcutta came, and Maharaj was very happy to see him.

The devotee said, "Maharaj, I have brought some things for Mother Annapurna. Can we go there and offer worship? Give these things."

So Latu Maharaj joyfully accompanied. On the way he said, "Let me see what things you have brought." The man had brought a sari for Mother Annapurna.

Latu Maharaj sighed, opened it, and said, "Do you know - is this what you want to give to the Mother of the Universe? Will you dare to give this to your mother and say, 'You wear this?' Because it will come only up to here - not a miniskirt! In those days, women didn't want to be seen. Even their face they didn't want others to see."

"So will you dare to buy this kind of thing for your own mother, and you want to offer it to the Divine Mother of the Universe who is giving you everything?"

I think on that occasion, or some other, another devotee came and said, "I have brought some offerings. Let us go." So Maharaj accompanied. Suddenly he said, "What have you brought?"

"A lot of fruits."

Latu Maharaj said, "Is this the way to offer to God? If you don't have money, don't bring so many fruits. Just bring one fruit, which is the very best available in the market. God doesn't see how much quantity you are giving. He says:

Patraṃ puṣpaṃ phalaṃ toyaṃ

yo me bhaktyā prayacchati

tad ahaṃ bhakty-upahṛtam

aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ

'Be it a leaf, or a flower, or a fruit - if nothing is available, just a bit of water - that's all. God doesn't need anything. He wants your devotion. Bhaktyā - yo me bhaktyā prayacchati - he who offers me with the greatest devotion, that is all I want.'"

A Modern Example of Devotional Marriage

So there are people who, either out of ignorance... You know how much they spend for their own daughters' marriages or these things - especially nowadays, these rich people spend crores and crores of rupees on all these useless things: drinks and dances, and everything immoral gets married in it. Why don't you do that?

I'll tell you about one devotee - what type of devotee of Sri Ramakrishna he was. The occasion came - there was one devotee, a Vivekananda devotee in the UK. He had a daughter and got her married. He decided, "I'm not going to spend money like others who spend 50,000, 100,000 pounds."

So he hired a town hall and ordered nice food. He invited people - he invited me also. Almost a thousand people came and filled up that hall.

And what was the marriage? He did not call any priest. Simply he called some devotees. It started with Vedic chanting, and after that there was a small puja. I did the ārati. Then I chanted these seven mantras.

There was a big photograph of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, Swamiji, and candles all around. "This is representative of Agni." And then they went seven times around - the daughter and her husband. And then I gave them those mantras: "You utter this mantra every time before Sri Ramakrishna. Utter this seven times. Prostrate before them. Prostrate before me. Take my blessings."

Afterwards, about one, one and a half hours - musical program. After that, food. The whole thing was finished within maybe 10,000 pounds like that.

Then you know what he did? He had allotted a budget of nearly 50,000 pounds for the marriage. Here, about 10,000 pounds. Rest of the 40,000 pounds, he donated to Ramakrishna Mission.

His philosophy - very rational man: "Why should I waste it, giving it to musicians and dancers and all those things? This is what we want. In front of Sri Ramakrishna, marriage vows are taken. Swamiji himself is present. Rest of the money - either it has to go to the newly married couple so that it will be a good beginning for them, or donate it. Best thing is donate it."

Since the daughter was also rich, "I don't need to give it to them. Let it go for poor people." He asked me, I suggested two, three centers. He sent that money to these two, three centers.

Then I told the devotees: "If you are devotees, you do this kind of marriage. What is this? This is all nonsense - drinking, dancing and all those things. Horrible."

Anyway, this is how people behave. There is nothing we can do.

The Single Goal of Life

Anyway, what are we talking about? Whole life is meant only for one thing - Sri Ramakrishna's words: "It is to develop love for God." This is the only goal of life.

How can we get it? Cultivate holy company. This is what Sri Ramakrishna's teachings and Narada Maharishi's teachings - there is not much difference. Only words are different, but exactly the same thing.

So cultivate satsaṅga. But on the other side, completely give up the company of worldly people - dussaṅga. What is dussaṅga? Whatever makes us forget God, whatever increases our worldliness, that is called dussaṅga.

"Sarvadā eva - early morning from 6 o'clock to 7 o'clock, I will avoid dussaṅga. Rest of the time, I will cultivate it."

What is dussaṅga? We are cultivating it. Reading the news - your mind gets disturbed. Today Modi is talking about somebody and somebody is talking about Modi. Every day it is the same news. Whoever wins, whoever loses, that is not the point.

What do people talk? Only two things: kāma and kāñcana (lust and gold). They don't talk anything else.

So any event, any company - whether it is a book, whether it is a movie, whether it is talking with somebody or listening to somebody - you give up that thing which will make you forget God. But on the contrary, it is a negative commandment. How can I give up? Cultivate holy company.

Just go and cultivate holy company. So these are some of the most important bhakti sādhanas. That is what Sri Ramakrishna is also telling.

The Five Commandments of Sri Ramakrishna

We come across five commandments of Sri Ramakrishna. That is what he is telling. Just a brief introduction I will give you.

Kāma-krodha-moha-saṅgāti bhraṃśa buddhi-nāśa kāraṇātmā

This has been outlined in the Bhagavad Gita:

Dhyāyato viṣayān puṃsaḥ

saṅgas teṣūpajāyate

saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ

kāmāt krodho 'bhijāyate

krodhād bhavati sammohaḥ

sammohāt smṛti-vibhramaḥ

smṛti-bhraṃśād buddhi-nāśo

buddhi-nāśāt praṇaśyati

This seven-stepped way to destruction. What is the first thing? Dhyāyato viṣayān - going on thinking, means going on seeing the advertisement: "How nice, how nice, how nice." And one day you go and get it: "How nice, how nice, how nice." And then after getting it: "This is the mantra - how nice, how nice."

"How nice this girl looks. How nice this girl looks. How nice this boy looks. How nice this boy looks." And then you go and get that girl or this boy. And then afterwards: "What a stupid fellow I am, what a stupid fellow I am, what a stupid fellow I am."

This drama is going on until death or divorce, whichever is first.

The True Purpose of Marriage

So I am not condemning marriage or anything. What I am saying is, if it is a good marriage, husband and wife both have to take these seven vows. This is called Saptapadī. This fire is lit - in the olden days, only fire was the medium through which worship was done to God. There were no temples or anything.

While going around, both husband and wife must take a vow: "O Lord, I am promising you, I am taking a vow that we will together help each other to reach you. And whatever money we earn, it will be in accordance with your instructions, and we will spend that money only in your service. And if we have children, we will try to bring them up so that they will also become devotees of God. And we will not leave each other until both of us reach your feet."

This is the essence of it. In Sanskrit, it doesn't matter - it is the essence of Saptapadī.

So marriage is meant as two pilgrims joining their forces, trying to help each other and reach the pilgrimage. It is an āśrama - āśrama means a place of rest. Journey towards what? Vānaprasthāśrama. And Vānaprasthāśrama is a journey towards Sannyāsāśrama. And Sannyāsāśrama is a journey towards God.

The Seven-Step Path to Destruction

So that is why this is a seven-stepped way to destruction. Go on thinking about an object. So advertisement is what? Go on thinking. Parayana is what? Thinking only about God.

So this kind of constant thinking - saṅga comes, saṅgāt sañjāyate - attachment comes. That means "I want to think - it is very pleasant." And out of saṅga comes kāma - desire: "I must have this."

And when the desire is frustrated, it turns into krodha - anger. Anger is always a sign - a frustrated desire is called krodha.

And this krodha, when it possesses us like a rākṣasa, will make us deluded. What is delusion? Viveka-buddhi will go. "What is right? What is wrong?" - that power of understanding is clouded.

And when that power is clouded, then smṛti-bhraṃśa will come. Smṛti means "this is my father, this is my mother, this is my child." When a person is angry, he beats his own child, anybody. He can kill his parents.

So the thing is, no son or daughter wants to kill their parents. But when krodha comes, he is not a child, he is not recognizing the father. This smṛti-bhraṃśa - that memory of "who is this person" - goes away.

So the mind becomes deluded in the wrong way. The function of buddhi is to get the right information, analyze it, come to a right conclusion. That buddhi doesn't function. Smṛti-bhraṃśād buddhi-nāśaḥ. Buddhi-nāśāt praṇaśyati.

That is what happens: kāma turns into krodha, krodha turns into moha, moha degenerates into smṛti-bhraṃśa, smṛti-bhraṃśa does not allow our buddhi to think properly - buddhi-nāśaḥ. Nāśāt praṇaśyati - it ultimately destroys.

What is destruction here? Destruction means our progress will be hampered for a long, long, long time. Nobody is going to die - no destruction is there. But it's as though a person has gone in the wrong direction for 500 miles, and afterwards he realizes it. Then he has to come back again 500 miles.

The Nature of Memory and Meditation

Somebody asked Holy Mother: "Ma, when I want to meditate, my mind suddenly remembers something. I don't want to remember it, but it comes. So why does it come?"

And Holy Mother gave a beautiful reply: "Suppose you take a thread - different colored threads - and go on making it into a ball like that. And then you complete it. Suddenly you remember, 'I have to take out that colored thread - it is necessary now.' Then what do you have to do? Unwind it."

That is smṛti. What is smṛti? We have done something, and that experience always remains in our brain in the form of memory. So naturally, now I want to meditate upon God, but all these accumulated saṃskāras, you know...

You know how it is? Suppose you decided one day: "I want to have very nice meditation, nice room." So you clean that small room. But surrounding that room, all your garbage is lying, sewage. You cleaned the room, but the sewage smell is coming into the room. You cleaned that room, but you have not cleaned the surroundings.

So our meditation is like cleaning the present moment, but all the garbage of janma-janmāntara - you may cover it up, but the smell you cannot avoid. That is our problem. It is not the present problem - our problem is the past problem, accumulated past problems.

We will also discuss these beautiful things in meditation.

Closing Prayer