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Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 172 on 08-September-2026

2026-09-09T04:46:32Z

Bhama:

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''<nowiki>'</nowiki>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!'''
[[Category:Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna]]

Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 172 on 08-September-2026

2026-09-09T04:45:20Z

Bhama: Created page with "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 || == Closing Prayer == ''Om Jānānāṃ Śā..."

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 ||

== 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!'''
[[Category:Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.11-12 Lecture 66 on 06 September 2026 Q&A

2026-09-09T04:37:04Z

Bhama:

== [https://pub-0536a4be5dcf4ea9890169f5da0ca6a9.r2.dev/April%202026%20onwards/Brihadaranyaka%20Upanishad/Q%26A%2066%20Brihadaranyaka%20Upanishad%20%20On%206%20September%202026%20.mp3 Link to Audio] ==

==Discussion on Consciousness, Duality, and Universal Love==
===Question: Understanding the Consciousness of Natural Elements vs. Individual Beings===
'''Participant:''' When I am reading through this, when I am understanding we have the natural elements – the five natural elements that we call. Now, can I understand that their consciousness or their intelligence is so pure that we are not able to identify? Whereas, as an individual like Gopi, the consciousness, the intelligence is so impure that I have to make it pure, like in the mind. Is that how I should consider?
===The Root of All Problems: The Sense of Separateness===
'''Response (Maharaj):''' Yeah, we have to say: all problems come because I think "I am not you."

'''Participant:''' Okay.

'''Response:''' You follow: "I am not you" means I am not any one of you, anything of this. I am an individual, and that's it, OK? And that creates – I like somebody, I dislike somebody, and I desire something and I don't desire something. All these problems arise because of this duality.
===Example: A Mother's Universal Love===
'''Response:''' Yes, like a mother – if she has got, say, five or six children. Her motherly love will not divide itself. That is called universal love, isn't it?

'''Participant:''' Yes.

'''Response:''' So she will not distinguish, but the children may distinguish: "This is me. This is my brother – I hate him. This is my sister – I don't want to go to heaven if she is also coming," and all those things. So what am I talking about? It is because of thinking "I am separate from everything else," all these problems arise.
===The Process of Transcending Differentiation===
'''Response:''' So how to get rid of this differentiation? Make the whole thing "me" – one universal consciousness. That is the teaching.

That is called: slowly you give up your Annamaya Kosha differentiation. Then, so far as bodies are concerned, you see only one body and all are coming only from Pranamaya Kosha. Then you see all the ''pranas'' – my ''prana'', your ''prana'', any ''prana''. Do you follow?

'''Participant:''' Yes.

'''Response:''' Then say what you call love comes only for the ''prana''. Then slowly ascend to its cause, which is the mind, then Buddhi, then Ananda. And when everything is one, there is no differentiation. My Ananda also becomes one unbroken bliss – no past, no present, and no future. So in a sense, what is it? I have to somehow transcend this duality, and that process of transcendence is called spiritual struggle.
===Question: Practicing Constant Remembrance===
'''Participant:''' Okay Maharaj, so constantly remembering every moment – initially to practice around this?
===The Danger of Thinking of God as a Separate Individual===
'''Response:''' So that's why I will tell you something very briefly. When a person claims "I am a devotee" and that person starts thinking about God, he starts thinking only that God also as an individual. His sense of individuality has not disappeared. So whether he looks at his neighbor or at God, both are only separate individuals. Yes.

Ahh, that is why he looks up: "God is somewhere in Vaikuntha or Kailasa or in Mecca." That is the problem. What we should do is: if I am thinking of God, I should automatically say, "It is the same God who has created me, who created my neighbor."

'''Participant:''' Same God.
===The Teaching: Thinking of God Means Thinking of the Whole Creation===
'''Response:''' Therefore, both of us are nothing but brothers. Should we not look upon each other equally? Yes. That part, somehow we forget. We only try to remember: "God is separate. I think I pray to Him. He will only give me." So sometimes this jealousy works so badly. If God gives me, because of my prayers, 100 crores, and by any mistake or chance if God gives 200 crores to my neighbor, what happens? I start cursing God: "What right have you got to give? My neighbor is not a devotee, he is not praying to you, and yet you are giving so many things to him. At least I'm calling upon you, isn't it?"

'''Participant:''' Yes, yes Maharaj.
===Conclusion: Thinking of God Means Connecting with the Whole Creation===
'''Response:''' So what I'm talking about is: thinking of God means thinking of the whole creation. We have to connect. That is the idea. And that is, in normal simple words, in philosophical language, it is called morality.
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.10-11 Lecture 65 on 05 September 2026 Q&A

2026-09-09T04:36:27Z

Bhama:

== [https://pub-0536a4be5dcf4ea9890169f5da0ca6a9.r2.dev/April%202026%20onwards/Brihadaranyaka%20Upanishad/Q%20%26%20A%2065%20Brihadaranyaka%20Upanishad%20%20On%205%20September%20%202026%20.mp3 Link to Audio] ==

==Discussion on AI, Language, and Discriminative Power (Viveka)==
===Question: How Do We Know If Our Thoughts Are Externally Influenced or Aligned with Scriptures?===
'''Speaker 1 :''' I was recently listening to one of the lectures you had recommended about Harari – Yuval Harari.

'''Speaker 2:''' Yeah.

'''Speaker 1:''' So in that, he was talking about how the language tokens become the easiest for AI to adapt to.

'''Speaker 2:''' Correct.

'''Speaker 1:''' And speech is everything.

'''Speaker 2:''' Correct. Humans – correct. Correct. And for the AI, that's like sweet meat. And that's how it has already started influencing our thought process in the society. So how do we – how do we know whether what we are thinking is externally influenced, or we are thinking in accordance with the scriptures only?
===The Power of Language and AI===
'''Speaker 2:''' So what is language? Our speech put in a particular way. That is why language makes human beings the greatest animal on earth. He can communicate with and convey, share that knowledge with anybody. And that is what he is doing.

What is AI? It shares that knowledge. Where from has that knowledge come? All the books, all the speeches – that is called data. All that data is being consumed by it, and it keeps it in memory. And so it collates everything, and then if somebody puts a question, it is trying to give the relevant answer. Okay.
===Social Media and Spiritual Influence===
'''Speaker 1:''' Yes.

'''Speaker 2:''' So now, are we influenced by language or not?

'''Speaker 1:''' Absolutely.

'''Speaker 2:''' What is the social media doing? It is influencing each one of us.

'''Speaker 1:''' Yes.

'''Speaker 2:''' And so we are also influenced in a spiritual way by reading, by hearing the outpourings of wise people, rishis. Okay. Yeah, yes, ma'am. So some people are not interested in it. So our receptive capacity and believing capacity – that influences what we choose to believe. And what we believe is nothing but the thoughts. What is speech? Thought made manifest is called speech. Speech translated into language, yes. And that language is nothing but – finally, when you read something, corresponding thoughts arise in our minds, yeah. And those thoughts can influence us – are influencing us. That is called algorithms.
===The Importance of Manana (Reflection)===
'''Speaker 2:''' Now what I wanted to convey to you: God has given us ''viveka'' – discriminating power. We are not only supposed to hear through our ears; we are supposed to think about it. The ''manana'' process is lacking. After this is all ''shravana''. Even if you are reading a book, that is called ''shravana'' – ''shravana'' only – through language, you are hearing somebody's thoughts.

'''Speaker 1:''' Yes.

'''Speaker 2:''' And so, simply swallowing it without thinking – that is a dangerous thing. So that is what the algorithm is trying to do: "Don't think, just open your ears. I will pour into you. Take it as gospel truth and do what I am ordering you to do."
===The Four Steps of Discriminative Inquiry===
'''Speaker 2:''' So we are recommended in every case – worldly knowledge or spiritual knowledge, whatever be the shape of the knowledge – you just listen to it and start ''manana'':

1. First of all, is it true or not? 2. Secondly, is it for me or not? 3. Thirdly, is it useful for me or not? 4. Fourthly, how can I use it to make myself a better person, a happier person?

So this is very important. ''Manana'' and then ''nidhidhyasana'' must follow – whether it is worldly knowledge, not only spiritual knowledge. Even if a scientist tells you – Buddha said that – even if Buddha says, even if the Veda says – don't believe it; don't say "because I tell you." You listen, but you think over it, and it must make you a better person. That is the final test.
===Practical Advice on Using AI and Social Media===
'''Speaker 2:''' So AI is an instrument. So never blame any instrument. Try to see how you can use it for a better purpose. OK, yeah, so that is what I think we have to understand. Then we can clearly escape: "How much time I have to spend over this WhatsApp, over this stupid, stupid – what is called – other social medias?" Yeah, we are destroying our lives. That is why governments are forced to – now they're waking up and forcing them. They are putting bans everywhere. But we are grown-up people who have to put a ban on ourselves. Yeah, for our own good, right? That is possible only if there is ''manana''.
===Conclusion: AI as a Helpful Tool===
'''Speaker 2:''' So in that order – listen, there may be good things. AI also can help me enormously, like transliteration, etc. So what is wrong with it? Do it, yeah.
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.11-12 Lecture 66 on 06 September 2026 Q&A

2026-09-09T04:32:43Z

Bhama: Created page with "Link to Audio ==Discussion on Consciousness, Duality, and Universal Love== ===Question: Understanding the Consciousness of Natural Elements vs. Individual Beings=== '''Participant:''' When I am reading through this, when I am understanding we have the natural elements – the five natural elements that we call. Now, can I understand that their consciousness or their intelligence is so pure that we are not able to identify? Whereas, as an individual like Gopi, the consci..."

Link to Audio

==Discussion on Consciousness, Duality, and Universal Love==
===Question: Understanding the Consciousness of Natural Elements vs. Individual Beings===
'''Participant:''' When I am reading through this, when I am understanding we have the natural elements – the five natural elements that we call. Now, can I understand that their consciousness or their intelligence is so pure that we are not able to identify? Whereas, as an individual like Gopi, the consciousness, the intelligence is so impure that I have to make it pure, like in the mind. Is that how I should consider?
===The Root of All Problems: The Sense of Separateness===
'''Response (Maharaj):''' Yeah, we have to say: all problems come because I think "I am not you."

'''Participant:''' Okay.

'''Response:''' You follow: "I am not you" means I am not any one of you, anything of this. I am an individual, and that's it, OK? And that creates – I like somebody, I dislike somebody, and I desire something and I don't desire something. All these problems arise because of this duality.
===Example: A Mother's Universal Love===
'''Response:''' Yes, like a mother – if she has got, say, five or six children. Her motherly love will not divide itself. That is called universal love, isn't it?

'''Participant:''' Yes.

'''Response:''' So she will not distinguish, but the children may distinguish: "This is me. This is my brother – I hate him. This is my sister – I don't want to go to heaven if she is also coming," and all those things. So what am I talking about? It is because of thinking "I am separate from everything else," all these problems arise.
===The Process of Transcending Differentiation===
'''Response:''' So how to get rid of this differentiation? Make the whole thing "me" – one universal consciousness. That is the teaching.

That is called: slowly you give up your Annamaya Kosha differentiation. Then, so far as bodies are concerned, you see only one body and all are coming only from Pranamaya Kosha. Then you see all the ''pranas'' – my ''prana'', your ''prana'', any ''prana''. Do you follow?

'''Participant:''' Yes.

'''Response:''' Then say what you call love comes only for the ''prana''. Then slowly ascend to its cause, which is the mind, then Buddhi, then Ananda. And when everything is one, there is no differentiation. My Ananda also becomes one unbroken bliss – no past, no present, and no future. So in a sense, what is it? I have to somehow transcend this duality, and that process of transcendence is called spiritual struggle.
===Question: Practicing Constant Remembrance===
'''Participant:''' Okay Maharaj, so constantly remembering every moment – initially to practice around this?
===The Danger of Thinking of God as a Separate Individual===
'''Response:''' So that's why I will tell you something very briefly. When a person claims "I am a devotee" and that person starts thinking about God, he starts thinking only that God also as an individual. His sense of individuality has not disappeared. So whether he looks at his neighbor or at God, both are only separate individuals. Yes.

Ahh, that is why he looks up: "God is somewhere in Vaikuntha or Kailasa or in Mecca." That is the problem. What we should do is: if I am thinking of God, I should automatically say, "It is the same God who has created me, who created my neighbor."

'''Participant:''' Same God.
===The Teaching: Thinking of God Means Thinking of the Whole Creation===
'''Response:''' Therefore, both of us are nothing but brothers. Should we not look upon each other equally? Yes. That part, somehow we forget. We only try to remember: "God is separate. I think I pray to Him. He will only give me." So sometimes this jealousy works so badly. If God gives me, because of my prayers, 100 crores, and by any mistake or chance if God gives 200 crores to my neighbor, what happens? I start cursing God: "What right have you got to give? My neighbor is not a devotee, he is not praying to you, and yet you are giving so many things to him. At least I'm calling upon you, isn't it?"

'''Participant:''' Yes, yes Maharaj.
===Conclusion: Thinking of God Means Connecting with the Whole Creation===
'''Response:''' So what I'm talking about is: thinking of God means thinking of the whole creation. We have to connect. That is the idea. And that is, in normal simple words, in philosophical language, it is called morality.
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.10-11 Lecture 65 on 05 September 2026 Q&A

2026-09-09T04:31:06Z

Bhama: Created page with "Link to Audio ==Discussion on AI, Language, and Discriminative Power (Viveka)== ===Question: How Do We Know If Our Thoughts Are Externally Influenced or Aligned with Scriptures?=== '''Speaker 1 :''' I was recently listening to one of the lectures you had recommended about Harari – Yuval Harari. '''Speaker 2:''' Yeah. '''Speaker 1:''' So in that, he was talking about how the language tokens become the easiest for AI to adapt to. '''Speaker 2:''' Correct. '''Speaker..."

Link to Audio

==Discussion on AI, Language, and Discriminative Power (Viveka)==
===Question: How Do We Know If Our Thoughts Are Externally Influenced or Aligned with Scriptures?===
'''Speaker 1 :''' I was recently listening to one of the lectures you had recommended about Harari – Yuval Harari.

'''Speaker 2:''' Yeah.

'''Speaker 1:''' So in that, he was talking about how the language tokens become the easiest for AI to adapt to.

'''Speaker 2:''' Correct.

'''Speaker 1:''' And speech is everything.

'''Speaker 2:''' Correct. Humans – correct. Correct. And for the AI, that's like sweet meat. And that's how it has already started influencing our thought process in the society. So how do we – how do we know whether what we are thinking is externally influenced, or we are thinking in accordance with the scriptures only?
===The Power of Language and AI===
'''Speaker 2:''' So what is language? Our speech put in a particular way. That is why language makes human beings the greatest animal on earth. He can communicate with and convey, share that knowledge with anybody. And that is what he is doing.

What is AI? It shares that knowledge. Where from has that knowledge come? All the books, all the speeches – that is called data. All that data is being consumed by it, and it keeps it in memory. And so it collates everything, and then if somebody puts a question, it is trying to give the relevant answer. Okay.
===Social Media and Spiritual Influence===
'''Speaker 1:''' Yes.

'''Speaker 2:''' So now, are we influenced by language or not?

'''Speaker 1:''' Absolutely.

'''Speaker 2:''' What is the social media doing? It is influencing each one of us.

'''Speaker 1:''' Yes.

'''Speaker 2:''' And so we are also influenced in a spiritual way by reading, by hearing the outpourings of wise people, rishis. Okay. Yeah, yes, ma'am. So some people are not interested in it. So our receptive capacity and believing capacity – that influences what we choose to believe. And what we believe is nothing but the thoughts. What is speech? Thought made manifest is called speech. Speech translated into language, yes. And that language is nothing but – finally, when you read something, corresponding thoughts arise in our minds, yeah. And those thoughts can influence us – are influencing us. That is called algorithms.
===The Importance of Manana (Reflection)===
'''Speaker 2:''' Now what I wanted to convey to you: God has given us ''viveka'' – discriminating power. We are not only supposed to hear through our ears; we are supposed to think about it. The ''manana'' process is lacking. After this is all ''shravana''. Even if you are reading a book, that is called ''shravana'' – ''shravana'' only – through language, you are hearing somebody's thoughts.

'''Speaker 1:''' Yes.

'''Speaker 2:''' And so, simply swallowing it without thinking – that is a dangerous thing. So that is what the algorithm is trying to do: "Don't think, just open your ears. I will pour into you. Take it as gospel truth and do what I am ordering you to do."
===The Four Steps of Discriminative Inquiry===
'''Speaker 2:''' So we are recommended in every case – worldly knowledge or spiritual knowledge, whatever be the shape of the knowledge – you just listen to it and start ''manana'':

1. First of all, is it true or not? 2. Secondly, is it for me or not? 3. Thirdly, is it useful for me or not? 4. Fourthly, how can I use it to make myself a better person, a happier person?

So this is very important. ''Manana'' and then ''nidhidhyasana'' must follow – whether it is worldly knowledge, not only spiritual knowledge. Even if a scientist tells you – Buddha said that – even if Buddha says, even if the Veda says – don't believe it; don't say "because I tell you." You listen, but you think over it, and it must make you a better person. That is the final test.
===Practical Advice on Using AI and Social Media===
'''Speaker 2:''' So AI is an instrument. So never blame any instrument. Try to see how you can use it for a better purpose. OK, yeah, so that is what I think we have to understand. Then we can clearly escape: "How much time I have to spend over this WhatsApp, over this stupid, stupid – what is called – other social medias?" Yeah, we are destroying our lives. That is why governments are forced to – now they're waking up and forcing them. They are putting bans everywhere. But we are grown-up people who have to put a ban on ourselves. Yeah, for our own good, right? That is possible only if there is ''manana''.
===Conclusion: AI as a Helpful Tool===
'''Speaker 2:''' So in that order – listen, there may be good things. AI also can help me enormously, like transliteration, etc. So what is wrong with it? Do it, yeah.
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.11-12 Lecture 66 on 06 September 2026

2026-09-09T04:25:59Z

Bhama:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.

''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते

पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.
==Introduction: The Creative Aspect of Brahman==
In our yesterday's class, we discussed Yājñavalkya teaching Maitreyī. There is only one cause from which every effect has come – the entire creation is that effect. For that purpose, he has given as an example for the creative aspect of ''Brahman'': when wet fuel is fed into fire, there would be smoke, there would be sparks, there would be also some sounds, etc., and spontaneously they come out.
===The Vedas Represent Knowledge===
Bhagavān is saying to us – Yājñavalkya is telling – that all the ''Vedas'' – why specially mention ''Veda''? ''Veda'' means knowledge. So knowledge comes to us in the form of ''vṛttis'' – thoughts – and thoughts are also expressed as words. When we speak a word, our mind, as soon as we hear that word, immediately gets that knowledge if we had previous knowledge of it. For example, as soon as we hear "this is a table," immediately the whole picture of the table springs into your mind. "This is so‑and‑so speaking" – immediately that whole person's personality springs into our mind.
===The Whole Universe Is Nāma and Rūpa===
So what does Yājñavalkya want to convey through this? The whole universe is nothing but ''nāma'' and ''rūpa'' – that is, different forms and correspondingly different names – and the knowledge of these objects is in the form of ''hṛdayajñānam'' – knowledge of thoughts. As soon as we hear any name, or as soon as we think "this is a table," you think of the table – the picture of the table as though it is outside in the world, outside you, outside me – springs to our mind. If you hear anybody speaking, "Oh, that table, this table" – immediately the whole picture of the table springs in our minds in the form of a thought.
===The Outpourings of Brahman===
So what are these ''Vedas'', ''Purāṇas'', ''Itihāsas'', ''Sūtras'', ''Vyākhyānas'', ''Anuvyākhyānas'', ''Mantras'', ''Ślokas'', ''Upaniṣads''? Quite elaborate description. They all have come out of the out‑breathings of ''Brahman'' – to indicate naturally. Not only that, to indicate that when we are alive, when we are breathing – breathing means to be alive – what happens? Breath is taken in, breath is thrown out, and again breath is taken in. It is a continuous cycle.
===The Brahma-cakra===
So also, this whole creation is nothing but a ''Brahma-cakra''. There is creation, there is for some time sustenance, then every effect goes back into its cause. Again, that cause produces effect. Not only at one time – every millisecond, how many creatures are born, and every millisecond how many creatures are living. Every millisecond how many creatures are dying. Dying means merging back into their cause. For example, our body, which is made up of the ''pañcabhūtas'' – five elements – goes back. The earthly part goes back to the earth, the watery part goes back to the water, the heat portion goes back into the fire, and the air part goes into the air, and whatever space remains within us – that goes to space.
===The Distance Between Atoms===
How vast is space? Some scientists describe it. Two atoms – if they are moving, at what distance are they? For that, he gives an ''upamā'', a simile: suppose two smallest mosquitoes start at the end of our galaxies – one from this end, one from the other end. What is the chance of these two atoms colliding with each other accidentally? Practically nil. That is the distance between one atom and the other atom. Even more shocking revelation of the truth is also expressed: suppose there are twin atoms – one is on the edge of this galaxy, another is on the edge of some other galaxy – whatever happens to this atom at this side, that is reflected in the other atom; whatever is in the other atom, whatever changes are reflected in this atom. How do they communicate over these vast, immeasurable distances? Only God knows.
===The Continuous Cycle===
But what is meant is the whole creation, sustenance, and going back – merging back – is a continuously ongoing phenomenon, and how many times? Billions and billions and trillions of times. When you look at it from the viewpoint of the species – how many mosquitoes, how many insects, how many microbes, how much bacteria – it is mind‑boggling: ''yato vāco nivartante, aprāpya manasā saha'' – "It is impossible for people like us even to imagine." It is impossible. But all this is happening because of that one infinite being that is called ''Brahman'', and the outpourings of everything – it is happening all over His creation.
===The Three Points===
So what is the point we have to learn?
#Creation on our part is a very intense labour‑process method, but on the part of Bhagavān – even when we are sleeping, are we aware? Do we make effort to breathe in and breathe out? As simple as that. So Bhagavān is creating – very easy. "Easy" means no effort is needed. It is like ''līlā''.
#The second point we have to understand is: at the same time, from one point of view, all this creation, sustenance, and going back are happening. From the highest point of view, no creation is ever going to take place.
#Third point: when did this creation start? Because it is coexistent with ''Brahman''. Why is it so? Because our limited mind – extremely limited mind – can never grasp, can never go beyond time. Time means limitation. Without going beyond the limitations of time, space, and object, it is impossible to find out the origin. That is why ''sṛṣṭi'' – creation – or this entire creative process, including sustenance and going back – the entire thing is called creation. That is called ''anādi'' – ''na ādi'' – "there is no beginning." And that which has no beginning cannot have an end either. This is an eternal process.
===The Real Answer===
Then a question comes: if this is true, first of all, how do we know that when we attain to that state of self‑knowledge, we are going to remain forever unchanging? Well, that is what the scriptures tell – we have to understand. But the real answer is: we have never been created. All this talk about creation, sustenance, and merging back is only thoughts – limited, ignorant thoughts – in our own minds. Advaita Vedānta crystal‑clearly reveals that it is only seeming, not real. Nothing happens to ''Brahman''. The Infinite can never become finite. Then how do we explain it? Because our limited minds, when it thinks of God, it cannot think of ''Brahman'' – it can only think of the act of creation, etc. Why? Because we are seemingly experiencing it, even if it is not true. And how do we know it is not true? Because when we wake up from a dream, the dream crystal‑clearly points out to us that at the time of dreaming, it appears to be absolutely real – the only reality. As soon as we wake up, "This is just my imagination." What do you mean by "imagination"? It is not reality.
===The Three Examples===
So just as Bhagavān is creation – to indicate this, three examples are given: the sounds – common sounds – of a drum, of a conch, and of a ''vīṇā''. This is all to make us understand.
==The Sustenance Aspect – The One Source of All==
In our last class, we have seen in fact as sustenance – what is that sustenance? We have talked about that it goes like this: everything is an ''āyatanam''. We have discussed it elaborately. Just to recollect what we discussed: ''sa yathā sarvasām apāṃ samudraḥ eka-ayanam'' – "Just as the ocean is the one source from which every type of water has come" – whether it is rain, whether it is drizzling, whether it is a stream – every droplet of water – the origin is only from the ocean. And that process we also discussed.
===The Sense Organs as One Source===
Similarly, all the touches – the only way we experience touches is when our skin, the organ of touch, is functioning. We can only smell only when our nostrils are functioning. That is why when we have a good strong cold, then we cannot smell much. Similarly, whatever we taste, whatever the eyes see, whatever the ears hear, whatever thoughts the mind thinks, whatever ''saṅkalpa'' – determinations – that is done by the mind. Similarly, every type of understanding – that is the function of the ''buddhi''. These are the root causes.
===The Hands and Feet===
All grab things – it ends in the hand. If there were to be no hand, no grabbing. And every pleasure merges in that pleasure of ''upastha''. But ''upastha'' is only an analogy – we should not think of it as the ultimate truth. So since we get intense pleasure in this so‑called act of sex, every pleasure, small or big, can be compressed into it, can be made part of it. Similarly, how much pleasure we get when we get rid of something – how much pleasure a ''jñānī'' of ''Brahman'' gets by just giving up every type of attachment.
===What Is Attachment?===
What is attachment? Individual, limited love. What do I mean? Then our love, which should be infinite but which is not – in our day‑to‑day life, that is called attachment. When we love something, we are attached to it. That means our thought processes hover round and round that beloved object, and every time we want to think of that object because it gives us pleasure, happiness, joy. So every type of pleasure is limited – that is why it is included.
===The Highest Happiness===
The highest happiness is the sexual act – and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa takes this: when the ''jīvātman'' – individual soul – becomes merged in ''Paramātman'', then in his inimitable simile he has used "every hair on the body becomes a sexual organ enjoying sex" – that is union with ''Brahman'' – that is to indicate that infinite joy. Solomon – by the way, the ''Songs of Solomon'' in the Bible's Old Testament – they are also indicating, and in our ''Purāṇas'' we get the union of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. What is it indicating? There is separation, there is union – Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa – ''viraha'' and ''milana''. Only two subjects, and we are all Rādhās longing really for only Kṛṣṇa, albeit we think we are seeing Kṛṣṇa in a sweet, in a tasty, edible, eatable, or in beautiful music, beautiful touch, beautiful taste, beautiful sound, etc. Actually, all these pleasures that we get are very, very minutest – indescribably minutest – parts of Kṛṣṇa. That is all.
===The Feet as the One Source of Movement===
''Evam sarveṣām adhvānām'' – wherever you go, physically or even imaginatively, mentally – the feet are the only instrument. If the feet are not there, no movement is ever possible. No covering of distances is ever possible. Similarly, ''vedānām vāk eva āyanam'' – here ''vāk'' represents understanding and expression of that understanding, but mainly understanding. Because when a person speaks, nobody ever speaks something which that person does not understand, because an ununderstandable something cannot be expressed – there are no appropriate words.
===Speech and Understanding===
Every piece of understanding – that means knowledge – indicates there is a corresponding object outside in this creation. And then we try our level best to describe it, convey that idea to other people. But if that understanding is not there – here ''vāk'' means understanding. We have seen in the ''Chāndogya Upaniṣad'' how Nārada was guided by Sanatkumāra. Beautiful thoughts – we must remember all these things when we are reading one ''Upaniṣad'' – what we have studied in the other ''Upaniṣads'', corresponding ideas. If we can remember, our enjoyment of the ''Upaniṣads'' will become very great.
===Brahman as the Presiding Deities===
So what does Yājñavalkya want to convey? ''Brahman'' in the form of – first He created – then He created part of the creation – the presiding deities, and those presiding deities are called ''devatās''. Those ''devatās'' are the only merging place – or from where the sounds merge from home – that is the presiding deity. From where they spring from home – that is another ''devatā''. So every experience through all these sense organs or organs of action – they have their own presiding deity.
===The Story of the Brāhmaṇa and the Cow===
This also we discussed in the beautiful story of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: a Brāhmaṇa killed a cow with his own hands by beating it up with a big stick, and then he attributed the sin to Indra, but he could not do that because his egotism says: "I did this garden with my own hands and I made this so beautiful." Indra says: "Excepting this killing of the cow, everything – all credit goes to you. Only the killing of the cow goes to me."
===The Lesson of the Story===
What does Indra want to convey? If you want to attribute that sin to me, every action that takes place because of the hands should be given to me. You are doing ''pūjā'' – that result should come to me. If you are doing some ''dānam'' – some charity – that result should come to me. If you are serving parents or your Gurus, your teachers, or your children – that ''puṇyam'' should come to me. No – only what is inconvenient I offer to you, and every convenient thing I ascribe to myself. That will not do – it is either you give completely or you retain completely. So that is why the sin had come and occupied the Brāhmaṇa, and he had to pay.
===Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Teaching===
That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa advocated not ''dayā'' – compassion – but looking upon every person, every needy person, as Śiva Himself – a wonderful, marvellous opportunity given to us. So never say – like Balicakravartī: "I am not going to break my promise. God Himself is coming to me in this form to beg of me. This is a once‑in‑a‑life‑cycle opportunity." And that is called ''Karma Yoga''. Through ''karma'', one attains to that wholeness, infinity. That is the meaning of it.
===Everything Belongs to God===
We have discussed this one. What does this indicate? It indicates that everything we experience – the whole body, the whole mind – everything belongs to God, and nothing belongs to us. So "I" and "mine" do not exist. When we have this knowledge, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says that "Thou" and "Thine" – "You" and "Yours" – and that is called the acme of spiritual progress, which in simple words is called complete surrender – ''śaraṇāgati'' – ''śiṣyas te 'haṃ śādhi māṃ tvāṃ prapannam'' – by Rāmānuja it is called ''Prapanna Mārga''.
===The Three Causes of Creation===
So ''sṛṣṭi'' – we discussed the cause of ''sṛṣṭi'' is ''Brahman''. For ''sṛṣṭi'', two causes are there: the material cause like clay, and the intelligent cause like the potter. Before creation, there is no instrument – there is no separate intelligent cause – both are ''Brahman'' only. Therefore, He is both the material cause as well as the intelligent cause as well as the instrumental cause. That is indicated.
===Who Sustains?===
Then who sustains it? So Bhagavān only sustains in the form of this creation. So our body requires all the five elements: food, water, heat, oxygen, and the energy to move about in space. Bhagavān had already created – not only created – every millisecond, as soon as we exhaust food, food comes to us. When we exhaust water, water comes, etc. So He is the ''sthiti-kāraṇam'' – the cause of sustenance, maintenance.
===Pralaya – Merging Back===
Now what is left out? Where do we go back when we give up both this body and mind? That is why when this body dies, that is called ''pralaya''. There are different ''pralayas''. The first ''pralaya'' is called ''nitya pralaya'' – when the whole universe is merged in its very cause – that is deep sleep – ''suṣupti''. ''Suṣupti'' becomes that – ''suḥ + supti'' come together because of the rule of ''sandhi'' conjunction. So the whole world – it does not disappear, it does not get destroyed – temporarily it is kept in abeyance. That is why it is called the ''kāraṇa śarīra'' – the causal body. And we are most happy there because – when there is no effect, even the cause also is forgotten – and that is the state of deep sleep. We have seen that one.
===The Laya Aspect===
Now Bhagavān is creating, Bhagavān is sustaining, Bhagavān again goes back into Bhagavān. So whom is Bhagavān creating? Himself – or He Himself is manifesting as the five elements as everything in this universe. Whom is He maintaining? Himself – but in the form of the manifested every object in this world. And where does He go back? All this world goes back into Himself. For that purpose, Yājñavalkya is teaching in this twelfth ''mantra'' that everything has to go back to its original cause after some time.
==The Twelfth Mantra – Merging Back into the Cause==
For this, this twelfth ''mantra'' is: ''sa yathā saindhava-khilya udake prāstaḥ udakam eva anuvilīyate, na asya udgrahaṇāya eva syāt, yathā yathā āditaḥ lavaṇam eva, evam vā are idaṃ mahad bhūtam anantam apāraṃ vijñāna-ghanaḥ eva, itebhyaḥ bhūtebhyaḥ samutthāya, tāni eva anuvinaśyati, na pretya saṃjñā asti, iti are bravīmi'' – this is the teaching.
===All Mantras Are Beautiful===
All these ''mantras'' are so beautiful – we have to remember. But if you do not want to remember all the Sanskrit words, etc., the essence is: Bhagavān, the Lord – He is creating, He is sustaining, and He is taking everything back. He is like a child playing with Himself. So ''khelati brahmaṇā dayā'' – there is a beautiful song of a great soul. In Sanskrit, Sadāśiva Brahmendra expressed it: ''brahmaṇā dayā'' – in this created universe, Bhagavān ''khelati'' – it is a play, it is a ''līlā''. How does He do it? ''ahaṃ haṃsaḥ so'haṃ haṃsaḥ so'haṃ haṃsaḥ so'ham iti'' – "I am ''Brahman'', I am ''Brahman'', I am ''Brahman'' – ''Brahman'' I am."
===The Five Elements===
So then a few details are given. All the five elements have come from myself, and they remain as if separate from me for the sake of ''līlā'', and as if they are again going back – as if evolution had taken place, as if involution had taken place. This is all "as if" – that ''as if'' is translated as ''līlā''. That is why the life of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is called ''Līlāmṛta'' – ''Śrī Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa Līlā Prasaṅga''. ''Prasaṅga'' means ''amṛta'' – actually, in the context of Bhagavān's ''līlā'', both the ''Gospel'' (''Kathāmṛtam'') and the biography with elaborate commentary by Swami Śaradānandaji – it is called ''Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Līlā Caritra'' – the story of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's ''līlā'' as an ''avatāra'' in this world.
===The Law of Cause and Effect===
Now, we will deal with the truth that whatever has come – that is called effect – and it is the law: every effect must go back into its cause. And we have to remember a simple principle: when object is withdrawn into subject, both subject and object disappear. Similarly, when the effect merges into cause, you cannot say "cause remains." Cause is a cause so long as we know the effect. Effect is an effect only in the duality of cause and effect. If one goes, the other also disappears along with that. This is a very beautiful point – please keep in mind.
===The Salt Example===
Now I will read the ''mantra'' and we will discuss: ''sa yathā saindhava-khilya udake prāstaḥ udakam eva anuvilīyate, na asya udgrahaṇāya eva syāt, yathā yathā āditaḥ lavaṇam eva, evam vā are idaṃ mahad bhūtam anantam apāraṃ vijñāna-ghanaḥ eva, itebhyaḥ bhūtebhyaḥ samutthāya, tāni eva anuvinaśyati, na pretya saṃjñā asti, iti are bravīmi'' – Yājñavalkya started teaching at the last part of this ''mantra'': ''na pretya saṃjñā asti'' – "After the death of any object, there is no special individual, particularised consciousness." ''Iti are bravīmi'' – "So this is the teaching" – ''iti ha uvāca yājñavalkyaḥ''.
===Maitreyī's Doubt===
Now why did I mention this? Because in my last class I mentioned that after hearing this twelfth ''mantra'', Maitreyī got only one doubt in this whole episode of the dialogue between Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī. The only question – real question – of course in the beginning: "What am I going to do with all this wealth if it does not contribute to my unbroken bliss?" But after receiving this one, she says: "I have a doubt."
===The River Merging into the Ocean===
That means Yājñavalkya was telling that once we merge in ''Brahman'' like a river merges in the ocean, then that particular river's name, particular colour, form, particular taste – you may be surprised – different waters have different tastes because of the soil with which the water comes into contact. I have observed it: the milk in Hyderabad is a very special milk – very tasty. When curds are made – yogurt is made out of that milk – then it becomes wonderful, tasty. I feel like eating more. But when you eat the same thing in Vārāṇasī or other places, I have seen now it does not have the same taste. Belur Maṭh milk has a very special taste now. It is all because of the waters. Anyway, what I am trying to tell here: when a river has a form, it has a colour, it has a taste – all not because intrinsically it has – it is only water, but with some of the elements that it comes into contact with, its form will change and its taste will change. Of course, the names will change – same Gaṅgā river, some places it is called Bhagīrathī. Like that, different names may be there.
===The Loss of Individuality===
But as soon as – whether it is Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Kṛṣṇā, Sarasvatī, Godāvarī, whatever river it is – as soon as they merge in the ocean, all the names, forms, tastes, specialities, special qualities – everything become merged and it becomes one ocean. It becomes only salty water. So that special consciousness – "I am Gaṅgā, I am Yamunā" – that is lost. So this statement created a doubt for Maitreyī, which I will very soon come back to in today's class.
===What Was Yājñavalkya Telling?===
What was Yājñavalkya telling? "As a lump of salt dropped into water dissolves completely into the water and cannot be pulled out again, but wherever one tastes the water it tastes salty." Let us discuss this first. We have seen this one also – that how Śvetaketu was taught: "My child, you bring a lump of salt, put it in a glass of water, and come back after a few hours – and then do you see salt? No. So you taste the upper part of the water – how does it taste? Salty. How does the middle part taste? Salty. How does the bottom part? It is also tasting salty only." What is the teaching there? The teaching is: even though it is not seen, it is there. That is the idea.
===The Causal Form===
So everything when it merges – they are all like seeds in a tree – it is there. So what is the point we have to learn from this? The Vedānta – and higher form of Vedānta – teaches us that ''Māyā'' is existing within ''Brahman'' itself. ''Saguṇa Brahma'' is there in the ''Nirguṇa Brahma''. So all this entire creation in its causal form, which is called ''Saguṇa Brahma'', is there already in ''Brahma''. If it were not there, it could never have come out. That is the logic to prove that it is there.
===Brahman and Śakti Are Non-Different===
Of course, it raises some very important theological arguments which we are not going to go into at this stage, but what the scripture wants to convey through Yājñavalkya is: whether you look at it as ''Saguṇa Brahma'' or look at it as ''Nirguṇa Brahma'' – in thinking, both are same – there is absolutely no difference. That is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa wants to convey: ''Brahman'' and ''Śakti'' are non‑different. Then what is the difference? Why two words? Further, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa explains: when we are looking at that something called ''Brahman'' without any activity, I call it ''Brahman''. When I am looking at the same ''Brahman'' with activity – and by activity, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa means only creation, sustenance, and again merging back – and that is a very activity.
===The Three Activities===
You start an activity – it continues for some time and then it comes to an end. I discussed this point, but just to remind you: start reading a book from page 50 – that is the beginning of creation. You read for some time – that is called sustenance. And then you put a book‑mark and either go to sleep or do something else – that is called ''laya'' – ''sṛṣṭi, sthiti, laya''. So you cook food – ''sṛṣṭi''. You eat the food for some time, you get energy, and then it becomes empty – and then you will have to repeat the same process. You breathe in – that is ''sṛṣṭi''. Keep it for a short time within yourself – that is ''sthiti''. And then let it go back from where it has come – that is the ''laya''.
===Everything Has a Beginning and an End===
So every creature, everything – including the non‑living – there was a time when Mount Everest was not there; now it is there. It is still growing, they say, and after some time again it will go back. It is all because of the tectonic elements colliding with each other beneath this earth, whatever it is. It was not there, it is there, it will not be there. That is why there is a beautiful saying: "A thousand years a city, a thousand years a desert" – coming back.
===The Salt in Water===
So what happens? You take a bit of salt and put it in water, and after stirring a little bit, you will not see any salt – but it is there. So in the same way, when this creation goes back and merges, what happens? You cannot see it, you cannot experience it – both the experiencer and the experienced, the subject and the object – both of them merge back. And this process is there. This is a marvellous fact.
===How Do You Know the Salt Is There?===
But how do you know it is there? How do you know the salt is there in the water? You taste it from whichever part – from the top, from the middle, from the bottom – you just know some ''prabuddha''. He put questions: how do I taste from the middle? How do I know it is middle? Well, if you are that dull, then you take up, you make three holes and plug them in and fill it with water and then put salt. So first you take a spoon and taste it from the top. Then you open the plug at the middle of the glass, pull it out, and you take a spoonful of water – and same thing you do at the bottom. So they all taste salty only.
===The Meaning===
That means what? This whole creation is part and parcel of ''Brahman'' only. But we have to remember it will be in the causal form. If ''Brahman'' was not the cause, then creation could never have come out. It is a profound truth we have to understand. That is why ''sṛṣṭi'' is going on – it will go on. There is no beginning, there is no end – ''anādi'', ''ananta''. That is a marvellous fact.
===The Fear of Death===
So, after giving this example of salt being put in the waters and stirring, and you do not get it – you do not get that ''lavaṇa'' – but you know that ''lavaṇa'' is not dead. What is Yājñavalkya teaching Maitreyī? We all fear death – that is called ''kāla''. We all fear "my wealth may come down; wealth may increase" – when it increases, it is okay; when it decreases, it creates panic. But death is the greatest fear. Anything permanently taken away from us – that is called death. So everybody fears death because we are not knowledgeable to know what is there beyond death.
===The Answer===
Here is the answer. So what happens? The body merges back into its five elements – nothing worse. But what about the mind? We know that the subtle body, causal body, they do not die. No – they also die. That is why ''pralaya'' – ''nitya pralaya'' means every day forgetting the whole world, entire creation – and then ''prakṛti pralaya'' – that is to say, when a person dies, that is the end of that sporting in that particular body. But people fear. But Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa said: "No, you do not need to fear." ''avyaktādīni bhūtāni, vyakta-madhyāni bhārata, avyakta-nidhanāny eva, tatra kā paridevanā'' – "So it is not death – from the unmanifest, it just became manifest for a short time, like an actor coming out from the green room onto this stage, living for some time, acting for some time, and going back again to the green room. Departing same way or through the other door – he is not dead; he is departing into the green room. He is not to death."
===Every Creature Is Potentially Divine===
That is how he wants to say that every creature is potentially divine, and it just goes back and remains there forever. So then some questioner may have doubted: "What is the guarantee that once we are born, we will not be reborn again?" Further, the answer also is given: what is the answer? For even once, also you are never born. It is only a delusion. It is called ignorance – it is called ''avidyā'', it is called ''Māyā''. It is our thinking that "I am born and I am living here and I have got this death – I fear death," etc. No – after knowing the only truth, then we come to know that there is no death at all. It is just a ''līlā'', just thinking. All ''līlā'' is only in the mind. When there is no mind in deep sleep, there is no ''līlā'', there is no ''sṛṣṭi'', there is no ''sthiti'', there is no ''laya'' – not even the concept of it. It is a drama, it is a cinema, it is a ''līlā''.
===The Great Being===
Okay, so having given this – you take salt, put it into the ocean – then already it is the ocean – the salty taste had come from the ocean only. Then giving this one, he says: ''evam vā are'' – exactly – "O Maitreyī" – addressing Maitreyī: ''are'' means "O Maitreyī" – ''idaṃ mahad bhūtam'' – "this entire creation" – ''anantam apāraṃ vijñāna-ghanaḥ eva'' – "it is infinite, boundless, pure, concentrated consciousness." ''Itebhyaḥ bhūtebhyaḥ samutthāya, tāni eva anuvinaśyati'' – "from these beings it rises and into them it merges again."
===Individual Consciousness and Universal Consciousness===
What is that? We have to understand that even so, my dear, this great being – it is in fact, in reality, infinite, boundless, pure, concentrated consciousness. That is to say, our ''jīvātman'' – individual – we say "it is my consciousness" – that is because of ignorance, because of association with body and mind. But the same thing, when we look at it from the highest point of view, then there is nothing called "greater consciousness" – ''Paramātman'' – and "this is individual consciousness." Now the moment you say "that is universal consciousness," the very idea of individual consciousness sublates itself, destroys itself, because universal consciousness, within itself, it has all the so‑called ignorant expressions of individual consciousness. There is no individuality – only ''Paramātman'' is there.
===Individual Consciousness Disappears===
Then what happens? Individual consciousness disappears. That is what he wants to convey. "Disappears" means what? Not destroyed. "Disappears" means what? It breaks the limitations of time, space, and causation, and completely understands "I am never the limited consciousness. I am, I was, I am, and I will be unlimited consciousness." That is all he wants to say.
===No Individual Awareness After Merging===
Then during that process, Yājñavalkya is telling: when this phenomena happens – when an individual consciousness, breaking the bonds of everything it is associated with – the possessions, the body, the mind, etc. – merges back into that infinite consciousness called ''Ātman'' or ''Brahman'' – then ''na pretya saṃjñā asti'' – "that sense of 'I am an individual' disappears." That consciousness – awareness "I am such‑and‑such an individual" – it completely disappears. ''Iti are'' – "O Maitreyī" – ''bravīmi'' – "this is my teaching." ''Iti ha uvāca yājñavalkyaḥ''.
===Maitreyī's Confusion===
Now this statement has created a great doubt in Maitreyī's mind: "Then I will not be there." What she did not understand is: your individuality will disappear, but your universality will never disappear. In fact, you are never even individual all the time – you are only universal – but you are thinking that "I am an individual." That individual awareness – that is called ignorance – disappears. Instead of that, we gain – each one of us gains – that "I" is cut off. Then "we" comes. But that "we" also is only because we are talking about it – otherwise, even neither "I" nor "we" ever exist. This is the truth.
==The Next Mantra – Maitreyī's Question==
So this beautiful thought is there. The next ''mantra'' – there are only two ''mantras'' left out. Maitreyī says: "Here you have confused me. You say I am as if destroyed, made non‑existent forever – this sense of 'I'." And then Yājñavalkya replies: "No, I never said anything confusing – but you have not understood properly. I will explain it to you properly." He says in the thirteenth ''mantra'', and he explains it in the fourteenth ''mantra''.
===The Essence===
What is the essence? We are going to say that so long as we are in this dualistic state, thinking that "I am this small individual among this creation of infinitely uncountable creation" – then that individual consciousness, which is false, which is because of ignorance, gets completely destroyed. But instead of that, we gain that universal consciousness. That is what he wants to say – that all problems come because of our sense of duality. Go beyond duality – even the questioner will not be there. When the questioner himself or herself is not there, even the question will also automatically disappear.
==Conclusion==
We will talk about it in our next class.
== Closing Prayer ==
ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda bless us all with Bhakti.

''Jai Rāmakṛṣṇa!''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.11-12 Lecture 66 on 06 September 2026

2026-09-09T04:25:07Z

Bhama: Created page with "Full Transcript (Not Corrected) == Opening Invocation == ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः. ''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ. ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्ण..."

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.10-11 Lecture 65 on 05 September 2026

2026-09-09T04:23:13Z

Bhama:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.

''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते

पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.
==Introduction: The Maitreyī-Yājñavalkya Brāhmaṇa==
We are studying the Maitreyī-Yājñavalkya ''Brāhmaṇam''. Yājñavalkya started teaching Maitreyī. In our last class, what we saw was that the whole creation is a manifestation of ''Brahman''. We were studying this tenth ''mantra'' in this second ''Brāhmaṇa'', fourth chapter, and there he gave a beautiful example.
===The Wet Fuel Example===
Yājñavalkya gave a very beautiful example: when we put some wet fuel into fire, then what happens? First of all, ''ārdrāgni'' – then so much smoke comes out. It will not give pure fire; then sparks will come out. Only when all the wetness has completely been dried up will it give pure fire. But what Yājñavalkya wants to teach is this: the universe is nothing but like that fuel – wet fuel put into the real fire. What is the relationship? Everything – the fire is nothing but the fuel only. But in order for that fuel to become one with the fire, it had to be dried up.
===The Fire of Knowledge===
''Jñānāgniḥ sarva-karmāṇi bhasmasāt kurute'' – Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa had enumerated it so beautifully in the ''Bhagavad Gītā'' that when knowledge – the fire of knowledge, ''jñānāgni'' – arises, then it burns all the impurities. But we have to understand slowly. It takes time, but in the end, Bhagavān will remove all the impurities. So all the actions – that means all the desires – are completely burnt out, or rather they become fulfilled when we attain oneness with ''Brahman''.
===Cognitive Oneness===
And that oneness is nothing but knowledge – cognitive oneness. Not that we ever lost it. We were ''Brahman'', we are ''Brahman'', we will be ''Brahman''. But this cloud of ignorance comes in between and makes us think that we are ''anātman'', not ''Ātman''. But through spiritual practice, slowly our minds, hearts – that means intelligence – becomes pure. As the intelligence becomes purer, the type of thoughts that arise in our minds, the type of actions that we perform, the type of speech that comes from our mouths – all correspond to that purity. That way, slowly we progress. Finally, one realises that one has never been separated from ''Brahman'', and then the person becomes free.
===The Potter and the Clay===
But what is the connection here? The whole creation is not like a potter making a pot, but like the clay manifesting as innumerable products like pots, etc. This is a small pot, this is a big pot – they are just names and forms. There is no reality to it. They are nothing but pure clay only. Every ornament is nothing but gold. Every furniture is nothing but wood.
===Knowledge Precedes Creation===
So in order to illustrate that, Yājñavalkya says: "Even so, my dear" – not the entire ''sṛṣṭi''. Here is something very interesting for us to understand. If a poet wants to create a poem, first he must formulate that poem – that is called knowledge – and then he can talk about it. He can write about it, it can be printed, etc. So if a goldsmith is given some gold and asked "I want a ring or an earring, nose ring, necklace" – according to one's wishes, customer's wishes – so he modifies that very gold into what is required. But if the goldsmith has to do that, he requires knowledge: how to melt the gold, what type of mould he has to use, for whom, for whose size. If it is a baby, then the ring must be smaller. If it is a necklace, same. But if it is a grown‑up fat person, a thin small ring will not serve the purpose.
===Knowledge Is Required===
What is the point? The point is: knowledge is required. So "I have to transform this into this kind of product suitable for this particular purpose." Knowledge is necessary. So the knowledge – how to create, what to create, how many things we have to create – everything is given, and that knowledge which contains all this knowledge, all this information, is called ''Vedas''.
===The Vedas Emanated from Brahman===
That is why he says: ''evam vā are'' – addressing Maitreyī – ''asya mahataḥ bhūtasya niḥśvasitam'' – "Just as it is so easy to breathe out" – sometimes it may be difficult to breathe in, but breathing out is not difficult. ''Evam'' – in exactly the same way, ''yathā Ṛgvedaḥ, Yajurvedaḥ, Sāmavedaḥ, Atharvāṅgirasaḥ'' – the ''Ṛgveda'', ''Yajurveda'', ''Sāmaveda'', ''Atharvaveda'' had just emanated from His very breath. He need not have struggled like ourselves.
===The Subsidiary Scriptures===
Not only that. The subsidiary scriptures – what is a subsidiary scripture? That which explains the main tenets, teachings of the ''Upaniṣads'', ''Vedas'', in crystal‑clear language in the form of stories, fables, analogies, similes, etc. So all these things are called ''itihāsaḥ''. "You get there was a person called Śvetaketu; he was the son of Aruṇa." Like that, it is a real story. There were persons like that. So the person who composed this ''Chāndogya Upaniṣad'' came to know. So citing certain facts – when we give lectures, we cite Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: he was born in Kāmārpukur, then he came to Dakṣiṇeśvara, then he had some Gurus to instruct him; he did this, he did that. That is called ''iti ha asa'' – "thus it had taken place." It was thus – what we call in English language, "history."
===Purāṇas===
''Purāṇam'' – we know mythologies. It is said when Vedic ṛṣis were performing Vedic ''yajñas'' and they were chanting from morning till evening – sometimes some ''yajñas'' are there which last for twelve years – ''dvādaśa-varṣa-satrāṇi'' – ordinary people had complete faith in that, but they may not have the intellectual equipment. For that purpose, there are ''Paulānikas''. These ''Paulānikas'', what do they do? They take the essence and then in the form of stories, they illustrate. For example, we have the story of Satya Harishcandra. We have the stories of – even though the ''Mahābhārata'' is considered as a historical piece, from another angle it is nothing but explaining an analogy, explaining deeper truths through the story, narrating the story of the Kauravas and the Pāṇḍavas.
===Life Is a Battlefield===
Life is a battlefield, and in this battlefield, our bodies and minds are the fields. Here within, the fight is going on from very birth, from the very beginning of our creation. What is the fight? Between evolution and staying in the same place. Something says "I want to evolve"; something says "No, I am quite comfortable where I am, what I am." No – that will not do. This potential divinity is pushing everybody to evolve. So this fight between the good and the evil, between ''dharma'' and ''adharma'', between truth and untruth, between knowledge and ignorance, goes on and on and on. So stories are there.
===Vidyās – Special Meditations===
Then there are ''vidyās''. ''Vidyā'' means here some kind of special meditations, etc. Of course, we all know about the ''Upaniṣads''. They are called ''Vedānta'' because they come at the end of some greater portion – a ''Brāhmaṇa'', etc. And then there are several ''ślokas'' – very meaningful ''mantras'' expounding some higher truths.
===Sūtras – Aphorisms===
Then there is ''sūtrāṇi''. ''Sūtra'' means an aphorism. An aphorism is a mnemonic. A mnemonic is a device to remember huge amounts of what we read or what our teacher is trying to pass to us. After a long lecture, summarise the whole thing in a very few sentences. Those sentences, if the student memorises, whenever he remembers the ''sūtra'', then he recollects whatever the teacher had taught.
===The Thread Analogy===
In fact, a ''sūtra'' means a thread. Just as Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: somebody buried a great treasure in a lake, and then he tied a small thread and then kept that thread hidden on the bank, and he marked where he kept it. So whenever he wants money, he comes there and goes to the place where the thread is completely tied and hidden, and with that help, slowly he progresses towards the treasure box, takes out what he wants, and then he comes out, ties it back, covers it back, and returns home. So a ''sūtra'' is a thread – as we go on pulling, we finally come to the bigger and still bigger truth, and ultimately we reach the highest truth.
===Commentaries and Explanatory Notes===
And then to these – ''anuvyākhyānāni, vyākhyānāni'' – there are commentaries for people who do not understand. Even those commentaries are unable to enlighten, then other people like Ānandagiri add explanatory notes – ''anuvyākhyānāni''. And all these – where from have they come? ''Asya eva etāni niḥśvasitāni'' – all these things have come out of that great being, which is ''Brahman''. They are all exhaled from It alone. Exhalation is an illustration of easiness – as if it is nothing – no effort is needed. Just as we breathe in and breathe out, even in our deep sleep, it is like that. So all the effects – which is called ''saṃsāra'', which is called this creation – are from the one consciousness.
===The Sustaining Power===
And who is going to sustain? If a mother gives birth to a baby, who is going to look after the baby or children? Only the mother – and she nourishes the children by her own flesh and blood, first in the form of milk. What is milk? Mother's flesh diluted to suit the digestive capacity of the children, and sustained by it. Go on sustaining. After some time, of course, the earthly mother cooks, but the Divine Mother – She herself feeds. How does She feed? The food comes in the form of the earth – Annapūrṇā – water. We are sustained by the higher ''bhūta'' called waters in the form of ''Jaladevatā'' – Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Sarasvatī, or Thames, or Amazon – whatever it is, it is not water, it is not a lifeless element – it is pure manifestation, unadulterated manifestation of the Divine Mother.
===The Divine Lord Sustains Everything===
Then the sun comes in three forms. He produces food with the help of the moon. He endows it with tremendous nutrients, and then he created earthly fire through which we cook our food. Not only that, what we call pickles, etc. – they are all dried by the sunlight alone. And then we eat it, we cook it, we eat it. Can we digest it? No. Again, the same Divine Lord – the ''Agni Devatā'', ''Sūrya Devatā'' – Sun God, Fire God – manifests in our stomachs in each body in the form of ''Vaiśvānara Agni'' – digestive power.
===The Cycle of Energy===
Look at the wolf, look at tigers and deer and every animal. They require whatever energy is required – that food is reconverted back. What is food? Energy converted for our sake is called food. What is digestion? Food reconverted back into energy – and that is what happens. So it is the Divine Lord in the form of ''Agni''. So He produces, then He makes it cooked – He cooks it for our easy digestion – and then even after that, He digests it for us and then He sustains us. All that He wants: "Recognise Me as your mother, as your father" – that is all.
===Sṛṣṭi, Sthiti, Laya===
So that is ''sṛṣṭi'' – creation; ''sthiti'' – maintenance, sustenance; ''laya'' – and also every effect must go back to its cause. So we have seen how the whole thing has come out of that great being – not with effort, effortlessly – just as we breathe very easily, unconsciously. How many of you are taking count of how many times you are breathing in and breathing out, unless somebody is suffering from asthma, etc.? Then we value how valuable this freely provided oxygen is, how valuable carbon dioxide is. So we are depending upon somebody, and somebody else is also depending upon us. That is the process going on.
===The Pauranic Trio===
But who sustains it? The sustenance power also is given to us in the form of the body, in the form of the mind. And to illustrate this – not only ''Brahman'' is manifesting, which is called creation – the sustenance, which we call in Pauranic language, ''Brahmā'' is the creator, ''Viṣṇu'' is the sustainer, and ''Parameśvara'' – Śiva, Rudra – is the one unto which or He takes us back into Himself – that is called ''laya'', mergence.
===Brahman as the Five Elements===
Now first, creation is described – the whole creation is nothing but manifestation of ''Brahman''. Then who is going to sustain it as long as it does not go back? It is only ''Brahman'' in the form of the five elements. We have seen three elements. For us to sustain – for every living creature – we need to breathe. Even sharks, whales – they can go to the very depths of an ocean, but every now and then they have to come out to take that sustenance called oxygen. Plants require oxygen. Every living creature requires oxygen. And God is providing that oxygen in the form of ''Vāyu Devatā''.
===Brahman Enters All Forms===
The point we should not forget is: He is not giving us sitting somewhere like a rich man doling out some help, food material or clothes, blankets or money to poor people. No – He Himself is entering all in the form of all these five gods, presiding deities. So who is sustaining? ''Brahman'' in the form of the five elements. The fourth one is ''Vāyu'' – oxygen. What is the fifth one? Last one? Finest one? ''Ākāśa''. Energy means activity. For activity we require space – even if we want to move our hands, our heads, even our small finger. Even for our food to enter into the stomach – if there is no space, it cannot enter. Water cannot enter if there is no space. So that capacity to move – that is called ''Ākāśa Devatā''.
===Sustaining Through the Body===
So ''Brahman'' in the form of these five elements – we call it five ''devatās'', five gods – is sustaining the entire creation. And how does He do it? By creating the human body, human mind. For example, ''Brahman'' had become, let us say, a tree. How do we know? Because there is a tree outside in the creation, but in order to experience it we require eyes. So ''Brahman'' has become the eye in each one of us, and who sustains it, who is endowing it with the power of seeing? It is ''Brahman''. So if we want to hear something, ''Brahman'' manifests in the form of the ear.
===The Five Sense Organs of Knowledge===
So the five sense organs of knowledge – the eyes, the ears, the nostrils, the tongue for tasting, and the skin for touching – but that alone will not do, because we can get knowledge. A paralysed person can get knowledge that there is tasty food in the fridge, but he cannot move. But if he is endowed with hands, feet, so Bhagavān Himself has become the five sense organs of action. So He moves the body to that fridge, He tells the hands to grab that and put it in the mouth, and the tongue and the mouth start chewing, extracting the juice, enjoying the taste and flavour. And then it goes down, and there it has to be digested again by God in the form of the fire.
===The Law of Creation===
In every way He is manifesting as this universe. He is sustaining Himself, and He is going back into Himself – that is the law. Whatever is created – that is called effect. So the effect must come from something – that cause is called cause. So cause is manifesting as an effect, and after some time the effect has to go back into the cause. A common example is given: a tree grows up from a seed, and it yields fruits and seeds, and again it becomes seed. Then from the seed again a tree comes. So this eternal circulatory process – like a wheel going up and down from cause to effect, effect to cause – this ''Brahma-cakra'' is going on all the time.
==Mantra 11 – The One Source of All==
So this eleventh ''mantra'' Yājñavalkya wants to clearly tell us that it is all possible only because of Bhagavān manifesting as some of the main instruments causes He has given. We will analyse it.
===The Mantra===
''Sa yathā sarvasām apāṃ samudra eka-ayanam, evam sarveṣāṃ sparśānāṃ tvak eka-ayanam, evam sarveṣāṃ gandhānāṃ nāsikā eka-ayanam, evam sarveṣāṃ rasānāṃ jihvā eka-ayanam, evam sarveṣāṃ rūpāṇāṃ cakṣuḥ eka-ayanam, evam sarveṣāṃ śabdānāṃ śrotram eka-ayanam, evam sarveṣāṃ saṅkalpānāṃ manaḥ eka-ayanam, evam sarveṣāṃ vidyānāṃ hṛdayam eka-ayanam, evam sarveṣāṃ karmāṇāṃ hastau eka-ayanam, evam sarveṣāṃ ānandānām upastha eka-ayanam, evam sarveṣāṃ visargāṇāṃ pāyuḥ eka-ayanam, evam sarveṣāṃ adhvānāṃ pādau eka-ayanam, evam sarveṣāṃ vedānāṃ vāk eka-ayanam.''
===Translation===
Let me read out the translation and analyse one of them – and then we are able to apply ditto to all the other things, and one or two explanations I will add in between.

First the translation: As the ocean is the single converging point of all waters, so the skin is the single converging point of all touch, the nostrils of all smells, the tongue of all tastes, the eye of all forms, the ear of all sounds, the mind of all thoughts, the heart of all wisdom, the hands of all work, the organ of generation of all pleasures, the organ of excretion of all excretions, the feet of all walking, and speech of all the ''Vedas''.
===The Ocean as the One Source===
Now let us go back one by one, and as I said, I will just explain one – and we have to apply ''ditto'', ''ditto''. So Yājñavalkya is teaching: "My dear Maitreyī, ''sa yathā sarvasām apāṃ samudra eka-ayanam'' – just as the ocean is the one source from which every bit of water all over the world, all over the cosmos, is coming out only from the ''samudra''."
===Why the Ocean?===
Why this example? The ocean – because ocean means almost infinite. An ocean never dries up. So how does it happen? Again, it is the grace of God. What happens? Here is an ocean – water is there, of course it has got a lot of salt, but there is the ''Agni Devatā''. ''Jala Devatā'' is there which is devotion – then ''Agni Devatā'' is there. What does the ''Agni Devatā'' do? That is called ''Sūrya Devatā'' in the form of the blazing sun – day or night. Remember, there is no day or night from the viewpoint of the sun. It is only from our viewpoint when we cannot see our sun – we call it night, but from the viewpoint of the sun, it is all the time there only.
===The Water Cycle===
So what does this ''Sūrya Devatā'' – Sun God – do? Through its heat, it lifts up, distils – that is a beautiful word – distilled water we call it. So every impurity from the ocean is purified, and pure distilled water alone it draws up, and it forms a watery cloud. With the help of the ''Vāyu Devatā'' – again look at it – because without wind the cloud cannot move. But look at it: the cloud cannot function unless there is ''Ākāśa Devatā'' – sky, space. If there were to be no space, then there would be no clouds, no space where even to store the ocean. Space is necessary to keep anything, any object. Space is necessary. Space is there, but space alone will not do. Again, ''Vāyu Devatā'' – God in the form of the air, wind – so it has to move, and it moves.
===The Role of the Wind===
So ''Agni'' – the heat of the sun – draws up the water, forms it into a cloud of water, and then the ''Vāyu Devatā'' – for what purpose? For sustaining every created being – presiding deities – drives it across to the highest available elevation, tops of mountains, etc. Not only that – even on earth also it will come, but mostly the rivers are formed because of these mountains, etc. And it again converts it into water. The water cloud now becomes pure water – the stream becomes water, and that water comes down, it starts flowing. Where does it flow? Slowly, drop by drop, it falls. As it comes down, it forms many other drops join together, then it becomes a very small narrow stream, then it becomes a bigger stream, then it creates its own path. As it comes down, the power of the water – we know now the Nepal disaster had clearly proved how nature cannot be neglected, insulted or misused – it will come back to us. And that is a fact.
===The Anger of the Gods===
People are not understanding the simple Vedāntic teaching that these ''pañcadevatās'' are not prayed to – people do not believe in them – and we are polluting our own mother, our own ''pañcadevatās'' – and this is the result. When Gods get angry, then there is famine, there is flood, untimely rain, locust swarms, earthquakes – all these things, tsunamis – they all happen not as part of nature's work, but the anger of the gods. I do not know how many of you believe in it. This is what the ''Bhagavad Gītā'' says in the third chapter. So he who receives all these blessings from the presiding deities, without offering to them – he who, like a ''rākṣasa'', ''asura'', like a demonic person, tries to enjoy it – he is considered a thief: ''stena eva saḥ'' – "He is a thief." ''Dattānāṃ pradeṣṭṛbhyo'' – "given by them" – they do not want it, but they want loving acknowledgement: "O Mother, You are sustaining us. Without You, I could not have lived." That loving gratitude is called worship.
===Gratitude Is Worship===
Without worshipping them, offer them the same things – not that they lack, not that they desire – but just to make our gratitude visible to be acknowledged – and then they will be pleased and they will give more. Mother has given you some five, six chocolates – you give one to her back: "Ma, Mom, you also eat it" – and then mother will be pleased. She might give you a dozen more, seeing that you love her. God only wants our love. He does not want anything else. There is no need for Him – He is everything.
===The Sun God's Compassion===
So what are we talking about? The Sun God, out of infinite compassion, works only eight hours, ten hours? No – twenty‑four hours a day from every ocean that is available, lifting waters, carrying them to higher altitudes and doing ''visarjana'' – pouring them down – and it comes back and becomes in course of time huge rivers, and then they again join the ocean. But in that process, every ''jīva'' gets water to drink, to cultivate lands, fields, and enjoy life in every way. So drinking water, cultivating water – in every way all this food is sustained.
===The Interdependence of the Five Elements===
And not only that, they are also dependent – ''pañcabhūtas'' manifested as dependence upon each other. Earth cannot stand without water, without fire, without air, without sun. Water is useless if there is no earth. Fire is useless if there is no earth, or if there is no living creature. Without this, there is no living creature. Without living creature, oxygen is completely meaningless. And if there is no living creature, space itself is completely worthless, useless. Every ''bhūta'' combines together for sustaining this creation. And the creation has come from where? From the mixture of these five elements. And upon death, where do these bodies go, even minds? Into the very causes from where they have come. That is the idea we have to meditate upon.
===The Root Cause of All Waters===
So the root cause of all waters is the ocean – ''eka-ayanam'' – one source, that is all.
===The Skin as the One Source of Touch===
Then we have to understand: touching is very necessary because when a mosquito touches you, you feel one way; when fire touches you, you feel another way. When it is very hot and then very cold, their saving factor – your body, your skin – tells you. In fact, all pleasures or pains come only from this touch. Every sense organ of knowledge is also nothing but a different manifestation of touch only. So when smell touches our nostrils, then only we can smell. When forms touch our eyes, then only we can see – our eyes are not going there. When food touches our tongue, then we enjoy the taste. When sounds enter into our ears, touch our ears, then only we enjoy it – we understand what is the sound.
===The Specialised Functions===
So the many – some of the sense organs, some of the organs of action, and mind also – not all the ten sense organs are given, but the majority of them are given. But we have to understand that the summary essence is that without ''Brahman'' manifesting in the form of all the five elements – which are in the form of space, air, fire, waters, and earth – which is nothing but forms, sounds, tastes, smells, and touches – the whole universe is nothing but a five‑dish product. If you go to a restaurant: "I want to eat five‑course dinner – five dishes." The whole world, as Swami Premānandaji puts it, is nothing but five dishes for us to enjoy. All the organs of action – like hands, legs, etc. – help us to obtain, to digest, and to enjoy them in every way. Even what is undigested has to be thrown out – that is even more important than digestion.
===Tvak – The Sense Organ of Touch===
''Tvak'' means the sense organ of touch – most important. That is why if the skin is burned, not only is it the organ of touch – if it is burned, then life will be in danger. Then all the harmful microbes, bacteria, everything can enter into the body. That is why our body has a peculiar protective layer. As soon as some injury is there, immediately blood tries to flow out, washing out all the germs which want to enter, and then seals it up with what we call some matter which is painful to the touch, so that we do not injure it again. In how many ways is Bhagavān not only creating us but sustaining us, protecting us?
===One Organ for All Sensations===
So the one organ, whatever be it – cold, hot, pleasant, unpleasant – for everything, there is only one because of which we are able to understand it, and that is called the organ of touch – the sense organ of touch. So every experience we have of touches – it is this sense organ which gives us that knowledge: "This is a touch. This is hot, very hot. It is very pleasantly hot. It is very cold, it is freezing," etc. So these are all saving factors for us, enjoying factors for us.
===The Nostrils as the One Source of Smell===
Similarly, every smell that we smell is nothing but the nostrils – the sense organ nostril – it alone has the capacity. Not only that, every sense organ of knowledge can do only its own function. The eye cannot hear, eye cannot touch, etc. And the same thing with sense organs of action – the legs cannot do what the hands do; the hands cannot do what the legs do. Of course, a little bit they can do. So also some – every organ has a specialised function. So from the specialised function that gives knowledge of – even if there are 10,000 smells, 10,000 touches, 10,000 types of water – whatever it is – apply it to all the sense organs. So ''nāsikā'' – nostrils – is one source, and if it loses its source, you cannot smell anything.
===The Tongue as the One Source of Taste===
If the skin – sometimes burnt – loses its power of feeling the touch, then whether even a burning coal has fallen upon me and it is eating up all my flesh, burning all my cooking, my flesh – I will never know, except through the smell. Similarly, all the tastes – there may be billions of tastes – all that tastes, the one source of enjoyment, experience, is ''jihvā'' – the tongue.
===The Eye as the One Source of Form===
Similarly, all the forms, all the colours – how many colours? Main colours are only three, but their combinations are almost countless, infinite. For that, the eye is the only source of that experience.
===The Ear as the One Source of Sound===
And then for all the sounds, it is the ears that is the only source of all our experience.
===The Mind as the One Source of Thoughts===
And for whatever desires and determinations we do – ''sarveṣāṃ saṅkalpānāṃ manas eka-ayanam'' – mind alone is the one. That is why without mind, in deep sleep you do not have desires, you do not have hatreds, you do not have likings, love, hatred, likes, dislikes, feeling lonely, feeling overcrowded – nothing can be experienced in deep sleep, because our being withdraws itself from both the gross body and subtle body. It is there in a causal form, but not functioning at this time. That is why with all the source of all our thinking, desiring, wanting and trying to fulfil – everywhere for everything – ''manaḥ eka-ayanam'' – mind is the only source.
===The Heart as the One Source of Wisdom===
Similarly, ''sarveṣāṃ vidyānāṃ hṛdayam eka-ayanam'' – ''hṛdayam'', the heart – here heart means ''buddhi'' – intelligence. Whatever knowledge we want to get – because the mind, after getting knowledge, only after the intellect decides what is desirable, when it is desirable, how much is desirable. For example, ''buddhi'' says: "This food is desirable, but it has to tell what time it is desirable – not at midnight, not at other times – only when I am hungry. And not only that, how much quantity? I cannot tolerate this, I cannot digest this much – only this much will do." If it is a family, of course, they will calculate how much curries, how much rice, how much bread has to be bought or prepared, etc. The ''buddhi'' – intellect, the understanding capacity – has to do that job.
===Buddhi Is Necessary for All Knowledge===
So ''sarveṣāṃ vidyānām'' – you want to master physics, chemistry or any science – it is ''buddhi'' that is necessary. You want to understand the theory of relativity by Einstein – intelligence is necessary. So that is what ''hṛdayam'' means – ''buddhi''. ''Buddhi'' means the capacity to understand.
===The Hands as the One Source of Work===
Then he comes to the body. ''Sarveṣāṃ karmāṇāṃ hastau'' – two hands. You want to grab something – for that, these two hands. You want to grab anything – both hands; sometimes one of the hands will do, but sometimes both hands are necessary. It is the only source of our grabbing, bringing it to us, etc.
===The Generative Organ as the One Source of Pleasure===
Similarly, ''sarveṣāṃ ānandānām upastha eka-ayanam'' – we get ''ānanda'' from all the five sense organs, but then ''upastha'' – the generative organ – is a fact, whether you understand it or not, accept it or not. The pleasure – even an animal, not to speak of human beings – gets the greatest pleasure is this pleasure of sex – the generative organ. Why is it so? I explained it also some other time. The simple reason is this: you can get pleasure from any other sense organ – like the eye, ears, nostrils – and yet you can divert your mind. While listening to music, you can read, dance; while smelling something, you can eat food; while watching something, you take popcorn and eat. But sex cannot be done truly speaking. You have to think over it; when the mind is indifferent, it is distracted, it is thinking something else – sex can be done, but there would be no enjoyment. That is where a sexual act focuses the mind completely. Until the act is over, the mind will not allow any other thought to enter into it. Before – yes; after – yes – not during. It will not be possible.
===The Greatest Pleasure===
That is why any pleasure that we get is finally attributed to the sexual organs. I can also expand it a little and say every pleasure that we get through any of the other five sense organs is nothing but included in this sexual pleasure. It is the greatest source – sexual action is the greatest pleasure that is available to animals. They fight, they destroy, kill each other, and wars are taking place between ants, between mosquitoes, between any creatures – because they must be getting something. Even to that extent, they are ready to sacrifice their lives – not to speak of human beings – they are ready to kill, they are ready to die for the sake of sexual pleasure. So that is why it is said this ''upastha''.
===The Organ of Excretion===
Then, of course, there is a great pleasure that comes from ''pāyu''. ''Pāyu'' means what? When any poisonous material and indigestible, undigested material – or even something is sitting and creating havoc in our stomachs – it has to be vomited or it has to be purged through the lower organ, the anus, etc. And that is also a source of the greatest pleasure. So for doing any excretions – the organ of excretion is considered the only source for anything, and it is called – I think ''udāna-vāyu'' – in ''prāṇa'' is divided in that way. So ''udāna'' throws out.
===The Feet as the One Source of Walking===
''Evam adhvānāṃ pādau eka-ayanam'' – so wherever we want to go, our feet – covering distance short or long – the feet are the only means. If feet are not there, you cannot simply travel. Of course, you can travel in a car, in a jet – that is a different issue – but even to get down into the aeroplane, get out of the aeroplane, for that you require legs. Without legs, a wheelchair is also a substitute for a leg. An aeroplane is an extension of the leg. A car, a train, a bicycle – these are all extensions of this – just like a telescope, a microscope are extensions of our eye. Similarly, earbuds, etc., are extensions of – or microphones, what is called amplifier – extension of our ears. But if these are not functioning, the extensions are completely useless. So the feet are the only source for travelling and covering the distance, etc.
===Speech as the One Source of the Vedas===
But finally, Yājñavalkya concludes and says that if you want to understand the ''Vedas'', ''vāk'' – speech – is the only source. Why? Whether we want to understand by sitting at the feet of the teacher, whether we want to teach it to others – the only way of communicating – we have to listen. Nobody is born with that knowledge. So in this life or in past lives, we have to do that. ''Vāk eka-ayanam'' – speech is the only source. That is why speech is what is called ''Guru-paramparā'' system. That is why it is called ''Śruti''. ''Śruti'' means what is heard – and how do we hear? Only when somebody speaks – through our ears we hear. Speech is the only source of understanding any ''vidyā'', whether it is worldly ''vidyā'' or spiritual ''vidyā''.
==The Essence of the Teaching==
What does Yājñavalkya want to convey through this? He wants to tell that the gods – the ''pañcabhūtas'' – are manifesting in the form of these five sense organs, and presiding deities are manifesting at different parts of our body, of our mind, etc., making life possible to experience, to gain knowledge, and to use that knowledge. So finally all these are the manifestations of ''Brahman''. So ''Brahman'' is experienced through the outer world through our body‑mind complex. The experienced is ''Brahman''. The experiencing capacity is ''Brahman''. The organs through which we experience is ''Brahman''. Everything is nothing but ''Brahman''.
===The Sustaining Power===
In other words, what is called ''sthiti-kāraṇam'' – the sustaining power – the only root cause is ''Brahman''. He sustains us, He enjoys Himself, He experiences Himself. This is the essence he wants to convey, and Maitreyī definitely understood because there were no questions at all. But she has a question at the end, when she was confused by one statement of Yājñavalkya – which we will see in our next class.
== Closing Prayer ==
ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda bless us all with Bhakti.

''Jai Rāmakṛṣṇa!''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.10-11 Lecture 65 on 05 September 2026

2026-09-09T04:22:44Z

Daily Messages - 2019

2026-09-06T19:29:14Z

Bhama: /* 06 January 2019 */

= Messages from Swami Dayatmananda =

== '''01 January 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Musings on the Kalpataru Day''' ''Swami Budhananda'' ===
(''Swami Budhanandaji has written a beautiful article on Kalpataru event. Dear Readers, Please note—in this article he especially highlights the experiences of Sri Ramachandra Dutta, an intimate devotee of Sri Ramakrishna''.)

January 1st is a red letter day in the calendar of the devotees of Sri Ramakrishna everywhere in the world. This day is so important not because it happens to be the first day of the New Year, but because symbolically it came to be the first day of the new life.

On this day in 1886 Sri Ramakrishna showered his unbounded grace on lay devotees who had assembled at the Cossipore garden house, where the Master had been lying seriously ill with cancer in his throat. In the afternoon the Master came downstairs unexpectedly. And within a few minutes he touched each one of them with the flame of his transmuting power. Stopping near him in the garden Sri Ramakrishna had asked, "Well, Girish, what have you found in me that you proclaim me before all as an incarnation?"

At once on his knees, with folded palms raised in adoration, and his voice charged with emotion, Girish replied, "What can an insignificant creature like me say about one whose glory even sages like Vyasa and Valmiki could not measure?"

The intensity of faith with which Girish had uttered these words brought about a volcanic explosion from within the ocean of grace that was Sri Ramakrishna. And he went all out in divine abandon to confer on the devotees greatest blessings of life spiritual irrespective of the consideration of competency.

He spoke in these three simple sentences the greatest blessings of the most high: "what more shall I say! I bless you all. Be illumined!"

These simple words of power set afire the souls of devotees. Forgetting their self-taken promise not to touch his feet while he was ill, they all touched his (saviour) feet in salutation. Deeply moved at this manifestation of their devotion Sri Ramakrishna touched every one of them, as a result of which all of them had some instantaneous spiritual experiences.

Sri Ramakrishna himself had said that the wind of God's grace was always blowing. One had only to unfurl the sail. Here there was no need of even unfurling the sail. The wind itself became the unfurled sail too and lapped up the soul in the empyrean heights of spiritual experiences. This was a violation of spiritual law, which God incarnate alone could indulge in!

Sri Ramakrishna himself had also said that the mother bird does not break the shell of the egg before the chick was mature enough to be born in the inclemency of the world-weather. But here we find the mother bird becoming aggressive with her compassion and breaking eggs before chicks were ready. If this is not God's soul hunger, what is this?

Now, this violation of law, this aggression of compassion, if it happened only for a day, it would be a dead day of bygone history. But the actions of God incarnate on earth, though they may be actions in history, are indeed accents of the Timeless in the heart of time. Even as actions temporal, they are but the manners of the Eternal.

In the "Acts of the Apostles" in the New Testament there is a significant passage which says: "To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs..." (Acts, I. 3.)

The God incarnate on earth even after casting off his corporeal body, stays alive in the "next room" "after his passion," i.e. to say in the singular acts which he had performed while alive on earth. If the wound of Christ's body was not even today bleeding in the mystic world-process, how could the mystics receive stigmata even to this day?

Sri Krishna says in the Gita (IV. 9): Whosoever knows in true light My Divine birth and action will not be born again when he leaves his body; he will attain Me, O Arjuna.

To know the Lord's divine birth and actions in true light would mean understanding the Lord's real nature as absolute spirit and also his embodiment in Maya. Here Sri Krishna gave away a great secret of self-apprehension, which the theistic religions were quick to grasp and profit by. In such religions, therefore, "leela-smarana" or remembrance of divine acts of God incarnate on earth is considered to be one of the most potent spiritual practices.

Srimad Bhagavatam (XII. 4. 40) puts it categorically: The Jiva or the embodied soul, who is scared by the miseries of the world, if he wants to get across the terrific ocean of transmigratory existence, then the only way open to him is to take recourse to the remembrance of the Lord's divine actions; there is no other raft for crossing this ocean.

The embodied soul can apprehend the Nitya or the Eternal, only in his Leela or divine sports as an incarnation. Hence Bhagavatam's emphasis on "leela-smarana" or remembrance of the divine deeds. The Song Celestial of the Timeless has been recorded in the disc of time during the avatarana or descent of the Lord on earth. If the aspirant can bring his power of concentration to the pointedness of a gramophone pin, and set it on the disc of "leela" the eternal music can be heard again. If one can have the Gopi-heart Krishna-flute can be heard on the banks of Yamuna even today. On the banks of Kala-kalindi, or time that flows as Yamuna, the eternal one roams about flute in hand.

The only way of apprehending him is the devout observance of the religious calendar for "leela-smarana," remembrance of divine deeds. Even a religion like Buddhism which leans on atheism finds it necessary to observe a thrice-blessed day.

In the calendar of the Ramakrishna tradition January 1 is one of the most significant days, being the day of the law-breaking aggressive compassion of the Lord. If the devotees of the Lord want this aggression to continue, they must rouse in his heart on this day, the divine "passion" which devotees did on January 1, 1886. If the calf strikes the udder of the mother-cow with its tender lips, how can milk help flowing again?

For the remembrance of the divine deeds of the Lord we must know as many details of those deeds as possible from all available sources.

Our greatest authority in regard to the life of Sri Ramakrishna is Swami Saradananda. His magnum opus ''Sri Sri Ramakrishna-leelaprasanga'' (translated as ''Sri Ramakrishna, the Great Master''), is a work unexcelled in hagiography in its details, authenticity, rational expositions, interpretative deliberations and illuminating insights.

Such an authority on Sri Ramakrishna's life, Swami Saradananda, did not actually approve of the saying that Sri Ramakrishna had become "Kalpataru" on January 1, 1886. He convincingly argued: "Some devotees like Ramachandra have described the happening of that day as the Master's turning into wish-fulfilling tree (Kalpataru). But, it is more reasonable, it seems to us, to call it 'the self-revelation of the Master,' or the 'bestowal of freedom from fear on all devotees by revealing himself'. The Kalpataru, it is said, gives to all whatever good or bad they ask for. But the Master did not do so; he made clear through that event the fact of his being a God-man and his bestowal of protection against and freedom from fear on all without the slightest discrimination."

Notwithstanding Swami Saradananda's disapproval, this great day has quietly come to prevail in the Ramakrishna world with the word "Kalpataru" indelibly inscribed on its forehead—and this has happened without any theological fight—and neither the sannyasins nor the lay devotees appear to be sorry for that. In all humility we can only take this fact, as the will of the Lord. And this will of the Lord may perhaps be understood this way: as it happened, this day was marked out specially for showering grace only on the lay devotees—as Swami Saradananda has written, "....it is a matter of wonder that none of the Sannyasin disciples of the Master was present there that day—as distinguished from those who were going to become monks." And therefore it would appear that the lay disciple's nomenclature of the great deed has been providentially accepted in preference to the monastic disciple's nomenclature.

"M" the writer of the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna has not written any account of the day, proving perhaps the fact that he was absent from the scene.

Swami Saradananda has quoted in ''Sri Ramakrishna the Great Master'' the fragmentary personal accounts or personal reactions of the day as given by such eye witnesses as Ramlal Chattopadhyaya and Vaikunthanath Sannyal. There is also the description of the occasion as given by another eye witness, Akshaykumar Sen, in his famous work ''Ramakrishna Punthi''. Akshaykumar also used the word "Kalpataru." These narrations of the day are more or less familiar to the readers of the Ramakrishna literature.

=== '''"Kalpataru"— as Rama Chandra Dutta saw and understood it''' ===
What have become obscure and not so easily available is the narration of the day as Rama Chandra Dutta saw and understood it. As he was largely responsible in introducing the word "Kalpataru" his following narration of this day will be found interesting:

"Sri Ramakrishna was brought to the Kasipur garden house for treatment. Here he stayed for eight months. It will take one an aeon to narrate all the sports he performed in Kasipur..."

"When his ailments showed no signs of abatement, some devotees would observe fasts in the name of Taraknath while others supplicated to the Master himself for his own recovery. When nothing proved to be of any avail, one day a few devotees submitted with folded hands, 'Lord, why are you feigning this illness? We have tried our very best but with no effect on the illness. We have now realized that unless you yourself deign to find the remedy, there is no other way.'

"In reply he made various funs. But when the devotees persisted in their request he said, 'You have not yet been able to understand the cause of the disease. Every action bears its fruit. Good act bears good fruit and bad, bad; one has to reap the fruit according to the act. If you have had to reap the fruits of all your evil deeds and sins, your future will be terrible. But it is God's way to suffer the fruits of action; therefore all the multitude of your sins I have accepted in my hand.

"'On the day you have given me your power of attorney, on that very day you have been freed from your accumulated sins. Unless sins are eradicated and the body is made pure, relationship with God cannot be established. In human body one has to suffer the consequences of sin. And so the disease, in my body. Through this disease in my body you have become freed of sins and whosoever will self-surrender unto me they too will be released. So it is that I am getting through the suffering for their sins too.'

"Though we all heard these words, we did not quite realise their significance. It was his another fun, we thought. This wise Ramakrishnadeva passed his days feigning illness. Physicians of various sorts, sadhus of different types and a multifarious assortment of common people used to visit him.

"On some days he would saunter about in the garden like one who had no disease at all. On other days from his sore in the throat blood would come out. And the intriguing part of all this was that when the physician gave a medicine for counteracting a certain symptom, on that day that very symptom would get aggravated.

"His body could not stand even the Homeopathy medicine, the taking of one grain of which would throw his entire body into convulsion. Hence the physicians would not easily venture to give him medicine."

"As mentioned above, various sorts of people used to come to him and almost everyone would return satisfied with a feeling of blessedness. And it so came about on January 1, 1886 that he became the Kalpataru. On that day at five in the afternoon when seated on one end of the garden we were all engaged in discussing various topics we found him coming towards us. With transfixed gaze we all kept looking at his face. His entire body being covered with cloth no other part of the body was visible but his face. That lustre and unprecedented beauty of his that we witnessed on that day are just beyond delineation. Gradually he drew near us and raising his right hand said, 'What more shall I tell you. May spiritual consciousness be awakened in all of you.'

"So saying he began to place his palm one by one on the chests of devotees, as a result of which everyone became mad as it were. Whomsoever we saw before us that day we caught him and brought before the Lord and he showered his grace on all. We were all stirred to our depths with joy finding that the Lord had become the Kalpataru.

"Knowing fully well that such a day, so rare to the jivas, will not come again, we began to run hither and thither to seek out persons until none was left. Shouts of victory to Sri Ramakrishna continued to resound in the firmament. Incessant raining of flowers by devotees on the Lord went on and the ocean of Ananda was in deluge.

"All this time he was standing in ecstasy. Then coming back to the normal consciousness he returned to his room.

"Afterwards one day he quietly called this servant and asked, 'Look here, you all say so many things about me. If all that should be true, why then is this miserable state of mine. This sore in the throat, this diseased body—what all these are due to? Gauranga had such beauty, learning, miraculous powers—why do I not have all those powers? Why do I not have such beauty as his and such learning? And can you tell me what the reason is for my leaving Dakshineswar?'

"Hearing such questions of the Master I held his feet and said with folded palms: 'Lord, you are here again with your waggery! Can this ever be within the capacity of the meanest of your servants to discern the cause of your actions? But if such is your behest, then remembering your feet I say, if you give me strength I must be able to tell the reason. You have made me understand that in gross body the manifestation of leela can never be of the same type. Things happen according to the necessity of times.

"'Gaurangadeva acted in the past according to the felt necessities of his times. In this incarnation things cannot proceed in that fashion. Lord, truth to be told, if beauty and miraculous powers were the only means for the salvation of the jivas, we would have long before turned into saints. Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Gauranga, Christ—their unlimited powers, beauty and splendour have all been extolled in the scriptures.

"'And we have been hearing all those tales since our childhood. But why has not that borne any fruit? We came to you hearing that you were a sadhu. But you alone can say how you have entered within our hearts. The place where we would fain have seated God, you have come and occupied that place. How hard we have striven to drive you out from that place so that Parameshwara might be seated there—we have discussed ever so much, presented your case to the pundits saying that you were God incarnate and argued with them with the intention of having our weakness destroyed by them but uphill now nobody has been able to displace you. No body's learning, intelligence and dialectics have been able to disprove that. Helplessly, therefore, we have been forced to call you God.'

"'You have said that like the wealthy ladies who conduct their affairs from behind the screen, you too have been performing your leelas. Seeing your disease, your outer covering, outsiders will fly away. But the fortunate one who will receive a grain of your grace shall understand the mystery of your leela. Lord, you alone know whether by speaking about these few outer things you are wheedling us or settling the issue.

"'But the question arises in my mind: is it possible for one to discern the beingness (or Bhava) of God through such tales of separation-pangs told in regard to the leelas of Radha-krishna, Rama-Sita or Gauranga? Laughing and weeping is the leela of man. When through such leelas they could be considered as God, then is not this disease of yours also the measure of your Leelas, especially when you yourself have divulged the reason for this?'

"'And, Lord, as to the other question; from the day you came out of Dakshineswar the fate of ordinary people has brightened up. Because of this pretext of disease thousands of men and women have had the darshan of your feet.'

"Ramakrishnadeva then said, 'You are telling all these because of your faith.'

"On hearing this from his lips I said, 'Thakur, enough of lengthening the talk! You are acknowledging my faith, for this I am compelled to call you God. I was a heretic, a barbarian and an arch atheist—I to call a man God! God Himself was seeking out a little place in my heart, and forsooth now it appears that by having faith today I have installed you in the position of God! Lord, be that so, give me that strength, that power so that I can really do so. If through my faith being a man you become God, that is not your ordinary leela, again. O, Thakur, God Himself has to stand before man by furnishing so many introductions and testimonials, and do you mean to say that if a man declares another man as God people will just accept that? You may say whatever you are pleased to say and everything behoves you.'

"Even then Ramakrishnadeva continued to say, 'Do I not so much wish to stay at ease?'

"I replied, 'It is all a disappointment for us to try to answer your points. Yet I shall remind you of only one thing and then close my lips. Thakur, one day in the evening standing on the western veranda of your room you said, "Whoever will come with the hankering for realization of God, for attainment of knowledge and seeking to know how he could see Him, his aspirations will be fulfilled."

"'Then laying stress on your words you again said, "O my men, verily his longings will be fulfilled."

"'Thakur, will you tell me who is the man who can tell this? Who is that siddha-Purusha who has the boldness to say so? With our ocular perception we are noticing how heretics without any spiritual practices are getting miraculously transformed. Even after seeing all these are we to have a mistaken opinion about you? If you say so, we are helpless.

"'And when you refer again and again to your disease, may I ask you, one thing: Sri Radha in Brindavan, what was her terrific suffering in the tenth state of viraha caused by separation from Krishna. Can a single day's suffering of Radha be borne by any jiva? Because Radha performed this nara-leela was she ever without Krishna? You yourself have said, "Brahma and shakti are identical."'

"As I said this his face flushed. As soon as the symptoms of ecstasy were discernible I ended the talk."

(May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda shower their Divine Blessings on all of us on this Auspicious Kalpataru Day.)
----

== '''05 January 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''5 January 2019''

=== '''(From M. the Apostle and The Evangelist)''' ===
It is 8.30 p.m. now.

M. is seated on a mat in the assembly room along with the bhaktas on the second level of the Morton School. They have just returned from the Navavidhan Brahmo Samaj. The devotees comment on what they have heard there.

M. (to the bhaktas)—So many people praise him now. But how great they must be who loved him in his lifetime! When the divinity gets established, everybody begins to adore one.

He was living in Dakshineswar on seven rupees a month. Besides, he was often as if mad. Who are those, brother, who were able to recognize him then? They are not ordinary men.

Sri Krishna said, ''"Uddhava, go and bring me quickly the news of the gopis. When I was unknown, I was just a village cowherd boy, the gopis gave me their love with their heart and soul. Please go and bring me the news of these very gopis. For so long I have remained absorbed in my state duties. I shall never be able to repay their debt. Only if they kindly release me themselves from it, will it be possible. Otherwise it can never be paid back."''

Can an Avatara be recognized? No, not by man. It was by his will that a few were able to recognize him (Sri Ramakrishna). The Avatara comes exactly like any other man, bringing with him all of man's appendages—grief, pain, good and evil—all. And he hides himself with this veil. But within this he dazzles a very few by revealing his real identity. Seeing the splendour of the sattva behind the veil the devotees are speechless with wonder. They begin to wonder whether he is a man or God. That's why Thakur would sometimes enjoy himself with his devotees by referring to his real self.

He would say, "Why, what have you to say about what Girish says (that Thakur was Avatara)?"

Sometimes he would say, ''achina gach'' (an unknown tree). Well, it's there though it can't be recognized. And at he would sing a particular song. None of you has recognized him, who in the garb of a lowly mendicant roams about from home to home.

He who recognizes an Avatara has nothing more to do—that's all he had to. He will achieve everything just by it. But how to recognize him? On one hand you have a man, educated in the western way, so learned, on the other hand there is an illiterate priest, poor to the extreme. But it is the latter who wins at the end—all education, learning, pride of family and character lie at the feet of the indigent Brahmin. By a fraction of the Brahmin-priest's grace, Narendra is today a world-conqueror; and that poor priest is the adored of the world. The rajasic westerners bow their heads at his feet. Is it given to anybody to go to the bottom of the divine sport of the Avatara? It is amazing indeed!
----

== '''06 January 2019''' ==
''6 January, 2019''

=== '''(From M. The Apostle and the Evangelist)''' ===
It is Tuesday tomorrow. M. had gone to Panchanan Ghosh Lane to listen to the kathakata (narration of ancient stories accompanied with music etc.).

M. (to the devotees)—They was talk of the Vrindaban Lila (of Lord Krishna), about the conversation with Uddhava. Uddhava had gone to Mathura to find all about the gopis—he had been sent there by Sri Krishna. Uddhava saw a gopi milking a cow and singing a song of pangs of separation from Sri Krishna. She was not singing a song composed by any other. Whatever emotions gushed out of her heart, lost as she was in them, came out of her throat in a song. Her mind was not in milking. Her child was crying for milk but she was deaf to it. The husband was shouting at her again and again saying, "The child is crying. Come back quickly with milk," but she would not hear him. At last he came and gave her a push. Then she woke as if from sleep. In a choked voice she asked, "Yes, what's the matter?"

Uddhava saw that the milkmaid had almost lost her external consciousness, her mind having completely merged in Krishna's thought, and losing its identity got absorbed in Him and became one with Krishna. Her hands were working mechanically, milking the cow. After a time even this stopped—"O my mind! plunge into the sea of Krishna's beauty,"—bhava samadhi.

The jnana of the jnani-bhakta Uddhava received a big blow. Uddhava, as soon as he came, said to the gopis: "Your beloved Krishna is an Avatara. He is enacting his Lila as a human being. He is the controller of every mind; it's he who presides as the creator, the preserver and the destroyer of the world." Seeing how the Gopis loved Sri Krishna, Uddhava felt ashamed. Said he to himself, "In vain are my jnana and reason. Blessed indeed is the gopi." This is one scene.

Here is another: A gopi is at the spinning wheel spinning yarn, and singing. Her baby boy is calling out, "Mum, give me something to eat. give me to eat." But she is not aware of it. He gives a push; still no external consciousness. She drops the cotton from her hand—her hand lies in her lap. She does not wink, her eyes are like those of the bird hatching its eggs—merged in the Self. One does not know if she is breathing or not. The baby begins to cry lying on the breast of the mother, thinking perhaps that she is dead. Somebody else, hearing the child cry, comes and tugs firmly at her arm. She regains her senses then.

Uddhava, seeing this sight, is speechless. This is a second blow to his jnana and reason. The gopi is almost dead with the pangs of separation from Sri Krishna—"The mind of the gopi has sunk into the sea of Krishna's love." Another scene on the bank of Yamuna. The gopi is carrying three brass-pots of water on her head, and singing as she moves along. She is late today for her bath and storing water. Her companions have left much earlier—she is alone. She places the water-pot at the edge of the water, sits down and rubs both arms with water. She has the song of Krishna's love on her lips. The woods, the land, the bank of the river—the whole world—are drenched in the rays of the full-moon of (the month of) Kartik. The song she sings is the song of Krishna's love, of the joy of love of Rasa (dance of Krishna with gopis).

Uddhava stands on the bank of the Yamuna and sees this Lila. As she sings, the gopi is oblivious of her surroundings as on the night of the Rasa-leela—her soul having sunk in the sea of Krishna's joy. Uddhava notes that the strains of the song have ceased. He comes nearer and lo! The gopi's face is sweetly aglow; her vital-breath, as if, has ceased in her body. The cloth she is wearing has slipped as it is no longer in her grip—she is insensible to her modesty. After a long time, the members of her family reach there searching for her. Because there is no water they are thirsty, so are the cows and the calves. They pull her out of her swoon. Even then she is inebriated with bhava, and she shouts: "O my life-breath, Krishna, my very life!"

This third blow, as with a heavy mace crushes Uddhava's pride of his love to Krishna. He realizes that the gopis' love for Krishna gushing forth from the depth of their hearts and soul, and making them oblivious of their bodies, has the same relation with his own love of Krishna just as a chunk of butter bears to a piece of stone.

Oh, what a force these reciters have! They narrate the Lila as if it is being enacted before their eyes. The audience sat motionless spell bound—having sublimated the emotions, as it were.

This was followed by a song. I remember a couple of lines and present them to you. Please sing these as you go home. The song is by Uddhava:

''Blessed the gopis, blessed you are, blessed Vrindaban! Where the love of Krishna has embodied itself!''
----

== '''07 January 2019''' ==
=== '''(From the Imitation of Christ)''' ===

==== '''Have a Humble Opinion of yourself''' ====
It is natural for all of us to desire knowledge, but what is the value of knowledge without respect for God? The most ordinary person who serves God is better than a proud philosopher who neglects himself while studying the stars. If you really know yourself, you will see that nothing about yourself is worthy of praise. ''"I may have all knowledge and understand all secrets... but if I have no love, I am nothing"'' (1 Cor. 13:2). When I stand in God's presence, I am judged by the things I do.

Great learning can be a distraction; it can make you try to appear wise in order to win praise. There are many things you can know which will be of little value to your soul, and it is not wise to waste your time on them. Words do not nourish the soul, but a life well-lived brings comfort to the mind. A clear conscience will give you confidence before God.

If you think you know a lot about something, remind yourself that there are many more things you do not know. ''"Do not be proud, but accept humble duties. Do not think of yourselves as wise"'' (Rom. 12:16). If you want to learn something worthwhile, learn how to be a nobody.

The most profound and valuable lesson of all is to truly know yourself and to have a humble opinion of yourself.

Think well of others. If you see someone else engaging in a sinful act or a crime, do not let that make you think more highly of yourself. "You do not know how long it may be before you also stumble. All of us are frail; consider yourself no stronger than anybody else!
----

== '''08 January 2019''' ==
=== '''(From For Seekers of God)''' ===
''Place: Belur Monastery. Time: Friday, August 2, 1929.''

A brahmacharin saluted Mahapurushji, whereupon he remarked:

"Early in the morning, at dusk and at night you should meditate intensively. This place has a tangible spiritual atmosphere. Swamiji brought the relics of the Master on his head and installed him, here. Here there is a special manifestation of Sri Ramakrishna.

"Besides, Swamiji, Maharaj (Swami Brahmananda), Baburam Maharaj (Swami Premananda) and others performed so much spiritual practice here. Swamiji even laid down his body right here. How holy this place is! Nowhere will you find another place more favourable for spiritual practice. This place is steeped in spirituality. How much meditation, study and singing of the names of the Lord has been done here and is still being done! How many devotees visit this place! How many times homa (fire ritual) has been performed here, and what other ceremonials have also been performed!

"The few days you live here be sure to enjoy the bliss of meditation and japa. The more you meditate, the more you will appreciate the holiness of this place. You are devotees of the Master. Call upon him; you will certainly get a response and your heart will be filled with joy."

Brahmacharin: "Often questions arise in my mind which I intend to refer to you."

Mahapurushji (affectionately): "Why don't you tell me the doubts that arise in your mind? But you know all your doubts will be solved from within. The Lord is within us. He is the inner Self of us all. He solves all doubts from within. Of course, you will have to let Him know your problems."

Saying this, he began singing this song:

''Stay by yourself, O mind!'' ''Why wander here and there?'' ''Look within in the inner chamber of your heart,'' ''And you will find, right there, whatever you desire...'' ''You have everything within you, only you have to seek, my child.''

"You are devotees of the Mother. She is protecting you under all conditions and will always do so. If one takes the name of the Lord and starts on a journey, one will not come to grief. By the strength of His name even distress is transformed into a blessing."

Saying this he sang:

''Whoever starts upon a journey taking the name of Mother Durga, Shiva, with His almighty trident, surely will protect him.''

"In a couplet composed by Tulasidas there is the same idea:

''Every phase of the moon is auspicious;'' ''Every day an auspicious day.'' ''An inauspicious day affects him only who has forgotten the Lord.'' ''The day one takes the name of the Lord whole-heartedly is a good day!''"
----

== '''09 January 2019''' ==
''9 January 2019''

=== '''Absorption''' ''Swami Brahmananda'' ===
The subtle mind leads the aspirant nearer to God, but it cannot reach God, the supreme Atman. Having reached this stage, the world no longer holds any charm for the aspirant; he becomes absorbed in the consciousness of God. This absorption leads to Samadhi, an experience which cannot be described. It is beyond ''is'' and ''is not''. There, there is neither happiness nor misery, neither light nor darkness. All is infinite Being—inexpressible.

Higher still is meditation. When a man practices this form of worship, he keeps up a constant flow of thought toward God and becomes absorbed in the living presence of his Chosen Ideal. He goes beyond prayer and japam, but the sense of duality remains.

Practice japam, whether you like it or not. As you persist, the mind is certain to become absorbed in contemplation.

Hold fast to the truth. Be pure-hearted. The purer you become the more will your mind be absorbed in God: You will be able to see the subtle deceptions of the mind, and you will be able to root them out.

When your mind becomes absorbed in meditation, a fountain of joy will spring up within you. Learn to be absorbed in him. Activity is not the goal. Work without attachment is only a means to absorption in God.

At dead of night the mind becomes absorbed in God with very little effort. The moment you become absorbed in the contemplation of God, you will experience unbounded joy. Days and nights will pass away in the blissful consciousness of God.

By steadfastness alone the mind becomes absorbed in God. Unless absorption is achieved, freedom from the temptations of the world is not possible. Lust, anger, delusion—these are strong foes. Be strong in the strength of God and escape from this net of Maya.

The mind is like a spoiled child always restless. Try repeatedly to steady it by fixing it on the Chosen Ideal, and at last you will become absorbed in him. Meditation means a continuous flow of thought toward God. when meditation ripens, there comes absorption, and Samadhi is experienced.

[To the question, "How can one get the mind absorbed in God?"] Practice meditation regularly.

Can anyone in the primary stage live absorbed day and night in meditation? Therefore you must work, but work without attachment for the good of mankind.

When the mind becomes absorbed, a shining light is first experienced in the mystic vision. With this vision, there comes a kind of higher and nobler joy, and the mind is reluctant to give up this joy and move onward. But if the aspirant goes further, the vision of the light will be concentrated into the form of tile Chosen Ideal and the mind becomes merged in his consciousness.

The more the mind is absorbed within, the greater will be the joy of meditation; and when once you taste joy in your spiritual practices, the desire to continue in them will grow. Then you will no longer have to ask how long you should meditate. Your own mind will tell you.

When you are able to free yourself from these deep-seated subtle desires, when the mind becomes tranquil, then only can you become deeply absorbed in real meditation. The practice of japam and meditation brings the aspirant to this stage.
----

== '''10 January 2019''' ==
''10 January 2019''

''Place: Belur Monastery'' ''Sunday, August 18, 1929''

=== '''(Swami Shivananda)''' ===
The conversation was about pilgrimages. A monk had just returned from Badrinarayan and such other holy places and some of the monks of the monastery were talking about this pilgrimage.

Mahapurushji: "Visiting holy places is an easy thing. It requires just a little hardship. But to have devotion and faith in God is a rare achievement. You will come across many sadhus who have made pilgrimage on foot to the four dhamas (holy places located at the four corners of India) or have done similar things, but how many of them are genuine sadhus with devotion and discrimination? Of course, it is not that there are no such sadhus, but their number is very limited.

"It is very difficult to make progress in the realm of the Spirit. In the first place, it is practically an impossibility with those who do not have any living ideal. Fortunately, if they come in touch with an ideal personality it becomes somewhat easy to make progress; otherwise they can hardly make any progress. Once the ideal of life is determined one can advance slowly towards that ideal through the grace of God. Of course, everything depends upon God's grace.

"We were very fortunate that we came in touch with such a great personality. We have seen in our life what one should do in order to realize God and what happens to a man after God-realization. He was born as a divine Incarnation (Sri Ramakrishna) and he graciously brought us with him. Is this a small matter? We came in direct touch with God Himself. We saw him and shaped our lives in accordance with his ideal. The path to realize God was made very easy for us. Blessed are we!

"On the other hand, those who have not seen Sri Ramakrishna and have not had the blessed privilege of his holy association are seeing us and are trying to reach the Master and understand him through us. They are more fortunate than thousands of men and women in this world.

"What would you say to this? God Himself came down as man: it happened only the other day. The whole drama was enacted right in front of our eyes! What a fire of intense spiritual discipline did he ignite! Even now people can feel the warmth of that fire. Is this age to be slighted? It is indeed a holy age! In this age, whoever will take the name of Sri Ramakrishna and try to advance spiritually, modelling his life after that of the Master, will find it easier to make progress. If one patterns one's life after the Master's life, casting his life in the mould of the Master, it will be easy for him to realize God. But where are the people who can do that?"

''(For Seekers of God)''

== 11 January 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== From M. The Apostle and the Evangelist ===
The fifth part of the Kathamrita is under print. As M. is indisposed he is helped by Swami Raghavananda. He is with M. these days.

Swami Raghavananda wants to read out the fifth part to the sadhus.

The topic is: Shyam Bazar of Thakur's native place, followed by the description of the Hari Sabha of Jorasanko.

Thakur is telling about his state in the Hari Sabha—he was in such a state of bhava that it looked as if his body would not last.

'''M.''': When the account of Gaya was being read out in Thakur's presence, we saw him sobbing and weeping. You see, his past had come back to his mind. He knew who he was—'''svayameva atmana atmanam vetha tvam purushottama''<nowiki/>' (Gita 10:15)—Verily You alone know Yourself by Yourself, O Purushottama.

'''Antevasi''': Is it what happened to Chaitanya Deva in Gaya?

'''M.''': Yes. When Chaitanya Deva went to Gaya to perform the rites for his dead father, he went into a deep bhava—he had the vision of God. When Thakur heard it, he began to sob and weep.

'''Antevasi''': Where, in Dakshineswar?

'''M.''': Yes, in Dakshineswar.

'''Antevasi''': The readers of the Kathamrita think that Thakur would not go to Gaya for the reason that he had been born as an avatara there. When the incident of Chaitanya born as an avatara would come to his mind, he would give up his body—this nobody remembers.

'''M.''': That's why he would not go to Puri also. Chaitanya Deva was there for twenty years. Towards the last twelve years, he was in the mahabhava. Remembering all those things the body would not last, that's why he wouldn't go there. Chaitanya Deva is now Sri Ramakrishna. He himself said: '''Christ, Chaitanya and I are one.''<nowiki/>'

'''M.''' (to all present): Thakur said to Swami Vivekananda on the first day, '''Have you heard of Gaur of Nadia (Chaitanya)? I am he.''<nowiki/>'

He replied, '''Yes, I hear people saying Gaur, Gaur.''<nowiki/>' "Our house had not been partitioned till then. It was in that room in front, that Swamiji told me this.

And he also said, '''Mahashaya, has this person gone mad? He says, that he is the same as that Gaur of Nadia.''<nowiki/>'" (All laugh).

'''Antevasi''': Well, how did Swamiji take it—in what bhava?

'''M.''': What bhava? He was just a boy then. On the top of it he was an English-educated boy.

'''M. and Swami Raghavananda''' (in one voice): He did not believe in reincarnation.

'''Antevasi''': I have been corrected. I thought that because Thakur claimed that he was an avatara of Chaitanya Deva that Swamiji had called him mad.

'''M.''': Swamiji took it the same way as any young man would do. He knew English, so he had become all the more sceptical. He did not believe in reincarnation. You see, the Englishmen do not believe in it.

"That's why Thakur swore by it and said it so emphatically to all. You see, all those who had been educated in English used to visit him. Thakur would say, '''Verily I say, the Mother has come—She who stands in front and talks to me.''<nowiki/>' Only this could make the sceptics believe. Thakur made ordinary men see God as much is possible in these days of disbelief."

'''M.''' (laughing): Narendra said: How much he pulls me with great affection here, while I sleep comfortably in my Simla home!

Just see, he who called Thakur a mad man later wrote a hymn with this—'''tasmat tvameva sharanam mama dinbandho''<nowiki/>'—that is to say, O friend of the lowly, You alone are my refuge.
----

== 12 January 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Premananda ===
Let the mouth be closed, and action speak.

Is a person worthy to be called a human being if he cannot give up selfishness, if he cannot give up his pleasures of the senses?

To take the name of Sri Ramakrishna, and at the same time to be selfish! Is there any progress for such a hypocrite? Think wisely and firmly; and act accordingly.

Be completely desireless, but act. Do not be swayed by words of praise or blame, or let your actions be influenced by the opinions of others.

I see no evil in you. Who knows but that you may be a saint tomorrow? God plays with us by putting on various masks. We act under the control of our samskaras [tendencies]. We are all toys in the hands of the good Lord, and he is our refuge.

Trust in the Lord and act. You will then succeed. If you depend on men, you will meet with failure.

But we have lost this truthfulness, and that is why we have come to such a pass groaning under the crushing weight of misery and degradation. Now all our efforts must be directed first to retrieve it; not by mere empty speech, but by sincere action, pledging all our heart and soul to it.

Be active also. Free yourself from all sense of ego, and work selflessly. Be very careful that no sense of leadership or any trace of selfishness enter into you. Whatever you do, do as the servant of the Lord.

"Do or die!" Make this your motto. Rome was not built in a day, neither can the ideal character be formed in one day. It is the sum-total of your every thought and action that makes up your character. Remember this and every moment guard well your thoughts and actions. This is an age when we need workers who seek no results for their actions—and are completely devoted to God. No talk, but action; show by the example of your life.

It is not a lazy man's job. Be up and doing!
----

== 13 January 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== On Adversity ===
It is no easy thing to dedicate oneself heart and soul to the Lord. Many people boast: '''I have surrendered myself and my all to God. I do only what he tells me to do.''<nowiki/>' But if we observe their lives we see differently. For the good they do they claim the credit and they boast of their achievements, but when adversity or trouble overtakes them they cry out against the Lord and blame him for their misfortunes. ''(Swami Brahmananda)''

At the time of happiness everybody can remain calm, can discriminate, but one is established in it only if one can remain so even in adversity. At that time man has to summon up great strength. If he yields to weakness then, grief will overwhelm him—will altogether ruin him. ''(Swami Turiyananda)''

Nothing can bar the progress of what God intends to make successful. Unless one passes through the school of adversity, one cannot properly be called a man. We learn much from our troubles.

You should not lose heart in adversity. Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas, prayed to Sri Krishna to beset her with adversities, since in adversity alone is He more frequently remembered! ''(Swami Ramakrishnananda)''
----

== 14 January 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Swami Ramakrishnananda ===
Do not sit like that [with chin resting on palm of hand], it is a pensive attitude. You should always cultivate a cheerful attitude.

If you can place yourself at the feet of a true Teacher, your egotism will gradually wear away by that very attitude of yours of a servant.

Divine Mother does not like us to call ourselves Her servants... We are her children to Her, not servants. Always think of yourself as Her child.

[Describing the true attitude of a Jnani:] The story is told that Maya, the personified creative force, came one day to a Jnani or sage and said:

'''Am I not very great? See, I have created so many worlds, suns and moons and stars. I am the ruler of such a vast universe.''<nowiki/>'

'''You are the Queen of Zero'',' said the sage.

Angry at the lack of regard for her greatness she touched him and he became a camel. He was put in the desert, made to carry heavy burdens over the hot sands and subjected to such cruel treatment that Maya herself at last had pity upon him and released him. Then she asked him if he would not now fall down and worship her.

He only laughed saying, '<nowiki/>''I have neither camel's body nor mind. You are not hurting me. You are only slapping your own cheek.''<nowiki/>' Maya exclaimed angrily, '''You are still incorrigible!''<nowiki/>' Again she touched him and this time made him an ass. As an ass he was beaten, forced to carry evil-smelling burdens, and to live a miserable existence.

Then once more Maya came to him and asked him to bow down to her. '''Why should I? I am not suffering. The ass's body belongs to you, not to me,''<nowiki/>' he replied.

At last Maya seeing she could not disturb the serenity of his mind fell prostrate before him saying, '''It is you who are greater.''<nowiki/>'
----

== 15 January 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Where Many Live Together Friction May Occur—Patience and Forgiveness Necessary ===
'''Place''': Belur Monastery

'''Time''': Friday, July 26, 1929

It was afternoon. Mahapurushji had just finished his shave. Seeing a monastic worker of the orphanage at Baranagore, he called him to his side.

In the course of conversation the Swami said:

If the mind has a natural leaning towards God, one can make time and opportunity for spiritual practice. What is essential is earnestness. If you cannot carry on your spiritual practice here, you won't be able to do so anywhere. The Master used to say, "''He who has it here, has it there too.''"

That is a statement full of truth, my child. Call upon God and pray to Him with great sincerity. He will give you an abundance of devotion and faith. Why should you go? You are doing the Lord's work. Is it a small matter?

'''Monk''': 'In season and out of season, K. says whatever comes to his mind.' Saying this, he started crying.

'''Mahapurushji''': I had a feeling there was a misunderstanding between you two. Why does he use abusive language? I know very well that you do not deserve that treatment. You are a gentle, good-natured person. Why don't you ask K. to come and see me some time? I will explain matters to him.

Do not take it to heart, my child. You know, when pots that are together are moved, friction is inevitable. Do not take it seriously. Misunderstandings are bound to occur sometimes and they are straightened out eventually. ''It takes two hands to clap''. Let him say whatever he wishes. Just endure it all quietly. You will have to be a little humble. You will have to sacrifice a little.

You have dedicated your body, mind and soul to the Master's work. You have renounced everything for his sake. You will have to do this much also for his work. You should practise forbearance, you should sacrifice for his work. The Lord will bless you abundantly.

'''Monk''': Please bless me so that I can do it.

'''Mahapurushji''': Certainly you will be able to. You have my hearty blessings, my child. But you must pray to the Master sincerely, too. He will give you greater strength. You have come here renouncing everything for his sake. There is nothing that he will withhold from you. How will his work go on if you all do not live at peace in one place?

Be patient for his sake, paying no attention to what people say, good or bad. You are all sadhus and have come here with the idea of improving yourselves. You do not have any other desire or wish in your life. You want Him alone. Temporary misunderstandings are inevitable when several work together. They aren't something to be blamed for; it is quite natural. Such misunderstandings come and go; they cannot touch your inner Self, because the main objective of your life is the realization of God. Such petty matters as attachment and aversion cannot deeply affect you. This is what we feel.

Whenever you can, practise japa, meditate upon God and pray to Him sincerely. The moment you have a feeling of weakness or of lacking in anything, tell the Master about it. If you pray very sincerely, you are bound to get a response. Repeat his name often. The repetition of his name will purify your body and mind, washing away all impurities. You have renounced everything in order to be sadhus. The realization of God is the aim of your life, my child.

Your ideal is "''to remain unaffected by praise or blame, to be silent and contented with a little''". Balance in praise or blame, silence and being satisfied with whatever comes—this is the state you should aim at. You should be absorbed in God. What does it matter to you what people say about you?
----

== 16 January 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Anguish / Anxiety / Anxious ===
Sorrow, bereavement, pain and anguish—this is what the world consists of. Real joy or peace is very rare in this world, and this round of birth and death that is ours, no one can check.

Hari Maharaj used to say: '''The body knows its pain; O my mind, be at peace!''<nowiki/>' What a beautiful statement! Pain and anguish belong to the body. He who dwells within the body is not affected by them: He is Bliss itself.

There is no need to be anxious about it. Whatever be the Lord's pleasure is definitely for the good of all. ''(Swami Shivananda)''

Throw away all fear and anxiety. Think, '''We are the children of God''<nowiki/>', then weakness will find no loophole to creep in.

Away with all quarrels and factions. We have come here for only a very short time; why such anxiety for tidying things up? Let others do as they like.

Fear, worries, and anxieties dwell where there are hypocrisy, evil motives, and selfishness. ''(Swami Premananda)''

Just see! Our God is only a verbal affair! A little meditation, a little Japa—this is a poor sort of spiritual life. The heart must burst hungering for Him. An intense anguish must fill it and life should seem to go out without Him—only then it will be right.

A sea is no more than a mud-puddle when you have crossed it. All anxiety and trouble are at the initial stage. ''(Swami Turiyananda)''

Actually very few of us believe in God all the time. How do we know this? Because we allow anxieties and fears to arise in our minds.

All your anxieties and worries come from egotism and selfishness. Let go your little self and they will disappear.

When worries and perplexities rise in our mind it shows we have ceased to believe in God and in that He is caring for us. If we have real faith in God, we can never grow anxious.

Blessed is the man who has faith. He is the happiest of all men because he is free from all anxiety.

You should not be anxious of the future. Whatever takes place here, on this earth, is for our good, for all things are disposed by God. In the meantime, it should be our duty to be dutiful.

It is through sheer ignorance that we bring on ourselves all sorts of groundless anxieties. To work you have the right, but not the fruits thereof. The leader should be a man having not the least egoism. Not "I" but "Thou"—this should be his motto. Remember this and go on working and you are sure to come out victorious... Do not try to have everything done all at once.

It is the greatest relief when we get rid of egotism. It is as if a heavy burden rolled off. At once all our doubts and fears, anxieties and troubles disappear.

Whenever anxiety rises in you, you become an atheist; you do not believe in God and that He cares for you.

If you have real faith you can never grow anxious. Do your duty never grow anxious and do not think of the future. ''(Swami Ramakrishnananda)''

''(From What The Disciples Said)''
----

== 17 January 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Argumentation ===
It is excellent to see only the good. From a pile of mixed sand and sugar, the ant extracts only the sugar. What do we have to do with quarrels and disputes? ''(Swami Premananda)''

Don't argue unnecessarily just to prove your point. It ruins the spiritual atmosphere. Let people do whatever they like; you should live according to your own ideal. ''(Swami Adbhutananda)''

Once, while I was at Belur, a gentleman came and expressed his regret that we had not married and had renounced the world. By all sorts of arguments, he demonstrated that our supreme Guru Shiva was also married. Owing to ignorance, man tries to support his views with numerous intellectual arguments, and the result is philosophizing. But he gets over all these, once he is blessed with true insight.

The Master used to say, '''The world is an evil place, and you should renounce it.''<nowiki/>' There was no argument behind it, because he knew that no one can get over his unhappiness without renouncing the world. Once it is realized that a thing is bad, the best thing is to discard it, there is no question of arguing about it.

You better leave these debates and arguments alone. We have got a brain of very limited capacity; and for realizing God, all this hair-splitting is of no use. What you require is burning faith in Him. In order to be firmly established in that faith, you may raise one or two valid points, but nothing more. Our arguments are just like armchair discussions; they lead us nowhere. We argue about God and then go home and lie down in bed. That is not religion, and it does not contribute to peace of mind.

Faith is the foundation of spiritual life. Too much of argumentation is of no avail... In order to be firmly established in that faith, you may raise one or two valid points, but nothing more. Unless you have faith, arguments and discussions will only cloud the issue and create confusion. ''(Swami Vijnanananda)''
----

== 18 January 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Direct Disciples ===

==== On Astrology ====
''(Swami Saradananda)''

An enlightened soul does not use occult powers nor does he take recourse to astrology. For astrological calculations are in many cases unreliable.

A true guru has super-sensuous powers. He visualizes the inner body of the disciple and instructs him in accordance with his past and future impressions. This is what seeing the past and the future means. Telling the past and the future by divination with numbers or by the use of astrology is not infallible in most cases.

By consulting the readings of the horoscope people always lose faith in their own capacity and become weak-minded. Readings of the horoscope are made from the movements of the planets and stars, but from those movements nobody can say how far a man's capacity will be manifested. For that reason, self-effort can change the readings of the horoscope this way or that way.

==== Atheism ====
''(Swami Ramakrishnananda)''

The theists are in the core of their hearts true theists as they are always searching for God, though indirectly. Those whose minds are busily engaged in the search for God directly or indirectly cannot be atheists.

==== Attachment ====
''(Swami Brahmananda)''

Do your duties conscientiously, and without attachment. Always remember that you are an instrument in the hands of God and that God himself is the only doer.

Sri Ramakrishna used to say that a man will surely attain God if he possesses in an intense degree three kinds of love—the love a chaste wife feels toward her husband, the attraction of the worldly man for the world, and the attachment the miser feels toward his hoarded wealth. This means that the mind must be one-pointed and completely free of all desires but the desire to know God.

If you can perform every action as worship of the Lord, then only will you like to work and feel no attachment to the fruits of your actions.

''Without divine attachment and divine love the mind becomes dry and restless.''
----

== 19 January 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Direct Disciples ===

==== Swami Shivananda ====
[To the question: "Holy sir, we are worldly people. We have so many attachments and are confronted by so many obstacles. What are we to do?"]

Pray to the Lord! Talk to him!

If anyone feels the same intense longing as would result if these three attachments were united [that of a devoted wife for her husband, of a Mother for her child, and for a miser for his wealth], only then does he have God-vision.

What counts is not the mere renunciation of external attachments; inner attachments must also be given up.

Do not be attached, my child. Lust and gold destroy the manhood of man.

You have to do His work without any attachment. Know it for certain that, if one goes on performing one's duties under the sincere belief that one is doing God's work, one can never suffer spiritually. God protects such a one for ever.

As a result of association with the holy one reaches the state of being freed from all worldly attachments. All wants and desires are then destroyed root and branch, and one feels the nearness of God.

This process of evolution and involution is only another form of the twin forces of attraction or attachment and repulsion or dispassion. It is because of attraction or attachment that souls are drawn to this world, coming back and forth and playing their different embodied roles.

On account of holy association one attains the most covetable state of desirelessness. It destroys attachments at their very roots and brings one very close to God.

Look here. Nothing will accrue to you if you do not have right and proper attachment, affection and love for the Master.

==== Swami Premananda ====
To love the devotees of the Lord brings no attachment, it creates no bondage.

Attachment is bondage; yet again, attachment opens the door to liberation to one who becomes attached to God or the guru or to illumined souls.

One must have true Nishta—steadfast, whole-hearted devotion and attachment to that aspect of God which one has chosen to realize. But let that not produce repulsion for the other aspects.

==== Swami Turiyananda ====
[To the question: "How to know whether one is progressing towards Him or not?"]

One can know it oneself. Others also can know it. All his passions, lust, anger and greed will wane, his attachment for the objects of the senses will diminish, and he will have peace at heart.

If there be a hole of attachment in the mind, the result of Japa will run out through it.

Nag Mahashaya once said to me, '''Bless my father that he may have true devotion to God.''<nowiki/>'

'He has already got it,' I replied, 'He is constantly repeating the name of God. What more do you want?'

Nag Mahashaya rejoined, '''What is the use of rowing a boat which is at anchor? My father is much attached to me. What good will his Japa do?''<nowiki/>'

'If he is not to love a son like you, whom else should he love?' said I. 'Don't say so, don't say so' he cried out, 'only bless that he may lose all attachment for me.'

Death is no more terrible when there is no attachment. One must throw out all attachments. All the trouble is due to love being centred on specific objects. When you dive into the Ganges you don't feel any weight, although there are tons of water overhead. But one feels so burdened when one places a pot of water on one's head! Even the spine may give way!

Attachment to the body is the last and strongest bondage. The parental affection of monkeys is very great. The mother carries the dead body of her young one even after the flesh has dropped off and the skeleton alone is left. But even they, as all other animals, forget everything about their young ones when their own life is at stake.

Even the least attachment for anything gives the mind a loop-hole to direct you as it pleases. You become a slave to it, which is not the case if you are unattached. Lust, attachment, and the like are one and the same thing, varying only in intensity. One must turn the mind away before it gets attached to any object. Otherwise it becomes an impossible task afterwards.

Never think of transient things. That way you can escape attachment.

The common man takes to those activities which tend to perpetuate the bond of attachment. And this is true of the whole world. The only exceptions are the monks, who have found out the evanescence of the world and renounced it.

Attachment and aversion are at the root of all evil. Hence the injunction to relinquish them. For, free of them, one can do with impunity whatever one likes.

Attachment is made up of the ideas of 'me' and 'mine'.

They are fearless because they are unattached. When Mother is known, attachment goes. The world then becomes so small, so insignificant—a little mud puddle.

== 20 January 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Direct Disciples ===

==== Attachment ====

===== Swami Trigunatitananda =====
That mind which is attached to more than one thing can never reach the goal. Learn to see God in everything about you. Smear God over everything, and your mind will think of Him alone.

===== Swami Adbhutananda =====
Attachments are troublemakers; they fasten the mind with a noose, as it were, and drag it in all directions.

Be attached to no one but God. Only if you hold onto God will your life be meaningful.

===== Swami Abhedananda =====
What one seeks, that one gets. You have got what you wanted. When you really hanker after God, He will raise your mind from things of the world and grant you His vision. But as long as you are attached to the world and are strongly inclined to the things of the world can you yearn for the Lord with all your heart?

===== Swami Ramakrishnananda =====
If you have the power to go inside yourself, then you have conquered the whole Universe. To go inside oneself means to go away from earthly attachments that hold you down like a captive balloon.

===== Swami Saradananda =====
If there is a strong attachment for God and a burning desire to realize Him, all other attractions will drop off.

First, you have to attain knowledge. After attaining knowledge when one returns to this world of diversity, one will see everything as before but will no longer be attached to anything in it. Before realizing the illusion one hopes for water in a mirage, but when one realizes its nature, though one may be seeing the mirage, one no longer expects any water in it. So also, though the world of diversity would still have to be experienced after knowledge, yet one no longer takes it to be real and so has no longer any attachment for it.

===== Swami Vijnanananda =====
When, therefore, our entire existence depends on Him, why should we form an attachment for worldly things? Worldly attachments draw people away from God and scorch them in the wildfire of the world.
----

== 21 January 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Attitude ===

==== Swami Brahmananda ====
Know that you are worshipping the Lord through your work. If you can work with this attitude, work will not bind you; on the contrary, it will improve you in every way, physically, mentally, intellectually, morally, and spiritually.

It is a lazy attitude to think that all one need do is to associate with the holy.

==== Swami Shivananda ====
After attending to your regular work, you will have plenty of time for spiritual practice. It is simply a matter of mental attitude. If the mind has a natural leaning towards God, one can make time and opportunity for spiritual practice.

The Lord looks at your mental attitude—your heart's longing. If one has devotion for Him, nothing else is necessary.

So long as you have this idea clear in your mind that you are doing God's work, you cannot have pride or anything like that. If you have the correct attitude, you need have no fear.

One wavers and moves from one attitude to another, only when one's own conviction is not firm.

It is no good frequenting all sorts of places and mixing with all sorts of people without having become firm in one's own attitude. That shatters one's own conviction. One must get firmly established in one's own spiritual attitude, one must get that attitude fully matured.

One has to get deeply absorbed in spiritual exercises; one must strengthen one's spiritual attitude in one's own mind.

There is no such hard and fast rule that all should have some mantra for mental repetition. For all do not have the same kind of spiritual attitude, nor are all equally qualified.

==== Swami Premananda ====
'Let the world be selfish, but that should be no excuse for my becoming selfish'—that should be one's attitude.

Every aspirant must take up a definite attitude towards God and stick to it. He must maintain it under all conditions. There are many (Bhavas) attitudes possible. The Master practiced all Bhavas—as a friend, a lady-friend, and a sweetheart of the Lord, and also in the attitude of Balaram, the brother of Sri Krishna. One can also practice the Bhavas of Shiva.

==== Swami Turiyananda ====
Yes, one is bound to admit that 'when one feels oneself as body, one must consider oneself as the servant of the Lord; when one thinks of oneself as the Jiva, the individualized soul, one must consider oneself as a part of Him; and when one feels oneself as the Atman, the Self, one is the same as the Lord Himself.'

There is another attitude, according to which God keeps some in bondage and releases others. But who can assume this attitude? Only he who has realized everything as one and who feels His mercy even amidst great sorrow.

There is a third attitude: Whatever is good is His, and whatever is bad is the result of our own karma. If we continue this attitude, we eventually get rid of the ego.

The new psychology of the West has brought a reaction. Your attitude is to scorn failure, and push onward to success. That is laudable. I like your cheerful, hopeful outlook on life. You use failure as a stepping stone to success. Down today, up tomorrow.

What I call good, you perhaps call bad, and the reverse. Where is the standard? The standard is in our own attitude towards life. Each one has his own standard. And with increased experience and insight, the standard changes.

'''I must realize God in this very life!''<nowiki/>'—that should be your attitude.
----

== 22 January 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== From M. The Apostle and the Evangelist ===
'''M.''' (to the devotees): Who are great in the eyes of worldly people? Those who have so much of wealth and money—houses and buildings, people, coaches, name and honour. And who is great in the eyes of Thakur? He who knows nothing else but God—like Narada and Sukadeva.

Thakur renounced money and fame for which the tongue of the worldly begins to water. He would say forcefully, '''I sweep name and fame with the broom.''<nowiki/>' On hearing the Marwari's proposal to give him ten thousand rupees, he became absolutely unconscious and fell down. Has anyone heard such a thing like absolute unconsciousness anywhere! He had such a deep-seated aversion!

People become unconscious for want of money, and he became unconscious on the matter of receiving money. What an amazing character!

"When he regained consciousness, he said, '''Mother, do You want to enchant me during my last days with money? Mother, do that which shall fix my mind on Your holy feet.''<nowiki/>'"

He said, '''I received as if a blow of axe on my head. This made me fall unconscious.''<nowiki/>'

Here is an episode:

Lord, please be gracious enough and grant your darshan to the king (King Pratap Rudra) for once—the king's minister and a great devotee Rai Ramananda, and Vasudeva Saurvbhaum made this request to Chaitanya Deva.

Hearing this, Chaitanya Deva said with a surprise, 'What do you people say? The king is the greatest of worldly man. Meeting him and enjoying sensory enjoyments are one and the same. Have I come to do all this forsaking everything behind?'

The devotees requested him another day also. At this, he replied, 'If that be so, I leave for Alalnath.' Saying so, he immediately left. Then they all went, humbly prayed to him and brought him back. Such is the affair. Is it a small matter?

What is M. thinking about? He again showers the nectarine words.

'''M.''' (to the devotees): How much Thakur loved Keshab Sen! What a great man he was! Thakur said (about Keshab), 'He is a divine man.' Even to such a person he said on his face, 'I cannot accept your words. You live with money, fame and honour.'

Keshab Babu had said to Thakur, 'You have attained sixteen annas (full complement) jnana.'

'''M.''' (to a new devotee): Is there a way for us other than holy company?

I am reminded of something. A Nanakpanthi sadhu said it. He used to frequent Thakur at that time. It is forty-two years back. I remembered one out of the two things and forgot the other. That too came to my mind just few days back.

It is this: Somebody was performing an yajna of birds at Mansarovar. He hoped that this would bring all kinds of birds to him. So, the hamsa (swan) would also come. The hamsa would definitely be accompanied by the Paramahamsa. Paramahamsa, in other words Narayana.

It means this: By keeping company of sadhus, one can have darshan (Vision) of God.

The guru does not reveal all the things to the disciple immediately. Reason? The disciple shall get frightened. So, he leads him slowly.

'''M.''': That is why, Thakur would say: One cannot ask the people of Calcutta to renounce everything. If I tell that, they will stop coming at all. So I say, 'You people do this and that too. Hold on to God with one hand and with the other live in the world.'

I tell them, 'You people renounce mentally.' Then by coming here frequently, when one oneself understands, realizes that all these—wife, son and relations—are nothing, one shall renounce of one's own accord.
----

== 23 January 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== For Seekers of God ===
'''Place''': Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Bombay

'''Time''': January 28, 1927

At night after supper Swami Shivananda was seated in his room in the Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama at Bombay. Most of the monks and novices of the ashrama were present. One monk said: 'Maharaj, we have heard that the Master used to say, "This is the last birth of those who would come here." Did you yourself ever hear him say it?'

Mahapurushji remained silent for a while and then replied: 'Why, it has been mentioned in the books that have been written about him.'

'''Monk''': 'What is the meaning of this saying of the Master? Does it refer only to those who had seen the Master and had attained devotion and faith through his grace? Or does it mean that this is the last birth of whoever has reverence for him?'

'''Swami''': 'His words meant both. Whoever has deep regard for him, is sincerely devoted to him, and has surrendered himself fully to him, whether he has seen him in the flesh or not, will attain liberation and not be reborn. But self-surrender there must be.'

'''Monk''': 'Maharaj, will those also be free who have taken refuge in him and have joined his Order?'

'''Swami''': Yes, of course, but true liberation calls for complete self-dedication. Even to belong to his fold—is it a mean fortune?'

'''Monk''': 'Why, we don't seem to be making much headway or progress?'

'''Swami''': 'My child, what you have done so far and are doing now, is not negligible. Without his grace even that would have been impossible. How gracious is the Master to you! Not for nothing has he snatched you away from your parents and made you renounce hearth and home. It is because he has been unusually gracious that he has brought you to his fold and given you the opportunity to attain the summum bonum of life.'

'''Monk''': 'But, Maharaj, we do not feel that the works we are engaged in have been very conducive to the development of the spirit of renunciation and dispassion.'

'''Swami''': 'Whatever you are doing here is certainly his work, and you are doing it all for his pleasure. You are not actuated by any selfish worldly desire. These activities of yours will undoubtedly foster a spirit of renunciation and dispassion. Don't think that a life of mendicancy in Rishikesh alone will give you dispassion. For shame! You are certainly on the right track. At present you may not have this consciousness, but in the fullness of time it will grow and you will be established in it. You will realize that everything is his and that you have nothing to regard as your own.'
----

== 24 January 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Disciples ===

==== Swami Adbhutananda ====
In doing good to others, we try to forget the apparent distinctions between ourselves and other men. The welfare of others is my welfare—that should be our attitude.

Ah, the folly! Can one force the non-dualist's attitude on one's mind? It is a slow growth.

The garden and its produce belong to the master. The gardener does not own anything. Everything is the master's. But he offers the master's things to him with great devotion and humility. Everything of the world belongs to the Lord, we are His gardeners. 'Thou art my Lord, and I am Thy servant'—actuated by this attitude, and with faith and devotion, we offer the Lord's things to Him. This is ''Dasya-Bhakti''.

'''I am and my chosen Deity is—there is nought else besides''<nowiki/>'—when this attitude comes, the mind becomes purified. This is meditation.

==== Swami Ramakrishnananda ====
Do not sit like that [with chin resting on palm of hand], it is a pensive attitude. You should always cultivate a cheerful attitude.

If you can place yourself at the feet of a true Teacher, your egotism will gradually wear away by that very attitude of a servant.

The Divine Mother does not like us to call ourselves Her servants. We are her children to Her, not servants. Always think of yourself as Her child.

[Describing the true attitude of a Jnani:] The story is told that Maya, the personified creative force, came one day to a Jnani or sage and said, 'Am I not very great? See, I have created so many worlds, suns and moons and stars. I am the ruler of such a vast universe.'

'You are the Queen of Zero,' said the sage.

Angry at the lack of regard for her greatness she touched him and he became a camel. He was put in the desert, made to carry heavy burdens over the hot sands and subjected to such cruel treatment that Maya herself at last had pity upon him and released him.

Then she asked him if he would not now fall down and worship her. He only laughed saying, '''I have neither camel's body nor mind. You are not hurting me. You are only slapping your own cheek.''<nowiki/>'

Maya exclaimed angrily, '''You are still incorrigible!''<nowiki/>' Again she touched him and this time made him an ass. As an ass he was beaten, forced to carry evil-smelling burdens, and to live a miserable existence. Then once more Maya came to him and asked him to bow down to her.

'''Why should I? I am not suffering. The ass's body belongs to you, not to me,''<nowiki/>' he replied.

At last Maya seeing she could not disturb the serenity of his mind fell prostrate before him saying, '''It is you who are greater.''<nowiki/>'

==== Swami Saradananda ====
''Whatever is happening is happening at His command and, if He wills, the situation will change''. With this attitude resign yourself to the Lord and be happy and free from cares.

The work that you do is to be performed with a right attitude. You must feel that the duties that you are discharging have been entrusted to you by the Lord. You are doing them only to satisfy Him and not to satisfy your selfish will. No work is menial. Even scrubbing the floor may be turned into worship if there is the remembrance of the Lord within.

==== Swami Akhandananda ====
At night you have to take a little less food and try to maintain always an attitude of prayer—a current of higher thoughts. And another idea must occupy your mind—that in this very life I must see God, I must finish my task of calling upon Him.
----

== 25 January 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== M. The Apostle and the Evangelist ===
M. is seated on a chair facing north. All meditate for some time. Thereafter, M. converses on spiritual matters.

'''M.''': What is in one's nature must come about. Sri Krishna said the same thing to Arjuna. Said he—'I shall not fight!'

Vain is this, your saying! Your very nature has war within! Your nature shall compel you to fight—'''prakriti stvam niyokshyati''<nowiki/>' (Gita 18:59).

There is no way out except following one's nature. So, one must connect God with oneself and do it. This is the way. If He is with you, you always remember that one's nature makes one act.

That being so, one keeps oneself separate thinking thus—I am His child, His servant. Then work can't bind him.

'''M.''' (to Jagabandhu): Where is the complete program of yesterday's theatre?

Jagabandhu reads all the scenes.

'''M.''': We have also been able to see everything. These people have witnessed it; we must get its benefit. One gains even by hearing. Those who have power of imagination, they attain up to fourteen annas by hearing. Two annas remain the rest.

So, Thakur would say, '''Hearing is better than reading and seeing is better than hearing. Higher than reading is hearing and higher than hearing is seeing.''<nowiki/>' These people have witnessed it and we have heard it. This has enabled us to see, hear and read. Hearing is next best. We too have been able to do this.

'''M.''' (to Antevasi): Let us do some reading of the Kathamrita.

M. asks to read out the first, second and third chapters of the tenth section of the Kathamrita, part III.

Thakur describes his state during the course of conversation and says, "One attains ultimate jnana when one does not remember the ''amavasya'' (darkest lunar night) and the ''purnima'' (full moon night)."

'''M.''': Thakur says—One does gain ultimate jnana. But Haladhari said, 'Man becomes capricious.' Haladhari's point of view is that of a worldly man having attachment for sensory objects. Those who have their aim as God-realization, who want to gain the state of Shiva (divinity) from that of Jiva, should take Thakur's opinion alone.

When the mind enters samadhi, just as a salt-doll gets dissolved into the sea, one's awareness of the sea vanishes. It is this that the Vedas call the highest aim of man's life. Thakur also said the same from his life's experience.

When the mind that entered samadhi comes down, it sees as if God Himself has become all—the world, its creatures and the twenty four principles. When it descends a little lower, it is in the state he told—amavasya and purnima become the same. In other words, the mind is held back.

The outside affairs proceed of their own accord. Hanuman also had the same state—he could not remember the day, the date, the lunar date, the position of stars; he would only think upon Rama.

"But Thakur's mind was kept in that very state by the Mother. All his states are there to serve as an example. The whole world is covered with a thick fog of materialism. Thakur had such a state of mind to show to the world the ideal of the eternal truth. At this point of time Thakur had such a state—that God-realization is the highest ideal of man. The divine character of Thakur is like a life boat for the devotees in this sea of the world.

People don't put faith in all these states. To understand it, faith in the words of the Guru is essential. Guru means God, avatara—like Thakur.
----

== 26 January 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Direct Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna ===

==== Attraction ====

===== Swami Brahmananda =====
Sri Ramakrishna used to say that a man will surely attain God if he possesses in an intense degree three kinds of love—the love a chaste wife feels toward her husband, the attraction of the worldly man for the world, and the attachment the miser feels toward his hoarded wealth.

==== Austerity ====
It is easy to practice austerity by not allowing the mind to come into contact with sense-objects, but it is hard to get rid of the mental craving itself.

''In this age there is no way other than that of taking shelter at His feet.'' In the Iron Age, man's span of life is short. And within this short span of life one has to attain Him. There is no time for severe austerities as in olden days.

What is austerity? It is to direct the mind toward God in order to taste divine bliss. In this age it is not necessary to practice physical austerities, such as standing on your head. The path in this age is to create the desire to chant the Lord's name, to be compassionate toward all beings, and to serve holy men.

A little physical austerity also is good some times. For instance, on the day of the new moon, or on the eleventh day after the new or the full moon, eat only one meal.

You must practice severe austerities, but by this I do not mean physical austerities, or the torture of the body. Real austerity consists in the control of the passions. Passion must never be allowed to raise its head. But remember, religion is not for the eunuch, nor for the one who maims his body.

[Body austerities] are not real austerities. Anyone can practice them. The body is easily controlled, but it is another matter to control the mind. It is very difficult to renounce lust and greed, to give up the desire for name and fame.

Real austerity is based upon these three principles: First, take refuge in the truth. Truth is the pillar to which you must always hold while performing any action. Second, conquer lust. Third, renounce all cravings. Observe these three principles. That is real austerity, and the greatest of these is to ''conquer lust''.

Do you think that there is any fixed catalogued price of so much austerity, so much japam, so much charity, etc., for God-realization? None can force realization of Him! But, if you don't keep up a regular spiritual struggle, you will not be able to hold It, when It comes.
----

== 27 January 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== '''Today is Swami Vivekananda's Janma Utsava''' ===

=== The Conversations and Dialogues ===

==== Renunciation of Kama-Kanchana—God's Mercy Falls on Those Who Struggle for Realisation—Unconditional Mercy and Brahman Are One ====
'''Disciple''': Shri Ramakrishna used to say, Swamiji, that a man cannot progress far towards religious realisation unless he first relinquishes lust and greed. If so, what will become of the householders? For their whole minds are set on these two things.

'''Swamiji''': It is true that the mind can never turn to God until the desire for lust and wealth has gone from it, be the man a householder or a Sannyasin. Know this for a fact, that as long as the mind is caught in these, so long true devotion, firmness, and Shraddha (faith) can never come.

'''Disciple''': Where will the householders be, then? What way are they to follow?

'''Swamiji''': To satisfy our smaller desires and have done with them for ever, and to relinquish the greater ones by discrimination—that is the way. Without renunciation God can never be realised—even if Brahma himself enjoined otherwise!

'''Disciple''': But does renunciation of everything come as soon as one becomes a monk?

'''Swamiji''': Sannyasins are at least struggling to make themselves ready for renunciation, whereas householders are in this matter like boatmen who work at their oars while the boat lies at anchor. Is the desire for enjoyment ever appeased?—"It increases ever and ever." (Bhagavata, IX. xix. 14).

'''Disciple''': Why? May not world-weariness come, after enjoying the objects of the senses over and over for a long time?

'''Swamiji''': To how many does that come? The mind becomes tarnished by constant contact with the objects of the senses and receives a permanent moulding and impress from them. Renunciation, and renunciation alone, is the real secret, the Mulamantra, of all Realisation.

'''Disciple''': But there are such injunctions of the seers in the scriptures as these:

"To restrain the five senses while living with one's wife and children is Tapas."

"For him whose desires are under control, living in the midst of his family is the same as retiring into a forest for Tapasya."

'''Swamiji''': Blessed indeed are those who can renounce Kama-Kanchana, living in their homes with their family! But how many can do that?

'''Disciple''': But then, what about the Sannyasins? Are they all able to relinquish lust and love for riches fully?

'''Swamiji''': As I said just now, Sannyasins are on the path of renunciation, they have taken the field, at least, to fight for the goal; but householders, on the other hand, having no knowledge as yet of the danger that comes through lust and greed, do not even attempt to realise the Self; that they must struggle to get rid of these is an idea that has not yet entered their minds.

'''Disciple''': But many of them are struggling for it.

'''Swamiji''': Oh, yes, and those who are doing so will surely renounce by degrees; their inordinate attachment for Kama-Kanchana will diminish gradually. But for those who procrastinate, saying, "Oh, not so soon! I shall do it when the time comes," Self-realisation is very far off. "Let me realise the Truth this moment! In this very life!"—these are the words of a hero. Such heroes are ever ready to renounce the very next moment, and to such the scripture (Jabala Upanishad, 3.) says, "The moment you feel disgust for the vanities of the world, leave it all and take to the life of a monk."

'''Disciple''': But was not Shri Ramakrishna wont to say, "All these attachments vanish through the grace of God when one prays to Him?"

'''Swamiji''': Yes, it is so, no doubt, through His mercy. But one needs to be pure first before one can receive this mercy—pure in thought, word, and deed; then it is that His grace descends on one.
----

== 28 January 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== The Conversations and Dialogues ===
'''Disciple''': But many of them are struggling (to overcome lust and gold) for it.

'''Swamiji''': Oh, yes, and those who are doing so will surely renounce by degrees; their inordinate attachment for Kama-Kanchana will diminish gradually. But for those who procrastinate, saying, "''Oh, not so soon! I shall do it when the time comes''," Self-realisation is very far off. "''Let me realise the Truth this moment! In this very life''"—these are the words of a hero. Such heroes are ever ready to renounce the very next moment, and to such the scripture says—"The moment you feel disgust for the vanities of the world, leave it all and take to the life of a monk."

'''Disciple''': But was not Sri Ramakrishna wont to say, "All these attachments vanish through the grace of God when one prays to Him?"

'''Swamiji''': Yes, it is so, no doubt, through His mercy, but one needs to be pure first before one can receive this mercy—pure in thought, word and deed; then it is that His grace descends on one.

'''Disciple''': But of what necessity is grace to him who can control himself in thought, word and deed? For then he would be able to develop himself in the path of spirituality by means of his own exertions!

'''Swamiji''': The Lord is very merciful to him whom He sees struggling heart and soul for Realisation. But remain idle, without any struggle, and you will see that His grace will never come.

'''Disciple''': Everyone longs to be good, and yet the mind, for some inscrutable reasons, turns to evil! Does not everyone wish to be good—to be perfect—to realise God?

'''Swamiji''': Know them to be already struggling who desire this. God bestows His mercy when this struggle is maintained.

'''Disciple''': In the history of the Incarnations, we find many persons who, we should say, had led very dissipated lives and yet were able to realise God without much trouble and without performing any Sadhana or devotion. How is this accounted for?

'''Swamiji''': Yes, but a great restlessness must already have come upon them; long enjoyment of the objects of the senses must already have created in these deep disgust. Want of peace must have been consuming their very hearts. So deeply they had already felt this void in their hearts that life even for a moment had seemed unbearable to them unless they could gain that peace which follows in the train of the Lord's mercy. So God was kind to them. This development took place in them direct from Tamas to Sattva.
----

== 29 January 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Talks with Swami Vivekananda ===
'''Disciple''': It appears to me that those who seek to realise God by restraining their senses and renouncing lust and wealth hold to the (free-will) theory of self-exertion and self-help; and that those who take the name of the Lord and depend on Him are made free by the Lord Himself of all worldly attachments, and led by Him to the supreme stage of Realisation.

'''Swamiji''': True, those are the two different standpoints, the former held by the Jnanis, and the latter by the Bhaktas. But the ideal of renunciation is the keynote of both.

'''Disciple''': No doubt about that! But Sri Girish Chandra Ghosh once said to me that there could be no condition in God's mercy; there could be no law for it! If there were, then it could no longer be termed mercy. The realm of grace or mercy must transcend all law.

'''Swamiji''': But there must be some higher law at work in the sphere alluded to by G. C. of which we are ignorant. Those are words, indeed, for the last stage of development, which alone is beyond time, space and causation. But, when we get there, who will be merciful, and to whom, where there is no law of causation? There the worshipper and the worshipped, the meditator and the object of meditation, the knower and the known, all become one—call that Grace, or Brahman, if you will. It is all one uniform homogenous entity!

'''Disciple''': Hearing these words from you, Swamiji, I have come to understand the essence of all philosophy and religion (Vedas and Vedanta); it seems as if I had hitherto been living in the midst of high-sounding words without any meaning.
----

== 30 January 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== '''[Place: Baghbazar, Calcutta. Year: 1897]''' ===
Meanwhile Swamiji returned and asked the disciple, "Do the people in your part of the country know much of Sri Ramakrishna?"

'''Disciple''': Only one man, Nag Mahashaya, came to Sri Ramakrishna from our part of Bengal; it is from him that many came to hear of him and had their curiosity excited to know more. But that Sri Ramakrishna was the Incarnation of God, the people there have not yet come to know, and some would not believe it even if told so.

'''Swamiji''': Do you think it is an easy matter to believe so? We who had actual dealings with him in every respect, we who heard of that fact again and again from his own lips, we who lived and stayed with him for twenty-four hours of the day—even we have doubts about it coming on us off and on! So what to speak of others!

'''Disciple''': Did Sri Ramakrishna out of his own lips ever say that he was God, the all-perfect Brahman?

'''Swamiji''': Yes, he did so many times. And he said this to all of us. One day while he was staying at the Cossipore garden, his body in imminent danger of falling off for ever, by the side of his bed I was saying in my mind, "''Well, now if you can declare that you are God, then only will I believe you are really God Himself.''"

It was only two days before he passed away. Immediately, he looked up towards me all on a sudden and said, "''He who was Rama, He who was Krishna, verily is He now Ramakrishna in this body. And that not merely from the standpoint of your Vedanta!''"

At this I was struck dumb. Even we haven't had yet the perfect faith, after hearing it again and again from the holy lips of our Lord himself—our minds still get disturbed now and then with doubt and despair—and so, what shall we speak of others being slow to believe? It is indeed a very difficult matter to be able to declare and believe a man with a body like ours to be God Himself. We may just go to the length of declaring him to be a "perfected one," or a "knower of Brahman." Well, it matters nothing, whatever you may call him or think of him, a saint or a knower of Brahman, or anything. But take it from me, never did come to this earth such an all-perfect man as Sri Ramakrishna!

In the utter darkness of the world this great man is like the shining pillar of illumination in this age! And by his light alone will man now cross the ocean of Samsara!
----

== 31 January 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Talks with Swami Vivekananda ===
'''Disciple''': To me it seems, sir, that true faith comes only after actually seeing or hearing something. Mathur Babu, I have heard, actually saw so many things about Sri Ramakrishna, and thus had that wonderful faith in him.

'''Swamiji''': He who believes not, believes not even after seeing, and thinks that it is all hallucination, or dream and so on. The great transfiguration of Krishna, the ''Vishwarupa'' (form universal), was seen alike by Duryodhana and by Arjuna. But only Arjuna believed, while Duryodhana took it to be magic!

Unless He makes us understand, nothing can be stated or understood. Somebody comes to the fullest faith even without seeing or hearing, while somebody else remains plunged in doubt even after witnessing various extraordinary powers for twelve years, with his own eyes!

The secret of it all is His grace! But then one must persevere, so that the grace may be received.

'''Disciple''': Is there, sir, any law of grace?

'''Swamiji''': Yes and no.

'''Disciple''': How is that?

'''Swamiji''': Those who are pure always in body, mind and speech, who have strong devotion, who discriminate between the real and the unreal, who persevere in meditation and contemplation—upon them alone the grace of the Lord descends.

The Lord, however, is beyond all natural laws, is not under any rules and regulations, or just as Sri Ramakrishna used to say, He has the child's nature—and that's why we find some failing to get any response even after calling on Him for millions of births, while someone else whom we regard as a sinful or penitent man, or a disbeliever, would have Illumination in a flash! On the latter the Lord, perhaps, lavishes His grace quite unsolicited! You may argue that this man had good merits stored up from previous life, but the mystery is really difficult to understand.

Sri Ramakrishna used to say sometimes, "''Do rely on Him; be like the dry leaf at the mercy of the wind''" and again he would say, "''The wind of His grace is always blowing; what you need to do is to unfurl your sail''."

'''Disciple''': But, sir, this is a most tremendous statement. No reasoning, I see, can stand here.

'''Swamiji''': Ah, the limit of all reasoning and arguing is in the realm of ''Maya''; it lies within the categories of space, time and causation. But He is beyond these categories. We speak of His law, still He is beyond all law. He creates, or becomes, all that we speak of as laws of nature and yet He is outside of them all. He, on whom His grace descends, in a moment goes beyond all law. For this reason there is no condition in grace. It is as His play or sport.

All this creation of the universe is like His play—"It is the pure delight of sport, as in the case of men." Is it not possible for Him who creates, and destroys the universe as if in play to grant salvation by grace to the greatest sinner? But then it is just His pleasure, His play, to get somebody through the practice of spiritual discipline and somebody else without it.

== '''01 February 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''1 February 2019''

=== '''(Talks with Swami Vivekananda)''' ===
Disciple:—Sir, I can't understand this (Mystery of God's grace).

Swamiji:—And you needn't. Only get your mind to cling to Him as far as you can. For then only the great magic of this world will break of itself. But then, you must persevere. You must take off your mind from lust and lucre, must discriminate always between the real and the unreal—must settle down into the mood of bodilessness with the brooding thought that you are not this body, and must always have the realisation that you are the all-pervading Atman. This persevering practice is called ''Purushakara'' (self-exertion—as distinguished from grace). By such self-exertion will come true reliance on Him, and that is the goal of human achievement.

After a pause Swamiji resumed: "Had you not been receiving His grace, why else would you come here at all? Sri Ramakrishna used to say, '''Those who have had the grace of God cannot but come here. Wherever they might be, whatever they might be doing, they are sure to be affected by words or sentiments uttered, from here''<nowiki/>'.

"Just take your own case—do you think it is possible without the grace of God to have the blessed company of Nag Mahashaya, a man who rose to spiritual perfection through the strength of divine grace and came to know fully what this grace really means?

"'One attains the highest stage after being perfected by the practice of repeated births.' (''Gita''). It is only by virtue of great religious merit acquired through many births that one comes across a great soul like him. All the characteristics of the highest type of Bhakti, spoken of in the scriptures, have manifested themselves in Nag Mahashaya. It is only in him that we actually see fulfilled the widely quoted text.

"Blessed indeed is your East Bengal to have been hallowed by the touch of Nag Mahashaya's feet!"
----

== '''02 February 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''2 February 2019''

=== '''(Talks with Swami Vivekananda)''' ===
Swami Suddhananda asked, "What is the real nature of meditation, sir?"

Swamiji:—Meditation is the focussing of the mind on some object. If the mind acquires concentration on one object, it can be so concentrated on any object whatsoever.

Disciple:—Mention is made in the scriptures of two kinds of meditation—one having some object and the other objectless. What is meant by all that, and which of the two is the higher one?

Swamiji:—First, the practice of meditation has to proceed with some one object before the mind. Once I used to concentrate my mind on some black point. Ultimately, during those days, I could not see the point any more, nor notice that the point was before me at all—the mind used to be no more—no wave of functioning would rise, as if it were all an ocean without any breath of air. In that state I used to experience glimpses of supersensuous truth. So I think, the practice of meditation even with some trifling external object leads to mental concentration. But it is true that the mind very easily attains calmness when one practises meditation with anything on which one's mind is most apt to settle down.

This is the reason why we have in this country so much worship of the images of gods and goddesses. And what wonderful art developed from such worship! But no more of that now.

The fact however is that the objects of meditation can never be the same in the case of all men. People have proclaimed and preached to others only those external objects to which they held on to become perfected in meditation. Oblivious of the fact, later on, that these objects are aids to the attainment of perfect mental calmness, men have extolled them beyond everything else. They have wholly concerned themselves with the means, getting comparatively unmindful of the end. The real aim is to make the mind functionless, but this cannot be got at unless one becomes absorbed in some object.

Disciple:—But if the mind becomes completely engrossed and identified with some object, how can it give us the consciousness of Brahman?

Swamiji:—Yes, though the mind at first assumes the form of the object, yet later on the consciousness of that object vanishes. Then only the experience of pure "isness" remains.

Disciple:—Well, sir, how is it that desires rise even after mental concentration is acquired?

Swamiji:—Those are the outcome of previous Samskaras (deep-rooted impressions or tendencies). When Buddha was on the point of merging in Samadhi (superconsciousness), Mara made his appearance. There was really no Mara extraneous to the mind; it was only the external reflection of the mind's previous Samskaras.

Disciple:—But one hears of various fearful experiences prior to the attainment of perfection. Are they all mental projections?

Swamiji:—What else but that? The aspiring soul, of course, does not make out at that time that all these are external manifestations of his own mind. But all the same, there is nothing outside of it. Even what you see as this world does not exist outside. It is all a mental projection. When the mind becomes functionless, it reflects the Brahman-consciousness. Then the vision of all spheres of existence may supervene—"Whatsoever sphere one may call up in mind, Whatsoever is resolved on becomes realised at once." He who, even on attaining this state of unfalsified self-determination, preserves his watchfulness and is free from the bondage of desire, verily attains to the knowledge of Brahman. But he who loses his balance after reaching this state, gets the manifold powers but falls off from the supreme goal.

So saying, Swamiji began to repeat "Shiva, Shiva," and then continued: "There is no way, none whatsoever, to the solution of the profound mystery of this life except through renunciation. Renunciation, renunciation and renunciation—let this be the one motto of your lives."
----

== '''03 February 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''3 February 2019''

=== '''(Talks with Swami Vivekananda)''' ===
Veda is of the nature of Shabda or of idea. It is but the sum total of ideas. Shabda, according to the old Vedic meaning of the term, is the subtle idea, which reveals itself by taking the gross form later on. So owing to the dissolution of the creation, the subtle seeds of the future creation become involved in the Veda.

Accordingly, in the Puranas you find that during the first Divine Incarnation, the Veda is first made manifest. In this Incarnation the Veda being first revealed, the other creative manifestations began to follow.

Or in other words, all the created objects began to come into concrete being out of the Shabdas, or ideas, in the Veda. For in Shabda, or idea, all gross objects have their subtle forms. Creation had proceeded in the same way in all previous cycles or Kalpas. This you find in the Sandhya Mantra of the Vedas: "The sun, the moon, the earth, the atmosphere, the heaven, the upper spheres, all, the Creator projected in the same manner and process as in previous cycles." Do you understand?"

Disciple:—But, sir, how in the absence of an actual concrete object can the Shabda or idea be applied and for what? And how are the names to be given at all?

Swamiji:—Yes, that is what on first thought seems to be the difficulty. But just think of this. Supposing this jug breaks into pieces, does the idea of a jug become null and void? No. Because, the jug is the gross effect, while the idea, "jug," is the subtle state, or the Shabda-state, of the jug.

In the same way, the Shabda-state of every object is its subtle state, and the things we see, hear, touch, or perceive in any manner, are the gross manifestations of entities in the subtle, or Shabda, state. Just as we may speak of the effect and its cause. Even when the whole creation is annihilated, the Shabda, as the consciousness of the universe or the subtle reality of all concrete things, exists in Brahman as the cause. At the point of creative manifestation, this sum total of casual entities vibrates into activity, as it were, and as being the sonant, material substance of it all, the eternal, primal sound of "Om" continues to come out of itself.

And then from the causal totality, comes out first the subtle image, or Shabda-form, of each particular thing and then its gross manifestation. Now that causal Shabda, or world-consciousness, is Brahman and it is the Veda. This is the purport of Sayana. Do you now understand?

Disciple:—No, sir, I can't clearly comprehend it.

Swamiji:—Well, you understand, I suppose, that even if all the jugs in the universe were to be destroyed, the idea, or Shabda, "jug", would still exist. So if the universe be destroyed—I mean if all the things going to make up the universe be smashed to atoms—why should not the ideas, or Shabdas, representing all of them in consciousness be still existing? And why cannot a second creation be supposed to come out of them in time?

Disciple:—But, sir, if one cries out "jug," "jug," that does not cause any jug to be produced!

Swamiji:—No, nothing is produced if you or I cry out like that; but a jug must be revealed if the idea of it rises in the Brahman which is perfect in its creative determinations. When we see even those established in the practice of religion (Sadhakas) bringing about by will-power things otherwise impossible to happen, what to speak of Brahman with perfect creativeness of will? At the point of creation Brahman becomes manifest as Shabda (Idea), and then assumes the form of "Nada," or "Om."

At the next stage, the particular Shabdas, or ideas, that variously existed in former cycles, such as Bhuh, Bhuvah, Swah, cow, man, etc., begin to come out of that "Om". As soon as these ideas appear in Brahman endowed with perfect will, the corresponding concrete things also appear, and gradually the diversified universe becomes manifest. Do you now understand how Shabda is the source of creation?
----

== '''04 February 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''4 February 2019''

=== '''(Talks with Swami Vivekananda)''' ===
Swamiji rose to pay a visit to the great poet, Babu Girish Chandra Ghosh. Swami Yogananda and the disciple followed him. Reaching Girish Babu's place, Swamiji seated himself and said:

"You see, G. C., the impulse is constantly coming nowadays to my mind to do this and to do that, to scatter broadcast on earth the message of Sri Ramakrishna and so on. But I pause again to reflect, lest all this give rise to another sect in India. So I have to work with a good deal of caution.

"Sometimes I think, what if a sect does grow up. But then again the thought comes—no. Sri Ramakrishna never disturbed anybody's own spiritual outlook; he always looked at the inner sameness. Often do I restrain myself with this thought. Now, what do you say?"

Girish Babu:—What can I say to this? You are the instrument in his hand. You have to do just what he would have you do. I don't trouble myself over the detail. But I see that the power of the Lord is getting things done by you. I see it clear as daylight.

Swamiji:—But I think we do things according to our own will. Yet, that in misfortunes and adversities, in times of want and poverty, he reveals himself to us and guides us along the true path—this I have been able to realise. But alas, I still fail to comprehend in any way the greatness of his power.

Girish Babu:—Yes, he said, "If you understand it to the full, everything will at once vanish. Who will work then, or who will be made to work?"
----

== '''05 February 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''5 February 2019''

=== '''(Talks with Swami Vivekananda)''' ===
Do you now understand how Shabda is the source of creation?

Disciple:—Yes, I just form some idea of it, but there is no clear comprehension in the mind.

Swamiji:—Well, clear comprehension, inward realisation, is no small matter, my son. When the mind proceeds towards self-absorption in Brahman, it passes through all these stages one by one to reach the absolute (Nirvikalpa) state at last. In the process of entering into Samadhi, first the universe appears as one mass of ideas; then the whole thing loses itself in a profound "Om". Then even that melts away, even that seems to be between being and non-being. That is the experience of the eternal Nada. And then the mind becomes lost in the Reality of Brahman, and then it is done! All is peace!

The disciple sat mute, thinking that none could express and explain it in the way Swamiji was doing, unless the whole thing were matter of one's own experience!

Swamiji then resumed the subject: "Great men like Avataras, in coming back from Samadhi to the realm of 'I' and 'mine,' first experience the unmanifest Nada, which, by degrees, grows distinct and appears as Om, and then from Omkara, the subtle form of the universe as a mass of ideas becomes experienced, and last, the material universe, comes into perception. But ordinary Sadhakas somehow reach beyond Nada through immense practice, and when once they attain to the direct realisation of Brahman, they cannot again come back to the lower plane of material perception. They melt away in Brahman,——'like water in milk.'

"When all this talk on the theory of creation was going on, the great dramatist, Babu Girish Chandra Ghosh, appeared on the scene. Swamiji gave him his courteous greetings and continued his lessons to the disciple.

"Shabdas are again divided into two classes, the Vedic Shabdas and those in common human use. I found this position in the Nyaya book called 'Shabda shakti prakashika.' There the arguments no doubt indicate great power of thought, but, oh, the terminology confounds the brain!"
----

== '''06 February 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''6 February 2019''

=== '''Today is the birthday of Revered Brahmanandaji Maharaj''' ===

=== '''The Passing away of Swami Brahmananda''' ''By Swami Siddheswarananda'' ===
''The following letter written by 'Gopal' in 1922 to his father, who was then the third prince of Cochin and later became the Maharaja, gives a clear and vivid account of the Mahasamadhi (Final Illumination) of Swami Brahmananda of revered memory, the first President of the Ramakrishna Order and the Ramakrishna Mission. 'Gopal', who joined the monastery at Madras in 1920, was given sannyasa by Swami Shivananda in 1923 and became Swami Siddheswarananda. He was one of our most popular monks, and successfully worked in Mysore (1925-37) and later in France (1937-57) till his death. He has several books in French to his credit. He was also editor of Vedanta, a periodical conducted by Centre Vedantique Ramakrichna at Gretz.''

Shri Ramakrishna Math Mylapore, Madras. 18.4.1922

My dear Father,

Swami Sharvanandaji and I returned here safe and sound on the 15th instant. At last the quite unexpected happened. Shri Maharaj entered into Mahasamadhi on 10th night at 6 minutes to 9 p.m. You know he completely got over the cholera and he was fast recovering his health. At that stage his old complaint, diabetes, began to work. He began to sink fast. He could take only very little food, and the wastage was double or treble the quantity consumed.

The passing away of Shri Maharaj was a unique event and could be expected only of this spiritual son of Shri Ramakrishna. Some five or six days before the mahasamadhi, he said he was not going to retain the body. He told Swami Abhedananda that he was going to give up his body.

Swami Abhedananda replied that he must keep the body for some years more.

"Can you forcibly retain me?" Maharaj asked.

"It is your wish. If you wish a little you can do so. Will you wish, Maharaj?" Swami Abhedananda asked, at which Maharaj only smiled.

Maharaj told his sevaks (attendants) also that he was going to give up the body, and anyone wishing to do seva (service) to him could do it then. Such an attitude on the part of Maharaj frightened us.

At that time the allopathic doctors were full of hope. At last they also became desperate. Ayurvedic treatment was begun. Maharaj was suffering terribly. Yet he was exceptionally calm, and when the doctor asked him about this, he only replied by quoting the verse, ''sahanam sarvaduhkhanam apratikara purvakam'' (quiet endurance of all afflictions).

Swami Saradananda also tried to bring his mind to the body and was telling him that they would all go together to Bhuvaneswar after his cure was over, but Maharaj only replied, "''All that Lila (play) of mine is over''".

Then occurred an event unparalleled in the biography of the great ones since the time of Shri Ramakrishna. It was the eighth night of Maharaj's illness. Though suffering terribly from a burning sensation and pain, he was exceptionally calm.

It was 8 p.m. Maharaj called his disciple and attendant who had been doing untiring service to him for six years, and addressing him in the most affectionate terms blessed him saying, "''My son, my child, you have been doing seva to a teacher, what shall I tell you? By my blessing, you will get Brahmajnana. You will realize Brahman. Don't be afraid, my boy''".

Then he began to call, one by one, his disciples who were there, and blessed them all, consoling them in the most endearing terms, giving them abhayam (gesture implying that there is nothing to fear), asking them to immerse themselves in the thought of God.

Meanwhile his mind was climbing up and up into the regions of bhava-samadhi. He was seeing Shri Ramakrishna's luminous form, and Maharaj in the most endearing words was asking him, "Where is my Vivek, my Vivekananda?", and Shri Ramakrishna showed him his beloved brother. Seeing the vision of Swamiji, Maharaj said, "Oh, I recognize you". He then called for all of his brothers who were with Shri Ramakrishna, and he showed him all.

Then away from the region of forms and visions, he entered into the region of Pure Intelligence—Brahman.

Coming down from that state he turned to his children, and feeling sorry for them he told those around him, "My boys, ah, you are not able to cut through and get away from Maya, so you are not able to see the visions I am seeing".

He then called for Krishnalal (Swami Dhirananda, one of the old disciples of Swami Vivekananda, whom Maharaj loved much). The very name Krishna threw his mind off from the physical plane and he found himself standing before the most lovely form of Lord Krishna and so Maharaj wept with joy.

You know that Shri Ramakrishna had said that Shri Maharaj was the real Rakhal of Brindaban, the eternal playmate of Shri Krishna. So with all the flush of joy on seeing his divine playmate, in bhava Maharaj said, "Oh, where are my anklets? Let me go and dance with Krishna."

Swami Shivananda (Shri Mahapurush Maharaj), who was then seeing the way in which Maharaj was addressing Krishna in the most sweet words, pointed out that since the time of Shri Ramakrishna, whom he and his fellow-disciples had seen in similar bhava addressing the Lord, they had almost forgotten Shri Ramakrishna's bhavas. And only now, after thirty-six years, in these moments of Shri Maharaj's spiritual mood, they could remember in full what Shri Ramakrishna was.

Swami Shivananda and Swami Saradananda said that Maharaj was then exactly like Shri Ramakrishna, and it is said they even found the body of Maharaj like his. Maharaj remained in this mood for a long time. Coming down from this mood he turned to the disciples and said, "My Krishna is not the Kathor Krishna, my Krishna is not the hard Tapasvi Krishna, my Krishna is the 'Gopi-Krishna'." In these words he gave the key to his whole life. Whoever had seen Maharaj and studied him could not but be struck by his boyish, childlike nature: his whole attitude towards life was that he was playing with it.

After this he was continually seeing Shri Krishna and Shri Ramakrishna, now and then speaking about those beautiful eyes of Lord Krishna, his "Lotus face" and his blue colour. He was seeing the boy Krishna holding him as a chum on his shoulder, and telling him "Come away, come away".

As he descended from those spiritual trances, he began to speak to those around him about the highest Brahmajnana, repeating now and then "Om Brahmatmane namah, Om Paramatmane Namah" etc. I already told you now he blessed the group of people around him. His heart expanded further and blessed all those who had at any time served him. Calling Shri Ramakrishna, he was praying for the welfare of all his spiritual children. Then his heart expanded and blessed all the devotees of the Lord and all the world. You can understand how a Buddha can bless the whole world only by seeing this. This began from 8 p.m., and till 7 a.m. next day, he was in bhava-samadhi all through.

Sharvananda Swami got a good share of the blessings. Maharaj was telling him that he was always with him and that he need not have any fear. Some he asked to love him, some he asked not to forget him. In the same spiritual mood he called Swami Shivanandaji (Mahapurush Maharaj) and addressing him respectfully, as he was elder to Maharaj, asked him to remain at Belur Math and look after the members, thus handing over charge, in a way, to Mahapurush.

Mahapurush was asking him now and then, "What do you want, Maharaj?" to which he replied, "Amritam. The sweet nectar of the Lord's name and nothing more".

Next day when the doctor came (the doctor is a good friend of Maharaj, and one who had seen Shri Guru Maharaj), he told him, "I am going to Shivaloka". The whole of the 9th instant he was exceptionally calm though suffering terribly.

I went to see him on the 9th. It was heart-rending to see him greatly reduced. On the 9th night he vomited three or four times. This depressed our heart very much and we were awaiting the end soon. I was very fortunate to be with him during the last moment. Just a few moments before the end I managed to get a seat near his feet and touch them. With two hundred devotees around him, and with all his brothers such as Swami Shivananda, Swami Saradananda, Master Mahashay and others, with all of us repeating the name of Shri Ramakrishna by his side, Maharaj entered the final illumination. There was a complete calmness on the face.

Generally his eyes were very powerful as if fathoming the depths of everything. During the last moment they became a thousand times more brilliant than in normal times and concentrated as on some distant object. His face expressed his deep meditation. He brought his hands to his breast in salutation, and silently breathing, entered into mahasamadhi.

It is with great difficulty that I have managed to write these details to you. My heart is full. The stunning effect of grief and the agony of despair are only thickening every minute. Our only consolation is the blessing he has poured on all of us, and the assurance of safety he has given us.

He has said, "If there is a necessity to take up a body, I shall come again". His last advice to everyone was to become immersed in the thought of God. So we are all deeply intent on following his advice, and praying that his divine spirit, though freed from the body, may always help us in the many difficulties of our life.

I remain.

Yours affectionately

Gopal
----

== '''07 February 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''7 February 2019''

=== '''(Talks with Swami Vivekananda)''' ===
Now turning to Girish Babu, Swamiji said: "What do you say, G. C.? Well, you do not care to study all this, you pass your days with your adoration of this and that god, eh?"

Girish Babu:—What shall I study, brother? I have neither time nor understanding enough to pry into all that. But this time, with Sri Ramakrishna's grace, I shall pass by with greetings to your Vedas and Vedanta, and take one leap to the far beyond!

He gets you through all these studies, because he wants to get many a thing done by you. But we have no need of them.

Saying this, Girish Babu again and again touched the big Rig-veda volumes with his head, uttering, "All victory to Ramakrishna in the form of the Veda!"

Swamiji was now in a sort of deep reverie, when Girish Babu suddenly called out to him and said: "Well, hear me, please. A good deal of study you have made in the Vedas and Vedanta, but say, did you find anywhere in them any way for us out of all these profound miseries in the country, all these wailings of grief, all this starvation, all these crimes of adultery and the many horrible sins?"

Saying this he painted over and over again the horrid pictures of society.

Swamiji remained perfectly quiet and speechless, while at the thought of the sorrows and miseries of his fellowmen, tears began to flow out of his eyes, and seemingly to hide his feelings from us, he rose and left the room.

Meanwhile, addressing the disciple, Girish Babu said: "Did you see, Bangal? What a great loving heart! I don't honour your Swamiji simply for being a Pundit versed in the Vedas; but I honour him for that great heart of his which just made him retire weeping at the sorrows of his fellow-beings."
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== '''08 February 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''8 February 2019''

=== '''(Teachings of Swami Brahmananda)''' ===
Q: Maharaj, some meditate on the Ishta in the heart, some think of Him in the head, but I visualize Him outside as I see you. Which is the proper way?

A: The process of meditation differs according to the difference in Sadhana. Ordinarily, it is better to meditate on the Ishta in the heart. The body should be considered as a temple and God as residing in it. When the mind becomes steady through continued spiritual practices, then alone can a man have the vision of his Ishta and wherever he feels God intensely—head or heart—there he can carry on his meditation with ease.

D: Generally we find that the mind, after making some progress along the spiritual path, cannot advance further, what is this due to?

M: Weakness of the mind is solely responsible for this mental torpor. According to its capacity, the mind moves up to a certain point, then stops. It cannot advance more. All minds are not of the same capacity, although the capacity can be and must be developed.

Sri Ramakrishna has said that through Brahmacharya the mind can be strengthened more and more, and a strong mind never wavers even when assailed by lust and anger. To such a mind these passions are trifles and they do no harm.

D: Maharaj, you call each one of us to you and inquire about our spiritual progress and our difficulties. You give us fresh courage and enthusiasm. Your encouragement takes away all fear and anxiety and makes us bold and uncompromising.

M: Such an attitude of mind does not always come to me, my child. At times, of course, the mind is in such a state that I feel I could entreat you all, even touching your feet one by one and say, "Do this, my son, do this, I implore you." But again I think, "Who am I to instruct you in all this? God is there, and as He makes us do, so is it done. Whom to ask? God Himself is the cause, God Himself is the instrument and He Himself is all." Why should people take my words even though they ask me? But then you know my boy, when the inspiration comes from within, then people do take them and follow them.

Strive on, my son, strive on and on. Do not waste a moment. At the close of each day, Sri Ramakrishna wept and prayed, "Mother, another day is gone and I am not yet blessed with Your vision!" Even so, yearn for God, my child, and be lost in Him!

'''Belur Math, December 1915'''

D: Maharaj, when I sit for meditation, I find my mind roaming about the whole universe. It thinks of no end of things. How to stop this restlessness of the mind?

M: In the beginning this always happens, but you must try diligently to check the mad outgoing tendency of your mind. Never begin your meditation immediately after sitting on your Asana. By discrimination first draw the mind back from its external pursuits and lock it up within, at the sacred feet of your Ishta. Then begin Japa and meditation. If you do this for sometime, the mind will naturally cease to wander.

The easiest way in this Kaliyuga is the path of Japa. By constantly performing Japa, the mind can easily be made calm and steady and finally it will lose itself in the Ishta. There are other paths too. Those are difficult to follow. So, I ask you to perform Japa frequently and along with it think of the Ishta. Japa and meditation should go on simultaneously. This dual method brings quicker success.
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== '''09 February 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''9 February 2019''

=== '''Today is the birthday of Swami Trigunatitanandaji Maharaj''' ===

=== '''Sayings of Swami Trigunatitanandaji Maharaj''' ===
First of all, control over the senses is required. The power of curbing, at will, the outward tendencies is to be acquired first. In one word, one must be perfectly self-controlled.

Spiritual progress is a far cry in the midst of selfishness and narrow-mindedness.

Material things may succeed, but are not lasting; failure will be coming in the wake of success. But in spiritual culture, even a little effort brings success; it never fails, it is never lost.

That mind which is attached to more than one thing can never reach the goal.

Learn to see God in everything about you. Smear God over everything, and your mind will think of Him alone.

Such distinctions as Brahmin, Sudra, etc. belong to the body, and never to the soul.

Sri Ramakrishna would say, "If one has succeeded in discarding his hankerings for sense-enjoyment, one has no other object left that has to be given up afresh."

Never think, "I can't do it, I am weak." Whenever any dejection sets in, remember that saying of the Lord in the Gita, "Yield not to unmanliness!".

What caste can a true devotee or the perfect souls have? When the individual souls merge in God (like rivers in the sea), they can no more have any individuality.

Our devotion must be without any motive. It is extremely bad if our devotion increases when He is kind and it takes to flight when He is cruel or does not heed our prayers. But I concede that for the beginners, devotion cannot be free from motives altogether.

Infinite are His forms and infinite His qualities.

Goodwill is so pure and holy, so strong and vital that even if one cultivates it for oneself, that goodwill converts itself into the welfare of others at last indirectly and imperceptibly; and though in the first stages others come within its purview indirectly, with maturity it works for others even directly.

Keep on praying to God with your whole heart; If the needs arises for you to have a Guru, God will send somebody for you who will be just the man you want.

One must call on Him, no matter whether one does so under the idea that He is cruel or that He is gracious. I have no need of knowing what He really is, nor can there be any end of such knowing; and what does such knowledge count for?

One who keeps one's mind ever filled with goodwill for others can get a thousand faults of his own burnt to ashes and he comes to be remember as a saint.

When that Self will be realized, one will find It present everywhere; and that is one's highest achievement. One's purpose in life is to attain that state.

It does not take even a single life to dedicate oneself to His lotus-feet, nay it does not take even a moment! The only thing needed is the will to do so. So easy it is, and yet we fail!
----

== '''10 February 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''10 February 2019''

=== '''Teachings of Swami Brahmanandaji Maharaj''' ===
Always perform your Sadhana with unswerving steadfastness and do not let a single day pass by without it. Whether you wish or not, sit on your Asana at the appointed hour every day. If you can carry on your practices for three years with such unerring regularity, I assure you that love and attachment for God will grow in you and you will feel yourself nearer to Him. Then you will be prompted from within to call upon Him and Him alone. You will not be able to turn your mind in any other direction. It is at this stage that the joy of Sadhana is felt by an aspirant in his heart.

Without intense love and attachment for God, it is very difficult for a beginner to perform Sadhana in the right way, even after retiring into solitude. In solitude there is always a possibility of serious consequences. Therefore, two of a similar type and temperament should live together. In that case mutual help and guidance may be rendered, should any crisis befall one or the other at any time.

On the other hand, if the number is more than two, gossip and confusion enter in, and nothing is more injurious to spiritual practice than indulgence in worldly talk. By such idle talk not only does the mind lose its higher tendencies and noble aspirations, but it is made to forget God who is the supreme ideal of human life.

== 11 February 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Spiritual Teachings of Swami Brahmananda ===
What shall I repeat? The blessed name of God! The name of that form of His which inspires the greatest faith and devotion in you—that is the name you should choose for your Japa. Without a form, meditation is not possible.

What form shall I meditate upon, and where? You must meditate upon that form of His you like best. You can place Him in the heart or outside. A wise Guru, however, will understand the particular form of God that calls forth the greatest faith and regard from the disciple, and will instruct him to meditate on that.

Then there is mental worship. As you do external worship with offerings of flowers, sandal paste, burning of camphor etc., exactly so is the worship in the mind. In the mind you have to picture the form of the Deity you choose, in the mind you are to offer all the holy things used in worship and in the mind, again, you have to adore Him with all the reverence and devotion of your heart in humble supplication.

You have heard enough, now do something and show your worthiness. No more waste of time. Begin from this day, this very evening. For the present, do these two things—Japa and meditation, every morning and evening without fail.

Continue this habit for a couple of years at least. Then you will find great joy, and will know more and more of spiritual mysteries. No more wasting of time, my child. Begin this very day, and go bravely on.
----

== 12 February 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Spiritual Teachings of Swami Brahmananda ===
While meditating, sit erect and cross-legged, and hold your hands near your chest or the upper abdomen. Do not begin your meditation immediately after taking your posture. Sit silently for a couple of minutes or so and try to make the mind blank, so that no alien thoughts may cross it. Then begin meditation in right earnest.

For a year or two you will have to exert your mind to the limit of its power. Thereafter meditation will become natural to you. If any day you are hard pressed with work, you may sit for meditation only once, or may finish it in a few minutes, say, in ten or fifteen minutes. In the event of greater pressure, fix your mind on God for a moment, then bow down to Him. You can do this in exceptional circumstances but not always.

Regarding moral conduct, observe these two rules: Be truthful always, and honour and worship all women as mother. You need not trouble yourself with anything more now. The observance of these two rules will make all other moral rules shine in your life. Frequent holy places, study sacred books, and come to me now and then.

Believe in the existence of God, and never feel He does not exist. I tell you, my child, God is. Therefore hold fast to Him in sincere devotion and humility, and pray and pray! No more speculations, no more waste of time, no more idleness. Begin now, this very day, and move forward. I will see to the rest.

=== 1 June 1913 ===
How can love for God grow?

By Sadhana and prayer.

Is it possible to realize God for those who live in the world? Is there anyone outside the world?

No, I mean, living in the family.

It is possible but very difficult.

When dispassion comes, should one renounce the world?

Yes, that is what is called Vairagya. Real vairagya is like fire which is never extinguished. It goes on growing. Sri Ramakrishna used to say, as a fish swims about merrily when put in larger waters, so is the man who has renounced the world. Never does he want to be fettered again.

=== Who is a Guru? ===
Guru means one who shows the path to realize the Ishta through a mantra. Upa Gurus can be many. But the Guru is the one that commands, 'Practise these Sadhanas and move with holy men.' In olden times, the custom was to live with the Guru. The Guru would watch over the disciple and if the disciple went astray, the Guru would bring him back. So none but the knower of Brahman, or one far advanced in Sadhana, should be chosen as the Guru.
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== 13 February 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Brahmananda ===
In olden times, the custom was to live with the guru. The guru would watch over the disciple and if the disciple went astray, the guru would bring him back. So none but a knower of Brahman, or one far advanced in Sadhana, should be chosen as the guru.

How to know him?

By moving with him closely for some time. The guru too will watch his would-be disciple. If the disciple possesses a strong desire for enjoyment and cannot be easily brought round, the guru will not initiate him. He will reject him. Whomsoever the guru chooses, he will keep with him and watch over him. The family guru has one advantage—he knows everything regarding the family to which the disciple belongs.

=== Varanasi, 3 February 1921 ===
Maharaj, scriptures speak of service to the guru as a necessary means to spiritual realization. How far is this true?

It is necessary at the preliminary stage but afterwards, the mind itself plays the part of the guru when it becomes absolutely pure.

The guru should not be looked upon as a human being. His physical body is the temple in which resides the Lord. If the guru is served with this ideal in mind, one comes to acquire love and devotion for him, which can then be directed towards God.

=== Belur Math 1918 ===
Complete self-surrender to God is not an easy matter. The mind always creates doubts and raises questions as this: '''I have neither seen nor known God. How can I love and resign myself to Him?''<nowiki/>'

Once a person complained to Sri Ramakrishna, '''I do not feel inclined to take the name of God.''<nowiki/>'

'''What is it that draws your mind away?''<nowiki/>' asked Sri Ramakrishna.

'''It is my goat, I love it more than anything else'',' was the reply.

'<nowiki/>''Very well'',' said Sri Ramakrishna. '''When you feel and serve your goat, think that you are feeding and serving God Himself. Do this sincerely for some time and you will find everything all right.''<nowiki/>'

The guru shows the disciple the path to life eternal, and protects him from all troubles. Putting great faith in the words of the guru, let the disciple live according to them. After a time he will feel that the impurities of his mind are vanishing and divine light is gradually making its appearance within.

There is no doubt that everything is achieved through faith in the guru. The disciple should not look upon him as an ordinary human being, but as God. Through meditation on, and service to the guru, the disciple is purified both in body and mind. Then the guru appears before the disciple, and revealing the Ishta to the latter, he disappears. Without purity in body and mind one cannot have the vision of God.

There is a verse:

''Gururbrahma gururvishnuh''

''Gururdevo mahesvarah;''

''Gurureva param brahma''

''Tasmai Sri Gurave namah.''

'''Guru is Brahma, guru is Vishnu, guru is Siva Himself. Verily guru is no other than the highest Brahman. Salutations to the guru.''<nowiki/>'

If the disciple has sincere faith in the guru, it is easy for him to attain divine knowledge and devotion. The one thing needed is faith in the guru. When this is gained, everything is gained.
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== 14 February 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Brahmananda ===
Realization of God is impossible without purification of the heart. Sri Ramakrishna used to say, '''If the Guru is a perfect and illumined soul, the ego of the disciple is destroyed in no time.''

''But if the Guru himself is unillumined, then both he and his disciple have to suffer a great deal; the disciple will not be able to get rid of his ego or the fetters that bind him to the world.''<nowiki/>' It is not possible for an unillumined Guru to bring about the liberation of his disciple. How is it possible for an ordinary man to save another from the fetters of the world? God alone, who is the author of this world-enchanting maya, can free man from its meshes.

''Only a knower of God can show the way of liberation to another.'' But how can he who has not realized God, who has no commission from Him, who has not been strengthened by divine strength, free a soul from the bonds of the world? If the blind leads the blind, both are sure to come to grief. It is only after God-realization one gets the inner vision. Then only can one truly understand the difficulties of another and give him proper instruction.

If a person possesses sincere yearning for God and is eager to follow the spiritual path, he is sure to find a real Guru through the grace of God. ''Therefore a spiritual aspirant need not feel anxious about finding a Guru.''

Those who come under the guidance of a Guru who has attained realization need have no anxiety about their spiritual progress. They have been put on the right track. Now their only task is to follow it. If they meet with any trouble or make any mistake, God is sure to protect them and show them the right course. Having sincere faith in the words of the Guru let them walk along the path shown by him; that is enough.
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== 15 February 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Brahmananda ===
What is this world like? It is like the country hog plum—containing only stone and skin, but no pulp. Besides, it increases acidity and brings colic to one who eats it.

You are all pure, young souls. Your mind is now under control, undistracted by worldly thoughts. You can realize God easily, if you strive from now itself. You can fix your mind on God without much exertion when you are young. But it is a very hard task to bring the mind under control once it gets scattered.

The Vaishnavas have this beautiful saying: '''The Jiva has the grace of the three—Guru, God and devotees. But without the grace of the one it comes to utter ruin.''<nowiki/>'

The meaning is: The disciple has received the grace of Guru abundantly, through the grace of God he has also been imbued with noble ideals and he has the company of holy men.

Now what is wanted is the grace of the one, that is, of his own mind. If the mind is favourable everything is accomplished. The grace of the others can be felt only when the mind is free from restlessness. The mind must be brought under control. Unless this is done, all strivings prove of no avail.

It is the nature of the mind to pull a person away from the thought of God and drown him in worldly thoughts. So, I warn you, my boys, beware! Your mind has not yet learned to wander. Before it does so, hold fast the reins.

Just as the mahout first trains the elephant and then makes it do whatever he pleases, so also we have to train the mind in such a way that it may act according to our command. It must not be our master. The only way to train the mind is to lead it to relinquish the desire for enjoyment. The moment this is done, it becomes your slave. It is for this reason that the Bhagavad Gita and other scriptures speak again and again of the glory of renunciation.
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== 16 February 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Brahmananda ===
What is wanted is renunciation. That is the only path, and they alone can realize the glory of renunciation whose mind has not been distracted by the things of the world. Sri Ramakrishna used to say: '''The parrot learns to repeat the words taught to it when it is young. When it grows beyond a certain age, it cannot learn anything. Then it can only squawk in its usual way.''<nowiki/>'

Divine thoughts leave a deep mark on the mind in young age. It is only in youth that with a little effort one is able to understand them and translate them into practice. How simple and strong is the faith of little boys! They believe what they hear from others and try to act accordingly. They attain success wherever they apply their undistracted mind.

But when age advances, the mind is occupied with many things. It becomes restless and always wants to wander. It loses steadiness and the power of sustained thinking. It is very difficult then to make any deep impression on it. It acquires the tendency to become sceptical. It begins to doubt everything. At last these people reach such a state that it becomes very hard for them to have faith in anything. Therefore, I tell you—''do what you want to do, now, when you are young.''

We saw in the life of our Master that he used to speak of the life of renunciation particularly to young men. He wanted to impress on their minds the idea that God-realization is the only goal of life. He knew that the young alone would be able to take up this ideal fully.

Fortunately, you are all young and your mind is not tainted by worldly thoughts. Give up all desires and dedicate yourselves solely to God. You cannot have divine bliss and worldly enjoyments at the same time. You cannot get the one without renouncing the other. You cannot give up the lower unless you possess a taste for the higher.

This is the proper time for you to fill your mind with the thought of God to the fullest extent. Make Him your own. '''He is my all''<nowiki/>'—when this idea is firmly fixed in your mind, all your troubles will come to an end. Then no one will be able to do you harm either here or hereafter.

Does he who has tasted the syrup of sugar-candy relish molasses? Worldly joys lose their flavour when one gets a taste of divine bliss. All objects of enjoyment appear to be not only insignificant but positively bitter.

What I wish to say to you is this—offer yourself heart and soul to God and let Him do with you as He pleases.
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== 17 February 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Brahmananda ===
The mind becomes pure through Japa. While repeating the mantra you should remember God. Such repetition and remembrance will do much good. Mere repetition without remembrance will not be of any use. I do not say that this is easy. To do it one must have initiation from a Guru.

The Guru determines your Ishta and other things necessary for your spiritual progress. There are many Ishta-devatas. One cannot suit all. Until spiritual knowledge dawns upon you, you have to follow the directions of your Guru. The more you practise, the purer you become.

To practise without the aid of a Guru is always very difficult. A few rare souls of exceptional strength of mind might be able to do so. So it is better to practise under the guidance of a Guru. Then there is no possibility of your committing any mistake. However, you should not remain idle because you have not got a Guru. Begin your spiritual practices at once and the Guru will come in proper time.

The Guru must select the disciple and the disciple must choose the Guru. If one alone selects, it is not so good. Only a perfect soul can really help the disciple. Such a Guru alone will be able to give initiation according to the differences in the nature of the disciples. An ordinary Guru can do no such thing. This latter is ready to give initiation to anyone at any time. When the proper time comes, God will send you your Guru. Until you get such a Guru, your duty is to worship God. If not, your days will be spent in vain. Hence have regular meditation, Japa and Bhajan every day.
----

== 18 February 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Brahmananda ===
Maharaj was seated in the living room surrounded by many devotees. His eyes were half closed.

After some time he said:

"What is the aim of spiritual practice? To know Him, to attain union with Him. Through His grace 'the knot of the heart, which is ignorance is loosed, all doubts are dissolved, all evil effects of deeds are destroyed, when He who is both personal and impersonal is realized.'

Take refuge in Him and earnestly pray for His grace. Why did you come here, renouncing hearth and home? While eating, while lying down, while standing, while sitting, pray to Him: '''Lord, give me the power to feel and understand your grace!''<nowiki/>'

"We are only travellers in this world. Our eternal abode is at the lotus feet of God. Sri Krishna said in the Gita: 'I am the end of the path, the witness, the Lord, the sustainer. I am the place of abode, the beginning, the friend, and the refuge. I lie under the seen, of all creatures the seed that is changeless.'

"Unfortunate is he who, instead of taking refuge in God, becomes entangled in the world. The blessed feet of the Lord are our eternal home. We must reach them somehow. He alone is the truth. That truth is to be attained. Let not your life pass by in vain.

Almost everyone thinks that what he understands is the only truth and the way for everybody. Sometimes man becomes so egotistic and thinks himself so important that he does not even accept the existence of God. It is this ego that binds a man in Maya. There is no escape until you begin to feel, 'Not I, not I, but Thou, my Lord!'
----

== 19 February 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== '''(Today is the birthday of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''' ===

=== Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji Maharaj ===

==== On Maya and Freedom ====
'''Biharilal Sarkar''': "Maharaj, we read in the scriptures that God is man's inner guide. If that is true, then why does man suffer so much? How can one who is guided by the ever-pure Satchidananda get involved in evil actions?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "You have answered your own question. The essential nature of man, which is ever-pure, cannot be polluted by good and evil."

'''Bihari Babu''': "Then do you mean that man has two natures, one affected by good and evil and the other not—or are you saying that good and evil do not really exist?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Let me explain: Sri Ramakrishna said, 'Good and evil exist and they are also non-existent.' As long as God keeps the sense of ego in a man, he will perceive duality—both good and evil.

When God takes away the sense of ego, the perception of duality, good and evil also disappears. So long as a man is subject to the law of karma, he is aware of good and evil. When, through God's grace, a man is released from the bonds of karma, the man's awareness of good and evil also goes: for good and evil are the fruits of karma.

As you sow, so you will reap. It is the Lord who established this law of karma for the benefit of the world and mankind. Divine Providence has given man the sense of free will and the principle of karma. It is left to man to do as he wishes. If he chooses to do actions which bring him unhappiness and misery, he alone is responsible, not God."

'''Bihari Babu''': "But Maharaj, the scriptures say that God is guiding man. So the responsibility is God's, not ours."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Yes, the scriptures are right. It is the responsibility of the operator, not the instrument. But tell me, who is guiding the individual soul who is bound by Maya? Maya herself is acting as the operator. Do you know the nature of Maya's game? She loves to play and wants to play always. She enjoys ups and downs, pleasure and pain, creation and destruction. She loves to raise waves of desires in the mind and does not like to still them.

But God takes charge of the soul which is not bound by Maya. When God guides a man, an uninterrupted current of happiness, peace, and bliss flows in his mind and no other waves of thought can be raised there. He becomes one with that unfathomable, waveless ocean of Satchidananda."
----

== 20 February 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji Maharaj ===

==== On Maya and Freedom ====

===== Maya helps man attain mukti =====
'''Bihari Babu''': "Maharaj, we know that the scriptures have compared Brahman with the ocean and Maya with the waves on its surface. Now let me ask, what is the difference between the waves and the ocean when both are water? In that case wouldn't being guided by Maya and being guided by God be the same?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Yes, from one point of view they are the same, but there is another point of view, too. The Master used to say, 'The waves belong to the ocean, but no one can say that the ocean belongs to the waves.'

Similarly, Maya belongs to God, but Maya is not God. So you cannot say that being guided by Maya is the same as being guided by God. Nevertheless, the ultimate purpose of Maya's guidance is certainly to take the individual soul to God."

'''Bihari Babu''': "But everybody says that Maya deludes the individual soul and leads him astray."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Maya wants to play constantly. Because Maya's play goes on and on, man cannot see where he is being taken on his journey, so he thinks Maya is taking him in the wrong direction. But look, how can she misdirect us? Isn't God everywhere? Maya has become manifest by God's will and she is working for him."

'''Bihari Babu''': "What! Maya is working for God?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Yes, what other motive can she have?"

'''Bihari Babu''': "But the scriptures describe Maya as illusory and world-bewitching; she makes the unreal appear to be real, and her main concern is the delusion of mankind."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Do you know why people say so? The scriptures speak harshly against Maya because she has qualified the unqualified Brahman. And there is another reason: God alone is real, Maya, by comparison, is unreal, illusory.

But Maya is unreal only in relation to God. From man's standpoint, Maya is avidya, ignorance, which is neither real nor unreal. If you watch Maya carefully, you will see that she is pushing man toward God step by step. With one hand she is deluding man and with the other she is unveiling consciousness before him. She works in a balanced way, without any motive of her own. She balances both happiness and misery, both goodness and evil. Do you know the intention behind all this? To teach us. If Maya's purpose were to lead man astray, she would show us only one aspect, not both.

But because Maya shows us two aspects, she simultaneously deludes and enlightens. True, she causes man much trouble and her path is very roundabout and time-consuming, but eventually it will lead one to God. After you suffer repeated blows and much torment in this world and come to understand Maya's ways, Maya won't be able to hold you anymore. Then you will be released by her sattvic power. That is why she is called the one who makes the impossible possible."

'''Bihari Babu''': "Does Maya have a benign power too?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Certainly. Maya is God's power, and can that power be all bad?"

'''Bihari Babu''': "Maharaj, from the way you are talking, Maya seems to be something great."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Yes, that is true. Maya is great and that greatness is God himself.

The other day a monk explained it nicely:

'''Man has already attained God: to try further for realization is useless. This universe belongs to God and man is living in it: thus he has attained salokya-mukti, liberation by living in the same region as God.''

''God made man in his own image: and thus man has attained sarupya-mukti, liberation by having a form similar to God's.''

''God is everywhere, so man is always near him: and thus he has attained samipya-mukti, liberation by living close to God.''

''The only thing that he has not yet attained is sayujya-mukti, becoming one with God.''<nowiki/>'"

And Maya helps man attain this Sayujya mukti too.

== '''21 February 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''21 February 2019''

=== '''TEACHINGS OF SWAMI ADBHUTANANDA''' ===

==== '''ADVICE TO A DEVOTEE''' ====
A Devotee: "Maharaj, why are there so many ups and downs in the mind of a householder?"

Latu Maharaj: "Because the mind of a householder is too involved with worldly objects. Sometimes it goes up as a result of spiritual practices, but it falls back again. The Master used to say: if one ties a rope with a brick at the end of it to the tail of a mongoose, it will be able to climb a wall only as far as the loose rope permits but no farther, because of the weight of the brick. Likewise, the mind of a householder may move toward God, but the weight of worldly objects pulls it back. To keep the mind always in God is a great tapasya: such a mind does not fluctuate between high and low. A thread with stray fibers cannot pass through the eye of a needle; similarly, a mind with desires cannot be absorbed in God.

"When a man's mind becomes fully concentrated on God, he enjoys the bliss of the Atman. But this is very difficult in the householder's life. Disease, sorrow, enjoyment, desire—all these are constant companions of the householder; also physical lethargy and mental restlessness. In addition to these if the man doubts the existence of God, there is no hope of his getting liberation. Often you will find that worldly people are busy with their families, their children, and other mundane matters, but they have no inclination to think about God. Such distracted minds cannot make progress in spiritual life."

A Devotee: "Then should we give up family life and call on God only?"

Latu Maharaj: "Why should you give up your family? Doesn't one's family belong to God? Therefore, call on him who is the real head of the family. One will have to do one's duty in this world. How can you escape it? Wherever you go, the world will follow you. Does it exist outside us? No, everything is in our own minds. If your mind desires enjoyment, you will seek enjoyment even in the forest; and if you don't have that desire for sense objects, you will not want them even if you are surrounded by them. Whether you live in a household or in the forest, you must call on God; otherwise all is in vain.

"Brother Turiyananda used to say, 'Only a fool thinks that he will take his bath in the ocean after the waves have subsided.' Do you think he will ever take his bath? The waves of the ocean will never stop; he will never get his bath, even if he waits his whole life. So I say, wherever you may be, whatever your mental condition, dive deep in the name of God. He who can do this will attain the highest. On the other hand, a man who decides to solve all his problems before he calls on God will never reach the goal; for as long as you have a body, you must experience disease, sorrow, fear, pain, and suffering. 'It is troublesome to have a body.' Anyone who wants to escape from all these troubles will have to hold onto God. God is Satchidananda—Absolute Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss. His bliss removes all suffering."
----

== '''22 February 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''22 February 2019''

=== '''Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji''' ===
A devotee: "Maharaj, please tell us about the bliss of Brahman."

Latu Maharaj: "Ah, you see, that bliss cannot be compared with any joy you may find in this world. It is inexpressible. Worldly happiness is the product of Maya. Maya operates within the three states of waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep. But beyond those three is another realm, Turiya, which is extremely difficult to reach. The bliss of that realm is free from Maya. You know how sweet is the joy within Maya. Ordinary people are enchanted by it. They do not even think for a moment how immensely sweeter is God whose Maya is so sweet!"

A devotee: "Maharaj, why do you say that Maya's joy is sweet? It is nothing but scorching flames."

Latu Maharaj: "But you see, most people love that burning sensation."

On another occasion Latu Maharaj said: "Nothing in this world is valuable except bliss. Do you know why people want money, property, wife, and children? Because they think they will get physical and mental happiness from them. So they are ready to work day and night for them. If they would divert that energy toward God, they could get the permanent genuine bliss of Satchidananda instead of the transitory happiness of the world."

==== '''ON SURRENDER''' ====
Latu Maharaj: "You speak about dependence on God so superficially! If you do not get any response after calling on God for a couple of days, you follow your own way according to your mood, as if you understood the situation better than he.

"Surrendering oneself to God means that one should move at his command. Do not do anything without his command. Even if it means a great loss for you, do not stray from that. Only when you have attained this state can you say that you have truly surrendered yourself to God.

"Brother Vivekananda used to say: 'If I cannot get Rama, shall I live with Shyama? If necessary, let this life be spent in vain for Sri Ramakrishna.' See how he surrendered himself to the Master! He was ready at any moment to give up his life for the Lord over the smallest thing. This is the way one should hold onto the Master; only then can he guide you in the right direction."

A devotee: "Maharaj, why do we not have that kind of dependence on God?"

Latu Maharaj: "It is because you value your intellect and ego more than God. You are not ready to wait for his command, and moreover, you lose patience in a minute."
----

== '''23 February 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''23 February 2019''

=== '''Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji''' ===

==== '''FEELING FOR OTHERS''' ====
"Only a poor man can love the poor. A rich man cannot feel the sufferings of the poor, for no one can understand the sufferings of others unless he has undergone the same suffering."

Brother Vivekananda told Turiyananda: "Brother, I do not know exactly what I have gained by leading this monk's life, but one thing is certain: This [Swami Vivekananda pointed to his heart] has expanded enormously."

"If the desire to do charitable works arises in the mind of a rich man, it shows that his heart has started to feel for the poor. ''God tests man by making him wealthy, and that is a hard test to pass.''

"Tests devised by men are easy to pass, but divine tests are very difficult. God may give plenty of riches to one man, but so delude him by Maya that he will never in his life desire to be charitable. Again, God may give a generous heart to another person, but not give him much money. Blessed indeed are they who are rich yet feel for the poor.

"Money brings vanity. The more egotistic a man is, the farther he is from God, and thus the poorer he is.

''"Do not measure the poverty of a man by his possessions. The real measure is how far he is from God. The nearer to the Lord, the richer the man: the more forgetful of the Lord, the poorer and unhappier he is."''
----

== '''24 February 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''24 February 2019''

=== '''Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji''' ===

==== '''ON LUST''' ====
A devotee: "How can one overcome lust?"

Latu Maharaj: "Keep a picture of Sri Ramakrishna with you. Whenever lustful feelings arise, you should look at the picture intently. You will find that the senses will gradually be gathered in and the mind will be freed from lust."

==== '''ATTITUDE TOWARD WOMEN''' ====
Once Latu Maharaj told a group of men devotees: "Some men abuse women, but you should never raise your hand against them. You do not know how much they bear—they are forbearance itself. If you abuse them, where shall they turn? They are aspects of the Divine Mother, and if the Mother is insulted, the Lord is displeased. Thus your well-being lies in making them happy. Their tears will ruin you, as Sita's tears destroyed the whole of Ravana's people."

==== '''ON RESTLESSNESS''' ====
Latu Maharaj once said to a restless devotee: "Why do you think of all sorts of nonsense when you sit to meditate? Can't you whip your mind? Even if you cannot control your mind and you become disgusted, please don't leave your seat: for if you get up from meditation with that attitude of disgust, you will be in a bad mood all day, and you will feel like beating one person, scolding another, and speaking harshly to a third.

"The Master told us, 'Do not get up from your seat immediately after meditation.' While you are still sitting on the asana [seat for meditation], sing devotional songs for ten or fifteen minutes, and then you will feel calmness in your mind throughout the day."
----

== '''25 February 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''25 February 2019''

=== '''Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji''' ===

==== '''DESIRES AND SENSE OBJECTS''' ====
Latu Maharaj: "Worldly desires have taken up permanent residence in the mind. Sometimes they float on the surface of the mind, and sometimes they are so hidden that it seems they do not even exist. But the closer you are to God, the more you will see the knots of desire hidden in the mind. The more your body and mind are purified, the more the dirt and dross which have accumulated during thousands of lives will be stirred up and will challenge your spirituality. The energy generated by spiritual disciplines forces the impurities to leave the mind, their fort.

"How can they cope against the power of the Lord's name? You see, the desires are very shrewd. They take possession not only of the mind of a person but his sense organs as well. As soon as a desire is aroused in the mind, the sense organs are awakened. The eyes want to see, the ears want to hear, the tongue to taste and speak, the nose to smell, and the body to feel. The hands want to work and the feet carry the person to where the object is. The other sense organs are alert, and whenever the opportunity comes they also enjoy.

"Do you know what the mind does? It conjures up enticing pictures with the imagination. ''Imagination is man's worst enemy, his greatest tempter, for it creates beautiful pictures of sense pleasures and nearly destroys man's conscience''. Thus man is drawn to sense objects.

"Therefore, if you want to control the desire for worldly things, first, control the imagination and don't be deluded by sense enjoyments."

A devotee: "But how can one control the imagination?"

Latu Maharaj: "The imagination can be controlled by withdrawing the mind from the object, although that will not still the mind.

"Sri Ramakrishna said that three things are necessary in the process of perception: the object of perception, the sense organ, and the mind. Perception of the object is not possible if one of these three is missing. So if you can eliminate one of them, the mind will not be able to cognize. It is hard to eliminate the objects of perception. They come and go. We have to encounter them always. How can one live and avoid sense objects? So long as you can avoid the sense objects, your self-control may be intact: but as soon as you come near them again, you will find yourself deluded by their attraction. So instead, try to withdraw either the sense organ or the mind from the object. Then automatically the object will not be perceived.

"The nature of the mind can be changed by chanting the name of the Lord. Gradually desires and doubts cease and the mind dissolves into its causality. Then there is none to think or imagine. Waves of desire in the mind show that the mind is active: the mind becomes pure only when it becomes waveless. The power of God descends on the pure mind, and only then does one realize the Self."
----

== '''26 February 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''26 February 2019''

=== '''(Teachings of Swami Vijnananandaji)''' ===
Faith is the foundation of spiritual life. Too much of argumentation is of no avail... In order to be firmly established in that faith, you may raise one or two valid points, but nothing more. Unless you have faith, arguments and discussions will only cloud the issue and create confusion.

When, therefore, our entire existence depends on Him, why should we form an attachment for worldly things? Worldly attachments draw people away from God and scorch them in the wildfire of the world.

The Bible describes God in all His three forms, with attributes, without attributes, and as incarnate.

Let us make our minds pure, the rest will be easy; and we shall attain spiritual bliss comparable to nothing else in life. Our worldly pleasures are but a speck of dust, when weighed against that great mountain of joy.

The body is made up of five Bhutas (the word meaning both ghosts and the constituent material elements), and as one would call on Rama to get rid of the fear of ghosts, so also one must take refuge in Rama to be saved from the lures of these elements.

Your body is built through the food you take, and if that is not clean and pure, how can you expect mental perfection?

Likewise, there have been spiritual interpretations of ''ratha yatra'' and snanayatra (the Lord's Car Festival). Whoever sees God inside the chariot of the body derives the joy of the Car Festival. In the ''Katha Upanishad'', also, it is written that the body is the chariot and the soul is the charioteer.

The "Festival of Bathing" means dipping oneself in the water of noble and sacred thoughts.

There are three particular regions of the body which are good for the purpose of meditation: the heart, the spot between the eyebrows, and the nerve centre in the brain (sahasrara).
----

== '''27 February 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''27 February 2019''

=== '''(Teachings of Swami Vijnananandaji)''' ===
Now I shall refer to another story. A very well-read man went to a Sadhu for guidance in the matter of Self-realization. The Sadhu told him: "First of all you have to unlearn all that you have learnt in books, and then you can come to me." ''So you see that book-learning is useless for the purpose you have in view. The only thing required is faith.''

Brahman is like a motionless snake. Shakti is like a snake in motion and that is the ''kundalini''.

From Buddha's life and discourses, we find that action follows thought; as you think, so you act.

You recite "Ram, Ram" (the name of Rama). Do you know what "rum" is? It is an intoxicating drink. You cannot know what it is like unless you drink it. You cannot know the glory of God's name unless you chant it.

To grieve over not having a male child and to think that this means the end of the family line is a very crude way of looking at things. Real children are one's good, liberal, and holy thoughts—also, good deeds. These last forever; there is no death for them.

Her divine light is pervaded everywhere; only man cannot realize it. Babies, six or seven months old, see that light, and seeing it smile and play, moving their arms and legs, at the sight of which people say that they are doing so in a dream.

It is a matter of fact, the company of holy men makes the heart pure forever. It is said that the sage Durvasa once went to visit hell where condemned souls were suffering all sorts of tortures as punishment for their sins. As soon as the sage made his appearance there, they were relieved of their agonies and began to sing the glories of God. Hell seemed to have been transformed into heaven; the reason was that the sage's purity of life had such innate power in it as to deliver those tortured souls from their sins, and save them from the agonies of hell.

People very often are saved if they live in the proximity of spiritually developed souls. Once, on Dussera day, we were staying with Swamiji in Nilambar Mukherji's garden-house at Belur. It was the monastery then. Swamiji was in those days on a very high spiritual plane. That day when I touched his feet in obeisance, I received a strong shock like that of electricity. Anyone going near such persons would feel as if a spiritual zone had been created round about them. Whosoever entered that zone could feel as if an electric force was entering into him from outside. He would have that experience immediately.

Great souls, wherever they are, create a spiritual zone around them; and anybody coming within that zone realizes something like an electric current passing into him. It is a very strange phenomenon, impossible to explain, unless one has experienced it oneself.

Swami Brahmananda also was a reservoir of spiritual power. One day, when he was sitting in deep meditation, his body had become stiff. I was sitting close to him and felt my nerves also getting stiff and taut. This is a wonderful play of energy, one's power involuntarily acting on another.
----

== '''28 February 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''28 February 2019''

=== '''(Teachings of Swami Vijnananandaji)''' ===
The greatest need is to concentrate on Him when we are dying.

The best time for meditation is midnight. You can then achieve results very soon. Nature is in a quiet mood then and the concentration is easier.

Every day you should regularly practise meditation. That helps you to concentrate your mind.

One should try to help others as far as possible, but without beating one's drum. For the rest of the time, one should be all by oneself. In this way concentration of mind will be gradually achieved.

Everybody complains that he cannot concentrate his mind (on God), because it is assailed by all sorts of thoughts. Why not put up a "''No admittance''" notice and refuse to let those thoughts crowd into the mind?

Do not give up japa and meditation simply because you cannot concentrate your mind properly.

My advice to you all is to forsake idleness. An idle brain is the devil's workshop. You must do everything with concentration and diligence.

Within everybody there is Pure Consciousness. This Consciousness pervades the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, the sky, the air, etc., down to the minute being, and it is because of this consciousness that there is motion in everything.

In the transcendental state, i.e. the state of complete union with the Infinite, there is no outward consciousness; only a slight feeling remains there.

Contemplation on God should enable us to gain lordliness over our passions and become masters of our souls.

The question that arises in my mind is, where shall we be after giving up this mortal frame? I asked Mahapurush Maharaj who told me that we would be in the Ramakrishna world where we would be keeping company with the Master.

But I have decided not to go anywhere. To contemplate on the Master all the time and not to forget him even for an instant is to be in his company. That is ''Ramakrishna Loka''—to think of him all the time with heart and soul, never losing him even for a moment.

One should not ask for anything from God, but remain satisfied with whatever He is pleased to grant.

Real welfare lies in using things properly, wrong use of things brings misfortune.

You should be satisfied with whatever you can get to keeping the body fit, and then, go on working selflessly for God.

There is a Hindi couplet which says that jewels, elephants, and houses, indeed, all wealth is just valueless compared to contentment.

It is all so difficult, you cannot have contentment so long as you are subject to worldly desires. Once they disappear, you are free.

Purity, Truthfulness, and honesty should make the cornerstone of your life. And there should be faith. With these a man will have contentment in life, whatever circumstances he may happen to be in.

''Contentment in all circumstances is the mark of religious life.''

== 1 March 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== From M. The Apostle and the Evangelist ===

==== The Birth Anniversary of Sri Guru Gobind Singh ====
'''M.''' (to all): What a liberal heart Nanak Maharaj had can be seen just by this one incident in Puri. He had gone for the darshan of Lord Jagannath. The priests thought that perhaps he was a Muslim.

'''M.''': So they didn't let him enter the temple. It was then the time of evening arati. What to do? He sat outside and began to sing a song of the Great one. He composed it there and then and sang.

Here is the song:

''The sun and the moon are lamps in the big disc of the sky;''

''The stars shine like so many pearls.''

''The fragrant breeze from Mount Malaya is the incense,''

''The wind serves as the fly whisker,''

''The whole wood is lighted up.''

''How to perform Your arati,''

''The destroyer of the pain of rebirths?''

''The anahat sound is ringing like the flute,''

''The allured mind is daily thirsty''

''Like a bee for the honey of the lotus feet of Hari,''

''Pray grant the water of Thy grace to Nanak-sarang,''

''So that he may live in Thy Name.''

'''M.''' (to the Youngman): It is said that as soon as he began to sing this song, all the people came out of the temple to listen to him.

'''M.''': The temple became empty. Just see, what a plan the Lord has to add to the honour of the devotees. Had he allowed Nanak to enter the temple how could have this immortal song been composed? It has become a classical song. It is sung in all the gurudwaras. Its original is in Gurumukhi.

What a high spiritual mood! As if he saw the entire universe performing the arati of the Lord.

'''The Youngman''': One finds the same mood in Emerson.

'''M.''': No, there it is somewhat different—that isn't so high bhava. Nanak saw nature as though it was absorbed in praying to the Lord with joined hands. While the former is imagination, the latter is actual vision.
----'''M.''' (to the devotees): I remember another incident of Guru Nanak. Mardana was his close disciple. He was always with him; he was a Muslim.

Nanak always preached that everything happened by God's will and that all is pre-destined. Mardana's faith in it did not go so far. This is what happened at the time when Guru Nanak was setting out for Mecca.

One day Mardana showed a grain of corn and asked Guru Nanak, '''Guruji, who will eat this grain?''<nowiki/>'

He answered, '''A hen in Kabul.''<nowiki/>'

Mardana took that grain and immediately put that in his mouth. While he was devouring it, the grain instead of going into the stomach entered the nasal tube. Though he tried hard it did not come out. Then both of them reached Kabul on their way to Mecca and stayed in an inn. A hen was roaming about in the courtyard. Mardana then sneezed forcing the grain to come out. Like an arrow the hen came and swallowed it.

Guru Nanak laughed and said, 'Have faith. God has arranged everything in advance.'

''One sees and hears so much and yet does not believe!''
----

== 2 March 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji ===

==== On Overcoming Discouragement ====
'''A devotee''': "Maharaj, is there any hope for liberation for worldly people like us? Please bless us that we can escape this whirlpool of Maya."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Why should you be so depressed? Do you think you understand everything about human life? Know that no life goes in vain in God's realm.

Once Brother Shashi gave a very apt illustration to someone like you. A man was out walking and came upon a canal. Seeing that he would have to jump over it in order to continue on his way, he took several strides backward to get a running start for his leap. As he ran forward and jumped over the canal, he covered not only the distance he had moved backward but also the canal itself. Now, can you tell me whether his going backward were helpful or harmful? A man might have to take backward steps in this present life, but he will undoubtedly run forward in the next.

"No life is ever lived in vain. Remember only one thing: Lead a God-centered life. Then the Lord will guide according to His will. He knows our past, present, and future. The wisest course is to surrender to him completely.

''"Whether you hold onto the Lord's hand or not does not matter, he is always holding onto yours. There is no doubt about that. He will never abandon you. He is all-merciful."''
----

== 3 March 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji ===

==== Forgiveness ====
A devotee did something wrong and was feeling very bad about it. When Latu Maharaj heard this, he called for the devotee to come and see him.

He told the devotee: "Look here, my son, just because you have made one or two mistakes, you should not give up your spiritual practices and brood over your lapses and feel hopeless. To make mistakes is human. Call on God. He will give you the strength to overcome weakness and destroy your delusion. He is the compassionate one. However great your sins might be, the current of his mercy will not be kept from you. How little is your sin, and yet you are so depressed! Just think of ''Ajamila'' and ''Valmiki.''

Compared to their sins, yours are nothing. Do you know what Brother Vivekananda used to say? 'Don't worry about a little spot of ink on the body. It is nothing. If one bathes in God's infinite ocean of mercy, the stains of a thousand ink spots will be washed away.'

So I am telling you, do not grieve. Pray unceasingly. Your bad tendencies will go away in a short time."

Yet the devotee was so ashamed of his conduct that he could not raise his head. Seeing this, Latu Maharaj said: "Before he commits a sin, a man's conscience fills him with shame, yet he brushes it aside. But divine law is such that after the sin is committed, shame overwhelms him again, and he cannot raise his head in front of others."

Even these words could not shake the devotee free from his sense of guilt. Latu Maharaj continued: "What are you ashamed of my son? The Lord has seen everything you have done. You cannot hide anything from him. Since he knows all of it, why should you still be so melancholy? Instead, engage yourself in harder spiritual disciplines, keep the company of holy men, and come here now and then."

These words helped the devotee regain his mental strength. After this conversation with Latu Maharaj, he began to practice spiritual disciplines more vigorously.
----

== 4 March 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji ===

==== On Monastic Life ====
'''Latu Maharaj to a monk''': "Never forget the goal of monastic life. Don't wear the gerua cloth [the ochre-coloured cloth of a monk] for outward show. The gerua cloth may bring you name and fame, but that will not help you realize God. Go into solitude and practice your spiritual disciplines with all your heart. Only then will you progress quickly. Avoid gossip and politics.

"Is it so easy to be a monk? A real monk longs for God, weeps for God. He does not think about himself and is not disturbed by physical discomfort. A real monk will not see faults in others, and he will have neither attachment nor aversion for anyone. He will be friendly with all.

A real monk must try to ease the sufferings of others, and if he does not have the means, he should encourage them with inspired words so that they can fight against life's odds. He does not hoard for the future and seeks nothing except God. A real monk is free from fear and is straightforward. His behaviour is simple, like a child's. Wherever he goes, he hears the call of God."

==== Cruelty and Compassion ====
'''A devotee''': "Maharaj, where is compassion in this world? There seems to be only an unbroken chain of cruelty. The crow attacks the sparrow, the kite attacks the crow, man hunts the kite, and the tiger and the bear attack man."

"If you see cruelty around you," responded Latu Maharaj, "you will find cruelty in God. If you see compassion everywhere, you will witness his infinite compassion. It all depends on your own mind. Always remember that to the pure mind all things are pure."

==== On Miracles ====
'''A young man''': "Maharaj, could you teach me something so that I will no longer suffer from poverty?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "You won't like what I tell you. You want the sort of trick that one uses to make gold out of a handful of dust; but I don't know that trick. I am a monk. I stay in this place and chant the name of the Lord. I can tell you something about God and spiritual life, but you won't be satisfied. You want miraculous powers. Are powers so easy to come by? Are you ready to exert yourself? If you can chant the Lord's name a hundred thousand times a day, then come and sit here."

After hearing these words, the young man hurried away.
----

== 5 March 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji ===

==== Sri Ramakrishna: An Exemplar ====
"Sri Ramakrishna embodies an ideal for everyone. He was an ideal householder, an ideal monk, an ideal guru, and an ideal disciple. Moreover, his life can serve as an example for all faiths and all sects. He is an ideal for the worshipers of Shakti, as he practiced and attained perfection in all the important Tantric sadhanas. He is an ideal for the Vaishnavites, for his devotion to Hari is unparalleled. He is also an ideal for the Shaivites, as he attained the vision of Lord Shiva too. He is an ideal for the devotees of Ramachandra, for he saw Rama and Sita. He is an ideal for the Vedantins as well, having experienced nirvikalpa samadhi, the culmination of the Vedantic sadhana, within three days. He is also an ideal for the Christians and Mohammedans, because he had the vision of Christ and also of the Prophet."

==== Sri Ramakrishna's Teaching on Suffering ====
'''A devotee''': "Maharaj, why should a knower of Brahman like Sri Ramakrishna, who was almost always immersed in samadhi have suffered from such a terrible disease?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': What do I know about that? I heard Master Mahashay [M.] say, 'It is because of the touch of impure people that he suffered so terribly.' Girish Babu used to say, 'It is his divine play—a way to relieve the sufferings of mankind.'

Ram Babu said: 'If the Master had not suffered from such a terrible disease, who could have recognized him? When one is in good health, one can easily fix the mind on God; but he is surely an avatar who can be continually in nirvikalpa samadhi, even when he is sick.'

Brother Loren said at that time: 'He wants to be served by us, so he has contracted this disease. Don't worry. Could we have such a priceless opportunity to serve him if he didn't have this disease? We must not miss this opportunity. Let us serve him in such a way that he will not have the heart to leave us.'

Brother Rakhal said, 'The Master is testing us.' Brother Sharat said, 'Although we may or may not understand it, a great mission is beginning through the Master's illness.' Brother Shashi said: 'Sweet Jesus allowed himself to be crucified for humanity's sake. Our Master, too is suffering excruciating pain in order to remove man's burden of sin.'

Balaram Babu once said to the Master: 'Sir, I am tired of hearing people's critical remarks about your illness. They say, "Your Master is suffering from disease!"' The Master answered, 'Listen, he who forbears, survives and becomes great.' Many people held different opinions about his illness. I don't remember them all.

"The Master used to say, 'Let the body and the disease take care of each other: O mind, be happy.' He felt no pain. I saw that he was floating in bliss. If he had really suffered, could he have given us such joy? He told us: 'Brahman is stainless. Though the three gunas [sattva, rajas, and tamas] are in Brahman, he is separate from them, as the air carries odors but still remains different from and untouched by them. Brahman is Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute. In Brahman there is no sorrow or pain, no disease or death, no decay or growth. I see everything within this [Sri Ramakrishna pointed to himself]. Brahman and the One who is within the heart are the same.'

Where is the suffering of one who, though sick, can maintain such a high level of spirituality? You people identify yourselves with the body, so when the body suffers you are frightened."
----

== 6 March 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Shivananda ===
'''Mahapurushji''': 'Well, my child, ours is to serve others and purify our minds by service. As Swamiji said, "By doing good to others we do good to ourselves." The object of our service is to promote our own well-being by helping others. While carrying on works like this, one can examine oneself.

Whatever external trials and difficulties may come, you should carry on the work undisturbed. "For one's own salvation and for the good of the world"—this is your life's ideal. Your vision should be directed high. Just as your ideal is noble, so your heart should be big.

'''At the back of these communal riots and dissensions I see the hand of the All-beneficent Mother. It is according to Her beneficent will that all this is taking place, and ultimately it will result in good''. It will pave the way for unity among the Hindus and they will learn to organize themselves. They will then try to feel for one another. Unity, organization and fellow-feeling, these are very much needed these days.

Above everything else, the Hindus should organize and have unity among themselves. Will lethargy and narrowness of such a long duration come to an end unless there is pressure from outside?

Have faith that all this is happening because of the will of the Mother, and it will promote the well-being of the Hindus as a race. It will bring about a new awakening in the entire nation. The Hindus will prosper in every way because Sri Ramakrishna and Swamiji were born amongst them.'
----

== 7 March 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Shivananda ===
At about five o'clock in the afternoon Swami Vijayananda came from Calcutta. Entering Mahapurushji's room, he said: 'Maharaj, a gentleman has donated five hundred rupees for relief and promised to give more if necessary.'

Hearing this news Mahapurushji was very pleased. With folded hands he said, closing his eyes: 'Victory be to the Mother! Who can understand Her play? It is She who in one form is giving pain, and again it is She who in another form is arousing sympathy in people's hearts.'

''"The Goddess who is present as compassion in every being, salutation to Her!"'' With one hand She is killing, with the other She is giving boons and bidding men "Be fearless!"

Swamiji used to say, "''Mother Kali is a perfect manifestation of God.''"

Creation, preservation and dissolution—She is the doer of all these. On one side She is destroying with the sword; on the other side She is granting boons and bidding men "Be fearless!"

This is all the sport of God. In one form He is bringing pain to so many people, persecuting them with famine, sickness and grief; in another form, again, it is He who is inspiring people to remove the distress of humanity.

"Glory be to Thee! Glory be to Thee, Mother! Who will understand Thy ways?" So far no one has been able to understand the Mother, nor will anyone ever be able to. Since the dawn of creation no yogi or rishi has been able to comprehend Her. Infinite is the sport of the Mother.

''Who, indeed, can know Thee unless Thou revealest Thyself? The Veda and Vedanta grope in the dark, failing to fathom Thee.''

'That is why the Master used to say: "Mother, I don't want to know Thee. Who can know Thee? No one has ever known Thee, nor will anyone ever know Thee. Grant that I may not be deluded by Thy world-bewitching Maya and graciously give me pure devotion and faith at Thy lotus feet. (With folded hands) Mother, give us faith and devotion; endue us with faith and devotion."'
----

== 8 March 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== The Apostle and the Evangelist ===
'''M.''' (to Virinchi): Do we have an easy awakening? Just see, what a catastrophe has befallen Japan. Five lakhs of people have lost their lives outright. Why does He do these things? For our learning. How much does the worldly man sorrow for a son, but here so many persons have died together.

People do not accept God, so destruction takes place. How many times has it happened in Japan in the same manner! Even so, do people listen? Do they ever realize?

Adhar Sen was warned against riding a horse by Thakur, when for the first time he fell from the horse, but he did not listen. He fell a second time and died. Thakur said then: 'Mother does not say again and again.' At times she warns. Unless one wakes up, death is sure.

=== Calcutta, 5th September, 1923 A.D. ===
M. is seated with the bhaktas. The evening meditation followed by songs is over. M. is now reading out the picturesque account of the Lila of Thakur from the Kathamrita to the devotees.

'''M. reads''':

Sri Ramakrishna, after the midday meals, is resting in the room with the bhaktas in Dakshineshwar. Then comes Gian Babu. He is an M.A., employed in the Government service. He is thinking whether to marry a second time or not, his first wife is dead.

'''Ramakrishna''' (seeing Gian): Hello, what a sudden awakening of jnana...! (Laughing) you being Jnana, how is it that you are ajnana (ignorant)? O, I understand, where there is jnana, there is also ajnana. Vasistha Deva, though such a jnani, also wept at the death of his son. You go beyond jnana and ajnana...

I saw (Pandit Shashadhar)—dogmatic, only dry intellectual knowledge he had... Only dry knowledge. It is like the fountain of fireworks, rising up with a sudden hiss, sparkling for a moment and dropping down in the twinkling of an eye.

'''M.''' (to the bhaktas): This is the fourth picture. The other three have gone before this. Thakur says, 'You being Jnana, how is it that you are ajnana?' That is, on marrying once you have seen that there is more pain in it than pleasure. You are sad at the passing away of your first wife, yet knowingly you are trying to enter it (household) again. That is why Thakur said this, suggesting indirectly that he should not marry again.

The mind which is to be given to His lotus feet will be spent on other matters. He is encouraging him, at the same time he is also exposing his defects. His encouragement was he has good samskaras, otherwise he could not have Thakur's darshan. So, he is saying: You are Jnana. And also 'ajnana'—meaning thereby that he is entering the household again by remarrying.

Samskaras are very powerful, dragging him. And bookish knowledge, intellectual knowledge is weak; this also he is telling referring to Shashadhar. The fountain of fireworks with a sudden hiss means that there is not much strength within. The flow of knowledge is not uniform.

Reason? This knowledge is derived from books. The knowledge which comes from God is that which He Himself supplies constantly. That's why it is not dry—unending. It is, as if it were, a long sparkling fountain—it does not hiss or die down—it does not go off the beat in talks or in behaviour. It is well-reinforced. That is why it is continuous jnana. This is called the state of a vijnani. It is attained after the supreme realization of Brahman. Chaitanya Deva and Thakur had this state.
----

== 9 March 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== M. The Apostle and the Evangelist ===
After a few moments, reading from the Bhagavata starts; Jagabandhu is reading:

Sri Krishna says to Arjuna: 'O son of Kunti, kill the wretched brahmin who murders sleeping innocent children at night. To pardon such a person is unlawful. He who knows the rules of war will never kill the dead-drunk, the incautious, those frenzied due to natural calamity, asleep, children, women, the unprepared, the surrendering, the mountless and the frightened enemy. Those who are cruel, wily, who by taking away the life of others fortify their own life—punishing them by death will be to their own benefit.

The reason: if wrongs are not checked by punishment or expiation, the downfall of the sinner continues. Therefore, kill this sinful murderer.'

'''M.''': Formerly, all these rules of war were observed. Now it is not so. Even a hospital may be bombed. They are observed in a society which has God-realization as its ideal. Bharatvarsh is such a country. It has fallen and is rising again. It will rise very high. Thakur's advent is just for this reason.
----

== 10 March 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== M. The Apostle and the Evangelist ===
After a few moments, reading from the Bhagavata starts; Jagabandhu is reading:

Sri Krishna says to Arjuna: 'O son of Kunti, kill the wretched brahmin who murders sleeping innocent children at night. To pardon such a person is unlawful. He who knows the rules of war will never kill the drunk, the incautious, those frenzied due to natural calamity, asleep, children, women, the unprepared, the surrendering, the mountless and the frightened enemy. Those who are cruel, wily, who by taking away the life of others fortify their own life—punishing them by death will be to their own benefit. If wrongs are not checked by punishment or expiation, the downfall of the sinner continues. Therefore, kill this sinful murderer.'

'''M.''': Formerly, all these rules of war were observed. Now it is not so. Even a hospital may be bombed. They are observed in a society which has God-realization as its ideal. Bharatvarsh is such a country. It has fallen and is rising again. It will rise very high. Thakur's advent is just for this very reason.

== '''11 March 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''11 March 2019''

=== '''(For Seekers of God)''' ===

==== '''JANMASHTAMI DAY—THE MASTER'S SPIRITUAL ECSTASIES.''' ====
''Place: Belur Monastery. Time: Sunday, August 17, 1930.''

It was Janmashtami day (the birthday of Sri Krishna). Since dawn Mahapurushji had been reciting at short intervals the many names of Sri Krishna. Often he repeated in a sweet voice: "Govinda! Govinda!" He would also chant hymns to Sri Krishna and sometimes he would sing his many names. Gradually the sadhus and brahmacharins of the Math came to see and salute the Swami.

Later, addressing Omkarananda, Mahapurushji said: "Today is a great day. Thousands of years ago, on this day, the Lord God came down to this earth as Sri Krishna for the good of the world. Even today millions of men and women draw inspiration and peace from his name. Devotees of the Lord are filled with spiritual fervour and joy on such a special day.

"We have seen how the Master would have an excess of samadhi on a day like this. In spite of his efforts, he would not be able to control his spiritual fervour. The natural trend of his mind was high. By sheer force he would bring his mind down to this earthly plane. For the good of the world the Mother would keep his mind on a lower level.

"Ah! What a sight it was! He would be so beside himself with spiritual emotion that he could hardly speak. How great was his love for God! Tears would roll down his cheeks in streams. We never saw anyone shedding such tears of love and devotion.

"In The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, here and there, we find brief descriptions of that love. Can it be described in any way? Only he who has seen it understands it. Spiritual emotion, samadhi and experiences of that kind were daily events with him.

"Master Mahashaya (M.) could not be present every day. He would visit the Master at Dakshineswar or elsewhere on Saturday, Sunday or some such holidays and he tried to keep a record of whatever happened in his presence."
----

== '''12 March 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''12 March 2019''

=== '''(Teachings of Swami Brahmananda)''' ===

==== '''ABSORPTION.''' ====
The subtle mind leads the aspirant nearer to God, but it cannot reach God, the supreme Atman. Having reached this stage, the world no longer holds any charm for the aspirant; he becomes absorbed in the consciousness of God. This absorption leads to Samadhi, an experience which cannot be described. It is beyond "is" and "is not". There, there is neither happiness nor misery, neither light nor darkness. All is infinite Being—inexpressible.

Higher still is meditation. When a man practices this form of worship, he keeps up a constant flow of thought toward God and becomes absorbed in the living presence of his Chosen Ideal. He goes beyond prayer and japam, but the sense of duality remains.

Practice japam, whether you like it or not. As you persist, the mind is certain to become absorbed in contemplation.

Hold fast to the truth. Be pure-hearted. The purer you become the more will your mind be absorbed in God: You will be able to see the subtle deceptions of the mind, and you will be able to root them out.

As your mind becomes absorbed in meditation, a fountain of joy will spring up within you.

Learn to be absorbed in him. Activity is not the goal of life. Work without attachment is only a means to absorption in God.

At dead of night the mind becomes absorbed in God with very little effort.

The moment you become absorbed in the contemplation of God, you will experience unbounded joy. Days and nights will pass away in the blissful consciousness of God.

By steadfastness alone the mind becomes absorbed in God. Unless absorption is achieved, freedom from the temptations of the world is not possible. Lust, anger, delusion—these are strong foes. Be strong in the strength of God and escape from this net of Maya.

The mind is like a spoiled child always restless. Try repeatedly to steady it by fixing it on the Chosen Ideal, and at last you will become absorbed in him.

Meditation means a continuous flow of thought toward God. When meditation ripens, there comes absorption, and Samadhi is experienced.

[To the question, "How can one get the mind absorbed in God?"] Practice meditation regularly.

Can anyone in the primary stage live absorbed day and night in meditation? Therefore you must work, but work without attachment for the good of mankind.

When the mind becomes absorbed, a shining light is first experienced in the mystic vision. With this vision, there comes a kind of higher and nobler joy, and the mind is reluctant to give up this joy and move onward. But if the aspirant goes further, the vision of the light will be concentrated into the form of the Chosen Ideal and the mind becomes merged in his consciousness.

The more the mind is absorbed within, the greater will be the joy of meditation; and when once you taste joy in your spiritual practices, the desire to continue in them will grow. Then you will no longer have to ask how long you should meditate. Your own mind will tell you.

When you are able to free yourself from these deep-seated subtle desires, when the mind becomes tranquil, then only can you become deeply absorbed in real meditation. The practice of japam and meditation brings the aspirant to this stage.
----

== '''13 March 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''13 March 2019''

=== '''(Teachings of Desert Fathers)''' ===
ABBOT PAMBO QUESTIONED ABBOT Anthony saying: "What ought I to do?"

And the elder replied: Have no confidence in your own virtuousness. Do not worry about a thing once it has been done. Control your tongue and your belly.

ABBOT JOSEPH of Thebes said: There are three kinds of men who find honour in the sight of God: First, those who, when they are ill and tempted, accept all these things with thanksgiving. The second, those who do all their works clean in the sight of God, in no way merely seeking to please men. The third, those who sit in subjection to the command of a spiritual father and renounce all their own desires.

A BROTHER asked one of the elders: "What good thing shall I do, and have life thereby?"

The old man replied: God alone knows what is good. However, I have heard it said that someone inquired of Father Abbot Nisteros the great, the friend of Abbot Anthony, asking: What good work shall I do, and that he replied: Not all works are alike. For Scripture says that Abraham was hospitable and God was with him. Elias loved solitary prayer, and God was with him. And David was humble, and God was with him. Therefore, whatever you see your soul to desire according to God, do that thing, and you shall keep your heart safe.

THEY said of Abbot Pambo that in the very hour when he departed this life he said to the holy men who stood by him: From the time I came to this place in the desert, and built me a cell, and dwelt here, I do not remember eating bread that was not earned by the work of my own hands, nor do I remember saying anything for which I was sorry even until this hour. And thus I go to the Lord as one who has not even made a beginning in the service of God.
----

== '''14 March 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''14 March 2019''

=== '''SOME SAYINGS OF THE DESERT FATHERS''' ===
A BROTHER asked one of the elders: "How does fear of the Lord get into a man?"

And the elder said: If a man have humility and poverty, and judge not another, that is how fear of the Lord gets into him.

ONCE some brethren went out of the monastery to visit the hermits who lived in the desert. They came to one who received them with joy and seeing that they were tired, invited them to eat before the accustomed time and placed before them all the food he had available. But that night when they were all supposed to be sleeping the hermit heard the cenobites talking among themselves and saying: These hermits eat more than we do in the monastery.

Now at dawn the guests set out to see another hermit, and as they were starting out their host said: Greet him from me, and give him this message: Be careful not to water the vegetables.

When they reached the other hermitage they delivered this message. And the second hermit understood what was meant by the words. So he made the visitors sit down and weave baskets, and sitting with them he worked without interruption. And in the evening when the time came for lighting the lamp, he added a few extra psalms to the usual number, after which he said to them: We do not usually eat every day out here, but because you have come along it is fitting to have a little supper today, for a change.

Then he gave them some dry bread and salt, then added: Here's a special treat for you. Upon which he mixed them a little sauce of vinegar, salt and oil, and gave it to them.

After supper they got up again and started in on the psalms and kept on praying almost until dawn, at which the hermit said: Well, we can't finish all our usual prayers, for you are tired from your journey. You had better take a little rest.

And so when the first hour of the day came, they all wanted to leave this hermit, but he would not let them go. He kept saying: Stay with me a while. I cannot let you go so soon, charity demands that I keep you for two or three days.

But they, hearing this, waited until dark and then under cover of night they made off.
----

== '''15 March 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''15 March 2019''

=== '''SOME SAYINGS OF THE DESERT FATHERS''' ===
AN ELDER said: Here is the monk's life-work: obedience, meditation, not judging others, not reviling, not complaining. For it is written: you who love the Lord, hate evil. So this is the monk's life: not to walk in agreement with an unjust man, nor to look with his eyes upon evil, nor to go about being curious, and neither to examine nor to listen to the business of others. Not to take anything with his hands, but rather to give to others. Not to be proud in his heart, nor to malign others in his thoughts. Not to fill his stomach, but in all things to behave with discretion. Behold, in all this you have the true monk.

AN ELDER said: Cut off from yourself rash confidence, and control your tongue and your belly, and abstain from wine. And if anyone speak to you about any matter do not argue with him. But if he speaks rightly, say: Yes. If he speaks wrongly say to him: You know what you are saying. But do not argue with him about the things he has said. Thus your mind will be at peace.

ABBOT ANTHONY said: Just as fish die if they remain on dry land so monks, remaining away from their cells, or dwelling with men of the world, lose their determination to persevere in solitary prayer. Therefore, just as the fish should go back to the sea, so we must return to our cells, lest remaining outside we forget to watch over ourselves interiorly.
----

== '''16 March 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''16 March 2019''

=== '''SOME SAYINGS OF THE DESERT FATHERS''' ===
ABBOT ARSENIUS prayed to the Lord saying: Lord, lead me to salvation.

And a voice came to him saying: Arsenius, fly from men and you shall be saved. Again, embracing the monastic life, he prayed in the same words. And he heard a voice saying to him: Arsenius, fly, be silent, rest in prayer: these are the roots of non-sinning.

A CERTAIN brother went to Abbot Moses in Scete, and asked him for a good word. And the elder said to him: Go, sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.

AN ELDER saw a certain monk laughing and said to him: In the presence of the Lord of heaven and earth we must answer for our whole life.

IT WAS said of Abbot Agatho that for three years he carried a stone in his mouth until he learned to be silent.

ONE of the brethren questioned Abbot Isidore, the elder of Scete, saying: Why is it that the demons are so grievously afraid of you?

The elder replied: From the moment I became a monk I have striven to prevent anger rising to my lips.
----

== '''17 March 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''17 March 2019''

=== '''SOME SAYINGS OF THE DESERT FATHERS''' ===
ABBOT MACARIUS said: If, wishing to correct another, you are moved to anger, you gratify your own passion. Do not lose yourself in order to save another.

ABBOT HYPERICHIUS said: It is better to eat meat and drink wine, than to slander and devour the flesh of your brother.

ONCE in Scete a bottle of wine from the new vintage was brought in, so that the brethren might have some, each in his goblet. One of the brethren came in and seeing that they had received wine, he ran and hid in the cellar. But the cellar caved in.

When they had heard the noise, they ran and found the brother lying half dead, and they began to rebuke him, saying: It serves you right, because of your vanity.

But the Abbot, giving him every care, said: Forgive my son, for he has done well. And as the Lord lives, this cellar shall not be built again in my time, so that the world may know that for the sake of a glass of wine a cellar collapsed in Scete.

A MONK ran into a party of handmaids of the Lord on a certain journey. Seeing them he left the road and gave them a wide berth.

But the Abbess said to him: If you were a perfect monk, you would not even have looked close enough to see that we were women.

A CERTAIN brother, renouncing the world, and giving the things he owned to the poor, kept a few things in his own possession. He came to Abbot Anthony.

When the elder heard about all this, he said to him: If you want to be a monk, go to that village and buy meat, and place it on your naked body and so return here.

And when the brother had done as he was told, dogs and birds of prey tore at his body.

When he returned to the elder, the latter asked if he had done as he was told. The brother showed him his lacerated body.

Then Abbot Anthony said: Those who renounce the world and want to retain possession of money are assailed and torn apart by devils just as you are.
----

== '''18 March 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''18 March 2019''

=== '''SOME SAYINGS OF THE DESERT FATHERS''' ===
ABBOT ANASTASIUS had a book written on very fine parchment which was worth eighteen pence, and had in it both the Old and New Testaments in full.

Once a certain brother came to visit him, and seeing the book made off with it. So that day when Abbot Anastasius went to read his book, and found that it was gone, he realized that the brother had taken it. But he did not send after him to inquire about it for fear that the brother might add perjury to theft.

Well, the brother went down into the nearby city in order to sell the book. And the price he asked was sixteen pence.

The buyer said: Give me the book that I may find out whether it is worth that much. With that, the buyer took the book to the holy Anastasius and said: Father, take a look at this book, please, and tell me whether you think I ought to buy it for sixteen pence. Is it worth that much?

Abbot Anastasius said: Yes, it is a fine book, it is worth that much.

So the buyer went back to the brother and said: Here is your money. I showed the book to Abbot Anastasius and he said it is a fine book and is worth at least sixteen pence.

But the brother asked: Was that all he said? Did he make any other remarks?

No, said the buyer, he did not say another word.

Well, said the brother, I have changed my mind and I don't want to sell this book after all. Then he hastened to Abbot Anastasius and begged him with tears to take back his book.

But the Abbot would not accept it, saying: Go in peace, brother, I make you a present of it. But the brother said: If you do not take it back I shall never have any peace.

After that the brother dwelt with Abbot Anastasius for the rest of his life.
----

== '''19 March 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''19 March 2019''

=== '''SOME SAYINGS OF THE DESERT FATHERS''' ===
ABBOT THEODORE of Pherme had three good books. And when he had come to Abbot Macarius he said to him: I have three books, and I profit by reading them. Also the brethren ask to borrow them, and they profit also. Now tell me, what ought I to do?

And the elder replied, saying: Those things that you do are good, but better than all else is to possess nothing.

When he had heard this, he went off and sold the above-mentioned books, and gave their price to the poor.

ABBOT AMMONAS said that he had spent fourteen years in Scete praying to God day and night to be delivered from anger.

ABBOT PASTOR said: The virtue of a monk is made manifest by temptations.

AN ELDER said: The reason why we do not get anywhere is that we do not know our limits, and we are not patient in carrying on the work we have begun. But without any labour at all we want to gain possession of virtue.

AN ELDER said: Just as a tree cannot bear fruit if it is often transplanted, so neither can a monk bear fruit if he frequently changes his abode.

A CERTAIN brother came, once, to Abbot Theodore of Pherme, and spent three days begging him to let him hear a word. The Abbot however did not answer him, and he went off sad.

So a disciple said to Abbot Theodore: Father, why did you not speak to him? Now he has gone off sad!

The elder replied: Believe me, I spoke no word to him because he is a trader in words, and seeks to glory in the words of another.

ANOTHER brother asked the same elder, Abbot Theodore, and began to question him and to inquire about things which he had never yet put into practice himself.

The elder said to him: As yet you have not found a ship, and you have not put your baggage aboard, and you have not started to cross the sea: can you talk as if you had already arrived in that city to which you planned to go? When you have put into practice the thing you are talking about, then speak from knowledge of the thing itself!
----

== '''20 March 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

''20 March 2019''

=== '''(Teachings of Swami Shivananda)''' ===
Mahapurushji: Is Dakshineswar just an ordinary place? God Himself incarnated for the good of the world, and it is there that He undertook hard austerities and spiritual practices such as the world had not seen before, and, maybe, will not see again. Dakshineswar is the epitome of all the holy places of the world; every particle of its dust is holy. It is a great place of pilgrimage for all aspirants of all sects, be they Hindus, Mohammedans, Christians, or again Shaivas, Saktas, or Vaishnavas. As for the other sacred places of the world, it is either that an aspirant has attained realization through a certain spiritual path in one, or that a realized person has cast off his body in another.

"But Dakshineswar has witnessed the spiritual practices undergone by God Himself. Who indeed can tell of the infinite spiritual moods that found expression there? In the course of time people will realize the greatness of the place; then they will be eager to get the very dust of that sacred spot. The intense spiritual atmosphere of the place can never be destroyed. From the day that I heard that the Mother was not being properly served and worshipped, I have been invoking Her here daily and offering worship mentally.

"To Her I say: 'Mother, have thy offerings here itself; accept our service instead.' I shall be saved from all worries when the temple services and worship are suitably arranged for.... In a way, Mathur Babu made a gift of the whole property to the Master, in all sincerity; but the Master did not accept it then.

"Now his work is spreading on all sides and in many ways. Hence it is necessary to preserve that place. Mother willing, all that will come under the Math."

== 21 March 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Shivananda ===
'''Mahapurushji''': Whenever a religious organization fell, the root cause was the absence of spiritual practices, renunciation, austerity, and so forth. In this organization also, we have nothing to fear and it will all run smoothly so long as detachment and dispassion shine bright; and so long as each member of the organization believes that God-realization is the only goal of life and accordingly engages himself in spiritual practices and austerity.

Maharaj (Swami Brahmananda) used to depict the true outlook of a holy man with the help of a beautiful illustration. He used to say that a monk should think that he is living under a tree even while dwelling in a palace; and even when being supplied with the best food, he should remember that he is, after all, living on alms that is free from all impurity.

This means that the monk should remain detached under all circumstances and keep the attitude of austerity flaming within for ever. One need have no fear so long as the ideal remains unadulterated. It is only the inner consecration to ideal that counts. Besides, whatever you do, you do for God alone, and nothing for yourselves. So, work also becomes a spiritual practice for you. When one performs work as service to Him, one gets rid of the impurities of the mind; there can be no doubt about that. Of course, you have to undertake other forms of spiritual practice along with this.

'Troubles arise only when there is any slackness in spiritual practices. You have to do His work without any attachment. Know it for certain that if one goes on performing one's duties under the sincere faith that one is doing God's work, one can never suffer spiritually. God protects such a one for ever. But the fall comes as soon as egoism and attachment creep in.

The Master used to say that there should be no self-deception in the matter of sticking to the ideal. One need have no fear so long as one clings to the idea: "I am grateful that I am able to do His work, to serve Him through this." One should keep strict vigilance over one's mind, analysing it at every turn.

Whenever you notice that the course of your mind is altering even slightly, you should at once start praying to Him with all humility, and you should apply yourself more intensely to your spiritual practice. And even while working, one has to maintain a constant current of thought about Him.
----

== 22 March 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna ===
How can the mind find joy in external beauty once it becomes absorbed in the feet of the Lord, the Beloved, the source of infinite beauty? Having once tasted of the joy of the infinite, earthly pleasures seem trifling.

I tell you, my son; you will get the highest joy from the Master's name itself; you will get everything from his name—be it spiritual ecstasy or God-absorption.

But everything takes its own time. It will not do to be restless. One has to get deeply absorbed in spiritual exercises; one must strengthen one's spiritual attitude in one's own mind. One may get a temporary enthusiasm by noticing somebody else's spiritual fervour; but then one must remember that all such men had to pass through hard struggle.

Call on Him with the utmost earnestness; repeat His name with all sincerity; and get absorbed in Him through and through. Then you will enjoy the bliss that belongs to one who is free even while in this body.

The real peace comes only when the mind becomes absorbed in Him, not earlier. This is not a thing to come all of a sudden; one has to persevere diligently.

Don't let your time pass idly, my son. You have to be fully absorbed in calling on him; it won't do to be half-hearted.

Gradually, by the repetition of His name and earnest prayers to Him the mind will become absorbed in Him.

==== Swami Shivananda ====
You must strive with all the might of your body, mind, and heart to love God, to be melted into his love, and to become absorbed in him.

In order to attain wisdom of God and liberation for one's own self, one need only to receive the sacred mantra from an illumined guru, and, with complete faith, become absorbed in the practice of japam and meditation.

In order to become stabilised in renunciation and dispassion one must try to become absorbed while repeating with single-minded devotion the name of God.

So long as there is the least desire the mind cannot be absorbed in God.

==== Swami Premananda ====
Meditation can be on divine forms as well as on Om. As one goes on meditating, the mind gets absorbed in Om. As one goes on repeating Om and reflecting on its meaning, the mind becomes steady, that is to say, it does not give up.

In Samadhi, absorption in God, there is complete destruction of the mind, but it must be the Nirvikalpa absolute Samadhi.

What is meditation but absorption in a subject?

==== Swami Turiyananda ====
----

== 23 March 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Direct Disciples ===

==== Swami Adbhutananda ====
A thread with stray fibres cannot pass through the eye of a needle; similarly, a mind with desires cannot be absorbed in God.

Realization of God means that one becomes absorbed in him, transcending his attributes and powers. It is not an easy thing!

[To the question: "Is it possible to pour Sadhana into another person?"]

Yes. But not everyone can do that. He who has seen God and been absorbed in his bliss—he can.

==== Swami Saradananda ====
Perfect peace will not come until the mind is fully concentrated. You must dwell on God uninterruptedly and be absorbed in the contemplation of His true nature.

If you practice japa and meditation regularly, without break for some years, you will see for yourself what result comes to pass. Your mind will become pure and you will be absorbed in the thought of God. Then you will be reluctant to leave off meditation even for a single day. There will come an inner tranquillity which will fill your heart with joy.

==== Swami Brahmananda ====
Pain follows pleasure and every action brings its own reaction.

It is easy to do great deeds, the deeds that bring name and fame. But it is by his small, everyday actions that a man's character is known.

If you can perform every action as worship of the Lord, then only will you like to work and feel no attachment to the fruits of your actions.

Be active, but keep the constant recollection of God.

Certainly it is easier to do a noble deed for the sake of name and fame. But by such deeds a man's real value cannot be measured. To know the real man, examine his daily actions; for it is his everyday actions which reveal his true character. A true karma-yogi will lose himself heart and soul in any undertaking, even though it is of a very menial kind. He is never motivated by the least desire for popular approval.

Truth is the pillar to which you must always hold while performing any action.

But of course there is the effect of Karma. If you do any wrong action, you must suffer from disquiet of mind and other consequences.

==== Swami Shivananda ====
Every man should do something good, that is, some selfless deed. By something good I mean activity done without any attachment. If you can help a poor man by giving him food, or educate a needy boy by providing his board and lodging according to your means, that will be sufficient. In cases that are beyond your means you can engage in such good deeds in cooperation with friends of yours. Many activities of this nature you will find close at hand. If you wish to do them, you can easily do so.

[To the question: "Can I continue to be pure and spiritual irrespective of my actions, good or bad?"]

Certainly not. Your good actions contribute to make you more and more spiritual, while the bad ones go to drag you down to samsara and prevent your freeing the soul from the bondage of birth and death: to obtain that freedom is and ought to be the one aim of your having taken birth as a human being.
----

== 24 March 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Direct Disciples ===

==== Swami Premananda ====
Let the mouth be closed, and action speak.

Is a person worthy to be called a human being if he cannot give up selfishness, if he cannot give up his pleasures of the senses? To take the name of Sri Ramakrishna, and at the same time to be selfish! Is there any progress for such a hypocrite? Think wisely and firmly; and act accordingly.

Be completely desireless, but act.

Do not be swayed by words of praise or blame, or let your actions be influenced by the opinions of others.

I see no evil in you. Who knows but that you may be a saint tomorrow? God plays with us by putting on various masks. We act under the control of our samskaras [tendencies]. We are all toys in the hands of the good Lord, and he is our refuge.

Trust in the Lord and act. You will then succeed. If you depend on men, you will meet with failure.

But we have lost this truthfulness, and that is why we have come to such a pass groaning under the crushing weight of misery and degradation. Now all our efforts must be directed first to retrieve it; not by mere empty speech, but by sincere action, pledging all our heart and soul to it.

Be active also. Free yourself from all sense of ego, and work selflessly. Be very careful that no sense of leadership or any trace of selfishness enter into you. Whatever you do, do as the servant of the Lord.

"Do or die!" Make this your motto. Rome was not built in a day, neither can the ideal character be formed in one day. It is the sum-total of your every thought and action that makes up your character. Remember this and every moment guard well your thoughts and actions. This is an age when we need workers who seek no results for their actions—and are completely devoted to God. No talk, but action; show by the example of your life.

It is not a lazy man's job. Be up and doing!

==== Swami Turiyananda ====
Some people think that inaction in itself is the ideal. If it be so, why then, the wall also should be considered to have attained Samadhi. Should not one transcend all dualities? To maintain one's mental balance under all circumstances, to remain absolutely unmoved—that indeed is the goal!

Man has to his credit the actions of many previous births, which must work themselves out.

The highest conception is to think that everything is He. Failing that, it is best to think that He is the real agent behind all actions and He is causing us to act.

Yes, as a race you [English and Americans] are very materialistic, but I have met with exceptions. And activity is not bad. I like your energy, you are all up and doing. I see no idleness anywhere. Only that energy should be controlled. It should go inward also, activity in inactivity.
----

== 25 March 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

Divine Providence has given man the sense of free will and the principle of karma. It is left to man to do as he wishes. If he chooses to do actions which bring him less happiness and more misery, he alone is responsible, not God.

Every action brings a corresponding result. A man will get social merit through his philanthropic activities, but if his ego is involved in those activities, he will not get any spiritual merit. Even the result of a good action turns into a bondage if it is done with ego. None can escape the wheel of karma through self-motivated action. On the other hand, unselfish action destroys the bondages of action and brings liberation to man.

Real yearning for God is the result of associating with the holy, and a person gets the opportunity for holy company only as a result of many good actions.

Other acts do not count so much as a moment's love for the Lord.

[To the question: "Can a man ever do as he likes?"]

Sometimes he thinks he is doing as he likes, but in reality God is guiding all his movements. God is the only doer, nothing is done by man.

[Question: "Then what is the use of man's making any effort to be good or to realize God?"]

You cannot stop acting. Your very nature is to act. Can you remain perfectly quiet even for a moment? This body is born to act. Your hands, your feet, your eyes and ears have a natural tendency to action. As long as you must act, you will want to do that which will bring the most desirable results; so, as long as you act you will have to try to be good, to be virtuous, to be unselfish, in order to get the desirable results you are seeking, and since God is the most desirable result to be attained, you will have to strive to realize Him.

If you want to give up one bad habit you must develop the corresponding good habit, and this requires tremendous Rajas or activity on your part.

In this world we find some beautiful, some ugly; some high, some low; some happy, some miserable; some virtuous, some vicious; some kind, some cruel; some acquiring fame by good deeds, some looked down upon for being scavengers.

If one enquires into the root-causes of such diversities, it is found that past life actions are responsible for them. Our life is moulded by the powers of both divine grace and personal effort. The present life is in part the effect of actions done in past lives. Results of actions done in this life are partly experienced here and partly in the next as fate.

Wipe away the dust, arouse your ambition, stir up your activity and know that all power is latent in you. You are not limited.
----

== 26 March 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Direct Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna ===
The goal of all paths is the same. Each path is equally powerful. But none should be undertaken to the exclusion of the others: knowledge must unite with devotion. And this unity must be expressed through action. Knowledge without love is dry. Love without service is pure sentimentalism.

When a person is in a vortex of activities, his mind remains below the transcendental plane where spiritual communion is possible.

Let activism come first, then will follow peacefulness; and lastly will come enlightenment.

Sadhana is our attempt to get to Him through every action. You have to do even small things in a perfect way.

Be active and at the same time sensible.

Dedicate your life to good work. God blesses all good action.

What the westerners call fate or destiny, we characterize as the result of our actions in previous births.

From Buddha's life and discourses, we find that action follows thought; as you think, so you act. As loving thoughts help in expanding the consciousness, so do anger, jealousy, and envy lead to its contraction.

If you, too, make proper use of your opportunities, you can also achieve great things. God is behind us always; always remember Him in everything you do. Every action leads to a certain result; you cannot afford to forget that.

These ceremonial functions are not child's play. All our actions have the ultimate aim of attaining spiritual enlightenment or God-realization. Whether you reach that goal through the path of selfless action or through spiritual austerities is of no consequence. But the goal of all action is to receive illumination.

It is useless for people to brag about their actions. It is only through His will that things are happening.

Secondly, whatever God wills is immediately done. We, also, should have the power to translate our wishes into action.

[In order to come nearer to God] you have to adhere to truth and have to be steadfast in this respect. The mind and the tongue must become one. And your action should be in harmony with your speech.

As you think, so you act.

All our actions have the ultimate aim of attaining spiritual enlightenment or God-realization. Whether your efforts in this direction are made through the path of selfless action or through spiritual austerities is of no consequence. But the goal of all efforts is to receive enlightenment.
----

== 27 March 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Direct Disciples ===

==== Adversity ====
It is no easy thing to dedicate oneself heart and soul to the Lord. Many people boast: 'I have surrendered myself and my all to God. I do only what he tells me to do.' But if we observe their lives we see differently. For the good they do they claim the credit and they boast of their achievements, but when adversity or trouble overtakes them they cry out against the Lord and blame him for their misfortunes.

At the time of happiness everybody can remain calm, can discriminate, but one is established in it only if one can remain so even in adversity. At that time man has to summon up great strength. If he yields to weakness then, grief will overwhelm him—will altogether ruin him.

Nothing can bar the progress of what God intends to make successful. Unless one passes through the school of adversity, one cannot properly be called a man. We learn much from our troubles. You should not lose heart in adversity. Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas, prayed to Sri Krishna to beset her with adversities, since in adversity alone is He more frequently remembered!

Now regarding advice: in a general way we all believe in giving advice; but applying the advice to our daily lives is a very complex and puzzling affair. Indiscriminate advice never brings the desired result in many cases, it brings just the opposite result. So, we try to give advice only when we care about the person and when we think our words will carry some weight. In the case of someone who is stubborn and very near and dear to us and who, due to his lack of experience is in imminent danger of being harmed by an insincere person, we must take the risk of being disbelieved and misunderstood and offer advice and then leave the matter in the hands of the Lord.

The most important aim in spiritual life is the attainment of God's grace. The breeze of grace is always blowing; unfurl your sails. Give up worldly enjoyments and completely resign yourself to the Lord. You cannot love God and the world at the same time. If you want God, shun temporal pleasures. Ask yourself: 'What is it I want? Do I want this fleeting life of transient pleasures, or do I want the eternal bliss of everlasting life?'
----

== 28 March 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Sayings of the Desert Fathers ===
ONCE a certain provincial judge heard of Abbot Moses and went off to Scete to see him. Someone told the elder that the visitor was coming and he rose up to fly into the marshes. But on the way he ran into the judge with his companions.

The judge asked him, saying: Tell us, elder, where is the cell of Abbot Moses?

The elder replied: What do you want with him? The man is a fool and a heretic!

The judge went on and came to the church of Scete and said to the clerics: I heard about this Abbot Moses and came out here to meet him. And an old man heading for Egypt ran into us, and we asked him where was the cell of Abbot Moses, and he said to us: What do you want with him? The man is a fool and a heretic!

But the clerics, hearing this, were saddened and said: What kind of old man was this, who said such things to you about the holy man?

They said: He was a very old elder with a long black robe.

Then the clerics said: Why, that was Abbot Moses himself. And because he did not want to be seen by you, therefore he said those things about himself. Greatly edified, the judge returned home.
----ABBOT POEMEN said: Unless the desire of gluttony had come into the soul, the mind of man would not have been enkindled by the temptations of the devil.
----A CERTAIN brother came to Abbot Silvanus at Mount Sinai, and seeing the hermits at work he exclaimed: Why do you work for the bread that perisheth? Mary has chosen the best part, namely to sit at the feet of the Lord without working.

Then the Abbot said to his disciple Zachary: Give the brother a book and let him read, and put him in an empty cell. At the ninth hour the brother who was reading began to look out to see if the Abbot was not going to call him to dinner, and sometime after the ninth hour he went himself to the Abbot and said:

Did the brethren not eat today, Father?

Oh yes, certainly, said the Abbot, they just had dinner. Well, said the brother, why did you not call me?

You are a spiritual man, said the elder, you don't need this food that perisheth. We have to work, but you have chosen the best part. You read all day, and can get along without food!

Hearing this the brother said: Forgive me, Father.

And the elder said: Martha is necessary to Mary, for it was because Martha worked that Mary was able to be praised.
----

== 29 March 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Desert Fathers ===
ONE of the brethren had sinned, and the priest told him to leave the community. So then Abbot Bessarion got up and walked out with him, saying: ''I too am a sinner!''
----A BROTHER in Scete happened to commit a fault, and the elders assembled, and sent for Abbot Moses to join them. He, however, did not want to come. The priest sent him a message, saying: Come, the community of the brethren is waiting for you.

So he arose and started off. And taking with him a very old basket full of holes, he filled it with sand, and carried it behind him.

The elders came out to meet him, and said: What is this, Father?

The elder replied: ''My sins are running out behind me, and I do not see them, and today I come to judge the sins of another!''

They, hearing this, said nothing to the brother but pardoned him.
----A CERTAIN brother inquired of Abbot Pastor, saying: What shall I do? I lose my nerve when I am sitting alone at prayer in my cell.

The elder said to him: Despise no one, condemn no one, rebuke no one, God will give you peace and your meditation will be undisturbed.
----AN ELDER said: Do not judge a fornicator if you are chaste, for if you do, you too are violating the law as much as he is. For He who said thou shalt not fornicate also said thou shalt not judge.
----ONE of the Fathers told a story of a certain elder who was in his cell busily at work and wearing a hairshirt when Abbot Ammonas came to him. When Abbot Ammonas saw him wearing a hair-shirt he said: That thing won't do you a bit of good.

The elder said: Three thoughts are troubling me. The first impels me to withdraw somewhere into the wilderness. The second, to seek a foreign land where no one knows me; The third, to wall myself into this cell and see no one and eat only every second day.

Abbot Ammonas said to him: None of these three will do you a bit of good. But rather sit in your cell, and eat a little every day, and have always in your heart the words which are read in the Gospel and thus you can be saved.
----

== 30 March 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Some Sayings of the Desert Fathers ===
ONE of the monks, called Serapion, sold his book of the Gospels and gave the money to those who were hungry, saying: I have sold the book which told me to sell all that I had and give to the poor.
----ONE of the brethren had been insulted by another and he wanted to take revenge. He came to Abbot Sisois and told him what had taken place, saying: I am going to get even, Father. But the elder besought him to leave the affair in the hands of God. No, said the brother, I will not give up until I have made that fellow pay for what he said.

Then the elder stood up and began to pray in these terms: ''O God, Thou art no longer necessary to us, and we no longer need Thee to take care of us since, as this brother says, we both can and will avenge ourselves.''

At this the brother promised to give up his idea of revenge.
----ONE of the brothers asked Abbot Sisois: Supposing some robbers or savages attack me and try to kill me: if I can overcome them should I kill them myself?

The elder replied: Not at all. But commit yourself entirely to God. Any evil that comes to you, confess that it has happened to you because of your sins, for you must learn to attribute everything to the dispensation of God's wisdom.
----THERE was once a great hermit in the mountains and he was attacked by robbers. But his cries aroused the other hermits in the neighbourhood, and they ran together and captured the robbers. These they sent under guard to the town and the judge put them in jail.

But then the brothers were very ashamed and sad because, on their account, the robbers had been turned over to the judge.

They went to Abbot Poemen and told him all about it.

And the elder wrote to the hermit saying: Remember who carried out the first betrayal, and you will learn the reason for the second. Unless you had first been betrayed by your own inward thoughts, you would never have ended by turning those men over to the judge.

The hermit, touched by these words, got up at once and went into the city and broke open the jail, letting out the robbers and freeing them from torture.
----

== 31 March 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Sayings of the Desert Fathers ===
IT WAS told of Abbot John the Dwarf that once he had said to his elder brother: I want to live in the same security as the angels have, doing no work, but serving God without intermission. And casting off everything he had on, he started out into the desert.

When a week had gone by he returned to his brother. And while he was knocking on the door, his brother called out before opening, and asked: Who are you?

He replied: I am John.

Then his brother answered and said: John has become an angel and is no longer among men. But John kept on knocking and said: It is I. Still the brother did not open, but kept him waiting.

Finally, opening the door, he said: If you are a man, you are going to have to start working again in order to live. But if you are an angel, why do you want to come into a cell?

So John did penance and said: Forgive me, brother, for I have sinned.
----ABBOT PASTOR said: If you have a chest full of clothing, and leave it for a long time, the clothing will rot inside it. It is the same with the thoughts in our heart. If we do not carry them out by physical action, after a long while they will spoil and turn bad.
----THE SAME Father said: If there are three monks living together, of whom one remains silent in prayer at all times, and another is ailing and gives thanks for it, and the third waits on them both with sincere good will, these three are equal, as if they were performing the same work.
----HE SAID, again: Malice will never drive out malice. But if someone does evil to you, you should do good to him, so that by your good work you may destroy his malice.
----AND HE also said: He who is quarrelsome is no monk: he who returns evil for evil is no monk: he who gets angry is no monk.
----A BROTHER came to Abbot Pastor and said: Many distracting thoughts come into my mind, and I am in danger because of them.

Then the elder thrust him out into the open air and said: Open up the garments about your chest and catch the wind in them.

But he replied: This I cannot do. So the elder said to him: If you cannot catch the wind, neither can you prevent distracting thoughts from coming into your head. Your job is to say ''No'' to them.
----ABBOT AMMONAS said: One man carries an axe all his life and never cuts down a tree. Another, who knows how to cut, gives a few swings and the tree is down. This axe, he said, is ''discretion''.

== 1 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== M. The Apostle and the Evangelist ===
"The child drinks the mother's milk. So it lives. We also do the same. The Big Mother's milk (Jagadamba's) we are always drinking. Air, water, food—everything is Her milk. During the winter, She is Herself on the body, in the form of cotton and wool, protecting the body. That's also drinking Her milk."

M. sits down on the north side of the terrace. Overwhelmed with emotion he sings:

''You are Tara. Though you have assumed the three gunas, You are even beyond the limitless. I know You, merciful Mother! You are the one to free me from all trials and tribulations. You live on sea, You live on land and you are at the root of the Beginning. You live in bodies, in all hearts, both with form and without form.''

''You are Sandhya, you are Gayatri. You are the nurse of the Universe, O Mother! You enable one to cross the ocean of the world, You, the Ever-Beloved of Shiva.''

''O Ma, the Controller of the hearts! You are ever awake within. Night and day I live in your lap. Why have you so much affection, love for this lowly child? You are, as though mad in Your Love.''

''Sometimes lovingly, sometimes with all Your force, You make me drink Your nectar and tell me sweet tales. How You love me! It cannot be calculated. Again and again You redeem me, You the Redeemer of the fallen!''

''Oh! I have found the secret now: Ma is mine and I Hers. I must walk the path of virtue, listen to You. Sucking at your breast I must be strong and brave, And sing joyfully, "Victory to You, Mother Eternal!"''
----

== 2 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== M. The Apostle and the Evangelist ===
Ashwatthama was bound and brought before Draupadi.

Seeing his condition, Draupadi said, 'Free him at once... The guru's family to which all reverence is due, will be drowned in the ocean of sorrow—that would be wrong. I am crying, shedding incessant tears all the time at the shocking loss of my sons. Let not his mother Gautami also have to shed tears in the same way.'

'''M.''': Just see. She lost five sons, so much sorrow for her, but even then she did not give up her duty. This is possible only in India. She has lost everything herself but she doesn't pay much heed to that, her object of attention is Gautami. Lest she should have to fall in this fire of grief, that was her only thought. This is what is called divine disposition.

What a heroism in spite of her being a woman. Where others' interest comes first and one's own interest later, there resides this divine disposition. In other words, the abode of God. When the opposite is the case it is animal disposition, human disposition. Sri Krishna was with them, you see.

That is why such a high ideal. Such a thing is rare in the world.

Hearing these great words of Draupadi, Sri Krishna said, 'Yes, the guru's son should not be killed.' A murderer can be killed but as the guru's son he cannot be.

Even so, to save both sides the guilty should be punished and yet his life saved. On Sri Krishna's advice, Arjuna, having pierced a hole in the jewel of his forehead, exiled Ashwatthama. May be the jewel was tied to his top tuft of hair that was cut. This is a death like insult. It is for this reason, I believe, that the people of the west (to the west of Bengal) don't let anybody touch the top tuft of hair.
----

== 3 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== M.: The Apostle and the Evangelist ===
Mary, the disciple of Jesus, was a prostitute. She was turned into a saint by his contact. After the crucifixion, she was the first to whom Jesus gave darshan. Mary had cried a potful of tears for God. God judges the mind. They who cry for Him, them He lifts into His lap. Genuine tears for Him are needed.

The War of Kurukshetra was over. Dhritarashtra, Kunti and the Pandavas are sitting together. Gandhari is smitten by grief. Sri Krishna consoling her, says, 'Devi, give up your grief. Death will carry away all, sooner or later. Engage your mind in the meditation of the Self.'

Thakur had said: 'One day, I saw in dhyan a Himalayan high tower of dead bodies, and I was sitting in the midst of them.' In other words, the whole world is a cremation ground! Everybody has the impress of death fixed on his face. So the tower of death. If somebody were to think on just this picture and perform japa, he would attain perfection. But who has the awakening?

'''Q''': What is samadhi?

'''M.''': In samadhi, the external-consciousness is lost—one becomes one with Ishwara. So, nobody can tell what one's internal state becomes then. Once a salt-doll had gone to measure the ocean, but got dissolved and itself became the ocean. So who would then come back to report?

The mind is uplifted completely from this external world of rupa-rasa (form and taste). He who reaches that state only knows what happens—it is not possible to make others understand that state fully. It is the state of being beyond mind and speech. Someone has seen the sea. He tries to explain it to another who has not seen it. Just as this attempt is incomplete and hazy so is that. Samadhi cannot be described correctly. It is not possible to explain it by words of mouth. After the samadhi, one feels a continuous flow of a particular ananda, a never ending joy lingers—and there is peace within.

'I am the Self of the Eternal Bliss'—this jnana, this realisation, never disappears. Only a man of samadhi lives alive and awakened in this mortal world. He lives in the world but is not of the world, he is a jivan-mukta.

(After a momentary silence) 'Various are the states of jnana. In a particular state, Thakur used to say: "The plants and trees, the fruits and flowers, the gardener and the entire garden, so to say, appear to be made of wax—all made of Satchidananda."

This state is called visishtadvaita—qualified nondualism.'
----

== 4 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== M.: The Apostle and the Evangelist ===
'''M.''' (to the devotees): There are three bodies within. The gross, the subtle and the causal. Thakur used to refer to the causal body as Bhagavati Tanu (the spiritual body). The food for the gross body is all this: eatables, drinks and so on; the subtle body comprises the mind and the intellect—which also need food.

And the causal body—its food is the effort to attain God. It also needs food.

A man chooses association according to what he is. Thakur cherished the desire to see some bhaktas sitting together and doing japa.

Noting that Latu had woken up late in the morning, Thakur reprimanded him one day and said that if he was not well he could get up, repeat the name of God for a while, after washing his hands and mouth, and lie down again.

"Wayward people could not stay with him. Those who stayed with him had always to engage themselves in some Godly pursuit such as japa etc."

'''Dharmapada Babu''' (to M.): Can one remain without meditation on God (which is the food for the causal body)?

'''M.''': Where is the question here of what one can do or cannot, what one should do or should not? It is He who makes us do. Do people act after thinking? He makes us do, there is no way out. It's prakriti, one's nature—there's no question of 'should'—it does not arise at all.

Now M. sings some songs:

''Blessed by Thy vision, when, O when, Lord Hari, the embodiment of Love, the wave of blissful knowledge will swell up in my heart? (When will that day dawn on me?)''

''When will the body be thrilled and the mind and soul enthralled, with tears of joy flowing down the two eyes (beholding Thy enchanting beauty)?''

''When shall I see in the depths of my heart (drowned deep in emotion) thy loving face aglow with purity and light divine? When shall I fulfill my heart's cherished desire and have Thy touch of embrace?''
----

== 5 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Desert Fathers ===
ABBOT PALLADIUS said: The soul that wishes to live according to the will of Christ should either learn faithfully what it does not yet know, or teach openly what it does know. But if, when it can, it desires to do neither of these things, it is afflicted with madness. For the first step away from God is a distaste for learning, and lack of appetite for those things for which the soul hungers when it seeks God.

ONE of the elders said: If a man settles in a certain place and does not bring forth the fruit of that place, the place itself casts him out, as one who has not borne its fruit.

AN ELDER was asked: What does it mean, this word we read in the Bible, that the way is strait and narrow?

And the elder replied: This is the strait and narrow way: that a man should do violence to his judgments and cut off, for the love of God, the desires of his own will. This is what was written of the Apostles: ''Behold we have left all things and have followed Thee.''

ONE of the elders said: It is not because evil thoughts come to us that we are condemned, but only because we make use of the evil thoughts. It can happen that from these thoughts we suffer shipwreck, but it can also happen that because of them we may be crowned.
----

== 6 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Desert Fathers ===
A BROTHER inquired of Abbot Pastor saying: My soul suffers harm from living with the Spiritual Father that I have. What, then, do you command me to do? Shall I go on staying with him?

Now Abbot Pastor knew that the brother's soul would be harmed by this other Abbot, and he was surprised that he even asked whether he ought to go on staying with him. And he said to him: If you like, stay with him. The brother went off and remained with that Father. But he came back again, saying to Abbot Pastor: It is a great burden on my soul! And still Abbot Pastor did not tell him to leave the man. Finally the brother came back a third time and said: Believe me, I am through with him!

Then the elder said: See! now you are saved, go, and have no more to do with him.

And Abbot Pastor told the same brother: When a man sees that his soul is suffering harm, he has no need to ask advice about it. When it is a matter of secret thoughts, one asks advice, that the elders may test them. But when there are manifest sins there is no need to inquire—you just break off at once.
----

== 7 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Desert Fathers ===
ANOTHER elder said: It happens that one man eats more and yet remains hungry, and another man eats less, and is satisfied. The greater reward belongs to the one who ate more and is still hungry than to him who ate less and is satisfied.

THERE was a certain brother who was praised by all the others in the presence of Abbot Anthony, but when the elder tested him he found that he could not bear to be insulted.

Then Abbot Anthony said: You, brother, are like a house with a big strong gate, that is freely entered by robbers through all the windows.

A CERTAIN brother came to Abbot Poemen and said: What ought I to do, Father? I am in great sadness.

The elder said to him: Never despise anybody, never condemn anybody, never speak evil of anyone, and the Lord will give you peace.

ONE of the brethren asked an elder, saying: Father, do the holy men always know when the power of God is in them?

And the elder replied: No, they do not always know it. For once a very great hermit had a disciple who did something wrong and the hermit said to him: Go and drop dead!

Instantly the disciple fell down dead and the hermit, overcome with terror, prayed to the Lord, saying: Lord Jesus Christ, I beg Thee to bring my disciple back to life and from now on I will be careful what I say. Then right away the disciple was restored to life.
----

== 8 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Desert Fathers ===
ONE of the elders used to say: In the beginning when we got together we used to talk about something that was good for our souls, and we went up and up, and ascended even to heaven.

But now we get together and spend our time in criticizing everything, and we drag one another down into the abyss.

YET another elder said: If you see a young monk by his own will climbing up into heaven, take him by the foot and throw him to the ground, because what he is doing is not good for him.

ABBOT BESSARION, dying, said: The monk should be all eye, like the cherubim and seraphim.

ABBOT PASTOR said: Get away from any man who always argues every time he talks.

A CERTAIN elder said: Apply yourself to silence, have no vain thoughts, and be intent in your meditation, whether you sit at prayer, or whether you rise up to work in the fear of God. If you do these things, you will not have to fear the attacks of the evil ones.

ANOTHER of the elders said: When the eyes of an ox or mule are covered, then he goes round and round turning the mill wheel: but if his eyes are uncovered he will not go around in the circle of the mill wheel.

So too the devil if he manages to cover the eyes of a man, he can humiliate him in every sin. But if that man's eyes are not closed, he can easily escape from the devil.
----

== 9 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Desert Fathers ===
CERTAIN brethren came from the Thebaid to buy linen, and they said to one another: This opportunity will enable us to see the Blessed Arsenius. But when they came to his cave, his disciple Daniel went in and told him of their wish.

Arsenius replied: Go, my son, receive them and do them honour. But permit me to look upon heaven, and let them go their way. My face, they shall not see.

THE holy Fathers came together and spoke of what would happen in the last generation, and one of them especially, called Squirion, said: We now fulfil the commandments of God.

Then the Fathers asked him: What about those who will come after us?

He replied: Perhaps half of them will keep the commandments of God and will seek the eternal God.

And the Fathers asked: Those who come after these, what shall they do?

He replied and said: The men of that generation will not have the works of God's commandments and will forget His precepts. At that time wickedness will overflow and the charity of many will grow cold. And there shall come upon them a terrible testing. Those who shall be found worthy in this testing will be better than we are and better than our fathers. They shall be happier and more perfectly proven in virtue.
----

== 10 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== M. The Apostle and the Evangelist ===
M. sings:

''Thou hast removed all my sorrows and charmed my mind with Thy vision. Having Thee, the woes of the seven worlds are forgotten.''

'''M.''': Vivekananda sang these songs at the Cossipore Garden after he heard Thakur say: "''But I feel very clearly that there is the One within''." Thakur had also said, "''So long as there is 'I', the master-and-servant relationship is only good''." Vivekananda was full of these feelings. Coming down he, therefore, sang these songs.

M. again sings a song:

''O mind, you do not know how to farm. Fallow lies the rare field of man's life. Had you cultivated it well it would have yielded gold. Hedge it with the name of Kali; no harm would come to the harvest. The hedge of Goddess Kali with flowing hair is the stoutest of all, Death does not come near it. Now or a hundred years later, you have to forfeit this land. Concentrate, O mind! do your utmost to reap a rich harvest. Sow the seed your Guru has given you and irrigate it with the water of love. And if you cannot do it alone, O mind, take Ramprasad with you for help.''

After singing this song, M. sits in silence for a long time. Now he resumes his talk.

'''M.''' (to the bhaktas): We are drinking milk from Her breast, through different channels, day and night. At the Goldighi, we saw birds taking bath in the water, one after the other. On seeing it, it came to my mind: Lo! for them also He has provided water beforehand.

(To Gadadhar) "One should, therefore, practise tapasya in solitude—and constantly pray to Thakur: '''Lord, reveal Thyself, reveal Thyself, reveal Thyself!''<nowiki/>'"

== 11 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== M. The Apostle and the Evangelist ===
"See Christ was crucified. Rama was drowned in the River Sarayu. Krishna cast off his body when an arrow from a fowler's bow hit him. According to one version Chaitanya Deva was drowned in the sea. Ramakrishna Deva suffered from cancer for a year.

"Why this suffering even in the case of an avatara? So that people may have hope and courage.

"Again, see Shankaracharya had anal fistula, the Buddha colic pain. The latter was very old. It was as if a cart with a broken wheel was being dragged along, its body being immobile.

'Why did such a thing happen to Thakur? So that, '''Seeing me, the bhaktas may have hope and courage''.'

"The Buddha sent for Ananda and told him this: '''The cart is without one wheel. This body is pulling along like this''.' "

M. is looking upwards. He sings this song: 'O Mother, seeing your strange antics, O Playful One, I am struck dumb.'

'''M.''' (to the bhaktas): Only to bring courage to man—lest one should forget Him in suffering—He who is the giver of the body.

Said Thakur: "Look, I am also suffering. It has to be so, as long as the body lasts."

"Chaitanya Deva was drowned in water. The first time, the fishermen picked him up. The second time, no news of him. This appears to be the most reliable version of his passing away."
----

== 12 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji ===

==== On Overcoming Discouragement ====
'''A devotee''': "Maharaj, is there any hope for liberation for worldly people like us? Please bless us that we can escape this whirlpool of Maya."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Why should you be so depressed? Do you think you understand everything about human life? Know that no life goes in vain in God's realm.

Once Brother Shashi gave a very apt illustration to someone like you: A man was out walking and came upon a canal. Seeing that he would have to jump over it in order to continue on his way, he took several strides backward to get a running start for his leap. As he ran forward and jumped over the canal, he covered not only the distance he had moved backward but also the canal itself.

Now, can you tell me whether his several steps backward were helpful or harmful? A man might have to take backward steps in this present life, but he will undoubtedly run forward in the next.

"No life is ever lived in vain. Remember only one thing: Lead a God-centered life. Then the Lord will guide you as he likes. He knows our past, present, and future. The wisest course is to surrender to him completely. Whether you hold onto the Lord's hand or not does not matter, he is always holding onto yours. There is no doubt about that. He will never abandon you. He is all-merciful."

==== Remorse and God's Forgiveness ====
A devotee did something wrong and was feeling very bad about it. When Latu Maharaj heard this, he called for the devotee to come see him.

He told the devotee: "Look here, my son, just because you have made one or two mistakes, you should not give up your spiritual practices and brood over your lapses and feel hopeless. To make mistakes is human. Call on God. He will give you the strength to overcome weakness and destroy your delusion. He is the compassionate one. However great your sins might be, the current of his mercy will not be kept from you. How little is your sin, and yet you are so depressed! Just think of Ajamila and Valmiki, compared to their sins, yours are nothing.

Do you know what Brother Vivekananda used to say? 'Don't worry about a little spot of ink on the body. It is nothing. If one bathes in God's infinite ocean of mercy, stains of a thousand inkspots will be washed away.' So I am telling you, do not grieve. Pray unceasingly. Your bad tendencies will go away in a short time."

Yet the devotee was so ashamed of his conduct that he could not raise his head.

Seeing this, Latu Maharaj said: "Before he commits a sin, a man's conscience fills him with shame, yet he brushes it aside. But the divine law is such that after the sin is committed, shame overwhelms him again, and he cannot raise his head in front of others."

Even these words could not shake the devotee free from his sense of guilt.

Latu Maharaj continued: "What are you ashamed of my son? The Lord has seen everything you have done. You cannot hide anything from him. Since he knows all of it, why should you still be so melancholy? Instead, engage yourself in harder spiritual disciplines, keep the company of holy men and come here now and then."

These words helped the devotee regain his mental strength. After this conversation with Latu Maharaj, he began to practice spiritual disciplines more vigorously.
----

== 13 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji ===

==== On Monastic Life ====
'''Latu Maharaj to a monk''': "Never forget the goal of monastic life. Don't wear the gerua cloth [the ochre-coloured cloth of a monk] for outward show. The gerua cloth may bring you name and fame, but that will not help you realize God. Go into solitude and practice your spiritual disciplines with all your heart. Only then will you progress quickly. Avoid gossip and politics.

"Is it so easy to be a monk? A real monk longs for God, weeps for God. He does not think about himself and is not disturbed by physical discomfort. A real monk will not see faults in others, and he will have neither attachment nor aversion for anyone. He should be friendly with all.

A real monk must try to ease the sufferings of others, and if he does not have the means, he should encourage them with inspired words so that they can fight against life's odds. He does not hoard for the future and seeks nothing except God. A real monk is free from fear and is straightforward. His behaviour is simple, like a child's. Wherever he goes, he hears the call of God."

==== Cruelty and Compassion ====
'''A devotee''': "Maharaj, where is compassion in this world? There seems to be only an unbroken chain of cruelty. The crow attacks the sparrow, the kite attacks the crow, man hunts the kite, and the tiger and the bear attack man."

"If you see cruelty around you," responded Latu Maharaj, "you will find cruelty in God. If you see compassion everywhere, you will witness his infinite compassion. It all depends on your own mind. Always remember that to the pure mind all things are pure."

==== On Miracles ====
'''A young man''': "Maharaj, could you teach me something so that I will no longer suffer from poverty?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "You won't like what I tell you. You want the sort of trick that one uses to make gold out of a handful of dust: but I don't know that trick. I am a monk. I stay in this place and chant the name of the Lord.

I can tell you something about God and spiritual life, but you won't be satisfied. You want miraculous powers. Are powers so easy to come by? Are you ready to exert yourself? If you can chant the Lord's name a hundred thousand times a day, then come and sit here."

After hearing these words, the young man hurried away.
----

== 14 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji ===

==== Sri Ramakrishna: An Exemplar ====
"Sri Ramakrishna embodies an ideal for everyone. He was an ideal householder, an ideal monk, an ideal guru, and an ideal disciple. Moreover, his life can serve as an example for all faiths and all sects. He is an ideal for the worshipers of Shakti, as he practiced and attained perfection in all the important Tantric sadhanas.

He is an ideal for the Vaishnavites, for his devotion to Hari is unparalleled. He is also an ideal for the Shaivites, as he attained the vision of Lord Shiva too. He is an ideal for the devotees of Ramachandra, for he saw Rama and Sita. He is an ideal for the Vedantins as well, having experienced nirvikalpa samadhi, the culmination of the Vedantic sadhana, within three days.

He is also an ideal for the Christians and Mohammedans, because he had the vision of Christ and also of the Prophet."
----

== 15 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji ===

==== Sri Ramakrishna's Teaching on Suffering ====
'''A devotee''': "Maharaj, why should a knower of Brahman like Sri Ramakrishna, who was almost always immersed in samadhi, have suffered from such a terrible disease?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "What do I know about that? I heard Master Mahashay ['M.'] say, 'It is because of the touch of impure people that he suffered so terribly.'

Girish Babu used to say, 'It is his divine play, a way to relieve the sufferings of mankind.'

Ram Babu said: 'If the Master had not suffered from such a terrible disease, who could have recognized him? When one is in good health, one can easily fix the mind on God, but he is surely an avatar who can be continually in nirvikalpa samadhi, even when he is sick.'

"Brother Loren said at that time: 'He wants to be served by us, so he has contracted this disease. Don't worry. Could we have such a priceless opportunity to serve him if he didn't have this disease? We must not miss this opportunity. Let us serve him in such a way that he will not have the heart to leave us.'

Brother Rakhal said: 'The Master is testing us.'

Brother Sharat said, 'Although we may or may not understand it, a great mission is beginning through the Master's illness.'

Brother Shashi said: 'Sweet Jesus allowed himself to be crucified for humanity's sake. Our Master, too is suffering excruciating pain in order to remove man's burden of sin.'

"Balaram Babu once said to the Master: 'Sir, I am tired of hearing people's critical remarks about your illness. They say: "Your Master is suffering from disease!"'

The Master answered: 'Listen, he who forbears, survives and becomes great.'

Many people held different opinions about his illness. I don't remember them all.

"The Master used to say, 'Let the body and the disease take care of each other, O mind, you be happy.' He felt no pain. Hari Maharaj saw that he was floating in bliss. If he had really suffered, could he have given us such joy?

He told us: 'Brahman is stainless. Though the three gunas [sattva, rajas, and tamas] are in Brahman, he is separate from them, as the air carries odours but still remains different from and untouched by them. Brahman is Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute. In Brahman there is no sorrow or pain, no disease or death, no decay or growth. I see everything within this [Sri Ramakrishna pointed to himself]. Brahman and the One who is within the heart are the same.'

Where is the suffering of one who, though sick, can maintain such a high level of spirituality? You people identify yourselves with the body, so when the body suffers you are frightened."
----

== 16 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Desert Fathers ===
THE story is told that one of the elders lay dying in Scete, and the brethren surrounded his bed, dressed him in the shroud, and began to weep. But he opened his eyes and laughed. He laughed another time, and then a third time.

When the brethren saw this, they asked him, saying: Tell us, Father, why you are laughing while we weep?

He said to them: I laughed the first time because you fear death. I laughed the second time because you are not ready for death. And the third time I laughed because from labours I go to my rest. As soon as he had said this, he closed his eyes in death.
----ABBOT LOT came to Abbot Joseph and said: Father, according as I am able, I keep my little rule, and my little fast, my prayer, meditation and contemplative silence; and according as I am able I strive to cleanse my heart of thoughts: now what more should I do?

The elder rose up in reply and stretched out his hands to heaven, and his fingers became like ten lamps of fire. He said: Why not be totally changed into fire?
----THEY used to say of Abbot Sisois that unless he quickly lowered his hands and ceased from praying, his mind would be carried away into heaven. And whenever he happened to pray with another brother, he made haste to lower his hands lest his mind be carried away and he remain in another world.
----ONE of the Fathers said: Just as it is impossible for a man to see his face in troubled water, so too the soul, unless it be cleansed of alien thoughts, cannot pray to God in contemplation.
----A BROTHER came and stayed with a certain solitary and when he was leaving he said: Forgive me, Father, for I have broken in upon your Rule.

But the hermit replied, saying: My Rule is to receive you with hospitality and to let you go in peace.
----A BROTHER said to Abbot Pastor: If I give one of my brothers a little bread or something of the sort, the demons spoil everything and it seems to me that I have acted only to please men.

The elder said to him: Even if your good work was done to please, we must still give to our brothers what they need. And he told him this story.

Two farmers lived in a village. One of them sowed his field and reaped only a small and wretched crop. The other neglected to sow anything at all, and so he reaped nothing. Now which of the two will survive, if there is a famine?

The brother replied: The first one, even though his crop is small and wretched.

The elder said to him: Let us also sow, even though our sowing is small and wretched, lest we die in the time of hunger.
----

== 17 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Memoirs of Swami Adbhutanandaji ===
'A woman devotee came one day and said to the Holy Mother: "I am very poor, I cannot afford always to bring something for the Master. Today I have prepared some sweets for him and brought it here. Will you kindly take them to him?"

Mother said, "He has already finished his lunch. He does not take anything after that. Why, my daughter, have you brought it so late?"

This set the lady weeping. Soon after the Master came there with unsteady steps, merged in bhava-samadhi, took the things from the devotee's hands, partook a little of it and gave the rest back to her. He then turned to me and said, "Henceforth, my boy, whatever things are brought for me should be taken first to Nahabathkhana, i.e. to Holy Mother and then distributed among the devotees."

A devotee asked, "Maharaj, why did the Master make such a rule?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': Why? It is because during his illness all kinds of people used to come to him. Many of them were not pure, nor did they give presents without motives.

Once it happened like this. I gave something to him during his lunch. He at once cried out, "Whose is this thing? Uh! That fellow's—he is a miser to the marrow. He has sent this with the motive that his son be cured." Saying this he threw the thing out of his dish. Such turned out to be daily occurrences. He used to send all things to Holy Mother so that their bad effects could be obviated by her touch or look.

'Once it so happened that there was a swelling in his legs. He was still at Dakshineswar. Mahendra Kaviraj asked him to take lemons. Brother Yogen used to bring two fresh lemons everyday. The Master would take them daily.

But one day he could not take them. Yogen was astonished. On enquiry it was found that from that day the garden had been leased out to another man for a year. As the Master was given to truth he could not take the lemons that day, for the permission to take the fruits had been obtained not from the new lessee but from the old owner, who, after the leasing out, had no right over the fruits."

In this connection Latu Maharaj narrated another incident, which we give below:

'One day the Master saw a ripe mango fallen under a mango tree of the garden. He could not pick it up. He told one of us, "Hello! There is a mango there, why don't you pick it up and give it over to the manager?" The manager, however, did not take it, he asked the man who brought it to him to eat it.'
----

== 18 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji ===

==== On the Truth of Brahman ====
'''A Devotee''': "Maharaj, the scriptures say that Brahman is seated in the heart of man. What does that mean?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "It is just a figure of speech. Words cannot really encompass the truth of Brahman, although the scriptures have tried to describe it in that way. Brahman is everywhere. There is no in or out, high or low, east or west with him. He is one, inherent in everything. He is all-pervading, limitless, eternal. Various attempts have been made to describe Brahman, but what is beyond thought cannot really be expressed in language. He is in everything and, again, is beyond everything. Sri Ramakrishna used to say, '''Everything has been defiled by the lips of man except the truth of Brahman''.'"

'''A Devotee''': "Maharaj, you monks are inscrutable! Instead of making positive statements, you speak only in vague terms! Please tell us what you have understood of this truth."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "You see, this realization cannot be expressed. One uses language to express an idea, but so far no adequate language has been discovered for talking about Brahman.

The Master used to say, 'My boys, I would like to tell you many things, but the Divine Mother presses my lips, as it were, and does not allow me to talk.'

"You speak thousands of words every day. Have you ever thought about where these words come from?"

'''The devotee''': "They must come from the mind."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Can you say, then, from which part of the mind they come, and in what form? And then, where is the mind itself?"

The devotee, of course, could not reply.

'''A Devotee ventured''': "There is a neural connection between the brain and the tongue, so the mind must be in the brain."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "In what form?"

'''A Devotee''': "As vibration."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Now tell me whether that vibration is continuous or whether it stops and starts."

Bihari Babu was surprised: "Maharaj, I haven't thought about it."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Then please think it over."

'''A Devotee''': "Perhaps it stops and then starts again, exciting the nerves of the brain and bringing out the response."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "If the vibration does stop, can you tell me what makes it start again, especially in the case where there is no external stimulus?"

'''A Devotee''': "No, Maharaj, we really can't say."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "So you see, you can express these things up to a point, but no further."

After some time both Bihari Babu and the other devotee saluted Latu Maharaj and took leave of him. As they were approaching their carriage, Bihari Babu said: "I have never heard such words before. This unlettered monk has thought over even such subtle things as these. It is really amazing! We are proud of our scholarship, but in reality he is more learned than we are."
----

== 19 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji ===

==== Maya and Freedom ====
'''A Devotee''': "Maharaj, we read in the scriptures that God is man's inner guide. If that is true, then why does man suffer so much? How can one who is guided by the ever-pure Satchidananda get involved in evil actions?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "You have answered your own question. The essential nature of man, which is ever-pure, cannot be polluted by good and evil."

'''A Devotee''': "Then do you mean that man has two natures, one affected by good and evil and the other not—or are you saying that good and evil do not really exist?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Let me explain. Sri Ramakrishna said, 'Good and evil exist and they are also non-existent.' As long as God keeps the sense of ego in a man, he will perceive duality—both good and evil.

When God takes away the sense of ego, the perception of duality, good and evil also disappears. So long as a man is subject to the law of karma, he is aware of good and evil. When, through God's grace, a man is released from the bonds of karma, the man's awareness of good and evil also goes: for good and evil are the fruits of karma. As you sow, so you will reap. It is the Lord who established this law of karma for the benefit of the world and mankind. Divine Providence has given man the sense of free will and the principle of karma. It is left to man to do as he wishes. If he chooses to do actions which bring him less happiness and more misery, he alone is responsible, not God."
----

== 20 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji ===
'''A Devotee''': "But Maharaj, the scriptures say that God is guiding man. So the responsibility is God's, not ours."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Yes, the scriptures are right. It is the responsibility of the operator, not the instrument. But tell me, who is guiding the individual soul who is bound by Maya? Maya herself is acting as the operator. Do you know the nature of Maya's game? She loves to play and wants to play always. She enjoys ups and downs, pleasure and pain, creation and destruction. She loves to raise waves of desire in the mind and does not like to still them.

But God takes charge of the soul which is not bound by Maya. When God guides a man, an uninterrupted current of happiness, peace, and bliss flows in his mind and no other waves of thought can be raised there. He becomes one with that unfathomable, waveless ocean of Satchidananda."

'''A Devotee''': "Yes, Maharaj, we know that the scriptures have compared Brahman with the ocean and Maya with the waves on its surface. Now let me ask, what is the difference between the waves and the ocean when both are water? In that case wouldn't being guided by Maya and being guided by God be the same?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Yes, from one point of view they are the same, but there is another point of view, too. The Master used to say: The waves belong to the ocean, but no one can say that the ocean belongs to the waves. Similarly, Maya belongs to God, but Maya is not God. So you cannot say that being guided by Maya is the same as being guided by God. Nevertheless, the ultimate purpose of Maya's guidance is certainly to take the individual soul to God."

'''A Devotee''': "But everybody says that Maya deludes the individual soul and leads him astray."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Maya wants to play constantly. Because Maya's play goes on and on, man cannot see where he is being taken on his journey, so he thinks Maya is taking him in the wrong direction. But look, how can she misdirect us? Isn't God everywhere? Maya has become manifest by God's will and she is working for him."

'''A Devotee''': "What! Maya is working for God?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Yes, what other motive can she have?"

'''A Devotee''': "But the scriptures describe Maya as illusory and world-bewitching; she makes the unreal appear to be real, and her main concern is the delusion of mankind."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Do you know why people say so? The scriptures speak harshly against Maya because she has qualified the unqualified Brahman. And there is another reason: God alone is real, Maya, by comparison, is unreal, illusory.

But Maya is unreal only in relation to God. From man's standpoint, Maya is avidya, ignorance, which is neither real nor unreal. If you watch Maya carefully, you will see that she is pushing man toward God step by step. With one hand she is deluding man and with the other she is unveiling consciousness before him. She works in a balanced way, without any motive of her own. She balances both happiness and misery, both goodness and evil. Do you know the intention behind all this? To teach us. If Maya's purpose were to lead man astray, she would show us only one aspect, not both.

But because Maya shows us two aspects, she simultaneously deludes and enlightens. True, she causes man much trouble and her path is very roundabout and time-consuming, but eventually it will lead one to God. After you suffer repeated blows and much torment in this world and come to understand Maya's ways, Maya won't be able to hold you anymore. Then you will be released by her sattvic power. That is why she is called the one who makes the impossible possible."

== 21 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji ===

==== Removing the Covering of Ignorance ====
One day Shashadhar Ganguli, a teacher from Malda, asked Latu Maharaj, "Can the Atman be an object of knowledge?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "An object is something which cannot be known without the help of something else, but the Atman is self-revealing. So you cannot say the Atman is an object of knowledge."

'''The teacher''': "Then why should we want to know the Atman?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Because the Atman is our real nature."

'''The teacher''': "If the Atman is our real nature, then why are we not aware of it?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Listen, can anyone deviate from his real nature? If he does, it cannot be called his real nature: for it is changeable. Man's real nature is covered by a dense cloud of ignorance, and consequently he appears to be something different, but that does not mean he has deviated from his real nature."

'''The teacher''': "I couldn't follow you. Would you please explain this a little more?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "All right. Suppose here is a brass pot covered with stains. Looking at it, one may think it is made of something other than brass, but that thought cannot change its nature; the brass pot still remains brass. It is like that."

'''The teacher''': "But Maharaj, that analogy is not suitable here. The brass pot never thinks of itself as not being brass, but man thinks of himself as being something other than the Atman."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "That is not so. Man also does not think that he is something else. He may say, 'my body,' 'my mind,' 'my intellect,' but he never says, 'I am the body,' or 'I am the mind.' He knows that what he calls 'his' is not the same as 'himself.' Man's I-consciousness is always there, he is not devoid of it, only he cannot express it. You can feel hungry or sleepy, but can you tell me who you really are?"

'''The teacher''': "No, Maharaj. But I do feel hunger or fatigue."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "That is what I mean. You are aware of your consciousness, but you are unable to express it."

'''The teacher''': "Why can't I express it?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Because your mind is so deeply covered with desires, doubts, and ignorance that your real nature is unable to express itself. Haven't you seen those polishing shops at Mechuabazar in Calcutta where they have glass jars filled with coloured liquids? The metal worker takes a tarnished brass pot and dips it into a jar, and instantly all the tarnish goes away and the pot starts to glitter. Then he dips it into another jar and it turns a golden colour.

Similarly, the cloudy stuff which has been covering our I-consciousness must first be washed away: then we shall see the brilliance of the inmost Self."

'''The teacher''': "How can we wash it away, Maharaj?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Dip your mind in the jar of the Lord's name, and all the unclean stuff will be washed away. Then dip it in the jar of the Lord's grace. You will see how beautifully your real nature will shine forth. You will have to clean your mind first. There is no other way. If you want happiness in this world, think of yourself as pure gold and not as gold-plated. The idea of 'mine' produces misery, while the knowledge of the real 'I' [the higher Self] brings bliss. The knowledge of the Self removes ignorance, and this Self is the Atman, the real nature of man."

'''The teacher''': "But the Atman is all-pervading while the 'I' [the lower self] is limited."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "It does not matter. You have seen the jasmine flower; how small it is! On its tiny petal you may find a dewdrop in the morning, and in that dewdrop you can see the reflection of the infinite blue sky. Likewise, the 'I' may be limited, but by the grace of God it can catch the reflection of the infinite Atman."

'''The teacher''': "How can we attain God's grace, Maharaj?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Control lust and greed. Practice japam and be charitable. If you can do this, you will find the Lord showering his grace upon you."
----

== 22 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji ===

==== On Meditation ====
'''A devotee''': "Maharaj, is there any difference between the meditation of a jnani [one following the path of knowledge] and that of a bhakta [one who follows the path of devotion]?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Yes. A bhakta meditates on the name and form of the Lord, while a jnani meditates on the identity of the individual soul and Brahman. But whatever the object of meditation may be, eventually both aspirants will reach the same goal.

When meditation deepens, both the name and form of the Lord and also the knowledge of the identity of the individual soul and Brahman disappear. That is certain. At that time, only a current of experience which is indescribable remains.

One day the Master told us, intensified meditation brings the knowledge of Oneness."

'''A devotee''': "What is meant by the knowledge of Oneness?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Can it be expressed in words? When that knowledge dawns, body-consciousness disappears, the mind stops and even the intellect vanishes: only an uninterrupted Consciousness flows."
----

== 23 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji ===

==== The Mystery of Samadhi ====
'''Latu Maharaj''': "Is samadhi merely a figure of speech? The human mind gets a little glimpse of God only after long and constant practice of concentration and meditation, and only then can one realize God's attributes and powers. Infinite are his attributes, and infinite are his powers! Who can transcend them?

One could spend millions of lives concentrating on just the glories of God, but what would he gain from it? He might comprehend God's glory and power, but that does not mean he has truly experienced him.

Realization of God means that one becomes absorbed in him, transcending his attributes and powers. It is not an easy thing! An aspirant can reach God only if, out of his mercy, God helps him to go beyond his attributes and powers.

It is God's grace alone that enables an aspirant to stop the waves of the mind and dissolve the intellect; otherwise who can stop the functioning of his mind and intellect by his own efforts? And know for certain that one attains samadhi only after the dissolution of his mind and intellect."

'''A devotee''': "Maharaj, do you mean to say that an aspirant cannot attain samadhi through self-effort? We have heard that one attains samadhi by practicing concentration and meditation."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "What you have heard is true. The samadhi achieved through concentration and meditation is termed by Sri Ramakrishna '''chetan samadhi''.' In this samadhi there is an interplay of ecstasy and power.

But the Master also used to speak of another kind of samadhi in which the mind dissolves and the ego disappears. I am telling you the truth, no one can attain that samadhi without divine grace."

'''A devotee''': "Maharaj, people say practice brings siddhi (success)."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Yes, you may attain siddhi, but not real samadhi. An aspirant attains siddhi and prosperity through exertion and power, but he realizes God through samadhi. Nobody can express the experience of samadhi. One can hint at God's attributes in words or speak of his power, but God is not limited by these. Infinite are his glories and infinite are his powers! Who can limit God? All spiritual powers and supernatural powers together cannot reveal him.

God is in everything and again he is beyond everything. Just as you have many good qualities and you can do many things, so also you have many powers which you can either show or hide; but these do not reveal your real nature. Your real nature permeates through your qualities and powers, and again, it is beyond them.

An aspirant can have a glimpse of the glory and power of God, but this does not mean he can comprehend God fully. An aspirant realizes God only when God reveals himself to him."
----

== 24 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji ===

==== Spiritual Counsel ====
One evening Dr. De Mello, who had spent some time at the Advaita Ashrama at Mayavati, came to see Latu Maharaj. As he approached the Swami, he could hear him saying to himself, "God is formless and with form too."

Strangely enough, that had been the thought uppermost in Dr. De Mello's mind, and he asked, "If God is with form, then can one see him?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Yes, by all means."

'''Dr. De Mello''': "Maharaj, when I was at Mayavati I kept a picture of Jesus Christ on my desk and meditated on him. One day I saw that picture as a living form. All of a sudden that form vanished, and in its stead I saw Sri Ramakrishna.

Then that form also disappeared, giving place to Buddha. Was this a hallucination?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Oh, no, no. It was not a hallucination. That is quite common. You are on the right track; continue on. One who has seen one great soul may see many others. Sri Ramakrishna used to see many divine forms."

'''Dr. De Mello''': "Maharaj, I get confused sometimes. I do not know on whom I should meditate."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Whom do you love the most?"

'''Dr. De Mello''': "I love Jesus Christ and Ramakrishna equally."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "Whom have you loved all along?"

The doctor then told a little of the history of his family, which had been Christian for the four preceding generations.

Then Latu Maharaj advised him: "Meditate on Christ. Have faith in him and pray to him. You will reach your goal."
----

== 25 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji ===

==== On Preaching ====
"Can one preach religion simply by beating a drum? Is religion something external to us, something one person speaks about and another person accepts? Religion is realization, and one cannot realize the truth through noise and fanfare. The more a preacher shouts, the more people's minds turn outward; and unless the mind is turned inward, God-realization is not possible.

"Inevitably, if there is no substance inside, a man's words are empty and carry no conviction. There must be renunciation, dispassion, and genuine love for God, only then will people believe you. The Lord's will works in this peculiar way.

Look at Swami Vivekananda's life. After practicing hard spiritual disciplines he got the command from the Master to preach, and people have accepted what he said. With one lecture Swamiji became world-famous."

==== On the Guru ====
'''A devotee''': "Is it absolutely necessary to have a guru in order to make spiritual progress?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "If you are in earnest about spiritual practices, you should have a teacher, a guru. You can accept the Lord himself as your guru, if you have that much faith in him. But it is better to have a great devotee of God as your guru. Do you know why? What do you do when you feel thirsty and are looking for water? Don't you go to the nearest place where water is available?"

'''A devotee''': "Yes, Maharaj."

'''Latu Maharaj''': "You surely don't go to the ocean which is far away. Isn't that so?"

'''A devotee''': "Yes. If we can get water nearby, why should we go all the way to the ocean?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "So your question is answered. The human guru is like the water in the river near us, and the Lord is like the water in the ocean. When the thirst for God arises, one should go to a human guru who is near at hand, for he can satisfy your thirst very quickly."

==== On Cultivating Spiritual Qualities ====
'''A devotee''': "Maharaj, what are the duties of a householder?"

'''Latu Maharaj''': "If you want to live a happy, contented life, stop criticizing others. Do not find fault with others. It is better to pass the time sleeping than gossiping and criticizing. Keep away from places where you find such talk going on. Try to see the good qualities in others. This is the way to get rid of the habit of fault-finding. Evil qualities pollute the mind of a person who searches for the lapses and shortcomings of others.

"Feel others' sufferings as you feel your own. Take every opportunity to serve people, and do not injure anybody.

"Be grateful to all who help you. Be charitable to all, even to a person who abuses you. And do not run into debt, for debts bring worries.

"Try to be pure and discriminate between good and evil.

Do not perform any action which will prick your conscience. "Do not forget God. Chant his name in the morning and evening, and, if you can, try to meditate at night."
----

== 26 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Desert Fathers ===
SOME elders once came to Abbot Anthony, and there was with them also Abbot Joseph. Wishing to test them, Abbot Anthony brought the conversation around to the Holy Scriptures. And he began from the youngest to ask them the meaning of this or that text. Each one replied as best he could, but Abbot Anthony said to them: You have not got it yet.

After them all he asked Abbot Joseph: What about you? What do you say this text means?

Abbot Joseph replied: I know not! Then Abbot Anthony said: Truly Abbot Joseph alone has found the way, for he replies that he knows not.
----JOHN of Thebes said: The monk must be before all else humble. This is the first commandment of the Lord who said: Blessed are the poor of spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
----ONCE Abbot Macarius was on his way home to his cell from the marshes, carrying reeds, and he met the devil with a reaper's sickle in his path. The devil tried to get him with the sickle, and couldn't.

And he said: I suffer great violence from you, Macarius, because I cannot overcome you. For see, I do all the things that you do. You fast, and I eat nothing at all. You watch, and I never sleep. But there is one thing alone in which you overcome me.

Abbot Macarius said to him: What is that?

Your humility, the devil replied, and only because of it I cannot overcome you.
----

== 27 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Be Resigned to God—Nothing Can Be Accomplished Without His Grace ===
'''Place''': Belur Monastery

'''Time''': April 18, 1929

It was about five in the afternoon. A monk saluted Mahapurushji, who inquired, 'Well, do you have anything to ask?' He asked the monk this question, because the monk seldom came at this hour.

'''Monk''': 'Yes, Maharaj, yesterday I went to see M. He spent much time telling us some of Sri Ramakrishna's teachings.'

'''Swami''': 'Ah! he is a great devotee of the Master. You would not hear of anything but the Master from him.'

'''Monk''': 'Maharaj, my mind is very much disturbed. I have not been able to do much spiritual practice. Time is passing fast. What will happen to me?'

'''Swami''': 'My child, be resigned to God. Nothing can be accomplished without His grace. Can man realize Him by spiritual practice alone? If He reveals Himself out of compassion, then alone can one realize Him, otherwise not. Who is competent to reach Him? How long can a man pursue spiritual practice? Say, two hours, four hours or at the most eight hours. Not only that; it is the Lord who is responsible for the desire for spiritual practice. He is the Fountain of all forces! Unless He is gracious and gives us the strength, how can we pursue spiritual practice? That is why I am stressing that you should be resigned to God.

Fervently pray, "O Lord! Be merciful to me." Then alone will He be merciful. It is mercy alone that counts, mercy, mercy. Sri Ramakrishna used to say, "One should say 'Thou and Thine' and not 'I and mine.'" What can we do unless He graciously reveals Himself? Grace, grace is what is necessary. Be gracious to us, O Lord!'

'''Monk''': 'Maharaj, I can hardly pray. My mind is so restless! I find it hard to concentrate at times.'

'''Swami''': 'No, you will have to pray and pray very earnestly. Do not be depressed; do not be disheartened. Be in a happy mood and pray. He will give you everything, my child, everything you want. There is nothing He will withhold from you.

He will give you faith, renunciation, purity, discrimination, dispassion and all. Whatever He has He will give you. He embodied Himself as man because He wanted to give you all these virtues. That is why He has brought you here and given you shelter in His Order.

Do not think you are here as a result of your own efforts. Never for a moment cherish that idea! Out of compassion He has drawn you all here. He is the very Ocean of selfless compassion. My child, be resigned to Him. Everything will come in time. I say, you will have everything. He will fill you with devotion and faith.'

'You belong to the Master's fold. You have nothing to be afraid of.'

Saying this, the Swami started singing:

''Stay by yourself, O mind!''

''Why wander here and there?''

''Look within in the inner chamber of your heart,''

''And you will find, right there, whatever you desire.''
----

== 28 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== It Is Inner Seeing That Counts ===
'''Place''': Belur Monastery

'''Time''': Tuesday, April 30, 1929

In the afternoon Srijut Gangacharan Mukherjee, a lawyer from Monghyr, accompanied by his daughter and some devotees of his family, arrived at the monastery.

After saluting Swami Shivananda, Gangacharan Babu said: 'Your body seems to be in a very bad condition, Maharaj. It is much worse than when I saw you last year.'

'''Swami''': 'Yes, my body is in a very bad condition. Every day it is getting worse. The body is subject to six changes. Now it is the time for the last. This is but natural. The nature of the body is like that. All bodies are bound to disintegrate someday.'

'''Gangacharan Babu''': 'In every letter I have received from the monastery there has been news of your failing health. I had a great desire to see you, so I am here.'

'''Swami''' (smiling): 'Tell me, what is there in outward seeing? It is inward seeing that counts, and the Lord is within everyone. He is the source of everything in this universe.

"From Him are born energy, mind, all the senses, ether, air, fire, water and earth, which is the support of everything. He is the controller of everything. Through fear of Him the sun gives heat. Again, in Him will everything dissolve.

"From Him this world has come and to Him it will go back. He is the source of this universe. In Him it will dissolve.

"Again, in Him it is active. Birth and death are just a matter of course. Nobody can stop them. God alone is immutable and immortal, pure, enlightened and free by nature. To realize Him within is the ideal of life. Everything is accomplished when one realizes Him. After that it is immaterial whether the body lives or goes. He is ever present within us. He, the Soul of every being, the Heaven of immortality, is within everybody; one must realize that."
----

== 29 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Shraddha Ceremonies Are Unnecessary for Highly Developed Souls ===
'''Gangacharan Babu''': 'Maharaj, I have a question in my mind. Does everyone have to be in a disembodied state after death?'

'''Swami''': 'Not necessarily. Why should devotees of the Lord, who have genuine devotion, have to be in the disembodied state? They become one with God and obtain liberation.'

'''Gangacharan Babu''': 'Then what is the meaning of 'Shraddha' and such other funeral rituals prescribed in the scriptures? Doesn't everyone have to perform those rituals annually or at other prescribed times?'

'''Swami''': 'Yes, one has to. It is, of course, the general rule and everyone abides by it. But there are exceptions, as for example, in your wife's case you may perform these rituals, but there will be no harm done if you do not. She was unusually devoted. Her case was different. After her death I vividly saw her going to the abode of Shiva. You may rest assured that she has reached a highly spiritual state.'

Gangacharan Babu suddenly burst into tears and prostrated himself before Mahapurushji's feet, saying: 'Maharaj, please grant this prayer of mine. May I have faith and devotion at the lotus feet of the Mother and at the end of my life may I find refuge at Her feet!' Saying this, he started crying like a child.

Mahapurushji placed his hand on Gangacharan Babu's head and blessed him saying: 'My child, may you have that. Already you have faith and devotion and you will have more. I bless you very much. You will grow spiritually, my child. The Mother is very gracious to you.'

'''Gangacharan Babu''': 'If you say so, it will surely come to pass. The Mother will certainly listen to you. You are my strength, my faith and my all.'

'''Swami''': 'Of course the Mother will listen to me. She will listen to you also. She certainly listens to the person who prays to her sincerely. Grace! Grace! Nothing can be accomplished without Her grace. Glory be to the Lord! Glorified be our compassionate Master!'
----

== 30 April 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Both Happiness and Sorrow Are Impermanent—He Alone Is Permanent—In Him Is Peace—Hold Fast to Him ===
Gangacharan Babu's daughter saluted the Swami and begged for his blessings.

The Swami said in a very tender voice: 'May you live in peace, my daughter! Happiness is so rare in this world! Compared with pains and sorrows there is very little happiness.

But those who are devoted to God know some peace in this world. They are not disturbed by whatever pains or sorrows may come to them, because they know that everything comes from God. It is the same God who gives us happiness and again trials and difficulties. That is why they can patiently bear everything as a blessing from God. They are never elated by happiness, nor are they upset by sorrow. Just as happiness is impermanent and short-lived, so is sorrow. It comes and goes; for nothing in this world is permanent. The one abiding Reality and the only Abode of peace is God. Hold fast to Him, my daughter, then alone will you have peace in life.'

Shortly before dusk a woman devotee saluted the Swami and asked: 'Maharaj, how is your body?'

'''Swami''': 'My daughter, my body is not well.'

'''Woman Devotee''': 'You eat so little.'

'''Swami''': 'Yes, I eat just a little rice and soup at noon and a little milk at night. More than that I cannot digest, and, besides, I do not have the inclination to eat this or that.

Eating is necessary for the sustenance of the body. Therefore I eat a little, so that my body will last for some time and I can think about God. I have no other desire except to think and meditate upon God. If I see the Lord in my heart I am happy.

This world is temporary; parents, brothers, friends and companions are all temporary. At death one will leave behind this world and it will remain as it is. Only the Lord, who is the Soul of our soul, exists at all times and will ever exist. He alone is eternal.'

== 1 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

'''Woman Devotee''': 'Maharaj, what will happen to us? Engrossed in Maya, we are so much attached to this world and cannot shake off this attachment. We have so much sorrow and yet we cannot rise above it.'

'''Swami''': 'God alone is our goal: take refuge in Him. He is our all in all.

"Thou art our father and mother.

Thou art our friend and companion.

Thou art our knowledge and wealth.

Thou art our all in all, O Lord!"

He is father, mother, brother, friend, companion and all. Call upon Him earnestly. He will certainly be gracious. In this sorrowful world He alone is peace. The Master used to speak of the camel's habit of eating prickly grass. The happiness of a worldly man is just like that of a camel. Without the grace of God, my daughter, nothing can be accomplished.'

After remaining silent awhile the Swami continued: 'It is not an easy thing to realize the unreality of the world. One cannot have that realization without the grace of God. Cry to Him and pray and you will have His grace. He is right inside. You will realize Him the moment He lifts the veil of ignorance. It is grace and grace alone that we need. There is no other way.'
----

== 2 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Desert Fathers ===
ABBOT PASTOR was asked by a certain brother: How should I conduct myself in the place where I live?

The elder replied: Be as cautious as a stranger; wherever you may be, do not desire your word to have power before you, and you will have rest.
----A man must breathe humility and the fear of God just as ceaselessly as he inhales and exhales the air.
----ONE of the elders was asked what was humility, and he said: If you forgive a brother who has injured you before he himself asks pardon.
----A BROTHER asked one of the elders: What is humility?

The elder answered him: To do good to those who do evil to you.

The brother asked: Supposing a man cannot go that far, what should he do?

The elder replied: Let him go away from them and keep his mouth shut.
----TO ONE of the brethren appeared a devil, transformed into an angel of light, who said to him: 'I am the Angel Gabriel, and I have been sent to thee'.

But the brother said: Think again, you must have been sent to somebody else. I haven't done anything to deserve an angel. Immediately the devil ran away.
----IT WAS said of one of the elders that he persevered in a fast of seventy weeks, eating only once a week. This elder asked God to reveal to him the meaning of a certain Scriptural text, and God would not reveal it to him.

So he said to himself: Look at all the work I have done without getting anywhere! I will go to one of the brothers and ask him. When he had gone out and closed the door and was starting on his way, an angel of the Lord was sent to him, saying: The seventy weeks you fasted did not bring you any closer to God, but now that you have humbled yourself and set out to ask your brother, I am sent to reveal the meaning of that text.

And opening to him the meaning which he sought, he went away.
----

== 3 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Desert Fathers ===
ONCE there was an elder in the lower parts of Egypt, and he was a very famous hermit, living all alone in a desert place. Satan brought it about that a woman of easy virtue said to some young men: What will you give me, and I will go out and knock down that hermit of yours. So they agreed on a certain sum they would give her.

And going out one evening she came to his cell pretending to have lost her way. She knocked at his door and he came out. Seeing her he was disturbed and said: How did you get out here?

She pretended to weep, and said: I have lost my way. So, being moved to pity, he let her in to the front room of his cell, and for his part he went on to the inner room and locked the door.

But the unfortunate woman cried out: Father, the wild animals will eat me out here. Once again the elder was disturbed and thought of the Judgment of God, and said: How did this dreadful thing ever happen to me?

And, opening his door, he let her in. And the devil began to shoot flaming arrows into his heart. But he said within himself: The ways of the enemy are darkness, and the Son of God is light. So he lit a lantern. But the temptation continued and he said to himself: Well, let's see whether you will be able to bear the flames of hell. And he put a finger into the flame. But though the flame burned him he did not feel it, so strong was the fire of lust in him. And he went on like that until morning, burning all his fingers.

The unfortunate woman, watching what he was doing, was so struck with terror that she almost turned into stone.

In the morning the two young men came to the hermit and said: Did a woman come here last night?

Yes, said the hermit, she is over there asleep. But they said: Father, she is dead! Then he, throwing back the cloak he had on, showed them his hands and said: Look what she did to me, that child of hell! she has cost me all my fingers.

And having told them all that had taken place he ended with: It is written thou shalt not render evil for evil. So he said a prayer and she revived.

She was converted, and lived chastely for the rest of her life.
----

== 4 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Desert Fathers ===
ABBOT PASTOR said that Abbot John the Dwarf had prayed to the Lord and the Lord had taken away all his passions, so that he became impassible.

And in this condition he went to one of the elders and said: You see before you a man who is completely at rest and has no more temptations.

The elder said: Go and pray to the Lord to command some struggle to be stirred up in you, for the soul is matured only in battles.

And when the temptations started up again he did not pray that the struggle be taken away from him, but only said: Lord, give me strength to go through the fight.
----ONCE Abbot Macarius was travelling down from Scete to a place called Terenuthin, and he went to spend the night in a pyramid where the bodies of the pagans had been laid to rest years before. And he dragged out one of the mummies and put it under his head for a pillow. The devils, seeing his boldness, flew into a rage and decided to scare him.

And they began to call out from the other bodies, as if calling to a woman: Lady, come with us to the baths. And another demon, as if he were the ghost of a woman, cried out from the body the elder was using as a pillow: This stranger is holding me down and I can't come.

But the elder, far from being frightened, began to pummel the corpse, saying: Get up and go swimming if you are able. Hearing this the demons cried: You win! And they fled in confusion.
----IT WAS told of Abbot Milido that when he lived in Persia with two disciples, the sons of the Emperor went out on a great hunt, spreading nets for forty miles around, determined to kill everything they caught in them. And the elder was found in the nets with his two disciples. And when they saw him all hairy (he was an awful sight!), they were amazed and asked him whether he were a man or some kind of spirit.

He replied: I am a man and a sinner and I came out here to weep for my sins and to adore the Son of the Living God.

To which they replied: There is no God but sun and water and fire. Adore these, and sacrifice to them.

Oh no, I will not, he said, these are creatures and you are mistaken. You should acknowledge the true God who made these things and everything else besides.

A condemned and crucified criminal is what you call a God! they said, mocking him.

He who was crucified destroyed death, said the elder, and Him I call the true God. So they took him and set him up like a target and shot arrows at him from different sides, and while they were doing this the elder said to them: Tomorrow in this very hour your mother will be childless.

They laughed at him, and started out the next day to continue hunting. And it happened that a stag got through the nets and they went after him on horseback, and coming towards the stag from opposite sides they let fly their arrows and struck one another in the heart and so died, according to the words of the elder.
----

== 5 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Desert Fathers ===
ONCE some robbers came into the monastery and said to one of the elders: We have come to take away everything that is in your cell.

And he said: My sons, take all you want. So they took everything they could find in the cell and started off. But they left behind a little bag that was hidden in the cell.

The elder picked it up and followed after them, crying out: My sons, take this, you forgot it in the cell! Amazed at the patience of the elder, they brought everything back into his cell and did penance, saying: 'This one really is a man of God!'
----THERE was an elder who had a well-tried novice living with him, and once, when he was annoyed, he drove the novice out of the cell. But the novice sat down outside and waited for the elder.

The elder, opening the door, found him there, and did penance before him, saying: 'You are my Father, because your patience and humility have overcome the weakness of my soul. Come back in; you can be the elder and the Father, I will be the youth and the novice: for by your good work you have surpassed my old age'.
----A BROTHER asked one of the elders, saying: There are two brothers, of whom one remains praying in his cell, fasting six days at a time and doing a great deal of penance. The other one takes care of the sick. Which one's work is more pleasing to God?

The elder replied: If that brother who fasts six days at a time were to hang himself up by the nose, he could not equal the one who takes care of the sick.
----ABBOT AGATHO frequently admonished his disciple, saying: Never acquire for yourself anything that you might hesitate to give to your brother if he asked you for it, for thus you would be found a transgressor of God's command. If anyone asks, give to him, and if anyone wants to borrow from you, do not turn away from him.
----

== 6 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Desert Fathers ===
A CERTAIN brother asked of an elder, saying: If a brother owes me a little money, do you think I should ask him to pay me back?

The elder said to him: Ask him for it once only, and with humility. The brother said: Suppose I ask him once and he doesn't give me anything, what should I do?

Then the elder said: Don't ask him any more.

The brother said again: But what can I do, I cannot get rid of my anxieties about it, unless I go and ask him.

The elder said to him: Forget your anxieties. The important thing is not to sadden your brother, for you are a monk.
----WHEN people came to buy from Abbot Agatho the things which he had made with the work of his hands, he sold to them in peace. His price for a sieve was a hundred pence, and for a basket two hundred and fifty. When they came to buy he told them the price, and took whatever they gave him, in silence, not even counting the coins.

For he said: What is the use of me arguing with them, and leading them perhaps into sin by perjuring themselves and then, perhaps, if I have some extra money, giving it to the brethren. God does not want alms of this kind from me and it does not please Him if, in order to make my offering, I lead someone into sin.

Then one of the brethren said to him: And how are you ever going to get a supply of bread for your cell?

To which he answered: What need have I, in my cell, of the bread of men?
----

== 7 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Desert Fathers ===
THERE was a certain elder who, if anyone maligned him, would go in person to offer him presents, if he lived nearby. And if he lived at a distance he would send presents by the hand of another.
----ABBOT ANTHONY taught Abbot Ammonas, saying: You must advance yet further in the fear of God. And taking him out of the cell he showed him a stone, saying: Go and insult that stone, and beat it without ceasing. When this had been done, St. Anthony asked him if the stone had answered back.

No, said Ammonas.

Then Abbot Anthony said: You too must reach the point where you no longer take offence at anything.
----ABBOT PASTOR said: Just as bees are driven out by smoke, and their honey is taken away from them, so a life of ease drives out the fear of the Lord from man's soul and takes away all his good works.
----A CERTAIN Philosopher asked St. Anthony: Father, how can you be so happy when you are deprived of the consolation of books?

Anthony replied: My book, O philosopher, is the nature of created things, and any time I want to read the words of God, the book is before me.
----

== 8 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Desert Fathers ===
ONCE a certain provincial judge came to see Abbot Simon, and the elder took the belt he had on and went up to the top of a date palm as though he were a workman picking dates.

But they, approaching, asked him: Where is the hermit who lives in this part of the desert?

To which he replied: There is no hermit around here. At this they all departed.

On another occasion a different judge came to see him, and his companions, running on ahead of the judge, said: Father, get ready. A judge who has heard about you is on his way out here to ask your blessing.

The elder said: You can be sure I will get ready. And covering himself with all his garments he took some bread and cheese in his hands and sat down in the entry to his cell and began to eat.

The judge and his retainers arrived and saw him eating and hailed him with contempt. Is this the hermit monk we heard so much about? they asked. They swung around immediately and headed back where they had come from.
----ABBOT JOSEPH asked Abbot Pastor: Tell me how I can become a monk?

The elder replied: If you want to have rest here in this life and also in the next, in every conflict with another say: Who am I? I am nobody.

And judge no one.
----

== 9 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Desert Fathers ===
ONCE Abbot Anthony was conversing with some brethren, and a hunter who was after game in the wilderness came upon them. He saw Abbot Anthony and the brothers enjoying themselves, and disapproved.

Abbot Anthony said: Put an arrow in your bow and shoot it. This he did. Now shoot another, said the elder. And another, and another.

The hunter said: If I bend my bow all the time it will break.

Abbot Anthony replied: So it is also in the work of God. If we push ourselves beyond measure, the brethren will soon collapse. It is right, therefore, from time to time, to relax their efforts.
----ONE of the holy Fathers said to the monks who asked him about the reason for renunciation: My sons, it is right that we should hate all rest in this present life, and hate also pleasures of the body and the joys of the belly. Let us not seek honour from men: then Our Lord Jesus Christ will give us heavenly honours, rest in eternal life, and glorious joy with His angels.
----ABBOT ZENO told us that once when he was on his way to Palestine he sat down under a tree, weary with journeying. Now he was right next to a field full of cucumbers. In his heart he thought to get up and help himself to the cucumbers, to repair his strength. For, he said, it would be no great thing to take a few of them.

But replying to himself in his thoughts, he said: When thieves are condemned by the judges they are given over to torture. So I ought to test myself and see if I can stand the torments which are suffered by robbers. And rising up at that very hour he stood in the hot sun for five days and roasted his body.

Then he said in his thoughts: I could not stand the torments, hence I ought not to steal, but to work with my hands according to the custom, and live on the fruit of my labour, as the Holy Scripture says: Because thou shalt eat of the work of thy hands, blessed shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. This, certainly, is what we sing every day in the sight of the Lord!
----THE elders and all the monks dwelling in the desert of Scete came together in council and agreed that Father Isaac should be ordained priest to serve the Church in that solitary place, where at stated days and hours the monks living in the desert come together for worship.

But Abbot Isaac, hearing the decision that had been taken, fled to Egypt and hid himself in a field among the bushes, deeming himself unworthy of the honour of the priesthood.

A large number of the monks set out after him, to catch him. Now when they had stopped at evening in that same field to rest, weary with their journey (for it was now night), they turned loose the ass that carried their baggage, and let him eat grass. Now while the ass was feeding, he came to the place where Abbot Isaac was hiding.

And at daybreak, the monks, in search of the ass, came to the place where the old man had hidden himself. Marvelling at the dispensation of God, they seized him and were about to tie him up and take him prisoner and lead him away.

But the venerable elder did not allow them, saying: Now I can no longer oppose you since it is perhaps the will of God that I, though unworthy, should receive priestly orders.
----

== 10 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Desert Fathers ===
THERE were two brother monks living together in a cell and their humility and patience was praised by many of the Fathers.

A certain holy man, hearing of this, wanted to test them and see if they possessed true and perfect humility. So he came to visit them. They received him with joy, and all together they said their prayers and their psalms, as usual. Then the visitor went outside the cell and saw their little garden, where they grew their vegetables.

Seizing his stick, he rushed in with all his might and began to destroy every plant in sight so that soon there was nothing left at all. Seeing him the two brothers said not one word. They did not even show sad or troubled faces. Coming back into the cell they finished their prayers for Vespers, and paid him honour, saying: Sir, if you like, we can get one cabbage that is left, and cook it and eat it, for now it is time to eat.

Then the elder fell down before them, saying: I give thanks to my God, for I see the Holy Spirit rests in you.
----ONE of the brothers asked an elder saying: Would it be all right if I kept two pence in my possession, in case I should get sick.

The elder, seeing his thoughts and that he wanted to keep them, said: Keep them.

The brother, going back to his cell, began to wrestle with his own thoughts, saying: I wonder if the Father gave me his blessing or not.

Rising up, he went back to the Father, inquiring of him and saying: In God's name, tell me the truth, because I am all upset over these two pence.

The elder said to him: Since I saw your thoughts and your desire to keep them, I told you to keep them. But it is not good to keep more than we need for our body. Now these two pence are your hope. If they should be lost, would not God take care of you? Cast your care upon the Lord, then, for He will take care of us.

== 11 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Desert Fathers ===
THERE were two elders living together in a cell, and they had never had so much as one quarrel with one another. One therefore said to the other: Come on, let us have at least one quarrel, like other men. The other said: I don't know how to start a quarrel. The first said: I will take this brick and place it here between us. Then I will say: It is mine. After that you will say: It is mine. This is what leads to a dispute and a fight.

So then they placed the brick between them, one said: It is mine, and the other replied to the first: I do believe that it is mine. The first one said again: It is not yours, it is mine.

So the other answered: Well then, if it is yours, take it! Thus they did not manage after all to get into a quarrel.
----ABBOT MARK once said to Abbot Arsenius: It is good, is it not, to have nothing in your cell that just gives you pleasure. For example, once I knew a brother who had a little wildflower that came up in his cell, and he pulled it out by the roots.

Well, said Abbot Arsenius, that is all right. But each man should act according to his own spiritual way. And if one were not able to get along without the flower, he should plant it again.
----ONCE they asked Abbot Agatho: Which is greater: Bodily asceticism, or watchfulness over the interior man?

The elder said: A man is like a tree. His bodily works are like the leaves of the tree, but interior self-custody is like the fruits. Since, then, it is written that every tree not bearing good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire, we must take all care to bear this fruit, which is in the custody of the mind. But we also need leaves to cover and adorn us: and that means good works done with the aid of the body.

This Abbot Agatho was wise in understanding and tireless in his work and ready for everything. He applied himself energetically to manual labour, and was sparing in his food and clothing.
----THE same Abbot Agatho would say: Even if an angry man were to revive the dead, he would not be pleasing to God because of his anger.
----

== 12 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of the Desert Fathers ===
THERE was a certain elder who had fasted valiantly for fifty years and he said: I have put out the flames of lust, and avarice and vainglory.

Abbot Abraham heard about it, and came to him asking: Did you really say that?

I did, he replied.

Then Abbot Abraham said: So you go into your cell, and there is a woman lying on your mat. Can you think that she is not a woman?

He said, No, but I fight my thoughts so that I don't touch that woman.

Then, said Abbot Abraham, you have not killed fornication. The passion is alive, but it is bound.

And now supposing you are on a journey and in the road among the stones and broken pottery you see some gold: can you think of it as if it were like the other stones?

No, he replied, but I resist my thoughts so that I do not pick it up.

Then Abbot Abraham said: You see, the passion is alive. But it is bound.

Then Abbot Abraham said again: You hear about two brothers, of whom one likes you and speaks well of you and the other hates you and speaks evil of you. They come to you: and do you receive them both alike?

No, he replied, but I am tormented inside, trying to be just as nice to the one who hates me as I am to the other.

Abbot Abraham said: The passions live, then. But in the saints they are only, to some extent, bound.
----ONCE some of the elders came to Scete, and Abbot John the Dwarf was with them. And when they were dining, one of the priests, a very great old man, got up to give each one a little cup of water to drink, and no one would take it from him except John the Dwarf.

The others were surprised, and afterwards they asked him: How is it that you, the least of all, have presumed to accept the services of this great old man?

He replied: Well, when I get up to give people a drink of water, I am happy if they all take it; and for that reason on this occasion I took the drink, that he might be rewarded, and not feel sad because nobody accepted the cup from him. And at this all admired his discretion.
----Father, what it is to hate evil?

The Father said: That man hates evil who hates his own sins, and looks upon every brother as a saint, and loves him as a saint.
----

== 13 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Shivananda ===
A young man came to the monastery and saluted the Swami, who inquired: 'Hello! how are you?'

'''Young man''': 'My body is all right, Maharaj, but my mind is very restless. I do not have any peace of mind. I am very disturbed mentally.'

'''Swami''': 'The fact that you have this restlessness of mind shows that the Mother is gracious to you. The earnestness to realize Her and the lack of peace because you have not been able to do so are symptoms of Her grace. As a result of good deeds performed in many incarnations and through the grace of God, one has this desire for liberation.

Now sincerely cry and pray: "Mother, reveal Thyself to me. I am weak, devoid of spiritual discipline and devotion! Be gracious and appear to me!" Do not pay heed to anything else and continue calling upon Her.

Whether the mind is concentrated or not, do not give up calling upon Her. Be steady and hold to the ideal even as a hereditary farmer. If you do that you will certainly receive Her grace. Therefore, I say, where would you be roaming about? Call upon the Mother staying at home. Right there the Mother will vouchsafe to you the realization of the unreality of the world and will snap your worldly ties.'

'''Young man''': 'Sometimes I enjoy my meditation; at other times I cannot control the mind at all.'

'''Swami''': 'That is how the mind behaves. It has a wavelike motion. Haven't you seen waves? Here comes a high wave followed by a deep hollow, and a wave comes again.

The fact that sometimes you lose control over your mind signifies that a big wave will come and you will have great peace. But genuine devotees will not lose their balance because of joy or be depressed by sorrow.

Everything depends upon the will of the Mother. Knowing that the Mother is ever merciful, continue to call upon Her. Let the Mother keep you in whatever state She pleases. In this way eventually you will have unmixed bliss and a full vision of the Mother! My boy, do not be disturbed under any circumstances. The Mother has been gracious to you and will be even more gracious, I assure you.

'Inwardly call upon the Mother. Is She outside yourself? Go to the shrine for a while and pay your respects to the Master. Then have your prasada.'
----

== 14 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Shivananda ===

==== The Rules Framed by Swamiji for the Guidance of the Order ====
'''Place''': Belur Monastery

'''Time''': Monday, May 13, 1929

It was morning. Mahapurushji was seated in his room. Many sadhus of the monastery were present, and the conversation turned on various topics. For the last few days a class was being held late in the evening, attended by almost all the monastic members. The rules formulated by Swami Vivekananda for the guidance of the Order were being studied at this class. One by one the rules were read and discussed. Swamis Suddhananda, Virajananda, and others present answered questions on difficult points.

With regard to the class Mahapurushji said: 'To hold a class like this is very good. This is a monastery. Here worship, study, meditation, japa and things of that nature should continue all the time.'

'''A monk''': 'Nowadays the rules for the guidance of the Order are being read.'

'''Swami''': 'That is very good. The words of Swamiji are those of a seer, expressed aphoristically. How many ideas are contained in each of his utterances! Many new things will be brought to light by discussing these rules. The more discussions of this kind you have at the monastery the better.

'Everyone should direct his attention to the ideal of his life. Devotion to God, faith, love, sympathy, fellow-feeling, purity—all these one should strive after. We have renounced our hearth and home and joined the Order. What is the meaning of this? Why are we here, living this organized life in the Order? We should pray earnestly so that we grow in the spirit of renunciation.'

A monk was standing nearby. Addressing him Mahapurushji said, 'Well, do you attend this class?'

'''Monk''': 'No, sir. After the day's hard work I feel extremely tired in the evening. That is why I cannot attend the class.'

'''Swami''': 'No, it is good to listen to these discussions. Swamiji was a seer with distant vision. He knew what would happen in the future, and therefore formulated these rules for the guidance of the Order. The more we discuss his words and try to practise them in life, the better for us. We are monks and the realization of God is the whole object of our lives. This world is a dangerous place. Here it is very difficult to pursue the ideal in the midst of multifarious activities. Sometimes there is the danger of one's having lapses.

As the Master used to say: "Children's feet slip while walking along the high pathways across fields. The child who holds his father's hand may sometimes lose his balance and fall down. But the child whose hand is held by his father is not in danger of falling."

Similarly, we too are treading the narrow and crooked path of this world and there is great danger of our falling down. But there is no danger of our falling if the Master holds us by the hand. The Master is certainly holding us by the hand; otherwise who knows where and when we would have fallen?

One should therefore earnestly pray: "Lord, may you hold our hand! Weak as we are, we are in danger of having lapses at every step, but we shall be safe if you hold us by the hand." He is the life of our life dwelling within. Sincere prayer will certainly bring response from him. He is the prophet of this age, born as Sri Ramakrishna for the establishment of religion. He will certainly be gracious to us. He is already gracious; otherwise he would not have brought us here. "He, the Lord of the Universe, born as the prophet of this age"—these are Swamiji's very words.

He is the prophet of this age. It will certainly be for a person's good to take refuge in him in this age. Let us surrender ourselves to him and pray (with folded hands):

"Master, may we grow in renunciation and dispassion! Make us pure! May we grow in love and sympathy! May you hold us by the hand!"

'Calumny, gossip and things of that nature are very bad. They drag the mind down. As long as one can, one should practise meditation, worship and study; the rest of the time one should keep silent, thinking about God. It is a good practice. Organization has its necessity and usefulness. That is why Swamiji founded this Order and introduced works of service for self-purification.'
----

== 15 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Shivananda ===

==== Devotion Is Essential ====
'''Place''': Belur Monastery

'''Time''': Thursday, May 9, 1929

A devotee wrote a letter begging for a pair of slippers used by Mahapurushji. It was his heart's desire to worship the slippers. Swami Shivananda remarked in that connection:

'Whether he worships the slippers or whatever else he may do, the most essential thing is devotion to God. God looks at one's sincerity. He dwells within every heart. Whatever is done with devotion pleases the Lord. Don't you see how people fashion images of Shiva with clay and worship them, thereby gaining in faith and devotion and attaining enlightenment and liberation?

Although it is only a clay image of Shiva, if it is worshipped with love and devotion, the Lord is pleased and accepts the worship. What is made of inert clay becomes conscious and living. The essence of everything is devotion.

Wherever there is devotion, know for certain that the grace of the Lord is there. External worship and things of that sort are just means to an end.'

==== The Anniversary of Buddha's Birth, The Thrice Blessed Day—Buddha's Renunciation—The Middle Path—Discussion of Buddhist Philosophy at the Cossipore Garden—Swamiji's Experience Under the Bodhi Tree ====
'''Place''': Belur Monastery

'''Time''': Thursday, May 23, 1929

It was the full moon day of the month of Vaishakha, the anniversary of the birth of Buddha. In the afternoon there was discussion on the life of Buddha. Several monks spoke.

The image of Buddha had been decorated with flowers, garlands and greens. Devotional songs were sung, followed by the reading of the biography of the Blessed One. The life and teaching of Buddha were discussed.

After supper Swami Omkarananda came to Mahapurushji's room and in the course of conversation remarked: 'It is a great day. Here at the monastery we have been observing it. In the afternoon we had lectures.'

'''Mahapurushji''': 'Yes, it is indeed a great day, the thrice blessed day! Well, did you have that song? "For peace I seek; but where can peace be found? Whence have I come, and whither shall I go?"'

'''Swami Omkarananda''': 'No, we didn't have that song because nobody knew it very well.'

'''Mahapurushji''': 'That is an excellent song composed by Girish Babu.'

Saying this Mahapurushji sang the song.

Then he remarked: 'How beautifully Girish Babu worded it! He got the idea from the Lalitavistara which describes this feeling nicely. Buddha, then Prince Siddhartha, was making merry with his wife, Gopa, when some angels flying through space sang this song. Hearing it unexpectedly, Buddha was startled and an awakening came to him.

He said: "Who is singing that song? I know it very well. 'For peace I seek; but where can peace be found?' that is a song I have always known."

After hearing that song the trend of Buddha's mind suddenly changed. He could not give his heart to enjoyment any more, constantly remaining in a state of dispassion. King Shuddhodana, Buddha's father, coming to know of this, tried various means to divert Buddha's mind, and by placing many temptations before him hoped to draw his mind to the pleasures of the world. But Buddha being fully awakened, all efforts in this direction proved futile. Then one night he left the palace.

About the middle path also, Girish Babu composed a song containing ideas found in the Lalitavistara:

''My lovely vina, strung with care''

''With many a strand,''

''The rarest melodies will yield''

''Beneath a master's hand;''

''Let it be but rightly tuned!''

''Not high nor low?''

''And from it in a hundred streams''

''Enchanting songs will flow.''

''But over-slack, the strings are dumb''

''And the music dies;''

''While overstretched, they snap in twain,''

''And away the music flies.''
----

== 16 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== For Seekers of God ===
'That was indeed a time. What renunciation, dispassion and austerity we had! When God comes to this world as a man, then flows a current of spirituality. Many are blessed by getting the light of knowledge; many attain emancipation.'

'''Swami Omkarananda''': 'In the hills of Pareshnath as many as twenty-five monks attained illumination. Out of that number fifteen or sixteen were Jain monks, the rest Buddhists.'

'''Mahapurushji''': 'At one time we too discussed Buddhist philosophy a great deal. That was long ago. At that time we, including Swamiji and others, were living with the Master at the garden house at Cossipore. Swamiji was well versed in Buddhism. We too read a little. We used to have hot arguments.

In those days we didn't believe in the existence of God. Some of the devotees felt very much hurt to note this tendency in us. Swamiji himself would not say much. He would egg me on. I would argue my point vigorously. Swamiji would listen quietly and enjoy the fun. Sometimes I would even say that it was harmful to have body-consciousness, for it would be a handicap in meditation. Even the thought of God would not allow the mind to be free from modifications. It was not that we only expressed ourselves that way; our meditations and experiences also were of that nature. We couldn't think otherwise in those days; we were so absorbed in those ideas.

Some devotees brought the matter to the notice of the Master who remarked: "What they say is also true. There is a stage in spiritual life when the seeker does not admit the existence of God."

This tendency of ours lasted quite long. Even after we moved to the monastery at Baranagore, after the death of the Master, these ideas continued. We were still atheistic.

One day the Master appeared to me and said: "''Well, the Guru is all in all. There is no one higher than the Guru.''"

The moment I had that vision these ideas left me and did not return again. Sri Ramakrishna was a divine incarnation born to establish religion. Why should he allow a narrow or one-sided idea in us?'
----

== 17 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Shivananda ===
'''Swami Omkarananda''': 'Didn't you once slip off to Bodh Gaya during the Master's lifetime without telling him anything about it?'

'''Mahapurushji''': 'Yes, we went with Swamiji. There we sat for meditation under the Bodhi tree. We became quite absorbed in meditation. Suddenly Swamiji burst into tears in a state of spiritual ecstasy and embraced me. I was seated by his side. Later he came down to the normal plane and became absorbed in deep meditation again.

The next day, in the course of conversation, I asked Swamiji about this matter.

He replied: "I felt a deep pang in my heart. Everything here is as it was before. Here in Bodh Gaya we have Buddha's ideas in an intensified form. His renunciation, his dispassion, his great compassion and deep spirituality, all these are here; but where is he, the living embodiment of those ideas and ideals? I so keenly felt the absence of Lord Buddha that I couldn't control myself. That is why I burst into tears and embraced you." The few days that we spent in Bodh Gaya we were in a very blissful mood.'

'Yes, after illumination Buddha experienced so much joy that he walked up and down the whole night. He walked around in an ecstatic mood, enjoying the bliss of Self-realization.'

That night we had long discussions about Lord Buddha.
----

== 18 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Swami Shivananda ===
When a devotee saluted the Swami and inquired about his health he remarked: 'My body is not at all well. How can it be well, my child? From now on the body will become feeble. That is the nature of the body. The body is subject to a sixfold change.'

'''Devotee''': 'You can be well if you only will!'

'''Mahapurushji''': 'No, my child, that cannot be. All bodies are bound to disintegrate some day. "To-day or after a century it will be confiscated", don't you know that? The body has its death; that is certain. This body of mine has lived a long time—seventy-six or seventy-seven years. How much longer can it live?

If the body dies, what is that to me? I am certainly not the body. The Master has been kind enough to reveal this to me. The body made of the five elements will go back to the five elements, and I myself will pass on to that divine realm, the abode of immortality, where there is neither old age nor death, neither happiness nor unhappiness.

The Master has been gracious enough to reveal that knowledge to me and he continues to give me more and more of it.'
----

== 19 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== In an Organization Where Many Live Together Friction May Occur—Patience and Forgiveness Necessary ===
'''Place''': Belur Monastery

'''Time''': Friday, July 26, 1929

It was afternoon. Mahapurushji had just finished his shave. Seeing a monastic worker of the orphanage at Baranagore, he called him to his side.

In the course of conversation the Swami remarked: 'How can you leave now? Let S. return; then perhaps you may go. And why do you want to go at all? Even here, after attending to your regular work, you will have plenty of time for spiritual practice. It is simply a matter of mental attitude. If the mind has a natural leaning towards God, one can make time and opportunity for spiritual practice. What is essential is earnestness. If you cannot carry on your spiritual practice here, you won't be able to do so anywhere.

The Master used to say, "He who has it here, has it there too." That is a statement full of truth, my child. Call upon God and pray to Him with great sincerity. He will give you an abundance of devotion and faith. Why should you go? You are doing the Lord's work. Is it a small matter?'

'''Monk''': 'In season and out of season, K. says whatever comes to his mind.' Saying this, he started crying.

'''Mahapurushji''': 'I had a feeling there was a misunderstanding between you two. Why does he use abusive language? I know very well that you do not deserve that treatment. You are a gentle, good-natured person. Why don't you ask K. to come and see me some time? I will explain matters to him.

Do not take it to heart, my child. You know, when pots that are together are moved, friction is inevitable. Do not take it seriously. Misunderstandings are bound to occur sometimes and they are straightened out eventually. It takes two hands to clap. Let him say whatever he wishes. Just endure it all quietly. That will prevent misunderstandings. You will have to be a little humble. You will have to sacrifice a little. You have dedicated your body, mind and soul to the Master's work. You have renounced everything for his sake. You will have to do this much also for his work. You should practise forbearance, you should sacrifice for his work. The Lord will bless you abundantly.'

'''Monk''': 'Please bless me so that I can do it.'

'''Mahapurushji''': 'Certainly you will be able to. You have my hearty blessings, my child. But you must pray to the Master sincerely, too. He will give you greater strength. You have come here renouncing everything for his sake. There is nothing that he will withhold from you. How will his work go on if you all do not live at peace in one place? Be patient for his sake, paying no attention to what people say, good or bad. You are all sadhus and have come here with the idea of improving yourselves. You do not have any other desire or wish in your life. You want him alone.

Temporary misunderstandings are inevitable when several work together. They aren't something to be blamed for; it is quite natural. Such misunderstandings come and go; they cannot touch your inner Self, because the main objective of your life is the realization of God. Such petty matters as attachment and aversion cannot deeply affect you. This is what we feel. The work that you are carrying on is being done in a spirit of service. This work is purifying your mind day by day. You have no selfish motive in your work. You should carry on your spiritual practices along with your works of service. Whenever you can, practise japa, meditate upon God and pray to Him sincerely.

The moment you have a feeling of weakness or of lacking in anything, tell the Master about it. If you pray very sincerely, you are bound to get a response. Repeat his name often. The repetition of his name will purify your body and mind, washing away all impurities. You have renounced everything in order to be sadhus. The realization of God is the aim of your life, my child. Your ideal is "to remain unaffected by praise or blame, to be silent and contented with a little". Balance in praise or blame, silence and being satisfied with whatever comes—this is the state at which you should aim. You should be absorbed in God. What does it matter to you what people say about you?'
----

== 20 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Reminiscences of Swami Shivananda ===

==== The Greatness of Puri ====
"After arriving in Puri, I didn't go for the darshan of Jagannath. Maharaj noticed this and one day asked me, 'Well, brother Tarak, won't you go to see Lord Jagannath?'

'I will go soon,' I replied. Actually, the deity at the Jagannath temple is not very beautiful, and I had heard Swamiji often make fun of it. That is why I was not much inclined to visit the temple.

But I went to the temple one day, since Maharaj had asked me to. Lo! When I was standing in front of the altar, an extraordinary thing happened! Lord Jagannath graciously granted me the vision of His universal form. I was completely overwhelmed and sort of lost control over myself.

Somehow I was able to make pranams and come out of the temple. Returning to our place of residence, I lay down quietly on the bed. When I next met Maharaj, he asked me with a laugh about my visit to the Jagannath temple.

I was still intoxicated with the vision I had had. I said, 'It was a very blissful experience.' It was as if Maharaj had somehow come to know about the vision I had had. After that, I visited the temple many times. On my later visits to Puri, one of the first things I would do on reaching there was visit the temple.

Lord Jagannath is a highly awakened deity. I now understand why Maharaj visits Puri so often."

== 21 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Reminiscences of Swami Subodhananda (Khoka Maharaj) ===
Ganga Puja is celebrated at Belur Math every year. After worshipping the Ganga with flowers, etc., fruits and sweets are offered to it. These are thrown into the river from the steps of the ghat. Monastics stand in the river, close to the steps, waiting to catch the fruits and sweets! Among them would be present the child-like Khoka Maharaj.

Although he didn't know how to swim, he would stand in waist-deep water and eat the offerings right there like a young boy.

Together with two other brahmacharis, I too was standing and waiting in the Ganga that year. Khoka Maharaj also came and started to eat the offerings. Some of us dove underwater, caught hold of his legs, and tried to pull his feet out from under him. Helpless, he made a lunge at me and kept himself from falling into water by throwing his arms round my neck, giggling all the while. So, I had to walk up the steps carrying him in my arms.

Khoka Maharaj was so simple and unassuming that we considered him to be one of us. We would forget that he was a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna himself. He greatly sympathized with us and was loved dearly by all the monks. He did not want to receive anybody's service.

Once, while bathing in the Ganga, I saw him entering the water with a small bucket in his hand. When I asked him what was in the bucket, he laughed and said: "I have brought some clothes to wash, but will wait till you finish your bath." I quickly took the bucket away from him and washed his clothes.

He used to eat very little. His teeth had fallen out and since he didn't have any dentures, a little rice and dal would constitute his meal. He would do various types of work on his own and would feel intensely for people who were poor and distressed.

He would smoke tobacco in a hand-held bulbous hookah a few times a day. He smoked a little just before going to sleep also. Once, I had the opportunity to give him a massage every evening and arrange for his smoke.

One day, while I was massaging him, he said, "Shankar, today I will not smoke before going to sleep." Wondering if this was due to some lapse on my part, I requested him to tell me the reason for this. In reply he laughed and said: "You haven't done anything wrong.

Yesterday, the Master came in the dead of night. He sat on my bed and told me with some irritation, 'Khoka, you smell so much of tobacco that I am unable to sit near you.' Saying this, he went away. That is why I no longer want to smoke at night."

I was stunned to hear this. He was talking about the Master's vision as if it was a most ordinary thing! My hair stood on end and my tongue failed me. Thinking that it would be improper for me to sit on the cot on which the Master had sat, I immediately knelt down on the ground beside the bed and continued my massage. Khoka Maharaj grew very serious after telling about his vision of the Master. I mentally made pranams to the cot on which the Master had sat, and thinking about the Master's divine relationship with his disciples, slowly left the room.

Khoka Maharaj reduced his smoking after this, and gave it up completely when it was suspected that he had some disease of the lungs.

''(From Divine Realm by Swami Apurvanandaji)''
----

== 22 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Reminiscences of Swami Subodhananda ===
During his stay in Vrindavan, Subodhananda circumambulated the playground of Krishna, a distance of 168 miles. He covered this long journey alone without any belongings.

One day a woman saw him, and inflamed by lust, attacked him from behind. Frightened, he prayed to the Master aloud for protection. Immediately, the woman fell on the ground, unconscious.
----From Vrindavan, Subodhananda left for a pilgrimage in the Himalayas. He visited the holy shrines of Kedarnath and Badrinath. While he was practising austerities in Haridwar, the following incident occurred.

The Swami narrates: I had been suffering from fever for two months. I was so weak that I could not lift my water pot to pour water into my mouth. One night when I went near the water pot to quench my thirst, I fell down on the floor unconscious.

When I regained consciousness, my feelings were hurt and I cried:

"Master, I am suffering terribly. There is none to look after me. You didn't give me sufficient strength even to drink a glass of water by myself."

Thinking thus I fell asleep. Then I saw [in a dream or vision] the Master stroking my body with his hand, and he said: "Why are you anxious? Don't you see I am always near you? What do you want—attendants or money?"

I replied: "I don't want none of those things. I can't avoid disease as long as I have a body. May I never forget you: that is all I want. Be with me wherever I go."

Next day early in the morning I heard a voice from outside, "Maharaj, please open the door."

I got up and opened the door. A young monk told me: "Please tell me what you need. I shall beg food for you."

I said to him, "I don't want anything."

When I asked how he knew about me, he said that he had arrived there a couple of days earlier to perform a religious rite at the Brahmakunda. The previous night Mother Durga had appeared to him in a vision and said, "You will get more virtue by serving that sick monk in the cottage than by performing this religious rite."

So early in the morning the monk came to my cottage and realized that his vision was true. Tears trickled from my eyes. I controlled myself and asked the young monk to let me live alone.

On the same day another monk received fifty rupees by money order. He came to me and said: "You are suffering from fever. You need food and medicine. Please use this money."

I declined his offer. Early the next morning the young monk came again and told me that at night Mother Durga had exhorted him to serve me as before. Then I told him politely that I really didn't need any service and that perhaps Mother Durga had asked him to serve someone else. The young monk left.

Then I prayed to the Master: "Please don't tempt me anymore. I am glad that you have crushed my pique."

The young monk came also on the third day, but never again.
----

== 23 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Reminiscences of Swami Subodhananda ===
When Subodhanandaji was practising austerities in Gaya he had a life-threatening experience which he later described:

"It was the month of August. I saw a person wade through the Phalgu River and reach the other side. It was waist-deep, so I also decided to cross. My companion knew how to swim, but I didn't.

Suddenly the river swelled with a strong current because of heavy rain. When I had crossed a certain distance, I suddenly found myself in throat-deep water.

I realized that there was very little chance of saving my life. So I said to my companion: 'I don't know where this current will take me. There is little chance for my life. Please convey my salutations to my brother disciples.'

Then I prayed to the Master, 'Please accept my last pranam.' As soon as I said that, I was completely submerged. I felt that someone held my hand and pulled me through that gushing stream to the other side of the river."
----During his itinerant days, Subodhananda would sometimes sleep under a tree by the side of a road. The ground was his bed, and his arms were his pillow.

He described one night's experience while he was passing through Bihar or Uttar Pradesh:

"Once on my way I slept under a banyan tree at night. After a while I had a dream.

I saw an old woman telling me: 'Quick, get up. Because of you the snakes are unable to get out of their holes. Go forward a little, and you will find a police station. You can spend the night there.'

'Will they allow me to stay?' I asked her.

She said: 'Yes, they will allow you to sleep there. When you knock at their door, they will ask, "Who are you?" Say to them, "I am a mendicant."'

I awoke and according to the instructions of the old woman, I got shelter in the veranda of the police station. The next morning I went to check the ground under the banyan tree and found many holes. The local people told me that the place was infested with cobras."

Someone asked the swami, "Who was that woman?" After a brief silence, the swami replied, "It was the Divine Mother."
----

== 24 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Reminiscences of Swami Subodhananda ===
In 1897 Subodhananda gave a lecture to the Young Men's Hindu Association in Madras on "Sannyasa and Brahmacharya," which was published in the November 1898 issue of Prabuddha Bharata.

Following are some excerpts:

Sannyasa is the renunciation of all selfish motives and desires. Before I explain what sannyasa is, I should speak to you about brahmacharya; for unless the latter is realized, no sannyasa or renunciation is possible.

The observance of brahmacharya requires strict regulation of one's diet, habits, and thoughts. Of all the injunctions prescribed for this stage, the greatest stress is laid by the scriptures upon the complete mastery of the sexual instinct. Nothing should be sensed or done by the aspirant that might directly or otherwise tend to arouse the animal in him or her. In this way one is directed to bring one's mind under full control. He who is not a slave to his senses and mind, but on the contrary has made them his slaves, is a true brahmacharin.

All the religions of the world preach this brahmacharya and sannyasa, both of which have one and the same end in view, namely, to lift the mind up from all sensual concerns towards God. When the mind reaches God it enjoys divine bliss.

Our Master used to say that if we wanted to pass a thread through the eye of a needle all the scattered fibres of the thread should be brought to a point and then alone could we make it go through the needle; otherwise, if the fibres were allowed to point in all directions they would prevent the thread from passing through the eye; similarly, if we want to lift our mind up towards God, we must bring it back from all external things and concentrate it on one point.

Our Master says that as rain water does not stand upon high ground but always seeks a lower level, similarly, those who are puffed up with vanity cannot retain any faith in God, for faith always seeks the hearts of the humble and the meek.

As long as there are quarrels among different individuals and sects, they do not rise up to realize the highest truth.

"My God is the true God, your God is false," is the talk of men groping in the darkness of ignorance.

When a man realizes God he cannot quarrel. But when he is distant from God, he is more or less given to quarrelling.
----

== 25 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Reminiscences of Swami Subodhananda ===
Swamiji noticed that Subodhananda avoided women; he didn't even talk to them.

One day Swamiji said: "Khoka, women devotees come to hear about the Master; please talk to them. If you avoid them, where will they go? They are the manifestations of the Divine Mother. Treat them as your mother or daughter."

From then on, Subodhananda would associate with women and address them as "Mother."

When Vivekananda's Western women devotees came to Belur Math, he would send Subodhananda to look after them and supply their needs.

Once Subodhananda said to Swamiji: "Please excuse me. I can neither speak English properly nor can I understand their language."

Swamiji said: "You will not have to worry about that. When they tell you 'Thank you,' you say to them, 'I don't care.'"

However, when Subodhananda followed Swamiji's instruction, the women devotees were puzzled. They laughed when they discovered that it was Swamiji's mischief.
----Once Subodhananda was going to Kolkata from Belur Math by steamer. On the way, a few young men from Bali started criticizing Vivekananda.

Subodhananda boldly told them: "Do you give any donation to Belur Math? If so, please stop it from today. What will you gain by criticizing Swamiji? Neither will your criticism make Swamiji's hands fall off, nor will your praise help him grow two more hands."

When he heard that those young men did not help Belur Math, the swami said: "Then why do you criticize unnecessarily? Can you appreciate the monks? You work like slaves under English officers and you are supposed to flatter them; if you make any mistake, they will kick you out with their boots."

A few days later, one of those young men came to Belur Math and apologized to Subodhananda: "Maharaj, the other day out of sheer ignorance, we did wrong. Your words came true. One of us was kicked out of the office by an English officer."
----

== 26 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Reminiscences of Swami Subodhananda ===
Subodhananda's love and respect for Swamiji was phenomenal. Once in Varanasi, Swami Raghavananda asked him: "Maharaj, who is greater—Trailinga Swami or Swamiji?" Subodhananda replied: "Trailinga Swami is the greatest among men, but Swamiji is Shiva Himself.

If anybody criticized Swamiji before the Master, he would say, 'Here the Lord Shiva has been criticized, please sprinkle a little Ganga water.'"

=== As a Guru, and Trips to East Bengal ===
Subodhananda's unassuming nature and plain clothing hid the fact that he was a great soul and a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna; but his renunciation and simple, joyful face attracted devotees. In the monastery he wore an ochre cloth, a T-shirt, and a pair of slippers. He washed his own clothes, and ate with the other monks on the floor of the dining room.

Subodhananda was reluctant to give spiritual instructions to devotees. If anybody approached him for initiation, he would say: "What do I know about initiation? I am a Khoka. You go to Swami Brahmananda or Holy Mother—they are highly spiritual."

Once Holy Mother said: "Why does Khoka not initiate people? As long as the Master's disciples are alive, let the people receive their grace."

He also received a command from the Master to instruct people. In 1915 Subodhananda began to initiate devotees.
----

== 27 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Reminiscences of Swami Subodhananda ===
Once in later years some devotees from East Bengal came to Swami Shivananda, then the president of the Ramakrishna Order, and invited him to Dhaka. The swami was not well, so he asked Subodhananda to go instead.

Subodhananda replied: "Oh, no, I can't go there. There are many big rivers in East Bengal and I am afraid to cross them." Knowing his nature, Shivananda did not press him any further at that time.

However, on 7 May 1924, Subodhananda went to dedicate the Ramakrishna Temple at Sonargaon, Dhaka, at the behest of Shivananda.

"People of East Bengal," said Shivananda, "are greatly devoted to Sri Ramakrishna. Please initiate them."

Subodhananda obeyed and initiated many people, even children. After returning to Belur Math, he informed Shivananda that he had initiated one and all, including children.

Shivananda asked, "How will the children practise meditation and japa?"

He replied, "You ordered me to initiate everybody, so I deprived none."
----Subodhananda was extremely self-effacing and did not consider himself to be a guru. Once a woman disciple asked him: "Swami, I don't know the Gayatri mantra or ritual or chanting. People practise the Gayatri thrice a day. Could you teach me all those disciplines?"

Subodhananda said humbly: "Mother, I don't know all those things either. You see, I am a Khoka (Baby). I have given you what I have received from the Master, what I have known from my own experience, and what has kept me in a blissful state. Please control your mind and practise japa and meditation."
----

== 28 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Reminiscences of Swami Subodhananda ===
After Vivekananda returned from the West in 1897, he founded the Ramakrishna Mission. He asked his brother-disciples to propagate practical Vedanta as taught by Sri Ramakrishna for the good of humanity. Swamiji wanted his brother-disciples to become accustomed to speaking in public, so he persuaded them to give weekly lectures by turn in the Alambazar Monastery.

When Subodhananda's turn came he tried in vain to be excused. The other monks thought that this was very funny and gathered eagerly in the hall to watch Khoka.

At last Subodhananda mounted the platform—miserable and unwilling—and opened his mouth to speak. But before he could say a word, the building began to vibrate and rock, and trees crashed down outside. This was the devastating earthquake of 12 June 1897. The meeting was dissolved.

Swamiji humorously said, "Well, Khoka, you have made an earth-shaking speech!" All laughed, including Subodhananda.
----Swamiji noticed that Subodhananda avoided women; he didn't even talk to them. One day Swamiji said: "Khoka, women devotees come to hear about the Master; please talk to them. If you avoid them, where will they go? They are the manifestations of the Divine Mother. Treat them as your mother or daughter."

From then on, Subodhananda would associate with women and address them as "Mother."

When Vivekananda's Western women devotees came to Belur Math, he would send Subodhananda to look after them and supply their needs.

Once Subodhananda said to Swamiji: "Please excuse me. I can neither speak English properly nor can I understand their language."

Swamiji said: "You will not have to worry about that. When they tell you 'Thank you,' you say to them, 'I don't care.'"

However, when Subodhananda followed Swamiji's instruction, the women devotees were puzzled. They laughed when they discovered that it was Swamiji's mischief.
----From his boyhood, Subodhananda loved to drink tea. One night at Belur Math, Vivekananda was meditating in his room; Brahmananda and Subodhananda were sleeping in the next room. When Swamiji finished his meditation, he woke up Subodhananda and asked if he would mind bringing him a pipe to smoke. Subodhananda did so, and Vivekananda was so pleased that he exclaimed impulsively, "Any boon you ask for shall be granted!"

"What could I possibly ask for?" said Subodhananda. "The Master gave us everything we need."

But Brahmananda said, "No, Khoka, ask for something."

So Subodhananda considered carefully and then said, "Grant me this—that I may never, for the rest of my life, miss my daily cup of tea."

Many years later, Subodhananda was asked whether this boon had really been granted. He answered that it had and that the tea had sometimes arrived without his expectation, just as he was about to go to sleep at night.
----

== 29 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Spiritual Talks by Swami Saradananda ===
'''Disciple''': "—instructs his disciples not to practise Japa without taking bath etc. Are such observances compulsory?"

'''Swami''': "The Master came to make religion easy. People were being crushed under the weight of rules and regulations. To repeat the Lord's name and to worship Him no special time and place are necessary. In whatever condition one may be, one can take His name.

The Master never used to give too much importance to these external observances.

As to means, adopt whichever suits you best. If you like God with form, that will also lead you to the goal. If you like God without form, well and good; stick to it and you will progress. If you doubt His very existence, then better put the question to Him thus: 'I do not know whether Thou existeth or not, whether Thou art formless or with form. Do Thou make known to me Thy real nature.'

As to changing of clothes, taking bath, and other external observances, if you can observe them, well and good; if not, go on calling on Him without paying much attention to all these.

The Master once sang a song to me and told me, 'Assimilate any one of these ideas and you will reach the goal.' The song runs as follows:

'O Lord, Thou art my everything, the sole support of my life, the quintessence of reality. There is none else besides Thee in this world whom I can call as my own.

'Thou art happiness, peace, help, wealth, knowledge, intellect, and strength; Thou art the dwelling house and the pleasure garden; Thou art the friend and relative.

'Thou art this present life, the sole refuge; Thou art the life hereafter and the heaven; Thou art the injunction of the scriptures, the Guru full of blessings, and the store of infinite bliss.

'Thou art the way and the goal; Thou art the creator and preserver and the worshipped; Thou art the father that punishest Thy child, the loving mother and the storehouse of infinite bliss art Thou.'"
----

== 30 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Saradananda ===
'''Disciple''': "The Master used to say that Sraddha food is harmful to Bhakti. Why is it so?"

'''Swami''': "The object of food is to build a strong body and a fine intellect. Unless the body and the mind are pure it is not possible to go through spiritual practices. It is the food offered to God that builds a pure body and mind.

The Sraddha food is offered to the manes and not to God and as a result instead of building a pure mind and body it affects people otherwise. Food builds the body and the mind and the nature of the food also affects them.

In Chaitanya's life we have a case where an ordinary man who happened to touch him in a state of ecstasy was also overpowered by religious emotions. He was prescribed to take Sraddha food to get over these emotions and as a matter of fact this food did put an end to that person's ecstatic moods."

'''Disciple''': "Why is the time of an eclipse considered auspicious for the practice of Japa?"

'''Swami''': "Man becomes thoughtful when such a natural phenomenon takes place. Eclipse brings about a great change in the sphere of nature. At such a juncture when nature passes from one condition to another, the mind becomes calm and so the time is favourable for the practice of Japa and meditation."

'''Disciple''': "Have any realized God through mere work?"

'''Swami''': "Through selfless work the mind gets purified. And when the mind becomes pure, there arise Knowledge and devotion in it. Knowledge is the very nature of the Self but being covered with ignorance it is not manifest. The object of selfless work is to remove this covering. As a matter of fact Knowledge dawns as soon as the mind becomes pure.

In the Mahabharata you have the story of the chaste lady who attained Knowledge through service to her husband and through other household duties. In the Gita also you find, 'By work alone Janaka and others attained perfection.' Not one but many attained perfection through work, for the text adds 'and others'.

'''Disciple''': "Does work here mean Japa, meditation, etc.?"

'''Swami''': "No. That meaning is given by the commentators. If it were so then Sri Krishna would have asked Arjuna to ring bells and wave lights before an image of God. Instead, he made him fight."
----

== 31 May 2019 ==
'''Jai Ramakrishna'''

=== Teachings of Swami Saradananda ===
'''Disciple''': "Did Arjuna fight without any sense of ego, as an instrument in the hands of the Lord?"

'''Swami''': "Certainly. If the ego persists even after the vision of the Universal Form, then of what use is the vision? Arjuna says, 'My delusion is destroyed and I have regained memory through Thy grace.'"

'''Disciple''': "What is the meaning of the word 'memory' in that verse?"

'''Swami''': "Arjuna had forgotten the teachings of the scriptures and of the Guru. All those principles, adhering to which Arjuna was progressing he had forgotten, overcome by delusion. Fear, love of relatives, and respect for his elders had created this delusion.

The Advaitists interpret 'memory' as 'the regaining of the consciousness of his real nature'. They too have given a very fine interpretation.

"When the Vaishnavas progress in their spiritual practice and reach the Advaita consciousness, they avoid it and try to keep permanently a relationship with the Lord. They consider that to become one with Him is an obstacle in their way and so the moment they get a scent of this consciousness they become alert to ward it off.

In fact to Santa-bhava, or the peaceful devotion, which is the culmination of Advaita Sadhana, they give the lowest place. They develop the emotional side and direct it towards the Lord—this they think to be the highest goal. From the highest pitch of emotion we have the Madhura-bhava or the sweet conjugal relationship with the Lord."

'''Disciple''': "What is the meaning of the verse, 'Relinquishing all Dharmas take refuge in Me alone' etc.?"

'''Swami''': "Here Dharma means ritualistic works, Japa, etc. Tilak interprets it as the Dharma spoken of in the Mahabharata, viz. service to parents, guests, etc. But this is not correct, for even through such service some attained Knowledge. His interpretation of the Gita is one-sided, for he wants to show that the object of the whole Gita is to establish the superiority of the path of work. The Gita praises highly self-effort (Purushakara). In this verse the Lord hints that this self-effort has a limit."

== 1 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

==== Teachings of Swami Saradananda ====
'''Disciple:''' "Why is the Kundalini imagined to be like a snake?"

'''Swami:''' "I am not sure of the exact reason; probably because of the impressions of myriads of lives heaped up in coils or of the upward motion of the awakened Kundalini which is in a zig-zag way like that of a serpent. Describing the Kundalini the Master once said, while in ecstasy, 'Have you seen the serpent?'"

'''Disciple:''' "What is the nature of the meditation on the formless?"

'''Swami:''' "The meditation of the Lord in the Sahasrara, which you do at the time of Bhuta Suddhi in ceremonial worship, is meditation on the formless. When you do not like any form meditate on the formless. If the meditation on the form of the Guru is more appealing at any time then better meditate on the Guru, for the Lord manifests through the Guru."

'''Disciple:''' "Is mechanical repetition of the Mantra of any use?"

'''Swami:''' "The Tantras say that through the repetition of the Mantra, realization is attained. I should think so."

'''Disciple:''' "I am trying to follow all your instructions, but somehow I find that I am not quite at home in my spiritual practices. Sometimes they are mechanical without any life in them."

'''Swami:''' "If you follow the same routine every day it is but natural that you should feel so sometimes. But then on those days when you like any particular portion of the Sadhana, devote yourself to that and let the other parts go. In this way probably you may be neglecting particular practices for three or four days at a stretch. But that does not matter. When you renew these practices you will find delight in them.

"Before you meditate think of the Master. If you do that you will see that whatever you do will yield good results. Sometimes think that he is in everything and everywhere. That you are, as it were, immersed in him even as a pot is immersed in the ocean. Think thus: 'That Supreme State of the all-pervading Deity the sages realize for all time like the sky extending as far as sight can go.' He knows everything about you. You cannot hide anything from him. He knows even your inmost thoughts.

"Of course one is much benefited by regular practice. If one practises regularly for some time every day, one gains strength and finds pleasure in spiritual practices."

'''Disciple:''' "I have read much about the Master. Through books I have been able to know much about his life. Yet when I think of his life I do not find pleasure in it. Why is it so?"

'''Swami:''' "To find pleasure in anything both the brain and the heart must unite. Through mere intellectualism one does not get pleasure. Everything becomes lifeless. If what you have read about the Master appeals also to your heart then alone you will get delight by thinking on his life. He would then seem to be living."
----

== 2 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Teachings of Swami Saradananda ===
'''Disciple:''' "Formerly I was eager to give up service and devote myself wholly to spiritual practices. Now I do not feel such hankering. There is no desire for change of environment. But then I find that the mind is more and more attracted towards Japa and meditation and the reading of the scriptures. How is it that I do not have nowadays that former longing for solitude?"

'''Swami:''' "What of that? The scriptures say that if one can attain Knowledge through spiritual practices even when he is engaged in work then one need not give up work. Have you not heard of Dharma-Vyadha? Even the work of a butcher he did not think to be bad after he had attained Knowledge. If the mind is drawn towards Him then where is the need for change of environment? When nothing is possible without His will, then what is the use of planning? It is better to depend on Him and do as He makes us do. Moreover, if you change your environment it will require an effort to get yourself adjusted to the new conditions. Therefore let the environment remain as it is. In these circumstances go on calling on Him. When, through His will, the environment will change, then accept it."

The question of Karma Yoga was raised by someone, and the Swami said: "'You have no right to the results of your work,' the result depends on various factors among which your effort is only one. The aspirant must try all means for the fulfilment of his immediate duty but should not get disappointed if he is not successful. For though one of the factors may be fulfilled well, yet the work may not turn out successful for want of the other factors. Hence to do one's best and be at peace without being anxious about the result is called Karma Yoga."

'''Disciple:''' "Does 'Renouncing every undertaking' (Gita) mean the renunciation of all work or the performance of work without the idea of ego?"

'''Swami:''' "Do the work in hand to the best of your abilities. You have to plan or utilize various means for the fulfilment of this work. But then do not take in fresh work. Do to the best of your abilities that work which has fallen to your share. It is not good to take up work aggressively. If you take up work like that you will find that you cannot perform any of them well. As a result you get worried and your mind is upset."

There was a talk on the refraction of light and the Swami in the course of conversation said: "When I was travelling by train through Gujerat I used to see water on either side of the line extending for miles and miles. I wondered whence so much water could come? But afterwards it struck me that it must have been the mirage.

"After one realizes God, the world seems to be a mere appearance like the mirage. There is nothing in it that can attract one. Just as one who sees water in a mirage knows full well that there is no water there; so also, though the world of names and forms is there, one knows that it is all Maya, an illusion.

"First, you have to attain Knowledge. After attaining Knowledge when one returns to this world of diversity, one will see everything as before but will no longer be attached to anything in it. Before realizing the illusion one hopes for water in a mirage, but when one realizes its nature, though one may be seeing the mirage, one no longer expects any water in it. So also, though the world of diversity would still have to be experienced after Knowledge, yet one no longer takes it to be real and so has no longer any attachment for it."
----

== 3 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Teachings of Swami Saradananda ===
'''B:''' "Maharaj, the Master has exhorted us to 'make the thought tally with speech.' What does it mean?"

'''Swami:''' "That you must be sincere, that your inner life should tally with the outer."

'''B:''' "It is naturally so. Whatever we speak we think in our mind."

'''Swami:''' "But is it not rare? We utter the name of the Lord superficially, too superficially. We say, 'I am Thy servant; Thou art my Master; Thou art my Lord; I have renounced all for Thee; I call Thee, Lord, come unto me.' But we harbour withal all sorts of evil thoughts in the mind. This won't do. As you speak, so you must think. This means, while you take the name of the Lord think of Him alone. Sri Chaitanya used to say, 'That is verily That.' That is to say, Name is verily God Himself. They are inseparable."

'''B:''' "Well, Maharaj, is mere repetition of Name enough in the beginning?"

'''Swami:''' "So it is. But the Idea corresponding to the Name slowly grows."

'''D:''' "We have the infinite compassion of the Master and Swamiji upon us. You too have showered blessings on us. Yet we do not seem to be making any appreciable progress."

'''Swami:''' "Compassion and blessing undoubtedly are there. But can deep-rooted Samskaras (past impressions) be erased in a day? They are erased gradually. You have renounced home for the sake of God—this itself is an attainment. You are surely progressing, and you will do so more and more. The Master and Swamiji have infinite compassion on us. Make up your minds now and plunge into Sadhana (spiritual practice). You will then see for yourselves whether you progress or not. You must labour hard before you realize the Truth."

'''B:''' "What are we to do if any other image than that of the Ishta (Chosen Deity) appears during meditation?"

'''Swami:''' "Think then that the Ishta has appeared in that form. Thus the form will slowly disappear and the Ishta will reappear."

'''M:''' "Should we do so whatever be the form that appears?"

'''Swami:''' "No. Do this only when the form of a saint appears."

'''M:''' "What about an ordinary form?"

'''Swami:''' "Drive that resolutely away, and try to reinstall the image of the Ishta with all your might. How can you meditate on a shoe-maker's shop if it suddenly comes and distracts your mind?"

'''S:''' "The Master used to say, 'After making the knowledge of Oneness your own you can go wherever you like.' What does it mean?"

'''Swami:''' "Not 'Go wherever you like', but 'Do whatever you like.' He meant evidently that after attaining Supreme Knowledge one cannot commit any evil deed. How can one who has realized God or attained Knowledge through discrimination, renunciation, love, devotion and purity, do mischief? Such a man necessarily can do no wrong."

'''R:''' "Is it possible to attain the knowledge of Oneness through Sakara Upasana (worship of Divine Forms)?"

'''Swami:''' "Why not? It leads to the knowledge of Oneness in time."

'''B:''' "How does it culminate, Maharaj? Is it that immanence of God is realized in all, or does everything disappear completely?"

'''Swami:''' "Both. You will understand it as you progress in your Sadhana. Practise, and you will feel. What's the use of idle talk? Take to Japa and meditation for some time at least. Otherwise, it will be like the utterance of the some wandering Sadhus, 'divinity is verily my own nature' and then enjoying palatable dishes. Labour hard and you will know everything in time. No use putting such abstruse questions. It will lead to nothing. Everyone talks but no one does anything. Exertion brings its own reward. Why not practise as per the instructions you received?"
----

== 4 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Teachings of Swami Saradananda ===
'''B:''' "Maharaj (Swami Brahmananda) has said, 'Meditate in the heart.' By 'heart' what particular spot is meant?"

'''Swami:''' "(Placing his hand on the heart) This is what we usually mean—the pit of the stomach. This is the heart. Here one should meditate on the Ishta, seated on a red lotus of eight petals. The image of the Guru in a white lotus should be meditated upon in the head above the eye-brows."

"Who is an Isvarakoti?"

'''Swami:''' "I am not an Isvarakoti that I can properly explain it."

'''H:''' "I wish to know what the scriptures say about it."

'''Swami:''' "Isvarakotis come to the world to fulfil some divine missions. They are born with perfect Knowledge. Such were sages like Narada, Sukadeva, and others. According to Vedanta they are born with the veil of Maya."

'''H:''' "What then is the difference between a Jivanmukta and an Isvarakoti?"

'''Swami:''' "An ordinary Jiva has to attain everything through tremendous exertion. When he reaches the Advaita stage he can no longer return to the ordinary plane of existence. But Isvarakotis are born with Incarnations for the good of the world with Maya's veil outside but perfect Knowledge within. They can come down even from the Supreme State. But is it possible for ordinary souls?"

"Is an Incarnation always conscious of his real nature?"

'''Swami:''' "Yes, he is always established in perfect Knowledge. But according to his sweet will, he occasionally puts on the veil of Maya."

"What is then the significance of his spiritual Sadhana?"

'''Swami:''' "Putting on the veil of his own choice he feels wants like ordinary mortals. This explains his Sadhana etc. Do you know what others are like? They are like salt dolls which go to sound the depths of the sea. They get dissolved in the sea water and never return."

'''K:''' "Maharaj, is it due to the difference in power or Knowledge?"

'''Swami:''' "It is due to the difference in power (Sakti). You know what the Master said about it. Three men were taking a walk. Suddenly they heard sweet sounds, music, etc., inside a big enclosure. Finding no door to go into the enclosure, one of them fetched a ladder and got upon the wall with great difficulty. He saw to his amazement that there was a wonderful performance of dance, music, and the like. Overwhelmed with joy, he at once leapt inside without saying anything about this to his companions. The second man also went up and leapt in like the first.

"But the third behaved differently. Standing on the wall he also saw what was going on inside. But he thought: 'Should I be so selfish as to enjoy this alone? No. Let me call others. Let them come and see and enjoy.' So thinking, he descended, called many people together and told them of what he saw inside the walls.

"Incarnations are like this. It is due to difference in the manifestation of Sakti. It is a great heart alone that can share with others what it acquires after hard struggle. What a renunciation! What a patience! All these show the degrees of manifestation of power."

'''B:''' "Maharaj, did Totapuri reach the Advaita state?"

'''Swami:''' "(After a pause) Why do you ask such a question? Am I Totapuri that I should know everything about him? You can easily find out from books which deal with these things."

'''B:''' "I ask this because you have just said that it is Isvarakotis and Avataras alone that can return to the normal plane after reaching the Advaita consciousness in the Nirvikalpa Samadhi."

'''Swami:''' "Why? What happens with the Jivanmuktas? They also live after attaining Knowledge. It is a thing of realization alone. Mere questions don't help. Be pure. Give up evil thoughts and work hard. Gradually you will come to understand everything. It is impossible to understand these things without intuitive knowledge. Practise hard. Don't take up spiritual practice in the spirit of forced labour."
----

== 5 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Teachings of Swami Saradananda ===
'''R:''' "You have placed heavy work of the Mission upon our shoulders. How can one devote oneself completely to Sadhana with such heavy work?"

'''Swami:''' "Heavy work, indeed! Don't you realize that had there been no such work, you would not have done even what little you are doing now? Give up work for a single day if you can. Take meals from the Chatra and practise hard. Let me see how far you can proceed. You won't be able to do this even for a day. After a few days you will be idling away your time. Swamiji started these works for the service of humanity—service with the fullest knowledge that man is a veritable symbol of the Lord. This is a new path—a simple, easy path. But this does not suit you! Why not leave work and see the result? You will fail to do even what little Sadhana you are putting in in the midst of work.

"Now you are performing selfless work, but if you give it up, you will plunge headlong into selfishness. This will be the result. Don't you see how hard people in the world have to work! Why not enter into the world and see the fun? Many people are at their wit's end simply for serving their parents.

"This won't do. One can certainly gain one's goal even in the midst of work. Is there any shade of difference between spiritual practice and the work of the Mission, which is the Master's work? One's longing for spiritual practice loses much of its keenness when work is abandoned. As long as there is obstruction in the path, there is manifestation of power. So long as one lives in one's home, one's desire to become a Sadhu remains intense. But how long do good intentions prevail after one has become a Sadhu?

(Keeping silence for a while)

"Various causes such as regular study, special care of parents, marriage affairs, etc., offer obstruction, and consequently the power is increased. But when one renounces home, one thinks that the goal has been reached and struggles no more. Take for instance an embankment. Water presses hard to break away as long as there is the embankment. But when it finds a way out it is spread all over. Nothing is left of that force. Being scattered all over, the concentrated force is lost."

'''K:''' "It may also finally stop without forcing a way out and thus lose all its strength."

'''Swami:''' "Yes, sometimes it is actually so. Power seeks channels for its manifestation, and gathers force in the midst of obstructions.

"The Mantra that you have received—why not repeat it regularly? But this none of you will do. Follow your Guru's instructions. How many of you do it? At most one sits for half an hour, that too not in a calm mood and tells the beads as if it is a drudgery and then gets up. This won't do. Who has been following the rules after receiving the Mantra?

"One nowadays takes a fancy for Sannyasa. This seems to be your usual way. Sannyasa means an inward unfoldment. Mere formality cannot go far. Is there anything in formality? One must make oneself fit for Sannyasa. This requires an inward growth. How many people work in a true spirit? Working like a day-labourer—what can it pay? It is the spirit—that we are serving Narayana in human forms and that the Ishta is in all men—that alone counts in the long run."
----

== 6 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Teachings of the Direct Disciples ===
A thread with stray fibres cannot pass through the eye of a needle; similarly, a mind with desires cannot be absorbed in God.

Realization of God means that one becomes absorbed in him, transcending his attributes and powers. It is not an easy thing!

[To the question: "Is it possible to pour Sadhana into another person?"] Yes. But not everyone can do that. He who has seen God and been absorbed in his bliss, only he can. ''—Swami Adbhutananda''

Perfect peace will not come until the mind is fully concentrated. You must dwell on God uninterruptedly and be absorbed in the contemplation of His true nature.

If you practice japa and meditation regularly, without break for some years, you will see for yourself what result comes to pass. Your mind will become pure and you will be absorbed in the thought of God. Then you will be reluctant to leave off meditation even for a single day. There will come an inner tranquillity which will fill your heart with joy. ''—Swami Saradananda''

Pain follows pleasure and every action brings its own reaction.

It is easy to do great deeds, the deeds that bring name and fame. But it is by his small, everyday actions that a man's character is known.

If you can perform every action as worship of the Lord, then only will you like to work and feel no attachment to the fruits of your actions.

Be active, but keep the constant recollection of God.

Certainly it is easier to do a noble deed for the sake of name and fame. But by such deeds a man's real value cannot be measured. To know the real man, examine his daily actions; for it is his everyday actions which reveal his true character. A true karma-yogi will lose himself heart and soul in any undertaking, even though it is of a very menial kind. He is never motivated by the least desire for popular approval.

Truth is the pillar to which you must always hold while performing any action.

But, of course, there is the effect of Karma. If you do any wrong action, you must suffer from disquiet of mind and other consequences. ''—Swami Brahmananda''

Every man should do something good, that is, some selfless deed. All by nature work to support themselves and their families. By something good I mean activity done without any attachment. If you can help a poor man by giving him food, or educate a needy boy by providing his board and lodging according to your means, that will be sufficient. In cases that are beyond your means you can engage in such good deeds in cooperation with friends of yours. Many activities of this nature you will find close at hand. If you wish to do them, you can easily do so.

[To the question: "Can I continue to be pure and spiritual irrespective of my actions, good or bad?"]

Certainly not. Your good actions contribute to make you more and more spiritual, while the bad ones go to drag you down to samsara and prevent your freeing the soul from the bondage of birth and death: to obtain that freedom is and ought to be the one aim of your having taken birth as a human being. ''—Swami Shivananda''
----

== 7 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Teachings of the Direct Disciples ===
Let the mouth be closed, and action speak.

Is a person worthy to be called a human being if he cannot give up selfishness, if he cannot give up his pleasures of the senses? To take the name of Sri Ramakrishna, and at the same time to be selfish! Is there any progress for such a hypocrite? Think wisely and firmly; and act accordingly.

Be completely desireless, but act.

Do not be swayed by words of praise or blame, or let your actions be influenced by the opinions of others.

I see no evil in you. Who knows but that you may be a saint tomorrow? God plays with us by putting on various masks. We act under the control of our samskaras (tendencies). We are all toys in the hands of the good Lord, and he is our refuge.

Trust in the Lord and act. You will then succeed. If you depend on men, you will meet with failure.

But we have lost this truthfulness, and that is why we have come to such a pass groaning under the crushing weight of misery and degradation. Now all our efforts must be directed first to retrieve it; not by mere empty speech, but by sincere action, pledging all our heart and soul to it.

Be active also. Free yourself from all sense of ego, and work selflessly. Be very careful that no sense of leadership or any trace of selfishness enter into you. Whatever you do, do as the servant of the Lord.

"Do or die!" Make this your motto. Rome was not built in a day, neither can the ideal character be formed in one day. It is the sum-total of your every thought and action that makes up your character. Remember this and every moment guard well your thoughts and actions. This is an age when we need workers who seek no results for their actions, and are completely devoted to God. No talk, but action; show by the example of your life.

It is not a lazy man's job. Be up and doing!

They think that inaction in itself is the ideal. If it be so, why then, the wall also should be considered to have attained Samadhi. Should not one transcend all dualities? To maintain one's mental balance under all circumstances, to remain absolutely unmoved—that indeed is the goal!

Man has to his credit the actions of many previous births, which must work themselves out.

The highest conception is to think that everything is He. Failing that, it is best to think that He is the real agent behind all actions and He is causing us to act.

Yes, as a race you [English and Americans] are very materialistic, but I have met with exceptions. And activity is not bad. I like your energy, you are all up and doing. I see no idleness anywhere. Only that energy should be controlled. It should go inward also, ''activity in inactivity''.

When anything has to be done, always be the first to do it. Others will follow. But unless you do first, no one will do.
----

== 8 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Teachings of the Direct Disciples ===
Divine Providence has given man the sense of free will and the principle of karma. It is left to man to do as he wishes. If he chooses to do actions which bring him less happiness and more misery, he alone is responsible, not God.

Every action brings a corresponding result. A man will get social merit through his philanthropic activities, but if his ego is involved in those activities, he will not get any spiritual merit. Even the result of a good action turns into a bondage if it is done with ego. None can escape the wheel of karma through self-motivated action. On the other hand, unselfish action destroys the bondages of action and brings liberation to man.

Real yearning for God is the result of associating with the holy, and a person gets the opportunity for holy company only as a result of many good actions.

Other acts do not count so much as a moment's love for the Lord.

[To the question: "Can a man ever do as he likes?"]

Sometimes he thinks he is doing as he likes, but in reality God is guiding all his movements. God is the only Doer, nothing is done by man.

[Question: "Then what is the use of man's making any effort to be good or to realize God?"]

You cannot stop acting. Your very nature is to act. Can you remain perfectly quiet even for a moment? This body is born to act. Your hands, your feet, your eyes and ears have a natural tendency to action. As long as you must act, you will want to do that which will bring the most desirable results; so, as long as you act you will have to try to be good, to be virtuous, to be unselfish, in order to get the desirable results you are seeking, and since God is the most desirable result to be attained, you will have to strive to realize Him.

If you want to give up one bad habit you must develop the corresponding good habit, and this requires tremendous Rajas or activity on your part.

In this world we find some beautiful, some ugly; some high, some low; some happy, some miserable; some virtuous, some vicious; some kind, some cruel; some acquiring fame by good deeds, some looked down upon for being scavengers.

If one enquires into the root-causes of such diversities, it is found that past life actions alone are responsible for them. Our life is moulded by the powers of both divine grace and personal effort. The present life is in part the effect of actions done in past lives. Results of actions done in this life are partly experienced here and partly in the next as fate.

Wipe away the dust, arouse your ambition, stir up your activity and know that all power is latent in you. You are not limited.

The goal of all these three paths is the same. Each path is equally powerful. But none should be undertaken to the exclusion of the others: knowledge must unite with devotion. And this unity must be expressed through action. Knowledge without love is dry. Love without service is pure sentimentalism.

When a person is in a vortex of activities, his mind remains below the transcendental plane where spiritual communion is possible.

Let activism come first, then will follow peacefulness; and lastly will come enlightenment.

Sadhana is our attempt to get to Him through every action. You have to do even small things in a perfect way.

Be active and at the same time sensible.

Dedicate your life to good work. God blesses all good action.
----

== 9 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Teachings of the Direct Disciples ===

==== Karma ====
What the westerners call fate or destiny, we characterize as the result of our actions in previous births.

From Buddha's life and discourses, we find that action follows thought; as you think, so you act. As loving thoughts help in expanding the consciousness, so do anger, jealousy, and envy lead to its contraction.

If you, too, make proper use of your opportunities, you can also achieve great things. God is behind us always; always remember Him in everything you do. Every action leads to a certain result, never forget that.

These ceremonial functions are not child's play. All our actions have the ultimate aim of attaining spiritual enlightenment or God-realization. Whether you reach that goal through the path of selfless action or through spiritual austerities is of no consequence. But the goal of all action is to receive illumination.

It is useless for people to brag about their actions. It is only through His will that things are happening.

Secondly, whatever God wills is immediately done. We, also, should have the power to translate our wishes into action.

[In order to come nearer to God] you have to adhere to truth and have to be steadfast in this respect. The mind and the tongue must become one. And your action should be in harmony with your speech.

As you think, so you act.

All our actions have the ultimate aim of attaining spiritual enlightenment or God-realization. Whether your efforts in this direction are made through the path of selfless action or through spiritual austerities is of no consequence. But the goal of all efforts is to receive enlightenment.

Every action has its inevitable result: we cannot afford to forget that.

==== Adversity ====
It is no easy thing to dedicate oneself heart and soul to the Lord. Many people boast: '''I have surrendered myself and my all to God. I do only what he tells me to do.''<nowiki/>' But if we observe their lives we see differently. For the good they do they claim the credit and they boast of their achievements, but when adversity or trouble overtakes them they cry out against the Lord and blame him for their misfortunes.

At the time of happiness everybody can remain calm, can discriminate, but one is established in it only if one can remain so even in adversity. At that time man has to summon up great strength. If he yields to weakness then, grief will overwhelm him, will altogether ruin him.

Nothing can bar the progress of what God intends to make successful. Unless one passes through the school of adversity, one cannot properly be called a man. We learn much from our troubles.

You should not lose heart in adversity. Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas, prayed to Sri Krishna to beset her with adversities, since in adversity alone is He more frequently remembered!
----

== 10 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Teachings of the Direct Disciples ===

==== Advice ====
Now regarding advice: in a general way we all believe in giving advice; but applying the giving of advice to our daily lives is a very complex and puzzling affair. Indiscriminate advice never brings the desired result in many cases, it brings just the opposite result.

So, we try to give advice only when we care about the person and when we think our words will carry some weight. In the case of someone who is stubborn and very near and dear to us and who, due to his lack of experience is in imminent danger of being harmed by an insincere person, we must take the risk of being disbelieved and misunderstood and offer the advice and then leave the matter in the hands of the Lord.

==== Aim ====
The most important aim in spiritual life is the attainment of God's grace. The breeze of grace is always blowing; unfurl your sails. Give up worldly enjoyments and completely resign yourself to the Lord. You cannot love God and the world at the same time. If you want God, shun temporal pleasures. Ask yourself: '''What is it I want? Do I want this fleeting life of transient pleasures, or do I want the eternal bliss of everlasting life?''<nowiki/>' You must never forget the aim of life.

You have to consider spiritual practice the chief aim of your lives, as for the other work and activities, lectures, discourses, and so on—they are but secondary.

It is very easy to expand activities and gain fame; the really difficult task is to spend one's whole life in a continuous stream of hard spiritual practices for the sole aim of God-realization.

The chief aim of life is the realization of God. That does not depend on any particular locality.

Whatever, like reading and writing you may be at, keep it in mind that the realization of God alone is the aim of life.

Your good actions contribute to make you more and more spiritual, while the bad ones go to drag you down to samsara and prevent your freeing the soul from the bondage of birth and death. To obtain that freedom is and ought to be the one aim of your having taken birth as a human being.

What we should aim for is to remain unselfish ourselves, even though the world is selfish.

Have one aim in life, namely to know Mother.

To realise God is the aim of every human being whether he knows it or not.

Be truthful and good and have no sensual desires. Let this be your end and aim.

We must not cease to strive for the highest even though it seems unattainable. We must keep God as our ideal and aim; that will pull us on. If a man aims at the sky, at least he may strike the top of a tree. If he aims at the top of the tree, he may not get above ground.

Human nature is all the same, dresses differ. One man may wear a coat and trousers. I may wear this one simple cloth; but underneath, the nature is all the same. What is there in dress? Naked I came out of my mother's womb and naked I shall have to go away, but behind all dress, all ceremonies and religious rites is this one idea—to realize God. Hindus, Jains, Christians, Buddhists, Mohammedans all agree in this. To realize God is the aim of religion.

The four kinds of spiritual practices Jnana, Yoga, Karma, and Bhakti are meant for four classes of men. But the aim is the same—to kill the lower Self.

The aim of the scriptures is to teach people how to develop the spirit of renunciation in life. To know Him, to be united with Him by prayer and meditation, is the noblest aim and aspiration of life.

You are to watch whether your love for God is increasing day by day. This must be your aspiration and aim.

Try to cultivate pure and whole-hearted love for God. That should be the aim of your life.

== 11 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Spiritual Talks By Swami Turiyananda''' ===
7th June, 1915

Swami S: "One may have any amount of Samadhi and Dhyana (spiritual concentration and meditation), but one must never forget to love Him. What is the use of this life if one does not love Him?"

Swami: "Yes, one is bound to admit that 'when one feels oneself as body, one must consider oneself as the servant of the Lord; when one thinks oneself as the Jiva, the individualized soul, one must consider oneself as a part of Him; and when one feels oneself as the Atman (Self), one is the same as the Lord Himself.

"How can a man who runs for a remedy at the slightest suffering, refuse to submit to the Lord?"

(The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna was being read.)

The Swami observed:

"Dakshineswar was in those days as divine and blissful as Kailasa. From morning till one in the afternoon, all were busy preparing for the worship of the Deities and then worshipping them; while Sri Ramakrishna himself was always talking about God, and people sat spell-bound listening to him." The atmosphere vibrated with thoughts of God. Even his jokes and funs related to God and culminated in Samadhi. He would rest after the midday meal, but only for a short while. The rest of his day was given to discoursing about God. In the evening he would visit the Kali temple and there fan the Mother, then return to his room reeling under divine intoxication. He would often ask those who practised Sadhana if they felt a kind of intoxication in the morning and evening.

At night there was scarcely any sleep for him. No sooner had he lain down than he would get up and rouse all who slept in his room, saying, 'Do not sleep so much. Get up and meditate.' He would then lie down again and get up by early dawn and recite the names of God in his inimitable sweet voice. Others also would get up and sit down to Japa and meditation. Now and then he would go up to them and correct their postures."
----

== 12 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Spiritual Talks By Swami Turiyananda''' ===
10th June

Swami: "In order to realize the Self, you have to scale the highest peak of renunciation."

11th June

Swami: "Is it easy to detach the mind from all objects? Only a hero can do that. The external objects are ever trying to enter into your mind and conquer you. In the mind itself there are many layers, one upon another. It is no use merely closing the eyes and ears."

Swami: "X wants to finish studying Raja Yoga quickly. But we poured out our very life in this quest. We have been doing this ever since our childhood. Yet even now the mind has not been purified. There are still attachment and hatred in it... O Lord, make me the servant of the servant of Thy servant!

Egotism is no good; it is extremely pernicious. Egotism is like drinking wine, it leads astray the senses. The Master used to say that water accumulates only in a low land. Only in humility the good qualities of the mind and heart become manifest. Pride always holds the head high. That which is elastic and unbreakable like steel, that indeed is strength. He alone is strong, who can live in harmony with different natures in a spirit of amicable compromise.

"Make yourself for ever His, then there will be no more fear. Swamiji (Vivekananda) used to say, 'Since you have been born on earth, leave a lasting mark on it.'

At the Baranagore Math he said, 'Let me tell you, our names will be recorded in history.' Swami Yogananda ridiculed him.

But Swamiji replied: 'Well, well, you will see. I can convince everyone of the truths of Vedanta. If you will not listen to me, I shall go to the Pariah villages and teach Vedanta to the villagers.'

"If you want to preach, you must also give something. Preaching is not merely lecturing to a class or explaining a book. You have to give them something. Therefore you must accumulate spirituality beforehand... And never pride yourself on your having gained control over the passions. If you do, they will at once raise their heads. Ever pray to him, 'O Lord, save me from them.'"
----

== 13 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Spiritual Talks By Swami Turiyananda''' ===
"There are several obstructions to concentration: Laya, Vikshepa, Kashaya, Rasasvada. Laya is the mind being overcome by Tamas (inertia)—the mind falls asleep and loses consciousness. Most aspirants are held down by Laya. Vikshepa is the scattering of the mind on multifarious objects. Kashaya is finding meditation distasteful—one feels disinclined to meditate. But one must still persist. Rasasvada is the mind being fascinated by the vision of divine forms and refusing to ascend higher. Passions will last so long as the body lasts. But through His grace they cannot raise their heads."

15th June

Swami: "It is no good merely working. Work is drudgery if there is no spiritual feeling behind it."

16th June

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna was read. In one passage Sri Ramakrishna was mentioned as saying: "It is not true that He can be realized through work. But through unselfish work grows the eager longing to realize Him. This eager longing draws down His grace and then man realizes Him."

Apropos of this, the Swami said:

"A little casual reading of the scriptures and a little meditation are not enough to realize the Lord. You must yearn to see Him. The heart must pant and pine for Him. The Master said to us: 'It is because I had such intense longing for the Mother that She gave me every convenience—She gave me this Kali Temple and Mathur Babu.'

If there is sincere longing for God, everything becomes favourable. "There is no other way than Bhakti."

Swami S: "Quite true. Meditate on His lotus-feet; the senses will withdraw of themselves and the mind will lose itself in Him. Ramprasad says in a song that devotion is at the root of all spiritual achievements.

Ramprasad was in a sense the ideal of Sri Ramakrishna. The Master used to say: 'Mother, Thou hast revealed Thyself to Ramprasad; why shouldst Thou not to me?' The Master's teaching is Bhakti tempered with Jnana."
----

== 14 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Spiritual Talks By Swami Turiyananda''' ===
20th June

Swami: "'When will that day come when the very utterance of the name of God will bring tears to my eyes?' (To the disciple) Do you cry when you take His name? Ah, what a supernal condition! Just consider!—The very utterance of His name makes you cry!"

Swami S.: "When I first used to go to the Master, I would often feel inclined to cry. One night I cried much on the riverside near the bakul tree. Just at that time the Master in his room was enquiring where I had gone. When I returned to him, he asked me to sit down and said: 'The Lord is greatly pleased if one cries to Him. The tears of love wash away all mental impurities accumulated through ages. It is very good to cry to God.'

"Another day I was meditating in the Panchavati grove. My concentration became very deep. Just then the Master came towards me from the side of the jhav tree. As soon as he looked at me, I burst into tears.

The Master stood still. I felt something creeping up inside my bosom and I was overcome by an irrepressible fit of shaking. The Master remarked that this crying was not for nothing, it was a sort of ecstasy. I then followed him to his room where he gave me something to eat. The awakening of the Kundalini was an easy matter for him. He could do this even without touching, by merely standing near by."

21st June

Swami: "Man is trying hard to make himself happy. But nothing succeeds unless God wills it. Freedom can be realized in two ways, by identifying oneself with Him and by living in eternal self-surrender to Him. There can be no freedom of will away from Him.

"Reliance on one's apparent self leads to ruin. To presume to be all-knowing is extremely harmful. Self-reliance or self-confidence means faith in the Higher Self. To persist in remaining what one already is or in holding on to one's preconceived opinions at any cost—such self-importance is bad."

22nd June

Swami: "One must have the capacity to love. Oh, how madly we used to love in our boyhood! I loved my brothers so much that the thought of renouncing them to become a Sannyasin, used to make me cry. But afterwards the Master snapped these ties one by one.

He once asked S.: 'Whom do you love?'

S. said: 'I do not love anyone.'

'Oh, you dry fellow!' the Master remarked."
----

== 15 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

'''Spiritual Talks By Swami Turiyananda'''

Swami: "You can never be emancipated by adoring a man as man—you must look upon him as God. However great he may be in spiritual wisdom and dispassionateness. However highly endowed he may be with spiritual powers, the worship of man will not give you liberation, if you do not perceive him as God Himself. Without such a consciousness, his worship may serve to communicate to you his spiritual qualities and powers, but nothing more.

If you worship a Divine Incarnation, knowing him as such or not, he will surely grant you God-realization. Sisupala attained God-realization even by hating Sri Krishna. The Gopis realized God even though they considered Sri Krishna as only their lover. A Gopi was shut up in her room by her husband. Her intense anguish at being separated from Sri Krishna destroyed her sins; and the joy she felt by meditating on him destroyed her religious merits (Punya); and she was liberated."

Disciple: "But we are told that when devotion grows intense, one forgets the Divine majesties of God."

Swami: "That is after the devotee has realized God. He then carefully obliterates all consciousness of Divine powers in order to be able to approach Him closer and closer.

The Gopis were not ordinary human beings. Theirs were spiritual bodies.

Continence is essential for Divine realization. If one can maintain Brahmacharya for twenty-eight years, one will realize Bhakti, Jnana, everything.

Lust is called Manasija, 'born in the mind'. Only a hero can conquer the senses and go beyond them to the super-conscious planes.

"I do not agree with you if you consider stubbornness as strength. Stubbornness is a cloak for weakness. The weak put it on in order to hide their weakness. Real strength knows how to bend and yet regain its true position."
----

== 16 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Spiritual Talks By Swami Turiyananda''' ===
26th June

Swami: "Swami P. has written: 'We are not living on the plane of surmise, but of actual perception.'... We must remember from time to time why we renounced the world and test ourselves if we are really progressing towards the goal."

27th June

Swami: "His (Sri Ramakrishna's) initiation was no ordinary thing—he would wake up spiritual consciousness at once. He would write some characters on the tongue and the disciple would feel something heaving up, wave after wave, within his chest.

He asked me if I would like to have Abhisheka (Tantrik initiation).

I said, 'I do not know.'

'Then you need not have it,' he replied. Once when I was returning from the Kali temple, after saluting the Mother, he said about me, 'His "home" is that high Power from which proceed name and form.'

"I felt an intense longing for liberation. I wanted very much to realize God even in this very life."

28th June

Swami: "We have seen with our own eyes and heard with our own ears. The tremendous enthusiasm of Swami Vivekananda for God-realization used to dumbfound us and make us despair of ourselves, in spite of all encouragement and assurance from the Master. And we would think that this life would go in vain, without realizing God. But at last favourable days came through the grace of the Master.

"You will be struck dumb with wonder if I tell you the story of Swami Vivekananda's wandering days—the life of extreme renunciation he then lived. Once in those days he wrote to me that he was passing his days 'like the crows, feeding himself—devoid of self-respect—at the house of others in great fear.'"
----

== 17 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON ANGER ====
But no effort is wasted. Lust, greed, anger, all gradually leave a man who practices spiritual disciplines.

Anger is controlled through patience. Be patient, forbearing, and humble.

Sri Ramakrishna used to say: "He who can forbear, lives. He who cannot, is lost."

He used to say that the power of the mind becomes strengthened by the practice of continence. A man so strengthened is not overcome by lust and anger. Passions seem trivial to it.

Meditation is possible, if you can keep lust, anger, and all other passions under control. If any of them grows strong, you cannot have meditation.

Have faith, have self-confidence. Convince yourself, "We are devotees of Sri Ramakrishna. We are free souls. Assuredly we shall realize God." Have this firm conviction, and then alone you can overcome the furious enemies, lust and anger and greed.

Those who have faith in God cannot be harmed by lust and anger, though these may arise occasionally.

You desire to follow the path of renunciation. Naturally your relatives will not like it and they will try to dissuade you. Nevertheless you must not be angry with them, nor should you speak harshly to them. If you want to be a holy man, learn to bear and forbear.

If there is concentration on any single object, there the idea of God manifests itself. Lust, anger, fear, affection—any of these may bring about concentration... anger—as with Kamsa.

Anger is a concentrated form of lust. It makes one lose one's head completely. Lust does not so absolutely overwhelm the mind.

Lust, anger, and avarice—these are but different forms of the same thing. They are the eternal enemies of the Jnani, and destroyers of knowledge and wisdom. Join the senses to the Lord. That is the way to teach the senses a lesson.

With the gradual increase of love for God, lust, anger, etc. wane out.

I do not get angry. But I use the semblance of anger for a purpose. He is a fool who cannot get angry, he is a wise man who will not. Try to be one with all.

Never antagonize. In the degree that you do, you are not feeling oneness. If anyone says anything against you, never get angry or resist it. Analyse carefully and see if it is true. If it is true, correct it. If it is not true, then what is that to you? "Whose is the gift if the one to whom it is offered does not accept it?" [Buddha].

Whenever he saw somebody angry Sri Ramakrishna would say: "Don't touch him. He has become an untouchable. If you touch him, you will have to bathe to purify yourself again." It is a waste of energy, a fruitless endeavour, to try to calm a person who has lost his temper. It works better if you talk to him when he has regained his composure.

Realise the idea that you are the witness of the mind. Lust, anger, and other deadly enemies are the attributes of the mind, and so they cannot touch the soul. Raise your mind to the Ajna Chakra centre between the eyebrows, and ponder over the truth that lust, anger, and the rest are not the attributes of the soul. Meditate on this idea.

Hatred and anger are signs of ego. If a man hates anyone or gets angry with anyone, you may be sure he has not conquered his ego and cannot feel true love in his heart.

And what can mere sitting quiet do? For I find you getting irritated at the slightest provocation; your mind is full of anger. Can that be the result of long meditation in the shrine? The Master used to say that attainment of perfection means becoming gentle.

Maintain your equanimity under all circumstances.

The whole mind is packed with anger and passion. Weep and pray! How piteously they cry for their children and wives! But how few cry for the Lord?

Suppose, for instance, that when you come down from the shrine, I do not speak to you affably a single word that you like, and so you become angry. Now if this be so, what good is it that you sat in the shrine for such a long time?

(Swamiji used to say, "During group singing the emotion may be aroused and he may fall down in a trance; but when that is over, his mind turns to enjoyment. What kind of trance is that?" Swamiji was very much against such emotionalism.)

As you think, so you become. As thoughts of love help in expanding the self, so do thoughts of anger and jealousy lead to its contraction.

Unless one can restrain one's passion, anger, etc. it is impossible to get anywhere near God.

If you want to control your passion, anger, etc., you have to meditate on the Master and the Holy Mother and you will then be free from all degrading thoughts.
----

== 18 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON ANXIETY ====

===== '''By Swami Shivananda''' =====
Sorrow, bereavement, pain and anguish—this is what the world consists of. Real joy or peace is very rare in this world, and this round of birth and death that is ours, no one can know.

Hari Maharaj (Swami Turiyananda) used to say: "The body knows its pain; O my mind, be at peace!" What a beautiful statement! Pain and anguish belong to the body. He who dwells within the body is not affected by them: He is Bliss itself.

There is no need to be anxious about it. Whatever be the Lord's pleasure is definitely for the good of all.

===== '''By Swami Premananda''' =====
Throw away all fear and anxiety. Think, "We are the children of God," then weakness will find no loophole to creep in.

Away with all quarrels and factions. We have come here for only a very short time; why such anxiety for tidying things up? Let others do as they like.

Fear, worries, and anxieties dwell where there are hypocrisy, evil motives, and selfishness.

===== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' =====
Just see! Our God is only a verbal affair. A little meditation, a little Japa—this is a poor sort of life. The heart must burst hungering for Him. An intense anguish must fill it and life should seem to go out without Him—only then it will be right.

A sea is no more than a mud-puddle when you have crossed it. All anxiety and trouble are at the initial stage.

===== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' =====
Actually very few of us believe in God all the time. How do we know this? Because we allow anxieties and fears to arise in our minds. All your anxieties and worries come from egotism and selfishness. Let go your little self and they will disappear.

When worries and perplexities rise in our mind it shows we have ceased to believe in God and in that He is caring for us. If we have real faith in God, we can never grow anxious.

Blessed is the man who has faith. He is the happiest of all men because he is free from all anxiety.

You should not be anxious of the future. Whatever takes place here, on this earth, is for our good, for all things are disposed by God. In the meantime, it should be our duty to be dutiful.

It is through sheer ignorance that we bring on ourselves all sorts of groundless anxieties. To work you have the right, but not the fruits thereof. The leader should be a man having not the least egoism. Not "I" but "Thou"—this should be his motto. Remember this and go on working and you are sure to come out victorious. Do not try to have everything done all at once.
----

== 19 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON ARGUMENT ====
It is excellent to see only the good. From a pile of mixed sand and sugar, the ant extracts only the sugar. What do we have to do with quarrels and disputes?

===== '''By Swami Premananda''' =====
Don't argue unnecessarily just to prove your point. It ruins the spiritual atmosphere. Let people do whatever they like; you should live according to your own ideal.

===== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' =====
Once, while I was at Belur, a gentleman came and expressed his regret that we had not married and had renounced the world. By all sorts of arguments, he demonstrated that our supreme Guru Shiva was also married.

Owing to ignorance, man tries to support his views with numerous intellectual arguments, and the result is philosophizing. But he gets over all these, once he is blessed with true insight.

The Master used to say, "The world is a bad place, and you should renounce it." There was no argument behind it, because he knew that no one can get over his unhappiness without renouncing the world. Once it is realized that a thing is bad, the best thing is to discard it, there is no question of arguing about it.

You better leave these debates and arguments alone. We have got a brain of very limited capacity; and for realizing God, all this hair-splitting is of no use. What you require is burning faith in Him. In order to be firmly established in that faith, you may raise one or two valid points, but nothing more. Our arguments are just like armchair discussions; they lead us nowhere.

We argue about God and then go home and lie down in bed. That is not religion, and it does not contribute to peace of mind.

Faith is the foundation of spiritual life. Too much of argumentation is of no avail. In order to be firmly established in that faith, you may raise one or two valid points, but nothing more. Unless you have faith, arguments and discussions will only cloud the issue and create confusion.

===== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' =====

==== ON ATTACHMENT ====

===== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' =====
Do your duties conscientiously, and without attachment. Always remember that you are an instrument in the hands of God and that God himself is the only doer.

Sri Ramakrishna used to say that a man will surely attain God if he possesses in an intense degree three kinds of love—the love a chaste wife feels toward her husband, the attraction of the worldly man for the world, and the attachment the miser feels toward his hoarded wealth. This means that the mind must be one-pointed and completely free of all desires but the desire to know God.

If you can perform every action as worship of the Lord, then only will you like to work and feel no attachment to the fruits of your actions.

Without divine attachment and divine love the mind becomes dry and restless.

[To the question: "Holy sir, we are worldly people. We have so many attachments and are confronted by so many obstacles. What are we to do?"]

Pray to the Lord! Talk to him!
----

== 20 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON ATTACHMENT ====
What counts is not the mere renunciation of external attachments; inner attachments must also be given up.

Do not be attached, my child. Lust and gold destroy the manhood of man.

You have to do His work without any attachment. Know it for certain that, if one goes on performing one's duties under the sincere belief that one is doing God's work, one can never suffer spiritually. God protects such a one for ever.

As a result of association with the holy, one reaches the state of being freed from all worldly attachments. All wants and desires are then destroyed root and branch, and one feels the nearness of God.

This process of evolution and involution is only another form of the twin forces of attraction or attachment and repulsion or dispassion. It is because of attraction or attachment that souls are drawn to this world, coming back and forth and playing their different embodied roles.

On account of holy association one attains the most covetable state of desirelessness. It destroys attachments at their very roots and brings one very close to God.

Look here. Nothing will accrue to you if you do not have right and proper attachment, affection and love for the Master.

===== '''By Swami Premananda''' =====
To love the devotees of the Lord brings no attachment, it creates no bondage.

Attachment is bondage; yet again, attachment opens the door to liberation to one who becomes attached to God or the guru or to illumined souls.

One must have true Nishta—steadfast, whole-hearted devotion and attachment to that aspect of God which one has chosen to realize. But let that not produce repulsion for the other aspects.

===== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' =====
[To the question: "How to know whether one is progressing towards Him or not?"]

One can know it oneself. Others also can know it. All his passions, lust, anger and greed will wane, his attachment for the objects of the senses will diminish, and he will have peace at heart.

If there be a hole of attachment in the mind, the result of Japa will run out through it.

Nag Mahashaya said to me, "Bless my father that he may have true devotion to God." "He has already got it," I replied, "He is constantly repeating the name of God. What more do you want?"

Nag Mahashaya rejoined, "What is the use of rowing a boat which is at anchor? My father is much attached to me. What good will his Japa do?"

"If he is not to love a son like you, whom else should he love?" said I.

"Don't say so, don't say so," he cried out, "only bless that he may lose all attachment for me."

Death is no more terrible when there is no attachment. One must keep out attachment. All the trouble is due to love being centred on specific objects. When you dive into the Ganges you don't feel any weight, although there are tons of water overhead. But one feels so burdened when one places a pot of water on one's head! Even the spine may give way.

Attachment to the body is the last and strongest bondage. The parental affection of monkeys is very great. The mother carries the dead body of her young one even after the flesh has dropped off and the skeleton alone is left. But even they, as all other animals, forget everything about their young ones when their own life is at stake.

Even the least attachment for anything gives the mind a loop-hole to direct you as it pleases. You become a slave to it, which is not the case if you are unattached.

Lust, attachment, and the like are one and the same thing, varying only in intensity. One must turn the mind away before it gets attached to any object. Otherwise it becomes an impossible task afterwards.

Never think of transient things. That way you can escape attachment.

The common man takes to those activities which tend to perpetuate the bond of attachment. And this is true of the whole world. The only exceptions are the monks, who have found out the evanescence of the world and renounced it.

Attachment and aversion are at the root of all evil. Hence the injunction to relinquish them. For, free of them, one can do with impunity whatever one likes.

Attachment is made up of the ideas of "me" and "mine."

They are fearless because they are unattached. When Mother is known, attachment goes. The world then becomes so small, so insignificant—just a little mud puddle.
----

== 21 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON ATTACHMENT ====
That mind which is attached to more than one thing can never reach the goal. Learn to see God in everything about you. Smear God over everything, and your mind will think of Him alone.

Attachments are troublemakers; they fasten the mind with a noose, as it were, and drag it in all directions.

Be attached to no one but God. Only if you hold onto God will your life be meaningful.

What one seeks, that one gets. You have got what you wanted. When you really hanker after God, He will raise your mind from things of the world and grant you His vision. But as long as you are attached to the world and are strongly inclined to the things of the world can you yearn for the Lord with all your heart?

If you have the power to go inside yourself, then you have conquered the whole Universe. To go inside oneself means to go away from earthly attachments that hold you down like a captive balloon.

If there is a strong attachment for God and a burning desire to realize Him, all other attractions will drop off.

First, you have to attain knowledge. After attaining knowledge when one returns to this world of diversity, one will see everything as before but will no longer be attached to anything in it. Before realizing the illusion one hopes for water in a mirage, but when one realizes its nature, though one may be seeing the mirage, one no longer expects any water in it. So also, though the world of diversity would still have to be experienced after knowledge, yet one no longer takes it to be real and so has no longer any attachment for it.

When, therefore, our entire existence depends on Him, why should we form an attachment for worldly things?

Worldly attachments draw people away from God and scorch them in the wildfire of the world.

== 22 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Body ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
Give your body and mind to worldly enjoyments, and the world will destroy them both. Devote them to God and his service, and you will enjoy bodily health, peace of mind, and spiritual joy.

It is good to laugh every day. It relaxes the body and the mind.

God is greatly manifest in the human body. Try to understand this truth.

The body is the temple of God, and one should practice worship and meditation within it. Though temples may serve as aids to the beginner, they are but symbols of God's greatest of all temples, the human heart.

To nourish the body, mind, and brain, and to secure their fullest development, continence is essential.

The body and mind are closely related. When the body is disturbed, the mind also becomes disturbed. Therefore, particular care must be given to the diet in order to keep the body healthy.

Consider the body as the temple and see the Lord installed therein.

The mind is intimately related to the body. If the stomach is upset, you can never have good meditation. Hence it is that there are so many restrictions about food.

"The stomach should be half filled with food and a quarter with water, the other quarter being left vacant for passage of air."

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
One must have regular physical exercise every day. Our scriptures say, "A good physique is the first requisite of spirituality." For spiritual advancement one must first make the body strong.

Unless the body is sufficiently strong, it would not be able to stand the reaction of a deep spiritual experience. A mental derangement or a total physical breakdown may result.

Pain and anguish belong to the body. He who dwells within the body is not affected by them. He is Bliss itself. He dwells within everybody.

My child, the body is short-lived but the Spirit is eternal, and the relationship with the Spirit is also eternal. However much you may try, this body cannot last always. Man suffers so much by ignorantly identifying himself with the body. Do you know the way out?

The way out is to know Him. He is Purity, Knowledge and Freedom itself. He is the Indwelling Spirit of all. By knowing Him, man goes beyond pain and sorrow.

The body has to die one day or another; not a single body is immortal. It is as sure as anything that this body made of the different elements will again disintegrate into them. Hence take refuge in the Lord who is the eternal Truth, the everlasting, unchanging, conscious Self of every being.

You may well avoid those things [foods] that excite the nerves too much. Food is not meant for the mere gratification of the sense of taste. It is meant for the maintenance of the body, and the maintenance of the body is meant for God-realization.

This body will have to follow the natural six changes—namely, be born, exist, grow, be transformed, get worn out, and die. So, what is the sense in worrying about it?

Unless our body is kept in equilibrium, we cannot concentrate our mind on our Ishta Devata. So, we should take such food as suits our constitution.
----

== 23 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Attraction ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
Sri Ramakrishna used to say that a man will surely attain God if he possesses in an intense degree three kinds of love—the love a chaste wife feels toward her husband, the attraction of the worldly man for the world, and the attachment the miser feels toward his hoarded wealth.

==== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' ====
The attraction towards the world means egotism, attraction towards God means self-surrender.

Religion begins when attraction towards God is greater than attraction towards the world.

Religion begins with attraction to God, and no soul will ever find real satisfaction until it has reached God.

=== Austerity ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
It is easy to practice austerity by not allowing the mind to come into contact with sense-objects, but it is hard to get rid of the mental craving itself.

In this age there is no way other than that of taking shelter at His feet. In the Iron Age, man's span of life is short. And within this short span of life one has to attain Him. There is no time for severe austerities as in olden days.

What is austerity? It is to direct the mind toward God in order to taste divine bliss. In this age it is not necessary to practice physical austerities, such as standing on your head. The path in this age is to create the desire to chant the Lord's name, to be compassionate toward all beings, and to serve holy men.

A little physical austerity also is good sometimes. For instance, on the day of the new moon, or on the eleventh day after the new or the full moon, eat only one meal.

You must practice severe austerities, but by this I do not mean physical austerities, or the torture of the body. Real austerity consists in the control of the passions. Passion must never be allowed to raise its head. But remember, religion is not for the eunuch, nor for the one who maims his body.

[Body austerities] are not real austerities. Anyone can practice them. The body is easily controlled, but it is another matter to control the mind. It is very difficult to renounce lust and greed, to give up the desire for name and fame.

Real austerity is based upon these three principles: First, take refuge in the truth. Truth is the pillar to which you must always hold while performing any action. Second, conquer lust. Third, renounce all cravings. Observe these three principles. That is real austerity, and the greatest of these is to conquer lust.

Do you think that there is any fixed catalogued price of so much austerity, so much japam, so much charity, etc., for God-realization?

None can force realization of Him! But, if you don't keep up a regular spiritual struggle, you will not be able to hold It, when It comes.

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
It is not possible for everyone to practise hard austerities, but then through prayer everything is attained.

How can one stand the strain of austerities and spiritual disciplines without a good physique? You are young, you should take regular physical exercise. You do not have to be champion athletes, but you should exercise for good health.

Yes, spiritual exercises are very necessary, and so also are austerities. The only means of keeping the course of one's life directed towards God is spiritual effort. But why should one think that this spiritual struggle and austerity can have only one form?

Look here, for instance: what suffering you undergo, and what a fight you have to wage against adverse circumstances, to carry on God's work. This too is a kind of austerity and spiritual struggle. The one idea that you always have to keep burning in your heart is that whatever you do is for His sake, for His service—nothing for yourselves.

Maharaj (Swami Brahmananda) also used to say that it is not at all safe for a monk to live a solitary life in the early stages; he should have at least one companion.

Does austerity mean merely moving about in places like Rishikesh, Uttarkashi, and such other hill and forest regions?

Being indifferent to praise and blame, honour and dishonour, and happiness and sorrow, and with the mind fixed on God alone, being immersed in meditation and prayer—this is what is called austerity. Mere self-mortification on the bodily plane is not austerity.

==== '''By Swami Premananda''' ====
Austerity means making the lips correspond with the heart.

Man achieves greatness, large-heartedness, and guilelessness by the tapasya [practice of austerity] of many births and only through the grace of God.

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
Even if a single organ remains uncontrolled, all austerities, all efforts after spirituality become useless even as when there is a single hole in a pitcher; all the water escapes through that.

"If the Lord is ever present inside and outside, then with what object should you undergo austerities? And if He be not inside and outside, of what avail are these austerities?" In other words, we must go through them betaking ourselves to God.

==== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' ====
You will have to discriminate between the real and the unreal. To keep one's discrimination alert is a great austerity.

==== '''By Swami Abhedananda''' ====
If you desire to have firm and unshakeable faith and devotion to the Lord, you should also take to Tapasya, hard austerities. Tapasya does not mean aimless wandering hither and thither, it really means regular steadfast Japa, meditation, and self-control.

Vedanta cannot be understood except through austerities.

==== '''By Swami Saradananda''' ====
The more you practice austerities and meditation, the more you will enjoy the blessings of God. Without practice nothing can be achieved.

==== '''By Swami Akhandananda''' ====
It is not an easy task you have taken up. How much of renunciation and service and Tapasya austerity is involved in this work! This is real Sadhana. In the morning you come here after a bare meal. Others enjoy a full meal at noon—this is renunciation. Then you have to stay seated in this small room—this is Tapasya. Then again from the books sold here, people are getting the ideas of our Master and Swamiji. It is through your hands that they are reaching the people. This is a great service to the Master. Do you think that only the service done in the shrine is service to him?
----

== 24 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Aversion ===

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
Attachment and aversion are at the root of all evil. Hence the injunction to relinquish them. For, free of them, one can do with impunity whatever one likes.

They say that a devotee always beholds the Lord. It is quite true. In the Bible it is written: "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath." All this is very true.

=== Bliss ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
Be up and doing! Waste no more time. The senses now are strong, and must be kept under control. This is a difficult task, no doubt, but if you practice meditation continuously for seven or eight years you will find peace and bliss, and enjoy the fruits of your practices. Even after one year of steady practice you will find some result.

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
Pain and anguish belong to the body. He who dwells within the body is not affected by them: He is Bliss itself. He dwells within everybody. Everyone is in essence That.

Repeat God's name, meditate on Him, and pray to Him from the bottom of your heart; then only you will have bliss.

When one goes on repeating the name of the chosen Deity with intense love, one becomes gradually filled with an ineffable bliss. When that bliss becomes continuous, it is also a kind of meditation. Meditations are of various kinds. Go on meditating on the blessed, effulgent form of the Lord with the greatest love, and imagine that every recess of your heart shines with the light emanating from His form.

As you go on thinking thus, you will feel that your whole being becomes suffused with inexpressible joy. Gradually the form also will get dissolved, and you will have the feeling of a kind of bliss associated with consciousness.

All doubts have their lodgement in things outside. The more the mind becomes indrawn, and the more it approaches the innermost core, the more free it becomes from doubts. Then pure bliss reigns supreme; the mind becomes suffused with divine love.

Yoga and bhoga—union with God and sense-enjoyment—cannot go together. One cannot get any taste of the bliss of Brahman unless one gives up the happiness of this world.

You have to spend your time in meditating on Him, repetition of His name, recollection of Him, reading about Him, reflecting on Him, and prayer to Him. Then only will you get real bliss and peace in life, and your taking refuge in Him will be fruitful.

Realize God through spiritual practices even in this life, and be free even while in this body. Call on Him with the utmost earnestness; repeat His name with all sincerity; and get absorbed in Him through and through. Then you will enjoy the bliss that belongs to one who is free even while in this body.

He is full of love, full of bliss; the more you can think of Him, the more blissful you will be.

When the ideas of time and space are eliminated then all that remains is Bliss alone—Existence-Consciousness-Bliss intensified.

When the mind transcends names and forms you come to the acme of realization; then everything is full of Bliss, everything is full of Consciousness.

As the activity outside diminishes, the activity inside increases. For the mine of the supreme Bliss is nowhere else but within.

All work is the Master's work. If you but comprehend this firmly well, that itself will keep you in bliss.
----

== 25 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Body ===

==== '''By Swami Premananda''' ====
Pay some special attention to the body. Regularity in bathing, eating, and so on is desirable.

To see the Lila of the Lord in a human body is a very exalted state.

He who has received initiation has his body purified.

The root cause of all desire is the ego and our identity with the physical body.

Remember your body is not made for personal pleasure or enjoyment. It is for the purpose of spreading devotion, knowledge, ecstasy, and rapturous revelations that were expressed through Sri Ramakrishna.

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
If you feel that all pain and suffering are of the body, not your own, and that you are separate from the body, only then are you right.

Let the pain know and the body know, but you, oh my mind, remain forever in bliss!

Please know that one's own body too is included in one's "world."

Yes, one is bound to admit that when one feels oneself as body, one must consider oneself as the servant of the Lord.

It is in the human body that the gates to Freedom open. So every man should be on his guard to make a good use of his life. Enjoyment is possible in other bodies also, but freedom is not.

Attachment to the body is the last and strongest bondage.

The great elements, egoism, intellect, and also the unmanifested, the ten senses, desire, aversion, pleasure, pain, the body, consciousness, fortitude—these, briefly described, constitute the Kshetra [lit., field] and its modifications. The Kshetrajna, the soul alone is real, and its reality makes the Kshetra—the body, mind, etc., appear as real.

[To the question, "Is it not our duty to keep our body healthy?"]

Yes, but from the highest standpoint body itself is the great disease. We want to go beyond the idea of body and to realize that we are the Atman. It is the love for our body that stands in the way to our realization of that higher state where we can say: "I am not this body, I am the Atman, the body is an illusion." As long as we love the body we cannot realise the Soul and we shall be born again and again. But when we love the Atman then we become indifferent towards the body and when all love for the body goes, liberation will come very soon.

This is just the way the body is—all right today and ill the next day. After all, it can only move toward its destruction. One's body is not eternal; one day or another it has to go. So why all the fuss?

After all, whatever the Divine Mother wishes, that alone will be done. Let the body undergo whatever it has to undergo.
----

== 26 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Bondage ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
You have embraced the monastic life, renouncing everything. It does not become you to try to exercise authority over others. That brings great bondage. Whatever you do, know that it is the Lord's work you are doing.

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
The Gita lays stress on personal effort. "The self must be raised by the self, so let no one weaken this self. For this self is the friend of oneself and this self is the enemy of oneself." One has to liberate oneself from bondage, one should never be despondent.

Sri Ramakrishna is God Himself; he is the very Self of all creatures. Once you can realize him, your worldly bondage will be cut asunder forever; you will not have to undergo the round of birth and death any more.

Is Samadhi such an easy thing? When that most excellent and unequalled Para Brahman, the Supreme Reality is beheld as Self, all the bondages of the heart of the seer, such as inherited ignorance, etc., are rent asunder, all doubts get resolved and the store of accumulated Karma wears out.

==== '''By Swami Premananda''' ====
Do you know of what this net of Maya is comprised? Sense objects, lust, gold, name, fame, ego, vanity, selfishness, and so on. With all these, Maya binds the mind of man. Come out of this net, and the mind will run straight to God. All bondage is in the mind. All freedom is in the mind.

The Lord does his own work. You be the instrument. If the idea that "I am the doer" gets hold of a person, it will be the cause of bondage; and no permanent good ever comes out of such deeds.

Don't think of the work you do as a task at all; try to do it in an unselfish way, not seeking for the results. That will break bondage. The self-same medicine will give different results, according to the type of ingredients taken with it. Thus work is in one sense a bondage; yet if it can be done in a detached way, in a spirit of dedication to God, that same work will give you devotion and liberation. Confusion will arise and bondage results if you keep your eye on name, fame, or some other worldly objective.

Everyone is good; only the little ego is bad. Shun this and you will be freed from all bondages.

Nobody seeks any remedy until he knows he is sick. When a man feels that he is diseased, then he calls for a doctor and follows his advice. If you feel that life in the world is a great bondage, and that the world is an abode of misery, there will come distaste for worldly enjoyments and your love for God will increase. You will then be interested in taking the remedy, which is to think of your Chosen Ideal and to repeat his name.

To love the devotees of the Lord brings no attachment, it creates no bondage.

Attachment is bondage; yet again, attachment opens the door to liberation to one who becomes attached to God or the guru or to illumined souls.

Many people think of work as the cause of bondage, but any yoga may be the cause of bondage if it is not followed correctly.

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
When the idea of bondage comes in the mind, then there is bondage; otherwise, who can bind you? You are always free.

Some there are, who are afraid of work and try to avoid it. That makes their bondage and selfishness lasting.

Animals have no conscience, hence they have no merit or demerit. They have obviously got intelligence, but there it ends. Only men can do fresh work, because they have got a conscience. Men only have got the idea of bondage, which other creatures have not. Only when there is the idea of bondage, can there be any real effort for liberation. Don't you see how a prisoner struggles for release? It is only when there is the idea that the world is a bondage, that a man can strive for liberation. His failure to understand this takes him through the endless cycles of births and deaths.

You may love all the beings in the world and be not at all under bondage, but the moment you allow your love to be centred on any special object, you are bound. If you can get rid of these loads, then only can you attain to peace and liberation.

Attachment to the body is the last and strongest bondage. The parental affection of monkeys is very great. The mother carries the dead body of her young one even after the flesh has dropped off and the skeleton alone is left. But even they, as all other animals, forget everything about their young ones when their own life is at stake.

The common man takes to those activities which tend to perpetuate the bond of attachment.

The individual is bound. Like a tethered cow he is free to a certain extent only, not fully. But he is emancipated if he utilizes that limited freedom in a proper way. He does not do it, but rather abuses it in various ways.

Brahman alone is real, everything else is unreal and the human soul is that Brahman. The lion shut up in a cage thinks he is caught, and escape impossible. He does not know that one blow from his mighty paw would demolish the cage and set him free. We are bound by the delusion of ignorance. Tear away the delusion and be free.

Bondage and freedom are both in the mind. Atman is beyond mind.

==== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' ====
Even the result of a good action turns into a bondage if it is done with ego.

==== '''By Swami Abhedananda''' ====
That you are feeling the bondage of the world and finding no peace is in itself a means of progress in the spiritual world.

==== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' ====
All bondage comes to an end when man realizes Him.

==== '''By Swami Akhandananda''' ====
Once a king asked a Sannyasi, "How can the bondage of worldly life be got rid of?" The Sannyasi took the king to the hall of the palace and told him, "Catch hold of the pillar." The king did as he was asked. Then the Sannyasi said, "Let go the pillar."

The king acted accordingly and the Sannyasi remarked, "Thus will the bondage go."
----

== 27 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Book Learning ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
It is as impossible to conquer lust or control the mind by the mere study of books as it is to walk on air.

No scriptures or books can create such pure impressions or transform a man's life as much as contact with an enlightened soul.

Read Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita, "The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna" and similar other books and try to understand their meaning. The more you will read, the newer and deeper will be the import you will discover in them.

But you cannot be as impressed by reading books as by observing holy men.

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
Discussions and perusal of books containing dry arguments will only confuse your head. I should now advise you to read the lives of great Bhaktas who have attained God.

==== '''By Swami Premananda''' ====
It is when His grace descends that infinite knowledge unfolds. Then one no longer cares for the study of the scriptures. Direct knowledge is one thing and "book knowledge" is another. This, however, does not mean that one should give up the study of the scriptures, for as Sri Ramakrishna used to say, "A fan is needed until the spring breeze blows."

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
[Upon finding a student studying a book on New Thought:]

Go to the source. Don't waste your time reading the ideas of every fool who wants to preach religion. There are thousands of books on religion. You cannot read them all. Therefore select the best. Only those who have realized the truth can speak with authority. Otherwise it is the blind leading the blind. Both come to grief; both fall into the ditch.

==== '''By Swami Abhedananda''' ====
Just by reading a book or two on the Vedas, one cannot know their real import.

==== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' ====
Man does not become really wise by reading books written by men, whose earth-bound minds have not the power to soar in the infinite firmament of Truth, whose speculations end in agnosticism, scepticism or atheism, whose moral principles wanting the basis of Eternity are little better than jargon, and whose ignorance keeps them confined in the limited span of a precious life, bounded on both sides by birth and death.

Never read such books which presume to judge these great ones, the dust of whose feet alone can save us. How can they who are mere intellectuals fathom the greatness of these spiritual giants? To read or hear the criticism of these God-men is a great sin.

==== '''By Swami Saradananda''' ====
But mere reading is not enough. Unless you practice, you will not assimilate the teachings.

==== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' ====
[Commenting on a book]

Yes, it is well written, undoubtedly. But do you know what I feel about it? Such erudition does not seem to be worth the name. The author took up the task of writing such a sacred book—but was there the necessary sadhana, spiritual practice behind it? Where is that purity of realization that such a work calls for? It seems to me that there is no harmony between the ideal and practice. And that reduces the whole thing to a mockery of religion, as it were. Such erudition is ultimately worthless.

Now I shall refer to another story. A very well-read man went to a Sadhu for guidance in the matter of Self-realization. The Sadhu told him: "First of all you have to unlearn all that you have learnt in books, and then come to me."

So you see that book-learning is useless for the purpose you have in view. The only thing required is faith. Book-learning is of no avail for God-realization.
----

== 28 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Brahmacharya ===

==== '''By Swami Premananda''' ====
Brahmacharya means performing the ritualistic worship, doing japa, meditating, and studying, with faith and reverence.

For a householder to neglect his duty, for a brahmachari to give up his vows, for a monk to be restless with passions—these are hypocrisies.

=== On Brahman ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
Don't you realize that sound is Brahman? Music is "sound-Brahman." This truth is experienced, if one meditates.

What does Vedanta mean by saying that Brahman is true and the world false? That the world as we see it now is false. The world vanishes in Samadhi, but you feel that you are experiencing a great joy.

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
That mind in which there are no mentations or desires cannot be called mind. In that state there exists only an all-pervading consciousness, power, or Brahman—whatever you may call it.

When the mind becomes free from impressions and desires, it cannot strictly speaking be called mind any longer, it becomes synonymous with the one Universal Intelligence, the Supreme Energy or Brahman—give it any name you please.

What are called space, time and causation in English are desa, kala and nimitta in our language. Brahman is beyond these categories.

These trees, plants, flowers, devotees, myself, and everything belong to Him. Their existence depends on His existence. Apart from Him nothing exists. He is Existence Absolute. In Him exists this manifoldness particularized by names and forms as various objects as Hari, Rama, the sun, the moon, etc. Because He exists, these, depending on Him, exist. He is Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute.

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
Taken as a whole, it is Brahman that comes to be true. Knowledge is, so long as ignorance is. In fact, when ignorance goes away, knowledge also vanishes with it. Knowledge is simply a means to an end and not the end itself.

It is Brahman alone that exists. When we say that Brahman is Absolute Existence-Knowledge-Bliss, we do not mean that Brahman is actually that, but that it is the nearest approximation. Brahman is not untruth; it is not ignorance; it is not misery. To explain this, Brahman is described as Absolute Existence-Knowledge-Bliss. But, truly speaking, Brahman is beyond the reach of words and thought.

==== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' ====
Biharilal Sarkar: "Maharaj, the scriptures say that Brahman is seated in the heart of man. What does that mean?"

A: It is just a figure of speech. Words cannot really encompass the truth of Brahman, although the scriptures have tried to describe it in that way.

Brahman is everywhere. There is no in or out, high or low, east or west with him. He is one, inherent in everything. He is all-pervading, limitless, eternal. Various attempts have been made to describe Brahman, but what is beyond thought cannot really be expressed in language. He is in everything and, again, is beyond everything.

The Reality is one, and that is Brahman. Brahman alone is real and everything else is unreal. Impress these thoughts again and again upon the mind, and gradually true discrimination will arise.

==== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' ====
God's will power is the cause of nature and God Himself is the source of His will power. It is beyond the capacity of human intelligence to ascertain the First Cause of God without the knowledge of Brahman, the self-existent, beginningless One without a second.

==== '''By Swami Saradananda''' ====
Brahman and Brahman's power are non-different, like fire and its power of combustion. The scriptures speak of this Brahman as the Cosmic Person Virat and the power associated with Him as the Mother of the universe. That is why the presiding deity of Gayatri is sometimes spoken of as the Cosmic person, and sometimes as the Mother of the universe. That is why there is no contradiction in imagining either way.

==== '''By Swami Akhandananda''' ====
Ascertaining the real nature of Brahman? It is like the smile of a man having naturally exposed teeth. He seems to be smiling always—even when not really smiling. Brahman is always self-evident, It does not wait for anyone to ascertain It. Like the sun It is shining. Why is It not seen then? Because your eyes are blindfolded, because there is the cloud of Maya before you.

These aspects are common to all things. Everything has existence; everything expresses itself; and everything is dear to someone or other. Existence, Consciousness and Bliss—this is Brahman.

==== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' ====
Brahman is like a motionless snake. Shakti is like a snake in motion and that is the kundalini.
----

== 29 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Buddha ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
Think of Buddha. What determination he had! After years of searching he finally sat himself down under a tree, determined to realize God then and there or die in the attempt.

Like the Buddha, one should be bold. See what a mighty renunciation he had! To realize God he gave up all his royal comforts without a thought. What a severe course of discipline he underwent! Then, when in spite of everything he could not realize God, he took his bath in the sacred Nirajana, a rivulet at Buddha Gaya, and sat down with this resolve: "Let this body go; but until I have attained illumination, I will not rise." And the illumination came!

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
Have you not read in the life of Buddha what kind of terrors Maya faced Buddha himself with in the form of Mara? But Buddha remained in his seat with unflinching determination and he made the resolve: "May my body shrivel up on this very seat; may my skin, bones and flesh be reduced to nothing; but this body shall not move away from here without attaining that enlightenment which seldom comes to a man during innumerable births." What a strong resolution it was! At long last Mother became propitious. She opened the door of nirvana, and Buddha had his wish fulfilled. He became Buddha, the enlightened One.

==== '''By Swami Premananda''' ====
In his own life, Buddha exemplified dispassion. He asked for nothing for himself, not even liberation. All his struggles were for the good of mankind. Out of dispassion springs knowledge.

==== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' ====
Those who believe that Buddha was an atheist are very wrong. His silence about God or Soul was that of a mystic. He was a Jnani and taught the Aryan faith. His religion can certainly lead an aspirant to God-vision. So we Hindus worship him as an Incarnation of God.

==== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' ====
From Buddha's life and discourses, we find that action follows thought; as you think, so you act.

=== On Carefulness ===

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
There was a hunter who had been walking all day in the forest but had not been able to get any quarry. Dejected and tired he rested under a tree. His hunting companion, a hawk, was sitting close beside him. The hunter was very thirsty but no water could be found.

Then he noticed that water was slowly dropping down from the tree. Delighted, he put down his cup to catch the precious water. Drip, drip, it fell down into the cup, drop by drop. At last the cup was filled and greedily the hunter stretched out his hand to take it. But just before his hand reached the cup, the hawk with a swift movement upset it. The water was lost.

The hunter terribly annoyed scolded the hawk and replaced the cup. Again the cup was slowly filling up and when it was filled, the hunter, happy to get a drink of fresh water at last, once more stretched out his hand to take it. But the hawk upset the cup as before.

The hunter was now beside himself with rage and killed his hawk with one terrible blow. He placed the cup again, certain of getting water this time. And while he was waiting for the cup to fill up he looked up to see where the water came from. And what did he see? A large snake was hanging down from a branch high up in the tree. Its mouth was wide open and from its mouth drop by drop poison was falling into the cup. This was what he had taken to be water. The hawk had twice saved his life. And he had killed her.

With unspeakable regret the hunter buried his old friend who had served him many years and at last had saved his life. So you see, do not throw away what may be your best friend. Consider carefully.
----

== 30 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Chanting ===

==== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' ====
You recite "Ram, Ram" the name of Rama. Do you know what "rum" is? It is an intoxicating drink. You cannot know what it is like unless you drink it. You cannot know the glory of God's name unless you chant it!

=== On Charity ===

===== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' =====
Do you think that there is any fixed catalogued price of so much austerity, so much japam, so much charity, etc., for God-realization? None can force realization of Him! But, if you don't keep up a regular spiritual struggle, you will not be able to hold It when It comes.

===== '''By Swami Shivananda''' =====
Every man should do something good, that is, some selfless deed. All by nature work to support themselves and their families. By something good I mean activity done without any attachment. If you can help a poor man by giving him food, or educate a needy boy by providing his boarding and lodging according to your means, that will be sufficient.

In cases that are beyond your means you can engage in such good deeds in cooperation with friends of yours. Many activities of this nature you will find close at hand. If you wish to do them, you can easily do so.

With the practice of meditation peace of mind will grow, and then alone will you be in a position to undertake humanitarian activities in the right spirit. Meditation on God will obliterate the ego, and He will then be all in all. Only when your mind reaches this state, will you be able to do genuine philanthropic work.

===== '''By Swami Premananda''' =====
If God, the dispenser of the universe, is not generous, people's wants can never be satisfied by man's charity alone.

===== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' =====
What will it avail if one makes charity with money stolen from others? To live long on the charity of others is as good as death.

It is useless for a slanderer to repeat the name of God. This is why Jesus said, "Therefore if thou bringest thy gift to the altar; and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift."

We are all in the world, and where can we go, leaving it aside? But doing good to the world is not an end in itself.

The world will remain as it is. As Sri Ramakrishna used to say, it is but a dog's tail, which won't straighten. In trying to help the world, you help yourself, you realize your Freedom.

Even in such charities, there is a subtle selfishness. ...One doubtless has an eye on fame.

===== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' =====
If the desire to do charitable works arises in the mind of a rich man, it shows that his heart has started to feel for the poor.

God tests a man by making him wealthy, and that is a hard test to pass. Tests devised by men are easy to pass, but divine tests are very difficult. God may give plenty of riches to one man, but so delude him by Maya that he will never in his life desire to be charitable.

Again, God may give a generous heart to another person, but not give him much money. Blessed indeed are they who are rich and yet feel for the poor.

Control lust and greed. Practice japam and be charitable. If you can do this, you will find the Lord showering his grace upon you.

To do good to others is, after all, only a social activity; it has nothing to do with God-realization.

Moreover, philanthropic works may do good to others, but what about you? Can you explain to me what benefit working for others will bring you?

Every action brings a corresponding result. A man will get social merit through his philanthropic activities, but if his ego is involved in those activities, he will not get any spiritual merit. Even the result of a good action turns into a bondage if it is done with ego.

===== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' =====
Help the helpless, but without hoping for any return.
== 1 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== CHASTITY ====

===== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' =====
Look, if a person practices chastity properly, he can do the work of twenty-five men. Work never tires him out. He no longer requires so much sleep; four or five hours are plenty—more sleep is a disease.

===== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' =====
If the youths are convinced of the utility of chastity and the evils of its opposite, they may afterwards marry and turn out decent citizens. Those who are spiritually bent are free from temptation, for chastity is the bed-rock of spirituality. Unless one is chaste, the mind is never steady. The best element in our body is preserved by chastity. If there is no chastity the mind-stuff becomes unsteady. Then the image of the Chosen Deity Ishta is no more clearly reflected in it.

Through the power of Ojas the knowledge of Brahman unfolds itself. The knowledge already exists, we have only to unfold it. If you can maintain your chastity for twelve years, the mind gets steady, with the result that the knowledge unfolds itself.

===== '''By Swami Saradananda''' =====
Of all disciplines chastity is the foremost. It is fundamental; all other disciplines will follow naturally if one practices this primary virtue.

See also: Continence.

==== COMPANY OF THE HOLY ====

===== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' =====
The holy company you keep, the spiritual talk you hear all make an impression on your mind. A bumble-bee hiding in a fragrant flower offered in the worship touches the feet of the Lord. Similarly, by the grace and association of a holy man, one surpasses even the gods and attains liberation.

Once the mind tastes sweetness in the thought of God there is nothing to fear. Seek the association of the holy so that you may acquire that taste.

Keep association with the holy. Go to one who knows the path, learn about the path, and walk on the path. Then alone you will reach your destination some day. Then alone will arise faith and devotion.

If one can really surrender oneself to God, then everything becomes easy; but it is not so easy to do this. Without divine grace it is not possible to take refuge in God. And in order to feel this grace one must associate with holy men, read sacred books, and pray earnestly.

You have seen a holy man, you have bowed to him, you have touched his feet. What more questions can there be?

Practice continence, japam, and meditation, and seek the company of the holy.

Not all men know what is best for them; therefore they should seek the society of holy men. Unless a man spends some time in solitude or in the company of the holy, he cannot understand his own mind. It is very difficult to grow spiritually in the midst of tumult and confusion.

Do you know why you should seek the society of holy men? Their experiences are a great help to a spiritual aspirant. When you visit a strange place, if you have the help of a reliable guide you will quickly see all that is worth seeing there; also he will save you from the dangers and difficulties into which a stranger is likely to fall. Similarly, from the company of advanced souls you will gather many valuable hints, and your efforts will be simplified.

[To the question: "Maharaj, how does devotion to God grow?"]

Keep the company of the holy; listen to their teachings and mould your life after their pattern. But without continence and the practice of meditation you cannot grasp the spirit of the enlightened ones; nor can you understand the scriptures.

Blessed is he who finds association with an enlightened soul.
----

== 30 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON CHANTING ====

===== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' =====
You recite "Ram, Ram" the name of Rama. Do you know what "rum" is? It is an intoxicating drink. You cannot know what it is like unless you drink it. You cannot know the glory of God's name unless you chant it!

==== ON CHARITY ====

===== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' =====
Do you think that there is any fixed catalogued price of so much austerity, so much japam, so much charity, etc., for God-realization? None can force realization of Him! But, if you don't keep up a regular spiritual struggle, you will not be able to hold It when It comes.

===== '''By Swami Shivananda''' =====
Every man should do something good, that is, some selfless deed. All by nature work to support themselves and their families. By something good I mean activity done without any attachment. If you can help a poor man by giving him food, or educate a needy boy by providing his boarding and lodging according to your means, that will be sufficient.

In cases that are beyond your means you can engage in such good deeds in cooperation with friends of yours. Many activities of this nature you will find close at hand. If you wish to do them, you can easily do so.

With the practice of meditation peace of mind will grow, and then alone will you be in a position to undertake humanitarian activities in the right spirit. Meditation on God will obliterate the ego, and He will then be all in all. Only when your mind reaches this state, will you be able to do genuine philanthropic work.

===== '''By Swami Premananda''' =====
If God, the dispenser of the universe, is not generous, people's wants can never be satisfied by man's charity alone.

===== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' =====
What will it avail if one makes charity with money stolen from others? To live long on the charity of others is as good as death.

It is useless for a slanderer to repeat the name of God. This is why Jesus said, "Therefore if thou bringest thy gift to the altar; and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift."

We are all in the world, and where can we go, leaving it aside? But doing good to the world is not an end in itself.

The world will remain as it is. As Sri Ramakrishna used to say, it is but a dog's tail, which won't straighten. In trying to help the world, you help yourself, you realize your Freedom.

Even in such charities, there is a subtle selfishness. ...One doubtless has an eye on fame.

===== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' =====
If the desire to do charitable works arises in the mind of a rich man, it shows that his heart has started to feel for the poor.

God tests a man by making him wealthy, and that is a hard test to pass. Tests devised by men are easy to pass, but divine tests are very difficult. God may give plenty of riches to one man, but so delude him by Maya that he will never in his life desire to be charitable.

Again, God may give a generous heart to another person, but not give him much money. Blessed indeed are they who are rich and yet feel for the poor.

Control lust and greed. Practice japam and be charitable. If you can do this, you will find the Lord showering his grace upon you.

To do good to others is, after all, only a social activity; it has nothing to do with God-realization.

Moreover, philanthropic works may do good to others, but what about you? Can you explain to me what benefit working for others will bring you?

Every action brings a corresponding result. A man will get social merit through his philanthropic activities, but if his ego is involved in those activities, he will not get any spiritual merit. Even the result of a good action turns into a bondage if it is done with ego.

===== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' =====
Help the helpless, but without hoping for any return.
----

== 2 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== HOLY COMPANY ====

===== '''By Swami Shivananda''' =====
Merely to keep the company of the holy is not enough. You must open your heart and ask them to solve your doubts. You must carefully observe their lives and imitate their example. It is a lazy man's attitude to think that all one need do is to associate with the holy. Needless to say, association is also very important. For in their company doubts are removed and pure thoughts are awakened. No scriptures or books can create such pure impressions or transform a man's life as much as contact with an enlightened soul.

True solitude lies beyond the mind and intellect. It is identical with the Most Tranquil. Therefore, it is better for a beginner to live in the company of holy men.

When your mind becomes purified by the influence of holy men and when you practice spiritual disciplines, yearning will grow.

One benefit of the society of holy men is that you can observe their character. You cannot be as impressed by reading books as by observing holy men.

And come to the monastery now and then. Many monks live here; you should associate with them. Even the sight of holy men generates thoughts about God in one's heart.

And then, there is such a thing as the companionship of the good; it saves men. It is absolutely necessary to live in the company of holy men.

So also, you may associate with holy men and study the scriptures; but unless you practise spiritual disciplines, nothing will avail.

As far as possible keep holy company, avoiding the association of worldly people.

Look here, the Lord Himself says that holy association is unique—without any parallel. On account of holy association one attains the most covetable state of desirelessness. It destroys attachments at their very roots and brings one very close to God. How much spiritual discipline can man perform with his limited capacity?

Holy company is so effective that it generates love of God. Who is genuinely holy? Only he in whose heart is installed the Lord. One is blessed with the company and grace of a truly holy man as a result of good deeds performed in many lives. Holy association can change the course of one's entire life and bring about results that last for a very long time. We know it from our own experience.

For instance, we would spend an hour or two with the Master—sometimes there would be very little talk or exchange of words. The effect of his association lasted for days. We remained in a state of spiritual intoxication, as it were, absorbed in the thought of God. One is bound to have one's spiritual impulses roused if one comes in contact with an illumined soul.

How do we know whether a person has truly realized God or not? Herein is the test: the presence of a man of God will evoke spiritual thoughts and emotions. In the Vaishnava literature there is a beautiful passage the import of which is: "Know him to be a man of God—the foremost of devotees—by meeting whom one spontaneously feels like repeating the name of the Lord." Just as in approaching fire one feels the heat, in the same way one is filled with the thoughts of God by meeting a man of God. Just as the insect finds itself lodged upon the altar because of its association with flowers, similarly the company of the holy one redeems sinners.

It is not that in this world one needs holy company only in adversity, trial and tribulation; those who are in affluent circumstances, brought up in the lap of luxury, need holy company all the more. Even such people, infatuated by sense pleasures, may lose their interest in the so called evanescent things of this world, if they luckily happen to be in holy company. As a result, they too may be directed towards God and be finally blessed by attaining Him, the source of abiding joy.

But the most essential thing at the start is the company of holy men who have themselves made sufficient progress in this direction.
----

== 3 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== HOLY COMPANY ====

===== '''By Swami Premananda''' =====
God Himself blesses one with the power of meditation who thinks of Him. He it is again who ordains holy company, pure mind, and sound intellect.

Through His grace a sadhaka finds holy association, his mind becomes purified and he becomes endowed with right understanding.

Be like the fish playing happily in the ocean and not like the fish in the narrow ditch. Let your consciousness expand into the infinite and limitless. Live in the society of the holy, chant the Lord's name, and go beyond all limits.

What do you understand of holy association? You have to watch their lives, see their purity, their devotion, love and compassion, and imitate these things in your own lives. By imitating the holy, devotion increases and the heart becomes purified. The association of the holy is the only remedy for worldliness, for a holy man is the living manifestation of God.

Craving for sense objects is like the green algae that obscures the clear water of a pond; association of the holy is like the stick used to remove it, that the water may shine through.

===== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' =====
To make oneself fit, association with monks and occasional retirement into solitude are necessary.

With whatever evil tendencies one may come, one is sure to improve in holy company. As when you go to an attar shop, the scent will enter your nostrils, whether you want it or not. Well, people are not often inclined to associate with holy persons, and few have the capacity to do so.

Sri Ramakrishna would be talking and the devotees listening, but their companions would whisper, "Well, let us go, how long will you be listening?" Well, holy association is bound to produce good effects, for life only can communicate life.

Association is the root cause of everything. "From association grows attachment," says the Gita. There is a saying: "Tell me what company he keeps and I will tell you what he is." Association with holy people purifies the mind. But they must be really holy men. The outward garb alone does not make a man holy. He is really a holy man, who has made God his own.

===== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' =====
If you always think of a holy person, you will become holy and pure; if you think of a thief, you will become a thief. Pure character is formed by close association with the holy.

Real yearning for God is the result of associating with the holy, and a person gets the opportunity for holy company only as a result of many good actions. At first it is hard to realize the value of holy company, but one eventually comes to understand its effect.

This wicked mind cannot rest for a second. It is on a run in all directions. One must keep a vigilant watch over its workings, and where it goes. For this the company of holy men is very important, and prayer and meditation.

===== '''By Swami Akhandananda''' =====
Faith and conviction of mind will grow according to your surroundings. That is why the company of holy men, Sadhu sanga, is necessary. They always feel: Brahman alone is real and all else unreal.

The company of Sadhus is very necessary. We have sought to come in contact with Sadhus wherever possible. Without Sadhu sanga holy company how can any good thing come to you?

===== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' =====
It is a matter of fact, the company of holy men makes the heart pure forever. It is said that the sage Durvasa once went to visit hell where condemned souls were suffering all sorts of tortures as punishment for their sins. As soon as the sage made his appearance there, they were relieved of their agonies and began to sing the glories of God. Hell seemed to have been transformed into heaven; the reason was that the sage's purity of life had such innate power in it as to deliver those tortured souls from their sins, and save them from the agonies of hell.

People very often are saved if they live in the proximity of spiritually developed souls. At one time we were staying in Nilambar Mukherji's garden-house at Belur. It was the monastery then. I was in those days on a very high spiritual plane. One day when I touched Swamiji's feet in obeisance, I received a strong shock like that of electricity. Anyone going near such persons would feel as if a spiritual zone had been created round about them. Whosoever entered that zone could feel as if an electric force was entering into him from outside. He would have that experience immediately.

Great souls, wherever they are, create a spiritual zone around them; and anybody coming within that zone realizes something like an electric current passing into him. It is a very strange phenomenon impossible to explain, unless one has experienced it oneself.

Swami Brahmananda also was a reservoir of spiritual power. One day, when he was sitting in deep meditation, his body had become stiff. I was sitting close to him and felt my nerves also getting stiff and taut. This is a wonderful play of energy, one's power involuntarily acting on another.
----

== 4 June 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== CONCENTRATION ====

===== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' =====
Initiation into a Mantra helps concentration of mind, otherwise your mind will change and fluctuate; today you will like the Kali-form, tomorrow the Hari-form, and next day perhaps the formless aspect of God. And thus your mind will not be concentrated on any one.

In order to have meditation and concentration, you must practise in solitude; the more you will try, the more you will achieve.

With the aid of a mantram it is easier to practice concentration of the mind on one's Chosen Ideal of God. Without a mantram the mind wanders from one conception of God to another, and never succeeds in concentrating upon any. And without achieving perfect concentration nothing can be accomplished in the spiritual life. Therefore the aid of a guru is very necessary. He helps the disciple to choose his own particular Ideal, according to his temperament, and then gives the mantram best suited to the attainment of concentration on that Ideal.

The taste for spiritual life cannot be had all at once. No! One has to struggle hard for it. All our energies must be concentrated toward that one achievement; they must not be wasted in any other direction.

Concentrate the whole mind and direct it toward God until he becomes revealed.

Learn to perform all duties, great or small, with a concentrated mind. He who can concentrate his mind in action can also concentrate when practicing meditation.

All mental, physical, and spiritual energies must be concentrated. Then only can you reach God.

Through gradual practice the mind has to be concentrated upon God. Keep a sharp eye on the mind and see that no undesirable thoughts or distractions enter in. Whenever they try to crowd in, turn the mind toward God and pray earnestly. Through such practice the mind is brought under control and becomes purified.

Before you begin your meditation, read devotional scriptures. This will help you to concentrate the mind on God.

Wake up early in the morning. Wash yourself and choose a firm seat. Command your mind in this way. "Mind, keep still! Let no distractions enter!" With the strength of the intelligent will keep the mind under control. Soon it will become concentrated. Then no distractions will arise.

Is it easy to meditate? If you happen to eat a little too much, you cannot concentrate your mind.

Practice is the means of concentrating the mind.

===== '''By Swami Shivananda''' =====
The best form of japa is to repeat the Lord's name mentally. When one repeats the name over the rosary or on the fingers one keeps track of the number of times to a certain extent and cannot give undivided attention to the japa. It stands in the way of concentration.

It is a bit difficult to have concentration in the initial stages. Meditation becomes more natural when one gets real love for God as a result of His grace and one's constant prayer and japa.

It is good to have a fixed seat for one's meditation and japa, for that creates an atmosphere and helps the mind to become concentrated quickly.

Unless our body is kept in equilibrium, we cannot concentrate our mind on our Ishta Devata. So, we should take such food as suits our constitution.

===== '''By Swami Premananda''' =====
Soon you will be blessed with concentration of mind, you need have no anxiety on that score. God Himself blesses one with the power of meditation who thinks of Him.

Through God's grace, when your mind becomes concentrated, Samadhi is attained.

In the world the mind is scattered on various things, on lust and gold. It is the function of Avidya, ignorance not to allow the mind to be concentrated. But our task is to develop concentration. Spiritual discipline is nothing but the bringing together of the scattered mind.

===== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' =====
There are several obstructions to concentration: Laya, Vikshepa, Kashaya, Rasasvada. Laya is the mind being overcome by Tamas inertia—the mind falls asleep and loses consciousness. Most aspirants are held down by Laya. Vikshepa is the scattering of the mind on multifarious objects. Kashaya is finding meditation distasteful—one feels disinclined to meditate. But one must still persist. Rasasvada is the mind being fascinated by the vision of divine forms and refusing to ascend higher.

One may have any amount of Samadhi and Dhyana spiritual concentration and meditation, but one must never forget to love Him.

If there is concentration on any single object, there the idea of God manifests itself. Lust, anger, fear, affection—any of these may bring about concentration. Lust as in the case of the Gopis; anger—as with Kamsa; fear—as in the case of Shishupala; affection—as with Mother Yashoda; and so on.

Lust, anger, fear, affection, amity, and friendship—those who always cherish any of these feelings towards God, assuredly attain to concentration on Him. But can such things happen unless the mind is absolutely pure? Never think of it!

The author of the Yoga-Sutras says, "By carefully persisting in practice, for long and without intermission, the concentration becomes steady." We must attain to a steady concentration. The young plant needs to be hedged round, but when the tree is big, it requires protection no more.

Nothing drops from the skies all of a sudden. Why don't all have concentration? Because they don't fulfil the conditions necessary for it, viz. absolute continence. This is known as strength. What can you expect of one who lacks this strength?

One can explain a thing if only one has a clear grasp of it, which is the outcome of concentration. By concentrating on a subject, its inner secrets are revealed.

The mind can be concentrated in many ways, through meditation, singing, reading, etc.

If you can't give proper attention to little things, how are you going to concentrate on great matters? Remember, a person may be drawn to the absolute Brahman, but he can still keep his attention on detail!

Because you are able to control your mind and concentrate, success comes to you. In the same manner, if one can call on God with all one's mind and with all one's heart, one will surely realize him.

The Master used to say, one should canalize the same energy in a different direction. Take your mind from your profession of doctoring, and call on the Lord. That is extreme dispassion. In your mundane work you enjoy success. If you can turn your mental current to another plane, you will attain success there in the same way. Surely you will reach your goal.
----

== 5 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== CONCENTRATION ====

===== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' =====
One must concentrate on God. If you cannot concentrate sufficiently on your studies, how can you expect to be able to call on God?

===== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' =====
"I" is at the root of all our miseries. Hence our primary duty should be to get rid of it somehow or other. This can be done by the service of the great, by good works without caring for results, by concentration or discrimination.

===== '''By Swami Saradananda''' =====
Repeat the mantra with unwavering devotion. The seed has been sown. Now you must water it with unfailing faith. You may use your beads as a help in concentration. The need for not letting the beads "go hungry" is for the purpose of getting into the habit and lessening the distraction of the mind while counting them. All this is necessary to create yearning for God.

What is known as the destruction of the mind in Vedantic literature is not a state of vacuum. It is a state of deep concentration. The mind is to be made absolutely one-pointed through meditation on God.

Perfect peace will not come until the mind is fully concentrated.

You have written that at the time of meditation you find it difficult to think of the lotus. While meditating on your Chosen Ideal if you are able to visualize the form, it does not matter whether you visualize the lotus or not. Again, if you cannot bring before your vision the luminous form of your guru, think of him as you have seen him with your eyes. All these devices have been prescribed in the scriptures only as aids to the concentration of the mind.

It is only a strong person with sufficient will power who can concentrate and fix his mind on God.

===== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' =====
The greatest need is to concentrate on Him when we are dying.

The best time for meditation is midnight. You can then achieve results very soon. Nature is in a quiet mood then and the concentration is easier.

Every day you should regularly practise meditation. That helps you to concentrate your mind.

One should try to help others as far as possible, but without beating one's drum. For the rest of the time, one should be all by oneself. In this way concentration of mind will be gradually achieved.

Everybody complains that he cannot concentrate his mind on God, because it is assailed by all sorts of thoughts. Why not put up a "No admittance" notice and refuse to let those thoughts crowd into the mind?

Don't give up japa and meditation simply because you cannot concentrate your mind properly.

My only advice to you all is to forsake idleness. An idle brain is the devil's workshop. You must do everything with concentration and diligence.
----

== 6 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== CONSCIOUSNESS ====

===== '''By Swami Shivananda''' =====
He resides in the heart of man as consciousness.

When meditation is very deep one loses all sense of past and future. There is simply consciousness of the present, and that vaguely.

When the mind transcends names and forms you come to the acme of realization. Then everything is full of Bliss, everything is full of Consciousness.

===== '''By Swami Premananda''' =====
Be like the fish playing happily in the ocean and not like the fish in a narrow ditch. Let your consciousness expand into the infinite and limitless.

===== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' =====
At first you are to transcend Tamas, then Rajas and finally you are to go beyond even Sattva itself. Then you realize the Self as pervading everything. You find that He alone exists, and nothing else. And that is called the state of transcendental consciousness.

It is this dual consciousness which is at the root of all evils. With the destruction of duality, all fear departs.

===== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' =====
When that knowledge dawns, body consciousness disappears, the mind stops and even the intellect vanishes; only an uninterrupted Consciousness flows.

===== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' =====
Man is Samvit, consciousness Absolute.

===== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' =====
With everybody there is consciousness. This consciousness pervades the earth, the sun the moon, the stars, the sky, the air, etc., down to the minute being, and it is because of this consciousness that there is motion in everything.

In the transcendental state, i.e. the state of complete union with the Infinite, there is no outward consciousness; only a slight feeling remains there.
----

== 7 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== CONTEMPLATION ====

===== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' =====
The way of steadying and purifying the mind is to retire into solitude, control all cravings, and engage yourself in contemplation and meditation. The more you occupy the mind with holy thoughts, the greater will be your spiritual unfoldment.

Yes, you must work. But I insist that you devote yourselves to spiritual practices and meditation. Even though I may not ask you to work, your nature will force you to work. It is difficult to engage the mind in contemplation of God; but you are monks, therefore work must not be the sole purpose of your lives.

It is good to rise early in the morning. The time best suited for contemplation is when night passes into day, and when day passes into night. It is then that the sushumna becomes active, and one breathes through both nostrils. As a general rule, we breathe through only one nostril at a time. This causes restlessness of the mind. Spiritual aspirants should observe when they are breathing through both nostrils; the sushumna is active then. Those times are the most helpful to contemplation, and we should take advantage of them.

You must spend your time in worship of God, in service to holy men, and in contemplation. This is the only way to mould your character.

The most suitable hours for prayer and contemplation are those at the junction of day and night, and at midnight. Daytime has many distractions. At night, nature takes on a quiet aspect, so that night-time is best for the practice of contemplation.

The more you devote yourself to the contemplation of God, the more fruitful your life will become. Lose yourself day and night in his contemplation, in singing his praises and glory; only then will you be blessed with his vision.

[To the question: "Isn't it difficult to live a purely contemplative life?"]

Do not give up because it seems hard. Try again and again. Through practice it becomes easy.

===== '''By Swami Shivananda''' =====
Practise constant recollection and contemplation of God. One has to form the habit. Remember and think of Him continually, while walking, eating, lying down and even when you are actively busy. Let it be as if an undercurrent is all the time flowing. If you practise in this manner for a while, remembrance and contemplation of Him will soon be unconsciously within you; you will be repeating His name even while asleep.

===== '''By Swami Abhedananda''' =====
Repeat the great truth: "I am Brahman," and contemplate on the soul which is the witness, the inspirer, the absolute, the one without any attribute.

===== '''By Swami Saradananda''' =====
You must dwell on God uninterruptedly and be absorbed in the contemplation of His true nature.

When the mind is idle, all kinds of negative thoughts arise and create trouble. There is an old saying that an idle brain is the devil's workshop. It is true. The mind abhors a vacuum. It needs to be filled. However, it is necessary to devote some time to silence and contemplation.

===== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' =====
Contemplation on Him should enable us to gain mastery over our passions and become masters of our souls.

A question that arises in my mind is, where shall we be after giving up this mortal frame? I asked Mahapurush Maharaj who told me that we would be in the Ramakrishna world where we would be keeping company with the Master. But I have decided not to go anywhere. To contemplate on the Master all the time and not to forget him even for an instant is to be in his company. That is the Ramakrishna world—to think of him all the time with heart and soul, never losing him even for a moment.
----

== 8 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== CONTENTMENT ====

===== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' =====
Contentment with the external conditions, yes, but never be contented with your state of spiritual growth. Become dissatisfied. Try to move ever onward in your search. Do not stop until you have found the diamond mine!

Like a fallen leaf tossed to and fro by the wind, the one-pointed man is content to remain wherever the Lord places him. He has no will or desire of his own. He can live in the world and at the same time dive into the ocean of knowledge and bliss.

===== '''By Swami Shivananda''' =====
There's no contentment in the non-Self; true contentment comes from knowledge of the Self. And one has to seek that contentment within oneself. Peace is within, not outside.

===== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' =====
Contentment is an obstacle to spiritual progress.

It is true, people do practice Sadhana to find peace. But if the aspirant forgets God after finding some peace, how can he make any further progress? If there is no dissatisfaction, longing for God does not come.

The door to the spiritual path does not open unless the aspirant is filled with peace externally and internally. But once the door to the spiritual realm opens, discontentment again begins. However, this is a mysterious kind of discontentment which I cannot explain to you. In this state the aspirant can neither sit idle nor can he progress quickly. Spiritual disciplines and austerity are necessary to understand this.

Be satisfied with whatever you need for your daily living and don't desire more. Too many worldly belongings displace the thought of the God from the mind.

Believers remain satisfied. They depend on the Lord and enjoy contentment. One should avoid the company of the non-believer. They themselves suffer and pass on their discontent to others.

===== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' =====
Do not be content with the little things of this world. This Universe is like a baby's toy. Throw it away. Claim your eternal heritage. This little span of life is not yours; your life has no beginning, no end.

You want me to advise you how to get rid of the entanglements of this world, in answer to which let me remind you that what has been brought about by myriads of births cannot be done away within a day. Yes. You are right. We should escape the snare of samsara even from this moment. For, who knows when death will snatch us away from the loving embrace of our family; but that does not mean we should make a sudden resolution in the course of our lives.

The best way to success is to remain pleased in whatever state Sri Ramakrishna has been pleased to place you, keeping your mind always turned toward Him, as a boy always turns towards his parent. Stay peacefully where the Lord has been pleased to keep you. Read and ponder upon the sayings of Sri Ramakrishna.

Be contented with whatever comes to you knowing that all things proceed from Sri Krishna directly. Do not forget to pray to Him incessantly. Always confide yourselves to His care. Be calm and quiet.

Contentment is the only watchword that can ensure us a safe passage through adverse circumstances. God is good, God does all. Therefore, He can do nothing but good. This is what all religions teach; abide by it and peace of mind will naturally follow.

===== '''By Swami Saradananda''' =====
The Lord is making you His own. He will not allow even the slightest ego to remain within you. The sufferings and difficulties you are undergoing are intended to make you realize that you have no independent will of your own. It is given over to the Lord. Therefore, be contented with what He does and wherever He keeps you.

Never be contented until the goal is reached.

===== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' =====
One should not ask for anything from God, but remain satisfied with whatever He is pleased to give. Real welfare lies in using things properly, wrong use of things brings misfortune.

Purity, Truthfulness, and honesty should be the cornerstone of your life. And there should be faith. With these a man will have contentment in life, whatever circumstances he may happen to be in. Contentment in all circumstances is the mark of religious life.
----

== 8 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== The story of the single-mindedness of the Poet Hafez ===
(Respected Gangadhar Maharaj (Swami Akhandananda) began telling the story of Hafez i.e., Muhammad Shamsuddin Hafez, a famous Persian [Iranian] Saint-poet)

Hafez was a poor Muslim beggar. He used to pass his days in great hardship by begging. One day Hafez entered the house of a young prostitute to beg. She was a very beautiful woman. While giving alms from behind a curtain, her exquisite beauty caught the eyes of Hafez and he was charmed. The passion-stricken beggar then began to think: I am very poor, just a beggar in the street, and that woman is a greedy prostitute.

How is it possible for me to have her? It was like a dwarf attempting to grab the moon. How could the penniless Hafez think of getting one whom the rich young men of the city coveted? It was a big ambition for him. However, he decided that his wish would be fulfilled if he could save up some money.

From that day, Hafez started saving half of whatever he collected by begging, even if he had to remain half fed. He also started getting money by selling dried cow dung cakes. His ambition was to save enough money and then obtain her. Hafez, who was half fed and afflicted with hunger, used to do something strange.

At the end of night, without anyone's knowledge, he would complete all the chores of the prostitute's household—like sweeping, washing the utensils, storing water, etc.—and slip away. On waking in the morning, the maidservants would be surprised to see their chores already done, and wonder who it was who stealthily did all their chores.

After some days had passed like this, the mistress of the house started thinking that the person who did her household chores might be a thief. He must have some other motive. Somehow or other, he must be identified. Resolving thus, the mistress gave orders to the maids: "Tonight you must lie down and pretend to be asleep. I too shall remain awake. We must get this person who is coming."

She also said, "Do not catch him right away. When he tries to slip away after finishing his work, only then call me. But, be careful. In no way should he be treated cruelly."

Everyone got ready to catch that weird, unconcerned thief who worked only for the benefit of others. Then Mr. Thief, lost in love for the prostitute, arrived at the usual time and completed all his duties. But just as he was ready to slip away, the woman for whom he remained half fed to save money, whom he loved more than his own life, stood there right in front of him.

Seeing her, Hafez stood motionless. Noticing the dry hair and torn clothes of the benevolent beggar, the mistress of the house ordered her attendants to bathe him after massaging his body with scented oil, and then dress him in new clothes, feed him with tasty food, and take him to her room. Ever famished with hunger, Hafez tasted all those things that he had never tasted before in his life and was beside himself with joy.

After he finished his bath and meal, the lover Hafez was brought into the room of his ladylove. There he was seated on the costly bed, and then the mistress of the house came and said, "I shall come back and talk to you about your particulars and also why you have been coming and secretly doing my household chores. In the meantime, you can relax comfortably in this room."

The long-cherished wish of Hafez was going to be fulfilled that evening. He was totally immersed in his own happy thoughts. Sitting alone in the room he was thinking of many things and was waiting for the time to pass. The day appeared to him rather too long. With much impatience he waited for evening to come. The cursed evening never seemed to arrive, and the sun also was showing no signs of setting.

When the afternoon finally came, he again and again went out of the room to see how much longer it would be for the sun to set. To him, an instant seemed like an age. In due course, the sun, witness to all the good and evil deeds of human beings, did set on the horizon. With an eager heart, Hafez waited for that auspicious moment when his ever-cherished sweetheart would arrive. Just then a maid entered the room to light the lamp.

Seeing her lighting the lamp, the steadfast Hafez was reminded that he too had an obligation to light the lamp in the Pir's darga [a mausoleum of a Muslim saint]. Should he make an exception that day? Certainly not! No sooner had that thought come to his mind than Hafez—the respectful, steadfast, and loving devotee of the Pir at once ran to light the lamp in the Pir's darga ignoring his long-cherished object of enjoyment, for whom he had so long been seized with a strong desire, for whom he had so long saved money, even remaining half fed.

After lighting the lamp, Hafez saw two fakirs [Muslim monks] drinking. He was also offered the drink, but he became angry and said, "You rogues, I am a Muslim. How could you offer me a drink?"

As Hafez did not agree to drink even after repeated requests, the fakirs threw the glass on the ground. The glass broke, but there was no liquid found inside. Seeing that, a thought dawned in Hafez's mind. He then begged for the wine, but the fakirs did not give him any. They said, "We offered you the last glass, but you refused. There is no more for you."

After repeated requests by Hafez, they said, "If you lick the spot where the glass broke, you may get something." With great faith, Hafez licked the spot just a little. At once he became intoxicated with divine love and his thirst for enjoyment has vanished forever.

Meanwhile the prostitute, not finding Hafez in the room that evening, set out from her house. After making enquiries from the village people, she came to the place where the beggar was sitting with his eyes overflowing with tears of love. He was intoxicated with love.

The overwhelmed lover Hafez, through gestures, asked her also to lick the spot. Having done so, she too became intoxicated with divine love and the course of her life changed. A moment's companionship with a devotee of God helped her to gain a new life, and she became immersed in the worship of God.

From that day on, the lover Hafez sat in his hut repeating the name of Allah. Only at the end of the day would he go out to beg and to light the lamp in the Pir's darga. Only then could he be seen as he collected the rubbish from the street, otherwise, he was never seen anywhere.

Thus day after day, month after month, year after year passed. Once his neighbours, not seeing him come out for begging for some days, entered his room and found that the dedicated ascetic had left his mortal body. There his dead body was lying, and also a torn mattress, a water pitcher, a broken plate, and his main asset—seven large earthen containers. These were filled with the rubbish that he had collected.

Besides this, every day whatever idea arose in the mind of Hafez, who was intoxicated in love, he wrote on scraps and then dropped them in the container. After his passing away, scholars salvaged those writings and published the collection. It became a world-famous book—"Diwan-e-Hafez," or "Hafez, the Intoxicated."

Gangadhar Maharaj then remarked (to Mahapurush Maharaj): "Just see, steadfastness saved Hafez from danger."

(From: "Swami Akhandananda as we saw him" by Swami Chetanananda)
----

== 10 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Tolerance Will Win Out ===
One day the Buddha was giving a lecture to all the monks at Jeta Grove, Sravasti. He said that long ago the Heavenly God Indra and his host of devas waged a battle against the Asuras. One day Indra said to the King of the Asuras, "Today let us not count the victor by the amount of bloodshed. Why don't we decide the winner by holding a debate?"

In response, the King of the Asuras said, "Certainly, but who will be the judge?"

Indra said, "Of the devas and of the Asuras there are beings of great wisdom and eloquence. Let us have them decide who should be victorious."

Then the King of the Asuras replied, "You may speak first."

Instead of speaking first, however, the Heavenly King humbly said, "I could speak first, but as you are the previous king of the firmament, you should have precedence. Please speak first."

The King of the Asuras said, "A foolish person puts up with insults because of fear, and yet prides himself in believing his tolerance makes him superior to the aggressor."

Indra rejoined, "Even though a foolish person puts up with insults because of fear, being tolerant actually brings us the greatest benefits. The virtue of tolerance outweighs all the fame and fortune in the world."

The King of the Asuras then said, "Lacking wisdom, foolish people need to be forced to do right. They are just like lazy cows that need to be prodded along by the horns of more vigorous cows breathing down their necks from behind. Hence, the best way to control the foolish is by whips and spurs."

The Heavenly King countered, "I think to control the foolish, forbearance is the best way. When confronted by an agitated person, if one can wait in peace and silence, their fury will die down naturally. A person without hatred or vexations is a saint or the disciple of a saint. This is the kind of person that we should draw close to. A person whose mind is loaded with great anger and therefore gets angry easily will encounter obstacles as high as a mountain.

On the other hand, if one can control one's anger as soon as it arises, like taming a wild horse with a harness, then one will have done a good deed."

The devas and asuras who acted as judges for the debate thought that the arguments of King of the Asuras were based on the use of conflict and force, whereas Indra advocated putting arguments and competitions to rest with a mind free of anger and malice. In consequence, all of the judges awarded Indra the victory.

The Buddha told the monks, "Indra is free of care in the heavens because he always practices tolerance and also praises the ways of tolerance. Likewise, if you can practice and praise tolerance, then you are truly leaving the home life."

After they heard the Buddha's talk, all of the monks felt blessed and pledged to abide by the Buddha's teachings.

(From the Web)
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== 11 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== CONTINENCE ====

===== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' =====
[To the question: "Is it ever possible to attain Samadhi after a short time?"]

A: Yes, if a man has lived an absolutely continent life.

Make your mind strong through the observance of continence and the practice of meditation.

Great strength can be acquired through the practice of continence. A true celibate can do the work of twenty-five men. Practice continence, japam, and meditation, and seek the company of the holy.

Perfect continence is the sole condition of success in spiritual life. But it is difficult, even impossible, to practice absolute purity without love and faith in God. The world is full of temptations which arouse passions; every day you will see ninety-nine percent of the people rushing in mad pursuit after sensual pleasures. Your mind is in constant danger of becoming contaminated, therefore, you must engage your mind in thinking good thoughts, studying good books, and discussing uplifting subjects.

You must spend your time in worship of God, in service to holy men, and in contemplation. This is the only way to mould your character. First of all, be firm in your vow of chastity. Everything else will follow. You cannot live a continent life unless you devote yourself to God, and without continence realization of God is impossible. Unless you realize God you will not find happiness, and without happiness life is vain.

Learn to speak the truth always, and observe continence.

In a chaste man a special spiritual nerve is developed. With its aid, his memory, his capacity for spiritual understanding, and his faith in God increase. He is able to experience spiritual truths which lie beyond the reach of the senses. That is the reason why religious teachers stress the ideal of chastity.

But without continence and the practice of meditation you cannot grasp the spirit of the enlightened ones; nor can you understand the scriptures.

Practice chastity. If one remains continent for twelve years, he attains the highest.

Sri Ramakrishna used to say that the power of the mind becomes strengthened by the practice of continence. A man so strengthened is not overcome by lust and anger. Passions seem trivial to it.

I can tell you from my own experience that it is not possible to meditate properly unless you keep continent.

The craving of lust is very subtle, and extremely difficult to control. That is why a spiritual aspirant must always be careful in associating with the opposite sex. Through continence a special power is stored up in the brain. If a man becomes established in continence, he will begin to see the expression of God everywhere. But, remember, it is not possible to practice continence without devoting yourself to the practice of japam.
== 12 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Continence ===

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
Practice of continence is essential even for these physical feats. Whatever line of work a person may undertake, the secret of success is continence.

One must practise absolute continence if one desires to have this higher knowledge. As a result of prolonged continence, practised heart and soul in all the planes of existence, the body and mind become fit for leading a divine life. For reaching the state of Brahmanhood, the brain develops a new nerve and all the cells in the body become transformed. One must observe absolute continence.

If there be unbroken Brahmacharya, continence, Samadhi can be attained with little effort.

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
Continence is essential for Divine realization. If one can maintain Brahmacharya for twenty-eight years, one will realize Bhakti, Jnana, everything.

"From continence comes strength." We must make ourselves fit. Before taking up any work, make yourself fit for it.

For the accumulation of spiritual power absolute continence is needed.

Nothing drops from the skies all of a sudden. Why don't all have concentration? Because they don't fulfil the conditions necessary for it, viz. absolute continence. This is known as strength.

==== '''By Swami Trigunatitananda''' ====
It is not in India alone that continence has been given such a dominant and absolutely necessary position in the domain of religion; all countries and all religions sing its praise in the same way. They all speak of the same kind of continence here and elsewhere.

Sri Ramakrishna would say, "He who can give up his wife, can also renounce the world," that is to say, if one has succeeded in discarding his hankerings for sense-enjoyment, one has no other object left that has to be given up afresh.
----

== 13 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Control of Mind & Senses ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
[To the question: "Maharaj, I cannot control my mind. Many distracting thoughts arise. What shall I do? Will I be able to practice any spiritual disciplines? How can I worship and meditate?"]

A: Pray to the Lord. Practice with regularity. Gradually, the mind will become inclined to worship and meditation.

In the beginning the mind will refuse to come under control, but force it, urge it, entreat it in order to fix it on meditation.

Man's mind is forever restless. It remains distracted for many reasons. Association with the holy will bring it under control.

Wake up early in the morning. Wash yourself and choose a firm seat. Command your mind in this way: "Mind, keep still! Let no distractions enter!" With the strength of the intelligent will, keep the mind under control. Soon it will become concentrated. Then no distractions will arise. A man can train horses and elephants and bring them under control; can't he learn to train his own mind?

Mould your minds now; when once the mind is moulded there is nothing to fear. When you can bring the mind under control you will have achieved much. Whip it whenever it tries to run away.

Struggle! Struggle hard to control the outgoing mind and fix it on God. When you can do this, you will realize what joy is in spiritual life, what fun.

First of all, the mind, which is the ruler of the senses, must be controlled. After that the mind and the intellect must be merged in the Atman. Who are your enemies? Your own senses. But if you can control them they will become your friends.

The tendency of the lower mind is downward, toward worldliness. This tendency must somehow be controlled. Hold the reins tightly. As an expert trainer controls and trains the elephant, so must you learn to train and control your mind. Be its master. Let it not control you. Teach it to give up all craving for fleshly enjoyments. When the mind is once freed from craving it becomes your slave.

Keep a sharp eye on the mind and see that no undesirable thoughts or distractions enter it. Whenever they try to crowd in, turn the mind toward God and pray earnestly. Through such practice the mind is brought under control and becomes purified.

It is as impossible to conquer lust or control the mind by the mere study of books as it is to walk on air.

Meditation, in the primary stage, is like waging a war with the mind. With effort the restless mind has to be brought under control and placed at the feet of the Lord. But in the beginning, take care that you do not overtax your brain. Go slowly, then gradually intensify your effort.

Unless you meditate, you cannot control the mind, and unless the mind is controlled, you cannot meditate. But if you think: "First let me control the mind and then I shall meditate"—you will never succeed. You must steady your mind and meditate at the same time.

It is good to devote a little time each day to God. The only way to control the mind and find peace is to chant the name of God and meditate on him.

In the beginning the mind will refuse to come under control, but force it, urge it, entreat it in order to fix it on meditation. Faith and regularity are very important; nobody can succeed in anything without them.

The mind deludes us in many ways. We must control it and direct it along the right path.

Meditation is possible, if you can keep lust, anger, and all other passions under control.
----

== 14 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Control of Mind & Senses ===

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
The rascal mind causes all the trouble. You must control this mind or it will take you here and there. However, sincere efforts will bring self-control.

When disciplined, this wicked mind behaves right; it functions as the guru, repeats His name, guides the aspirant along righteous ways and gives him inspiration in noble undertakings.

Practise self-control constantly, pray sincerely to the Lord and discriminate between the real and the unreal. My child, self-control cannot be accomplished in a day.

The fact that sometimes you lose control over your mind signifies that a big wave will come and you will have great peace.

Of course you have my blessings. But you will have to exert yourself too. You have children. From now on practise a little self-control and change the course of your life. You have had enough of enjoyment; now of course, force alone will not help; but if you struggle sincerely, in time he will make your body and mind pure.

[To the question: "Father, I have a question to ask. The scriptures declare that one cannot realize God unless one observes strict Brahmacharya. The mind does not become pure unless there is Brahmacharya. Now, please tell me how can I observe this? Should I be very strict about food and such other things?"]

A: No, my daughter, you need not be very strict about these matters. Only use your discrimination a little more when following the usual routine. You may well avoid those things that excite the nerves too much. Food is not meant for the mere gratification of the sense of taste; it is meant for the maintenance of the body. And the maintenance of the body is meant for God-realization. It is better to avoid those kinds of food that create mental disturbance and prevent the mind from concentrating on God.

Brahmacharya does not mean the mere control of food. The real Brahmacharya is the control of all the sense-organs. Unless one can do that, the realization of divine bliss is a far cry. Is it possible to get the bliss of Brahman unless one can forsake the pleasures of this trifling body?

Self-control will come as a matter of course if one repeats God's name constantly, and is earnest in spiritual endeavours. The name of God has such intrinsic power that all the internal and external organs become naturally subdued by it.

If one but takes to meditation and japa and prays to Him constantly, one's mental tendencies get the proper direction, and one's senses come under control.

Mere verbal assent will not do. It requires quite a lot of self-control and intense spiritual struggle.

Yes, some minds are rebellious like that, but there is a way for bringing even such a mind under control. Even such a restless mind can be trained gradually and made to concentrate on God. Do not begin meditating or making japa as soon as you sit down on your seat. First, start with a calm prayer to the Master. The Master is Samadhi incarnate. If you can pray to him sincerely and think of him, the mind will become concentrated.

==== '''By Swami Premananda''' ====
Rules and regulations can govern behaviour; but they cannot control the mind.

Those who are guileless and devoted to truth, self-controlled, and lovers of God, are the living gods, the rishis and siddhas; even though they wear human bodies.

God dwells in all. He is within your heart. Pray to him, weep before him, and you will find energy and strength. Your mind will come under control.

As you grow older, it will become impossible for you to control your mind.

Through the faithful practice of discrimination and spiritual disciplines the mind gradually comes under control. Yet to try to force the mind under control all at once may prove disastrous. It must be done gradually and with patience. The angler has to sit patiently and wait.

Cling to the pillar of patience whenever the mind is drawn toward the whirlpool of delusion. Even when a large fish swallows the bait and is caught on the hook, the angler still plays awhile before drawing his catch to the bank. To land it forcibly might break the line.
----

== 15 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Control of Mind & Senses ===

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
A devotee from America had written to me about controlling the mind. In reply I wrote to him that whenever he sat for meditation, he should think that there was hanging in front of his chest, the notice "No Admission," indicating that nothing except the thought of his "Ishta," Chosen Deity should enter there. This way, disturbing thoughts can gradually be eliminated.

The devotee later acknowledged that he was much benefited by this advice. Yes, that is how you have to emancipate yourself—there is nobody other than yourself, who is your emancipator.

A man who has controlled all other senses except the palate is not to be considered a master of his senses. When the hankering of the palate is controlled, everything else is controlled. When the palate is controlled the sex impulse is also controlled. Unless the senses are brought under control there cannot be any spiritual progress.

Even if a single organ remains uncontrolled, all austerities all efforts after spirituality become useless even as when there is a single hole in a pitcher, all the water escapes through that.

Control of the senses is not to be brought about by a violent effort. Only by realizing Him is it perfectly achieved. But at first one must struggle for this end. Afterwards it becomes quite natural. Still one should not be overconfident. Just as the intelligent hunter catches a deer and ties it up, so after succeeding in controlling the organs one should be alert, and continue to hold the mind and organs in check.

If you perfectly control your senses from now on you will be blessed with His vision.

Books on yoga say that all power is in us. We must control the mind through proper discipline, then only will its power be manifested.

First you have to prepare the mind. After that, any subject to which you may apply it will stand explained. The method of controlling the mind is by seriously watching it for some length of time. It can be done both by love and by discipline, according to circumstances. The mind should be under your control—it must not be allowed to ride on you, for then the tables will be turned.

Control the mind, be not controlled by it.

With unflagging perseverance the mind must be again and again brought back to the Atman. Of course, repeated and incessant efforts are necessary, but the mind at last will come under your control and remain calmly fixed on the Atman.

Be up and doing. Once the mind is brought under control, there is no more fear. It is the mind which creates all troubles.

[To the question: "If we mix with people, everything becomes upset."]

A: Avoid company so long as the mind is not under control. And when the habit has once been formed, there is no harm in mixing with people.

One should have great determination. We must control the mind and not allow the mind to control us. Here is my towel. With this I shall rub the body at my pleasure; similarly, we ought to be able to use the mind according to our will. We should ride the horse and not allow the horse to ride us. Let there be no reversal of the right process. The horse before the cart and not the cart before the horse.

Swami Vivekananda would say, "The mind must be made like a lump of earth; wherever I shall throw it, it must stick."

Yes, as a race you English and Americans are very materialistic, but I have met with exceptions. And activity is not bad. I like your energy, you are all up and doing. I see no idleness anywhere. Only that energy should be controlled. It should go inward also, activity in inactivity. But not laziness, mind you.

Because you are able to control your mind and concentrate, success comes to you.
----

== 16 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Control of Mind & Senses ===

==== '''By Swami Trigunatitananda''' ====
The most effective means of getting control over the senses is to look upon all women as one's mother. You are apt to look on them otherwise from your very childhood, and you never call on women as mothers with all sincerity, that is why the problem of sense-control becomes so difficult. Just as on seeing an image of any goddess, we have a natural inclination to salute her, to worship her, and to pray to her, so also may our devotion be aroused on seeing any woman, and may we feel a natural inclination from within to bow down to her!

If you do not believe in a Mantra, that too is not imperative. A Mantra is needed for bringing the mind under one's control. One who succeeds in controlling the mind, has not much need of a Mantra.

==== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' ====
Even if you cannot control your mind and you become disgusted, please don't leave your seat; for if you get up from meditation with that attitude of disgust, you will be in a bad mood all day, and you will feel like beating one person, scolding another and speaking harshly to a third.

Do you know what the mind does? It conjures up enticing pictures with the imagination. The imagination is man's worse enemy, his greatest tempter, for it creates beautiful pictures of sense pleasures and nearly destroys man's conscience. Thus man is drawn to sense objects. Therefore, if you want to control the desire for worldly things, control the imagination and don't be deluded by sense enjoyments.

The imagination can be controlled by withdrawing the mind from the object, although that will not still the mind. Sri Ramakrishna said that three things are necessary in the process of perception: the object of perception, the sense organ, and the mind. Perception of the object is not possible if one of these three is missing. So if you can eliminate one of them, the mind will not be able to cognize.

It is hard to eliminate the objects of perception. They come and go. We have to encounter them always. How can one live and avoid sense objects? So long as you can avoid the sense objects, your self-control may be intact; but as soon as you come near them again, you will find yourself deluded by their attraction. So instead, try to withdraw either the sense organ or the mind from the object. Then automatically the object will not be perceived.

By practicing truthfulness for twelve years the body and mind become controlled and one is unable to say anything that is untrue or absurd.

==== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' ====
If you would raise your Self, you must crucify the body and conquer the senses.
----

== 17 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Control of Mind & Senses ===

==== '''By Swami Saradananda''' ====
You are to calm your mind by single-minded devotion to God and by reflecting on the ultimate Reality as the foundation of all existence.

You have asked why in spite of your sincere efforts the mind is so unruly that it refuses to come under control and you are not able to fix it on God. The reason is that the mind is not yet pure. Have you not heard that Sri Ramakrishna used to say that the image of the moon is not clearly reflected in a pool that is agitated and muddy? When the water is steady and transparent the image is visible; then the image is not broken up into fragments. Remember that the same is true of the mind.

But do not give up the spiritual struggle. It is hard to control the mind; but it can and must be done. There is no other way. The more you think of the Lord, the more other thoughts decrease. There must be a continuous flow of one thought—the thought of God—during the period of wakefulness. Then, at the time of meditation or in sleep, unbecoming thoughts will not find any peephole to enter.

To attain peace one has to practice control of the senses and the mind.

Conflicting desires arise in the mind. Because of those desires the mind is constantly lashed into waves. As long as these waves form, the mind is restless. In order to control these waves which give rise to thoughts of a worldly and distracting nature, one must live a life of self-discipline.

The mind has tremendous potentialities. It is the storehouse of infinite energy. Through control and inner check we can unfold these potentialities and gradually develop the power to work toward good.

If evil thoughts appear be indifferent to them. They come due to the impressions of previous lives and it is good that they rise to the conscious plane; it will be easier for you to control them.

The means for bringing the fickle mind under control are dispassion and practice—Vairagya and Abhyasa. This statement is in the Gita. There is no other way.

==== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' ====
When we have control over our passions, we shall succeed; we shall ourselves then feel that we are advancing towards God. When the mind is completely under your control, it will have nothing to exist on except noble thoughts.

After the dissolution of the mortal frame, the soul takes a subtle form and more intensely reaps the harvest of previous deeds. If one can control one's senses and transcend the bounds of time and space, one is in a position to summon the souls of dead persons, and get a response from them. They also respond as people respond to us when we call them.

God pervades everything. But, of course, it is a joyful experience. He is inside and outside. When you realize that He is within you, the senses get controlled once for all; and it is for this that you have renounced everything, do you understand?

If you want to control your passions, you have to meditate constantly on the Master and the Holy Mother, and all degrading thoughts will at once cease to trouble you.

The mind, after all, is yours, and you say it is not under your control! Does that sound reasonable? Why should you allow the mind to rise above you and rule you? There is a saying: Although the guru, Krishna, and the Vaishnava, all, are kind to me, unkindness on the part of one sets everything to nought! The unkind one is the mind, it ruins everything.

When the mind is overcome with evil thoughts, it becomes dejected and inactive like a mouse in the grip of a cat. But why should you allow it to be like that? In such situations you should summon up within you the strength of a lion and shake off all evil thoughts. It is no excuse to say that your mind is not under your control. Why would you let your mind take the upperhand?

God is both inside and outside you. When you realize that He is within you, your passions will be under control.
----

== 18 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Craving ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
The way of steadying and purifying the mind is to retire into solitude, control all cravings, and engage yourself in contemplation and meditation.

Rare indeed is he who has attained unalloyed bliss! Only that man who is free from all cravings can find unending joy.

It is easy to practice austerity by not allowing the mind to come into contact with sense-objects, but it is hard to get rid of the mental craving itself. And of all cravings the subtle desire of the organ of taste is the most difficult to overcome. A man loses this craving only when he is in a high spiritual state.

We must pray and cry unto God that he may awaken in us longing for him and that our cravings for enjoyment may be wiped out.

Cravings—such as for woman and gold, for name and fame—arise again and may lead one farther away from God. Unless you beware of this thief in the form of cravings he will steal all the goodness in you, and you will drown in the bottomless ocean of worldliness. But, on the other hand, there is the ocean of divine grace—if anyone will sincerely call on Him but once. The Master used to say: "If you move one step toward Him, He comes down ten steps towards you."

When a man has renounced all worldly cravings and regards God as his own, God is very near. Such a man binds God to him with the fetters of love.

Is it easy to renounce bodily cravings? Only if one has God's grace and has practiced severe spiritual disciplines in past lives, can he have the strength to renounce the world in this life. Teach your mind to give up all craving for fleshly enjoyments. When the mind is once freed from craving it becomes your slave.

As you sit down to meditate, think of the cravings of the mind as mere dreams, look upon them as unreal. They can never attach themselves to the mind.

If you have the craving for fleshly enjoyments or the slightest desire for name and fame you cannot reach God. As Nag Mahashaya used to say, "It is like trying to row an anchored boat."

Real austerity is based upon these three principles: First, take refuge in the truth. Truth is the pillar to which you must always hold while performing any action. Second, conquer lust. Third, renounce all cravings. Observe these three principles. That is real austerity, and the greatest of these is to conquer lust.

The more intensely you analyse yourself the more you will understand the condition of your own mind, and you will be able to eliminate the subtler cravings.

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
God sees one's mind. He becomes gracious where He sees sincere craving. There is no injustice in His domain.

==== '''By Swami Premananda''' ====
If a pitcher has a hole in the bottom, water poured into it will flow out. No water can be kept in it. The holes in a spiritual aspirant are worldly cravings. The materials by which such holes can be repaired and kept closed are: hearing the truth of God, meditating on him, chanting his name, reading sacred books, ritual worship, prayer, and so on. At every step you will be tested. Be careful, very careful.

Craving for sense objects is like the green algae that obscures the clear water of a pond; association of the holy is like the stick used to remove it, that the water may shine through. However, cravings are never entirely uprooted until the Atman is realized.
----

== 19 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Craving ===

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
Well, the whole trouble is due to these two—the palate and the sexual instinct. In the Himalayas there are lots of solitary places suited for spiritual practices, but why can't the monks live there? Owing to the urge of the tongue. The craving for delicacies drives them out of those places.

A man who has controlled all other senses except the palate is not to be considered a master of his senses. When the hankering of the palate is controlled, everything else is controlled.

==== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' ====
Dissatisfaction and craving for worldly enjoyments are signs of a diseased mind.

==== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' ====
Evolution means wanting something more. It implies a craving. A craving for more of God makes us evolve spiritually, a craving for outer things or earthly powers brings material evolution. The same craving is in the ant, in the angel, in man and in the Siddhas, Seers.

==== '''By Swami Saradananda''' ====
A true leader is he who never hampers that craving for attaining freedom, his only concern being to see to it that when the person concerned gets liberty, he does not misuse it.

Those who lead an unregulated life and think impure thoughts lose their powers and strength of mind. They are at the mercy of passing desires and the feverish cravings of the senses and are slaves.

As it is natural for the body to crave food and rest, so it is natural for the mind to crave the objects of the senses. Sri Ramakrishna used to say the sin of the mind is no sin. Free your mind of all anxieties on that score.
----

== 20 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Criticism ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
Play with God, sing his glory, enjoy the fun! Why should you criticize others? Associate with everybody freely. Be happy with them. Do not indulge in gossip. Only a wicked-hearted man busies himself finding fault with others.

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
It is true that one feels bad if one has to deal with worldly people all the time. One thing I would specially advise you: whenever you talk with a person, never indulge in criticisms of others nor listen to them. If you hear any criticism, keep quiet without taking part in it. Mind this particularly. Gossip, active or passive, tarnishes the mind and lowers it very much. It is a handicap to devotion for God.

==== '''By Swami Premananda''' ====
To be disturbed in mind by petty incidents is not worthy of selfless workers. You are spiritual aspirants, chosen devotees of Sri Ramakrishna. Do not pay any heed to the criticisms of others.

==== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' ====
If you want to live a happy, contented life, stop criticizing others. Do not find fault with others. It is better to pass the time sleeping than gossiping and criticizing. Keep away from places where you find such talk going on. Try to see the good qualities in others. This is the way to get rid of the habit of fault-finding. Evil qualities pollute the mind of a person who searches for the lapses and shortcomings of others.

==== '''By Swami Akhandananda''' ====
If a fool criticizes a superior person, wise people take no notice of it at all. If someone comes and shouts, "Krishna is a lewd fellow!", have we got either to lend our ears to him or to be all up to contradict him? He that has realized the mystery of spiritual persons is all right let others understand it in time. At Alwar I went into a house for a night's halt. During the talk after dinner, someone started to belittle Swamiji. I protested and left the house then and there.
----

== 21 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Dejection ===

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
Certainly, it won't do to be dejected so soon like that. You must have faith and patience. You have to be persistently up and doing. What will you gain by dejection and moaning just because you cannot achieve anything with a little effort?

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
Once a devotee felt a little dejected and the Swami noticing it, said: When we were living at the old Math, now many years ago, it happened once that I was very sad. I could not make any progress for some time and everything looked dark to me. I was walking up and down on the flat roof of the Math. It was evening and the moon was hidden by clouds. Sleep was impossible for me, I was so unhappy. Then suddenly from behind the clouds the moon emerged and everything looked bright and beautiful.

As soon as I saw that, I thought: "See, the moon was there all the time but I could not see her. So the Atman is also ever present, shining in its own glory, but I did not see it. The cloud of ignorance stood between the Atman and my intellect overshadowing my mind." And at once I felt strong again, my doubts all gone.

On another occasion the Swami told me how many years ago when he was travelling on foot as a Sannyasi, in India, the thought was tormenting him, that he was living a useless, vagabond life. Everyone is doing something in this world, but what am I doing, [he thought] it became very painful, and I could not shake off this thought. I thought of myself as a little, insignificant, useless creature. I was utterly dejected and threw myself down under a tree.

There I fell asleep and I had a dream. I saw myself lying on the ground and then to my surprise I saw that my body began to expand in all directions. It went on expanding and expanding, there was no end to it. At last it seemed to cover the whole world. Then it occurred to me: See how great you are; you are covering the whole world. Why do you think your life is useless? A grain of Truth will cover the whole world of delusion. Get up, be strong and realise the Truth. That is the greatest life. I awoke and jumped up and all my doubts had vanished.

==== '''By Swami Trigunatitananda''' ====
Never think, "I can't do it, I am weak." Whenever any dejection sets in, remember that saying of the Lord in the Gita, "Yield not to unmanliness!"

==== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' ====
Be always of good cheer. Never allow sorrow or dejection to take possession of your soul which is ever free and blissful.

==== '''By Swami Saradananda''' ====
You have written that there have been lapses ten times before in the past. Even if there be ten times more in the future, you should not be dejected. Constantly brooding about things over which you now have no control will cause more harm than good. This will surely jeopardize your spiritual life. Dirt cannot be washed by dirt. Even charcoal loses its blackness when it comes in contact with fire. Similarly, lust cannot remain when the image of God pervades the mind.

==== '''By Swami Akhandananda''' ====
Never think "I cannot do this, I am weak." Whenever you are in dejection always remember what the Lord has declared in the Gita: "Do not be under the spell of unmanliness; it does not befit you. Shake off this mean faint-heartedness and get up, Hero."

==== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' ====
When the mind is overcome with evil thoughts, it becomes dejected and inactive like a mouse in the grip of a cat. But why should you suffer it to be like that? In situations like that, you should summon up within you the strength of a hero and shake off all evil thoughts. This is the only way out.

Never give way to despair or dejection. Without perseverance nothing great can be achieved.
----

== 22 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Death ===

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
At the time of death an outer power struggles with the inner power. These two powers are not different. They are like concentric circles, the bigger one trying to destroy the other.

Once when I was at the point of death at Puri, I perceived this distinctly; as if I had one foot outside the door and another inside. I could see both sides. Death is no more terrible when there is no attachment. One must keep out attachment. All the trouble is due to love being centred on specific objects.

[Referring to a toe-nail which had come off of itself:]

Thus is the body left behind, and the soul flies off, though, of course, not unperceived—the mind, the ego feels its departure.

(To a devotee) You have died, why do you again think of yourself? Have you not given everything over to Mother? Why then think of yourself again?

==== '''By Swami Saradananda''' ====
Forgetfulness of God is as good as death.

If the Divine Mother does not come now, She will surely appear before you at the time of your death and free you from all the cares of the world.

The cumulative effect of the karmas of the individual's entire life will be the guiding factor in forming the Lord's decision to shape the destiny of the soul for its sojourn through the path of light or the path of darkness.

But the karma yogi who has worked with the attitude of seeing "inaction in action" will attain knowledge that will cut all his bonds and make him free. By the grace of the Lord he will know that his soul will not go to any place but will enter into the realm of bliss when the flame of life is extinguished.

==== '''By Swami Akhandananda''' ====
Now, if you are afraid of a man and cannot face him boldly, how will you face death? Death has no fixed time. It may come any time, may be right now.

==== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' ====
The most remarkable phenomenon is that all men, all animals, desire to live forever. This shows the immortality of all created things. Yes, it is really so. The One that is within us is without beginning and without end, without birth or death. There is nothing like death there.

One who knows the use of time and lives it properly in all respects will gain victory over time, i.e., over life and death.

After death, worldly desires continue in a subtle form. Death only destroys the gross body, but the senses, the mind and intelligence remain in a subtle form. In that subtle body, enjoyments are still more acute. Even in the causal state, the "mind" exists in the form of "seed." In the supra-mental state only, one attains perfect illumination. It is not enough, therefore, to try for physical development only; what is wanted is all-round advancement—physical, mental and spiritual.

The One that is within us all, is without beginning and without end, without birth or death. There is nothing like death there. As you discard an old shirt, so does He discard the body when it becomes inefficient, and enters another.

The man who has lost his character is really dead. Compared to this moral death, death in a physical sense is of little consequence. One who has lost one's moral anchorage will suffer for it in many, many lives to come.

After the dissolution of the mortal frame, the soul takes a subtle form and more intensely reaps the harvest of previous deeds.

Your thoughts at the time of death will determine your destination after death. There is a story that, on the eve of a pious Christian's death, angels placed before him a picture of Jesus Christ; but, at the suggestion of Satan, he turned to the other side and looked at the picture of his sweetheart. The result was that he went to hell; it was the effect of surrendering to the allurements of Satan.

The greatest need is to concentrate on Him when we are dying. Then, all those whom we thought of as our near and dear ones in our lives, forsake us. We very often find that for want of purity of heart and concentration on God, people get terribly afraid on the eve of death; some cry out in fear at the sight of hideous apparitions of the messengers of death. But the glory of God's name saves us from these fears and also delivers us for all the time from the clutches of death.

At the time of death, a man loses his wits, he becomes enveloped in a sort of mental darkness. If only once he can utter the name of God at that time, he may be saved as God takes charge of him. Unless one has acquired the habit of constantly thinking of God by long practice, everything becomes confused on account of the pangs of death, and one cannot think of God even once. So what is necessary is constantly meditate on Him and pray to Him. You have to remember God and call on Him constantly, so that at the time you leave this world He may occupy your thoughts.

Death is a painful thing because from birth to death life throbs in this body. Therefore one gets too much attached to this body that it becomes very painful when one has to give it up. Just see, if you possess a thing even for a few days, you get attached to it; and hence it is no wonder that one should feel so painful to give up this body which one has cherished from birth.
----

== 23 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Death ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
This life may end at any moment. No one knows when. Equip yourself for the journey with spiritual treasures. To arrive empty-handed at an unknown place involves much suffering and sorrow. Birth is inevitably followed by death. At death you go to an unknown place, so you must prepare yourself for the journey.

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
Birth and death are just a matter of course. Nobody can stop them. God alone is immutable and immortal—pure, enlightened and free by nature.

[To the question: "Does everyone have to be in a disembodied state after death?"]

Not necessarily. Why should devotees of the Lord who have genuine devotion have to be in the disembodied state? They become one with God and obtain liberation.

Real joy or peace is very rare in this world, and this round of birth and death that is ours, no one can check. Man has no hand in it. God alone is responsible for the creation, maintenance and dissolution of this world, and it is by His will that all beings are born into it. He keeps them as long as He wants, and takes them away whenever He wishes. We should know for certain that God is the Lord of birth, maintenance and death. It is He who sends souls here to become parents, wives, children, friends and relatives, and He keeps them entangled in some relationship or other, taking them back whenever He wishes.

Once you can realize him, your worldly bondage will be cut asunder for ever; you will not have to undergo the round of birth and death any more.

[Concerning the suicide of a woman devotee:] I heard that she killed herself with opium. She did so, because she could no longer bear the pain she was suffering from her disease. In any case, her soul will reach the Master, for she was devoted to him. She had great reverence for the monks of this monastery, as also for us. Her Prarabdha, accumulated results of past works, had that fruit in store for her, and hence she had to do so. But her future course will certainly be good, though, in such a case, the soul has to remain for some time under a cover of something like darkness.

Men can be saved only if they take note of all this for a while and think of the transitoriness of worldly things. They rather remain merged in Maya. It is good to think of death now and again. One can hardly enumerate the infinite ways in which the ephemeral nature of the world becomes revealed before people's very eyes. Still, they are not awakened.

Besides, nobody has any control over birth and death—all these happen according to the will of God. He alone knows how long He will keep anyone in this world. All bodies die; there's no exception to this rule. Your son is gone; you, too, have to go some day. Your wife, son, daughter, in fact all whom you consider to be your very own—all have to depart; none can live eternally.

In the Gita the Lord says: "Anyone born must surely die, and anyone dead must surely be reborn. So you must not lament for something that is inevitable." Death being inevitable for anyone coming to this earth, He forbids us to lament. None in this world is really your own whom you think to be so. Only God is truly your own. He keeps company in life and death; He is the Soul of one's soul. The relationship with Him is eternal.

Those who have resigned themselves at the feet of the Lord have nothing to worry about. He will certainly take care of them, gathering them in His arms, if not in this life, at least at the dying moment.

And our relationship with the Lord is eternal; it is not destroyed with the death of the body.

It is good to think of death at times. In how many ways is the evanescence of everything driven home to man, and yet he does not wake up!

Miracles of this nature do happen! Even now we hear about the extraordinary deaths of some devotees. Such persons have superconscious visions and experiences at the moment of their death. They pass on repeating the name of the Master and are united with him in his divine realm. His devotees are bound to do well and to reach higher planes of consciousness after death.

Listen, whenever the thought of your wife [who had just died and to whom he was devoted] comes to your mind, feel that she is lying on the lap of God. Can anyone take a better care of her than God?

Is there death at any time to the real gurus who are persons possessing the knowledge of the Absolute? They only cast away this physical sheath, but they are alive and are present always, in the subtle body, and do good to the devotees who resort to them.

==== '''By Swami Premananda''' ====
There is nothing more certain in this world than death. In order that we may transcend death, the scriptures advise us to keep the company of the holy. But it is not enough to listen to advice. We must practice it. Do not ever doubt that those who have even once in their lives taken the name of Sri Ramakrishna will come to him. You are regularly engaged in the service of the Lord; you need have no fear. Know that you belong to the Lord, and that the Lord is your eternal treasure. It is natural that your mother will grieve at her son's death. But by the grace of the Lord, who is the ocean of mercy, she will find relief. He is the pillar, and if a man holds on to him he becomes immortal.

Never give any thought to the idea that you are bound souls. You are free! Chant the name of the Lord and even the king of death will be afraid to approach you.

Practice meditation and japa with your whole heart, even the terror of death will fly away.

Attain Him even in this very life. There is no other way to cross this vast desert of worldliness, the abode of suffering and death.

But you must not infer from this that you are to sin now and take the name of the Mother at the moment of death. Unless you repeat Her name even from now with great faith and strength of mind, you will not even remember it at the moment of death.
----

== 25 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Delusion ===

==== '''By Swami Premananda''' ====
And egoism—it is truly hellish! It is this egoism that has kept the whole world under delusion. Only with the greatest austerity can one be completely freed from ego.

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
It is very difficult to understand the intricacies of the mind without being an advanced aspirant. How many are the ways in which the mind is deluding us! If anyone points out the delusions, we find excuses for them! We do not understand how many kinds of self-love are in us.

Brahman alone is real, everything else is unreal and the human soul is that Brahman. The lion shut up in a cage thinks he is caught and escape impossible. He does not know that one blow from his mighty paw would demolish the cage and set him free.

We are bound by the delusion of ignorance. Tear away the delusion and be free. All power is within you, for you are the Atman. With the sword of knowledge, sever the veil of Maya, and assert your divine nature.

But we have to be careful. Maya is so powerful that we are so easily caught and deluded.

==== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' ====
On a moonless night one man cannot recognize another, however close they may be standing; similarly, a man cannot see his innermost self due to the dark covering of delusion.

=== Dependence on God ===

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
Your dependence on the Master and Swamiji and your faith in them is at the root of this success. Don't you ever forget it. Always pray that you remain His servant always, and that you may go on doing the work as service to the Master.

The Lord is spreading His own message amongst so many people, making you His instrument. For this consider yourself thankful, and may He never let any other idea enter your mind. Always remember Him and contemplate Him. No fear! Don't be frightened! If you are dependent on God, then you will see that He is with you. Even in the midst of the fire of name and fame, He will always protect you.

Never expect anything from anybody, neither at the present time nor in the future. If you have to ask anything, then ask it of Him.

==== '''By Swami Premananda''' ====
A devotee must depend entirely on the Lord. He must accept the Lord's will, whatever that may be. "Whatever condition you may place me in Mother—whether under a tree, with ashes to adorn my body, or on a royal throne, adorned with silver, gold and diamonds—it is for my good, provided I do not forget thee."
----

== 26 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Delusion ===

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
One should always stick to the Lord; if one succeeds in making this a habit, then the purpose is achieved. Then only the Lord is known to be present within and without; the cycle of events in the world cannot then disturb one's equanimity or make one restless. Not that disturbing things do not happen—they always do, but they go as they come, without being able to affect us in any way.

"None else, He alone is my all in all"—when you will feel like this and will not rely on anything, then will you be right. Now you are depending on earthly things, on wealth, man, and learning. Even great scholars get mad by a single screw getting loose in the brain. We do not rely on God. We rely on our money; our relations, our friends. When nothing will intervene between you and Him, then you will realize Him. Sri Krishna had broken all the ties of the Gopis. But their sense of shame still remained. That tie also he broke at last. When the Lord sees that man is finding it hard to give up anything for Him, then He Himself takes it away. "Lord, take all things away from me, even those that I have kept hidden in my inmost heart." "If, O man, thou wilt cross the ocean of relative existence, thou must give up desires for earthly things."

Nowadays the theory of Mahamaya or a Universal Force manipulating everything, appeals to me very much. I haven't got words to tell you how much I like it. It is because the mind has accepted the truth of it.

Swamiji also in his later days used to have great faith in Mahamaya. To be like an automaton in Her hands is easier said than done. If we submit to Her, She never fails to protect us. With the advance of age there comes a time when, instead of leaning on the theory of causation, we naturally resign ourselves to the Divine Mother.

What is wanted is dependence on God. One must surrender everything to Him.

Depend on Mother for everything. Trust in Her, and She will guide you. She will not let you go astray.

Mother is kind to send pain. It is for our good. Only we are so self-loving, we don't realize it. We must depend on Her alone, and on nothing else. Certainly we must depend on her for our external wants, for everything. Our body, mind, and soul are given to Mother. On whom else then should we depend on? Let her give or let her take—it is all the same. Why should we care? When once given, how can we demand again? Blessed is he who can realize this.
----

== 27 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Delusion ===

==== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' ====
You speak about dependence on God so superficially. If you do not get any response after calling on God for a couple of days, you follow your own way according to your mood, as if you understood the situation better than he.

[To a devotee's question: Maharaj why do we not have that kind of dependence on God?]

It is because you value your intellect and ego more than God. You are not ready to wait for his command, and moreover, you lose patience in a minute.

Look, when you dive deep into the Ganga, though there are thousands of pounds of water above you, you don't feel that weight. Similarly, if you plunge into God's creation yet still hold onto him, you will not feel its burden. Then the world becomes a place of merriment.

Remember this beautiful saying of Tulasidas: "He who takes refuge in God is protected by him." A huge elephant may be swept away by the current of the river, but the small fish who lives in the river can even swim against its current. Remember that if you depend on God, he will take care of you in all circumstances.

Believers remain satisfied. They depend on the Lord and enjoy contentment. One should avoid the company of the non-believers. They themselves suffer and pass on their discontent to others.

What is the use of prayer and meditation if you have no dependence on Him? Everything else is useless if you lack in this.

==== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' ====
Pleasure and pain are the inevitable companions of every human being. When one comes, the other departs but neither can remain long. Knowing this we must not be swept out of our wits under their influence. Depend upon God entirely and do your duty. Always abide by the will of God and take everything in the best light.

Few of us believe in God all the time. As long as we have two or three rupees in the pocket, we think we can depend on ourselves. Only when the last penny is gone and we do not know where to get another, do we begin to trust God. But the man who depends on himself is never safe, while the man who has perfect faith in God is never in danger.

==== '''By Swami Saradananda''' ====
Depending on Him, resign yourself to His care. Let Him decide what is best for you.

If you carry on your spiritual practices with implicit faith in the Lord who is your own, you will understand everything in due time. It will gradually be revealed to you how you can cultivate absolute reliance on God while performing your duties.

Therefore give up all attempts to understand spiritual truths with your limited intellect. Have absolute faith in the Lord; rely on Him and practice spiritual disciplines.

Depend upon God and stand on your own feet. Remember the words of the Upanishads and dive deep into spiritual practice, never be contented until the goal is reached.

Peace of mind can be had by spending more time in meditation and other spiritual practices and by depending on the Lord.

When nothing is possible without His will, then what is the use of planning? It is better to depend on Him and do as He makes us do.

==== '''By Swami Akhandananda''' ====
While travelling in Gujarat, once some dacoits would have killed me, if I had had any money with me. Ah, what a state of dependence upon God it was, always thinking of Him! Money makes us forget God. Dependence on God is true self-reliance. Dependence on money is not. Don't you see, those who earn money cannot rely upon God in the proper spirit? The two cannot go together. It is dangerous to have your legs in two boats!

Man enters family life and gets involved in worldly affairs. But if he takes refuge in the Lord and then attends to the duties of life, he can withstand much better the storms and stresses of the world, all of which he can ignore by his dependence on God's dispensation.
----

== 28 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Depression ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
In the primary stage, the aspirant should slowly but steadily increase his hours of meditation. Otherwise, if, because of a momentary enthusiasm, he suddenly tries to increase his hours of meditation, he will find the reaction difficult to bear. He will become depressed, and then he will lose the power to meditate. It is a difficult task to lift a depressed mind and turn it back to spiritual practices.

It is but natural that you feel depressed now and then.

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
Faith saves us. Everyone feels depressed at times; but all do not show it.

==== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' ====
Why should you be so depressed? Do you think you understand everything about human life? Know that no life goes in vain in God's realm. Once Brother Shashi gave a very apt illustration to someone like you. A man was out walking and came upon a canal. Seeing that he would have to jump over it in order to continue on his way, he took several strides backward to get a running start for his leap. As he ran forward and jumped over the canal, he covered not only the distance he had moved backward but also the canal itself. Now, can you tell me whether his several steps backward were helpful or harmful? A man might have to take backward steps in this present life, but he will undoubtedly run forward in the next.

==== '''By Swami Saradananda''' ====
You feel depressed because your faith is lukewarm. You must cultivate self-confidence.

When you feel depressed, you must drive away that feeling by saying, "I belong to the Lord, He is my very own. I am His child. He is holding me by the hand and will surely do what is good for me." These thoughts will bring strength to your nerves and faith in your heart.

You should drive away all depressive thoughts, telling yourself that it is the nature of the mind to have passions and they arise due to past habit. Fix your mind on God and they will leave you alone. Bestow no thought on what is past. If negative thoughts arise, pay no attention; consider them as insignificant things, beneath your notice.

Whenever you feel miserable and spiritual life seems dry, you must drive these feelings away by thinking that you are His servant, His child, a part of Himself and that your Chosen Ideal is always there holding you by His hand. You are safe in His care, and nothing but good will come to you in the end. Remembering this you must pick up strength and banish from your heart all depressing thoughts. Despondency is the greatest obstacle in spiritual life. It saps energy and destroys your ability to struggle.

==== '''By Swami Akhandananda''' ====
Have you read the book, "Up From Slavery"—the great story of service, of educating the people? It tells of how they made their own bricks with which they built the school. In the beginning they were unable to do so; but after repeated failure they succeeded. He that is born with a mission does not stop at obstacles. He is never depressed: he will finish his work and then only rest.
----

== 29 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Desire ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
Out of thousands, perchance one desires for God. Sri Ramakrishna used to say that a man will surely attain God if he possesses in an intense degree three kinds of love—the love a chaste wife feels toward her husband, the attraction of the worldly man for the world, and the attachment the miser feels toward his hoarded wealth. This means that the mind must be one-pointed and completely free of all desires but the desire to know and love God.

Later, when the mind has attained perfect purity, you will have but one desire—to devote yourself to contemplation always. Because the mind is gross it runs after gross things, but as it becomes pure and subtle it will run after God—the pure consciousness.

Purify your mind so that no worldly desire can arise in it.

"I want to taste sugar but not become sugar" is for the man who has not yet tasted sugar. When a devotee begins to taste the sweetness of God, he will desire to achieve oneness with him.

As long as a man desires the things of the world, it is not possible for him to have any earnest desire to know God. As long as a child is absorbed in his toys he forgets his mother, but as soon as he tires of them he cries for her, and is not happy till he sees her. Similarly, when a man tires of the playthings of the world his heart yearns for God, and he struggles with all his mind and will to find him.

The desire to live a pure and holy life does not come easily, know this for a certainty. The grace of God is upon all those in whom this desire is awakened. In the world man receives repeated blows. He suffers much, and yet the desire to walk the path of God does not enter into his heart. He knows full well that every time he puts his hand in the fire it will burn, yet still he does it. Not only so; he uses every inducement to encourage others to do the same and regards that man as crazy who desists.

Like a fallen leaf tossed to and fro by the wind, the one-pointed man is content to remain wherever the Lord places him. He has no will or desire of his own. He can live in the world and at the same time dive into the ocean of knowledge and bliss.

If you have the craving for fleshly enjoyments or the slightest desire for name and fame you cannot reach God. As Nag Mahashaya used to say, "It is like trying to row an anchored boat." He also used to say, "It is easy to get name and fame. But holy is he who can renounce them."

Hold on for a little while. Do not give your mind up to objects of desire. You must exercise great self-control, in everything. Objects of desire! They will follow you like slaves. Then, through His grace, you will find you have no desire for them nor will you feel any attachment to them.

Effort must be your motto if you want to grow spiritually. Keep watch over every small desire which arises and control it.

My child, if you wish to make your life blessed, if you desire your own good, then dive deep into meditation. Do not float on the surface but repeat the name of the Lord and dive deep.

When you are able to free yourself from these deep-seated desires, when the mind becomes tranquil, then only can you become deeply absorbed in real meditation.

During meditation think that desires for worldly things are worthless. This will leave a good impression on the mind. As you drive away the desires from your mind, good thoughts and feelings will come to you.
----

== 30 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Desire ===

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
The base of all desires are lust and greed.

One can have that much desire as is absolutely necessary for self-preservation. The main object of self-preservation is to be able to call on the Lord whole-heartedly and to do works in His service that is all.

Renunciation means doing away with the three foremost desires [according to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the desires for progeny, wealth and popularity.] A devotee accepting the dualistic view renounces all desires except the desire for God. He alone is to be desired in life. The desire to realize Him is not really a desire at all.

Don't you know it is very hard to digest fame? Those who do not have Self-realization can hardly rise above the desire for name and fame.

As a result of good deeds performed in many incarnations and through the grace of God, one has this desire for liberation.

It will not do to have mere external renunciation; one must eradicate from one's very mind any desire for "lust and gold."

It is only by realizing Him that one gets rid of all passions and desires, attains fullness, and becomes the Self Itself.

It is He who fulfils all desires if one but prays with earnestness. He is the ordainer of all the desired results of everybody. It is He who vouchsafes all the fruits that people want be these virtue, secular prosperity, enjoyment, or liberation.

As a result of association with the holy one reaches the state of being freed from all worldly attachments. All wants and desires are then destroyed root and branch, and one feels the nearness of God.

Eternal peace cannot come so long as passions and desires persist; and those passions and desires cannot be wholly uprooted without the grace of God.

When the mind becomes free from impressions and desires, it cannot, strictly speaking, be called mind any longer—it becomes synonymous with the one Universal Intelligence, Divine Mother or Brahman give it any name you please.

It is impossible to obtain peace that is abiding so long as one is subject to desires, and one cannot wholly uproot desires without divine grace.

Dispassion depends upon past impressions, Samskaras. One gets it only when one is free from all desires and not otherwise. If any desire is left in the mind this spirit of renunciation cannot come.

Now and then a desire for enjoyment may be felt. Never mind, it is nothing; discriminate and renounce such desires.

Desire begets misery, to be without desires is bliss. Desire for enjoyment no doubt has to be given up. But then all desires are not to be given up. It is only material desires that are to be given up. But the desire to realize God, the desire for knowledge and devotion are not to be given up.

That mind in which there are no mentations or desires cannot be called mind.
----

== 31 July 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Desire ===

==== '''By Swami Premananda''' ====
Surrender all desire for name and fame to the Lord. If some little name or fame comes your way, it won't harm you.

Be not self-seeking try to be desireless, and take your refuge in the Lord, who is the doer of all good.

You are young. Your passions are naturally strong, and desires for enjoyment will arise inevitably. You need to be very careful. Think that you are the servant of the Lord, that you are strong in the strength of the Lord. How could lust overcome you! You have to be strong and a hero, and at the same time calm and tender.

Let the strong wind of dispassion rise in your minds, that the trees of desire be uprooted. Then, even as birds fly from the shelter of trees before a strong wind, will the ignorance of selfishness, jealousy, hatred, and egoism take flight from your hearts.

So long as there remains one desire in the heart, it is not possible to attain Samadhi. However, the desire to know God and to love Him cannot be considered a desire in the ordinary sense. The only desire a monk should have in his heart is the desire to realize God.

You must uproot the very tree of desire with the strong wind of dispassion. Free your minds from all desires, and peace will reign in your hearts. To be liberated means to be desireless.

Desire, again, is of two kinds—good and evil. That desire which tightens the bonds of ignorance is evil; that which loosens the bonds is good. Therefore, the desire to associate with the holy or to serve them, and the desire to work selflessly for the good of others are good desires.

There are desires also of a gross and subtle kind. Gross desires are the desires for wealth, pleasure, and enjoyments. Sometimes it happens that after a man has succeeded in freeing himself from these gross desires after great struggles and hard spiritual disciplines, he succumbs to the subtle desire for recognition, name, or fame. These, too, have to be overcome by the practice of spiritual discrimination. The root cause of all desire is the ego and our identity with the physical body.

It is also true that unless the desires are left behind you cannot have the vision of God. Desirelessness and the vision of God are like the opposite sides of the same leaf.

The truth is, it is not possible to realize God unless one becomes completely desireless.

So long as there is the least desire the mind cannot be absorbed in God. Along with meditation and repetition of the Lord's name, we must reason keenly and carefully we must search out the desires hiding in the dark corners of the mind and drive them away. This is what is called in the Gita as "saving the self by the self." Thus we are to conquer the mind. We shall then find Peace Everlasting within ourselves and become sages. Simply meditating or repeating God's name, without any effort at rooting out the desires, will not do.
== 1 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON DESIRE ====

===== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' =====
When he was wandering about as an itinerant monk, Swamiji (Swami Vivekananda) saw on the wall of a dilapidated temple a couplet written in Hindi with charcoal. Nobody knew who had written this couplet or where the writer had got it from. But how beautiful its meaning was! It is as follows: "Oh! desire, you are the lowliest of the lowly. You are like the tanner or the scavenger. This Atman of mine was Brahman Itself—but coming near you, how small you have converted it into!"

Supreme devotion cannot be had so long as there is the slightest desire in the mind.

Desires keep us apart from God. But one day we shall have to eradicate all desires and call on Him. What if the body dies while calling on Him?

However great a man may be, whatever great deeds he may be doing, some day he will have to be desireless.

If you find a man's desire for sense-enjoyments is growing less and less and his love is extending over all beings, then you may know that he is progressing towards God.

It is very difficult to realize God. The slightest desire blocks the way.

How beautifully Tulasidas expressed it: "Where Rama the Lord is, there is no Kama, desire; and where there is Kama, there Rama is not. Both can never co-exist like the sun and darkness."

How difficult to hold the mind forever above the world! It wants to come down. It is indeed very hard to escape the grip of desire. As Sri Ramakrishna would say, "Even he who has no one to call his own rears up a cat and creates homely attachments."

We have been reading these few days of the selfish prayers in the Rudradhyaya: "Do not destroy my cows. Ever turn thy benignant face on me. Come putting aside thy bow and arrows. And humble my enemies and chastise them." Well, such prayers come out of selfishness. But when one is rid of body-consciousness, one does not feel these desires.

If one realizes God, to him the world is a paradise and everything in it yields whatever he desires.

Duality is nothing. It has come only from here (pointing to his heart). It vanishes, if one will only shake it off with a will. If one does not want sense-enjoyment, if one hates the approach of any thought of it in the mind, of their own accord will all desires for sense-objects fly away. Suppose I do not like the company of a particular individual, do not talk with him, thus showing my constant dislike for him, then in a few days he of his own accord will stop coming to me. One succeeds in driving away the desires for sense-enjoyments, if only one makes an effort for that. It is because we cling to sense-objects that desire for them does not leave us.

Ordinarily we know only the surface waves of our mind. But through Yoga practice we learn to go deeper. By watching and studying our own minds we dive below the surface consciousness, and observe what is going on there. Many Samskaras—latent desires and tendencies—are stored up there, waiting for an opportunity express themselves. These we can discover before they rise to the surface.

This is very important, for once a thought has come to the surface it is extremely difficult to control. But at an early stage, before it has fully developed and gathered strength, it is easy to manipulate. This is called "seeing our thoughts in seed form." The seed is easily destroyed, but when it is germinated and grown into a big strong tree, it requires great strength and effort to cut it down. So we must crush our desires in their early, undeveloped stages. Yogis can do this. They keep down undesirable thoughts in the germ state by smothering them beneath thoughts of an opposite nature. Thus they conquer all evil tendencies hatred with love, anger with kindness and so on.

Have you seen people play chess? The players sometimes overlook a move because their minds are set on winning the game. But the looker-on will see the move, because his mind is calm, not disturbed by the desire to win. We become ambitious, and thus lose clearness of vision. Ambition sweeps us along, and all prudence is thrown to the winds. Our desires make us blind.

It is true that one cannot give up all desires; but if the mind becomes discriminating, desires cannot exert their previous power. You read in the Yoga Vasishta, "If one moves about with discrimination as one's friend, one does not fall prey even to great temptations." And that is actually true. If one maintains discrimination steady and strong, no illusion can ever overpower. If you constantly remember that the world is unreal, what can desires do? There is no harm in fulfilling small desires, but those which make one forget the Lord are dangerous. It does not matter that you have to live in the world; if you but keep remembrance of the Lord, desires cannot lead you astray.

To be born for selfish purpose i.e. to enjoy sense pleasures alone deserves censure. But certainly there is nothing wrong in a person's being reborn without any selfish desire.
----

== 2 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON DESIRE ====

===== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' =====
A thread with stray fibers cannot pass through the eye of a needle; similarly, a mind with desires cannot be absorbed in God.

Worldly desires have taken up permanent residence in the mind. Sometimes they float on the surface of the mind, and sometimes they are so hidden that it seems they do not even exist. But the closer you are to God, the more you will see the knots of desire hidden in the mind. The more our body and mind are purified, the more the dirt and dross which have accumulated during thousands of lives will be stirred up and will challenge your spirituality. The energy generated by spiritual disciplines forces the impurities to leave the mind, their fort. How can they cope against the power of the Lord's name? You see, the desires are very shrewd. They take possession not only of the mind of a person but his sense organs as well. As soon as desire is aroused in the mind, the sense organs are awakened. The eyes want to see, the ears want to hear, the tongue to taste and speak, the nose to smell, the body to feel. The hands want to work and the feet carry the person to where the object is. The other sense organs are alert, and whenever the opportunity comes they also enjoy.

Do you know what the mind does? It conjures up enticing pictures with the imagination. The ''imagination'' is man's worse enemy, his greatest tempter, for it creates beautiful pictures of sense pleasures and nearly destroys man's conscience. Thus man is drawn to sense objects. Therefore, if you want to control the desire for worldly things, control the imagination and don't be deluded by sense enjoyments.

The nature of the mind can be changed by chanting the name of the Lord. Gradually desires and doubts cease and the mind dissolves into its causality. Then there is none to think or imagine. Waves of desire in the mind show that the mind is active; the mind becomes pure only when it becomes waveless.

Whatever you want you will get. But if you want to be spiritual, you cannot want anything else. The Master used to say, "Whatever you want from God you will receive. But if you want Him only, then all your other wants will be fulfilled as well."

Be satisfied with whatever you need for your daily living and don't desire more. Too many worldly belongings displace the thought of the Reality from the mind.

He who has learned to discriminate can successfully overcome lust and greed. So, cultivate your discrimination and conscience. How can you struggle against evil tendencies if your intellect is not trained to differentiate between good and evil?

First clear out the rubbish which has entered the mind through the gates of the sense organs, and then put a "''NO ADMITTANCE''" sign in front of each gate. Those bad thoughts which ignore the notice and still come in, you will have to hand over to the police, which is our conscience. With the help of the police you must evict the impure tendencies from the mind and then install the Lord there. This is the way to conquer lust and desire.

Desire begets wants in the mind of man. And if he has no desires, he has no wants. Love for God destroys desire.

How many people want to hear about God? That desire comes through God's special grace.

Desire, freed from hankering for results, leads to the purification of the heart, and the knowledge of the Self dawns when the mind becomes pure.

If you are running temperature, everything tastes bitter, you do not like sweets. Even so, so long as you have the desire to enjoy worldly things, you can have no taste for prayer, meditation, fasts, and vigils—all taste bitter. When this worldly fever subsides, prayer, meditation, etc., taste sweet. The mind settles quickly on God. Temptation cannot sweep you off your feet.

As long as you suffer from a sense of want, you cannot sincerely call on God. And man has no end of wants. This sense is so peculiar that the more you think of it, the intenser and wider it becomes. Therefore it is that those who want God should tread the path of renunciation.
----

== 3 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON DESIRE ====

===== '''By Swami Abhedananda''' =====
Man is a slave to his passion, which is the same as desires, and desires are ever associated with selfishness. Selfishness means the desire to seek for food and raiment and happiness for oneself and one's family, without any consideration as to whether one's countrymen fare ill or well. The idea of looking on others as oneself never springs in them.

This selfishness itself is ignorance. That is why any mental tendency or idea that is associated with selfishness is narrow. This keeps a man confined within his own body or limited self, his mind never expands. He thinks that whatever is favourable to himself is good, and whatever is unfavourable is bad. Such people never get any peace in this world, their mind is ever aflame with peacelessness.

Desires are of two kinds—good and bad. When desires are associated with selfishness, they are bad, but when desires are motiveless or selfless, they are good. Lust, anger, and greed—these three spring from bad desires, and they harm men. The men of realization go beyond desires. To go beyond desires means to become free from desires or hankering for results. Desires, freed from hankering for results, leads to the purification of the heart, and the knowledge of the Self dawns when the mind becomes pure. Virtue and vice arise from desires. One can have no peace so long as one is a slave to desires. ''Peace means the conquest of desires''. And the way to the conquest of desires is through doing good to others, striving for the welfare of others.

Diverse are the desires of man, a thousand desires hide themselves behind any one of them. Thus there is no end of desires—one following the other in unending succession. That is why the enlightened ones speak of annihilating desires.

===== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' =====
What makes the mind impure? Desire. Free the mind of all desires, and at once it becomes pure. A man, who has no idea of God, can never get rid of desire. The lover of God sees that instead of bringing enjoyment, these desires are the source of all miseries. He understands that in God alone he can find the satisfaction of all desires, for He is infinite bliss, and all other pleasures are finite and perishable.

Desire concretised is body.

Desire to be desireless is no desire.

It is not easy to free the mind of desires. God alone can do it. A man who has no idea of God will never get rid of desires. He will say. "If I have no desire, what differences will there be between me and the wall? It is desire alone that gives me enjoyment. For every desire, there is a satisfaction in the world. Why, then, should I give up desire?" The man who has devotion for God, however, sees that instead of bringing enjoyment, these desires are the source of all his sufferings. He realizes that in God alone can he find satisfaction for all desires.

If you wish to see God, the only way is to get rid of all selfish desires and make the mind single.

Mind is like a big mirror which gives a perfect reflection but which has been so thickly covered with dirt that nothing can be seen in it. The more you can rub off that dirt the more you will be able to see yourself in it. The more you can remove the least speck of dust the more you can get a perfect image of your true Self. What is that dirt that hides the image? Selfish desires.

Desire is a very dangerous thing. Sometimes we think we have killed all selfish desire; but somewhere in our mind there lingers some remnant; and as from a spark left in the corner of the hearth may come again a big fire, so out of that small remnant may spring a huge fire of desire.

[To the question, "Could not God free us from ignorance at once if He wished?"]

A: Surely; but He is so infinitely loving that He does not wish to molest us. So long as He sees that we really cling to our ignorance and our desires He does not come to free us. Only when we turn all our desires to Him, then He comes and selfishness and ignorance go away. But we must not bribe the mind, we must not pretend to be free from desires. The feeling must be absolutely sincere; no fraud or bribery.

Desires cannot be quenched by satisfaction, but by dissociation. The more one yields to them the more they will burn him. When desires are extinguished, perfection which is within our being will be revealed.
----

== 4 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON DESIRE ====

===== '''By Swami Saradananda''' =====
It is a pity that man does not want God from the bottom of his heart. If he really wants him, he will surely find him.

If it is the will of Mother, do you think that it will take time to grant the vision and fulfil the desire of our heart? When you belong to her, there is no question that visions and experiences will be yours some day in your life.

Conflicting desires arise in the mind. Because of these desires the mind is constantly lashed into waves. As long as these waves form, the mind is restless. In order to control these waves which give rise to thoughts of a worldly and distracting nature, one must live a life of self-discipline.

Those who lead an unregulated life and think impure thoughts lose their powers and strength of mind. They are at the mercy of passing desires and the feverish cravings of the senses and are slaves.

What should one do if in spite of these arguments the mind refuses to listen? In that case you should enjoy the object of desire once or twice, while discriminating between the real and the unreal. Small desires, such as sweets, can be renounced in this way after enjoying them with proper discrimination.

But it is dangerous to apply this same method to major desires. The moment an aspirant begins to gratify them, he becomes so involved that he cannot extricate himself. Therefore these major desires have to be renounced and uprooted completely from the mind by realizing the danger and the defects inherent in them. If they are given free rein, they will stifle the power of discrimination.

If you ask why the Lord does not remove all desires from your mind, the answer is that He knows that you will be free from the bondage of the world after some years so there is no necessity to forcibly drive them away.

Desire is like a fire which always craves new sensations. If you ignore its demand, it will burn itself out and be extinguished. Therefore, carry on your meditation without paying any notice to the intrusion of distracting thoughts.

If there is a strong attachment for God and a burning desire to realize Him, all other attractions will drop off.

===== '''By Swami Akhandananda''' =====
Self-evolution is impossible in a narrow atmosphere of selfishness. Even with an iota of desire for sense-enjoyment, this is impossible.

If you have a desire for sense-enjoyments, then there can be no spiritual attainments. If you are really after spiritual life, then bid farewell to desires.

In worldly life, people are all absorbed in the desire for enjoyment. How will this desire be burnt away? Some heat is necessary first, to dry up the mind soaked with thoughts of enjoyment. The Sadhu gives you that heat. But then if your mind is like a flint, it is a different tale. It may remain a thousand years under water, but it will emit fire when you strike it. But how many such are there? Not many.

===== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' =====
It is desire that is the root of all evil, and no one else is at fault.

He is all-pervading, He is within you all, and He knows everything. Confide in Him, but you must be careful not to go to Him with selfish desires.

You cannot have contentment so long as you are subject to worldly desires. Once they disappear you are free.

The most remarkable phenomenon is that all men, all animals desire to live forever. This shows the immortality of all created things. Yes, it is really so.

God had fulfilled every desire that arose in his mind. He acts like a ''valet'' to provide us with whatever we want. Is He to blame or are we? It is desire that is the root of all evil, and no one else is at fault. That is why a discriminating person says to God: Let your work remain with you, I am not the doer, I am but an instrument.

If you can get rid of all your desires, rebirth will not take place. We provide new impetus to our karmas in every birth, thus continuing the cycle of rebirths. But if we check it completely, that is if we rise over our desires, we will have no further rebirths. When the desires are gone, you are free.

After death, worldly desires continue to remain in a subtle form. Death only destroys the gross body, but the senses, mind, and intelligence, all remain in a subtle form. In that subtle body sense enjoyments are all the more acute. After the subtle state comes the causal state: even then the mind and other phenomena exist in the form of seed. In the supra-mental state only one attains perfect illumination.
----

== 5 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON DESPAIR ====

===== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' =====
No, no. There is no cause for despair. The effect of meditation is inevitable.

===== '''By Swami Shivananda''' =====
Know for certain that the impossible becomes possible through His grace. Never allow despair to enter your mind. Don't worry.

===== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' =====
Man can attain peace if he gives up worldly enjoyment, for such enjoyment is the source of sorrow and sufferings, disease and despair.

===== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' =====
Let me remind you of certain passages from the Gita which console, invigorate and drive away despair from the minds of even the most dejected. When Arjuna asked Sri Bhagavan about the man who had gone astray from the true path in the midst of his progress and about such a one losing both worldly and religious concerns the Bhagavan replied, "''Oh! Dear Friend, the man who does even the least of good deeds never becomes wretched in his after-life. He takes his birth in the home of the holy and the pious and begins a life of godliness and piety''." Hence, if even for a second you do feel or think a good thought, it is sure to be of great gain to you. Never give way to despair, for it is the Lord Himself that consoles every son of man, promising "Oh! Arjuna! declare it before all men that My devotee never meets with misfortune or destruction."

===== '''By Swami Saradananda''' =====
Do not despair if at the beginning you do not get any result from your spiritual practices and worship. If you keep up the practice with patience and resolution, you will get its result at the right time, there is no doubt about it. Later on, if you proceed still further, you will come to understand everything from within.

===== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' =====
The river of time is flowing on. Will it only do to be drifting with the current? You have got to cross the river, and you can get across only when you swim with the help of that current. Never give way to despair and dejection. Without perseverance nothing great can be achieved.

You should go on telling your beads morning and evening even though the mind wanders. You should never give it up; and there is no reason to despair either. In time everything will come out all right. Your mind may not settle always on your object of worship, but it must get settled for some time at least, maybe once in fifteen minutes? That should be enough.
----

== 6 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON DESPONDENCY ====

===== '''By Swami Shivananda''' =====
Low thoughts will come and go. Don't mind them. Through His grace, as a result of constant practice, you will get through.

Don't yield to despondency. It makes the mind restless. Always think that you are all blessed, that you are the children of the Lord.

===== '''By Swami Saradananda''' =====
Despondency is the greatest obstacle in spiritual life. It saps energy and destroys your ability to struggle.

If despondency comes, then drive it away by thinking thus: I am His handmaid, His daughter, His part and parcel; my guru and my chosen Deity are always holding me by the hand and they are doing that which is for my good. Bring courage to your mind by thus thinking; and thinking of Sri Sri Thakur, daily perform the japa of that mantra about the repetition of which I have already told you. If the mind does not become steadily fixed at the feet of Sri Sri Thakur, then pray to Him with yearning—"''Thakur, please make my mind steady''." Know definitely that Sri Sri Thakur hears all your prayers and is able to know all your thoughts and moods. Whatever you ask from Him with yearning, that indeed you will get.

=== ON DETACHMENT ===
'''By Swami Brahmananda'''

Outward renunciation will follow if you detach your mind from the transitory, unreal objects of the world and attach it to God.

'''By Swami Shivananda'''

The discrimination between the Real and the unreal gives rise to detachment.

Those who have real dispassion and sincere detachment have nothing to fear at any time. God will reveal Himself in their hearts; He will fulfil their life's goal by His blessed vision.

The main factors that count are renunciation, detachment, purity and sincere hankering for God-realization.

My son, you have asked me how you should live in the world. About this, the Master himself said that while performing duties in the world, one should keep one's mind in God. Therefore, while living in the world you should be detached from it, even as a maidservant does all kinds of work in the house of a rich man, although her whole heart is in her home in the country.
----

== 7 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON DETACHMENT ====

===== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' =====
Is it easy to detach the mind from all objects? Only a hero can do that. The external objects are ever trying to enter into your mind and conquer you. In the mind itself there are many layers, one upon another. It is no use merely closing the eyes and ears.

Who enjoys the show? The actor or the spectator? Learn to be the witness. Stand aside and watch the play. Don't get involved.

===== '''By Swami Abhedananda''' =====
Peace arises from detachment.

===== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' =====
When a man is vilified and yet shows no resentment or even annoyance, you may be sure he has conquered his ego and is completely detached.

===== '''By Swami Saradananda''' =====
The aim of the scriptures is to teach people how to develop the spirit of renunciation in married life. Through worldly experience, with its joys and sorrows, they will come to know the value of detachment, without which no happiness is obtained.

Those who are attracted to objects of the senses have to learn detachment through experience and for them the scriptures have advocated the second course of living in the world but not being of the world.

If a person performs his duties properly and his life embodies the spirit of detachment throughout, he will ultimately attain the highest goal. In other words, he will see God in everything and attain pure knowledge, which will burn all the seeds of karma. He will not be born again, and his soul will merge itself into Brahman, at the dissolution of his body.

Practice and detachment are necessary to bring one-pointedness to the naturally restless and out-going mind.

===== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' =====
One who can detach his mind from material things will see the effulgent light of Brahman and His presence in everything.

Whenever the mind becomes pure and holy by being detached from material things, it reflects the effulgent light of God. For a man who has got that realization, the world ceases to exist. We fail to see God because our mind cannot go beyond the confines of the world and its objects.

Consider yourself as one detached from the mind. Unless you are completely detached from everything, your meditation and prayer, work and learning will be of no avail.
----

== 8 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON DETERMINATION ====

===== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' =====
Think of Buddha. What tremendous determination he had! After years of searching he finally sat himself down under a tree, determined to realize God then and there or die in the attempt. That is what is needed.

===== '''By Swami Shivananda''' =====
As for our blessings, it is always there to be sure. You, too, have to engage yourself in spiritual practices with determination.

What is wanted is intensity, yearning and sincerity. Once you have the yearning in your mind, success is near at hand. All this does not happen in a single day. Persist in your efforts with determination, and everything will come about in due course. The purer the receptacle the quicker is His manifestation.

I warn you further that no speedy result can be expected in this path. One has to go on persevering in the path, day after day, month after month, year after year with the same determination—one has to make spiritual efforts.

Mere talk will not do; one has to act. With firm determination, one has to strive for God-realization. Make a start from this very day; for life is fleeing every moment. Nobody can say when one will hear the call for departure; so don't waste a single day. Those who think that these things can be put off for the future never do anything. They will be tossed to this current of birth and death for infinite ages.

By remembering him and reflecting on him the mind and heart get purified. Apply yourself with determination. I tell you, you will gain everything.

===== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' =====
Clench your fists and say: I will conquer! Now or never—make that your motto, even in this life I must see God. That is the only way. What you know to be right, do that and do that at once, do not let any chance go by. The way to failure is paved with good intentions. That will not do. Remember, this life is for the strong, the persevering: the weak go to the wall. And always be on your guard. Never give in.

Circumstances may or may not be favourable, but who cares? We must strain every nerve to accomplish the thing. If you are determined to do it at any cost, you will find that obstacles which you thought would overpower you, ultimately turn out to help you. But you must struggle sincerely. Does one find circumstances always propitious?

Consider what you have got to do as your duty and go on. Are you not undecaying and immortal always? So why should you go about seeking favourable circumstances? It is you who have projected all this. One wishing to bathe in the sea waits and waits, with the idea that one would have a plunge when the waves would have subsided. Nonsense! Will that moment ever come! Instead of doing so, you buffet against the waves, have your bath, and come out. The sea remains always the same.

So in this world, you must manage to call upon the Lord in the midst of these waves. It is a wild-goose-chase to be on the look-out for opportunities. Now or never! Apply yourselves to it, and disadvantages will turn into advantages.

To root out tendencies is an uphill task. But if one has the determination to say, "what if I have once done something wrong? Now I know what it is; so I won't do it any more," then one can get through.

The only remedy against that [rebirth because of sex connections] is to take refuge in the Lord and give up that clinging to flesh with a firm determination saying "I won't do it again." In that case, all the sins done previously will be forgiven. But a person must not play the hypocrite. Then all the old sins will come down upon him and exact their dues with compound interest.

One should have great determination. We must control the mind and not allow the mind to control us.

The best period of your life is slipping by. It won't return. But if you practise, you will see for yourself that within a few days a change will come over you. Everything will become clear and easy. Good impressions will establish themselves. Start now. Tell yourself: "I shall do it!" Be a determined spiritual aspirant.

Say: "Either I succeed in the practice of repeating God's holy name, or I shall die in the attempt."

===== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' =====
The only way out is to think of the Divine Mother, night and day, to surrender ourselves to Her unreservedly, with the determination to free ourselves from passions, and to effect a complete suppression of them.
----

== 9 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON DEVOTEES ====

===== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' =====
A devotee likes the form of God. He calls upon him, he sings his praise, he chants his name and sees his shining form. Sometimes he weeps and sometimes he laughs. In the end, the devotee and the man of knowledge become one.

===== '''By Swami Shivananda''' =====
A devotee accepting the dualistic view, renounces all desires except the desire for God. He alone is to be desired in life. The desire to realize Him is not really a desire at all.

Happiness is so rare in this world! Compared with pains and sorrows there is very little happiness. But those who are devoted to God alone know some peace in this world. They are not disturbed by whatever pains or sorrows may come to them, because they know that everything comes from God.

It is the same God who gives us happiness and again trials and difficulties. That is why they can patiently bear everything as a blessing from God. They are never elated by happiness, nor are they upset by sorrow. Just as happiness is impermanent and short-lived, so also is sorrow.

It is very difficult for an average person to stand the actions and reactions of this world. A genuine devotee, because of his faith in God is never overwhelmed by these.

If devotees are served properly it pleases the Master. He used to say, "The scripture, the devotee and the Lord"—these three are identical. Yet he is more manifest in Sadhus and devotees."

A true devotee relies on the Lord under all circumstances, like a kitten on its mother. He calls on Him with tears and prays to Him with all humility. He alone knows when to grant the vision of Himself to the devotee. Take refuge in Him and keep waiting at His door, praying all the while with heart and soul for faith, devotion, and love. He will fill your heart to the brim.

God creates all the necessary opportunities for those who are sincere devotees.

A true devotee does not worry about this birth or that. That's all a very low idea.

Well, it is not good for the devotees of God to roam about too much; that hinders the growth of true devotion. Hence one should sit down somewhere after seeing some holy places; and then one should occupy oneself fully with one's spiritual efforts. That helps the development of spiritual intensity and love for God. Too much moving about hither and thither dries up spiritual intensity.

Who is a devotee? It is the Lord Himself who, in a way, becomes embodied as a devotee in order to taste the bliss of His own divine sport. That is why the Master used to say: "The scripture, the devotee and the Lord—are one and the same," and he would salute them. The words of the Lord are treasured in the scriptures and He is seated in the hearts of His devotees.

God graciously reveals Himself in the heart of a devotee who always meditates upon Him. What is needed is meditation—constant remembrance and thinking of Him.

A genuine devotee is like a kitten. In whatever position God places him, he is satisfied and calls upon Him, faithfully carrying on his spiritual practices and devotions.

God favours His devotee. It is love and devotion that please Him. He manifests Himself in the heart of a devotee who is sincere and earnest.
----

== 10 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON DEVOTEES ====

===== '''By Swami Premananda''' =====
One must have deep emotion, and at the same time one must reason out everything uncompromisingly. One must give play to one's intellect else, there is no way out. That is why the Master said, "You should be a devotee, but that's no reason why you should be a fool."

Can one become a great devotee of God simply by dancing and jumping, or by quoting plentifully from the Scriptures? ''What is wanted is freedom from selfishness—freedom from egotism''.

The Master used to say, "The devotees belong to a class by themselves. They are neither Brahmins nor non-Brahmins, neither are they Hindus nor Muslims. The devotees belong to the divine class—God's relatives and blood relations—His very own."

Those devotees who have made their homes into ashramas, as it were, are indeed blessed. Such dwellings will become purified through service to devotees and visits of holy men.

Do you remember the parable of two kinds of farmers, the amateur farmers, and the ones who are farmers by birth and profession, who persevere and never give up farming? In the same way, a real devotee does not despair and give up his devotion to the Lord and his practice of meditation just because he is unable for some time to become absorbed in his meditation. He holds fast to the Lord at all times, under all circumstances, in happiness and in misery, in disease and in health, in peace and in unrest.

A devotee must depend entirely on the Lord. He must accept the Lord's will, whatever that may be. "Whatever condition you may place me in Mother—whether under a tree, with ashes to adorn my body; or on a royal throne, adorned with silver, gold and diamonds—it is for my good, provided I do not forget thee."

The devotees of our Lord are free-while-living. Be and move like heroes—strong in the strength of the Lord. If any weakness arises, pray to the Lord in solitude. He will give you strength and right understanding and will lead you to himself.

He who is a devotee of God is the life of our lives. He is our very own. This world would be enveloped in total darkness if there were no devotees of the Lord.

Pride, vanity, or egotism cannot touch those who are true devotees of the Lord.

Ah! The devotees of the Lord, display exemplary lives; let others learn from you how to live pure, selfless lives, desiring nothing else but the love of the Lord. Usher into the world a new age, in which people will learn to love the Lord and find peace and strength in him. Let your deeds speak—not mere words, not theories.

The devotees seek nothing but the grace of the Lord.

Devotees should converse about the Lord with one another. Our lives become vain if we have no love for devotees of the Lord. Devotees are our own—there should be no consideration of caste or race, for they have none. To love the devotees of the Lord brings no attachment, it creates no bondage.
== 11 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Devotees ===

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
Do you ask, "Will not the Lord do anything for His devotee?" Yes, He will. But you will have to become a devotee first, you must learn to feel devotion for Him.

The true devotees always say "Thou" and "Thine," that is to say, "Lord, Thou art everything, and everything is Thine." Wherein does this differ from Advaita? But if a devotee says "I" and "mine" and feels himself separate from and independent of Him, it is an extremely harmful dualism. Such a devotee is greatly deluded. The Master would often repeat "Not I, not I," "Thou, Thou," "I am Thy servant, I am Thy servant." A devotee must completely renounce all "I" and "mine."

The Jnanis following the path of knowledge meditate in the head, the devotees in the heart.

The only case in which predestination holds good is the resignation of the perfect devotee. He works automatically. There is no difference whatever between his will [the perfect devotee's] and the Divine will. But that too has its test—no wicked action can be done by him. Such a devotee never takes a false step.

They say that a devotee always beholds the Lord. It is quite true. In the Bible it is written: "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; but, whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath." All this is very true.

A true devotee cannot have a permanent fall. Even if he falls, he is bound to rise again through the grace of the Lord.

Eternal damnation! Nonsense! I do not believe it. God has His work done even by the apparent lapse of a devotee.

Wherever he be, the devotee is ever full of the nectar of love and bliss Divine.

==== '''By Swami Trigunatitananda''' ====
What caste can a true devotee or the perfect souls have? When the individual souls merge in God like rivers in the sea, they can no more have any individuality. So how can there be then the distinction of caste? Such distinctions as Brahmin, Shudra, etc. belong to the body, and never to the soul.

==== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' ====
[To the question: "How can an aspirant grasp Brahman which is infinite?"]

A: You have heard music, you have seen how the strings of a Sitar bring out songs. In the same way the life of a devotee expresses Divinity.

Don't ask for anything from God, for he knows everything. It is sometimes amazing how he fulfils the needs of his devotees.

==== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' ====
If we love God for what we can get from Him in the world, we really love the world, not God, and we can never be true devotees. A true devotee loves God just for the joy of loving Him, because God is the Beloved.

A true devotee is like that, he never thinks of himself. He is so full of the thought of God that his own self is forgotten. So every devotee must practise discrimination to be a true devotee. All these things—going to Temples, waving burning camphor, singing holy songs are for beginners. They are the first standard. They are meant for people who in the midst of their worldly activities might not otherwise remember God. A man is hurrying by on some matter of business, he looks up and sees the gate tower of the Temple and for a moment he remembers, "there is a God." That is good, but it is only the initial stage.

A true devotee takes God's name with every breath, is filled with sincere devotion and offers flowers, leaves and water to God without any selfish motive, saying, "Mother Divine, worship and prayer are nothing but opportune moments to call on you."

The devotee's heart is the parlour of God. He is One in experience; but many when approached intellectually.

The perennial spring, which is not only full in itself, but also springs out of itself with overflowing munificence for the sake of others. A true devotee is like that. He lives not so much for himself as for his Beloved and for those who belong to Him.

As the devotee empties himself of himself, he is infilled with God.

==== '''By Swami Akhandananda''' ====
The very appearance and movement of those who earnestly call on God become something uncommon and impressive. Their very presence brings happiness. Their faces are always happy, their hearts are pure, and their minds are free from likes and dislikes. They are ever eager to remain merged in the Bliss that is God. To them worldly good and evil lose their distinction—both are equal to them.

You must bargain. He that is cheated here, is cheated there. He that has it here, has it there also. Why should you be cheated in order to practise religion? Why should you be a fool because you are a devotee? The cheater and the cheated—both are equally bad.

==== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' ====
As is the devotee, so is his God.

God is Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss. Many are His names and endless are His manifestations. As the devotee looks upon Him, so does He manifest Himself to Him. To some, therefore, He reveals Himself as Kali, to some as Rama, to some as Krishna or Shiva, and so on. It all depends on the devotee's own mental constitution.
----

== 12 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Devotion ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
Attain knowledge and devotion, then serve God in mankind. Work is not the end of life. Disinterested work is a means of attaining devotion.

What is morality? If one acquires devotion to God, morality and purity will follow without one even trying to be moral or pure.

[To a devotee who was feeling severe dryness and lack of devotion:]

Why worry about it? The waves of the ocean rise high, then go down again, and again they rise. The mind is like that. But please do not be troubled.

First know Him. After God-realization you may live in the world and your feet will not tread the wrong path. The world's Maya will not be able to bind you. Then, no matter which way you follow—whether the way of knowledge or the way of devotion, or the way of work—you and others will benefit immensely, and your human birth will be blessed.

Keep association with the holy. Go to one who knows the path, learn about the path, and walk on the path. Then alone you will reach your destination someday. Then alone will arise faith and devotion.

Work, devotion, discrimination—each one is a path to reach union with God. With the same whole-souled devotion with which a devotee worships the Lord in the shrine he must serve the Lord in the poor, in the sick, in the lowly. Practice any spiritual discipline with faith and devotion; in the end it will lead you to the same goal.

If you approach him with devotion, he will surely reveal himself. One can see him with the eye of devotion.

To have faith in Him, to be devoted to Him, to praise His glories—these are the only duties in life.

The one purpose of human life is to attain devotion to God and spiritual illumination; otherwise life is vain and meaningless.

As children swing around a pillar in their play, holding tightly to it for their support, so must you hold fast to God—the Pillar of life. Whichever path you follow, whether it be the path of work, or of devotion, or of knowledge you will reach him. Hold fast to the Pillar, and your life will be blessed, and you in turn will become a blessing to mankind.

You may think: "Let us have yearning, faith, and devotion first, then we shall begin our spiritual practices." But is that possible? Can we see the day before the break of dawn? When the Lord comes, love, devotion, and faith follow him as his retinue.

Devotion, self-surrender, and all other virtues will grow from within as you practice meditation.

There is the path of devotion and there is the path of knowledge. In the end, the devotee and the man of knowledge become one.

Without renunciation there can be no faith nor devotion.

When you can feel and know that you are helpless and alone, that you have no other refuge but God; when you feel that you have nothing in life to look forward to, then only will devotion to God arise in you.

True devotion, faith and knowledge, are the results of long persistence in spiritual practices.

Make the mind one-pointed—like the mariner's compass. In whatever direction the ship may sail, the compass always points to the north and keeps the ship on its course. Keep your mind pointed toward God, and your boat will sail smoothly. A man who does this never loses his faith and devotion, even if he is thrown into an evil environment.

The effect of meditation is inevitable. You are bound to get results if you practice japam with devotion, or even without, for devotion will follow.

[To the question: "Maharaj, how does devotion to God grow?"]

Keep the company of the holy; listen to their teachings and mould your life after their pattern. But without continence and the practice of meditation you cannot grasp the spirit of the enlightened ones; nor can you understand the scriptures.

The man of true devotion yearns for God without becoming impatient. Even if he sees no light he will not give up his devotions.

The more a man realizes that the world is barren, the more intense becomes his devotion to God and the greater is his peace. The greater the thirst, the sweeter the water.

Devote yourself to God. God is. Do not doubt his existence. I am telling you, my child, God is. Know for certain that he is.

Work, devotion, discrimination—each one is a path to reach union with God.
----

== 13 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Devotion ===

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
When the mind is purified, even the slightest suggestion would fill your heart with devotion for the Lord.

It is easy to take the vow of monasticism, but a person cannot have supreme devotion and knowledge without God's grace. The Lord is sure to grant the desire of one who sincerely yearns for devotion and knowledge.

God is antaryamin, the Inner Controller dwelling within. He judges by your heart. He sees how much devotion you have, not the amount of time you spend on meditation. He dwells within every heart. Whatever is done with devotion pleases the Lord.

The Lord looks at your mental attitude—your heart's longing. If one has devotion for Him, nothing else is necessary. If one could repeat His name with sincere devotion even once, that would fill one's heart with joy. That would be of more value than repeating His name a hundred thousand times mechanically.

Visiting holy places is an easy thing. It requires just a little hardship. But to have devotion and faith in God is a rare achievement.

Without devotion and faith, worship is meaningless. It is faith and devotion that make the earthen image living and conscious.

What is essential is to have faith in and devotion to His lotus feet; when that is there, everything is achieved.

It is through constant devotion and meditation that God becomes gracious and reveals Himself in the heart of the devotee.

One can have true and firm devotion only when one is vouchsafed this knowledge [the knowledge of God], and not otherwise. Pure knowledge and pure devotion are the same. And all that comes from the grace of the Divine Mother alone.

Peace is within, it is not outside. Knowledge, devotion, love of God—all that lies within.

God is a lover of His devotees; He is satisfied with love and devotion alone. He reveals Himself wherever there are yearning and love.

Illumination, love and devotion, and similar states belong to the realm of the Spirit.

Gossip, active or passive, tarnishes the mind and lowers it very much. It is a handicap to devotion for God.

If knowledge lacks devotion, what kind of knowledge is it? Knowledge without devotion is not enough; realization is impossible without devotion.

The most important thing in life is to attain pure devotion at the lotus feet of the Mother; that is also the purpose of worship.

Do the work of serving the Master and the gods with much application and attention, so that there may not be the slightest flaw. Through this service will be effected the purification of the mind-stuff and the attainment of devotion.

You may, at first, meet with failures. But if you have Bhakti attached to your determination to realize God, you will surely make rapid progress in course of time.

Life is useless, if it is not devoted to the service of God and is spent only in amassing wealth.

==== '''By Swami Premananda''' ====
Reduce the external paraphernalia and serve men as God with all love and utmost sincerity. This will certainly bring you devotion and liberation.

To make mankind your own by loving all—that is real jnana, the real bhakti of this age.

Devotion and faith are unique. Man is always intent on outward things—name, fame, honour, and so on. We want intense, maddening love for God, firm and unshakable faith, and infinite confidence.

The only way to receive love and devotion is by the means of truth and purity. Be pure. Increase your faith and devotion and you will get everything. You will become perfect.

Faith and devotion—these are the greatest treasures in life. Material prosperity oftentimes may bring ruin to an individual.

One finds no peace without devotion to God.

It is not good for everybody to do as he pleases. There must be some restraint. In order that devotion to God may arise and right understanding may come, there has to be a fence around a spiritual aspirant in his early days; just as a fence needs to be erected round a young plant to protect it from wild animals. Man attains God by purity, guilelessness, and steadfast devotion to him. Nothing other than devotion to God can bring peace to the arid heart.

No one can become spiritually great by just offering a few flowers to the Lord and showing a little emotion. Have intense devotion and be immersed in the thought of Sri Ramakrishna. Be discriminative. Exercise and cultivate your intellect.

Devotion is necessary, as well as discrimination and knowledge.

By imitating the holy, devotion increases and the heart becomes purified. The association of the holy is the only remedy for worldliness, for a holy man is the living manifestation of God.

Indifference is a lack of one-pointed devotion to the Chosen Ideal. Never be indifferent. Be broad-minded and liberal; and at the same time, hold fast to your Chosen Ideal.

Struggle hard to have love and devotion for Him and you will attain Him. He is the very life of our life, the soul of our soul.
----

== 14 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Devotion ===

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
Do you ask, "Will not the Lord do anything for His devotee?" Yes, He will. But you will have to become a devotee first, you must learn to feel devotion for Him. And devotion, Bhakti, is no trifling thing. You have to give Him your mind, life, everything. If you cannot do that, then cry to Him for not having attained Him, for not loving Him. People have to shed potfuls of tears before they can earn money. If you do not do that for God, why should He do anything for you?

The Master used to say, "Do whatever you like after making the knowledge of oneness your own." That is to say; know the Lord as the soul of your soul, the life of your life, the eye of your eye, and love Him. Nothing else than this, such as asking things of God, is true devotion. Supreme devotion cannot be had so long as there is the slightest desire in the mind.

There are two forms of Bhakti devotion: Firstly, the ritualistic or obligatory devotion, such as, one should practise so much Japa or one should perform Puja in such and such a way.

Then there is the loving devotion. At this stage the devotee thinks ardently of God. He finds no pleasure in things unrelated to God. Above all, perseverance is necessary. It will not do to discontinue practice if a little effort does not produce the desired effect. It is said that a man practised so intensely that an ant-hill grew upon him (Valmiki).

We want Bhakti devotion. If one has but Bhakti, what else is needed?

Jnana fully evolved, becomes Bhakti. Practice of knowledge leads the mind higher and higher, beyond the bounds of duality. But true Bhakti is its own end.

[On the merit of bathing and other religious performances.]

It all depends on our mental attitude, on our faith and belief. Where there is true devotion, the result is good. Devotion purifies the mind. We must try to see Mother in everything. That will make us spiritual.

Many people are devoted to the Lord under favourable conditions, but blessed is he who even under stress and in suffering can remain on a higher plane where the mind delights in the thought of the Lord. Having dedicated himself completely to God, he has no attachment to the body.

==== '''By Swami Trigunatitananda''' ====
Our devotion must not be dependent on any particular action, quality, or form of His; our devotion must be without any motive. It is extremely bad if our devotion increases when He is kind and it takes to flight when He is cruel or does not heed our prayers. But I concede that for the beginners, devotion cannot be free from motives altogether.
----

== 15 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Devotion ===

==== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' ====
Devotion is impossible if the mind is disturbed.

The Lord does not accept anything that is not presented in devotion.

The main thing in spiritual life is to have love, devotion, and faith in God. He is our close relative. He lives in the hearts of all beings.

If one is not a jnani, how is it possible to be "devoted to the One alone," as Krishna states in the Gita? That One alone is real and all else is unreal. If you don't realize this truth, how can you have devotion for the One? So long as you are aware of duality, you cannot have love for the One. A jnani does not see God with a divided intellect. He knows that God is his very soul. What is dearer to a man than his own Self?

Cast off hypocrisy. It is because of this that you do not progress. If your devotion is genuine, there is no reason why you should not progress and realize God.

Devotion without and duplicity within—that is too dangerous. The Lord is far, far away from such a mind. The minds of such people are full of selfish motives. So they make no spiritual progress.

==== '''By Swami Abhedananda''' ====
If you desire to have firm and unshakable faith and devotion to the Lord, you should also take to Tapasya, hard austerities.

Pure and absolute single-minded devotion to the Lord is what you should cultivate.

==== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' ====
If we are caught in a labyrinth and someone comes and says, "I can show you the way out," what do we do? We follow him. And the gratitude we feel is what we call worship and devotion.

If you would find the Supreme Reality, which lies behind all these hollow unrealities, you must be wholly devoted to it. You must worship the living God with your whole heart and give up the worship of things that perish. You must feel the utter hollowness of everything but Truth, as Nachiketa did. Wealth, kingdoms, enjoyments, power were to him nothing—less than zero. He wanted nothing but Truth and Truth was bound to come to him. You must have the same firm conviction about the hollowness of the material world and seek God with undivided devotion; then he will surely come to you.

[To the question: "What kind of devotion takes us to God?"]

The child's devotion to the Mother.

[To the question: "What is meant in the Gita by steadfastness in devotion?"]

Steadiness in devotion means that though you may be busy with many things still your mind is always turned to God. You may not feel the same ardour always, but so long as the hunger for God is there you are steady in devotion.

Fill your heart with devotion and your mind will turn naturally to God.

A whole-souled devotion is the only way to realise Him. This is the general, as well as the special, teaching.

The path of devotion is the best, as it is the most natural. Be devoted to God who is inside you. You are the most real temple of God. The temples outside are mere reminders of the real inner Temple.

Devotion can accomplish anything.

[To the question: "But do not great devotees often complain of dryness of heart?"]

That very complaining shows that their devotion is strong, even though they may not seem to express it so well as at other times. The very fact that they are restless proves that this dryness of heart is an unnatural condition for them, just as the fish feels dryness and jumps about when it is out of water, water being its natural element. Their devotion is not lessened in any way. So long as the hunger for devotion to God is there, a man is steady in devotion. True devotion is selfless. Whether the Beloved is rich or poor, still the devotee's whole soul is for Him and no one else. He does not want anything but God. Like the Gopis of Vrindavan he does not like to know, whether God is all-powerful or not. He knows Him to be his Beloved, that is all. He always wants to give something to God; but never wants to get anything from Him.

If you have the power to go inside yourself, then you have conquered the whole Universe. To go inside oneself means to go away from earthly attachments that hold you down like a captive balloon. Though it is very very difficult to go inside, it is possible through either discrimination or devotion.
----

== 16 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Devotion ===

==== '''By Swami Saradananda''' ====
The mind gets purified through selfless work. And when the mind becomes pure, knowledge and devotion are manifested in it.

If your devotion to God increases and your mind is drawn towards his lotus feet, He will provide you with the opportunity and everything will be favourable and all your problems will be overcome in an unexpected manner. By His grace the world will drop off like the water from the back of a duck.

To sing the glory of the Lord in the company of devotees is a means to devotion, if the right mood and proper atmosphere is kept up.

The goal of all the paths is the same. Each path is equally powerful. But none should be undertaken to the exclusion of the others: knowledge must unite with devotion. And this unity must be expressed through action. Knowledge without love is dry. Love without service is pure sentimentalism.

If you think that posture and purification of the nerves will be helpful in fostering the spirit of devotion in your mind, you may do them.

Singing the name and glory of God with other devotees helps to increase devotion and faith.

[To the question: "Have any realized God through mere work?"]

Through selfless work the mind gets purified. And when the mind becomes pure, there arise knowledge and devotion in it.

==== '''By Swami Akhandananda''' ====
The things that really count are faith and devotion. You ask me, how the Lord is to be worshipped? It is through devotion. Offer flowers to Him. Mantras and formalities I do not know; those who perform such formal worship know all that.

What devotion to spiritual rules the Muslims have! The Amir of Afghanistan was seeing the exhibition as a state guest with the Governor-General of India. There in the exhibition ground he sat down for Namaz just at the stated time!

Hafiz, the Persian poet, would write his lines on broken pieces of earthen pots. Every evening he would go to light a lamp at the grave of a dear one. One day a girl made a tryst with him for the evening. Hafiz was waiting at the appointed time and place. Suddenly he remembered that he was to visit the temple of his beloved. He at once left everything and hurried to the spot. Devotion to a routine saved him.

An outward show of devotion does not last long. It vanishes soon after its appearance. Such devotion is generally imitative. In the beginning there is excessive display of devotion, later on, nothing is left. That is not good. The devotion that endures is good. What is the good of making a show of one's devotion?

==== '''By Swami Subodhananda''' ====
Pray to Him with utmost devotion and faith, and He will show you the path that leads to Him. He Himself will grant everything—devotion, faith, and all else that one needs.
----

== 17 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Discipleship ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
Sri Ramakrishna used to say: "Gurus can be had by the thousands, but rare is a disciple." There are plenty of people to give advice, but how many are there to listen to it? If a man has faith in the words of his guru and follows them, then all his doubts and troubles vanish. If a man has faith in the words of his guru, God will meet all his wants. Holding him by the hand, He will lead him on the right path.

With unwavering faith in the words of the guru, the disciple must regularly practice repetition of the mantram and meditation on its meaning. Thus will he find peace of heart.

That disciple who has the grace of the guru knows the path. Let him follow it diligently.

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
It is very difficult to be a disciple. Haven't you heard the story? A man wanted to be a disciple. He went to a Guru and said, "Sir, make me a disciple." The Guru replied, "Will you be able to be one? A disciple has to draw water, fetch wood, and serve the teacher. Will you be able to do all this?"

Then the man said, "And what has the Guru to do?"

The teacher replied, "Not much to speak of. He sits at ease and flow and then gives a little instruction. That's all."

==== Then the man said, "If you think it difficult for me to be a disciple why don't you make me a Guru instead?" How funny, everybody wants to reap the harvest without sowing the seed. ====
The disciple should obey through love, and not through fear. The latter would be slavery.

==== '''By Swami Saradananda''' ====
Nothing can sever the spiritual relationship between the guru and his disciple. It is something eternal. But the disciple must listen to the words of the teacher and carry out his instructions. If any impediment arises, the guru comes forward and removes it. Success depends on the sincerity and effort on the part of the disciple.

The disciple must practice hard with patience and determination, until he attains the direct vision of God within the sanctuary of his heart.
----

== 18 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Discouragement ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
Never be discouraged by your failures. Repeated failure is inevitable in the beginning, but keep your faith and redouble your efforts. Try hard to live up to your ideal.

==== '''By Swami Premananda''' ====
Never be discouraged, but practice with perseverance.

Fie on you! Why should you fail? Do not allow such thoughts to enter your mind.

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
Don't get discouraged or disheartened. Why should it be always sunshine and good times? Let Mother's will be done. Never mind sunshine or rain, we must not forget Mother at any time. Even if we don't see Her, why should we lose heart? She appears again in our view. She knows what is best for us. Once we have given over to Her, what right have we to think of ourselves again? It is not so easy to do as to say—of that I am sure, but there is no other way out. Whether we see or don't see, Mother is our only place of rest. There are ups and downs in all hearts, but we should not give way to them.

==== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' ====
You need not complain that you are not successful in your attempts; so it is with almost all men. Only those who are already perfect, only a few Mahatmas, can assert that they are thoroughly pure in body, mind and action. To err is human. The only thing we should look after is never to forget loving Him, the Master of the Universe. Therefore take heart, and though you fall every now and then, try to rise up. Every child before it learns to walk falls down a hundred thousand times. I can assure you God helps those who help themselves.

Be not displeased with yourself. You are the child of God and by being displeased with yourself, you are displeased with God's child. Is it not bad? Honour yourself then, for you are the child of God, who by creating you has not committed any mistake—for He is above all mistakes. As such, He is sure to do something through you, something for which He has brought you down here, in this world.

==== '''By Swami Saradananda''' ====
Don't get disheartened if you do not have the results of your spiritual practices in the beginning. You will surely see the results in due time if you practice with patience and perseverance. Afterwards, when you progress more, you will understand everything yourself.
----

== 19 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Discrimination ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
Work, devotion, discrimination—each one is a path to reach union with God.

If through discrimination you can impress upon your mind the joy and fullness of the spiritual life and the folly of worldly attachments, it will devote itself more and more to God, and you will find yourself freed from all distracting thoughts.

Begin your spiritual life this moment; direct your mind toward God either through japam, or through meditation, or through discrimination. Know that each of these means is equally effective. Take any one of them and drown yourself in the ocean of bliss. Ask no more questions. First do something, and then ask questions!

In the domain of Maya there is both vidya that which leads a man to God and avidya that which leads a man away from God. Vidya is spiritual discrimination and renunciation. By taking refuge in vidya, you take refuge in God; while avidya, which consists of lust, anger, greed, egotism, attachment, and envy drags a man down to the level of a brute. If you cultivate discrimination and renunciation, avidya will be destroyed. If you yield to avidya, God remains far away and suffering will be your lot. There are both vidya and avidya. Man has the power to choose the one or the other, and on the nature of his choice will depend his success or failure in life, and he will reap the fruits of his choosing.

And merely seeing a great soul won't do. One must meditate and assimilate, one must have discrimination and dispassion.

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
Practice, continual practice, and discrimination are what is needed.

Whatever you have to do for them, do so with the idea that you are serving Narayana in those forms; then you won't get attached too much. And along with all this you must have your power of discrimination wide awake. The discrimination between the Real and the unreal gives rise to detachment.

The more you grow in discrimination and dispassion, the more power you will manifest. Even if you yourself are not aware of it, others will feel it.

Dispassion depends upon past impressions Samskaras. One gets it only when one is free from all desires and not otherwise. If any desire is left in the mind this spirit of renunciation cannot come. It comes through enjoyment tempered with discrimination. And of course, there is need for spiritual practice too. But the one thing necessary is His grace.

==== '''By Swami Premananda''' ====
You are to discriminate and find the path that is good for you and that will lead you to your goal.

Devotion is necessary, as well as discrimination and knowledge.

It is not a lazy man's job. Be up and doing! Have strong discrimination Think like this: "I will be perfect in this very life. I will be unattached. I will become a Jivanmukta—freed while living. Why should anything be impossible for me?"

Retire into solitude occasionally; practice discrimination and self-analysis, and try to discover the subtle obstacles that obstruct your path to spiritual progress. You will find that there are many subtle impressions, habits of thought and action lying dormant and hidden in the subconscious regions of the mind. Analyse yourself in solitude, find out the obstacles and then struggle without compromise to remove them.

Through the faithful practice of discrimination and spiritual disciplines the mind gradually comes under control.

Taking vows and fasting on special days like this help us to develop discrimination and dispassion. They are aids in purifying the heart and thus prepare us for God-vision and realization.
----

== 20 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Discrimination ===

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
Eating, sleeping, fear, and sexual intercourse—these are common features of both animal. The speciality of man is that he has Viveka, discrimination, and can distinguish right from wrong. The lower a man is, the greater is his joy in sense-objects. The higher he is, the greater is his pleasure in knowledge, a subtle joy which low natures cannot appreciate. See how they are spending their days in drinking, hunting, and running after women—just like beasts. What advantage is gained, being born a man, if we do not refine and elevate our faculties? Those who have a refined mind can never stoop to these things.

Those who have not good reasoning powers, become easily biased towards one side.

Anyway, it is good fortune to have this feeling of Vairagya. And what is Vairagya but the discrimination between the Self and the non-Self? Discrimination between "Purusha and Prakriti" is another name for it.

"There the sun does not shine, nor the moon, nor stars, nor even lightning. How can fire be there? It shining, everything else shines. Through Its lustre all this is shining."

We have mixed up the subject and the object. They can be separated. I am the subject—not the object. The whole universe up to Buddhi, the intellect falls under the category of the object. "There being no further cause, the First Cause is uncaused." How much must they have thought who first discovered these truths!

Discrimination must be thorough, or it is of no use. Children often say, "Heaven bear witness!" What a funny idea! They have picked up the phrase from someone. They do not reason on the idea, so they say it.

As a bird flies to the sky with its two wings, so we must have the two wings of discrimination and renunciation. To climb to the edifice of liberation. If one has real discrimination and renunciation, one is safe. A man runs after water in a mirage only so long as he mistakes the mirage for real water: Once the delusion is broken, nobody goes after a mirage for water.

Constant discrimination sharpens the intellect. Truth reveals itself to a man who is always discriminating to attain it. One must always keep the sword of discrimination ready at hand.

Words of supreme knowledge carry no meaning to an ordinary man with a limited vision. Through discrimination the ordinary sense-knowledge vanishes. Take for example this house. It is nothing but a conglomeration of atoms; so is the body. Discrimination pushed further will reduce even the atoms to one entity—the Absolute Existence. As Sri Ramakrishna would say, "The Palmyra tree is true and not its branches or fruits, for they drop off. Brahman alone is real; the world is changing."

Knowledge dawns when discrimination is perfect.

Rather than besmearing the body with mud and then undergoing the trouble of washing it, is it not better to keep at a safe distance from mud? But how many can do that? So Sri Ramakrishna would say that it is better to have a little of worldly enjoyment. But then it must be accompanied with due discrimination. Through this cycle of birth and death one is gradually moving towards Him.

What a great power is imbedded in words! Though we may be repeating that all is unreal, that this world is false, yet suppose I tell you a harsh word it disturbs your mind. When there is so much power in evil words, why should there not be power in the Vedic dicta, I am Brahman, etc.? But as we have no faith in the Vedic dicta or Mantras, they do not become effective in our life. Words, again, are of two kinds—spoken and written. Something is written in a letter. On reading that, you will have a reaction, good or bad, in your mind. And again—how funny!—there will not be the same effect upon each and all. Some will be affected. Only those who are concerned with a particular thing—they only will be affected. While we discriminate, it seems that there is nothing; but a moment after, everything comes. If there is no object of sense-enjoyment in front of you when you discriminate, you may feel that you have no weakness. But as soon as the object of temptation comes, you are upset. We discriminate, no doubt, but after doing that for some time, we give up the habit.

One must be established in discrimination. One must dwell in that. Without that no result will come. He is indeed wise whose mind does not react though the objects of enjoyment come before him. This is the test. When your mind has attained to that stage, then only you can be sure that it is all right.

It is true that one cannot give up all desires; but if the mind becomes discriminating, desires cannot exert their previous power. You read in the Yoga Vasishta, "if one moves about with discrimination as one's friend, one does not fall prey even to great temptations." And that is actually true. If one maintains discrimination steady and strong, no illusion can ever overpower a man. If you can constantly remember that the world is unreal, what can desires do?

==== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' ====
Whenever your mind runs after sense enjoyments, use your discrimination. Look, the sense objects are impermanent, they come and go. Be satisfied with whatever you need for your daily living and don't desire more. Too many worldly belongings displace the thought of the Reality from the mind. The Reality is one, and that is Brahman. Brahman alone is real and everything else is unreal—Impress these thoughts again and again upon your mind, and gradually true discrimination will arise.

You will have to discriminate between the real and the unreal. To keep one's discrimination alert is a great austerity. He who has learned to discriminate can successfully overcome lust and greed. So, cultivate your discrimination and conscience. How can you struggle against evil tendencies if your intellect is not trained to differentiate between good and evil?

Ah, the folly! Can one force the non-dualist's attitude on one's mind? It is a slow growth. The Master used to say, "When the fruit grows big, the flower drops of itself." Just imagine what true non-dualism means—the Master could not walk on grassy plots! Such becomes the self-identification with all things when one realizes the Atman-Brahman. But one must keep sharpened one's power of discrimination between the real and the unreal, between the one and the many from the very beginning of one's Sadhana.
----

== 21 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Discrimination ===

==== '''By Swami Abhedananda''' ====
Raise a wall all around your mind by your discrimination. Do not allow the distraction of external circumstances to enter your mind.

==== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' ====
[To the question: "If we go beyond the mind, do we give up the habit of discrimination?"]

To be able to go beyond the mind is the result of the highest discrimination.

The first personal pronoun ("I") is at the root of all our miseries. Hence our primary duty should be to get rid of it somehow or other. This can be done by the service of the great, by good works without caring for results, by concentration or discrimination.

Every devotee must practice discrimination to be a true devotee.

Discrimination, as the messenger of God, moves with us always. Its forgetfulness sets at naught all our spiritual endeavours.

He on whom faith descends is very fortunate. He needs nothing else. He is saved and the only prophylactic he needs is discrimination.

If you have the power to go inside yourself, then you have conquered the whole Universe. To go inside oneself means to go away from earthly attachments that hold you down like a captive balloon. Though it is very difficult to go inside, it is possible through either discrimination or devotion.

==== '''By Swami Saradananda''' ====
The Master used to say that the mind is like a mad horse, which is prone to running hither and thither, and just as a coachman controls the horse with the reins, so must a man direct the mind with the power of discrimination, which is already in him. If men are guided by this discrimination, they never come to grief.

It is an undeniable fact, proven by experience, that the mind will not pursue an object of enjoyment for long if it is enjoyed with proper discrimination. Sri Ramakrishna repeatedly said that discrimination between the real and the unreal was imperative for a spiritual aspirant.

Therefore these major desires have to be renounced and uprooted completely from the mind by realizing the danger and the defects inherent in them. If they are given free rein, they will stifle the power of discrimination.

Pray to Him with a concentrated mind and always discriminate between what you really are and what you appear to be. Always use the power of right understanding, and you will know for yourself where you are, how much you have progressed, and how far you have to go to reach your destination.
----

== 22 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Discrimination ===

==== '''By Swami Akhandananda''' ====
Discriminate: there is no real happiness in life, as misery follows happiness: life after life this oscillation between this pair of opposites is continuing. No more of this. Now start on the search for unalloyed happiness. Seek that happiness which is not adulterated. People are so accustomed to adulterated food that they have forgotten the taste of really good food. Further; they have lost the power to digest it. Nowadays, if someone gets adulterated food at a cheap price, he will not want pure food.

The way is: earnestness, discrimination, and dispassion. Dispassion is of various kinds—the dispassion that comes at the cremation ground, and the dispassion resulting out of discrimination.

Swamiji once told us at the Baranagore monastery: "You see, we shall all be sincere; our dispassion will not be like that of the householders. They also have a kind of dispassion at the cremation ground, when they see the body of a loved one burning to ashes. That dispassion is temporary. It is common to all. But when they go back to their houses, they forget everything, due to Maya. They merge in it.

But we have known what the worldly life is. We are not going back to it. It is very well, if we can realize God; but even if we cannot, we are not going back. We shall proceed slowly, sailing onwards. When the wind is favourable, we shall unfurl the sail; when it is against us, we shall stop; but never go back!"

The worldly life is partly God's creation—for instance, this life and the parents; and partly human creation, such as marriage and children. What are these after all? If you cannot delay the death of your beloved for a moment, or if he or she cannot hold back your death for a day, who is he or she to you? Or who are you to them? This is discrimination.

==== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' ====
That is why a discriminating person says to God: "Let your work remain with you, I am not the doer, I am but an instrument."

The function of the heart is love and devotion, and that of the brain is to discriminate between the good and bad. This love and this discrimination have to be combined for the purpose of God-realization.
----

== 23 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Disease ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
Meditation gives not only mental peace, but also physical health—you will have less of disease. So one must practise meditation even for physical improvement.

==== '''By Swami Premananda''' ====
Why think merely of your disease and ill health? Know always, and under all circumstances, "I belong to the Lord. The Lord is my eternal treasure; he is the one Reality, the source of my well-being." Always think, "naham," "naham," not I, not I, but Thou, my Lord.

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
Yes, one can cure disease by the power of mystic formulas. But by His will, I have learnt to have greater faith in Him who is at the back of that power.

[To the question: "Is it not our duty to keep our body healthy?"]

Yes, but from the highest standpoint body itself is the great disease.

Very few people have everything just as they want it. Disease and suffering are ever present. He who calls on the Lord no matter what his circumstances are, he alone can succeed.

==== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' ====
As long as you have a body, you must experience disease, sorrow, fear, pain, and suffering. Anyone who wants to escape from all these troubles will have to hold onto God.

A man can attain peace if he gives up worldly enjoyment, for such enjoyment is the source of sorrow and sufferings, disease and despair.

==== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' ====
[To the question: "Can you tell me, Swamiji, why this disbelief assails us?"]

This disbelief is almost an insurmountable obstacle in spiritual life. It is not only an obstacle but a disease!

==== '''By Swami Saradananda''' ====
Frankly, doubt is a sign of disease. It is not the mind's normal condition.
----

== 24 August 2019 ==

=== Ten Commandments of Bhagavan Sri Krishna ===

==== ''By Swami Vimalananda'' ====
In the Gita there are some passages which are directly addressed to the Jiva in the second person singular number of the imperative mood, as Vidhi. Ten of these collected passages may be considered as the "ten commandments of Sri Krishna."

O Krishna I am at thy command. I have surrendered myself at thy feet. Teach me and mould me.

# '''(Learn fully from Me.)'''

In this life you should work after acquiring a proper knowledge of the commands and rules of the Scriptures, through which I speak.

# '''On no account you should grieve over anything whatsoever.'''

This is the second commandment of Bhagavan enjoining on us to—be cheerful and to be equal to all situations. How are we to acquire that strength? The answer is in the third commandment.

# '''Strive always to remove sin and evil.'''

But we have no strength for it. What shall we do? The next commandment shows a way.

# '''Shake off this mean spirit and arise.'''

The Lord is all-powerful. He is satya sankalpah. He has commanded us to shed all weakness and to exert manfully.

# '''Resolve yourself to practise yoga. Yearn to get Me.'''

The Lord has commanded us to arise, and we shall arise. But we have to practise the method of union;

# '''This life and world of yours is not eternal and is joyless. So the only way open to you here is to resort to Me.'''
# '''You must understand that all beings have their cause and seed in Me. You must endeavour to see all this as My form. You must fix once for all in mind that all creatures have their residence in Me.'''
# '''You must do the allotted work always. You must correctly, thoroughly and joyfully do the appointed duty. Do it without narrow selfish attachments. Do it as My work dedicating it to Me. Consider yourself a mere occasion of your work.'''
# '''Take for your support buddhi yoga and always give your mind to Me. Bring back and place the running thoughts in Me and push your thinking faculty into My focus.'''
# '''I promise, you are dear to Me.'''

Let us feel at every moment that we are dear and precious to the Lord, however unclean we may be. When this faith is strong, when we have the sincere conviction that the Lord in His infinite mercy and affection is ever watching us, seeking only for a moment when we whole-heartedly turn towards Him, with the earnest longing that He should receive us and hug us to His bosom, then—at that very moment—we are on the path to liberation and blessedness.

May these commandments make an appeal directly to us and render us strong, illumined and peaceful.
----

== 25 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Dispassion ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
Dispassion is the first principle of spiritual life. A man of learning may write books or give lectures, but if he has no dispassion in his heart and if he does not practice what he teaches, his words cannot be effective for they have no power behind them. They merely create a momentary sensation.

Without dispassion toward the world, faith and love do not grow. You must have dispassion. To lose the ego in God is dispassion.

When a man finds no peace in the world, dispassion grows within him and he is drawn to God.

[To the question: "Should a man renounce the world if dispassion arises?"]

"Yes" he should. Once a true dispassion is awakened, it will spread like a forest fire. As Sri Ramakrishna used to say: When once a man of renunciation is released from the bondage of the world, he never wants to be caught again. He is like a fish that has escaped from the net.

Sri Ramakrishna was born in this age to teach mankind that dispassion is the ideal of human life.

Be dispassionate. To find goodness and attain peace, you must give up everything for God. If he has the will, man can be dispassionate and realize God. Therefore, renounce all cravings and hold on tightly to Him.

And merely seeing a great soul won't do. One must meditate and assimilate, one must have discrimination and dispassion.

When once you have dispassion for all worldly things, it never dies; on the other hand, it grows like fire. After one has once come out of the world, one never wants to go back to it.

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
Whatever you are doing here is certainly His work, and you are doing it all for His pleasure. You are not actuated by any selfish worldly desire. These activities of yours will undoubtedly foster a spirit of renunciation and dispassion. Don't think that a life of mendicancy in Rishikesh alone will give you dispassion.

Those who have real dispassion and sincere detachment have nothing to fear at any time. God will reveal Himself in their hearts; He will fulfil their life's goal by His blessed vision.

This process of evolution and involution is only another form of the twin forces of attraction or attachment and repulsion or dispassion. It is because of attraction or attachment that souls are drawn to this world, coming back and forth and playing their different embodied roles.

The more you grow in discrimination and dispassion, the more power you will manifest. Even if you yourself are not aware of it, others will feel it.

[Dispassion] depends upon past impressions Samskaras. One gets it only when one is free from all desires and not otherwise.
----

== 26 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Dispassion ===

==== '''By Swami Premananda''' ====
To be dispassionate means to be freed from passions and from egoism. To achieve that end man practices spiritual disciplines.

Dispassion can arise only in a heart that is pure. Out of dispassion springs knowledge.

Let the strong wind of dispassion rise in your minds, that the trees of desire be uprooted. Then, even as birds fly from the shelter of trees before a strong wind, will the ignorance of selfishness, jealousy, hatred, and egoism take flight from your hearts. Then shall peace follow and fill your lives, even as calm follows the storm.

Keep alive the fire of dispassion and renunciation within you, and let your mind be renewed by the deep impression of purity.

Sometimes dispassion arises suddenly in a man, due to frustration. Sense objects become like bitter poison to him. But such dispassion is like the fire kindled in a heap of straw. It soon burns itself out. In order to become stabilized in renunciation and dispassion one must try to become absorbed while repeating with single-minded devotion the name of God.

With the fire of dispassion, burn away all the impurities of the unregenerate mind. Then only will you realize God and feel his grace. Then only will you see the One, infinite, omnipresent, blissful God dwelling within your own hearts and within the hearts of all beings.

Taking vows and fasting on special days help us to develop discrimination and dispassion. They are aids in purifying the heart and thus prepare us for God-vision and realization. It is important for every spiritual aspirant to observe such vows, to perform worship, and to pray.

Vairagya dispassion and Tamas are quite different things.

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
Dispassionateness first originates by seeing the evil clinging to sense objects. Until a man begins to see the dark side of life, no spiritual advice is of any avail to him.

He is daily going down into Tamas, becoming more and more lazy in the name of spiritual progress. They think that inaction in itself is the ideal. If it be so, why, then the wall also should be considered to have attained Samadhi.

Should not one transcend all dualities? To maintain one's mental balance under all circumstances, to remain absolutely unmoved that indeed is the goal!

Just as you are giving your entire attention to your work as a physician, give it to God. You will see the results: you will get his vision at once. The Master used to say, "One should turn the corner." That is to say, one should canalize the same energy in a different direction. Take your mind from your profession of doctoring, and call on the Lord. That is extreme dispassion.

==== '''By Swami Saradananda''' ====
One becomes dispassionate toward the world by seeing the emptiness of chasing mundane pleasures and clinging to transitory things. Until a man is ready and sees through the appearance of the world, no spiritual instruction will be of any avail. First the ground is to be prepared, and then alone will the seeds take root and grow into beautiful plants.

The means for bringing the fickle mind under control are dispassion and practice. There is no other way.

==== '''By Swami Akhandananda''' ====
Whenever you feel the spirit of dispassion, leave the worldly life. This is enjoined in the Jabala Upanishad. There is no particular age or time prescribed for final renunciation of worldly life.

Practice is essential; intense dispassion is also necessary; otherwise no progress is possible.

The way is: earnestness, discrimination, and dispassion. Dispassion is of various kinds—the dispassion that comes at the cremation ground, and the dispassion resulting out of discrimination.

Swamiji once told us at the Baranagore monastery: "You see, we shall all be sincere; our dispassion will not be like that of the householders. They also have a kind of dispassion at the cremation ground, when they see the body of a loved one burning to ashes. That dispassion is temporary. It is common to all. But when they go back to their houses, they forget everything, due to Maya. They merge in it.

But we have known what the worldly life is. We are not going back to it. It is very well, if we can realize God; but even if we cannot, we are not going back. We shall proceed slowly, sailing onwards. When the wind is favourable, we shall unfurl the sail; when it is against us, we shall stop; but never go back!"

In the beginning you have to be a pessimist: to feel as if everything is bad—this birth, death, old age, disease—everything of this world is full of misery. Only with this kind of thinking will dispassion come.

Dispassion of the kind seen or felt in the cremation ground or of the imitation brand, is of no use. It is temporary. Somebody comments or criticizes, and dispassion fades away and you are where you were.
----

== 27 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Dissatisfaction ===

==== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' ====
Dissatisfaction and craving for worldly enjoyments are signs of a diseased mind.

==== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' ====
The very fact that he is dissatisfied with his finite nature shows that it is not his natural condition. The fact that he has infinite ambition, that he has insatiable hunger for more and more, proves that he is infinite by nature; and that is why he is always dissatisfied with whatever is finite.

=== Distraction ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
If through discrimination you can impress upon your mind the joy and fullness of the spiritual life and the folly of worldly attachments, it will devote itself more and more to God, and you will find yourself freed from all distracting thoughts.

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
[To the question: "I work in the Publication Department in Calcutta, where the atmosphere is different I feel distraction."]

Get up early in the morning and meditate and make japa to your heart's content. That will keep your mind on a higher level. I myself do that. I meditate in the morning, and the whole day passes, as it were, in intoxication.

==== '''By Swami Premananda''' ====
Even amongst the spiritual aspirants who are more advanced, distractions arise during the hour of meditation. It is not merely true of you alone. You must therefore pray to God and keep watch over the vagaries of your mind. Also whenever the mind may wander about, whatever distracting thoughts may arise in the mind, learn to feel in all those distractions the all-pervading presence of your Chosen Ideal.

It is the restlessness of your mind that forces you out of your seat. Worldly desires and past habits are like that. They are the distractions. Little by little, and with untiring patience a man must free himself from all mental distractions. This can be done with the aid of the intelligent will.

==== '''By Swami Saradananda''' ====
Conflicting desires arise in the mind. Because of these desires the mind is constantly lashed into waves. As long as these waves form, the mind is restless. In order to control these waves which give rise to thoughts of a worldly and distracting nature, one must live a life of self-discipline.

Take Sri Sri Jagannath Deva's rice prasad every day for a few days; and when sitting for meditation, at the very beginning think: My Chosen Ideal is everywhere, covering everything like the unbroken sea of Satchidananda, and I am always in Him. He is everywhere, within me and outside of me. Concentrate on this thought for some time, meditate, and make japa as usual. Then the distractions of the mind will go away.
----

== 28 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Divine Incarnation ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
He is infinite and formless, and yet he is also with form.

It is beyond the power of the mind to understand the devious ways through which God leads man to himself.

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
The doings of a divine Incarnation are beyond the reach of the average intellect. How would you or the nation understand the way of divine action? When God embodies Himself as man, He does so for no particular race or nation, but for the good of the whole world.

God exists eternally and from age to age embodies Himself as man for the good of the world. That is because of His pure compassion. He is self-sufficient, pure, intelligent and free by nature. He does not have any purpose to serve in this world. Being complete in Himself, He has nothing to attain or not to attain.

When the world becomes burdened and there is prevalence of irreligion, the all-merciful Lord by His own free will incarnates Himself as man to save the fallen and ameliorate the lot of the world.

When God comes to this world as a man, then flows a current of spirituality. Many are blessed by getting the light of knowledge; many attain emancipation.

There have always been various religious paths and countless scriptures and holy places in every country. In spite of that, why is there a decline in religion? The reason is because in course of time all those ideas become lost. Therefore God incarnates Himself so as to explain the subtleties of religion and to show the ideal.

[To the question: "Maharaj, does an incarnation retain the fullest consciousness of his divinity all the time?"]

A: Well, he does, to be sure. Look at Sri Krishna's life, for instance. From his very birth onward, he gave proofs of his divinity. But it is true that the outer expression of that divinity is not the same in all the incarnations, though they themselves have the fullest consciousness of their Godhood. It is only for the spiritual good of the world that their power is manifested. All that they do is out of mercy, for an avatara is not born as the result of karma. And how can he have any ignorance? It is the eternal Brahman in His fullness, the Lord of Maya, who descends with the help of Maya; and He returns to His own real state after the need of the age is fulfilled.

All the spiritual practice that the Avatara undertakes, all the hard austerities he undergoes, are merely to set an example to others, to hold an ideal before men. For he is God, he is infinity itself where can he have any finitude? As long as the avatars remain in their human bodies in this world, all their actions appear to conform to human norms; they are happy at things that make others happy, and unhappy at those that make men unhappy. So much so, one comes to think that they do not retain their divine consciousness fully.

Such activities, which ordinary people consider to be amazing and impossible, are quite as natural to the incarnations as inhalation and exhalation. They do not have to get all that as a result of long and strenuous practice. Supernatural things happen at their mere wish.

How could the world understand God's ways if He did not manifest Himself as man among His devotees? He is born as man in order to redeem embodied beings, and even when He gives up the gross body, His power continues through His devotees. Just see how the divine power of Sri Ramakrishna is working even after his death, bringing hundreds of seekers here! How beautiful is the idea! The Lord Himself is born as His devotee. Although He is omnipresent and infinite, He comes to us in a finite form for our good.

Well, K, the doings of a Divine Incarnation are beyond the reach of the average intellect. How can you or the nation understand the ways of divine action? When God embodies Himself as a man, He does so for no particular race or nation, but for the good of the whole world.

[Jesus] was neither a Jew nor a Gentile. He belonged to a category far above all these: he was an incarnation of the power of God. He was born as man in this world to save the souls of men.
----

== 29 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Divine Incarnation ===

==== '''By Swami Premananda''' ====
While it is true that every divine incarnation and God-man embodied all the great ideals, yet each one emphasized one particular ideal. For instance, Sri Chaitanya was the very embodiment of love. Just as congealed water takes the form of ice, so congealed love took the form of Sri Chaitanya. In the same way, Shankara was the embodiment of knowledge, Buddha the embodiment of renunciation, and Sri Krishna the embodiment of selfless work.

God is the God of all; His grace is upon all mankind. But the so-called devotees of God fail to transcend the narrow bounds of hatred, jealousy, injury to others, and sectarian quarrels. God incarnates to break such barriers.

Again, his followers create boundaries, claiming to preach new and marvellous ideas, proclaiming that such a liberal spirit has not existed before; condemning all other forms and sects of religion as narrow, superstitious, and wrong—theirs alone being eternal, true and right.

Just as the Lord has covered us with His Maya, He also graciously incarnates Himself and undertakes spiritual practices in order to show how we are to rend asunder the Maya. He Himself is also breaking the creations of Maya.

A man once went to a garden with his several sons. The sons played about. Some plucked flowers, some plucked green coconuts, but one went to angle in the tank. When it was evening, the man called all his sons. All came except the one who was fishing. The father sent for him again and again but he would not come—he was deeply absorbed in catching fish. When it was quite dark, the father himself went, broke the fishing rod to pieces, and dragged the boy to the carriage. Thus does the Lord come from time to time, to shatter our playthings, and drag us to him.

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
It is true the Brahma Sutras have stipulated that prophets and Incarnations cannot create or destroy the world, these functions belonging to God. But it is not that they lack the power to create, etc., they simply do not want to create. Possession of all powers is a sine qua non of the attainment of Mukti.

==== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' ====
You cannot worship God directly, for you can have no conception of Him except through such man-Gods. If man-Gods like Sri Ramakrishna did not take their birth here, who could know anything about God? They are Columbuses in the land of spirituality.

The great incarnations like Christ, Krishna, Buddha were perfectly clear mirrors which gives us a perfect reflection. They did not bring us anything new. Truth is always existent. Christianity existed before Christ. Christ was only the mouthpiece. Mohammedanism existed before Mohammed. Mohammed was only the mouthpiece. Each one was a reflector of eternal Truth, but one man catches the light from Christ who he says, "Christ has given me the Truth. I belong to Christ. I am a Christian." Another sees the light through Mohammed and says, "I am a Mohammedan." A third says, "Buddha is Truth. I belong to Buddha." So each great teacher has his followers who believe that the Truth can come from him alone; but all teachers reflect the same Truth.

[To the question: "God being infinite, why and how does He incarnate?"]

Swami: Man also has forgotten his infinite nature and thinks he is finite. If it is thus possible for man to be finite and infinite at the same time, how much more must it be possible for God to be so. An Incarnation of God, of course, has body and mind like man; but He has the power to separate Himself from body and mind easily.

Sleep overpowers a man but never an Incarnation, who has mastery over His body when he is awake; over his mind, when dreaming; over his consciousness when asleep. A Divine Incarnation is complete master of all his being in waking, dream and sleep. From the highest being down to a blade of grass all living organisms are a peculiar mixture of the finite and infinite.

An incarnation also is no exception to the rule. But He only appears finite, though all the time Infinite. Though he seems to be finite in power He is actually omnipotent. But few can recognize the perfect and divine nature of an Incarnation, so all treat Him as an ordinary being.
----

== 30 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Divine Incarnation ===

==== '''By Swami Saradananda''' ====
Prophets and incarnations who have come and gone have shown us one thing, that we too can become heirs of knowledge and power like themselves—if we only have the will. If we struggle, walking the path taken by them, we too will reach that goal one day. If it were not so, the life of an avatar would have no meaning.

==== '''By Swami Akhandananda''' ====
Is it so easy to realize the Self? Incarnations, Avatars of God are God Himself, yet they themselves have to struggle so much, not to speak of others.

The Divine Incarnations express the ideas of worldly people, by imposing their limitations upon themselves.

The Incarnation of God is a complete and perfect ideal. As much of it as you can comprehend will be yours.

An Incarnation of God has certain characteristics. He is never affected by delusion or bereavement. He leads an ideal life.

An Incarnation of God has His own time and place. He comes when many people stricken with misery piteously call on Him day and night and pray with a simple heart: "Lord, never shall I do such things again. Bring my miseries to an end. I make an offering of all my Karma to you. Appear before me."

Or when, at the time of decay of religion, spiritual men begin praying to God, "Lord, come down on earth and re-establish the reign of law." Then, if the time is ripe, God incarnates as a man, and suffers. He has no Karma of His own. Why then does He suffer so much from birth to death? Those who desire to love an Incarnation of God must also be ready to suffer like Him.

==== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' ====
The Bible describes God in all His three forms, with attributes, without attributes, and as incarnate. Whenever God incarnates Himself in human form, He reveals Himself as such, as men would not understand Him otherwise.

What is wanted is faith, faith alone. But we must have that faith implanted in us if we want to see God, whereas divine incarnations already have it. That is the only difference. They have seen God; we too will certainly see Him; only it is a matter of time.
----

== 31 August 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Doubt ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
If a man has faith in the words of his guru and follows them, then all his doubts and troubles vanish.

Do not doubt that He exists. Faith is the one thing needed, intense faith! Let not doubts get hold of your mind.

Doubts will come until you have realized God; therefore you must hold to God and pray. Think to yourself: "God is, but because of the impurities of my mind I cannot see him. When my heart and mind have become purified, then, through his grace I shall surely see him!"

And this resignation should be inspired by the right spirit and faith. No doubt must enter your heart; it is no use "taking the name of God to cross the river and at the same time raising your cloth to keep it dry!"

He who has faith in God is freed from doubts.

He who has no faith in God doubts everything. He who has faith in God overcomes all doubts.

Needless to say, association [with the holy] is also very important. For in their company doubts are removed and pure thoughts are awakened.

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
The truth is that if one has sincerity one is seldom beset by doubts; or even if a doubt arises, God Himself gets it solved from within.

Of course, it is true that all doubts cannot be dispelled till one is face to face with God Himself.

Never have any doubt about His grace; never allow even such a thought to cross your mind.

Is Samadhi such an easy thing? When that most excellent and unequalled Parabrahman, the Supreme Reality, is beheld as Self, all the bondages of the heart of, such as inherited ignorance, etc., are rent asunder, all doubts get resolved and the store of accumulated Karma other than that of Prarabdha wears out.

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
Do the work started by Swamiji in the right spirit. From that itself will come Samadhi or any other supreme spiritual attainment. Have no doubt. Plunge headlong into work.

When the mind becomes impure, doubts immediately make their appearance.

Don't have any doubts. Know that what you are doing is the Lord's work; give your whole heart and soul to it.

==== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' ====
He who fears and doubts cannot make any progress either in the spiritual or worldly sphere. The mind is cramped. He alone is a hero, he alone attains greatness, who moves forward to realize the truth without caring whether the world is real or not.

If a man doubts the existence of God, there is no hope of his getting liberation.

The nature of the mind can be changed by chanting the name of the Lord. Gradually desires and doubts cease and the mind dissolves into its causality. Then there is none to think or imagine.

Doubt arises in the mind of an aspirant if he does not practice spiritual disciplines, and doubt is the root of all troubles.

==== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' ====
It is the greatest relief when we get rid of egotism. It is as if a heavy burden rolled off. At once all our doubts and fears, anxieties and troubles disappear.

When you have reached a definite conclusion about a thing you cease to think about it. So thinking and doubting are synonymous. If you make much of mind, you make much of doubt. People are sceptics, why? Because they make much of this little mind. But the mind never directs a man properly. Go beyond the mind and you will go beyond all doubt. Inside the body there is desire and greed; inside the mind, there is doubt; inside the world there is change, there is death. Go beyond these and you will find peace and bliss. Until you go beyond them, you can never realise what peace and bliss mean.

Beyond the darkness of doubt shines the region of eternal light and infinite bliss.

This disbelief is almost an insurmountable obstacle in the spiritual life. It is not only an obstacle but also a disease.
== 1 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON DOUBT ====

===== '''By Swami Saradananda''' =====
Never allow any doubts to cross your mind. The moment a doubt arises, immediately think of the Lord and be convinced that whatever takes place by His will is always for your good. Whatever is happening is happening at His command and, if He wills, the situation will change. With this attitude resign yourself to the Lord and be happy and free from cares.

Instead of doubting yourself, feel that you are the possessor of infinite strength and have the might to overcome all difficulties. It is the strong, the heroic, who do noble deeds and become great. Those who are weak and vacillating are lost like broken clouds in the sky.

Frankly, doubt is a sign of disease. It is not the mind's normal condition.

If you are in doubt, pray to Him in this way: "God, if you really exist, do such and such a thing for me that I may believe in you." Even such a prayer is helpful.

===== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' =====
Take care that doubts of any sort do not assail you. To doubt is to sin.

==== ON DREAMS ====

===== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' =====
Dreams about enlightened souls, gods and goddesses, and divine incarnations, are real experiences. They are actual visitations. Many spiritual truths are revealed to one in dreams. The effect and impression of such dreams remain. But one must not speak of them to anybody.

===== '''By Swami Premananda''' =====
Sometimes dreams may come true, but most of the time they are mere dreams, and not true. But to dream of holy men is good, auspicious. You must not, however, speak of such dreams to anybody and everybody.

Live and act and mould your character in the waking state.

===== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' =====
[To the question: "How do we remember our dreams?"]

When you are asleep and dream you lose the consciousness of your physical body, but you don't lose consciousness of your Self. That occupies your consciousness and records the dream.

===== '''By Swami Saradananda''' =====
If the vision of the cremation ground comes during your meditation and dreams, it is good, not bad.
----

== 2 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON DUTY ====

===== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' =====
I will declare again and again and emphasize this truth—that however busy you may be in carrying out your duties, you must practise Japa and meditation. If you work and forget God, egotism and pride will overpower you.

The Master used to tell a parable about the maid servant in a rich man's house. She talks of her master's home and possessions as hers and she brings up his children as if they were her own, but in her heart of hearts she knows that none of these belong to her.

In the same way, we have to live in this world and do our duties; but in our heart of hearts we must realize that nothing belongs to us, nobody belongs to us. Our only true abode is at the lotus feet of the Lord, and that is where we must go.

Do your duties in the world while taking refuge in the Lord.

In favourable or in adverse circumstances, feel that you have none but him and that you are serving him through the faithful discharge of your allotted duties.

The Lord's name is the only truth; everything else is unreal. To have faith in Him, to be devoted to Him, to praise His glories—these are the only duties in life.

Do your duties conscientiously, and without attachment. Always remember that you are an instrument in the hands of God and that God himself is the only doer. Keep your mind fixed on God.

When the mind has been purified by prayer and contemplation, it will direct you from within. Even in your daily duties, this inner guru will guide you and will continue to help you until the goal is reached.

Learn to perform all duties great or small, with a concentrated mind. He who can concentrate his mind in action can also concentrate when practicing meditation.

[To the question: "You always insist that I must serve my father. Isn't it better to become a monk and serve you?"]

A: Indeed it is. But will the mere wearing of the gerua cloth make you a monk? You have a duty to perform in serving your sick father. I am asking you to serve your father, my child, and at the same time to continue your regular spiritual practices. Such service will help you in your spiritual growth.

No matter how busy you may be in carrying out your duties, you must practice regular japam and meditation.

===== '''By Swami Shivananda''' =====
Perform your duties, but at the end of the day do not fail to call on God with great yearning at least once. Duties and responsibilities there are, of course, I do not ask you to neglect them; but in the midst of everything think of the Lord, pray to Him, repeat His name and do similar spiritual practices.

When you meditate, though for a short time, try to detach yourself completely from your work. Shaking off all worries and withdrawing yourself from everything, seek to be established in your own Self. You should practise this at least once a day, even if only for a short while.

Naturally you have your duties and responsibilities in the world, your pains and pleasures there; but all these are transient. This world is unreal: there can be nothing more certain than that.

You may attend to a hundred and one duties, or earn crores of rupees, but know in your heart of hearts that all these are impermanent and some day will have to be left behind. The one abiding reality is God.

As long as this creation lasts duties and responsibilities will exist. But in the midst of all these you will have to make a little time to call upon the Lord in seclusion; otherwise you will come to grief. There is not so much danger if one can hold on to God. It is very necessary to remember Him. With one hand hold on constantly to His lotus feet, and with the other perform the duties of the world. When all your duties are over, you should hug the lotus feet of God to your heart with both hands.

Know it for certain that, if one goes on performing one's duties under the sincere belief that one is doing God's work, one can never suffer spiritually.

Spiritual practice is a bounden duty, something of prime importance. It was stressed in the past and it will be so in future, as it should be now.

My son, you have asked me how you should live in the world. About this, the Master himself said that while performing duties in the world, one should keep one's mind in God. Therefore, while living in the world you should be detached from it, even as a maidservant does all kinds of work in the house of a rich man, although her whole heart is in her home in the country. Serve your wife, children and relatives, but know in the depths of your being that the only one who is your very own is the Lord. There is none else who is really your own. That does not mean that you are to neglect your wife and children. Instead, serve them, knowing that they were brought to you by the Lord Himself. Talk with them about God, and try to direct their minds to Him. Live in the world, but do not allow the mind to become bound to it.

The teachings of Swami Vivekananda are very great; they are, indeed, conducive to the well-being of souls. They are badly needed in these days. We, the Indians, have become very inert. Our so called spiritual tendencies are the outcome of this decadent condition; it is inertia posing as goodness. That is why we feel that we should retire to a forest in order to call upon God in preference to performing our duties in the world. How difficult this life is—that of exclusive meditation away from the world—is known only to those who have taken to it. If that were the right pattern to be followed by all at this time, Sri Ramakrishna, who is the ideal of this age, would have taught his disciples accordingly; he himself would have set the example.

Swami Vivekananda and the other great disciples of the Master would also have acted and taught people the same way. Continue the work you are doing in the world while engaging in some form of selfless activity.

We are not to decide what God should do. A Bhakta, when engaged in doing his duty to God, does not feel that what is being done to him is a pain at all.
----

== 3 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON DUTY ====

===== '''By Swami Premananda''' =====
If really you have offered your all, your mind and heart to God, then you are beyond all duties; you are no longer "you," neither have you anything that is "yours."

To keep recollectedness of him is the one duty of man.

===== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' =====
May Mother give you strength to do that which seems your duty to the world first, and then giving up everything devote yourself wholly to Mother when you have finished that duty.

Do your duty manfully in whatever station of life you may be put and prove yourself "a Mother's child" by bringing all sorts of circumstances under your feet, having full consciousness that you are above them all, and they have no power to frighten you, far less to gain ascendancy over you in any way. May Mother give you strength and vigour to accomplish this.

To be in the world and maintain the family, to fulfil one's duties this also is certainly religion. Nothing will be gained by giving up all of a sudden. One cannot climb to the roof in one bound.

It is selfishness that is impure. First of all a man should perform his duties according to his caste and order of life and when the mind is thus purified, he should approach a qualified teacher for the attainment of Self-knowledge. There is no way out unless one has fulfilled one's duties. And the moment you have truly finished the duties of one order of life, those of the next naturally come up.

There is no freedom, no respite until you have done your duties. That which you have given up without performing, will be waiting for you, only to appear again. Face the brute! You can't save yourself by flight. Taking up the monastic life will be advantageous, while the householder's life is disadvantageous—such considerations are futile. You cannot come to the next stage without performing the duties of the previous one.

Aspire after higher things but never shirk the present duties. Don't do that. The case of those who live a celibate life from their boyhood is different. They have come with such good tendencies that even if they live in the world, they will live there as Sannyasis. You are what you are—you cannot jump to a higher stage.

Avoidance is not good, nor is it possible. Do your duties in the world but think of God all the while.

===== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' =====
Why should you give up your family? Doesn't one's family belong to God? Therefore, call on him who is the real head of the family. One will have to do one's duty in this world. How can you escape it? Wherever you go, the world will follow you.

[To a young man who planned to give up his job and pass the rest of his days practicing spiritual disciplines and making pilgrimages to various temples and shrines:]

A: So you would like to be a vagabond and avoid the duties expected of you by your parents! No! Your duty now is to serve your parents and especially your old grandmother, who has cared for you from your childhood, with complete resignation to the will of God.

===== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' =====
Depend upon God entirely and do your duty. Always abide by the Will of God and take everything in the best light. You should not be anxious of the future. Whatever takes place here, on this earth, is for our good, for all things are disposed by God. In the meantime, it should be our duty to be dutiful.

Try to be dutiful to yourself, dutiful towards your wife and dutiful to your children, if you have any. Be dutiful to your relations, your friends and your neighbours. Be charitable, honest, plain and truthful. Above all have an intense devotion and love for God, the author of your being. Lead this life, until it becomes one with your nature. Be an ideal householder first, for then alone will you be able to be a real Yogi.

Be always vigilant in carrying out your duties. Shake off all dullness from within you. Laziness is the worst of all sins. To fight is your duty. Whether you gain or lose entirely depends on God.

The first personal pronoun ("I") is at the root of all our miseries. Hence our primary duty should be to get rid of it somehow or other.

Do your duty for God's sake; know that all belongs to God, and you will reach freedom and wisdom in time. This is Karma Yoga.

There is a widespread mistaken notion that religious life cannot be lived in the family. There is nothing unholy or unspiritual per se in a family life. A bachelor has, no doubt, comparatively more freedom of action than the married. He has no doubt to look to the fulfilment of his duties towards his parents, before he wishes to breath a freer atmosphere than that of the home. But a married man has, besides this, other duties to perform, viz., duties to his wife who has a claim to spiritual participation in his lot, to society, for who else is to maintain the Brahmacharin or the Sannyasin, and to posterity, through the bringing up of his children in such a way as to be serviceable to society.

Such being the case, there must be something that will occasionally remind us as to who we are, and of what we should do, so that we may not be altogether forgetful of our duties here. It is religion that fulfils this purpose.
----

== 4 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON DUTY ====

===== '''By Swami Saradananda''' =====
You complain that thoughts of duties sometimes intrude when you sit for meditation. All minds are in the same predicament. You cannot escape this even if you leave work and retire to a forest.

Since past mental tendencies cannot assert themselves during the performance of duties, you should apply your whole mind to them. Selfless work is the best means of winning a victory over past tendencies.

Wherever you are, you must obey the orders of your superiors and perform your duties to the best of your ability.

If you carry on your spiritual practices with implicit faith in the Lord who is your own—you will understand everything in due time. It will gradually be revealed to you how you can cultivate absolute reliance on God while performing your duties.

You should analyse your mind and see whether you have been able to cover every bit of work with the spirit of God and judge whether the duties you are performing are for His sake or for the propitiation of your spurious self.

The work that you do is to be performed with a right attitude. You must feel that the duties that you are discharging have been entrusted to you by the Lord. You are doing them only to satisfy Him and not to satisfy your selfish will. No work is menial.

If a worker performs his duties properly and his life embodies the spirit of detachment throughout, he will ultimately attain the highest goal. In other words, he will see God in everything and attain pure knowledge, which will burn all the seeds of karma. He will not be born again, and his soul will merge itself into Brahman, at the dissolution of his body.

It is your immediate duty to make provision for the maintenance of your parents. The aspirant must try all means for the fulfilment of his immediate duty but should not get disappointed if he is not successful. For though one of the factors may be fulfilled well, yet the work may not turn out successful for want of the other factors. Hence to do one's best and be at peace without being anxious about the result is called Karma-Yoga.

===== '''By Swami Akhandananda''' =====
Do your duty, and in the midst of duty keep alive the idea that you are doing His work.

===== '''By Swami Subodhananda''' =====
Man enters family life and gets involved in worldly affairs. But if he takes refuge in the Lord and then attends to the duties of life, he can withstand much better the storms and stresses of the world, all of which he can ignore by his dependence on God's dispensation.

===== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' =====
The supreme duty of man is to remember Him always, whether one is engaged in consciously repeating His name or not. Every breath of ours should be associated with Him, in our mind.

It is the duty of everyone to donate a certain portion of income for the public good. For, that is the law of nature. You will get back whatever you give. A change in your circumstances today may reduce you tomorrow to penury and make you dependent on others. You suffer as a result of your own past actions, and that is why you should devote a portion of your income for the food of others, instead of appropriating it entirely to yourself.

Our duty is to make ourselves His slaves, to think and work for Him and meditate on Him. Whatever we do should be a dedication at the feet of Mother. Her external manifestations are time, space, and causality. As the perfect embodiment of all wisdom, She points out where our duty lies; and that is exactly what we have got to do, my brother, that is what we have got to do.

In fact, He performs his own duty. Can we do any good to anybody?

The greatest duty of man is to keep his mind centred on God. With every breath we should think of Him.

While doing your allotted duties, you should all the time be thinking of Him in the same way (as the Master said) as a woman thinks of her paramour.

Your duty is to endeavour to be truthful under all circumstances. But if at times, owing to special reasons, you have to utter a falsehood, it need not worry you too much, because while you are subordinate to another person, you cannot help obeying him.

You have got to be very punctilious in doing your duty. Work has to be done always with a sense of duty, but without an eye for the results.

You should behave in the world, the Master used to say, just as servants and maid-servants do in the households of their masters. They serve their masters and do all their work; but all the time they think of their own relatives living in their village homes. Similarly you have to perform all your worldly duties, but your mind should always be fixed on God.

One's duty is to lead an honest, pious, and selfless life, and above all, to conduct oneself as the servant of God.

Work has to be done always, but without much concern for results. Do it as a part of your duty.
----

== 5 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== EARNESTNESS ====

===== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' =====
He dwells in the hearts of his devotees. Call on him earnestly.

===== '''By Swami Shivananda''' =====
The fact that you have this restlessness of mind shows that the Mother is gracious to you. The earnestness to realize Her and the lack of peace because you have not been able to do so are symptoms of Her grace.

What is necessary, my child, is earnestness. The Mother dwells in every heart and She does not take into consideration how much time you put into your practice, but only how sincerely you do it.

The more earnestness you have in your practice, the greater will be the joy.

Sincerity, earnestness, purity—these form the main foundation of a spiritual life.

Anyone who earnestly wants divine joy surely gets it.

He reveals Himself whenever one supplicates Him with earnestness and tears in the eyes.

It is not possible to serve the great saints in the real sense, unless one has one's mind purified through spiritual efforts. And the other thing necessary is absolute earnestness.

He manifests Himself in the heart of a devotee who is sincere and earnest.

===== '''By Swami Premananda''' =====
Earnestness itself is a Mantra, but not all can have it.

No teaching can help one who is not in earnest.

===== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' =====
Whether a man will succeed in attaining realization or not depends upon the amount of earnestness he has. This is the test.

===== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' =====
Who says it is all dark? Search for Him earnestly; you are sure to see Him. Appeal to Him, and I can dare say, if you are really earnest, the answer will come.

===== '''By Swami Akhandananda''' =====
The very appearance and movement of those who earnestly call on God become something uncommon and impressive. Their very presence brings happiness. Their faces are always happy, their hearts are pure, and their minds are free from likes and dislikes. They are ever eager to remain merged in the Bliss that is God. To them worldly good and evil lose their distinction—both are equal to them.

Certainly, He will come to you. Only one thing is needed: your yearning, your earnest longing. You have to call on Him with earnestness.

Be earnest, be impatient. Not that you have to repeat His name so many hundreds of times, or that you have to do so much penance. But you have to cry aloud earnestly and piteously.

The way is: earnestness, discrimination, and dispassion.

===== '''By Swami Subodhananda''' =====
If one calls on the Lord with sincere earnestness, He reveals Himself in the form of one's chosen deity.
----

== 6 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== EATING ====

===== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' =====
Eat very little after sunset. The brain must be kept cool in order to meditate. Eat only to keep the body healthy; health is essential in the practice of spiritual disciplines.

Meditation is not such an easy matter. When you have eaten too much, the mind becomes restless.

===== '''By Swami Shivananda''' =====
As a matter of fact, eating is just like taking medicine. The sickness of hunger should be doctored. Hunger is a kind of ailment. Just as medicine relieves sickness, so food alleviates hunger. One should bear this in mind while eating.

The Atman is free from hunger and similar limitations. It is pure intelligence, unaffected by anything. Hunger, thirst and so on are characteristics of the body and not of the Atman.

==== ECSTASY ====

===== '''By Swami Premananda''' =====
The worldly man is drunk with the objects of sense, with name, with fame, with lust, with gold. Be you also drunk, but be drunk with selfless works, with love of God, with ecstasy, with Samadhi!

===== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' =====
Japa will consummate in meditation and meditation will lead to ecstasy.

==== EDUCATION ====

===== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' =====
True education consists in the sacrifice of vanity and the manifestation of the God within.

===== '''By Swami Saradananda''' =====
Give a little attention to your own studies. Know them also to constitute a limb of spiritual life. Because, if you cannot, by acquiring worldly education, make provision for coarse food and clothing, then meditation on and thought of God will become impossible.

===== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' =====
Everybody shouts for more education, but the only result of it is the creation of a set of slavish job-seekers. But do you think men of real genius have any use for this kind of education? They do not care at all for such education.

Modern English education has created a slave mentality among us. Akbar, Ranjit Singh, Shivaji—all of them were practically illiterate people. Our Master himself was a man of little education and attached no value to bookish education. He wanted man to imbibe learning from God's own words. He looked askance at bookish knowledge.
----

== 7 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== EGO ====

===== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' =====
Man suffers because of his ignorance. This ignorance is his sense of ''ego''. When a man is free from this egoism, surrendering his life, his mind, and his intellect at the blessed feet of the Lord of all, renouncing all that he calls his own—then is he blessed indeed. That man alone is truly happy.

Everybody thinks he is infallible. Deluded by egoism, man regards himself as very important. He does not even want to believe in the existence of God. He never seriously considers how little he can understand with his intellect.

The aim of all spiritual practice is to destroy the sense of ego. Sri Ramakrishna used to say: "when the ego dies all troubles cease." As long as we are egotistic, so long is He at a distance. The Master used to give this illustration: "As long as the manager is in the storeroom, the head of the house does not go there. If anybody asks something of him, He directs that person to the manager."

Sometimes man becomes so egotistic and thinks himself so important that he does not even accept the existence of God. It is this ego that binds a man in Maya. There is no escape until you feel, "Not I, not I, but Thou, my Lord!"

The sage Narada attained devotion and knowledge of Brahman by serving holy men. Ego is destroyed through service.

Under no circumstances give up your spiritual practices. If you give up the practices of japam and meditation and engage yourself solely in work, egoism is bound to arise in you, and you will become the source of quarrels and disharmony.

Renunciation is of the first importance; it destroys all ego.

Without dispassion toward the world, faith and love do not grow. You must have dispassion. To lose the ego in God is dispassion.

===== '''By Swami Shivananda''' =====
Unless work is accompanied by meditation, japa and other spiritual practices, its very spirit is lost. Then one forgets it is the Lord's work and not his own. Egotism and pride come and instead of being purified by the work, the heart becomes defiled.

Meditation on God will obliterate the ego, and He will then be all in all. Only when your mind reaches this state, will you be able to do genuine philanthropic work.

Know it for certain that, if one goes on performing one's duties under the sincere belief that one is doing God's work, one can never suffer spiritually. God protects such a one for ever. But the fall comes as soon as egoism and attachment creep in.

Along with work, you should practise meditation and japa regularly; that helps in maintaining a balance. And a little intrusion by pride and egotism is not a thing to be worried about; for God Himself will put you under the circumstances necessary for the wiping out of that little defect. As for pride and egotism, these can come even to the man engaged in austerities in solitude, who may then think that he has become a big ascetic.

If you are true to yourself, if your thoughts and actions are in accord with each other, pride and egotism can never assail you, whether you are engaged in spiritual practice or service to God.

One must have diligence so long as one has the notion of ego.

===== '''By Swami Premananda''' =====
We have to make a single community of this whole world and if there is anything that is to be treated as an alien, it is "me and mine." This "me and mine" is the worst enemy. This great enemy has to be killed, extirpated. Then only will this whole world become your own of God—and full of peace and happiness. And he alone will be able to impart this lesson who has killed "me and mine."

No! Sri Ramakrishna did not make us great; he made us "nobodies." You also have to become "nobodies." Wipe out all vanity and all sense of ego. Sri Ramakrishna used to say, "When the ego dies, all troubles cease." "Not I, not I, but thou, Lord."

Look at the life of Nag Mahashaya! There was not the least trace of ego in him. G. C. Ghosh used to say, "Maya tried to bind Nag Mahashaya and Vivekananda in her net, but Nag Mahashaya became smaller than the smallest, so that Maya's net could not hold him, and Vivekananda grew bigger and bigger; he became one with the infinite, and the net was too small to bind him."

Always remember, the Lord is the "doer." If ever the idea that "I am the doer" enters into your head, the Lord instantly flies away. All efforts then will be in vain. Therefore I say, be careful, holy man, "Let not the 'unripe' ego' ever enter your heart." Pray that you may only be the instrument in the hands of the Lord, through his grace. Then only will you become a real karma yogi.

He alone is the teacher of mankind who is free from all sense of ego.

Overpowered by ignorance, man remains subject to anger and egoism. To be dispassionate means to be freed from passions and from egoism. To achieve that end man practices spiritual disciplines. And egoism—it is truly hellish! It is this egoism that has kept the whole world under delusion. Only with the greatest austerity can one be completely freed from ego.

Pride, vanity, or egotism cannot touch those who are true devotees of the Lord.

Be active also. Free yourself from all sense of ego, and work selflessly. Be very careful that no sense of leadership or any trace of selfishness enter into you. Whatever you do, do as the servant of the Lord.

Let the strong wind of dispassion rise in your minds, that the trees of desire be uprooted. Then, even as birds fly from the shelter of trees before a strong wind, will the ignorance of selfishness, jealousy, hatred, and egoism take flight from your hearts. Then shall peace follow and fill your lives, even as calm follows the storm.

Do not pay any attention to the opinions of others, good or bad. What is necessary above all is to see God—in this life, in this very body. Then, from your mouth will come forth the word of God; egotism and conceit will have left you.

If you wish to become holy, you must sacrifice all ego.

The essence of Sri Ramakrishna's teaching is that one should give up all pride and egotism.

Even pity comes out of egotism. Have you not heard the Master's stories of the tiger-Narayana and the elephant-Narayana? If we are to live away from a tiger and an elephant, are we to hate or pity them? Salute them from afar, thinking that it is through the will of God that they are what they are, and that it is through His will again that you are what you are, and that His will can, in a moment, redeem them forever and drag you down.

Destroy your pride and egotism once for all.
----

== 8 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== EGOTISM ====

===== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' =====
[To the young Sannyasis:]

Do you think that by these works of yours, you have done something unique? What you are doing, I can get done by scavengers for a pay of one rupee a month. And as for those of you who are working in the office, better workers than you can be obtained by spending a few rupees a month. So is there anything to be vain about what you are doing?

Egotism is no good; it is extremely pernicious. Egotism is like drinking wine, it leads astray the senses. The Master used to say that water accumulates only in a low land. Only in humility the good qualities of the mind and heart become manifest. Pride always holds the head high.

The more you will free yourself of egotism and become His instrument, the more you will realize peace. The more you will feel that God is the only doer, not you, the more will your heart be filled with peace.

There is another attitude. Whatever is good is His, and whatever is bad is the result of our own karma. If we continue this attitude, we may eventually get rid of the ego.

Humility does not come so long as there is any egotism left.

The evil is not in the world, it is in the persons. It is all a matter of understanding. If we understand each other better, there would be less evil. But who wants to understand? Everyone is shut up within his own ego. From that prison we judge the world. The remedy is to see the Lord in all.

===== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' =====
[To a devotee's question: "Maharaj, why do we not have that kind of dependence on God?"]

It is because you value your intellect and ego more than God. You are not ready to wait for his command, and moreover you lose patience in a minute.

Money brings vanity. The more egotistic a man is, the farther he is from God, and thus the poorer he is. Do not measure the poverty of a man by his possessions. The real measure is how far away he is from God. The nearer to the Lord, the richer the man; the more forgetful of the Lord, the poorer and unhappier he is.

As long as God keeps the sense of ego in a man, he will perceive duality, good and evil. When God takes away the sense of ego, the perception of duality, good and evil, disappears.

A man will get social merit through his philanthropic activities, but if his ego is involved in those activities, he will not get any spiritual merit. Even the result of a good action turns into a bondage if it is done with ego.

===== '''By Swami Abhedananda''' =====
Purification of mind means nothing but the annihilation of the ego-centric idea and removal of selfishness from the mind. The more the mind expands, the more are the egoistic ideas annihilated.
----

== 9 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== EGOTISM ====

===== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' =====
The attraction towards the world means egotism.

Almost all men in the world have usurped the throne where God should sit. On that throne where God should be, a most worthless slave has been given place. ''This is the ego''. When you know this, then drive out the ego. When you do this and become the slave or servant of God instead, you will realize your eternal nature. Being one with God, all fear of death will go, peace will come to you, and you will taste true (Ananda) bliss.

It is true that every soul, so long as it is in a body, has a little bit of ego. If there were no ego, what remains? Only God.

When you live constantly in the presence of Divinity, the ego loses its power; but so long as the ego rules a man, he is a bond-slave. All your anxieties and worries come from egotism and selfishness. Let go your little self and they will all disappear.

All Maya is localized in ego. Pull out the foundation and the whole house will collapse. Take away the ego and the whole structure of Maya will fall. Then you will realize a state of perfect calmness.

Try to get rid of the ego by cultivating a sense of oneness. Think you are in no way superior to any living being that the smallest insect crawling there is just as you are, and has just as much right to live. When we lose all sense of separateness, egotism will go, the mind will become single or pure, and only God will be there.

Intellectuality is based on ego and spirituality is based on annihilation of ego.

We are all only puppets in the hands of God. When we understand this all pride and ambition, all vanity and egotism will go.

What keeps us from seeing God? Selfishness, egotism, ambition, vanity, pride. The more we can minimize these, the sooner will we come to the goal. If we can get rid of them altogether, then freedom is ours.

Vengeance is based on egotism and malice.

Now it seems to you easier to love the world than to love God. That is because the ego blinds our sight so that we cannot perceive the beauty of God. This ego must be conquered. It is always a falsifier. It places itself on the throne, which belongs to God, and tries to hide God. So long as the ego is on the throne, we can never hope to see or love God.

Hatred and anger are signs of ego. If a man hates anyone or gets angry with anyone, you may be sure he has not conquered his ego and cannot feel true love in his heart. What is the ego? A mere soap-bubble. One blow will break it and reveal its hollowness. We must get rid of ego and reach the state where we can say sincerely, "Not I, not I," but "Thou." When you have been able to put down the ego, love of God will come of itself.

Of course, complete self-surrender can come only when one is free from egotism—the most invulnerable enemy. The idea that "I am so-and-so" is the cause of repeated births and deaths. The more you can get rid of it, the more will you be able to realize your spiritual nature, which is obscured by "I."

Hence our primary duty should be to get rid of it somehow or other. This can be done by the service of the great, by good works without caring for results, by concentration or discrimination. The first is the easiest and the best. If you can place yourself at the feet of a true Teacher, your egotism will gradually wear away by that very attitude of yours of a servant.

If a man actually places himself under the guidance of Sri Ramakrishna he is sure at once to be saved by Him. But very few, almost none can do it, as every man is more or less an egotist.

What in the West they call the devil, we here in India call ego. In the West they externalize their devil. Here, too, they do it, but not in the same way. The West also puts its God far off up there somewhere, while the Hindu keeps Him inside. It is the greatest relief when we get rid of egotism. It is as if a heavy burden rolled off. At once all our doubts and fears, anxieties and troubles disappear. When the "I" is gone, nothing remains but God or Divinity. Let Him exist alone in his glory.

What keeps us from seeing God? Our egotism. The more you can minimize that, the nearer you will approach the goal. If you can throw it away altogether, then freedom is yours. The more you can keep your mind on God, the more quickly you will reach Him.

You know before a great light, lesser lights disappear; so before the effulgent glory of God, the little glory of the ego will completely vanish, as stars vanish when the sun rises. You must therefore practise the Presence of God inside you.

Intellectuality and spirituality are diametrically opposed to each other. Intellectuality is based on ego and spirituality on annihilation of ego.

How to attain wisdom? If we throw away egotism we shall know that God and man are one. Sri Ramakrishna used to say that if we thrust a stick in water the water seems to be divided and we see a right-hand current and a left-hand current. But take the stick out, at once the water becomes one, and right-hand and left-hand divisions disappear. So are we. It is the stick of ego thrust into the water of our mind which makes us think there are two currents—moral and immoral, good and bad, light and darkness, pleasure and pain. Throw away the "I." If you can do it for one moment then you will know that you and God are one.

===== '''By Swami Saradananda''' =====
The Lord is making you His own. He will not allow even the slightest ego to remain within you. The sufferings and difficulties you are undergoing are intended to make you realize that you have no independent will of your own. It is all given over to the Lord. Therefore, be contented with what He does and wherever He keeps you.

The more one purifies these internal organs, the more one is able to detect and interpret correctly the will of the Universal Mind. This knowledge has a transforming effect on the life and character of the individual. His unripe ego dies forever. Like a machine moved by the operator, he is a tool in the hands of God. He becomes incapable to doing anything wrong. He does not take a false step nor do his feet slip from the path.

===== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' =====
Through wealth and honour our egotism is bloated up, and there is no greater obstacle in the spiritual path than egotism.

Worldly riches only swell our egotism and pride, and there is no greater impediment in the pursuit of religious path than this.

Indeed, it is this ego born of ignorance, that blinds our vision. God's glory is manifest all around us, but still we do not see Him, the reason being that we are reluctant to cast off the veil of ignorance that covers our vision.
----

== 10 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON EMOTION ====

===== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' =====
Yes, you must yearn to realize him, but do not be carried away by temporary emotions, nor give expression to them. To intensify your spiritual emotions you must hold them within. If you give vent to them, they will exhaust themselves. Then dryness may follow.

===== '''By Swami Akhandananda''' =====
Suppose, for instance, that when you come down from the shrine, I do not speak to you affably a single word that you like, and so you become angry. Now if this be so, what good is it that you sat in the shrine for such a long time?

Swamiji used to say, "During group singing, somebody's emotion may be aroused and he may fall down in a trance; but when that is over, his mind turns to enjoyment. What kind of trance is that?" Swamiji was very much against such emotionalism.

==== EVER-FREE ISHVARAKOTI ====

===== '''By Swami Shivananda''' =====
The ever-perfected souls are, as it were, the living emblems of God. Association with them and service rendered to them carry one to God. But it is most difficult to serve them or live with them.

===== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' =====
Those who go to God without seeking Nirvana are ''Ishvarakotis'' belong to the divine class.

[Referring to the Adhikarika beings, i.e., those entrusted with the management of the world:]

Their case is different. They come with perfect knowledge from their very birth. It is only they who can come down again from a state of union with Brahman. For this purpose they allow some little trace of desire to remain in their mind.

Swamiji used to say that India never felt the want of the Jivanmukta the living-free. He said that he had himself seen at least fifteen or sixteen of them; and that even in the darkest days of India, spiritual giants were born.
----

== 11 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON EVIL ====

===== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' =====
If you do not work, evil thoughts and unnecessary cares will occupy your mind.

Man is composed of both good and evil. It is easy to see the evil in others but a holy man is he who can overlook their evil qualities and help them to become pure and holy.

Never find fault or criticize others. Such a habit is harmful to yourself. By thinking continually of the evil of others, the evil will impress itself upon your own mind and the good that is in you will be over-shadowed.

[Disciple: "I am told you saw a spirit also at Dacca."]

Yes, in that house where we stayed. On the second day of our arrival there, I saw it, looking like a Mussulman, standing at the door. This made me sad, and I thought I would leave the house if I saw it again. But it did not appear any more. Much singing of the holy names went on there. That is perhaps why it fled. Evil spirits cannot stand the name of God.

===== '''By Swami Shivananda''' =====
[To the question: "What would be the condition of this world if every individual man were truly spiritual?"]

Prima facie, such a question is absurd and illogical, for evil as it is cannot altogether disappear from this world. It will ever remain a concomitant part of good.

If evil thoughts come to your mind, don't pay any heed to them. There are impressions of past lives in the mind and now and then they come to the conscious plane.

[To the question: "How is it that sometimes evil thoughts come to the mind?"]

That is quite natural. Pray to the Lord for strength, knowledge and dispassionateness. Pray to Him with all your heart for His grace, and for devotion and faith.

===== '''By Swami Premananda''' =====
Know for certain that in this world of relativity, there will always be good and evil, pleasure and pain, praise and blame.

Man will come to know what real happiness is. The Lord is the doer of good and by his holy name all that is evil will disappear.

Evil thoughts are to be driven away by good thoughts.

Always keep in mind that the Lord is the doer of good, and no evil can befall if one depends upon him.

Desire, again, is of two kinds—good and evil. That desire which tightens the bonds of ignorance is evil; that which loosens the bonds is good.

===== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' =====
With whatever evil tendencies one may come, one is sure to improve in holy company. As when you go to an Attar shop, the scent will enter your nostrils, whether you will it or not.

And as Gaudapada says, when knowledge comes, all duality vanishes. It is this dual consciousness which is at the root of all evils.

Attachment and aversion are at the root of all evil. Hence the injunction to relinquish them. For, free of them, one can do with impunity whatever one likes.

The seed is easily destroyed, but when it has germinated and grown into a big strong tree, it requires great strength and effort to hew it down. So we must crush our desires in their early, undeveloped stages. Yogis can do this. They keep down undesirable thoughts in the germ state by smothering them beneath thoughts of an opposite nature. Thus they conquer all evil tendencies—hatred with love, anger with kindness and so on.

A suspicious mind sees evil everywhere, a trusting mind sees only good. A quarrelsome person constantly finds something to quarrel about; a peaceful person finds no one to quarrel with. I find so many people here with fixed notions. They have one set idea that colours everything. They cannot get away from it. Everything is explained according to that one idea.

Some persons always want to argue. They often have little brain, cannot see a point, still they must argue. Then there are over sensitive persons. They are always on the defensive. Whatever general statement you make, they take as being directed towards them, to attack them. All these are causes for evil. But the evil is not in the world, it is in the persons. It is all a matter of misunderstanding. If we understand each other better there would be less evil.

[To the question: "Why is there so much evil in the world?"]

Tulasidas says, "to the good the world is full of good, but to the bad the world is full of evil." The world is neither good nor bad. What I call good, you perhaps call bad, and the reverse. Where is the standard? The standard is in our own attitude towards life. Each one has his own standard. And with increased experience and insight, the standard changes. The pity is that we still recognize evil. When we become perfectly good ourselves, the whole world will appear good. We see only the reflection of our own minds. See the Lord always in everything, and you will see no evil.
----

== 12 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON EVIL ====

===== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' =====
The essential nature of man, which is ever-pure, cannot be polluted by good and evil.

As long as God keeps the sense of ego in a man, he will perceive duality—good and evil. When God takes away the sense of ego, the perception of duality, good and evil, disappears.

Evil qualities pollute the mind of a person who searches for the lapses and shortcomings of others.

He who has learned to discriminate can successfully overcome lust and greed. So, cultivate your discrimination and conscience. How can you struggle against evil tendencies if your intellect is not trained to differentiate between good and evil?

First clear out the rubbish which has entered the mind through the gates of the sense organs, and then put a "''NO ADMITTANCE''" sign in front of each gate. Those bad thoughts which ignore the notice and still come in, you will have to hand over to the police, which is our conscience. With the help of the police you must evict the impure tendencies from the mind and then install the Lord there.

===== '''By Swami Abhedananda''' =====
It is by the power of habit that evil thoughts rise in the mind. Form a contrary habit by continued practice, and gradually the habit of evil thoughts may not arise in the mind.

===== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' =====
[To the question: "How has evil come?"]

The dualists say that all the good in man belongs to God and all the bad belongs to the man himself. The monists say that all belongs to God, both good and bad.

In reality all is God. It is He who actuates the evil-doer as well as the saint. A man has sugar candy to sell in the shape of a mango or a bird or a dog. A little boy says to his father, "Please buy me that bird." He thinks it will taste sweeter than the mango or the dog, whereas in reality they are all alike. In the same way man looks at the world and calls this good and this bad, but as a matter of fact it is all made out of the same substance. God has created both good and evil; but He is beyond both. He has created the two parties and set them warring against each other, while He looks on as the Witness. All this warring of good and bad, pleasure and pain, is merely the play of God; this whole creation is His play.

===== '''By Swami Saradananda''' =====
If evil thoughts appear, be indifferent to them. They come due to the impressions of previous lives and it is good that they rise to the conscious plane; it will be easier for you to control them.

[To the question: "Frequently evil thoughts arise in my mind. How can I be saved from them?"]

One should drive them away resolutely. You have read in the Gita "The Self is attained by continual practice and renunciation." There is no other way. Surrender yourself to the Lord. Make Him your own and evil thoughts will pass away. It is absolutely necessary to make Him your own.

===== '''By Swami Akhandananda''' =====
To those who earnestly call on God worldly good and evil lose their distinction—both are equal to them.

[To the question of why there was so much evil in the world:]

Whenever you see others do evil, tell yourself not to imitate them, but to learn from your observations. The vile that you see is meant to teach you not to do such things. That is what you have to learn, but do not hate the evil-doers.

===== '''By Swami Subodhananda''' =====
Nothing will ever end in evil by the will of Him who is all good.

===== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' =====
It is desire that is the root of all evil.

Making compromises with evil leads only to self-deceit. You can satisfy your lower self, but your higher self will cry out one day for a satisfactory explanation. And failure to provide that will lead to certain retribution.

When the mind is overcome with evil thoughts, it becomes dejected and inactive like a mouse in the grip of a cat. But why should you suffer it to be like that? In situations like that, you should summon up within you the strength of a hero and shake off all evil thoughts. This is the only way out. It is no excuse to say that your mind is not under your control. Why should you let your mind take the upperhand?

[To the question: "What is the significance of the disgusting, erotic carvings that you find on the walls of the Jagannath temple?"]

What you see on the walls is only an expression of worldly affairs. That is the sort of thing in which the world is engrossed. You have got to transcend all these and enter the temple; and only if you can see and touch Him with a pure and sincere heart, can you hope for God's everlasting peace. Outside the temple, it is worldliness; inside it, is God.

The Master was the living embodiment of purity. Contemplation of him or taking his name makes you free from all evil thoughts. The mind goes up on a higher plane, the kundalini, the coiled-up vital force is roused.

Never give way to evil thoughts. When they come, pray earnestly to the Master, and you will be rid of them.
----

== 13 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== ON EVOLUTION ====

===== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' =====
Evolution means wanting something more. It implies a craving. A craving for more of God makes us evolve spiritually, a craving for outer things or earthly powers brings material evolution. The same craving is in the ant, in the angel, in man and in the Siddhas (Perfected ones). Man worships the gods to satisfy this craving.

In the West they have found out evolution, while here in India we have found out revolution, the Samsara Chakra or wheel of creation. We have discovered that everything moves in cycles. In the week we have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and again in the next week we have the same Monday, Tuesday, etc. The months are January, February, March and again next year the same January, February, March. The seasons rotate. The sun rises and sets again. Everything in the heavens is revolving.

Thus throughout Nature we find rotation or motion in a circle. The evolution theory cannot be final; even granted that evolution would go on throughout eternity, still the result would be finite and compared to infinity it would be infinitesimally small.

Man is made in the image of God; that is, man possesses all the powers of God, but in a miniature form. Evolution is a process of "rolling out." As we evolve spiritually, the inner powers become more and more manifest.

The difference between Kapila's evolution and western evolution is that while western evolution is a universal evolution and is imperfectly worked out, Kapila's evolution is individual and perfectly worked out. Kapila's evolution is really revolution. Like the bullock tied to the oil-press, who may walk nine or ten miles a day, yet does not go away from the oil-press but always remains in the same spot; so we remain tied to nature in the same way. In nature, we find things not progressing, but going in a circle. In creation it is never evolution but always revolution. In the wheel of earthly life, the days, the months, the seasons, revolve in a circle. Kapila thinks that evolution is only of mind and body. But according to absolute idealism evolution is an illusion. We must evolve as individuals, and the final end of all evolution is to realize that we are infinite, and not finite.
----

== 14 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== EXPERIENCE ====

===== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' =====
Religion is not a matter of discursive reasoning or scholarship; it is a matter of experience. Kant was such a great philosopher, yet he said that marriage was a necessity! What the sages have said are all based on their own experience and not on hearsay.

==== FAITH ====

===== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' =====
If a man has faith in the words of his guru and follows them, then all his doubts and troubles vanish. If a man has faith in the words of his guru, God will meet all his wants. Holding him by the hand, He will lead him on the right path.

In the beginning the mind will refuse to come under control, but force it, urge it, entreat it in order to fix it on meditation. Faith and regularity are very important; nobody can succeed in anything without them.

Keep association with the holy. Go to one who knows the path, learn about the path, and walk on the path. Then alone you will reach your destination someday. Then alone will arise faith and devotion.

One must have faith that the one Brahman is in man, woman, in all creatures; and with that faith one must learn to serve Shiva in the form of Jiva.

Practice any spiritual discipline with faith and devotion; in the end it will lead you to the same goal. Be simple and guileless. Without simplicity and childlike faith nobody can realize him.

To have faith in Him, to be devoted to Him, to praise His glories—these are the only duties in life. Ignorance must be overcome in this very life. This will not be easy unless you can devote yourself wholeheartedly to the work of the spirit. Faith is the one thing needed, intense faith! Let not doubts get hold of your mind.

Keep your mind fixed on God. It is not always easy to keep the mind steady in God while working; the ego creeps in. But never be discouraged by your failures. Repeated failure is inevitable in the beginning, but keep your faith and redouble your efforts. Try hard to live up to your ideal.

With unwavering faith in the words of the guru, the disciple must regularly practice repetition of the mantram and meditation on its meaning. Thus will he find peace of heart.

You may think: "let us have yearning, faith and devotion first, then we shall begin our spiritual practices." But is that possible? Can we see the day before the break of dawn? When the Lord comes, love, devotion, and faith follow him as his retinue.

Real faith cannot be had at the beginning. First realization, then faith. At first the spiritual aspirant must pin his faith, blind faith, it may be—in the words of his guru or some great soul; only then can he advance toward the goal.

Women generally have greater results in less time because their faith is greater.

But this resignation should be inspired by the right spirit and faith. No doubt must enter your heart; it is no use "taking the name of God to cross the river and at the same time raising your cloth to keep it dry."
----

== 15 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Teachings of the Direct Disciples''' ===

==== FAITH ====

===== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' =====
Have intense faith in God and in his name; know that they are not different; He dwells in the hearts of his devotees. Call on him earnestly.

Have intense faith in the words of the guru, and follow his precepts faithfully. Thus will the impurities of the mind be washed away and the light of knowledge dawn.

Enlightenment comes quickly to one who has faith in the guru. But one must learn to see God in the guru. The guru must never be regarded as a mere man.

Faith! Without faith none can attain God. He who has true faith has certainly reached God. If you have faith in one penny it has value, but if you have no faith even in a gold piece, it has no value for you. He who has faith in God is freed from doubts. Without renunciation there can be no faith nor devotion.

Faith, intense faith, is what is needed. He who has faith has everything. He who has no faith in God doubts everything. He who has faith in God overcomes all doubts.

Without dispassion toward the world, faith and love do not grow. Have intense faith in the power of God's name and meditate on him.

First, have faith in God, know that he ''is''. Be firmly convinced that to realize him is the only purpose of life. By knowing him man reaches eternal life and infinite happiness, and all the problems of his life are solved.

In a chaste man a special spiritual nerve is developed. With its aid, his memory, his capacity for spiritual understanding, and his faith in God increase.

Have tremendous faith in yourself. Say to yourself, "I can know God"—With this faith forge ahead and you will reach him. Then your life will be blessed.

True devotion, faith and knowledge, are the results of long persistence in spiritual practices.

Have faith and dive deep into the fathomless ocean, and you are sure to find the eternal treasure, the pearl beyond price. Do not lose heart if, after a little struggle, you fail to find it.

Make the mind one-pointed like the mariner's compass. In whatever direction the ship may sail, the compass always points to the north and keeps the ship on its course. Keep your mind pointed toward God, and your boat will sail smoothly. A man who does this never loses his faith and devotion, even if he is thrown into an evil environment.

Faith! Have intense faith in the words of the guru and you will achieve everything. Without faith in the words of the guru, spiritual life is fruitless. Give yourself up to him as a kitten gives itself up to its mother. Then he will look after you, help you, and guide you.

Never lose faith in yourself. The Lord will do everything for you. Have faith in him. Repeat his name. He will reveal the truth to you.

[To the question: "Maharaj, it is all so very mysterious! N. and T. were such advanced souls, and they were also blessed by the Master, yet they went wrong. Some believe that whoever has seen the Master is saved. Ram Babu also held that view."]

A: His case was exceptional. He had such tremendous faith! And towards the end, he renounced everything in pursuit of his spiritual mood. Others only profess faith, but they do not possess it.

== 16 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Faith ===

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
To have devotion and faith in God is a rare achievement.

Without devotion and faith, worship is meaningless. It is faith and devotion that make the earthen image living and conscious.

It is very difficult for an average person to stand the actions and reactions of this world. A genuine devotee, because of his faith in God, is never overwhelmed by these.

One must have faith in the guru—the faith of a child.

What is essential is to have faith in and devotion to His lotus feet; when that is there, everything is achieved.

One has to tread steadily the path indicated by a perfect guru. This is a difficult path, my son. One must need to have steadfastness, faith, and above all untiring diligence. As a man can never get water if he goes on shifting his site for a well as soon as he strikes hard ground, so also an aspirant can never succeed in his spiritual quest if he cannot continue in the same path with perseverance.

If you are ready to live with this blind faith, I am also ready to teach you whatever I know without any reserve.

Otherwise, you can go and have your logic-chopping to your heart's content; and then come when the time arrives.

This is not fanaticism; this is a felt truth. We know it for certain that the Master is none other than the eternal supreme Brahman Itself. One must have this faith.

You are a good boy; you are intelligent, as well as learned; you are energetic and enthusiastic, too. You have read much, and you may read more. But along with all that, you have to get your mind fixed. Develop a love for God in your heart, be earnest, and call on Him. Then you will find that everything will be fulfilled in time.

There is only one way out, and that is faith. If one has the sincerest faith that the Master is the incarnation for this age, that he is none other than God Himself, and that one has been blessed by one of his sons, then one need have nothing more to worry—one has already reached the goal of life. It is the Master himself who sits in my heart as the guru and blesses the devotees.

There is only one way out, and that is faith.
----

== 17 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Faith ===

==== '''By Swami Premananda''' ====
Call forth faith—faith in the Guru's words, faith in holy men's teachings, faith in the scriptures, then only you can have results. Mere namby-pamby attitude will be of no avail.

Devotion and faith are unique. Man is always intent on outward things—name, fame, honour, and so on. We want intense, maddening love for God, firm and unshakable faith, and infinite confidence.

Have firm faith in your own self. "I will surely find God, I can never fail." This self-confidence and firm determination are needed.

Have faith, have self-confidence. Convince yourself "We are devotees of Sri Ramakrishna. We are free souls. Assuredly we shall realize God." Have this firm conviction, and then alone you can overcome the furious enemies, lust and anger and greed.

Faith and devotion—these are the greatest treasures in life. Material prosperity oftentimes may bring ruin to an individual.

Faith and devotion transform a man into a god, a saint, a free soul.

Those who have faith in God cannot be harmed by lust and anger, though these may arise occasionally.

If one has faith in God's hallowed name, all delusion will be destroyed in him by God's power.

Have faith. You have taken the holy name of Sri Ramakrishna, you will be free, you will attain perfection in this very life—have this firm conviction. Never harbour any doubt.

God is love. Have faith and conviction that he protects those who take refuge in him.

May the Lord help you and give you strength. Have faith in him. He is ours and we belong to him.

Guard yourself against fanaticism. Never disturb the faith of another. Never say, "We belong to the sect of Sri Ramakrishna. He is the only saviour, he is the greatest avatar; therefore, all people must worship him!"

In order to attain liberation for one's own self, one need only to receive the sacred mantra from an illumined guru and, with complete faith, become absorbed in the practice of japam and meditation.

Let us steal this treasure and make ourselves wealthy. No brute force is necessary to obtain this fortune. Strength of conviction, faith, and reverence are all that is needed.

Have faith in the words of your guru, faith in other holy men, and faith in the scriptures. Then you will reap the harvest.

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
So you have learnt to belittle the Ganga simply because you have read a few English books. But do you know how hard Swamiji had hit at this disrespectful mentality towards our sacred traditions, cultivated by those who have acquired some English education? Oh! how he would lose himself while chanting the hymn to the Ganga! And why him alone! How many of them, from Acharya Shankara downwards, have sung hymns in praise of the Ganga! Try to have some Shraddha reverence and faith.

He who truly has this faith, has already reached the goal. But is it easy to have that faith? One must beware of self-delusion. Those who have absolute trust in God will be at once purified through His grace, though they might have committed heinous sins before.

In how many ways does God help man and push him forward! At first He presents supernatural phenomena before him and thus strengthens his faith.

[On the merit of bathing and other religious performances.]

It all depends on our mental attitude, on our faith and belief.

Planning is useless, for Mother knows already what will come to pass. We plan because we don't have absolute faith. It requires great faith not to plan. What does it matter, Kashmir or Calcutta? Mother is everywhere.

We should not judge harshly those who try to harm us. Never lose faith in Mother. Faith saves us. Everyone feels depressed at times; but all do not show it.
----

== 18 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Faith ===

==== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' ====
Although everyone cannot see God, one should have faith in his existence, and that faith is the key to seeing God. First have faith in God and then love his children.

Have faith in your guru. Be loyal to him, even like a cow that never leaves its master, whether it is fed or not. Say, "I am your servant and you are my Master."

The main thing in spiritual life is to have love, devotion, and faith in God. He is our close relative. He lives in the hearts of all beings.

==== '''By Swami Abhedananda''' ====
If you desire to have firm and unshakable faith and devotion to the Lord, you should also take to Tapasya, hard austerities. Tapasya does not mean aimless wandering hither and thither; it really means regular and steadfast Japa, meditation, and self-control.

==== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' ====
Actually very few of us believe in God all the time. How do we know this? Because we allow anxieties and fears to arise in our minds. If we really have faith in God and in His infinite power of goodness, we can never feel fearful about anything.

When worries and perplexities rise in our mind, it shows we have ceased to believe in God and in that He is caring for us. If we have real faith in God, we can never grow anxious.

Faith in God is the foundation of all life, both spiritual and physical. If you should put faith in God on one side and the Lord of the whole universe on the other, I would take faith in God. Blessed is the man who has faith. He is the happiest of men, because he is free from all anxiety. We are all only puppets in the hands of God. When we understand this, all pride and ambition, all vanity and egotism will go. For that reason is the man blessed who has faith, because he has realised his puppet nature.

[To the question: "How can we get such faith as Prahlada had?"]

A: The more you can purify yourself, the more that faith will come. Although Prahlada was put into boiling oil, although he was thrown under the feet of a mad elephant and over the highest precipice, he was not hurt because of his faith. But it was not blind faith that he had. It was a faith based on realisation; and if you have the same faith, you will be more powerful than the whole universe. Nothing can put you down. Our faith is too faltering.

Few of us believe in God all the time. As long as we have three or four rupees in our pocket, we think we can depend on ourselves. Only when the last anna is gone and we do not know where to get another, do we begin to trust in God. But the man who depends on himself is never safe, while the man who has perfect faith in God is never in danger.

"A plant," says Sri Ramakrishna, "should be kept under special guard by fencing it around, lest goats make a feast over it. But, when it becomes a tree, hundreds of goats may take shelter under its spreading boughs." So, when a little faith and a spirit of renunciation shoot forth fortunately in one's mind, one should preserve and nurture them with special care, by keeping aloof from all worldly men; but when they are once firmly rooted within, none can shake them at all.

Whenever anxiety rises in you, you become an atheist; you do not believe in God and that He cares for you. If you have real faith you can never grow anxious.

In order to know the ultimate reality one must place implicit faith in the preceptor and scripture. Haphazard attempts will not do.

He on whom faith descends is very fortunate. He needs nothing else. He is saved and the only thing he needs is discrimination.
----

== 19 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Faith ===

==== '''By Swami Saradananda''' ====
What really comes through spiritual practice is this unswerving faith—faith in the words of the Guru, in the Lord, in the scriptures.

The Master would compare the mind to a packet of mustard seeds, "If the packet is once untied, the seeds get scattered in all directions. How difficult it is to collect them again! Some are perhaps lost for ever." But absolute faith makes the impossible possible.

You must have faith in the enlightened souls and carry on your religious practices accordingly. Trying to understand the pros and cons of their teachings with our impure minds occupied as they are with thoughts of the world leads nowhere. Give up the attempt to understand everything and start your spiritual practices by relying on what the Master has taught.

You feel depressed because your faith is lukewarm. You must cultivate self-confidence. Without Shraddha, or firm faith in oneself, man is no man; he is a bundle of negatives. He accomplishes nothing. Believe that you have the power to achieve anything that your heart sets itself upon. Keep your faith firm and repeat the name of the Lord. You will know everything from within yourself.

If you carry on your spiritual practices with implicit faith in the Lord who is your own—you will understand everything in due time. It will gradually be revealed to you how you can cultivate absolute reliance on God while performing your duties.

When you feel depressed, you must drive away that feeling by saying, "I belong to the Lord, He is my very own. I am His child. He is holding me by the hand and will surely do what is good for me." These thoughts will bring strength to your nerves and faith in your heart.

Do not be too inquisitive. Give up all attempts to understand spiritual truths with your limited intellect. Have absolute faith in the Lord; rely on Him and practice spiritual disciplines.

Have faith in Him who never forgets His devotees, even though they forget Him. Listen to what Sri Krishna says in the Gita: "The Lord lives in the heart of every creature. He turns them round and round upon the wheel of His Maya. Take refuge utterly in Him. By His grace you will find supreme peace, the state which is beyond all change."

What really counts in the spiritual domain is this faith—faith in the words of one's Guru, in the Lord, in the scriptures. "The Guru has asked me to do such and such a thing, if I act up to his instructions I am sure to attain success, it can never be otherwise." Such burning faith in the words of the Guru is what is really required.
----

== 20 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Faith ===

==== '''By Swami Akhandananda''' ====
The things that really count are faith and devotion.

Have faith, and realize that everything is He, and He is everything. There is nothing without Him. He has created everything out of Himself. Have faith that we have to regain our lost Self and "Stop not till the goal is reached."

Faith and conviction of mind will grow according to your surroundings. That is why the company of holy men Sadhu sanga is necessary. They always feel: Brahman alone is real and all else unreal.

==== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' ====
If you remain steadfast in your faith, entertaining no prejudice against other faiths, and hold fast to the truth in all circumstances, then the Divine Mother will come and guide you. For that, however, you have to exercise self-restraint and undergo mental training.

The Hindus know perfectly well what this training means—to be pure in body, to be non-covetous, and not to accept gifts from anyone.

We should hold fast to faith and never lose it. With all the strength of this faith, we should, in all simplicity, patiently pray to the Mother to make us pure in heart, and She will certainly grant our prayer.

What you require is hope, faith, and patience; and gradually you will reach the goal.

You must have reverential faith in the words of great souls. Really great men declare from the junction of conscious and superconscious stages that they are willing to be born a thousand times for the welfare of humanity. Once they transcend that stage, these ideas no longer exist.

Faith there is, certainly; there is nobody in the world without faith. Without it, you would not be able to take a single breath.

You better leave these debates and arguments alone. We have got a brain of very limited capacity; and for realizing God, all this hair-splitting is of no use. What you require is burning faith in Him. In order to be firmly established in that faith, you may raise one or two valid points, but nothing more. Our arguments are just like armchair discussions; they lead us nowhere. We argue about God and then go home and lie down in bed. That is not religion, and it does not contribute to peace of mind.

What is wanted is such faith, faith alone. But we must have that faith implanted in us if we want to see God, whereas divine incarnations already have it. That is the only difference. They have seen God; we too will certainly see Him, only it is a matter of time.

Belief is of three kinds: unquestioning faith, believing from another's example, and believing after realizing the truth through one's own experience. [To the question: "Which one is the best?"] Any kind of faith is good. Faith is the foundation of spiritual life. If, unfortunately, there be anyone with no kind of faith in him, you have only to hold him down under the water of the Ganga, and not let him come up for a time even if he wants to. He will then believe. [To the question: "Does that bring about faith?"] Yes, God holds us down in this way in the ocean of the world.

You will have to subjugate your passions and hold fast to the faith that God exists everywhere.

What you require is a good deal of faith, reliance, and patience; and with all this you will gradually reach the goal. You should hold fast to faith and never lose it. You cannot find anybody in the world who does not at all cling to some sort of faith. Without faith you cannot even take a single breath.

Faith is the foundation of spiritual life. Too much of argumentation is of no avail. You have got a brain of a very limited capacity. What is needed is faith, burning faith in Him. In order to be firmly established in that faith, you may raise one or two valid points, but nothing more. Unless you have faith, arguments and discussions will only cloud the issue and create confusion. Take the instances of Kant and other philosophers. In the end they say that one cannot be sure that God exists, although behind the creation there is something which guides it in an orderly fashion. What does all that amount to? On the other hand, one can see God, talk with Him, and touch Him. Do they say such things? Then what is the use of their philosophy? What do we then gain by reading these works on philosophy? Book-learning is of no avail for God-realization. The only thing required is faith.

Purity, truthfulness, and honesty should make the cornerstone of your life. And there should be faith.

What you require is a good deal of faith, patience, and reliance, and gradually you will reach the goal. Repeat His name and peace will be yours.
----

== 21 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Family ===

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
This world is neither yours nor mine. It is God's creation. Those whom you think to be yours really belong to God. You have to live in this world with this belief as the background. Wife, son, daughter, relatives, friends all are but so many creatures of God. Whatever you have to do for them, do so with the idea that you are serving Narayana in those forms; then you won't get attached too much. And along with all this you must have your power of discrimination wide awake. The discrimination between the Real and the unreal gives rise to detachment.

You must serve all the members of your family wife, children, and other relatives but you must know in your innermost being that God alone is your nearest and dearest. Apart from Him there is none whom you can really call your own. That does not mean, however, that you must neglect your family; you must serve them to the best of your capacity, considering them to be the children of God, or to be so many parts of God Himself, entrusted to your care. You must talk with them about God and try to instil in their minds a true love for God.

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
But can one give up the householder's life though it is no more appealing, when there are wife and children? What then will be their fate? It is selfishness, pure and simple. To be in the world and maintain the family, to fulfil one's duties this also is certainly religion.

==== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' ====
Why should you give up your family? Doesn't one's family belong to God? Therefore, call on him who is the real head of the family. One will have to do one's duty in this world. How can you escape it? Wherever you go, the world will follow you. Does it exist outside us? No, Family—everything is in our own minds. If your mind desires enjoyment, you will seek enjoyment even in the forest; and if you don't have that desire for sense objects, you will not want them even if you are surrounded by them. Whether you live in a household or in the forest, you must call on God, otherwise all is in vain.

==== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' ====
There is a widespread mistaken notion that religious life cannot be lived in the family. There is nothing unholy or unspiritual per se in a family life. There is a full scope for unselfishness in the matter of working for others who need one's protection, even in the householder's life.

A bachelor has, no doubt, comparatively more freedom of action than the married. He has no doubt to look to the fulfilment of his duties towards his parents, before he wishes to breath a freer atmosphere than that of the home. But a married man has, besides this, other duties to perform, viz., duties to his wife who has a claim to spiritual participation in his lot, to society—for who else is to maintain the Brahmacharin or the Sannyasi? And to posterity, through the bringing up of his children in such a way as to be serviceable to society. It would be impossible to have any field of service properly attended to, if all married people were to break their marital ties and straight away turned Sannyasis!
----

== 22 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Family ===

==== '''By Swami Subodhananda''' ====
Man enters family life and gets involved in worldly affairs. But if he takes refuge in the Lord and then attends to the duties of life, he can withstand much better the storms and stresses of the world.

=== On Fasting ===

==== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' ====
I think fasting is too difficult for you. You should take a little food.

[Devotee: "No. I don't want to take anything before performing the worship"]

Such determination is good; but if fasting takes your mind away from God, what use is it? Rather, be determined to perform the worship with devotion. Don't place a higher value on fasting. That is mere obstinacy, which is of no real benefit. If your mind is dwelling on food instead of God, how can you perform the worship with love and devotion? Devotion is impossible if the mind is disturbed.

==== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' ====
[To the Question: "What is the significance of baths, fasting, etc., undertaken at special occasions? Have these any particular religious significance?"]

Well, though not so much for those who are constantly engaged in the contemplation of God, for ordinary people, these observances are, certainly, of great value because on these occasions, their minds turn towards God.

=== On Fate ===

==== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' ====
Results of actions done in this life are partly experienced here and partly in the next as fate.

Worldly people are immersed in egoism. But when they are oppressed by misery, grief, sickness, poverty and failure, when every effort, every undertaking, all care and cleverness fail, they think of fate and say it cannot be avoided.

I have great faith in what is called fatalism, but I cannot accept that fate is irremovable. I do not believe that good and bad, virtue and vice, happiness and misery and all pairs of opposites stored in the chamber of fate are irremovable.

None but the supreme self is immutable, indivisible, incombustible, and indestructible in this universe.

Wherever there is disease, there is remedy. Light follows darkness. Repression is shadowed by relief. Virtue succeeds vice. This is the eternal law of nature. If one uniform Law prevails in all matters why then should fate be an exception? If there be no way to lessen the burden of miseries why then do people acquire piety? What is the necessity of doing good to others, making charity, practicing austerity, studying scriptures, going on pilgrimage, and offering prayers? What is the need of Divine incarnations if there be no escape from what is fated?

What then is the significance of the title of Christ as the Saviour, of Mohammed as the Prophet, of Sri Ramakrishna as the obliterator of Fate? Lord Sri Krishna has clearly said: "Take shelter only in Me, I shall liberate you from all sins."

The Saviour of our age has declared that penitent tears can wash off the sins of many lives.

Swami Vivekananda has given the name of Kapalamochana Redeemer of Fate to the Avatars. When God's grace descends even the inevitable can be averted.
----

== 23 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Fate ===

==== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' ====
But there are two things which have to be taken into account. One is fate and the other is human effort. What the westerners call fate or destiny, we characterize as the result of our previous actions.

=== On Fault-Finding ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
Learn to acquire love and sympathy toward all. Overlook the faults of others. If you cannot help an evil man become good of what use is your spiritual life?

Never find fault or criticize others. Such a habit is harmful to yourself. By thinking continually of the evil of others, the evil will impress itself upon your own mind and the good that is in you will be over-shadowed.

Only a wicked-hearted man busies himself finding fault with others.

Never run down a fellowman or slight him. Everyone sees the fault in others. Give him your love, make him your own, and help him to overcome his weaknesses. A man is composed of both good and evil. It is easy to see the evil in others but a holy man is he who can overlook their evil qualities and help them to become pure and holy.

==== '''By Swami Premananda''' ====
This lesson I have learnt at the feet of the Master. When the boys do any wrong, I reason and find that they are not at fault. Whatever fault there is, is mine. I do not harbour the idea that I am good. I have come to learn. There is no end to learning. May the Master give us right understanding—this is my prayer. By observing the faults of others we are gradually infected by them. We have not come to look at the faults of others and to correct them. But it is only to learn that we are here. Lord, Thou art everything. Whom should I scold? Everything is He; there is only a difference in the quantity of dust that covers the gold.

Now, the point is that one should make oneself free from selfishness. Instead of finding fault with the world, one should first find one's own fault. Bearing with all the selfishness of the world, we must become free from the least touch of it—that is our ideal.

When one goes on finding fault with others, one becomes imperceptibly infected with those faults. We have not come to this world either for fault-finding or for correcting others, we have come simply to learn. We must always ask ourselves, what we have learnt. If you can, love others, and then you will be blessed with peace and happiness.

Do not see the defects of one another; see the good, the merits only. As Sri Ramakrishna said, be like the winnowing basket that retains the good grain, while rejecting the chaff; not like a sieve that lets the good material drop through and holds back what is worthless. We should move about freely, seeing the world as the manifestation of Rama. To hate and injure anyone is to hate and injure Rama, who pervades the whole world.

Learn to see your own faults and weaknesses. If you know that the ideal is to make the lips correspond to the heart, what are you doing to achieve that? Will you be healed of your sickness if I take the medicine for you? Find out your weaknesses, repent and promise not to repeat, but struggle to achieve purity of heart.

When we go on noticing the defects in others, those very defects gradually infect us. It is not for us to see faults in others or to reform them. It is for us to live and learn. Let us constantly examine ourselves to see what we have learned.
----

== 24 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Fault-Finding ===

==== '''By Swami Turiyananda''' ====
Everyone wants to exhibit his good side and conceal his defects. Whoever can speak out his own faults frankly, will get rid of them. It is not easy to confess one's weaknesses. If anyone can, know that he has worth in him.

Is not every man God Himself? "The Lord abides in every heart." If one fails to realize this, it is one's own fault, none else's.

We are like dogs in glass houses, barking at our own reflections. We see another's sushupti deep sleep, not our own. We should be strict with our faults and lenient with the faults of others.

If faults are to be noticed, look at your own. Being aware of the defects in others only serves to show your own defective nature.

==== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' ====
Try to see the good qualities in others. This is the way to get rid of the habit of fault finding. Evil qualities pollute the mind of a person who searches for the lapses and shortcomings of others.

See your own faults. Never criticize anyone; it is a great sin. It contracts the mind and pollutes the heart. Always look for the good qualities in others. If fault finding becomes your habit, you will always see faults in them. Everyone has both good and bad in him. Only God is free from fault and full of divine qualities.

Never talk ill of anybody, be he a devotee, a monk, or an ordinary householder, nor despise any for a wrong act. After all, everyone is a child of the Lord. Who knows today's sinning will not make him a saint tomorrow? Other acts do not count so much as a moment's love for the Lord. Blessed is he who has loved Him even for a moment. Saint or sinner, the Lord loves all. It is a great sin to find fault with others. You will invariably find that it is such people as never do a good act themselves who easily see defects in others and energetically spread rumours.

==== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' ====
If you would help others you must look at the bright side of every one. Every man has his weaknesses. But you must overlook them and see only his good qualities. You must give up all fault-finding. If you want to find fault, let it be with yourself.

One standing on the sea level looks at another climbing the Himalayas on a pilgrimage to Kedarnath and Badrinath. The pilgrim shall have to face ups and downs in his sacred march on the mountains. His apparent descents do not retard his progress but bring him only nearer to higher ascents till the destination is reached. On that account the on-looker from the plains should not judge him in bad light and think low of him.

The ideal of every religion is God and God alone. Hence we must not find fault with other forms of religion or with differences in external manners and customs. That which makes up the external is the shell side. It is always rough and hard, yet it has one advantage, it preserves the kernel.

==== '''By Swami Akhandananda''' ====
One should not blame anyone without knowing facts fully. One should rather find fault with oneself first.
----

== 25 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Fear ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
Once the mind tastes the sweetness in the thought of God there is nothing to fear.

Fear? You are coming to Sri Ramakrishna. What fear can there be? We all of us are his children. Don't be afraid! The Lord does not care about externals; he sees our inmost heart. There should be no fear in approaching him.

Chant his name. For a few days it will be difficult; then he will do everything for you. Have no more fear. You will realize great bliss. You will know what fun life can be.

Only God can know himself. Be a god, that you may know the infinite God. In that knowledge there is neither want nor fear: The very thought of such knowledge is uplifting.

If you chant his name, all your bonds will be broken, and you will become fearless.

Banish all fear and weakness. Never weaken your mind by thinking of past mistakes. Sin? Sin exists only in man's eye. In God's eye there is no sin. One glance of his and the sins of innumerable births are wiped away.

You have come to Sri Ramakrishna. Hold on to him. You will have nothing to fear.

==== '''By Swami Shivananda''' ====
Know for certain that those who are sincerely seeking God, the embodiment of Truth, will undoubtedly be led by Him along the right path. They have no reason to be afraid. Once the mind becomes absorbed in His lotus feet there is no fear any more.

Why should you be afraid, my son? Continue at His door taking shelter with Him; He never disappoints a supplicant.

My daughter, the mind can be absolutely free from fear if it thinks about God.

Always remember Him and contemplate Him. No fear! Don't be frightened! If you are dependent on God, then you will see that He is protecting you. Even in the midst of the fire of name and fame, He will always protect you.

In this struggle for life there will always be hope and fear. Life without struggles is no life at all. But if there are only fear and misery, they hamper man's growth—they do not allow him to progress.
----

== 26 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Fear ===

==== '''By Swami Adbhutananda''' ====
As long as you have a body, you must experience disease, sorrow, fear, pain, and suffering. Anyone who wants to escape from all these troubles will have to hold onto God. His bliss removes all suffering.

Do not fear, for some day the grace of the Lord will come to you. Sri Ramakrishna used to say, "Before evening you will receive a leaf plate (food)." Have patience and wait.

He who fears and doubts cannot make any progress either in the spiritual or worldly sphere. The mind is cramped. He alone is a hero, he alone attains greatness, who moves forward to realise the truth without caring whether the world is real or not.

==== '''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''' ====
Actually very few of us believe in God all the time. How do we know this? Because we allow anxieties and fears to arise in our minds. If we really have faith in God and in His infinite power of goodness, we can never feel fearful about anything.

Aloneness means singleness. When there are two, there is always fear. We think we need a companion to protect us. If we have to go out on a dark night or if we have to enter an unlighted house, we want another person with us.

In reality fearlessness exists only when we are alone. When we are alone we can dance or sing or make faces, do whatever we like; but let a friend come and at once we begin to be careful about what we do. There comes a sense of constraint. We grow self-conscious. Fear exists when there is duality, fearlessness exists when there is only One. Since we cannot be happy so long as we fear, we shall not be able to find peace until we can say, "I am alone. I need nothing."

It is rank foolishness to sit down in the midst of the mire for fear of falling in the attempt to get across. Do not forget the golden precept. "Try, try, try again." Remember Bruce of Scotland, who though defeated six times, conquered at last, the seventh time.

If, by vicarious atonement, you mean self-surrender, and I think that it is its proper meaning, then there is almost no one in the world qualified for it. If I am here and if I like to be happy here. I must do that which will make me perfectly happy, free from all fears. As God, the all-powerful, and all merciful is to take care of me, I being His son, have no fears. God is both father and mother to you.

It is the greatest relief when we get rid of egotism. It is as if a heavy burden rolled off. At once all our doubts and fears, anxieties and troubles disappear.

Man is too often afraid to surrender. He thinks he will lose something; but one never loses when one gives oneself absolutely to God.

==== '''By Swami Saradananda''' ====
This much I can say: "He who dwells in God has nothing to fear from the world. He will be protected from all dangers and difficulties."

==== '''By Swami Akhandananda''' ====
Always be cheerful, have a smiling face. Why fear? Why worry? Don't unnecessarily put on a grave face. Let not others think, "Oh, he is thinking something very seriously."

Swamiji said, "Fear is the greatest sin." Coward!

==== '''By Swami Vijnanananda''' ====
We are the children of the Mother; so, what have we got to fear? Let us hold fast to the truth and pray to Her, and She will surely confer on us Her blessings.

You see, God is always inside and also outside, telling us to shed fears and worries. "You can't run away from Me," says He. "You want to play about a little. Well, go on playing. But I am ever inside you; seek and ye shall find. The moment you attain complete mastery over your passions, you will get Me within you, effulgent and blissful."

For the sake of the devotees, the Mother comes with ten arms, and says: "Shed your fears. You have made Me your sole refuge, and I am, therefore, protecting you with ten arms. Death will be powerless to come anywhere near you. It is for you that I hold a sword."

Repeat His name, my brother, repeat it as much as you can. You will have nothing to fear.

We very often notice that people are in the grip of a terrible fright at the time of death; this happens because their minds are not absorbed in holy thoughts and are not centred on God. The glory of God's name not only saves us from all these fears but also delivers us for all time from the clutches of death.

What is there to be afraid of? We are the children of the Mother. Hold fast to the way of truth and pray to her. She will certainly do what is good for you.
----

== 27 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== On Food ===

==== '''By Swami Brahmananda''' ====
It is easy to practice austerity by not allowing the mind to come into contact with sense-objects, but it is hard to get rid of the mental craving itself. And of all cravings the subtle desire of the organ of taste is the most difficult to overcome. A man loses this craving only when he is in a high spiritual state.

[To the question: "Should we avoid eating meat, since it entails killing"]

A: Nonsense! The Buddhists say: "Harmlessness is the highest virtue." What does this mean? You can understand the significance of this only when you have attained Samadhi, when you have reached enlightenment and have seen God in all creatures. Until then mere talk is useless. When you can see the same God in the ant as in yourself, then you can practice this virtue. You may talk of "not killing" but can you possibly avoid killing? What would you eat? Potatoes? Plant a potato underground, it shots forth young sprouts. Has the potato no life? Would you eat rice? Plant a paddy grain in the earth, it grows into a rice plant. You want to drink water? Examine a drop of water under a microscope and see how many millions of tiny lives are there. You must breathe to live. Yet with every breath you kill millions of creatures. Do you see any harm in that? You think you lose your religion if you take a little fish. Such arguments are foolish. The ancient Hindus held no such ideas. These are later Buddhist and Vaishnavite interpolations.

Just as a cow yields much milk when it is well fed, so when the mind is fed spiritual food it will yield greater tranquillity. Spiritual food consists of meditation, prayer, contemplation and japam.

The spiritual aspirant should eat very little food after sunset. Begin by taking three-fours of your usual amount, then reduce the quantity to one half. In the beginning you may notice it, but the body will soon adjust itself and remain healthy and active.

While undergoing intense disciplines it is good to cut down the quantity of food to a minimum. Japam and meditation are not possible on a full stomach, because the greater part of your energy will be squandered in digesting the food, and the mind will remain disturbed. That is why moderation in habits, in food, in recreation, in everything, has been so strongly enjoined by the Gita.

Thirdly, control the appetite. Take only that food which is nourishing and easily digested. Avoid food that excites or produces lethargy. Eat very little after sunset. The brain must be kept cool in order to meditate. Eat only to keep the body healthy; health is essential in the practice of spiritual disciplines.

The body and mind are closely related. When the body is disturbed, the mind also becomes disturbed. Therefore, particular care must be given to the diet in order to keep the body healthy.

Under no circumstances should an aspirant fill more than one-half of his stomach with food.

Meditation is not such an easy matter. When you have eaten too much, the mind becomes restless.

The mind is intimately related to the body. If the stomach is upset, you can never have good meditation. Hence it is that there are so many restrictions about food. "The stomach should be filled half with food and a quarter with water, the other quarter being left vacant for passage of air."
----

== 28 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Today is the birthday of Swami Akhandanandaji Maharaj)'' ===

=== 28th January, 1935 ===
After evening prayer a "Devotee" was sitting at the feet of Swami Akhandananda at the Sargachi Ashrama. Some of the Brahmacharins (novices) after finishing their evening duties in the Shrine, came and sat near "Baba"—for that was how the Swami was called in the Ashrama.

With folded hands Baba began to recite in a prayerful tone: Asato ma sadgamaya...... "Lead me from the unreal to the Real, from darkness to Light, from death to Immortality."

Silence prevailed for some time and then Baba began to speak:

"It is said in the Isavasya-Upanishad, 'Those that do not struggle for Self-realization destroy themselves. It is better for one to die in an attempt to know the Self.'

"What is the Self? First, the Self has to be heard, then It has to be thought upon and lastly, It has to be meditated upon.

"Yajnavalkya explains this to Maitreyi, his wife: 'The Self is the dearest of all. Everything is dear because of the Self. The husband is not dear because of the husband, but because of the Self. The wife is not dear because of the wife, but because of the Self.' And so on.

"This Self alone IS. Nothing else exists. Everything is for the Self and goes back to the Self. The divine soul is sleeping in everyone. It is to be roused. Everyone is always trying to express that Self—this struggling is Sadhana.

"Whatever you are doing is Sadhana—only sometimes it is done consciously, at other times unconsciously. When that Self is realized, you will feel Its presence everywhere. This is Siddhi (Perfection). The goal is to reach this state. Everybody must get back this realization, because that is our real nature. Never think 'I cannot do this, I am weak'. Whenever you are in dejection always remember what the Lord has declared in the Gita:

"'Do not be under the spell of unmanliness; it does not befit you. Shake off this faint-heartedness and get-up, O Hero'!

"Arjuna thought, 'Better die than inflict injury on these near and dear ones'. The Lord is his Charioteer, his Guide and Guru, his friend—he has forgotten all this. He is bewildered by the illusions of Maya. So the Lord is encouraging him to realize the Self. That is what He has been doing all through the ages.

"Is it so easy to realize the Self? Incarnations (Avatars) of God are God Himself, yet they themselves have to struggle so much, not to speak of others.

"There is no other way. Call upon God with all your heart. Go on telling Him, 'Show Thyself to me. I do not want anything else. I do not want the happiness of Heaven. I want You. O Lord, bring my desires to an end. Self-evolution is impossible in a narrow atmosphere of selfishness. Even with an iota of desire for sense-enjoyment, this is impossible.
----"O Lord, how shall I ask You for a happy life? Whenever You have incarnated never have You tasted a happy life. You have lived a life of the greatest suffering.

"As Rama, the Prince of Ayodhya, You spent years in exile in the forest and again You lost Sita who was recovered only after much trouble.

"As Krishna, too, though a royal child, You were born in a prison, deprived of Your own mother's milk and brought up among cowherds. Your entire life was spent in wars and in punishing the wicked. With no time for rest in Your personal life, You strove to establish peace on earth. Yet everyone holds You responsible for the Kurukshetra war, and You welcomed all the blame and curse. You never sat on a throne. You saw your kith and kin die before You and at last embraced death from a hunter's arrow shot by chance.

"As Buddha and Christ also, You have suffered much, with no place to lay Your head on.

"Then again, in Your latest manifestation (as Sri Ramakrishna) how much You suffered!—only to show the world that none of your previous manifestations are wrong, that spiritual life is not a day-dream. An example of humility, You came to teach humility to arrogant humanity. You had no outward indication that You were an Incarnation of God. Someone mistook You for a gardener and at his bidding You at once plucked a flower for him. Someone took You to be a servant: You served him tobacco. You cleaned the place where beggars used to eat. Lastly, You swept the latrine of the sweeper!"
----

== 29 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Teachings of Swami Akhandananda ===
"We have no other way but to repeat HIS name and meditate on HIM and to purify the mind—do some selfless work of service.

"Chaitanyadeva came specially to preach the glory of God's name and he says:

(nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktiḥ tatrārpitā niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ etādṛśī tava kṛpā bhagavan mamāpi durdaivam īdṛśam ihājani nānurāgaḥ)

"'You have so many names and each one of Your names is filled with power. There is no prescribed time and place to repeat and remember Your name. You are so kind. Yet, oh Lord, I am so unfortunate that I have no love for any of Your names.'

"'If Chaitanyadeva himself talks in this strain, what to speak of others? But the Divine Incarnations express the ideas of worldly people, by imposing their limitations upon themselves.

"The present religion is the harmony of all previous religions—of the paths of knowledge, devotion and work. We want knowledge, we want devotion, we want work. Any one of the three in itself will not suffice, we want all the three.

Our Master (Sri Ramakrishna) and Swamiji (Vivekananda) make a complete ideal. You are to advance with these ideals before you. What more? Look at their renunciation and spiritual practices. Again look at their feeling for the sufferings of the people and their attempts to ameliorate them. This is spiritual life. This is the goal and the purpose of your life.

"You have read science and allied subjects. All right, read more about them; but know all these to be within Maya, on this side of Maya, and we have to go beyond Maya, to the other side of Maya. Maya is like magic and we have to see the magician. But then the path beyond Maya is through Maya.

"Meet the Babu (the rich man) first: he will tell you how many gardens and houses he has. Which is greater—the owner or his gardens?

"Some people think initiation is enough, what to speak of initiation from a disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa! Don't think that way. Always keep before your mind how much spiritual practice he underwent, and his disciples also. They are the ideals to follow.

"What is spiritual practice (Sadhana)? Whatever you do is your Sadhana. When you go to some place, think you are on the way to see Him. When you eat, think you eat to live and live to obtain Him.

"All work is Sadhana. If ever you think that this work will not lead to Him, leave it at once. Sadhana is our attempt to get to Him through every action.

"Always be cheerful, have a smiling face. Why fear? Why worry? Don't unnecessarily put on a grave face. Let not others think, 'Oh, he is thinking something very seriously.' Our Master used to tell us, 'I am pained when I see you with your chin resting on your palm.' He could not bear this sight.

"I have said enough. Now set to work with that great ideal before you. This is life. What is life worth without Him? Happiness? Where is happiness? Everywhere it is misery and suffering. With closed eyes they cry 'Oh, it is happiness, happiness.' With eyes open you can see it is all agony, want and protest. None is satisfied, none happy.

"There is no happiness here, no peace. How can there be? This is not our place—this narrowness, selfishness. We want freedom from all these. That is real happiness, that is real satisfaction. That is peace and bliss."
----

== 30 September 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Conversations with Swami Akhandananda ===
"We have no other way but to repeat HIS name and meditate on HIM and to purify the mind—do some selfless work of service.

"Chaitanyadeva came specially to preach the glory of God's name and he says:

"'You have so many names and each one of Your names is filled with power. There is no prescribed time and place to repeat and remember Your name. You are so kind. Yet, oh Lord, I am so unfortunate that I have no love for any of Your names.'

"'If Chaitanyadeva himself talks in this strain, what to speak of others? But the Divine Incarnations express the ideas of worldly people, by imposing their limitations upon themselves.

"The present religion is the harmony of all previous religions—of the paths of knowledge, devotion and work. We want knowledge, we want devotion, we want work. Any one of the three in itself will not suffice, we want all the three. Our Master (Sri Ramakrishna) and Swamiji (Vivekananda) make a complete ideal. You are to advance with these ideals before you. What more? Look at their renunciation and spiritual practices. Again look at their feeling for the sufferings of the people and their attempts to ameliorate them. This is spiritual life. This is the goal and the purpose of your life.

"You have read science and allied subjects. All right, read more about them; but know all these to be within Maya, on this side of Maya, and we have to go beyond Maya, to the other side of Maya. Maya is like magic and we have to see the magician. But then the path beyond Maya is through Maya.

"Meet the Babu (the rich man) first: he will tell you how many gardens and houses he has. Which is greater—the owner or his gardens?

"Some people think initiation is enough, what to speak of initiation from a disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa! Don't think that way. Always keep before your mind how much spiritual practice he underwent, and his disciples also. They are the ideals to follow.

"What is spiritual practice (Sadhana)? Whatever you do is your Sadhana. When you go to some place, think you are on the way to get Him. When you eat, think you eat to live and live to get Him.

"All work is Sadhana. If ever you think that this work will not lead to Him, leave it at once. Sadhana is our attempt to get to Him through every action."

== 1 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Conversations with Swami Akhandananda''' ===
"Always be cheerful, have a smiling face. Why fear? Why worry? Don't unnecessarily put on a grave face. Let not others think, 'Oh, he is thinking something very seriously!' Our Master used to tell us, 'I am pained when I see you with your chin resting on your palm.' He could not bear this sight.

"I have said enough. Now set to work with that great ideal before you. This is life. What is life worth without God? Happiness? Where is happiness? Everywhere it is misery and suffering. With closed eyes they cry: 'Oh, it is happiness, happiness.' With eyes open you can see it is all agony, want and protest. None is satisfied, none happy.

"There is no happiness here, no peace. How can there be? This is not our place—this narrowness, selfishness. We want freedom from all these. That is real happiness, that is real satisfaction. That is peace and bliss.

"Live in the world as long as it is essentially necessary, but it must be with Him. See in everything His infinite manifestation.

"Have faith, and realize that everything is He, and He is everything. There is nothing without Him. He has created everything out of Himself.

"Have faith that we have to regain our lost Self and 'Stop not till the goal is reached.' Remember these words of Swamiji, 'Do not forget the ideal—do not cut it down.' Let this body perish, still do not lower the ideal. Pray for strength. Pray always."

=== 8th March, 1935 ===
The birthday celebration of Sri Ramakrishna was over. The Devotee thought of going from Calcutta to Swami Akhandananda at Sargachi, to spend the weekend with him. So with some presents and offerings he reached Sargachi by the 8 p.m. train, to find Baba waiting for him.

Very affectionately Baba asked, "What have you brought for me?" The Devotee at once produced from his bag the sweets and fruits which he had brought with him. Baba was very glad. The Devotee then distributed some sweets and rubber balls to the orphan boys of the Ashrama.

The Devotee sat very close to the feet of Baba, and the latter began to speak.

"Don't think I will be writing long letters full of instructions such as they (meaning Swami Vivekananda and other brother disciples) have done. I can't. You see, I have so much to do; moreover look at my age and then make your demands.

"It is not my job to become a 'Guru', but you see, when real devotees come and want Him, I can't deny the help they need. I take them to the Master and say, 'O Lord, Your devotees have come, please accept them.' I offer them to Him and He will do whatever is to be done.

"Learn to love Him, call on Him earnestly with the love of a lover. You have none other. Just think, 'He alone exists, He has become all.' If you want to see Him, just pray: 'O Lord, bless me, reveal Yourself to me. You have declared that whoever will come 'here', You will bless them. You will appear before them. Now You are promise-bound.'

"Certainly, He will come to you. Only one thing is needed: your yearning, your earnest longing. He has not spoken of anything else, He wants nothing else. You have to call on Him with earnestness.

"Pray: 'O Lord, give unto me this yearning, make me mad for You.' Let people say, so-and-so has become mad for God. People may become mad for so many things. Why not you for God? In a sense, everyone is mad in this world of Maya. Brahman alone is Real and the world unreal."
----

== 2 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Conversations with Swami Akhandanandaji''' ===

=== 9th March, 1935 ===
After evening Arati (waving of lights to the Deity in the shrine) and prayers, Baba was sitting silently and alone in his reclining chair. With folded hands he was praying:

(ॐ Oh Lord!! Tejosi Tejo Mayi Dehi Veeryamasi Veeryam Mayi Dehi Balamasi Balam Mayi Dehi Ojosi Ojo Mayi Dehi Manyurasi Manyum Mayi Dehi Sahosi Saho Mayi Dehi)

"Thou art Strength: give unto me strength. Thou art Spiritual Power; give unto me spiritual power etc."

Next he seemed to be talking to himself.

"Ascertaining the real nature of Brahman? It is like the smile of a man having naturally exposed teeth. He seems to be smiling always—even when not really smiling. Brahman is always self-evident. It does not wait for anyone to ascertain It. Like the sun It is shining. Why is It not seen then? Because your eyes are blindfolded: because there is the cloud of Maya before you. Your mind is dirty. Wash it, cleanse it—this is Sadhana (spiritual struggle and practice). Faith and conviction of mind will grow according to your surroundings. That is why the company of holy men (Sadhu-sanga) is necessary. They always feel: Brahman alone is real and all else unreal."

On hearing this, the Devotee was musing within, "Who is a holy man, a real Sadhu?" At once Baba took up, as it were, the unuttered question and answered:

"And who is a Sadhu? He is a Sadhu who is thinking of God always, depending on Him under all circumstances, and is without ego and selfishness. 'Not I, not I, but Thou, but Thou.' Are we doing anything? Can we do anything by ourselves? Seated there (showing the heart) He is doing and getting everything done. I am speaking the truth to you: at every step of life I have felt this. Without His will and grace, nobody has any power to do anything. 'O Lord, not I, not I, but Thou, but Thou.' These are the words uttered by the Master. These are like the great aphoristic dicta (Maha-vakyas) revealing the supreme truth. You can attain perfection by repeating them: 'Naham, naham'; 'tuhu, tuhu'—'Not I, not I': 'but Thou, but Thou.'"

=== 10th March, 1935 ===
After his bath, Baba put on a blue silken robe (Alkhalla) sent by a tailor-disciple of Calcutta and was very happy. Further he tied his long hair with a handkerchief of the same blue silk and looked like a Muslim fakir. At times he was uttering:

"Oh my mind, take the name of Allah And make the Prophet your guide. With the help of Allah you shall Cross the river of life."

He was smiling and telling stories of devout Muslims and of the Islamic Sadhana of Sri Ramakrishna. About a local mystic-poet he said:

"Lalan Fakir's follower sang some mystical songs of his composition describing the body as the vehicle of the soul. I asked him, 'Where did you get these ideas? These are ours.'

He retorted: 'What is "ours" and "yours" in spiritual life?' I took down many of those 'body-mystery' (deha-tattva) songs which are still with me.

"What devotion to spiritual rules the Muslims have! The Amir of Afghanistan was seeing the exhibition as a state guest with the Governor-General of India. There in the exhibition ground he sat down for Namaz just at the stated time!

"Hafiz, the Persian poet, would write his lines on broken pieces of earthen pots. Every evening he would go to light a lamp at the grave of a dear one. One day a girl made a tryst with him for the evening. Hafiz was waiting at the appointed time and place. Suddenly he remembered that he was to visit the grave of his beloved. He at once left everything and hurried to the spot. Devotion to a routine saved him."

A young man had come to the Sargachi Ashrama for initiation—a simple man from a village. During the day he had approached Baba twice for the purpose, and now in the evening, as he approached him again, the young man was mildly scolded: "What kind of an aspirant are you? First see, hear and then select your Guru." With a smile on his lips he said, "You are seeing me all the day taking the name of Allah. You are not yet sure whether I am a Hindu or a Mussalman! Are you ready to repeat the name of Allah? First understand that our Master believed in all religions, then think of initiation."

Later he met him alone and asked him with a smile, "Do you believe in all these?" He was, however, initiated the next day.

Next morning in the hall, Baba was reclining on his chair and the Devotee was seated close by. Small boys of the Ashrama orphanage were preparing their lessons at the far end of the hall. Baba was speaking to the Devotee:

"For God you must renounce 'lust and gold'; then finer desires—desire for name and fame—finer and finer, by degrees. As renunciation has no limits, so bliss is also without any limit. Bliss comes out of renunciation. The more the renunciation, the more the bliss.

"Men need an ideal—an ideal of renunciation. So He comes to show the ideal according to the need of the time and place. Renunciation is true manhood—something greater than the state of Deva, greater than godhood. For even the Devas have to depend upon the renunciation of man: see for example the laying down of his body by Dadhichi.

"The Incarnation of God is a complete and perfect ideal. As much of it as you can comprehend is yours. The expansive ocean is fathomless, but a small receptacle can hold only a little of its water. If the receptacle be lost in the ocean? Let it be so.

Renunciation is essential. To get something good, you have to renounce its opposite, the bad. And if you renounce the good, you will have the bad thing."
----

== 3 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Conversations with Swami Akhandanandaji''' ===
"If you have a desire for sense-enjoyments, then there can be no spiritual attainments. If you are really after spiritual life, then bid farewell to desires. Discriminate thus: there is no real happiness in life, as misery follows happiness: life after life this oscillation between this pair of opposites is continuing. No more of this. Now start on the search for unalloyed happiness. Seek that happiness which is not adulterated. People are so accustomed to adulterated food that they have forgotten the taste of really good food. Further, they have lost the power to digest it. Nowadays, if someone gets adulterated food at a cheap price, he will not want pure food."

Evening Arati was over. After a long silence, Baba was singing to himself:

"O Mother, I hide myself in Thy loving bosom I gaze at Thy face and cry out 'Mother! Mother!'"

"Just think: here's a little child on the lap of its mother. It looks at the mother. It is full of joy; sometimes it desires to be merged in the mother so that nobody may see it. 'Only my mother and I, and nothing else.' It looks at the mother: goes on looking at her and when overjoyed and unable to suppress its joy, it babbles 'Ma, ma, ma, ma'.

"The child is with the mother, on her very lap: there is no need to call her, but this is a needless call out of a causeless joy.

"Then in this song there are other mystifying lines, but we used to sing only those two lines for hours together at Dakshineswar. The Master would be smiling sweetly and would join us in the chorus:

'O Mother, I hide myself in Thy loving bosom; I gaze at Thy face and cry out 'Mother! Mother!'"

Next morning, seated in his room wrapped in a rough silken Chaddar, Baba was reciting a Sanskrit hymn with folded hands. The Devotee stood outside and heard the recitation. It was Pramadadas Mitra's 'Hymn to Sri Ramakrishna' beginning with Visuddha-Vijnanam.
----

== 4 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Talks with Swami Akhandanandaji''' ===

=== 25th April, 1936 (The auspicious day of 'Akshaya-tritiya') ===
Sometime later, Baba talked a little about 'common sense.' "Swamiji conquered the mind of the West—not so much by Vedanta but more by his common sense. Nowadays it is very rare. Far from being developed, it is destroyed in the universities. Indeed I have seen young M.A.'s and B.A.'s talk like fools; but you will find here the poor peasants of the villages talking with common sense."

In the evening, with the upper part of his body bare, Baba was singing loudly:

"The Vedas are proclaiming His glory, Siva, Suka, Narada—all are proclaiming His glory. They are glorifying Him all through the ages But never do they come to His end."

Baba then said: "The Sadhus (monks) of Rishikesh would sing such songs. How sublime the idea and how grave the tune!"

Regarding early rising, Baba spoke thus:

"The Maharaja of Khetri would rise late. One day I told him that those who eat too much and rise late can never attain prosperity. From that day the Maharaja began to rise early—even earlier than me. I would get up and find him standing and smiling at me. Some days he would be walking on the roof: some other days I would find him reading in the library with the help of a lamp.

"Our Master and his disciples all used to rise early. One night I slept in the same room with Swami Saradananda. After the Mangalarati (the morning service in the shrine) we got up quickly. I had thought, 'Our Master is up—how can I be sleeping?' Just then the Swami tried to awaken me by making a little noise with the window shutters. But I let him know that I was already awake.

"Lest I should be late in rising, I used to address myself at bedtime, 'Akhandananda, you must get up at three o'clock'. Just at three, someone would call me, 'O, Akhandananda, get up, it is three o'clock.'

I do not know when the Master or Swamiji slept. Whenever I called them during the night, the response was immediate. ''The higher the life, the less the sleep''. The body must be strong and stout. Rise early: meditate a little, on the bed itself—for the mind then is naturally calm. Later, roll up your bedding, cleanse the room, sprinkle some water. Do every bit of work with a purpose."

About making purchases, Baba was instructing someone: "You must bargain. He that is cheated here, is cheated there. He that has it here, has it there also. Why should you be cheated in order to practise religion? Why should you be a fool in order to become a devotee? The cheater and the cheated—both are equally bad."

It was just noon on a day in May. It was very hot. Baba called the Devotee to pay off the cucumber-vendor. Baba was haggling with him just for two pice. The man was standing outside and Baba, just back from his bath, was standing on the threshold with a wet towel on his head. The Devotee felt a bit annoyed, thinking "Why is Baba acting this way? He himself is suffering and making that dealer also suffer." At last they settled by yielding one pice on either side.

Then Baba turned to the Devotee: "You are all city-bred people. You cannot understand these things. You pay whatever the seller asks. That is not the way. The man is now homeward bound, he won't like to carry his cucumbers back. But as I found you impatient, counting the money, I went up by one pice.

"When I travelled in the mountains and forests, I did not touch money. But since the Master has settled me in these worldly activities, I must see that there is less expenditure and more income. Moreover, we are dealing with public money. The devotees have to earn it by the sweat of their brow. They are giving it in the name of the Master: they are not giving it to you or to me personally. It is our duty to see how even one pice can be saved."
----

== 5 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Conversations with Swami Akhandanandaji''' ===
A young man had sought guidance as to what he should do, now that he was feeling a great impulse for renunciation. After listening fully to the letter, Baba said simply:

"His impulse is but a passing phase. If it were real renunciation nobody would write like that; the man would leave the home silently. You know the story of the farmer who left his hearth and home, with a towel on his shoulder, when his wife informed him that her brother was renouncing the worldly life bit by bit. The farmer heard everything and then said, 'My good lady, that is not the way to renounce the world. Just see, this is the way!' And off he went, for good.

"Another farmer dreamt in the night that he had seven sons. After he awoke, he found none. In the meantime news had come that his only real son had died. He could not decide for whom he should mourn: whether for this one or for those seven. The dream state seemed to him as real as the waking state. If the seven sons of the dream were unreal, this one of the waking life was also unreal. Thinking thus he left his home in a spirit of dispassion."

Another young man had written asking whether or not he should marry. Baba's response was:

"As if I should tell him 'Go and get married'! His plea is: Mother has asked him to marry, brother is asking him to marry; but he himself has no such desire in the least. You will see, he will surely marry. Otherwise why should he write like that?"

Baba was speaking about his dreams:

"Generally I do not get any dreams about the Master. But at times I see Swamiji and Maharaj in my dreams. Yet when I am very anxious about anything, I see the Master. Once I was thinking anxiously, 'Who will perform the early morning Arati, and how?' Later the Master appeared in dream and said, 'Nothing elaborate need be done, only one incense-stick will do.'

"At such times I used to clearly see the Master as in the days of Dakshineswar in that very room with these cots and beds. He manages his own affairs. Just see, today there were no sweets, I was wondering how to manage. Unexpectedly a devotee has come with fine sweets. I have witnessed such things many a time."
----

== 6 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Conversations with Swami Akhandanandaji''' ===

=== May, 1936 ===
Swami Akhandananda was speaking to a Sevak (attendant):

"Perhaps you are thinking that you are spending your days in vain. I am telling you the truth: whatever you are doing is a great deal of service to me and through that you are progressing. With the responsibility upon you, I haven't got to worry about it. Everybody is busy about himself. Nobody looks after me. Merely serving the physical body is not enough. Serving the mind is also a service."

The brother of a devoted attendant had been initiated in the morning. In the evening Baba called the two brothers, and asked them to sit by him on either side and rub an ointment on his rheumatic arms. While they were doing this with great joy, Baba was silently reclining on the chair.

After some time he spoke:

"Till now you have been 'blood brothers'; from today you become spiritual brothers. There is no separation in spiritual relations. I am also feeling great joy. This is very nice."

One hot evening Baba was resting outside on a camp cot in the open verandah to the south. A devotee from Malda was singing a Baul song with great emotion:

"Just by a look, the 'man of your heart' can be known, The river of his desires has dried up And the river of his love is full to the brim. It is not at all difficult to recognise the 'man'. But it is very difficult to find out one."

The song went on for a long time and Baba was greatly pleased. At the end he commented: "Do you know what a man who cannot sing is called? A donkey. Swamiji would not call him a complete man. One of the characteristics of man is his power to sing, because it comes from the heart."

In the dim light of a candle in the hall, Baba was sitting silently on his reclining chair, one or two devoted disciples squatting at his feet. After some time he began to speak:

"How long will you keep turning the rosary beads? Call on Him with intense longing. Gradually everything will come to a standstill. The rosary beads will stop, the fingers will not move, even the lips will not open to utter His name. All bonds will fall off, even that of clothes.

"While repeating the name of the Lord, you will see His form—effulgent and smiling. You will also smile and then weep, and say: 'Why did You not appear before? Why have you come so late?'

"Be earnest, be impatient. Not that you have to repeat His name so many hundreds of times, or that you have to do so much penance. But you have to cry aloud earnestly and piteously, 'Appear before me, appear You must. To so many devotees You have appeared; why not me? You have declared that whoever shall weep for You, to him You will surely come. Then why are You not coming to me? Show Yourself to me.' Cry to Him with a heart full of yearning. The Master would ask us, 'Did you call on Him with tears today?' If we answered 'yes', he would be very glad. Again he would ask, 'From which corner—outer or inner—of the eyes did the tears trickle down?' And then he would proceed to explain that tears coming from the corners near the nose are tears of repentance, and those from the outer corners are tears of love."
----

== 7 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Conversations with Swami Akhandanandaji''' ===
"Every one of those who came to the Master experienced these spiritual ecstasies to a greater or lesser degree. They would experience some of the eight spiritual modifications resulting in laughter, weeping, dancing and singing etc. Then in ecstasy, they would laugh and weep and dance and sing. Swamiji, no doubt, experienced all these. But as he was strong enough to control his emotions, there was little outward expression. And our Master? Ecstasy was his very nature.

"Just start here and now. Pray to Him with tears. Just speak to him, 'Why have I no such experience? Why do I not see You? Why am I not eager to see You? Why do I not develop an earnest desire to see You?'"

Another evening Baba retired to bed early. His secretary came to take down notes of his 'Reminiscences' but went away on seeing Baba in bed. He came back after a while and found Baba sitting up on his bed ready to dictate.

He said to the secretary, "Why did you not call me? You thought I was sleeping, didn't you? Oh, no, no. These boys were repeating the name of Siva. Oh, Siva, Siva! Thinking of Siva, the Infinite, one becomes the Infinite. A part of the Infinite is also infinite: the sky, stars, universe—all disappear in deep meditation. Hearing the scriptural instruction from the Guru, the disciple merges in deep meditation, and realizing this state, exclaims in wonder: 'Where is the universe gone? It was here just now: who has removed it and whither?'"

About eight o'clock one evening, Baba was lying on his cot. The inmates and devotees came to pay their respects to him. He got up and began to speak in an inspired mood.

"You have got to cultivate all the three—hands, head and heart. The word 'hands' stands for physical labour; the 'head' for intellect; and by 'heart' is meant love. Swamiji wrote to me: 'It is the heart that conquers. Everyone can understand the language of the heart.'

In Swamiji there was a harmonious development of all the three. We have to start with the first. We may not be as spiritual as Swamiji, we may not have a head or heart like his, but we can follow him at least on the plane of physical labour. At the Math he once cleansed the big utensils of the kitchen. Can we not cleanse at least a single cup? Do you know, he once cleansed the latrine at Belur Math? One day he found it unclean. He was carrying two full buckets of water for cleaning. When other inmates saw it from a distance, they came running and said, 'Swamiji, you'! Smilingly Swamiji returned the question: 'Only now (i.e., so late) 'Swamiji, you?'"

One morning Baba's secretary was writing in reply to a letter addressed to him: "Now I have become old etc." At once Baba straightened his spine and disapproving the statement said, "Have I become old?—Impossible! Cut it out. I am still young, young in spirit!"

Clenching his fist tightly he repeated, "I am younger than all of you here. My body may not move about as it did before, but my spirit is as active as a child's and wants to do something always. Don't you see? Just see, I was a bit tired and was lying down still desirous of doing something, I thought of getting some letters written by you, and you are writing 'I have become old'!" Never!
----

== 8 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Conversations of Swami Akhandanandaji''' ===
The postman came with a money order. The attendant received it and later showed the coupon to Baba. At once he asked, "Where is the address of the sender? You don't know? That's no excuse. You had no desire to know. You didn't bother to know. You could have written down the address from the money order form. You could have asked for it. You could find it in the 'address Register.'

"In such ordinary matters you act like this, and you are aspiring to knowledge of Brahman! Is that so easy to attain? How keen must be the desire and how long you have to struggle! Then only can you 'know'. Do you understand (this secret)? First the desire to know, then the struggle and then the success."

One afternoon when nobody was nearby and Baba called for someone to pour water on his hands, the Devotee had to attend on him. Washing over, Baba took the pot of water and taught the Devotee how to pour water saying, "Do it like this. Hold the pot with your fingers outside; never put them within." He came back, tired, sat in his room and continued in a very tender tone:

"You have to do even small things in a perfect way. Doing the inside work very carefully and the outside haphazardly, is not the way. You have to do every work with due care. Whenever you do any work, put your whole mind to it.

And you have to think thus: 'This very work is my Sadhana (spiritual practice); this will help me to realize God.'

Dr. Ganguli (a nurse in Dacca) tends a garden in her spare time and thinks: 'This is the garden of my Beloved God. I am watering it so that when the plants blossom, I shall decorate my Beloved with those flowers.' The trend of thought should be like that. This is meditation along with work—this is Sadhana."

In the evening on a camp-cot in the open veranda overlooking the small garden of 'Binod Kutir', Baba was singing in a very low tone a song in Hindi (perhaps an adaptation from the Persian poet Hafiz):

"Beloved, thy smiling face has charmed me And has kindled the fire of love within!"

The attendant was gently fanning him: Baba explained the song to him:

"The word for love is 'ishk' in Persian. Two kinds of love are spoken of in these songs—Ishk Hakiki and Ishk Majaji. The first is spiritual or true love, and the other is human or temporal love. I heard this song in a city somewhere in western India. Of course a lover was singing this with his beloved girl in mind, but when it reached my ears I was reminded of my Beloved, the Master. Who else has a smiling face? I have seen only one truly smiling face and it was His! It has kindled the flame of love within me!"
----

== 9 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Conversations of Swami Akhandanandaji''' ===
"There is only one way to know Him. Lord Krishna even said it, 'Mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te' (Gita 7:14). (Those who take refuge in Me alone, they cross over this illusion). By holding Me alone you will know Me. Crossing over the illusion means to know Him. The same thing he has said in another way, 'Tatprasadat param shantim sthanam prapsyasi sashvatam' (Gita 18:62). (By His grace you will gain supreme peace and eternal abode).

It is only by God's grace that you can know Him, and gain permanent peace and shelter forever. There is no other way."

M. (to Mohan) – By learning you cannot gain Him. 'Pravachanena na labhyah,' 'Na bahuna shrutena' (Katha Upanishad 1.II.23). (He cannot be known through much study, nor through much learning). Neither by discourse nor by hearing you can attain Him. He is not even attained by the mind alone. 'Yanmanasa na manute' (Kena Upanishad I.6). (That which man does not comprehend with the mind). All these are words of the Veda.

"Many great pundits used to go to the Paramahansa Deva. They would sit before him with folded hands.

"The room was full of people when Thakur was talking to the Mother of the Universe. He was saying, 'Mother, what is there in learning? Who can know you by his learning? For shame!'

(Smiling) Sometimes he would laugh and say, 'These pundits do soar very high but their sight remains fixed to the charnel-pits,' — that is to say in the world, in woman and gold.

"Padmalochan, Narayana Shastri, Shashadhar Chudamani, Vaishnava Charan – all these people used to come to Thakur. He himself went to see Vidyasagar. Gauri Pundit of Indesh also came to see him. He also met Dayananda Saraswati."

M. (to the man from Bankura) – If you pray to Him, He tells you how He can be attained.

Or He may send somebody who teaches him.

"One devotee was calling on Thakur most earnestly. He was calling on him in his heart. This was not known to anybody. Thakur sent another devotee saying, 'Go and tell him how to do it.' And he himself went to another devotee. Why? For he was calling on Him yearningly, he was crying. The devotee was wonder-struck on seeing. Said he, 'It was I who had to go to you. You have come yourself.' Thakur laughed and said, 'Yes, sometimes even the needle attracts the magnet.' One must pray to Him with a longing heart. When you do so He lets you know."
----

== 10 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Conversations of Swami Akhandanandaji''' ===
One evening the gathering was quite a large one and the discussion centred on Tibet. Someone asked, "What attracted you to Tibet? What did you actually find there?" Baba began to speak:

"Why did I go to Tibet? After the Master passed away I felt no attraction for anything. Only one thought reigned—where shall I find him again? Sometimes I felt, certainly in the Himalayas I shall find him. The Himalayas are the abode of the gods. Even as a boy, whenever I heard of Kedarnath and Badarinath, of Kailas and Manasarovar from wandering monks I had thought of going away to those places. When I grew older I heard there were still in Tibet large Buddhist monasteries. I thought of visiting them.

"O the Himalayas! Tier after tier of towering mountains, some under everlasting snow—immaculately white, silent and serene! How many days and nights I spent in those snowy regions! It seemed that the places were all familiar to me, perhaps from some time long ago.....

"The Lamas picked me up from the snow and took me into Thuling Math (a Buddhist monastery in western Tibet). My half-clad body was almost frozen. They found in my body certain signs and exclaimed 'ge-lang', which meant, I learnt later on, "a man of continence." Such people are very much honoured by them. So they asked me to stay on in their monastery.

"One day they took the Master's (Sri Ramakrishna's) photo from me, placed it on the altar near the Buddha and performed Arati by waving a light. They eagerly enquired: 'Where did you get it? Who is he? These eyes are not of a man. They are of God. This is the Buddha!' After some days they gave the photo back to me.

"There are so many monasteries—the strength of inmates in some being 4,000 in some even 7,000. In the middle of the hall a big kettle of water is kept over a fire. Not tea leaves, but tea tablets are put in the water and raw tea is taken from time to time. Monks are seated meditating on stone chairs constructed along the walks.

"I learnt the Tibetan language in a fortnight. Sometimes the women would talk to me. 'Have you no mother and sister?' they would ask. 'Why have you left your home? Why not marry and settle here?' I would reply 'You are all my mothers; whom shall I marry?'

"I felt sympathy for the miseries of the common man in Tibet and indirectly criticized the luxurious life of the monks. This was reported to the Head Lama. I was called and warned. My friend asked me to leave Tibet. On my way back via Ladakh (Kashmir) in a Tibetan costume, I was arrested and kept under observation, till the British Regent was satisfied as to my identity and bonafides, that I had no connection with politics. I was set free but the police shadowed me up to Baranagar Math."

Baba was talking with a style of pronunciation peculiar to East Bengal, to a Brahmacharin (novice in the monastery).

"'Mysterious are the ways of work', do you understand? Karma-yoga is a very difficult path. The path of meditation is a much easier one. What you meditate upon is not unknown to me. Your meditation is only to avoid work! Work, work, till you are tired. Work is something positive, the result of which you can perceive. It does good to you as well as to others. Work, but then work is worship. That is Yoga. He who meditates well attains power to work more efficiently. He is never tired, because his energy is not misspent in any way: he is never annoyed nor worried, he is not attached to anything. Always be calm, go on working without any fatigue. This is the test: whether the mind is working properly or not, can be understood from this."
----

== 11 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Conversations of Swami Akhandanandaji''' ===
One day Baba narrated many incidents of his life including some concerning his spiritual life and Sadhana:

"In my boyhood I used to worship Siva every day. I would mould an image of Siva in clay and worship His symbol with water, flowers and Bilva leaves. Lastly I would recite some prayers. At the time of ablutions in the Ganges, I would practice Kumbhaka (retention of breath: the middle part of the Praṇayama) while under water. When I met the Master, he told me 'You need not do so many things. Devotion and faith are enough'.

"At Baranagar, after the passing away of the Master, everyone was burning with the fire of renunciation, everyone was anxious for a vision of the Master. The evenings were spent by the Ganga and the nights at the cremation ground, in meditation and Japa (repetition of the Lord's name). With the chirping of the birds at dawn, we would come back to the Math after a bath in the river. Some days while discussing the life and teachings of the Master at the Math, we would sit down just as we were, and would become absorbed in deep meditation.

"At Rishikesh the bells would ring at the alms-house for monks calling the monks and holy men for their alms. I would not like to leave my seat. Then sometimes in the afternoon I would stand at the door of a householder. A mother would come out and ask: 'Why my child, so late? Did you not hear the bell?' I would say: 'Mother, I was in meditation and did not like to get up'. The mother would say: 'Very well, I shall prepare something for you. Wait a little and I'll send it to you'. Later she would make a habit of keeping two chapatis (unleavened bread) for me.

"As a boy I worshipped Siva made out of clay. In the Himalayas I have seen the living Siva. Our Master is living and moving in all as Narayana. The seed of this Religion of Service was in him. Therefore you now see the tree and its branches. At Deoghar he said to Mathur Babu: 'Feed these poor people, give them clothing and oil (for anointing their heads in the scorching heat), or else I will not proceed to Varanasi (for pilgrimage). That is how the wheel of this Religion of Service for this age, started rolling.

"That is why I always repeat: Work, work; serve others. It is something positive, something palpable. We know what you meditate on, and how much you meditate! I was travelling with Swamiji in the Himalayas. We found a Sadhu seemingly meditating with his whole body covered. But Swamiji cried out, 'O he is sleeping and snoring. Put him to the yoke; then perhaps he may attain spirituality someday.'

"Observing these things, Swamiji concluded, 'With the highest ideals of Sattva (tranquillity) on the lips, the country is sinking into the abyss of Tamas (darkness)' That is why he said: 'To recover from this, the whole body from head to foot must be electrified by Rajas (activity).'

Therefore he laid so much stress upon work. Go on working, come what may. Some good will surely come of it. There is no courage in you, no faith, no strength. Fear has overcome you, so you shirk work. You think, 'If I fail, people will blame me.' Let them blame you. Go on working in the name of the Master with faith and courage and depend upon Him.

"I travelled in the Himalayas, leaping, as it were, from peak to peak. When I reached the top of one peak, I would find another peak obstructing the view. After a rest I would think of scaling it: so I would start off again.

"When I say that most of you have to work if you want to live a spiritual life, I am telling you the truth. Keep working till you are tired. Only keep one point clear, that is, you are doing it for God, for the Master. This idea must be maintained always: otherwise trouble is in store."
----

== 12 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Conversations of Swami Akhandanandaji''' ===
"Satyen (Swami Atmabodhananda) of Udbodhan Math used to sell books from a small book-shop in College Street, Calcutta, when he was an inmate of the Advaita Ashrama. He would take a simple meal at 10 a.m. and spend the whole day in the book shop. I knew how he felt and what he was thinking. One day I chanced to visit him there, and standing just in front of the shop I gave him a good lecture which Satyen remembers even now. He told me, 'Maharaj, that inspiration is still driving me!'

I told him: 'It is not an easy task you have taken up. How much of renunciation and service and Tapasya (austerity) is involved in this work! This is real Sadhana. In the morning you come here after a bare meal. Others enjoy a full meal at noon—this is renunciation. Then you have to stay seated in this small room—this is Tapasya. Then again from the books sold here, people are getting the ideas of our Master and Swamiji. It is through your hands that they are reaching the people. This is a great service to the Master. Do you think that only the service done in the shrine is service to him?'

"To you also I say: bring in this idea, 'Whatever I am doing is Sadhana.' Give up at once any work that you cannot think of as Sadhana. You are eating—think of this as an offering to Him within. You are walking or going around the city—think that you are circumambulating the temple. Even when lying down or sleeping, look upon that also as Sadhana. When lying down you are prostrating before Him, and when sleeping you are meditating. Every moment will then be filled up by the thought of Him. This grand idea is well expressed in a song of Ramprasad (A devotee of Kali):

'When I lie down, O Mother, I salute You in prostration; While I sleep, I meditate on You; When I eat, I offer oblations to You within; When I go round the city, I think I am going round Your temple; O my mind, worship the Mother in every work you do. Worship the Mother in any way you like! Every way is a way to Her.'"

One evening in the outer veranda, with one or two devotees present, Baba was speaking:

"Do not sleep too long. Yogis sleep for four hours; Bhogis (those seeking enjoyment) sleep for six hours and Rogis (patients) still more.

The other day I was delighted to read in the Udbodhan these words of Maharaj (Swami Brahmananda), 'Sleep for more than four hours is a kind of disease, which requires treatment.'

You say less sleep makes the body weak? Just the opposite—too much sleep is what makes one weak, specially sleep in the day time. During the midday take a little rest with a book or two beside you for reading.

"You should pray to the Master saying: 'O Lord, remove my desires for enjoyment.' Sleeping is also an enjoyment that must be renounced if you really aspire after the vision of God. How can one sleep who really aspires after God? Day and night one thought will be burning within him: when and where and how shall I have His vision? 'O, this day is spent in vain, I have not yet realized God. I have not yet shed a single tear for Him!' How can a spiritual aspirant sleep away his life? He cannot. He must keep waking—who knows when God will come!

"The Master would teach us how to pray. Sitting on his cot with legs out-stretched like a child he would cry 'O Mother, come to me, do come. I cannot bear the separation. How can You be at peace, away from Your little son? How can You, forgetful of me, busy Yourself with other things? Come, O Mother, come and take me up in Your arms!' At such times he would cry like an utterly forlorn child just to show us how a child in distress pines for its mother. The idea awakened his feelings to such a degree that he would actually cry like a child restless to see its mother.

'After some time Sri Ramakrishna would become still and begin saying with tears, in a trembling voice: 'O Mother, I am without any Sadhana, without Bhajan. O Mother, give me knowledge, give me devotion, O Mother, may I have a mind fixed at Your feet!'

"Another day, taking me to a solitary place he taught me how to meditate. '

Just see, in the beginning of meditation, when the mind goes this way or that, make yourself repeat the holy Mantra with the greatest concentration. If you are not able to do so, leave it and meditate according to the tendency of the mind.' In this way, repetition of the divine name or Mantra will go on along with the meditation.

"Just imagine that your Chosen Deity (Ishta-Devata) is seated in the temple of your heart, with a serene and smiling look and that you are performing Arati by waving the lights, burning camphor, a flower and then a chamara (fan made from a yak's tail). Continue this Arati as long as you can. When it is finished, think that you start making garlands with flowers of various kinds, large and very beautiful and of sweetest fragrance. When this is over, suddenly fresh new flowers will come in, and you will begin to offer them at the feet of your Beloved—handfuls of lotuses, of white, red and other colours. When they have been exhausted you will find a heap of Jaba (hibiscus) by your side. You will go on offering them all, while flowers keep on coming to you, one kind after another, there's no end to it.

"Do not allow this trend of thought to come to an end. After flowers, come fruits and sweets in all their varieties and you are offering them to your Beloved. In this way let your mind cling to your Chosen Deity. The natural tendency of the mind is towards enjoyment of the objects of the senses (sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste). Enjoy these with your Chosen Deity. Then the enjoyment will lose its evil effect and become divinized."
----

== 13 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Conversations of Swami Akhandanandaji''' ===
"Constant remembrance of God," continued Baba, "and ultimate reliance upon Him under all circumstances is Sadhana. This is the last word in one's Sadhana.

"We have seen the Master, have learnt from him and have built our lives accordingly as far as we could. If you do not build your lives thus, after seeing his sons and hearing about his life and Sadhana what is the use of all this? How fortunate you are, compared to those that will come after you!

"Pray always—day in, day out: 'O Lord, come to me, appear before me: so many people of distant lands—of Europe and America, Australia and Africa—have been blessed by You. To many You are appearing even now, but You do not come to me who are so near to You (i.e. here in Your own country)! Give me faith, devotion, one after another.' Let this thought prick your heart like a thorn: 'O, I have not seen You even today.'"

=== 18th May, 1935 (Buddha Purnima) ===
A young disciple perhaps, had written to Baba about his mental unrest. As soon as he got up after offering his salutation, Baba began to speak:

"What shall I do? Whatever was to be given to you was given all at once. Now it is your turn. You do not get peace, you are not happy in a family atmosphere! Who has compelled you to remain there? There are so many forests, so many Ashramas (monasteries and retreats); go to any of them. The company of Sadhus (holy men and monks) is essential: doing some work is absolutely necessary for peace. Work to your heart's content and you will get peace."

As a part of the celebrations next day, a meeting was to be held. Baba was dictating an address to be read there – his secretary was taking down notes. In the address Baba depicted how the work had begun here, starting with famine relief in 1897 and culminating in the dedication of the temple in the year 1929.

After a while Baba began to speak, addressing the devotees, who were sitting nearby:

"My coming here was due to the command of the Master. During the famine of 1897 I came from Calcutta to Chandannagar. A desire arose in my mind to go to Navadwip from there. Afterwards I wanted to wander further along the bank of the Ganga. Thus I came to Beldanga. There on the bank of the Ganga I saw a muslim girl weeping—her pitcher was broken. With whatever little money I had I bought her a pitcher and also some flattened rice. Immediately afterwards, ten or twelve famine-stricken people surrounded me. They said, 'Baba, do give us some food.' From that time on I became 'Baba' With whatever money was left, I bought more flattened rice and gave them and then went forward from there. Evening found me near the Bhavta station and I spent the night there. In the morning I wanted to proceed north. But at Mahula I got an invitation for the worship of Annapurna (Goddess of food). From then on, by the will of the Master, I became engaged in his work and got stuck in this place.

"In this land of famine our Master manifested himself as Annapurna. That is why we make arrangements to feed the people. I had no idea of building a temple here. It came at last by His will. The temple could not be completed on the birthday of the Master. It was completed only the day before the Annapurna Puja and next day—the day of the Puja—the temple was dedicated.

Spiritual life is not possible with an empty stomach, so real 'religion' in a country of chronic hunger is feeding the poor: then comes education and medical service. That is why here I teach them a bit of modern agriculture and something of health and hygiene."
----

== 14 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Conversations of Swami Akhandanandaji''' ===
19th May, 1935, Morning:

The whole Ashrama was vibrating with a spirit of joy and dedication. Once when the Devotee approached Baba, he was in a mood of scolding, perhaps because of the disobedience of some one. He was saying:

"Everybody says, 'The Guru's words are to be respected like the words of Veda.' Nobody however obeys the Guru, nobody keeps his word. Our Master did not give us too many instructions: but one thing he said, I remember: 'Never (in dejection) think with your chin on your palm.' To the letter I follow it. The young men of today will do just the reverse of what you ask them to do, that is why I do not ask anybody to do anything. Let us play our part well and go away. Never have I thought with the chin on palm. Why should I act that way? I have received his love and care, his assurance. I am full of joy always."

That evening in course of conversation Baba said:

"'The Self cannot be attained by the weak......' Understand? Just build up a strong body. A healthy, strong body alone can have healthy thoughts. Otherwise a weak mind weaves a cobweb of thoughts.

"Our Master, Sri Ramakrishna, in his universal form is God: here in his particular form he is Annapurna. That is why I don't feel happy if people do not get proper food here."

Letters of Vijaya (Puja Greetings) were pouring in every day. Baba asked the Devotee to answer some of them. There were some letters in English among others. Baba said: "Write with fullest freedom, as if you were answering your own letters. Go on writing, I shall see them later on."

=== 15th January, 1936 ===

=== The birthday celebration of Swami Vivekananda ===
The day was spent in festive joy. In the evening a simple young man—perhaps a new spiritual seeker—from East Bengal asked, "Do you remember the Master quite well?"

Baba: Certainly. Whom else shall I remember?

Young man: In the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by "M", we do not find your name except in one or two places.

Baba: So I did not go to him!

The young man, taken aback, remained silent.

Baba explained: "Do you know the fact? 'M' used to go to the Master mostly on holidays and on those days householders came in large numbers. We went usually on other days and spent the nights there. During the day I would fly off to the Panchavati or to the temples if too many people entered the Master's room."

The young man was initiated the next morning and in the evening he asked, "Tell me something about the Master."

Baba: What more shall I say? Everything is now printed in books. Moreover how can I go on talking the whole day and then again in the evening?

Disciple: I want to hear something about the Master from you—when you saw him and how you felt. Who knows whether I shall get another opportunity or not?

Baba: When I first went to him I was very young. His room in Dakshineswar was always charged with spirituality. Everybody felt it more or less. Spiritual craving would be awakened easily. One could get the fruits of the Sadhana (spiritual striving) of a hundred lives merely by sitting in that room. The Master's divine ecstasies could be seen frequently. How can these be forgotten? One word from his lips would simplify the teachings of the Vedas and the Vedanta.

The Master asked me, "Do you know Naren—a Calcutta boy, with prominent eyes and with mind indrawn? Go to him and mix with him." The very next day I went to him and felt attracted to him. Later I followed him like a shadow.

"At that time I had been observing the austerities of religious life and taking a vegetarian diet; but Swamiji scolded me saying, 'This has nothing to do with spiritual life'. I would not yield in the beginning. Then the Master also said, 'Why should you be so austere? Go and take the Prasada (offered food) from the Kali temple. The Master would notice to which temple I was going. I would go to the Kali temple and take the sacred Prasada given there. Memories are rushing into my mind. If I go on telling of them, it will never end. How much indeed has been published? One fourth or even a fourth of that!"
----

== 15 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Conversations of Swami Akhandanandaji''' ===
"Oh, so many things about Swamiji are coming to my mind. When he would lay emphasis upon a certain idea, for the time being everyone present would feel that that idea was the whole truth and all else was nothing. In the Belur Math by the Ganga, from day to day he would talk about so many kinds of ideas and the Math would be filled with each idea in turn. The day he talked about Siva, we would feel that Swamiji was Siva Himself—he was Sankara: the Math would be surcharged with that idea. On a certain day he would be talking about Buddha and we would feel that this was a Buddhist monastery—everything calm and quiet. Again on another day when he started talking about Radharani, all barriers drop. It seemed he was the divine Gopi and the entire Math was full to the brim with the sweet love of the Gopi. How many times he said that Radha was not of flesh and blood: Radha was the foam (essence) of the ocean of love."

=== 19th January, 1936: Early Morning ===
Miss MacLeod, the great 'Joe' of Swamiji and the 'Tantine' of devotees, now somewhat aged, had not yet seen Sargachi. So she had taken all the trouble to come up here. Maybe this would be her last opportunity to see Swami Akhandananda here. She had brought her food with her—only she wanted some milk from the Ashrama.

After breakfast the two ardent devotees of Swami Vivekananda began to talk about him, sitting on the floor of the shrine-room itself.

Baba: Yes, I have seen Swamiji after his passing away, as clearly as I see you now: otherwise I could not have lived. Separation from him was so painful that I was going to commit suicide, but I was prevented by Swamiji. He caught my hand as I was about to jump under a running train.

Miss MacLeod: Yes, he lives in you, in me, in all. He cannot die. He is the Atman. They say Swamiji was a great teacher but I and many others know him also to have been a great learner. He learnt from all, so he conquered all. He would be learning something always, so he was always fresh, never monotonous,—never repeating the same thing.

Baba: Yes, that was the teaching of our Master. On his death-bed, though hardly able to speak because of throat-cancer, the Master would strongly protest against anybody's saying "I know". At once he would say "You know? What do you know of the Infinite? Don't say this anymore. Rather say, 'Friend, as long as I live, so long do I learn.'"

Miss MacLeod: Give me your message for the coming Centenary (of Sri Ramakrishna). They want it.

Baba: I have no message of my own but I have this message from the Lord. I am infinite and eternal—what is a centenary for me?

Miss MacLeod: All right, I shall take this message with me.

The entire morning they spent in talks about Swamiji and Sri Ramakrishna. They walked and looked around the Ashrama with the enthusiasm of young people.

At the altar of the shrine, pleased to find the crystal figure of Swamiji—prepared under her direction and presented to some selected centres of the Ramakrishna Mission— Miss MacLeod looked at it affectionately and was heard to remark as if in soliloquy, "Yes, nothing but crystal can represent Swamiji."
== 16 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Conversations of Swami Akhandanandaji ===
May, 1936—Sargachi (Annual Celebrations day in the Ashrama).

The Centenary celebrations of Sri Ramakrishna's birth were being held in many different places. News of these was coming out in the papers. Side by side with one such report, the remarks of a sectarian preacher had been published in a Bengali newspaper: "Ramakrishna was an epileptic patient. He knew hypnotism and made young Vivekananda his propagandist."

A devotee from Berhampur had brought the paper, shown it to Baba and read it out. Baba remained silent. When the devotee attempted to draw his attention to it a second time and requested him to protest in the paper, Baba after a while said—breaking the silence:

"You crazy boy! What is the good of reading such items in the papers and showing them to others? If a fool criticizes a superior person, wise people take no notice of it at all. If someone comes and shouts 'Krishna is a lewd fellow!' have we got to lend our ears to him or be up to contradict him? He that has realized the mystery of spiritual persons is all right—let others understand it in time. You need not do anything. Tear up the paper. You are preaching their ideas more than they." The devotee tore up the paper and threw it away.

After some time Baba began again to talk: "At Alwar I went into a house for a night's halt. During the talk after dinner someone started to belittle Swamiji. I protested and left the house then and there. It was about eleven o'clock at night.
----"One night, at a time when the Math was located at Nilambar Babu's garden at Belur, there were discussions on Vedanta which continued up to two o'clock in the morning. Towards the end, the matter for debate centred on the question whether the soul is reborn after death, and later, whether man is reborn as lower animals or not.

"Swamiji had started the debate and the brothers had taken whichever sides they pleased. Swamiji remained neutral and generally silent; but at times he supplied arguments to the losing side. At last he stopped it at two o'clock. Everybody went to sleep. But just at 4 a.m. Swamiji asked me to ring the rising bell. He was by then walking up and down, singing to himself, after his morning ablutions.

"Seeing me hesitating, he said to me, 'Ring the bell, let them all wake up. I cannot see them sleeping anymore.' I replied: 'They all went to sleep only two hours ago. Let them sleep a little more.' But in a firm voice Swamiji said, 'They went to sleep at two, so they will get up at six—is that your plea? All right, give me the bell, I will ring it! Are we starting the Math for sleeping?'

"Then I rang the bell quite vigorously and everybody got up crying, 'Who is that? Who are you?' If I were alone, perhaps they would have finished me, but when they saw Swamiji smiling behind me, one by one they went to the adjoining rooms on the other side—yawning and rubbing their eyes.

"Again—perhaps a little later, at Belur Math—Hari Maharaj (Swami Turiyananda) one day could not come for meditation to the shrine, or was a bit late. He had had an attack of cold and fever. On hearing this, Swamiji flared up and exclaimed, 'Still this body? Shame upon you!' Among us, Hari Maharaj was the most intense Tapasvi (man of austerity). He hung his head.

Then Swamiji began to talk to him affectionately: 'Do you know why I rebuke you of all my brothers? You are all the children of the Master. The world will learn from you. It hurts me very much when I see in you anything short of the ideal. If the new-comers see such laxity in us, they will become still more lax in their behaviour. The Master used to say "If I do the full sixteen parts, you will do only one." Now if you do that one part, others will do only one-sixteenth of that. If you do not do that one part even, where will they stand?'
----

== 17 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Conversations of Swami Akhandanandaji ===
At eight o'clock one evening Baba asked his secretary—a Brahmacharin (monastic probationer) to come at 9 p.m. so that he might dictate some of his reminiscences. The Brahmacharin replied that after the evening meal it would be inconvenient for him to write.

Baba said in a tone of reprimand: "What? You say you can't? I am asking you to write and you say you can't? I, an old man, am ready to dictate, but you a young man, can't write? Eating and sleeping—no reading, no good discussion, not to speak of Japa or meditation!"

Baba got up and sat on his bed, and spoke again, his eyes flashing: "Swamiji knew it beforehand, and warned us about it. Monastic indolence is a dangerous thing. It is this that we should be afraid of. It may ruin us. Only eating and sleeping, no high thinking—nothing of the kind! Gradually you will lose all power to grasp any great thoughts. Just remember the great ideal for which you have come here. Then do you think, with this attitude of yours, you are going to serve this Sangha (Organisation) of Swamiji's?

"If you cannot sit down to meditate, if you cannot dig the earth with a spade—can you at least learn languages? If not English, French or German? Can you learn Sanskrit and Hindi? Even that will be a great service.

"I asked S—— to learn Hindi. Now he is a fluent Hindi speaker. Do something, otherwise you will become inert—an invalid; you will be of no use. You, a young man, are you not ashamed to say 'I cannot do anything after 9 p.m.'? Don't you see this old man, working still and marching towards death? Observe all this and learn a little!

"Well, you will go to bed at nine. Can you say that you will get up at 3 a.m. and sit for meditation? I know you can't. You will get up at 6 and again you will have another three hours rest in the afternoon. Fresh from sleep, they come to me at 3 p.m. and say 'I was taking rest.'

By rest we understand some change of work—reading some book lying down and then back to work again."
----

== 18 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Conversations of Swami Akhandanandaji ===
"Sometimes I feel much pained to see the pettiness of some people—for getting little things. I never take any good thing for myself before giving it to others, not even a clove after meals. Throughout my life I have served food to others, and only then taken food myself. How many days without having eaten, have I fed them (the orphans of the Ashrama) and, myself not well-clothed, have clothed them well! Will they not learn anything from all this? But still, one or two have become imbued with the idea of renunciation and courage and energy for work.

"Bahadur! Oh, he was not human, he was divine! He came down as if from heaven—from the Himalayas. He could not stay long in the dust of this world! He was too young to die—so tender! What strength of body and mind he had! What spirit of enquiry, simple faith and desire to do good to others!

"Before going to sleep, he would ask me question after question: 'Where do men go after death? Why are men born?' And so on. Some questions I would answer then and there; to others, I would reply: 'You will know when you grow older.' A few days later, he would ask me, 'Baba, have I now grown older? Will you answer that question?' Sometimes I had to lull him to sleep with stories.

"Here during the rains, a farmer's little boy was being carried away by the current into deeper waters and was gasping. Bahadur saw him, jumped into the river and saved his life without any thought of the danger to his own.

"Of course, he would show his physical prowess sometimes. Once he lifted a heavy weight and perhaps there was a rupture somewhere within. And the bright boy began to wither away. No treatment was of any avail. Such a serious disease, yet he would take his food without any help. Only on the day before the last could I feed him a cup of milk with my own hand.

On the last day, from the morning he kept telling me: 'Baba, I will go to the shrine room.' I said to him: 'How can it be? You are so ill. Get well and then I will take you to the shrine!' Still he insisted: 'No Baba, take me to the shrine and I shall be well.' I did so at last. He looked at the picture of the Master and uttered: 'Parameswar, Parameswar' (Great Lord, Great Lord). He breathed his last with the name of our Master on his lips when the sun was setting in the western sky.
----"Another day I was thinking: 'I love them so much, yet they leave me and go away as if they cared nothing for me. They do not look back even once. They have no affection for me!'

But then the Master made it clear to me: 'No other affection can touch you. You care for them encircled by the light of my love. Can worldly love and affection touch you in any way?' Then I understood everything and the mind became calm and I came to the conclusion that it matters little whether they remain or go. We shall have to get along with each other for the destined number of days.

"Once the Master in a vision showed me Mother Yasoda following Gopala (the child Krishna) and said to me, 'Just see here!' And they three mingled together and entered into me."

Then after a long silence Baba cast a glance at the Devotee and said, "Sometimes they come out again. Do you understand?"
----

== 19 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Conversations of Swami Akhandanandaji ===
One evening after Arati, Baba was lying on a cot in his room and reminiscing.

Baba sat up straight and began to talk in an inspired mood: "Siva! Siva! Siva!—The Deity of strength and courage. Siva the terrible, the Conqueror of death, the Conqueror of all desires and passions. Ah! Siva is the greatest Hero. None can compare with Him. He has no fear. Everyone takes refuge in Him. He is the Lord of destruction, to whom all must finally come."

As he was uttering these words slowly and distinctly, his face grew brighter and the soft look in his eyes seemed to sparkle with the half-spoken thought: "Siva, Siva! how beautiful, how calm and yet so strong!" Then he resumed:

"One cannot understand Siva unless one sees the Himalayas. The Himalayas are the image of Siva. Siva, Siva, Siva-sankara! Siva, Siva-sankara! How beautiful is Siva!

The Master showed me the living Siva. He took me to the temple of Kali at Dakshineswar and said, 'Look! There lying down is the living Siva.' Oh, what a sight I saw that day! What joy and bliss the Master poured into my heart!

"Later Swamiji showed me the living Siva in every creature—Jive Jive Siva—in all that are helpless, poor, suffering, unfed, unclad. All these are the veritable forms of Narayana—God in human form. Swamiji's way of looking at them was quite different from that of others.

"Our Master is fed when people are fed. I believe this. I have seen it. Our Master takes His food through millions of mouths. I find greater satisfaction in feeding Him that way. Personally I like this more than offering food in the shrine. He takes His food through all mouths—Brahmarpanam.

"One summer night at the Alambazar Math, nobody could sleep due to the stifling heat. I took up a big palm leaf fan and began to fan the others and they all soon fell asleep and I realised that my happiness lay in the happiness of others. Serving others means serving the Master. I fanned them, they slept in peace, and my discomfort was gone. That day I clearly felt myself in others, and others in me."

That night Baba was on his bed, dictating his "Reminiscences." Suddenly he stopped and began to recount various things:

"One day we were talking with Sarat Maharaj (Swami Saradananda). It seemed as if our life had come to an end with the passing away of the Master. Then began our life of austere Sadhana (spiritual striving)—sometimes together, sometimes alone in the Himalayas or in other places of pilgrimage. Then later our work of the Math and Mission. After the passing away of Swamiji we really felt that everything had come to an end.

"Sarat Maharaj said, 'Our life has really ended with theirs. This (work etc.) is the outer life; the inner life consists of the Master and Swamiji.' The more we talk of them—that is, the more we reflect on their lives—and their relation to our spiritual lives, the better for us and the greater is the joy and bliss.

That is why I am so much set on having these reminiscences written down. I am always thinking of them. This is now my only bliss. Even in my sleep I am with these thoughts. I think of what should be written next—of why I am not able to recollect the facts in their proper sequence. Sometimes so many things rush into the mind that I am unable to express them properly.

"Swamiji once said: 'Whenever I try to think of the past, I feel as if a film were unrolling. Scene after scene follows, some that have been seen, some never seen before, and some perhaps never to be seen at all.'

And Sashi Maharaj (Swami Ramakrishnananda) used to say: 'Do you know how it happens? It is like the blossoming of a flower. Slowly and silently it comes out. Would you like to hear how memory revives in many others? It comes out like bubbles, as when one steps into a quagmire.'
----

== 20 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Conversations of Swami Akhandanandaji ===
One evening, talks centred on various subjects such as the behaviour of women, characteristics of God Incarnate as man, knowledge, devotion, Maya and Mukti (liberation). The first two of these talks were especially noteworthy.

Baba said:

"Women enjoy the world more, they suffer also more—suffer from various miseries and bereavements. They have more of hatred and jealousy and more of love and devotion also. Very quickly they can take to spiritual life; for Maya is of Mahamaya. The deluding power seen in women comes really from the Universal Illusion of the Cosmic Mother.

"An Incarnation of God has certain characteristics. He is never affected by delusion or bereavement. He leads an ideal life. Though born as a human being, Krishna is regarded as the Purna-Brahman (Perfect Godhead). Never did he commit a mistake nor did he repent for any action done.

"Krishna lived a householder's life—there he is the ideal. One duty of a householder is to entertain guests coming to his house. The guest must be served according to his wants, and also with the idea that Narayana (God) is being served. Deputed by the gods in heaven, the sage Durvasa—noted for his harsh temper—came to Krishna just to check how he was observing the duties of a householder and how much he would do to satisfy a guest.

Generally people do not hold the name of Durvasa in much regard, because of his violent temper. That is not correct. The sudden rages of Durvasa burnt away the sins of many lives. His anger was a form of divine grace.

"The sage Durvasa, came to Sri Krishna at Dvaraka and asked, 'How will you serve me?' Smilingly Krishna replied: 'According to your wish. Your servant is ready.' Durvasa said to him: 'All right, perform the duties of a householder's life along with your wife. You two together will have to serve me, with no help from any third person. You will draw water for me. You will light the fire and cook my food. After that you will do just as I command.' So Krishna and Rukmini at once started to carry out his wishes and did everything as directed. When Durvasa sat down to take his food, Krishna was standing by and Rukmini was fanning him. After some rest, he wanted to go out in a chariot drawn not by horses but by the husband and wife. The two had not yet even eaten, since the sage was not yet satisfied. All others got annoyed, but Krishna remained composed and smiling. He unhitched the horses and began to draw the chariot along with Rukmini. So the chariot went rolling along the street. Rukmini became thirsty and Krishna began to bleed from bruises.

Durvasa could bear it no more. He stopped the chariot, alighted from it, fell at the feet of Sri Krishna and Rukmini and cried, 'O Lord, now I understand why you are doing so much. This is the life of God Incarnate as man—to shine as a standard, an ideal to the people of the world.'

"Rama killed Vali in a devious way and he lamented for Sita. So our Master used to say, 'Rama is a partial incarnation of God—twelve annas (three-fourths) of a rupee, and Sri Krishna is God Himself Incarnate—the full sixteen annas. There is no alloy in it. The ring of this coin is genuine.'

"An Incarnation of God has His own time and place. He comes when many people stricken with misery, piteously call on Him day and night, and pray with a simple heart: 'O Lord, never shall I do such things again. Bring my miseries to an end. I make an offering of all my Karma to you. Appear before me!' Or when, at the time of decay of religion, spiritual men begin praying to God, 'O Lord, come down on earth and re-establish the reign of law.'

Then if the time is ripe, God incarnates as man, to suffer the Karma (results of good and bad actions) of man. He has no Karma of His own. Why then does He suffer so much from birth to death? Those who desire to love an Incarnation of God must also be ready to suffer like Him."
----

== 21 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Conversations of Swami Akhandanandaji ===
One day Baba was talking about his Parivrajaka (wandering monk) years:

"For fourteen years I had no contact with money. While in the hills and jungles, if I had even a single rupee with me, I would never have been back again. I had nothing with me. Yet even so, I once had to bear a severe beating by dacoits. Just imagine what would have happened if I had had any money with me!

"When searching for Swamiji in Kutch, I encountered a band of dacoits on the way to Narayan Sarovar. At last I met Swamiji. How much he loved me and encouraged me because of my travelling without any money!

"Now that the Master has brought me here to do this Ashrama work, every pice must be accounted for. When public work is undertaken by Sadhus (monks), they will have to show how work can be done efficiently, yet without any attachment. Just to save one pice, I have sometimes to talk a lot by way of bargaining. Yet you pay up whatever price is asked! Now that the Master has placed these worldly activities upon us, the householders will come and learn from us how to live well in the world.

"While travelling I sometimes purposely went along the path of danger. Do you know why? Whenever a doubt would arise as to whether the Master was present with me or not, I would choose such a path and challenge, as it were, the Master by saying: 'Let me see whether you will come and save me or not!' Never even once did he fail me.

"At one time, in a Himalayan village I took shelter in a certain house and spent the first part of the night along with the others and their cattle. But about midnight a tiger roared and they were all afraid. I got up silently, thinking, 'What! I am a Sannyasin; am I still afraid of death and of a tiger?' I left the house and spent the rest of the night in meditation under a tree.

"There was a time when I did not like the dualistic, devotional attitude so much. Rather, I entertained only thoughts of Advaita (non-duality). Then suddenly I became aware of the Master in his room at Dakshineswar—he was showing me Yasoda (Krishna's foster-mother) and Gopala (the child Krishna as a cowherd-boy) and saying 'See, what a grand idea!'"

One day Baba was heard talking to himself:

"An outward show of devotion does not last long. It vanishes soon after its appearance. Such devotion is generally imitative. In the beginning there is excessive display of devotion, later on, nothing is left. That is not good. The devotion that endures is good. What is the good of making a show of one's devotion? We can understand the degree and quality of a person's devotion by a mere glance."

A devotee had asked in a letter: "Who is to be meditated upon first, the Guru or the Ishta (Chosen Deity)? And how am I to meditate on them?" Baba asked his attendant to reply:

"The Master is the Guru and he is also the Ishta. There is no first or second. Meditation on Him in the heart is best; it should be as if one were seeing Him. He is sitting in the temple of the heart; I come and see Him. Those who are initiated can think of their own Guru in the beginning if it helps them. There is no special rule. What is needed is constant thought of Him."
----

== 22 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Conversations of Swami Akhandanandaji ===
On the Guru-purnima Day this year, with folded hands, Baba was sitting as usual on his cot, after his bath. He was bowing down to his divine Master and meditating on Him, when some devotees came in and offered flowers at his feet. He was glad at this. Then he learned that one of the devotees had also arranged to offer some Payas (milk pudding) to the Master in the shrine. Baba was pleased and said to the Devotee, 'So at last good sense has dawned on you!'

In the evening the Devotee asked about the significance of that holy day. Baba replied:

"I do not know much about the background of the day. It may have been written somewhere: you can find it out. In western India, the day is zealously observed. The disciples flock to the Guru at the beginning of the Caturmasya. But this custom is not prevalent here. While travelling I did not care to know about the stars and the lunar days. Only on the Dvitiya (second day after the new or full moon) after the Sivaratri I would fast. That's all. I did not know how the days and months and years came and went."

A new-comer paid his respects to Baba by just folding his hands and raising them to the forehead, without bowing down even a little. Baba rebuked him and, addressing others present, said:

"This is no Pranam (reverential salutation involving at least a deep bow.) This is raising an axe, as if to chop something. Don't you know how to pay respect to a Sadhu or a Sannyasin?

Do you know how many kinds of Pranams are there? For example Hastabhyam, Janubhyam, tatha Padbhyam etc. with the hands, knees, feet, heart and head, this is Pranam with eight limbs (Saṣṭaṅga Praṇam). But Pranam while standing is unacceptable. To how many people—so called educated people—I have to teach this!

"There are rules for doing Pranam—do's and don'ts. You should not do Pranam when a person is ill or lying down, or walking or hurrying to some place; when he is getting ready for a shave or bath; or when he is unmindful, or concentrated in something. In the last case you may call his attention first and then pay your respects.

"Nowadays I find there are only two types of Pranam observed; the first I have already spoken about. It is like 'chopping' with an axe. The second, with excessive devotion, anywhere and at any time. Nobody seems to be aware of these rules regarding Pranams.

"Last time I was at the Math (Belur Math), I was lying down after the midday meal and dozing a bit but not asleep, when someone entered the room and made Pranam by touching the feet. I was startled and scolded him, 'You teach other people, and you yourself have not yet learnt that you should not make Pranam to a sleeping person!' He was a bit taken aback, and admitted his fault with folded hands. Then I got up and asked him to make Pranam to his heart's content and I also showered my blessings on his head. Later on I learnt that he had been in a hurry to go out somewhere, and could not find time to come to me earlier."

A Muslim devotee, the landlord (Zamindar) of village Eroani, in Kandi subdivision, Bengal, had written a letter to Baba; their daughter-in-law had suddenly passed away and the bereavement had cast a gloom upon the family. If someone from the Ashrama would but visit them at this time, they would regain their peace of mind etc.

Reading this letter, Baba was very much moved. He said:

"Ah, he is shocked very much by this bereavement in his old age. He saw me forty years ago only once, during the famine of 1897, and still writes letters to me—in a literary style. Once, he wrote, 'I meditate on you; thus I regain my power of mind and am imbued with the spirit of service to all.'

"He is a wonderful type of a devotee. He does not want to come here to see me again nor does he ask me to go there, but he writes, 'The form of a young Sannyasin is still imprinted in my mind and that is enough for me.'

He calls me 'Baba', and writes, 'Baba, I do not want to see you old. The young Sannyasin that I saw long ago, remains for ever the object of my meditation.'"
----

== 23 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Conversations of Swami Akhandanandaji ===
"Why do you all speak of 'doing good to others'? Who is the other? Everyone is my own. In the Bhagavatam, you will only find mention of 'doing good'. Instead of saying or writing, 'overwhelmed with the misery of others,' better say and write, 'overwhelmed with the misery of the people.'"

"Haven't you read what Swamiji has said: 'By doing good to others we are doing good to ourselves.' This is Swamiji's Karma-yoga: this is Sevadharma, the religion of service.

"Towards the end of his life, King Yudhishthira (the eldest of the Pandava heroes) performed a Horse-sacrifice (aśvamedha yajña) in which enormous gifts were made to the poor, to Brahmins and others.

At the end of it a little mongoose came, began rolling on the ground and proclaimed, 'This is no sacrifice compared to the one I saw during a famine. A whole family had perished to feed a hungry guest with the little wheat flour they had obtained by begging. I rolled on the ground where some traces of that wheat flour lay scattered. At the touch of those particles my body became golden—but only one half. Thenceforward I have been searching for another such sacrifice, so that the other half also may become golden. Now you can see that this 'sacrifice' has no such virtue.'

"This story of the mongoose proves that 'renunciation and service' is the greatest sacrifice, the highest religion. Renunciation of one's own interest, and service as if to one's own self—not showing kindness to 'others'—this is Karma-yoga, this is Sevadharma, the religion of service. Here the end and the means are the same. The end is also the means. By serving, the heart is purified; by serving, the heart expands; by such service one can see oneself in all. This Self-realization alone brings in the love for all. Nowadays even a schoolboy talks of universal love. Mark here, universal love comes only after knowledge of the Self. Then alone can you understand what Swamiji meant when he wrote:

'From the highest Brahman to the yonder worm And to the very minutest atom, Everywhere is the same God, the All-Love, Friend, offer mind, soul, body, at their feet. These are His manifold forms before thee. Rejecting them, where seekest thou for God? Who loves all beings without distinction, He indeed is worshipping best his God.'

"Serving any Jiva (creature) is serving Siva (God). Who is the Jiva here? Where is the Jiva to be found? All is Siva—O, everyone is Siva!"
----

== 24 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Conversations of Swami Akhandanandaji ===
'''November, 1936'''

By this time, a bearded American, Mr. Philips by name, had come over to Sargachi from Belur Math. Originally he was an Austrian, an adventurous pilot during the First World War. After the War, he decided to stay on in America. Through his wife, ten years older, he came in touch with the Vedanta movement in California. When a dam broke there in the early thirties, his wife was washed away. Next day he found her dead, with a little book "Light on Life" held firmly in her hand. Mr. Philips carefully took the book out of her grip and that book became an abiding inspiration to him.

When he was telling his story to Baba in the dim light of the verandah, he was weeping and repeatedly saying that it was for peace that he had come to India.

Baba, pointing out an inmate of the Ashrama, said to Philips: "He is your brother, he will look after you, serve you. This is the 'privilege of service.' When I serve others I serve my own self, my Atman. Everyone is my Atman."

Baba now felt the back part of his head with his palm, and showing his own ochre robes, asked him: "Do you like this? This gerua is the garment of renunciation. You like it? You are a born Tyagi (renouncer). You are the Self—the Atman."

Philips took out the little book with the marks on flood water on it from his breast pocket and said to Baba: "I have read more than ten thousand books and much of Christian literature also, but in vain. This little book has shown me more light. Now I want peace. I want to build up a new life in the peaceful light of Vedanta."

Baba interrupted him: "The Imitation of Christ is a great book; it helps much towards a spiritual life of renunciation. We had that book in our first monastery. It is a very wonderful book and can give you peace."

Then he took Philips to his own room and looked closely at his face with a lighted candle and asked him some questions and came out satisfied. One of the questions, as Philips told the Devotee later on, was whether he had ever seen Baba in his dreams, to which he had answered in the affirmative.

After this unusual first meeting, the two met morning and evening only for a few seconds. Philips would pay his respects, and Baba would bless him in silence.

A few days later, on the Jagaddhatri puja day when the day-long worship was being performed in the shrine room, Baba initiated Philips into the vows of Brahmacharya with special Homa (fire ceremony in which oblations are offered) and named him Paramachaitanya.

Shorn of his beard and hair and with the white robes of a Brahmacharin, Philips looked quite a new man with a childlike face full of joy. He would walk around the Ashrama and would repeatedly say: "I am Baba's youngest child!"

The whole of the afternoon he would spend in the shrine with folded hands; sometimes he would sit down under a tree and meditate. On being asked, he would say, "O, I must realize the Self while in India. This is a great country. How you love so much, I wonder! I never found such love anywhere else."

Philips had no bedding. He would lie down on a blanket resting his head on his palm. During winter nights he would spread just his warm coat over his body: but would not ask anything of anyone. One morning he was in deep meditation on his cot with only a cotton shirt on his body. Baba came in and covered him with his (Baba's) own new white woollen wrapper, smiling as he did so with fatherly affection with his long grey hair flowing down over his face.

That afternoon Philips confided to the devotee: "Do you know who Baba is? Baba is Siva!" In silent joy and wonder the devotee fully agreed with him.
----

== 25 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Conversations of Swami Akhandanandaji ===
One evening a screen was put up and the first slide projected was that of Swamiji. Baba was sitting on a reclining chair with others just to see how the machine worked. As soon as the slide captioned "Hindu Monk of India" was clearly projected, Baba was delighted and said, "See, what a form, what a figure!" Baba also sat up straight like that figure of Swamiji and wanted others to be filled with the same spirit. A little later he spoke:

"It is easier to have a glimpse of Swamiji—he is ready to appear before us, but not so the Master. At present the people will understand the Master through Swamiji. Don't you see more and more young people accepting Swamiji first? Swamiji's ideas of service and patriotism and selfless work out of love will prepare the field; then will be sown the seeds of spirituality."

Next, on the screen was focussed the great and inspiring message of Swamiji: "Oh India, forget not......" Someone was reading that out and the whole hall was silent and sombre. After a few minutes Baba broke the silence:

"Swamiji's 'love' for the country is not so easy to understand. It is not 'patriotism'; it is identification of the Self with the country (dehatma-bodha). Ordinary people identify the Self with the body (dehatma-bodha); so they are always mad after the happiness and comfort of the body. But in the case of Swamiji, he was absorbed in the thought of the country and his countrymen—their past, present and future. This is not all. There is a stage beyond this; the identification with all (visvatma-bodha), thinking of the good of all."

After a long silence, someone asked, "After so much work for all these years, have the masses of India been elevated at all?"

Baba replied frankly:

"Very little has been done compared with what ought to have been done! Is it easy to awaken this vast mass of humanity, 'the sleeping leviathan', as Swamiji called it? Can it be achieved by the so-called popular movements? Slowly you have to rouse the masses in a spirit of sympathy and service.

Sudden, spasmodic actions, which the politicians call 'mass response', have no enduring value. Mass awakening will be slow and sure as it has been in Japan, Russia, Turkey and China. The principal aim of Swamiji was 'mass education'. He has laid the foundations for the work. It will come about slowly. Is it easy to awaken dead corpses, the slaves of a thousand years!

"But then, we were among the first who went from village to village and visited the cottages of the farmers and talked to them, not of religion, but of general knowledge: about cultivation of new crops, of health and hygiene, and how to be careful in times of epidemics.

Here (in Sargachi) I have tried to improve the economic condition of the individual and thus solve the problem of food and clothing; then I taught them how to provide for the rainy day by saving something out of their daily income.

The neighbouring farmers learnt from the Ashrama how to grow cabbages and cauliflowers. We started sericulture—the raising of silk worms for production of raw silk—in this area, and many deposited their savings with me, to be withdrawn on the day they could not go to work. Even now I am something of a Savings Bank to some!"
----

== 26 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Conversations of Swami Akhandanandaji ===
'''XII'''

In reply to a devotee's letter Baba was discussing with his secretary what to write to him.

"Perform Japa as much as you can without straining. There is no hard and fast rule as to time and place in practising Japa. Meditation is not so easy.

"The mind will be restless. You have learnt from the Gita what Arjuna says to Sri Krishna: 'The mind O Krishna, is restless, turbulent, powerful and obstinate. To control it is as hard, it seems to me, as to control the wind.'

And the reply to that was, 'O mighty Arjuna, the mind is restless and hard to control; but by practice and by dispassion, it can be restrained.' Practice is essential; intense dispassion is also necessary; otherwise no progress is possible. It is the nature of the mind to think of this and that.

Haven't you read in the Kathopanishad: 'The Creator made our senses outward going'? All our senses are turned outward. They have to be turned inward by the help of outside objects. That is the reason for the prevalence of all the paraphernalia of Puja and Arati in temples—lamps and incense, fruits and flowers. All these are necessary to keep the mind occupied with the Deity.

"The mind of man runs after enjoyment. Enjoyment is to be sublimated into divine experience. If the objects are enjoyed with the Ishta (Chosen Deity), how will anista (undesirable things or evil) come? Rather, more good impressions will be left upon the mind.

"Not that you will not meditate. You must meditate on one or other subject. For example: meditate on the thought that you are performing Arati to your Chosen Deity—first with a lighted flame, then with incense and camphor, after that with a Chamara. Go on with that, don't let it end. If after a long time, you are tired of it, begin the offering of Pushpanjali. Think that you are offering handfuls of flowers of different colours; think again that you are garlanding the Deity; that you are offering to Him or Her food of various kinds. This uninterrupted current of thinking is one type of meditation.

"Dirt is in the mind as much as it is in a dirty room. You have to clean it sometimes with a broom, or sometimes with water. Some ideas of the mind are to be swept out forcibly, others are to be washed away with tears. With tearful prayers you have to say to Him: 'O Lord, why do such ideas arise in my mind? If these are there, You will never come into my mind. So make my mind pure and clean. Come and appear to me.' You have to say this with tears. That is how our Master taught us.

"X.. wants to perform Japa at night. Let him do it. What if he feels sleepy? Let him sleep. If he is very keen about it, he should get up and walk briskly. If he feels sleepy while sitting, let him walk and perform Japa.

"At night, you have to take a little less food and try to maintain always an attitude of prayer—a current of higher thoughts. And another idea must occupy your mind—that in this very life I must see God, I must finish my task of calling upon Him.

"O, Mother, how shall I call on You? Teach me to call upon You in such a way, That I may end my calling upon You, With a single call, once and for all."
----

== 27 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== Conversations of Swami Akhandanandaji ===
'''14th December, 1936'''

During the Durga-puja, many devotees had come from all directions. From Durga-puja to Kali-puja, then on to the Jagaddhatri-puja, the Ashrama had worn a festive appearance. With winter approaching, these guests had begun to leave one by one, and the Ashramites alone remained with Baba.

This day in the evening, Baba said to the inmates of the Ashrama:

"Come, I will tell you many things. Every evening come to me just after Arati. The company of Sadhus is very necessary. We have sought to come in contact with Sadhus wherever possible. Without sadhu-sanga (holy company), how can any good thing come to you?

"'O Tulsi, in this world five jewels are to be sought: the company of Sadhus, words of God, compassion, humility and doing good to others.'"

"Thus Swamiji used to say: From sadhusanga come the words of God—discussion about God incarnate and His life and lila (sport), His teachings; from sadhu-sanga comes the feeling of compassion, that is, love and consideration for all; similarly comes the feeling of humility, that God is so great and I am so small. Lastly comes the spirit of doing good to others. But the source of all is sadhu-sanga.

It is from sadhu-sanga that the first spiritual awakening takes place. In worldly life, people are all absorbed in the desire for enjoyment. How will this desire be burnt away? Intense heat is necessary first, to dry up the mind soaked with thoughts of enjoyment. The Sadhu gives you that heat.

"But then if your mind is like a flint, it is a different tale. Such a mind may remain a thousand years under water, but it will emit fire when you strike it. But how many such are there? Not many."

After a period of silence, he resumed:

"You see, it is upon renunciation that the foundation of all great work is built. Never have I taken a full meal in any house at Berhampur, never have I purchased my own clothes from the Ashrama money. Swami Brahmananda sent me my clothes. Never have I slept on a soft bed. I have fed others, clothed others, and tried my best to keep others in comfort. You cannot understand anything by seeing the present arrangement here of bedding and clothing.

"Just see how M.—collected rice for the Ashrama from Berhampur. In the morning he took a little muri (puffed rice) and in the afternoon he cooked his own food out of the rice he collected. The college boys saw this suffering of his and decided to arrange for the collection. Just see, they saw this spirit of renunciation and suffering for a noble cause, and then they also became inspired to help.

"In Puri I had a vision of Mother Lakshmi (Goddess of Wealth) with various kinds of food and clothing. When I reported this to Maharaj (Swami Brahmananda), he said to me: 'No more have you to think about this sort of thing. With Mother Lakshmi's grace, there will be no more want in your Ashrama.'

"Really, since that time there has been no want here. Whatever was necessary would come to the Ashrama in time."
----

== 28 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== M. The Apostle and the Evangelist ===
"Thakur told a story. There was a Fakir. Many devotees used to visit him. He felt a desire to feed them and arrange for their lodging. So he went to king Akbar. He was offering Namaz at that time. At the end of the Namaz he prayed, 'O Allah! Grant me wealth, riches and kingdom.' Hearing this the Fakir was about to go.

Seeing him doing so, Akbar beckoned him with his hand to keep sitting. Then he came and asked him, 'Why were you going back?'

The Fakir replied, 'I came to ask for help. I saw that you yourself were a beggar. So I decided, what could a beggar ask of another beggar? That's why. So I was going to leave. I have decided that if I have to ask for anything I shall only do so from Allah.'"

M. (to the man from Bankura) – It only means this that one should always pray to God. If it is a prayer from the heart, He fulfills it. Possibly, He may send someone, or He may manifest in the mind in the form of a good idea.
----The Bankura Man – Well baba (father), are we moved by the fruit of our karmas or by the will of the God?

M. – The Paramahamsa Deva used to say, 'Pray to Him. If He wills all obstacles will be removed.' He used to teach it with a song, 'If all will happen by what is written by destiny, who will then call uttering Durga, Durga?'

"Buddhism talks a lot about fruit of action and so on. If you call upon Him yearningly, He sets everything right. We heard this from Thakur's own lips."

The Man from Bankura – How can I know that I am calling upon Him rightly?

M. – It is for this that Thakur enjoined upon us to keep company of sadhus. By keeping company of sadhus you will know how much dependent you have become on Him, or whether you have been calling on Him rightly.

"If you want to learn law where will you go? To a judge, an advocate or a registrar, is not it so? It is the same with the sadhus. They are authorities in the matter of God. You will understand all by visiting them. You will then not have to ask anybody else."

The Pundit: "When the needle is stained, the magnet does not attract it. The mud is wiped away by the company of sadhus. Vivekachudamani has this, 'Shabdajalam maharanyam chittabhramana karnam' (the dense jungle of the maze of words causes the mind to ramble)."

M. – I used to see the Paramahamsa, he was always praying like the unceasing flow of the oil. He would say, 'Mother, pray don't bewitch me by Your world-enchanting maya.'

"The Bible also has it. Christ says, 'Pray without ceasing, always pray like the ceaseless flow of oil!'"

The pundit quotes from the scriptures in between. It, however, does not reach M.'s ears.

M. (to the man from Bankura) – Somebody said to the Paramahamsa Deva one day, 'So everybody should be told to worship Brahman by infusing Brahman into the idol. It is no use worshiping a mere clay idol.'

Thakur immediately rejoined, 'Just see! You people only lecture. I say brother, you have no need to think over this matter, you don't have to rack your brain over it. He has already made every arrangement for what one may need. You don't have to turn your head on this matter.'

"God has already arranged for the food of all the three bodies, the gross, the subtle and the causal. For the gross body the food is rice, lentils, flour and so on. For the subtle body it is physical knowledge, art, science and so on. And the food of the causal body is prayer, reading holy books, repeating His name, meditation, going on pilgrimage etc. By means of all these, one attains yoga with the mahakarana, that is God.

"Just see this! For growing paddy, He sends the sun, the moon and the rain. Inspiring the man's mind, He has made him establish schools, colleges and other centres of education. Besides, temples, maths, ashramas and sadhus provide food to the causal body.

"He has arranged everything rightly. You don't have to worry about it. You have only to call on Him earnestly to have His darshan. Weep and talk to Him in a secret nook; say to Him yearningly, 'Lord, grant me your darshan.' Not putting up a signboard but in a way that nobody comes to know of it.

"Aha, is there any limit to His grace? Its ever raining on us. How did this Math (the Belur Math) come into existence? It is by His grace that He has made it so that the devotees may go and keep company of sadhus.

"You see, I cannot always go to the Math, old as I am. So my friends go there and on their return tell about the sadhus. Such is His limitless grace.

"One day on returning from the Math a person told me that a certain monk reads the tenth chapter of the Bhagavata in the Mother's shrine. Such and such a Sadhu brings water on a bamboo sling from the Ganga. Another grinds sandalwood for Thakur's puja. Yet another sweeps the courtyard with the broom.

The Paramahamsa Deva also used to sweep with a broom. One day I went and saw that Thakur was sweeping the path to the north of his room. Seeing me, he said, 'The Mother walks here so I sweep this path.'

Hearing all this about the Math I gain a lot. One can compare what they do for the Lord and what we do for Him? It awakens us. The sadhus do everything for God, always, renouncing their home and everything."
----

== 29 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== M. The Apostle and the Evangelist ===
M. – Just see this. The Paramahansa Deva when asked a person (Paltu) to go in the company of sadhus, he said, 'I shall try.'

Replying to it, the Paramahansa Deva said, 'What is it, I shall try?' He replied, 'If I am not able to do so, it shall entail telling a lie.'

M. – There is no harm if you tell a lie concerning a good work. You should say, 'I shall certainly go.'

"Lord Krishna said to Arjuna, 'Kshudram hridaya daurbalyam tyaktva uttishtha paramtapa' (Gita 2:3). (Cast off this petty faintheartedness. Wake up, O vanquisher of foes)—give up this faintheartedness. Arise, what is this?

"The superior bhakta has a strong determination. He resolves to himself that he is definitely going to do it. 'Klaibyam ma sma gamah partha na etat tvayi upapadyate' (Gita 2:3). (Yield not, O Arjuna, to feebleness. It does not befit you)."

The Pundit – My elder son, thirteen years old, has embraced sannyasa and left.

Hearing this M. is satisfied. He now happily answers the pundit.

M. – Nice indeed, why don't you say so? You are indeed a great man. They say that one finds a pearl gajamukta (gajamukta, fabled to be found in the elephant's head) in the Lion's cave. What a great family you belong to! A sadhu has been born in your lineage!

The devotees take leave.
----(About the Grihastha Ashrama) One must have strong determination. If you have the strength of ten thousand elephants in your mind you may then take to household. While living in the world one has to be careful in all matters. One has to live like all others. If you cannot do so, then go and live under the tree. The path is straight. How will it do to say that you will live in the household and yet not conduct yourself according to the rules of the ashrama?

"A bhakta (M.) said to Thakur, 'The cat took away the fish from my plate, yet I could not stop it.' The bhakta had thought that Thakur would say, 'Well done, well done.' O My mother! On the contrary, he said excitedly, 'Why, you could have given it a slap. This would not have killed the cat.'

"You cannot run the household if you are lax. People will deceive you. A bhakta must have two eyes on his back too, and he has to be, 'Dhriti utsaha samanvitah' (Gita 18:26). (Endued with firmness and zeal).

"When you are living in the household you have to accept all this. Thakur did not have a family life but he knew all about the household matters. That is how, he was able to guide the bhaktas on the right path.

"He used to prepare the mind. You must keep this passive and negligent mind vigilant. How can he who is so indifferent in such ordinary matters of family life meditate on Brahman? By effort this weak mind becomes hard like a thunderbolt, it becomes sharvat tanmayo bhavet (one-pointed like an arrow). It can then shoot down the bird of ignorance.

"It is for preparing the mind that all these sadhan and bhajan are there. You can prepare such a mind even while attending to the household work. So it was that Thakur said, 'He who can keep an account of salt can also account for sugar candy.'

"First, one has to prepare to the mind. Thereafter, fix it on Him. Then you are carefree. You can then live in the household becoming His own—like a maidservant.

"This much you have to do by your own effort. The rest of the burden He takes upon Himself. Why has He given man intellect and endeavour? By making a good use of these, one does not have to worry about the rest. He sees, He makes one do it by granting the right intellect and power. Hold the horse from the front and the back, and then rise on it."
----

== 30 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== M. The Apostle and the Evangelist ===
'''Thursday, 4 September 1924'''

It is half past eight. M. has just come up after his evening meal. As soon he comes, he begins to talk even without sitting.

M. (to the devotees): What else! We are completely dependent. Nothing at all happens according to our wish. Now just take the body. Something within goes wrong and it no longer functions. That being so how can I say that we are not dependent.

"It is for this reason that we worship Mahamaya. It is by Her will that everything happens. She has to be satisfied; just this and what else?

"The medical men know it well, what our body contains. They have dissected it and seen all. How much there is inside it! Heart, lungs, liver, spleen, auditory nerves, optical nerves—labyrinth of nervous system. They function in so many ways and that is how the body functions. Just take one of them, the liver for example. Let it stop working. Then everything stops functioning. And then, there are also these, the mind and the intellect. What a wonder!"

The Elder Jiten: Where have these two gentlemen (mind and intellect) come from?

M: They (the Westerners) say, from outside. But only the men of this country have understood it right. Kapila says in Sankhya that they have come from this body itself.

"The body is a special kind of machine. By seeing the body one can tell what it contains within. Aren't the two eyes like two mirrors? One can know all. So, it is that the body shows the inner marks of man. What kind of an individual one is can be known by his conduct—whether he is restless or not, whether he talks nonsense or not, and whether he is too talkative.

"There is someone who wanders on the roof and gapes at the roof nearby. It means that this is his nature. That is why, he is made to do so. But this man does not know it. Another man also notices it but cannot understand it. He thinks that it is because of his wickedness. No, his nature is such. It is that which is goading him.

"There is a man who while going on the road sees on both sides of him only the objects of sensory enjoyments. Yet there is another who has everything to see, but would not caste his glance on any. He is walking on the road and has all objects of sensory enjoyment around him. He does not raise his eyes at all to see anything. When his eyes perhaps fall on something while finding his way, he just sees it for a while and then shuts it down suppressing his mind. He is disciplined.

"The yogis have disciplined themselves in this way. They are not aiming at anything—their aim being God. Thus the definition of a yogi is the one who is not the slave of his mind; the mind is his slave.

"This is the mark of a yogi. His mind is self-controlled. He has no other aim—he aims none but God.

"What is the need of tapasya? It is only to control the mind. One's tapasya can be tested on seeing how much the mind has been controlled.

"(M.) strolls on the roof. He never casts his glance at anything, anywhere. Once the ladies of other homes asked his wife, 'Your husband strolls on the roof but why doesn't he casts his glance here and there?' Another woman said, 'He does see but with slanting glance.' (Laughter). The other woman replied, 'No, that is his nature. He does not see anybody.'"
----

== 31 October 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== M. The Apostle and the Evangelist ===
The devotees talk on various matters about the Dakshineswar temple.

M. has been wishing for long that the nahabat (concert in which Sanai is the main instrument) may be played upon in Mother Kali's temple as it used to be in the past.

The treasurer of the temple has sent Rakhal today to invite M. and to tell him that the Mother has heard his prayers. She hears the nahabat four times daily these days. He might also come and listen to it.

M. hears from Rakhal that the management of the Mother's estate has now been arranged. The worship and offering of holy food to the Mother is being orderly performed. Sadhus, bhaktas and God-in-the-poor are being served in the Kali temple as before. Hearing this M. is overwhelmed with joy. He happily sings about the greatness and glories of God.

M: Man doesn't possess the power to understand God's work. His leela is indeed wonderful. Man thinks of something, it happens otherwise. Just see, how the responsibility of Dakshineswar has come on Kiran Babu. Some individual filed a suit. Who knows what was in his mind? Why did the High Court make enquiries of the Belur Math concerning this case? Possibly, the judges thought that perhaps the Belur Math was interested in it.

Then at the recommendation of the Belur Math, it came into the hands of Kiran Babu, in other words into the hands of the Math. That is why, all this is being done now—playing music at the nahabat, good arrangement for bhoga (offering of holy food). Now the devotees frequent it more often.

"And just see the Belur Math, how it came to be established? It came about with the money given by the western devotees. What a jungle it was all around! How much of malaria! E.I.R. decided to build something there—to start a factory near the Math on the bank of the Ganga. So they cleared the jungle. This also reduced the malaria a lot. But they built nothing. In between, all this work took place.

"So nobody can understand His work. Thus Thakur used to say, 'You should pray: Lord, do that which is for our good.' What can man understand? He has to say something but he says something else. Only He knows what is for our good. It is He who has created this world, this universe.

"And take our mind and intellect. Such and such is so learned, so intelligent. See, what happens to his arrogance when he does not get food for seven days? One can't tell where his intellect vanishes. And the cereals, has man made them? No, it is He. That is why, the rishis call cereals as Brahman. Besides, the vital breath, the mind and the intellect, they are also Brahman. They are smaller Brahman. They all came from that which is the brihat (big) Brahman. To preserve the creation.

"What is not wonderful? Take the affection of the mother and father. Had it not been there, the world would have been uninhabited. The milk in the mother's breast, just think over it what a wonderful affair it is! As soon as the mouth touches the breast it yields milk. As the child develops within the womb, the breasts begin to prepare milk. Thereafter the air, the water—what is not a wonder? We are always swimming in the sea of wonder.

"But man does not observe it. He thinks, it always happens. Who does it, how does it happen, why does it happen—he has no time to look into these questions. Such is maya! On the one hand, night and day the man goes on saying, 'I', 'I,'. Yet he doesn't care to look a little underneath, what is this 'I'? From where has it come? Where does this 'I' go when he is sleeping?

"Every man is a mud ball. Why should he have such pride? These mud balls say, 'We can create a better universe.' What a conduct of His!

"This 'I' is there now but it becomes different in sleep, in dream and in deep sleep. It remains hidden. Only in samadhi does it leave. But when one comes down it again shows itself. Then there is nothing wrong in it. Then one sees that it is only the servant, the child of the great 'I'."
== 1 November 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''M. The Apostle and the Evangelist''' ===
The Elder Jiten: There is no control over the mind. Sometimes it is God-with-form, sometimes the formless God.

M. (smiling): Dr. Mahendra Sarkar was a very witty person. He used to say, "What is the mind with-form like? Just this, when the mind is in the body – (it says) for example, my body, my hand, foot and face. (Everybody laughs). On the other hand, when it sees the house – (it says) for example, this is my room, this is my house. (Everybody laughs again). When it thinks of the Formless and Attributeless, it is formless." (Laughter).

"So one should pray to Him who is the master of the mind. One should say, 'O Lord, pull my mind and fix it at Your lotus feet' – dhiyo yo nah prachodyat (May He enlighten our intellect).'

"One must make an effort. However, that alone is not enough. One has also to ask the Master. When He wills the mind is controlled. One who knows what the mind is, has control over it."

Next day, it is eight in the morning. M. is seated on a bench in the room. He reads the proofs and in between instructs from it.

M. (to Gadadhar): Just see, they say that one does not attain jnana without karma. So, Swamiji arranged for work in the math. Everybody hasn't the same dhat (buildup, temperament) – it is different with different persons. He who has karma in his nature cannot meditate if you ask him to sit and do so. So one should work without the desire for its fruit. Then with the pure mind it will be possible to meditate on Him. That is why, this arrangement.

"It is generally to be seen that one does feels bad if one has no work. If one takes up some work, perhaps this does not happen. They say, an idle brain is the devil's workshop."
----Mr. Dowling comes in. He has met M. a number of times. He was first introduced to M. in the Belur Math by Swami Abhedananda. M. talks to him.

M. (to Mr. Dowling): Sri Ramakrishna said, "Meditate on me and me alone, and I will do the rest for you." Who can say these words? This evidently proves that he was the God-incarnate.

"Then he said, if you can't meditate, then do pray incessantly. If that is also not possible, then do nishkama work, that is, work for God and not for your own enjoyment.

"Karma or work is the means. The end is God. Meditation is also karma. This also you are to do unselfishly. It is, of course, a higher type of work. But that also binds one equally if one does not do it surrendering the fruits thereof to the Lord."
----

== 2 November 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''M. The Apostle and the Evangelist''' ===
M. (to the devotees): A constant fight goes on between man and work. He who does not want to roll up his sleeves and fight, cannot get himself rid of work. That's why, there is a need of the guru. How to develop the muscles can only be learnt from the guru. Indifference to work cannot last. It is possible only after God realization. Then the renunciation of work comes about.

However, some still stick to work for teaching humanity, for example the avatara and so on, for the good of the world. They wish to live with devotees. They wish to live with a slight illusion. The reason? It is God's will. It is like the play of children. It cannot harm them. All that the perfected persons say is the last word. There is no but in it.

"There are only these – karma kanda (ceremonies, rituals, acts) and karma yoga (yoga of selfless work). The karma kanda is useless work. And karma yoga is that work which purifies the mind, makes one attain God – it is work without the desire for any reward."

It is eight p.m. M. has gone to the third level for his evening meals. Before going he opens the Bhagavata at the chapter, titled, "Company of sadhus and renunciation of work," to read.

A bhakta begins to read and the others listen to him with concentrated mind. Just when the reading of the chapter is coming to an end, M. arrives and asks for the text read before to be read out again. This reading also ends. It is 8.30 p.m. M. converses.

M (to the devotees): Why does one do this reading of the book? So that one translates it into daily practice one reads. There is no other reason for it. By reading the book one comes to know what is to be done. Then leaving the book one has to practise it. It is easy to read, difficult to practise. Practice involves a lot of hardship – there is a lot of trouble in it. If that frightens you, you can never do it. The gold has not been melted. The life has gone in vain in eating, dressing, resting and sleeping.

"Thakur said to Adhar Sen: Finish it early. Man's life is like coming to city from the village for work. As soon as the work is over one has to go back. Before the game is over, one should do such work so as to gain bhakti for the Lord. When one attains bhakti one can have God's darshan by His Grace, in this very life. If that does not happen, even then there is no harm in it. The same devotion will help in the next life. One will start then from where one left it to reach the goal. The goal is God realization.

"Fearing will not do. Whichever work lies in front of you, it must be done tightening your belt and in a nishkama way."
----

== 3 November 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''M. The Apostle and the Evangelist''' ===
"The world is also an illusion, work is also an illusion and the body is an illusion too – it is to understand this that there is provision for all this work. Now these are the words of the mouth, you have to take this work in hand. That is, you have to do it selflessly to purify the mind. It is then that on having His darshan by His grace, you know that all this is an illusion. This is a very high idea.

"To defeat an illusion with another illusion! One realizes then that both of them are nothing.

"He who does not perform his prescribed duties cannot conquer his lust and anger. You cannot, therefore, realize God if you neglect the work before you. It is not right to neglect any work whether big or small.

"The other day I read this in a newspaper. A Buddhist monk was teaching a pupil. He got angry and instantly gave him a blow of his fist. This resulted in the boy's death. The judge gave a thought and awarded him rigorous imprisonment. In his judgement he said, 'We know that you are a monk but to safeguard the sanctity of law we award you this punishment.'

"He (the monk) had not been able to control his anger and this was the result. It is the same with lust. If one is not able to control it, children are born.

"Just see, what is work like. The monk had gone to practise nishkama karma having renounced all. In other words, he had gone to reduce his work. And now he added to his work. When work increases in this way one fidgets about up and down in the sea of work.

"Thus one should do only the work enjoined upon by the Guru. One should follow that whatever He tells having come in the form of the Guru. And secondly, one should think deeply on all his instructions. He makes you understand if you do both of these.

"What use is it simply to memorize? There are many who have memorized a lot. But they never put a little into practice. They don't try to bring it to their fingers. What use it is it to repeat the memorized musical notation?

"You must pray to Him. You must love Him."

M. (to the devotees): There is no way but the word of the Guru. He who does not put faith in the guru's injunction tosses about in the sea of samsara.

"So Sri Krishna said to Arjuna, 'You are a Kshatriya. Fighting battle is in your nature. You will have to fight.' 'Prakritih tvam niyokshyati' (Gita 18:59). (Your nature will compel you). And then, he also said, 'If you do not listen to me, if you do not fight, you will perish.' 'Chet tvam ahamkarat na sroshyasi vinankshyasi' (Gita 18:58). (If from egoism you will not hear Me, you will perish). It means that your soul will perish, you will have a downfall. You will fall into the sea of karmas."

Doctor Bakshi: It is indeed good if one lives with japa and dhyana. This too is God's work.

M.: It is good no doubt, so practise it. But can one do it? If one can do it, it is indeed very good. Tasting the shanta rasa (the serene mood) – this is what the rishis did. The rishis were living for Him to the exclusion of all other work. They would go to a distant place.

There are six attitudes in which you can establish a relationship with God. The shanta bhava is one of them. Since it is not possible, there is the way of karma (activity).

The Elder Jiten – It has also been seen that without doing work one does not form a great character.

M.: "Even Christ who was such a serene personality said that you should fight when there is need of it. Earlier I thought that all the work of Christ was resistance based (non-violence). But when I went deep into it I came to know that it was not so. Even he asked to fight when there was a need for it.

"When they came to arrest Christ, his disciples stood up taking up arms. One of them cut the ear of a man of the opposite party. Then he said, 'No, don't do it.' And then the ear again got attached by his will – so it is said.

"Why did he let all this happen? So that the principle was asserted. To cite an example, he let this little protest take place and then said, 'Ah, be at peace – don't do it, please don't do it.' The holy books contain everything."
----

== 4 November 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''M. The Apostle and the Evangelist''' ===
M. (to Gadadhar): You do see, one has to work. If one doesn't work one gets involved in still more work later on. It is even said that it leads to destruction.

"Lord Krishna worked forsaking sleep – completely giving up food and sleep.

"Who but the avatara has the capacity to unravel the mystery of work? Sri Krishna said to Arjuna, 'Do that which is in your nature and do it without any selfish motive.' Arjuna did not want to take to action of battle, naturally suited for him, because of fear and attachment. Sri Krishna threatened him and assured him, and made him fight the battle. That is how he was established in sattva. Giving up the kingdom he departed for his last great journey. He performed all, the battle of Kurukshetra, the Rajasuya Yajna. That is how he got well established in the fact that the world is an illusion and Brahman the reality. Then he gave up his body in the snows of the Himalayas.

"The kingdom for which he waged such a big battle, he left after getting it for the final great journey. Why? He attained the jnana that all was an illusion, only Brahman was the reality. Why should then he stay there any longer?

"So, if one works taking refuge in the Guru or the avatara, one quickly gets rid of work. The mind is then purified, all the desires of the mind are destroyed and one attains jnana. This is what is known as liberation. This is indeed is the general rule.

"Thakur has now shown another path which suits the present time. Said he, 'Weep and say in a solitary nook: Lord, grant me Your darshan.' This is an easy path."

=== YOU ARE A DEVOTEE OF GADAI ===
Morton School. Fourth level. M.'s room. It is 2 p.m. M. is seated on his bed facing south.

M. (to the Doctor) – While living in the household you have to do many things, even though they may be disagreeable. Otherwise, leave home and go and stand under a tree. There is no need of these there. He does wrong again and again before your eyes. It is a sin not to resist evil when you have the power to do so. Had it not been so why was the battle of Kurukshetra fought?

Sri Krishna tried in so many ways to avoid the battle. He just asked for five villages to provide the Pandavas with food and clothing, who had the right to the whole kingdom. But Duryodhana said, "Without a battle I shall not give a piece of ground even as small as a point of a needle."

Seeing that the ultimate limit of patience and justice were being trespassed, Sri Krishna said: The battle is mandatory. Not taking resort to it is a sin. If you do not oppose this wrong act by fighting a battle, you will destroy the value of justice and community. This battle will lead to so much of massacre, loss of wealth, disturbances in the country and other complications. But it will not do to think in this way. You will have to fight for truth and justice.

M. remains silent for a while. He resumes his instructions.

M. – If a work comes your way unasked you have to do it. By attending to it without any selfish motive you purify the mind. When the mind is purified, there is no fear then. The mind then remains stable in every condition. Reason? Gain and loss both belong to God. I am only His instrument, His servant, this feeling firmly takes hold of the mind. On the other hand, if anybody expects some profit for himself, he can fear a loss too. It brings restlessness to the mind. He who has a pure mind, pure chit (conscience) is a man of steady wisdom. He can maintain the same peaceful disposition in pleasure and pain.

"The household is the place for nishkama karma (selfless activity). If one lives in the household in a nishkama way, one attains liberation."
----

== 5 November 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''M. The Apostle and the Evangelist''' ===
God alone is the Master of this ashrama and I am working for Him as the maidservant: with this feeling always awake in the mind one should attend to all work.

"Sakama karma (work with a selfish motive) is also good but it does not give such high results. Sakama karma has also been called 'high and generous' by Sri Krishna. Why? Because such a worker also has faith in God.

"Nishkama karma is difficult indeed but even a little of it leads to the attainment of the fruit of liberation. Says the Gita, 'Svalpam api asya dharmasya trayate mahatah bhayat' (2:40). (The practice of even a little of this dharma protects one from great fear). Even a little of it leads to success. God Himself comes to raise the devotee. By Himself performing selfless work, He teaches the bhaktas.

"Don't worry. Just practise with determination. Otherwise, the same mistake will persist in the mind. Laziness will prevail on justice and truth. ''Laziness is the great enemy on the path of dharma, on the path of karma''. One has to slay this demon of ''tamas''.

"This tamas cannot be forgiven. Not to file a lawsuit fearing botheration, in other words, is accepting defeat from tamas. It is accepting the power of tamas and yielding to it. With such a mind one cannot attain God.

"The function of sattva guna is to protect the values of justice, to proclaim the victory of dharma. By your going to law the value of dharma and justice shall be protected. What a great relative value it has! It raises the mind, it strengthens one's faith in God."

The devotees arriving from outside are seated on benches. M. converses happily.

M. (to Swami Sadbhavananda) – Just see, what a flood of the new mood has arrived! All this is the nectarine result of the advent of Thakur. How many moonlike beautiful boys have come to the math for God realization having forsaken their home, their parents, their all. In Bengal almost no sannyasin could be found before. Now many are embracing sannyasa.

"When God's power is at work it all begins to happen in a new way. One begins to feel a special unknown attraction. The devotees begin to gather together because of this attraction. They form the messengers of the avatara. No work resulting from man's intellect has any such divine attraction.

"On the one hand, there is a rustic, almost illiterate brahmin. And on the other, there is a worldwide religious movement in his name. Even the learned of the world have taken shelter under him. It proves what he was. If the movement had been man made it could not have spread so far.

"On one side Europe and America, on the other Kamarpukur and Dakshineswar: so far away from each other! And the movement has just started. It will spread for a long time. The impossible will become possible in his name; wonders will happen."

M.: "It was long ago. Thakur was then perhaps alive. I went to Kamarpukur. The puja of the Kali was to take place there. An old brahmin was the assistant priest (one who recites the scriptures): he was over eighty. Knowing me to be a devotee of Thakur, he contemptuously began to utter, 'Gadai Gadai!' Said he, 'So you are a bhakta of Gadai! How have you become his devotee after studying so much? He had read no scriptures, a fool!'

"What did I do then? A thing or two I had learnt from Thakur, I hurled at him. I said, 'The vultures and kites fly quite high but their sight remains fixed at the charnel-pits or to the spot where the carcasses of cows and oxen lie. The pundits are like them. They may talk big but their concern is only with woman and gold, sensory enjoyments.'

"And I said a particular thing too, I am remembering it now. I said, 'It is within the almanac that this time it will rain twenty addas (a unit of measurement) but by squeezing the almanac not a drop of water falls. In the same way, the pundits utter any number of slokas. But they have not imbibed them. An ordinary sorrow overwhelms them with pain. What does it avail to talk long? The heart remains filled with jealousy and enmity.'

"And I said, 'It is easy to commit the musical notation to memory but it is very difficult to play on fingers. Giving up sensory desires if one calls on God, it can be imbibed, it comes to the fingers. The pundits only recite the slokas they have memorized.'

"I heard later that after I had left, that pundit regretted. He said, 'He, indeed, said the right thing.'

"One should say all this at such places."
----

== 6 November 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''M. The Apostle and the Evangelist''' ===
The western window of M.'s room opens upon the Amherst Street below. Some feathers are lying outside M.'s room.

M. (to the bhaktas) — How amazing! A pigeon has been killed. Perhaps it is the cat which has killed it. Which other animal could have come here?

A particular Bhakta — It appears that it was seized at night when the pigeons are asleep.

M. — I was dumb-founded when I saw the feathers this morning.

M. (gravely to the bhaktas) — Just note how uncertain the life is! It (the pigeon) was sleeping in the remote cornice of the roof. The cat went even there and killed it. It is the same with the life of all other beings. Death is bound to come, but when it will one does not know. The whole thing ends in a moment.

"Yes, everybody has to depart now or after a hundred years. This is certain. But we forget that we have to depart. This too is His doing. If everybody remembers death His play in the world will come to a standstill. Who will then attend to all these things? Such is His plan! Almost everybody has forgotten. Maybe some three or four persons have not. They keep themselves always ready to depart. That is why they do not attend much to worldly duties.

"But they whom He engages in work after imparting this knowledge are truly the saviours of the society, for example, Vyasa, Vasistha and others. They not only proclaim but also act on the conviction that God is, and that we are all the children of God, a portion of His, and act in the world knowing this.

"Those who listen this are bhaktas. They can keep both sides - God and the world.

"To begin with, hear the Shastra from the mouth of the guru, and know through your intellect that God ''is''. Later on, by carrying out sadhana, one experiences within oneself that He is. Next, by His grace, one sees His presence, sees Him and gains a firm conviction that He is. It was with this conviction that rishis set to work. The work of Swami Vivekananda and the work of Thakur's close disciples belong to the same category."
----

== 7 November 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''M. The Apostle and the Evangelist''' ===
M.: "And there is another class. They go the other way, in the opposite direction, towards ignorance - that too by His will. They don't know Him and they don't accept Him. He Himself has injected them with this illusory arrogance. This very conceit governs their life. Most people belong to this category. Had they not been there, the world wouldn't have gone on. That's why these people go the other way, that too at His dispensation.

"They undergo troubles and tribulations life after life, indulging in the pleasures and pains of the senses. They become restless and impatient. Then they look for Him. Even then they do not want Him directly; they only want peace and pleasure. Perceiving that all worldly things are enveloped by pain, they, then, don't want any worldly pleasures. They only ask for peace, peace and perfect peace.

"God then listens to their prayers and appears before them in the form of the guru. Then they listen to the guru. They begin to have faith in the Shastras and trust in God."

M. (to everybody present): And there is a state in-between the two. In it also the man calls on God. He is convinced that God is the lord of the world. But, instead of asking for unmixed peace, undiluted joy, they ask for mixed peace viz. the perishable worldly fame, wife and children - "woman and gold". And, He grants them these too. Such persons are known as sakaam bhaktas, devotees with worldly desires. But when this does not lead them to peace, they look for the everlasting peace, everlasting joy.

There are three states: the pashu bhogi (man with animal like cravings), sakaam bhogi (man who worships God for worldly desires only) and bhogi-yogi (man who wants both the worldly things as well as God).

"The yogis are also of two classes: the yogi-bhogis and pure yogis. They have understood that God comes first and the world afterwards. That's why they are yogis. But some of their desires for sensory enjoyment have remained unfulfilled. They fulfil this desire and take refuge in the Lord, for example, the Pandavas. The Pandavas enjoyed ruling a kingdom under Sri Krishna's guidance but didn't get entangled in it. It was like a mother feeding the child with sweets with her own hands. As soon as she feels that giving more of it will bring indigestion she stops feeding. She only gives to the child as much as would satisfy his desire and keep him healthy. That is why they are called yogi-bhogis. They also gradually becomes yogis. The Pandavas who were yogi-bhogis became complete yogis afterwards. This is the way of gradual attainment. Then one will be a complete sanyasi inside even while living in the household. The Pandavas even while living in the household, became the complete yogis, at last, with the grace of Lord Krishna. They left for the last journey after hearing the death of Sri Krishna.

"The pure yogis are like Narada, Shukadeva. These are unmarried sanyasis. They are like honey-bees, would like nothing else but honey of the flowers. Like the chataka bird, who would not even touch the water except that of swati nakshatra - wants pure water. They are pure blooded."
----

== 8 November 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''M. The Apostle and the Evangelist''' ===
"There are these four classes of men. Men who enjoy like animals (pashu bhogi), men who worship the lord for worldly things (sakaam bhakta yogi), men who want both God and the world (yogi-bhogi) and pure yogis. Every being is to become a yogi at the end and attain freedom from this world".

M. (to the Younger Jiten)

"This bird has forgone this one birth. After lakhs of births does one attain a human birth. Then man has to go through the three stages. Only afterwards he attains moksha. Even a great man can fall again. Thinking of a deer he became a deer - the king became a deer - Jada Bharat (the king Bharat became stone like).

"(To the Youngman) The foundation of Indian culture is like a four-storeyed house. Its foundation is the knowledge of the Brahman - complete selfless jnana. On it are the four storeys - yogi, yogi-bhogi, sakaam bhakta bhogi, and pashu bhogi. That's why it has sustained through time and will remain so. So they call it sanatana dharma - the eternal religion.

"Brahman is eternal. Out of It has come out the four classes of men. The time has four divisions - Satya, Treta, Dwapara and Kali yugas. In these four yugas four castes have their respective reign - brahmins (spiritual-intellectuals), kshatriyas (warriors), vaishyas (business men) and shudras (servants to the three higher castes). This distinction among the castes is based on one's qualities and actions. This is a social arrangement. It was generated for better integration. When the society is well-integrated, attainment of Brahman-jnana becomes easy".

M. (to all present): "If everybody becomes a jnani how will His world go on? That is why He has created this ignorance.

"The rishis say that generation, preservation and dissolution are the three acts of His sport. He Himself has become the world and the jiva. Besides He Himself is jnana and ajnana, bondage and liberation, all these. ''Tat srishtva tat eva anupravashit''. He has expanded Himself in the form of the world. He Himself has assumed the form of a living being. And then He Himself is sitting within the living being as the controller. It's a one-man-show".

M.: He has brought us consciousness through the death of this bird. He Himself went to sleep as a bird and then He Himself became the cat to kill and devour it. Those who have merged their ego completely in the Lord can only realize this truth.

"Grandfather Bhishma was aware of it. He knew that God Himself had taken the form of Sri Krishna to establish dharma. He knew also that He was both, the Kauravas and the Pandavas. It was the time for everybody to depart. It was perhaps because of this that he was on the side of the Kauravas. There can be other reasons too.

"Sri Krishna said samething too: "I have come as Death to destroy all. I am Arjuna, I am all of these." And he named any number of big personalities. The fact is that 'all is He'".
----

== 9 November 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''M. The Apostle and the Evangelist''' ===
It is already six in the afternoon. M. has gone up the second floor. He is not feeling quite fit today, his indigestion continues and he is feeling heavy. That's why he was on the second floor throughout the midday.

M. is singing seated on his bed in his room. Song follows song as if a flood of emotion has been let loose, or the flood water has broken the embankment and is spreading all around.

The first song is Ramanam Kirtan: Rama Rama! victory to Rama! Rama Rama! victory to Sita Rama! Raja Rama Raghava! Sita Rama, the Saviour of the fallen!

O, bird of the forest, Sing the name of Rama. Come on! Let us call out Rama, Rama with heart and soul.

Mother, You are Tara. You have assumed the three gunas. Yet you are ever beyond them.

I am without sadhan, without bhajan. Touch me and purify me.

Victory, victory to Sri Chaitanya, Advaita Prabhu, Nityananda!

Victory to Srivasa and other bhaktas!

Victory to Murari Mukund! Gauranga, of the complexion of molten gold!

Who goes on the bank of the Surdhani,

With the name of the lord on his lips?

It seems Nitai, the bestower of love, has come.

What have I seen today in Keshav Bharti's hut?

Sing the name of Gauranga.

Speak Gauranga, repeat the name of Gauranga.

Krishna Keshav, Krishna Keshav, Krishna Keshav! save me!

Rama Raghava, Rama Raghava, Rama Raghava, save me.

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare Hare! Hare Rama,

Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare, Hare!

When shall I be so full of love

That only Hari will come out of my lips!

And tears of love flow down my two eyes? Song follows song.

The stream has broken its embankment. The intoxication of love has filled the atmosphere in the small room.

The devotees enjoy the nectar of M's song. The song ends.

M. keeps quiet for a while, the bhaktas are silent too.

It is 8.30 p.m. M. says seated as he is, "Who is there?"

"All of us," answers Antevasi.

M. says, "Come inside." He is seated on a wooden cot facing west.

M. (to the bhaktas) "God has again incarnated Himself for the good of humanity. Thakur himself said:

"Satchidananda has come in this body as a human-being." Why did he take up the body of a man? He says, "It is only in a human body that prema, bhakti, jnana and love-lorn dancing, all this divine play is possible." Man canot catch the abstract, he is afraid of it. So, He comes in a concrete form. He says Satchidananda plays Ishwar-lila, jagat-lila, deva-lila and manav-lila (the sport of God in the world, the sport of a divine being and that of a man).

"All higher impulses that the man has have to be turned toward God. It is for teaching this that He takes up a human body. This is not possible unless He plays the part of a human being. So, He comes down as avatara.

Thakur went mad repeating, Ma, Ma; merged night and day in Her; She who was his mind and soul. He had no consciousness of the body or of the outer world - his mind was submerged in the soul within. When he became conscious of the world he saw that the Mother had Herself become the world and all living-beings therein. That is why he was always repeating Ma, Ma, like a child. How can the baby live without his mother? Seeing the terrible form of Sri Krishna, Arjuna was struck with awe. The rishis were also full of fright. So they prayed - rudra yatte dakshinam mukham tena mam pahi nityam -O Rudra, please save us always with your benevolent aspect. Trembling, Arjun prayed, "Please assume again Your gentle form." (Gita 11: 46-50).

"Seeing the amazing worldly play of Ma, Thakur was struck by awe. So he always wished to see Her benevolent loving form. He saw that Ma makes one forget all and casts a spell. So he prayed: "Ma, if you must keep me here please don't cast your net of world-bewitching maya over me."

"Whenever he saw Her form within himself he would go into samadhi, as though a fish was swimming in the sea of joy; and when he saw Her outer form he would weep and call out, "Ma, Ma." He would pray and sing hymns in Her praise.

"For the sake of His lila, the Lord assumes both the aspects: He becomes a bhakta and then the lord. Mostly He acts in the spirit of a bhakta, but sometimes he speaks as God and says, "Hold Me, meditate on Me. Verily, verily I say that he who meditates on Me will inherit my wealth, like a son inheriting his father's wealth.

My wealth consists of jnana, bhakti, discrimination and dispassion, peace and joy, prema and samadhi. All these constitute My wealth."
----

== 10 November 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''M. The Apostle and the Evangelist''' ===
M. (to Antevasi): Some devotees explain this phenomenon of God appearing in a human form in this way. We have bodies made up of blood and flesh. We cannot therefore know Satchidananda. So He comes taking up the body of blood and flesh, and He conducts Himself like a human-being in every action. He also has sorrow and pain, pleasure and joy, just like humans.

"The truth is that He is Indivisible Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute. He is beyond speech and mind. But for the welfare of man He appears as man. Men see Him just as a man. But is He a man in reality? No, He is the Indivisible Existence-Knowledge-Bliss. He behaves like a man, he dances; (think of) our Thakur.

"It is like a picture on the screen. One feels as if one is seeing a real man. But the truth is otherwise. When we see the picture of Christ, we get the impression as if he is really there - so vividly we see him there. But the truth is otherwise. It is just the same with the avatara, with Thakur. The devotees, therefore, say: Vedanta-sidhhanto nrityati. The principle of the Vedanta is Para-Brahman, the Indivisible Existence-Knowledge-Bliss. He dances in His rasa-lila with gopis in the form of Krishna, as a man".

M. is silent for a while. He now resumes showering the nectar, the Kathamrita.

M. (to the devotees): What power does a man has! You see, by weeping secretly in a solitary corner, he develops another eye. It is known as the spiritual eye. He can see God with it. This eye remains in the karana sharira, what Thakur called as Bhagavati tanu - the spiritual body. When he sees Him man is fulfilled. The highest duty, the highest ideal of human life is just this.

"Or, take for illustration, a crystal. One can see through it what is lying behind it. Or, say, glass. One can see everything through it. It is such a mystery! He has become the world and the jiva with the help of His maya. And He inheres all as the witness.

"All the confusion we have is the result of the ego in the jiva. I am happy, I am sad, I have a son born to me, my son is dead, - this is the cause of all confusion. This is something amazing.

"He Himself came as a man; He took upon Himself all the duties of man; He subjected Himself to pain and affection, and then he freed Himself from all these. He said to the bhaktas: "If you want peace, if you want happiness, you have to hold me and follow my path. Build a relationship with God like me - any one you like - that of a father, or mother, or brother, or a friend." He himself chose to be a child of the Mother. He said to one of the bhaktas: "Live in the world like a maid servant of a rich family." In short, he showed the way to free oneself from bondage."

M. (to the bhaktas): Of all the living-beings, only man can penetrate this mystery. It is his monopoly. The jiva is he who has an individuality. The fact of his being a jiva can be overcome by developing the spiritual eye. This is the same as purifying the chitta. The yogis gain this very spiritual eye. They tear the veil of the infinite with it. Developing the spiritual eye, or purifying the chitta, or gaining jnana, or destroying the ego, or breaking the cycle of life and death and attaining liberation - all these come about simultaneously. In fact they are all one.

The Elder Jiten (fighting it out) "That (spiritual) eye is far away. How far can one go with this eye!"

M. "Why, even this eye can do it. Thakur has shown the way: It is faith in the words of the guru. Full faith in the words of the guru also yields amazing results. There was a devotee. He was old and helpless. He asked Thakur what was the way. Immediately came the reply: "Trust in the words of the guru." What to do when one has no spiritual eye? This, this is the alternative.

"How? Suppose I am blind, I cannot see with my eyes, and yet it is absolutely necessary for me to meet Ram Babu. What to do? I seek the help of another man. He holds me and leads me to him. Handing me over to him he says to me, "This is Rama Babu, the person you want."

"Even when one does not see him with these eyes, it is also seeing him if one touches him by holding his hand. Besides, hearing his words can even be taken as seeing him. One can also see with the other four senses. One must put one's trust in the words of good people.

"Just as by believing the words of a person, a blind man can meet another person similarly it is with the words of the guru. By believing the words of the guru or the avatara anything can be achieved. One must have a childlike faith - a 125% faith. The mother says, "There is a hobgoblin in the house in that room." The child believes it one hundred percent - he has no doubt that there is a hobgoblin in that room. But what is a hobgoblin, even this he does not perhaps know, he has never seen one! "So Bhagavan says in the Gita: "shrutva anyebhyah upasate"!

[Others, not knowing thus, worship as they have heard from others; they too go beyond death by their devotion to what they have heard; Gita 13:25]

M.: This indeed is the yoga of faith in the guru.
----

== 11 November 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''(Today is the Jayanti of Revered Swami Vijnananandaji)''' ===
Revered Swami Vijnananandaji Maharaj is staying at the 'Belur Math'. Every day the priest starts the worship after offering pranams to him. Maharaj asks him, what is next? The priest describes.

On the day of Vijaya Dasami, Maharaj asked, "What is there tomorrow?"

The priest replied, "After a brief worship with ten articles in the morning, there will be Darpan-visarjan (immersion in the mirror). And in the evening there will be Pratima-visarjan, immersion of the image."

Maharaj asked again, "Where will you immerse the Mother?"

The priest replied, "Why, in the Ganges?"

Maharaj asked, In the "Ganges?"

The priest replied, "yes Maharaj, as is the practice every year."

Swami Vijnananandaji Maharaj said solemnly, "''Mother is to be immersed in the heart only''".
----One should not ask for anything from God, but remain satisfied with whatever He is pleased to give.

Real welfare lies in using things properly, wrong use of things brings misfortune.

You should be satisfied with whatever you can secure to keeping the body fit, and then, go on working selflessly for God.

There is a Hindi couplet which says that jewels, elephants, and houses, indeed, all wealth is just valueless compared to contentment.

It is all so difficult, you cannot have contentment so long as you are subject to worldly desires. Once they disappear, you are free.

Purity, Truthfulness, and honesty should make the cornerstone of your life. And there should be faith. With these a man will have contentment in life, whatever circumstances he may happen to be in. Contentment in all circumstances is the mark of religious life.

When we have control over our passions, we shall succeed; we shall ourselves then feel that we are advancing towards God.

When the mind is completely under your control, it will have nothing to exist on except noble thoughts.

After the dissolution of the mortal frame, the soul takes a subtle form and more intensely reaps the harvest of previous deeds. If one can control one's senses and transcend the bounds of time and space, one is in a position to summon the souls of dead persons, and get a response from them. They also respond as people respond to us when we call them.

God pervades everything. But, of course, it is a joyful experience. He is inside and outside. When you realize that He is within you, the senses get controlled once for all; and it is for this that you have renounced everything, do you understand?

This universe - the entire creation and all living beings - has been there from the beginning of time. Nothing new is happening; the same process has been going on in different ages, just like a lump of day being made into a particular image and then broken and made into another image. This is how the process of creation has been going on; nothing new, only a repetition.
----

== 12 November 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== SWAMI VIJNANANANDA ===
I was a mere boy, fourteen or fifteen years old, when I first met Sri Ramakrishna. It came about this way.

One day I was playing a game with another boy in his home when a mutual friend of ours came and asked, "Would you like to visit a paramahamsa?"

"Where is he?" we inquired.

"At the Dewan's house, nearby." We had no idea what a paramahamsa was. Anyway, we all went to meet him.

As we entered the hall of the Dewan's house, we heard a chorus of melodious voices. We encountered a strange scene. A group of devotees were singing. Sri Ramakrishna was standing in the center, completely oblivious of his surroundings. A disciple was holding him so he would not fall. His face shone with a heavenly luster, and a smile played over his lips. His eyes seemed to be gazing at something, and he appeared, as it were, immersed in an ocean of bliss.

After a while he sang a song in praise of the Divine Mother. He was still in an ecstatic mood. It seemed to me that he was having a direct vision of the Mother and was singing to her.

After the music, Sri Ramakrishna and his companions were led upstairs by the host, and we returned home. I met Sri Ramakrishna another time in Mani Mallick's house. I went there with Sarat, who was my classmate.

Several years passed. I was then about seventeen or, eighteen years old and a student at St. Xavier's College in Calcutta.

One day I went to visit Sri Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar. It was in the afternoon. Many devotees were seated in his room. I went in, prostrated before him, and then sat quietly in a corner. Seated on the small cot, Sri Ramakrishna was conversing with the devotees.

In physical appearance he was like any other man, but his smile was something divine. When he smiled, a wave of joy played, not merely over his eyes and face, but over his whole body. And his blissful smile would wipe out the worries and troubles of those who looked at him.

His voice was so sweet and melodious that one never tired of hearing it. His eyes were keen and bright, and his look was tender and affectionate.

I felt Sri Ramakrishna's room vibrating with a tangible atmosphere of peace. The devotees present seemed to be listening in blissful absorption to the words which poured from the Master's lips.

I don't recall what he said, but I still remember the transport of delight I experienced then as if it had been yesterday. For a long time I sat there, beside myself with joy, and my whole attention was concentrated on Sri Ramakrishna. He did not say anything to me, nor did I ask him anything.

One by one the devotees took their leave, and suddenly I found myself alone with him. Sri Ramakrishna was looking at me intently. I thought it was time for me to depart, so I prostrated before him.

As I stood up to go, he asked, "Can you wrestle? Come, let me see how well you wrestle!" With these words he stood up ready to grapple with me. I was very much surprised at this kind of challenge. I thought to myself, "What kind of a holy man is this?"

Anyhow, I replied, "Yes, of course I can wrestle."

Sri Ramakrishna came closer, with a smile on his lips. He caught hold of my arms and began to shove me. But I was a strong, muscular young man, and pushed him back to the wall. He was still smiling and holding me with a strong grip.

Gradually I felt a sort of electric current coming out of his hands and entering into me. That touch made me completely helpless; I lost all my physical strength.

I went into ecstasy, and the hair of my body stood on end. Then only Sri Ramakrishna let me go.

He said, smiling, "Well, you are the victor." With these words he sat down on his cot again. I was speechless. Wave after wave of bliss was engulfing my whole being.

After a while, Sri Ramakrishna got up from his seat. Patting me gently on the back, he said, "Come here often." Then he offered me some sweets as prasad, and I returned to Calcutta.

For days the spell of the intoxicating joy lingered, and I realized that he had transmitted spiritual power to me.
----

== 13 November 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== SWAMI VIJNANANANDA ===
Sri Ramakrishna was always concerned about our welfare. If any one of his disciples did not visit him for a while, he would ask someone to inquire about him. Once I absented myself for a long time, and so he sent for me. As I entered his room, he asked in a complaining but affectionate tone, "Hello, how are you? What is the matter? Why haven't I seen you for so long?"

Truthfully I replied, "I did not feel like coming."

"That's all right," Sri Ramakrishna said smilingly. "But I hope you continue in your practice of meditation."

I remarked, "I try to meditate, sir, but I find I can't."

The Master seemed surprised at my reply and exclaimed, "What do you say? You cannot meditate? Surely you can!"

He remained silent for a few moments. I was looking at him, waiting for him to say something more. Soon I noticed a change come over his face and eyes. He was looking at me intently. After a little while he said, "Come near me."

As I approached Sri Ramakrishna, he asked me to put out my tongue and then drew a figure on it with his finger. My whole body began to shake, and I felt an unspeakable bliss within.

Then the Master said, "Go to the Panchavati and meditate there."

Following his advice, I slowly moved toward the Panchavati. I walked with difficulty, intoxicated with joy after that touch from the Master. Somehow I reached the Panchavati and sat for meditation. Then I lost all outward consciousness. When I regained my ordinary state of mind, I saw Sri Ramakrishna seated by me, rubbing my body with his palms. His face shone with a heavenly smile. I was still a little tipsy.

He asked me, "Well, how was your meditation?"

"It was very good, sir," I replied.

Then Sri Ramakrishna said, "From now on you will always have deep meditations. Did you have any vision?" he inquired.

I reported the experience to the Master as faithfully as I could. Then I followed him to his room. I was alone with him. That day he talked to me for a long time and imparted many spiritual instructions.

Unbounded was Sri Ramakrishna's grace! There is none equal to it. He made us his very own by his unparalleled love.
----I left for Bankipur, Patna, after some time. One night I saw Sri Ramakrishna standing before me in vision. I did not know why I saw him in that manner. The next morning I received the news of his passing away.
----

== 14 November 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== SWAMI VIJNANANANDA ===
Once Sri Ramakrishna gave me a book in English. He asked me to read a certain page and explain to him what it said. I read: "Speak the truth. Do not covet. Gain control over the senses."

As I read these sentences, the Master expressed great satisfaction. Without saying a word, he gave me to understand that if one observes these three maxims, he can realize God.

Sri Ramakrishna did not have much use for book learning. He wanted us to acquire the wisdom that comes from the direct vision of God.

The Master was the living embodiment of purity, and he had the simplicity of a child. It seemed strange to him that anyone would wish to lose himself in the ephemeral pleasures of the world when there is eternal happiness within his reach. To Sri Ramakrishna, the only purpose of human life is to realize God and to attain unending joy in him.

If man can detach his mind from the objects of the sense world, he will have the vision of the Reality. He will see Brahman and the light of Brahman everywhere in the universe. Man burns in the fire of worldliness, forgetting the peace that is in God because of his inordinate craving for material objects. Sri Ramakrishna lived continuously immersed in the consciousness of the Blissful Mother, and so the fire of worldliness never touched him.

His heart was filled with the joy of Brahman; he lived intoxicated by that joy; and his only sorrow was that he could not give it to all mankind, although he was always eager to share his bliss with each and every one.

Compared to the wisdom and bliss that result from the vision of Brahman, all secular knowledge and worldly pleasures are like dust. Sri Ramakrishna saw Brahman everywhere; we, on the other hand, sense and experience only the world appearance.

Once I asked the Master if God was with or without form.

Sri Ramakrishna replied, "He is with as well as without form. And he is beyond both form and formlessness."

I inquired again, "If God is all, is this cot also God?"

He answered emphatically, "Yes, this cot is God, this glass, this utensil, this wall—everything is God." As he spoke, I experienced an inner transformation and was lifted beyond the mundane consciousness. My heart was illumined, and I saw the light of Brahman everywhere.

Sri Ramakrishna was unique in every way. His photograph symbolizes the awakening of the kundalini. It shows him immersed in the ocean of bliss.

When I look at his photograph, many spiritual visions come to me. Swamiji and Maharaj also used to have many visions through his image, but they did not divulge their experiences.

One day the Master showed me his photograph and said, "Meditate on this image. I am living there."

Those who have taken refuge in Sri Ramakrishna's name will be looked after by him. He will do everything for them.

On one occasion I was massaging the Master's feet, when a gentleman came to visit him from Konnagar.

After he left, Sri Ramakrishna said, "You know, I can see the inside of a man's mind just like objects in a glass case."

I thought to myself, "Well, then he can also see everything in me. What a dangerous man he is!" But he would only speak of the goodness in others, not of their evil deeds or tendencies.

In Sri Ramakrishna we found manifest the aspects of other divine incarnations of the past. When I first heard him say, "He who was Rama, he who was Krishna, is born as Ramakrishna," I did not believe him. I thought to myself, "He may be talking nonsense, but anyway, he is a holy man and very sincere."

Much later, during my college days, the Master once again remarked in a very serious mood, "In my incarnation as Krishna I played with the shepherds and shepherdesses at Vrindavan."

This time I did not accept his words either. He knew my doubts and so began to talk of the deep love of the shepherdesses for Sri Krishna. He explained how they had surrendered their all, mind, body, and soul to their beloved. While talking about this divine attraction, Sri Ramakrishna suddenly became speechless and lost all outward consciousness. He was deeply absorbed in samadhi.

I also experienced an ecstatic joy and felt a dense atmosphere of divine love in the orbit of his power. For the first time I realized the true significance of Sri Krishna's divine play with the shepherds and shepherdesses, and my doubt that the Master was a reincarnation of Sri Krishna was completely removed.

When Sri Ramakrishna returned to normal consciousness, he laughed like a little boy. I kept silent.
----

== 15 November 2019 ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== SWAMI VIJNANANANDA ===
WHEREVER great souls live, they create a spiritual atmosphere around themselves. Whoever comes within their orbit is elevated to a higher consciousness. One can feel a spiritual power like an electric current emanating from them and entering into him. It is a strange phenomenon. One has to experience it to know what it is.

One time, when I touched the feet of Swamiji [Vivekananda], I felt a shock like that of an electric current from him. Maharaj [Swami Brahmananda] also had great power to transmit spirituality to others. One day he was deeply absorbed in meditation. I was seated near him. I began to feel a nerve current within me and also became absorbed.

To transmit such spiritual power to another, even without the knowledge of the recipient, is the manifestation of the greatest spirituality. Maharaj was a spiritual dynamo, and at the same time he was full of fun. What compelling attraction those two great souls, Swamiji and Maharaj, possessed! They drew others to themselves by their magnetic power of love. Whoever came within their orbit was gradually freed from evil tendencies, and the veil of ignorance was lifted.

Swamiji and Maharaj could not be compared. Each was unsurpassed in his own way. Each was complementary to the other. Swamiji's ideals were given the practical shape by Maharaj.

Swamiji preached knowledge and action, but inwardly he was a great devotee. His heart was tender and affectionate. What deep love he had for all of us, his brother-disciples, and especially for Maharaj! His attitude toward Maharaj was: "The son of the guru is to be regarded as the guru himself." Yet he would not spare us, not even Maharaj, if we made any mistakes.

One day I was supervising the building of the embankment of the Ganges in front of the Belur monastery. The sun was hot, and I felt very thirsty. I noticed Swamiji seated on the veranda on the second floor, drinking lemonade. I was wishing I too had a cool drink. No sooner did this thought come to mind than an attendant brought me a glass with the message that Swamiji had sent this drink for me. I was very happy and put the glass to my lips. But what a disappointment! It was empty excepting a few drops. I felt rather hurt that Swamiji would play such a practical joke on me. However, I thought that as long as a holy man had sent me his prasad, I should accept it. To my great surprise, as soon as I had finished those few drops, I was satisfied. Later in the day, when I met Swamiji, he teased me, "Did you drink the lemonade?" I said, "Yes, I did, and my thirst was quenched." Swamiji looked pleased.

At one time a doubt arose in my mind. Sri Ramakrishna had taught that a monk must not even look at pictures of women, not to speak of associating with them. He had also told me particularly to be careful and not to look at any woman, even if she was deeply devoted to God.

Yet Swamiji travelled all over the world, delivered lectures everywhere, and associated freely with women in the West. For this reason I wondered if Swamiji was really following Sri Ramakrishna's teachings in spirit.

One day, finding Swamiji alone in his room, I brought up the topic and mentioned what the Master had taught us. As Swamiji was listening, he became very serious.

After a little while he said, "Peshan, it is not as easy to understand Sri Ramakrishna as you think. Do you know, he obliterated from my consciousness all distinction between man and woman. Through his grace I have realized that there is no sex in the Atman. Furthermore, Sri Ramakrishna came for the good of all. Do you think he came only to save men? His grace makes no distinction between races and sexes.

Of course, you must follow his instructions to you, but he taught me differently. Not only that he taught me, but now as ever he is holding me by the hand and guiding me, and I do as he makes me do."

I was sorry that I had ever doubted Swamiji and kept silent.

Then Swamiji smiled at me and continued, "The mother power, the source of all divine energy, needs to be awakened in all women, whether of the East or of the West. Don't you realize that our Holy Mother was born to kindle this power in all women? Only the beginning has been made. A great spiritual awakening will come in women all over the world."

At the Belur monastery I slept in the little room opening onto the veranda. Swamiji often walked there. I recall one night when he was pacing up and down the veranda, singing to himself, "Thou art the Saviour, Mother." He repeated this line over and over again. At times I could see him standing motionless in ecstasy, with tears of joy running down his cheeks. And so he continued until dawn.

----

== '''16 November 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(God Vision and Peace — Vijnananandaji)'' ===
Sri Ramakrishna said God-vision is the true aim of human life; for that alone can give us real and lasting satisfaction. Men hanker after the things of the world — wealth, sense enjoyments, honour, etc. — in the hope that these can give them happiness in life. But the experience of all these have only a reverse effect on the mind. Not only do we fail to realise the desired end through them, but the restlessness of the mind is even increased, and we are rendered more unhappy than in the beginning. Through wealth and honour our egoism gets bloated up, and there is no greater obstacle in the spiritual path than egoism.

It is in fact this egoism, the product of ignorance, that masks our vision of God. Really His glory is present everywhere, but we fail to see Him because we refuse to remove the veil of ignorance that obstructs our vision.

Once Sri Ramakrishna was asked why it is that men do not see God. Thereupon he covered his face with a piece of cloth and said, "Do you see me now? No, you cannot; why, because this cloth stands in the way, although I am present in front of you. Remove this veil of ignorance that stands between you and God, and He will become self-evident to you."

The supreme duty of man is to remember Him always, whether one is engaged in consciously repeating His name or not. Every breath of ours should be associated with Him in our mind. We should consider that we breathe in God to make the inside pure, and we breathe out God to make the outside pure. And the most appropriate moment to remember Him is the time of death, when we find ourselves deserted by everything that is near and dear to us in life. Due to the absence of holy thoughts in their mind, we often find people stricken with great fear in their death-bed. They visualise the messengers of Yama, the king of death, with horns, tails and fearful eyes, and cry out in great dread. But His name removes all such fears, and what is more, removes us for ever beyond the pale of death.

At this point someone asked: "Was it for going beyond the fear of death that Sri Ramakrishna worshipped the Divine Mother?"

The Swami: Well, you may put it in any way you please — to overcome the fear of death, or better, to realise the Supreme Truth. But really speaking, he had no need of all the Sadhanas he practised; for he was from the beginning perfect. A great soul like Him comes into this world, struggles and suffers only for ''our sake''.
----

== '''17 November 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of Swami Vijnananandaji)'' ===
Question: What was your first impression of Sri Ramakrishna?

The Swami: He was like a child, simpler and purer than a child. He knew nothing, thought of nothing, except his Divine Mother. In his company one felt as if all the impurities of one's mind were washed away.

Really, holy company purifies the mind. It is said that the great sage Durvasa once went to see hell where sinful souls were undergoing sufferings in atonement for their sins. As soon as the sage reached the place, all the suffering souls felt relieved and began to utter the names of the Lord. It seemed as if hell would be converted into heaven; for the holiness emanating from the sage was so potent that it consumed the sins of all those tortured souls. It is said that as the result of the sage's visit, Yama had to release all the occupants of hell and await fresh arrivals!

We should remember that everything has three aspects — name, form and essence. Until we go beyond name and form, we do not reach the essence or the core of reality. And it is only when we reach the spirit, which is the underlying essence of everything, that we gain real peace.

Question: But, Maharaj, we are wanting in faith; our reason always seems to go against it. What do you say to that?

The Swami: You may say this in so many words, but in fact there is no one in this world who is absolutely lacking in faith. You cannot even take a single breath without faith.

Question: Well, you were talking of peace and happiness resulting from the remembrance of God. But how can we have peace, seeing that there is so much conflict and suffering in the country due to trade depression and political struggles?

The Swami: Why do you make so much of these struggles that are going on in the outside world? They will continue always. Do you think that they will stop, supposing you gain your immediate end and the present phase of the struggle passes away? Certainly they will not. ''Restlessness arises not from these external struggles, but from our own internal hankering and clinging to the things of the world.'' Even if God were to appear before us to bring peace unto our souls, we will refuse to recognise Him. For when He comes, He takes away our worldly possessions, and few of us are ready to make this sacrifice. Hence we prefer our wealth of the world to God's wealth of peace.

You speak of the political struggle. Look at Mahatma Gandhi who has thrown himself into the very midst of the fight. Do you mean to say that he does not cultivate peace of mind or remember God in the midst of all these external conflicts? Cultivate peace in the midst of struggle — that is the only course open in the world. It is better to recognise this aspect of Gandhiji's life.

Question: Gandhiji's is an exceptional case. Can ordinary men be like him?

The Swami: Why not? He is a man, and you too are one. Why can you also not be like him? If you are really feeling so very restless for the sufferings of the country, you will have joined Gandhiji's camp in search of mental peace. But then you will find what great sacrifices you are required to make. The truth is this: it is only by sacrifice that we can obtain peace. Whether it be in spiritual life or in political life, you cannot gain success without being prepared to make sacrifices.

"When a Sadhu meets another Sadhu he greets him asking: 'Darshan saf hai? (Is your vision clear?)'" The idea is that everything depends upon how one sees the world. Behind all the variety and multiplicity of the world one must be able to see the pure spirit of God. That is the true vision. People go to temples to have Darshan of God — that is only one form of it. We must be able to see Him even behind this mat lying on the floor. For underlying all names and forms is the all-pervading Spirit, brighter than gold, full of peace.

May you all have this true vision, and the peace that accompanies it!
----

== '''18 November 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(From the Desert Fathers)'' ===
Do all in your power not to fall, for the strong athlete should not fall. But if you do fall, get up again at once and continue the contest. Even if you fall a thousand times because of the withdrawal of God's grace, rise up again each time, and keep on doing this until the day of your death. For it is written, "If a righteous man falls down seven times" — that is, repeatedly throughout his life — "seven times shall he rise again." ''(John of Karpathos)''
----No one on this earth can avoid affliction; and although the afflictions which the Lord sends are not great, men imagine them beyond their strength and are crushed by them. This is because they will not humble their souls and commit themselves to the will of God. But the Lord Himself guides with His grace those who are given over to God's will, and they bear all things with fortitude for the sake of God. It is impossible to escape tribulation in this world, but the man who is given over to the will of God bears all tribulations easily, seeing it but putting his trust in the Lord, and so his tribulations pass. ''(Archimandrite Sophrony)''
----The evil one cannot comprehend the joy we receive from the spiritual life; for this reason he is jealous of us, he envies us and sets traps for us, and we become grieved and fall. We must struggle, because without struggles we do not obtain virtues. ''(Elder Ieronymos of Aegina)''
----For those who believe in Him, Christ will become all this and even more, beyond enumeration, not only in the age to come but first in this life, and then in the world to come. In an obscure way here below and in a perfect manner in the Kingdom, those who believe see clearly nonetheless and receive as of now the first-fruits of everything they will have in the future life. Indeed, if they do not receive on earth everything that was promised to them, they do not have any part or foretaste of the blessings to come, their higher hope being set on the hereafter. However, it is through death and the resurrection that God in His foresight has given us the Kingdom, incorruptibility, the totality of life eternal. Given these conditions, we unquestionably become partakers of the good things to come — that is, incorruptible, immortal, sons of God, sons of the light and of the day, inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven, since we carry the Kingdom within. ''(St. Symeon the New Theologian)''
----

== '''19 November 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of the Direct Disciples)'' ===
'''On Non-Attachment'''

''Swami Turiyananda'' How dreadful is this realm of Maya! What stormy billows on it! One can watch it calmly only if one succeeds in removing oneself from it, is non-attached. Otherwise there is a great danger. But it is very difficult to remove oneself from it.

''Swami Shivananda'' You must always bear in mind the most essential things that will enable you to realise God, viz., (1) spending your time in the company of men who have realized God or are in the right track in that direction, (2) perusal of the lives of great Bhaktas, and above all, (3) Abhyasa (constant practice) and Vairagya — non-attachment to thoughts other than those of your Ishta Devata.

'''On Non-Dualism'''

''Swami Adbhutananda'' Ah, the folly! Can one force the non-dualist's attitude on one's mind? It is a slow growth. The Master used to say, "When the fruit grows big, the flower drops of itself." Just imagine what true non-dualism means — the Master could not walk on grassy plots! Such becomes the self-identification with all things when one realizes the Atman-Brahman. But one must keep sharpened one's power of discrimination between the real and the unreal, between the one and the many, from the very beginning of one's Sadhana.

'''On Object'''

''Swami Shivananda'' The object of one's life is not work; it is the realization of God. The work that makes one forget God is highly degenerate.

Temporary misunderstandings are inevitable when several work together. They aren't something to be blamed for; it is quite natural. Such misunderstandings come and go; they cannot touch your inner Self, because the main objective of your life is the realization of God.

The sole object of life is somehow or other to keep our minds directed towards the lotus feet of God. Once the mind becomes absorbed in His lotus feet there is no fear any more.

Our one object is to realize God.

''Swami Premananda'' We should never forget that our real object is to enshrine the Lord in the heart of every man in the world, for the real temple of the Lord is the human heart. There, within the heart of every man, the ground has to be consecrated, for it has been defiled by the profanity of worldly desires and pleasures. There on that consecrated ground let the temple of Divine Communion be raised and the overflowing bliss of the Supreme Good reign. Infinite Bliss from within — that is the idea. Let the devotee be flooded over by this Bliss from within.

''Swami Vijnanananda'' The object of life is self-realization. You should be satisfied with whatever you can secure to keeping the body fit, and then go on working selflessly for God.
----

== '''20 November 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of the Desert Fathers)'' ===
The Fathers used to say: If some temptation arises in the place where you dwell in the desert, do not leave that place in time of temptation. For if you leave it then, no matter where you go, you will find the same temptation waiting for you. But be patient until the temptation goes away, lest your departure scandalize others who dwell in the same place, and bring tribulation upon them.

Abbot Zeno, the disciple of Abbot Sylvanus, said: Do not dwell in a famous place, and do not become the disciple of a man with a great name. And do not lay any foundation when you build yourself a cell.

One of the elders said: Either fly as far as you can from men, or else, laughing at the world and the men who are in it, make yourself a fool in many things.

Theophilus of holy memory, Bishop of Alexandria, journeyed to Scete, and the brethren coming together said to Abbot Pambo: "Say a word or two to the Bishop, that his soul may be edified in this place." The elder replied: "If he is not edified by my silence, there is no hope that he will be edified by my words."

One of the elders said: A monk ought not to inquire how this one acts, or how that one lives. Questions like this take us away from prayer and draw us on to backbiting and chatter. There is nothing better than to keep silent.

Blessed Macarius said: This is the truth — if a monk regards contempt as praise, poverty as riches, and hunger as a feast, he will never die.

Two brethren went to an elder who lived alone in Scete. And the first one said: "Father, I have learned all of the Old and New Testaments by heart." The elder said to him: "You have filled the air with words." The other one said: "I have copied out the Old and New Testaments and have them in my cell." And to this one the elder replied: "You have filled your window with parchment. But do you not know Him who said: 'The kingdom of God is not in words, but in power'?" And again: "Not those who hear the Law will be justified before God, but those who carry it out."

They asked him, therefore, what was the way of salvation, and he said to them: "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and humility with patience."
----

== '''21 November 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of the Desert Fathers)'' ===
Abbot Hor said to his disciple: Take care that you never bring into this cell the words of another.

Abbot Moses said: A man ought to be like a dead man with his companion; for to die to one's friend is to cease to judge him in anything.

Certain of the brethren said to Abbot Anthony: "We would like you to tell us some word, by which we may be saved." Then the elder said: "You have heard the Scriptures; they ought to be enough for you." But they said: "We want to hear something also from you, Father." The elder answered them: "You have heard the Lord say: 'If a man strikes you on the left cheek, show him also the other one.'" They said to him: "This we cannot do." He said to them: "If you can't turn the other cheek, at least take it patiently on one of them." They replied: "We can't do that either." He said: "If you cannot even do that, at least do not go striking others more than you would want them to strike you." They said: "We cannot do this either." Then the elder said to his disciple: "Go cook up some food for these brethren, for they are very weak." Finally he said to them: "If you cannot even do this, how can I help you? All I can do is pray."

An elder said: A man who keeps death before his eyes will at all times overcome his cowardice.

An elder was asked by a certain soldier whether God would forgive a sinner. And he said to him: "Tell me, beloved, if your cloak is torn, will you throw it away?" The soldier replied and said: "No. I will mend it and put it back on." The elder said to him: "If you take care of your cloak, will God not be merciful to His own image?"

Once Abbot Sylvanus went away from his cell for a while, and his disciple Zachary with the other brethren moved back the garden fence and enlarged the garden. And when the elder came back and saw this, he picked up his sheepskin and prepared to leave. But they fell at his feet and begged him to tell them why he was doing this. The elder said: "I will not come into this cell until you move back the fence to where it was before." They did this immediately and he came in.

Once two brethren came to a certain elder whose custom it was not to eat every day. But when he saw the brethren he invited them with joy to dine with him, saying: "Fasting has its reward, but he who eats out of charity fulfils two commandments, for he sets aside his own will and he refreshes his hungry brethren."

They made a rule in Scete that they would fast a whole week before celebrating Easter. But it happened that in that week some brethren came to Abbot Moses, from Egypt, and he cooked them a little vegetable stew. And when they saw the smoke coming up from his cell, the clerics of the church that is in Scete exclaimed: "Look, there is Moses breaking the rule, and cooking food in his cell. When he comes up here we'll tell him a thing or two." But when the Sabbath came, the clerics saw the great holiness of Abbot Moses, and they said to him: "O Abbot Moses, you have broken the commandment of men, but have strongly bound the commandment of God."

One of the elders said: Pray attentively and you will soon straighten out your thoughts.

A certain brother asked Abbot Pambo: "Why do the devils prevent me from doing good to my neighbour?" And the elder said to him: "Don't talk like that. Is God a liar? Why don't you just admit that you do not want to be merciful? Didn't God say long ago: 'I have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and on all the forces of the enemy'? So why do you not stamp down the evil spirit?"

Abbot Pastor said: Do not dwell in a place where you see that others are envious of you, for you will not grow there.

Abbot Pastor said: If a man has done wrong and does not deny it, but says, "I did wrong," do not rebuke him, because you will break the resolution of his soul. And if you tell him, "Do not be sad, brother, but watch it in the future," you stir him up to change his life.

Abbot Hyperichius said: A monk who cannot hold his tongue when he is angry will not be able to control the passion of lust either.

The Archbishop Theophilus, of holy memory, said, when he came to die: "You are a happy man, Abbot Arsenius, for you have always kept this hour before your eyes."

When a certain man had asked Abbot Agatho to accept a gift of money for his own use, the Father refused, saying: "I have no need of it, since I live by the work of my hands." But when the other kept on offering the gift and said, "At least take it for the needy," Agatho replied: "That would shame me twice over, since I would receive money without being in need, and by giving away the money of another would be guilty of vanity."
----

== '''22 November 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Sayings of the Desert Fathers)'' ===
Once two brethren came to a certain elder whose custom it was not to eat every day. But when he saw the brethren he invited them with joy to dine with him, saying: "Fasting has its reward, but he who eats out of charity fulfils two commandments, for he sets aside his own will and he refreshes his hungry brethren."

They made a rule in Scete that they would fast a whole week before celebrating Easter. But it happened that in that week some brethren came to Abbot Moses, from Egypt, and he cooked them a little vegetable stew. And when they saw the smoke coming up from his cell, the clerics of the church that is in Scete exclaimed: "Look, there is Moses breaking the rule, and cooking food in his cell. When he comes up here we'll tell him a thing or two." But when the Sabbath came, the clerics saw the great holiness of Abbot Moses, and they said to him: "O Abbot Moses, you have broken the commandment of men, but have strongly bound the commandment of God."

One of the elders said: Pray attentively and you will soon straighten out your thoughts.

A certain brother asked Abbot Pambo: "Why do the devils prevent me from doing good to my neighbour?" And the elder said to him: "Don't talk like that. Is God a liar? Why don't you just admit that you do not want to be merciful? Didn't God say long ago: 'I have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and on all the forces of the enemy'? So why do you not stamp down the evil spirit?"

Abbot Pastor said: Do not dwell in a place where you see that others are envious of you, for you will not grow there.

Abbot Pastor said: If a man has done wrong and does not deny it, but says, "I did wrong," do not rebuke him, because you will break the resolution of his soul. And if you tell him, "Do not be sad, brother, but watch it in the future," you stir him up to change his life.

Abbot Hyperichius said: A monk who cannot hold his tongue when he is angry will not be able to control the passion of lust either.
----

== '''23 November 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Sayings of the Desert Fathers)'' ===
The Archbishop Theophilus, of holy memory, said, when he came to die: "You are a happy man, Abbot Arsenius, for you have always kept this hour before your eyes."

When a certain man had asked Abbot Agatho to accept a gift of money for his own use, the Father refused, saying: "I have no need of it, since I live by the work of my hands." But when the other kept on offering the gift and said, "At least take it for the needy," Agatho replied: "That would shame me twice over, since I would receive money without being in need, and by giving away the money of another would be guilty of vanity."

Blessed Macarius told this story about himself, saying: When I was young and lived alone in my cell, they took me against my will and made me a cleric in the village. And since I did not wish to remain there, but fled to another village where a pious layman helped me out by selling my work, it happened that a certain young girl got herself in trouble and became pregnant. And when her parents asked her who was responsible for it, she said: "That hermit of yours committed this crime."

So out came her parents and seized me and hung pots around my neck and led me about along all the roads, beating me and insulting me, saying: "This monk has raped our daughter." And when they had just about killed me with their sticks, one of the old men said to them: "How long are you going to beat this foreign monk?" But as he followed and tried to take care of me, blushing with shame, they insulted him also, saying: "What has he done, this man whom you are trying to defend?" And the parents of the girl asserted: "We will on no condition let him go unless the livelihood of the girl is provided for and unless someone will vouch for this man in case he absconds." So when I made a sign to the old man to do this, he offered a guarantee and took me away.

So, returning to my cell, I gave him all the baskets I found, to sell and provide food for myself and my wife. And I said: "Well, Macarius, now you've got yourself a wife; you will have to work harder in order to be able to feed her." So I worked day and night in order to make her a living. But when the poor thing's time was up, for several days she was tormented by labour pains and could not bring forth her child. And when she was asked about it she said: "I pinned the crime on that hermit when he was innocent. For it was the young man next door who got me in this condition."

Then he who had helped me, hearing this, was filled with joy and came to tell me all about it and to ask me to pardon them all. Hearing this, and fearing that people would come and bother me, I quickly made off and came to this place. Such was the cause of my coming to this part of the world.
----

== '''24 November 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Sayings of the Desert Fathers)'' ===
The Archbishop Theophilus, of holy memory, said, when he came to die: "You are a happy man, Abbot Arsenius, for you have always kept this hour before your eyes."

When a certain man had asked Abbot Agatho to accept a gift of money for his own use, the Father refused, saying: "I have no need of it, since I live by the work of my hands." But when the other kept on offering the gift and said, "At least take it for the needy," Agatho replied: "That would shame me twice over, since I would receive money without being in need, and by giving away the money of another would be guilty of vanity."

Blessed Macarius told this story about himself, saying: When I was young and lived alone in my cell, they took me against my will and made me a cleric in the village. And since I did not wish to remain there, but fled to another village where a pious layman helped me out by selling my work, it happened that a certain young girl got herself in trouble and became pregnant. And when her parents asked her who was responsible for it, she said: "That hermit of yours committed this crime."

So out came her parents and seized me and hung pots around my neck and led me about along all the roads, beating me and insulting me, saying: "This monk has raped our daughter." And when they had just about killed me with their sticks, one of the old men said to them: "How long are you going to beat this foreign monk?" But as he followed and tried to take care of me, blushing with shame, they insulted him also, saying: "What has he done, this man whom you are trying to defend?" And the parents of the girl asserted: "We will on no condition let him go unless the livelihood of the girl is provided for and unless someone will vouch for this man in case he absconds." So when I made a sign to the old man to do this, he offered a guarantee and took me away.

So, returning to my cell, I gave him all the baskets I found, to sell and provide food for myself and my wife. And I said: "Well, Macarius, now you've got yourself a wife; you will have to work harder in order to be able to feed her." So I worked day and night in order to make her a living. But when the poor thing's time was up, for several days she was tormented by labour pains and could not bring forth her child. And when she was asked about it she said: "I pinned the crime on that hermit when he was innocent. For it was the young man next door who got me in this condition."

Then he who had helped me, hearing this, was filled with joy and came to tell me all about it and to ask me to pardon them all. Hearing this, and fearing that people would come and bother me, I quickly made off and came to this place. Such was the cause of my coming to this part of the world.
----

== '''25 November 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Sayings of the Desert Fathers)'' ===
Repentance is the renewal of baptism. Repentance is a contract with God for a second life. A penitent is a buyer of humility. Repentance is constant distrust of bodily comfort. Repentance is self-condemning reflection, and carefree self-care. Repentance is the daughter of hope and the renunciation of despair. A penitent is an undisgraced convict. Repentance is reconciliation with the Lord by the practice of good deeds contrary to the sins. Repentance is purification of conscience. Repentance is the voluntary endurance of all afflictions. A penitent is the inflictor of his own punishments. Repentance is a mighty persecution of the stomach, and a striking of the soul into vigorous awareness. ''(St. John Climacus)''

Those who seek humility should bear in mind the three following things: that they are the worst of sinners, that they are the most despicable of all creatures since their state is an unnatural one, and that they are even more pitiable than the demons, since they are slaves to the demons. You will also profit if you say this to yourself: "How do I know what or how many other people's sins are, or whether they are greater than or equal to my own?" In our ignorance you and I, my soul, are worse than all men; we are dust and ashes under their feet. How can I not regard myself as more despicable than all other creatures, for they act in accordance with the nature they have been given, while I, owing to my innumerable sins, am in a state contrary to nature. ''(St. Gregory of Sinai, Philokalia, Vol. IV)''

He, therefore, who sets himself to act evilly and yet wishes others to be silent, is a witness against himself, for he wishes himself to be loved more than the truth, which he does not wish to be defended against himself. There is, of course, no man who so lives as not sometimes to sin, but he wishes truth to be loved more than himself, who wills to be spared by no one against the truth. Wherefore, Peter willingly accepted the rebuke of Paul; David willingly hearkened to the reproof of a subject. For good rulers who pay no regard to self-love take as a homage to their humility the free and sincere words of subjects. But in this regard the office of ruling must be tempered with such great art of moderation, that the minds of subjects, when demonstrating themselves capable of taking right views in some matters, are given freedom of expression — but freedom that does not issue into pride; otherwise, when liberty of speech is granted too generously, the humility of their own lives will be lost.
----

== '''26 November 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Sayings of the Desert Fathers)'' ===
Somebody asked Antony, "By observing which precept shall I be well pleasing to God?" The elder answered: "Observe what I am telling you: Always have God before your eyes wherever you go. Whatever you are doing, have the testimony from Holy Scripture to hand. Wherever you are living, do not be in a hurry to move away. Observe these three precepts and you will be saved."

Abba Pambo asked Abba Antony, "What am I to do?" The elder said to him: "Have no confidence in your own righteousness; have no regrets about a past action; get your tongue and your belly under control."

The blessed Gregory said: "God requires these three things of every person who has received baptism: deep faith of the soul, truth of the tongue, self-control of the body."

Somebody else said that one of the fathers said: "A dry and monotonous diet coupled with love speedily bring the monk to the haven of apatheia." He also said: "When one of the monks was informed of the death of his father, he said to the messenger, 'Stop blaspheming, for my father is immortal.'"

Abba Macarius said to Abba Zacharias: "Tell me, what is the task of the monk?" "You are asking me, father?" he said. And Abba Macarius said: "I have full confidence in you, Zacharias my son, for there is one who is goading me to question you." Abba Zacharias said to him: "In my opinion, to coerce oneself in all things — that is the task of the monk."

Abba Isaiah the priest said: "One of the fathers used to say that a person ought before all things to acquire belief in God, a ceaseless yearning for God, guilelessness, not returning evil for evil, mortification and humility, purity, clemency and love for all, submission, gentleness, long-suffering, patience, a desire for God, and the practice of constantly calling upon God with a painful heart and genuine love — with a view to not paying attention to what is past but attending to that which is to come, having no confidence in one's own good works and service, and ceaselessly invoking the help of God in the things that happen to one each day."

A brother asked Abba Isaiah for a saying, and in answer the elder said to him: "If you want to follow our Lord Jesus, observe His word, and, if you are willing for your old man to be crucified with Him until you die, you ought to cut off those who bring you down from the cross. You have to prepare yourself to tolerate being set at naught; to repose the hearts of those who do you wrong; to humble yourself before those who would have dominion over you; to maintain silence of the mouth; and to refrain from judging anybody in your heart."

He also said: "Toil, poverty, voluntary exile, fortitude, and keeping silent produce humility, and humility effaces many sins. The renunciation of one who does not observe these practices is in vain."

He also said: "Hate everything in the world and repose of the body, for these made you an enemy of God. As a person who has an enemy fights with him, so we ought also to fight against the body to allow it no repose."
----

== '''27 November 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Sayings of the Desert Fathers)'' ===
'''An Exhortation'''

A brother asked Abba Isaiah about the phrase of the prayer in the Gospel: "What is this 'Hallowed be thy name'?" "This is for the perfect," he answered, "for the name of God cannot be hallowed in us who are dominated by a passion."

They used to say of Abba Theodore of Pherma that he exceeded many in these three points: poverty, asceticism, and fleeing from folk.

Abba John Colobos said: "Personally, I would like a person to participate in all the virtues. So when you arise at dawn each day, make a fresh start in every virtue and commandment of God with greatest patience, with fear and long-suffering, in the love of God, with all spiritual and physical fervour, and with much humiliation; enduring affliction of the heart and prevention, with much prayer and intercession, with groans, in purity of the tongue and custody of the eyes; being reviled and not getting angry, living peaceably and not giving back evil for evil; not noticing the faults of others; not measuring oneself, but being beneath the whole of creation, having renounced material goods and the things that pertain to the flesh; on a cross, in combat, in poverty of spirit, in determination and spiritual asceticism; in fasting, in repentance, in weeping, in the strife of battle, in discretion, in purity of the soul, in generous sharing, doing your manual labour with a prayerful mood, in nightly vigils, in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness, in toils, closing your tomb as though you were already dead, so that death seems to be near to you every day."

Abba Joseph the Theban said there are three things that are precious in the sight of the Lord: when a person is sick and temptations come upon him, he accepts them gratefully; when someone renders all his deeds pure in the sight of the Lord, with no human element in them; and when someone is living in submission to a spiritual father and renounces all his own desires.

Abba Cassian recounted of one Abba John that he was great in his lifetime. "When this man was about to die and was migrating to God joyfully and eagerly," he said, "the brothers gathered around him, asking him to leave them some concise and salvific saying as a legacy by which they would be able to advance toward perfection in Christ. But he sighed and said, 'I have never done my own will, nor did I teach anyone to do that which I did not first do myself.'"
----

== '''28 November 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Beasts and Saints''' ===
Abba Antony said: "Obedience with abstinence gives men control over wild beasts."

Abba Theon ate vegetables, but only those that did not need to be cooked. They say that he used to go out of his cell at night and stay in the company of the wild animals, giving them drink from the water he had. Certainly one could see the tracks of antelopes and wild asses and gazelles and other animals near his hermitage. These creatures always gave him pleasure.

Once when a hippopotamus was ravaging the neighbouring countryside, the fathers called on Abba Bes to help them. He stood at the place and waited, and when he saw the beast, which was of enormous size, he commanded it not to ravage the countryside any more, saying: "In the name of Jesus Christ, I order you not to ravage this countryside anymore." The hippopotamus vanished completely from that district as if driven away by an angel.

Abba Xanthios said: "A dog is better than I am, for he has love and he does not judge."

'''Stories'''

We came near to a tree, led by our kindly host, and there we stumbled upon a lion. At the sight of him my guide and I quaked, but the saintly old man went unfaltering on and we followed him. The wild beast — you would say it was at the command of God — modestly withdrew a little way and sat down, while the old man plucked the fruit from the lower branches. He held out his hand, full of dates; and up the creature ran and took them as frankly as any tame animal about the house; and when it had finished eating, it went away. We stood watching and trembling, reflecting as well we might what valour of faith was in him and what poverty of spirit in us.

While Abba Macarius was praying in his cave in the desert, a hyena suddenly appeared and began to lick his feet and, taking him gently by the hem of his tunic, she drew him towards her own cave. He followed her, saying: "I wonder what this animal wants me to do?" When she had led him to her cave, she went in and brought her cubs which had been born blind. He prayed over them and returned them to the hyena with their sight healed. She in turn, by way of thank-offering, brought the man the huge skin of a ram and laid it at his feet. He smiled at her as if at a kind person and, taking the skin, spread it under him.

'''Joy — Sayings'''

Amma Syncletica said: "In the beginning there are a great many battles and a good deal of suffering for those who are advancing towards God and, afterwards, ineffable joy. It is like those who wish to light a fire. At first they are choked with smoke and cry, until they obtain what they seek. As it is written, 'Our God is a consuming fire' (Hebrews 12:24); so we also must kindle the divine fire in ourselves through tears and hard work."

Abba Hyperichius said: "Praise God continually with spiritual hymns and always remain in meditation, and in this way you will be able to bear the burden of the temptations that come upon you. A traveller who is carrying a heavy load pauses from time to time and draws in deep breaths; it makes the journey easier and the burden lighter."

When Abba Apollo heard the sound of singing from the monks who welcomed us, he greeted us according to the custom which all monks follow. He first lay prostrate on the ground, then got up and kissed us and, having brought us in, he prayed for us; then, after washing our feet with his own hands, he invited us to partake of some refreshment. One could see his monks were filled with joy and a bodily contentment such as one cannot see on earth. For nobody among them was gloomy or downcast. If anyone did appear a little downcast, Abba Apollo at once asked him the reason and told each one what was in the secret recesses of his heart. He used to say: "Those who are going to inherit the Kingdom of heaven must not be despondent about their salvation... We who have been considered worthy of so great a hope, how shall we not rejoice without ceasing, since the Apostle urges us always, 'Pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks'?"
----

== '''29 November 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Sayings of the Holy Fathers)'' ===
'''On Repentance'''

Repentance is the renewal of baptism. Repentance is a contract with God for a second life. A penitent is a buyer of humility. Repentance is constant distrust of bodily comfort. Repentance is self-condemning reflection, and carefree self-care. Repentance is the daughter of hope and the renunciation of despair. Repentance is reconciliation with the Lord by the practice of good deeds contrary to the sins. Repentance is purification of conscience. Repentance is the voluntary endurance of all afflictions. A penitent is the inflictor of his own punishments. Repentance is a mighty persecution of the stomach, and a striking of the soul into vigorous awareness. ''(St. John Climacus)''

Those who seek humility should bear in mind the three following things: that they are the worst of sinners, that they are the most despicable of all creatures since their state is an unnatural one, and that they are even more pitiable than the demons, since they are slaves to the demons. You will also profit if you say this to yourself: "How do I know what or how many other people's sins are, or whether they are greater than or equal to my own?" In our ignorance you and I, my soul, are worse than all men; we are dust and ashes under their feet. How can I not regard myself as more despicable than all other creatures, for they act in accordance with the nature they have been given, while I, owing to my innumerable sins, am in a state contrary to nature. ''(St. Gregory of Sinai)''

He, therefore, who sets himself to act evilly and yet wishes others to be silent, is a witness against himself, for he wishes himself to be loved more than the truth, which he does not wish to be defended against himself. There is, of course, no man who so lives as not sometimes to sin, but he wishes truth to be loved more than himself, who wills to be spared by no one against the truth. Wherefore, Peter willingly accepted the rebuke of Paul; David willingly hearkened to the reproof of a subject. For good rulers who pay no regard to self-love take as a homage to their humility the free and sincere words of subjects. But in this regard the office of ruling must be tempered with such great art of moderation, that the minds of subjects, when demonstrating themselves capable of taking right views in some matters, are given freedom of expression — but freedom that does not issue into pride; otherwise, when liberty of speech is granted too generously, the humility of their own lives will be lost.
----

== '''30 November 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Sayings of the Holy Fathers)'' ===
''St. Isaac of Syria''

When a man walks in the fear of God he knows no fear, even if he were to be surrounded by wicked men. He has the fear of God within him and wears the invincible armour of faith. This makes him strong and able to take on anything, even things which seem difficult or impossible to most people. Such a man is like a giant surrounded by monkeys, or a roaring lion among dogs and foxes. He goes forward trusting in the Lord and the constancy of his will to strike and paralyze his foes. He wields the blazing club of the Word in wisdom.

''St. Symeon the New Theologian''

When we lay bare the hidden meaning of the history, scripture is seen to teach that the birth which distresses the tyrant is the beginning of the virtuous life. I am speaking of the kind of birth in which free will serves as the midwife, delivering the child amid great pain. For no one causes grief to his antagonist unless he exhibits in himself those marks which give proof of his victory over the other.

''Kontakia of St. Romanos — A Prayer''

The roof of any house stands upon the foundations and the rest of the structure. The foundations themselves are laid in order to carry the roof. This is both useful and necessary, for the roof cannot stand without the foundations and the foundations are absolutely useless without the roof — no help to any living creature. In the same way the grace of God is preserved by the practice of the commandments, and the observance of these commandments is laid down like foundations through the gift of God. The grace of the Spirit cannot remain with us without the practice of the commandments, but the practice of the commandments is of no help or advantage to us without the grace of God.

''St. Symeon the New Theologian''

I shall speak first about control of the stomach, the opposite to gluttony, and about how to fast and what and how much to eat. I shall say nothing on my own account, but only what I have received from the Holy Fathers. They have not given us only a single rule for fasting or a single standard and measure for eating, because not everyone has the same strength; age, illness or delicacy of body create all differences. But they have given us all a single goal: to avoid over-eating and the filling of our bellies. A clear rule for self-control handed down by the Fathers is this: stop eating while still hungry and do not continue until you are satisfied.

== '''1 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Sayings of the Holy Fathers)'' ===
''St. Justin Popovich''

Let us charge into the good fight with joy and love without being afraid of our enemies. Though unseen themselves, they can look at the face of our soul, and if they see it altered by fear, they take up arms against us all the more fiercely. For the cunning creatures have observed that we are scared. So let us take up arms against them courageously. No one will fight with a resolute fighter.

''St. John Climacus''

God is a fire that warms and kindles the heart and inward parts. Hence, if we feel in our hearts the cold which comes from the devil — for the devil is cold — let us call on the Lord. He will come to warm our hearts with perfect love, not only for Him but also for our neighbour, and the cold of him who hates the good will flee before the heat of His countenance.

''St. Seraphim of Sarov''

In the matter of piety, poverty serves us better than wealth, and work better than idleness, especially since wealth becomes an obstacle even for those who do not devote themselves to it. Yet, when we must put aside our wrath, quench our envy, soften our anger, offer our prayers, and show a disposition which is reasonable, mild, kindly, and loving, how could poverty stand in our way? For we accomplish these things not by spending money but by making the correct choice. Almsgiving above all else requires money, but even this shines with a brighter lustre when the alms are given from our poverty. The widow who paid in the two mites was poorer than any human, but she outdid them all.

''St. John Chrysostom''

Every day you provide your bodies with food to keep them from failing. In the same way your good works should be the daily nourishment of your hearts. Your bodies are fed with food and your spirits with good works. You aren't to deny your soul, which is going to live forever, what you grant to your body, which is going to die.

''St. Gregory the Great''

I saw the snares that the enemy spreads out over the world and I said groaning, "What can get through from such snares?" Then I heard a voice saying to me, "Humility."

''St. Anthony the Great''

"Remember, O my soul, the terrible and frightful wonder: that your Creator for your sake became Man, and deigned to suffer for the sake of your salvation. His angels tremble, the Cherubim are terrified, the Seraphim are in fear, and all the heavenly powers ceaselessly give praise; and you, unfortunate soul, remain in laziness. At least from this time forth arise and do not put off, my beloved soul, holy repentance, contrition of heart and penance for your sins."
----

== '''2 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Sayings of the Holy Fathers)'' ===
''St. Paisius Velichkovsky''

This is the mark of Christianity — however much a man toils, and however many righteousnesses he performs, to feel that he has done nothing, and in fasting to say, "This is not fasting," and in praying, "This is not prayer," and in perseverance at prayer, "I have shown no perseverance; I am only just beginning to practise and to take pains"; and even if he is righteous before God, he should say, "I am not righteous, not I; I do not take pains, but only make a beginning every day."

''Kontakia of St. Romanos''

Why do you trouble yourself in a house that is not your own? Let the sight of a dead man be a teacher for you concerning your departure from hence.

''St. Isaac the Syrian''

Beguiling and deceptive is the life of the world, fruitless its labour, perilous its delight, poor its riches, delusive its honours, inconstant, insignificant; and woe to those who hope in its seeming goods: because of this many die without repentance. Blessed and most blessed are those who depart from the world and its desires.

''Elder Nazarius''

Faith and love, which are gifts of the Holy Spirit, are such great and powerful means that a person who has them can easily, and with joy and consolation, go the way Jesus Christ went. Besides this, the Holy Spirit gives man the power to resist the delusions of the world so that although he makes use of earthly good, yet he uses them as a temporary visitor, without attaching his heart to them. But a man who has not got the Holy Spirit, despite all his learning and prudence, is always more or less a slave and worshipper of the world.
----

== '''3 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Sayings of the Desert Fathers)'' ===
''St. Peter of Damascus''

You cannot destroy the passions on your own, but ask God, and He will destroy them, if this is profitable for you.

''St. Anatoly of Optina''

The soul that really loves God and Christ, though it may do ten thousand righteousnesses, esteems itself as having wrought nothing, by reason of its insatiable aspiration after God. Though it should exhaust the body with fastings and with watchings, its attitude towards the virtues is as if it had not yet even begun to labour for them.

''St. Macarius the Great''

Souls that love truth and God, that long with much hope and faith to put on Christ completely, do not need so much to be put in remembrance by others, nor do they endure, even for a while, to be deprived of the heavenly desire and of passionate affection to the Lord; but being wholly and entirely nailed to the cross of Christ, they perceive in themselves day by day a sense of spiritual advance towards the spiritual Bridegroom.

''St. Macarius the Great''

An old man was asked, "How can I find God?" He said: "In fasting, in watching, in labours, in devotion, and, above all, in discernment. I tell you, many have injured their bodies without discernment and have gone away from us having achieved nothing. Our mouths smell bad through fasting, we know the Scriptures by heart, we recite all the Psalms of David, but we have not that which God seeks: charity and humility."

''Apophthegmata Patrum''

The hour of death will come upon us — it will come, and we shall not escape it. May the prince of this world and of the air find our misdeeds few and petty when he comes, so that he will not have good grounds for convicting us. Otherwise we shall weep in vain. "For that servant who knew his lord's will and did not do it as a servant shall be beaten with many stripes."

''St. Hesychius the Priest''

Do not seek the perfection of the law in human virtues, for it is not found perfect in them. Its perfection is hidden in the Cross of Christ alone.

''St. Mark the Ascetic''

Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but stand your ground courageously. And assuredly, the angel who guards you will honour your patience.

''St. John of the Ladder''

Behold, this is the true and the Christian humility. In this you will be able to achieve victory over every vice, by attributing to God rather than to yourself the fact that you have won.

''St. Martin of Braga''

We believe that the divine presence is everywhere and that "the eyes of the Lord are looking on the good and the evil in every place." But we should believe this especially without any doubt when we are assisting at the Work of God. To that end let us be mindful always of the Prophet's words, "Serve the Lord in fear," and again, "Sing praises wisely," and "In the sight of the Angels I will sing praise to Thee." Let us therefore consider how we ought to conduct ourselves in the sight of God and of His Angels, and let us take part in the psalmody in such a way that our mind may be in harmony with our voice.
----

== '''4 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Sayings of the Desert Fathers)'' ===
''St. Benedict''

Humility is the only thing we need; one can still fall having virtues other than humility — but with humility one does not fall.

''Elder Herman of Mt. Athos''

When you are praying alone, and your spirit is dejected, and you are wearied and oppressed by your loneliness, remember then, as always, that God looks upon you with eyes brighter than the sun; also all the angels, your own Guardian Angel, and all the Saints of God. Truly they do; for they are all one in God, and where God is, there are they also. Where the sun is, thither also are directed all its rays. Try to understand what this means.

''St. John of Kronstadt''

God descends to the humble as waters flow down from the hills into the valleys.

''St. Tikhon of Voronezh''

Our holy fathers have renounced all other spiritual work and concentrated wholly on this one doing, that is, on guarding the heart, convinced that, through this practice, they would easily attain every other virtue, whereas without it not a single virtue can be firmly established.

''St. Symeon the New Theologian''

If you are praised, be silent. If you are scolded, be silent. If you incur losses, be silent. If you receive profit, be silent. If you are satiated, be silent. If you are hungry, also be silent. And do not be afraid that there will be no fruit when all dies down! Not everything will die down. Energy will appear; and what energy!

''St. Feofil, the Fool for Christ''

When anyone is disturbed or saddened under the pretext of a good and soul-profiting matter, and is angered against his neighbour, it is evident that this is not according to God: for everything that is of God is peaceful and useful and leads a man to humility and to judging himself.

''St. Barsanuphius the Great''

What, then, are the things which are being prepared for those who wait for Him? The Creator and Father of the ages, the All-holy One, Himself knows their greatness and beauty. Let us then strive to be found among the number of those that wait, that we may receive a share of the promised gifts.

''St. Clement of Rome''

Even if an angel should indeed appear to you, do not receive him but humiliate yourself, saying, "I am not worthy to see an angel, for I am a sinner."

''Apophthegmata Patrum''

We should zealously cultivate watchfulness, my brethren; and when, our mind purified in Christ Jesus, we are exalted by the vision it confers, we should review our sins and our former life, so that shattered and humbled at the thought of them we may never lose the help of Jesus Christ, our God in the invisible battle.

''St. Hesychius the Presbyter''

Let us consider, then, brethren, of what matter we were formed, who we are, and with what nature we came into the world, and how He Who formed and created us brought us into His world from the darkness of a grave, and prepared His benefits for us before we were born. Since, therefore, we have everything from Him, we ought in everything to give Him thanks, to Whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
----

== '''5 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Sayings of the Desert Fathers)'' ===
''St. Clement of Rome''

Prove your love and zeal for wisdom in actual deeds.

''St. Callistus Xanthopoulos''

What purposelessness, oh the deceit of life! Truly in vain does each man vex himself, and truly blessed and thrice-blessed are those who have left everything for the Lord, that they may attain the good things announced in the Gospels. For what profit will it be for a man to enjoy the whole world, but lose his soul, to which the whole universe is not equivalent? All the splendour of man is like the blossom of grass. For the grass departs and the blossom dies, but the word of the Lord abideth for ever.

''Apophthegmata Patrum''

When the blessed Eulogius saw an angel distributing gifts to the monks who toiled at all-night vigils, to one he gave a gold piece with the image of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to another a silver piece with a cross, to another a copper piece, to another a bronze piece, and to another nothing. The others who had remained in the church left the church empty-handed. It was revealed to him that the ones who had obtained the gifts are those who toil at vigils and are diligent in prayers, supplications, psalms, chants, and readings. Those who received nothing or who left the church empty-handed are those who are heedless of their salvation, are enslaved to vainglory and the clamours of life, and stand feebly and lazily at vigils and whisper and jest.

''St. Joseph of Volokalamsk''

Chastise your soul with the thought of death, and through remembrance of Jesus Christ concentrate your scattered intellect.

''St. Philotheus of Sinai''

Do we forgive our neighbours their trespasses? God also forgives us in His mercy. Do we refuse to forgive? God, too, will refuse to forgive us. As we treat our neighbours, so also does God treat us. The forgiveness, then, of your sins or unforgiveness, and hence also your salvation or destruction, depend on you yourself, man. For without forgiveness of sins there is no salvation. You can see for yourself how terrible it is.

''St. Tikhon of Zadonsk — Journey to Heaven''

What toil we must endure, what fatigue, while we are attempting to climb hills and the summits of mountains so that we may ascend to heaven! If you consider the promised reward, what you endure is less. Immortality is given to the one who perseveres; everlasting life is offered; the Lord promises His Kingdom.

''St. Cyprian''

A man may seem to be silent, but if his heart is condemning others, he is babbling ceaselessly. But there may be another who talks from morning till night and yet he is truly silent — that is, he says nothing that is not profitable.

''Abba Pimen''

The way of humility is this: self-control, prayer, and thinking yourself inferior to all creatures.

''Abba Tithoes''

The body is a slave, the soul a sovereign, and therefore it is due to Divine mercy when the body is worn out by illness: for thereby the passions are weakened, and a man comes to himself; indeed, bodily illness itself is sometimes caused by the passions.

''St. Seraphim of Sarov — Spiritual Instructions''

Make glad, O Jerusalem, and all ye who love Sion, keep feast. Today the ancient bond of the condemnation of Adam is loosed. Paradise is opened to us; the serpent is laid low; for of old he deceived the woman in Paradise, but now he seeth a woman become the Mother of the Creator. O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! The instrument of sin that brought death upon all flesh hath become the first fruits of salvation for the whole world. For God, the All-perfect, is born a babe of her, and by His birth He doth set a seal upon her virginity. By His swaddling bands He doth loose the bands of sin, and by becoming a child He doth heal Eve's pangs in travail. Wherefore, let all creation sing and dance for joy, for Christ hath come to restore it and to save our souls.
----

== '''6 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Sayings of the Desert Fathers)'' ===
''Kontakia of Romanos — On Doubting Thomas''

There is nothing impossible unto those who believe; lively and unshaken faith can accomplish great miracles in the twinkling of an eye. Besides, even without our sincere and firm faith, miracles are accomplished, such as the miracles of the sacraments; for God's Mystery is always accomplished, even though we were incredulous or unbelieving at the time of its celebration. Our wickedness shall not overpower the unspeakable goodness and mercy of God; our dullness shall not overpower God's wisdom, nor our infirmity God's omnipotence.

''St. John of Kronstadt''

It was said about John the Little that one day he said to his older brother: "I want to be free from care and not to work but to worship God without interruption." And he took his robe off and went into the desert. After staying there one week, he returned to his brother. And when he knocked at the door, his brother asked without opening it: "Who is it?" He replied: "It's John, your brother." The brother said: "John has become an angel and is not among people anymore." Then he begged and said: "It's me!" But his brother did not open the door and left him there in distress until the next morning. And he finally opened the door and said: "If you are a human being, you have to work again in order to live." Then John repented, saying: "Forgive me, brother, for I was wrong."

''Kontakia of Romanos''

First of all it must be understood that it is the duty of all Christians — especially of those whose calling dedicates them to the spiritual life — to strive always and in every way to be united with God, their creator, lover, benefactor, and their supreme good, by Whom and for Whom they were created. This is because the centre and the final purpose of the soul, which God created, must be God Himself alone, and nothing else — God from Whom the soul has received its life and its nature, and for Whom it must eternally live.

''St. Dimitry of Rostov''

Those who have truly decided to serve the Lord God should practise the remembrance of God and uninterrupted prayer to Jesus Christ, mentally saying: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

''St. Seraphim of Sarov''

Let us go forward with the heart completely attentive and the soul fully conscious. For if attentiveness and prayer are daily joined together, they become like Elias' fire-bearing chariot, raising us to heaven. What do I mean? A spiritual heaven, with sun, moon and stars, is formed in the blessed heart of one who has reached a state of watchfulness, or who strives to attain it.
----

== '''7 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Sayings of the Desert Fathers)'' ===
''St. Philotheus of Sinai''

My poor soul! Sigh, pray and strive to take upon you the blessed yoke of Christ, and you will live on earth in a heavenly manner. Lord, grant that I may carry the light and goodly yoke, and I shall be always at rest, peaceful, glad and joyous; and I shall taste on earth of crumbs which fall from the celestial feast.

''St. Seraphim of Sarov''

Even a pious person is not immune to spiritual sickness if he does not have a wise guide — either a living person or a spiritual writer. This sickness is called spiritual delusion, imagining oneself to be near to God and to the realm of the divine and supernatural. Even zealous ascetics in monasteries are sometimes subject to this delusion, but of course, laymen who are zealous in external struggles undergo it much more frequently. Surpassing their acquaintances in struggles of prayer and fasting, they imagine that they are seers of divine visions, or at least of dreams inspired by grace. In every event of their lives, they see special intentional directions from God or their guardian angel. And then they start imagining that they are God's elect, and often try to foretell the future. The Holy Fathers armed themselves against nothing so fiercely as against this sickness.

''Abba Pambo''

We see the water of a river flowing uninterruptedly and passing away, and all that floats on its surface — rubbish or beams of trees — all pass by. Christian! So does our life. I was an infant, and that time has gone. I was an adolescent, and that too has passed. I was a young man, and that too is far behind me. The strong and mature man that I was is no more. My hair turns white, I succumb to age, but that too passes; I approach the end and will go the way of all flesh. I was born in order to die. I die that I may live. Remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom!

''St. Tikhon of Voronezh''

It is better to eat meat and drink wine and not to eat the flesh of one's brethren through ''slander''.

''St. Theodore of Edessa''

Acts of charity, almsgiving and all the external good works do not suppress the arrogance of the heart; but meditation, the labour of repentance, contrition and humility — these humble the proud mind.

''Elder Joseph the Hesychast''

Oh, what great happiness and bliss, what exaltation it is to address oneself to the Eternal Father. Always, without fail, value this joy which has been accorded to you by God's infinite grace and do not forget it during your prayers; God, the angels and God's holy men — all listen to you.

''St. Dorotheus of Gaza''

For Christians, above all men, are forbidden to correct the stumblings of sinners by force. It is necessary to make a man better not by force but by persuasion. We neither have authority granted us by law to restrain sinners, nor, if it were, should we know how to use it, since God gives the crown to those who are kept from evil, not by force, but by choice.

''St. Ephrem''

While the Bridegroom tarried, they slumbered and slept. Give ear, ye prudent, to our Lord's parable, for it is all light. All of them slept, both the foolish and the wise — which signifies that the good and the wicked die until the resurrection. The same sleep comes upon the ten of them, which is as much as to say that death is the same for all creation without distinction. One was the sleep of the wise and of the foolish. For one is death, both of the righteous and of sinners. The good die, as the wise virgins slept; and the bad die, as the foolish also slept. Behold, all creation looketh for the coming of the Bridegroom, Christ, Who cometh at the end with His angels. But since He hath tarried, all generations slumber and sleep with the sleep of death, while looking for when He cometh.
----

== '''8 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Sayings of the Desert Fathers)'' ===
''John of Karpathos''

No one on this earth can avoid affliction; and although the afflictions which the Lord sends are not great, men imagine them beyond their strength and are crushed by them. This is because they will not humble their souls and commit themselves to the will of God. But the Lord Himself guides with His grace those who are given over to God's will, and they bear all things with fortitude for the sake of God Whom they have so loved and with Whom they are glorified for ever. It is impossible to escape tribulation in this world, but the man who is given over to the will of God bears tribulation easily, seeing it but putting his trust in the Lord, and so his tribulations pass.

''Archimandrite Sophrony''

The evil one cannot comprehend the joy we receive from the spiritual life; for this reason he is jealous of us, he envies us and sets traps for us, and we become grieved and fall. We must struggle, because without struggles we do not obtain virtues.

''Elder Ieronymos of Aegina''

For those who believe in Him, Christ will become all this and even more, beyond enumeration, not only in the age to come but first in this life, and then in the world to come. In an obscure way here below and in a perfect manner in the Kingdom, those who believe see clearly nonetheless and receive as of now the first-fruits of everything they will have in the future life. Indeed, if they do not receive on earth everything that was promised to them, they do not have any part or foretaste of the blessings to come, their higher hope being set on the hereafter. However, it is through death and the resurrection that God in His foresight has given us the Kingdom, incorruptibility, the totality of life eternal. Given these conditions, we unquestionably become partakers of the good things to come — that is, incorruptible, immortal, sons of God, sons of the light and of the day, inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven, since we carry the Kingdom within.

''St. Symeon the New Theologian''

Self-accusation before God is something that is very necessary for us; and humility of heart is extremely advantageous in our lives, above all at the time of prayer. For prayer requires great attention and needs a proper awareness, otherwise it will turn out to be unacceptable and rejected, and "it will be turned back empty" to our bosom.
----

== '''9 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of the Direct Disciples)'' ===

==== '''On Consciousness''' ====
''By Swami Shivananda''

He resides in the heart of man as consciousness. When meditation is very deep one loses all sense of past and future. There is simply consciousness of the present, and that vaguely. When the mind transcends names and forms you come to the acme of realization; then everything is full of Bliss, everything is full of Consciousness.

''By Swami Premananda''

Be like the fish playing happily in the ocean and not like the fish in a narrow ditch. Let your consciousness expand into the infinite and limitless.

''By Swami Turiyananda''

At first you are to transcend Tamas, then Rajas, and finally you are to go beyond even Sattva itself. Then you realize the Self as pervading everything. You find that He alone exists, and nothing else. And that is called the state of transcendental consciousness. It is this dual consciousness which is at the root of all evils. With the destruction of duality, all fear departs.

''By Swami Adbhutananda''

When that knowledge dawns, body consciousness disappears, the mind stops and even the intellect vanishes; only an uninterrupted Consciousness flows.

''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''

Man is Samvit — consciousness Absolute.

''By Swami Vijnanananda''

With everybody there is consciousness. This consciousness pervades the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, the sky, the air, etc., down to the minute being, and it is because of this consciousness that there is motion in everything. In the transcendental state — that is, the state of complete union with the Infinite — there is no outward consciousness; only a slight feeling remains there.
----

== '''10 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of the Direct Disciples)'' ===

==== '''On Contemplation''' ====
''By Swami Brahmananda''

The way of steadying and purifying the mind is to retire into solitude, control all cravings, and engage yourself in contemplation and meditation. The more you occupy the mind with holy thoughts, the greater will be your spiritual unfoldment.

Yes, you must work. But I insist that you devote yourselves to spiritual practices and meditation. Even though I may not ask you to work, your nature will force you to work. It is difficult to engage the mind in contemplation of God; but you are monks, therefore work must not be the sole purpose of your lives.

It is good to rise early in the morning. The time best suited for contemplation is when night passes into day, and when day passes into night. It is then that the sushumna becomes active, and one breathes through both nostrils. As a general rule, we breathe through only one nostril at a time. This causes restlessness of the mind. Spiritual aspirants should observe when they are breathing through both nostrils; the sushumna is active then. Those times are the most helpful to contemplation, and we should take advantage of them.

You must spend your time in worship of God, in service to holy men, and in contemplation. This is the only way to mould your character.

The most suitable hours for prayer and contemplation are those at the junction of day and night, and at midnight. Daytime has many distractions. At night, nature takes on a quiet aspect, so that night-time is best for the practice of contemplation.

The more you devote yourself to the contemplation of God, the more fruitful your life will become.

Lose yourself day and night in His contemplation, in singing His praises and glory; only then will you be blessed with His vision.

[To the question: "Isn't it difficult to live a purely contemplative life?"] Do not give up because it seems hard. Try again and again. Through practice it becomes easy.

''By Swami Shivananda''

Practise constant recollection and contemplation of God. One has to form the habit. Remember and think of Him continually — while walking, eating, lying down and even when you are actively busy. Let it be as if an undercurrent is all the time flowing. If you practise in this manner for a while, remembrance and contemplation of Him will go on unconsciously within you; you will be repeating His name even while asleep.

''By Swami Abhedananda''

Repeat the great truth: "I am Brahman," and contemplate on the soul which is the witness, the inspirer, the absolute, the one without any attribute.

''By Swami Saradananda''

You must dwell on God uninterruptedly and be absorbed in the contemplation of His true nature.

When the mind is idle, all kinds of negative thoughts arise and create trouble. There is an old saying that an idle brain is the devil's workshop. It is true. The mind abhors a vacuum. It needs to be filled. However, it is necessary to devote some time to silence and contemplation.

''By Swami Vijnanananda''

Contemplation on Him should enable us to gain lordliness over our passions and become masters of our souls.

The question that arises in my mind is: where shall we be after giving up this mortal frame? I asked Mahapurush Maharaj who told me that we would be in the Ramakrishna world where we would be keeping company with the Master. But I have decided not to go anywhere. To contemplate on the Master all the time and not to forget him even for an instant is to be in his company. That is Ramakrishna world — to think of him all the time with heart and soul, never forgetting him even for a moment.
----

== '''11 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of the Direct Disciples)'' ===

==== '''On Contentment''' ====
''By Swami Brahmananda''

Contentment with the external conditions, yes, but never be contented with your state of spiritual growth. Become dissatisfied. Try to move ever onward in your search. Do not stop until you have found the diamond mine!

Like a fallen leaf tossed to and fro by the wind, the one-pointed man is content to remain wherever the Lord places him. He has no will or desire of his own. He can live in the world and at the same time dive into the ocean of knowledge and bliss.

''By Swami Shivananda''

There is no contentment in the non-Self; true contentment comes from knowledge of the Self. And one has to seek that contentment within oneself. Peace is within; it is not outside.

''By Swami Adbhutananda''

Contentment is an obstacle to spiritual progress.

It is true, people do practise Sadhana to find peace. But if the aspirant forgets God after finding some peace, how can he make any further progress? If there is no dissatisfaction, longing for God does not come.

The door to the spiritual path does not open unless the aspirant is filled with peace externally and internally. But once the door to the spiritual realm opens, discontentment again begins. However, this is a mysterious kind of discontentment which I cannot explain to you. In this state the aspirant can neither sit idle nor can he progress quickly. Spiritual disciplines and austerity are necessary to understand this.

Be satisfied with whatever you need for your daily living and don't desire more. Too many worldly belongings displace the thought of the Reality from the mind.

Believers remain satisfied. They depend on the Lord and enjoy contentment. One should avoid the company of the non-believer. They themselves suffer and pass on their discontent to others.

''By Swami Abhedananda''

Unless one has inner peace and contentment, one will find restlessness and suffering wherever one goes.

''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''

Do not be content with the little things of this world. This universe is like a baby's toy. Throw it away. Claim your eternal heritage. This little span of life is not yours; your life has no beginning, no end.

You want me to advise you how to get rid of the entanglements of this world, in answer to which let me remind you that what has been brought about by myriads of births cannot be done away with in a day. Yes, you are right. We should escape the snare of samsara even from this moment. For who knows when death will snatch us away from the loving embrace of our family; but that does not mean we should make a sudden resolution in the course of our lives.

The best way to success is to remain pleased in whatever state Sri Ramakrishna has been pleased to place you, keeping your mind always turned toward Him, as a boy always turns towards his parent for help. Stay peacefully where the Lord has been pleased to keep you. Read and ponder upon the sayings of Sri Ramakrishna.

Be contented with whatever comes to you, knowing that all things proceed from Sri Krishna directly. Do not forget to pray to Him incessantly. Always confide yourselves to His care. Be calm and quiet.

You must labour hard and be always pleased with the place where God has been pleased to keep you.

Contentment is the only watchword that can ensure us a safe passage through adverse circumstances. God is good. God does all. Therefore, He can do nothing but good. This is what all religions teach; abide by it and peace of mind will naturally follow.

''By Swami Saradananda''

The Lord is making you His own. He will not allow even the slightest ego to remain within you. The sufferings and difficulties you are undergoing are intended to make you realize that you have no independent will of your own. It is all given over to the Lord. Therefore, be contented with what He does and wherever He keeps you. Never be contented until the goal is reached.

''By Swami Vijnanananda''

One should not ask for anything from God, but remain satisfied with whatever He is pleased to give. Real welfare lies in using things properly; wrong use of things brings misfortune.

You should be satisfied with whatever you can secure to keeping the body fit, and then go on working selflessly for God. There is a Hindi couplet which says that jewels, elephants, and houses — indeed, all wealth — is just valueless compared to contentment.

You cannot have contentment so long as you are subject to worldly desires. Once they disappear, you are free.

Purity, truthfulness, and honesty should make the cornerstone of your life. And there should be faith. With these a man will have contentment in life, whatever circumstances he may happen to be in. Contentment in all circumstances is the mark of religious life.
----

== '''12 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of the Direct Disciples)'' ===

==== '''On Continence''' ====
''By Swami Brahmananda''

[To the question: "Is it ever possible to attain Samadhi after a short time?"] Yes, if a man has lived an absolutely continent life.

Make your mind strong through the observance of continence and the practice of meditation.

Great strength can be acquired through the practice of continence. A true celibate can do the work of twenty-five men. Practise continence, japam, and meditation, and seek the company of the holy.

Perfect continence is the sole condition of success in spiritual life, but it is difficult, even impossible, to practise absolute purity without love and faith in God. The world is full of temptations which arouse passions; every day you will see ninety-nine percent of the people rushing in mad pursuit after sensual pleasures. Your mind is in constant danger of becoming contaminated; therefore, you must engage your mind in thinking good thoughts, studying good books, and discussing uplifting subjects. You must spend your time in worship of God, in service to holy men, and in contemplation. This is the only way to mould your character.

First of all, be firm in your vow of chastity. Everything else will follow. You cannot live a continent life unless you devote yourself to God, and without continence realization of God is impossible. Unless you realize God you will not find happiness, and without happiness life is vain.

Learn to speak the truth always, and observe continence.

Next, practise continence. Without perfect chastity no one can hold fast to high spiritual ideals. To nourish the body, mind, and brain, and to secure their fullest development, continence is essential. In a chaste man a special spiritual nerve is developed. With its aid, his memory, his capacity for spiritual understanding, and his faith in God increase. He is able to experience spiritual truths which lie beyond the reach of the senses. That is the reason why religious teachers stress the ideal of chastity.

But without continence and the practice of meditation you cannot grasp the spirit of the enlightened ones; nor can you understand the scriptures.

Practise chastity. If one remains continent for twelve years, he attains the highest.

Sri Ramakrishna used to say that the power of the mind becomes strengthened by the practice of continence. A man so strengthened is not overcome by lust and anger. Passions seem trivial to it.

It has been declared in our scriptures that he who practises continence for twelve years can easily attain God. This is the most difficult task. I can tell you from my own experience that it is not possible to meditate properly unless you keep continent.

The craving of lust is very subtle, and extremely difficult to control. That is why a spiritual aspirant must always be careful in associating with the opposite sex. Through continence a special power is stored up in the brain. If a man becomes established in continence, he will begin to see the expression of God everywhere. But, remember, it is not possible to practise continence without devoting yourself to the practice of japam.

''By Swami Shivananda''

Whatever line of work a person may undertake, the secret of success is continence.

One must practise absolute continence if one desires to have this higher knowledge. As a result of prolonged continence, the body and mind become fit for leading a divine life. For reaching the state of Brahmanhood, the brain develops a new nerve and all the cells in the body become transformed. One must observe absolute continence.

If there be unbroken Brahmacharya — continence — Samadhi can be attained with little effort.

''By Swami Turiyananda''

Continence is essential for Divine realization. If one can maintain Brahmacharya for twenty-eight years, one will realize Bhakti, Jnana, everything.

"From continence comes strength." We must make ourselves fit. Before taking up any work, make yourself fit for it.

For the accumulation of spiritual power absolute continence is needed.

Nothing drops from the skies all of a sudden. Why don't all have concentration? Because they don't fulfil the conditions necessary for it — namely, absolute continence. This is known as strength.

''By Swami Trigunatitananda''

It is not in India alone that continence has been given such a dominant and absolutely necessary position in the domain of religion; all countries and all religions sing its praise in the same way. They all speak of the same kind of continence here and elsewhere.

Sri Ramakrishna would say, "He who can give up his wife, can also renounce the world" — that is to say, if one has succeeded in discarding his hankerings for sense-enjoyment, one has no other object left that has to be given up afresh.
----

== '''13 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of the Direct Disciples)'' ===

==== '''On Control of Mind & Senses''' ====
''By Swami Brahmananda''

[To the question: "Maharaj, I cannot control my mind. Many distracting thoughts arise. What shall I do? Will I be able to practise any spiritual disciplines? How can I worship and meditate?"] Pray to the Lord. Practise with regularity. Gradually, the mind will become inclined to worship and meditation.

In the beginning the mind will refuse to come under control, but force it, urge it, entreat it in order to fix it on meditation.

Man's mind is forever restless. It remains distracted for many reasons. Association with the holy will bring it under control.

Wake up early in the morning. Wash yourself and choose a firm seat. Command your mind in this way: "Mind, keep still! Let no distractions enter!" With the strength of the intelligent will, keep the mind under control. Soon it will become concentrated. Then no distractions will arise. A man can train horses and elephants and bring them under control; can't he learn to train his own mind?

Mould your minds now; when once the mind is moulded there is nothing to fear. When you can bring the mind under control you will have achieved much. Whip it whenever it tries to run away.

Struggle! Struggle hard to control the outgoing mind and fix it on God. When you can do this, you will realize what joy is in spiritual life, what fun.

First of all, the mind, which is the ruler of the senses, must be controlled. After that the mind and the intellect must be merged in the Atman.

Who are your enemies? Your own senses. But if you can control them they will become your friends.

The tendency of the lower mind is downward, toward worldliness. This tendency must somehow be controlled. Hold the reins tightly. As the expert trainer controls and trains the elephant, so must you learn to train and control your mind. Be its master. Let it not control you. Teach it to give up all craving for fleshly enjoyments. When the mind is once freed from craving it becomes your slave.

Keep a sharp eye on the mind and see that no undesirable thoughts or distractions enter it. Whenever they try to crowd in, turn the mind toward God and pray earnestly. Through such practice the mind is brought under control and becomes purified.

It is as impossible to conquer lust or control the mind by the mere study of books as it is to walk on air.

Meditation, in the primary stage, is like waging a war with the mind. With effort the restless mind has to be brought under control and placed at the feet of the Lord. But in the beginning, take care that you do not overtax your brain. Go slowly, then gradually intensify your effort.

Unless you meditate, you cannot control the mind, and unless the mind is controlled, you cannot meditate. But if you think, "First let me control the mind and then I shall meditate," you will never succeed. You must steady your mind and meditate at the same time.

It is good to devote a little time each day to God. The only way to control the mind and find peace is to chant the name of God and meditate on Him.

In the beginning the mind will refuse to come under control, but force it, urge it, entreat it in order to fix it on meditation. Faith and regularity are very important; nobody can succeed in anything without them.

The mind deludes us in many ways. We must control it and direct it along the right path.

Meditation is possible, if you can keep lust, anger, and all other passions under control.
----

== '''14 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of the Direct Disciples)'' ===

==== '''On Control of Mind & Senses''' ====
''By Swami Shivananda''

The rascal mind causes all the trouble. You must control this mind or it will take you here and there. However, sincere efforts will bring self-control. When disciplined, this wicked mind behaves right; it functions as the guru, repeats His name, guides the aspirant along righteous ways and gives him inspiration in noble undertakings. Practise self-control constantly, pray sincerely to the Lord and discriminate between the real and the unreal. My child, self-control cannot be accomplished in a day.

The fact that sometimes you lose control over your mind signifies that a big wave will come and you will have great peace.

Of course you have my blessings. But you will have to exert yourself too. You have children. From now on practise a little self-control and change the course of your life. You have had enough of enjoyment; now stop. Of course, force alone will not help; but if you struggle sincerely, in time He will make your body and mind pure.

[To the question: "Father, I have a question to ask. The scriptures declare that one cannot realize God unless one observes strict Brahmacharya. The mind does not become pure unless there is Brahmacharya. Now, please tell me how can I observe this. Should I be very strict about food and such other things?"] No, my daughter, you need not be very strict about these matters. Only use your discrimination a little more when following the usual routine. You may well avoid those things that excite the nerves too much. Food is not meant for the mere gratification of the sense of taste; it is meant for the maintenance of the body. And the maintenance of the body is meant for God-realization. It is better to avoid those kinds of food that create mental disturbance and prevent the mind from concentrating on God. Brahmacharya does not mean mere control of food.

The real Brahmacharya is the control of all the sense-organs. Unless one can do that, the realization of divine bliss is a far cry. Is it possible to get the bliss of Brahman unless one can forsake the pleasures of this trifling body?

Self-control will come as a matter of course if one repeats God's name constantly, and is earnest in spiritual endeavours. The name of God has such intrinsic power that all the internal and external organs become naturally subdued by it.

If one but takes to meditation and japa and prays to Him constantly, one's mental tendencies get the proper direction, and one's senses come under control.

Mere verbal assent will not do. It requires quite a lot of self-control and intense spiritual struggle.

Yes, some minds are rebellious like that, but there is a way of bringing even such a mind under control. Even such a restless mind can be trained gradually and made to concentrate on God. Do not begin meditating or making japa as soon as you sit down on your seat. First, start with a calm prayer to the Master. The Master is Samadhi incarnate. If you can pray to him sincerely and think of him, the mind will become concentrated.

''By Swami Premananda''

Rules and regulations can govern behaviour; but they cannot control the mind.

Those who are guileless and devoted to truth, self-controlled, and lovers of God, are the living gods, the rishis and siddhas; even though they wear human bodies.

God dwells in all. He is within your heart. Pray to Him, weep before Him, and you will find energy and strength. Your mind will come under control.

As you grow older, it will become impossible for you to control your mind.

Through the faithful practice of discrimination and spiritual disciplines the mind gradually comes under control. Yet to try to force the mind under control all at once may prove disastrous. It must be done gradually and with patience. The angler has to sit patiently and wait. Cling to the pillar of patience whenever the mind is drawn toward the whirlpool of delusion.
----

== '''15 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of the Direct Disciples)'' ===

==== '''On Control of Mind & Senses''' ====
''By Swami Turiyananda''

A devotee from America had written to me about controlling the mind. In reply I wrote to him that whenever he sat for meditation, he should think that there was hanging in front of his chest the notice ''"No Admission,"'' indicating that nothing except the thought of his Ishta — Chosen Deity — should enter there. This way, disturbing thoughts can gradually be eliminated. The devotee later acknowledged that he was much benefited by this advice. Yes, that is how you have to emancipate yourself — there is nobody other than yourself who is your emancipator.

A man who has controlled all other senses except the palate is not to be considered a master of his senses. When the hankering of the palate is controlled, everything else is controlled. When the palate is controlled the sex impulse is also controlled. Unless the senses are brought under control there cannot be any spiritual progress.

Even if a single organ remains uncontrolled, all austerities and all efforts after spirituality become useless, even as when there is a single hole in a pitcher, all the water escapes through that.

Control of the senses is not to be brought about by a violent effort. Only by realizing Him is it perfectly achieved. But at first one must struggle for this end. Afterwards it becomes quite natural. Still one should not be over-confident. Just as the intelligent hunter catches a deer and ties it up, so after succeeding in controlling the organs one should be alert, and continue to hold the mind and organs in check.

If you perfectly control your senses from now, you will be blessed with His vision.

Books on yoga say that all power is in us. We must control the mind through proper discipline, then only will its power be manifested.

First you have to prepare the mind. After that, any subject to which you may apply it will stand explained. The method of controlling the mind is by seriously watching it for some length of time. It can be done both by love and by discipline, according to circumstances. The mind should be under your control — it must not be allowed to ride you, for then the tables will be turned.

Control the mind; be not controlled by it.

With unflagging perseverance the mind must be again and again brought back to the Atman. Of course, repeated and incessant efforts are necessary, but the mind at last will come under your control and remain calmly fixed on the Atman.

Be up and doing. Once the mind is brought under control, there is no more fear. It is the mind which creates all troubles.

[To the question: "If we mix with people, everything becomes upset."] Avoid company so long as the mind is not under control. And when the habit has once been formed, there is no harm in mixing with people.

One should have great determination. We must control the mind and not allow the mind to control us. Here is my towel. With this I shall rub the body at my pleasure; similarly, we ought to be able to use the mind according to our will. We should ride the horse and not allow the horse to ride us. Let there be no reversal of the right process. The horse before the cart and not the cart before the horse. Swami Vivekananda would say, ''"The mind must be made like a lump of earth; wherever I shall throw it, it must stick."''

''By Swami Trigunatitananda''

The most effective means of getting control over the senses is to look upon all women as one's own mother. You are apt to look on them otherwise from your very childhood, and you never call on women as mothers with all sincerity — that is why the problem of sense-control becomes so difficult. Just as on seeing an image of any goddess, we have a natural inclination to salute her, to worship her, and to pray to her, so also may our devotion be aroused on seeing any woman, and may we feel a natural inclination from within to bow down to her!

If you do not believe in a Mantra, that too is not imperative. A Mantra is needed for bringing the mind under one's control. One who succeeds in controlling the mind has not much need of a Mantra.

''By Swami Adbhutananda''

Even if you cannot control your mind and you become disgusted, please don't leave your seat; for if you get up from meditation with that attitude of disgust, you will be in a bad mood all day, and you will feel like beating one person, scolding another and speaking harshly to a third.

Do you know what the mind does? It conjures up enticing pictures with the imagination. The imagination is man's worst enemy, his greatest tempter, for it creates beautiful pictures of sense pleasures and nearly destroys man's conscience. Thus man is drawn to sense objects. Therefore, if you want to control the desire for worldly things, control your imagination and don't be deluded by sense enjoyments.

The imagination can be controlled by withdrawing the mind from the objects, although that will not still the mind. Sri Ramakrishna used to say that three things are necessary in the process of perception: the object of perception, the sense organ, and the mind. Perception of the object is not possible if one of these three is missing. So if you can eliminate one of them, the mind will not be able to cognize. It is hard to eliminate the objects of perception. They come and go. We have to encounter them always. How can one live and avoid sense objects? So long as you can avoid the sense objects, your self-control may be intact; but as soon as you come near them again, you will find yourself deluded by their attraction. So instead, try to withdraw either the sense organ or the mind from the object. Then automatically the object will not be perceived.

By practising truthfulness for twelve years the body and mind become controlled and one is unable to say anything that is untrue or absurd.

== '''16 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of the Direct Disciples)'' ===

==== '''On Control of Mind & Senses''' ====
''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''

If you would raise your Self, you must crucify the body and conquer the senses.

''By Swami Saradananda''

You are to calm your mind by single-minded devotion to God and by reflecting on the ultimate Reality as the foundation of all existence.

You have asked why in spite of your sincere efforts the mind is so unruly that it refuses to come under control and you are not able to fix it on God. The reason is that the mind is not yet pure. Have you not heard that Sri Ramakrishna used to say that the image of the moon is not clearly reflected in a pool that is agitated and muddy? When the water is steady and transparent the image is visible; then the image is not broken up into fragments. Remember that the same is true of the mind.

But do not give up the spiritual struggle. It is hard to control the mind; but it must be done. There is no other way. The more you think of the Lord, the more other thoughts decrease. There must be a continuous flow of one thought — the thought of God — during the period of wakefulness. Then, at the time of meditation or in sleep, unbecoming thoughts will not find any peephole to enter.

To attain peace one has to practise control of the senses and the mind.

Conflicting desires arise in the mind. Because of those desires the mind is constantly lashed into waves. As long as these waves form, the mind is restless. In order to control these waves which give rise to thoughts of a worldly and distracting nature, one must live a life of self-discipline.

The mind has tremendous potentialities. It is the storehouse of infinite energy. Through control and inner check we can unfold these potentialities and gradually develop the power to work toward good.

To control the mind, to focus your attention to a point on God, is an uphill task. It cannot be done in a day. It needs vigilant care and persistent effort. Until you have fully grasped the truth of the statement, ''"The world is unsubstantial and illusory as a dream,"'' the restlessness of the mind is bound to recur.

If evil thoughts appear, be indifferent to them. They come due to the impressions of previous lives and it is good that they rise to the conscious plane; it will be easier for you to control them.

The means for bringing the fickle mind under control are dispassion and practice — Vairagya and Abhyasa. This statement is in the Gita. There is no other way.

[To the question: "Do Pranayama, Asana, etc. help to remove the tendencies of the mind?"] Nothing particular can be achieved through them. One may derive some benefit. The more you love God, the more will the mind come under your control.

''By Swami Vijnanananda''

When we have control over our passions, we shall succeed; we shall ourselves then feel that we are advancing towards God.

When the mind is completely under your control, it will have nothing to exist on except noble thoughts.

After the dissolution of the mortal frame, the soul takes a subtle form and more intensely reaps the harvest of previous deeds. If one can control one's senses and transcend the bounds of time and space, one is in a position to summon the souls of dead persons, and get a response from them. They also respond as people respond to us when we call them.

God pervades everything. But, of course, it is a joyful experience. He is inside and outside. When you realize that He is within you, the senses get controlled once for all; and it is for this that you have renounced everything — do you understand?

If you want to control your passions, you have to meditate constantly on the Master and the Holy Mother, and all degrading thoughts will at once cease to trouble you.

The mind after all is yours, and you say it is not under your control! Does that sound reasonable? Why should you allow the mind to rise above you and rule you? There is a saying: ''"Although the Guru, Krishna, and the Vaishnava, all were kind to me, unkindness on the part of one set everything to nought."'' The unkind one is the mind — it ruins everything.

When the mind is overcome with evil thoughts, it becomes dejected and inactive like a mouse in the grip of a cat. But why should you suffer it to be like that? In such situations you should summon up within you the strength of a lion and shake off all evil thoughts. It is no excuse to say that your mind is not under your control. Why would you let your mind take the upper hand?

God is both inside and outside you. When you realize that He is within you, your passions will be under control.
----

== '''17 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of the Direct Disciples)'' ===

==== '''On Craving''' ====
''By Swami Brahmananda''

The way of steadying and purifying the mind is to retire into solitude, control all cravings, and engage yourself in contemplation and meditation.

Rare indeed is he who has attained unalloyed bliss! Only that man who is free from all cravings can find unending joy.

It is easy to practise austerity by not allowing the mind to come into contact with sense-objects, but it is hard to get rid of the mental craving itself. And of all cravings the subtle desire of the organ of taste is the most difficult to overcome. A man loses this craving only when he is in a high spiritual state.

We must pray; we must cry unto God that He may awaken in us longing for Him and that our cravings for enjoyment may be wiped out.

Cravings — such as for woman and gold, for name and fame — arise again and may lead one farther away from God. Unless you beware of this thief in the form of cravings, he will steal all the goodness in you, and you will drown in the bottomless ocean of worldliness. But, on the other hand, there is the ocean of divine grace — if anyone will sincerely call on Him but once. The Master used to say: "If you move one step toward Him, He comes down ten steps towards you."

When a man has renounced all worldly cravings and regards God as his own, God is very near. Such a man binds God to him with the fetters of love.

Is it easy to renounce bodily cravings? Only if one has God's grace and has practised severe spiritual disciplines in past lives can he have the strength to renounce the world in this life.

Teach your mind to give up all craving for fleshly enjoyments. When the mind is once freed from craving it becomes your slave.

As you sit down to meditate, think of the cravings of the mind as mere dreams. See them as unreal. They can never attach themselves to the mind.

If you have the craving for fleshly enjoyments or the slightest desire for name and fame, you cannot reach God. As Nag Mahashaya used to say, "It is like trying to row an anchored boat."

Real austerity is based upon these three principles: First, take refuge in truth — truth is the pillar to which you must always hold while performing any action. Second, conquer lust. Third, renounce all cravings. Observe these three principles. That is real austerity, and the greatest of these is to conquer lust.

The more intensely you analyse yourself, the more you will understand the condition of your own mind, and you will be able to eliminate the subtler cravings.

''By Swami Shivananda''

God sees one's mind. He becomes gracious where He sees sincere craving. There is no injustice in His domain.

''By Swami Premananda''

If a pitcher has a hole in the bottom, water poured into it will flow out. No water can be kept in it. The holes in a spiritual aspirant are worldly cravings. The materials by which such holes can be repaired and kept closed are: hearing the truth of God, meditating on Him, chanting His name, reading sacred books, ritual worship, prayer, and so on. At every step you will be tested. Be careful, very careful.

Craving for sense objects is like the green algae that obscures the clear water of a pond; association of the holy is like the stick used to remove it, that the water may shine through. However, cravings are never entirely uprooted until the Atman is realized.

''By Swami Turiyananda''

Well, the whole trouble is due to these — the palate and the sexual instinct. In the Himalayas there are lots of solitary places suited for spiritual practices, but why can't monks live there? Owing to the urge of the tongue. The craving for delicacies drives them out of those places.

A man who has controlled all other senses except the palate is not to be considered a master of his senses. When the hankering of the palate is controlled, everything else is controlled.

''By Swami Adbhutananda''

Dissatisfaction and craving for worldly enjoyments are signs of a diseased mind.

''By Swami Ramakrishnananda''

Evolution means wanting something more. It implies a craving. A craving for more of God makes us evolve spiritually; a craving for outer things or earthly powers brings material evolution. The same craving is in the ant, in the angel, in man and in the Siddhas or Seers.

''By Swami Saradananda''

A true leader is he who never hampers that craving for attaining freedom, his only concern being to see to it that when the person concerned gets liberty, he does not misuse it.

Those who lead an unregulated life and think impure thoughts lose their powers and strength of mind. They are at the mercy of passing desires and the feverish cravings of the senses and are slaves.

As it is natural for the body to crave food and rest, so it is natural for the mind to crave the objects of the senses. Sri Ramakrishna used to say the sin of the mind is no sin. Free your mind of all anxieties on that score.
----

== '''18 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of the Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi)'' ===
Mother: "The world is the Lord's. He created it for His own play. We are mere pawns in His game. Wherever He keeps us and in whatever way He does so, we have to abide by it contentedly. We suffer as a result of our own actions; it is unfair to blame anybody for it. We have to surrender ourselves completely to the Lord with faith and devotion in Him, serve others to the best of our capacity, and never be a source of sorrow to anybody."

Disciple: "If there is a God, why is there so much misery in this world? Does He not see? Or hasn't He the power to remove these evils?"

Mother: "The creation itself is full of griefs. How can one understand joy if there is no sorrow? And how can everyone be happy at the same time? There is a story that once Sita said to Rama, 'Why do you not remove everybody's miseries? Make everyone in your kingdom, all your subjects, happy. You can do it if you like.' Rama answered, 'Can everyone be happy at the same time?' 'Well, they can, if you so desire. Why not satisfy all their needs from the royal treasury?' 'Just as you wish.'

"Then Rama called Lakshmana and said, 'Go and tell everyone in my kingdom that all their needs will be supplied from my treasury.' When the people heard this, they came and explained their needs. The treasury was laid open. Everyone lived in happiness. But such was the dispensation of Rama that soon the roof of the royal palace showed cracks and water seeped through. Masons were sent for to repair the crack. But there were none to be found. Where was any labourer to be found? The subjects also came and complained that because there were no masons or workmen, their houses and buildings were falling to pieces. Then, seeing no other way, Sita said to Rama, 'We cannot suffer in the wet like this! Let everything be as it was. Then we can get workmen again. Everybody cannot be happy at the same time.' 'So be it,' answered Rama. In the twinkling of an eye everything was as it used to be. One could get workmen again. 'Lord, it is true that this life is only a game of yours!' said Sita.

"No one can suffer for all time. No one will spend all his days on this earth in suffering. Every action brings its own result, and one gets one's opportunities accordingly."

Disciple: "Then is everything the fruit of Karma?"

Mother: "What else, if not Karma?"

"Each has to get the results of the actions he earned for this life. A pin at least must prick where a wound from a sword was due."
----

== '''19 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of the Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi)'' ===
"Such is life — here today, gone tomorrow! Nothing goes with one, except one's merit and demerit; good and evil deeds follow one even after death."

"One suffers as a result of one's own actions. So, instead of blaming others for such sufferings, one should pray to the Lord and, depending entirely on His grace, try to bear them patiently and with forbearance under all circumstances."

"My son, forbearance is a great virtue; there is no other like it."

"One must be patient like the earth. What iniquities are being perpetrated on her! Yet she quietly endures them all. Man, too, should be like that."

"There is no treasure equal to contentment and no virtue equal to fortitude."

"You see, my son, it is not a fact that you will never face dangers. Difficulties always come, but they do not last forever. You will see that they pass away like water under a bridge."

"Don't be afraid. Human birth is full of suffering and one has to endure everything patiently, taking the Name of God. None, not even God in human form, can escape the sufferings of the body and mind. Even Avataras, saints, and sages have to undergo the ordeal of suffering, for they take upon themselves the burden of sins of omission and commission of ordinary human beings and thereby sacrifice themselves for the good of humanity."

"People complain about their griefs and sorrows and how they pray to God but find no relief from pain. But grief itself is a gift from God. It is the symbol of His compassion. Tell me, who is there in the world who has not had to bear sorrow? Vrinda once said to Krishna, 'Who said you are merciful? As Rama you filled Sita's life with sorrow; as Krishna you fill Radha's life with sorrow. In Kamsa's prison your parents weep for you night and day. Yet we call upon you, because he who takes your Name has no fear of death.'"

"The Mother of the universe is the Mother of all. From Her have come out both good and evil."

Disciple: "Where does this initiative for good and evil originate? You may say from our previous life; but where is the source of it all?"

Mother: "Even a blade of grass cannot stir without the will of God, my son. When a creature falls on good times, his thoughts turn to prayer; when he falls on bad times, all is evil. It is all according to God's will. It is God alone who expresses His will through the actions of man. What powers did Naren (Swami Vivekananda) have by himself? It was because God acted through him that he achieved what he did. The Lord knows what He is about to perform. But should a man surrender himself totally at His feet, He will do everything for him. One must bear with everything, because it is all due to cause and effect, according to one's Karma. Karma counteracts the effects of one's previous Karma. If you do a good act, it cancels the effects of your evil deeds. If one prays, takes the Name of God and thinks of Him, the effects of evil are cancelled."
----

== '''20 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of Sri Sarada Devi, The Holy Mother)'' ===
Disciple: "Where does this initiative for good and evil originate? You may say from our previous life; but where is the source of it all?"

Mother: "Even a blade of grass cannot stir without the will of God, my son. When a creature falls on good times, his thoughts turn to prayer; when he falls on bad times, all is evil. It is all according to God's will. It is God alone who expresses His will through the actions of man. What powers did Naren (Swami Vivekananda) have by himself? It was because God acted through him that he achieved what he did. The Lord knows what He is about to perform. But should a man surrender himself totally at His feet, He will do everything for him. One must bear with everything, because it is all due to cause and effect, according to one's Karma. And Karma counteracts the effect of one's previous Karma. If you do a good act, it cancels the effect of your evil deeds. If one prays, takes the Name of God and thinks of Him, the effects of evil are cancelled."

Disciple: "If God is the father and mother of all, then why does He make us commit sin?"

Mother: "No doubt, God alone has become all these objects, animate and inanimate, but in the relative world all beings act and suffer according to their past Karma and innate tendencies. The sun is one, no doubt, but his manifestation differs according to objects and places."

Disciple: "If everything happens according to the will of God, then why does He not annul the law of Karma?"

Mother: "Yes, if He wills, He can shorten the period of evolution. But we do not know His will.

"Let me tell you one thing. There is great complexity in this creation. The Master does one thing through one man and another thing through another person. Oh, it is so inscrutable!

"Does it matter in the least to God whether you believe or not? Even the sage Suka Deva was to Him like a big ant at the most. Infinite is He. How much can you understand of Him?

"Pray to God with tears in your eyes whenever you want illumination or find yourself faced with any doubt or difficulty. The Lord will remove all your impurities, assuage your mental anguish, and give you enlightenment.

"He who thinks always of the Lord — which way can evil come to him?

"Open your grief-stricken heart to the Lord. Weep and sincerely pray, 'O Lord, draw me towards You; give me peace of mind.' By doing so constantly you will gradually attain peace of mind.

"One who makes a habit of prayer will easily overcome all difficulties and remain calm and unruffled in the midst of the trials of life.

"My child, I bless you from my heart that you live long, attain devotion and enjoy peace. Peace is the principal thing. One needs peace alone.

"Certainly you will have doubts. There will be questionings and faith will return again. That is how faith is established.

"Is faith so cheap, my child? Faith is the last word. If one has faith, the goal is practically reached.

"Does one get faith by mere studying of books? Too much reading creates confusion. The Master used to say that one should learn from the scriptures that God alone is real and the world illusory.

"Why do people argue? Even the wisest of men have not found God through argument! Is God a subject for argument?

"Give up this dry discussion, this hodge-podge of philosophy. Who has been able to know God by reasoning? Even sages like Suka and Vyasa are at best like big ants trying to carry away a few grains of sugar from a large heap."

Disciple: "How can one stop reasoning?"

Mother: "Reasoning does not disappear as long as one has not attained to perfect knowledge."
----

== '''21 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of Sri Sarada Devi, The Holy Mother)'' ===
Disciple: "All I want to know is whether there is anyone whom I may call my own."

Mother: "Yes, such a One exists. He Himself has become our father and mother. He Himself brings us up as our parents. It is He alone who looks after us. Otherwise where were you and where are you now? Your parents brought you up, but at last you realized that you did not belong to them.

"God is one's very own. It is the eternal relationship. He is everyone's own. One realizes Him in proportion to the intensity of one's feeling for Him.

"God cannot be realized without love. Yes, sincere love. Even the impossible becomes possible through devotion."

Disciple: "How does one get love of God?"

Mother: "The grace of God is the thing that is needful. One should pray for the grace of God.

"If one can regard God as one's own and call on Him without seeing Him, that is God's grace.

"He who will pray to God eagerly will see Him.

"If one calls upon Him repeatedly, He becomes compassionate; and so a devoted attachment comes into being. This love for love's sake should be hidden from all eyes.

"He who has really prayed to the Master, even once, has nothing to fear. By praying to him constantly one gets ecstatic love (Prema Bhakti) through his grace. This Prema, my child, is the innermost thing of spiritual life. The Gopis of Vrindavan attained to it. They were not aware of anything in the world excepting Sri Krishna. A line in one of Nilakantha's songs says, 'One should cherish with great care this precious jewel of Prema.'

"Realization of God cannot be achieved without ecstatic love for Him. Did the cowherd boys of Vrindavan get Sri Krishna as their own through Japa or meditation? They realized Him through ecstatic love. They used to say to Him, as to an intimate friend, 'Come here, O Krishna! Eat this! Take this!'

"Call on the Lord who pervades the entire universe. He will shower His blessings upon you.

"What does a man become by realizing God? Does he grow two horns? No, what happens is that he develops discrimination between the real and unreal, obtains spiritual consciousness, and goes beyond life and death. God is realized in spirit. How else can one see God? Has God talked to anyone who is devoid of spiritual fervour? One envisions God in spirit, talks to Him and establishes a relationship with Him in spirit.

"In the course of time one does not feel even the existence of God. After attaining enlightenment one sees that gods and deities are all Maya. Everything comes into existence in time and disappears in time. Deities and such things really disappear at the dawn of enlightenment. The aspirant then realizes that the Mother alone pervades the entire universe. All then become one. This is the simple truth."
----

== '''22 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of Sri Sarada Devi, The Holy Mother)'' ===
"Listen, dear, when God first created man, He endowed him with the spirit of goodness. As a result, men were born with wisdom and it did not take them long to realize that the world was an ephemeral thing. Immediately they took the Name of God and set out to meditate on Him and by His grace were liberated from the bonds of life. God thought, 'This will not do; this is not the way to make them play the game of life.' In the end, along with the spirit of goodness, He mingled in profuse quantities the spirit of materialism and that of vanity. Now the game of life went on with a swing!

"What an illusion Mahamaya has conjured up! Here is this infinite world, and what one claims as his possession will be left behind at death. Still men cannot understand this simple truth.

"A person may have no relatives anywhere, but Mahamaya may make him keep a cat and thus make him worldly. This is how She plays!"

A disciple asked if all men can get rid of desires. Mother replied: "How can they? If they could, then the creation would come to an end. The world is going on because not all can be free of desires. People with desires are born again and again.

"As long as a man has desires there is no end to his transmigration. It is the desires alone that make him take one body after another. There will be rebirth for a man if he has even the desire to eat a piece of candy. Desire may be compared to a minute seed. It is like a big banyan tree growing out of a seed, which is no bigger than a dot. Rebirth is inevitable so long as one has desires. It is like taking the soul from one pillow-case and putting it into another. Only one or two out of many men can be found who are free from all desires.

"The body means the existence of desire; otherwise it would not have existed. It all ends when one no longer has any desires.

"This world is moving around like a wheel. That indeed is the last birth in which one gets completely rid of all desires.

"Those who are born to God have fulfilled all their desires. So long as a man has any desires, he is incapable of such devotion.

"The Master used to say that the worldly person is like a spring mattress; sit on it and it goes down, but the moment you get up, it springs back at once. The regard and devotion for God of these worldly men is just like a drop of water on a hot plate — it evaporates in no time."

Referring to one devotee, Mother said: "He is so deeply engrossed in worldliness and still he says, 'Why do I not see the Master?' Many women used to come to the Master and say to him, 'Why can't we concentrate our minds upon God? Why can't we steady our minds?' and things like that. He would say to them, 'You are like a new-born babe and still smell of the lying-in room. First get rid of that smell. Why are you so worried about realizing God now? Everything will happen in the course of time.'"
----

== '''23 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of Sri Sarada Devi, The Holy Mother)'' ===
Referring to a man who criticized those who renounce the world, Mother said: "My child, men such as these are deeply drowned in the world. They never acquire love for God. They simply carry on, 'coming into the world, suffering the calamities therein, and going away from it' again and again. If after doing so many a time, the Lord has mercy on them in some birth, they will attain liberation.

"How little intelligence does a man possess! He may require one thing, but asks for another. He starts to mould an image of Shiva and often ends by making that of a monkey. It is best therefore to surrender all desires at the feet of God. He will do whatever is best for us. But one may pray for devotion and detachment. These cannot be classed as desires.

"In one word, one should desire of God desirelessness. For desire alone is at the root of all suffering. It is the cause of repeated births and deaths. It is the obstacle in the way of liberation.

"There is no happiness while living in this body. The world is full of sorrow. Happiness is only an empty word. Only those who have received the grace of the Master can recognize him as God, and that is their real joy.

"What is there in this world? Tell me what is good in this life? That was why in the end the Master took only bitter things. I would try to give him sandesh and he would say, 'What is there in sandesh? It is just the same as clay.'

"Do you notice this human body? Today it is and tomorrow it is not. And the world is full of misery and pain. Why should one be eager to have another birth? The body is never free from attendant troubles.

"However spiritual a man may be, he must pay the tax for the use of the body to the last farthing — that is, undergo suffering and death incidental to the embodied state. But the difference between a great soul and an ordinary man is this: the latter weeps while leaving this body, whereas the former laughs. Death seems to him a mere play.

"Everything — husband, wife, or even the body — is only illusory. These are all shackles of illusion. Unless you can free yourself from these bondages, you will never be able to go to the other shore of the world. Even this attachment to the body, the identification of the self with the body, must go. What is this body, my darling? It is nothing but three pounds of ashes when it is cremated. Why so much vanity about it? However strong or beautiful this body may be, its culmination is in those three pounds of ashes. And still people are so attached to it. Glory be to God.

"The whole world is a dream; even this — the waking state — is a dream. What you dreamt last night does not exist now. A farmer who had lost a son dreamt at night that he was a king and the father of eight sons. When the dream vanished, he said to his wife, 'Shall I weep for my eight sons or this one?'

"The happiness of the world is transitory. The less you become attached to the world, the more you enjoy peace of mind.

"These earthly ties are transitory. Today they seem to be the be-all and end-all of life, and tomorrow they vanish. Your real tie is with God.

"If you love any human being you will have to suffer for it. He is blessed, indeed, who can love God alone. There is no suffering in loving God.

"Always do your duty to others, but love you must give to God alone. Worldly love always brings in its wake untold misery.

"The Master saw dabchicks floating, diving and swimming in the water of Haldar's pond, but there would be not a drop of water sticking to them — they would just shake it off. He gave their example and said that in this world one should live like these — live in the midst of worldly possessions, but from one's mind one should completely shake off the attachment for them. The Master used to teach everybody to live in the world completely unattached."
----

== '''24 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of Sri Sarada Devi, The Holy Mother)'' ===
"The Master saw dabchicks floating, diving and swimming in the water of Haldar's pond, but there would be not a drop of water sticking to them — they would just shake it off. He gave their example and said that in this world one should live like these — live in the midst of worldly possessions, but from one's mind one should completely shake off the attachment for them. The Master used to teach everybody to live in the world completely unattached.

"Everything is due to desire. What bondage is there for a man who has no desire? You see, I live with all these things, but I do not feel any attachment; no, not in the least."

Disciple: "Mother, the Master loved renunciation, but how little we practise it!"

Mother: "Yes, you will acquire it slowly. You make some progress in this life, a little more in the next, and so on. It is the body alone that changes; the Atman remains the same. Renunciation of lust and gold! The Master used to say, 'I can change Kamarpukur into gold, if I so desire, by requesting Mathur Babu to do so; but what good will that do? It is all transitory.'

"Sri Ramakrishna would say, 'Musk forms in the navel of the deer. Being fascinated with its smell, the deer run hither and thither. They do not know where the fragrance comes from. Likewise God resides in the human body, but man does not know it. Therefore he searches everywhere for bliss, not knowing that it is already in him.' God alone is real. All else is false.

"Everything depends on one's mind. Nothing can be achieved without purity of mind. It is said, 'The aspirant may have received the grace of the Guru, the Lord, and the Vaishnava; but he comes to grief without the grace of "one."' That 'one' is the mind. The mind of the aspirant should be gracious to him.

"My child, this mind is just like a wild elephant. It races with the wind. Therefore one should discriminate all the time. One should work hard for the realization of God."

Disciple: "I cannot concentrate my mind well during meditation. My mind is fickle and unsteady."

Mother: "Don't worry! Restlessness is the nature of the mind, as it is of the eyes and ears. Practise regularly. The Name of God is more powerful than the senses. Always think of the Master, who is looking after you. Don't be troubled about your lapses.

"Whenever the mind goes after anything other than God, consider that as transient and surrender the mind at the sacred feet of the Lord.

"The mind naturally tends towards evil deeds. It is lethargic in doing good works. Formerly I used to get up at 3 a.m. and sit up for meditation. One day I felt disinclined to do so on account of physical indisposition. That one day's irregularity resulted in the upsetting of my routine for a number of days. That is why I say that perseverance and tenacity are necessary for success in all good work."
----

== '''25 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== '''Christmas with Swami Brahmananda''' ===
When December came, Swami Brahmananda said to me: "You should give us a Christmas party."

"What kind of party do you wish, Swamiji?" I asked.

"As much like a Western Christmas party as you can make it," was his reply.

A Christmas tree was out of the question, but I went to the English shops and ordered plum cake, glacé fruits and whatever savoured peculiarly of Christmastide.

When Christmas day arrived, the boys brought green branches from the jungle and bound them to the pillars in the hall, then they made long garlands of mango leaves to hang between the pillars and over the doors.

The Indian tradesman is quick to sense when his wares are needed, and while we were trimming the house, a vendor appeared at the door with a basket full of jasmine garlands. We made curtains of them on the supporting beam of the smaller alcove in the large hall and draped them back, forming an arch with the Christmas altar in deep perspective behind the fragrant hangings.

Swami Ramakrishnananda had charged me to be sure to place beside the altar some bread and wine as a symbol of the Christian Eucharist. A table in the larger alcove, almost a separate room, was piled high with fruit, sweetmeats and plum cake.

At four o'clock Swami Brahmananda, Swami Ramakrishnananda and the Christmas party arrived. Swami Brahmananda took his seat at the far end of the hall opposite the altar with Swami Ramakrishnananda beside him. The others, most of them orthodox Brahmins, sat in a long row down either side.

Swami Brahmananda asked me to read the story of Christ's birth and I chose the account of St. Luke. When I had finished reading, the intense stillness in the air led me to look towards Swami Brahmananda. His eyes were open and fixed on the altar, there was a smile on his lips, but it was evident that his consciousness had gone to a higher plane. No one moved or spoke. At the end of twenty minutes or more the look of immediate seeing returned to his eyes and he motioned to us to continue the Service. Lights, incense and burning camphor were waved before the altar, the evening chant and hymn were sung, all those present bowed in silent prayer and the Christmas Service was ended.

Swami Brahmananda then asked to visit the other rooms of the house, after which he told us to bring the refreshments. He explained with emphasis that the house was like a Temple, the food was blessed food and everyone could partake of it freely. All obeyed him and ate heartily and without compunction of what I had provided.

When Swami Brahmananda thought they had had enough, he said to them with unexpected abruptness: "You had all better go home now. Swami Ramakrishnananda and I will stay a little longer."

The company took their dismissal good-naturedly and left. After they were gone he said: "Now, Sister, bring your bread and butter, your English plum cake, your French chestnuts and your German prunes and we'll have a real Western party." He took a little of each thing and had me give it to him. I soon found, however, that I was not to lay it in his hand, but drop it into the hand from a short height. He enjoyed especially the bread and butter. He did not care so much for the fruit cake — it was too rich.

As he was eating he remarked to me: "I have been very much blessed in coming to your house today, Sister."

I answered quickly: "Swamiji, it is I who have been blessed in having you come."

"You do not understand," he replied. "I have had a great blessing here this afternoon. As you were reading the Bible, Christ suddenly stood before the altar dressed in a long blue cloak. He talked to me for some time. It was a very blessed moment."

There was no more thought of food. I poured water over his hands, then some sweet perfume, and with Swami Ramakrishnananda he went back to the monastery radiant with the joy of the vision.

I wish you all Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.
----

== '''26 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of Sri Sarada Devi, The Holy Mother)'' ===
Mother forbade a disciple to make pilgrimages without discrimination of time and company. Quoting from a song, she said: "'Pilgrimage and excursion are causes of misery. Oh my mind, don't be restless about them.' You can attain more in your house, if you are really earnest."

Regarding weakness of the mind, Holy Mother said to a disciple: "Child, this is the law of nature. Have you not noticed the full moon and the new moon? Likewise the mind is sometimes dominated by good, and sometimes by bad tendencies."

Disciple: "Mother, my mind becomes restless now and then. It craves for enjoyment. That frightens me."

Mother: "Don't be afraid. I tell you that in this Kali Yuga mental sin is no sin. Free your mind from all worries on this account. You need not be afraid.

"Can anyone altogether destroy lust? A little of it remains as long as one has the body. But it can be subdued, as a snake can be subdued by charmed dust."

Disciple: "However I try to remove it, I do not succeed."

Mother: "This is the result of what you have done in your past life. Can one get rid of it by force? Cultivate good company, try to be good, and in time you will succeed. Pray to the Master. I, too, am here.

"It is the nature of water to flow downwards, but the sun's rays lift it up towards the sky. Likewise it is the very nature of the mind to go to lower things, to objects of enjoyment, but the grace of God can make the mind go towards higher objects."

Disciple: "I have been practising religious disciplines. I do not relax my efforts in that direction. But it appears that the impurities of mind are not growing less."

Mother: "You have rolled different threads on a reel — red, black and white. While unrolling you will see them all exactly in the same way."

Disciple: "How many insignificant desires crop up in our minds! How can we get rid of them?"

Mother: "In your case these are no real desires. They are nothing. They are mere fancies that appear and disappear in your mind. The more they come and go, the better for you. So long as the ego exists, desires also undoubtedly remain. But those desires will not injure you.

"Don't puzzle the mind with too many inquiries. One finds it difficult to put one single thing into practice, but dares invite distraction by filling the mind with too many things.

"The mind is everything. It is in the mind alone that one feels pure and impure. A man, first of all, must make his own mind guilty and then alone he can see another man's guilt. Does anything ever happen to another if you enumerate his faults? It only injures you.

"Whenever people discuss good or evil, all those who are present have to take a little share of the good or evil. Suppose someone tells you about his good and evil deeds. Every time you think of that person you must perforce remember his good and evil deeds. In this manner his good and evil deeds both must leave some impression upon your mind.

"All is in the mind — purity, as also impurity — is in the mind.

"There is evil in your mind. That is why you can't find peace.

"It is a bad habit always to be suspecting impurities. The more you emphasize your obsession, the more obsessed you become. It is true of all things.

"He who has a pure mind sees everything pure.

"On a moonlit night I would look at the moon and pray, 'May my mind be pure as the rays of the moon!' or 'O Lord, there are stains even on the moon, but let my mind be absolutely stainless.'

"When I was at Vrindavan, I used to visit Bankubihari (Krishna in a bent pose) and prayed to Him, 'Your form is bent, but Your mind is straight — kindly straighten the windings of my mind.'

"Do the Master's work, and along with that practise spiritual disciplines too. Work helps one to keep off idle thoughts. If one is without work, such thoughts rush into one's mind.

"How can one's mind be healthy if one doesn't work? No one can spend all twenty-four hours in thought and meditation. So one must engage oneself in work; it keeps the mind cheerful."

Alluding to X, Mother said: "Just see how impure her mind has become through idleness."
----

== '''27 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of Sri Sarada Devi, The Holy Mother)'' ===
Disciple: "Some say that one achieves nothing through work. One can succeed in spiritual life only through Japa and meditation."

Mother: "How have they known as to what will give success and what will not? Does one achieve everything by practising Japa and meditation for a few days? Nothing whatever is achieved unless Mahamaya clears the path. Didn't you notice the other day that a person's brain became deranged because he forced himself to excessive prayer and meditation? If one's head becomes deranged, one's life becomes useless.

"The intelligence of a man is very precarious. It is like the thread of a screw. If one thread is loosened, then he goes crazy. Or he becomes entangled in the trap of Mahamaya and thinks himself to be very intelligent. He feels that he is quite all right. But if the screw is tightened in a different direction, one follows the right path and enjoys peace and happiness.

"One should always recollect God and pray to Him for right understanding. How many are there who can meditate and practise Japa all the time? At first they earnestly practise these disciplines, but their brains become heated in the long run by sitting constantly on their prayer rugs. They become very vain. They also suffer from mental worries by reflecting on different things. It is much better to work than to allow the mind to roam at large. For when the mind gets a free scope to wander, it creates much confusion. My Naren thought of these things and wisely founded institutions where people would do disinterested work.

"The mind keeps well when engaged in work. And yet Japa, meditation, prayer also are specially needed. You must at least sit down once in the morning and again in the evening. That acts as a rudder to a boat. When one sits in meditation in the evening, one gets a chance to think of what one has done — good or bad — during the whole day. Next one should compare the states of one's mind in the preceding day and the present. Unless you meditate in the mornings and evenings along with work, how can you know what you are actually doing?

"It is very necessary to have a fixed time for these things. For it cannot be said when the auspicious moment will come. It arrives so suddenly. No one gets any hint of it beforehand. Therefore one should observe regularity, however busy one may be with duties. Even in the midst of the most intense activity, one should at least remember God and salute Him."
----

== '''28 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of Sri Sarada Devi, The Holy Mother)'' ===
"May your body and mind become pure by repeating the Name of God!

"The Mantra purifies the body. Man becomes pure by repeating the Mantra of God. It is said, 'The human teacher utters the Mantra into the ear; but God breathes the spirit into the soul.'

"As wind removes the cloud, so the Name of God destroys the cloud of worldliness.

"Do you know the significance of Japa and other spiritual practices? By these, the power of the sense-organs is subdued."

A devotee took a tiny banyan seed and said to Mother: "Look, Mother, it is tinier even than the tiniest seed we know. From this will spring a giant tree! How strange!" "Indeed, it will," Mother replied. "See what a tiny seed is the Name of God. From it, in time, come divine moods, devotion, love, and spiritual consummation."

"Just see the power of habit. By the law of habit man attains realization by continuous practice of Japa."

A devotee asked her, "Mother, what is the secret?" She pointed to a small timepiece in a niche and said: "As that timepiece is ticking, so also go on repeating God's Name. That will bring you everything. Nothing more need be done."

"One has to suffer the consequences of one's deeds. But by repeating the Name of God, you can lessen its intensity. If you were destined to have a wound as wide as a ploughshare, you will get a pin-prick at least. The effect of Karma can be counteracted to a great extent by Japa and austerities."

Disciple: "Suppose I can't do Japa of the Mantra of my chosen Deity?"

Mother: "What do you mean? You won't do Japa of your Mantra? What a suggestion! If you don't do the Japa, you lose; that affects me not in the least!

"The boys all come and solicit me earnestly for initiation. They get it and depart. But they don't make their Japa regularly — why regularly, some do nothing at all. They take the Mantra with so much sincerity; but why do they not practise at all? Not that it is very hard. If one but sticks to a little practice, how much joy comes to one! Ah! With what joy and for how long Jogen (Jogin-Ma) and myself used to make Japa at Vrindavan."
----

== '''29 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of Sri Sarada Devi, The Holy Mother)'' ===
A disciple had written "I cannot calm my mind and concentrate" and so on. Mother became agitated at these words and said: "It can be done if one repeats the Name fifteen or twenty thousand times each day. I have seen it actually happen. Let him do that first and talk afterwards if it fails. One must put one's mind to it. But no, no one will do that. They only complain, 'Why does nothing come of it?'"

"How can one do without Japa and meditation? These have got to be done.

"The conjunction of day and night is the most auspicious time for calling on God. The mind remains pure at this time.

"True it is that there is no hard and fast rule about the time of Japa, yet morning and evening are the favourable periods. Whatever the time be, you must do Japa every day. It is not good to forgo it any day.

"One should practise Japa and meditation at regular times, giving up idleness. While living at Dakshineswar I used to get up at three o'clock in the morning and practise Japa and meditation. One day I felt a little indisposed and left the bed rather late. The next day I woke up still later through laziness. Gradually I found that I did not feel inclined to get up early at all. Then I said to myself, 'Ah, at last I have fallen a victim to idleness.' Thereupon I began to force myself to get up early. Gradually I got back my former habit. In such matters one should keep up the practice with unyielding resolution."

Disciple: "I practise Japa, but I cannot concentrate my mind."

Mother: "Repeat the Name of God, whether your mind is concentrated or not. It will be good for you if you can repeat the Name of God for a fixed number of times daily."

Mother told X: "What a lot of work I did when I was your age! And yet I could find time to repeat my Mantra a hundred thousand times every day."

Disciple: "Mother, shall I practise the repetition of the holy Name having in mind a fixed number of repetitions?"

Mother: "If you repeat with an eye to number, your mind may be concentrated on the number alone. Therefore I would advise you to repeat the Name of God without being particular about the number."

Once a devotee forgot how to count the repetitions of the Mantra on his fingers. Mother said: "What does it matter? The purpose of all this is to direct the mind towards God.

"Repeating the Name of God a fixed number of times, telling the rosary or counting on fingers, is calculated to direct the mind to God. The natural tendency of the mind is to run this way and that way. Through these means it is attracted to God. While repeating the name of God, if one sees His form and becomes absorbed in Him, one's Japa stops. One gets everything when one succeeds in meditation.

"While performing Japa, take the Name of God with utmost love, sincerity, and self-surrender. Before commencing your meditation daily, first think of your utter helplessness in this world and then slowly begin the practice of Sadhana as directed by your Guru.

"One should meditate on one's chosen Deity as one goes on making Japa. In meditation the face of the chosen Deity of course comes first; but one should meditate on the whole figure, starting from the feet upward."

Disciple: "Why is it that our mind is not absorbed in God when we repeat His Name?"

Mother: "It will come about in due course. Even if the mind is not concentrated, do not give up the repetition of the holy Word. You do your duty. While repeating the Name, the mind will get fixed of itself on the ideal, like a candle flame in a place protected from the wind. It is the wind alone that makes the flame flicker. In the same way, our fancies and desires make our mind restless."

Disciple: "Mother, why is it that the mind does not become steady? When I try to think of God, I find the mind drawn towards other objects."

Mother: "It is wrong if the mind is drawn towards secular objects. By 'secular objects' is meant money, family, etc. But it is natural to think of the work in which one is engaged. If meditation is not possible, do Japa. Realization will come through Japa. If the meditative mood comes, well and good, but by no means do it by force."
----

== '''30 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of Sri Sarada Devi, The Holy Mother)'' ===
Disciple: "Is it of any use to be merely repeating His Name without intense devotion?"

Mother: "Whether you jump into water or are pushed into it, your cloth will get drenched. Is it not so? Meditate every day, as your mind is yet immature. Constant meditation will make the mind one-pointed. Discriminate always between the real and the unreal. Whenever you find your mind drawn to any object, think of its transitoriness, and thus try to withdraw the mind back to the thought of God. A man was angling. A bridal party was going along the road with music. But the angler's eye remained fixed on the float. The mind of a spiritual aspirant should be steadfast like that.

"The mind is by nature restless. Therefore, at the outset, to make the mind steady, one may practise meditation by regulating the breathing a little. That helps to steady the mind. But one must not overdo it. That heats the brain. You may talk of the vision of God, or of meditation, but remember, the mind is everything. One gets everything when the mind becomes steady. If the mind becomes quiet of itself, then what is the need of Pranayama?"

Disciple: "Mother, I cannot concentrate my mind in meditation at all."

Mother: "It does not matter much. Look at the picture of Sri Ramakrishna, and that will be enough."

When a devotee complained that the impurities of his mind were not being removed in spite of his Japa and meditation, Mother said: "Through the practice of Japa they will go. How can one afford to do without these practices?

"In time the mind itself becomes the Guru. To pray to God and meditate on Him for two minutes with full concentration is better than doing so for long hours without it. Repeating the Name of God once, with the mind controlled, is equivalent to a million repetitions with the mind away from God. You may repeat the Name for the whole day, but if the mind is elsewhere, that does not produce much result. The repetition must be accompanied by concentration. Then alone one gets the grace of God.

"Why should not one have concentration and meditation if the mind is pure? Why should not one have God-vision? When one sits down for Japa, God's Name will continue rising up from the mind naturally and not with effort."

Disciple: "I find it impossible to meditate. Please awaken my Kundalini."

Mother: "It will awaken in the course of time. Do Japa and meditation. It does not rise of itself. Continuous meditation will make the mind so steady that you will not feel inclined to give it up. When the mind is not in a good mood to meditate, do not force it to do so. In such conditions, get up from the seat of meditation after making prostrations. Real meditation is of a spontaneous nature.

"The Kundalini will be gradually awakened. You will realize everything by the repetition of God's Name. Even if the mind is not quiet, still you can sit and repeat the holy Name a million times. Before the awakening of the Kundalini, one hears the Anahata sound; but nothing can be achieved without the grace of the Divine Mother.

"If a person is steady in meditation, he will clearly see the Lord in his heart and hear His voice. The moment an idea flashes in his mind, it will at once be fulfilled and he will be bathed in peace."
----

== '''31 December 2019''' ==
Jai Ramakrishna

=== ''(Teachings of Sri Sarada Devi, The Holy Mother)'' ===

==== '''Self-Effort and the Grace of God''' ====
Disciple: "How does one get the vision of God?"

Mother: "It is only through His grace. But one must practise meditation and Japa. These remove the impurities of the mind. One must practise spiritual disciplines such as worship and so forth. As one gets the fragrance of a flower by handling it, or as one gets the smell of sandalwood by rubbing it against a stone, in the same way one gets spiritual awakening by constantly thinking of God. But you can realize Him right now if you become desireless.

"The mind gets purified after hard tapasya. Without regular practice nothing can be attained. The mind is rendered pure as the result of many austerities. 'God who is purity itself cannot be attained without austerities.' What else does one obtain by the realization of God? Does he grow two horns? No, his mind becomes pure, and through a pure mind one attains knowledge and spiritual awakening.

"The purpose of initiation is to try to realize God through sincere spiritual effort."

Disciple: "What is the need of Tapasya?"

Mother: "It is very necessary. The Master practised all kinds of disciplines. He used to say, 'I have made the mould; now you may cast the images.' To cast the images means to meditate and contemplate on the Master, to think of the various incidents of his life. By meditating on him, one gets all the spiritual moods.

"Spiritual practices are meant to keep the mind steady at the feet of God, to keep it immersed in His thought. Repeat His Name.

"If you practise spiritual discipline for some time in a solitary place, you will find that your mind has become strong, and then you can live in any place or society without being in the least affected by it. When the plant is tender, it should be hedged around. But when it has grown big, not even cows and goats can injure it. Spiritual practices in a solitary place are essential."
[[Category:General]]

Taittiriya Upanishad Lecture 120 Summary on 02 September 2026 Q&A

2026-09-04T00:24:36Z

Bhama: Created page with "== [https://pub-0536a4be5dcf4ea9890169f5da0ca6a9.r2.dev/April%202026%20onwards/Taittriya%20Upanishad/Q%20%26%20A%20120%20Taittiriya%20Upanishad%20On%202%20September%202026%20.mp3 Link to Audio] == ==Discussion on Ignorance (Avidya) and Knowledge (Vidya)== ===Question: Dealing with Ignorance in Daily Life=== '''Speaker 1:''' Maharaj, there is the saying: "Where there is knowledge, there is ignorance." And when we, in our daily life – the stages where we're in – it se..."

== [https://pub-0536a4be5dcf4ea9890169f5da0ca6a9.r2.dev/April%202026%20onwards/Taittriya%20Upanishad/Q%20%26%20A%20120%20Taittiriya%20Upanishad%20On%202%20September%202026%20.mp3 Link to Audio] ==

==Discussion on Ignorance (Avidya) and Knowledge (Vidya)==
===Question: Dealing with Ignorance in Daily Life===
'''Speaker 1:''' Maharaj, there is the saying: "Where there is knowledge, there is ignorance." And when we, in our daily life – the stages where we're in – it seems like we're dealing more with ignorance, and we need to learn to cope up with ignorance and defects.
===The Relationship Between Ignorance and Knowledge===
'''Speaker 2:''' So what is the relationship between ignorance and knowledge? What is the function of knowledge? Slowly, to convert this ignorance into knowledge, isn't it? For that purpose, we must need – the very first step is called knowledge. You know what that knowledge is? "I am ignorant." "I am ignorant." That is the very first step in obtaining true knowledge.

Ignorance is not absence of knowledge. Ignorance is knowledge misunderstood, misinterpreted. The first step towards knowledge is to acknowledge that we are not knowledgeable, and that is the greatest knowledge. So then we take steps.
===Ignorance as Wrong Knowledge, Not Absence of Knowledge===
'''Speaker 2:''' And then ignorance has also – what you call – ignorance first. What is the first point I told you? Ignorance is not absence of knowledge, but wrong knowledge. You see, when a person is completely unconscious, he becomes ignorant, isn't it?

'''Speaker 1:''' Yes.

'''Speaker 2:''' That is called absence of knowledge – neither good nor evil. Yeah. But when we are awake, etc., or dreaming, we are not having absence of knowledge; we are having wrong knowledge. And this wrong knowledge finally teaches me, teaches everybody, that there is something wrong with this kind of knowledge. So that is how ignorance leads to knowledge.
===Example: Tempting Food and Stomach Ache===
'''Speaker 2:''' You want an example? You eat some tempting food, and it creates stomach ache. And first time you ignore. Second time you ate – second time stomach ache. Every time you eat – stomach ache. Did you now become enlightened?

'''Speaker 1:''' Yeah, found out the cause for the stomach ache.

'''Speaker 2:''' Ahhh. So that wrong knowledge – "this is excellent food" – is now instantly "it is unhealthy, poisonous food." So this is how the ''samsara'' is called ignorance.
===Avidya as the Grace of Divine Mother===
'''Speaker 2:''' And many people do not understand, they say it is ''mithya'' – no. It is the greatest manifestation of Divine Mother's grace. First, she takes us through this in order to awaken us. Only after going through this, then we become aware: "This is not good." And then he turns inward – from outside to inside. So this is how we have to understand, interpret it.

That's why Sri Ramakrishna says: the Divine Mother manifests both in the form of ''vidya'' as well as ''avidya''. But we have wrong understanding of ''avidya'' after studying superficially some Advaitic works. They are meant for highly advanced spiritual people, not for ordinary people.
===The Purpose of Samsara and Avidya===
'''Speaker 2:''' So we have to understand the truth about this world. Everything is temporary. Everything only causes more misery. And these experiences – even for the dullest person – after more experience, he will be reluctantly awakened. And that awakening is the only purpose of...

'''Speaker 1:''' Samsara.

'''Speaker 2:''' Avidya. Avidya. And that is why what Holy Mother said:

'''Speaker 1:''' "Misery is the gift of God."

'''Speaker 2:''' So there it is – it is grace of God. Avidya is a grace of God.
===Avidya as Preparation for Vidya===
'''Speaker 2:''' What I say about ''avidya'': it is the preparation for ''vidya''. That which makes us fit to follow the path of ''vidya''. ''Vidya'' means – don't call Advaitins' Advaitic knowledge. ''Vidya'' means ''bhakti'', ''jnana'', ''viveka'', ''vairagya'', ''bhakti yoga'', ''karma yoga'', ''raja yoga'', any yoga. That's what I call ''vidya''.

Okay, so that is what we need to understand crystal clearly: that ''avidya'' has the greatest goal, which is to bring us ultimately to God – self-knowledge. And that is why this thing is so beautifully seen.
===The Sankhya Yoga Perspective on Prakriti===
'''Speaker 2:''' So we have to understand – Sankhya – there is some yoga called Sankhya yoga, and you know what they say in this Sankhya yoga. So this ''avidya - prakriti'' is called ''avidya''. But we say it is both ''vidya'' and ''avidya''. The only purpose of ''prakriti'' is to lead each ''jiva'': "You are not part of me, do not belong to me – you belong only to Purusha." And that is what the greatest sage Kapila is telling us.
===Avidya as Correction, Not Punishment===
'''Speaker 2:''' The only purpose of ''avidya'' is to lead us to God. If we do not listen with faith, it gives us – slaps us, kicks us, brings misery. But the purpose is not to punish. Even when the governments punish people, the purpose is not punishment. The purpose is to make the people behave properly. It is a correction.
===Conclusion: The Unified Purpose of Vidya and Avidya===
'''Speaker 2:''' Yeah, is the relationship not opposed but unified. They work together: "You prepare the body and mind, and I will lead that person to the highest goal."
[[Category:Taittiriya Upanishad]]

Taittiriya Upanishad Lecture 120 Summary on 02 September 2026

2026-09-04T00:16:37Z

Bhama:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Prayer (Śānti Pāṭha) ==
ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

Oṁ jananīṁ śaraḍhāṁ deveṁ rāmakriṣṇam jagad-gurum

pādapadmetayosritvā pranamāmi-muhurumuhu

ॐ सह नाववतु ।

सह नौ भुनक्तु ।

सह वीर्यं करवावहै ।

तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ।

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥ हरि ॐ

OM SAHANAVAVATO SAHANAV BHUNAKTO SAHAVIRYAM KARAVAVAHAI TEJASVINAVADHITAMASTUMA VIDVISHAVAHAI OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTIHI HARIHI OM

OM May Brahman protect us both. May Brahman bestow upon us both the fruit of knowledge.

May we both obtain the energy to acquire knowledge.

May what we both study reveal the truth. May we cherish no ill feeling toward each other.

OM PEACE PEACE PEACE BE UNTO ALL
==Introduction: The Brahmānandavallī – A Summary==
In our last class, we had summarised the second chapter of the ''Taittirīya Upaniṣad'', called ''Brahmānandavallī'' – and that is the most important chapter. It gives one of the greatest definitions of ''Brahman'': ''Satyam jñānam anantam brahma''.
===The Secondary Definition of Brahman===
Not only that – in this ''Bhṛguvallī'' also, when Varuṇa was approached by his disciple – earlier he was the son, now he became a disciple – and asked, "Please teach me ''Brahman''" – then Varuṇa takes up, which we will discuss a little bit later, that he gives the secondary definition of ''Brahman''.

What is the primary definition? ''Satyam jñānam anantam brahma'' – that is called ''svarūpa-lakṣaṇa'' (the essential definition). But what Varuṇa taught: ''yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante, yena jātāni jīvanti, yat prayanty abhisaṃviśanti'' – this is the ''taṭastha-lakṣaṇa'' (the incidental definition).
===The Incidental Definition ===
''Taṭastha-lakṣaṇa'' means temporary experience. We are all experiencing this world temporarily. How? Because everything is changing – even our own body and mind are changing, not to speak of this entire creation. That is why it is limited by time, space, and causation. But then we have to start where we are. That is why the secondary definition – accidental definition, experienced definition – is called ''taṭastha-lakṣaṇa''.
===The Most Important Chapter===
So the second chapter in this ''Taittirīya Upaniṣad'' is the most important chapter. It is called ''Brahmavallī'' – this section exclusively dealing with ''Brahman'' – or ''Ānandavallī''. Realisation of ''Brahman'' leads to eternal, infinite bliss, and combined together – ''Brahma'' and ''Ānanda'' – ''Brahmānandavallī''.
===The Value of Repetition===
Just to recall – what did we discuss? Any number of repetitions in the scriptures is the best method. ''Japa'' is nothing but trying to remember God. While doing ''japa'', our mind wanders to so many places, and that is why every now and then we have to bring it back. That is how slowly we start keeping our mind more on God and with fewer distractions. So here also, any number of times we can go on talking about it – it is not a fault; on the contrary, it is one of the best things.
===The Goal of Life===
So what does this second chapter say? The realisation of God is the only goal of life. That is why he says that one should attain – ''Brahmavid āpnoti param'' – "The knower of ''Brahman'' attains the highest." And that is said here. A realised soul experiences infinite, eternal, unbroken bliss. And how does he do that? He becomes free from the bonds of every bond of ''Māyā'' or limitation. ''Māyā'' means ignorance; ignorance means limitation – time, space, and object limitation.
===The Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad on Realisation===
There is a beautiful ''śloka'' in the ''Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad'': ''vidyāte hṛdaya-granthiḥ, chidyante sarva-saṃśayāḥ, kṣīyante cāsya karmāṇi, tasmin dṛṣṭe parāvare'' – "When a person knows 'I am ''Brahman''', when he has the vision of that infinite ''Brahman''" – that means he is not keeping infinite in front of him and saying "You are infinite." One cannot say that. When we talk about infinite, "I" do not exist, "you" do not exist – excepting everything is one. And when a person attains to that knowledge, all his ''karmas'' are destroyed, all his doubts are destroyed, all the knots of the heart are cut asunder. And he becomes free and he roams about.
===The Realised Soul===
A realised soul – a ''jīva'' previously, now a realised person – is not a soul. He is the ''Paramātman''. He is ''Brahman''. He experiences infinite joy. He becomes free from the bonds of ''Māyā''. But an ignorant person experiences suffering and fear. The whole transmigratory existence is nothing but suffering and fear.
===Brahman as Cause of Fear and Fearlessness ===
And this we have seen again in the second chapter of the ''Taittirīya Upaniṣad'': ''Brahman'' becomes both the cause of fear as well as the cause of fearlessness. Birth is suffering, growth is suffering, death is suffering – all this is put to an end only when a great soul through ''tapasyā'' realises "I am none other than ''Brahman''."
===The Pañcakośa Vivaraṇa===
This is the essence of ''Brahmānandavallī'', and for that, it elaborates the ''Pañcakośa Vivaraṇa''. When we first hear this teaching "Thou art that," it is difficult for people to cognise that "I am ''Brahman''." Why? Because I have a body and I have a mind. Through the instrumentality of this body‑mind, I am experiencing this entire almost infinite universe. And therefore, how to believe it? That is because, as the second chapter clearly enunciates, the whole ''avidyā'' is nothing but identifying ourselves with five layers.
===The Five Layers===
Just imagine that you are covered with five types of cloths, completely from head to foot. Whether you look at yourself in a mirror, or others look at you, they can only see the outermost layer. Thus we are covered with limited dress. The external dress is extremely grossly limited – it is called ''annamaya kośa''. The cause of the ''annamaya kośa'' – cause is always subtler than the effect – is called ''prāṇamaya kośa''. In its turn, it is an effect coming out of the mind, and the mind is even more subtle. Mind is the manifestation of intelligence. Intelligence is the modification of consciousness in the mind. Then even that intellect is a modification of ''ānanda'' – ''ānandamaya kośa''. We are covered with these five layers.
===Identifying with Different Kośas===
So whether we look at ourselves as reflections in the mirror, or the world looks at us, or we look at the world, we see only that kośa with which we are identified. If we are identified with ''annamaya kośa'', we see everything as ''anna'' – solid matter. ''Anna'' means solid matter. But by chance, if we can rise above this and identify ourselves with ''prāṇamaya'', we see everything is vibrating with tremendous energy – ''śakti'' – and that is ''prāṇamaya kośa''. When we go beyond that, we see that the whole universe is an idea in our mind. One of our greatest philosophers had said it looks as if the whole world is an idea – ''citta-vṛtti''.
===Yoga as Going Beyond Thoughts ===
That is why when Patañjali Ṛṣi says what is ''yoga'' – ''citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ'' – that is, you go beyond the thoughts. What makes the thoughts alive, what sustains the thoughts – that is called ''nirodha''. That means to say, you go to the cause which is making these thoughts manifest, and that is called ''yoga''. So a person identifies with the mind.
=== The Whole World Reflects Our Self-Conception===
This is the greatest truth. Swami Yatiśvarānanda Mahārāja used to say: as one's concept of one's own self, the whole world is also thought exactly in the same way. A funny way of putting it is: if I am evil, I think the whole world is evil. If I am a thief, I see the whole world as a thief. If I see that I am a good, ''dharmic'' person, I see everything as ''dharmic'' – even an ''ādharmic'' person is also seen as a ''dharmic'' person only.
===The Example of Yudhiṣṭhira and Duryodhana===
Just to recollect – once Yudhiṣṭhira and Duryodhana went on a world tour. After returning, there was a public reception for both of them, and they were requested to express their experiences of this tour. Then Duryodhana got up, finished his speech: "I have nothing to say – everything is extremely evil." And then he sat down. Then Yudhiṣṭhira turned. He got up and said: "I have no words to express how good the world is, how ''dharmic'' the world is. Everybody, as it were, is falling head over heels to help me in any way that is possible. I am eternally grateful. I see everything as God." And he also sat down. "I cannot tell you anything more than this." This illustrates that if I think I am ''anātman'', everything is ''anātman''. If I think I am the ''Ātman'' – that is the case of a knower of ''Brahman'' – then he says ''sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma''.
===The Essence===
So that is the essence. And what does a person get by this knowledge? He says ''Brahmavid āpnoti param'' – not only he attains the highest, he enjoys ''brahmaṇā saha''. At the same time, he experiences eternal, infinite, unbroken bliss. After all, nobody is satisfied with broken bliss. Therefore, we are all after infinite bliss – ''Ānanda'' – but then we are searching in the wrong place. But after many lives, then by the grace of God, by the grace of the Guru, we develop ''śraddhā'', ''bhakti'' towards the scripture. We believe, even though we do not understand, but we have developed firm faith that the whole universe is nothing but ''Brahman''.
===Transcending Limited Identity===
And then the Guru teaches: first you transcend your limited identity with this body – that is called ''anna-brahma''. Identify with the entire body – everybody's body, anybody's body, even the body of a mountain, body of a river, body of a rock, body of a dead body, body of dried wood – because there is nothing called dead. Everything is vibrating with consciousness. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa explains: "I see a small wriggling insect, and I see consciousness wriggling through that insect" – what a vision! And he goes into ''samādhi'' again.
===The Five Kośas in the Second Chapter===
So at the end of the second chapter, all the five ''kośas'' are briefly described, and how one should transcend them – that is beautifully explained in this last chapter. Then what does he gain as one transcends each ''kośa''? That is beautifully explained in the eighth ''anuvāka'', called ''Ānanda-mīmāṃsā''. So the higher the instrument – the body and the mind – that is called ''loka'' (higher world). I call it higher state of consciousness, and correspondingly our experience of bliss also is higher.
===The Realised Soul Without Desires===
But at the same time, this ''Brahmānandavallī'' also tells us: here is a person and he is a realised soul, and he does not have any desires – ''akāmatasya''. He is a ''śrotriya'' – a realised soul. Whatever is written in the scriptures, through the teaching of the Guru and through God's grace, he realised – and then he obtains, from the minutest joy to the all‑pervading infinite joy. That means infinity includes everything.
===If One Does Not Realise Brahman===
If one does not realise ''Brahman'' – that "I am ''Brahman''" – what happens then? The ''Brahmānandavallī'' describes that one has to fear. The sun is shining because of fear, the wind is blowing because of fear, even the fire is burning, giving light because of the fear of ''Brahman'', and death itself running in order to satisfy ''Brahman''. Because ''Brahman'' allotted these duties to these presiding deities, so they are running out of fear of ''Brahman''. But one who realises ''Brahman'' – then there is no fear at all.
===The Essence of Brahmānandavallī===
And that we have beautifully discussed in the very first ''Brāhmaṇa'' of this ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad'' – that ''Ātman'' is the most cherished, dearest, because it is one's own Self. Nobody loves anything excepting ''Brahman''. But by mistake, we are mistaking every object that we come across as ''Brahman''. That is the essence of the ''Brahmānandavallī''.
==Introduction to Bhṛguvallī==
Today we enter into the ''Bhṛguvallī''. This is only a summary. It is called ''Bhṛguvallī'' because it is the spiritual effort of Bhṛgu. It is in the form of a dialogue between Bhṛgu and Varuṇa. Varuṇa was a ''Brahmajñānī'' – a knower of ''Brahman''. He was a householder. It is a beautiful idea – even householders, even while leading householder's life, can become knowers of ''Brahman''. Do we have any contemporary examples? Yes – Nāg Mahāśaya was such a ''Brahmajñānī''. And M also, I think, had become such a ''Brahmajñānī''. In the end, he had become a ''Brahmajñānī'', not affected by ups and downs, deaths of his own children, etc. But nobody of course can compare anyone with Nāg Mahāśaya. That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa specifically had forbidden Nāg Mahāśaya to take up ''sanyāsa'' so that he could be a shining example of how to be a householder and at the same time be a knower of ''Brahman''.
===Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī===
Yājñavalkya is another example. Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī can be compared to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and Holy Mother. So this is a dialogue between a knower of ''Brahman'' and his own son, who had become a seeker of ''Brahman''. So the son approached the father and said: "Teach me ''Brahman''." That is how the story happens. We will just start with a little later.
===The Structure of Bhṛguvallī===
So this ''Bhṛguvallī'' – the third chapter in the ''Taittirīya Upaniṣad'' – has ten sections, whereas the ''Brahmānandavallī'' had only nine sections, whereas ''Śikṣāvallī'' had twelve sections. Of course, the first and twelfth sections of ''Śikṣāvallī'' are a prayer – starting with ''śaṃ no mitrāḥ'' and ending with ''śaṃ no mitrāḥ''. But from ''Brahmānandavallī'' onwards, it starts with ''sahanāvavatu'' because now God has removed all the obstacles, and now this intense faith in the Guru is necessary. God's grace alone can bring that complete faith in the Guru. Faith in the Guru means faith in the scriptures.
===The Sections of Bhṛguvallī===
So what are these ten sections? Let us start. First of all, we start with a prayer here. It is a prayer – just now I chanted is a prayer: "Let there be complete unity between the teacher and the student, and may God grant the power of teaching to the teacher, and may God grant the student the capacity to receive." That is called "protect us both." So until the disciple realises God, let the teacher be available, teaching be available, and let no other obstacle deprive me of the knowledge of ''Brahman''.
===The Result of Bhakti===
So that is a prayer. And then let the result of this ''bhakti'' towards the teacher result in true understanding of what ''Brahman'' is. True understanding of ''Brahman'' is that ''Brahman'' is not another something – but "I am that ''Brahman''." For that, tremendous energy is needed. Body must be in a fit condition. Mind must be in a fit condition. Understanding must be at its very peak. Memory should be at its very peak, because at no time should we forget that "I am ''Brahman''." Forgetfulness is called ''ajñāna'' or ignorance. "May we be endowed with that special glow of the knowledge of ''Brahman'', and may there never be any type of misunderstanding between the Guru and the disciple."
===The Story of Yājñavalkya and the Taittirīya===
Very strange phenomena, this statement. Why do I say so? Because this ''Taittirīya Upaniṣad'' was the knowledge that Yājñavalkya had vomited, so to say, or given back by his Guru who was annoyed with him and commanded: "Give me back the knowledge." So symbolically it is said that Yājñavalkya had vomited his knowledge of this ''Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda'' in the form of some movements, and all the disciples had assumed the forms of birds – ''Tittiri'' birds, partridges – and then swallowed that, and then they became knowledgeable. But the symbolism is that Yājñavalkya understood. Guru told him: "I am not keeping well, so you take over my classes and you teach it" – because Guru had such tremendous faith in the disciple Yājñavalkya. Yājñavalkya immediately had the understanding, he had the memory, he had the capability how to teach. And we have seen all these three chapters are nothing but such a crystal‑clear enunciation of the highest knowledge of ''Brahman'' that can rarely be found anywhere else.
===Yājñavalkya's Authority===
So Yājñavalkya was not only a knower of ''Brahman'', he was also a person who knew how to not only understand but also had the capacity – by the grace of God, as Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says – he was authorised to teach. And when God authorises, He gives the necessary voice, necessary words, necessary power – everything – and worthy disciples can learn from Him.
===The Prayer of Bhṛguvallī===
So this ''Bhṛguvallī'' also is part of this ''Taittirīya Upaniṣad'', and it starts, as I said, with a prayer. If every sincere prayer – as somebody asked "Does God listen to our prayers?" – Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "God answers every sincere prayer, no doubt about it." And here the prayer is not for any worldly objects, but for true knowledge, real knowledge of ''Brahman'' – who we are, who I am, who you are, etc.
===Bhṛgu Approaches Varuṇa===
So Bhṛgu now became a student; his father now became a teacher. Bhṛgu approached him and asked him: "So I have been attending your classes and I understand the knowledge of ''Brahman'' – the highest – teach me. I have the theoretical knowledge of ''Brahman'', but you teach me practically – how can I realise it?" That is called first ''śravaṇa''. ''Śravaṇa'' is not simply taking up a book and reading, or somebody is lecturing like me and you are listening. ''Śravaṇa'' is with intense faith: "What I am listening from my teacher is 150% true." And once this faith comes – ''śraddhāvān labhate jñānam'' – as Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says: "''Śraddhāvān'' – one who is endowed with ''śraddhā'' – what does he gain? ''Jñānam labhate'' – he obtains true knowledge, real knowledge." What is real knowledge? Everything is ''Brahman'' – I am also ''Brahman''. So ''Aham Brahmasmi'' – that is the knowledge. When the teacher teaches, he says ''Tat tvam asi'' – "You are ''Brahman''" – and a qualified disciple slowly learns.
===The Three Things Varuṇa Taught===
So when this Bhṛgu approached his father, "Teach me ''Brahman''" – three things happened.
# First thing is he said: "You have got a body, you have got a mind. Therefore, you have to make this body‑mind very fitting instruments – not only the body must be fit to experience ''Brahman'', to know ''Brahman'', but even to enjoy anything worldly – fitness, health of body and mind are absolutely necessary." This is the first thing he taught.

# Then second thing he taught was: "I must show you the path." What is the path? "Find out the cause of everything." In order to make Bhṛgu understand, he says: ''yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante'' – "from whom, from which cause this entire universe has come out" – and then "who is sustaining this manifestation of ''Brahman'' in the form of the creation – ''yena jātāni jīvanti''" – and at the end "''yat prayanty abhisaṃviśanti''" – ultimately every effect has to become merged in the cause. So from cause, cause manifests as the effect and remains for some time as the effect, and again becomes the cause – merges back into the cause. So this is that final cause which has no other cause for itself – that means it is only a cause, not an effect at all – and that cause is ''Brahman''. So "You find out – you slowly get out of your state as the effect and identify yourself with the cause." And this is the second thing that Varuṇa had taught.

#Third: "You only heard my words. I know you have complete faith in me, but you will have to slowly grow and include – at this moment you are only thinking 'I am not anybody or any mind – I am this body and this mind alone.' And this is the greatest ignorance – the true cause of suffering. Therefore, I have to outgrow this identity with the smallest of the individuality."
===The Word "Individual"===
Swami Vivekananda used to make fun – the very word "individual" in English language we understand as "one person," but really if you look at the word – that which cannot be divided – individual dividing is not possible. That means I am the whole, I am the infinite. And he used to drag that word "individual": "You are not an individual – you have to become an individual."
=== The Song – Make Me a Man===
Somebody has written a beautiful song in Bengali: ''Mā āmāy mānuṣ kuru'' – a man is praying to the Divine Mother: "O Mother, make me a man." But we have to understand – not that I am called a man, but I am not really a man. My true self – I am a ''Puruṣa'' – ''puruṣa eva – sahasraśīrṣā puruṣaḥ, sahasrākṣaḥ, sahasrapāt'' – I must identify myself with ''Brahman'', who is called ''Puruṣa''. So what is ''Puruṣa''? He who pervades everything – that is called ''Puruṣa''. And at the same time, ''purī-śete iti puruṣaḥ'' – he who is there in the very depths of one's own heart, is Brahma-puri – that's what the ''Chāndogya Upaniṣad'' calls it.
===How to Transcend Limited Individuality===
So how to transcend this limited individuality and go on expanding? For that you have to meditate, contemplate, think deeply – and that is the third point – and that is elaborated. The beautiful word used by Varuṇa: ''Tapasā brahma vijijñāsasva, tapo brahmeti'' – "Brahman can be defined as ''Tapas''." ''Tapas'' means what? Deep ''upāsana'', deep contemplation. ''Upāsana'' means what? When through a peculiar process called contemplation, the contemplator becomes one without the least bit of distinction with that which is contemplated upon. That is defined by Śaṅkarācārya as ''upāsana''.
=== Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Contemplations ===
When Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was meditating on Hanumān, then he became Hanumān. At that time, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa never thought "I am Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, but now I temporarily assumed the form of Hanumān." He was Hanumān. He was Rādhā, he was Kālī, he was Kṛṣṇa. Later on, we have many such examples of how he bestowed his grace – as Gopāla, as Kṛṣṇa, as Rāma to Rāmacandra Datta. He appeared as Rāma, Rāmacandra to Gopāler Mā as Kṛṣṇa – before she had the vision, first she saw Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. Then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa identified with Bāla Gopāla – child Gopāla – and she was very comfortable, not with the crown of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, but with the child form – Gopāla's form – and she merged into him and she did not know anything else. After merging, she started playing ''līlā''. The ''līlā'' – the play between Gopāla and Gopāla's mother – is indescribable. Later on, it is not only Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa whom she identified as "my Gopāla" – that is why she was called Gopāler Mā, the mother of Gopāla – here Gopāla means Rāmakṛṣṇa. Then she became the mother of the direct disciples, because this Gopāla started merging into the bodies of some of the close disciples of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, and they also she identified as her Gopāla. And one day when there was a chariot festival at Pāṇihati, then Gopāler Mā saw everything as the manifestation of Gopāla.
===The Process of Contemplation ===
So one has to grow first through contemplation: "I am Gopāla" – then "many are Gopālas" – then "everything is Gopāla." And that is the process Varuṇa was trying to teach only through contemplation.

First you become ''Anna Brahma''. Second you become ''Prāṇa Brahma''. Third you become ''Mano Brahma''. Fourth you become ''Vijñāna Brahma''. Fifth you become ''Ānanda Brahma'' – ''Ānandamaya Brahma''.

And then you remember these are all limitations. Every transcendence of the grossest ''kośa'' is including that ''kośa'' – that effect – merging that effect into its cause. ''Annamaya kośa'' is merged into ''prāṇamaya''. Similarly, ''prāṇamaya kośa'' into ''manomaya kośa'', ''manomaya kośa'' into ''vijñānamaya kośa'', ''vijñānamaya kośa'' into ''ānandamaya kośa''. From ''ānandamaya kośa'', the word ''kośa'' – limitation – time, space and causation are removed through contemplation. Then ''ānandaṃ brahmeti vyajānāt, ānandād eva khalv imāni bhūtāni jāyante''.
===The Process of Varuṇa's Teaching===
So this is how the process of Varuṇa's teaching starts. So Varuṇa, the teacher, taught him through some hints. As I mentioned, first your body and mind – then they have to be purified. Then you find out there are five coverings. The whole physical universe is nothing but ''annamaya kośa'', and that has to be merged into its cause. That is the process, and that process of merging the effect into cause is achieved through ''tapasyā''. ''Tapas'' means austerity. Austerity means through unbroken contemplation – deep contemplation. Contemplation is one which breaks Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's body and transforms it into Hanumān's body or Rādhā's body, Kṛṣṇa's body, Śakti's body.
=== Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's First Experience ===
This beautiful description is given in ''Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, the Great Master'' by Swami Śaradānandaji Mahārāja. The very first experience of Mother Kālī as pure consciousness – how as he progressed, for the first time he saw not the Divine Mother but the Divine Mother as pure consciousness, like huge tsunami waves surrounded me, overwhelmed me. I struggled not to become unconscious, but they made me completely unconscious. What does it mean? It means they made me unconscious of my individuality and made me completely one with that pure consciousness. But as soon as his mind came out of that state, then he started calling Mother Kālī – "O Mother Kālī!" – like that. His ''iṣṭadevatā'', the chosen deity of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, that is ''Brahman'' manifested in the form of his chosen deity as Mother Kālī.
===The Path of Progress===
So we all have to start with the body, progress slowly until we go beyond even limited ''Ānanda'' and become identified with infinite bliss. That is the only way. The important word here is ''tapas''. In the very first teaching, of course Varuṇa did not use that word, but Bhṛgu understood it. So he went and then he understood that "I was completely confined, identified with this physical body of mine. Now I understand what my father meant. This body has come from my parents and their parents – my parents came from their parents. So if we go on doing that, then we see that everybody's parents also came from their parents – whether it is an insect, whether it is living, non‑living, everything has come from its cause." And thus we can say that ''Anna Brahma'' – that is called ''Pṛthvī Devatā''.
===The Order of the Five Elements===
So that is the first or grossest manifestation of ''Brahman'' in the order of the five elements: ''ākāśa, vāyu, agni, āpaḥ, pṛthvī''. What is the cause of ''pṛthvī''? Waters. What is the cause of waters? ''Agni'' – fire. What is the cause of fire? ''Vāyu'' – the air. What is the cause of the air? ''Ākāśa'' – space. And what is the cause of ''ākāśa''? The final cause – ''Ātman'' or ''Brahma''. This is the process.
===Bhṛgu Transcends the Kośas===
So we see that from the second to the sixth sections of this ''Bhṛguvallī'', how Bhṛgu transcended one ''kośa'' – that means he was successful in merging that particular ''kośa'' in which he was dwelling into its cause. For example, ''annamaya'' into ''prāṇamaya'', etc. So Bhṛgu transcended all the five ''kośas'' including the ''ānandamaya kośa''. This is the topic covered from the second to sixth sections – that is, ''Pañcakośādhikramaṇa''. And then finally he understood: "I am not ''Anna Brahma'' – ''Ānandaṃ Brahma'' – I am ''Ānanda'' itself."
===The Secondary Definition===
Now comes a beautiful point that I told you in the beginning: Varuṇa had given the second hint – the ''taṭastha-lakṣaṇa'' – the secondary definition of ''Brahman'': "from whom the whole universe has come" – or even that might create misunderstanding – "who has manifested as this universe, who remains as this universe for a period of time, and who goes beyond this manifestation into His true nature – that is ''Brahman''."
===Brahman Is Neither Cause Nor Effect===
Even to tell that ''Brahman'' is the final cause is also only an expression in words, because just as we cannot think of cold without understanding what is heat, we cannot understand what is evil without knowing what is good. We cannot understand what is life without understanding what is death. This is called duality – ''dvandva''. So if we say ''Brahman'' is the final cause, it is also from our lower intellectual view only. Really speaking, when one becomes merged, he does not say "I am merged in ''Brahman'' – I was the effect, now I have become one with the cause." No – he does not say that, he cannot say that, he should not say that. It is only for conveying the teaching – that is all. ''Brahman'' is neither the cause nor the effect. That is what we have to understand, because when the object disappears, the subject also disappears – they are mutually dependent. Cause and effect, subject and object, experiencer and experience – they are all completely mutually dependent. We have to understand this highest truth – that is very important for us to understand.
===The Process in Bhṛguvallī ===
So second to sixth sections: first is approaching the teacher, getting the instructions. Second to sixth: following austerity – which means deep contemplation – going beyond the ''ānandamaya kośa''. The wonderful thing here: when once Bhṛgu realised "I am not the ''ānandamaya kośa''" – unlike as soon as he attained the previous ''kośas'', he came back and said "Please teach me ''Brahman''" – but then when he understood that "I am ''Ānanda''" – not even ''ānandamaya'' – he did not come back, because he knows now "I am ''Brahman''." After that, there is nothing to learn, nothing to experience.
===The Need for a Fit Body and Mind ===
But how did Bhṛgu progress in spiritual life? So we have to presume now, stepping back, that his body as well as his mind both are completely fit. The body was in the peak of health and the mind was also at its very highest power, endowed with ''śraddhā'', ''bhakti'', ''ekāgratā'', and all those divine qualities. Without making the body and mind completely healthy, it is impossible to progress one millimetre towards God. That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, Swami Vivekananda, they said repeatedly: "If the body is weak, one who is weak cannot realise ''Brahman''." Only when a person is completely fit, healthy in every way, he alone can progress in spiritual life. And this is famously written in our Ramakrishna Mission motto: ''nāyamātmā balahīnena labhyaḥ'' – "This ''Ātman'' is not attainable by the weak."
===Food for Body and Mind===
So how to make this body‑mind very pure? We are – our body is consisting of food. Our mind also, in another way, is consisting of food. What is the food for the body? Physical rice, bread, vegetables, fruits, etc. What is the food for the mind? Thoughts. Without this physical food being pure – and that is beautifully described in the ''Bhagavad Gītā'' throughout from practically the fourteenth, then seventeenth and eighteenth chapters of the ''Bhagavad Gītā'' – what is the type of food that is liked by ''tāmasika'' people, ''rājasika'' people, ''sāttvika'' people, etc. – beautiful description is there. When we have faith and if we say even "food is not tasty," we have to develop – most of us do not understand that there is nothing called "tasty." Taste is a peculiar phenomenon developed by our habit. When a person is accustomed to eating morning, evening what is called dry fish, etc., he develops a peculiar taste – even that smell brings a dead man to life. So a South Indian likes South Indian food, North Indian likes North Indian food, Italian likes Italian food. So this association – whether it be with food, with persons, with how society behaves – it all makes a lot of sense.
===The Danger of Social Media===
Finally, in this class, I want just to mention how harmful, degrading the social media is. Experts are warning us: you use it for a good purpose – like we send WhatsApp application messages which are the teachings of the highest teachers, highest scriptures – but not for "you are looking beautiful, your dress is beautiful, where from you are getting" – and then all the junk food – "oh they seem to be extremely happy" – and how much force is necessary to wring out that smile in their faces, how much money had to be offered to them, God alone knows. But most of the food nowadays is called junk – that is why ''tāmasī''. We have to progress just like we progress from ''annamaya kośa'' to ''prāṇamaya'', etc. – from ''tāmasika'' food to ''rājasika'' food and to ''sāttvika'' food. Then only there is a hope that by the grace of God we can realise finally ''Aham Brahmasmi''.
===The Attitude Towards Food ===
There are certain vows – how we have to look upon food. It does not mean that we have to say "I like this food and this is my favourite food." ''Anna'' is just a means, an instrument. Take hold of that instrument, use it properly – progress in spiritual life. Everything in this world – our body, our mind, as well as this world – are instruments for our further evolution and to go back from where we have come – the ultimate cause.
== Closing Prayer ==
ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

Oṁ jananīṁ śaraḍhāṁ deviṁ rāmakriṣṇam jagad-gurum pādapadmetayosritvā pranamāmi-muhurumuhu

'''May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna!'''
[[Category:Taittiriya Upanishad]]

Taittiriya Upanishad Lecture 120 Summary on 02 September 2026

2026-09-04T00:15:48Z

Bhama: Created page with "Full Transcript (Not Corrected) == Opening Prayer (Śānti Pāṭha) == ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः Oṁ jananīṁ śaraḍhāṁ deveṁ rāmakriṣṇam jagad-gurum pādapadmetayosritvā pranamāmi-muhurumuhu ॐ सह नाववतु । सह नौ..."

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Prayer (Śānti Pāṭha) ==
ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

Oṁ jananīṁ śaraḍhāṁ deveṁ rāmakriṣṇam jagad-gurum

pādapadmetayosritvā pranamāmi-muhurumuhu

ॐ सह नाववतु ।

सह नौ भुनक्तु ।

सह वीर्यं करवावहै ।

तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ।

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥ हरि ॐ

OM SAHANAVAVATO SAHANAV BHUNAKTO SAHAVIRYAM KARAVAVAHAI TEJASVINAVADHITAMASTUMA VIDVISHAVAHAI OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTIHI HARIHI OM

OM May Brahman protect us both. May Brahman bestow upon us both the fruit of knowledge.

May we both obtain the energy to acquire knowledge.

May what we both study reveal the truth. May we cherish no ill feeling toward each other.

OM PEACE PEACE PEACE BE UNTO ALL

<nowiki>== Invocation ==</nowiki>

ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं,

पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः |

Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,

pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ |

ओं स॒ह ना॑ववतु स॒हनौ॑ भुनक्तु

स॒हवी॒र्यं॑ करवावहै

ते॒ज॒स्विना॒वधी॑तमस्तु॒ मावि॑द्विषा॒वहै᳚ |

ओं शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः

हरिः ओं

Oṃ saha nāvavatu sahanau bhunaktu

sahavīryaṃ karavāvahai

tejasvināvadhītamastu mā vidviṣāvahai |

Oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ

hariḥ oṃ

Om. May Brahman protect us both!

May Brahman bestow upon us both the fruit of Knowledge!

May we both obtain the energy to acquire Knowledge!

May what we both study reveal the Truth!

May we cherish no ill-feeling toward each other!

Om. Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

<nowiki>== Introduction: The Brahmānandavallī – A Summary ==</nowiki>

In our last class, we had summarised the second chapter of the <nowiki>''</nowiki>Taittirīya Upaniṣad<nowiki>''</nowiki>, called <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahmānandavallī<nowiki>''</nowiki> – and that is the most important chapter. It gives one of the greatest definitions of <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki>: <nowiki>''</nowiki>Satyam jñānam anantam brahma<nowiki>''</nowiki>.

<nowiki>=== The Secondary Definition of Brahman ===</nowiki>

Not only that – in this <nowiki>''Bhṛguvallī'' also, when Varuṇa was approached by his disciple – earlier he was the son, now he became a disciple – and asked, "Please teach me ''Brahman''" – then Varuṇa takes up, which we will discuss a little bit later, that he gives the secondary definition of ''Brahman''</nowiki>.

What is the primary definition? <nowiki>''</nowiki>Satyam jñānam anantam brahma<nowiki>''</nowiki> – that is called <nowiki>''</nowiki>svarūpa-lakṣaṇa<nowiki>''</nowiki> (the essential definition). But what Varuṇa taught: <nowiki>''</nowiki>yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante, yena jātāni jīvanti, yat prayanty abhisaṃviśanti<nowiki>''</nowiki> – this is the <nowiki>''</nowiki>taṭastha-lakṣaṇa<nowiki>''</nowiki> (the incidental definition).

<nowiki>=== The Incidental Definition ===</nowiki>

<nowiki>''</nowiki>Taṭastha-lakṣaṇa<nowiki>''</nowiki> means temporary experience. We are all experiencing this world temporarily. How? Because everything is changing – even our own body and mind are changing, not to speak of this entire creation. That is why it is limited by time, space, and causation. But then we have to start where we are. That is why the secondary definition – accidental definition, experienced definition – is called <nowiki>''</nowiki>taṭastha-lakṣaṇa<nowiki>''</nowiki>.

<nowiki>=== The Most Important Chapter ===</nowiki>

So the second chapter in this <nowiki>''Taittirīya Upaniṣad'' is the most important chapter. It is called ''Brahmavallī'' – this section exclusively dealing with ''Brahman'' – or ''Ānandavallī''. Realisation of ''Brahman'' leads to eternal, infinite bliss, and combined together – ''Brahma'' and ''Ānanda'' – ''Brahmānandavallī''</nowiki>.

<nowiki>=== The Value of Repetition ===</nowiki>

Just to recall – what did we discuss? Any number of repetitions in the scriptures is the best method. <nowiki>''</nowiki>Japa<nowiki>''</nowiki> is nothing but trying to remember God. While doing <nowiki>''</nowiki>japa<nowiki>''</nowiki>, our mind wanders to so many places, and that is why every now and then we have to bring it back. That is how slowly we start keeping our mind more on God and with fewer distractions. So here also, any number of times we can go on talking about it – it is not a fault; on the contrary, it is one of the best things.

<nowiki>=== The Goal of Life ===</nowiki>

So what does this second chapter say? The realisation of God is the only goal of life. That is why he says that one should attain – <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahmavid āpnoti param<nowiki>''</nowiki> – "The knower of <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki> attains the highest." And that is said here. A realised soul experiences infinite, eternal, unbroken bliss. And how does he do that? He becomes free from the bonds of every bond of <nowiki>''</nowiki>Māyā<nowiki>''</nowiki> or limitation. <nowiki>''</nowiki>Māyā<nowiki>''</nowiki> means ignorance; ignorance means limitation – time, space, and object limitation.

<nowiki>=== The Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad on Realisation ===</nowiki>

There is a beautiful <nowiki>''</nowiki>śloka<nowiki>''</nowiki> in the <nowiki>''</nowiki>Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad<nowiki>''</nowiki>: <nowiki>''</nowiki>vidyāte hṛdaya-granthiḥ, chidyante sarva-saṃśayāḥ, kṣīyante cāsya karmāṇi, tasmin dṛṣṭe parāvare<nowiki>''</nowiki> – "When a person knows 'I am <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>'''</nowiki>, when he has the vision of that infinite <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki>" – that means he is not keeping infinite in front of him and saying "You are infinite." One cannot say that. When we talk about infinite, "I" do not exist, "you" do not exist – excepting everything is one. And when a person attains to that knowledge, all his <nowiki>''</nowiki>karmas<nowiki>''</nowiki> are destroyed, all his doubts are destroyed, all the knots of the heart are cut asunder. And he becomes free and he roams about.

<nowiki>=== The Realised Soul ===</nowiki>

A realised soul – a <nowiki>''jīva'' previously, now a realised person – is not a soul. He is the ''Paramātman''. He is ''Brahman''. He experiences infinite joy. He becomes free from the bonds of ''Māyā''</nowiki>. But an ignorant person experiences suffering and fear. The whole transmigratory existence is nothing but suffering and fear.

<nowiki>=== Brahman as Cause of Fear and Fearlessness ===</nowiki>

And this we have seen again in the second chapter of the <nowiki>''</nowiki>Taittirīya Upaniṣad<nowiki>''</nowiki>: <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki> becomes both the cause of fear as well as the cause of fearlessness. Birth is suffering, growth is suffering, death is suffering – all this is put to an end only when a great soul through <nowiki>''</nowiki>tapasyā<nowiki>''</nowiki> realises "I am none other than <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki>."

<nowiki>=== The Pañcakośa Vivaraṇa ===</nowiki>

This is the essence of <nowiki>''Brahmānandavallī'', and for that, it elaborates the ''Pañcakośa Vivaraṇa''. When we first hear this teaching "Thou art that," it is difficult for people to cognise that "I am ''Brahman''." Why? Because I have a body and I have a mind. Through the instrumentality of this body‑mind, I am experiencing this entire almost infinite universe. And therefore, how to believe it? That is because, as the second chapter clearly enunciates, the whole ''avidyā''</nowiki> is nothing but identifying ourselves with five layers.

<nowiki>=== The Five Layers ===</nowiki>

Just imagine that you are covered with five types of cloths, completely from head to foot. Whether you look at yourself in a mirror, or others look at you, they can only see the outermost layer. Thus we are covered with limited dress. The external dress is extremely grossly limited – it is called <nowiki>''annamaya kośa''. The cause of the ''annamaya kośa'' – cause is always subtler than the effect – is called ''prāṇamaya kośa''. In its turn, it is an effect coming out of the mind, and the mind is even more subtle. Mind is the manifestation of intelligence. Intelligence is the modification of consciousness in the mind. Then even that intellect is a modification of ''ānanda'' – ''ānandamaya kośa''</nowiki>. We are covered with these five layers.

<nowiki>=== Identifying with Different Kośas ===</nowiki>

So whether we look at ourselves as reflections in the mirror, or the world looks at us, or we look at the world, we see only that kośa with which we are identified. If we are identified with <nowiki>''</nowiki>annamaya kośa<nowiki>''</nowiki>, we see everything as <nowiki>''</nowiki>anna<nowiki>''</nowiki> – solid matter. <nowiki>''</nowiki>Anna<nowiki>''</nowiki> means solid matter. But by chance, if we can rise above this and identify ourselves with <nowiki>''</nowiki>prāṇamaya<nowiki>''</nowiki>, we see everything is vibrating with tremendous energy – <nowiki>''</nowiki>śakti<nowiki>''</nowiki> – and that is <nowiki>''</nowiki>prāṇamaya kośa<nowiki>''</nowiki>. When we go beyond that, we see that the whole universe is an idea in our mind. One of our greatest philosophers had said it looks as if the whole world is an idea – <nowiki>''</nowiki>citta-vṛtti<nowiki>''</nowiki>.

<nowiki>=== Yoga as Going Beyond Thoughts ===</nowiki>

That is why when Patañjali Ṛṣi says what is <nowiki>''</nowiki>yoga<nowiki>''</nowiki> – <nowiki>''</nowiki>citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ<nowiki>''</nowiki> – that is, you go beyond the thoughts. What makes the thoughts alive, what sustains the thoughts – that is called <nowiki>''</nowiki>nirodha<nowiki>''</nowiki>. That means to say, you go to the cause which is making these thoughts manifest, and that is called <nowiki>''</nowiki>yoga<nowiki>''</nowiki>. So a person identifies with the mind.

<nowiki>=== The Whole World Reflects Our Self-Conception ===</nowiki>

This is the greatest truth. Swami Yatiśvarānanda Mahārāja used to say: as one's concept of one's own self, the whole world is also thought exactly in the same way. A funny way of putting it is: if I am evil, I think the whole world is evil. If I am a thief, I see the whole world as a thief. If I see that I am a good, <nowiki>''</nowiki>dharmic<nowiki>''</nowiki> person, I see everything as <nowiki>''</nowiki>dharmic<nowiki>''</nowiki> – even an <nowiki>''</nowiki>ādharmic<nowiki>''</nowiki> person is also seen as a <nowiki>''</nowiki>dharmic<nowiki>''</nowiki> person only.

<nowiki>=== The Example of Yudhiṣṭhira and Duryodhana ===</nowiki>

Just to recollect – once Yudhiṣṭhira and Duryodhana went on a world tour. After returning, there was a public reception for both of them, and they were requested to express their experiences of this tour. Then Duryodhana got up, finished his speech: "I have nothing to say – everything is extremely evil." And then he sat down. Then Yudhiṣṭhira turned. He got up and said: "I have no words to express how good the world is, how <nowiki>''</nowiki>dharmic<nowiki>''</nowiki> the world is. Everybody, as it were, is falling head over heels to help me in any way that is possible. I am eternally grateful. I see everything as God." And he also sat down. "I cannot tell you anything more than this." This illustrates that if I think I am <nowiki>''</nowiki>anātman<nowiki>''</nowiki>, everything is <nowiki>''</nowiki>anātman<nowiki>''</nowiki>. If I think I am the <nowiki>''</nowiki>Ātman<nowiki>''</nowiki> – that is the case of a knower of <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki> – then he says <nowiki>''</nowiki>sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma<nowiki>''</nowiki>.

<nowiki>=== The Essence ===</nowiki>

So that is the essence. And what does a person get by this knowledge? He says <nowiki>''Brahmavid āpnoti param'' – not only he attains the highest, he enjoys ''brahmaṇā saha''. At the same time, he experiences eternal, infinite, unbroken bliss. After all, nobody is satisfied with broken bliss. Therefore, we are all after infinite bliss – ''Ānanda'' – but then we are searching in the wrong place. But after many lives, then by the grace of God, by the grace of the Guru, we develop ''śraddhā'', ''bhakti'' towards the scripture. We believe, even though we do not understand, but we have developed firm faith that the whole universe is nothing but ''Brahman''</nowiki>.

<nowiki>=== Transcending Limited Identity ===</nowiki>

And then the Guru teaches: first you transcend your limited identity with this body – that is called <nowiki>''</nowiki>anna-brahma<nowiki>''</nowiki>. Identify with the entire body – everybody's body, anybody's body, even the body of a mountain, body of a river, body of a rock, body of a dead body, body of dried wood – because there is nothing called dead. Everything is vibrating with consciousness. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa explains: "I see a small wriggling insect, and I see consciousness wriggling through that insect" – what a vision! And he goes into <nowiki>''</nowiki>samādhi<nowiki>''</nowiki> again.

<nowiki>=== The Five Kośas in the Second Chapter ===</nowiki>

So at the end of the second chapter, all the five <nowiki>''</nowiki>kośas<nowiki>''</nowiki> are briefly described, and how one should transcend them – that is beautifully explained in this last chapter. Then what does he gain as one transcends each <nowiki>''</nowiki>kośa<nowiki>''</nowiki>? That is beautifully explained in the eighth <nowiki>''</nowiki>anuvāka<nowiki>''</nowiki>, called <nowiki>''</nowiki>Ānanda-mīmāṃsā<nowiki>''</nowiki>. So the higher the instrument – the body and the mind – that is called <nowiki>''</nowiki>loka<nowiki>''</nowiki> (higher world). I call it higher state of consciousness, and correspondingly our experience of bliss also is higher.

<nowiki>=== The Realised Soul Without Desires ===</nowiki>

But at the same time, this <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahmānandavallī<nowiki>''</nowiki> also tells us: here is a person and he is a realised soul, and he does not have any desires – <nowiki>''</nowiki>akāmatasya<nowiki>''</nowiki>. He is a <nowiki>''</nowiki>śrotriya<nowiki>''</nowiki> – a realised soul. Whatever is written in the scriptures, through the teaching of the Guru and through God's grace, he realised – and then he obtains, from the minutest joy to the all‑pervading infinite joy. That means infinity includes everything.

<nowiki>=== If One Does Not Realise Brahman ===</nowiki>

If one does not realise <nowiki>''Brahman'' – that "I am ''Brahman''" – what happens then? The ''Brahmānandavallī'' describes that one has to fear. The sun is shining because of fear, the wind is blowing because of fear, even the fire is burning, giving light because of the fear of ''Brahman'', and death itself running in order to satisfy ''Brahman''. Because ''Brahman'' allotted these duties to these presiding deities, so they are running out of fear of ''Brahman''. But one who realises ''Brahman''</nowiki> – then there is no fear at all.

<nowiki>=== The Essence of Brahmānandavallī ===</nowiki>

And that we have beautifully discussed in the very first <nowiki>''Brāhmaṇa'' of this ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad'' – that ''Ātman'' is the most cherished, dearest, because it is one's own Self. Nobody loves anything excepting ''Brahman''. But by mistake, we are mistaking every object that we come across as ''Brahman''. That is the essence of the ''Brahmānandavallī''</nowiki>.

<nowiki>== Introduction to Bhṛguvallī ==</nowiki>

Today we enter into the <nowiki>''Bhṛguvallī''. This is only a summary. It is called ''Bhṛguvallī'' because it is the spiritual effort of Bhṛgu. It is in the form of a dialogue between Bhṛgu and Varuṇa. Varuṇa was a ''Brahmajñānī'' – a knower of ''Brahman''. He was a householder. It is a beautiful idea – even householders, even while leading householder's life, can become knowers of ''Brahman''. Do we have any contemporary examples? Yes – Nāg Mahāśaya was such a ''Brahmajñānī''. And M also, I think, had become such a ''Brahmajñānī''. In the end, he had become a ''Brahmajñānī'', not affected by ups and downs, deaths of his own children, etc. But nobody of course can compare anyone with Nāg Mahāśaya. That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa specifically had forbidden Nāg Mahāśaya to take up ''sanyāsa'' so that he could be a shining example of how to be a householder and at the same time be a knower of ''Brahman''</nowiki>.

<nowiki>=== Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī ===</nowiki>

Yājñavalkya is another example. Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī can be compared to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and Holy Mother. So this is a dialogue between a knower of <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki> and his own son, who had become a seeker of <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki>. So the son approached the father and said: "Teach me <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki>." That is how the story happens. We will just start with a little later.

<nowiki>=== The Structure of Bhṛguvallī ===</nowiki>

So this <nowiki>''Bhṛguvallī'' – the third chapter in the ''Taittirīya Upaniṣad'' – has ten sections, whereas the ''Brahmānandavallī'' had only nine sections, whereas ''Śikṣāvallī'' had twelve sections. Of course, the first and twelfth sections of ''Śikṣāvallī'' are a prayer – starting with ''śaṃ no mitrāḥ'' and ending with ''śaṃ no mitrāḥ''. But from ''Brahmānandavallī'' onwards, it starts with ''sahanāvavatu'' because now God has removed all the obstacles, and now this intense faith in the Guru is necessary. God'</nowiki>s grace alone can bring that complete faith in the Guru. Faith in the Guru means faith in the scriptures.

<nowiki>=== The Sections of Bhṛguvallī ===</nowiki>

So what are these ten sections? Let us start. First of all, we start with a prayer here. It is a prayer – just now I chanted is a prayer: "Let there be complete unity between the teacher and the student, and may God grant the power of teaching to the teacher, and may God grant the student the capacity to receive." That is called "protect us both." So until the disciple realises God, let the teacher be available, teaching be available, and let no other obstacle deprive me of the knowledge of <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki>.

<nowiki>=== The Result of Bhakti ===</nowiki>

So that is a prayer. And then let the result of this <nowiki>''bhakti'' towards the teacher result in true understanding of what ''Brahman'' is. True understanding of ''Brahman'' is that ''Brahman'' is not another something – but "I am that ''Brahman''." For that, tremendous energy is needed. Body must be in a fit condition. Mind must be in a fit condition. Understanding must be at its very peak. Memory should be at its very peak, because at no time should we forget that "I am ''Brahman''." Forgetfulness is called ''ajñāna'' or ignorance. "May we be endowed with that special glow of the knowledge of ''Brahman''</nowiki>, and may there never be any type of misunderstanding between the Guru and the disciple."

<nowiki>=== The Story of Yājñavalkya and the Taittirīya ===</nowiki>

Very strange phenomena, this statement. Why do I say so? Because this <nowiki>''</nowiki>Taittirīya Upaniṣad<nowiki>''</nowiki> was the knowledge that Yājñavalkya had vomited, so to say, or given back by his Guru who was annoyed with him and commanded: "Give me back the knowledge." So symbolically it is said that Yājñavalkya had vomited his knowledge of this <nowiki>''</nowiki>Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda<nowiki>''</nowiki> in the form of some movements, and all the disciples had assumed the forms of birds – <nowiki>''</nowiki>Tittiri<nowiki>''</nowiki> birds, partridges – and then swallowed that, and then they became knowledgeable. But the symbolism is that Yājñavalkya understood. Guru told him: "I am not keeping well, so you take over my classes and you teach it" – because Guru had such tremendous faith in the disciple Yājñavalkya. Yājñavalkya immediately had the understanding, he had the memory, he had the capability how to teach. And we have seen all these three chapters are nothing but such a crystal‑clear enunciation of the highest knowledge of <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki> that can rarely be found anywhere else.

<nowiki>=== Yājñavalkya's Authority ===</nowiki>

So Yājñavalkya was not only a knower of <nowiki>''Brahman''</nowiki>, he was also a person who knew how to not only understand but also had the capacity – by the grace of God, as Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says – he was authorised to teach. And when God authorises, He gives the necessary voice, necessary words, necessary power – everything – and worthy disciples can learn from Him.

<nowiki>=== The Prayer of Bhṛguvallī ===</nowiki>

So this <nowiki>''</nowiki>Bhṛguvallī<nowiki>''</nowiki> also is part of this <nowiki>''</nowiki>Taittirīya Upaniṣad<nowiki>''</nowiki>, and it starts, as I said, with a prayer. If every sincere prayer – as somebody asked "Does God listen to our prayers?" – Rāmakṛṣṇa said: "God answers every sincere prayer, no doubt about it." And here the prayer is not for any worldly objects, but for true knowledge, real knowledge of <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki> – who we are, who I am, who you are, etc.

<nowiki>=== Bhṛgu Approaches Varuṇa ===</nowiki>

So Bhṛgu now became a student; his father now became a teacher. Bhṛgu approached him and asked him: "So I have been attending your classes and I understand the knowledge of <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki> – the highest – teach me. I have the theoretical knowledge of <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki>, but you teach me practically – how can I realise it?" That is called first <nowiki>''</nowiki>śravaṇa<nowiki>''</nowiki>. <nowiki>''</nowiki>Śravaṇa<nowiki>''</nowiki> is not simply taking up a book and reading, or somebody is lecturing like me and you are listening. <nowiki>''</nowiki>Śravaṇa<nowiki>''</nowiki> is with intense faith: "What I am listening from my teacher is 150% true." And once this faith comes – <nowiki>''</nowiki>śraddhāvān labhate jñānam<nowiki>''</nowiki> – as Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says: "<nowiki>''</nowiki>Śraddhāvān<nowiki>''</nowiki> – one who is endowed with <nowiki>''</nowiki>śraddhā<nowiki>''</nowiki> – what does he gain? <nowiki>''</nowiki>Jñānam labhate<nowiki>''</nowiki> – he obtains true knowledge, real knowledge." What is real knowledge? Everything is <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki> – I am also <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki>. So <nowiki>''</nowiki>Aham Brahmasmi<nowiki>''</nowiki> – that is the knowledge. When the teacher teaches, he says <nowiki>''</nowiki>Tat tvam asi<nowiki>''</nowiki> – "You are <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki>" – and a qualified disciple slowly learns.

<nowiki>=== The Three Things Varuṇa Taught ===</nowiki>

So when this Bhṛgu approached his father, "Teach me <nowiki>''Brahman''</nowiki>" – three things happened.

<nowiki>#</nowiki> First thing is he said: "You have got a body, you have got a mind. Therefore, you have to make this body‑mind very fitting instruments – not only the body must be fit to experience <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki>, to know <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki>, but even to enjoy anything worldly – fitness, health of body and mind are absolutely necessary." This is the first thing he taught.

<nowiki>#</nowiki> Then second thing he taught was: "I must show you the path." What is the path? "Find out the cause of everything." In order to make Bhṛgu understand, he says: <nowiki>''</nowiki>yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante<nowiki>''</nowiki> – "from whom, from which cause this entire universe has come out" – and then "who is sustaining this manifestation of <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki> in the form of the creation – <nowiki>''</nowiki>yena jātāni jīvanti<nowiki>''</nowiki>" – and at the end "<nowiki>''</nowiki>yat prayanty abhisaṃviśanti<nowiki>''</nowiki>" – ultimately every effect has to become merged in the cause. So from cause, cause manifests as the effect and remains for some time as the effect, and again becomes the cause – merges back into the cause. So this is that final cause which has no other cause for itself – that means it is only a cause, not an effect at all – and that cause is <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki>. So "You find out – you slowly get out of your state as the effect and identify yourself with the cause." And this is the second thing that Varuṇa had taught.

<nowiki>#</nowiki> Third: "You only heard my words. I know you have complete faith in me, but you will have to slowly grow and include – at this moment you are only thinking 'I am not anybody or any mind – I am this body and this mind alone.' And this is the greatest ignorance – the true cause of suffering. Therefore, I have to outgrow this identity with the smallest of the individuality."

<nowiki>=== The Word "Individual" ===</nowiki>

Swami Vivekananda used to make fun – the very word "individual" in English language we understand as "one person," but really if you look at the word – that which cannot be divided – individual dividing is not possible. That means I am the whole, I am the infinite. And he used to drag that word "individual": "You are not an individual – you have to become an individual."

<nowiki>=== The Song – Make Me a Man ===</nowiki>

Somebody has written a beautiful song in Bengali: <nowiki>''</nowiki>Mā āmāy mānuṣ kuru<nowiki>''</nowiki> – a man is praying to the Divine Mother: "O Mother, make me a man." But we have to understand – not that I am called a man, but I am not really a man. My true self – I am a <nowiki>''</nowiki>Puruṣa<nowiki>''</nowiki> – <nowiki>''</nowiki>puruṣa eva – sahasraśīrṣā puruṣaḥ, sahasrākṣaḥ, sahasrapāt<nowiki>''</nowiki> – I must identify myself with <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki>, who is called <nowiki>''</nowiki>Puruṣa<nowiki>''</nowiki>. So what is <nowiki>''</nowiki>Puruṣa<nowiki>''</nowiki>? He who pervades everything – that is called <nowiki>''</nowiki>Puruṣa<nowiki>''</nowiki>. And at the same time, <nowiki>''</nowiki>purī-śete iti puruṣaḥ<nowiki>''</nowiki> – he who is there in the very depths of one's own heart, is Brahma-puri – that's what the <nowiki>''</nowiki>Chāndogya Upaniṣad<nowiki>''</nowiki> calls it.

<nowiki>=== How to Transcend Limited Individuality ===</nowiki>

So how to transcend this limited individuality and go on expanding? For that you have to meditate, contemplate, think deeply – and that is the third point – and that is elaborated. The beautiful word used by Varuṇa: <nowiki>''</nowiki>Tapasā brahma vijijñāsasva, tapo brahmeti<nowiki>''</nowiki> – "Brahman can be defined as <nowiki>''</nowiki>Tapas<nowiki>''</nowiki>." <nowiki>''</nowiki>Tapas<nowiki>''</nowiki> means what? Deep <nowiki>''</nowiki>upāsana<nowiki>''</nowiki>, deep contemplation. <nowiki>''</nowiki>Upāsana<nowiki>''</nowiki> means what? When through a peculiar process called contemplation, the contemplator becomes one without the least bit of distinction with that which is contemplated upon. That is defined by Śaṅkarācārya as <nowiki>''</nowiki>upāsana<nowiki>''</nowiki>.

<nowiki>=== Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Contemplations ===</nowiki>

When Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was meditating on Hanumān, then he became Hanumān. At that time, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa never thought "I am Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, but now I temporarily assumed the form of Hanumān." He was Hanumān. He was Rādhā, he was Kālī, he was Kṛṣṇa. Later on, we have many such examples of how he bestowed his grace – as Gopāla, as Kṛṣṇa, as Rāma to Rāmacandra Datta. He appeared as Rāma, Rāmacandra to Gopāler Mā as Kṛṣṇa – before she had the vision, first she saw Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. Then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa identified with Bāla Gopāla – child Gopāla – and she was very comfortable, not with the crown of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, but with the child form – Gopāla<nowiki>'s form – and she merged into him and she did not know anything else. After merging, she started playing ''līlā''. The ''līlā'' – the play between Gopāla and Gopāla'</nowiki>s mother – is indescribable. Later on, it is not only Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa whom she identified as "my Gopāla" – that is why she was called Gopāler Mā, the mother of Gopāla – here Gopāla means Rāmakṛṣṇa. Then she became the mother of the direct disciples, because this Gopāla started merging into the bodies of some of the close disciples of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, and they also she identified as her Gopāla. And one day when there was a chariot festival at Pāṇihati, then Gopāler Mā saw everything as the manifestation of Gopāla.

<nowiki>=== The Process of Contemplation ===</nowiki>

So one has to grow first through contemplation: "I am Gopāla" – then "many are Gopālas" – then "everything is Gopāla." And that is the process Varuṇa was trying to teach only through contemplation.

First you become <nowiki>''Anna Brahma''</nowiki>.

Second you become <nowiki>''Prāṇa Brahma''</nowiki>.

Third you become <nowiki>''Mano Brahma''</nowiki>.

Fourth you become <nowiki>''Vijñāna Brahma''</nowiki>.

Fifth you become <nowiki>''Ānanda Brahma'' – ''Ānandamaya Brahma''</nowiki>.

And then you remember these are all limitations. Every transcendence of the grossest <nowiki>''kośa'' is including that ''kośa'' – that effect – merging that effect into its cause. ''Annamaya kośa'' is merged into ''prāṇamaya''. Similarly, ''prāṇamaya kośa'' into ''manomaya kośa'', ''manomaya kośa'' into ''vijñānamaya kośa'', ''vijñānamaya kośa'' into ''ānandamaya kośa''. From ''ānandamaya kośa'', the word ''kośa'' – limitation – time, space and causation are removed through contemplation. Then ''ānandaṃ brahmeti vyajānāt, ānandād eva khalv imāni bhūtāni jāyante''</nowiki>.

<nowiki>=== The Process of Varuṇa's Teaching ===</nowiki>

So this is how the process of Varuṇa<nowiki>'s teaching starts. So Varuṇa, the teacher, taught him through some hints. As I mentioned, first your body and mind – then they have to be purified. Then you find out there are five coverings. The whole physical universe is nothing but ''annamaya kośa'', and that has to be merged into its cause. That is the process, and that process of merging the effect into cause is achieved through ''tapasyā''. ''Tapas'' means austerity. Austerity means through unbroken contemplation – deep contemplation. Contemplation is one which breaks Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's body and transforms it into Hanumān's body or Rādhā's body, Kṛṣṇa's body, Śakti'</nowiki>s body.

<nowiki>=== Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's First Experience ===</nowiki>

This beautiful description is given in <nowiki>''</nowiki>Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, the Great Master<nowiki>''</nowiki> by Swami Śaradānandaji Mahārāja. The very first experience of Mother Kālī as pure consciousness – how as he progressed, for the first time he saw not the Divine Mother but the Divine Mother as pure consciousness, like huge tsunami waves surrounded me, overwhelmed me. I struggled not to become unconscious, but they made me completely unconscious. What does it mean? It means they made me unconscious of my individuality and made me completely one with that pure consciousness. But as soon as his mind came out of that state, then he started calling Mother Kālī – "O Mother Kālī!" – like that. His <nowiki>''</nowiki>iṣṭadevatā<nowiki>''</nowiki>, the chosen deity of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, that is <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki> manifested in the form of his chosen deity as Mother Kālī.

<nowiki>=== The Path of Progress ===</nowiki>

So we all have to start with the body, progress slowly until we go beyond even limited <nowiki>''Ānanda'' and become identified with infinite bliss. That is the only way. The important word here is ''tapas''. In the very first teaching, of course Varuṇa did not use that word, but Bhṛgu understood it. So he went and then he understood that "I was completely confined, identified with this physical body of mine. Now I understand what my father meant. This body has come from my parents and their parents – my parents came from their parents. So if we go on doing that, then we see that everybody's parents also came from their parents – whether it is an insect, whether it is living, non‑living, everything has come from its cause." And thus we can say that ''Anna Brahma'' – that is called ''Pṛthvī Devatā''</nowiki>.

<nowiki>=== The Order of the Five Elements ===</nowiki>

So that is the first or grossest manifestation of <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki> in the order of the five elements: <nowiki>''</nowiki>ākāśa, vāyu, agni, āpaḥ, pṛthvī<nowiki>''</nowiki>. What is the cause of <nowiki>''</nowiki>pṛthvī<nowiki>''</nowiki>? Waters. What is the cause of waters? <nowiki>''</nowiki>Agni<nowiki>''</nowiki> – fire. What is the cause of fire? <nowiki>''</nowiki>Vāyu<nowiki>''</nowiki> – the air. What is the cause of the air? <nowiki>''</nowiki>Ākāśa<nowiki>''</nowiki> – space. And what is the cause of <nowiki>''</nowiki>ākāśa<nowiki>''</nowiki>? The final cause – <nowiki>''</nowiki>Ātman<nowiki>''</nowiki> or <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahma<nowiki>''</nowiki>. This is the process.

<nowiki>=== Bhṛgu Transcends the Kośas ===</nowiki>

So we see that from the second to the sixth sections of this <nowiki>''</nowiki>Bhṛguvallī<nowiki>''</nowiki>, how Bhṛgu transcended one <nowiki>''</nowiki>kośa<nowiki>''</nowiki> – that means he was successful in merging that particular <nowiki>''</nowiki>kośa<nowiki>''</nowiki> in which he was dwelling into its cause. For example, <nowiki>''</nowiki>annamaya<nowiki>''</nowiki> into <nowiki>''</nowiki>prāṇamaya<nowiki>''</nowiki>, etc. So Bhṛgu transcended all the five <nowiki>''</nowiki>kośas<nowiki>''</nowiki> including the <nowiki>''</nowiki>ānandamaya kośa<nowiki>''</nowiki>. This is the topic covered from the second to sixth sections – that is, <nowiki>''</nowiki>Pañcakośādhikramaṇa<nowiki>''</nowiki>. And then finally he understood: "I am not <nowiki>''</nowiki>Anna Brahma<nowiki>''</nowiki> – <nowiki>''</nowiki>Ānandaṃ Brahma<nowiki>''</nowiki> – I am <nowiki>''</nowiki>Ānanda<nowiki>''</nowiki> itself."

<nowiki>=== The Secondary Definition ===</nowiki>

Now comes a beautiful point that I told you in the beginning: Varuṇa had given the second hint – the <nowiki>''</nowiki>taṭastha-lakṣaṇa<nowiki>''</nowiki> – the secondary definition of <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki>: "from whom the whole universe has come" – or even that might create misunderstanding – "who has manifested as this universe, who remains as this universe for a period of time, and who goes beyond this manifestation into His true nature – that is <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki>."

<nowiki>=== Brahman Is Neither Cause Nor Effect ===</nowiki>

Even to tell that <nowiki>''Brahman'' is the final cause is also only an expression in words, because just as we cannot think of cold without understanding what is heat, we cannot understand what is evil without knowing what is good. We cannot understand what is life without understanding what is death. This is called duality – ''dvandva''. So if we say ''Brahman'' is the final cause, it is also from our lower intellectual view only. Really speaking, when one becomes merged, he does not say "I am merged in ''Brahman'' – I was the effect, now I have become one with the cause." No – he does not say that, he cannot say that, he should not say that. It is only for conveying the teaching – that is all. ''Brahman''</nowiki> is neither the cause nor the effect. That is what we have to understand, because when the object disappears, the subject also disappears – they are mutually dependent. Cause and effect, subject and object, experiencer and experience – they are all completely mutually dependent. We have to understand this highest truth – that is very important for us to understand.

<nowiki>=== The Process in Bhṛguvallī ===</nowiki>

So second to sixth sections: first is approaching the teacher, getting the instructions. Second to sixth: following austerity – which means deep contemplation – going beyond the <nowiki>''</nowiki>ānandamaya kośa<nowiki>''</nowiki>. The wonderful thing here: when once Bhṛgu realised "I am not the <nowiki>''</nowiki>ānandamaya kośa<nowiki>''</nowiki>" – unlike as soon as he attained the previous <nowiki>''</nowiki>kośas<nowiki>''</nowiki>, he came back and said "Please teach me <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki>" – but then when he understood that "I am <nowiki>''</nowiki>Ānanda<nowiki>''</nowiki>" – not even <nowiki>''</nowiki>ānandamaya<nowiki>''</nowiki> – he did not come back, because he knows now "I am <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki>." After that, there is nothing to learn, nothing to experience.

<nowiki>=== The Need for a Fit Body and Mind ===</nowiki>

But how did Bhṛgu progress in spiritual life? So we have to presume now, stepping back, that his body as well as his mind both are completely fit. The body was in the peak of health and the mind was also at its very highest power, endowed with <nowiki>''</nowiki>śraddhā<nowiki>''</nowiki>, <nowiki>''</nowiki>bhakti<nowiki>''</nowiki>, <nowiki>''</nowiki>ekāgratā<nowiki>''</nowiki>, and all those divine qualities. Without making the body and mind completely healthy, it is impossible to progress one millimetre towards God. That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, Swami Vivekananda, they said repeatedly: "If the body is weak, one who is weak cannot realise <nowiki>''</nowiki>Brahman<nowiki>''</nowiki>." Only when a person is completely fit, healthy in every way, he alone can progress in spiritual life. And this is famously written in our Ramakrishna Mission motto: <nowiki>''</nowiki>nāyamātmā balahīnena labhyaḥ<nowiki>''</nowiki> – "This <nowiki>''</nowiki>Ātman<nowiki>''</nowiki> is not attainable by the weak."

<nowiki>=== Food for Body and Mind ===</nowiki>

So how to make this body‑mind very pure? We are – our body is consisting of food. Our mind also, in another way, is consisting of food. What is the food for the body? Physical rice, bread, vegetables, fruits, etc. What is the food for the mind? Thoughts. Without this physical food being pure – and that is beautifully described in the <nowiki>''Bhagavad Gītā'' throughout from practically the fourteenth, then seventeenth and eighteenth chapters of the ''Bhagavad Gītā'' – what is the type of food that is liked by ''tāmasika'' people, ''rājasika'' people, ''sāttvika''</nowiki> people, etc. – beautiful description is there. When we have faith and if we say even "food is not tasty," we have to develop – most of us do not understand that there is nothing called "tasty." Taste is a peculiar phenomenon developed by our habit. When a person is accustomed to eating morning, evening what is called dry fish, etc., he develops a peculiar taste – even that smell brings a dead man to life. So a South Indian likes South Indian food, North Indian likes North Indian food, Italian likes Italian food. So this association – whether it be with food, with persons, with how society behaves – it all makes a lot of sense.

<nowiki>=== The Danger of Social Media ===</nowiki>

Finally, in this class, I want just to mention how harmful, degrading the social media is. Experts are warning us: you use it for a good purpose – like we send WhatsApp application messages which are the teachings of the highest teachers, highest scriptures – but not for "you are looking beautiful, your dress is beautiful, where from you are getting" – and then all the junk food – "oh they seem to be extremely happy" – and how much force is necessary to wring out that smile in their faces, how much money had to be offered to them, God alone knows. But most of the food nowadays is called junk – that is why <nowiki>''</nowiki>tāmasī<nowiki>''</nowiki>. We have to progress just like we progress from <nowiki>''</nowiki>annamaya kośa<nowiki>''</nowiki> to <nowiki>''</nowiki>prāṇamaya<nowiki>''</nowiki>, etc. – from <nowiki>''</nowiki>tāmasika<nowiki>''</nowiki> food to <nowiki>''</nowiki>rājasika<nowiki>''</nowiki> food and to <nowiki>''</nowiki>sāttvika<nowiki>''</nowiki> food. Then only there is a hope that by the grace of God we can realise finally <nowiki>''</nowiki>Aham Brahmasmi<nowiki>''</nowiki>.

<nowiki>=== The Attitude Towards Food ===</nowiki>

There are certain vows – how we have to look upon food. It does not mean that we have to say "I like this food and this is my favourite food." <nowiki>''Anna''</nowiki> is just a means, an instrument. Take hold of that instrument, use it properly – progress in spiritual life. Everything in this world – our body, our mind, as well as this world – are instruments for our further evolution and to go back from where we have come – the ultimate cause.

<nowiki>== Closing ==</nowiki>

ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं,

पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः |

Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,

pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ |

== Closing Prayer ==
ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

Oṁ jananīṁ śaraḍhāṁ deviṁ rāmakriṣṇam jagad-gurum pādapadmetayosritvā pranamāmi-muhurumuhu

'''May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna!'''
[[Category:Taittiriya Upanishad]]

Taittiriya Upanishad Lecture 119 Summary on 26 August 2026

2026-09-04T00:12:33Z

Bhama:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Prayer (Śānti Pāṭha) ==
ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

Oṁ jananīṁ śaraḍhāṁ deveṁ rāmakriṣṇam jagad-gurum

pādapadmetayosritvā pranamāmi-muhurumuhu

ॐ सह नाववतु ।

सह नौ भुनक्तु ।

सह वीर्यं करवावहै ।

तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ।

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥ हरि ॐ

OM SAHANAVAVATO SAHANAV BHUNAKTO SAHAVIRYAM KARAVAVAHAI TEJASVINAVADHITAMASTUMA VIDVISHAVAHAI OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTIHI HARIHI OM

OM May Brahman protect us both. May Brahman bestow upon us both the fruit of knowledge.

May we both obtain the energy to acquire knowledge.

May what we both study reveal the truth. May we cherish no ill feeling toward each other.

OM PEACE PEACE PEACE BE UNTO ALL
==Introduction: The Second Chapter – Brahmānandavallī==
We are summarising the second chapter of the ''Taittirīya Upaniṣad'' – very aptly and beautifully called ''Brahmānandavallī''. This second chapter has got nine sections, and the second chapter deals with the attainment of Self‑knowledge – who we really are. This second chapter, especially the very first section, is called the very essence of every scripture in this world – whether someone calls ''Brahman'' as God, as the Creator, etc. That is what the true nature of God is – ''Brahman''. So it is called ''Upaniṣad-sāra-saṅgrahaḥ''.
===The Main Chapter===
And this second chapter is the main chapter of the entire ''Taittirīya'' – also every other scripture, as I just now mentioned. And the very first section is the very essence of every scripture. Why do we say so? Because it beautifully discusses that God or ''Brahman'' exists. Seven reasons are given for the existence of ''Brahman'', and this ''Upaniṣad'' points out: one who realises ''Brahman'' – not "that is ''Brahman''" – not "that is ''Brahman''", but "I am ''Brahman''." What does he gain? By knowing one's own Self as ''Brahman'', one enjoys infinite, eternal existence, consciousness, bliss – ''Ānanda''.
===The Three Parts===
And this second chapter also tells us the way to know – how to know "I am ''Brahman''." So we have seen the entire ''Brahmānandavallī'' can be divided into three parts:
#Very briefly, like a four‑word introduction – in any good book written by knowledgeable people, every talk should contain, every book should contain three things: (a) what I am going to speak or write about, (b) elaborate it, and (c) the summary of what I wanted to convey to you. That is how even the ''Upaniṣad'' in the very first section exactly deals with these things.
===Desire and Attainment===
Now, people usually – all of us – we only desire something. First, we should know something exists. Second, it is obtainable, attainable. Third, there is a way to obtain it. And the most important part is: what do I get? After all, there may be something, and it may be obtained or gained, but what do I get out of it? Only wasted energy, wasted time? No.
===The First Statement: Brahmavid āpnoti param===
So the very first thing it tells – so beautifully, even from the viewpoint of how a book should be written or a speech should be delivered – this is a beautiful guideline for that. So what is it? ''Brahmavid āpnoti param'' – "A knower of ''Brahman'' attains the highest." What is that highest? He experiences the bliss of this infinite universe. Whatever creature is experiencing bliss – if we combine all these blisses together of every individual creature – that is what the knower – a person who knows "I am ''Brahman''" – obtains. And at the same time, not one by one, because when a person becomes infinite or knows that he is infinite, then in infinity there is no thing called "part." Infinity does not know what is called attachment.
===Attachment and Duality===
If there is attachment, wherever there is attachment, there will be detachment also – because attachment means what? "I am nearer, closer to this object." But at the same time, if I am nearer to somebody, I am further away from everybody else. That is called duality. Where there is cold, one is aware of heat. Where there is happiness, one is aware of unhappiness. Where a person is aware of respect, of honour, of gains, the opposite also will be there. If somebody says "I am born", the opposite – "I am going to die" – will always be there, and we do not want to think about it. That is why we go on postponing: "I am young – there is still a lot of time for me to give up the body. I will think at that time." Foolishness, of course, can go no further than this, because every day we are witnessing in front of our eyes – there is no guarantee. The senior‑most does not necessarily die first, and the youngest one the last. No – death can come at any time, at any place, to anybody, under any circumstance, in any way.
===Death Can Come at Any Time===
A person may die very happily. My mother was such a fortunate woman – she was travelling in a bus, and suddenly her breath stopped; in one second she passed away. So there are people who just had a nice dinner. One such swami whom I know very well – a great swami, Swami Vidyātmananda – he was in France in our Vedānta centre, and he had a nice dinner. He really enjoyed. The only thing is, I think he might regret that the dessert had not been served – and in between these two, he suddenly collapsed; within a fraction of a minute he passed away. So he enjoyed life until that second. Nobody knows when death is going to come.
===The Knower of Brahman===
But a ''jñānī'' of ''Brahman'' knows that "I am not subject to birth and death. I am pure existence." Modification of existence is called birth, sustenance, and death. But no – a ''jñānī'' of ''Brahman'' knows: "I am never born. So I am not going to grow up, I am not going to die." This automatically comes to that person. So this highest – ''Brahmavid āpnoti param'' – can be translated in devotee's language as liberation, going to Vaikuṇṭha, Kailāsa, etc. So God realisation.
===God Realisation Is the Only Goal===
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "God realisation is the only goal of life – not one of the goals of life, only goal of life." That is why the ''ṛṣis'' divided life into gradual progress towards God – or towards knowing that "I am God." And in the end, the fourth stage is fully knowing "I am God."
===The Three Questions===
So the very first statement – "A knower of ''Brahman'' attains the highest" – very naturally raises three basic questions:
#What is this blessed ''Brahman''?
#What is the method of knowing ''Brahman''?
#What is the result of attaining this ''Brahman''?
===Brahma-lakṣaṇam===
In Sanskrit, beautiful words – even if you know a little bit, you can enjoy thoroughly: ''Brahma-lakṣaṇam'' – what is the definition? What is called ''Brahman''? Without this definition, we cannot transact in this world at all. So even when you apply for a school – "I am the child of such‑and‑such parents. I just passed my high school. I want to enter into college or university. I have studied these subjects" – that is called self‑introduction. So ''Brahma-lakṣaṇam'' – if we desire anything, we must know what it is. "I want a car" – what is a car? And what can a car do to me? And how to obtain the car? Of course, obtaining the car means how to make it run, also – all these are there.
===The Definition===
But when a person attains ''Brahman'', there is no question of knowing anything else – just to know "I am." That is the highest goal. So what is the ''Brahma-lakṣaṇam'' given? ''Satyam jñānam anantam brahma''. But here, as I said, first the ''Upaniṣad'' in the second chapter of the ''Taittirīya Upaniṣad'' briefly states like this. First is called ''Sūtra-bhāga'' – very briefly, it gives a certain statement, and then it elaborates, and then it gives what is the result of attainment of ''Brahman''. This should be the normal logical steps. But here, the very first thing it says: "Do you want the highest bliss – the greatest bliss, eternal bliss, unbroken bliss? Yes, of course – who says 'I do not want to be happy'?" So even if there is some perverted mind which says "I do not want to be happy" – that person is very happy in saying, in thinking, "I do not want to be happy," because we can never think, never speak other than what is desirable – which is called ''Ānanda'' or "happiness" in normal terms. But here it is called bliss – ''Ānanda''.
===Happiness vs. Bliss===
''Ānanda'' means what? What is the difference between happiness and ''Ānanda''? Many times I have expounded, but I want still to tell about it, to remind. Happiness is what we think we are getting from outside – it is limited and it is conditional, and it comes, it goes – it depends upon many factors. Whereas bliss is my own nature. "I am happy" – why are you happy? That is no question at all – "I am happy" because that is my nature. Why is sugar sweet? Because that is its nature. It is like that. Why does a mother love her children? Because that is her nature – mother's nature. By the way, you have to understand: if any mother says "I do not love my children" or "some children," then you have to say that she is not a mother – motherliness is absent in her. She has given birth like an animal – but that is also we should not say "animal" – that would be insulting animals. You observe a cat, you observe even a rat, observe any bird – the divine motherhood is manifest everywhere. They will protect their young ones, even at the cost of their own lives.
===The March of the Penguins===
There is a beautiful film that had come long back – it is called ''The March of the Penguins''. How much they suffer in order to feed! Eighteen miles they had to walk, passing through the test of so many birds of prey and hungry seals, etc. Only few survive, and when they survive, then they come and the chick is waiting. Father was feeding it for six months or so, and then his mother comes – the transference in that frozen area within a second from the warm feet of the father on to the warm feet of the mother – and then she brings out from within her stomach, goes on feeding – and this is an eternal process.
===Sṛṣṭi, Sthiti, Laya===
''Sṛṣṭi'' – and the being who gives ''sṛṣṭi'' – that very being must sustain. Nobody else can do it. And ultimately, we go back from where we came. So first, says: "What do you gain? You want to be happy. You are in search of happiness – nobody will deny it. Then do not aim for smaller happinesses – because you have been doing it since so many births. Now you have seen every happiness, every pleasure you got is a limitation. But there is a definite source of infinite happiness."
===The Nature of Brahman===
How? It is not that it is somewhere – no, even if it is somewhere and I am separate from it, then that means there will come a time when it will remain, but I will pass away. No – "I am of the nature of eternal existence, eternal consciousness, eternal bliss." So, in a very clipped manner, the second chapter says: ''Brahma-lakṣaṇam'' – that is ''parā-prāpti-phalam'' – that is what is the result. This is like an advertisement: "You want to be happy, so you use this one."
===What Is the Nature of Brahman?===
Then what is the nature of this ''Brahman''? If you are saying that ''Brahman'' is of the nature of ''Ānanda'', then only there is a desire for me. But if ''Brahman'' Himself or itself is seeking ''Ānanda'', then there is no use – one beggar cannot obtain anything from another beggar. And may be ''Brahman'' may be having some ''Ānanda'' – it may be as temporary as mine – that also will not do. It must be eternally, infinitely, unbrokenly happy. That infinite happiness is called ''Ānanda''.
===The Three Questions===
So first: "If you realise – ''Brahmavid'' – a knower of ''Brahman'' – that means when we come to know 'I am ''Brahman'', I obtain the highest.'" Then what is the second question that comes? "How can ''Brahman'' give me happiness? How can I be happy?" Because your nature is ''satyam jñānam anantam brahma'' – ''anantam'' means here unbroken bliss. So that is the truth – and that is pure consciousness – that is infinite bliss. Then only comes the third one: ''Brahma-vidhāna-prakāraḥ'' – "How to know that ''Brahman''?" That means how can I progress in spiritual life gradually, slowly and gradually, and know that "I am ''Brahman''."
===The Three Parts of the Second Chapter===
So this is what is dealt with in this second chapter called ''Brahmānandavallī''. So we have discussed some of the points. So ''Brahman'' is to be recognised. "I have to reach ''Brahman''." Where is this blessed ''Brahman''? ''Parame vyoman pratisṭhitam yo veda nihitaṃ guhāyām'' – "You do not need to go anywhere – it is right there inside you in the very cave of your heart." Cave of your heart means in your consciousness – is ''Brahman'', because everything is consciousness. "I am" – how do I know I am conscious? How do I know I am a young man, young woman – consciousness? How do I know that I am happy? If I do not know I am happy, then I am not a happy person at all. I must be conscious. "I have no desire" – that means I am very happy. Even if there is a hidden desire, then I am not happy, because any desire makes me feel "I am finite. I am not full. I am not ''anantam'' – I am ''santam'' – finite only."
===The Qualifications of a Guru===
All right – "I believe what my teacher tells. I believe what the scripture tells. My Guru does not tell anything excepting what the scripture tells. Only he lives the life, and he convinces me by his life." That is the understanding – or that should be the understanding about one's Guru. His life must be pure – ''śrotriya brahmaniṣṭha akāmatasya'' – he must be a thorough knower of scriptures by realisation. This knowledge is true like a scientific experiment – "I know it is true because I experimented it, so I know what result it will give – as good as 'two plus two is four'."
===Removing Impurity===
Then his whole life before God realisation is to make himself – herself – pure, purer, purest – then only remove all obstacles. Impurity is the name of the obstacle. When it is removed, the person understands: "I was thinking I was the physical body, I was the ''prāṇa'', I was the mind, I was the ''buddhi'' (intellect), I was the ''ānandamaya kośa''." In other words, "I am the waking, dream, and dreamless state." But when a person climbs to the highest roof – as we discussed in our last class – which is ''ānandamaya kośa'', then his vision becomes perfect. He understands: "I am not a ''kośa'' – I am ''Ānanda''." From ''ānandamaya kośa'', he deducts ''maya kośa''. What remains is only ''Ānandam'' – "I am ''Ānanda'', and it is not limited." ''Kośa'' means that which is limited – without ''kośa'', it is unlimited. Then that is what we want. Everything in this world wants to be itself.
===Every Atom Seeks Freedom===
Swami Vivekananda poetically describes this: "Every atom, albeit unconsciously, is flying towards freedom." It does not know where it is going, but it wants to be free. So how does it? Where is it flying? After reading this statement you might question: "What is Swamiji talking about? How do these very atoms – some of them together become the inorganic – until that time they become a little bit aware – that is called life starts – or they become organic, maybe amoeba. And during the course of time, slowly it evolves, developing the instruments called body and mind, towards – after a long, long time (of course, we are not aware of time, but this is only description from the scriptures) – after a long time, because of so many lessons learned during this long journey, the person's consciousness slowly awakens: 'I wanted to be happy. I wanted to enjoy life, but why am I suffering? Because I have deviated from the direct teachings of the scripture.'"
===The Purpose of Life===
And then slowly he claims – that is the very purpose to aid, to help a person – first by teaching how life should be lived, what is the goal of life, and then actually experimenting and experiencing, going through ups and downs. His third eye – the eye of wisdom – opens up, and immediately he understands: "I have lost something at my home – but why am I running either and either, searching in the wrong place?" And then he wants to return home – but by that time he is far away from home. That is called returning home, which is called ''Vānaprasthāśrama'' – "I must – everything that I want is in my own home." And then he progresses slowly, and he has forgotten where he has hidden his own treasure, and he goes on thinking, searching, and at last the treasure becomes his – which is called ''Sanyāsāśrama''.
===The Jewish Wisdom Tale===
I cannot refrain myself from telling a beautiful story. It is a Jewish wisdom tale. There was a poor rabbi, and for many years he suffered so much. He was praying to God: "O Lord, I am not asking to give me enormous wealth. I am only asking to maintain my family, my starving children – just to give enough." And God was gracious. One day He appeared to him and said: "Joshua, there is a bridge five miles from here – go there. And beneath the bridge there is a great treasure hidden." And the person had complete faith – like Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa in dreams. So next day he took a shovel and other instruments, and he went and then he started digging.
===The Soldier's Dream===
Now there was a guard posted on the bridge so that nobody can damage it, because it is a very valuable bridge aiding business, etc. And the guard was astonished – this old man in ragged clothes was digging something beneath the bridge. So he went and asked him: "What are you doing?" The rabbi was very straightforward – without hiding, he said: "This is what happened – I saw yesterday night, I saw a dream. God directed me to dig here. He said there is a great treasure." Then the soldier started laughing and laughing and said: "You must be mad to believe in such weird dreams. Look here – yesterday night I also had a dream. In that I seem to have gone to the house of a poor rabbi, and underneath his hearth there is a great treasure – that is what I saw. Then I woke up." And the rabbi understood the message: God had directed him here to direct him – "You do not need to go anywhere – you dig in your own house." Then he thanked the soldier and went back, started digging beneath his own hearth. He discovered tremendous valuable jewels, etc., treasure, and he was very happy.
===The Meaning of the Story===
This, as I said, is a wisdom story. What does it mean? It means a person who is in search of the greatest treasure which is called God should approach a teacher – a qualified teacher, Guru – and he must sit humbly. And then "Why did you come?" – "I want to realise God." And then the teacher trains him, and then ultimately he gives final instructions: "God is hidden in your own heart. You do not need to search either and thither. You go and you sit calmly, and you turn your attention inward, and you will get the greatest immeasurable treasure called God Himself." So this is a very beautiful story, and these stories are meant not to be entertained but to meditate upon them.
===Brahman Is in the Heart===
So ''Brahman'' is to be recognised nowhere else. If I do not recognise ''Brahman'' in myself, I cannot recognise ''Brahman'' anywhere else. So how to obtain ''Brahman''? ''Yo veda nihitaṃ guhāyāṃ parame vyoman pratiṣṭhitam'' – "That ''Brahman'' is within each one of our own heart." That is what Swami Vivekananda meant: "Each soul is potentially divine."
===The Witness (Sākṣī)===
So then that ''Brahman'', that God, is acting as the witness. So that ''Sākṣī'' – that is the first thing we have to recognise. Open your eyes: "I am happy. I am aware I am happy. I am not happy. I am aware I am not happy." "This is cold" – I am aware of it. "It is hot" – I am aware of it. So whether there is a thought about anything, I am aware of it. Whether there is no thought about some things, I am aware of it. So I become a ''Sākṣī'' for both ''bhāva'' and ''abhāva'' – for the existence and non‑existence of every thought that passes. And every thought – we should not forget – represents one object in this world. So when we try to focus, this ''Sākṣī'' is eternal because it is witnessing the waking state, it is witnessing the dream state, it is also witnessing the deep sleep state. Slowly that is how we contemplate upon it, and the Guru initiates into ''Mahāvākya'' – the word to that – and then soon after, after some effort, by the grace of God alone, the ''sādhaka'' realises ''Aham Brahmasmi''.
===The Result===
So we already have seen what is the result: ''sa aśnute sarvān kāmān saha'' – eternally he enjoys everything. Now the doubt may come: "How do we know that ''Brahman'' exists?" For that purpose, in the very first section, after stating these marvellous truths about one's own Self – "Each soul is potentially divine. The goal of life is to unfold, to manifest this divinity" – whole life is an opportunity, and whole life we have been given the opportunity to practise ''Karma Yoga'', ''Bhakti Yoga'', ''Rāja Yoga'', ''Jñāna Yoga'' – and all the four ''yogas'' together.
===All Yogas Are Interdependent===
As I mentioned, nobody can afford to say "I only will practise either devotion, or concentration, or ''Karma Yoga''." One becomes dominant, but all the other three must be there to support – they cannot be separated, like a four‑lane motorway – any lane you can take, but you cannot take any lane even though you are free; it depends upon your car, depends upon your alertness. So if you are forgetful and very slow reactor, you will have to go through the slowest lane, etc.
===The Seven Reasons===
So now that is what is being given. "Is there ''Brahman'' at all? Yes." How is it? Seven reasons are given. For that purpose, an elaborate description of ''sṛṣṭi'' started: ''Tasmād vā etasmād ātmanaḥ ākāśaḥ sambhūtaḥ; ākāśād vāyuḥ; vāyor agniḥ; agner āpaḥ; adbhyāḥ pṛthivī; pṛthivyā oṣadhayaḥ; oṣadhībhyo 'nnam; annāt puruṣaḥ; sa vā eṣa puruṣo 'nnarasamayaḥ''.
===Tracing Back to the Cause===
My parents are this earth. My mother is the earth. The mother of earth is waters. The mother of waters is ''agni''. The mother of ''agni'' is ''vāyu''. And the mother of ''vāyu'' is ''ākāśa''. And the mother of ''ākāśa'', so to say, is ''Ātman''. So if we go on tracing back from the effect to its cause, and then that cause becomes an effect in its turn – this is what we also discussed in our last class. When we say "I am not the body," it means we have to add: "I am not only the body – I am something other than the body. So I have to include ''prāṇa''. I am not only the ''prāṇa'' – I am also the mind. I am not only the body, ''prāṇa'', and mind – I am also the intellect." Intellect here means ''ānanda'', ''cit'' consciousness. And then this consciousness leads me to that highest experienceable ''Ānanda'' called ''kośa-ānanda'' – that is called ''ānandamaya kośa''. But ''ānandamaya kośa'' is also an effect, and every effect must have a cause. The final cause must not have any other cause excepting itself.
===The Goal Is Happiness===
So we have seen that the goal of life is to be very happy. And how do I become very happy? By knowing that my very nature is of happiness. And as I mentioned many times, if I am happy, I have to exist to experience my own happiness. And then I am existing, I am happy – but if I am not conscious of my existence, if I am not conscious that I am not only existing, but I am happily existing – that ''cit'' – all the three go together. So you have to say any ''prāṇī'' – so it is ''Sat'' – it exists, and it knows "I exist" – it is conscious, "I exist" – and it is striving for happiness. Of course, it gets limited happiness called ''kośa-ānanda'', ''pratibimba-ānanda''.
===Bimba-Ānanda and Pratibimba-Ānanda===
''Bimba-ānanda'' is a term which means original ''Ānanda'', but when it is reflected through the ''pañcakośas'', when we are in the highest ''kośa'' – ''ānandamaya kośa'' – pure ''Ānanda'' will be there. But when I am coming down to the ''vijñānamaya kośa'', it becomes a bit less. When I come to the ''manas'' – mind – it becomes even less. When I come to the ''prāṇa'', it becomes even less. And when I come to the body, it becomes even less. It does not become less, but our capacity to experience it becomes less and less.
===The Sṛṣṭi Prakaraṇam===
So the ''sṛṣṭi-prakaraṇam'' also comes until the fifth section. So from the fifth it starts. The explanation about this ''sṛṣṭi'' starts in the first section and continues until the fifth section. And then after hearing, the student goes on: three questions come. "You are talking about the existence of ''Brahman''. So what is this blessed ''Brahman''? How do we know it exists?" To give a brief answer: "You, the questioner – even to ask me this question, you have to be existent. Nobody can say 'I do not exist.' Even to say 'I do not exist' – who can tell? A dead body will not tell 'I exist.' It is only a conscious being that can tell not only 'I exist,' but 'I am aware I exist.'" That is the beautiful argument we have to keep in mind.
===The Three Questions===
So for that purpose, the student will get three answers. What are the three questions? Two questions were explicitly asked, and one more implied question. Total three – two questions were explicitly asked and one question is implied there. Addressing the Guru, the disciple says: "If I realise ''Brahman'' – or if anybody realises ''Brahman'' – then he attains ''Brahman''. Very good. But suppose there is an ignorant person – he is not even aware that ''Brahman'' exists. So after death, what happens to the knower and to the ignorant? Does an ignorant person – because according to your teaching, from ''Brahman''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s viewpoint, there is no knower and there is no ignorant person. Everything is ''Brahman'' – ''sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma''."
===The Questions Are Wrong===
So these two questions are purely from an ignorant point of view – not logical at all. The questions are wrong. Why are the questions wrong? Because the teaching is: everything is ''Brahman''. ''Brahman'' is the root cause – this entire creation has been explained, and it is nothing but – any effect is nothing but the cause only. I have explained to you, O my beloved student – you have not grasped properly. It is not that a person is going to attain. It is not that some people will attain ''Brahman'' and some people will not attain ''Brahman''. Everybody will attain. That is a wrong question. There is no need to attain ''Brahman''. Both a wise person and an ignorant person – both are ''Brahman'', whether they know it or not. Only the wise person knows "I am ''Brahman''." The ignorant person, even though he is ''Brahman'', thinks he is not ''Brahman'' – it is only a thought process, that is all. Even the knowing person got that knowledge only after sitting at the feet of the Guru practising all these things. So your questions are wrong.
===The Implied Question===
Then what is the implied question? The implied question is: "If what you say is true, then only these questions are relevant. But what is the proof that ''Brahman'' exists really?" So for that purpose, seven reasons are given to prove the very existence of ''Brahman'' – which we will come very soon, today itself.
===Transcending Limitations===
But to transcend this limitation – first limitation, second limitation, like ''annamaya kośa'', ''prāṇamaya kośa'', etc. – a beautiful imagery is given. Imagine that you are like a human being – you have got a left side, right side, back side, your legs which are carrying you, and your head. So ''tasya idaṃ vai śiraḥ'' – "This is his head." ''idaṃ dakṣiṇaḥ pakṣaḥ'' – "This is the right side." ''idaṃ uttaraḥ pakṣaḥ'' – "It is the left side." ''idaṃ ātmā'' – "This is the backbone." ''idaṃ puccham pratiṣṭhā'' – "It is kept firmly supported by the legs, by the foundation," etc. So that is how you go on meditating and transcending – that not only "I am this one body, one mind," but "I am universal."
===Identifying with the Universal===
So first one identifies with ''Virāṭ Brahma'', then with what is called ''Hiraṇyagarbha'', then with ''Īśvara'' Himself. The entire universe is identified with oneself. Slowly but surely the person is going to grow up. So the sixth and seventh sections deal with these two questions, with the implied question whether ''Brahman'' exists or not.
===The Eighth Section – Analysis of Ānanda===
Now, in order to understand why ''Brahman'' exists, the eighth section deals with the analysis of progressively greater ''Ānanda''. So if a youth – young man – very strong, very healthy, very intelligent, very idealistic – if such a person is the emperor of this entire earth, or entire physical creation, entire galaxies, everything – then that ''Ānanda'' he attains – that beautiful ''Ānanda''. But that is one measure of entire human happiness – the highest human happiness. But immediately the ''Upaniṣad'' appends at the end: ''śrotriyasya ca akāmatasya'' – "one who does not have desires" – even a person who is sleeping does not have any desires. No – a person who realises "I am infinite" – only such a person will not have any desires. Even that person gets this ''Ānanda'' because he has realised "I am ''Brahman''." Without going to any higher ''loka'', he obtains the same happiness.
===The Twelvefold Progression===
About twelve times or so it is repeated until ''Brahmaloka'' is reached, and every higher ''loka'' gives one hundred times more happiness than the lower ''loka''. That one hundred times should not be taken as a mathematical truth – "one hundred" means indescribably, infinitely higher happiness – limited though, only language‑wise – "so much happiness" – no comparison with the lower ''Ānanda''. And at every stage: ''manuṣya-gandharva'', ''karma-gandharva'', then ''karma-deva'' – ''nāma'', then ''prajāpati'', ''Indra'', ''Bṛhaspati'', ''Prajāpati'' – all these goes on and on and on, I think around twelve times or so. It is the highest measurable, temporary happiness – that will be not ''Brahman''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s ''Ānanda'', but ''Brahma Loka Ānanda''. And when a person reaches there along with that, this person – remember, he is doing so much of hard austerity – so that person also realises he is progressing – that more and more he becomes like a cleaner mirror and reflects the reality, which is like a mirror reflecting the light of the sun. And when he reaches ''Brahmaloka'', almost like a person's ''kuṇḍalinī'' arises and reaches ''Ājñā Cakra'' – as Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says – and then he understands even ''Brahmaloka Ānanda'' is infinitesimally smallest, incomparably smallest ''Ānanda'' because it is external. If you go somewhere, you will have to come back – but no coming, no going. When I myself am ''Ānanda'', wherever I go I am a person of ''Ānanda''.
===The Purpose of the Analysis===
This is the analysis we get beautifully, but as I said, what is important is not to remember how much ''Ānanda'' we get in higher ''lokas''. But through that also, the scripture wants to prove that higher ''lokas'' do exist, and every higher ''loka'', as I say, is nothing but a state of higher consciousness. That is what we have to understand – not a geographical location, higher and lower. So then his ''vairāgya'' becomes more. ''Śrotriyasya ca akāmatasya'' – a person who knows "I am ''Brahman''" – he does not need to go anywhere. He knows "I am ''Ānanda''." Even ''Brahmaloka Ānanda'' is available only in ''Brahmaloka'' – until one reaches ''Brahmaloka'', one will not get that ''Ānanda''. So that is what the ''Upaniṣad'' in this second chapter wants to convey in the eighth section.
===Fear and Fearlessness===
Then ''Brahman'' also becomes what is called the cause of both fear and fearlessness. That is part of the seven reasons we get. Then the ''Upaniṣad'' says: ''sa eṣa yaś cāyaṃ puruṣaḥ, yaś cāsāv ādityaḥ, sa ekaḥ'' – "One gets the knowledge that the supreme reality which is manifesting in the sun, and the reality with which you are able to recognise that highest reality in the sun – both are one and the same. There is no difference." Light is light whether it is there or not, but nobody can express this one: ''yato vāco nivartante, aprāpya manasā saha'' – "Nothing in this world can be described exactly. Only partially we can describe. Only through one's own experience – even any knowledge, even worldly knowledge, can only be proved through description."
===The Seven Reasons for Brahman's Existence===
Now, does ''Brahman'' exist? As I said, seven reasons are given. I am not going to elaborate – you will have to go back and listen to that.
#''Nimitta-kāraṇatvāt'' – ''Nimitta'' means cause. ''Brahman'' is both the material as well as intelligent cause, because we see the effect, but wherever there is effect, there must be a cause. So because of that effect, ''Brahman'' exists.
#''Jīva-rūpeṇa vartamānatvāt'' – You are asking the questions, so you are existent. Your existence proves existence itself. And ''Brahman'' is all existence.
#''Jagat-rūpatvāt'' – We experience the whole universe and it exists. You cannot experience something without something existing there. So ''Jagat-rūpatvāt'' – we are experiencing ourselves, we are experiencing the entire world – and that is how the third reason is given, which proves the very existence of ''Brahman''.
#''Sukṛta-prasiddhatvāt'' – There is so much of ''ānanda'', so much of knowledge – exponentially it is increasing now. So ''Brahman'' is called ''sukṛta''. ''Sukṛta'' means ''svayam-kṛta'' – "self‑born." Self‑born means what? ''Brahman'' is not an effect. ''Brahman'' is its own eternal infinite cause.
#''Vāsarūpeṇa prasiddhatvāt'' – Because ''Brahman'' is famous in the form of ''Ānanda''. Even an ant, when it is carrying sugar, it is so joyful. When it eats sweet, it becomes very full – just keep some sweets in your house and see how ants come running from where. So if you want to collect some ants, put a little bit of sugar – you do not need to go hunting for them – they themselves will come and hunt you. Then that is called ''Ānanda'' – ''ānanda-rūpeṇa prasiddhatvāt''.
#''Śarīra-ceṣṭā-darśanāt'' – If there is a body and it is alive and it is doing something, what is it that directs all these activities? "I desire" – and "I have knowledge of this object – therefore I am able to desire." And "this is the way to obtain this particular object which fulfils my desire." All this is possible only because of that consciousness that is manifest in each one of us. That is the fifth proof of the existence of ''Brahman''.
#The sixth one is we are all afraid: "I may die, I may be unhealthy, ill, or somebody may take away something from me, or I have applied for a college admission – I have applied for a job – I may not get" – all these are called the causes of fear. And where there is fear – that is to prove that – the ''Upaniṣad'' gives: "The sun shines, the wind is blowing, the fire is burning" – all these are given. Even death is running because of the fear of ''Brahman'' – that means because of the cause of ''Brahman''. ''Brahman'' only in the form of the sun and the wind and the fire and death is acting actually upon itself. So ''Brahman'' is the cause of fear, and as well ''Brahman'' is the cause of fearlessness. When a person comes to know that "I am ''Brahman''" – not only "I am ''Brahman''" – everything is ''Brahman''. That is the seventh reason given for the existence of ''Brahman'', to prove logically that ''Brahman'' exists. So because of these seven reasons, ''Brahma asti''.
==Conclusion: The Essence of the Second Chapter==
So this is the essence of the second chapter of the ''Taittirīya Upaniṣad'' – called ''Brahmānandavallī''. Now a third chapter is there – we have already seen it is called ''Bhṛguvallī''. So here, very practically:
#How one should approach a Guru – that is the first point.
#He must have complete faith in the Guru.
#We must become receptive, and for that receptivity we have to practise ''tapasyā'' – austerity, meditation – not only meditation. Every one of our activities must be to get rid of selfishness and to transform our character, our life into a saint's life. For that, such ''upāsanas'' – contemplations – are also prescribed, and how we can obtain the vision that the entire creation is nothing but manifestation of ''Brahman'' with ''nāma-rūpa''.
These are just only a foretaste, so to say. We will discuss the essence of the third chapter called ''Bhṛguvallī'' in our next class.
== Closing Prayer ==
ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

Oṁ jananīṁ śaraḍhāṁ deviṁ rāmakriṣṇam jagad-gurum pādapadmetayosritvā pranamāmi-muhurumuhu

'''May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna!'''
[[Category:Taittiriya Upanishad]]

Taittiriya Upanishad Lecture 119 Summary on 26 August 2026

2026-09-04T00:11:09Z

Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 171 on 25-August-2026

2026-09-03T23:56:27Z

Bhama:

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् |

पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ||

Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadgurum |

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

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''
[[Category:Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna]]

Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 171 on 25-August-2026

2026-09-03T23:54:11Z

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 ||

== 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!'''
[[Category:Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.6-10 Lecture 64 on 30 August 2026 Q&A

2026-09-03T23:45:19Z

Bhama:

== [https://pub-0536a4be5dcf4ea9890169f5da0ca6a9.r2.dev/April%202026%20onwards/Brihadaranyaka%20Upanishad/Q%20%26%20A%2064%20Brihadaranyaka%20Upanishad%20%20On%2030%20August%20%202026%20.mp3 Link to Audio] ==
== Discussion on Involution, Evolution, and the Analogy of Wet Fuel==
===Question: Vedas as the Source of Knowledge for Both Involution and Evolution===
'''Participant:''' So for involution, Vedas were the source of knowledge. So that is the source of knowledge for evolution as well.

'''Response (Maharaj):''' Involution. Involution. ''Srishti'' means involution. Now, having come down to the inorganic, we have to become organic – one-celled, two-celled, multi-celled, then insects or plants, birds, animals, human beings. That is called evolution. Going back process is called evolution. So coming down from the cause is called involution, right? And that coming down is called effect, and the effect again going back into its origin – that is called evolution. The purpose is inevitable. It is not that we have a choice – we will remain here permanently – no.
===The Upanishadic View: Vedas Come from Brahman===
'''Response:''' So what every Upanishad wants to tell is that all the Vedas are coming from Brahman. That is why a ''shastra'' is nothing other than God. That is why in the Bible it is said: "In the beginning, God, the Word was with God." The Bible you must have read somewhere – that is God now crucified in the form of knowledge. "Word" means knowledge, and ''Veda'' means knowledge. So that is how we have to understand.
===Question: The Analogy of Smoke and Wet Wood===
'''Participant:''' Okay, Maharaj. Yeah, what I didn't – I missed this point about the smoke and the wet wood. How does that relate to...?

'''Response:''' That is to say, suppose there is fire. Wet fuel is added to the fire. So the fire is burning the wet fuel. Because it is not dry – if it is dry, what happens? It immediately becomes one with the fire.

'''Participant:''' Right.

'''Response:''' But then, because all the impurities have to be thrown out, so first smoke comes.

'''Participant:''' Yes.

'''Response:''' And then sparks come out. Yeah. And then even some sound comes – ''bhusa bhusa'' – like that. Right. And the moisture comes out from the other end of the stick – firewood, yes. So these smoke, these sparks – they are manifestations of fire only. That is why it is said: wherever there is smoke, there is fire. So smoke is a manifestation of fire only, and sparks are also manifestation of fire – fire only.
===Application: The Listener as Wet Fuel===
'''Response:''' So whatever we see in this world is nothing but varieties of manifestations of trouble. So what we have to understand is: so when there is a lot of sweat coming out after hearing my talk, you have to understand the listener is wet fuel. And when a person is producing a lot of smoke, that means he is trying hard to understand what I am talking about. And when little by little the understanding is coming out, you can compare perhaps to those sparks. And when it is completely understood, he will become the fire – God-fire.
===Conclusion: All Is Manifestation of Brahman===
'''Response:''' So the whole point is: whether it is an inert thing, whether it is a living thing, whether it is the least intelligent person or most intelligent person – all are finally manifestations of Brahman alone. That is the essence of that particular mantra – ''ardra vet'' (wet fuel).
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.6-10 Lecture 64 on 30 August 2026 Q&A

2026-09-03T23:42:05Z

Bhama: Created page with "== [https://pub-0536a4be5dcf4ea9890169f5da0ca6a9.r2.dev/April%202026%20onwards/Brihadaranyaka%20Upanishad/Q%20%26%20A%2064%20Brihadaranyaka%20Upanishad%20%20On%2030%20August%20%202026%20.mp3 Link to Audio] == Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad"

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.6-10 Lecture 64 on 30 August 2026

2026-09-03T23:38:40Z

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.

''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते

पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

==Introduction: The Maitreyī-Yājñavalkya Brāhmaṇa==
We are studying the Maitreyī-Yājñavalkya ''Brāhmaṇam''. It has fourteen ''mantras''. In our last class, we saw how everything can be reduced to existence, and this pure remaining existence is another name for ''Brahman''. In Sanskrit, it is called ''Sat''. We have to keep in mind: where there is ''Sat'', there will be ''Cit'', and there will be ''Ānanda''.
===Each Soul Is Potentially Divine===
This is what Swami Vivekananda said: "Each soul is potentially divine." If we can transpose that word "soul" and say "everything is potentially divine" – there cannot be anything other than divine, which is ''Brahman''. And so we have no choice. Life does not give a choice whether I should realise God or not realise God, because consciously or unconsciously we are struggling, we are praying. In fact, every millisecond: "Let me not die, let me not be unconscious." We can translate it as "let me not be ignorant, let me be knowledgeable."
===We All Want Infinite Happiness===
If we can translate consciousness as true, real knowledge – ''satyam satya-jñānam'' – then I want to be, we all want to be infinitely happy for infinite time. That means unbroken bliss. Unbroken happiness is called bliss – ''Ānanda''. Broken ''Ānanda'' is called ''sukham'', and every ''sukham'' is nothing but ''duḥkham''. How? If we had experienced a certain quality and quantity of happiness, and next time we fall down from that happiness, we call it ''duḥkham''. It is a matter of comparison. When a person is getting sufficient food, he should be very happy. But he looks up and says: "The other man is eating costly, rich, tasteful dishes." So he suffers: "I am such an unfortunate person." But if you ask a person who is starving – not getting food – "What will you do if you are provided this poor man's food every day?" He would jump up for joy and say: "I feel I am in ''Svargaloka''."
===The Zen Master Story===
If we can achieve that state consciously, then whatever be the circumstances, we would be extremely happy. I cannot refrain but recollect a beautiful Zen story. There was a great Zen master who never entertained, cherished any wrong feeling towards any woman, and he died. He had a very devout but somewhat foolish disciple. So the disciple was always remembering his guru, and he also died. And then he found himself in heaven in the presence of his old guru. And what was his greatest delight? A beautiful woman was sitting in the lap of that Zen master. The disciple said: "Guruji, now I understand clearly – God exists. He is rewarding you for all the austerities you had performed." The Guru shouted at him: "You stupid idiot! I am not being rewarded – she is being punished!"
===Developing the Right Mindset===
So we always, whenever we are unhappy, remember the things that we have and the way we are right now in comparison with when we did not have these things – then we would feel very happy, and we will never feel sad and bad and worried. Just as an example to make this point crystal clear: suppose a person had suffered terribly – let us say from terrible stomach ache for a long time – and then he somehow was cured. Previously he was not able to eat anything, digest anything. Now he is able to digest simple things – semi‑liquids, boiled vegetables, etc. How happy he feels! "Previously, I was not able to swallow anything and digest anything. Now, by God's grace, I am able to enjoy."
===The Japanese Philosophy===
By the way, there are many people, especially the Japanese people, who enjoy boiled vegetables, and their philosophy is: every vegetable has its own unique special flavour and taste, and only when we add heavy spices, we lose that peculiar ''sāttvika ānanda''. I myself once tasted this – had this experience in Argentina – and I cannot express how tasty the food was there. Just varieties of vegetables only, purely boiled – and that Japanese restaurant knows how to boil in the right proper manner, not like Indians who boil so much that practically, excepting the ''nāma-rūpa'', nothing is left out.
===Everyone Wants Happiness===
Anyway, coming back – if we can compare it, develop that mindset, then we will be a happy person. So everybody has the right to think "I want happiness" because that is their own nature. In fact, no human being, no living creature ever wants anything. And Swami Vivekananda expressed even in greater depth: not only living beings, even every atom is whirling, trying to get away from this bondage – it wants complete freedom. We have to think deeply about this statement. How can a lifeless atom? It is lifeless for ignorant people like us, but it is nothing but ''Sat-Cit-Ānanda'' for a person who knows the truth.
===The Three Instruments – A Review===
So we had seen that everything by giving the examples of three instruments – what are the instruments? A drum, a conch, and a ''vīṇā'' – and the teaching of Yājñavalkya was: unless we first understand the common sound of each instrument, we cannot grasp, we cannot understand. As a result, we cannot experience the joy that we can get from the variations of that common sound belonging to each specialised instrument. But we should not stop there. Even those sounds – common sounds of the conch, of the drum, of the ''vīṇā'' – are really special sounds from the viewpoint of ''sāmānya śabda'' – just "sound." And that sound is reduced to existence. So go on reducing everything – that means we are destroying the differences. We arrive at pure existence, and that pure existence – another name for that is ''Brahman''.
==Mantra 10 – The Whole Creation Has Come from Brahman==
Continuing the same topic, now Yājñavalkya wants to teach in this tenth ''mantra'' that the whole ''sṛṣṭi'' – how did it come? If, for example, a potter had to create a pot, here to gather the clay, he had to acquire a potter's wheel, then he has to shape that clay into a particular shape. It is not that he can take it – there is a great process of kneading it like we knead the bread before turning it into toast, and then put it on the wheel. Otherwise, nothing will come out – it will just fall apart. So it can be malleable, shapeable, and at the same time it should hold on. That consistency when he gets it, he knows it, he puts it, and then he makes it, and then he dries it for some time. When they are a bit stable, he puts it in fire and bakes it for ten to fifteen days, and that will bring out a beautiful pot.
===Labour Involved in Creation===
So the point the ''Upaniṣad'' wants to tell is that a lot of labour is involved. Take another example: a couple get married and then they have a child. The mother has to sustain that child in her womb for nine months. And after that, also the mother has to be awake twenty‑four hours, keeping an eye on the child. Tremendous labour. Then whether the child turns out to be a saint or a rogue, a good or evil person – that is all again a separate issue.
===Brahman Creates by Will===
Did ''Brahman'' or ''Brahmā'' – ''Brahman'' as the creator, working the job called creation, is called ''Brahmā'' – does He have to really create in that way? No – ''saṅkalpa eva'' – everything springs out just by His will. That is just like in our dream: the moment a thought comes – "here is a tree" – and a big huge tree is present in front of us. "Here are fruits – plenty of fruits on the tree, and I am hungry" – and the person approaches the tree – either it is climbable or shakable – and then some of the ripe fruits fall down. So whatever thought comes, without any labour, the next very instant, we find everything becoming real for us.
===The Mind Is Kalpavṛkṣa===
That is why the study of the dream state is a most marvellous state. That is why the mind is called ''Kalpavṛkṣa'' – whatever one thinks, that becomes a reality. But if one does not have control over the mind, he can destroy himself. Suppose a thought comes: "A tiger has come" – and immediately a tiger will come. Suppose it eats me up. Nobody can think: "A tiger is approaching me – it is my pet tiger. It is so glad to see me and it is leaping up and down like a dog – so it recognises its master." Such a thought perhaps comes to very few people – but saints. That is why it is said: wherever a saint lives, there is no enmity – so a deer and a tiger – the prey animals and the predators – they all live in perfect peace.
===Creation Effortless===
So such kind of people are very rare. So as an example, this dream for us to understand clearly – how did this creation come out? Just like breathing out. When we breathe out, there is no effort. That is what we have to understand. But even breathing out or breathing in can require tremendous amount of effort – we have to understand it clearly. But of all the activities, that is the easiest, especially when we are lying down flat on the bed. But if a person is suffering from asthma, you can understand how difficult it is. So this is how we have to understand – so naturally, so effortlessly. That is one of the important points Yājñavalkya wants to point out in the next ''mantra'', not in this one.
===Reinforcing the Idea===
The tenth ''mantra''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s purpose is to reinforce the same idea that the whole creation has come out of ''Brahman'' – "has come" means what? ''Brahman'' Himself is manifesting as this. For that, we have seen the three examples – that by understanding everything is existence – pure existence reduced to pure existence – then we see no difference between this inert smallest thing and the highest ''jñānī'' of ''Brahman'' – ''a-sthambhaḥ ā-brahma stambha-paryanta'' – we do not see any difference at all.
===From Common Sound to Existence===
So to me, having given the example of those three instruments – first we have to understand their peculiar common sound, then out of that common sound, specialised modifications of that common sound, and then every sound of everything, anything, is to be reduced – and that is the manifestation of this animal, that human being, that musical instrument, etc. But we have to understand: we are not talking about sound or form or smell or touch or taste. What we are understanding is – everything is reducible to pure consciousness. So first pure existence, then to pure consciousness, and that is pure bliss. That is the point.
===The Wet Fuel Example===
So to reinforce this, in the tenth ''mantra'', Yājñavalkya is trying to tell us something. He gave an example: suppose there is wet fuel – some firewood, but it is wet – not completely wet, but a little bit wet. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa also gives this example: when you put wet wood into the fire, it catches the fire, but from behind, the moisture tries to come out – plenty of smoke will be there. So this wetness creates smoke, and there is no need – as soon as the fire is applied there, whatever wetness is there is now thrown out, comes out in the form of smoke. So that is the example he wants to give.
===The Mantra===
''Sa yathā ārdre āgnau abhy-āhite pṛthak dhūmāḥ viniścaranti'' – "As from a fire kindled with damp fuel, clouds of smoke distinct from one another issue forth." That is to say that when we feed wet fuel into fire, smoke comes, sparks come out – different small, big sparks, etc. And they seem to be separate from the fire. In fact, they are not separate from the fire – they are all different formations of the fire alone. That is the fact he wants to give. This is also an analogy, a small example for us to understand.
==The Four Vedas Came from Brahman==
Now he comes into the core teaching. This one beautifully tells: ''evam vā are asya mahataḥ bhūtasya niḥśvasitam etat yath Ṛgvedaḥ, Yajurvedaḥ, Sāmavedaḥ, Atharvāṅgirasaḥ'' – how the four ''Vedas'' have come out. "Even so, my dear – ''Ṛgveda'', ''Yajurveda'', ''Sāmaveda'', and ''Atharvāṅgirasa'' – that is ''Atharvaṇaveda'' – these four ''Vedas'' came out."
===Brahmā and Sarasvatī===
That is why the Purāṇic equivalent of this Upaniṣadic statement is: wherever there is a Brahmā, there would be Sarasvatī. For ordinary people, I say "Brahmā is the husband, Sarasvatī is the wife." But what it means is they are two sides of the same coin – that is most important. What is Sarasvatī? Knowledge. And what is Brahmā? Pure Consciousness. Pure consciousness, when it comes into association with knowledge – pure knowledge – then only the consciousness can manifest itself.
===The Poet and Memory===
Let us say there is a poet, and the poet has got beautiful mastery of tremendous vocabulary – so many dictionaries are at his fingertips, like AI. Previously, I give the example of Śaṅkarācārya – he is the master of all existing literature. That is why, without any AI or PC, he can recollect. This ''Śruti'' also tells the same thing – he goes on quoting from ''Prasthānatrayam'', which is ''Bhagavad Gītā'', ''Upaniṣads'', and ''Brahma Sūtras'' – and he had written commentary on all of them. On ten ''Upaniṣads'' he had written, but he remembers everything. His memory power was extraordinary. Swamiji's memory power was extraordinary. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's memory power was super‑extraordinary.
===The Grace of Sarasvatī===
So not only memory power – one may have tremendous power of memory – but to bring it out at the right time and at the right occasion – that is the greatness of great people, and that is possible only by the grace of Mother Sarasvatī. Coming back: Brahmā is associated with Sarasvatī because his job is creation. Creation requires: what should I create? How should I create? Because creation is not of one object – a billion objects, uncountable, innumerable objects have to be created. Not only that – that which is divine, that which is natural, that which is very subtle, like our mind, ''Buddhi'' – anything other than the ''annamaya kośa'' – it has to be created. For that, tremendous knowledge is necessary, memory is necessary.
===Brahmā and Sarasvatī Cannot Be Separated===
So the point is – Brahmā and Sarasvatī cannot be separated. Similarly, Lakṣmī and Nārāyaṇa cannot be separated. On the one hand, Nārāyaṇa has got weapons like the ''cakra'', like the ''gadā'' – mace – and he has got so many powers, mental powers. So all this is called "stick," and Lakṣmī is called "carrot." What am I referring to? When people want to train animals, they give a peculiar sound. Dogs, for example, do not understand human language – whether it is Indian language, French language, whatever – they understand certain sounds. That is how at the beginning, when we are babies, we only understand sounds: "Baby, I love you." Somehow those words stick in the mind of the baby, and the moment it hears that cooing sound, immediately the baby's face breaks into the most lovable smile you can see anywhere in the world – a pure joyous smile.
===The Hypocrisy of Adults===
When we smile, it is like a ''bhūta-preta-piśāca'' laughing like that – so we have developed that hypocrisy where we feel like laughing, we weep; when we feel like weeping, we laugh; when we feel like laughing, we weep. So this is how we want to cheat the entire external world. But children – whatever they are doing – so much concentration. If a child is playing with a doll, that person's ''ekāgratā'' is indescribable. But as we grow, the distractions also grow, and the mind also becomes more and more restless, and added to that ''saṃskāras'' – it is indescribable.
===The Restless Mind===
That is why a human being is described by Swami Vivekananda: by nature a monkey, it is stung by a scorpion, then it got drunk with liquor, and then it was possessed by a demon – and who can ever describe the restlessness of that monkey? Such is our mind. But as an example, you look at a baby – it trusts everybody until somebody proves to be dangerous.
===Sound and Language===
Animals understand only peculiar sounds, not the language. Sound is separate, language is separate. When a Chinese makes a sound, we do not understand anything, and when we speak something, they do not understand. We cannot understand each other's language – it takes time. So what is being said here? First, knowledge is required – how to create, what to create, and in which way to create – and memory: "Did I create this previously? Then I must have prepared some mould, and I do not need to repeat and go through the same process once more from the beginning. I just bring the mould and pour the raw material, which is ''Brahma'' Himself."
===The Moulds===
And then there is a mould for a man – man mould; tree mould; dog mould; donkey mould; tree mould; amoeba mould – whatever it is – a mould for everything. Then we pour into that mould. Then we see the same thing will come out. And some – it is said, but not literally to be understood, only significantly – he breathed life into some.
===Knowledge Helps Creation===
So this is how first knowledge is created, because that knowledge helps the creator to create. Not only that, that knowledge again helps us to go on gradually learning more and more, and the more we learn, along with our learning or understanding, our body also grows, our brain also grows. This is scientifically proven today: as a person goes on understanding more and more, the capacity of his brain also grows.
===The Potential of the Human Brain===
But it is said that if AI can master everything – some human brains have got billions and billions of bits of information, of which even the world's greatest geniuses use only perhaps four to six percent potential. Just imagine – Swamiji says in his ''Rāja Yoga'': if somebody can develop one hundred percent of that potentiality, then he will see his own true nature. And that is what we are struggling for, because we are trying to regain our memory of our own forgotten knowledge about our own true nature.
===The Four Vedas===
So what is the first creation? ''Ṛgveda'', ''Yajurveda'', ''Sāmaveda'', and the fourth ''Veda'' is called – there was one ''ṛṣi'' called ''Atharvaṇa'', and he is also called ''Aṅgirasā'' – and he mastered tremendous pieces of knowledge, including black magic, several remedies for diseases, etc., and how to control the departed spirits, etc. That is why the previous ''ṛṣis'' did not include this ''Atharvaṇaveda'' for a long time. But then, when they perceived that many, many people are getting benefit out of this, they probably were forced to accept it as part of the ''Veda''.
===Veda Means Knowledge===
''Veda'' means what? Knowledge. So not only that – Swamiji used to say that if somebody discovered some tremendous improvements in AI, he is a ''ṛṣi'' – AI ''ṛṣi''. Somebody discovered some new mathematical formula – he is a mathematical ''ṛṣi'', like our Bhāskara, etc. So anybody who adds some bit of truth to the existing body of knowledge, he is called a ''ṛṣi''. Any great knowledgeable person has to be revered as a ''ṛṣi'', and truly that is a fact. But then if somebody discovered something destructive – do not blame the person, because knowledge is neutral. The same knowledge can save a person, can destroy – can save a life, can take away any life. The same gun can save a person, can also destroy a life – it depends upon the usage.
===The Oligarchs===
That is why some of these oligarchs – the whole power in this world is concentrated in just a few – just imagine ten or fifteen number of people – they are the CEOs of these mega companies. So my point is: knowledge is the first thing to create anything – some knowledge is required, and how to transform that knowledge into appropriate things. Knowledge is eternal – it always existed every time. The first thing Brahmā creates is these ''Vedas''.
===The Essence of Every Veda===
The ''Vedas'' also give us that knowledge – what is the goal of life, who are we, and how to get back to our own real nature. That is the entire essence of every ''Veda'', every ''Purāṇa'', supposedly the essence of every ''Dharmaśāstra'' – so many rogues have misinterpreted, miswritten ''Dharmaśāstras'', creating terrible amount of misery to billions of people even today. Yesterday as an example – some religions they torture, stop the education of women, etc. Why? What wrong have they done? They are also creation of God – that may be even better than men. But what right have you got? Because you have the power, you are the ruler, you create the laws, and you want to spread these laws everywhere across. Anyway, that is not our subject.
===The Veda Must Be Understood===
So that is what he said – the ''Vedas'' and these ''Vedas'' have to be understood. There are different degrees of intelligence – very highly intelligent, less intelligent, even less intelligent, very poor intelligent. So Bhagavān has to help them also – disturb His grace.
===The Ṛṣi Atharvaṇa===
So let me complete first. There was a ''ṛṣi'' called Atharvaṇa. He was also called Aṅgirasā. Some people say they are two separate ''ṛṣis'', but they work together anyway. So after many centuries, this ''Atharvaṇaveda'' was added. So that is the first manifestation or out‑breath of ''Brahman'' before creation, and these ''Vedas'' contain how creation can be done.
===The Need for Explanation===
Then to understand these ''Vedas'' properly, we require to understand them – otherwise, even if the truth is there, but I do not understand it – in the form of a book or in the form of a teacher – it is like a strange language. You go on telling an ignorant person: "You are God" – he will not understand it. But nevertheless, he thinks he is a God – there is no doubt about it. So Yājñavalkya is telling: these very ''Vedas'' have to be made available in easily understandable, digestible, helpful scriptures.
==The Secondary Scriptures==
For that, what happened? ''Itihāsaḥ, Purāṇam, Vidyāḥ, Upaniṣadaḥ, Ślokāḥ, Sūtrāṇi''.
===Itihāsa – History===
''Itihāsa'' means history. So just in this ''Upaniṣad'', in this particular ''Brāhmaṇa'', who was Yājñavalkya? Not the complete history, some history is given. He was a householder, he married two wives, and then he was a great ''jñānī'', and he argued with the court paṇḍits of Janaka Mahārāja. This is called ''itihāsa''. ''Itihāsa'' means ''iti'' – thus; ''ha'' – it is just a supportive word – ''asā'' – "It was like this." That means "thus it happened." That is the meaning.
===History Inspires and Teaches===
So ''Itihāsa'' – history – is very helpful for us to understand, both to inspire and to learn lessons from them. So studying the life history of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrī Rāma, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, etc. But at the same time, the teachings they have given have to be put in a baby‑food formula – they are called ''Purāṇas''.
===Purāṇas===
So thirty to thirty‑six ''Purāṇas'' are there – eighteen they are called main ''Purāṇas'', and eighteen smaller ''Purāṇas'' – all together thirty‑six. But they are all stemming from the ''Vedas'' only. I will tell you how very soon.
===Vidyās – The Arts===
Then different types of ''vidyās'' – that is how to contemplate, and then arts. ''Vidyā'' here is translated as "arts." So sixty‑four ''vidyās'' are there according to Indian study – arts. Whether it is instrumental or vocal – South Indian, North Indian, or Beethoven's symphonies all over the world – even ancient people have discovered some instruments which they were playing in their own way, and it had exactly the same effect. Do not think they were crude – this is a misunderstanding we have to get rid of completely.
===Happiness Then and Now===
How we are happy today – our ancient Stone Age man also was so happy, probably happier even in those days, because life was simple. You work hard, try to protect yourself from preying animals – ferocious big animals, especially in the age of dinosaurs, etc. – and try to obtain food. Do not think they were having a horrible time living. No – even if they got something, they were very happy, and God had provided them with a tremendous power of digestion so that they could eat three‑four days' food at one sitting and then digest it slowly. So even if they did not get food for three‑four days, they were quite happy. But when it is digested, then they will go there. Most of the time it is uncooked food, and it did not give them any trouble. But as we developed cooking, our power of digestion has also come down – there is no doubt about it.
===The Many Arts===
So ''Vidyā'' – arts – not only arts, but even ''Dhanur Vidyā'' – archery – or ''Khaḍga-yuddha'', ''Gadā-yuddha'' – these are all arts which human being, being a creative animal, can create. Animals are also very creative – how birds build their nests, some of them so beautiful, so intricate, so deceptive also sometimes. But then their creativity is limited only to survive themselves. But human beings surpass everything – there is no doubt about it. And he invented this thing called language so that we can communicate easily what we learn to any number of people.
===The Future of AI===
A time is going to come – definitely in another few years – how AI can be injected into the human brain. So this is a combination of a human living human brain and also somehow they will transmit an AI so he can think like AI and do things like AI, but at the same time he also remains a living human being. I do not know how it is going to coordinate, what problems it can create – because everything works in both ways. Every piece of knowledge is a double‑edged sword – we have to understand.
===The Sixty‑Four Vidyās===
So ''Vidyā'' means arts – sixty‑four are supposed to be the ''vidyās'', including medicine, ''Dhanur Vidyā'' – the art of archery, ''Astra Vidyā'' – the art of inventing ferocious weapons like the atom bomb, etc., which was called ''Brahmāstra'' in those days.
===Upaniṣads===
Then ''Upaniṣadaḥ'' – because the ''Vedas'' – at the end of the ''Vedas'', each ''Veda'' has been divided into certain sections like ''Brāhmaṇas'', and at the end of it the ''Upaniṣads'' will come. As we have seen, first is ''Mantra'', then it is ''Brāhmaṇa'', then it is ''Āraṇyaka'', then in the end it is called ''Upaniṣad''. So every ''Veda'' has produced several ''Upaniṣads''. All these have sprung from ''Brahmā'' – ''Brahmā'' Himself, God Himself, is manifesting as knowledge. Sarasvatī is not somebody sitting there and doling out knowledge – Sarasvatī herself is manifesting in the form of knowledge like water: wherever it finds a lowly place, immediately it flows there and fills it up. So when a mind is ready, that Sarasvatī flows in the form of knowledge, and knowledge manifests in the form of speech and also appropriate emotions, etc.
===Ślokas===
Then ''Ślokāḥ'' – like ''Bhagavad Gītā'' ''ślokas''. So if it is not ''Upaniṣads'', these are called ''ślokas'' usually. Sometimes Vedic ''mantras'' are also called ''Upaniṣads''.
===Sūtras===
And then ''Sūtrāṇi'' – there are so many people who mastered this higher knowledge and wanted to pass it to their disciples. They taught them. Having taught, let us say, chapter by chapter, point by point, they give a ''sūtra''. What is a ''sūtra''? A mnemonic which helps people to memorise.
===The Mnemonic Method===
Just like you memorise a list of items to be purchased – some people have invented a mnemonic method. So the wife tells or somebody tells: "You buy some fruits. And you buy some leaves – also lettuce, etc. You buy some white paper, notebooks, or some pens or pencils – like that." Make a list. But how to remember all the items? So imagine you are going there, and then you climb a tree and then pick up some fruits, and also you notice beautiful some plants are growing below around the tree – that is the leafy vegetables – so you pick them up. And then suddenly you come across in imagination a big book and a big pencil – so that is how connect one thing to the other – or gather these fruits, gather the lettuce, and suddenly you are searching for something to carry them, and a huge sheet of paper bag is there. Oh, that paper bag reminds you: for my child, I have to purchase a notebook. And then at the end, maybe a broken pencil is there – you remember it. This is how you connect one object with the other object. And if we make a practice of it, it is highly effective – memory also improves, and it improves by practice. So this is called ''Sūtrāṇi''.
===The Loss of Original Teachings===
But then in course of time, the original people who taught it as well as who understood it have disappeared. But then somehow the ''sūtra'' literature – because it is only very short aphorisms – was memorised, and that memorisation was passed in course of time to the later generations. By that time, the art of writing had developed on old palm leaves, etc. Then in the thirteenth or fourteenth century, China had invented the printing press – China had invented many wonderful things, and it is doing it with more vigour even today.
===All Scriptures Spring from the Vedas===
So this is how from the ''Vedas'' – they are the main source – all this history, mythology, arts, ''Upaniṣads'', ''ślokas'' like ''Bhagavad Gītā'', etc., and even the Tantric ''Śāstras'', etc., and then ''Dharma Sūtras'' – then ''Sūtrāṇi'', whether it is ''Brahma Sūtra'', ''Dharma Sūtra'', ''Yoga Sūtra'' – like that, all this have come.
===Commentaries and Sub‑commentaries===
But then in course of time, people required somebody to teach them. So ''vyākhyānāni, anuvyākhyānāni'' – ''hi asya eva etāni niḥśvasitāni'' – ''Brahman'' has manifested Himself in the form of knowledge as Sarasvatī in the minds, ''Buddhi'' – intellect – of some people, so that future generations will not be able to understand these particular things. So like Śaṅkarācārya's commentary, and then commentary upon commentary – that is Sureśvarācārya's ''Vṛtti'' – called beautiful ''Taittirīya-Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad'', then ''Vārttika'' it is called. Then people like Ānandagiri – he has written so many beautiful notes clarifying some of the terms used by Śaṅkarācārya.
===Vyākhyāna and Anuvyākhyāna===
So ''Vyākhyāna'' means elaboration so that other less intelligent people can understand these original scriptures or even ''sūtras''. And then even those commentaries had become tough, so somebody had to really find out what are the difficult words that are used and combined together – how to make them easily understandable to other people. So they have done ''anuvyākhyāna'' – commentary upon the commentary, then ''ṭīkā'' – like Śrīdharasvāmī's ''ṭīkā'' on the ''Bhagavad Gītā'', or Śrīdharasvāmī's ''ṭīkā'' on the ''Bhāgavatam'' – Śrīdharīya ''ṭīkā''. So many great ''ācāryas'' have done like Ānandagiri himself had explained the terms used by Śaṅkara in his commentaries, and without that help we would not – or it will be very difficult for us to understand the complete meaning.
===The Outpourings of Brahman===
''Asya eva etāni niḥśvasitāni'' – all these things are the outpourings, out‑breathings, as if – breathe in, breathe out. So it is also commented: breathe in means what? So the whole thing take inside yourself, keep it inside for some time, then breathe out. So create something, maintain that something which was created, and then take it back again. So from ''kāraṇa'' to ''kārya'' to again ''kāraṇa''.
===Viṣṇu and Lakṣmī===
As I was telling earlier, Viṣṇu was supposed to protect this world like a policeman. So he has to reward those whose behaviour is approved with happiness – positive – and some people's character has to be corrected – actions have to be corrected – for that, "stick" is necessary. So Lakṣmī is the reward for living. Lakṣmī means – never misinterpret as only money – Lakṣmī means ''Ānanda''. After all, if you have money, your money may not make you happy – in fact, most of the time it will make us unhappy.
===The Paradox of Choice===
Just a funny example was given by the ''Future Shock'' book. Previously, there was only one radio that was manufactured by Philips, and there is no conflict in your mind – you pay the price and then you buy it and bring back – no conflict. But now for the same price, there are one hundred different companies manufacturing, and everything has got something special – the moment even before buying, even at the pay counter, you are having: "Have I made a mistake? Should I have bought the other one?" So is somebody planning to rob me of my property, etc.?
===The Cause of Jealousy===
Not only that – I have to tell you something very interesting. If somebody had married a beautiful wife (and vice versa – a very beautiful but at the same time very talented rich man), so the men will be very jealous: "Why could I not marry this woman?" And the other wives – women will be very jealous: "What right has this woman got to get such a husband? My God!" Anything that makes other people jealous is a cause for worry.
===Reward and Punishment===
Anyway, what I wanted to tell: if somebody behaves properly, then that person must be encouraged – and that is called Lakṣmī – or give ''Ānanda''. If somebody is misbehaving, he should be taught properly, trained properly. For that, punishment is necessary. That is how animals are trained – dolphins, whales, sharks were trained, horses are trained, anything is trained – even children. Also, in the previous time, teachers used to slap or pinch the thighs of young children, etc. So this is part of growth, evolution.
===The Purpose of Evolution===
So from ''Brahman'' came the entire knowledge that we have, and we have to make that knowledge our own. And then we have to translate that knowledge into making our life more productive, more creative, more happy, less worrying – and that would be our job. That is called evolution. And ultimately, if we do it properly – and we will be forced to do it properly – any number of births will be given. There is no choice – we have to go back from where we have come.
===The Essence of the Tenth Mantra===
And this is what in this tenth ''mantra'' Yājñavalkya wants to teach: the whole universe – ''sṛṣṭi'' – first in the form of knowledge, has come out. And then we have seen at other places – how Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, Vaiśya, Śūdra have been – ''cāturvarṇyaṃ mayā sṛṣṭaṃ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ'' – then how in the ''Chāndogya'' we have seen – each pair – just reciting the male and the female – the bull and the cow, the male horse, the female horse, male dog, female dog, male bird, female bird, etc. – the whole creation has come out.
===The Real Parent===
So what is the purpose? The purpose is: your real parent, your only parent, is ''Brahman''. You are a child of God, you are potentially divine. So you will have to really understand your true nature, and you have to go there. That is the essence – that is the meaning we have to understand. And still again, we have to go back only to that source. So wherever from we have come – that coming down process is called evolution, and going back process to the source from where we have come and become one with that final ultimate cause – is called evolution. Purpose of evolution? Once we realise we are ''Brahman'', then the purpose of creation is over – we need not be reborn at all.
==Conclusion==
We will talk about these lofty subjects in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda bless us all with Bhakti.

''Jai Rāmakṛṣṇa!''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.6-10 Lecture 63 on 29 August 2026

2026-09-03T23:37:11Z

Bhama: Bhama moved page Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.6-10 Lecture 63 on 29 August 2026 to Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.6-9 Lecture 63 on 29 August 2026

#REDIRECT [[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.6-9 Lecture 63 on 29 August 2026]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.6-9 Lecture 63 on 29 August 2026

2026-09-03T23:37:11Z

Bhama: Bhama moved page Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.6-10 Lecture 63 on 29 August 2026 to Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.6-9 Lecture 63 on 29 August 2026

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.

''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते

पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

==Introduction: The Maitreyī-Yājñavalkya Brāhmaṇa==
We are studying the Maitreyī-Yājñavalkya ''Brāhmaṇam'' – the section called Maitreyī-Yājñavalkya. Earlier, Yājñavalkya started teaching to Maitreyī when, after she rejected every possible worldly good and expressed a deep desire – "I want to follow your footsteps and I want also to obtain ''ātmajñānam'' – self‑knowledge" – then Yājñavalkya understood.
===The Temptation of Worldly Goods===
How did he understand? Because he, like Yamarāja tempting Naciketā with all worldly goods – worldly goods means we have to understand worldly happiness. Worldly happiness means limited happiness. Everything in this world, every object can give only very limited happiness, which is called ''pratibimba ānanda''. ''Bimba'' means original, and ''pratibimba'' means reflected. Every person is a mirror, and the original consciousness – which is another word for ''Brahman'', who is ''Brahman'' – ''Sat-Cit-Ānanda''. When ''Brahman'' is reflected in our body‑mind complex, especially in the mind, then we get sometimes happiness, sometimes unhappiness, depending upon how much limited that reflection is. The less manifestation of the reflection, the less happiness we experience; more of the reflection, more happiness. But even the highest reflection, which is symbolised by the ''ānandamaya kośa'', is totally finite – limited by time, space, and object – ''deśa'', ''kāla'', ''vastu pariccheda''.
===Maitreyī's Choice===
But Maitreyī had overcome the temptation – she wanted complete happiness, and that is what she was getting through the teaching. Nobody can give liberation directly. Liberation comes only when a person comes to know "I am not the body, I am not the mind." Even though that is a general statement, there is an exception, and we always have to keep as devotees that exception in mind. That exception is Kāśī. I do not know whether any other such place is available where we can really get ''mukti'' by dying, but Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, the direct disciples – of course, the ''Śiva Purāṇa'', etc. – categorically state: whoever dies, whichever creature dies – even an amoeba dies – it gets ''mukti''. Rather, not "gets ''mukti''", but it realises "I am free all the time. But for some time I forgot my own nature."
===Recollection, Not Acquisition===
So obtaining recollection of what one is does not change one's position, but it only brings back into complete picture what we already are. We are not losing anything through ignorance; we are not gaining anything through knowledge – but it is just bringing back our true memory of who we are. Yājñavalkya understood that Maitreyī is a fit disciple. When an individual becomes a fit ''adhikārī'', a fit person, then ''śravaṇa'' will take place. Until that time, even hearing the highest truth will not stick. If there is oil on a surface, sticky substance cannot stick to anything so long as that oil is there – so we have to wash this oil thoroughly, and then only something can stick.
===The Camera Film Analogy===
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to give the example of a camera film. There is something special there – whenever the light falls upon that film, then it remains permanent, so long as the coating on the film is firm. You cannot take a second picture on that film. I do not know whether any magic can be done now, but that is the general condition.
===From Our Point of View and Brahman's===
So then – if we are all ''Brahman'', if everything is ''Brahman'', even to say the word "all" – from our point of view, all of us; from ''Brahman''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s point of view, there is no "all." Not only there is no "all", there is no "one" also. One goes with "all"; "all" goes with "one." If one is removed, everything disappears. So that is ''mukti'', and that ''mukti'' Maitreyī wanted, and we also want – only we are not expressing it directly.
===What Do People Really Want?===
How do we say? Do you ask an ignorant person, or do you ask an evil person: "Do you want ''mukti''?" Of course yes – but his understanding is: "If I obtain this object, if I remove this obstacle, then my happiness will be full." Of course, we know that is not going to happen. As soon as one obtains something, it loses its charm. As soon as one obstacle is removed, a thousand obstacles will pop up. So that is not going to be possible. The only thing is we have to get rid of all ''citta-vṛttis'' – ''citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ'', that is called ''yoga''. Then what remains is only the ''Puruṣa'' – one's own Self, true Self.
===The First Teaching: Nothing Other Than Ātman===
First of all, Yājñavalkya taught that there is nothing other than ''Ātman''. Everybody loves only one's own Self. That word "Self" should be understood not as the individual self, but as the infinite Self – true Self. And how do we know? Because everybody desires: "Let there be no death, let there be no ignorance, let there be no misery or suffering."
===Buddha's Teaching===
If you study the teachings of Bhagavān Buddha: life is full of suffering. Even ''Brahma Loka'' is full of suffering. In comparison with worldly happiness, it is an incomparably higher state. But from the viewpoint of ''Brahman'', ''Brahma Loka'' is nothing but a small happiness. So if you can understand what is the comparison between infinity and finiteness, then you can understand. ''Brahman'' is infinite; ''Brahmaloka'' is finite. Any amount of enlargement of the finite – we cannot make it infinite. It is not possible.
===The Goal: Know That I Am Brahman===
So and then he said that is the goal. So ''ātmā vā are draṣṭavyaḥ, śrotavyaḥ, mantavyaḥ, nididhyāsitavyaḥ'' – "The goal of life is to know that I am ''Brahman''." For that purpose, one should approach a proper teacher who is a ''śrotriya'' and who is a ''brahmaniṣṭha'' – one who is not only a realised soul, but should have thorough knowledge of the scriptures. Scripture means not that he should memorise the ''Ṛgveda'', ''Yajurveda'', etc. – not that he should have scholarship. No – ''śrotavya'' means he knows the essence of the scriptures. What is the essence of the scripture? That is ''sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma'' – "There is no other thing other than ''Brahman''." That is the essence of all scriptures.
===Śaṅkara's Equation===
Only with a bit of elaboration, Śaṅkara gave that answer: ''Brahma satyam, jaganmithyā, jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ''. We have to understand this beautiful equation. There is God alone is real. Everything else is temporary. The temporariness – that word used by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa – "everything is temporary" – is equivalent to the Sanskrit word ''mithyā''.
===What We Think We Are===
So that is what Yājñavalkya had taught: "You must know who you are, and you must hear about who you really are." Because at this moment, however good a person you are, you are still thinking: "I am a disciple, I am an ignorant person, I am of limited knowledge, of limited power, and I go through all these changes – birth, growth, old age, disease, death, etc." This is – however advanced we are in intellect – this is our experience. Everybody has to go through it, and everybody thinks this is the reality. But no – the teacher will tell you that is a temporary understanding, not a correct understanding. That this reality we call the world is a temporary understanding that "this is real." Just as so long as we are dreaming, we think this is true, this is reality – because I am experiencing it, I am the proof. No – when you wake up, when I wake up, I realise that everything is temporary.
===The Tragedy of Life===
We have to understand, and we do understand – but we do not go beyond a certain limit to probe into this mystery. And that is the tragedy of life. That is what these ''avatāras'' come – in the form of Kṛṣṇa, etc. – in order to teach us this lesson.
===The Dream Experience Proves Otherwise===
So we are coming back. Yājñavalkya wants to teach that this understanding that "the world is real" – because how do I know the world is real? Because I think: "Since I am real, what I am experiencing is real. Therefore, everybody is real; what everybody is experiencing is real; and what we are all experiencing is the world. Therefore, the world is real." Even though dream experience conclusively proves that is not the truth. Deep sleep further confirms that what we call the world is not true. Only in the waking state we think it is reality, but when we change from waking to dream, dream is the reality; the waking state becomes unreal. When we enter into the deep sleep state, both states become completely unreal. This is how we have to understand.
===The Three Steps: Śravaṇa, Manana, Nididhyāsana===
So first you have to hear, then you must struggle: "Am I convinced?" What my teacher says – "I am ''Brahman''" – that is called ''Mahāvākya''. For that, the teacher initiates the person, especially in the path of ''Advaita Vedānta'': ''Tat tvam asi''. But even in the path of ''Bhakti'', the Guru gives the ''mantra'' in the form of an ''iṣṭadevatā''. What is the idea? The ''iṣṭadevatā'' is God, and He is infinite, He is all‑pervading. The moment we are told "He is all‑pervading", I say or I think or I understand: "So I am here. Everything is God, excepting myself." All‑pervasiveness includes everything – there is no exception, there is no exclusion. But still, our individual sense of individuality does not easily disappear. So slowly a person has to be taken up step by step.
===The First Step: Effect and Cause===
So what is the first step? It is to prove that this world is an effect, and every effect must have a cause – and that cause is unchanging, infinite. But the effects are many, changing, temporary, and unreliable, consisting of good and bad dualities. So that is why every ''Upaniṣad'' practically brings up the idea of creation – not to prove that creation is real, but to prove that creation is really a misunderstanding of the highest truth.
===The Endless Cycle of Cause and Effect===
So he goes on telling how, through logic, that this world is nothing but an effect. We see everything in this world. You see a man – oh, he has got his parents. You see a puppy – it has its parents. You see the young one of a monkey or a cat – a kitten – and it has parents. You see a big tree – it has come from a seed; the seed has come from a big tree. So this endless cycle of cause and effect, cause and effect, cause and effect is going on and on and on.
===Establishing Rapport===
So creation is brought out – that is, the intelligent teacher does not want to upset; he wants to establish a rapport. Just like a psychologist, at first he does not deny the outburst of the mad patient. He says: "Yes, yes, you are right, you are right. That person really is trying to harm you. You are thinking right." And then slowly confidence grows in the madman: "My teacher understands me." And there is a relationship established – rapport. And then slowly he trusts the psychologist or psychiatrist. Once he accepts – what is it? "My psychologist is my greatest well‑wisher, and he is in a position to understand me much better than I myself understand, and if there is any person who can help me, he is the only person who can help me."
===The Rapport Between Guru and Disciple===
Once I had a talk with a psychologist in Bangalore – a very well‑known psychologist – and then he told me, Swamiji, I asked him: "How long will it take to cure a patient's madness?" And he told me: "Swamiji, nobody can tell that. It all depends upon how soon a rapport is established. With some patients, a few days; some others, a few months; some others, many, many years. The cure, the recovery starts only when the rapport is totally established."
===Transposing to Guru and Disciple===
Now transpose this situation between the Guru and the disciple. A disciple slowly develops a rapport. What we read – ''Guru Brahmā, Guru Viṣṇu'' – is the highest culminating point only. At first, there is a blind faith. Then as the disciple is slowly trained, he gives up his wrong notions, and sometimes doubts creep up, and he undergoes terrible suffering. But slowly he develops a rapport. These three things happen: "My Guru loves me, and whatever he is doing is for my good, and he is in a position to help me. Nobody else can help me. And for that, I have to surrender myself to him." So ''śiṣyas te 'haṃ śādhi māṃ tvāṃ prapannam'' – this is called ''Prapatti Mārga'' by Śrī Rāmānuja. Each one of us have to go through that period without any doubt.
===We Are All Patients===
So like that, we are all actually patients only – not suffering from other diseases, but from this terrible disease called ''Māyā'' or ignorance. So creation is accepted as a temporary condition to establish rapport by the Guru, but he very intelligently connects it with ''Brahman''. Now scientists do not connect it with God at all – they say it is blind nature. But a spiritual person needs to connect everything in this world, including his own individual personality, with God.
===Creation Is Manifestation of Brahman===
So for that purpose, the Guru goes on telling – Maitreyī must have been a very advanced student, so straight Yājñavalkya goes into a beautiful explanation, which we have seen in our last class. What is it? That creation is the manifestation of ''Brahman''. What is creation? It is ''Brahman'' with name and form – that is called creation. Creation without name and form is ''Brahman''. For that, I give the analogy of a wax garden: from a child's point of view, man is different, trees are different, animals are different, insects are different – everything is different in that. But a grown‑up man looks at it: what is the value of a tree? The value of wax – that is all. There is nothing else. What is the value of an ornament? Only the value of gold. Of course, we have to accept – if it is a small ring around our fingers, that much gold, that much value. If it is a waistband, then it is much more costly. Again, it is nothing but the value of gold only.
===Tracing Back to Brahman===
So slowly you accept: "Yes, this world is real, and this world is coming out of ''Brahman''." So slowly he wants to say: "If the world has come out of ''Brahman'', what is the point?" The point is – I am also part of the world, so I also definitely am coming from ''Brahman'', from God. So my father and mother are none other than God. This is how slowly I recognise – though he is my ancestor and everything – my grandparents came from their parents, and my grandparents gave birth to my parents, and they gave birth to me. Thus I trace back my origin to that ultimate cause, which is ''Brahman''. And that is a great progress in spiritual life.
===If I Am from Brahman, Then Everything Is===
But along with that, another progress also is made. What is it? If I am coming from ''Brahman'' and I am a manifestation of ''Brahman'', then what about my father, my mother? What about my neighbours? What about everything in this world? Apply the same rule: everything – just as every ''nāma-rūpa'' in the wax garden is made up of wax – everything in this world, the whole creation, is nothing but made up of only manifestation of ''Brahman''. And in what way is ''Brahman'' manifesting? In the form of ''Sat'', ''Cit'', and ''Ānanda''.
==The Three Examples – Drum, Conch, and Vīṇā==
For that purpose, since Maitreyī was an advanced student, Yājñavalkya gives three examples, which we have briefly discussed in the last class. He gives the example of sound. You know, as many creatures or species, so many different sounds. But if we can understand or listen attentively – not only just as – let me first give an example: if you are growing up in a family of ten members, we recognise "this is the voice of my mother, this is the voice of my father, my brothers, my sisters," etc. So first ''sāmānya dhvani'' – common sound – then according to the person – so "this is a baby's cry, this is a grandmother's voice, this is parents' voice" – we gradually separate.
===Common Sound and Variations===
So common sound now is divided, attributed specially. Each sound differs – the sound that comes from the throat of that particular person. The sound of a baby and the sound of a grown‑up person can be the same – now we have to apply it universally. Even parrots have a common sound, but every parrot has some special variety – that is the second variation.
===Three Levels of Variation===
First variation: common sound made by a parrot – and you understand, if you hear, suppose there are three parrots – all the three parrots will make parrot sound, bring out parrot sound. But each parrot has some slight variation – that is the second level. We have to accept it, and if we hear for some time, we can distinguish: "This is parrot number one. This is the sound of parrot number two, parrot number three." This is the second variation. The third variation: each single parrot sometimes screeches with a high voice, sometimes with a low voice, sometimes with a normal voice – so it has got different variations – three variations, two variations we have seen, with one common sound.
===Applying to Musical Instruments===
Now apply it to some musical instruments. In this case, the examples taken are of a drum, of a ''vīṇā'', and of a conch – a drum, a conch, and a ''vīṇā'' sound. Any one of us, unless we are tone‑deaf, can distinguish when a drum is being beaten – that is the common sound. So that is not what we have to understand – common sound is common to the whole creation. But every instrument produces its own peculiar common sound that is common to that particular instrument. But when the same instrument is played at different notes – higher notes and lower notes – then it gives variations.
===The First Point: Sound===
What is the point? The first point is we understand that this sound – it is a sound. That is how we hear it. Whatever we hear is a sound. And then the second thing is every single living creature – instruments of music, vocal or instrumental – they have their own peculiar common sound. That is the second. So for example, drum has its own common sound. Even if there are one hundred drums, rhythmically in the same pitch, if they are playing, it is very difficult to understand with closed eyes, but still there will be variation. We need not go into those details.
===The Three Levels of Sound===
So first: common sound, which applies to the entire universe. Second: special sound common to each – a human being – human sound, whether it is Chinese or Russian or Indian or American – whatever – that is the second thing. But even that second sound is common especially to that particular race or animal or creature – within that sound, there are variations – individual variations.
===What Yājñavalkya Wants to Convey===
So what does Yājñavalkya want to convey? He wants to say: the first thing that is common is existence. Take pure existence like wax – unshaped wax – like that. What is the first thing? As I explained in elaboration, if you go on going back – "this is a table" – and it is made up of wood. Wood is divided into atoms, atoms into particles, particles into sound waves, sound waves into mental thoughts. Very interesting analysis – according to ''Vedānta'', everything is ''citta-vṛtti'' only. Even what scientists boast as particles or whatever – we take the atoms as common measurement. So the whole creation is nothing but atoms – living as well as non‑living. Then slowly the inorganic atoms somehow manifest themselves into living organic material. And then slowly variation – we can say almost infinite variation – until it reaches the peak in the form of the most enlightened human being – ''vidvat mahābrāhmaṇaḥ''.
===How to Analyse the Universe===
So this is how we have to understand it. In the same way, first you go on analysing the whole universe: how do we analyse or make it one? The whole universe is a manifestation – I experience it. So do not call it "this is a tree, that is an animal" – call it an object. An object – whether living, non‑living – one object. Whatever is experienced, subjected to my knowledge, is an object. So everything is an object. So the whole universe is nothing but objects. Then go on expansion. So you say: "All this – I am a human being." So identify – we are all Indians, but we all belong to the human race – wherever we are, even if they are on Mars or whatever it is, however peculiar they may look, they are all human beings.
===Expanding to Living Beings===
Then slowly expand – not only human beings – we are living beings. Once we reach that level, ''prāṇamaya kośa'', then we find there is no difference between one ''prāṇī''. Every creature does not want to die, does not want to be asleep so that it can be eaten by preying animals – and wants to live, wants to be happy, and expresses its intelligence. So consciousness in the form of intelligence – to survive and to try to be happy. Even fighting is for the sake of being more happy. So this is how we identify with every living creature, including the trees, the plants – anything that is living.
===Expanding to Non‑Living===
But still there is another division – non‑living – so‑called non‑living – the mountains, the rivers, etc. Then we have to identify whatever object is there – it is all there. What is the common thing? The common thing is that one particular word – "I am," "you are," "a tree is," "a rock is," "waters is," "water is" – that "is‑ness" will be there. Let us trace ourselves to that "is‑ness" first.
===Intelligence in All Creatures===
Then we notice every living creature has also got the power of discrimination – intelligence, however small it is – God has endowed it with intelligence. So let us identify with that intelligence. What is that intelligence? In other words, it is called ''Cit'' – that is consciousness as reflected in the mind, especially through the instrument of ''Buddhi''. That is called intelligence. And what is surprising is – even take a small species like crows – it is not that every crow is absolutely intelligent. There are some crows which are extraordinarily intelligent, and they even say they develop a sense of intuition.
===Jim Corbett's Observations===
Just by the way, I am referring because I used to read a lot of books – so Jim Corbett, a person who used to go and hunt and kill man‑eating leopards, tigers, etc. in the north‑eastern area – he used to observe greatly, and he used to say: "There is one particular leopard and it killed so many human beings, and then many people tried to trap it, but somehow some intuition comes to it – some people are coming – this particular smell – and it just disappears." It took a long, long time to kill some of them, and some of them he could not kill, nor could anybody else kill at all. So within this species, some mosquitoes are squashed immediately; some mosquitoes escape for a long time or maybe completely – we do not know. But that is ''Cit'' in the form of intelligence manifesting. That is the point.
===Intelligence Varies Among Species===
And that intelligence is not exactly the same – even in ants, etc. So there are some more evolved ants, more evolved dogs, more evolved every creature. That is how we identify some good variety of trees and make them even more sweet by mixing, hybridising, etc.
===Sat, Cit, Ānanda===
So wherever there is "is‑ness" – ''astitva'' – then there is intelligence called ''Cit''. And wherever there is ''Cit'', that inevitably leads to ''Ānanda'' – the experience of bliss. Let us keep this in mind.
===Maitreyī's Intelligence===
So Maitreyī was a highly intelligent woman, because without having that intelligence, she already found out: everything is unreliable, temporary, and the cause of tremendous unhappiness and suffering. So she chose the wise path, like Naciketā, and said: "I do not want any wealth." Just think for a moment – if any ordinary person gets so much wealth, even a spiritual person will be tempted. But this Maitreyī was never ever tempted. "I want to follow your footsteps, because I see that you have become an embodiment of bliss, and I want to be an embodiment of bliss. I do not want to be a slave to objects which people think will give happiness." So temporary things can give only temporary happiness – no temporary thing can give permanent happiness. She understood.
===Sanyāsāśrama===
So she has to sacrifice – that is called ''Sanyāsāśrama''. After ''Gṛhasthāśrama'', it is the ''Sanyāsāśrama''. Then he is giving these examples – only three examples he has taken: a drum, and then a conch, and then a ''vīṇā''.
===Variation in Every Instrument===
As I mentioned, that means these three objects are existing there, and every conch does not produce exactly the same sound. Every drum does not produce the same sound – however expert the maker of drums, every drum he makes, taking care that they would be of the same type, some variation will be there. But that is not the important point. The important point is: a drum sound can be separated from every other sound in this whole universe – from every single living creature. Even wind makes a sound when it passes through the leaves and the branches of bamboos, etc. It is like a bansī voice, sometimes very ferocious and frightening.
===Understanding the Example===
But the point we want to remember – so every example we have to understand, and if we understand one example properly, we can move forward. So take the example of the drum. As soon as we hear at any place, any time: "Oh, this is a drum being beaten" – that is the first understanding: "There is a sound coming" – common sound. Then what is this common sound? It is a sound produced especially by a drum – that is the second stage. What is the third stage? This drum is being played at various places, touching the drum at various places, and producing from what is called the seven notes – from the lowest note to the highest note.
===Without the Common, You Cannot Understand the Special===
But what does Yājñavalkya want to say? That without understanding the common sound, especially the special sound completely of that particular object – say drum sound – whatever variations the drum is making, all that understanding or even enjoyment depends upon our understanding. This is the variation in the common sound of a drum.
===The Vīṇā Example===
Take the other example: ''Vīṇā''. So ''Vīṇā'' – you can play so many ''rāgas'' – the seventh ''svara'' note or the middle note which is called ''pañcama'' – like a cuckoo's sound – and the lowest ''ṣaḍja'' – like that. So everything is made by this ''Vīṇā'' only, or flute only – whatever it is. Without understanding the common thing, we cannot understand the specialised sound.
===The Teaching Leads to Existence===
Now, what does this teaching lead us to? He says: without understanding that there is existence – "is‑ness" – you cannot understand the variation of that "is‑ness." Without understanding "this is wax," you cannot understand "this is a tree, this is a bird." What we may not say it, but we mean it. So you point out in that wax garden to an intelligent person and say: "What is this?" – "It is a wax tree. It is a wax fruit. It is a wax bird. It is a wax dog. It is a wax human being." Just because they are different, just because it is a human being, its value cannot be more, because its value is the volume of the wax only – that is all. Everything is made up of wax. Takes the characteristic – all the characteristics of the wax – liquefy it, it starts melting the whole thing down.
===The Spiritual Journey Begins===
So the first thing is: be aware of the existence. Then only our spiritual journey starts. "I am" – what is this? "I am" – what is that "am"? "Here is a tree" – what is the "is‑ness"? "The tree is" – what is that "is"? What is the difference between "am" and "is" or "they are"? What is the big deal of difference? Existence – that is existence. This is existence. This is also existence. Then only further enquiry will come.
===The Common Teaching===
Now I hope I have been able to convey to you through these three examples – every example is pointing to the same teaching. What is that teaching? First, you grasp the common sound for that particular instrument. Then you understand the variations of that common sound according to the musical scale. Exactly in the same way: this tree – you first understand it exists. That existence is manifesting in the form of an object, and that object has got three things – it has a form, it has some qualities, and it has a name accordingly.
===The Mango Tree Illustration===
So I will give you the illustration of a mango tree. "This is a mango tree. That is a mango tree. The other one is also a mango tree." What is the common thing between all these three? Only "is‑ness." What is the difference? Special form – "This mango tree is small. That mango tree is big. This mango is round. That mango is oblong. The other mango is big. This mango is small." Then we come to the qualities – big, small is also a quality only. "This is very sweet. This is sweet and sour. And this is more sour than sweet – that is why it is used as a pickle." So all these become understandable only when we understand the nature of the mango.
===The Common Foundation===
So mango's sweetness, mango's sourness, mango's colour, mango's size – all these depend upon that common background foundation, which is called "this is a mango tree." Now you analyse further: what is the difference between this mango tree and this coconut tree? What is the common? Is there something common? Yes – that is called coconut tree; this is called mango tree. Is there a commonness? Yes – a coconut tree is, a mango tree is, a piece of rock is, a stone is, a bird is, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is, God is – so there is no difference. That "is‑ness" without any variation is called ''Brahman'', and ''Brahman'' with all variations – according to the form, quality, and separate name.
===Forms, Qualities, and Names===
So form and qualities and names – these are called qualities. All the three are called qualities for facilitating the separation. You bring, for example, ''Laṅḍā'' mango; you bring ''Dāśaharī'' mango; you bring ''Cauṣā'' mango – anybody who knows about these three, without second instruction, he will go and run and bring it. So slowly, what is Yājñavalkya trying to say? That what is the problem in ''saṃsāra''? Variation – when I see manyfoldness called ''nānātva'', all my suffering starts there. But as soon as I try to find what is this commonness instead of seeing the difference – so you can see, say for example, "that is a tree, this is a tree, the other one is a tree" – all tree species – trees, tree species, dog species, animal species, human species, bird species, insect species – so we are classifying a whole lot of things and reducing the complexity for our understanding.
===The Common Thing: Is‑ness===
Then what is the common thing between all "is‑ness" and this "is‑ness"? As I mentioned, it is again divided, subdivided into two: with life, without life – that is ''jīva-caitanya'' and ''jaḍa''. So ''jaḍa'' – inert thing – a piece of wood does not mean it does not have consciousness – it does not mean it does not have ''ānanda''. How is it possible? Just I will give a small example. Suppose you need something to scratch your back – then you take a piece of wood, long wood – your hand cannot reach, especially if somebody has got small hands – and with the help of that wooden piece, you are able to scratch it. Now what have you done? You have extended the function of the hand – transferred that to that piece of wood, and it is acting as your long hand. So a telescope is a long‑sighted eye. A microscope is the ability to see the smallest things. A car is an extension of our legs, etc.
===Even Inert Things Are Extensions===
So through this, you understand that even a piece – what we call an inert piece – in fact, most of our houses are inert – so‑called inert. Our cars are inert, our aeroplanes are inert. Just imagine if they develop their own consciousness – suddenly you are at 35,000 feet high in an aeroplane – it develops consciousness: "What the heck am I carrying? What do I get except groaning and suffering? I will throw all these fellows out – just see what happens!"
===The Common Thing Is "Is"===
So the common thing – from species you prove, you come to the common thing called "is." Now what is the nature of that "is"? It is – if you observe carefully – every "is‑ness" is endowed with consciousness, which is manifest in the form of intelligence, and this intelligence is always seeking how to be happy. So ''Sat, Cit, Ānanda''.
===Maitreyī Understood===
This must have been understood by Maitreyī, because the further conversation is there. This is the essence of why these three examples of a drum, a conch, and a ''vīṇā'' are given in this most ancient of the ''Upaniṣads'', called the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad''.
==Conclusion==
We will take up some more details in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda bless us all with Bhakti.

''Jai Rāmakṛṣṇa!''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 4.6-9 Lecture 63 on 29 August 2026

2026-09-03T23:31:14Z

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.

''Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ,'' pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते

पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

==Introduction: The Maitreyī-Yājñavalkya Brāhmaṇa==
We are studying the Maitreyī-Yājñavalkya ''Brāhmaṇam'' – the section called Maitreyī-Yājñavalkya. Earlier, Yājñavalkya started teaching to Maitreyī when, after she rejected every possible worldly good and expressed a deep desire – "I want to follow your footsteps and I want also to obtain ''ātmajñānam'' – self‑knowledge" – then Yājñavalkya understood.
===The Temptation of Worldly Goods===
How did he understand? Because he, like Yamarāja tempting Naciketā with all worldly goods – worldly goods means we have to understand worldly happiness. Worldly happiness means limited happiness. Everything in this world, every object can give only very limited happiness, which is called ''pratibimba ānanda''. ''Bimba'' means original, and ''pratibimba'' means reflected. Every person is a mirror, and the original consciousness – which is another word for ''Brahman'', who is ''Brahman'' – ''Sat-Cit-Ānanda''. When ''Brahman'' is reflected in our body‑mind complex, especially in the mind, then we get sometimes happiness, sometimes unhappiness, depending upon how much limited that reflection is. The less manifestation of the reflection, the less happiness we experience; more of the reflection, more happiness. But even the highest reflection, which is symbolised by the ''ānandamaya kośa'', is totally finite – limited by time, space, and object – ''deśa'', ''kāla'', ''vastu pariccheda''.
===Maitreyī's Choice===
But Maitreyī had overcome the temptation – she wanted complete happiness, and that is what she was getting through the teaching. Nobody can give liberation directly. Liberation comes only when a person comes to know "I am not the body, I am not the mind." Even though that is a general statement, there is an exception, and we always have to keep as devotees that exception in mind. That exception is Kāśī. I do not know whether any other such place is available where we can really get ''mukti'' by dying, but Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, the direct disciples – of course, the ''Śiva Purāṇa'', etc. – categorically state: whoever dies, whichever creature dies – even an amoeba dies – it gets ''mukti''. Rather, not "gets ''mukti''", but it realises "I am free all the time. But for some time I forgot my own nature."
===Recollection, Not Acquisition===
So obtaining recollection of what one is does not change one's position, but it only brings back into complete picture what we already are. We are not losing anything through ignorance; we are not gaining anything through knowledge – but it is just bringing back our true memory of who we are. Yājñavalkya understood that Maitreyī is a fit disciple. When an individual becomes a fit ''adhikārī'', a fit person, then ''śravaṇa'' will take place. Until that time, even hearing the highest truth will not stick. If there is oil on a surface, sticky substance cannot stick to anything so long as that oil is there – so we have to wash this oil thoroughly, and then only something can stick.
===The Camera Film Analogy===
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to give the example of a camera film. There is something special there – whenever the light falls upon that film, then it remains permanent, so long as the coating on the film is firm. You cannot take a second picture on that film. I do not know whether any magic can be done now, but that is the general condition.
===From Our Point of View and Brahman's===
So then – if we are all ''Brahman'', if everything is ''Brahman'', even to say the word "all" – from our point of view, all of us; from ''Brahman''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s point of view, there is no "all." Not only there is no "all", there is no "one" also. One goes with "all"; "all" goes with "one." If one is removed, everything disappears. So that is ''mukti'', and that ''mukti'' Maitreyī wanted, and we also want – only we are not expressing it directly.
===What Do People Really Want?===
How do we say? Do you ask an ignorant person, or do you ask an evil person: "Do you want ''mukti''?" Of course yes – but his understanding is: "If I obtain this object, if I remove this obstacle, then my happiness will be full." Of course, we know that is not going to happen. As soon as one obtains something, it loses its charm. As soon as one obstacle is removed, a thousand obstacles will pop up. So that is not going to be possible. The only thing is we have to get rid of all ''citta-vṛttis'' – ''citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ'', that is called ''yoga''. Then what remains is only the ''Puruṣa'' – one's own Self, true Self.
===The First Teaching: Nothing Other Than Ātman===
First of all, Yājñavalkya taught that there is nothing other than ''Ātman''. Everybody loves only one's own Self. That word "Self" should be understood not as the individual self, but as the infinite Self – true Self. And how do we know? Because everybody desires: "Let there be no death, let there be no ignorance, let there be no misery or suffering."
===Buddha's Teaching===
If you study the teachings of Bhagavān Buddha: life is full of suffering. Even ''Brahma Loka'' is full of suffering. In comparison with worldly happiness, it is an incomparably higher state. But from the viewpoint of ''Brahman'', ''Brahma Loka'' is nothing but a small happiness. So if you can understand what is the comparison between infinity and finiteness, then you can understand. ''Brahman'' is infinite; ''Brahmaloka'' is finite. Any amount of enlargement of the finite – we cannot make it infinite. It is not possible.
===The Goal: Know That I Am Brahman===
So and then he said that is the goal. So ''ātmā vā are draṣṭavyaḥ, śrotavyaḥ, mantavyaḥ, nididhyāsitavyaḥ'' – "The goal of life is to know that I am ''Brahman''." For that purpose, one should approach a proper teacher who is a ''śrotriya'' and who is a ''brahmaniṣṭha'' – one who is not only a realised soul, but should have thorough knowledge of the scriptures. Scripture means not that he should memorise the ''Ṛgveda'', ''Yajurveda'', etc. – not that he should have scholarship. No – ''śrotavya'' means he knows the essence of the scriptures. What is the essence of the scripture? That is ''sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma'' – "There is no other thing other than ''Brahman''." That is the essence of all scriptures.
===Śaṅkara's Equation===
Only with a bit of elaboration, Śaṅkara gave that answer: ''Brahma satyam, jaganmithyā, jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ''. We have to understand this beautiful equation. There is God alone is real. Everything else is temporary. The temporariness – that word used by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa – "everything is temporary" – is equivalent to the Sanskrit word ''mithyā''.
===What We Think We Are===
So that is what Yājñavalkya had taught: "You must know who you are, and you must hear about who you really are." Because at this moment, however good a person you are, you are still thinking: "I am a disciple, I am an ignorant person, I am of limited knowledge, of limited power, and I go through all these changes – birth, growth, old age, disease, death, etc." This is – however advanced we are in intellect – this is our experience. Everybody has to go through it, and everybody thinks this is the reality. But no – the teacher will tell you that is a temporary understanding, not a correct understanding. That this reality we call the world is a temporary understanding that "this is real." Just as so long as we are dreaming, we think this is true, this is reality – because I am experiencing it, I am the proof. No – when you wake up, when I wake up, I realise that everything is temporary.
===The Tragedy of Life===
We have to understand, and we do understand – but we do not go beyond a certain limit to probe into this mystery. And that is the tragedy of life. That is what these ''avatāras'' come – in the form of Kṛṣṇa, etc. – in order to teach us this lesson.
===The Dream Experience Proves Otherwise===
So we are coming back. Yājñavalkya wants to teach that this understanding that "the world is real" – because how do I know the world is real? Because I think: "Since I am real, what I am experiencing is real. Therefore, everybody is real; what everybody is experiencing is real; and what we are all experiencing is the world. Therefore, the world is real." Even though dream experience conclusively proves that is not the truth. Deep sleep further confirms that what we call the world is not true. Only in the waking state we think it is reality, but when we change from waking to dream, dream is the reality; the waking state becomes unreal. When we enter into the deep sleep state, both states become completely unreal. This is how we have to understand.
===The Three Steps: Śravaṇa, Manana, Nididhyāsana===
So first you have to hear, then you must struggle: "Am I convinced?" What my teacher says – "I am ''Brahman''" – that is called ''Mahāvākya''. For that, the teacher initiates the person, especially in the path of ''Advaita Vedānta'': ''Tat tvam asi''. But even in the path of ''Bhakti'', the Guru gives the ''mantra'' in the form of an ''iṣṭadevatā''. What is the idea? The ''iṣṭadevatā'' is God, and He is infinite, He is all‑pervading. The moment we are told "He is all‑pervading", I say or I think or I understand: "So I am here. Everything is God, excepting myself." All‑pervasiveness includes everything – there is no exception, there is no exclusion. But still, our individual sense of individuality does not easily disappear. So slowly a person has to be taken up step by step.
===The First Step: Effect and Cause===
So what is the first step? It is to prove that this world is an effect, and every effect must have a cause – and that cause is unchanging, infinite. But the effects are many, changing, temporary, and unreliable, consisting of good and bad dualities. So that is why every ''Upaniṣad'' practically brings up the idea of creation – not to prove that creation is real, but to prove that creation is really a misunderstanding of the highest truth.
===The Endless Cycle of Cause and Effect===
So he goes on telling how, through logic, that this world is nothing but an effect. We see everything in this world. You see a man – oh, he has got his parents. You see a puppy – it has its parents. You see the young one of a monkey or a cat – a kitten – and it has parents. You see a big tree – it has come from a seed; the seed has come from a big tree. So this endless cycle of cause and effect, cause and effect, cause and effect is going on and on and on.
===Establishing Rapport===
So creation is brought out – that is, the intelligent teacher does not want to upset; he wants to establish a rapport. Just like a psychologist, at first he does not deny the outburst of the mad patient. He says: "Yes, yes, you are right, you are right. That person really is trying to harm you. You are thinking right." And then slowly confidence grows in the madman: "My teacher understands me." And there is a relationship established – rapport. And then slowly he trusts the psychologist or psychiatrist. Once he accepts – what is it? "My psychologist is my greatest well‑wisher, and he is in a position to understand me much better than I myself understand, and if there is any person who can help me, he is the only person who can help me."
===The Rapport Between Guru and Disciple===
Once I had a talk with a psychologist in Bangalore – a very well‑known psychologist – and then he told me, Swamiji, I asked him: "How long will it take to cure a patient's madness?" And he told me: "Swamiji, nobody can tell that. It all depends upon how soon a rapport is established. With some patients, a few days; some others, a few months; some others, many, many years. The cure, the recovery starts only when the rapport is totally established."
===Transposing to Guru and Disciple===
Now transpose this situation between the Guru and the disciple. A disciple slowly develops a rapport. What we read – ''Guru Brahmā, Guru Viṣṇu'' – is the highest culminating point only. At first, there is a blind faith. Then as the disciple is slowly trained, he gives up his wrong notions, and sometimes doubts creep up, and he undergoes terrible suffering. But slowly he develops a rapport. These three things happen: "My Guru loves me, and whatever he is doing is for my good, and he is in a position to help me. Nobody else can help me. And for that, I have to surrender myself to him." So ''śiṣyas te 'haṃ śādhi māṃ tvāṃ prapannam'' – this is called ''Prapatti Mārga'' by Śrī Rāmānuja. Each one of us have to go through that period without any doubt.
===We Are All Patients===
So like that, we are all actually patients only – not suffering from other diseases, but from this terrible disease called ''Māyā'' or ignorance. So creation is accepted as a temporary condition to establish rapport by the Guru, but he very intelligently connects it with ''Brahman''. Now scientists do not connect it with God at all – they say it is blind nature. But a spiritual person needs to connect everything in this world, including his own individual personality, with God.
===Creation Is Manifestation of Brahman===
So for that purpose, the Guru goes on telling – Maitreyī must have been a very advanced student, so straight Yājñavalkya goes into a beautiful explanation, which we have seen in our last class. What is it? That creation is the manifestation of ''Brahman''. What is creation? It is ''Brahman'' with name and form – that is called creation. Creation without name and form is ''Brahman''. For that, I give the analogy of a wax garden: from a child's point of view, man is different, trees are different, animals are different, insects are different – everything is different in that. But a grown‑up man looks at it: what is the value of a tree? The value of wax – that is all. There is nothing else. What is the value of an ornament? Only the value of gold. Of course, we have to accept – if it is a small ring around our fingers, that much gold, that much value. If it is a waistband, then it is much more costly. Again, it is nothing but the value of gold only.
===Tracing Back to Brahman===
So slowly you accept: "Yes, this world is real, and this world is coming out of ''Brahman''." So slowly he wants to say: "If the world has come out of ''Brahman'', what is the point?" The point is – I am also part of the world, so I also definitely am coming from ''Brahman'', from God. So my father and mother are none other than God. This is how slowly I recognise – though he is my ancestor and everything – my grandparents came from their parents, and my grandparents gave birth to my parents, and they gave birth to me. Thus I trace back my origin to that ultimate cause, which is ''Brahman''. And that is a great progress in spiritual life.
===If I Am from Brahman, Then Everything Is===
But along with that, another progress also is made. What is it? If I am coming from ''Brahman'' and I am a manifestation of ''Brahman'', then what about my father, my mother? What about my neighbours? What about everything in this world? Apply the same rule: everything – just as every ''nāma-rūpa'' in the wax garden is made up of wax – everything in this world, the whole creation, is nothing but made up of only manifestation of ''Brahman''. And in what way is ''Brahman'' manifesting? In the form of ''Sat'', ''Cit'', and ''Ānanda''.
==The Three Examples – Drum, Conch, and Vīṇā==
For that purpose, since Maitreyī was an advanced student, Yājñavalkya gives three examples, which we have briefly discussed in the last class. He gives the example of sound. You know, as many creatures or species, so many different sounds. But if we can understand or listen attentively – not only just as – let me first give an example: if you are growing up in a family of ten members, we recognise "this is the voice of my mother, this is the voice of my father, my brothers, my sisters," etc. So first ''sāmānya dhvani'' – common sound – then according to the person – so "this is a baby's cry, this is a grandmother's voice, this is parents' voice" – we gradually separate.
===Common Sound and Variations===
So common sound now is divided, attributed specially. Each sound differs – the sound that comes from the throat of that particular person. The sound of a baby and the sound of a grown‑up person can be the same – now we have to apply it universally. Even parrots have a common sound, but every parrot has some special variety – that is the second variation.
===Three Levels of Variation===
First variation: common sound made by a parrot – and you understand, if you hear, suppose there are three parrots – all the three parrots will make parrot sound, bring out parrot sound. But each parrot has some slight variation – that is the second level. We have to accept it, and if we hear for some time, we can distinguish: "This is parrot number one. This is the sound of parrot number two, parrot number three." This is the second variation. The third variation: each single parrot sometimes screeches with a high voice, sometimes with a low voice, sometimes with a normal voice – so it has got different variations – three variations, two variations we have seen, with one common sound.
===Applying to Musical Instruments===
Now apply it to some musical instruments. In this case, the examples taken are of a drum, of a ''vīṇā'', and of a conch – a drum, a conch, and a ''vīṇā'' sound. Any one of us, unless we are tone‑deaf, can distinguish when a drum is being beaten – that is the common sound. So that is not what we have to understand – common sound is common to the whole creation. But every instrument produces its own peculiar common sound that is common to that particular instrument. But when the same instrument is played at different notes – higher notes and lower notes – then it gives variations.
===The First Point: Sound===
What is the point? The first point is we understand that this sound – it is a sound. That is how we hear it. Whatever we hear is a sound. And then the second thing is every single living creature – instruments of music, vocal or instrumental – they have their own peculiar common sound. That is the second. So for example, drum has its own common sound. Even if there are one hundred drums, rhythmically in the same pitch, if they are playing, it is very difficult to understand with closed eyes, but still there will be variation. We need not go into those details.
===The Three Levels of Sound===
So first: common sound, which applies to the entire universe. Second: special sound common to each – a human being – human sound, whether it is Chinese or Russian or Indian or American – whatever – that is the second thing. But even that second sound is common especially to that particular race or animal or creature – within that sound, there are variations – individual variations.
===What Yājñavalkya Wants to Convey===
So what does Yājñavalkya want to convey? He wants to say: the first thing that is common is existence. Take pure existence like wax – unshaped wax – like that. What is the first thing? As I explained in elaboration, if you go on going back – "this is a table" – and it is made up of wood. Wood is divided into atoms, atoms into particles, particles into sound waves, sound waves into mental thoughts. Very interesting analysis – according to ''Vedānta'', everything is ''citta-vṛtti'' only. Even what scientists boast as particles or whatever – we take the atoms as common measurement. So the whole creation is nothing but atoms – living as well as non‑living. Then slowly the inorganic atoms somehow manifest themselves into living organic material. And then slowly variation – we can say almost infinite variation – until it reaches the peak in the form of the most enlightened human being – ''vidvat mahābrāhmaṇaḥ''.
===How to Analyse the Universe===
So this is how we have to understand it. In the same way, first you go on analysing the whole universe: how do we analyse or make it one? The whole universe is a manifestation – I experience it. So do not call it "this is a tree, that is an animal" – call it an object. An object – whether living, non‑living – one object. Whatever is experienced, subjected to my knowledge, is an object. So everything is an object. So the whole universe is nothing but objects. Then go on expansion. So you say: "All this – I am a human being." So identify – we are all Indians, but we all belong to the human race – wherever we are, even if they are on Mars or whatever it is, however peculiar they may look, they are all human beings.
===Expanding to Living Beings===
Then slowly expand – not only human beings – we are living beings. Once we reach that level, ''prāṇamaya kośa'', then we find there is no difference between one ''prāṇī''. Every creature does not want to die, does not want to be asleep so that it can be eaten by preying animals – and wants to live, wants to be happy, and expresses its intelligence. So consciousness in the form of intelligence – to survive and to try to be happy. Even fighting is for the sake of being more happy. So this is how we identify with every living creature, including the trees, the plants – anything that is living.
===Expanding to Non‑Living===
But still there is another division – non‑living – so‑called non‑living – the mountains, the rivers, etc. Then we have to identify whatever object is there – it is all there. What is the common thing? The common thing is that one particular word – "I am," "you are," "a tree is," "a rock is," "waters is," "water is" – that "is‑ness" will be there. Let us trace ourselves to that "is‑ness" first.
===Intelligence in All Creatures===
Then we notice every living creature has also got the power of discrimination – intelligence, however small it is – God has endowed it with intelligence. So let us identify with that intelligence. What is that intelligence? In other words, it is called ''Cit'' – that is consciousness as reflected in the mind, especially through the instrument of ''Buddhi''. That is called intelligence. And what is surprising is – even take a small species like crows – it is not that every crow is absolutely intelligent. There are some crows which are extraordinarily intelligent, and they even say they develop a sense of intuition.
===Jim Corbett's Observations===
Just by the way, I am referring because I used to read a lot of books – so Jim Corbett, a person who used to go and hunt and kill man‑eating leopards, tigers, etc. in the north‑eastern area – he used to observe greatly, and he used to say: "There is one particular leopard and it killed so many human beings, and then many people tried to trap it, but somehow some intuition comes to it – some people are coming – this particular smell – and it just disappears." It took a long, long time to kill some of them, and some of them he could not kill, nor could anybody else kill at all. So within this species, some mosquitoes are squashed immediately; some mosquitoes escape for a long time or maybe completely – we do not know. But that is ''Cit'' in the form of intelligence manifesting. That is the point.
===Intelligence Varies Among Species===
And that intelligence is not exactly the same – even in ants, etc. So there are some more evolved ants, more evolved dogs, more evolved every creature. That is how we identify some good variety of trees and make them even more sweet by mixing, hybridising, etc.
===Sat, Cit, Ānanda===
So wherever there is "is‑ness" – ''astitva'' – then there is intelligence called ''Cit''. And wherever there is ''Cit'', that inevitably leads to ''Ānanda'' – the experience of bliss. Let us keep this in mind.
===Maitreyī's Intelligence===
So Maitreyī was a highly intelligent woman, because without having that intelligence, she already found out: everything is unreliable, temporary, and the cause of tremendous unhappiness and suffering. So she chose the wise path, like Naciketā, and said: "I do not want any wealth." Just think for a moment – if any ordinary person gets so much wealth, even a spiritual person will be tempted. But this Maitreyī was never ever tempted. "I want to follow your footsteps, because I see that you have become an embodiment of bliss, and I want to be an embodiment of bliss. I do not want to be a slave to objects which people think will give happiness." So temporary things can give only temporary happiness – no temporary thing can give permanent happiness. She understood.
===Sanyāsāśrama===
So she has to sacrifice – that is called ''Sanyāsāśrama''. After ''Gṛhasthāśrama'', it is the ''Sanyāsāśrama''. Then he is giving these examples – only three examples he has taken: a drum, and then a conch, and then a ''vīṇā''.
===Variation in Every Instrument===
As I mentioned, that means these three objects are existing there, and every conch does not produce exactly the same sound. Every drum does not produce the same sound – however expert the maker of drums, every drum he makes, taking care that they would be of the same type, some variation will be there. But that is not the important point. The important point is: a drum sound can be separated from every other sound in this whole universe – from every single living creature. Even wind makes a sound when it passes through the leaves and the branches of bamboos, etc. It is like a bansī voice, sometimes very ferocious and frightening.
===Understanding the Example===
But the point we want to remember – so every example we have to understand, and if we understand one example properly, we can move forward. So take the example of the drum. As soon as we hear at any place, any time: "Oh, this is a drum being beaten" – that is the first understanding: "There is a sound coming" – common sound. Then what is this common sound? It is a sound produced especially by a drum – that is the second stage. What is the third stage? This drum is being played at various places, touching the drum at various places, and producing from what is called the seven notes – from the lowest note to the highest note.
===Without the Common, You Cannot Understand the Special===
But what does Yājñavalkya want to say? That without understanding the common sound, especially the special sound completely of that particular object – say drum sound – whatever variations the drum is making, all that understanding or even enjoyment depends upon our understanding. This is the variation in the common sound of a drum.
===The Vīṇā Example===
Take the other example: ''Vīṇā''. So ''Vīṇā'' – you can play so many ''rāgas'' – the seventh ''svara'' note or the middle note which is called ''pañcama'' – like a cuckoo's sound – and the lowest ''ṣaḍja'' – like that. So everything is made by this ''Vīṇā'' only, or flute only – whatever it is. Without understanding the common thing, we cannot understand the specialised sound.
===The Teaching Leads to Existence===
Now, what does this teaching lead us to? He says: without understanding that there is existence – "is‑ness" – you cannot understand the variation of that "is‑ness." Without understanding "this is wax," you cannot understand "this is a tree, this is a bird." What we may not say it, but we mean it. So you point out in that wax garden to an intelligent person and say: "What is this?" – "It is a wax tree. It is a wax fruit. It is a wax bird. It is a wax dog. It is a wax human being." Just because they are different, just because it is a human being, its value cannot be more, because its value is the volume of the wax only – that is all. Everything is made up of wax. Takes the characteristic – all the characteristics of the wax – liquefy it, it starts melting the whole thing down.
===The Spiritual Journey Begins===
So the first thing is: be aware of the existence. Then only our spiritual journey starts. "I am" – what is this? "I am" – what is that "am"? "Here is a tree" – what is the "is‑ness"? "The tree is" – what is that "is"? What is the difference between "am" and "is" or "they are"? What is the big deal of difference? Existence – that is existence. This is existence. This is also existence. Then only further enquiry will come.
===The Common Teaching===
Now I hope I have been able to convey to you through these three examples – every example is pointing to the same teaching. What is that teaching? First, you grasp the common sound for that particular instrument. Then you understand the variations of that common sound according to the musical scale. Exactly in the same way: this tree – you first understand it exists. That existence is manifesting in the form of an object, and that object has got three things – it has a form, it has some qualities, and it has a name accordingly.
===The Mango Tree Illustration===
So I will give you the illustration of a mango tree. "This is a mango tree. That is a mango tree. The other one is also a mango tree." What is the common thing between all these three? Only "is‑ness." What is the difference? Special form – "This mango tree is small. That mango tree is big. This mango is round. That mango is oblong. The other mango is big. This mango is small." Then we come to the qualities – big, small is also a quality only. "This is very sweet. This is sweet and sour. And this is more sour than sweet – that is why it is used as a pickle." So all these become understandable only when we understand the nature of the mango.
===The Common Foundation===
So mango's sweetness, mango's sourness, mango's colour, mango's size – all these depend upon that common background foundation, which is called "this is a mango tree." Now you analyse further: what is the difference between this mango tree and this coconut tree? What is the common? Is there something common? Yes – that is called coconut tree; this is called mango tree. Is there a commonness? Yes – a coconut tree is, a mango tree is, a piece of rock is, a stone is, a bird is, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is, God is – so there is no difference. That "is‑ness" without any variation is called ''Brahman'', and ''Brahman'' with all variations – according to the form, quality, and separate name.
===Forms, Qualities, and Names===
So form and qualities and names – these are called qualities. All the three are called qualities for facilitating the separation. You bring, for example, ''Laṅḍā'' mango; you bring ''Dāśaharī'' mango; you bring ''Cauṣā'' mango – anybody who knows about these three, without second instruction, he will go and run and bring it. So slowly, what is Yājñavalkya trying to say? That what is the problem in ''saṃsāra''? Variation – when I see manyfoldness called ''nānātva'', all my suffering starts there. But as soon as I try to find what is this commonness instead of seeing the difference – so you can see, say for example, "that is a tree, this is a tree, the other one is a tree" – all tree species – trees, tree species, dog species, animal species, human species, bird species, insect species – so we are classifying a whole lot of things and reducing the complexity for our understanding.
===The Common Thing: Is‑ness===
Then what is the common thing between all "is‑ness" and this "is‑ness"? As I mentioned, it is again divided, subdivided into two: with life, without life – that is ''jīva-caitanya'' and ''jaḍa''. So ''jaḍa'' – inert thing – a piece of wood does not mean it does not have consciousness – it does not mean it does not have ''ānanda''. How is it possible? Just I will give a small example. Suppose you need something to scratch your back – then you take a piece of wood, long wood – your hand cannot reach, especially if somebody has got small hands – and with the help of that wooden piece, you are able to scratch it. Now what have you done? You have extended the function of the hand – transferred that to that piece of wood, and it is acting as your long hand. So a telescope is a long‑sighted eye. A microscope is the ability to see the smallest things. A car is an extension of our legs, etc.
===Even Inert Things Are Extensions===
So through this, you understand that even a piece – what we call an inert piece – in fact, most of our houses are inert – so‑called inert. Our cars are inert, our aeroplanes are inert. Just imagine if they develop their own consciousness – suddenly you are at 35,000 feet high in an aeroplane – it develops consciousness: "What the heck am I carrying? What do I get except groaning and suffering? I will throw all these fellows out – just see what happens!"
===The Common Thing Is "Is"===
So the common thing – from species you prove, you come to the common thing called "is." Now what is the nature of that "is"? It is – if you observe carefully – every "is‑ness" is endowed with consciousness, which is manifest in the form of intelligence, and this intelligence is always seeking how to be happy. So ''Sat, Cit, Ānanda''.
===Maitreyī Understood===
This must have been understood by Maitreyī, because the further conversation is there. This is the essence of why these three examples of a drum, a conch, and a ''vīṇā'' are given in this most ancient of the ''Upaniṣads'', called the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad''.
==Conclusion==
We will take up some more details in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda bless us all with Bhakti.

''Jai Rāmakṛṣṇa!''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Daily Messages - 2026

2026-08-31T02:18:33Z

Bhama: Created page with " =Messages from Swami Dayatmananda= =='''1 January 2026'''== ==='''KALPATARU & NEW YEAR GREETINGS'''=== ON THIS AUSPICIOUS OCCASION PLEASE ACCEPT MY HEARTY PRAYERS AND GREETINGS. MAY SRI RAMAKRISHNA AND HOLY MOTHER GRANT US BHAKTI, JNANA, DEEP FAITH, STRENGTH AND STEADFASTNESS. MAY THE NEW YEAR BRING US ALL PEACE AND HAPPINESS. (The Master's self-revelation and blessings to the disciples) It was the first day of January 886. As the Master felt rather well that day, h..."

=Messages from Swami Dayatmananda=
=='''1 January 2026'''==
==='''KALPATARU & NEW YEAR GREETINGS'''===
ON THIS AUSPICIOUS OCCASION PLEASE ACCEPT MY HEARTY PRAYERS AND GREETINGS.

MAY SRI RAMAKRISHNA AND HOLY MOTHER GRANT US BHAKTI, JNANA, DEEP FAITH, STRENGTH AND STEADFASTNESS.

MAY THE NEW YEAR BRING US ALL PEACE AND HAPPINESS.

(The Master's self-revelation and blessings to the disciples)

It was the first day of January 886. As the Master felt rather well that day, he expressed a desire to come out of his room and have a walk in the garden for some time. It was a holiday and the householder devotees came one by one and in groups, shortly after midday.

Thus, when the Master came downstairs at three in the afternoon, more than thirty people were engaged in conversation in the garden under the trees, or inside the house.

He came down to the garden path through the western door of the hall on the ground floor and was slowly proceeding southward to the gate when they all followed him at a little distance.

When he came to the middle of the path leading to the gate, he saw Girish, Ram, Atul and a few others, sitting under the trees to the west of the path. They also saw him and saluted him from there and came joyfully to him.

The Master addressed Girish, all of a sudden before anybody had spoken a word, and said, "Girish, I find, you say to one and all everywhere so many things about 'this' (that I am an incarnation of God); what have you seen and understood (about me) to make you do so? “Girish remained completely unmoved, and kneeling down on the ground near the Master's feet, said in a choked voice with his hands folded and face turned upwards, "What more can I say of Him, whose greatness Vyasa and Valmiki could not find words to express?”

The Master was charmed at the fervent utterance of Girish, and blessing all the devotees assembled there through their representative Girish said "What more shall I say to you? May you all be blessed with the spiritual awakening. “

Beside himself with love and compassion for the devotees, hardly had he said those few words when he entered into Bhavasamadhi.

Those words of profound blessing, untouched by the slightest tinge of the ego-sense, directly entered the devotees' hearts, where they raised high billows of bliss.
=='''2 January 2026'''==
''(Today is the Janma-Tithi of Revered Swami Turianandaji Maharaj. On this Holy day may the Swami bless us all with Bhakti and Jnana.)''

(Talks By Swami Turiyananda)

To root out our old tendencies is an uphill task. But if one has the determination to say, 'What if I have once done something wrong? Now I know what it is; so, I won't do it any more', then one can progress.

About monks Swamiji used to say, 'A monk can have all his faults forgiven, but unchastity is unpardonable. He must be strictly continent.'

Swamiji moved amongst ladies, beautiful, rich, and gifted, but none could attract him. Rather he attracted them to himself. Can you understand it? "

A householder devotee once had a nice experience. He had drunk freely and was very excited. He stopped his carriage before a house of ill fame and went up the stairs.

At the head of the staircase before the door he found Shri Ramakrishna standing! He fled in shame.

Unless God saves us, there is no way out. Blessed are those who have no evil tendencies in their minds, whom He protects.

They alone are saved. None can escape from this by personal exertions. But then Shri Ramakrishna used to say, 'If you are sincere, Mother will set everything right.'

There must be sincerity, it won't do to profess one thing and meditate on another. You may pass for an honest man before others, but you cannot hoodwink yourself. You are your own witness.

So, if you pray to the Lord, with your whole heart, He cannot but listen, take my word for it.
=='''3 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''

“Sri Ramakrishna would say, ‘Musk forms in the navel of the deer. Being fascinated with its smell, the deer run hither and thither. They do not know where the fragrance comes from.

Likewise, God resides in the human body, but man does not know it. Therefore, he searches everywhere for bliss, not knowing that it is already in him.”

God alone is real. All else is false.”

Control of the mind

“Everything depends on one’s mind. Nothing can be achieved without purity of mind.

It is said, ‘The aspirant may have received the grace of the Guru, the Lord, and the Vaishnava; but he comes to grief without the grace of “one’. That ‘one’ is the mind. The mind of the aspirant should be gracious to him.”

“My child, this mind is just like a wild elephant. It races with the wind. Therefore, one should discriminate all the time. One should work hard for the realization of God.”

Disciple: “I cannot concentrate my mind well during meditation. My mind is fickle and unsteady.”

Mother: “Don’t worry! Restlessness is the nature of the mind, as it is of the eyes and ears. Practise regularly. The Name of God is more powerful than the senses. Always think of the Master, who is looking after you. Don’t be troubled about your lapses.”

“Whenever the mind goes after anything other than God, consider that as transient and surrender the mind at the sacred feet of the Lord.”
=='''4 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''

“The mind naturally tends towards evil deeds. It is lethargic in doing good works. Formerly I used to get up at a.m. and sit up for meditation.

One day I felt disinclined to do so on account of physical indisposition. That one day’s irregularity resulted in the upsetting of my routine for a number of days.

That is why I say that perseverance and tenacity are necessary for success in all good work.”

Mother forbade a disciple to make pilgrimages without discrimination of time and company.

Quoting from a song, she said, “‘Pilgrimage and excursion are causes of misery. Oh, my mind, don’t be restless about them. ‘You can attain more in your house, if you are really earnest.”

Regarding weakness of the mind, Holy Mother said to a disciple, “Child, this is the law of nature. Have you not noticed the full moon and the new moon? Likewise, the mind is sometimes dominated by good, and sometimes by bad tendencies.

Disciple: “Mother, my mind becomes restless now and then. It craves for enjoyments. That frightens me.”

Mother: “Don’t be afraid. I tell you that in this Kali Yuga mental sin is no sin. Free your mind from all worries on this account. You need not be afraid.”

“Can anyone altogether destroy lust? A little of it remains as long as one has the body. But it can be subdued, as a snake can be subdued by charmed dust.”
=='''5 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''

Disciple: “However I may try to remove evil thoughts, I do not succeed,”

Mother: “This is the result of what you have done in your past life. Can one get rid of it by force? Cultivate good company, try to be good, and in time you will succeed. Pray to the Master. I, too, am here.”

“It is the nature of water to flow downwards, but the sun’s rays lift it up towards the sky. Likewise, it is the very nature of the mind to go to lower things, to objects of enjoyment, but the grace of God can make the mind go towards higher objects.”

Disciple: “I have been practising religious disciplines. I do not relax my efforts in that direction. But it appears that the impurities of mind are not growing less.”

Mother: “Suppose you have rolled different threads on a reel - red, black and white etc,. While unrolling you will see them all exactly in the same way.”

Disciple: “How many insignificant desires crop up in our minds! How can we get rid of them?”

Mother: “In your case these are no real desires. They are nothing. They are mere fancies that appear and disappear in your mind. The more they come and go, the better for you.

So long as the ego exists, desires also undoubtedly remain. But those desires will not injure you.”

“Don’t puzzle the mind with too many inquiries. One finds it difficult to put one single thing into practice, but dares invite distraction by filling the mind with too many things.”
=='''6 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''

“The mind is everything. It is in the mind alone that one feels pure and impure.

A man, first of all, must make his own mind guilty and then alone he can see another man’s guilt. Does anything ever happen to another if you enumerate his faults? It only injures you.”

“Whenever people discuss good or evil, all those who are present have to take a little share of the good or evil. Suppose someone tells you about his good and evil deeds. Every time you think of that person you must perforce remember his good and evil deeds. In this manner his good and evil deeds both must leave some impression upon your mind.”

“All is in the mind - purity, as also impurity, is in the mind.”

“There is evil in your mind. That is why you can’t find peace.”

“It is a complex always to be suspecting impurities. The more you emphasize your obsession, the more obsessed you become. It is true of all things.”

‘‘He who has a pure mind sees everything pure.”

“On moonlit nights I would look at the moon and pray, ‘May my mind be pure as the rays of the moon! ‘or “O Lord, there are stains even on the moon, but let my mind be absolutely stainless.”

“When I was at Vrindavan, I used to visit Bankibihari (Krishna in a bent pose) and prayed to him, ‘Your form is bent, but Your mind is straight - kindly straighten the windings of my mind.’”
=='''7 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''

“Do the Master’s work, and along with that practise spiritual disciplines too. Work helps one to keep off idle thoughts. If one is without work, such thoughts rush into one’s mind.”

“How can one’s mind be healthy if one doesn’t work? No one can spend all twenty - four hours in thought and meditation. So, one must engage oneself m work; it keeps the mind cheerful.”

Alluding to X -, Mother said, “Just see how impure her mind has become through idleness.”

Disciple: “Some say that one achieves nothing through work. One can succeed in spiritual life only through Japa and meditation.”

Mother: “How have they known as to what will give success and what will not? Does one achieve everything by practising Japa and meditation for a few days? Nothing whatever is achieved unless Mahamaya clears the path.

Didn’t you notice the other day that a person’s brain became deranged because he forced himself to excessive prayer and meditation? If one’s head becomes deranged, one’s life becomes useless.

The intelligence of a man is very precarious. It is like the thread of a screw. If one thread is loosened, then he goes crazy. Or he becomes entangled in the trap of Mahamaya and thinks himself to be very intelligent. He feels that he is quite all right. But if the screw is tightened in a different direction, one follows the right path and enjoys peace and happiness.

One should always recollect God and pray to Him for right understanding. How many are there who can meditate and practise Japa all the time?

At first they earnestly practise these disciplines, but their brains become heated in the long run by sitting constantly on their prayer rugs. They become very vain.

They also suffer from worries by reflecting on different things. It is much better to work than to allow the mind to roam at large.”
=='''8 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''MEDITATION AND JAPA'''===
“The mind keeps well when engaged m work. And yet Japa, meditation, prayer also are specially needed. You must at least sit down once in the morning and again in the evening. That acts as a rudder to a boat.

When one sits in meditation in the evening, one gets a chance to think of what one has done - good or bad - during the whole day. Next one should compare the states of one’s mind in the preceding day and the present. Unless you meditate in the mornings and evenings along with work, how can you know what you are actually doing?”

“It is very necessary to have a fixed time for these things. For it cannot be said when the auspicious moment will come, it arrives so suddenly. No one gets any hint of it beforehand. Therefore, one should observe regularity, however busy one may be with duties. Even during the most intense activity, one should at least remember God and salute Him.”

“May your body and mind become pure by repeating the Name of God!”

“The Mantra purifies the body. Man becomes pure by repeating the Mantra of God.

It is said, ‘The human teacher utters the Mantra into the ear; but God breathes the spirit into the soul.’

“As wind removes the cloud, so the Name of God destroys the cloud of worldliness.”

“Do you know the significance of Japa and other spiritual practices? By these, the power of the sense-organs is subdued.”

A devotee took a tiny banyan seed and said to Mother, “Look, Mother, it is tinier even than the tiniest seed we know. From this will spring a giant tree! How strange!”

“Indeed, it will,” Mother replied. “See what a tiny seed is the Name of God. From it in time come divine moods, devotion, love, and spiritual consummation.”
=='''9 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''MEDITATION AND JAPA'''===
“Just see the power of habit. By the law of habit man attains realization by continuous practice of Japa.”

A devotee asked her, “Mother, what is the secret?” She pointed to a small timepiece in a niche and said, “As that timepiece is ticking, so also go on repeating God’s Name. That will bring you everything. Nothing more need be done.”

“One must suffer the consequences of one’s deeds. But by repeating the Name of God, you can lessen its intensity. If you were destined to have a wound as wide as a ploughshare, you will get a pin - prick at least. The effect of Karma can be counteracted largely by Japa and austerities.”

Disciple: “Suppose I can’t do Japa of the Mantra of my chosen Deity?”

Mother:- “What do you mean? You won’t do Japa of your Mantra? What an idea! If you don’t do Japa, you lose; that affects me not in the least!”

“The boys all come and solicit me earnestly for initiation. They get it and depart. But they don’t make their Japa regularly; why regularly, some do nothing at all. They take the Mantra with so much sincerity; but why do they not practise at all? Not that it is very hard. If one but sticks to a little practice, how much joy comes to one?

Ah! With what joy and for how long Jogen (Jogin - Ma) and myself used to make Japa at Vrindavan!”
=='''10 January 2026'''==
''(Today is the Janma-Tithi of Revered Swamiji Maharaj. On this Holy day may the Swamiji bless us all with Bhakti and Jnana.)''

The Master's wonderful vision about Swami Vivekananda.

"One day I saw that, through samadhi, my mind was going up by a luminous path. Going beyond the gross world studded with the sun, the moon and the stars, it entered first of all into the subtle world of ideas. The more it began to ascend to subtler and subtler strata of that realm, the more did I see beautiful ideal forms of deithes existing on both sides of the path. It came gradually to the last extremity of that region. I saw a barrier of light there separating the realm of the divisible from that of the indivisible. Leaping over it, the mind entered by degrees the realm of the indivisible. I saw that there was no more any person or thing there having a form. As if afraid to enter there, even the gods and goddesses possessing heavenly bodies exercised their authority only over realms far below.

But the very next moment I saw seven wise Rishis having bodies consisting of divine Light only, seated there in Samadhi. I felt that in virtue and knowledge love and renunciation, they had excelled even the gods and goddesses, not to speak of human beings.

Astonished, I was pondering over their greatness when I saw before me that a part of the homogeneous mass of Light of the "Abode of the Indivisible", devoid of the slightest tinge of difference, became solidified and converted into the form of a Divine Child.

Coming down to one of those Rishis, and throwing its soft and delicate arms round his neck, the Divine Child embraced him, and afterwards calling him with its ambrosial words, sweeter than the music of the Vina, made great efforts to wake him up from his Samadhi.

The Rishi woke up at the delicate and loving touch and looked on at that wonderful Child with halfshut eyes, free from winking. Seeing his bright face, full of delight at the sight of the Child, I thought that the Child was the treasure of his heart, and that their familiarity was a matter of eternity.

The extraordinary Divine Child then expressed infinite joy and said to him, 'I am going, you must come with me!' The Rishi said nothing at that request, but his loving eyes expressed his hearty assent.

Afterwards, looking on the Child with loving eyes, he entered again into Samadhi. Astonished, I then saw that a part of the mind and body of that Rishi, converted into the form of a bright light, came down to the earth along the reverse path. Hardly had I seen Narendra for the first time than I knew that he was the Rishi.

1. Religion is Realization.

2. All paths lead to the same goal. But one must choose a path suitable, through the Guru.

3. Jnana and Bhakti are the same.

4. Shiva Jnane Jiva seva—Practical Vedanta.

5. Without Shakti no one can do anything.
=='''11 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''MEDITATION AND JAPA'''===
A disciple had written “I cannot calm my mind and concentrate” and so on.

Mother became agitated at these words and said, “It can be done if one repeats the Name fifteen or twenty thousand times each day, I have seen it actually happen. Let him do that first and talk afterwards if it fails. One must put one’s mind to it. But no, no one will do that. They only complain ‘Why does nothing come o f it?’”

“How can one do without Japa and meditation? These have got to be done.”

“The conjunction of day and night is the most auspicious time for calling on God. The mind remains pure at this time.”

“True it is that there is no hard and fast rule about the time of Japa, yet morning and evening are the favourable periods. Whatever the time be, you must do Japa every day. It is not good to forgo it any day.”

“One should practise Japa and meditation at regular times giving up idleness.

While living at Dakshineswar I used to get up at 3 o’clock in the morning and practise Japa and meditation.

One day I felt a little indisposed and left the bed rather late. The next day I woke up still late through laziness. Gradually I found that I did not feel inclined to get up early at all.

Then I said to myself, ‘Ah, at last I have fallen a victim to idleness.’ Thereupon I began to force myself to get up early. Gradually I got back my former habit.

In such matters one should keep up the practice with unyielding resolution.”
=='''12 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''MEDITATION AND JAPA'''===
Disciple: “I practise Japa, but I cannot concentrate my mind.”

Mother: “Repeat the Name of God, whether your mind is concentrated or not. It will be good for you if you can repeat the Name of God for a fixed number of times daily.”

Mother told a devotee: “What a lot of work I did when I was your age! And yet I could find time to repeat my Mantra a hundred thousand times every day!”

Disciple: “Mother, shall I practise the repetition of the holy Name having in mind a fixed number of repetitions?”

Mother: “If you repeat with an eye to number, your mind may be concentrated on the number alone. Therefore, I would advise you to repeat the Name of God without being particular about the number.”

Once a devotee forgot how to count the repetitions of the Mantra on his fingers.

Mother said, “What does it matter? The purpose of all this is to direct the mind towards God.”

“Repeating the Name of God a fixed number of times, telling the rosary or counting on fingers, is calculated to direct the mind to God. The natural tendency of the mind is to run this way and that way. Through these means it is attracted to God. While repeating the name of God, if one sees His form and becomes absorbed in Him, one’s Japa stops. One gets everything when one succeeds in meditation.”
=='''13 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''MEDITATION AND JAPA'''===
“While performing Japa, take the Name of God with utmost love, sincerity, and self - surrender. Before commencing your meditation daily, first think of your utter helplessness in this world and then slowly begin the practice of Sadhana as directed by your Guru.”

“One should meditate on one’s chosen Deity as one goes on making Japa. In meditation the face of the chosen Deity of course comes first; but one should meditate on the whole figure, starting from the feet upward.”

Disciple: “Why is it that our mind is not absorbed in God when we repeat His Name?”

Mother: “It will come about in due course. Even if the mind is not concentrated, do not give up the repetition of the holy Word. You do your duty. While repeating the Name, the mind will get fixed of itself on the ideal, like a candle flame in a place protected from the wind. It is the wind alone that makes the flame flicker. In the same way, our fancies and desires make our mind restless.”

Disciple: “Mother, why is it that the mind does not become steady? When I try to think of God, I find the mind drawn towards other objects.”

Mother: “It is wrong if the mind is drawn towards secular objects. By ‘secular objects’ is meant money, family, etc. But it is natural to think of the work in which one is engaged.

If meditation is not possible, do Japa. Realization will come through Japa. If the meditative mood comes, well and good, but by no means do it by force.”
=='''14 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''MEDITATION AND JAPA'''===
Disciple: “Is it of any use to be merely repeating His Name without intense devotion?”

Mother: “Whether you jump into water or are pushed into it, your cloth will get drenched. Is it not so? Meditate every day, as your mind is yet immature. Constant meditation will make the mind one - pointed.

Discriminate always between the real and the unreal. Whenever you find your mind drawn to any object, think of its transitoriness, and thus try to withdraw the mind back to the thought of God.

A man was angling. A bridal party was going along the road with music. But the angler’s eye remained fixed on the float. The mind of a spiritual aspirant should be steadfast like that.”

“The mind is by nature restless. Therefore, at the outset, to make the mind steady, one may practise meditation by regulating the breathing a little. That helps to steady the mind. But one must not overdo it. That heats the brain.

You may talk of the vision of God, or of meditation, but remember, the mind is everything. One gets everything when the mind becomes steady.”

“If the mind becomes quiet of itself, then what is the need of Pranayama?”

Disciple: “Mother, I cannot concentrate my mind in meditation at all.”

Mother: “It does not matter much. Look at the picture of Sri Ramakrishna, and that will be enough.”

When a devotee complained that the impurities of his mind were not being removed in spite of his Japa and meditation, Mother said, “Through the practice of Japa they will go. How can one afford to do without these practices?”

“In time the mind itself becomes the Guru. To pray to God and meditate on Him for two minutes with full concentration is better than doing so for long hours without it.”
=='''15 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''MEDITATION AND JAPA'''===
Mother: “Repeating the Name of God once, with the mind controlled, is equivalent to a million repetitions with the mind away from God. You may repeat the Name for the whole day, but if the mind is elsewhere, that does not produce much result. The repetition must be accompanied by concentration. Then alone one gets the grace of God.”

“Why should not one have concentration and meditation if the mind is pure? Why should not one have God - vision? When one sits down for Japa, God’s Name will continue rising up from the mind naturally and not with effort.”

Disciple: “I find it impossible to meditate. Please awaken my Kundalini.”

Mother: “It will awaken in the course of time. Do Japa and meditation. It does not rise of itself. Continuous meditation will make the mind so steady that you will not feel inclined to give it up.

When the mind is not in a good mood to meditate, do not force it to do so. In such conditions, get up from the seat of meditation after making prostrations. Real meditation is of a spontaneous nature,”

“The Kundalini will be gradually awakened. You will realize everything by the repetition of God’s Name. Even if the mind is not quiet, still you can sit and repeat the holy Name a million times.

Before the awakening of the Kundalini, one hears the Anahata sound; but nothing can be achieved without the grace of the Divine Mother.”

“If a person is steady in meditation, he will clearly see the Lord in his heart and hear His voice. The moment an idea flashes in his mind, it will at once be fulfilled and he will be bathed in peace.”
=='''16 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''SELF-EFFORT AND DIVINE GRACE'''===
Disciple: “How does one get the vision of God?”

Mother: “It is only through His grace. But one must practise meditation and Japa. These remove the impurities of the mind. One must practise spiritual disciplines such as worship and so forth. As one gets the fragrance of a flower by handling it, or as one gets the smell of sandalwood by rubbing it against a stone, in the same way one gets spiritual awakening by constantly thinking of God. But you can realize Him right now if you become desireless.”

“The mind gets purified after hard Tapasya. Without regular practice nothing can be attained.”

“The mind is rendered pure as the result of many austerities. ‘God who is purity itself cannot be attained without austerities.

What else does one obtain by the realization of God? Does he grow two horns? No, his mind becomes pure, and through a pure mind one attains knowledge and spiritual awakening.”

“The purpose of initiation is to try to realize God through sincere spiritual effort.”
==='''Disciple: “What is the need of Tapasya?”'''===
Mother: “It is very necessary. The Master practised all kinds of disciplines. He used to say, ‘l have made the mould; now you may cast the image.’

To cast the image means to meditate and contemplate on the Master, to think of the various incidents of his life. By meditating on him, one gets all the spiritual moods.”

“Spiritual practices are meant to keep the mind steady at the feet of God, to keep it immersed in His thought. Repeat His Name.”
=='''17 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''SELF-EFFORT AND DIVINE GRACE'''===
“If you practise spiritual discipline for some time in a solitary place, you will find that your mind has become strong, and then you can live in any place or society without being in the least affected by it.

When the plant is tender, it should be hedged around. But when it has grown big, not even cows and goats can injure it. Spiritual practices in a solitary place are essential.”

“Sit for meditation in the morning and the evening. Keep your head cool and practise meditation and prayer. It is very difficult to do so. It is rather easy to dig the earth with a spade.”

Looking at the picture of the Master, she said, “You will achieve nothing without His grace.”

“Devotees who come nowadays simply keep on saying ‘Show us God. They have no spiritual practice, no prayer, no austerity-and past sins must be many. These must be removed step by step, and then only God can be seen. The moon in the sky is covered with clouds; wind will blow away the clouds, and then only can you see the moon. Do the clouds scatter away suddenly?

The same here. The Karmas get exhausted slowly. When God is realized. He illumines the soul internally-one knows this internally.”

“My child, you have been extremely fortunate in getting this human birth. Have intense devotion to God. One must work hard. Can one achieve anything without effort? You must devote some time for prayer even during the busiest hours of the day. I used to be very busy during my days at Dakshineswar; yet I did my prayer and meditation.”
=='''18 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''SELF-EFFORT AND DIVINE GRACE'''===
“Prayer and meditation, or pilgrimage, or even earning money, all these should be done during the earlier part of one’s life. In old age one’s physical and mental strength are weakened. Is that the time for any struggle? Look at our boys here now, they have turned their minds to God in their youth. This is right, this is the proper time.

My son, your prayers and meditations must be accomplished now, in your youth. Do you think you will be able to do anything later? Whatever you may want to do, this is the time for it.”

Disciple: “It is my desire to spend some time in spiritual exercises in the solitude of a garden.”

Mother: “Quite right. This is the proper time to do so. This is just the proper age for you to undergo these disciplines. You must practise them but be careful about your food. Swami Yogananda practised great austerity and as a result suffered much and passed away early in life.”

“The room may contain different kinds of food-stuff, but one must cook them. He who cooks earlier gets his meal earlier too. Some eat in the morning, some others in the evening, and there are yet others who fast because they are too lazy to cook.

The more intensely a person practises spiritual disciplines, the more quickly he attains God. But even if he does not practise any spiritual disciplines, he will attain Him in the end, surely he will.

Only, he who spends his time idly, without practising prayer and meditation, will take a long time to attain Him.”

“Everything, no doubt, happens by God’s will, yet man must work because God expresses His will through man’s action. Do not relax your spiritual practices.”
=='''19 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''SELF-EFFORT AND DIVINE GRACE'''===
Disciple: “Mother, how can I have a perfectly pure heart and love for God?” Mother: “All in good time. Now that you have taken refuge with the Master, everything will come to pass. You must pray to the Master.

Advice to a discouraged aspirant

“You must not think in this way. Are visions everyday things? The Master used to say, ‘You may ‘cast your line daily, but can you catch a large fish every day? If you wait intently day after day with all your paraphernalia, you may catch a fish some day, or you may not. But don’t give up waiting.”

Pray longer. Cling to what you have found. Say to yourself, ‘Even if I have no one else, I have a Mother.

Disciple: “Mother, why do I not see the Master?”

Mother: “Continue to pray without losing heart. Everything will happen in time. See how quite a number of munis and rishis could not find Him even after ages of searching, and you want to have Him for the mere asking? Is God-vision such an easy thing? But fortunately, the Master has chalked out an easier path this time; therefore, it will be possible for all to realize God.”

When a disciple complained about

making no spiritual progress, the Mother said to him, “Suppose you are asleep in Calcutta and someone is removing you with your couch to Banaras. Will you at that time know that you are on your way to Banaras? When you wake up you will be surprised to see where you have come.”

“One must sit by the riverside and call on Him. He will ferry across at the proper time.”
=='''20 January 2026'''==
''(Today is the Janma-Tithi of Revered Swami Brahmanandaji Maharaj. On this Holy day may the Swami bless us all with Bhakti and Jnana.)''

(The passing away of Swami Brahmananda)

Once Sri Ramakrishna saw Rakhal dancing with Sri Krishna on a mystic lotus shortly before the boy's first visit to Dakshineswar.

Only a few intimate disciples knew of this vision, and Sri Ramakrishna had warned them never to reveal it to Maharaj, explaining that if he realized his true nature as the Eternal Companion of Krishna, he would leave his mortal body.

In March 19Z2, Maharaj went to Calcutta to stay for a while at the home of Balaram. While Maharaj was staying at the guesthouse, Ramlal Dada came to visit him.

One day Maharaj asked Ramlal Dada to sing for him the songs he used to sing to Ramakrishna. It was arranged that many disciples and devotees should be present to hear the singing. Ramlal Dada began to sing songs about Krishna and the shepherds and shepherdesses of Brindaban.

Suddenly, Maharaj, who had also been enjoying the fun, became serious. Ramlal Dada was singing: "Come back, O Krishna, come back to Brindaban. Come and reign in the hearts of your beloved shepherds and shepherdesses. Do not forget that you are a shepherd yourself."

At that moment Maharaj seemed transported to a realm beyond this earth. The joking and laughter stopped. The atmosphere became calm and serene. It may be that at this moment Maharaj got a glimpse of his true nature and knew himself to be God's Eternal Companion.

A few days later, at midnight, Nirvanananda, a disciple and personal attendant of Maharaj, saw his master sitting on his bed in a very earnest mood. The disciple stood silently before him, waiting for him to speak. Maharaj looked at him and said: "I woke up suddenly and saw Sri Ramakrishna standing just there."

He pointed to a spot in front of a couch, adding: "He didn't speak to me. He stood there silently for a while and then disappeared. I don't understand it."

After a few moments Maharaj continued in a low, earnest voice: "I can't give my mind to the things of this world any longer. It wants to take complete refuge in him and him alone."
=='''21 January 2026'''==
''(The passing away of Swami Brahmananda)''

After some time had passed, he continued in a sweet, tender voice: "I am floating, I am floating on the leaf of faith and knowledge on the ocean of Brahman." Then suddenly he exclaimed:

"Ah! The feet of Sri Ramakrishna--I know them!

Viveka, my brother Vivekananda! Premananda . . .
==='''Yogananda . . ."'''===
Thus, with his divine sight, he recognized the brother-disciples who had already passed away. He was living in that transcendental realm where he had lived throughout his life; but now he no longer concealed the fact.

He began to describe his visions. "Ah," he murmured softly, "the blissful ocean of Brahman! Om! Salutations to the Supreme Brahman! Om! Salutations to the Supreme Atman!"

While speaking of his divine experiences, his throat became dry.

A disciple offered him a drink, saying: "Maharaj, please drink this water. It has lemon in it."

"The mind doesn't want to come down from Brahman," said Maharaj slowly. "Pour Brahman into Brahman," and like a child he opened his mouth for the water to be poured into it.

Then he turned to Swami Saradananda and said: "Brother, Sri Ramakrishna is real. His divine incarnation is real." After this Maharaj was silent for a while. He was deeply absorbed in meditation, and his face wore an expression of great sweetness.

Suddenly, out of the silence, the voice of Maharaj was heard: "Ah, that inexpressible light! Ramakrishna, the Krishna of my Ramakrishna . . . I am the shepherd boy. Put anklets on my feet, I want to dance with my Krishna. I want to hold his hand--the little boy Krishna . . . Ah, Krishna, my Krishna, you have come! Krishna . . . Krishna . . Can't you see him? Haven't you eyes to see?

Oh, how beautiful! My Krishna . . . on the lotus . . . eternal . . . the Sweet One!

"My play is over now. Look! The child Krishna is caressing me. He is calling me to come away with him! I am Coming, lord. The tenderness and heavenly compassion that filled his heart were expressed in every word he uttered.

No one can describe the extraordinary sense of holiness which was created by his presence. Everyone knew that the fateful hour was approaching, and that Maharaj was taking his final leave.

During the early hours of the morning, he remained silent for some time and fell into a slumber. At seven o'clock he awoke and was again possessed by this high spiritual mood.

Two more days passed, and another night came on. His physical condition grew worse, and the doctors were amazed that he had not passed into a coma days before, as is usual with this kind of illness.

Maharaj maintained perfect consciousness right up to the last moment of his life. As that last evening faded into night, his chest suddenly heaved. It was as if a great wave of breath passed up the body to the throat.

His half-closed eyes opened, and he gazed into the distance, his eyes shining with a brilliance and unspeakable beauty.

Thus, it was that, on April 10,1922, the life left his body. "Do not grieve. I shall be with you always."

Those were his last words to his disciples and devotees.
=='''22 January 2026'''==
''(Today is the birthday celebration of Swami Trigunatitanandaji Maharaj. May the Swami bless us all with devotion and knowledge.)''

(Teachings of Swami Trigunatitanandaji)

How do we become divine?

Even before attempting to answer this question, let us first ask ourselves:

“Are we satisfied with our present condition?”

If our reply is “no,” only then can we proceed to answer the first question.

For if satisfied with our life, we shall certainly have no wish to struggle toward divinity. Only by having this prerequisite, as it were, of dissatisfaction with our present lot will we seek a higher and nobler level of existence.

By stating that man wants to become divine we appear to be suggesting that man is one thing and God another.

It is not that. When we speak about becoming God we are referring to the realization of our real nature, which is Godhood; that is what is really involved in this quest for God. It is not that we are one thing and we want something else.

The truth of the matter is that we are God, but we have forgotten that we are. We need to recall our divine nature. It is as though we did something years past, something we have forgotten. But when we sit quietly, trying to think of it — at once it comes back to us.

For some inexplicable reason, our real nature has been forgotten, and it is this nature, this state we want to remember, that is the process of becoming divine.

Initially, it is important that we thoroughly understand this world. In order to do this, we must study it closely.

For instance, sit down in a corner of any park. You will observe many persons walking about, apparently quite content and happy. Some are picnicking, others playing; all are engaged in a variety of activities.
=='''23 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Trigunatitanandaji)''

But there is one thing they share — forgetfulness. They have forgotten the real thing, while engaging themselves in the unreal. They have forgotten their own real natures. They believe this world to be a place of happiness; that this body and mind are sources of satisfaction; that this ego is the doer and the enjoyer.

If you have ever loved the world with your whole heart and deeply studied its nature, you have discovered it to be full of bitterness. Outside, the world shines, but within it is poison.

And our divine nature, our divine Mother, our divine Father is this very moment calling us away. “Hurry up! Hurry up! You are in a foreign country. The world is not yours, nor is your body, your ego, nor your mind. You belong elsewhere.”

If you sit quietly, by yourself, something will call to you. Something will softly sound within you. You will find a voice urging you: “Come home, come home.” We are to be pitied if we do not listen to this Voice. For if we do not, it will take us longer, more time to return home.

Q—The Bible mentions that no man has ever known God. Will you comment on that, Swami?

A—Let us examine the meaning of that expression — “No man has known God.” It is really so, because man means, generally speaking, the body, the mind and the little ego taken together; and so long as we identify ourselves with these things, we cannot be expected to know God. No man can know God.

It is the divine nature in man that knows him, not the human nature of man, which is mortal and transitory. But if you can evolve the divine nature within yourself, then by that nature you can know God; and when you evolve that divine nature, you are no longer a man, but a divine person. It is that divine person which can know God.

God alone can know God. He himself can know him, nobody else. Unless you become God, you cannot know God.

Q—Do you mean to say that the divine in us is identical with God?

A—Yes, exactly identical.

Q—There is really no difference?

A— No difference. It is forgetfulness, it is the illusion, it is maya, that makes us think differently.

Q—Are we really free agents in life or is there a power which draws us onward in spite of ourselves?

A—In a sense, we are our own agents working towards that goal. Every person, in some way or other, is advancing towards that. Some will arrive later, some sooner. That is the only difference.

Q—But is not the attraction irresistible?

A—Yes, irresistible to some, but not to all. If you notice that there is an attraction which you cannot resist, you will attempt to satisfy the needs of that attraction. And some day you may succeed. On the other hand, if you try again and again to resist that attraction, then a day will come when you will be successful.

You know, human power is greater than any force in the world. Man can overcome even the laws of nature. If we try to get rid of our attachment to the world, we can succeed. Do not give up the fight, do not give up. Struggle. Be sure that some day will come when you will be crowned with success. That is the law. Our repeated attempts and untiring perseverance will never go in vain.

(Reprinted from Vedanta and the West, issue 189)
=='''24 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''SELF-EFFORT AND DIVINE GRACE'''===
Disciple: “If everything occurs at the proper time, then where is the place for His grace?”

Mother: “Even so, don’t you have to throw your line and wait for the fish when you go angling?”

Disciple: “If God is our own, why then should one sit and wait?”

Mother: “That is true. It may happen even out of season.”

“God-realization can be had at any time by the grace of God, but there is a difference between it and what comes in the fullness of time.”

“Can the mango which ripens out of season be as sweet as the one which ripens in the month of Jyeshta, that is, the proper season?

Men are trying to get fruits out of season. But these are not as sweet as those found in the proper season. This is also true of the efforts that lead to God-realization. Perhaps you practise some Japa and austerities in this life; in the next life you may intensify the spiritual mood and in the following life you advance further.”

Disciple: “Mother, I have practised austerities and Japa so much, but I have not achieved anything.”

Mother: “God is not like fish or vegetables that you can buy Him for a price.”

“There is no such rule that the grace of God will fall on one simply because one is practising austerities. In olden days the rishis practised austerities for thousands of years with their feet up and head down and a lighted fire burning under them. Even then, only some received the grace of God.”
=='''25 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''SELF-EFFORT AND DIVINE GRACE'''===
“Do you know, my child, what is the grace of God like? It is just like a candy in the hand of a child. Some people beg the child to part with it. But he does not care to give it to them. Still, he easily hands it over to another whom he likes.

A man performs severe austerity and spiritual practices throughout his life to realize God, but he does not succeed, whereas another man gets his realization practically without any effort. It depends upon the grace of God. He bestows His grace upon anyone He likes. Grace is the important thing.”

Mother: “God is like a child, you know. He denies some who seek and of Himself gives to some who do not. Perhaps such people had highly evolved souls from their previous lives. That is why they receive His grace.”

Disciple: “Then distinctions are made even in the matter of grace?”

Mother: “Certainly, it is all according to one’s Karma. Once the bonds of Karma are sundered, one realizes God.”

Disciple: “Mother, I admit that spiritual exercise, exhaustion of past Karma, and proper time-all these are factors in the attainment of spiritual knowledge. But if God is our own, why should He not show Himself out of His grace?”

Mother: “That is right. But who has this faith that He is his own? All take up religion as a matter of form. How many really want God?”

“Be sincere in your practice, words and deeds. You will feel blessed! His blessings are always showered on all creatures on the earth. It is needless to ask for it. Practise meditation sincerely and you will understand His infinite grace. God wants sincerity, truthfulness and love. Outward verbal effusions do not touch Him.”
=='''26 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''SELF-EFFORT AND DIVINE GRACE'''===
Mother: “How many are there who truly want to realize God? Where is that earnestness? They, no doubt, profess great devotion and longing, but they feel satisfied when they get even a tiny bit of enjoyment. They say, ‘Ah, how kind is God!’”

“If you don’t call upon God-indeed many people never even remember Him - what does it matter to Him? It is your own misfortune. Such is the Maya of God, He keeps them ignorant of Him saying, ‘They are happy enough, let them be so!’”

“Whatever you yearn for, that you will get”

“My child, this world is like a deep marshy place. Once a man gets entangled there, it becomes very difficult for him to come out. Repeat the Name of God. If you do so. He will cut away your bondage some day.

Can anyone get liberation, my child, unless He Himself removes the shackles? Have deep faith in God. Look upon the Master as your refuge, even as children regard their parents.”

“You may say that you have done so much of Japa or so much of work; but nothing will avail. Nobody can achieve anything unless Mahamaya clears the way.

Oh, my children, take refuge, just take refuge. Then alone she will clear the way out of her mercy.

Once in summer at Kamarpukur, a heavy shower had filled up the fields, and water overflowed from the ponds. The Master was wading through water when proceeding by the side of the sweeper colony. As the cat-fish came out of the ponds, the people around began to beat and catch them.

One of the fish kept swimming near about the Master’s feet. So, he said, ‘Don’t you kill this one. See how it seeks my protection and plays round. It will be good if one of you carries it to the Haldar’s pond.”

Then he himself took it up and released it in the pond. Returning home he said, ‘Ah, if anyone seeks protection in this way, one is saved.’”
=='''27 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''SELF-EFFORT AND DIVINE GRACE'''===
“Repeat the Name of God in the innermost core of your heart, and in ail sincerity take refuge in the Master. Do not bother to know how your mind is reacting to things around. And do not waste time in calculating and worrying whether or not you are progressing in the path of spirituality.

It is Ahamkara to Judge progress for oneself. Have faith in the grace of your Guru and Ishta.”

Disciple: “There are devotees who surrender themselves to God but do not practise austerities. Will they attain realization?”

Mother: “That they surrender themselves to God, that they live placing implicit trust in Him, is their spiritual discipline. Naren said, ‘Let me have millions of births, what do I fear?’

It is true. Does a man of knowledge ever fear rebirth? He does not commit any sin. It is the ignorant person who is always seized with fear. He alone gets entangled. He becomes polluted by sin.

For millions of births he suffers from endless miseries, he undergoes infinite pains, and at last he craves for God. The calf makes the sound of ‘Ham Hai, Ham Hai (I am, I am). He makes the same sound even after drums and other instruments are made from his hide and entrails.

At last, he goes into the hand of a carder and then he makes the sound Tum Hai, Tum Hai’ (It is Thou; It is Thou).”

“People suffer endless miseries on account of their egoism and at last they say, ‘Not I, not I’; ‘it is Thou, O God! It is Thou’!”
=='''28 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''THE IDEAL OF RENUNCIATION'''===
Mother: “You are a living god. Who is able to renounce all for God’s sake? Even the injunctions of Destiny are cancelled if one takes refuge in God. Destiny strikes off with her own hand what she has written about such a person.”

“Will a man who has strong desires for worldly pleasures listen to me if I ask him to renounce them? But if a fortunate soul has realized the world to be the sport of Maya and God alone to be real, shall I not help him a little? Is there any end to the suffering in the world?”

“Don’t marry, don’t enter the world. What do you lose if you don’t marry? You are free wherever you may be.”

“An unmarried person who leads a pure life will advance towards Him with rapid strides, whether he prays to Him or not. The others, being tied hand and foot, find it difficult to extricate themselves from the bondage of worldliness, even though they try to think of God.”

“What is there in the worldly life? What an inordinate attachment people have for it. See how out of one so many come out, and how one’s attention and energies are all dissipated.

Is it possible for a person placed under such conditions to attain to spiritual greatness? Have you not seen crabs? The mother crab peeps out of her hole again and again and then goes down. It struggles hard repeatedly to free itself but fails. And why? Because of her attraction for her numerous progeny living in the hole. This attraction drags her into the hole in spite of all her efforts. Such is the case of those who are immersed in worldly life.”
=='''29 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''SELF-EFFORT AND DIVINE GRACE'''===
Devotee: “Man cannot do anything by his individual effort. God is doing everything through him.”

Mother: “Yes, that is true. But is one conscious of this always? Blinded by egoism, people think themselves to be independent agents in regard to action. They do not depend on God. He protects one who relies on Him.”

“As you pray and meditate you will find the Master actually speaking to you, fulfilling all your desires immediately, and your mind will be filled with such deep peace. You will realize that He who is in me, is in you too and in the humblest of men; only then humility will be born in your mind.”

“My child, if you can get perfect knowledge through my blessings, then I bless you with all my heart and soul. Is it ever possible for a man to free himself unaided from the clutches of Maya? It was for this that the Master performed spiritual austerities to the utmost extent and gave the results thereof for the redemption of mankind.”

The Master used to say, ‘The way is extremely difficult, like the sharp edge of a razor. ‘But He has kept you in His arms. He is looking after you.”

“Just surrender yourself to Him; you will then feel His grace.”
=='''30 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''THE IDEAL OF RENUNCIATION'''===
The mother of a monk requested Holy Mother to ask her son to go back to worldly life. Mother replied, “It is a rare good fortune to be the mother of a monk. People cannot give up attachment even to a brass pot. Is it an easy thing to renounce the world? Why should you worry?”

About a boy who wanted to embrace monastic life and was being encouraged by Swami Shivananda to do so.

Mother said, “One needs good fortune, indeed, to accept the ideal of renunciation taught by the Master.

Tarak (Swami Shivananda) is right, How few can be rescued from the world once they are entangled in it! The boy has real strength of mind.”

A woman devotee requested Holy Mother to order her daughter to marry. Mother replied, “Is it not misery to remain in lifelong slavery to another and always dance to his tune? Though there is some risk in being a celibate, still, if one is not inclined to lead a married life, one should not be forced into it and subjected to lifelong worldliness. Those girls that are drawn to the ideal of complete renunciation should be encouraged to lead a celibate life.”

When someone criticized Holy Mother for giving a disciple ‘the ochre robe, she replied, “Look here, child, they are children of light. They live on this earth as pure as flowers. Can you tell me anything happier than this?

You have seen for yourself what kind of happiness worldly life can give. What have you learned from me all these days? Why so much attraction for worldly life? Why so much animal propensity? What sort of happiness do you derive from it? Can you not even conceive in dream a pure ideal of life?

Can’t you live with your husband even now as brother and sister? Why this desire to lead a piggish life? This misery of the world has been gnawing into my bones.”
=='''31 January 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''THE IDEAL OF RENUNCIATION'''===
Mother: “X.. has done very well to become a Sadhu. What is there in this cage of flesh and bones? What is after all in this body? Why should one become enmeshed in this Maya? It will ultimately come to an end after a few days. Then when it is burnt, there will remain only a seer and a half of ash. Banku has become a Sannyasin, he has taken to the path of God. He has done well; he has done well indeed!”

“People find opportunities according to their fate and Karma. The fact is, if one’s time to go beyond the world is ripe, one will break all bonds and come; nobody will check him. Lack of money, awaiting somebody’s approval, fear of having to go back, these are nothing.”

“You see, my dear, many people seek God only after disappointment in other spheres. But he, who from childhood can place at the Master’s feet a heart as pure as a flower, is blessed indeed”

‘The other day X- said to me, ‘Mother, we are always to be alert. We always tremble with fear lest we should think any unholy thought.’

That is very true. A monk is like a bleached cloth. One does not notice the spots in a black cloth so much, but even a drop of ink looks so prominent on white linen. The monk’s life is always beset with dangers. The whole world is engrossed in lust and gold. The monk must always practise renunciation and dispassion. Therefore, Sri Ramakrishna used to say, ‘A monk must always be alert and careful.’”
=='''1 February 2026'''==
''(Today is the Janma-Tithi of Revered Swami Adbhutanandaji Maharaj. On this Holy day may the Swami bless us all with Bhakti and Jnana.)''

(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)
==='''DESIRES AND SENSE OBJECTS'''===
Latu Maharaj: "Worldly desires have taken up permanent residence in the mind. Sometimes they float on the surface of the mind, and sometimes they are so hidden that it seems they do not even exist.

But the closer you are to God, the more you will see the knots of desire hidden in the mind. The more your body and mind are purified, the more the dirt and dross which have accumulated during thousands of lives will be stirred up and will challenge your spirituality. The energy generated by spiritual disciplines forces the impurities to leave the mind, their fort.

How can they cope against the power of the Lord's name?

"You see, the desires are very shrewd. They take possession not only of the mind of a person but his sense organs as well.

As soon as a desire is aroused in the mind, the sense organs are awakened. The eyes want to see, the ears want to hear, the tongue to taste and speak, the nose to smell, and the body to feel. The hands want to work and the feet carry the person to where the object is. The other sense organs are alert, and whenever the opportunity comes they also enjoy.

"Do you know what the mind does? It conjures up enticing pictures with the imagination.

Imagination is man's worst enemy, his greatest tempter, for it creates beautiful pictures of sense pleasures and nearly destroys man's conscience. Thus, man is drawn to sense objects.

Therefore, if you want to control the desire for worldly things, first, control the imagination and don't be deluded by sense enjoyments."
=='''2 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''THE IDEAL OF RENUNCIATION'''===
“Sri Ramakrishna used to say, ‘O Sadhu, beware!’

Sadhus should always be alert. The path of a Sadhu is always slippery. When one is on slippery ground, one should walk tiptoe. Is it a joke to become a Sannyasin? If one had so desired, one could have married and lived the life of a householder.

Now that you have given up such intentions, the mind should not be allowed to think of these things. What has once been spat out, is not eaten again. The ochre robe of a Sadhu protects him as the collar of a dog protects it from danger. No one molests a dog with a dollar, as it belongs to someone or other. All gates are open to a Sadhu. He has admission everywhere.”

Devotee: “Mother, I am overtaken by fear on seeing how even high spiritual persons meet with a fall.”

Mother: “If you are constantly in touch with objects of enjoyment, you are likely to succumb to their influence.”

At Jayrambati when a young man was initiated into Brahmacharya, he asked, “How long will I have to fulfil its vows?”

Mother answered him at once with a firm voice, “As long as there is life in your body.”

“Faith and firmness are the basic things; if faith and firmness are there, then you have it all.”

‘Forgetting your personality, try to understand your identity [with God].”

“It is extremely bad for a monk to possess money. There is nothing impossible for the round pieces to do- even to the extent of endangering life.”

To a disciple who had been busy with accounts the whole day. Mother said, “Can anyone who has renounced the world relish these things?
=='''3 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''THE IDEAL OF RENUNCIATION'''===
Mother: Once Sri Ramakrishna said to me, ‘He who utters the Name of God never suffers from any misery. Why do you worry? ‘These are his very words. Renunciation was his ornament.”

“What is there in wealth, my dear? The Master could not bear even to touch money. His hand would twist away.

He would say, ‘The world itself is unreal. Look here, if I believed that this world is real I would gild the whole of Kamarpukur with real gold before I go. But I know all that is unreal and God alone is real.’”

“Only people who have renounced the world can resist the temptation of wealth.”

“My dear child, even the tinkling of the coins produce greed in the minds of the needy-such is the power of money.”

“Money always taints the mind. Such is the fascination of money that if you involve yourself too much in it, you will feel attracted to it. You may think that you are above money and that you will never feel any attraction for it, as you have once renounced it. You may further think that at any moment you may leave it behind.

No, my child, never harbour this thought in your mind. Through a tiny little loop-hole it will enter into your mind and then strangle you gradually quite undetected. You will never know it.

Sri Ramakrishna could never bear the touch of money. Always remember his words. Money is at the root of all the disasters you see in the world.

Money may lure one’s mind into other temptations: “Beware!”
=='''4 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''THE IDEAL OF RENUNCIATION'''===
“A monk must not lower the ideal of renunciation. Even if a wooden image of a woman lies upside down in the road, he must not turn it the other way, even with his foot, to look at its face.”

“A monk should be above attachment and jealousy. He must be the same under all circumstances.

Sri Ramakrishna used to say to Hriday, ‘You must bear with me and I must bear with you; then everything will go on well. Otherwise, we shall have to summon the manager to make up our differences.’”

“A monk must sever all the chains of Maya. Golden chains are as much of a bond as iron chains. A monk must have no attachments.”

“A monk should not visit his home. Meeting his people revives old memories, He must forget these, nay his very body. Then only he can have a vision of God.”

“Who is one’s father or one’s mother? God is all.”

“A monk once came to the Panchavati. In the beginning he had no attachments. But alas, in the end he began to store away things like a mouse - utensils, pitchers, grain, and everything.

The Master noticed it and said one day, ‘Poor thing. This will be the end of him!’ He was about to be entangled in the snare of Maya. The Master advised him strongly about renunciation and asked him to leave the place. Then he went away.”
=='''5 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''THE IDEAL OF RENUNCIATION'''===
Mother scolded a Swami because he was showing undue love for the ashrama. “You have renounced the world to repeat God’s Name. But now you are involved in activities. The ashrama has become your second world.

People come to the monastery, giving up their families, but they become so attached to the monastery that they do not want to give it up. A man eager to keep away from acid food builds a home under a tamarind tree!’”

“Whenever you go on some work, make it a point to return as soon as it is finished. In this life you will find that in digging for earthworms we often, go deeper and bring out snakes.”

To a woman disciple who was to lead an exclusive spiritual life: “Never be intimate with any man-not even your own father or brother. What to speak of others then! Let me again repeat, don’t be intimate with any man, even if God comes to you in that form.”

To a woman in an ochre robe, who said she had not been initiated. Mother said, “Without initiation, and without any spiritual realization, you have put on this sacred robe. This is not proper for you. The robe you have put on is very holy. I was about to salute you with folded hands. All will bow down at your feet. You must acquire the power to assimilate the honour.”

Disciple: “Mother, the monastic life begets terrible vanity.”

Mother: “Yes, that is true. A monk may become very vain. He may think, ‘See, he does not respect me. He does not bow down before me,” and so on.

(Pointing to her own white cloth). One should rather live thus (meaning possessed of inner renunciation).

Is it possible, my child, to get rid of vanity-vanity of beauty, vanity of virtue, vanity of knowledge and vanity of a holy life?”
=='''6 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''THE IDEAL OF RENUNCIATION'''===
Disciple: “Mother, all your children are learned, but these (referring to the inmates of the Koalpara Ashrama) are your illiterate children. Sarat Maharaj has written books and your other children are giving lectures. So much is being done to spread Sri Ramakrishna’s ideas.”

Mother: “What do you mean? Our Master did not know much of reading and writing. The real thing is devotion to God. Through you, much work will be done in this part of the country.

The Master was born on earth this time to liberate all, the rich and the poor, the learned and the illiterate. The Malaya breeze is blowing here. He who will unfurl his sail and take refuge in the Master will be blessed indeed.

Why should you be worried? You are my own people. But remember this, that an educated Sadhu is like an elephant whose tusks are covered with gold.”

A disciple who had renounced the world visited Mother at Jayrambati and then went on to Hrishikesh. Just a few days later he wrote, “Mother, you told me that in time I would see the Master, but why have I not done so?”

Mother listened to the letter and said, “Write to him that just because he has gone to Hrishikesh, the Master will not be waiting for him there. He has become a monk; what should he do now but call upon God? He will appear when He wishes.”

“It is a monk’s duty to call on God. The monk cannot complain that God-vision is denied him in spite of hard struggle. God will reveal Himself at His will. He is not at anybody’s beck and call.”
=='''7 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''THE IDEAL OF RENUNCIATION'''===
Disciple: “What is the aim of life?”

Mother: “To realize God and remain immersed in His contemplation. You are Sannyasins, you are His own. He takes care of your spiritual welfare both here and hereafter. What then is there for you to worry about?

Is it possible to contemplate on God always? Sometimes work; at other times think of God. Always discriminate between the real and the unreal.”

“The Master will be your protector. It will be a heinous sin on the part of the Master if he does not protect those who have taken shelter at his feet, who have taken refuge in him renouncing all, and who want to lead a good life.

But you must live in a spirit of self-surrender to him. Let him do good to you if he so desires or let him drown you if that be his will. But you are to do only what is righteous, and that also according to the power he has given you.”
===='''ADVICE TO HOUSEHOLDERS'''====
“Those who belong to a very high plane of existence alone can take to the monastic life and free themselves from all bondages.

Again, there are some who are born to have a little taste of this worldly life.

I say that one should see through worldly enjoyments. Let X- marry and finish all enjoyments in this life; otherwise, there is no knowing when he may fall a victim to some unfulfilled desire.

But you may be sure of this, that so long as he remains under the Master’s protection he can never slip.”
=='''8 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''THE IDEAL OF RENUNCIATION'''===
When a young man, out of temporary dispassion, expressed unwillingness to marry.

Mother said, “How is that? God has created things in pairs: two eyes, two ears, two legs-and likewise, man and woman.”

To someone hesitant about marriage, Mother said, “Why can’t one lead a good life if one is married? The mind alone is everything. Did not the Master marry me?”

One disciple said to Mother that he had tried to lead an unmarried life but now found it impossible to remain a celibate. Mother gave him assurance and said, ‘Don’t be afraid to marry. Sri Ramakrishna had many householder disciples. Go and marry. Don’t worry.”

To sincere lay disciples who spoke of envying monastic life. Mother would say, “Is the ochre robe everything? You will realize God without it. What is the need of taking the ochre robe?”

Disciple: “The Master said that those who would accept him as their spiritual ideal would not be born again. Again, Swamiji said that no liberation is possible without being initiated into Sannyasa. What, then, will be the way out for the householders?”

Mother: “Yes, what the Master said is true and what Swamiji said is also equally true. The householders have no need of external renunciation. They will spontaneously get internal renunciation. But some people need external renunciation. Why should you be afraid? Surrender yourself to the Master and always remember that he stands behind.”

“Spiritual progress becomes easier if husband and wife agree in their views regarding spiritual practices.”
=='''9 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''THE IDEAL OF RENUNCIATION'''===
Disciple: “The scriptures declare that in the service of her husband a woman may find divine beatitude and union with the Divine. If a woman tries to lead a life of self-control by pleading and reasoning with her husband somewhat against his wishes, is that a sin?”

Mother: “If it is for the sake of God, then it is no sin. One must control the senses.”

“Sri Ramakrishna used to say, ‘One must practise self-control after the birth of one or two children.’”

Regarding family people who wanted to renounce worldly life. Mother said, “If you really want to give up, first make suitable arrangements for the subsistence of your dependants.”

Regarding earning money and accumulating it. Mother said, “You have your wife and children. You should lay by something for them.

What you have to consider, my boy, is that if you put by something, there will be some provision for your family and the future. Besides, you will be able to serve the holy men too. If you have nothing, what will you give to the holy men, my dear?”

“My child, whatever one is, if he comes in the garb of a Sannyasin, you do ‘Sadhu Seva” (service to holy people) by offering him something or serving him in some way.”

Regarding a devotee who wanted to purchase Mother an expensive cloth, she said, “If he will brook no disappointment and wants to spend the money, let him buy a piece of land whereby the Sadhus and the devotees will be served.”

“The rich should serve God and His devotees with money, and the poor worship God by repeating His Name.’
=='''10 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''THE IDEAL OF RENUNCIATION'''===
To a young householder devotee who had spoken somewhat disrespectfully to a Sannyasin, Mother said, “Be careful about these three things: first, a house situated on the bank of a river; at any time, the river may destroy that house and sweep it away in its current.

Second, a snake; you must be very careful when you see one, for there is no knowing when it will come and bite you. Third, a Sadhu; you don’t know that one word or one thought of his may injure a householder. Whenever you see a Sadhu, you should show him respect You should not show him disrespect by retorts or slighting remarks.”

To householders concerning their duties in the world. Mother said, “The household is the Lord’s, and so in whatever work He has placed you, you should, depending entirely upon Him, do your best to perform it well. If sorrows and troubles assail you, call on the Master and he will show you the way.”
===='''LOVE AND COMPASSION'''====
“I tell you one thing: if you want peace, do not find fault with others. Rather see your own faults. Learn to make the world your own. No one is a stranger, my child; the whole world is your own.”

“To err is human. One must not take that into account. It is harmful for oneself. One gets into the habit of finding fault. Do not look for faults in others, or your own eyes will become faulty.”

“I can no longer find fault in anyone, my son. Formerly people’s faults appeared to my eyes also. Then with tears I prayed to the Master, ‘Master, I can no longer bear finding fault.’ Then only this defect left me.
=='''11 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''THE IDEAL OF RENUNCIATION'''===
Even if you commit so much as a little fault after doing a thousand good to somebody, he will be at once offended. People only look for faults. One should look for merits as well.”

“I cannot see others ‘faults. I am simply not made that way. There are enough people always ready to criticize others. Surely the world will not come to an end if I refrain from doing so.”

“Man finds faults in others after bringing down his own mind to that level. Does anything ever happen to another if you enumerate his faults? It only injures you. This has been my attitude. Hence I cannot see anybody’s faults. If a man does a trifle for me, I try to remember him even for that. To see the faults of others! One should never do it. I never do so. Forgiveness is Tapasya.”

Everyone has to be accommodating. The Master used to say ‘sha, sha, sa’. Forbear everything. He is there to judge.”

“One shouldn’t lose oneself so much in sputtering. If one sees the worst of everything, one feels pain. X- has got into such a habit of speaking out the truth that she no longer cares about what others will think. I, on the other hand, still care. One should never indulge in unpleasant truths.”

‘One must live carefully. Every action produces its results. It is not good to use harsh words towards others or be responsible for their suffering.”
=='''12 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''THE IDEAL OF RENUNCIATION'''===
“Should anyone ever utter a thing that hurts another’s feelings? An unpleasant truth, though true, must not be uttered. For that grows into a habit. By indulging in rude words one’s nature becomes rude. One’s sensitivity is lost if one has no control over one’s speech.

And once a man casts all consideration for others to the winds, he stops at nothing.

The Master would say, ‘If you have to ask a lame man how he became lame, then you have to speak thus: ‘Uncle, how did your leg come to such a condition?”

“If one is without kindness, how can one be called a human being?”

“Let me tell you how to love all equally. Do not demand anything of those you love. If you make demands, some will give you more and some less. In that case you will love more those who give you more and less those who give you less. Thus, your love will not be the same for all. You will not be able to love all impartially.”

When the head of an ashrama requested the Mother to tell the workers under him to obey him implicitly in all matters, she firmly rejected his request and explained to him gently, “The boys have become Sadhus to call on God and make their lives blessed. They are doing their best for the ashrama and will always do so.

They are now of age and have had their mind and intelligence fully developed. So, discriminating between good and bad, and what is to their advantage or otherwise, if they want to lead an independent life, you are not to be an impediment in their path.

And even if you obstruct them, nobody can live always subservient to another at the cost of his own convenience. If you find any difficulty in getting your work done, it is you who have to explain it to them tactfully. They have always been obedient to you and they still remain so. Love can achieve anything. You can never make one obey you by force or by adopting a roundabout way.”
=='''13 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''

The cat, following its own nature, often stole food and the Mother would remark, ‘To steal is its dharma. Who is there always to feed it lovingly?”

One day a monastic attendant treated the cat roughly and dashed it against the earth. The Mother looked very sad. She said to the monk, “Scold the cat, but do not beat it. Please feed it regularly and see that it does not go to any other house to steal food. Do not beat the cat. I dwell inside the cat too.”

“My son, work to remove the sufferings of the world.” “The purpose of one’s life is fulfilled only when one is able to give joy to another.”

Disciple: “Those who are obtaining your blessings are fortunate indeed. What will happen to people in the future?”

Mother: “What do you mean? Why won’t they too succeed? God exists everywhere and at all times. The Master is always there. They will succeed through his grace. Are not people realizing God in other countries?”

To someone who asked if there is any truth in image worship. Mother said, “From time out of mind, innumerable people have worshipped images and thus attained spiritual knowledge. Can you deny this fact? The Master never cherished dogmatic views.

Brahman exists everywhere. Prophets and Incarnations are born to show benighted humanity their way. They give different instructions to suit different temperaments. There are many ways to realize truth. So, all these instructions have their relative value. For instance, many birds are perched on the branches of a tree. They are of different colours: white, black, red, yellow, and so on. Their sounds, too, are different. But when they sing we say that the sounds are made by the birds. We do not designate one particular sound only as the sound of the birds and refuse to acknowledge the other sounds as such.”

“All teachers are one. The same power of God works through them all.”
=='''14 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''

“Naren once said, ‘Mother, everything is taking flight nowadays. I see everything fly away.’

I said (here Mother laughed), ‘Well, see that you don’t put me to flight as well.’

And Naren said, ‘But Mother, if I put you to flight, where shall I stand? Knowledge which sets at naught the lotus feet of the Guru is ignorance. Where can knowledge stand if it denies the sacred feet of the Guru?’”

“One should not doubt the words of one’s own teacher.”

“One must have reverence for one’s Guru. One’s chance of salvation lies in one’s reverence for him. Observe how the disciples of the Master revere him. Out of this reverence for him they revere not only all the members of his family, but even the cats from his home-district!”

‘One may commit a fault while serving a great soul. It happens in this way: while he enjoys the privilege of such service, his egotism increases. He then wants to control, like a doll, the person he serves. He wants to boss the latter in everything-eating, sitting or rising. He loses the spirit of service.

But why should it be so with those who serve their superiors, forgetting their own comforts and looking upon the latter’s pleasure and pain as their own? And you are talking of the downfall of the attendants!

Many great souls surround themselves with riches and splendour. This attracts many to come to them as attendants. Such attendants become intoxicated with the enjoyment of their position and so they pave the way to their own ruin.

Tell me how many there are who can render service in the proper spirit? You see, the reflection of the moon falls on the water of the lake. At this the small minnows jump about in ecstatic joy, thinking that the moon reflected in the water is really one of them.

But when the moon sets, they remain as before. After exhausting themselves in glee, they fall into a state of depression. They cannot understand what it is all about.”
=='''15 February 2026'''==
(Today is the most sacred Maha Shiva Ratri. On this

Holy Day May Lord Shiva grant all of us Bhakti and Jnana)

(Teachings of The Holy Mother)

Mother: “Where is that competent student who can understand spiritual instruction? First of all, one should be fit; otherwise, the instructions prove futile.”

“If the disciple is good, the Guru is also benefited thereby.”

Disciple: “Do those who give up their bodies in a state of unconsciousness attain to a higher spiritual state afterwards?”

Mother: “The thought that is uppermost in the mind before one loses consciousness determines the course of one’s soul after death.”

“Though one gets a new body on account of desires, yet one does not completely lose spiritual consciousness if one has to one’s credit merits from previous births.”

A devotee came to Mother one day and called her “Mother”, to which she replied, “Yes, my son.” The devotee then said, “Mother, I called you ‘Mother’and you responded saying ‘Yes, What more fear need I have?”

Mother corrected him saying, “No, my boy, don’t you speak thus. ‘He who is diffident wins in the end.’”

One day a disciple said to the Mother, “Mother, no bad ideas come to my mind.” With a start she stopped him and said, “Don’t say that. One must not say such a thing.’

“One who speaks out at the proper time is a true friend. There is no use for sympathy at the wrong time.”

“Everyone can break down something, but how many can build it up?”
=='''16 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''

“The Master used to say that one should learn from the scriptures that God alone is real and the world illusory.

Suppose I write to you a letter asking you to bring certain things for me. How long do you need the letter? So long as you do not know its contents.

But when you have known the contents of the letter do you need it any longer? Then you will procure those things and come to me. On the other hand, what is the good of reading the letter day and night?”

“In the opinion of worldly men, it is not proper to visit a holy place at an inauspicious time. It is true that one may put off such a pious intention, considering the impropriety of the time, but death does not make any distinction of time. As none knows when death may come, one should carry out pious intentions whenever the opportunity presents itself, without waiting for the right time.”

“Whenever you go from one place to another, observe the things around you, and also keep yourself well informed about what happens in the place where you live. But keep your lips shut.”

“It is essential that one should work. It is through work alone that one may break asunder the bonds of Karma; only then is one free from desires. One shouldn’t be without work even for a single moment.’
=='''17 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''

“New devotees should be given the privilege of service in the shrine room. Their new zeal makes them serve the Lord carefully.

The others are tired of service. Service, in the real sense of the word, is not a joke. One should be extremely careful about making His service perfectly flawless. But the truth is, God knows our foolishness and therefore He forgives us.”

“One must work in the shrine room with great attention. Offerings and the rest should be made in proper time.”

“I want people here who are careful in work. There are those who perform great deeds on the spur of the moment. But a man can be really known from the interest he shows in the details of each duty.”

After someone finished her sweeping work and threw the broom into a corner, Mother said, “How strange, my dear! The work is finished, and you throw it away carelessly. It takes almost the same time to keep it slowly and carefully as to throw it away. Should you despise a thing just because it is insignificant? ‘Him that you save, saves you in turn.” Won’t you need it again?

Besides, this thing too forms a part of our household. From that point of view also it deserves some consideration. You must give each one his due share of honour. Even a broom must be shown honour. The smallest work must be done with reverence.”
=='''18 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''

One day a pet cat was lying on one side of the courtyard. A devotee was caressing it with her foot. Gradually she placed-her foot on its head.

At this the Mother said to her, “Oh my child, what are you doing? The head is the place of the Guru. One should not touch the head with the foot. Salute the cat.”

“Is the value of a thing to be gauged by its price? It is the love and devotion with which a thing is offered that really counts.”

A beggar arrived and began to cry for alms. The monks were annoyed and scolded him, “Go away, don’t bother us now.”

Mother heard this and said, “Just look at that! They have sent him away, just because they would have to leave their own work to bring him alms. Even this little thing they couldn’t do! How lazy of them! They couldn’t give a handful of alms to a beggar! Is it right to deprive a man of his just dues?

Look at this vegetable peel—even this is the cow’s due; one must place it before the cow.”

A man came with a basket of fruits. The fruits were meant for offering. He asked the monks what he should do with the basket. They told him to throw it out in the lane.

Mother looked at the lane and said, “Look there. They have asked him to throw away such a nice basket! It does not matter for them in the least. They are all monks and totally unattached. But we cannot allow such a waste. We could have utilized it at least for keeping the vegetable peelings.” She asked someone to fetch the basket and wash it. It was kept for some future use.
=='''19 February 2026'''==
''(Today is the Sacred Janma Tithi of Sri Ramakrishna. On this most auspicious day may Sri Ramakrishna bless us all with Bhakti.)''

(Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna)
==='''THE DESTINY OF MAN'''===
The digit one may be raised to a figure of any value by adding zeroes after it : but if that one is omitted, zeroes by themselves have no value. Similarly, so long as the Jiva (individual soul) does not cling to God, who is the One, he has no value, for all things here get their value from their connection with God. So long as the Jiva clings to God, Who is the value-giving figure behind the world, and does all his work for Him, he gains more and more thereby; on the contrary, if he overlooks God and adds to his work many grand achievements, all done for his own glorification, he will gain nothing therefrom.

As a lamp does not burn without oil, so a man cannot live without God.

God is to man what a magnet is to iron. Why does He not then attract man? As iron thickly imbedded in mud is not moved by the attraction of the magnet, so the soul thickly imbedded in Maya does not feel the attraction of the Lord. But when the mud is washed away with water, the iron is free to move. Even so, when, by the constant tears of prayer and repentance, the soul washes away the mud of Maya that compels it to stick to the earth, it is soon attracted by the Lord to Himself.

The union of the Jivatman with the Paramatman is like the union of the hour and the minute hands of a watch once every hour. They are inter-related and interdependent, and though usually separate, they may become united as often as favourable opportunities occur.

The soul enchained is man, but when free from the chain (Maya), it is the Lord.

What is the relation between the Jivatman and the Paramatman? As a current of water seems to be divided into two when a plank of wood is placed against it edgewise, so the Indivisible appears divided into two, the Jivatman and the Paramatman, due to the limitation of Maya.

Water and a bubble on It are one and the same. The bubble has its birth in the water, floats on it, and is ultimately resolved into it. So also, the Jivatman and the Paramatman are one and the same, the difference between them being only one of degree. For one is finite and limited while the other is infinite; one is dependent while the other is independent.
=='''20 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''

Regarding t practice of Asanas Mother said, “Be a little careful about it. If you continue such exercises for a long time, the mind may be diverted to the body. Again, if you give it up, it may affect your health. Therefore, you should exercise your discretion.”

“Whatever you eat you must first dedicate to God; you should not take any other kind of food. The quality of your blood depends on the quality of the food you take. If you take consecrated food your blood and your mind will be purified; you will find strength. If your mind is pure, your faith and love will be pure.”

Disciple: “Mother, we householders live in families with many relations. Sometimes it happens that while the food is being cooked, some members of the family partake of it; later on, that food is brought to me. I hesitate to offer that food to God.”

Mother: “That is inevitable in the case of householders. We also have to face similar situations. Take an instance: there may be a sick person in the family. Part of the food may be kept aside for him.

But when food is placed on the plate, remember the Master, think that he himself has given this food, and eat it. Then it will not have any injurious effect on the growth of devotion.”

“Everyone should serve his mother. It is all the more incumbent upon you, because you have all come to me with the purpose of dedicating your life to the service of others. Always talk to her about God. You will really fulfil the duty of a son if you can help her to gather the means for her ultimate journey. You have grown by sucking her milk. How much suffering she has undergone to raise you to manhood! Know that service to her is your highest duty.

But it is quite a different matter if she stands in the way of your spiritual life. Beware! Don’t involve yourself in worldliness on the plea of serving your mother.”
=='''21 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''

Some women devotees came to see Mother one evening. One of them had a showiness about her with her dress and ornaments, and she was a little restless. Addressing them Mother said, “Mark you, my dear, modesty is the greatest ornament of a woman. A flower best serves its purpose when it is offered to a deity; else it may as well wither on the plant. But it pains me greatly when the dandies take up flowers either in a bunch or singly, smell them with their nose a little, and say, ‘How sweet the smell!’ And, oh dear, the next moment they may throw these down on the floor or walk away crushing them under the shoes.”

Regarding controversy over social customs, Mother said, “Don’t let your mind be disturbed over these trivial details. That will make you forget the Master. Whatever people may say, remember the Master and do what you consider to be right.”
==='''SWAMI VIVEKANANDA AND THE RAMAKRISHNA ORDER'''===
“Naren is of divine origin and full of purity from his infancy, and about whom the Master mentioned that he was a rishi, a great sage. Though fully imbued with the spirit of renunciation and an all-embracing love and immersed in the eternal joy of communion with the Infinite, he has been suffering for the good of others, He gave his life blood to the service of others. He was specially brought by the Master for preaching his lofty ideals, for the elevating of the masses and for the good of humanity.”

“He is in a class apart.”

‘Naren was like an unsheathed sword. After his return from foreign lands he said, ‘By your grace. Mother, I didn’t have to cross the ocean by jumping in this age but went to those parts in their own ships.

And there, too, I noticed the glory of the Master. What a great number of good people have heard about him from me and accepted this idea with astonished eagerness.’”
=='''22 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''

After Swami Vivekananda’s first visit to the West, Holy Mother told him, “The Master is always with you. You have many more things to accomplish for the welfare of the world.”

Swamiji: “While I was alone in America I felt that the Divine Power which the Master called ‘Mother’ was guiding me.

Mother: “The Master is not different from the one whom he called ‘Mother’. It was the Master who accomplished all this work through you. You are his chosen child and disciple. How dearly he loved you! He foretold that you would teach men.”

When Swamiji said that he wanted to form a permanent organization to preach the message of the Master, Holy Mother replied, “Do not worry. What you are doing now and what you will do in the future will be permanent. You are born just to accomplish this work.

Thousands of people will hail you as a world teacher, a bestower of divine knowledge. I can assure you that the Master will fulfil your desire in no time. You will soon see that the work you want to undertake will be accomplished.“

“Alas, how much did I weep and pray to the Master for my children! That is why you find everywhere ashramas and monasteries through his blessings. After the passing away of the Master his disciples renounced the world, found temporary shelter and for a few days lived together. Then one by one they went out independently and began to roam hither and thither. That made me very sad.

I prayed to the Master, saying, ‘O Lord, you have been embodied in human form, and you spent the period of your earthly existence with a few disciples. Now has everything ended with your passing away? In that case, what need was there for your embodiment entailing so much suffering?

I have seen in Vrindavan and Banaras so many holy men living on alms and having the shade of trees for shelter. There is no lack of Sadhus of that type. I cannot bear to see my children, who have renounced all for your sake, wandering about for a morsel of food. It is my prayer, O Lord, that those who give up the world for your sake may not suffer from want of simple food and coarse clothing.
=='''23 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''

It is also my prayer that my children should live together, clinging to you and your teachings, and people afflicted with the sufferings of the world should come to them and get peace of mind by hearing from them your words. That is why you incarnated yourself in a human form.

My mind becomes restless, seeing my children roam about here and there.’ After that Naren started doing all this.”

Swami Vivekananda once wrote a letter from America urging the monks of the Ramakrishna Order to renounce everything in the service of God and man.

When the Mother heard this, she said, “Naren is an instrument of the Master. It is the Master who writes through Naren about the future duties of his children and devotees for the good of the world. What he has written is all correct. You will see it bearing fruit in the course of time.”

A disciple told Mother that he could not practise meditation and prayer regularly on account of his being busy with the duties of the ashrama.

Mother said in reply, “Whose works are these? They all belong to Him only.”

To a monk who wanted to go for Tapasya, Mother said, “Why so, my child? You are now doing my work. You are devoting yourself to the Master’s work. Are these in any way less spiritual than austerities? Why should you abandon these works?”

“What will you do day and night if you are not engaged in work? Can one practise meditation and Japa for twenty-four hours?

You referred to the Master. His case was different. Mathur used to supply him with proper diet.

You are able to get your food because you are doing some work. Otherwise, you would have to roam from door to door begging for a morsel of food. Perhaps you would fall ill.

Besides, where are people today to give alms to the Sadhus? Never pay any heed to such words. Things will go on as the Master directs. The Math will be run on these lines. Those who cannot adjust themselves will go away.”
=='''24 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''

When the Mother visited the Ramakrishna Mission Home of Service in Banaras and was asked what she thought of it she replied, “I saw the Master himself present there, and that is why this work goes on here. These are all his work.”

“To care for these homeless old ladies is to care for the Lord. What a fine work these boys (of the Ramakrishna Mission) have built up!”

“All this is His wish. He knows best how He is getting His plan executed and through what.”

“Love alone is the essential thing. Our organization is growing only through love.... These are my children and have taken shelter with Sri Ramakrishna. Wherever they go the Master will look after them.”
==='''XI SRI RAMAKRISHNA'''===
“When I was at the music tower at Dakshineswar for serving the Master, I had to live in that small room with great difficulty. And into it, what a lot of things were packed. But no difficulty was too great when it was meant for some service to him. The days passed unnoticed in great delight.”

“His complexion was like the colour of gold. His complexion blended with the colour of the golden amulet which he wore on his arm.

When I used to rub him with oil, I could clearly see a lustre coming out of his entire body. When he would come out of his room in the temple, people used to stand in line and say to one another, ‘Ah, there he goes!’... People would look at him wonder-struck when he went with slow steady steps to the Ganges to take his bath.
=='''25 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''

Mother: “When Sri Ramakrishna was at Kamarpukur, men and women looked at him with mouths agape whenever he chanced to come out of the house. One day as he went out for a walk in the direction of the canal known as ‘Bhutir Khal, the women who had gone there to fetch water looked at him agape and said, There the Master goes!’

Annoyed at this, Sri Ramakrishna said to Hriday, ‘Well, Hridu, please put a veil on my head at once.”

“I never saw the Master sad. He was joyous in the company of everyone, were he a boy of five or a man of ripe old age. I never saw him morose, my child. Ah, what happy days those were!”

“Ah! How kindly Sri Ramakrishna treated me! Not even one day did he utter a word to wound my feelings.”

“I then felt as if a pitcher of bliss was kept in my heart. It was a constant experience with me then. It is very difficult to convey an idea of this experience to others.”

“What a unique man he was! How many minds he illumined! What unceasing bliss he radiated! Day and night his room echoed and re-echoed with laughter, stories, talk and music.

“The Master sang, and I would listen hour after hour, standing behind the screen of the Nahabat. When the singing was over I saluted him with folded hands. What joyous days we passed through! People poured in day and night, and there was no end of spiritual talk.”

“How happy we were then! How many people of different temperaments used to come to him! Dakshineswar at that time appeared to us as the mart of bliss.”
=='''26 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''

“What a great singer the Master was? His voice was so sweet. While singing he would be one with his song. His voice is still ringing in my ears. When I remember it, other voices appear so flat.”

“I always saw a smile on his face in his ecstatic mood. I have seen him smile in all states of Samadhi.”

“How fine his teachings are? How little we knew at that time that things would take this turn! What a great soul was born! How many people are being illumined by his words! He was the embodiment of Bliss itself.

Often he would give me nice words of advice. If I had known how to write, I would have noted them down.”

Disciple: “Mother, that photograph of Sri Ramakrishna which you have is a very good one. Is it a good likeness of him?”

Mother: “Yes, that picture is very, very good. I kept it with the pictures of other gods and goddesses and worshipped it. At that time I lived on the ground floor of the Nahabat.

One day the Master came there and at the sight of the picture he said, ‘Hello, what is all this?’ Then I saw the Master take in his hand the bel leaves and flowers kept there for worship, and offer them to the photograph. He worshipped the picture.”

“The Master said to me, ‘You will see how in course of time I will be worshipped in every house. You will see everyone accepting this (meaning himself).

And this is surely going to happen.’This was the only day I heard him using the first personal pronoun with reference to himself. Usually he would speak of himself not as ‘I” or ‘me’but as ‘case’or as ‘belonging to this’, pointing to his body.”

“The Master entered into spiritual trance very often. One day, as he came down from a long Samadhi, he said, ‘Listen, my dear, I went to a land where the people are all white.

Ah! How sincere is their devotion.’”
=='''27 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''

“One day Hazra said to the Master, ‘Why do you constantly long for Narendra and other youngsters? They are quite happy by themselves eating, drinking and playing. You had better fix your mind on God. Why should you be attached to them?’

At these words, the Master took his mind away from the young disciples completely and merged it in the thought of God. Instantaneously he entered into Samadhi; his beard and hair stood straight on end. Just imagine what kind of a man the Master was! His body became hard like a statue. Ramlal, who was attending on him, said repeatedly, `Please be your former self again.’

At last, the mind came down to the normal state. It was only out of compassion for people that he kept his mind on the material plane.”

“You will gain everything if you but take refuge in the Master. Renunciation alone was his splendour. We utter his name and eat and enjoy things because he renounced all.

People think that his devotees also must be very great, as he was a man of such complete renunciation!

“Ah, me! One day he went to my room in the Nahabat. He had no spices in his small bag. He used to chew them now and then. I gave him some to chew there and handed over to him a few packed in paper to take to his room.

He proceeded; but instead of going to his room, he went straight to the embankment of the Ganges. He did not see the way, nor was he conscious of it. He was repeating, ‘Mother, shall I drown myself!’...

Hriday ran to the Master, caught hold of him, and brought him back to his room. A moment more and he would have dropped into the Ganges.

Because I put a few spices in his hand, he could not find his way. A holy man must not lay things by. His renunciation was hundred per cent complete.”
=='''28 February 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''

“It never occurred to me that he practised all the religions with the express motive of preaching the idea of spiritual harmony. He was always in a mood of divine ecstasy.

He practised all the methods through which the Christians, Muslims, Vaishnavas, and others worship God and realize truth, and thereby he tasted God’s disports in diverse ways.

Days and nights were passed by him without any notice.

But what you should note, my dear, is that renunciation is his special message in this age. Did anyone see such natural renunciation any time before?

As for the harmony of religions you speak of, that also is true. In previous incarnations, some one of the attitudes was magnified at the cost of all others.”

“All the acts of Sri Ramakrishna were directed to God alone. That was the nature of his teaching.”

“If you can but follow one of the Master’s teachings, you get everything.”

“Our Master was a man of direct perception. He saw everything; he knew everything. His words are the words of the Veda. What will you do if you do not believe in his words?”

“I don’t know anything. I repeat only what I have heard from the Master. Read The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna and you will know all you need.”

“The Kathamrita (The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna) by M. is very nice. This is because he has put down the exact words of the Master. How sweet are those words!”

Holy Mother wrote to M.: “My beloved child, the words you heard from the Master are true. You need not be afraid to publish them. It was the Master who left these words in your keeping. Now he is bringing them out according to the needs of the time.

You should know that people’s spiritual consciousness will not be awakened unless these words see the light of day. His words which are in your keeping are true, every one of them. When you read them to me I felt as if he himself was speaking.”
=='''2 March 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''

Disciple: “Does the Master really live in the picture?”

Mother: “Of course, he does. The body and the shadow are the same. And what is his picture but his shadow?”

Disciple: “Does he live in all the pictures?”

Mother: “Yes, if you pray to him constantly before his picture, then he manifests himself through that picture. The place where the picture is kept is a shrine. The Master will pay special attention to such a place.”

“The birthplace of the Master is a sacred place, a seat of his constant presence, and a holy resort for pilgrims.”

“At the Cossipore Garden the Master spent the last days of his life. The place is associated with so much meditation, Samadhi, and the practice of austerities. It is the place where the Master entered into Mahasamadhi. It is a place permeated with intense spiritual vibration. One realizes God-consciousness by meditating there.”

Regarding the method of consecrating food the Mother said, “Look here, my dear, consider the Master as your very own and say, ‘Come, sit, take, eat.’

And you should think that he has come, is seated, and is eating. What need is there of Mantras and such formalities with regard to one’s own? Those things are like the courtesies and considerations one must show when one’s friends and acquaintances come on a visit; for one’s own, no such thing is necessary. He will accept your gift whatsoever way you may offer it.”

“What else is spiritual life besides praying to the Master, repeating his name and contemplating him? And the Master? What is there after all about him? He is our own eternally.”

“He is my mother, father, friend, relative, acquaintance, my nearest and dearest, and everything.”

“Always think of the Master as your own.”
=='''3 March 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''

“Pray to the Master. He will do everything for you. He is your own, as the moon is the uncle of all children.”

“The Master is the basis of all that we are. He is the ideal. You will never take a false step if you hold onto him under all circumstances.”

“Always remember that Sri Ramakrishna alone is our protector. If you forget this, you will find yourself in a maze.”

Devotee: “Mother, if I pray to the Master silently, will he listen? And should I say anything to the Master without letting you know first?”

Mother grew agitated on hearing this and said, “If he be true, certainly he will hear you.”

“Dreams regarding the Master are real, but he forbade his disciples to narrate, even to him, dreams regarding himself.”

A disciple wrote to the Mother a letter full of despair. After hearing the contents of the letter, she said seriously and forcibly, “How is that possible? Is the name of the Master a mere trifle? Those who come here and think of the Master will certainly see their Chosen Ideal one day. If they cannot do so during their lifetime, they will at least have His vision at the moment before their death.”

Devotee: “It is said that one realizes God by praying to Him sincerely for two or three days. I have been praying for such a long time, but why do I not get any realization?”

Mother: “Everything will come in time, my child. The words of Sri Ramakrishna can never be in vain. Be devoted to him and take shelter at his feet. It is enough to remember that there is some One, call Him father or mother, who is always protecting you.”
=='''4 March 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''

Disciple: “Mother, we do not know what the Master was like. We have not seen him. So, for us you are the Master and everything else.”

Mother: “Don’t fear, my child. The Master will look after you. He will watch over you here and hereafter. He will protect you always.”

“Lay the burden of your mind before Sri Ramakrishna. Tell him about your sorrows with your tears. You will find that he will fill your hands with the desired objects.”

“Keep a picture of the Master before you and know for certain that he is always with you. Open your grief-stricken heart to him. Shed tears and sincerely pray, ‘O Lord, draw me towards you, give me peace of mind.’

By doing so constantly you will gradually attain peace of mind. Have devotion for the Master, and whenever you are in distress, speak it out to him.”

‘‘Sri Ramakrishna was a perfect soul. Certainly, one can be freed from sin by confessing it to one like him.”

“Whoever seeks refuge with the Master finds everything.”

“By remembering him one gets rid of all sufferings.”

“Those who pray to him will easily gain love and knowledge of Brahman.”

‘The path of Brahman is very difficult. Pray to the Master and he will give you the knowledge of Brahman in proper time.”

“The easiest and best way of solving the problems of life is to take the Name of God, of Sri Ramakrishna, in silence.”

“The Master was born on earth this time to liberate all, the rich and the poor, the learned and the-illiterate.

The Malaya breeze is blowing here. He who will unfurl his sail and take refuge in the Master will be blessed indeed.”
=='''5 March 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''REFLECTIONS ON HERSELF'''===
“When the Master departed from this life, I felt like going away too. He appeared before me and said, ‘No, you must remain. There is so much yet to be done.’

In the end I too understood how much there was to be done. He used to say, ‘The people of Calcutta are squirming like worms in the dark. Take care of them.’”

“The Master regarded all creatures as manifestations of the Divine Mother. He left me behind to manifest the motherhood of God.”

“Suppose one of my children has smeared himself with dirt. It is I, and no one else, who shall have to wash him clean and take him in my arms.

To make mistakes is man’ s very nature; but few of those who criticize know how to correct them.”

“My child, several among those who come here are up to anything in life. No type of sin has been left undone by them. But when they come here and address me as Mother, I forget everything and they get more than they deserve.”

“I can’ t contain myself when one draws near me and calls me Mother.’

Girish Ghosh once asked Holy Mother, “What sort of Mother are you?”

At once she replied, “Your real Mother, not just the wife of your Guru, not an adopted mother, not a vague mother. Your real Mother.”
=='''6 March 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''REFLECTIONS ON HERSELF'''===
A disciple asked Holy Mother, “Are you the Mother of all?”

“Yes,” she replied.

“Even of these lower creatures?” he pressed.

“Yes,” answered the Mother.

“My boy, they (the foreigners) too are my children. Can I afford to be partial?”

“Balaram Babu used to refer to me as the ‘great ascetic, the embodiment of forbearance.’ Can you call him a man who is devoid of compassion? He is a veritable beast. Sometimes I forget myself in compassion. Then I do not remember who I am.”

“My son, if so much as a thorn pricks one of you, I feel as if a sword enters my heart!”

“He is unfortunate indeed who does not gain my compassion. I do not know anyone, not even an insect, for whom I do not feel compassion.”

“Do you think that even if this body passes away, I can have any release unless every one of those whose responsibility I have taken on myself is out of bondage? I must constantly live with them. I have taken complete charge of everything, good or bad, regarding them.

Is it easy to give initiation? What a tremendous responsibility have we to accept! How much anxiety have we to suffer for them! Just see! Your father is dead, and that at once made me feel worried about you.

I thought, ‘How is it that the Master is again putting him to test?’ That you may come out of this ordeal Is my constant prayer. For this reason, I gave you all this advice. Can you understand everything I say? If you could do so, that would largely lighten my worries. I cannot simply set aside those whom I have accepted as my own.”

“To a mother a son is always a son.”
=='''7 March 2026'''==
''(Today is the Janma-Tithi of Revered Swami Yoganandaji Maharaj. On this Holy day may the Swami bless us all with Bhakti and Jnana.)''

At the time when Shri Ramakrishna was attracting devotees—old and young—to the temple-garden at Dakshineswar, a young man in his teens, belonging to a neighbouring family, used to visit the garden of Rani Rasmani. He had read of Shri Ramakrishna in the literature of the Brahmo Samaj; but his aristocracy and rural prejudice stood in the way of any personal acquaintance. One day he had a desire for a flower. A man was passing by. The boy took him for a gardener and asked him to pluck the flower for him. The man obliged. Another day the boy saw many people seated in a room in front of that gardener and listening to his discourse. Was this then the Ramakrishna of whom Keshab wrote so eloquently?

The name of the boy was Yogindra Nath Chaudhury. The Master was delighted to know that the boy was the son of Nabin Chandra Chaudhury, his old acquaintance. The Chaudhurys were once very aristocratic and prosperous, but Yogin's parents had become poor. His father was a very orthodox Brahmin and performed many religious festivals. Shri Ramakrishna, during the period of his spiritual striving, had sometimes attended these festivals, and was thus known to the family.

Yogin was born in the year 1861. From his boyhood he was of a contemplative temperament. Even while at play with his companions, he would suddenly grow pensive, stop play and look listlessly at the azure sky. He would feel that he did not belong to this earth, that he had come from somewhere in some other plane of existence and that those who were near about him were not really his kith and kin.

Yogin was about sixteen or seventeen when he met Shri Ramakrishna for the first time. Yogin was very soft-natured. It was difficult for him to hurt even an insect. But sometimes too much gentleness becomes a source of trouble rather than a virtue. Shri Ramakrishna noticed this unreasonable softness in the character of Yogin, and he wanted to set this right. He once noticed that there were some cockroaches in his bundle of clothes and asked Yogin to take the bundle outside the room and kill them. Yogin took the clothes outside the room. But as he was too gentle to kill the insects, he simply threw them away, hoping that the Master would not follow up the matter. But strangely enough he did inquire whether the cockroaches had been killed. When the answer was in the negative, Shri Ramakrishna gave him a mild reproof, for not obeying his words in toto.

A similar incident happened on another day. Yogin was going from Calcutta to Dakshineswar by a country boat in which there were other passengers as well. One of them began to criticise Shri Ramakrishna as being a hypocrite and so on. Yogin felt hurt at such remarks but did not utter even a word of protest. The Master needed no defence from Yogin: he was big enough to be above the reach of any cynicism of fools—Yogin thought. When after coming to Dakshineswar he narrated the incident to Shri Ramakrishna, thinking that the Master would approve of his goodness in not opposing the passengers. The reaction was just the opposite. He took him to task for pocketing the blasphemy heaped upon the Guru. “A disciple should never hear criticisms hurled against his Guru”, said he. “If he cannot protest, he should leave the spot forthwith.”

Once Yogin went to the market to make some purchases for the Master. The cunning shopkeeper feigned to be very religious-minded and Yogin took him to be such. But when he returned to Dakshineswar, he found that the shopkeeper had cheated him. This called for a sharp rebuke from the Master. “A man may aspire to be religious; but that is no reason why he should be a fool”, said Shri Ramakrishna by way of correcting him.

Though Yogin trusted a man easily and had the simplicity of a child, he was not a simpleton. Rather he had a keen discriminating mind and was critical in his outlook. But his critical attitude once led him into a quandary. One night he slept in the same room with the Master, but when he woke up in the dead of night he missed him and saw that the door was open.

At first he felt curious, then he became suspicious as to where he could have gone at such an unearthly hour. He came outside, but Shri Ramakrishna could not be seen. Did he then go to his wife who was staying at the concert-house just opposite? —Yogin thought. Then Shri Ramakrishna was not what he himself professed to be!

Yogin wanted to probe into the mystery and stood near the concert-house to see if he came out of the room. After some time, Shri Ramakrishna came from the Panchavati side and was surprised to see Yogin standing near the concert-house. Yogin was stupefied and felt ashamed of himself for his suspicion. A more sinful act could, never be conceived of to suspect even in thought the purity of a saint like Shri Ramakrishna!

The Master understood the whole situation and said encouragingly, “Yes, one should observe a Sadhu by day as well as at night.” With these words he returned to his room, followed mutely by Yogin.
=='''8 March 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''REFLECTIONS ON HERSELF'''===
A devotee who had come seeking initiation was prevented from seeing the Mother according to Swami Saradananda’s instructions, because of her continuous suffering from malaria. Hearing this she said firmly, “What has Sarat to say? That’s why we have come. I shall initiate him.”

“Whatever I must give, I have given at the time of initiation. If you want peace immediately, practise the spiritual disciplines prescribed. Otherwise, you will achieve it only after the fall of the body.”

To an attendant who noticed Mother doing Japa late at night in her bed. Mother said, “What can I do, my son? The boys come and entreat me eagerly. They take the Mantra and go home. But nobody does any Japa regularly. Some don’ t do it even once. Yet as I have shouldered the burden, should I not look after them? That’s why I do Japa and pray to the Master, ‘O Master, grant them enlightenment, grant them emancipation, and do take on yourself their care in every way here and hereafter.’”

“I entrust all the responsibility to the Master and to him I pray every day, ‘Do please look after every one of them, wherever they may be.’ And mind you, these Mantras have all come from the Master, he gave them to me and they are of proved efficacy.

“The Master is sending these (candidates). I am nobody. It is the Master who graciously blesses them. I am only his instrument.”

‘Mark you, I haven’ t given you the Mantra; it’s the Master who has done so.”
=='''9 March 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''REFLECTIONS ON HERSELF'''===
A disciple who had developed mental aberration returned his rosary to the Mother. When a monk asked her whether he had returned the Mantra also, she replied, “Can that ever be? It’s a living Mantra. Can there be any giving back of it, the Mantra that one has once received, the great Mantra that it is? If one has but once a love for his Guru, can he ever be despoiled of it?”

To a newly initiated disciple Mother said, “From now on the Master will take care of you. He is yours and you are his. He is your Guru, your Ishta. I have offered your life at his feet.”

“But how am I to think of you, Mother?”, the disciple asked. She paused for a while and said, “Well, think of me as one with him (meaning Sri Ramakrishna).”

“He is here in this body in a subtle form. The Master himself declared, ‘I shall live within you in a subtle form.’”

Disciple: “Does the Master appear to you always; does he eat from your hand even now?”

Mother: “Are we distinct?”

“My son, the devotees say that in me the Master alone is present.”

When a disciple asked why she wept like an ordinary person at the death of her young nephew.

Mother replied, “I live as a householder. I must taste the fruit of the tree of the world. That is why I weep.

Sri Ramakrishna once remarked, ‘When God is incarnated in a human body. He acts exactly like a man. He feels the same hunger, thirst, sickness, grief and fear as others do. Even Brahman weeps when caught in the trap of the five elements.’”

Mother remarked, regarding the apparent attachments in her life, “The Master kept my mind bound down by all these things for the sake of his work. Otherwise, could it have been possible for me to stay on after he left?”

“People come to me and say, ‘I have no peace in life, I never feel the presence of God, tell me how to find peace,’ and so on. Then I look at them and at myself and wonder why they talk in this manner. Is everything about me beyond the common run? I have never known unrest. And as far as the presence of God, it’s mine for the taking. I can see Him whenever I like.”
=='''10 March 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''REFLECTIONS ON HERSELF'''===
Disciple: “Do you ever remember your real nature?”

Mother: “Yes, I recall it now and then. At that time, I say to myself, ‘What is this that I am doing? What is all this about?’ Then I remember the house, buildings and children and forget my real self.”

“God loves to sport as a human being.”

“Sri Krishna played with the shepherd boys, laughed and walked with them; ate of the food they had touched; but did they know who He was?”

“It’s only by accepting an illusion that I am so. This is nothing but continuing in the midst of an illusion.”

Disciple: “Well, Mother, do you always remember your real nature?”

Mother: “How could that be? How, then, could I perform all these duties? But even in the midst of my activities, whenever I wish I can understand by the slightest effort that all this is the mere play of Mahamaya.”

“I tell you, my daughter, know this body (pointing to her own) to be divine.”

Disciple: “X- says that one should not stay near one’s Guru for long; for he says that at the sight of the common worldly dealings of the Guru the disciple often loses much of his love and respect.”

Mother (with a laugh): “Don’t you lose heart, my son, at such talks. In that case how will my work be carried on? Off with such great ideas as divinity; think of me as a human being and go on doing the work just as at present, following my direction and using your intelligence. Have no fear whatsoever.”
=='''11 March 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''REFLECTIONS ON HERSELF'''===
“The excessive manifestation of divinity creates fear in the minds of devotees; they cannot feel intimate.”

One morning Holy Mother was assisting in husking paddy. It was almost her daily job.

A disciple asked her, “Mother, why should you work so hard?”

“My child,” she said in reply, “I have done much more than is necessary to make my life a model.”

When one day a disciple protested about her strenuous life. Mother said, “My child, it is good to be active.” Remaining silent for a few minutes she said gravely, “Please bless me that I may serve others as long as I live.”

When her devotees protested the many personal services she rendered them. Mother silenced them by saying with overflowing feeling, “What after all have I done for you? Am I not your mother? Is it not the privilege of a mother to serve her child in every way-even to clean its dirt with her own hand?”

“Now that you are with your mother, what’s the need of so much Japa and meditation? I, indeed, am doing everything for you. Now eat and live merrily, free from all care.”

Disciple: “Mother, you have hundreds of children, and I am only one of them. But to me you are my only mother. Bless me so that I may be a worthy child of yours.”

Mother: “Well my child, surely the Master will look after you. It is for your good that he has brought you here. Always think of the Master as your own. Think of me as your own mother and depend on us in all matters.”
=='''12 March 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''REFLECTIONS ON HERSELF'''===
“Do not fear, my child. Always remember that the Master is behind you. I am also with you. As long as you remember me, your mother, why should you be frightened? The Master said to me, “In the end I shall certainly liberate those who come to you.’”

“Whoever has come here, whoever is my son is already redeemed. Destiny dares not throw my children into hell. Free yourself from all anxiety by entrusting your future to me. And remember this always, that there is one behind you who will come to you at the right moment and lead you to the everlasting domain.”

“I am the mother of the wicked, as I am the mother of the virtuous. Never fear. Whenever you are in distress, just say to yourself, ‘I have a mother.’”

Amjad, a Muslim bandit, built the wall for Holy Mother’s new house. One day she invited him for a meal, which was arranged on the porch of her house. Nalini began to throw the food at Amjad’s plate from a distance.

Mother noticed this and said, “How can one enjoy food if it is offered with such scorn? Let me wait on him properly.” After he had finished his meal. Mother cleaned the place with her own hands. Nalini shrieked, “Aunt, you have lost your caste!”

“Keep quiet,” said Mother. “As Sarat(Swami Saradananda) is my son, exactly so is Amjad.”
=='''13 March 2026'''==
''(Teachings of The Holy Mother)''
==='''REFLECTIONS ON HERSELF'''===
A woman who had led a bad life went to Mother in a mood of sincere repentance and made an unreserved confession of her sins. Mother embraced her great warmth of feeling, saying, `Do not despair for whatever you have done. You will get over all your sinful tendencies. Come, I shall initiate you.

lay everything at the Master’s feet and cast away all fear.

A college student used to visit Mother’s place quite frequently. One day while taking leave of her, he suddenly said, `Mother I am no good for this place, I am unfit to come to you. I will say goodbye forever. He quickly left the house.

Mother ran after him, caught his shirt, and pulled him toward her, she put her hands on his shoulders. Looking at him eye to eye she said in a firm voice, “Whenever any disturbing thought comes to your mind, think of me. Do not worry!” With those words she let him go.

While going home the boy repeated Mother’s words over and over again: “Think of me; think of me; think of me.” He could not forget those two beautiful compassionate eyes of the Mother. Constantly he thought of those eyes of the Mother and those words, “Think of me.”

He became a monk later and led a very exemplary life. He narrated this incident to a brother monk who is presently a senior member of the Ramakrishna Order.
=='''14 March 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''How to Follow Christ and Disregard the World’s Prizes'''===
The Lord says, “Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness’. Christ encourages us to pattern our lives after his so we can become spiritually enlightened. Our most important task, then, is to meditate on the life of Jesus Christ.

Christ’s teaching is superior to all the teachings of the saints, and if you have the Spirit you will discover through him “the hidden manna’ of the Word.

Many who have heard the gospel all their lives have not been affected by it because they do not have Christ’s Spirit. If you truly want to understand and enjoy the words of Christ you must attempt to live like him.

What is the point of scholarly discussion of a deep subject like the Unity, if you lack humility?

You can be sure that profound talk does not make anyone holy and just, but a pure life pleases God. I would rather feel contrition than know its definition!

If you knew the entire Bible by heart and were familiar with all the philosophers, what good would it all be without the love of God and his grace?

Anything other than loving and serving God is ‘useless, useless... all useless’.
=='''15 March 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''How to Follow Christ and Disregard the World’s Prizes'''===
Here is the wisest thing you can do: forget the world and seek the things of heaven.

It is pointless, then, to desire and trust perishable wealth.

It is also pointless to search after honours or to be a social climber.

It is useless to give in to physical desires and to crave wrong things when indulging ourselves will only bring severe punishment.

It is futile to wish for a long life, and then to give so little care to living well.

It is nothing but vanity to think only of this present life and to ignore the future.

It is vain to care about things that are quickly passing away rather than to hurry to the place of everlasting joy.

Repeat this proverb frequently: ‘Our eyes can never see enough to be satisfied; our ears can never hear enough’. Try, then, to turn your heart away from the love of things that can be seen, and to start loving the things that cannot be seen.

Those who follow the way of sensuality will have a nagging conscience and lose God’s Favour.
==='''Have a Humble Opinion of ourselves'''===
It is natural for all of us to desire knowledge, but what is the value of knowledge without respect for God?

The most ordinary person who serves God is better than a proud philosopher who neglects himself while studying the stars. If you really know yourself, you will see that nothing about yourself is worthy of praise. I may have all knowledge and understand all secrets... but if I have no love, I am nothing’.

When I stand in God’s presence, I am judged by the things I do.
=='''16 March 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''How to Follow Christ and Disregard the World’s Prizes'''===
Great learning can be a distraction; it can make you try to appear wise in order to win praise. There are many things you can know which will be of little value to your soul, and it is not wise to waste your time on them.

Words do not nourish the soul, but a life well-lived brings comfort to the mind.

A clear conscience will give you confidence before God.

If you think you know a lot about something, remind yourself that there are many more things you do not know.

‘Do not be proud but accept humble duties. Do not think of yourselves as wise’. If you want to learn something worthwhile, learn how to be a nobody.

The most profound and valuable lesson of all is to truly know yourself and to have a humble opinion of yourself.

Think well of others. If you see someone else engaging in a sinful act or a crime, do not let that make you think more highly of yourself.

“You do not know how long it may be before you also stumble. All of us are frail; consider yourself no stronger than anybody else!
=='''17 March 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''True Education'''===
‘Lord, how happy is the person you instruct, the one to whom you teach your law!’.

Our opinions and senses frequently mislead us. ‘What do we gain from all our work?... He has given us a desire to know the future but never gives us the satisfaction of fully understanding what he does’. We won’t be held responsible for this ignorance.

O God of truth, unite me with yourself in everlasting love. I am tired of reading and hearing many things. All I desire is you.

Silence all teachers, let every creature be hushed reverently in your presence. Speak to me, Lord, intimately.

The more a person is in harmony with himself and the simpler he is inwardly, the more he understands intuitively. He receives divine illumination.

A pure, honest, and stable spirit is not distracted by a lot of activity. He does everything to honour God and is at rest within himself. He seeks to be free from all selfishness.

A good, devout person considers inwardly the things he intends to do outwardly. Who has a greater struggle than one who tries to overcome himself? And this is our job: to work at conquering ourselves, to become stronger each day, and to make a little progress toward goodness.

Even our best efforts have imperfections, and all of our thinking includes some stupidity.

A humble understanding of ourselves is a more certain way to God than the most in-depth study.

But learning is not to be condemned! Knowledge is good. It is God’s gift to us.

However, a clear conscience and a decent life are superior to it. The fruitless error comes in desiring to know much, rather, than to live well.
=='''18 March 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''True Education'''===
If we were as careful in weeding out vices and planting virtues as we are in scholarly research, we would not have so much evil and scandal among us, or so much carelessness in religious houses.

You can be certain of this: when the Day of Judgment comes, we shall not be asked what we have read, but what we have done; not how well we have spoken, but how well we have lived.

Tell me, where now are all the great doctors and masters you used to know? Others sit in their offices, and the former ones already are forgotten. See how soon this world’s glory fades!

Authentic greatness is found in great love.

He is genuinely great who considers himself small, and cares nothing about high honours.

I am truly wise if I look upon all earthly things ‘as mere trash’.

And the greatest of all is he that does the will of God while denying himself.

Prudent living

We should not be too credulous. We need to carefully consider everything we hear. We should spend time in thought before God. Sadly, we are so weak that we frequently believe and repeat ugly rumours rather many good things. It is best not to accept every report. Human beings have a tendency to evil and even the most reliable sources make mistakes.
=='''19 March 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''

Prudent living

“Enthusiasm without knowledge is not good; impatience will get you into trouble’.

In a similar manner, don’t believe everything you hear. Don’t be quick to pour it into others’ ears.

The more humility you have and the more subject you are to God, the wiser you will be, and the more at peace.
==='''Reading the Bible'''===
Look for truth in the Bible, not eloquence. Every verse should be read in the spirit with which it was written.

Read the devout and simple books as gladly as the learned and profound. Don’t worry about the writer’s authority, or his level of education.

Allow the love of simple truth to attract you. Don’t ask, ‘Who said this?’ Instead, pay attention to what is said.

People die, but God’s Word will never pass away.

Sometimes our curiosity interferes with our Bible reading. You want to discuss and understand parts we should simply pass by.

If you want to make your Scripture reading worthwhile, read with humility, simplicity, and faith. Don’t try to appear learned.

Listen in silence to the words of the holy men and take pleasure in the teachings of the elders. They spoke with good reason.
=='''20 March 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Controlling Excess Desire'''===
If you want something obsessively, you will be restless within yourself. The arrogant and the greedy can never relax. It is the poor and the spiritually humble who know what peace is.

If you are not yet able to deny yourself, you will be easily tempted. Small, insignificant things will make you their slave.

The spiritually weak prefer sensuality and are not able to give up earthly desires completely. That’s why they are sad when they must abandon something and easily angered when opposed.

Suppose you get something you want. Soon you may be remorseful to have that thing. Surrendering to your passions will not help you find peace. Only by resisting them can you be truly at peace.

There is simply no peace in the heart of a person who lives an animal existence or who places all importance on outward things. Peace is reserved for the sincerely spiritual person.
==='''Taking Charge'''===
Be free! Master yourself! Make sure that all things are under you, and that you are not under them. Don’t be a slave to anything. Be free!
==='''Pride and Humility'''===
The Lord says, ‘I will condemn the person who turns away from me and puts his trust in man, in the strength of mortal man’.

Do not be ashamed to serve others because of your love for Jesus Christ, or to appear poor in the world’s eyes.

Do not count on your own strength, trust God. Do what you can, and God will supply the difference.

‘Wise men should not boast of their wisdom, nor strong men of their strength, nor rich men of their wealth’.
=='''21 March 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''

You must put on the apron of humility, to serve one another; for the scripture says, ‘God resists the proud, but shows favour to the humble’’.

Take glory neither in money, if you have some, nor in influential friends, but in God who gives you everything and above all wants to give you himself.

Avoid boasting about the size or beauty of your body, which a little illness can disfigure or destroy.

Have no pride in your native wit and talent; that would displease God who gave you every good thing that you naturally possess.

Reject the thought that you are better than anyone else.

If you think such haughty thoughts, God will consider you worse than they.

Pride about our good deeds is pointless. God has his own ideas regarding what is good and he does not always agree with us. If there is anything good about you, believe better things of others. This will keep you humble.

It will not hurt you at all to consider yourself less righteous than others, but it will be disastrous for you to consider yourself better than even one person.

The humble are always at peace; the proud are often envious and angry.
=='''22 March 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Guarding the Mouth'''===
Avoid small talk as much as you can. Even shop talk can be a great hindrance. Sometimes I wish I had remained silent; that I had not spoken in a crowd.

Our chattering is an escape from unwelcome thinking. We keep the conversation on comfortable subjects. Small comfort! Sometimes it even robs us of inward consolation.

Watch and pray, so that you won’t waste your time. If you want to talk about something, discuss a worthwhile subject.

Failing to guard your mouth is a very bad habit. But reverent discussion of spiritual matters can help us all grow, especially when the group that is garnered is unified in God.
==='''Finding Peace'''===
We will have much peace if we refrain from minding the business of others.

Those with a unity of purpose are blessed with such peace.

Do you know why some of the saints were so genuine and contemplative? It was because they worked hard at being free from earthly desires. This allowed them to move closer to God and to develop their inner life freely.

We are enslaved too much by our emotions, and we worry too much about transitory things.

Only occasionally do we win out over even one vice, and no desire burns within us to improve daily the quality of our behaviour.

That is why we continue to be apathetic and cold. If we could overcome ourselves, and not be all mixed-up in our hearts, then we would be delighted with spiritual things and have a little experience with heavenly contemplation.
=='''23 March 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''

Our main problem-our only problem-is that we are caught in a spider’s web of passions and lusts and have no desire for a higher way.

When even a minor problem comes up, we are immediately discouraged and turn to earthly kinds of comforts.

But if we try to be brave and stand firm in the battle, God certainly will help us. He presents us with the challenge and stands ready to assist us. All we need to do is trust his free gift of grace and we will win.

We would be well on the way to perfection if we could weed out one vice from ourselves each year. But we often find that we were better persons just after our conversion than we are after many years of being a Christian.

Every day that passes should make us more like Christ but we tend to grow cooler rather than warmer.

If we would make big demands on ourselves at the beginning, we would find it easier going later. It is a hard job to quit old habits, and it is even more difficult to resist our own desires. But if you can’t handle small things, how will you deal with big ones?

Put up a fight right at the beginning.

Break a bad, habit Otherwise, it may draw you by small steps you never notice into greater difficulty.
=='''24 March 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''

If you had any idea how much inward peace you would gain for yourself, and how much joy you would bring to others, by devoting yourself singleheartedly to God, you would certainly pay more attention to your spiritual progress.
==='''The Value of Adversity'''===
Sometimes it is good for us to have troubles and crosses to bear. Adversity can return us to our senses. It can remind us that we are here as refugees, and that we must not place our trust in anything belonging to the world.

It is good that people sometimes misunderstand us, that they have a poor opinion of us even when our intentions are good. Such experiences lead us toward humility and protect us from conceit. Under trying circumstances, we seek God all the more. Our inner life grows stronger when we are outwardly condemned.

If you will fully establish yourself in God, you will not need the consolation of others. When we are troubled with temptation and evil thoughts, then we see dearly the great need we have of God, since without him we can do nothing good.

Then with weariness and sorrow we may ‘want very much to leave this life and be with Christ”, for we understand that absolute security and peace do not exist in this world.
==='''How to Resist Temptation'''===
As long as we live in this world, we will endure trials and temptations. As it is written in Job,

“Human life is like forced army service,

like a life of hard manual labour,

like a slave longing for a cool shade;

like a worker waiting for his pay”.
=='''25 March 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''How to Resist Temptation'''===
Be careful therefore, about your own temptations. Pray about them. Be alert, be on the watch! Your enemy the Devil roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour”.

No one is so good that he is immune to temptation; we will never be entirely free of it.

Still temptation can be a service to us. It may be a burden, but it can bring us humility and teach us good lessons.

All of the saints experienced more than their share of trials and temptations, and they grew as a result.

There is no group so holy no place so far away that it can shield us from all distractions and difficulties.

No one living on earth is entirely free from temptation. The reason is that we are born with the source of temptation within us; we are trapped by our own evil desire.

We are fallen men living east of Eden. Therefore, tribulation will never leave us and one temptation will always follow on the heels of another.

Many people try to run away from temptations only to fall even harder. Trying to escape is not the solution. What makes us stronger than any of our enemies is patience and humility.

If you only try to avoid temptations outwardly you will not get very far. Like weeds in a poorly cultivated garden, they will soon return worse than before.

Gradually, by patience and persistence, with God’s help, you will win a victory that could never be yours through the violence of your own fretful efforts.
=='''26 March 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''How to Resist Temptation'''===
Seek counsel when you are tempted, and don’t be hard on someone else who is tempted. Give him the same loving support you would want for yourself.

Two things increase temptation’s hold on you: an indecisive mind and little confidence in God.

As a ship without a rudder is driven this way and that by the tossing waves, so the careless and irresolute person is battered by temptations on every side.

Fire tests iron; temptation tests an honest person. Sometimes we don’t know what we can do until temptation shows us what we are.

But don’t play with fire!

It is far easier to deal successfully with temptation in the beginning, when the flames are still controllable.

The time to deal with the enemy is while he remains outside the door of your heart. Take him on as soon as you hear the first knock. As a saint said, “Prevent the illness; medicine comes too late.’

First a mere thought comes to mind; then a strong imagination works on it. Pleasure may come, followed by a tendency to evil, and suddenly, we are hooked.

Little by little the enemy takes over because we let him get his foot in the door. The longer we put off resisting, the weaker we become.

Some people are tempted most strongly at the beginning of their spiritual life, others near the end. Some are troubled all their lives. Still others receive only light temptation. Such things are decided by God and we can trust his wisdom.

Therefore, we must not despair when we are tempted. Instead, we must pray to God all the more sincerely, asking him to help.
=='''27 March 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''How to Resist Temptation'''===
Saint Paul has assured us, “Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength also to endure it and so provide you with a way out’.

‘Humble yourselves, then, under God’s mighty hand’ in all temptation and difficulty, for he will save and honour those who are humble in spirit.

It is no great accomplishment to be devout and fervent when your life is running smoothly, but patient endurance in troubled times is strong confirmation of your growth in grace.

Some are spared great temptations, only to be trapped by little ones each day. Being weak in small things, they never receive the big assignments.
==='''Passing Judgment'''===
Take a good look at yourself; don’t judge what others do. your evaluation of someone else will often be mistaken, but you can be fruitfully honest with yourself.

Living with imperfections in Others.

Try to be patient with the defects and blemishes in others, because you also have many things about you that they must endure. If you can’t make yourself what you want to be, how can you expect to remake somebody else?

We would like to see another person perfect, and yet we ignore our own faults. We would be pleased if others were severely corrected, but we are reluctant to accept similar treatment for ourselves. We want the law to apply to everybody but not to ourselves.

It is clear that we don’t measure our neighbours and ourselves by the same standard.

If everyone were perfect, there-would be nothing in others for us to bear with for God’s sake. But God has seen to it that we must “help to carry one another’s burdens”.

For no one is without fault,

no one is without burden,

no one is self-sufficient,

no one is wise enough on his own. Therefore, we must support one another comfort one another help, teach, and caution one another.
=='''28 March 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Peace'''===
==='''Peace does Not Come from Others'''===
Friend, if you expect to find peace in the friendship of any person, you are likely to be disappointed. But if you are intimate with God, the disloyalty or death of a friend will not crush you.

Base your love for your friend on God, for without him, friendship is weak and won’t last. Love that is bonded together by God is pure and true.
==='''Life in a Monastery'''===
You must learn how to overcome many of your own desires if you want to live peacefully and in harmony with others.

It is a great accomplishment to live in a religious community, or be a part of a congregation, without complaining, and to stick with it faithfully until you die.

You must be willing to seem a fool for Christ’s sake if you want to live a religious life.

Wearing special clothes and shaving your head contribute nothing to your spiritual life but changing your behaviour and controlling your emotions make you truly religious.

If you pursue anything other than God and the salvation of your soul you will find trouble and sorrow.

You will not have peace unless you try to be the least, subordinate to all.

You came here to serve, not to rule. Now it is your duty to endure difficulties tolerantly and to work, not to rest idly and waste time in small talk.

Here, we are tested as gold in the furnace. Here, no one can stand the test-unless he is willing with all his heart to be humble before God.
=='''29 March 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Compare yourself with Early Christians'''===
Consider the early Christians’ shining examples of faithfulness, and you will see how little we do. There is no comparison!

The saints and followers of Christ served the Lord in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness, in toil and weariness, in observances and fasts, in prayer and holy meditation, in persecution and disgrace.

All day long they laboured, and at night they prayed continually. Even at work, they prayed silently.

Every hour they spent with God seemed short. They enjoyed this communion so much they sometimes forgot to eat.

They were strangers to the world, but they were God’s close companions.

After you have seen such examples of faith, it will be difficult for you to fall asleep spiritually.
==='''Essentials for Each Day'''===
A Christian ought to be as virtuous inside as he appears outside to others. No, he should be better in his heart than on the surface. Because God sees every part of us, we should be reverent before him and live as pure as angels in his sight.

We should pray every day saying, ‘Help me, O Lord God! These are my good intentions in your service. Let me begin this day to settle down to the serious business of living a pure life, for what I have done so far is nothing.’

The firmer we stick to our purpose, the more we will advance. And if the one who tries the hardest frequently fails, what will become of the less enthusiastic? Remember that our best intentions do not depend upon us for fulfillment but upon God.
=='''30 March 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Compare yourself with Early Christians'''===
We are to rely on God for whatever we try to do. “You may make your plans, but God alone directs your actions’.

Even if we do the best we can, we will still fail many times. Yet we must always plan something definite, plot a course, especially as we battle our greatest personal weaknesses.

Determine a plan of action in the morning and then evaluate yourself at night. How have you behaved today? What were your words, your deeds, your thoughts? It may be that you have offended God or your neighbour.

Never be completely at rest. Read, or write, or pray, or meditate, or do something good for the community.

Everyone cannot profit from the same kind of spiritual practices; one is better for you, and another is better for someone else.

In the same way we must choose spiritual practices that suit the occasion. There are different ways for dealing with holidays and regular days, temptation and peace, sadness and happiness.

The point is that we should prepare ourselves for a good departure from this earth.

‘How happy that servant is,’ says the gospel writer, Luke, If his master finds him doing this when he comes home! Indeed, I tell you, the master will put that servant in charge of all his property’.
=='''31 March 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Enjoy Being Alone and Quiet'''===
Watch for good times to retreat into yourself. Frequently meditate on how good God is to you. Skip the tricky questions. Read things which will move your heart. If you will stop chattering and gossiping, you will find plenty of time for valuable meditation.

You will find in your ‘closet of prayer’ what you frequently lose when you are out in the world. The more you visit it the more you will want to return. But the longer you avoid it the harder it will be to come back. If you are faithful to your secret place, it will become your closest friend and bring you much comfort.

In silence and stillness, a devout person grows spiritually and learns the hidden things of the Bible. The tears shed there bring cleansing. God will draw near the person who withdraws for a while.

It is better for you to look after yourself this way in private than to perform wonders in public while neglecting your soul.

Turn to God Almighty. Ask him to forgive your sins and oversights. Leave trivial things to the trivial. ‘Go to your room, close the door’, and speak with Jesus, your Beloved. Stay there with him. Nowhere else will you find this kind of peace.
=='''1 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Dealing with Malicious Gossip'''===
Friend, stay near God and don’t worry about what others think of you when you have a clear conscience.

It is a good thing to suffer such misjudgment. If you are humble, it won’t even bother you. Many people say things that are not worth hearing.

It is impossible to satisfy everyone. Paul became ‘all things to all men’. And yet he said, ‘I am not at all concerned about being judged by you or by any human standard; I don’t even pass judgment on myself.’

He did everything he could to lead others to Christ, but he still had plenty of detractors.

This is how Paul preserved his sanity: he turned it all over to God who knows everything. When necessary, Paul faced those who tried to raise their own status by climbing over him. He answered their charges with humility and patience in order to protect others who might be hurt by his silence.

The Lord says:-

I am the one who strengthens you. Why should you fear mortal man, who is no more enduring than grass?’.

What power does anyone have to injure you with words? He hurts himself, not you. And he will be unable to escape God’s judgement, regardless of who he is. Keep God in sight and ignore other’s abuse.
==='''Understanding Human Misery'''===
You will suffer wherever you are, unless you are with God.

Why are you upset when things don’t go the way you wish? Who gets everything his way? I don’t. You don’t. No one does. Not one person on earth, not even a king or a pope, has a problem-free life.

Do you know who can deal with troubles best? It is the person who is willing to suffer something for God.
=='''2 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Understanding Human Misery'''===
Thoughtless people say, ‘Look at the happy life that person leads! Money! Prestige! Power!’

But if you consider the riches of heaven, you will see that these earthly things are inconsequential, undependable, and more a burden than a privilege. They are always accompanied by anxiety and fear.

Our happiness does not depend upon owning a lot of things; enough to get along will do.

life on earth involves misery. The spiritually perceptive person is even more aware of this because he sees clearly the effects of human corruption.

For that matter to eat and drink, to sleep and wake, to work and rest, and to be forced to obey the other requirements of nature can become a great annoyance to a devout person who would almost prefer to live without a body!

Friend, don’t give up your spiritual journey. You still have time. Why do you keep putting off your decision day after day? “You can start immediately.

You can say: This is the moment to start moving. Now is the time to begin the fight and to change my ways.”

How great is our weakness of character! Today you will confess your sins; tomorrow you will commit the same ones again. Right now, you intend to do better. In an hour, you will behave as though this moment never happened.

We have every reason, therefore, to be humble, we are so weak and unstable.
=='''3 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Thinking About Death'''===
You won’t last long here. Think about what will become of you in another world. You are here today and gone tomorrow.

How sad is the dullness and hardness of our hearts! We only think about the present and have little concern for what is to come.

Instead, we should plan every word and action as though we were going to die today. If you had a clean conscience you would not be afraid to die. It is better to run away from sin than from death.

If you are not ready for death today, do you think you will be any more prepared tomorrow? Tomorrow is not guaranteed. How can you be sure you’ll even live until tomorrow?

living a long time doesn’t make us better persons automatically. Sometimes the years only increase our burden of guilt not the quality of our behaviour.

It would be wonderful if we could live even one day well. Many can tell you the date of their conversion, but their lives have little to show for it.

The person who thinks about his own death and daily prepares to the will be blessed. If you ever watch another person die, remember that you must also pass the same way.

When morning comes, think that you will not live until sunset. At night don’t promise yourself a morning. Always be ready, live in such a way that death will never catch you unprepared. You must always be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting him’.

When your last hour comes, you will have a new perspective on your entire life, and you will be deeply troubled if you have been careless and negligent.

listen! This is the hour to receive God’s favour; today is the day to be saved!’. The time will come when you will beg for one day or one hour to make amends, and you may not be granted it.
=='''4 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''

Try to live now so that when your time comes to die, you will be glad rather than afraid. Discover how to die to the world so you can start living with Christ.

It is foolish to think that you will have a long life. You can’t even be sure you will get through today! Many have been snatched suddenly out of this world.

Think of the times you have heard of someone drowning, or choking to death, or dying while playing a sport Fire, weapons, sickness, violent thieves - these unexpected threats are constantly present with us.

“We grow and wither as quickly as flowers; we disappear like shadows’’.

Do it now. Do whatever you can do right now. You never know when your opportunity will be ended by death. While you have the time, start collecting heavenly treasures. Think about nothing but your spiritual health. Care about nothing but the things of God.

Live as a stranger and a refugee in this world - as one who has nothing to do with earthly things. Keep your heart free and lifted up to God, ‘for there is no permanent city for us here on earth; we are looking for the city which is to come”.

That is where to send your prayers, sighs, and tears. Then, when you die, your spirit will be joyfully at home with Christ.
=='''5 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Divine Judgment'''===
Always consider the end-how you will stand before God, your judge, from whom nothing can be kept secret. He cannot be bribed, and will not be deceived by flimsy excuses, but will certainly judge you honestly.

If you are sometimes disturbed by the expression on an angry person’s face, how will you feel before God, who knows everything about your foolish and sinful life? The time to do your weeping and pleading is now, while it can still accomplish good for you and in you.

Here is the picture of a patient and purifying life:

Though you receive injuries, you are more troubled by the other’s malice than by any wrong done to you.

You willingly pray for your enemies and sincerely forgive them. If you have offended or hurt someone else, you are quick to ask for pardon.

Compassion is stronger in you than anger.

You passionately overcome your own will in order to subdue your body to your spirit.

It is better to eliminate sinful behaviour here than to deal with it hereafter. What fuel shall the fires have but your sins?

There is no future in anything, then, except loving and serving God. If you love God with all your heart, you will not be afraid of death, or punishment, or judgment, or hell. Perfect love brings divine security. But if that love is not yet strong enough in you to keep you from sinning, then maybe the fear of hell will restrain you.
=='''6 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Good Advice for Good living'''===
Trust in the Lord and do good; live in the land and be safe. Seek your happiness in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desire. Give yourself to the Lord; Trust in him, and he will help you’.

Carefully avoid in yourself those things which disturb you in others.

Pick some profitable fruit wherever you are. If you see or hear a good example, burn the imitation of it into your soul. But if you observe behaviour that is harmful avoid it like a snake. And if you already have committed the same sin yourself, get busy and make amends.

Just as you observe others’ actions, they observe yours.

You will always be glad at night, if you have lived the day fruitfully: Cautiously watch yourself. Whatever happens to others, don’t neglect your own spiritual life.
=='''7 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''ADVICE CONCERNING INWARD THINGS'''===
==='''The Inner Life'''===
‘The kingdom of God is within you,’ says the Lord. Turn wholeheartedly to God, give up this miserable world, and you will discover rest for your soul. Learn to scorn outward things; concentrate on what goes on inside yourself. If you do, you will see the Kingdom of God come to you.

For God’s kingdom is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of the righteousness, peace, and joy which the Holy Spirit gives”.

And that is not given to vicious people.

Christ will come to you, bringing his special consolation with him, if you prepare a worthy place for him within yourself. The glory and beauty of Christ is an inner thing. He enjoys frequent visits quietly inside you. His conversation is deliriously pleasant- his comfort and peace are tremendous. It is marvellous to be his familiar friend.

Prepare yourself, faithful soul, to welcome your loves that he may come to you and live with you as your spouse. This is what he says, “Whoever accepts my commandments and obeys them is the one who loves me. My father will love whoever loves me; I too will love him and reveal myself to him”.

When you have Christ you are rich. He is enough. He will provide everything you need so you won’t have to count on others without him.

People change and fail. You cannot depend upon them. Those that are for you today may be against you tomorrow. They are as variable as the wind. But Christ is eternally faithful.
=='''8 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''ADVICE CONCERNING INWARD THINGS'''===
Put all of your trust in God. Reverently love him. He will look out for you. ‘For there is no permanent city for us here on earth; we are looking for the city which is to come’.

Wherever you may be, you are a stranger and a pilgrim. You will never really rest until you are united inwardly with Christ. Why are you looking around for a resting place here? This is not your home; heaven is. Everything here is transitory and you are no exception.

If you need help in learning how to meditate on high and heavenly things, think about Christ’s willingness to die on the cross, live for a while in his sacred wounds. This will bring you great comfort in tribulation and will take the sting out of any trouble the world sends your way.

Christ was in the world just as you are. He was despised and rejected, and his best friends deserted him when he was in deep trouble.

Christ was willing to suffer; do you dare to complain? Christ had enemies and detractors; so, you want everyone to be your friend and benefactor?

There is no way your patience can receive a heavenly crown if you face no earthly problems. If you will not accept any opposition, how will you be Christ’s friend?

If even once you have truly discovered the secrets of the Lord Jesus, and tasted a sample of his great love, then you will not care two cents for your own convenience or inconvenience.
=='''9 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''ADVICE CONCERNING INWARD THINGS'''===
A lover of Jesus and of the Truth, a genuinely sincere Christian who is free from encumbering desires, can spontaneously turn to God, lift himself above himself spiritually and fruitfully linger there.

If you can evaluate things as they really are, and not as people report them to be, then you are wise, and God is your teacher.
==='''Humility'''===
Don’t pay much attention to who is for you and who is against you.

This is your major concern: that God be with you in everything you do. If you have a good conscience, God will be your defender and no man can hurt you.

If you can suffer silently, you will see how the Lord can help. God knows when and how to rescue you. Trust him.

It can be helpful for others to know our faults and blame us for them. Such experiences keep us humble, and humility goes a long way toward reconciling us to others.

God protects and helps the humble; he loves and comforts them. He notices their humility; he pours out his grace on them.

When a humble one has been cast down, God raises him to glory. He tells his secrets to the humble. He draws them by invitation to himself. If you are humble, you will be at peace even while experiencing shame, because your foundation is God and not the world.
=='''10 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''ADVICE CONCERNING INWARD THINGS'''===
==='''Humility'''===
Do not think that you have made any progress at all, until you see less virtue in yourself than in anybody else.
==='''It is Good to Be Peaceable'''===
If you are at peace yourself, then you will be able to help others become peaceable. An excitable person distorts things, and readily believes the worst, but a calm person can turn even bad circumstances into good ones.

If you are at peace, you will not be suspicious of others. But if you are discontented and troubled, you will be agitated with all kinds of suspicions. You will be unable to remain quiet yourself, and you will not let anyone else rest either.

Accuse yourself and excuse another.

See how far you are from genuine love and humility, which do not know how to be angry or indignant toward anyone else.

It is no significant accomplishment to live with good and gentle people. Everybody enjoys compatible company! But to be able to have a good relationship with obstinate, disorderly, and contrary people is a unique gift, a highly commendable feat.

The person who knows best how to suffer will enjoy the most peace. Such a person has conquered himself and has become a lord of the world, a friend of Christ and an inheritor of heaven.
=='''11 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Simplicity and Purity'''===
These two wings will lift you high above earthly things: simplicity and purity.

Simplicity of intention is after God’s own heart; purity of affection sees him and tastes him. If you intend to look for nothing but the will of God and the good of your neighbour, you will enjoy abundant inner freedom.

If your soul is healthy, then every creature you see will be a living mirror, a book of sacred doctrine. There is no creature, regardless of its apparent insignificance, that fails to show us something of God’s goodness.

If you were inwardly good and pure, you would be able to comprehend everything easily. An unblemished heart penetrates heaven and hell.

What you are inside will colour your judgment.

If there is joy in this world, it is the pure in heart who experience it. And if there is suffering and anguish anywhere, it is all too familiar to the bad conscience.

As iron put into a fire loses its rust and glows red in the heat, so the one who turns completely to God, wakes up and becomes a new person. It is when you begin to cool that you start fearing any little demand made of you, and you seek escape in earthly ways.

But when, with God’s help, you begin to gain control of yourself, you will pay little attention to things that used to bother you deeply.
=='''12 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''What Comes Naturally-and What Is a Gift from God'''===
Don’t be fooled by what only appears to be good. Human nature and grace move in opposite directions. Here is how to tell the difference between the two.

Human nature is tricky and often misleads and traps; it always cares about itself.

But grace simply avoids guile and cares about God.

Human nature puts up a fight and dies reluctantly; it is not easily taught new patterns or held under control. Grace avoids sensuality, desires to be held in check, and will not abuse freedoms.

Human nature always works for its own profit and advantage and seeks all it can gain from others. Grace does not think at all about itself, but instead about what is good for others.

Human nature accepts flattery, honour, and adulation gladly. Grace passes on the honour and worship to God.

Human nature hates to be shamed or rejected, but grace is pleased to endure such things in the name of God and accepts them as special favours when they come.

Human nature desires exotic and exclusive things. But grace enjoys the ordinary and is willing to be dressed in simple clothes.

Human nature is greedy and finds receiving more blessed than giving. It enjoys owning private property. But grace is generous to the poor and content with a little. It knows ‘there is more happiness in giving than in receiving”.

Human nature does nothing because of generosity. Its constant aim is to gain the advantage. It wants praise and notoriety. But grace looks for no rewards beyond God and cares nothing for empty applause.

Human nature desires to have many friends and relatives and takes pride in its pedigree. It enjoys being among rich and important people. But grace loves its enemies and places virtue above noble birth. It sympathizes more with the innocent than with the influential and finds truth more impressive than propaganda.

Human nature wants recognition. It wants admiration for good deeds. But grace hides its good works and private devotion and gives all praise to God.

Such grace is a heavenly light, a gift from God.

It is the mark of a truly spiritual person. As nature is restrained, grace increases, and the soul becomes stamped with the image of God.
=='''13 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''How to Think of Yourself'''===
Don’t trust your own judgment about yourself. We usually lack the grace or understanding to see clearly. The little light that is in us is quickly lost because of our negligence.

Our spiritual vision is poorer than we realize. We frequently do something wrong and then make it worse with excuses. Sometimes we are motivated by uncontrollable emotion and consider it ‘righteous indignation.’ We direct attention to small flaws in others while disregarding far worse things in ourselves. We carefully count others’ offenses against us, but we rarely consider what others may suffer because of us.

If we look at ourselves honestly, we will judge others less harshly.

If you are a genuine Christian, you will look for your own faults first, and you will keep silent about others’ shortcomings.

If you are totally absorbed in your personal relationship with God, you won’t meddle in other lives.

Where are you when you are not with yourself? And when you have been everywhere and examined everybody else, what good will it do if you have neglected yourself?

If you want peace and unity of purpose, then you must put everything else out of sight.

‘You will fail miserably if you value anything material. Let nothing be important for you, nothing high, nothing pleasant, nothing acceptable, unless it is simply God, or something that pleases God. Think of creature comforts as a waste of energy. A soul that loves God is not satisfied with anything less than God. God alone is eternal, infinite, present everywhere. He alone can comfort the soul and make the heart glad.
=='''14 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''The Joy of a Clean Conscience'''===
The glory of a good person is the evidence of a clean conscience. Keep your conscience clear and you will be happy. A good conscience is able to bear a heavy load and it will encourage you when you are under attack.

A bad conscience is always afraid and uneasy.

“your sleep will be sweet if your heart does not accuse you.

Scoundrels are never really happy. They have no peace. There is no safety for sinners, says the Lord”.

And if they say, “No harm will come to us,” don’t believe them. God’s wrath will one day surprise them, and their works and ideas will perish.

The praise of the world is short-lived and always accompanied by sorrow. The glory of the good is in their consciences, not in the comments of others.

Anyone who goes looking for stardom and does not count fame unimportant reveals little fondness for heavenly things.

The most tranquil person of all is the one who cares about neither the praise nor the fault-finding of others. You are not a better person because you are praised; neither are you any worse if somebody denigrates you. You are what you are. Words can’t change that.

God knows what you are. If you really get to know your inner self, you won’t care what anyone says about you. People consider actions, but God evaluates intentions.

If you are not looking for stardom, you have clearly committed yourself to God, “For it is when the Lord thinks well of a person that he is really approved, and not when he thinks well of himself.

To be God’s close friend, and not to be a slave to any earthly desire, is the mark of a spiritual person.
=='''15 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Loving Jesus Comes First'''===
Happiness comes to the person who knows how to love Jesus and to disregard himself for Christ’s sake. Our love for Jesus must exceed all other loves. Love the world and you will collapse when it collapses; embrace Jesus and you will have stability forever.

Love him. Keep him as a friend. When all others forsake you, he will remain with you to the end.

Eventually whether you choose it or not, you will be separated from everyone else. Therefore, stay close to Jesus in both life and death. Trust his fidelity. When all others fail, he alone can help you.

It is your Beloved’s nature to desire no rivals, to ask for your full devotion.

If you look for Jesus in all things, you will certainly find him. And if you look only for yourself, you will find only yourself, but it will be your loss. Those who do not seek Jesus bring more harm on themselves than all their enemies could ever inflict.
==='''How to Be Christ’s Close Friend'''===
When Jesus is with us, all is well and nothing seems insurmountable. But when Jesus is absent, everything is difficult. If Jesus does not speak to us inwardly, all other comfort is meaningless. But the slightest communication from him brings consolation.

Recall how Mary Magdalene immediately stopped crying when Martha said to her, The Teacher is here and is asking for you.. It is a delightful moment when Jesus calls us from tears to spiritual joy!

life without Jesus is like a dry garden baking in the sun.
=='''16 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Loving Jesus Comes First'''===
It is foolish to want anything that conflicts with Jesus. What can the world give you without Jesus? His absence is hell, his presence, paradise. If Jesus is with you, no enemy can injure you. Whoever finds Jesus has discovered a great treasure, the best of all possible good.

The loss of him is a tremendous misfortune, more than the loss of the entire world. Poverty is life without Jesus, but close friendship with him is incalculable wealth.

We must develop our skill as carefully as an artist does if we want to live intimately with Jesus. Be humble and peaceable, and Jesus will be with you. Be devout and quiet, and Jesus will reside with you.

You may drive him out of your life if you return to outward things. And if you should repel him, and lose him, where will you run to find a friend?

life is nothing without a friend, and if Jesus isn’t your best friend you will be sad and lonely. It would be better to have the entire world against us rather than to offend Jesus.

Make many friends; love them dearly. But love Jesus in a special way. Love others because of Jesus but love Jesus for himself.

For him, and in him, love both your friends and your enemies. Pray for them all, asking God to lead them to know and love Jesus also. Never seek this kind of devoted love for yourself. Such devotion belongs to God alone.
=='''17 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Loving Jesus Comes First'''===
If discouraging and unpleasant days come your way don’t be despondent or defeated. Stand strong in God and bear whatever you must to the glory of Jesus Christ.

For after winter summer comes; after night the day returns; and after a storm, calm is restored.
==='''When We Can Find No Comfort'''===
It is not difficult to be independent of human comfort when we have God’s comfort.

It is a great thing, an extremely great thing, to be able to live without both human and divine comfort, to be willing to endure cheerfully an exile of the heart for the honour of God, to ask nothing for yourself, and to claim no special favours because of your good works.

Why should anyone be impressed if you are happy and faithful when everything is going your way? God’s grace gives a smooth ride. It isn’t surprising that you don’t feel your burden if the Almighty is carrying it for you!

You must go through a long and tremendous conflict within yourself before you can begin to master yourself and give your heart to God.

Therefore, when God comforts you spiritually, receive it with gratitude. You can be sure it is his gift to you; you did not deserve it. Don’t let that gift swell you with pride.

Instead, accept it in all humility. And watch your step! That moment of comfort will also pass, and new temptations await you around the next corner.
=='''18 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''When We Can Find No Comfort'''===
If you should temporarily lose your sense of well-being, don’t be too quick to despair. With humility and patience, wait for God who is able to give you back even more profound comfort.

There is nothing novel about this to those who are familiar with God’s ways. The great saints and ancient prophets frequently experienced the alternation of up and down, joy and sorrow. One of them, while he was enjoying a mountain-top experience said:

I felt secure and said to myself,

I will never be defeated,

You were good to me, Lord;

you protected me like a mountain fortress.

But then you hid yourself from me,

And I was afraid’.

And yet even while he was going through this, he did not feel crushed. With renewed passion he prayed:

“Hear me, Lord, and be merciful!

Help me, Lord! In time, his prayer was answered This is his report:

“You have changed my sadness into a joyful dance;

You have taken away my sorrow

and surrounded me with joy”.

If great saints are exposed to such variations, we, who are poor and weak, should not be discouraged if our spiritual life fails to be uniformly ecstatic. The Holy Spirit gives and takes according to his own divine purpose.

Where shall I place my hope and confidence except in God’s great mercy? For whether I am in good company, or have with me faithful friends, or religious books, or beautiful writings, or sweet music, all of these are little help when God seems far from me and I am left alone in the poverty of my being.
=='''19 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''When We Can Find No Comfort'''===
I have never met anyone so religious and devout that he has not felt occasionally some withdrawing of grace, some decrease in his spiritual consciousness.

No saint was ever so enraptured and inspired that he escaped temptation before and after the great moment. Anyone who has never suffered a little for God’s sake is not worthy of deep spiritual contemplation.

Remember the promise of heavenly comfort: To those who win the victory I will give the right to eat the fruit of the tree of life that grows in the Garden of God’.

The Devil never sleeps, and your flesh is very much alive. Therefore, constantly prepare yourself for battle. Surrounding you are enemies that never rest.
==='''Be Thankful for God’s Grace'''===
You were born to work; why are you looking for rest? Adjust yourself to patience rather than to comfort, and to bearing the Cross rather than to mirth.

It is good of God to comfort us with his love. But we do evil when we fail to return it all to God again with thanksgiving. Ingratitude can stop the flow of God’s love in us.

I will refuse any sort of consolation that destroys my repentance, and I will shrink from anything that leads to pride.

Not all that is high is holy; neither are all enjoyable things good. Not every desire is pure; neither is everything that we cherish pleasing to God.
=='''20 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Be Thankful for God’s Grace'''===
If you are taught by the gift of grace, and instructed by the terrible loss of it, you will not dare to claim any goodness in yourself; rather, you will admit that you are poor and naked.

Give God what is God’s and take credit tor what is your own. In other words, thank God for his kindness and blame yourself for your own sin and the punishment it brings.

Always take the lowest place, and the highest will be given to you, for high structures require a solid foundation.

The greatest, in the judgment of God, are the least in their own opinion; the more worthy they are, the more humility will be seen in them.

People who are filled with honesty and heavenly glory don’t look for empty praise. Those who are grounded in God simply cannot be conceited.

If they recognize God as the giver of every good thing they have ever received, they don’t seek applause from each other. They desire more than anything else that God may be praised in them.

Be thankful, therefore, for the smallest gift; then you will be worthy to receive greater things.

Accept the most insignificant present as though it were something of special value. If you consider the worth of the Giver, no gift will seem trivial or worthless. Nothing given by almighty God can be of small value.

Yes, even if he sends pain or sorrow, we should thank him for it, because he is always thinking of our eternal good.
=='''21 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Only a Few Love the Cross'''===
Jesus has many who love his heavenly kingdom, but few who bear his Cross. Many want consolation, but few desire adversity. Many are eager to share Jesus’ table, but few will join him in fasting.

Everyone would be glad to rejoice with him, but not many are willing to suffer for him. Many will follow Jesus as far as the breaking of bread, but few will stay to drink the cup of his passionate self-sacrifice. Many are inspired by his miracles, but few accept the shame of his Cross.

Many love Jesus as long as they have no troubles. Many praise and bless him as long as they receive some comfort from him. But if Jesus hides himself, leaving them even briefly, they start complaining and become dejected.

But those who love Jesus for Jesus ‘sake, and not for any special privileges, bless him in all difficulties and anguish, as well as in times of great comfort. Even if he should never comfort them again, they would continue to praise and thank him.

What astonishing power rests in the pure love of Jesus which is not corrupted with self-interest or self-love!

One term describes those who are always looking for comfort: mercenary. Don’t they show themselves to be lovers of self rather than Christ? All they care about is their own advantage and profit.
=='''22 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Only a Few Love the Cross'''===
Where can we find anyone who is willing to serve God for nothing? It is rare to discover someone so spiritual!

Do you know anyone who is truly poor in spirit and free from dependence on any created thing? Such a person “is worth far more than jewels!”. If anyone tried to buy love with his wealth, contempt is all he would get’.

And if someone tries hard to make amends for all of his sins, he still hasn’t done very much. And if he receives the best education, he still has a long way to go. And if he is exceedingly virtuous and glowing with devotion, an essential ingredient is still lacking.

So, what must he do? He must give up everything, especially himself, retaining no trace of selfishness. And when he has done everything required of him, he must consider it as nothing. He must not agree with others when they applaud him but rather admit that he is actually an ordinary servant.

As the Gospel says, “When you have done all you have been told to do, say, ‘We are ordinary servants; we have only done our duty”. After admitting this he may be honestly poor in spirit, and may say with the psalmist, “Turn to me, Lord, and be merciful to me, because I am lonely and weak’.

And yet, no one will be richer, no one more powerful, no one more free, because he is able to leave himself and all material things behind, and set himself in the lowest place. And yet, no one will be richer, no one more powerful, no one more free, because he is able to leave himself and all material things behind, and set himself in the lowest place.
=='''23 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''The Royal Highway of the Holy Cross'''===
Many have difficulty with these words: ‘If anyone wants to come with me, he must forget himself, carry his cross, and follow me”.

But they will find it even harder to hear that last statement ‘Away from me, you that are under God’s curse! Away to the eternal fire...’

Those who gladly hear and follow Christ shall have no reason to fear such a condemnation.

Every servant of the Cross who has lived like me crucified Christ will face the heavenly Judge with confidence. Why, then, are you afraid to carry your cross when it leads you to such a kingdom?

In the Cross is salvation,

in the Cross is life,

in the Cross is protection from our enemies,

in the Cross is good mental health,

in the Cross is spiritual joy

in the Cross is virtue at its best,

in the Cross is the full perfection of holiness.

There is no salvation of soul, nor hope of eternal life, except in the Cross.

Carry your cross and follow Jesus.

He went first, carrying his cross, and then dying on it for you. If you are dead with him, you will also live with him. And if you share his punishment, you will also share his glory. Look far and wide and still you will not find a better way above, or a safer way below, than the highway of the holy Cross. Even if you use the best judgment and make the best plans, you will still find it necessary to suffer, willingly or unwillingly.
=='''24 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''The Royal Highway of the Holy Cross'''===
There is no escaping the Cross. You will feel either pain in your body or tribulation in your spirit. Sometimes you will feel deserted by God. Sometimes your neighbour will trouble you. Quite frankly you will sometimes be a burden to yourself.

As long as God wants you to bear it there can be no remedy for your suffering, because there are some vital lessons you need to learn. You must subject yourself entirely to God and become humbler by the things you suffer.

No one is better able to appreciate the Passion of Christ than the one who has suffered similarly.

The Cross, therefore, is inescapable. It waits for you everywhere.

No matter how far you run, you cannot hide from it. For wherever you go, you take yourself along. Above and below, inside and outside, everywhere you turn, you shall find the Cross.

If you carry the Cross willingly, it will carry you. It will lead you to the place where suffering comes to an end, a place we will not find here.

If you are forced against your will to carry the Cross, then you make it difficult for yourself, adding to your load. No matter what attitude you have, you must bear the burden. If you manage to throw away one cross, you will certainly find another, and it may be even heavier.
=='''25 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''The Royal Highway of the Holy Cross'''===
Do you think you can escape what no one else can avoid? Which of the saints was exempt? Not even our Lord Jesus Christ was spared! “Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and then to enter his glory?”. How can you think you will find a way other than this royal highway of the holy Cross?

The whole life of Christ was a Cross and a martyrdom; do you want ease and recreation for yourself? You are making a grave mistake, and deceiving yourself, if you seek anything other than hardship. This mortal life is full of misery and it is marked on every side with crosses. The higher you advance in the Spirit, the heavier the crosses become, for the pain of exile increases in proportion to your love for God.

And yet, a person afflicted in many ways still receives refreshing comfort if he sees the value of enduring crosses.

We are not naturally inclined

to bear the Cross,

to love the Cross,

to discipline our bodies,

to run away from honours,

to suffer reproach willingly,

to disregard ourselves and to wish to be disregarded,

to endure all trouble and loss,

to desire no prosperity in this world.

If you try to accomplish these things yourself, you will fail. But if you trust the Lord, you will receive divine strength, and you will be able to withstand the world and control your flesh.
=='''26 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''The Royal Highway of the Holy Cross'''===
Decide, then, like Christ’s good and faithful servant, to bear courageously the Cross of your Lord, who, because of his love for you, was crucified.

Drink heartily of the Lord’s cup if you want to be his friend. As for comfort, leave that to God; let him do what he will. Accept suffering graciously.

“I consider that what we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with the glory that is going to be revealed to us”.

When you have reached such a point, all misery will seem sweet and you will relish it for Christ’s sake and think that you have discovered paradise on earth.

As long as you object to suffering you will be ill at ease. Accept it, and you will find peace.

Even if you were caught up in the ecstasy of the third heaven with Paul, you would still face adversity. I myself [says Christ] will show him all that he must suffer for my sake”.

Therefore, you must suffer if you desire to love Jesus and to serve him always.

If only you were worthy to suffer something for the name of Jesus! How much glory would be yours; what joy all God’s saints would feel; how much you would teach your neighbour! For everyone advises patience, but few are willing to suffer.
=='''27 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''The Royal Highway of the Holy Cross'''===
Without doubt, you ought to lead a dying life. The more you die to yourself here, the more you begin to live for God. You are unprepared to comprehend heavenly things until you can submit to adversities for Christ’s sake. Nothing is more acceptable to God, nothing more wholesome for you, than to suffer cheerfully for Christ.

And if you have a choice, take the hard road. This will make you more like Christ.

You can be sure that if there had been a better way to man’s salvation than suffering, Christ would have followed it. He plainly taught the bearing of the Cross.

If anyone wants to come with me, he must forget himself, take up his Cross everyday, and follow me.

When we have read and searched through everything, this will be our ultimate conclusion: ‘We must pass many troubles to enter the kingdom of God’.
=='''28 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Conversations with God'''===
==='''Christ Speaks Inwardly to the Faithful Soul'''===
I will listen to what the Lord God says in me. That soul is blessed who hears the Lord speaking and inwardly receives his words of comfort.

Blessed are the ears that hear the divine whisper and ignore the murmuring of the world.

Truly blessed are the ears which listen to no external voice, but to the truth that is taught within.

Blessed are the eyes that are closed, focusing inwardly on eternal things.

Blessed are the ones who can enter deeply within themselves,

who prepare themselves more and more, by daily exercises, to receive heavenly secrets.

Blessed are those who take time for God, who shake off all encumbering cares of the world.

Think about these things, O my soul, and close the door on your physical senses, that you may hear what God says within you.

Thus says your Beloved: I am your salvation, your peace, your life. Stay with me, and you shall find peace. Release everything that is transitory. Let it pass away. Look for lasting things.

Short-term pleasures are seductive, but they will disappoint you. What good is everything in all creation to you if you are not in close fellowship with the Creator? Therefore, get rid of all earthly things.

Try to please your Maker. Be faithful to me. That way you will discover true happiness.”
=='''29 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Conversations with God'''===
==='''The Truth Speaks Within Us Without Noisy Words'''===
Speak, Lord, your servant is listening. I am your servant; help me to know and understand what you are saying. Let your teaching distill like dew.

Long ago, the Hebrews said to Moses, ‘If you speak to us, we will listen; but we are afraid that if God speaks to us, we will die.’

But Lord, that is not what I pray. Instead, in all humility I earnestly say with Samuel ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’

I am not listening now to Moses or any other prophet. I am listening for you, O God, the one who inspired and enlightened all the prophets, thou alone can instruct me perfectly, and they can teach me nothing without you.

The prophets may speak words, but they cannot give the Spirit.

Their language is beautiful, but if you are silent, it will not set my heart on fire.

They give the words, but you give the words meaning.

They present mysteries, but you unlock what is hidden.

They announce commandments, but you help me keep them.

They show the way, but you give me strength to walk in it.

They reach my outward senses, but you enlighten me inwardly.

They water the garden, but you make the plants grow.

They cry out with words, but you help me understand.

Therefore, O Lord, speak your eternal truth to me through their words, so my life will not remain unfruitful. Then you will not condemn me for having heard without responding, for having known without loving, for having believed without obeying.

Speak, Lord, your servant is listening. You have the words of eternal life. Speak to me. Comfort my soul. Transform my life. I will give praise, glory, and honour to you always.
=='''30 April 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Conversations with God'''===
==='''The Truth Speaks Within Us Without Noisy Words'''===
==='''God Is to Be Heard with Humility'''===
Hear my words, my child- wholesome words that surpass all the knowledge of the philosophers and sages. My words are spirit and life and can never be compared with the wisdom of the world. They are not to be misused for self-satisfaction, but to be heard in silence, and received with humility and great affection.

lord, how happy is the person you instruct,

The one to whom you teach your law!

You give him rest from days of trouble”.

I am the one who taught the prophets from the beginning. Even now I continue to speak to everyone, but many are spiritually deaf and do not hear my voice. Most people listen more eagerly to the world than to me. The world promises fleeting things of little value and people strive for them. I offer things of highest quality which endure for-ever and people yawn in apathy.

Is there anyone who serves me with the same care and devotion given to the world and its leaders? To gain a few dollars, a long trip may be taken; for eternal life, many will barely lift a foot from the ground.

Blush with shame! You do not care at all for permanent good, for the reward beyond all price, for the highest honour and glory that will last forever.

Be ashamed, you lazy and complaining servant! You are more anxious to work for death than for life.
=='''1 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''God Is to Be Heard with Humility'''===
Those who seek earthly rewards will be disappointed frequently, but my promises deceive no one. I will not send anyone away empty if he trusts me. I will give what I promise. I will do what I say. I only require that a person remain faithful in my love.

Write my words in your heart; diligently meditate upon them. You will see how important they are to you when you are tempted.

Even if you can’t understand the meaning now, keep reading. A time will come when you need those words and then you will understand.

I visit my friends in two ways:

1. with trials and temptations;

2. with consolation.

And I teach two lessons as the days go by.

1. Get rid of your vices.

2. Increase your virtues.

‘Whoever rejects me and does not accept my message has one who will judge him. The words I have spoken will be his judge on the last day!’.
==='''A Prayer for the Grace of Devotion'''===
O Lord, my God! You are everything that is good. Who am I, that I should dare to speak to you? I am your poorest, least deserving servant- lowlier than I would like to admit.
=='''2 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''God Is to Be Heard with Humility'''===
Yet remember me, O Lord, because I am nothing, and I can do nothing. Only you are good, just, and holy. You can do all things, can supply all things, fill all things, leaving empty only the person who lives apart from you.

in your mercy, fill my heart with grace. How can I endure this life without your strength and mercy? “Don’t hide yourself from your servant; I am in great trouble-answer me now! Come to me and save me; rescue me from my enemies’.

I lift up my hands to you in prayer; like dry ground my soul is thirsty for you... You are my God; teach me to do your will. Be good to me and guide me on a safe path’. Teach me to do your will, O Lord, teach me to live worthily and humbly before you; for you are my wisdom, you know me intimately; you knew me before the world was made, and before I was born in the world.
==='''Our Honest Humility Before God'''===
My child, live honestly before me, and always look for me with a simple heart. This will defend you from evil and set you free from deceivers and unjust slanderers. If the truth sets you free, then you will be really free, and you will pay no attention to the empty comments of others.

That’s true, Lord. Let it be for me as you say I want your Truth to teach me, guard me, and preserve me until the end of my days. Let it free me from every evil, and I will walk with you in liberty.
=='''3 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Our Honest Humility Before God'''===
The Truth speaks: I will teach you what is pleasing to me. Think about your sins with great displeasure and sadness. Never think highly of yourself because you have done some good things.

The fact is you are a sinner. Many passions entangle and enslave you. By yourself you will always be quickly defeated, quickly overcome, quickly disturbed, quickly unnerved.

You have nothing to be proud of, and much that should shame you. You are far weaker than you can comprehend.

Therefore, do not let anything you do seem very important to you. Let nothing seem great, nothing precious or admirable, nothing sophisticated, nothing high, nothing really worth having, except that which is eternal.

Take pleasure, above all else, in the eternal Truth. Always be displeased with your own unworthiness. The thing to fear, the thing to blame and run away from, is your sin, which ought to bother you more than the loss of any material thing.

Some are not sincere. Curiosity and pride make them wish to know my secrets and understand God’s profundity. All the while they neglect themselves and their own salvation.

Some have their devotion only in books, some in paintings, some in statues and carvings.

Some have me often enough on their lips, but they have little of me in their hearts.

Others, with insight and self-denial seek the eternal at all times. They are reluctant to hear about earthly things and are upset by the demands of nature. These understand what the Spirit of Truth says to menu disregard the world, and long for heaven.
=='''4 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''The Results of Divine Love'''===
I bless you, heavenly Father, Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, because you take notice of a creature like me. Merciful Father and God of all comfort, I give you thanks.

Come then, Lord God, Holy One who loves me! When you come into my heart everything in me will leap with joy!

“You are my hiding place;

you will save me from trouble.

I sing aloud of your salvation,

because you protect me’. Because I am still imperfect and weak in love, I need your strength and comfort. Visit me frequently and teach me with holy discipline.

Free me from evil passions and heal my heart of excessive desires; that being inwardly healthy, I may be prepared to love and filled with courage to endure and persevere.

Love is a great good that makes every heavy thing light. It is not burdened by the load it carries, and it sweetens the bitter. Jesus’ noble love inspires us to do great things and to long for a more nearly perfect life. Love wants to live in the heights, and not to be grounded by base things.

Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger than love,;

nothing wider; nothing more pleasant nothing more satisfying in heaven or on earth. Because you, my God, give birth to love, you are love’s natural resting place.

The one in love rejoices in his freedom. He gives all for everything, because he is familiar with One who is supreme above all-the Source of all that is good. He concentrates not on the gifts, but on the Giver.
=='''5 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''The Results of Divine Love'''===
Love does not meet standard requirements; it goes beyond all measurements. Love notices no burdens, thinks nothing of its labours, wittingly does more than it is able, pleads no excuse of impossibility; believes it can accomplish anything.

And it can. It makes up for many shortcomings; it opens the door for many possibilities. Anyone in love knows what I am talking about.

Enlarge your love in me, Lord. I desire to swim in a sea of your love. I want to be possessed by love so that I can rise above myself.

Let me sing love’s song. Let me follow you, my Beloved. Let me love you more than myself and love myself only for you.

Love treads lightly. It is sincere, kind, pleasant and delightful. It is strong, patient, faithful, careful long-suffering, brave, and never selfish.

Toward you, Lord, love must be devout and thankful, trusting and hoping always, even when I do not taste your sweetness. For no one can live in love without some pain.

If I am not ready to suffer all things, and to accept your will, I am not worthy of the title lover.

A lover is willing to embrace the difficult and the bitter for the sake of his Beloved.
=='''6 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''How to Recognize a True Lover'''===
Child, you are not yet a true lover.

Why, O Lord?

Because you give up when a little opposition comes your way. You are too eager for consolation. A genuine lover stands his ground when tempted. He does not yield to the Enemy.

‘And I am not saying this because I feel neglected, for I have learned to be satisfied with what I have’.

A true lover looks less at the gift and more at the love of the giver. He regards the demonstration of affection as more important than the value of the gift and prizes the one loved more than any present.

Therefore, all is not lost if you sometimes feel less devotion toward me than you would like.

Even the affection you sometimes have is one of my gifts to you-something of a foretaste of heaven. Don’t count on it too much, because it comes and goes.

But do resist the tendency of your mind toward evil and reject the suggestions of the Devil.

Be strong! It is not an illusion that sometimes you are ecstatically carried away and then you return to your familiar faults. It seems that you unwillingly tolerate this shift, and as long as it is unpleasant to you, and you resist it, you will be rewarded.
=='''7 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''How to Recognize a True Lover'''===
Remember that your old Enemy tries with every trick he has to frustrate your desire for good, and to divert your attention from worship. He suggests many evil thoughts, hoping to fatigue you and frighten you away from prayer and holy reading.

He hates humble confession; if he could manage it, he would even talk you out of Holy Communion. Don’t listen to him! Ignore his deceitful traps.

When he recommends anything evil, say to him:

‘Get away from me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my way because these thoughts of yours don’t come from God’.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; I will fear no one.

The Lord protects me from all danger; I will never be afraid.

‘Even if a whole army surrounds me, I will not be afraid; even if enemies attack me, I will still trust God’.

Fight like a good soldier.

And if, because you are weak, you sometimes fall get up again strengthened by the experience, trusting my abundant grace.

Then guard yourself against complacency and pride. Be warned by the fall of the proud who rely upon their own strength. Always be humble.
=='''8 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''The Privacy of Devotion'''===
My child, it is best for you to be private with your devotion. Don’t think highly of yourself or talk too much about it. Don’t let the quality of your devotion be an obsession. It is better to think less of yourself, and to consider yourself unworthy of this grace.

Some incautious people ruin themselves by attempting to produce an ecstatic devotional experience by their own will. Because they neglect to consider their own weakness, they attempt more than is pleasing to me and quickly lose all.

Those who try to build a safe nest for themselves in heaven become helpless and thereby leam not to fly with their own wings, but to trust mine.

Those who think they are intelligent seldom accept guidance. It is better to have a little good judgment with humility, than great knowledge about many things with self-conceit. It is better for you to have little than much of what may make you proud.

You are not wise if, in a moment of difficulty, you become despondent and lose your confidence in me. Those who are too secure in peacetime will be overly dejected in time of war.
=='''9 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''The Privacy of Devotion'''===
When spiritual fervour has been ignited in you, meditate on how it will be when that light leaves you. And when this happens, remember that the light may return again and its loss may be profitable by my design.

‘Your value is not calculated by the number of visions you have, by your skill in the Scriptures, or by your position in relation to others.

You are most worthy if you are truly humble and full of divine love, and if you seek only My honour.
==='''Standing in God’s Presence'''===
I will speak to you, Lord, even though I am nothing but dust and ashes.

If I begin to think highly of myself, you stand next to me, and my sins are obvious. I cannot deny them.

But if I am humble, and control my ego, and stop being self-centred, and reduce myself to the dust, which surely I am, your grace will be gentle with me, and your light will come into my heart.

Then all my self-esteem, however small it might be, will vanish in the deep valley of my nothingness.

In that place you will hold a mirror before me and show me what l am, what I have been, and what I have become; for I am nothing, and I did not know it.
=='''10 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''The Privacy of Devotion'''===
See what happens when I am left to myself! I am nothing but weakness. But the very instant you show me your love, I become strong and filled with new joy. How wonderful to be suddenly free from my own heavy weight. Instead of sinking downward I am lifted up into your embrace!

Your love guards me from danger and assists me in so many ways. It preserves me from innumerable evils.

It is true, “Whoever loves his own life will lose it; whoever hates his own life in this world will keep it far life eternal’. By loving myself, I lose myself. But by looking only for you, and loving only you, I find both myself and you.

Blessed are you, my God. Even though I am unworthy, your generosity and goodness never cease.

For he makes his sun to shine on bad and good people alike and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil’.

Turn us in your direction, that we may be grateful, humble, and devout. You are our salvation, our courage, and our strength.
=='''11 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Putting God First'''===
My child, I must be your life’s supreme goal if you want genuine happiness. This will purify your intentions and keep you from perverse interest in yourself and earthly things. For if you put yourself first you will begin to dry up and wither inside.

Give me first place, for I have given all. Think about how everything flows from the Greatest Good.

I am the source, like a spring that produces a river. From my resources the small and the great, the poor and the rich, fill themselves, as from an inexhaustible fountain, with the water of life.

Those who willingly and freely serve me shall receive ‘one blessing after another’.

But those who attempt to delight in anything other than me, or to enjoy some private pleasure, will not have true joy and will get into innumerable difficulties.

Therefore, don’t take credit for anything good yourself, and don’t attribute goodness to any other person. Give me the praise; for without me no one amounts to anything.

I have given you everything you have and I want you to be grateful. This will check pride. And if you are filled with heavenly grace and genuine love, you will not be envious or narrowminded, and selfishness will be impossible for you. For divine love is stronger than all else and it enlarges the capacity of the soul.

If you are thinking clearly; you will rejoice in me alone and place all of your hope in me, for “there is only One who is good’: I am to be praised above all things.
=='''12 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Serving God at Any Cost'''===
Now I will speak again, O Lord. I will express myself in the presence of my Lord and my heavenly King.

How wonderful are the good things you keep for those who honour you! Everyone knows how good you are, how securely you protect those who trust you.

What difference do you make to those who love you and serve you with enthusiasm? You allow them the indescribable joy of contemplating you.

You have given me a special insight into the sweetness of your love: you gave me my life; when I wandered far away, you brought me back again to serve you; you wanted me to love you.

You are a waterfall of unceasing love! What shall I say about you? How can I forget you? You thought of me even when I was lost and desperate. You have been merciful beyond my wildest dream, ‘You have been good to me far above anything I deserve.

How shall I pay you back? Most of us are not expected to give up everything, to renounce the world and begin a life of monastic solitude.

Does it mean very much that I should serve you when all of creation exists for that purpose? I don’t think so.

But I see this, and it staggers me: you are willing to accept the service of someone as poor and unworthy as I. “you will make me one of your beloved servants.”
=='''13 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Serving God at Any Cost'''===
I am your servant! Everything I have is yours. But even as I say that I know you are serving me more than I am serving you.

At your command all the resources of heaven and earth are at my disposal and even the angels help me.

Yet you serve me in a way that surpasses all of this: you promise to give yourself to me. You are the great Servant of us all.

With what gift can I return your favours? I want to serve you all the days of my life. I wish it were possible, just for one day, to do something worthwhile for you. You are my Lord, and I am a poor servant who is obligated to serve you with all my strength. I should never tire of praising you, for this is what I want to do. This is my desire. Compensate for what I lack.
=='''14 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Examine and Control Your Desires'''===
My child, there are still many things you need to learn.

What are they, Lord?

That you desire only what will please me, and that you stop putting yourself first and earnestly seek my will.

Sometimes you are driven to distraction by desires which burn inside you. But try to determine whether your underlying motive is to honour me or simply to serve your own best interests.

If you seek to honour me, you will find contentment whatever happens, but if selfishness hides within you, it will become your greatest burden. Be careful, therefore, not to give in too easily to any desire without seeking my counsel.

Sometimes apparently good things are not desirable, and what is offensive at first sight often turns out to be the better choice.

It can be worthwhile to restrain even the best desires and inclinations. Excessive eagerness distracts the mind, a lack of discipline can lead to scandal and, if others resist your wishes, the disappointment may turn you away from me.

Your sensual appetite may require extreme measures to control. It is not easy to disregard what your flesh likes and dislikes, and to train an unwilling body to be subject to the Spirit. You must work at this, and, eventually, your body will obey you. You will learn to be content with little, to be pleased with simple things, and not to complain about inconveniences.
=='''15 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Patience Wins Over Sensual Desires'''===
O Lord, my God. I know that patience is necessary for me because many things disturb me every day. No matter what plans I make to keep myself at peace, I cannot avoid life’s struggle and sorrow.

That is true, my child. I do not desire for you to enjoy an absolute peace, free from all temptations and hindrances. Instead, I want you to have peace even when you are troubled by unpleasant experiences.

Do you believe that prosperous people have an easy life? Ask them and you will find out otherwise. You may think they are carefree, and do not bleed like regular people.

But, even if all that nonsense is true at this moment, how long do you think it will last? ‘As smoke is blown away, so he drives them off’. The time always comes when former pleasures can barely be recalled.

These ‘privileged’ people live with constant bitterness, weariness, and fear. The very things they enjoy so much often bring them sorrow.

Such brief pleasures are false pleasures, but few can see this. Many forfeit their souls for small enjoyments in this corruptible life.

Therefore, “Don’t be controlled by your lust; keep your passions in check’.

‘Seek your happiness in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desire’.

For you will only truly enjoy your life and receive my full comfort if you stop those practices which debase you.

The less you depend upon earthly comfort the sweeter you will find my consolation.

You will have some sadness when you begin this battle in yourself. Old habits will resist you, but you will win if you replace them with better habits; your body will protest but your spirit can gain the upper hand.

The old serpent will tempt and harass you, but prayer will make him run away. And the best way to keep him away is to get busy with something constructive.
=='''16 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Following Christ’s Example of Humble Obedience'''===
My child, if you try to escape obedient service, you will miss my gift. A community has benefits which are unknown to the hermits.

If you are unable to freely and cheerfully submit to a superior, it is a sign that you do not have yourself under control.

Learn how to submit quickly to a leader if you want to rule yourself. It is easier to defeat the outward enemy if the inward man is strong and controlled.

The most troublesome enemy you have is yourself, if you are not in harmony with my Spirit.

It is an indication that you still love yourself too much if you are afraid to submit to others. What a paltry comparison if you, nothing but dust and ashes, submit yourself to others in the Lord, when the Almighty and most high God, the Creator of everything, subjected me to the world for your sake!

I became the humblest and submissive of all people, that you might overcome your pride with my humility. Discover how to break your own wishes and to give in to the will of others. Be firm with yourself and don’t let pride swell your chest. Find out what it is like to let someone walk over you if necessary.

What do you have to complain about? If you were to receive what you have earned, you would be condemned to hell. But I have spared you because you are precious to me. I want you to know my love.
=='''17 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''God Is Not Misled by a Few Good Deeds'''===
Lord, I tremble before your thundering judgment. It astonishes me when I read: ‘Can any man be really pure? Can anyone be right with God? Why, God does not trust even his angels; even they are not pure in his sight’.

If angels are faulty, what can I say for myself? If stars even fall from heaven, what can I expect?

I have seen good and great people stumble, and those who have eaten sacred bread now root with pigs.

The only good thing about me is what you give. The only clear thoughts I have are a gift from you. I have no strength unless you uphold me, no morality unless you protect me. Leave me on my own, and I sink into death; guide me, and I am raised up to life.

How could I ever boast? Your judgment destroys my self-righteousness. No one in the whole world can sit at the head table when he has faced the Truth.
=='''18 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''How to Pray for the Things We Want'''===
Jesus:

My child, this is the way to pray: “Lord, if it is pleasing to you, fulfill my request. If this will honour you, let it be done in your name. If it is good for me, grant that I may use it for your honour. But if you know that it will hurt me, take the desire away from me.’

Why pray like that? Because not every desire is inspired by the Holy Spirit, even though it may seem right and good. Sometimes it is hard to tell whether a notion is an inspiration or a temptation. Many have been deceived.

Therefore, every request must be made with humility. You must submit the entire matter to me, take yourself entirely out of it, and say: “O Lord, you know what is best. Let it be done as you please. Give what you choose, how much you choose, and when you choose.

Place me where you think best and treat me as you see fit I am in your hand. Turn me in one direction and then another; I am your servant, prepared for anything. I have no desire to live for myself, but only for you. How I wish I could do this perfectly!’
=='''19 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Trusting God'''===
Jesus:

My child, let me do what is best for you. You see everything from a human point of view.

Lord, you are right. You care about me more than I care about myself. Unless I trust you, I have no ground to stand upon. Do with me whatever you choose, because it can only be good.

If you want me to be in darkness, I will bless you; if you want me to be in light, I will bless you again. If I am comforted I will be grateful; and if I am afflicted I will be equally grateful.

Jesus:

My child, that is the way to think if you want to walk with me. Be as ready to suffer as to rejoice. Be as cheerful when poor as you would be when rich.

O Lord for your sake I will gladly bear what I must, whatever it may be. I will accept good and evil, sweet and bitter, joy and sorrow, and for all of it I will give you thanks.

As long as you stay close to me and never remove my name from the ‘book of the living’, whatever trouble I experience will not hurt me.
=='''20 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''How to Bear Slights and Injuries'''===
My child, I gave up the glories of heaven and accepted the miseries of this world because of my love for you, intending that you might learn a little patience.

From the moment of my birth until my death on the Cross, I experienced grief. I was deprived of many things. I heard many complaints against me.

I calmly endured disgrace and taunting, for kindness I was repaid ingratitude. For miracles I received curses. When I spoke the truth, people argued with me.

My Lord, since you were patient, I also should bear myself patiently. Although life can be bleak, it can become bright again with your help. If you had not lived before us to show the way, how could we follow? Even now we are only half-hearted. What would become of us if we did not have such great light?
==='''Genuine Patience'''===
Jesus: What are you saying, my child? Stop complaining! Think about my sacrifice and the suffering of other saints. ‘For in your struggle against sin you have not yet had to resist to the point of being killed’.

You have suffered very little in comparison with others. Think about the heavy burdens others carry, and you will easily bear your own small troubles.

And if you do not think yours are small, perhaps it is only because you are impatient. Whether they are small or great, try to bear your burdens without complaint.
=='''21 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Genuine Patience'''===
Jesus:

Do not say, “I can’t take it! I’m not required to take it! This person has hurt me deeply and accused me of things that are not true.” That is foolish. It fails to take the crowning virtue of patience into account; it focuses on the offending person and my injury.

You are not patient if you are willing to accept difficulty only up to a certain point and from a few selected people.

Genuine patience cares nothing about the source of the problem, whether it is from a superior an equal, or an inferior, whether it is from a good and holy person or a villain.

You must take it all thankfully as though I gave it. Consider it your gain. For it is impossible that anything, however small can be suffered for my sake without some reward.

Be ready for battle if you want to win. Without struggling you cannot gain patience, and if you will not suffer you refuse to be crowned. Rest only follows labour.

Me:

Lord, let this become possible for me, even though it seems out of reach. You know I can endure so very little and I am quickly defeated. Please let every difficulty become a desirable thing, for to suffer and to be harassed for you is beneficial to my soul.
=='''22 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Admitting Our Weakness'''===
I will confess my weakness to you, O Lord. Sometimes when I intend to be courageous, I succumb even to a little temptation.

‘You know how frail I am, Lord. Have mercy on me. Do not let me get stuck in a quagmire of sin.

I fall so easily.

My passions are stronger than my will, and, although I am reluctant they keep on nagging me. It is fatiguing to live every day in that kind of tension. I know I am weak, because temptations come to me far more easily than they depart.

What a strange life! Trouble and misery are always in stock. Traps and enemies are abundant. When one problem retreats, another takes its place. And sometimes the second difficulty doesn’t wait for the first to be resolved.

How can anyone love a life like that? Isn’t it natural to feel bitterness in the face of so much misery? Is anything so threatened by death and plague even worthy of the name, ‘life’? And yet people love it and try to find happiness in it. Some things make us love the world; other things make us hate it.
=='''23 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Complete Devotion to God'''===
Above all else, and in everything, my soul must rest in God.

Let me, O living Jesus, rest in you above every created thing,

Ultimately let me rest above angels and archangels and and the host of heaven, above things seen and unseen, above all that is not you, my God.

Because you, O Lord, are above all.

No matter what gifts you give me, and regardless of your great self-revelation, if I do not know you as my closest friend, I am still hungry for you. I will never be content until my heart is devoted above all else to you.’

When will this happen? When will I love you so much, my God, that I forget myself and know you alone?

Now, I sigh unhappily I am hurt and grieved by the evil I see. I am hindered and distracted, allured and entangled, and the way to you is cutoff like a drawbridge pulled up.

Let my sighs be prayers.

How long will you wait, Lord? When will you come to help me? Please come help me.

Without you I cannot enjoy a single day or even an hour. You are my joy; apart from you I sit at an empty table. I am wretched, like a prisoner in chains. Let the sun shine on me again. Give me freedom and liberty.

Smile at me, Lord.

Others can chase after what they will, but I want only you. I will pray, and keep on praying, until your kind favour returns and I hear you speaking to me inwardly once again.

Jesus:

I am here, my friend. You have called, and I have come. Your tears and the longing of your soul, your humility and repentance, have brought me to you.
=='''24 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Complete Devotion to God'''===
Lord, I have called you and desired you. I am willing to make any sacrifice for you. It was you who gave me this thirst for you, you who stirred the ashes and fanned the flame of my desire for you.

What more can I say to you now?

I bow in humility, confess my sin, and praise your greatness.
==='''The Distribution of God’s Favours'''===
You are the giver of all we have and are, O God.

If one has received more, and another less, both are yours, and without you there is no blessing at all.

The one who has received the most cannot say that he deserved it or think that he is any better than others. The greatest and the best, after all, is the one who thinks the least of himself and is humbly grateful.

If someone has received less, he must not be disturbed about it. And certainly, he shouldn’t envy anyone else. Instead, he should turn to you, Lord, and praise you for your goodness and your gifts.

You know what is suitable for everyone. “You have a reason for giving one less and another more.

This is not for us to figure out.

Those who have received less can take special comfort because, ‘God purposely chose what the world considers nonsense in order to shame the wise, and he chose what the world considers weak in order to shame the powerful. He chose what the world looks down on and despises, and thinks is nothing, in order to destroy what the world thinks is important.
=='''25 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Four Things That Bring Peace'''===
My child, now I will teach you the way of peace and true freedom.

Lord, I am eager to hear

1. Do what pleases another rather than yourself.

2 Choose to have less rather than more.

3. Seek the lowest place and be the servant of all.

4. Pray that my will may be accomplished in you always.

Do these your things, and you will surely find peace and inward rest

My Lord, this short lesson is perfect. With a few words you have struck the target with great force. I can repeat the lesson in a moment, but its truth is gigantic.

Now, if I could simply follow it, I would not be troubled so easily. For whenever I am upset and burdened, it is because I have not practiced these simple rules. I cannot attain it on my own, but you can do all things. Help me.
==='''A Prayer Against Evil Thoughts'''===
Don’t stay so far away O God; my God, hurry to my aid!’.

I have evil thoughts, and I am afraid. How can I destroy them? How can I survive without being hurt?

This is your answer to me:

I will prepare your way

levelling mountains and hills.

I will break down bronze gates and smash their iron bars.

I will give you treasures from dark, secret places; then you will know that I am the Lord’.

Do as you say O Lord. Let every evil thought fly away from your holy presence.
=='''26 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''A Prayer for the Clearing of My Mind'''===
Clear my thinking, Lord Jesus, with the light you shine within me. Chase all darkness from my mind. Check my wandering thoughts and fight for me.

Enter into combat with these ugly beasts, so there may be ‘peace inside your walls and safety in your palaces’.

Command the stormy winds to cease; order the waves to be still. Create a great calm in me. ‘Send your light and your truth; may they lead me..”.

For I am ‘formless and desolate’, until you enlighten me. Lift up my mind. Make me so much at home with heavenly things that it will annoy me even to think of earthly things.
==='''Staying Out of Others’ Business'''===
Child, there are some things not worth thinking about ‘What is that to you? Follow me’.

For what difference does it make to you what someone else becomes; or says, or does? You do not need to answer for others, only for yourself. Why get mixed up in such things? I know everyone and see everything that is done under the sun. I understand the dynamics of every situation, and I know each person’s thoughts, attitudes, and intentions.

All of this is my business, not yours. Don’t worry about it. I am not deceived.
=='''27 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''False Peace and True Peace'''===
Jesus:

Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid”.

Everyone wants peace, but very few care for the things that produce it. My peace is with the humble and gentle, and especially with the patient. If you will listen to me, and act accordingly, you will enjoy much peace.

What shall I do, Lord?

Pay attention to what you do and speak. Care for nothing other than pleasing me. Do not judge others or meddle in things which do not concern you. Following this advice will spare you needless trouble. But remember that it is impossible to be entirely free of trouble and fatigue in this life.

Don’t think that you have found true peace just because you feel no pain or have no enemies. Never think that life is perfect when you receive everything you want and never consider yourself my favourite child because you enjoy a great devotional life. That is not the way to true peace and spiritual growth.

What is the way, Lord?

It is in offering your whole heart to me, forgetting your own will in great things and small things, thanking me equally for the pleasant and the unpleasant, weighing all these things in the same balance.

And if you are strong enough to willingly suffer more and more without praising yourself but always praising my name, then you will be on the road to true peace and you will have the hope of seeing me in the everlasting joy of heaven.
=='''28 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Take Necessities in Moderation'''===
Food, drink, clothing, and all things necessary for staying alive are a burden to a fervent spirit. Let me use such things in moderation and never prize them too much.

I must not renounce them entirely, because you want us to support nature. But to ask for more than enough, and for great pleasures, would be wrong. Guide me and teach me so that I will know when I have had enough.
==='''The Greatest Barrier: Self-love'''===
Give everything to everyone; withhold none of your love. Nothing injures you more than self-love.

Desire nothing illegal.

Own nothing that will enslave you.

Why weary yourself with extra cares? Accept my will and you will lose nothing.

If you constantly search for the perfect experience or the perfect location to improve your life, you will never be satisfied or free from anxiety. In every situation something will be missing, and in every place someone will cross you.

Happiness, then, is not found by increasing your possessions, but by despising them. Renounce your craving not only for wealth, but also for prestige and fame. All of these will pass away with this world.

Your place doesn’t matter; your spirit does. You can change jobs and locations without changing yourself for the better, if your heart has no foundation in me. For you will always find again, in the new place, the very thing you were running away from-sometimes more of it!
=='''29 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Take Necessities in Moderation'''===
Food, drink, clothing, and all things necessary for staying alive are a burden to a fervent spirit. Let me use such things in moderation and never prize them too much.

I must not renounce them entirely, because you want us to support nature. But to ask for more than enough, and for great pleasures, would be wrong. Guide me and teach me so that I will know when I have had enough.
==='''The Greatest Barrier: Self-love'''===
Give everything to everyone; withhold none of your love. Nothing injures you more than self-love.

Desire nothing illegal.

Own nothing that will enslave you.

Why weary yourself with extra cares? Accept my will and you will lose nothing.

If you constantly search for the perfect experience or the perfect location to improve your life, you will never be satisfied or free from anxiety. In every situation something will be missing, and in every place someone will cross you.

Happiness, then, is not found by increasing your possessions, but by despising them. Renounce your craving not only for wealth, but also for prestige and fame. All of these will pass away with this world.

Your place doesn’t matter; your spirit does. You can change jobs and locations without changing yourself for the better, if your heart has no foundation in me. For you will always find again, in the new place, the very thing you were running away from-sometimes more of it!
=='''30 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Recovery'''===
My child, I am the Lord who ‘protects his people in times of trouble’. Come to me whenever you have a problem. I could help you much faster if you were not so slow in turning to prayer; but you try everything else first.

Remember that I am the one who rescues those who trust in me. You will find no lasting help in any other source.

Now that you have caught your breath and your trouble has passed, recuperate in my mercies. I stand near you to repair all damage and to make things better than before. Is anything too hard for me? Where is your faith? Stand strong in me. Have patience and courage; comfort will come in time. Wait. I will come to you with healing.

Are you anxious about the future?

What will that gain you but sorrow? ‘So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings’.

What a waste to be disturbed or joyful about future events which may never materialize! The Enemy will prey on your natural inclination to such anxieties. He doesn’t care whether he deludes you to love the present or to fear the future.

“Do not be worried and upset. do not be afraid”. When you think you are far from me, I am frequently quite near. When you feel that all is lost, sometimes the greatest gain is ready to be yours. Don’t judge everything by the way you feel right now. If, for a while, you feel no comfort from me, I have not rejected you. In fact, I have set you on the road to the kingdom of heaven.
=='''31 May 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Recovery'''===
It is better for you to experience a little adversity than to have everything exactly as you choose. Otherwise, you may become mistakenly self-satisfied. What I have given, I can take away, and I can return it again when I please.

When I give something to you, it is on loan; when I take it back, I am not asking for anything that is yours. “Every good gift and every perfect present comes from heaven; it comes down from God”.

I love you just as the Father loves me; remain in my love’. That is what I said to my beloved disciples, and you will notice that I sent them out into the world,

not to enjoy earthly pleasures, but to do battle;

not to receive honour, but to receive contempt;

not to be idle, but to work;

not to rest, but to reap a harvest patiently.

Remember these words, my child.
==='''Forget Created Things and Find the Creator'''===
Lord, I lack the spiritual maturity to live so that nothing in creation, none of life’s pleasures or irritations, can hinder my devotion to you. I know how the psalmist felt when he sang, I wish I had wings, like a dove. I would fly away and find rest. Who is more at rest than the one who cares for no earthly thing? For you, the Creator of all things, have made no creature that compares with you.

And, unless I can be liberated from a love of created things, my mind will not be free to concentrate on you alone. This explains why so few of us are contemplative people. Most of us find the requirements too great. We need your grace.

What is not God is nothing. And that is the label we ought to put on it’: ‘Nothing?’
=='''1 June 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Self-denial'''===
My child, the only way to possess absolute freedom is to renounce yourself. Those who seek their own interests are trapped. They love themselves.

They wander around in circles greedily searching for soft and delicate things instead of the things of Christ. They make plans that are doomed to fail because they are not in harmony with me.

Here is my teaching again in a capsule: Let everything go, and you will find everything; stop wanting so much, and you will have rest.

Lord, this is not going to be easy. You’re asking for perfection!

Don’t be frightened off, my child. Gain an appetite for higher things. I have no greater wish for you than this: that you lose all your selfishness and serve only me.

Yes, you have a long way to go. But unless you start the journey, you will never reach the end.

‘I advise you, then, to buy gold from me, pure gold, in order to be rich’.

That gold is heavenly wisdom which sees every worldly thing as contemptible garbage. This treasure remains hidden from many.
==='''Swinging Moods'''===
So, you feel one way today! You will feel another way tomorrow. Like it or not, you will be somewhat manic-depressive as long as you live:

Some days you’ll be happy and other days you’ll be sad,

some days calm and other days troubled,

some days faithful and other days faithless,

some days vigorous and other days sluggish,

some days solemn and other days light-hearted.

But if you are well-taught by the Spirit, you will live above such changes. You will pass through your various moods unshaken and push on toward your goal of seeking me only.

The dearer your target, the better you will weather emotional storms.
=='''2 June 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Delight in God'''===
I love you, my God. You are all I could ask for. What more can I desire? When you are present, I live in delight. You give me a calm heart, a tranquil mind, and a festive spirit. With your help I can rejoice in all circumstances and praise you at all times.

Nothing is tasteless to those who hunger for you. But nothing can satisfy those who refuse to taste you.

You are the everlasting Light, outshining all created lights. Send your bright beams to penetrate me. Purify and illuminate me with their great power. Give me new life.
==='''Everyone Is Tempted'''===
My child, you will never be free from temptation in this life. You will always need spiritual armour, for you live among enemies who attack at every opportunity. If you don’t shield yourself, you will not escape without injury. And if you fail to abandon everything else for me, you will not be equal to the task. Be brave! Winning will be worth the fight, but losing will bring misery and pain.

If you look for rest now, how will you attain heavenly rest? Don’t ask for rest; ask for patience. Be glad to endure everything because of your love for me:

labour

pain,

temptation,

nuisance,

anxiety

compulsion,

injury

slander,

reprimand,

confusion,

correction,

and contempt.

These are distressing trials for a new Christian, but they will make you a better person and prepare you for something magnificent.

For a brief effort, you will receive an everlasting reward, and for a passing difficulty, infinite glory.
=='''3 June 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Delight in God'''===
Will you always enjoy spiritual comfort? No, even my most devoted saints had problems, temptations, and feelings of desolation.

But they endured it all patiently, trusting me rather than themselves, knowing that the suffering of ‘this present time cannot be compared at all with the glory that is going to be revealed’. It is ridiculous for you to expect to receive instantly what others have barely obtained after many tears and great spiritual fatigue.

Wait patiently for me. Control your behaviour. Take courage and never stop serving me because of suffering or fear. Offer your very life for my glory. I will reward you for it, and I will not desert you when you are in trouble.
==='''God and Your Business'''===
Give your business to me, my child, and I will make it prosper as I see fit. Wait for me to take care of it and you will be glad.

O Lord, I gladly give it all to you because my efforts accomplish so little. I wish I did not care so much about success.

My child, sometimes a person grasps and claws for something, but when he obtains it, he finds that some other goal is more desirable. A person’s interests often change. True and lasting profit comes only from self-denial, for the one who denies himself lives in freedom and security.
=='''4 June 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Pride Cannot Be Justified'''===
When I look at the sky, which you have made, at the moon and the stars, which you set in their places- ‘what is man, that you think of him,

mere man, that you care for him? Have we deserved any favours, Lord? What right do I have to complain if you neglect me completely? If you don’t give me what I want what just reason do I have to grumble?

Lord, I am nothing, I can do nothing, I possess nothing in myself that is worthwhile, I am distressingly insufficient and give all my attention to trivia.

Unless you help me, there is no hope for me. Any praise belongs to you, not to me. In you I will rejoice, but as for me, I will not boast about myself, except the things that show how weak I am’.
==='''Being Honoured Is Unimportant'''===
My child, do not let it bother you if you see others getting recognition and honours while you are overlooked. Turn to me and the neglect of people will not trouble you.

Lord, we are blind and insanely vain. Unless I am willing to be totally unrecognized, I will never find any peace within me, or become spiritually enlightened, or be at one with you.
=='''5 June 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''God Is the Best Teacher'''===
Do not be led astray by the brightest human minds. “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of words but of power’.

Never read anything in order to appear wise. Knowing answers to difficult questions will not help you nearly as much as spiritual discipline. Even after profound scholarship, you still need to know me, for I am the Beginning of everything, “the teacher of all men’.

I will give you better insight than any professor could. I teach without audible words, and without argument and debate. I instruct you to despise earthly things and seek the eternal, to run from honours and endure insults, to place all hope in me and to love me above all things.

Books may contain identical letters and use the same method of communication, but they do not instruct everyone in the same way. The reason is that I secretly teach within each person as I see fit.
==='''A Word of Divine Encouragement'''===
My child, do not be worn out by the work you are doing for me. Let no setback discourage you. I will give you strength.

Remember, you will not be working here forever. If you will wait a little while, things will change. Soon enough all labour and trouble will end.

Keep going, then. Work faithfully in my garden, and I will be your wages. Write, read, sing, mourn, be silent, and pray. Take all blows gladly. The kingdom of heaven is worth all this and much more. When you know the joy of that peace, you will no longer ask, ‘Who will rescue me from this body that is taking me to death?’, for death will be destroyed and you will remain with me forever.
=='''6 June 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''A Prayer for Troubled Times'''===
Heavenly Father, the time has come for me to be tested. It is proper that I should now suffer something for your sake. Before time began you knew this hour would come.

Outwardly, I will be tormented; inwardly, I will be with you. For a little while, I will be a failure and an object of scorn.

Go down with me Father, so I may rise with you in the dawning of a new light.

Such humbling is good for me, Lord. It helps me throw away haughtiness and pride. It is valuable ‘that I am covered with shame’, because it makes me turn to you for comfort rather than to men. Thank you for this painful challenge. You know how troubled times can scour away the rust of sin. Do with me as you choose.

O Lord,

let me know what is worth knowing,

love what is worth loving,

praise what pleases you,

honour what is worthy in your sight,

and avoid all that is evil.

As humble Saint Francis said, ‘A man is as much as he is in your sight and no more.’
=='''7 June 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Enduring the Desert'''===
My child, you cannot always be spiritually high and inflamed with devotion. You are flesh and bones, and naturally inclined to stumble. As long as you live in a mortal body, you will face weariness.

Bear patiently your exile and the dryness of your mind.

The time will come when I make you forget these painful moments and you will enjoy inward quietness.

I will open the Bible for you and you will be thrilled by your new understanding of my truth.

Then you will say, “I consider that what we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with the glory that is going to be revealed to us”.
==='''A Prayer for Grace'''===
My Lord, give me the grace which you have showed me is so important for my spiritual health. Let me overcome my natural inclinations. I can’t resist these passions unless you help me.

I know that good does not live in me-that is, in my human nature. For even though the desire to do good is in me, I am not able to do it. I don’t do the good I want to do; instead, I do the evil that I do not want to do’.

So, it is that I start many good things but then drop out before the job is finished.

Therefore, O Lord, let your grace lead me and follow me, through your son, Jesus Christ.

Amen.
=='''8 June 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Following Christ'''===
My child, the more you can withdraw from yourself, the more you can enter into me. I want you to learn how to forget yourself completely and be comfortable in my will.

Follow me. ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.

Without the Way, you can go nowhere.

Without the Truth, you can know nothing.

Without the life, you cannot live.

I am the Way you should follow.

I am the Truth you should believe.

I am the life you can hope for.

I am the Way that is protected.

I am the Truth that is flawless.

I am the life that has no end.

I am the straightest Way.

I am the perfect Truth.

I am the happiest life.

If you obey my teaching you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free'.

'Keep the commandments, if you want to enter life'.

If you want to know the truth, believe me.

"If you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have'.

If you want to be my disciple, deny yourself everything. If you want a happy life, despise this present one.

If you want to be great in heaven, humble yourself in the world.

If you want to reign with me, bear the Cross with me.
=='''9 June 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Following Christ'''===
==='''Don’t Question God’s Judgment'''===
My child, it will be better for you if you accept my decisions without complaint. Do not ask me to defend my actions, or to explain why one person is favoured and another seems slighted.

The answers to these questions go far beyond your comprehension.

When you are tempted to object say with the psalmist, ‘You are righteous, Lord, and your laws are just'. The judgments of the Lord are just; they are always fair'.

My decisions are to be respected; They are not to be debated.

And don't waste your time trying to determine which of the saints is most saintly, or who shall be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. This can cause arguments and dissension, and you may even form parties and admiration societies. The saints would be the first to tell you to stop it!

Some people gather around one godly person, and others gather around another. But this is human love, not divine love.

I made all the saints. I gave them grace and glory. I chose them; they did not choose me. I attracted them to myself and led them safely through temptations. I gave them strength and patience.
=='''10 June 2026'''==
''(From The Imitation of Christ by Bernard Bangley)''
==='''Following Christ'''===
==='''Don’t Question God’s Judgment'''===
But I do not reserve my favour for these saints; I love everyone. So, if you look down on the least person, you fail to honour the greatest, because I made both of them and all in my kingdom are one, bound together in my love.

When the disciples asked who would be the greatest, this was Jesus’s answer: ‘Unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

The greatest in the Kingdom of heaven is the one who humbles himself and becomes like this child’.
==='''The Prayer of One Who Would Follow Christ'''===
I look only to you, merciful Father, for help and comfort. My soul praises you and seeks to become your holy dwelling place. Let nothing in me offend you. Hear the prayer of your weakest servant who is wandering in a distant place. Protect me from the dangers of this corruptible world. Guide me along the way of peace to my home of eternal brightness.

Amen.
=='''11 June 2026'''==
==='''Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji'''===
===='''ADVICE TO A DEVOTEE'''====
Biharilal Sarkar: "Maharaj, why are there so many ups and downs in the mind of a householder?"

Latu Maharaj: "Because the mind of a householder is too involved with worldly objects. Sometimes it goes up as a result of spiritual practices, but it falls back again.

The Master used to say: if one ties a rope with a brick at the end of it to the tail of a mongoose, it will be able to climb a wall only as far as the loose rope permits but no farther, because of the weight of the brick.

Likewise, the mind of a householder may move toward God, but the weight of worldly objects pulls it back.'

To keep the mind always in God is a great tapasya: such a mind does not fluctuate between high and low.

A thread with stray fibres cannot pass through the eye of a needle; similarly, a mind with desires cannot be absorbed in God.

"When a man's mind becomes fully concentrated on God, he enjoys the bliss of the Atman.

But this is very difficult in the householder's life. Disease, sorrow, enjoyment, desire—all these are constant companions of the householder; also physical lethargy and mental restlessness.

In addition to these if man doubts the existence of God, there is no hope of his getting liberation. Often you will find that worldly people are busy with their families, their children, and other mundane matters, but they have no inclination to think about God.

Such distracted minds cannot make progress in spiritual life."
=='''12 June 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''

Bihari Babu: "Then should we give up family life and call on God only?"

Latu Maharaj: "Why should you give up your family? Doesn't one's family belong to God? Therefore, call on him who is the real head of the family.

One will have to do one's duty in this world. How can you escape it? Wherever you go, the world will follow you. Does it exist outside us? No, everything is in our own minds. If your mind desires enjoyment, you will seek enjoyment even in the forest; and if you don't have that desire for sense objects, you will not want them even if you are surrounded by them. Whether you live in a household or in the forest, you must call on God; otherwise, all is in vain.

"Brother Turiyananda used to say, 'Only a fool thinks that he will take his bath in the ocean after the waves have subsided.' Do you think he will ever take his bath?

The waves of the ocean will never stop; he will never get his bath, even if he waits his whole life.

So, I say, wherever you may be, whatever your mental condition, dive deep in the name of God. He who can do this will attain the highest. On the other hand, a man who decides to solve all his problems before he calls on God will never reach the goal; for as long as you have a body, you must experience disease, sorrow, fear, pain, and suffering. 'It is troublesome to have a body.' Anyone who wants to escape from all these troubles will have to hold onto God. God is Satchidananda—Absolute Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss. His bliss removes all suffering."
=='''13 June 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''

A devotee: "Maharaj, please tell us about the bliss of Brahman. “

Latu Maharaj: "Ah, you see, that bliss cannot be compared with any joy you may find in this world. It is inexpressible.

Worldly happiness is the product of maya. Maya operates within the three states—waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep.

But beyond those three is another realm, turiya, which is extremely difficult to reach. The bliss of that realm is free from maya. You know how sweet the joy within maya is. Ordinary people are enchanted by it. They do not even think for a moment how immensely sweeter is God whose maya is so sweet!"

A devotee: "Maharaj. why do you say that maya's so-called joy is sweet? It is nothing but scorching flames."

Latu Maharaj: "But you see. most people love that burning sensation."

On another occasion Latu Maharaj said: "Nothing in this world is valuable except bliss. Do you know why people want money, property, wife, children? Because they think they will get physical and mental happiness from them.

So, they are ready to workday and night for them. If they would divert that energy toward God, they could get the permanent genuine bliss of Satchidananda instead of the transitory happiness of the world."
=='''14 June 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''ON SURRENDER'''===
Latu Maharaj: "You speak about dependence on God so superficially! If you do not get any response after calling on God for a couple of days, you follow your own way according to your mood, as if you understood the situation better than he.

Surrendering oneself to God means that one should move at his command. Do not do anything without his command. Even if it means a great loss for you. do not stray from that.

Only when you have attained this state can you say that you have truly surrendered yourself to God.

Brother Vivekananda used to say: 'If I cannot get Rama, shall I live with Shyama? If necessary, let this life be spent in vain for Sri Ramakrishna."

See how he surrendered himself to the Master! He was ready at any moment to give up his life for the Lord over the smallest thing.

This is the way one should hold onto the Master; only then can he guide you in the right direction."

A devotee: "Maharaj, why do we not have that kind of dependence on God!

Latu Maharaj: "It is because you value your intellect and ego more than God. You are not ready to wait for his command, and moreover, you lose patience in a minute."
=='''15 June 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''FEELING FOR OTHERS'''===
"Only a poor man can love the poor. A rich man cannot feel the sufferings of the poor, for no one can understand the sufferings of others unless he has undergone the same suffering.

Brother Vivekananda told Turiyananda: 'Brother. I do not know exactly what I have gained by leading this monk's life, but one thing is certain: This [Swami Vivekananda pointed to his heart] has expanded enormously.'

"If the desire to do charitable works arises in the mind of a rich man, it shows that his heart has started to feel for the poor.

God tests a man by making him wealthy, and that is a hard test to pass. Tests devised by men are easy to pass, but divine tests are very difficult. God may give plenty of riches to one man, but so delude him by maya that he will never in his life desire to be charitable.

Again, God may give a generous heart to another person, but not give him much money. Blessed indeed are they who are rich and yet feel for the poor.

"Money brings vanity. The more egotistic a man is, the farther he is from God, and thus the poorer he is.

Do not measure the poverty of a man by his possessions. The real measure is how far he is from God. The nearer to the Lord, the richer the man: the more forgetful of the Lord, the poorer and unhappier he is."
=='''16 June 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''ON LUST'''===
A devotee: "How can one overcome lust?"

Latu Maharaj: "Keep a picture of Sri Ramakrishna with you. Whenever lustful feelings arise, you should look at the picture intently. You will find that the senses will gradually be gathered in and the mind will be freed from lust."
===='''ATTITUDE TOWARD WOMEN'''====
Once Latu Maharaj told a group of men devotees: "Some men abuse women, but you should never raise your hand against them. You do not know how much they bear—they are forbearance itself. If you abuse them, where shall they turn? They are aspects of the Divine Mother, and if the Mother is insulted, the Lord is displeased. Thus, your well-being lies in making them happy. Their tears will ruin you, as Sita's tears destroyed the whole of Ravana's people."
===='''ON RESTLESSNESS'''====
Latu Maharaj once said to a restless devotee: "Why do you think of all sorts of nonsense when you sit to meditate? Can't you whip your mind? Even if you cannot control your mind and you become disgusted, please don't leave your seat: for if you get up from meditation with that attitude of disgust, you will be in a bad mood all day. And you will feel like beating one person, scolding another, and speaking harshly to a third.

The Master told us, 'Do not get up from your seat immediately after meditation." While you are still sitting on the asana [seat for meditation], sing devotional songs for ten or fifteen minutes, and then you will feel calmness in your mind throughout the day."
=='''17 June 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''DESIRES AND SENSE OBJECTS'''===
Latu Maharaj: "Worldly desires have taken up permanent residence in the mind. Sometimes they float on the surface of the mind, and sometimes they are so hidden that it seems they do not even exist.

But the closer you are to God, the more you will see the knots of desire hidden in the mind. The more your body and mind are purified, the more the dirt and dross which have accumulated during thousands of lives will be stirred up and will challenge your spirituality.

The energy generated by spiritual disciplines forces the impurities to leave the mind, their fort. How can they cope against the power of the Lord's name?

"You see. the desires are very shrewd. They take possession not only of the mind of a person but his sense organs as well. As soon as desire is aroused in the mind, the sense organs are awakened.

The eyes want to see, the ears want to hear, the tongue to taste and speak, the nose to smell, and the body to feel. The hands want to work and the feet carry the person to where the object is. The other sense organs are alert, and whenever the opportunity comes they also enjoy.
=='''18 June 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''THE POWER OF IMAGINATION'''===
"Do you know what the mind does? It conjures up enticing pictures with the imagination.

The imagination is man's worst enemy, his greatest tempter, for it creates beautiful pictures of sense pleasures and nearly destroys man's conscience. Thus, man is drawn to sense objects. Therefore, if you want to control the desire for worldly things, control the imagination and don't be deluded by sense enjoyments."

A devotee: "But how can one control the imagination?"

Latu Maharaj: "The imagination can be controlled by withdrawing the mind from the object, although that will not still the mind.

Sri Ramakrishna said that three things are necessary in the process of perception: the object of perception, the sense organ, and the mind. Perception of the object is not possible if one of these three is missing.

So, if you can eliminate one of them, the mind will not be able to cognize. It is hard to eliminate the objects of perception. They come and go. We have to encounter them always. How can one live and avoid sense objects? So long as you can avoid the sense objects, your self-control may be intact: but as soon as you come near them again, you will find yourself deluded by their attraction. So, instead, try to withdraw either the sense organ or the mind from the object. Then automatically the object will not be perceived.
=='''19 June 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''THE POWER OF IMAGINATION'''===
"The nature of the mind can be changed by chanting the name of the Lord. Gradually desires and doubts cease and the mind dissolves into its causality. Then there is none to think or imagine. Waves of desire in the mind show that the mind is active: the mind becomes pure only when it becomes waveless. The power of God descends on the pure mind, and only then does one realize the Self."
===='''ON OVERCOMING DISCOURAGEMENT'''====
A devotee: "Maharaj, is there any hope for liberation for worldly people like us? Please bless us that we can escape this whirlpool of maya."

Latu Maharaj: "Why should you be so depressed? Do you think you understand everything about human life? Know that no life goes in vain in God's realm.

Once Brother Shashi gave a very apt illustration to someone like you: A man was out walking and came upon a canal. Seeing that he would have to jump over it in order to continue on his way, he took several strides backward to get a running start for his leap. As he ran forward and jumped over the canal, he covered not only the distance he had moved backward but also the canal itself. Now. can you tell me whether his several steps backward were helpful or harmful? A man might have to take backward steps in this present life, but he will undoubtedly run forward in the next.
=='''20 June 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''THE POWER OF IMAGINATION'''===
"No life is ever lived in vain. Remember only one thing: Lead a God-cantered life. Then the Lord will guide you as he likes. He knows our past, present, and future. The wisest course is to surrender to him completely.

Whether you hold onto the Lord's hand or not does not matter, he is always holding onto yours. There is no doubt about that. He will never abandon you. He is all-merciful."
===='''REMORSE AND GOD’S FORGIVENESS'''====
A devotee did something wrong and was feeling very bad about it. When Latu Maharaj heard this, he called for the devotee to come see him.

He told the devotee: "Look here, my son, just because you have made one or two mistakes, you should not give up your spiritual practices and brood over your lapses and feel hopeless. To make mistakes is human.

Call on God. He will give you the strength to overcome weakness and destroy your delusion. He is the compassionate one. However great your sins might be, the current of his mercy will not be kept from you. How little is your sin, and yet you are so depressed! Just think of Ajamila, and Valmiki! Compared to their sins, yours are nothing.

Do you know what Brother Vivekananda used to say? 'Don't worry about a little spot of ink on the body. It is nothing. If one bathes in God's infinite ocean of mercy, the stains of a thousand inkpots will be washed away."

So, I am telling you. do not grieve. Pray unceasingly. Your bad tendencies will go away in a short time."

Yet the devotee was so ashamed of his conduct that he could not raise his head. Seeing this, Latu Maharaj said: "Before he commits a sin, a man's conscience fills him with shame, yet he brushes it aside. But divine law is such that after the sin is committed, shame overwhelms him again, and he cannot raise his head in front of others."

Even these words could not shake the devotee free from his sense of guilt.

Latu Maharaj continued: "What are you ashamed of, my son? The Lord has seen everything you have done. You cannot hide anything from him. Since he knows all of it. why should you still be so melancholy?

Instead, engage yourself in harder spiritual disciplines, keep the company of holy men. and come here now and then."

These words helped the devotee regain his mental strength. After this conversation with Latu Maharaj, he began to practice spiritual disciplines more vigorously.
=='''21 June 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''ON MONASTIC LIFE'''===
Latu Maharaj to a monk: "Never forget the goal of monastic life. Don't wear the gerua cloth [the ochre-coloured cloth of a monk] for outward show. The gerua cloth may bring you name and fame, but that will not help you realize God.

Go into solitude and practice your spiritual disciplines with all your heart. Only then will you progress quickly. Avoid gossip and politics.

"Is it so easy to be a monk? A real monk longs for God, weeps for God. He does not think about himself and is not disturbed by physical discomfort.

A real monk will not see faults in others, and he will have neither attachment nor aversion for anyone. He should be friendly with all.

A real monk must try to ease the sufferings of others, and if he does not have the means, he should encourage them with inspired words so that they can fight against life's odds.

He does not hoard for the future and seeks nothing except God.

A real monk is free from fear and is straightforward. His behaviour is simple, like a child's. Wherever he goes, he hears the call of God."
===='''CRUELTY AND COMPASSION'''====
A devotee: "Maharaj, where is compassion in this world? There seems to be only an unbroken chain of cruelty. The crow attacks the sparrow, the kite attacks the crow, man hunts the kite, and the tiger and the bear attack man."

"If you see cruelty around you," responded Latu Maharaj. "you will find cruelty in God. If you see compassion everywhere, you will witness his infinite compassion. It all depends on your own mind.

Always remember that to the pure mind all things are pure."
=='''22 June 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''ON MIRACLES'''===
A young man: "Maharaj. could you teach me something so that I will no longer suffer from poverty?"

Latu Maharaj: "You won't like what I tell you. You want the sort of trick that one uses to make gold out of a handful of dust; but I don't know that trick.

I am a monk. I stay in this place and chant the name of the Lord. I can tell you something about God and spiritual life, but you won't be satisfied.

You want miraculous powers. Are powers so easy to come by? Are you ready to exert yourself? If you can chant the Lord's name a hundred thousand times a day, then come and sit here."

After hearing these words, the young man hurried away.
===='''SRI RAMAKR1SHNA: AN EXEMPLAR'''====
"Sri Ramakrishna embodies an ideal for everyone. He was an ideal householder, an ideal monk, an ideal guru, and an ideal disciple.

Moreover, his life can serve as an example for all faiths and all sects. He is an ideal for the worshipers of Shakti. as he practiced and attained perfection in all the important Tantric sadhanas. He is an ideal for the Vaishnavites, for his devotion to Hari is unparalleled. He is also an ideal for the Shaivites, as he attained the vision of Lord Shiva too. He is an ideal for the devotees of Ramachandra, for he saw Rama and Sita.

He is an ideal for the Vedantins as well, having experienced nirvikalpa samadhi, the culmination of the Vedantic sadhana, within three days. He is also an ideal for the Christians and Mohammedans, because he had the vision of Christ and also of the Prophet."
=='''23 June 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''SRI RAMAKRISHNA'S TEACHING ON SUFFERING'''===
A devotee: "Maharaj, why should a knower of Brahman like Sri Ramakrishna, who was almost always immersed in samadhi has to suffer from such a terrible disease?"

Latu Maharaj: "What do I know about that? I heard Master Mahashay ["M."] say, 'It is because of the touch of impure people that he suffered so terribly."

Girish Babu used to say, 'It is his divine play—a way to relieve the sufferings of mankind.'

Ram Babu said: 'If the Master had not suffered from such a terrible disease, who could have recognized him? When one is in good health, one can easily fix the mind on God: but he is surely an avatar who can be continually in nirvikalpa samadhi, even when he is sick.'

"Brother Loren said at that time: 'He wants to be served by us, so he has contracted this disease. Don't worry. Could we have such a priceless opportunity to serve him if he didn't have this disease? We must not miss this opportunity. Let us serve him in such a way that he will not have the heart to leave us.'

"Brother Rakhal said: ‘The Master is testing us.'

Brother Sharat said, 'Although we may or may not understand it, a great mission is beginning through the Master's illness.'

Brother Shashi said: 'Sweet Jesus allowed himself to be crucified for humanity's sake. Our Master too, is suffering excruciating pain in order to remove man's burden of sin.'

"Balaram Babu once said to the Master: 'Sir, I am tired of hearing people's critical remarks about your illness. They say, "Your Master is suffering from disease!" '

The Master answered, 'Listen, he who forbears, survives and becomes great.'

Many people held different opinions about his illness. I don't remember them all.

"The Master used to say, 'Let the body and the disease take care of each other: O mind, be happy.'

He felt no pain. I saw that he was floating in bliss. If he had really suffered, could he have given us such joy?

He told us: 'Brahman is stainless. Though the three gunas [sattva, rajas, and tamas] are in Brahman, he is separate from them, as the air carries odours but still remains different from and untouched by them. Brahman is Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute. In Brahman there is no sorrow or pain, no disease or death, no decay or growth. I see everything within this [Sri Ramakrishna pointed to himself]. Brahman and the One who is within the heart are the same.'

Where is the suffering of one who, though sick, can maintain such a high level of spirituality? You people identify yourselves with the body, so when the body suffers you are frightened."
=='''24 June 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''ON THE TRUTH OF BRAHMAN'''===
Biharilal Sarkar: "Maharaj, the scriptures say that Brahman is seated in the heart of man. What does that mean?"

Latu Maharaj: "It is just a figure of speech. Words cannot really encompass the truth of Brahman, although the scriptures have tried to describe it in that way. Brahman is everywhere. There is no in or out, high or low, east or west with him. He is one, inherent in everything. He is all-pervading, limitless, eternal.

Various attempts have been made to describe Brahman, but what is beyond thought cannot really be expressed in language. He is in everything and, again, is beyond everything.

Sri Ramakrishna used to say, 'Everything has been defiled by the lips of man except the truth of Brahman."

Bihari Babu: "Maharaj, you monks are inscrutable! Instead of making positive statements, you speak only in vague terms!"

Another devotee: "Maharaj, please tell us what you have understood of this truth."

Latu Maharaj: "You see, this realization cannot be expressed. One uses language to express an idea, but so far no adequate language has been discovered for talking about Brahman.

The Master used to say, "My boys, I would like to tell you many things, but the Divine Mother presses my lips, as it were, and does not allow me to talk.'
=='''25 June 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''ON THE TRUTH OF BRAHMAN'''===
Latu Maharaj: "You speak thousands of words every day. Have you ever thought about where these words come from?"

The devotee: "They must come from the mind."

Latu Maharaj: "Can you say, then, from which part of the mind they come and in what form? And then, where is the mind itself?"

The devotee could not reply.

Bihari Babu ventured: "There is a neural connection between the brain and the tongue, so the mind must be in the brain."

Latu Maharaj: "In what form?"

Bihari Babu: "As vibration."

Latu Maharaj: "Now tell me whether that vibration is continuous or whether it stops and starts."

Bihari Babu was surprised: "Maharaj, I haven't thought about it."

Latu Maharaj: "Then please think it over."

Bihari Babu: "Perhaps it stops and then starts again, exciting the nerves of the brain and bringing out the response."

Latu Maharaj: "If the vibration does stop, can you tell me what makes it start again, especially in the case where there is no external stimulus?'

Bihari Babu: "No, Maharaj, we really can't say."

Latu Maharaj: "So, you see. you can express these things up to a point, but no further."

After some time both Bihari Babu and the other devotee saluted Latu Maharaj and took leave of him.

As they were approaching their carriage, Bihari Babu said: "I have never heard such words before. This unlettered monk has thought over even such subtle things as these. It is really amazing! We are proud of our scholarship, but in reality he is more learned than we are."
=='''26 June 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''MAYA AND FREEDOM'''===
Bihari Babu: "But Maharaj, the scriptures say that God is guiding man: so, the responsibility is God's, not ours."

Latu Maharaj: "Yes, the scriptures are right. It is the responsibility of the operator, not the instrument.

But tell me. who is guiding the individual soul who is bound by maya? Maya herself is acting as the operator.

Do you know the nature of maya's game? She loves to play and wants to play always. She enjoys ups and downs, pleasure and pain, creation and destruction.

She loves to raise waves of desire in the mind and does not like to still them.

But God takes charge of the soul which is not bound by maya. When God guides a man, an uninterrupted current of happiness, peace, and bliss flows in his mind and no other waves of thought can be raised there. He becomes one with that un-fathomable, waveless. ocean of Satchidananda."

Bihari Babu: "Yes, Maharaj, I know the scriptures have compared Brahman with the ocean and maya with the waves on its surface. Now let me ask, what is the difference between the waves and the ocean when both are water?

In that case wouldn't being guided by maya and being guided by God be the same?"

Latu Maharaj: "Yes, from one point of view they are the same, but there is another point of view, too.

The Master used to say, The waves belong to the ocean, but no one can say that the ocean belongs to the waves. Similarly, maya belongs to God, but maya is not God. So, you cannot say that being guided by maya is the same as being guided by God. Nevertheless, the ultimate purpose of maya's guidance is certainly to take the individual soul to God."

Bihari Babu: "But everybody says that maya deludes the individual soul and leads him astray."

Latu Maharaj: "Maya wants to play constantly. Because maya's play goes on and on, man cannot see where he is being taken on his journey, so he thinks maya is taking him in the wrong direction.

But look, how can she misdirect us? Isn't God everywhere? Maya has become manifest by God's will and she is working for him."
=='''27 June 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''MAYA AND FREEDOM'''===
==='''Bihari Babu: "What! Maya is working for God?"'''===
Latu Maharaj: "Yes, what other motive can she have?"

Bihari Babu: "But the scriptures describe maya as illusory and world-bewitching; she makes the unreal appear to be real, and her main concern is the delusion of mankind."

Latu Maharaj: "Do you know why people say so? The scriptures speak harshly against maya because she has qualified the unqualified Brahman.

And there is another reason: God alone is real; maya, by comparison, is unreal, illusory. But maya is unreal only in relation to God. From man's standpoint, maya is avidya, ignorance, which is neither real nor unreal.

If you watch maya carefully, you will see that she is pushing man toward God step by step. With one hand she is deluding man and with the other she is unveiling consciousness before him. She works in a balanced way, without any motive of her own. She balances both happiness and misery, both goodness and evil.

Do you know the intention behind all this? To teach us. If maya's purpose were to lead man astray, she would show us only one aspect, not both. But because maya shows us two aspects, she simultaneously deludes and enlightens.

True, she causes man much trouble and her path is very roundabout and time-consuming, but eventually it will lead one to God.

After you suffer repeated blows and much torment in this world and come to understand maya's ways, maya won't be able to hold you anymore. Then you will be released by her sattvic power. That is why she is called the one who makes the impossible possible."
=='''28 June 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''MAYA AND FREEDOM'''===
Bihari Babu: "Does maya have a benign power too?"

Latu Maharaj: "Certainly. Maya is God's power, and can that power be all bad?"

Bihari Babu: "Maharaj. from the way you are talking, maya seems to be something great."

Latu Maharaj: "Yes. that is true. Maya is great and that greatness is God himself. The other day a monk explained it nicely: 'Man has already attained God: to try further for realization is useless. This universe belongs to God and man is living in it: thus, he has attained salokya-mukti, liberation by living in the same region as God.

God made man in his own image: and thus, man has attained sarupya-mukti, liberation by having a form similar to God's.

God is everywhere, so man is always near him: and thus, he has attained samipya-mukti, liberation by living close to God.

The only thing that he has not yet attained is sayujya-mukti, becoming one with God.'"
===='''REMOVING THE COVERING OF IGNORANCE'''====
One day Shashadhar Ganguli, a teacher from Malda, asked Latu Maharaj. "Can the Atman be an object of knowledge?"

Latu Maharaj: "An object is something which cannot be known without the help of something else, but the Atman is self-revealing. So, you cannot say the Atman is an object of knowledge."

The teacher: "Then why should we want to know the Atman?"

Latu Maharaj: "Because the Atman is our real nature."

The teacher: "If the Atman is our real nature, then why are we not aware of it?"

Latu Maharaj: "Listen, can anyone deviate from his real nature? If he does; it cannot be called his real nature: for it is changeable. Man's real nature is covered by a dense cloud of ignorance, and consequently he appears to be something different, but that does not mean he has deviated from his real nature."
=='''29 June 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''REMOVING THE COVERING OF IGNORANCE'''===
The teacher: "If the Atman is our real nature, then why are we not aware of it?"

Latu Maharaj: "Listen, can anyone deviate from his real nature? If he does; it cannot be called his real nature: for it is changeable. Man's real nature is covered by a dense cloud of ignorance, and consequently he appears to be something different, but that does not mean he has deviated from his real nature."

The teacher: "I couldn't follow you. Would you please explain this a little more?"

Latu Maharaj: "All right. Suppose here is a brass pot covered with stains. Looking at it. one may think it is made of something other than brass, but that thought cannot change its nature; the brass pot still remains brass. It is like that."

The teacher: "But Maharaj, that analogy is not suitable here. The brass pot never thinks of itself as not being brass, but man thinks of himself as being something other than the Atman."

Latu Maharaj: "That is not so. Man does not think that he is something else. He may say, 'my body,' 'my mind,' 'my intellect.' but he never says. 'I am the body.' or I am the mind.' He knows that what he calls 'his' is not the same as 'himself.'

Man's I-consciousness is always there, he is not devoid of it. only he cannot express it. You can feel hungry or sleepy, but can you tell me who you really are?"

The teacher: "No. Maharaj. But I do feel hunger or fatigue."

Latu Maharaj: "That is what I mean. You are aware of your consciousness, but you are unable to express it."
=='''30 June 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''REMOVING THE COVERING OF IGNORANCE'''===
The teacher: "Why can't I express it?"

Latu Maharaj: "Because your mind is so deeply covered with desires, doubts, and ignorance that your real nature is unable to express itself.

Haven't you seen those polishing shops at Mechuabazar in Calcutta where they have glass jars filled with coloured liquids?

The metal worker takes a tarnished brass pot and dips it into ajar, and instantly all the tarnish goes away and the pot starts to glitter. Then he dips it into another jar and it turns a golden colour. Similarly, the cloudy stuff which has been covering our I-consciousness must first be washed away: then we shall see the brilliance of the inmost Self."

The teacher: "How can we wash it away, Maharaj?"

Latu Maharaj: "Dip your mind in the jar of the Lord's name, and all the unclean stuff will be washed away. Then dip it in the jar of the Lord's grace. You will see how beautifully your real nature will shine forth. You will have to clean your mind first. There is no other way.

If you want happiness in this world, think of yourself as pure gold and not as gold-plated.

The idea of 'mine' produces misery, while the knowledge of the real ‘I’ [the higher Self] brings bliss. The knowledge of the Self removes ignorance, and this Self is the Atman. the real nature of man."
=='''1 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''REMOVING THE COVERING OF IGNORANCE'''===
The teacher: "But the Atman is all-pervading while the ‘I’ [the lower self] is limited."

Latu Maharaj: "It does not matter. You have seen the jasmine flower; how small it is! On its tiny petal you may find a dewdrop in the morning, and in that dewdrop you can see the reflection of the infinite blue sky. Likewise, the ‘I’ may be limited, but by the grace of God it can catch the reflection of the infinite Atman."

The teacher: "How can we attain God's grace. Maharaj?"

Latu Maharaj: "Control lust and greed. Practice japam and be charitable. If you can do this, you will find the Lord showering his grace upon you."
===='''ON MEDITATION'''====
A devotee: "Maharaj, is there any difference between the meditation of a jnani [one following the path of knowledge] and that of a bhakta [one who follows the path of devotion]?"

Latu Maharaj: "Yes. A bhakta meditates on the name and form of the Lord, while a jnani meditates on the identity of the individual soul and Brahman.

But whatever the object of meditation may be, eventually both aspirants will reach the same goal. When meditation deepens, both the name and form of the Lord and also the knowledge of the identity of the individual soul and Brahman disappear. That is certain. At that time, only a current of experience which is indescribable remains.

One day the Master told us, intensified meditation brings the knowledge of Oneness of ‘I’.

A devotee: "What is meant by the knowledge of Oneness?"

Latu Maharaj: "Can it be expressed in words? When that knowledge dawns, body consciousness disappears, the mind stops and even the intellect vanishes: only an uninterrupted Consciousness flows."
=='''2 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''THE MYSTERY OF SAMADHI'''===
Latu Maharaj: "Is samadhi merely a figure of speech? The human mind gets a little glimpse of God only after long and constant practice of concentration and meditation, and only then can one realize God's attributes and powers.

Infinite are his attributes, and infinite are his powers! Who can transcend them? One could spend millions of lives concentrating on just the glories of God, but what would he gain from it? He might comprehend God's glory and power, but that does not mean he has truly experienced him.

Realization of God means that one becomes absorbed in him, transcending his attributes and powers. It is not an easy thing!

An aspirant can reach God only if, out of his mercy, God helps him to go beyond his attributes and powers.

It is God's grace alone that enables an aspirant to stop the waves of the mind and dissolve the intellect; otherwise, who can stop the functioning of his mind and intellect by his own efforts? And know for certain that one attains samadhi only after the dissolution of his mind and intellect."

A devotee: "Maharaj. do you mean to say that an aspirant cannot attain samadhi through self-effort? We have heard that one attains samadhi by practicing concentration and meditation."

Latu Maharaj: "What you have heard is true. The samadhi achieved through concentration and meditation is termed by Sri Ramakrishna as 'chetan samadhi.' In this samadhi there is an interplay of ecstasy and power.

But the Master also used to speak of another kind of samadhi in which the mind dissolves and the ego disappears. I am telling you the truth, no one can attain that samadhi without divine grace."
=='''3 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''THE MYSTERY OF SAMADHI'''===
A devotee: "Maharaj, people say practice brings siddhi (success)."

Latu Maharaj: "Yes, you may attain siddhi. but not real samadhi. An aspirant attains siddhi and prosperity through exertion and power, but he realizes God through samadhi.

Nobody can express the experience of samadhi. One can hint at God's attributes in words or speak of his power, but God is not limited by these.

Infinite are his glories and infinite are his powers! Who can limit God? All spiritual powers and supernatural powers together cannot reveal him. God is in everything and again he is beyond every-thing. Just as you have many good qualities and you can do many things, so also you have many powers which you can either show or hide; but these do not reveal your real nature. Your real nature permeates through your qualities and powers, and again, it is beyond them.

An aspirant can have a glimpse of the glory and power of God. but this does not mean he can comprehend God fully. An aspirant realizes God only when God reveals himself to him."
=='''4 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''SPIRITUAL COUNSEL'''===
One evening Dr. Mello, who had spent some time at the Advaita Ashrama at Mayavati, came to see Latu Maharaj.

As he approached the Swami, he could hear him saying to himself, "God is formless and with form too."

Strangely enough, that had been the thought uppermost in Dr. M's mind, and he asked. "If God is with form, then can one see him?"

Latu Maharaj: "Yes, by all means."

Dr. M: "Maharaj, when I was at Mayavati I kept a picture of Jesus Christ on my desk and meditated on him. One day I saw that picture as a living form. All of a sudden that form vanished, and in its stead I saw Sri Ramakrishna. Then that form also disappeared, giving place to Buddha. Was this a hallucination?"

Latu Maharaj: "Oh, no, no. It was not a hallucination. That is quite common. You are on the right track; continue your practice. One who has seen one great soul may see many others. Sri Ramakrishna used to see many divine forms."

Dr. M: "Maharaj, I get confused sometimes. I do not know on whom I should meditate."

Latu Maharaj: "Whom do you love the most?"
==='''Dr. M: "I love Jesus Christ and Ramakrishna equally."'''===
Latu Maharaj: "Whom have you loved all along?"

The doctor then told a little of the history of his family, which had been Christian for the four preceding generations.

Then Latu Maharaj advised him: "Meditate on Christ. Have faith in him and pray to him. You will reach your goal."
=='''5 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''ON PREACHING'''===
"Can one preach religion simply by beating a drum? Is religion something external to us, something one person speaks about and another person accepts?

Religion is realization, and one cannot realize the truth through noise and fanfare. The more a preacher shouts, the more people's minds turn outward; and unless the mind is turned inward, God-realization is not possible.

"What an upsurge of religion there was here in Calcutta a few years ago! Preachers of the Salvation Army were found speaking on religion at almost every crossroads of the city. The Brahmo leaders used to preach their doctrines in their temples. The Vaishnavites would sing kirtan in their worship halls. Just think of all those meetings!

But what has come of all that? Where are they now? Those religious leaders tried to attract people through their preaching.

Meanwhile, another group was devoting their time to silent meditation and prayer and directing their energies to the realization of God. And now don't you see multitudes gathering around this second group?

"Inevitably, if there is no substance inside, a man's words are empty and carry no conviction. There must be renunciation, dispassion. and genuine love for God. Only then will people believe you. The Lord's will works in this peculiar way.

Look at Swami Vivekananda's life. After practicing hard spiritual disciplines, he got the command from the Master to preach, and people have accepted what he said. With one lecture Swamiji became world-famous."
=='''6 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''ON THE GURU'''===
A devotee: "Is it absolutely necessary to have a guru in order to make spiritual progress?"

Latu Maharaj: "If you are in earnest about spiritual practices, you should have a teacher, a guru. You can accept the Lord himself as your guru, if you have that much faith in him.

But it is better to have a great devotee of God as your guru. Do you know why? What do you do when you feel thirsty and are looking for water? Don't you go to the nearest place where water is available?"

A devotee: "Yes, Maharaj."

Latu Maharaj: "You surely don't go to the ocean which is far away. Isn't that so?"

A devotee: "Yes. If we can get water near by, why should we go all the way to the ocean?"

Latu Maharaj: "So, your question is answered. The human guru is like the water in the river near us, and the Lord is like the water in the ocean.

When the thirst for God arises, one should go to a human guru who is near at hand, for he can satisfy your thirst very quickly."
===='''ON CULTIVATING SPIRITUAL QUALITIES'''====
A devotee: "Maharaj, what are the duties of a householder?"

Latu Maharaj: "If you want to live a happy, contented life, stop criticizing others. Do not find fault with others. It is better to pass the time sleeping than gossiping and criticizing. Keep away from places where you find such talk going on.

Try to see the good qualities in others. This is the way to get rid of the habit of fault-finding. Evil qualities pollute the mind of a person who searches for the lapses and shortcomings of others.

"Feel others' sufferings as you feel your own. Take every opportunity to serve people, and do not injure anybody.

"Be grateful to all who help you. Be charitable to all, even to a person who abuses you. And do not run into debt, for debts bring worries.

"Try to be pure and discriminate between good and evil.

Do not perform any action which will prick your conscience.

"Do not forget God. Chant his name in the morning and evening, and, if you can, try to meditate at night."
=='''7 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''ON SADHANA'''===
Latu Maharaj: "Without question, whatever I have now has come through the Master's grace. I am an unlettered man. How can I practice austerities? What do I know about sadhana [spiritual discipline]?

At first I simply wanted to be the Master's attendant, but then he taught me how to meditate and practice spiritual disciplines. At that time, I did not know the value of sadhana.

He also taught me the mystery of Lord Ramachandra."

A devotee: "What is the mystery of Lord Ramachandra?"

Latu Maharaj: "One day I was massaging the Master's feet. He asked: My boy, can you tell me, what is your Ramachandra doing now?'

I was surprised at his question. How could I know what Ramachandra was doing?

He noted my silence and said, 'Your Ramji is now passing an elephant through the eye of a needle.'

A devotee: "What does that mean?"

Latu Maharaj: "Don't you understand? I was such a small receptacle, yet he was pouring sadhana into me."

A devotee: "Maharaj, is it possible to pour sadhana into another person?"

Latu Maharaj: "Yes. But not everyone can do that. He who has seen God and been absorbed in his bliss, he can."
=='''8 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''ON SADHANA'''===
A devotee: "Maharaj. please pour a little sadhana into us."

Latu Maharaj: "The Master could do that. That does not mean I can."

The devotee said with feeling: "Yes you can, Maharaj. Please bless us. Please help us to make spiritual progress in this life."

Latu Maharaj: "You people always say the same thing. When you come here you are sure that you will pass the rest of your days in sadhana. but once you return home you think, 'Why should I care?'

In the world all your energy is spent in earning money. Remember, you will attain perfection in whatever you practice. You don't like to practice sadhana, so you do not attain God."

A devotee: "One needs money to live in the world. You know that nothing can be done without money."

Latu Maharaj: "Yes. I know. Whatever you want you will get. But if you want to be spiritual, you cannot want anything else. The Master used to say. 'Whatever you want from God you will receive. But if you want him only, then all your other wants will be fulfilled as well.' "

A devotee: "Maharaj, we are unfortunate, for we cannot call on the Lord wholeheartedly. Do our prayers reach him?"

Latu Maharaj: "Yes, they do. But your prayers are mixed with the desire for money, so that is what he is sending.

The day when you can pray: I do not want money, name, or fame. I want thee and thee alone'—on that very day he will come to you.

The Master would say, 'The more you have bhoga [enjoyment], the less you will have yoga and the more you will burn in the world.'

The Master continually taught us: 'Always be awake in the practice of yoga. Call on God in the dead of the night, remember him during the hours of the day, and serve him always.'
=='''9 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''SPIRITUAL DISCONTENT'''===
Latu Maharaj: "Contentment is an obstacle to spiritual progress."

A devotee: "What do you mean, Maharaj? People practice sadhana (spiritual disciplines) to find peace of mind, and you are saying it is an obstacle to the aspirant's progress."

Latu Maharaj: "It is true, people do practice sadhana to find peace. But if the aspirant forgets God after finding some peace, how can he make any further progress, If there is no dissatisfaction, longing for God does not come."

A devotee: "Is there any higher state than the attainment of peace?"

Latu Maharaj: "Look, is peace the end of sadhana? There are many states higher than peace. But if you want to experience those states, you need to attain peace first.

Do you know what that peace is? One is then, as it were, satisfied with his life, and external trials and tribulations do not disturb the mind.

The door to the spiritual path does not open unless the aspirant is filled with peace externally and internally. But once the door to the spiritual realm opens, discontentment again begins. However, this is a mysterious kind of discontentment which I cannot explain to you. In this state the aspirant can neither sit idle nor can he progress quickly."

A devotee: "Maharaj, I do not understand what you are talking about. Please explain."

Latu Maharaj: "Spiritual disciplines and austerity are necessary to understand this. You have practiced very little austerity. Hence, I may explain it to you a thousand times, but it will still remain a mystery to you."
=='''10 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''ON AUSTERITY'''===
In I902 Latu Maharaj was staying at the Belur Monastery at the time of Shiva Ratri, an all-night vigil dedicated to Lord Shiva and observed by worship and fasting. That night he went to offer worship to Shiva at the nearby Kalyaneswar temple, accompanied by a number of devotees.

He said to one of the devotees: "I think fasting is too difficult for you. You should take a little food."

The devotee responded, "No, I don't want to take anything before performing the worship."

Latu Maharaj said: "Such determination is good: but if fasting takes your mind away from God, what use is it? Rather, be determined to perform the worship with devotion. Do not place a higher value on fasting. That is mere obstinacy, which is of no real benefit. If your mind is dwelling on food instead of God, how can you perform the worship with love and devotion? Devotion is impossible if the mind is disturbed."
=='''11 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''ON DISCRIMINATION'''===
A devotee: "Maharaj, you monks advise us to give up attachment to lust and gold, but we are householders. How can we renounce? Please tell us the way. Our minds are filled with worldly attachments. We see no possibility of fighting against them. The attachments are so strong that they will not allow us to develop ways and means to defend ourselves against them.

You have asked us to chant the name of the Lord and to discriminate, but we are overpowered by attachments. Now please tell us the secret: How did you overcome them?"

Latu Maharaj: "You people don't practice japam sincerely, so you always complain and make excuses. Look, if one makes a habit of repeating the holy name, the name itself will take hold of the mind. The mind craves the intoxication of worldly enjoyments.

Attachments are troublemakers; they fasten the mind with a noose, as it were, and drag it in all directions.

"Lord Krishna agreed with Arjuna that the mind is restless. He told Arjuna that the restless mind can be stilled by the renunciation of sense enjoyments and by repeated practice.

Whenever your mind runs after sense enjoyments, use your discrimination. Look, the sense objects are impermanent. They come and go. Be satisfied with whatever you need for your daily living and do not desire more.

Too many worldly belongings displace the thought of the Reality from the mind. The Reality is one, and that is Brahman. Brahman alone is real and everything else is unreal. Impress these thoughts again and again upon the mind, and gradually true discrimination will arise.
=='''12 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''ON DISCRIMINATION'''===
"Listen to a story. Once Rama presented a pearl necklace to his devotee Hanuman. Hanuman examined the necklace carefully, broke open one of the pearls with his teeth, and, not finding the name of Rama there, threw the necklace away.

This upset Lakshmana, who said: 'How can a monkey appreciate the value of a pearl necklace? He destroyed such a valuable thing with his teeth!'

Rama then asked Lakshmana to inquire about the reason for Hanuman's action. Upon being questioned. Hanuman replied: I opened the pearl to see if the holy name was there. The necklace is worthless if Rama is not in it.'

"You will have to discriminate between the real and the unreal. To keep one's discrimination alert is a great austerity. He who has learned to discriminate can successfully overcome lust and greed.

So, cultivate your discrimination and conscience. How can you struggle against evil tendencies if your intellect is not trained to differentiate between good and evil?

First clear out the rubbish which has entered the mind through the gates of the sense organs and then put a ‘NO ADMITTANCE' sign in front of each gate.

Those bad thoughts which ignore the notice and still come in, you will have to hand over to the police, which is your conscience. With the help of the police, you must evict the impure tendencies from the mind and then install the Lord there. This is the way to conquer lust and desire.
=='''13 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''ON DISCRIMINATION'''===
"The seed of lust is in the mind. That seed is nurtured by the sense organs within and the sense objects without, and thus it grows and produces innumerable fruits. These fruits are to be chopped off and the seeds are to be destroyed. Afterward, you must sow the seed of the Lord's name, and you will reap the harvest accordingly.

Now you are reaping the harvest of desire.

The Master used to say, 'Where desire is. God is not; and where God is, there is no desire.'
===='''ON PURITY'''====
"Be pure. Be pure. Be pure. You cannot comprehend God without purity. If you are not pure, you will not realize God, who is the embodiment of purity. In order to serve God, the true Master of all, one must purify one's mind."
===='''ON LOVE'''====
A householder devotee of Sri Ramakrishna once conveyed his love to Latu Maharaj in a letter.

Latu Maharaj remarked: "Is it so easy to convey love to a person? A lot of spiritual discipline is needed to be able to really transmit love. What do ordinary people know about love? Only God can truly love, and only illumined souls are really able to transmit love."

On another occasion he said: "Your love springs from worldly attachment. Dogs play together and also fight for food among themselves. Your love is like that. You people embrace each other and exchange sweet words, but the moment someone encroaches upon your self-interest, you become angry and are ready to hit him. Don't express that kind of love."
=='''14 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''ON HUMILITY'''===
One day a wealthy devotee saluted Latu Maharaj in the customary manner - that is, folding his hands and raising them to his head.

At this Latu Maharaj said: "Look here. sir. One should bow down to gods, to monks, and to holy people with reverence. Sri Ramakrishna used to say. There is no merit in this sort of axe-raising salutation.’ “

Another devotee who was present asked. "Maharaj. what is an axe-raising salutation?"

Latu Maharaj: "Touching the forehead with folded hands as you usually do is what the Master called an axe-raising salutation."

The wealthy devotee: "Maharaj, please forgive me. We don't know the real significance of the salutation. We merely follow the custom."

Latu Maharaj: "I don't mind. It is not your fault. But remember what the Master said: Between equals one should exchange salutations as you have just done: but if the person is superior to you in learning, intellect, fame, power or spirituality, you should bow down to him with reverence. You should be humble before him and do what he says. Let your thoughts and your words be united when you are paying respect to others. Salutations that are merely for show have no value."
===='''ON THE NAME'''====
"Sri Ramakrishna used to say that before starting to chant the name of the Lord, one should salute the name. One should take refuge in the name of the Lord.

The name and the named, that is, the Lord, are one. If one prays wholeheartedly to the name, one's prayer reaches the Lord.

"Look here. The name of the Lord itself is shakti, God's power, and the named is God himself. Without worshiping Shakti, one cannot realize God."
=='''15 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''ASPECTS OF GOD'''===
A devotee: "Maharaj, is it good to have visions of gods and goddesses other than the Chosen Ideal?"

Latu Maharaj: "It is always good to see divine forms. You will find that during meditation your Chosen Ideal will appear to you in many forms. That is his divine play. Since all forms are contained within him, why are you making distinctions between them?"

A devotee: "The scriptures have described the various forms of God differently, and for each deity there is a prescribed meditation, a method of worship, and certain mantras. So, how can it be possible to see other forms of God when one is meditating on one's own Chosen Ideal? Are these visions conducive to one's spiritual progress?"

Latu Maharaj: "You people think of the gods and goddesses as distinct from each other, but in reality they are all the same. What is wrong if the forms are many?

Look. You are a man. When you are angry, your face takes on one expression; when you laugh it assumes another; and when you cry it looks still different. Your facial expression changes with your emotions, but you, as a man. always remain the same. If someone calls you by name, you respond regardless of your mood.

Sri Ramakrishna used to say: 'The chameleon changes its colour. Sometimes it is red, sometimes green, yellow, gray, violet, blue, and so on. One may think that the chameleon is always the same colour as he sees it. But the man who stays under the tree where the chameleon lives knows that the chameleon changes colour at different times."

Similarly, the man who meditates deeply on his Chosen Ideal ultimately realizes that the various names and forms are actually but different aspects of the same reality."
=='''16 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''ON PRAYER'''===
A devotee: "Maharaj, which is the easier method to dispel doubts about God. prayer or reasoning?"

Latu Maharaj: "Sri Ramakrishna used to say: 'Who can know God through reason? His powers and glory are infinite. Too much reasoning can create confusion and, moreover, may lead to an atheistic attitude. So, it is better to call on God with a longing heart."

The Master said further: 'If you can become drunk with one bottle of wine, why should you bother to know how many barrels of wine there are in the grogshop? If your thirst is quenched with one glass of water, why should you rack your brain calculating how much water there is on the earth?" "

A devotee: "Whom should we call on, Maharaj, the guru or the Chosen Ideal?"

Latu Maharaj: "You may call on either: it is the same. The guru and the Chosen Ideal are the same. Doubt arises in the mind of an aspirant if he does not practice spiritual disciplines, and doubt is the root of all troubles.

Have faith in your guru. Be loyal to him, even like a cow that never leaves its master, whether it is fed or not.

Say, 'I am your servant and you are my Master.’
=='''17 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''ON WORSHIP'''===
"Do you know what worship is? Everything belongs to the Lord, so what is there to offer to him? But the Master used to tell us: 'Once a rich man went to visit his orchard. He saw the gardeners busy with their work. The caretaker approached him and presented him with a ripe papaya, saying: "Sir, I picked this ripe fruit for you yesterday. Please accept it."

Now the owner knows that the garden, the tree, the fruit all belong to him: but won't he appreciate the love and thoughtfulness of the caretaker? Worship is like this.’

On another occasion, a devotee bought a small piece of cheap cloth for the Divine Mother's worship. Latu Maharaj was very upset. He remarked: "Throw away that cloth. It is too short. Why did you buy such a cheap one? Always offer a good cloth to the Mother, and if you cannot afford it, say with tears: 'Mother, I am unable to offer anything to you. Please forgive me.'

Some people buy cheap, flimsy cloth, rotten fruit, or stale sweets for the worship of the Lord. Why do you offer the Lord these things which you yourself don't want to use or eat? It is better not to worship at all than to do worship negligently. He who offers the Lord's things to the Lord with joy and love is really fortunate. The Lord does not accept anything that is not presented with devotion."
=='''18 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''PRACTICAL INSTRUCTION'''===
A devotee: "Maharaj, we have not seen God: how can we depend on him? We do not know how to surrender to him. Is it enough just to say, "Lord, be kind to us. bestow your grace on us?’

Latu Maharaj: "Look, he is showering his grace on us unceasingly. It is through his grace that you even exist in this world. You are asking about prayer. Well, you know God's name: you can begin with his name as your guide.

Don't you send your application for a job to the manager of a company without ever having seen him? Your interview with the manager depends upon sending your application to him. You write the application thus: 'Sir, please appoint me for the job; I shall be extremely happy to serve you: I promise my unswerving obedience to you,' and so on.

And you write all this without having seen the manager, don't you?

"Similarly, you can send an application to the Lord. However, this application is not to be written on paper, but on the pages of one's heart. You must be careful about the wording and the address must be correct; otherwise, the letter will not reach its destination.

Write the application like this: 'O Lord, may I never forget your name. I take refuge in you. Please assign me to your service and destroy my ego and my doubts. You are my master, guru, father, mother, and all in all. I am your child. Please guide me to the path of blessedness. Make me your instrument. Do not delude me with your bewitching maya.

O my sweet Lord, I have not seen you; I have only heard your name. Please make me your own.'

You will have to pray like this daily. Only then will he choose to bestow his grace on you. Once you are chosen by him. you will not have to worry any more. He will guide you at every step and will tell you what to do."
=='''19 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''AFTER GOD-REALIZATION'''===
A devotee: "Maharaj, you have realized God. Could you tell us what your understanding of the world is now?"

Latu Maharaj: "I have understood this much: If you keep a bowl filled with water somewhere by itself, the water will eventually evaporate, but this is not so if the bowl is immersed in the river Ganga. Likewise, if we can surrender our minds at the feet of the Lord, the wind of worldliness will not be able to dry our minds and make them dreary. Then the world no longer seems an unhappy place."

A devotee: "Maharaj, do you feel now that the world is a burden?"

Latu Maharaj: "Look, when you dive deep into the Ganga, though there are thousands of pounds of water above you, you don't feel that weight.

Similarly, if you plunge into God's creation yet still hold onto him, you will not feel its burden. Then the world becomes a place of merriment.

Remember this beautiful saying of Tulasidas: 'He who takes refuge in God is protected by him. A huge elephant may be swept away by the current of the river, but the small fish who lives in the river can even swim against its current.' Remember that if you depend on God, he will take care of you in all circumstances."
=='''20 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''BRIEF TEACHINGS'''===
"Be attached to no one but God. Only if you hold onto God will your life be meaningful."

"Who is a man of knowledge? Not he who has read a lot of books, studied scriptures and acquired some degrees, but he who knows the path to God and can direct people toward him."

"A man can attain peace if he gives up worldly enjoyment, for such enjoyment is the source of sorrows and sufferings, disease and despair."

"Don't be ungrateful to a person who has helped you. An act of kindness, however small it may be, can never be repaid."

"See your own faults. Never criticize anyone; it is a great sin. It contracts the mind and pollutes the heart. Always look for the good qualities in others. If fault-finding becomes your habit, you will always see faults in them. Everyone has both good and bad in him. Only God is free from fault and full of divine qualities."

"Don't be concerned whether someone agrees with your opinion or not. Don't argue unnecessarily just to prove your point. It ruins the spiritual atmosphere. Let people do whatever they like: you should live according to your own ideal."

"Don't ask for anything from God, for he knows everything. It is sometimes amazing how he fulfills the needs of his devotees."

"Desire begets wants in the mind of man. If he has no desire, he has no wants. Love for God destroys desire."

"He who follows the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, will be saved by the Mother from the trials and tribulations of the world. If you want peace, read The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna."
=='''21 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji)''
==='''BRIEF TEACHINGS'''===
"It is easy to fool human beings, but not God. He knows your shortcomings in spite of your best efforts to hide them. Pray to the Lord with a guileless heart. 'O Lord, please remove all my faults and weaknesses.'

Man becomes stainless only after God-realization."

"Jealousy is a deadly poison. A jealous person cannot bear others' welfare and happiness. His heart breaks to see others progressing. If one can give up jealousy, one will understand God."

"On a moonless night one man cannot recognize another, however close they may be standing: similarly, a man cannot see his innermost self due to the dark covering of delusion."

"Dissatisfaction and craving for worldly enjoyments are signs of a diseased mind."

"If you always think of a holy person, you will become holy and pure: if you think of a thief, you will become a thief. Pure character is formed by close association with the holy."

"Do you think we salute trees and stones? We salute the Supreme Being, who pervades every atom of the universe. He who sees God in all creatures and all things attains the knowledge of Brahman."

"Although God is formless, he takes form according to our mental conception of him. It is because the formless Sat-chit-ananda dwells in our hearts that we can meditate on one of God's blissful forms. God appears in whatever form the devotee meditates on him."

"God gives power to those who are pure in heart."
=='''22 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Lord Buddha)''
==='''Serenity and Joy'''===
DRINK deeply.

Live in serenity and joy.

The wise person delights in the truth.

And follows the law of the awakened.

The farmer channels water to his land

The fletcher whittles his arrows.

And the carpenter turns his wood.

So, the wise direct their mind.
==='''The Path of Mindfulness'''===
“O MONKS,” said the Buddha, “there is a most wonderful way to help living beings realize purification, overcome directly grief and sorrow, end pain and anxiety, travel the right path, and realize Nirvana.

This way is the Four Establishments of Mindfulness.

“What are the Four Establishments?

“Monks, a practitioner remains established in the observation of the body in the body, diligent, with clear understanding, mindful, having abandoned every craving and every distaste for this life.

“One remains established in the observation of the feelings in the feelings, diligent, with clear understanding, mindful, having abandoned craving and every distaste for this life.

“One remains established in the observation of the mind in the mind, diligent, with clear understanding, mindful, having abandoned every craving and every distaste for this life.

“One remains established in the observation of the objects of mind in the objects of mind, diligent, with clear understanding, mindful, having abandoned every craving and every distaste for this life.”
=='''23 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Lord Buddha)''

“And how does a practitioner remain established in the observation of the body in the body?

“One goes to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty room, sits down cross-legged in the lotus position, holds one’s body straight, and establishes mindfulness in front of oneself. “Breathing in, one is aware of breathing in.

Breathing out, one is aware of breathing out. Breathing in a long breath, one knows, ‘I am breathing in a long breath.’ Breathing out a long breath, one knows, ‘I am breathing out a long breath.’ Breathing in a short breath, one knows, ‘I am breathing in a short breath.’ Breathing out a short breath, one knows, I am breathing out a short breath.’

“Moreover, when walking, the practitioner is aware, ‘I am walking’; when standing is aware, ‘I am standing’; when sitting, is aware, ‘I am sitting’; when lying down, is aware, ‘I am lying down.’ In whatever position one’s body happens to be, one is aware of the position of the body.

“When one is going forward or backward, one applies full awareness to one’s going forward or backward.

When one looks in front or looks behind, bends down or stands up, one also applies full awareness to what one is doing.

One applies full awareness to wearing the robe or carrying the alms bowl. When one eats or drinks, chews or savors the food, one applies full awareness to all this.

When passing excrement or urinating, one applies full awareness to this. When one walks, stands, lies down, sits, sleeps or wakes up, speaks or is silent, one shines his awareness on all this.
=='''24 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Lord Buddha)''

“Monks, how does a practitioner remain established in the observation of the feelings in the feelings?

“Whenever the practitioner has a pleasant feeling, one is aware, ‘I am experiencing a pleasant feeling.’ Whenever one has a painful feeling, one is aware, ‘I am experiencing a painful feeling.’ Whenever one experiences a feeling which is neither pleasant nor painful, one is aware, ‘I am experiencing a neutral feeling.’

When one experiences a feeling based in the body, one is aware,

‘I am experiencing a feeling based in the body.’ When one experiences a feeling based in the mind, one is aware, ‘I am experiencing a feeling based in the mind.’”

“Monks, how does a practitioner remain established in the observation of the mind in the mind?

“When one’s mind is desiring, the practitioner is aware, ‘My mind is desiring.’ When one’s mind is not desiring, one is aware, ‘My mind is not desiring.’ When one’s mind is hating something, one is aware, ‘My mind is hating.’ When one’s mind is not hating, one is aware, ‘My mind is not hating.’

When one’s mind is in a state of ignorance, one is aware, ‘My mind is in a state of ignorance.’ When one’s mind is not in a state of ignorance, one is aware, ‘My mind is not in a state of ignorance.’ When one’s mind is tense, one is aware, ‘My mind is tense.’ When one’s mind is not tense, one is aware, ‘My mind is not tense.’ When one’s mind is distracted, one is aware, ‘My mind is distracted.’
=='''25 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Lord Buddha)''

“When one’s mind is composed, one is aware, ‘My mind is composed.’ When one’s mind is not composed, one is aware, ‘My mind is not composed.’ When one’s mind is free, one is aware, ‘My mind is free.’ When one’s mind is not free,

one is aware, ‘My mind is not free.’”

“Monks, how does a practitioner remain established in the observation of the objects of mind in the objects of mind?

“First of all, one observes the objects of mind in the objects of mind with regard to the Five Hindrances. How does one observe this?

1. “When sensual desire is present in oneself, one is aware, ‘Sensual desire is present in me.’ Or when sensual desire is not present in oneself, one is aware,

‘Sensual desire is not present in me.’ When sensual desire begins to arise, one is aware of it. When already arisen sensual desire is abandoned, one is aware of it.

When sensual desire already abandoned will not arise again in the future, one is aware of it.

2. “When anger is present in oneself, one is aware, ‘Anger is present in me.’

When anger is not present in oneself, one is aware, ‘Anger is not present in me.’

When anger begins to arise, one is aware of it. When already arisen anger is abandoned, one is aware of it. When anger already abandoned will not arise again in the future, one is aware of it.

3. “When dullness and drowsiness are present in oneself, one is aware,

‘Dullness and drowsiness are present in me.’ When dullness and drowsiness are not present in oneself, one is aware, ‘Dullness and drowsiness are not present in me.’ When dullness and drowsiness begin to arise, one is aware of it. When already arisen dullness and drowsiness are abandoned, one is aware of it. When dullness and drowsiness already abandoned will not arise again in the future, one is aware of it.
=='''26 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Lord Buddha)''

4. “When agitation and remorse are present in oneself, one is aware, ‘Agitation and remorse are present in me.’

When agitation and remorse are not present in oneself, one is aware, Agitation and remorse are not present in me.’

When agitation and remorse begin to arise, one is aware of it. When already arisen agitation and remorse are abandoned, one is aware of it.

When agitation and remorse already abandoned will not arise again in the future, one is aware of it.

5. “When doubt is present in oneself, one is aware, ‘Doubt is present in me.’

When doubt is not present in oneself, one is aware, ‘Doubt is not present in me.’

When doubt begins to arise, one is aware of it. When already arisen doubt is abandoned, one is aware of it. When doubt already abandoned will not arise again in the future, one is aware of it.

“This is how the practitioner remains established in the observation of the objects of mind in the objects of mind.

observation of the objects of mind from inside the objects of mind or outside the objects of mind, or observation of the

objects of mind from both the inside and the outside.

One remains established in the observation of the process of coming-to-be in the objects of mind or the process of dissolution in the objects of mind or both in the process of coming-to-be and the process of dissolution. Or one is mindful of the fact, ‘There is an object of the mind here,’ until understanding and full awareness come about.

One remains established in the observation, free, not caught up in any worldly consideration. That is how to practice observation of the objects of mind in the objects of mind with regard to the Five Hindrances, O monks.
=='''27 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Lord Buddha)''

“Further, monks, the practitioner remains established in the observation of the objects of mind in the objects of mind with regard to the Seven Factors of Awakening.

“How does one remain established in the practice of observation of the Seven Factors of Awakening?

1. “When the factor of awakening, mindfulness, is present in oneself, one is aware, ‘Mindfulness is present in me. When mindfulness is not present in oneself, one is aware, ‘Mindfulness is not present in me.’ One is aware when not-yet-born mindfulness is being born and when already-born mindfulness is perfectly developed.

2. “When the factor of awakening, investigation-of-phenomena, is present in oneself, one is aware, ‘Investigation-of-phenomena is present in me.’ When investigation-of-phenomena is not present in oneself, one is aware, ‘Investigation -of-phenomena is not present in me.’

One is aware when not-yet-born investigation-of-phenomena is being born and when already-born investigation-of-phenomena is perfectly developed.

3. “When the factor of awakening, energy, is present in oneself, one is aware, ‘Energy is present in me.’ When energy is not present in oneself, one is aware, ‘Energy is not present in me.’ One is aware when not-yet-born energy is being born and when already-born energy is perfectly developed.

4. “When the factor of awakening, joy, is present in oneself, one is aware,

‘Joy is present in me.’ When joy is not present in oneself, one is aware, ‘Joy is not present in me.’ One is aware when not-yet-born joy is being born and when already-born joy is perfectly developed.

5. “When the factor of awakening, ease, is present in oneself, one is aware,

‘Ease is present in me.’ When ease is not present in oneself, one is aware, ‘Ease is not present in me.’ One is aware when not-yet-born ease is being born and when already-born ease is perfectly developed.
=='''28 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Lord Buddha)''

6. “When the factor of awakening, concentration, is present in oneself, one is aware, ‘Concentration is present in me.’ When concentration is not present in oneself, one is aware, ‘Concentration is not present in me.’ One is aware when not-yet-born concentration is being born and when already-born concentration is perfectly developed.

7. “When the factor of awakening, letting go, is present in oneself, one is aware, ‘Letting go is present in me.’ When letting go is not present in oneself, one is aware, ‘Letting go is not present in me.’ One is aware when not-yet-born letting go is being born and when already-born letting-go is perfectly developed.

“This is how the practitioner remains established in the observation of the objects of mind in the objects of mind with regard to the Seven Factors of Awakening, observation of the objects of mind from inside the objects of mind or outside the objects of mind, or observation of the objects of mind from both the inside and the outside.

One remains established in the observation of the process of coming-to-be in the object of mind or the process of dissolution in the object of mind or both in the process of coming-to-be and the process of dissolution.

Or one is mindful of the fact, ‘There is an object of mind here,’ until understanding and full awareness come about. One remains established in the observation, free, not caught up in any worldly consideration.

That is how to practice observation of the objects of mind in the objects of mind with regard to the Seven Factors of Awakening, O monks.
=='''29 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Lord Buddha)''

“How, monks, does the practitioner remain established in the observation of the Four Noble Truths?

“A practitioner is aware, ‘This is suffering,’ as it arises. One is aware, ‘This is the cause of the suffering,’ as it arises. One is aware, ‘This is the end of suffering,’ as it arises. One is aware, ‘This is the path which leads to the end of suffering,’ as it arises.”

“Monks, one who practices in the Four Establishments of Mindfulness for seven years can expect one of two fruits—the highest understanding in this very life or, if there remains some residue of affliction, he can attain the fruit of no-return.

“Let alone seven years, monks, whoever practices in the Four Establishments of Mindfulness for six, five, four, three, two years, one year, or one month, can also expect one of two fruits—either the highest understanding in this very life or can attain the fruit of no-return.

“Let alone a month, monks, whoever practices the Four Establishments of Mindfulness one week can also expect one of two fruits—either the highest understanding in this very life or the fruit of no-return.”

The monks were delighted to hear the teaching of the Buddha. They took it to

heart and began to put it into practice.
=='''30 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Lord Buddha)''
==='''Pith of the Matter'''===
SUPPOSE, friends, a person in need of sound timber, in quest of sound timber, going about searching for sound timber, should come upon a mighty tree, upstanding, all sound timber, and pass it by; but should cut away the outer wood and bark and take that only, thinking it to be sound timber.

Then another, more discerning person might say, “This person surely cannot tell the difference between sound timber and outer wood and bark, branch-wood and twigs; but being in need of sound timber this person passes it by and goes off with the outer wood and bark, thinking it to be sound timber. Now, such a way of dealing with sound timber will never serve this person’s needs.

Thus, friends, the essentials of the holy life do not consist in the profits of gain, honour, and good name; nor even in the profits of observing moral rules; nor even in the profits of knowledge and insight; but the sure heart’s release—that, friends, is the meaning, that is the essence, that is the goal of living the holy life.
==='''Radiant Presence'''===
HOWEVER young,

The seeker who sets out upon the way

Shines bright over the world.

But day and night

The person who is awake

Shines in the radiance of the spirit.

Meditate.

Live purely.

Be quiet.

Do your work, with mastery.

Like the moon,

Come out from behind the clouds!

Shine.
=='''31 July 2026'''==
''(Teachings of Dhammapada)''

O Bahiya, thus you must train yourself: In the seen there will be just the seen, in the heard just the heard, in the sensed just the sensed, in the imagined just the imagined. Thus, you will have no “thereby.” That is how you must train yourself.

Now, Bahiya, when in the seen there will be to you just the seen, in the heard just the heard, in the imagined just the imagined, in the cognized just the cognized, then, Bahiya, as you will have no “thereby,” you will have no “therein.” As you, Bahiya, will have no “therein,” it follows that you will have no “here” or “beyond” or “midway between.” That is just the end of Ill.
==='''Sutra on Full Awareness of Breathing'''===
WHEN the full moon day arrived, the Buddha, seated under the open sky, looked over the assembly and said:

“O followers of the way, the method of being fully aware of breathing, if developed and practiced continuously, will have great rewards and bring great advantages. It will lead to success in the practice of the Seven Factors of Awakening.

The Seven Factors of Awakening, if developed and practiced continuously, will give rise to Understanding and Liberation of the Mind.
=='''1 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''The Abandoning of Sorrow'''===
THUS, have I heard, once in the Jeta Grove the Buddha addressed the monks thus:

“Monks, I say that the elimination of the causes of sorrow is for one who knows and sees wisely, not for one who does not know and see wisely.

“Monks, there are causes of sorrow that should be abandoned by not paying attention to them. There are causes of sorrow that should be abandoned by restraining. There are causes of sorrow that should be abandoned by using. There are causes of sorrow that should be abandoned by enduring. There are causes of sorrow that should be abandoned by removing. There are causes of sorrow that should be abandoned by developing.

“What causes of sorrow should be abandoned by not paying attention to them?

They are those things which, when dwelt upon, give rise to sorrow and which increase existing sorrow.

“Monks, a well-taught noble disciple, is skilled and disciplined in their Dharma, understands what things are fit for attention and what things are unfit for attention. Since that is so, such a person does not dwell upon those things unfit for attention and attends to those things fit for attention.

“What causes of sorrow should be abandoned by restraining? Here a person, reflecting wisely, abides without wanting, with the senses restrained. While causes for sorrow, vexation, and fever might arise in one who is lost in sense experience, there are no causes of sorrow, vexation, or fever for the one who does not become lost in sense experience.
=='''2 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''

“What are the causes of sorrow that should be abandoned by using?

Here a person, reflecting wisely, uses food neither for amusement nor for intoxication nor for the sake of physical beauty and attractiveness, but only for the endurance and continuance of this body, for ending discomfort, and for assisting the holy life, considering: ‘Thus I shall complete old feelings without arousing new grasping and I shall be healthy and blameless and shall live in comfort.’

“Reflecting wisely, one uses one’s resting place only for protection from cold, for protection from heat, protection from insects, wind, the sun, creeping things, dangers, and for enjoying retreat.

“Reflecting wisely, one uses the medicinal requisites only for protection from arisen afflictions and for the benefit of good health.

“What causes of sorrow should be abandoned by enduring?

Here a person, reflecting wisely, bears cold and heat, hunger and thirst, insects, wind, sun, and creeping things; one endures ill-spoken, unwelcome words. One bears bodily feelings that are painful, racking, sharp, piercing, disagreeable, and distressing.

While causes of suffering, vexation, and fever may arise in one who does not endure such things, there are no causes of sorrow, vexation, and fever in one who endures them.

“What causes of sorrow should be abandoned by avoiding? Here a person, reflecting wisely, avoids a wild elephant, a wild horse, a wild bull, a wild dog, a snake, a stump, a bramble patch, a chasm, a cliff, a cesspit, and a sewer.

Reflecting wisely, one avoids sitting on unsuitable seats, wandering to unsuitable resorts, and associating with bad friends.

While causes of sorrow, vexation, and fever might arise in one who does not avoid these things, there are no causes of sorrow, vexation, or fever in one who avoids them.
=='''3 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''

“What causes of sorrow should be abandoned by removing?

Here a person, reflecting wisely, does not tolerate an arisen thought of sensual desire; one abandons it, removes it, does away with it, and ends it.

One does not tolerate an arisen thought of ill will. . . .

One does not tolerate an arisen thought of cruelty. . . .

One does not tolerate an arisen evil, or unwholesome states; one abandons them, releases them, does away with them and ends them.

While causes of sorrow, vexation, and fever might arise in one who does not remove these thoughts, there is no taint, vexation, and fever in one who removes them.

“What causes of sorrow should be abandoned by developing?

Here a person, reflecting wisely, develops mindfulness, investigation, energy, rapture, tranquility, concentration, and equanimity. While causes of sorrow, vexation, and fever might arise in one who does not develop these, there are no causes of sorrow, vexation, or fever in one who develops them.

That is how the Buddha spoke. The monks were satisfied and delighted in the Blessed One’s words.
=='''4 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''Bodhi'''===
==='''Parable of the Lute'''===
ONCE the Blessed One lived near Rajagaha, on Vulture Peak. At that time while the venerable Sona lived alone and secluded in the Cool Forest, this thought occurred to him:

“Of those disciples of the Blessed One who are energetic, I am one. Yet, my mind has not found freedom.”

Now the Blessed One, perceiving in his own mind the venerable Sona’s thoughts, left Vulture Peak, and, as speedily as a strong man might stretch his bent arm or bend his stretched arm, he appeared in the Cool Forest before the venerable Sona.

And he said to the venerable Sona:

“Sona, did not this thought arise in your mind: ‘Of those disciples of the Blessed One who are energetic, I am one. Yet, my mind has not found freedom.’”

“Yes, Lord.”

“Tell me, Sona, in earlier days were you not skilled in playing string music on a lute?”

“Yes, Lord.”

“And tell me, Sona, when the strings of your lute were too taut, was then your lute tuneful and easily playable?”

“Certainly not, O Lord.”

“And when the strings of your lute were too loose, was then your lute tuneful and easily playable?”

“Certainly not, O Lord.”

“But when, Sona, the strings of your lute were neither too taut nor too loose, but adjusted to an even pitch, did your lute then have a wonderful sound and was it easily playable?”

“Certainly, O Lord.”

“Similarly, Sona, if energy is applied too strongly, it will lead to restlessness, and if energy is too lax it will lead to lassitude. Therefore, Sona, keep your energy in balance and balance the Spiritual Faculties and in this way focus your attention.”

“Yes, O Lord,” replied the venerable Sona in assent.

Afterward the venerable Sona kept his energy balanced, balanced the Spiritual Faculties and in this way focused his attention. And the venerable Sona, living

alone and secluded, diligent, ardent and resolute, soon realized here and now, through his own direct knowledge, that unequaled goal of the holy life.
=='''5 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''Bodhi'''===
==='''Inclination of Mind'''===
OTHERS will be cruel; we shall not be cruel. Thus, one should incline the mind.

Others will kill living beings; we shall abstain from killing living beings. Thus, one should incline the mind.

Others will take what is not given; we shall abstain from taking what is not given. Thus, one should incline the mind.

Others will engage in inappropriate sexuality; we shall abstain from inappropriate sexuality. Thus, one should incline the mind.

Others will speak falsehoods; we shall abstain from false speech. Thus, one should incline the mind.

Others will speak maliciously; we shall abstain from malicious speech. Thus, one should incline the mind.

Others will gossip; we shall abstain from gossip.

Thus, one should incline the mind.

Others will be envious; we shall not be envious.

Thus, one should incline the mind.

Others will be avaricious; we shall not be avaricious.

Thus, one should incline the mind.

Others will be fraudulent; we shall not be fraudulent. Thus, one should incline the mind.

Others will be arrogant; we shall not be arrogant.

Thus, one should incline the mind.

Others will be unmindful; we shall be established in mindfulness. Thus, one should incline the mind.

Others will lack wisdom; we shall cultivate wisdom.

Thus, one should incline the mind.
=='''6 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''Inner Peace'''===
AS in the ocean’s midmost depth no wave is born, but all is still, so let the practitioners be still, be motionless, and nowhere should they swell.
==='''Abandoning All Hindrances'''===
“ENDOWED with this noble aggregate of moral discipline, this noble restraint over the sense faculties, this noble mindfulness and clear comprehension, and this noble contentment, a monk resorts to a secluded dwelling, sits down, crosses his legs, holds his body erect, and sets up mindfulness before him.

“Having abandoned covetousness for the world, he dwells with a mind free from covetousness; he purifies his mind from covetousness.

Having abandoned ill will and hatred, he dwells with a benevolent mind, sympathetic for the welfare of all living beings; he purifies his mind from ill will and hatred.

Having abandoned dullness and drowsiness, he dwells perceiving light, mindful, and clearly comprehending; he purifies his mind from dullness and drowsiness.

Having abandoned restlessness and worry, he dwells at ease within himself, with a peaceful mind; he purifies his mind from restlessness and worry. Having abandoned doubt, he dwells as one who has passed beyond doubt, unperplexed about wholesome states; he purifies his mind from doubt.

“Suppose a man were to become sick, afflicted, gravely ill, so that he could not enjoy his food and his strength would decline. After some time he would recover from that illness and would enjoy his food and regain his bodily strength. He would reflect on this, and as a result he would become glad and experience joy.
=='''7 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''Inner Peace'''===
“Again, suppose a man were a slave, without independence, subservient to others, unable to go where he wants. After some time, he would be released from slavery and gain his independence; he would no longer be subservient to others but a free man able to go where he wants. He would reflect on this, and as a result he would become glad and experience joy.

“Again, suppose a man with wealth and possessions were traveling along a desert road where food was scarce and dangers were many. After some time, he would cross over the desert and arrive safely at a village which is safe and free from danger. He would reflect on this, and as a result he would become glad and experience joy.

“When he sees that these five hindrances have been abandoned within himself, he regards that as freedom from debt, as good health, as release from prison, as freedom from slavery, as a place of safety.”
==='''Soma and Mara'''===
ONCE the nun Soma, having returned from her alms round and after her meal, entered the woods for a noonday rest. Plunging into the depths of the woods, she sat down under a tree.

Then the tempter Mara, desirous of arousing fear, wavering, and dread in Soma, and wishing to cause her to interrupt her concentrated meditation, went up to her and said, “The goal is hard to reach, hard even for sages; it cannot be won by a woman with whatever wisdom she may have.”

Then Soma thought, “Who is this, a human or a non-human, who is saying this? Surely it is the evil Mara who wants to interrupt my concentrated meditation.”

Knowing that it was Mara, she said to him, “What does one’s gender matter to one whose mind is well-composed, in whom insight is functioning, and who comprehends the Dharma?”

Then the evil Mara thought, “The nun Soma knows me.”

Being sad and sorrowful, he vanished there and then.
=='''8 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''Inner Peace'''===
==='''Look Within'''===
There is no fire like greed,

No crime like hatred,

No sorrow like separation,

No sickness like hunger of heart,

And no joy like the joy of freedom.

Health, contentment and trust

Are your greatest possessions,

And freedom your greatest joy.

Look within.

Be still.

Free from fear and attachment,

Know the sweet joy of living in the way.
==='''The Sharpest Sword'''===
ON a certain day when the Buddha dwelt at Jetavana, a celestial deva came to him in the shape of Brahmana, whose countenance was bright and whose garments were white as snow.

The deva asked the Buddha:

“What is the sharpest sword? What is the deadliest poison? What is the fiercest fire? What is the darkest night?”

The Buddha replied:

“A word spoken in wrath is the sharpest sword; covetousness is the deadliest poison; hatred is the fiercest fire; ignorance is the darkest night.”

The deva asked:

“What is the greatest gain? What is the greatest loss? What armor is invulnerable? What is the best weapon?”

The Buddha replied:

“The greatest gain is to give to others; the greatest loss is to receive without gratitude. Patience is an invulnerable armor; wisdom is the best weapon.”

The deva asked:

“Who is the most dangerous thief? What is the most precious treasure?”

The Buddha replied:

“Unwholesome thought is the most dangerous thief; virtue is the most precious treasure.”

The deva asked:

“What is attractive? What is unpleasant? What is the most horrible pain? What is the greatest enjoyment?”

The Buddha replied:

“Wholesomeness is attractive; unwholesomeness is unpleasant. A bad conscience is the most tormenting pain; awakening is the height of bliss.”

The deva asked:

“What causes ruin in the world? What breaks off friendships?

What is the most violent fever? Who is the best physician?”

The Buddha replied:

“Ignorance causes ruin in the world; envy and selfishness break off friendships; hatred is the most violent fever; the Buddha is the best physician.”

The deva then continued, “Now I have only one doubt to be cleared away:

What is it fire cannot burn, nor moisture corrode, nor wind crush down, but is able to benefit the whole world?”

The Buddha replied:

“Blessing! Neither fire, nor moisture, nor wind can destroy the blessing of a good deed, and blessings benefit the whole world.”

Hearing these answers, the deva was filled with joy. Bowing down in respect,

he disappeared from the presence of the Buddha.
=='''9 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''Inner Peace'''===
==='''Look Within'''===
==='''Bamboo Acrobats'''===
ON a certain occasion, the Exalted One was dwelling in the Sumbha country, in a township of the Sumbhas, called Sedaka. There the Exalted One addressed the monks:

“Once upon a time, monks, a bamboo-acrobat set up his pole and called to his pupil, Medakathalika, saying: ‘Come, my lad, Medakathalika, climb the pole and stand on my shoulders!’

“Àll right, master,’ replied the pupil to the bamboo-acrobat. The student then climbed the pole and stood on his master’s shoulder. Then, monks, the bamboo-acrobat said to his pupil: ‘Now Medakathalika, my lad, you protect me well and I shall protect you. Thus, watched and warded by each other, we will show our tricks, get a good fee, and come down safely from the bamboo-pole.’

“At these words Medakathalika the pupil said to the bamboo-acrobat: ‘No, no!

That won’t do, master! You look after yourself, master, and I’ll look after myself. Thus, watched and warded each by himself, we’ll show our tricks, get a good fee, and come down safe from the bamboo-pole.’

“Therein that is the right way,” said the Exalted One, “Just as Medakathalika the pupil said to his master, ‘I’ll protect myself,’ so, monks, should the Foundation of Mindfulness be practiced. ‘I’ll protect others’: so, should the Foundations of Mindfulness be practiced. Protecting oneself, monks, one protects others; protecting others, one protects oneself.
=='''10 August 2026'''==
''(Today is the Janma-Tithi of Revered Swami Ramakrishnanandaji Maharaj. On this Holy day may the Swami bless us all with Bhakti and Jnana.)''

(Teachings of Swami Ramakrishnananda)
==='''STRUGGLE'''===
Do not care if you slip occasionally. To err is human. Do not lose heart. Walk firmly onward. No one can hope to get through the slimy path of the world unscathed. And it is rank foolishness to sit down amid the mire for fear of falling in the attempt to get across.

Struggle hard and if, during that struggle, your foot slips and you must fall several times, what does that matter? Rise up again and go on struggling. Rest assured, you will conquer in the end. Never give up the struggle as long as you are not perfect, that is, as long as you are not what you wish yourself to be.
===='''VIRTUE'''====
The body is the first tool for the practice of virtue.
===='''ADVERSITY'''====
Unless one passes through the school of adversity, one cannot properly be called a human being. We learn much from our troubles. You should not lose heart in adversity. Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas, prayed to Sri Krishna to beset her with adversities, since in adversity alone is He more frequently remembered!
===='''AIM'''====
We must not cease to strive for the highest even though it seems unattainable. We must keep God as our ideal and aim; that will pull us on. If a man aims at the sky, at least he may strike the top of a tree. If he aims at the top of the tree, he may not get above the ground.
===='''AMBITION'''====
The very fact that we are dissatisfied with our finite nature shows that it is not our natural condition. The fact that we have infinite ambition, that we have insatiable hunger for more, proves that we are infinite by nature, and that is why we are always dissatisfied with whatever is finite... Wipe away the dust, arouse your ambition, stir up your activity and know that all power is latent in you. You are not limited...
===='''ATTITUDE'''====
Our Divine Mother does not like us to call ourselves Her servants... We are her children to Her, not servants. Always think of yourself as Her child...
===='''CONTENTMENT'''====
Do not be content with the little things of this world. This universe is like a baby’s toy. Throw it away. Claim your eternal heritage. This little span of life is not yours; your life has no beginning, no end.
=='''11 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''Inner Peace'''===
==='''Look Within'''===
“And how, monks, does one, in protecting oneself, protect others? By frequent practice, development, and making much of the Foundations of Mindfulness.

Thus, monks, in protecting oneself one protects others.

“And how, monks, does one, in protecting others, protect oneself? By forbearance, by nonviolence, by loving-kindness, by compassion.

Thus, monks, in protecting others, one protects onself.

“‘I shall protect myself’: with this intention, monks, the Foundations of Mindfulness should be practiced. ‘I shall protect others’: with this intention the Foundations of Mindfulness should be practiced. Protecting oneself, one protects others; protecting others, one protects oneself.”
==='''Blessing Chant'''===
JUST as water flowing in the streams and rivers fills the ocean, thus may all your moments of goodness touch and benefit all beings, those here now and those gone before.

May all your wishes be soon fulfilled as completely as the moon on a full-moon night, as successfully as Wish-Fulfilling Gem. May all dangers be averted; may all disease leave you.

May no obstacles come across your way and may you enjoy happiness and long life.

May those who are always respectful, honoring the way of the elders, prosper in the four blessings of old age, beauty, happiness, and strength.
=='''12 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''Inner Peace'''===
==='''Parable of the Raft'''===
“Monks, I will teach you the parable of the raft—for getting across, not for retaining. It is like a man who going on a journey sees a great stretch of water, the near bank with dangers and fears, the farther bank secure and without fears, but there is neither a boat for crossing over, nor a bridge across. It occurs to him that to cross over perils of this bank to the security of the farther bank, he should fashion a raft out of sticks and branches and depending on the raft, cross over to safety.

When he has done this, it occurs to him that the raft has been very useful, and he wonders if he ought to take it with him on his head or shoulders.

What do you think, monks? That the man is doing what should be done to the raft?”

“No, lord.”

“What should that man do, monks? When he has crossed over to the beyond, he must leave the raft and proceed on his journey. Monks, a man doing this would be doing what should be done to the raft.

In this way I have taught you Dharma, like the parable of the raft, for getting across, not for retaining.

You, monks, by understanding the parable of the raft, must not cling to right states of mind and, all the more, to wrong states of mind.”
=='''13 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''Inner Peace'''===
==='''The Kalamas’s Dilemma'''===
ONE time Buddha was walking on tour with a large group of monks, when he came to a town of the Kalamas called Kesaputta.

The Kalamas of Kesaputta thought: “It is very good indeed to see Awakened Ones such as these.”

And so they went up to where Buddha was. Having seated themselves to one side, the Kalamas of Kesaputta said this to Buddha:

“There are, sir, many different teachers that come to Kesaputta. They illustrate and illuminate their own doctrines, but the doctrines of others they put down, revile, disparage, and cripple. For us, sir, uncertainty arises, and doubts arise concerning them: Who indeed of these venerable teachers speaks truly, who speaks falsely?”

“It is indeed fitting, Kalamas, to be uncertain, it is fitting to doubt. For in situations of uncertainty, doubts surely arise. You should decide, Kalamas, not by what you have heard, not by following convention, not by assuming it is so, not by relying on the texts, not because of reasoning, not because of logic, not by thinking about explanations, not by acquiescing to the views that you prefer, not because it appears likely, and certainly not out of respect for a teacher.

“When you would know, Kalamas, for yourselves, that ‘These things are unhealthy, these things, when entered upon and undertaken, incline toward harm and suffering’—then, Kalamas, you should reject them.

“What do you think, Kalamas? When greed, hatred, or delusion arise within a person, does it arise for their welfare or their harm?”

“For their harm, sir.”

“And when a person has become greedy, hateful, or deluded, their mind consumed by this greed, hatred, or delusion, Kalamas, do they kill living creatures, and take what has not been given, and go to another’s spouse, and speak what is false, and induce others to undertake what is, for a long time, to their harm and suffering?”

“This is true, sir.”

“And what do you think, Kalamas? Are these things healthy or unhealthy?”

“Unhealthy, sir.”

“And when entered upon and undertaken, do they incline toward harm and suffering or don’t they?”

“We agree, sir, that they do.”

“But when you would know, Kalamas, for yourselves, that ‘These things are healthy, these things, when entered upon and undertaken, incline toward welfare and happiness’—then, Kalamas, having come to them you should stay with them.

“What do you think, Kalamas? When non-greed, non-hatred, or non-delusion arise within a person, does it arise for their welfare or their harm?”

“For their welfare, sir.”

“And when a person has not become greedy, hateful, or deluded, their mind not consumed by this greed, hatred, or delusion, Kalamas, do they not kill living creatures, and not take what has not been given, and not go to another’s spouse, and not speak what is false, and induce others to undertake what is, for a long time, to their welfare and happiness?”

“This is true, sir.”

“And what do you think, Kalamas? Are these things healthy or unhealthy?”

“Healthy, sir.”

“And when entered upon and undertaken, do they incline toward welfare and happiness or don’t they?”

“We agree, sir, that they do.”

“That person, Kalamas, who is a follower of the noble path is thus free of wanting, free of harming, and without confusion. Clearly conscious and mindful, he or she abides having suffused the first direction, then the second, then the third and fourth—and so above, below and across, everywhere and in every way —with a mind dedicated to loving kindness, compassion, good will, and equanimity that is abundant, expansive, immeasurable, kindly, and free of harming.

“And so, Kalamas, the follower of the noble path whose mind is thus kindly and free of harming—their mind is not defiled, but is purified.”
=='''14 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''Patience'''===
AT one time Shakyamuni Buddha was staying in the town of Kosambi. In this town there was one who resented him and who bribed wicked men to circulate false stories about him.

Under these circumstances it was difficult for his disciples to get sufficient food from their begging, and there was much abuse.

Ananda said to Shakyamuni, “We had better not stay in a town like this. There are other and better towns to go to. We had better leave this town.”

The Blessed One replied, “Suppose the next town is like this, what shall we do then?”

“Then we move to another.”

The Blessed One said, “No, Ananda, there will be no end in that way. We had better remain here and bear the abuse patiently until it ceases and then move to another place.

There are profit and loss, slander and honor, praise and blame, pain and pleasure in this world; the Enlightened One is not controlled by these external things; they will cease as quickly as they come.”
==='''Criticism and Praise'''===
The Buddha said: “If outsiders speak against me, the Teaching, or the Order, you should not be angry for that would prevent your own self-conquest.

Similarly, if they praise us. But you should find out what is false or true and acknowledge the fact. And even in praise it is only of trifling matters that an unconverted man might speak of me.”
=='''15 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''On Conflict and Concord'''===
The venerable Sariputra asked the Buddha, “How am I to behave, O Lord, toward those in conflict.”

“Do not reprove them, Sariputra,” said the Blessed One, “for harsh words do not serve as a remedy and are pleasant to no one. Assign them to separate dwelling-places and treat them with impartial justice.

Listen with patience to both parties. Only the person who weighs both sides is called a sage.

When both parties have presented their case, let the community come to an agreement and declare the re-establishment of concord.

“There are two ways of re-establishing concord: one is in the letter, and the other one is in the spirit and in the letter.

“If the community declares the re-establishment of concord without having inquired into the matter, the peace is concluded in the letter only.

But if the community, having inquired into the matter and having gone to the bottom of it, decides to declare the re-establishment of concord, the peace is concluded in the spirit and also in the letter.

“The concord re-established in the spirit and in the letter is alone right and lawful.”
=='''16 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''Admonishing Others'''===
One who is about to admonish another must realize within herself or himself five qualities before doing so.

[He or she must intend] thus:

“In due season will I speak, not out of season. In truth will I speak, not in falsehood. Gently will I speak, not harshly. To one’s profit will I speak, not to one’s loss. With kindly intent will I speak, not in anger.”
==='''Conceit of Views'''===
The Buddha said, “To be attached to a certain view and to look down upon other views as inferior—this, the wise call a fetter.”
==='''Right Speech'''===
==='''Abstaining from Lying'''===
Herein someone avoids lying and abstains from it. One speaks the truth, is devoted to the truth, reliable, worthy of confidence, not a deceiver of others.

Being at a meeting, or among people, or in the midst of relatives, or in society, or in the king’s court, and called upon and asked as witness to tell what one knows, one answers, if one knows nothing: “I know nothing,” and if one knows, one answers: “I know”; if one has seen nothing, one answers: “I have seen nothing,” and if one has seen, one answers: “I have seen.”

Thus, one never knowingly speaks a lie, either for the sake of one’s own advantage, or for the sake of another person’s advantage, or for the sake of any advantage whatsoever.
=='''17 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''Abstaining from Tale-Bearing'''===
One avoids tale-bearing and abstains from it. What one has heard here, one does not repeat there, so as to cause dissension there; and what one has heard there, one does not repeat here, so as to cause dissension here.

Thus, one unites those that are divided; and those that are united, one encourages. Concord gladdens one, one delights and rejoices in concord; and it is concord that one spreads by one’s words.
==='''Abstaining from Harsh Language'''===
One avoids harsh language and abstains from it. One speaks such words as are gentle, soothing to the ear, loving, such words as go to the heart, and are courteous, friendly, and agreeable to many.
==='''Abstaining from Vain Talk'''===
One avoids vain talk and abstains from it. One speaks at the right time, in accordance with facts, speaks what is useful, speaks of the law and the discipline; one’s speech is like a treasure, uttered at the right moment, accompanied by understanding, moderate, and full of sense.

This is called Right Speech.
=='''18 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''Value of Loving-Kindness'''===
“NONE of the means employed to acquire religious merit, O monks, has a sixteenth part of the value of loving-kindness. Loving-kindness, which is freedom of heart, absorbs them all; it glows, it shines, it blazes forth.

“And in the same way, O monks, as the light of all the stars has not a sixteenth part of the value of the moonlight, but the moonlight absorbs it and glows and shines and blazes forth: in the same way, O monks, none of the means employed to acquire religious merit has a sixteenth part of the value of loving-kindness.

Loving-kindness, which is freedom of heart, absorbs them; it glows, it shines, it blazes forth.
==='''The Woman at the Well'''===
ANANDA, the attendant to the Buddha, having been sent by the Lord on a mission, passed by a well near a village, and seeing Pakati, a young outcast woman, asked her for water to drink.

Pakati said, “O monk, I am too humbly born to give you water to drink. Do not ask any service of me lest your holiness be contaminated, for I am of low caste.”

And Ananda replied, “I ask not for caste but for water”; and the woman’s heart leaped joyfully, and she gave Ananda water to drink.

Ananda thanked her and went away; but she followed him at a distance.

Having heard that Ananda was a disciple of the Buddha, the woman went to the Blessed One and said, “O Lord, help me and let me live in the place where your disciple Ananda dwells, so that I may see him and minister unto him, for I love Ananda.”

And the Blessed One understood the emotions of her heart and he said,

“Pakati, your heart is full of love, but you do not understand your own sentiments. It is not Ananda that you love, but his kindness. Accept, then, the kindness you have seen him practice toward you and practice it toward others.

“Pakati, though you are born low caste, you will be a model for noblemen and noblewomen. Swerve not path of justice and righteousness and you will outshine the royal glory of queens and kings.”
=='''19 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''Treasure'''===
A woman buries a treasure in a deep pit, thinking: “It will be useful in time of need, or if the king is displeased with me, or if I am robbed or fall into debt, or if food is scarce, or bad luck befalls me.”

But all this treasure may not profit the owner at all, for she may forget where she has hidden it, or goblins may steal it, or her enemies or even her kinsmen may take it when she is careless. Or she might not live.

But by charity, goodness, restraint, and self-control man and woman alike can store up a well-hidden treasure—a treasure which cannot be given to others and which robbers cannot steal.

A wise person should do good—that is the treasure which will not desert one.
==='''Commitment to Virtue'''===
IF anyone with a pure heart undertakes a commitment to virtue—to refrain from taking life, from taking what is not given, from sexual immorality, from lying speech, and from taking strong drink and sloth-producing drugs—that constitutes a sacrifice better than giving alms, better than giving shelter, and better than going for refuge.
==='''The Five Precepts'''===
For training I vow to refrain from taking life.

I vow to refrain from taking what is not given.

I vow to refrain from sexual misconduct.

I vow to refrain from false speech.

I vow to refrain from intoxicants which lead to carelessness.

These Five Precepts are a vehicle of happiness, a vehicle of good fortune, a vehicle for liberation.

Let our virtue therefore be purified and shine forth.
=='''20 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''Tending the Sick'''===
NOW, at that time a certain monk was suffering from dysentery and lay where he had fallen in his own excrements.

And as the Buddha was walking about, he came to the lodging of that monk.

When he saw that monk lying where he had fallen in his own excrements, he went over to him and said, “Brother, what ails you?”

“I have dysentery, Lord.”

“But is there anyone taking care of you, brother?”

“No, Lord.”

“Why is it, brother, that the monks do not take care of you?”

“I am useless to the monks, Lord, therefore the monks do not take care of me.”

Then the Buddha said to the venerable Ananda, “Go, Ananda, and fetch water.

We will wash this brother.”

When Ananda had fetched the water, the Buddha poured it out, while the venerable Ananda washed that brother all over. Then the Buddha taking him by the head and the venerable Ananda taking him by the feet, together they laid him on the bed.

Then the Buddha, in this connection and on this occasion, gathered the order of monks together, and questioned them, saying, “Monks, is there in such and such a lodging a brother who is sick?”

“There is, Lord.”

“And what ails that brother?”

“Lord, that brother has dysentery?”

“But, brethren, is there anyone taking care of him?”

“No, Lord.”

“Why do the monks not take care of him?”

“That brother is useless to the order of monks, Lord. That is why the monks do not take care of him.”

“Monks, you have no mother and no father to take care of you. If you will not take care of each other, who else will do so?

Monks, those who would attend to me, let them attend to the sick.”
=='''21 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''Wise Householders'''===
The wise who are trained and disciplined

Shine out like beacon lights

They earn money just as a bee

Gathers honey without harming the flowers,

And they let it grow as an anthill slowly gains in height.

With wealth wisely gained

They use it for the benefit of all.
==='''Advice for Sustaining the Community'''===
AS long as the followers of the way hold regular and frequent assemblies, they may be expected to prosper and not decline.

As long as they meet in harmony, break up in harmony, and carry on their business in harmony, they may be expected to prosper and not decline.

As long as they do not authorize what has not been authorized already, and do not abolish what has been authorized, but proceed according to what has been authorized by the rules of training; as long as they honor, respect, revere, and salute the elders of long standing who are long ordained, fathers and leaders of the order; as long as they do not fall prey to desires which arise in them and lead to rebirth; as long as they are devoted to forest lodgings; as long as they preserve their personal mindfulness, so that in the future the good who are among their companions will come to them, and those who have already come will feel at ease with them; as long as the followers of the way hold to these seven things and are seen to do so, they may be expected to prosper and not decline.
=='''22 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''Knowing a Better Way to Live'''===
I heard these words of the Buddha one time when the Lord was staying at the monastery in the Jeta Grove, in the town of Sravasti. He called all the monks to him and instructed them, “Monks!”

And the monks replied, “We are here.”

The Blessed One taught, “I will teach you what is meant by ‘knowing the better way to live alone.’ Monks, please listen carefully.”

“Blessed One, we are listening.”

The Buddha taught:

“Do not pursue the past.

Do not lose yourself in the future.

The past no longer is.

The future has not yet come.

Looking deeply at life as it is

in the very here and now,

the practitioner dwells

in stability and freedom.

We must be diligent today.

To wait until tomorrow is too late.

Death comes unexpectedly.

How can we bargain with it?

The sage calls a person who knows

how to dwell in mindfulness

night and day

‘one who knows the better way to live alone.’”
==='''Free from All Opinion'''===
“THIS I do now declare, after investigation there is nothing among all doctrines that such a one as I would embrace. Seeing misery in philosophical views, without adopting any of them, searching for truth I discovered ‘inward peace.’

“Not by any philosophical opinion, not by tradition, not by knowledge, not by virtue and holy works can anyone say that purity exists; nor by absence of philosophical opinion, by absence of tradition, by absence of knowledge, by absence of virtue and holy works either; having abandoned these without adopting anything else, let one, calm and independent, not desire any resting place.

“One who thinks oneself equal to others, or superior, or inferior, for that very reason disputes; but one who is unmoved under those three conditions, for that person the notions ‘equal,’ ‘superior,’ and ‘inferior’ do not exist.

“The Sage for whom the notions ‘equal’ and ‘unequal’ do not exist, would he say, ‘This is true’? Or with whom should he dispute, saying, ‘This is false’?

With whom should he enter into dispute?

“An accomplished person does not by a philosophical view or by thinking become arrogant, for he is not of that sort; not by holy works, nor by tradition is he led, he is not led into any of the resting places of the mind.

“For one who is free from views there are no ties, for one who is delivered by understanding there are no follies.
=='''23 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''Do Not Grasp at Views'''===
DO not form views in the world through either knowledge, virtuous conduct, or religious observances; likewise, avoid thinking of oneself as being either superior, inferior, or equal to others.

The wise let go of the ‘self’ and being free of attachments they depend not on knowledge. Nor do they dispute opinions or fix upon any view.

For those who have no wishes for either extreme of becoming or non-becoming, here or in another existence, there is no conflict with the views held by others.

They do not form the least notion in regard to views seen, heard, or thought out. How could one influence those wise ones who do not grasp at any views.
==='''On Knowing Karma'''===
“The results of karma cannot be known by thought and so should not be speculated about. Thus thinking, one would come to distraction and distress.

Therefore, Ananda, do not be the judge of people; do not make assumptions about others. A person is destroyed by holding judgements about others.”
==='''Judging Another'''===
ONE evening, the Buddha arose from his meditation and was seated outside the eastern gate of the park where he was staying. Then, King Pasenadi, arriving for a visit, greeted the Buddha and took a seat to one side.

Just at that time, not so far away, a large group of wandering ascetics were walking by. Carrying their alms bowls, some of these ascetics wore long matter hair, some were naked, some wore only a single robe, and some were wanderers.

When they had passed by, the king asked the Buddha, Can any of those ascetics be considered as being either arhats or on the path to arhatship?”

“The Buddha responded, “It is by living a life in common with a person that we learn of that person’s moral character; and then only if having insight ourselves, we have watched a person for a long time. It is only in conversation with a person that we learn of that person’s wisdom and clarity of heart; and then only if, having insight ourselves, we have paid attention for a long time. It is during times of trouble that we learn of another’s fortitude; and then only if, having insight ourselves, we have paid careful attention for a long time.”
=='''24 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''Self-Respect'''===
The whole world we travel with our thoughts,

Finding nowhere anyone as precious as one’s own self.

Since each and every person is so precious to themselves Let the self-respecting harm no other being.
==='''A Lamp unto Yourself'''===
THEREFORE, Ananda, be ye lamps unto yourselves, be ye a refuge to yourselves.

Betake yourselves to no external refuge.

Hold fast to the Truth as a lamp; hold fast to the Truth as a refuge. Look not for a refuge in anyone beside yourselves.

And those, Ananda, who either now or after I am dead shall be a lamp unto themselves, shall betake themselves to no external refuge, but holding fast to the Truth as their lamp, and holding fast to the Truth as their refuge, shall not look for refuge to anyone beside themselves—it is they who shall reach the very topmost Height. But they must be anxious to learn.
==='''Living in the World'''===
The Dharma of the Buddha does not require a person to go into homelessness or to resign world, unless he or she feels called upon to do so; but the Dharma of the Buddha requires every person to free themselves from the illusion of self, to cleanse one’s heart, to give up one’s thirst for pleasure, and lead a life of righteousness.

And whatever people do, whether they remain in the world as artisans, merchants, or officers of the king, or retire world and devote themselves to a life of religious meditation, let them put their whole heart into their task; let them be diligent and energetic.

And if, like the lotus flower, which grows out of muddy water but remains untouched by the mud, they engage in life without cherishing envy or hatred, and if they live in the world not a life of self but a life of truth, then surely joy, peace, and bliss will dwell in their minds.
=='''25 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''Go Forth over the Earth'''===
ONCE the Buddha addressed his awakened followers, “My friends, I am free of all human and divine entanglements. And as you are likewise free of all human and divine entanglements, go forth into the world for the good of the many, for the happiness of the many, with compassion for the world, and for the benefit, the blessing, and the happiness of gods and humans.

Do not two of you go out on the same road. Teach Dharma that is good in the beginning, in the middle, and in the end. Reveal the spiritual life, complete and pure in spirit and in form.
==='''Like Milk and Water'''===
One evening the Buddha rose from meditation and went to the Park of the Gosinga Sala-tree Wood. The park keeper saw the Buddha coming and told him,

“Do not enter this park, recluse. There are three clansmen here seeking their own good. Do not disturb them.”

The Venerable Anuruddha heard the park keeper speaking to the Buddha and told him, “Friend park keeper, do not keep the Buddha out. It is our Teacher who has come.”

Then the venerable Anuruddha went to the venerable Nandiya and the venerable Kimbila and said, “Come out, venerable sirs, come out! Our Teacher has come.”

Then all three went to meet the Buddha. One took his bowl and outer robe, one prepared a seat, and one set out water for washing the feet.

The Buddha sat down on the seat made ready and washed his feet. Then those three venerable ones paid homage to the Buddha and sat down to one side.

When they were seated, the Buddha said to them, “I hope you are all keeping well. I hope you are all comfortable. I hope you have no trouble getting alms-food. I hope that you are living in concord, with mutual appreciation, without disputing, blending like milk and water, viewing each other with kindly eyes.”

Anuruddha replied, “Surely, venerable sir, we are living in concord, with mutual appreciation, without disputing, blending like milk and water, viewing each other with kindly eyes.”

“But how do you live thus?”

“Venerable sir, as to that, I think thus: ‘It is a gain for me, it is great gain for me, that I am living with such companions in the holy life.’

I maintain bodily acts of loving-kindness towards those venerable ones both openly and privately; I maintain verbal acts of loving-kindness towards them both openly and privately; I maintain mental acts of loving-kindness towards them both openly and privately.

I consider, ‘Why should I not set aside what I wish to do and do what these venerable ones wish to do?’ Then I set aside what I wish to do and do what these venerable ones wish to do. We are different in body, venerable sir, but one in mind.”

The venerable Nandiya and the venerable Kimbila each spoke likewise, adding: “That is how venerable sir, we are living in concord, with mutual appreciation, without disputing, blending like milk and water, viewing each other with kindly eyes.”
=='''26 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''Sharing Blessings'''===
By the blessings that have arisen from my practice, may my Venerable Preceptors,

And Teachers who have helped me _ Mother, Father and relatives, King and Queen, worldly powers, virtuous human beings, The Supreme Beings, Demons and High Gods, the guardian deities of the world, celestial beings, The Lord of Death; people—friendly, indifferent, and hostile—

May all beings be well! May the skillful deeds done by me, Bring you three-fold bliss. May this quickly bring you to the Deathless.

By this act of goodness and through the act of sharing, May I likewise attain the cutting-off of craving and clinging.

Whatever faults I have until I attain liberation - May they quickly perish. Wherever I am born, may there be An upright mind, mindfulness and wisdom, austerity and vigor.

May harmful influences not weaken my efforts.

The Buddha is the unexcelled protector, the Dharma is the supreme protection, Peerless is the “Silent Buddha,” the Sangha is my true refuge.

By the power of these Supreme Ones, may I rise above all ignorance.
=='''27 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''The Dharma Is Like the Ocean'''===
The Dharma is like the ocean, having the same eight wonderful qualities.

Both the ocean and the teachings become gradually deeper.

Both preserve their identity under all changes.

Both cast out dead bodies upon the dry land. As the great rivers, when falling into the sea, lose their names and are thenceforth reckoned as the great ocean, so all the castes, having renounced their lineage and entered the Order become equals and are reckoned in the family of the Buddha.

The ocean is the goal of all streams and of the rain clouds, yet is it never overflowing and never emptier: so the Dharma is embraced by many millions of people, yet it neither increases nor decreases.

As the great ocean has only one taste, the taste of salt, so the teachings have only one flavor, the flavor of emancipation.

Both the ocean and the Dharma are full of gems and pearls, and both afford a dwelling-place for magnanimous beings.

These are the eight wonderful qualities in which the Dharma resembles the ocean.
==='''Miracle of Awakening by Shantideva'''===
AS a poor man feels when he finds a pearl in a dustbin, so am I amazed by the miracle of awakening rising in my consciousness. It is the nectar of immortality that delivers us from death, the treasure that lifts us above poverty into the wealth of giving to life, the tree that gives shade to us when we roam about scorched by life, the bridge that takes us across the stormy river of life, the cool moon of compassion that calms our mind when it is agitated, the sun that dispels darkness, the butter made milk of kindness by churning it with the dharma. It is a feast of joy to which all are invited.
=='''28 August 2026'''==
''(Today is the Janma-Tithi of Revered Swami Niranjananandaji Maharaj. On this Holy day may the Swami bless us all with Bhakti and Jnana.)''
==='''Swami Niranjanananda'''===
==='''Love for Truth'''===
There was a strange mixture of tenderness and sternness in him. His love for truth was uncompromising and counted no cost.

Once a gentleman of Calcutta built a Shiva temple in the city of Varanasi. When Swami Vivekananda heard of this, he remarked, ‘If he does something for relieving the sufferings of the poor, he will acquire the merit of building a thousand such temples.’

When this remark of the great Swami reached the ears of the gentleman, he came forward with a big offer of pecuniary help to the Ramakrishna Mission Home of Service at Varanasi—then in a nucleus state. But afterwards, as the first impulse of enthusiasm cooled down, he wanted to curtail the sum which he had originally offered. This breach of promise so much offended Swami Niranjanananda’s sense of regard for truth that he rejected the offer altogether, though that meant great difficulty for the institution.

It is very hard to estimate a spiritual personality by external events. The height of spiritual eminence of a person can be perceived, and that also only to some extent, by the inspiration he radiates.

Swami Niranjanananda left the stamp of his life on many persons. Some even renounced everything for the sake of God and joined the Ramakrishna Order because of his influence. He left one sannyasin disciple.

To know Swami Niranjanananda we must turn to what the Master said about him: that Swami Niranjanananda was one of his ‘Antarangas’, that is, belonged to the inner circle of his devotees.

During the last few years of his life, he suffered from dysentery, and passed away on 9 May 1904, from an attack of cholera at Hardwar where he had gone for Tapasya.
=='''29 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''All Things Conditioned'''===
All things conditioned are unstable, impermanent,

Fragile in essence, as an unbaked pot,

Like something borrowed, or a city founded on sand,

They last a short while only.

They are inevitably destroyed,

Like plaster washed off in the rains,

Like the sandy bank of a river—

They are conditioned, and their true nature is frail.

They are like the flame of a lamp,

Which rises suddenly and as soon goes out.

They have no power of endurance, like the wind

Or like foam, unsubstantial, essentially feeble.

The sage knows the beginning and end

Of consciousness, its production and passing away—

The sage knows that it came from nowhere and returns to nowhere, And is empty of reality, like a conjuring trick.

The sage knows what is true reality,

And sees all conditioned things as empty and powerless.
==='''The Eye of Wisdom'''===
The Buddha said:

“I consider the positions of kings and rulers as that of dust motes in a sunbeam. I see the treasures of gold and gems as broken tiles. I look upon the finest silken robes as tattered rags. I see the myriad worlds of the universe as small seeds and the great Indian ocean as drops of mud that soil one’s feet.

I perceive the teachings of the world to be the illusions of magicians. I look upon the judgement of right and wrong as the serpentine dance of dragons, and the rise and fall of beliefs as the traces left by the four seasons.”
=='''30 August 2026'''==
''(Teachings from Dhammapada)''
==='''Heart Sutra'''===
Thus, have I heard at one time. The Buddha dwelt at Vulture Peak together with a sangha of one hundred thousand monks and nuns, and seventy thousand bodhisattvas.

At that time the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara arose from her seat among the assembly and went up to the Buddha. Facing him she joined her palms together and bowed respectfully.

With reverence she said, “I wish to explain for this assembly the bodhisattva’s Heart of Perfect Wisdom which is the Universal Womb of Wisdom.”

Then the Buddha said, “Excellent, excellent, Great Compassionate One!”

Then Avolokitesvara entered into her meditation and coursing in Perfect Wisdom observed that all five aggregates are empty of own-nature.

Arising from her meditation she said:

“The nature of form is empty, emptiness is form. Form is not different from emptiness; emptiness is not different from form. That which is form is empty, that which is emptiness is form.

Feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness are also like this. The nature of consciousness is empty, emptiness is consciousness. Consciousness is not different from emptiness; emptiness is not different from consciousness. That which is consciousness is empty, that which is emptiness is consciousness.

“These dharmas are marked with emptiness, neither arising nor ceasing, neither tainted nor pure, neither increasing nor decreasing. Therefore in emptiness there is no form, no feelings, no perceptions, no mental formations, no consciousness, no eye, ear, nose, taste, or touch; no realm of eyes and so on up to no realm of mind-consciousness; no ignorance and no extinction of ignorance, and so on up to no old age and death and also no extinction of old age and death; no suffering, no origin of suffering, no end to suffering, no path, no wisdom and also no attainment.

“With nothing to attain the bodhisattvas depend on Perfect Wisdom and their minds are without any hindrance. Without any hindrance no fear exists. Far removed from perverted thought they are awake.

All the Buddhas in the past, present, and future depend on Perfect Wisdom in attaining their unsurpassed complete and perfect awakening.

“Therefore, know the Perfection of Wisdom is the great mantra, is the bright mantra, is the unsurpassed mantra, is the unequaled mantra that can remove all suffering, and is true, not false.

“Therefore, proclaim the Perfect Wisdom mantra.

Proclaim the mantra that says:

“GATE, GATE, PARAGATE, PARASAMGATE, BODHI, SVAHA!”

== 31 August 2026 ==
(Teachings from Dhammapada)

=== The Dharma of the Heart ===
BY the Dharma is meant the heart, for there is no Dharma apart from heart.

This heart in itself is empty, and there is no such empty heart either. When the empty heart is sought after by the heart, this is making it a particular object of thought. There is only testimony of silence, it goes beyond thinking.

Therefore, it is said that the Dharma cuts off the passage to words and puts an end to all forms of mental activities.

The heart is the source, the pure Buddha-nature that is inherent in all of us. All sentient beings, however mean and degraded, are not in this particular respect different from Buddhas and bodhisattvas—they are all of one substance.

Only because of their imagination and false discrimination, sentient beings work out their karma and reap its result, while in their Buddha-nature itself there is nothing corresponding to it.

The essence is empty and allows everything to pass through; it is quiet and at rest, it is illuminating, it is peaceful and productive of bliss. When you have within yourself a deep insight into this, you immediately realize that all that you need is there in perfection and in abundance, and nothing is at all wanting or lacking in you.
[[Category:General]]