Wiki Vedanta - User contributions [en]

Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 105 on 30-January-2024

2024-02-13T02:45:00Z

Kirandevaram: /* Full Transcript (Not Corrected) */

== Summary ==
Swami discusses how spiritual progress can be made with or without a guru. He shares examples from the lives of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and their disciples to illustrate the guru-disciple relationship. The main points are:

- It is possible but extremely difficult to make spiritual progress without a guru. Sri Ramakrishna relied on his intuition and prayers to the Divine Mother in his early sadhana. Later, the Divine Mother herself guided him step-by-step in his spiritual practices.

- A guru should not be worshipped out of ego. True reverence for the guru arises when one's devotion transcends ego and sees the guru as an instrument of the Divine. The guru is a conduit for the grace and teachings of the Divine.

- The sign of spiritual progress is not ego gratification, but one's own transformation. If the disciple is not improving, it indicates lack of spiritual readiness rather than inadequacy of the guru. When the disciple is ready, the guru will come.

- One must have the courage to face oneself truthfully, without excuses or self-deception, in order to grow spiritually. Swami outlines 22 thoughtful self-reflection questions to help spiritual aspirants analyze their own motives and progress.

- To be considered a true devotee of God or Guru, one must follow their teachings and commandments in daily life. One should reflect whether one's actions match one's claims of devotion.

- One must give up criticizing, gossiping, and wasting time in fruitless activities. One's company shapes one's character. Association with holy people, places, conversations uplifts the mind.

- Delighting in holy company, one should seek to understand the deeper meaning in scriptures, songs, teachings. Contemplating these elevates the mind.

- How one reacts to criticism reveals one's spiritual maturity. Critique by others can help one see their own faults. Progress requires living among those who point out one's flaws.

- Like the Divine Mother's tough love for disciples, a guru may sometimes appear harsh outwardly for the disciple's inner benefit. This demands surrender of ego and unquestioning faith.

- The guru-disciple relation is the greatest spiritual practice. The fully surrendered disciple sees the guru as God Himself and follows the guru's wish over personal desire.

In conclusion, Swami emphasizes that spiritual growth demands absolute sincerity, discrimination, proactive effort and introspection. One must give up ego and fully surrender to the guru or chosen deity. By their grace, one transcends the ego-self and achieves God-realization. Living an exemplary life of selflessness and compassion is the proof of inner attainment.

== Detailed Transcript ==
We are studying how to progress in spiritual life. In that context, can we progress without the help of a Guru? The answer is yes, it is possible but extremely difficult. Many times I had mentioned, Sri Ramakrishna's first spiritual sadhana was without the help of any Guru, any scripture, any guidance. Purely through intuition, purely through wholehearted prayer, the Divine Mother had manifested Herself, and then She used to guide him to such an extent.

We can recollect one small incident. Sri Ramakrishna started the puja. Of course, He knew – we must never forget that Sri Ramakrishna is what is called – once He listens to something, He will never forget. Swami Vivekananda had to read or listen twice, but Sri Ramakrishna only once. So He formally learned how to do puja, but He completely relied upon the Divine Mother. Later on, He was recollecting that, I earnestly prayed to the Divine Mother, and She started telling, now this is the first step, this is the second step, this is the third step, so on and so forth. But very soon His devotion had grown so enormously, which Swami Vivekananda used to call Raghatmika Bhakti, mature devotion, supreme devotion where the rules and regulations completely fall down. The rules, regulations – Sri Rama Krishna used to give an analogy. How long does a plant really require a fence? A fence is meant to protect the plant. Once the plant grows sufficiently strong, even, He used to say, elephants could be tied to it. What is that fence we are talking about? That is called Guru. Our fence is the Guru. We must surround ourselves with the Guru. But as we elaborately discussed in our earlier talks, Guru cult should never be encouraged.

What is Guru cult? My ego supporting my Guru, surpassing my Guru, and I feel accordingly. If someone praises my Guru, I feel inflated. If someone criticizes, I feel deflated. So this is called Guru cult. There is nobody else who is as great as my Guru. Nobody as great, as supreme as my God. Even sometimes there are some people, they do not belong to Guru cult, but they are highly advanced spiritual people, maybe even realized souls. They consider Guru even greater than God.

Sri Rama Krishna is a beautiful example because he knew how to make us understand. There was one Goswami, a disciple of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He was in Vrindavan. He had a lot of disciples. And Hindus have a peculiar belief that every place is ruled by a particular deity. For example, Kashi is ruled over by whom? Not by Lord Vishwanath, but by Mother Annapurna. Kanchi is ruled over by the Divine Mother Kamakshi. Madhura or Madurai is ruled over by Meenakshi. So here in Vrindavan, it is the Radha. Because she is the Shakti. She is the Divine Energy.

So this Sanatana Goswami, I think, it doesn't matter. He was extremely harsh, strict towards his disciples. Of course, they were all great people. So they could not tolerate his harshness. So they prayed against their Guru. And I think most of us are also like that. Oh Mother, our Guru is becoming intolerable. Please reduce his harshness. And then she did their prayer. And one day appeared to this Goswami Guru and said, Son, be a little bit compassionate towards your children. And he turned against her. And then said, You are the daughter of a cowherd. You know only how to graze cows. What do you know how to discipline disciples? So take off from yourself.

So you see, that is not Guru cult. That is extreme devotion and the welfare of the disciples. Because the Guru can take harsh measures. But nowadays it is just the Guru has to totally go on pleasing, sharing whatever he gets. Otherwise, there is a great chance that the disciples will give notice to the Guru. We have found out a better quality Guru and we can reach there. So our devotion to Guru, that is the greatest fence. Not only it is the greatest fence, but it is the greatest spiritual practice, which I will come to later on.

What should be our relationship with our Guru? How do we know that what I am going to speak out is right or wrong? So say Ramakrishna, Holy Mother. Of course, Holy Mother was an exception. But Swami Brahmananda, Swami Vivekananda, etc. But best of all, say Ramakrishna. Even better is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

I am just remembering some of the incidents since we are talking about the gospel of Ramakrishna. Most of us not only have heard about Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, at least those who are attending the gospel classes are familiar with the life of Ramakrishna and the Ramakrishna mission literature. They know how close Ramakrishna and Chaitanya were. And there is a great belief that Chaitanya has reincarnated himself in the form of Sri Ramakrishna. Not only he said he who was Rama, he who was Krishna, and in brackets we have to add he who was Buddha, Jesus or Christ, etc. Because every avatar comes from the same source. Saguna Brahma, Qualified Brahman. Assuming the form of a human being for teaching human beings who cannot otherwise understand and leading a model life. That is very important. So this Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, extraordinarily sweet person. So far, if a person approaches only, just sufficiently near. But anybody approaches too near, then he becomes one of the strictest punish masters. So there is an incident, there was a great devotee and a great attendant of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He was called Choto Haridas. That is Junior Haridas. Because there was a Senior Haridas who was actually a Muslim. Very, very interesting story. There was a Muslim and he was a lover of Krishna. He was initiated by a Hindu Guru. And anybody, any Muslim who converts himself into other religion, most likely he will be killed. And this person, everyday he used to chant the name of, or the Maha Mantra, they call it Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare This is called Maha Mantra. This is what most of the Krishna Bhaktas, especially North India, want to do it. But the South Indian Vaishnavas, they are called, most of them, Sri Vaishnavas. Om Namo Narayanaya That is the Astakshari Mantra. A few people, Om Namo Bhagvate Vasudevaya As Narada initiated Dhruva Maharaj.

Now coming back, there was this another younger person and he is also called Haridas. To distinguish between these two, he was called Choto Haridas, Bodo Haridas. Now the story of the Bodo Haridas, I have narrated, but it is worth recollecting every time. These are the most sacred lives of the greatest souls.

He was living in a village and he never used to mix with anybody. Everyday he used to chant the name of God one hundred thousand times. Practically, that left no time for him, excepting a little bathing, eating and a few hours of snatched sleep. And people instinctively understood that here is a very holy person. By the pure life he was leading. And then he became very popular. That became an eyesore to the Jamindar, the landlord. He paid some amount of money, engaged a public woman to go and tempt him. This happens practically in every religion. In Christianity we have got hundreds of stories like that.

So this lady came and she was an expert actress. She dressed herself not as a public woman, but as a great devotee of Krishna. Pure white cloth and Tulsi beads and Namas. And she sat in front of this person's cottage. Cottage means... English cottage is totally different. Most of the English cottages are palatial homes. Whereas our huts, there is no comparison at all. So he used to come once at noon. She was waiting and at noon he came out. Immediately she wanted to speak with him, spend time with him. He said, Mother, please pardon me. I have not completed my Harinama. So I will have to go and take bath and come back. And when I complete it, then I will speak with you. But it took the whole day. So the same incident occurred three times. And by the third day, what Sri Ramakrishna used to call the glory of Satsanga, she was totally converted. And then on the fourth day, when he had a little time, she confessed her motive. But by that time, she was thoroughly transformed. Then he said, Please give me the name of Krishna. And ever afterwards, she spent, until she died, only the name of Bhagavan Krishna. And unsurprisingly, same thing happened to many of the actresses whom Girish Babu introduced to Sri Ramakrishna and their life, Tara, etc., exemplary life. Even many sannyasins cannot bear resemblance or comparison to these so-called people because they have gone to the lowest depths that is possible. They know what is what. But when the reformation came, that was the greatest thing that had happened.

So, now coming back, this Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is served by this Chotavari Das. And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is very fond. Why was he very fond? Why was Sri Ramakrishna very fond? Nowadays, to speak of one man being fond of the other person leads to many miscalculations, misunderstandings. But this is the purest relationship. The more devotion a person has, the more that person comes nearer to either Sri Ramakrishna, or Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, that is the truth.

So he came, this Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, knowing the purity of this person, he had engaged him that you be my personal attendant. And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was living at Puri at that time because the last 18 years of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu were spent at Puri and there was a place, a cottage called Gambhira. And that is where he lived. And according to Sri Ramakrishna, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used to pass through three states, not Jagrat, Swapna, Sushupti. That is common to all of us. But conscious state, semi-conscious state, completely unconscious state. Nothing to do with our three states. That is when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used to be conscious of the external world, his own body, he used to mix with the devotees, sing, dance, etc.

When he used to enter into semi-conscious state, he used to only dance, no one could ever escape because the mind was not there. But when he used to enter into deep Samadhi, the question of either dancing or much less singing doesn't arise at all. And 18 years Mahaprabhu had spent that way.

So what happened, this Haridas used to serve him and everyday Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used to take the Prasadam of Jagannath Mahaprabhu. But occasionally, some devotees used to invite him and if he knows that they are pure devotees, he used to go and eat the Prasadam. And one day, he was invited by a poor couple, householder, and he went but he found first-class rice, quality rice and many other things. He knew this couple could not afford so as if very casually, he asked them, this beautiful food, tasty food, and then they confessed. Haridas is the reason. He only went to some rich person and then saw that we get good rice, etc.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had come to know that his attendant had spoken with a woman devotee. Because Haridas was considered a sanyasi now. And then he went back. And thereafter, he never talked with Haridas. He asked him to get out of his presence and he did not relent. Devotees tried. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, if you do not like my behavior, I will go away from here. And immediately, their mouth was shut. And this Haridas, against hope, that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would forgive him. But he did not see. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did not relent at all. So he had to willy-nilly leave the place, go to Allahabad and commit suicide at Triveni. This is a very sad story from our point of view. And when this news later on came to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, because the devotees did not dare to mention the name of Haridas, even the name. Long afterward, when he came to know, his only remark was well served. He deserved it. For a sanyasi to speak with the opposite sex. Now how harsh it was, we can just understand. Can we understand that? Absolutely no. So this is not Guru cult. This is a Guru. Can he be so harsh? Can he not forgive? Even after the disciple realizes his mistake, repents of it and would never again dare to do it. We don't know. Sometimes it happens. We just have to swallow it. Whatever be our judgments. Even now I cannot understand it.

What I am trying to tell you is that when one considers one's Guru greater than God, and then he is ready to forge that kind of relationship, what does that mean? We are going to discuss. But before that, I want to know. We all have the highest regard, respect, reverence for our own Gurus. So we say, "My Guru is great." It could be a statement of egotism. If my Guru is great, then I must be great because I had the brains to choose such a person. So once we choose a Guru, then we should never leave him. Why? The question was also discussed by me quite a number of times. If a teacher happens to be slipping down from the path of spirituality later on, will it affect the spiritual progress of the disciple? The categorical answer is no; it will never happen. Why? Because if a disciple has the highest love for the Guru, then that Guru will not be a human being but God Himself. The highest reverence can never be given to any human being, only to God.

What I mean to say is, when our reverence naturally grows, then it transcends all the barriers of brother disciples, Guru, everybody. Only God is manifest in the mind of such a person. So he is getting the directions directly, straight from God Himself, Satchitananda Himself. So when Satchitananda Himself occurs through the instrumentality of that particular person, it doesn't matter. Like a broken pipe or leaky pipe, it doesn't matter. But the water that is coming would not be coming from the Guru. It is coming pure water from the sky. Pure rainwater, distilled water. So He can never grow up because the God who is inside the hearts of everybody He knows, He is watching, and accordingly He will guide us. And so Satchitananda alone is the Guru. So we should, if at all we want to claim our Guru is great, then how do we know? Because if we are great, our Guru is great. If we are progressing, then our Guru is great. But if we are not progressing, if our lives are not being transformed, then even God Himself can never teach us until we are ready. This is what Swami Vivekananda said. When the field is ready, the seed will come by itself.

So, there are some questions I have formulated. There are 22 questions. Every aspirant should ask oneself and answer for oneself. And even to answer for oneself or even to ask for oneself, one should have the courage. What great philosophers tell us is that the courage to face oneself squarely, not excusing, not hiding, not inventing some kind of covers because all mad fellows, they become mad, they are mad, they are certified as mad only because they are trying to run away from their own problematic selves. So, even to analyze ourselves, we require certain qualifications. Only a sharp mind that is granted to us by the grace of the Divine Mother alone can come to us.

So, am I a devotee of God? Last class I have raised this question. And most of the people, not only we say, "I am a devotee of God," and we certify other devotees, "This is a devotee of God" while introducing. Why? Because we go to Belur Math, we go to some ashrama and some of us have taken initiation, so we must be devotees of God. And sometimes I make fun, as you know, that if God is asked, "Do you know this person?" He says, "I never heard of this person." So, the answer, most likely, we say, "Yes, I am a devotee of God. Other people are also devotees of God." But we are talking about one's own self, let alone other people. So, most likely, I say that I am a devotee of God. But most likely, I am wrong. The best I should answer is, "I am not yet one; I am not a devotee yet, but I wish to be a devotee of God." Then, who can call me a devotee of God? Only Bhagawan. The 12th chapter in the Bhagavad Gita is a marvellous chapter, and there are certain verses. And we have to go back and say that such a person with such qualifications, qualities, sattva gunas, he alone is qualified to be. Bhagawan has to give the certificate, not any one of us.

Now, coming back to these questions, these are very, very profound questions. So, I can only briefly describe them. So, I am talking because this is a gospel class, that means we are studying the teachings of life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna for the followers of Sri Ramakrishna, but for the followers of any other teacher, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a Christian, a Muslim, or a Buddhist or following any other traditions, Rama or Hanuman or so many Gods and Goddesses are there. Hinduism is spoiled for choice. It is a big supermarket. Even Krishna himself, how many forms he has got. Do you want Balakrishna? Do you want Gopikrishna? Do you want Gopakrishna? Do you want Gita Krishna? What? And some of our devotees might not know it because we always see the figure of Sri Krishna as very young, but it is said he lived nearly 125 years. How do you think Krishna will look at the age of 100, not to speak of 125? But the devotees will say this photograph of my chosen deity is what I would like to keep all the time and contemplate upon it. So if I am a devotee, follower or I claim I am a follower of Sri Ramakrishna, then what should I do? What can prove I am a follower? Do I follow the commandments of Sri Ramakrishna or Holy Mother or Swami Vivekananda, etc.? I have in some details discussed these five commandments of Sri Ramakrishna, five commandments of the Holy Mother and some of these questions. So this is the first thing. Do I know what are the commandments of Sri Ramakrishna and Holy Mother and do I understand them and do I follow them? And the rest of these questions are a little bit of elaboration based upon these commandments of Sri Ramakrishna and Holy Mother. So the first question, we have to question ourselves and answer ourselves. Do I follow the commandments of either Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swamiji but as I said, do I imitate Jesus Christ? Do I really follow the spiritual teachings of Mohammed? Because there are political issues. There are many other issues. We are not concerned. A devotee is never concerned. So second, based upon this, do I indulge in criticizing, backbiting, gossiping, etc.? Now, I put it in an extreme form. It doesn't mean that only when I criticize, backbite, gossip. So if I go on reading the newspaper or watching the news for a long time, that also comes under this question only. I am wasting my time, etc. So much less if I am criticizing or backbiting or gossiping and most of these things are deadly poisonous things. Let us question and see how many of us dare

to say, "No, I do not criticize. I do not backbite. I do not gossip." How do we know? Because I have no time. I remember a beautiful incident in the life of Rabia. Rabia was one of the greatest women saints following Sufism not the orthodox what is called Islam. So once she had many followers. She became famous as a great mystic. She used to have a lot of visions, etc. So one day, somebody came and said such and such a person is criticizing you left right center. Then they were watching. She was not saying anything. Then they asked Rabia, why are you not reacting? And then she replied, "I am in so much love with Allah that I do not have time to think who is praising me or who is blaming me." Such a marvelous life. And by the way, every devotee who wishes to be a devotee must read the stories of saints and sages. Every day, no day should pass by without reading something about the glorious scriptures or especially the lives of saints. The teachings of saints, more or less they will be the same. They don't differ much. But the incidents in the lives of great saints and sages were great inspiration to most of us. So ask the question, do I criticize, backbite, gossip and honestly answer. You can write down these things actually. Third, am I wasting my time, energy in needless activities? And this is most important. So even there was a great book, you know, I don't remember the author actually, I am forgetting nowadays some of the things. So, it says how to live 24 hours a day. This is the name of the book. It's available on the internet and for your good devotees it is completely free. Downloadable and free. So how to live 24 hours a day? And a beautiful instruction is given. Supposing a person wants to complete the gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. It is having more than 1000 pages. So, when I get, when I retire, when I get long holiday, then I will take it up. That's never going to happen. So it says, buy a book, tear it into a single page, stuff a few pages into your pocket and while you are travelling on the coach or on the train, whatever it is, then you take out the page just to finish. And in no time, you are going to finish it. Very important point is we should never waste. Sri Ramakrishna's life, look at it, as soon as he became aware that he was spending his time in worldly life, he was as if possessed by a tremendous spiritual fervor. The first thing he did was stop wasting time in talking with others and doing unnecessary things whole night. For more than 12 years, he used to spend in Panchavati, only weeping for the Divine Mother. And early morning he used to come. Of course, naturally some of our listeners, audience, they will get the doubt, when was he able to sleep? What is the purpose of sleep? To get rest. And when Sri Ramakrishna used to plunge into deep Samadhi, what do you think he was getting? Tremendous amount of rest. So he will get much more rest than what we get in deep sleep. So he stopped all other activities. Only one earnest prayer. And this attitude did not stop until 12 years have passed. So, let us ask. Then, what is the fourth question? What type of company am I keeping? By company, I mean what type of food? What type of books? What type of people? What type of places? So, what am I watching? What am I contemplating? So ask yourself. Because the very first instruction of Sri Ramakrishna was always to cultivate Satsanga. Satsanga alone can transform our lives. If we are in holy company, we also become holy. Sri Ramakrishna used to give an example. There is one analogy in Sanskrit. It is called Brahmara Keta Nyaya. Keta means a small insect that was stung by a wasp and the pain was so intense that the insect cannot but keep on thinking when am I going to get the next dosage. It thinks fearfully of the wasp. And in course of time, it transforms itself into wasp, meaning to say what happens is when it catches some insect, it bites it and because of it, it becomes paralyzed. And then, the wasp lays its eggs and when the small insects come out, babies come out, they go on eating. This is called storage food. People must have noticed only this insect is gone and the wasp babies have come as if the insect has turned itself into a wasp. Of course, we should not take literally this comparison. Brahmara Keta Nyaya means a person who meditates. When he meditates upon, she meditates upon, he or she becomes it. Ramakrishna became like Hanuman by meditating constantly upon Hanuman. She became like a beautiful woman by meditating upon Radharani. So by meditating upon Divine Mother Kali, he became Mother Kali. Sometimes his whole body used to become twisted and express Mother Kali's forms. The devotees who have seen, they alone can understand what intense thinking can do. Modern psychologists really cannot appreciate that intense thinking can transform us. And that is the psychology. If we keep holy company, think deeply, intensely about those people, those books, those holy places, those bhajans, etc. Our life also slowly becomes transformed. So what type of company am I keeping? In English there is a saying, you tell me what books you read or what company you keep, I will tell you who you are. And literally it is true. Then fifth question, do I delight in holy company? Do I delight in holy books, holy talks, holy conversation, holy thoughts? Am I listening? Because my Guru told me and I feel guilty, I am supposed to be a spiritual aspirant, so I listen to these talks. I listen to these bhajans. Very, very sad story, how many hundreds of bhajans we have heard. First of all, we enjoy the music and especially if the singer is a very good singer, then we become delighted. Is that really a holy delight or is it our lower instinctual nature has been roused up and then we enjoy. If we have even the smallest aesthetic sense, we can really enjoy. But that is far removed from bhajanananda. This is not bhajanananda. This is a little bit of beautiful voice, hypnotic voice and some people have marvelous voice. They can really make us enter deep into ourselves. That has nothing to do. We have to make effort to understand the meaning of the bhajans and to contemplate upon the bhajans. Simple example I am giving. You are all intelligent people. You can extrapolate whatever you want to do. There is a beautiful song. I think Narsimhaitha. Vaishnava janathon Tene kahiye, che peed parayi jane re. Who is entitled to be called a real Vaishnava. Vaishnava janathon. That he is a Vaishnava. Tene kahiye. Such a person alone deserves. Who? Je parayi peeda jane re. He who knows the sorrows, the sufferings, all the what is called negative experiences that person is going through, identifies himself and then he feels I am going through that experience. Only such a person is entitled. But this is not the only one. He who considers what is called the other people's wives or daughters as one's own mother. Such a person is a Vaishnava. A catalogue of beautiful characteristics of a devotee are outlined there in that bhajan. Sri Ramakrishna was very fond of singing bhajans. So there are many bhajans. Our first, if we want to enjoy, our first duty is to find out. Let me understand the literal meaning of this bhajan and then let me enjoy the music and let me contemplate.

There is a beautiful incident in the life of Sri Ramakrishna. There was a would-be sannyasin called Sri Maharaj. In the future, he would be Swami Turiyananda. Just a few days back, on the 24th of this month, we had the birthday celebration of Swami Turiyananda ji. For those who do not know, he left Calcutta and came to Varanasi and lived here. Just next to the next building, he lived in a small room, and he passed away there. Another monastic disciple who came was Swami Adbuthananda. These two direct disciples have decided to come to Kashi and then pass away.

So this Swami Turiyananda, he was studying Vedanta. Sometimes he did not even care to come and visit Sri Ramakrishna. So one day, Sri Ramakrishna wanted to teach him a lesson. He sang a beautiful Bengali song. The essence of the song is, "O Lord, You are my everything. Natha tumi sarvasho amar. You are my everything. You are my past. You are my present. You are my future. You are my relatives. You are my Guru. You are my loving mother. You are my chastising father. Everything." And then, at the end, Sri Ramakrishna remarked, "Take up one particular idea from this song and then be absorbed in realizing it. You will reach the goal. You will realize God." Every bhajan practically takes up. But there is something very special. Perhaps in the future, I might talk about the different moods, Navarasa. But apart from that, so many sadhakas, when they are undergoing spiritual practice, according to the progress they are making, according to the obstacles that they are encountering, spontaneously, they used to burst out in this poetic. They are not simply sitting and thinking and writing. All these things are inspired by the Divine Mood, and it used to spontaneously come out through their intuitive experiences. So, some of us might be going through the same processes, and if we can have, if we can sing those bhajans, suiting those particular moods, then there is great aid, help to push us forward in our own sadhana. So, this is how Sri Ramakrishna did. This is how we also have to do it. The fifth question, what is it? Do I delight in holy company, holy books, holy talks, holy conversation, holy thoughts? Do holy conversation, holy talks? Do you get bored? Do you go to sleep? And how long can you hold a speech? Very interesting. And since you are good devotees, I am sharing this secret with you. Some useless fellows come to waste my time. And they claim that they are sincere spiritual aspirants. But a few seconds we know what is the trend of their thought. So, they only want to talk about worldly things. They want somebody. Probably their spouses are not ready to listen. So, this poor Swami, he has got all the time in the world. So, he can spend his time. So, they dare to come. And I also found out the remedy for it. So, you know what is the remedy? If I go on listening to them, 25 minutes, one hour, one and a half hours they will only catalogue all their worldly affairs. And it is their waste of time, my waste of time. And then at the end, you know, they love me. "Swami, you are so sympathetic, so loving. I want to come and meet you again." And I say, "No more of that nonsense. I know." So, from that, we have to learn by talking with each person how to react to that person. So, if I am sincere about it, I want to save my time. As soon as the devotee comes, I take him to my interview room. May keep him there. And I bring out the highest subjects, Nirvikalpa Samadhi, and etc. And then, you know what happens? After 5-10 minutes, they start looking at their watches. And then they say, "Swami, such marvelous talk. We don't really want to leave, but we have urgently to meet. We have an appointment." And I know in my heart, I have succeeded. And then, they make good pranam and then take leave of me. And that would probably be the last thing that I see their faces. So, if you want, so it may be your relatives. This is a very practical question. Especially for householders. So many people come. They are not interested in spirituality. They want to kill your time. Killing your time means killing you, literally speaking. So, you have to find out some strategy. How to minimize that thing without offending the other person. And that can create a lot of tensions, even what we call friendships can break, but that is the price we have to pay. And those who are sincere, and they are very few, so in the end, we are left out to be alone. That is the price we have to pay. Ask yourself, do I delight? Does it give me happiness? And do you know what Sri Ramakrishna used to do? Whenever such people come, he understands intuitively that these persons are not interested in spiritual talks. So, very nicely, beautiful buildings. So, you go and see beautiful buildings, or the garden is very beautiful. At this time, there are many flowers. It is a very polite way of saying, 'Get the hell out of here.' We have to bring out. If we are sincere, we have to do that. And many of you may be thinking, 'Swami, it is okay for sannyasins, but we are householders.' In spiritual life, this sannyasa and householdership do not hold. Do you want to move forward? Or you don't want to move forward?

So, great householder disciples like Ramachandra Dutta, like M, like Nagamahasaya, there are some, how did they spend their time? Go back to their lives. You will understand. Then, we move on to the sixth question. Mind you, that I have got a lot to speak on this subject, but I am going to only briefly introduce you. Sixth question: How do I react to other people's criticism? You see, when we are living in this world, don't expect everybody will praise you. Most likely, the only person who will praise you is the person who wants to get something from you. But, genuinely speaking, very few people appreciate, because everybody compares themselves and feels they are superior, greater than any one of us. So, if other people criticize, what do they do? This is one way of impasse for them. And one psychologist had expressed, why do people criticize other people? Because this is the only way they can feel that 'I am not like that.' But, there is a subtle psychological fact involved. If I want to criticize others, if I want to find fault with others, unless I have that fault, unless I have the knowledge of that fault, I cannot even see the other person's fault. It is impossible. A child cannot criticize a grown-up person like that. A child only sees from a child's point of view because he has not yet developed those negative qualities himself. Therefore, he is incapable of even finding out the same qualities in other people. So, this is an infallible test. How do I react to other people's criticism? And there is something very great in this. If we want to grow, we must grow in an environment where most of the time we receive criticism. Seems to be a strange advice, adverse advice, but this is not my advice. This is what Swami Vivekananda said in his inspired talks that he had given for three weeks' time at Thousand Island Park near New York. He said, 'If you want to progress fast in spiritual life, go and live in the company where everybody is finding your faults.' And if some people are criticizing us, does it benefit us? Definitely, it will benefit us. Because we are blind to other people. We are blind to our own faults. But, we have got tremendous expertise to find out other people's faults. That's why Senior Swami mentioned something very beautiful. So, it is like using a telescope. When we look at other people's faults, we look in the right way. The small side of the telescope and a bigger lens will be there at the other end. Everything is magnified a thousandfold. Even the smallest defect appears to be a huge defect. But, when we have to criticize ourselves, we reverse the telescope, and we see at ourselves from the other end. And, that is why Jesus Christ was forced to tell that before you want to take out the mote in the other person's eye, take out the beam which is in your own eye. Very beautiful. Jesus Christ's teachings are pure Vedanta. There is no difference. Because He was an Incarnation of God and He teaches only what is Truth.

So, find out how do I react? Even my husband, even my children, even my wife. So, find out. Everybody criticizes. I have encountered something very important, you know. When I was in the UK, one householder devotee's husband and wife came, and the wife was complaining, 'Swamiji, my husband always finds fault with my cooking, especially dal.' Then, the husband also said, 'Yes, it is true.' He admitted in front of me that he is. Then I asked him, 'How long are you married?' 'More than 33 years.' 'Okay. How many times did she cook? Has she been cooking your food, preparing your food?' 'Practically every day. Except when we go on holidays, etc.' And, 'How many times did she spoil the dal or the curry?' 'Hardly. You can count on your this thing. Maybe, salt is a little more added or less added. If salt is added less, there is no problem. You can add it. If it is added more, then there is a problem.' So, you forgot 33 years of cooking and only remember just a few times. Interestingly, Sri Ramakrishna passed a very biting remark. 'What is the difference between God and man?' Sri Ramakrishna said, this is there in many wisdom sayings. So, there Sri Ramakrishna said that if you do 99 turns good to a human being and one bad turn, he will forget all the 99 good turns and remember only that bad turn. But if you do 99 bad turns to God and one good turn, then God will remember only that one turn and never anything else. This is the difference between God and man, and we want to be God. Therefore, we also have to acquire the quality of that God. So, what is the 6th question? How do I react to others' criticism? Moving on to the 7th question: How do I cope with suffering, with death, with tragedy, and all the downsides of life? Do you see something very curious here? Whenever something good is happening, we don't take much cognizance of it. Only we remember for a long time when there is suffering; we start complaining to God. Do we complain to God when I am so happy? What right have you got to impose this so much joy on me? Do we ever complain? No. But the slightest suffering, pain, immediately, why me? Meaning, let others have it but let me not have so much of it. So, a devotee, how does he cope? He has to say Sukha Dukhe Sukha Dukhe Same Kritva Labha Labha Jaya Jaya Yuddhaya Yujjasva Naivam Papam Avapsyasi. Bhagavan Krishna's advice to Arjuna Sukha Dukha: Why do they happen? Because of one's own past karmas. But we are reaping them now. Not only that, it is not proper to think only of the remembrance of past karmas. Of course, we don't remember what we have done in the past life. But definitely, we should be able to remember what wrong things we have done in this life. And that is how we learn. The learning curve is there. So, how do I cope with all these things? Have they something to teach to us? Have failures, sufferings, pains; do they have something to teach to us? Definitely, they are great teachers. From each suffering, we can learn a tremendous lesson. What is the first lesson? That I must have done something wrong. And this is only karma phala. Because most Hindus, we are believers of past karma, especially of what is called previous existences, previous births.But the most important thing is, if we don't suffer, how do we develop sympathy? How do we develop what is called compassion? Looking upon others and feeling their suffering, etc. Why do you think Swami Vivekananda, Sri Ramakrishna was born in a poor family, why do you think Swamiji had to suffer so much? Not because he did any terribly bad karma. He never did any bad karma. But Sri Ramakrishna, our God, wanted to make him teach that most of the people are suffering so much. And if you do not feel sympathy, compassion, empathy with them, then you will not be able to do much good.

Here is a great psychological principle that only a person who feels people's suffering, like his own, such a person alone, he can do really something good. The rest of the people, they do not do it. Beautiful things are there. And so many other questions also. And remember, I am only discussing very briefly. We will talk about them in our next class. Om Jananim Sharadaam Deivim Ramakrishnam Jagat Gurum Pada Padme Tayo Saritva Pranamaami Mohur Moho May Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna."

<blockquote>Note: The lecture transcript was edited for grammar and punctuations using artificial intelligence, so it may contain inaccuracies. The summarization is provided for informational purposes only, and the original audio lecture should be referenced for complete accuracy. Viewers should use discretion when citing any summarized content edited by AI.</blockquote>
[[Category:Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna]]

Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 104 on 16-January-2024

2024-01-23T14:40:45Z

Kirandevaram: Summarization and grammar using AI

== Summary ==
The lecture discusses the importance of having a Guru (spiritual teacher) to guide one's spiritual progress. The Swami emphasizes that while God's grace is always available, a Guru is often necessary to help the seeker receive and properly utilize that grace.

The Swami begins by recounting a question posed in a previous lecture about whether it is possible to have a vision of God without a Guru's help. The answer is no - a Guru is essential, whether the guidance comes from within as intuition or from outside as instruction. A Guru protects the seeker from dangers like ignorance, doubt, wrong knowledge, carelessness, prejudice, and inadequacy. The Guru is a manifestation of God that saves the devotee through any means, living or non-living. Stories are told of the Avadhuta who had 24 Gurus, including the earth which tolerates all harm, teaching forbearance. The key is to have open, observant eyes to learn from everything.

When the seeker is ready and thirsting for knowledge, the Guru will come. Stories are told of devotees like Ramlal, Vaikunthanath Sanyal, and Narendranath who received Sri Ramakrishna's touch and grace but were unable to retain it due to not being fully prepared. God is ever ready to give grace but the seeker must be ready to receive it properly. Swami Vivekananda says faith, humility, submission and veneration are required towards the Guru for spiritual growth. The seeker needs purity, thirst for knowledge, and perseverance.

To avoid being part of a Guru cult rather than a sincere Guru disciple, one must examine if they consider their Guru the greatest, see other Gurus as inferior, force acceptance of their Guru on others, worship but not follow the Guru, inflate ego through Guru worship, or proclaim their Guru as the only true one. True Guru devotion is seen in Ekalavya who even offered his life to Drona despite ill treatment.

One's transformation proves the greatness of the Guru. The questions "How do I know I am transforming and progressing spiritually?" are addressed. One must honestly assess if they are a true devotee of God, exhibit equanimity, and see God in all. More characteristics of spiritual progress are described. The key is to sincerely apply the Guru's teachings, avoid ego, and let God and the Guru manifest from within.

In summary, the lecture emphasizes the critical role of the Guru in awakening the spiritual consciousness and guiding the aspirant's journey to realization of the Divine. With sincere devotion, humility, and perseverant practice of the Guru's instructions, the seeker can transform their life and attain the ultimate goal. Avoiding egoistic cultish behavior and letting the Guru work from within is vital. Evaluating one's spiritual progress takes ruthless honesty. God and Guru's grace uplift the Seeker who strives in this way.

== Detailed Transcript ==
In our last class, we were discussing the topic of the Guru. There was a devotee, Mr. Choudhury, doesn't matter X, Y, Z, but the most important topic. He was asking a question, "Is it not possible to have the vision of God without the help of a Guru?" The categorical answer is no; it is not possible.

What is a Guru? The right guidance, whether it can come from within our own hearts, this is called intuition. If we take shelter under the teachings of somebody else, it is called tuition. So until we develop intuition, we need to follow tuition.

In that context, what does a Guru really do? A Guru saves a devotee from six-fold dangers. We have discussed, but just to remind ourselves, how does Guru really save? Guru means really God only through the instrumentality of not only human beings but anything, including non-living things, as we have discussed in the 24 Gurus of the Avadhuta.

So the Guru saves us. The most important thing is Agnana, which is right knowledge. Even the definition of right knowledge, we do not know. Then Samsaya, doubts. Then Viparyaya, wrong or erroneous knowledge. Then Pramada, carelessness. Then Vipralabdhehi, prejudiced opinion. Many of us are prejudiced about God, about Guru, about ourselves. The greatest prejudice, if we are completely ignorant about our own nature, not much harmed, but if we are entertaining notions of superiority, of greater wisdom, that is the greatest obstacle, not only in spiritual life but even in secular life. So this is called Vipralabdhehi or it is also called Andha Parampara.

Then Apakaranatva, then every devotee has only limited instruments, a limited body, limited buddhi, limited practice, limited time, limited energy, but provided one is sincere, a Guru will definitely save him. If Guru has to take into consideration our full qualifications, I do not think any one of us will ever get out of this Brahma Chakra; impossible.

Then the next question that naturally follows is, how do we get our Guru, where from, and how do we recognize such a Guru? There is one condition; when we are ready, we are thirsting, that is the qualification. If we are thirsting for water, water can come, food, food can come, help, help can come, knowledge, knowledge will come, definitely it will come.

So we have discussed elaborately a story from Bhagavatam. There was a great soul called Avadhuta, and he learned from 24 Gurus. And I said, why only 24? Anything can teach us a lesson. There is just a small illustration, a foot rug, what can it teach us? Just look at the foot rug and say, "Oh foot rug, where are you?" And if it can reply, it will reply, "Why? Where you have left me 50 years back, I am there only, I have not moved from there." So we have to put that same question to ourselves, where are you? Are you progressing? Are you at least taking faltering steps? At least are you making an effort to take some steps forward? If we put that question, everything can teach us. So this is a marvelous story, 24 Gurus, and the very first Guru is Earth. I will just pass a small remark about this, and we can see; you have to recollect what we have discussed in our last class.

Earth, how much of atrocities we are committing against the Earth. We are digging and we are spoiling and we are leaving her Mother Earth with all sorts of filthy things, pollution, polluting, everything. But in spite of all that, like the sandalwood tree, the more a tree cutter is cutting it, the more it is being sawed, the more it is being rubbed, the more fragrance it will give to the very instrument which it is cutting. And the person, that is the nature of the; that is why Earth is called a representation of Kshama, forbearance. Holy Mother is compared to forbearance, Kshama Roopini Sharada Devi.

So we have seen that if we open our eyes, what does it mean we are open? We are opening our eyes; that is not opening, observing. Then every little thing can teach us a lesson. Death, for example, even the newspaper, which Sri Ramakrishna used to dislike, it can teach us a lesson. What lesson can it teach? First of all, look at the obituary columns; you will see that you have either seen or talked or you are talking about a person, and you see his name in the obituary column. Every day, how many people, how many creatures, day and night, and yet those who are not dead, they think that death is never ever going to come. Do we really think like that? No. We all think death is going to come. But we don't want to think about it; we always postpone about it. So the newspaper can also say, what is the world? Selfish people, cruel people, mostly fighting each other, killing each other, completely biased, depending upon you follow that religion. It is a false religion, and my God told me that I must exterminate anybody who doesn't follow my religion, and the same thing applies to my own Guru also, which I will come to in today's talk shortly.

So we see, and then Sri Ramakrishna himself was the greatest example of this observation. He learned from so many things. I am just quoting because we are students of the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. He used to tell everything is Anitya, and he used to tell so many examples he will give. Here is a mother; she is bearing, giving birth to child after child; so many children are dying; she doesn't come to her senses and she gets Prasuti Vairagyam, but how long? Only for a few days, and then she forgets everything. Then two brothers over is just half a foot or a few inches of land between their houses; go on quarreling; they become ruined by paying money to the lawyers, going to high court etc. Just now let us open our eyes; we can see plenty of examples.

Third, does anybody love us? We have a right; we ourselves don't love anybody. We even don't love ourselves. This may be the most shocking statement you might have heard. No, no, no, everybody loves himself or herself. No. I will give an illustration which, of course, I have given quite a number of times. Supposing there is a loving mother and there is a child, and the child asks the mother, "Mom do you really love me?" Mom says, "My darling I love you more than my own life and it is absolutely true." Then the child asks, "If you truly love me then you must fulfill my desires." Mother says, "Yes, whatever you want I am ready to give you." Mom, "I don't like to go to school, I want to spend my life only playing with my friends." Do you think the mother will grant it? No, never. No true mother will ever grant it. There is a time, there is a limitation. Definitely the mother wants the child to play but the mother's greatest wish, he becomes a man or a woman and understands what is life and every mother wishes, let my children be happy, fulfilled, creative. So the mother, if necessary, she catches hold of the baby's or child's ears and then pulls him to the school even though he was thinking my mother doesn't love me.

So do we really love ourselves? If we love anybody, we wish their welfare. If we love ourselves, then we must wish our own welfare. The one and only one, one only characteristic of love is we wish the very best for those people whom we love really and everybody knows that we are all selfish only. Our so-called unselfishness is an instrumentality of our selfishness. As Yajnavalkya, so beautifully expounded in the Brihadaranyaka, no husband loves the wife for the sake of the wife. One's own life, the wife becomes very beloved only because for once she contributes for one's own happiness. So also, no jaya loves her pati for the sake of them. That is why Atmanastu Kamaya.

In this world, we are supposed to be lovers of ourselves but do we find ourselves lovers of ourselves? No. We are the greatest unselfish persons in the world. What am I talking? We are the greatest unselfish persons in this world. We want to serve things or persons or beings who do not belong to us at all, who are our greatest obstructions in life. What am I talking about? We love our body, we love our mind, and our body belongs to Pancha Bhutas, our mind also belongs to Pancha Bhutas. Nothing in this world belongs to us and yet day and night whether we want more money, we want to eat, we want to enjoy anything and all wealth etc. is only for the sake of enjoyment and this enjoyment is for the sake of the body and mind and in the end, the body says goodbye and when we go into deep sleep, the mind says goodbye and we are left where we were like the foot rug. So we are most unselfish because sacrificing our own, really speaking, real goal, we are trying to serve everybody else. Where can you get such an unselfish person in this whole world?

These are the ideas we have to cull from the Sankhya school of philosophy. There was one Ishwara Krishna and he has written Sutra form, Aporism form, Sankhya Karika and there itself he says that the whole Prakruti to whom we are so much attached by sometimes carrot means reward, sometimes stick that means correction, punishment. She teaches us the lesson, you do not belong to me, I do not belong to you, you belong to Purusha, God.

So until we wake up and then it doesn't mean that we should not love anything or anybody. It means that even we use the body, mind, the world as instruments for my own selfish love and here S means capital S. I am the Atman, life is given to me for progress in spiritual life and for that purpose we really require a Guru and God himself comes in any form, living or non-living and that is the lesson we have seen in this 24 Gurus and I said not 24, it can be any.

But the next question that comes is when can a Guru really help us? Simply, can a Guru help us? Yes, but when can a Guru really? Because I have a Guru, most many of us have Gurus, that means guidance is there, say spiritual or secular, but are we progressing and if we are really thinking we are progressing for most of the part it is a self-delusion, greatest Brahma instead of saying that I am Brahman, we are progressing towards I am Brahma.

So when we are ready to always follow the Guru, Guru means guidance, guidance means instructions. Do we want to follow the motorway guidance? Do we want to follow a dharmic class etc.? Do we want to follow the physician's instructions? Do we want to follow the psychologist's instructions? No, we pay money and we do not follow. So unless and until we are really fit, even God cannot help us, He wants to help us, even God is incapable of helping us. This statement is a marvelous statement. Do you think that only when you pray, God is ready to help us? No, we can pray, but God wants also to help. When does He want to help? When does not He want to help? That is the question we have to ask.

Sri Ramakrishna's words are profound. The breeze of God's grace is always blowing, unfurl your sail. That means when you are ready, the grace of God also will help. That is what it means. And as an example, I want to cite from Sri Ramakrishna's life, as all of you are devotees and you know that Sri Ramakrishna had bestowed His unstinted grace on 1st January 1886 and every year we celebrate it on the 1st of January as Kalpataru.

Sri Ramakrishna touched the body, the chest of those who were present there and then said, Chaitanya Hoka, let your spiritual consciousness be awakened. And as a result, most of the people, I mean all the people have wonderful spiritual experiences. But we say marvelous. Let Sri Ramakrishna touch me also. But what we have to study is what happened to these devotees, all of them who received Sri Ramakrishna's divine touch and experienced directly many of the marvelous spiritual experiences.

What happened that day to them? Subsequently, I will give you one example, two examples rather. Sri Ramakrishna's own nephew, Ramlal Dada, because he was such a close relative, family member of Sri Ramakrishna, we respectfully call him Ramlal Dada. Dada means elder brother. But really speaking, whenever I think of his life, I don't know whether any change had come later on, but I have to tell he led a most horrible life. Many months later, when Sri Ramakrishna was on deathbed, Sri Ramakrishna called Ramlal and said, after this body passes away, look after your aunts. That is Holy Mother. Holy Mother was so innocent. She was completely devoid of any worldly, what we call worldly wisdom.

Later on, she had to learn with hard work. But at that time, she was completely reliant on Sri Ramakrishna. Do you know what Ramlal Dada replied to Sri Ramakrishna? "There are so many people who will look after her. I don't need to." He did not say that, but he meant, in brackets, "I do not need to look after her." And he did things which pained Holy Mother later on very much. But there is another slightly better example. This is Vaikuntanath Sanyal. He was touched by Sri Ramakrishna and started having a beautiful vision of the spiritual form of Sri Ramakrishna. In whatever he was looking, like Sri Ramakrishna used to see the golden Kashi upon his first visit to Varanasi. So, Vaikuntanath, he started seeing. He could not tolerate it, bear it. He prayed, "O Lord, I am unable to bear it. Please withdraw." Then he himself was citing Arjuna's prayer to Sri Krishna. "I want to see your form as I used to see before you gave me this Divya Chakshu." And Arjuna claims, even today, it is a mystery to me that he used to see Krishna with four hands, Chaturbhujena. If Arjuna was always seeing Krishna with four hands, is it ever possible for him to address him, "Hey Krishna, Hey Yadava, Hey Sakhaiti, Prasavam Yaduktam?" In fun also. And to sleep in the same bed and to share the same plate of food, impossible. It is a mysterious shloka. We don't know. But I think occasionally he used to see it and forget about it. Just like Devaki had a marvelous vision of Bhagwan Vishnu as soon as he was born in this way. Instead of a baby, she saw Chaturbhuja Rupa Vishnu Murthy. And then she prayed, "O Lord, please withdraw your form because I want to enjoy your glorious leelas as my own child. I can also slap you sometimes. So I can twist your ears also. That is not possible if I happen to look at you like that." Then many times I quoted, Sri Ramakrishna wanted to make Swami Vivekananda a Brahma Jnani. Within a few visits, he touched Swamiji even without his asking, without his permission. And Narendra Nath protested, "What are you doing to me? I have my parents at home." And Sri Ramakrishna, he again touched him and brought him back. There is a story, meaning why Swamiji was not ready, not because of his personal defects, because Ramakrishna had to train him as the Jagadacharya, Jagadguru. That's a clear story. I will not go into it. Now, I quoted the instance of Ramlal Dada, Vaikunthanath Sanyal, as well as Narendra Nath Dutta. All of them have received the grace and none of them could retain it. What is the reason? God is ready to give, ever ready to give, wants to give immediately. But are we ready to receive it? So it is not that God is waiting for you to pray. When the baby is hungry, the mother knows even if the baby is asleep, she will suckle the baby, and even in his sleep, he starts suckling. But the next morning, he complains, "Yesterday, I was so hungry, you did not feed me." He doesn't remember. Every incident that happens in the life of any one of us is God's grace. If we rely upon Him, even if we profess we don't believe in God, that we don't profess belief in God is on our part. But God knows, every mother knows, even a sleeping baby, unconscious baby is her own baby, and no mother will ever say, "Oh, my son, my daughter is not calling me Appa." So what is the point? We are laboring it. Guru is, first of all, ever available. Second, Guru's grace is always upon us. But we must have certain qualifications in order to receive, to retain, and to use them practically. In my earlier talks, I mentioned practically most Hindus. They go on saying Gayatri Mantra, whether they are initiated or not, they teach it even to their children. That is the Gayatri Mantra. But the important part of the mantra is, "O Lord, manifest yourself in the form of right understanding, Dhiyo yo naha prachodayat." And He wants to enter into our buddhi. But we do not allow it. Gods, we are praying, grant me buddhi, and we are saying only, "I will tell you what type of buddhi I want, how to cheat people, how to earn more money, how to secure a better position, how to win elections, etc." Rarely people ask, "Do me whatever is good for me." Incidentally, there was a devotee of Sri Ramakrishna called Ramchandra Datta. And Sri Ramakrishna bestowed His grace upon him. And one day Sri Ramakrishna was extraordinarily generous. He entered into Bhava Samadhi and he asked this Ramchandra Datta, "You ask me, whatever you want, I will fulfill your desire." And Ramchandra Datta was later on recollecting, "Now I don't know what is for my own good. Therefore, he prayed, 'O Lord, truly I do not know what is for my own good. And whatever I think what is good for me inevitably turns out to be lacking in something, making me regret. You do what you think is best for me. This is called complete Sharanagati." By the way, Ramchandra Datta was one of the first and one of the great devotees, householder devotees of Sri Ramakrishna. He was responsible for bringing Narendranath. So Manomohan was another devotee. These two were friends and they were the first of the batch of Sri Ramakrishna's lay devotees. But Manomohan was the instrument for bringing Rakhal Maharaj, Swami Brahmanandaji to Sri Ramakrishna. Ramchandra Datta was the instrument to bring Narendranath. Of course, it was all ordained, but still, as a historical fact, we have to remember that one. Now, how to receive Guru's grace? Guru's grace means God's grace. Swamiji, such crystal clear thinking we rarely find in this world. He is really a Jagat Guru. Why do I say He is? Because He said, "I have given food for 1500 years." So Swamiji, He called from the scriptures, not His own. He says, "Without faith, humility, submission, and veneration in our hearts towards our religious teacher or Guru, there cannot be any growth of religion in us." Here religion means spirituality, and it is a significant fact that where this kind of relation between the teacher and the taught prevails, there alone gigantic spiritual men are growing. The conditions necessary for the taught, means for the Shishya, are purity, a real thirst after knowledge, and above all, perseverance. No impure soul can be really religious. Purity in thought, speech, and act is absolutely necessary for any one of us to be religious. Now, certain questions, which is, in my opinion, one of the most important parts of our discussion today and in the future also. Having outlined the necessary qualifications, here are the questions we have to ask ourselves. Even if we want to progress in spiritual life also, not only in spiritual life, in secular life also, we have to put these questions. In fact, let me, I have already spoken about it, but let me reintroduce to you, before studying any scripture, there is a condition imposed by our Guru Parampara system. We have to crystal clearly pass pre-study examination. This is called Anubandha Chatursthaya. That is, four questions have to be asked. First question is, what is Prayojana? What is your ultimate real goal, not what you profess? What is your real goal? I'll give you a small example. If you ask some student, "I want to pass brilliantly and I want to earn more money by getting a good job." Is that the real goal? No. "I want to be healthy. I want to be happy. I want to live a long time and I want to enjoy life." That is the real goal. Suppose somebody tells this fellow that you will get a brilliant job, you will be the president or prime minister, but you will not be a happy person. Instantaneously accepting a fool, everybody says, "Let me not. I don't want this kind of. I want to be happy even if I am in the lowliest position." Now what are we talking about? Certain questions we have to put. This is called Prayojanam. This is the first of the Anubandha Chatursthaya. Before delving into any subject deeply, we have to first pass this examination. Do I really want to be a musician, a computer scientist, a teacher, a doctor, an engineer, anything? Then the second question is, what is the subject we have to talk? Vishaya. If you want to be a chemist, you must study chemistry. If you want to be a doctor, medical science. If you want spirituality, scriptures. So Vishaya, subject, very important. So this is the second one. Third one is, what is the relationship between what I am studying and what I want to become? Is there any relationship? I am very good at maths and I am delving deep into maths, but I want to become a great doctor or a great musician. What is the relationship between mathematics and becoming a scientist? Of course, as a mathematician, okay. A doctor or anybody, there must be a relevance, a right relationship. This is called sambandha. This is the third one. Fourth one is called adhikari. A blind man cannot be a great painter. A deaf person cannot be a great musician. Of course, a blind man, but with acute hearing, can become a very good musician. We see so many people. But a blind man can never become a good sculptor, a good painter, etc. Whatever else he might become. Similarly, a deaf person cannot be a great, what is called, musician. So there must be adhikaritva. If somebody wants to be a surgeon, he should not be fainting and seeing blood, etc. So this is called adhikari. These four, we have to certify. What is it I really want? And what is the subject I must pursue? What is the relationship between the subject and what I want to become? And finally, am I a fit person physically and mentally? So that if I am physically fit, but not mentally, I won't be able to achieve. Mentally, okay. Physically, not fit. Certain things are barred from me. Not everything, but certain things. So we have to ask these questions. But what I am trying to find out nowadays, or even in the past also, most people have Gurus. And I am only talking about the Shishyas who claim that we have Gurus. And they develop into a cult. Religion becomes a cult. I am a Hindu because I am born in a Hindu family and I observe certain rituals, etc. And therefore, I am entitled to be a Hindu. No. That is a cult. Religious cult. And this is Guru cult. And how can we avoid being cultish? But do we understand what is a cult? And especially Guru cult? There is something called scientist cult. Are you surprised? A scientist, by definition, is one who doesn't care what the whole world thinks. But is it true? Is it proved? Is there sufficient evidence to come to this conclusion? Scientists are the greatest, blindest people in the whole world. Because every time they discover something, they go on issuing statements. Like for example, nowadays, AI, there are all the scientists were divided into two classifications. One side says AI, artificial intelligence, is going to dramatically transform human life for the better. And the other negative side, they go on telling, "No, this is the greatest danger to us." One day, the machines, the robots can become conscious and wage a war against human beings. They exterminate human beings, etc. Are they really scientists? No, we don't know. So if at all any robot is going to kill us, that is because of our own fault because we have created it. It is my own fault. It is called Karma Siddhanta. My own fault means I have done something I should not have done. I have not done something which I should have done. So I am suffering today. Now, my Gurudev, Swami Yudhishthira Maharaj, he used to always warn us, "Do not develop a Guru cult and Guru cult and God cult." And what you call, instead of saying cult, some of us use the word club, doctor's club, scientist's club, hacker's club, etc., etc. So very few of us are aware what is called Guru cult. I want to discuss this. If I can finish this class, otherwise next class, very important.

"What are the characteristics of a Guru cult? Am I a Shishya of Guru, or am I a follower of Guru cult? How do I know? Certain characteristics are there. Number one, the feeling that no one is greater than my Guru. Why? Because I have scriptural evidence: Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru Devo Maheshwaraha, Guru Sakshat Param Brahma. I am not saying the scripture is teaching me that my Guru is great. No, not your Guru. Guru is great. You have your Guru. For you, you must consider him God. That is fine. For me, I have another Guru. I must consider my manifestation of my Guru as the greatest. So no one is greater; don't say that. No one is greater. Only God is great. Everybody else may be great in some respects, not in every respect.

Second, looking upon all Gurus, all other Gurus as inferior, and then we don't stop there. We may not openly criticize, but the way we show our thoughts—'Oh, he is okay, he is okay, but not as good as my own teacher.' All other Gurus are inferior, and criticizing other teachers is a definite sign that we are Guru cultish people, not Guru bhaktas, but Guru cult bhaktas.

Third, trying to force everyone to accept one's Guru. 'Oh, you want to progress? My Guru is the greatest. You follow him.' Never say that because God has already decided who is going to be the Guru of which person, and if we are sincere, anyone is sincere, God will guide them to the right destination. This is the third characteristic.

Fourth, always worshipping one's Guru but never following his instructions. Always following, worshipping, Adho Pooja, and garlanding. If there is a photo also, I will put a garland. If there is a photo, I will put it in my shrine room, and sometimes my Guru's photo is larger than even God's photo, and I worship him and look at him with soulful eyes, but never follow his instructions. How do we know? Because we would have progressed.

Fifth, doing Adho Pooja with tremendous bhakti in order to inflate one's own ego. 'I am such a great bhakta,' and earlier also, I told something which I will include in the sixth characteristic. So we worship, and it is absolutely fine to worship, but if it goes, 'Aha, my Guru is such a great Guru, therefore what follows? I must be a great disciple because every disciple of a great Guru, by sequence, must be a great disciple only.' This is the stupid logic we always follow.

Sixth one, to consider one's own Guru as the greatest Guru of all times, not only of this time and even put him above God and proclaim him as the only true Guru and cultivate hatred or looking down towards anyone who doesn't concur with our opinion. We go on proclaiming our Guru is the greatest Guru, and nobody was ever born, is ever going to be born. Such a great Guru is never there. He is the truest Guru. And then what happens? 'Oh, unto that person whom I am expressing my opinions and he doesn't encourage me, he doesn't concur with me, and he has his own opinions, and I develop hatred.' Since you don't accept, you are not my true friend, I hate you simply. And any number of manifestations of this ego inflatism we can find between parents and children, between husband and wife, between brothers and sisters, between co-workers and one's boss, etc.

On the other hand, if anybody just to please us because that fellow has come to borrow something from us, either a car or money or whatever help, so to praise one who accepts one's own Guru and accepts Guru's utterances also without examination, these are some of the characteristics of the Guru cult. Very soulful lessons we have to learn from this. Just sit and say, am I a Guru Bhakta, or do I belong to Guru cult? If I am a Guru Bhakta, then I can go ahead.

So how do we know that we have sincere love? Look at Ekalavya. We have to learn many lessons from the Mahabharata. Look at Ekalavya. Ekalavya approached Dronacharya, but he was firmly rejected. But he said, 'I have decided that you are my Guru.' He went into a forest, fashioned an image of the Guru, and really believed his Guru is guiding him through that image. And he became even a greater archer than Arjuna himself, whom Dronacharya taught. And what did Dronacharya do in the end? When he found out about Ekalavya, he was surprised and said, 'But who taught you?' And Ekalavya said, 'You only taught me.' 'How?' Ekalavya told the story. 'Then you accept me as your own Guru.' 'Yes, but you never gave me Guru Dakshina.' 'Whatever you want, my very life.' If Dronacharya said, 'I want your life,' do you think Ekalavya would have hesitated a millisecond? He would have immediately given his own life. But this we should not use bad words toward Dronacharya. What type of Brahmana, what type of Acharya, what type of a Guru, without teaching anything after rejecting, could ask for your right thumb of your right hand so that Ekalavya would never be able to use any other bow and arrow in his whole life? How cruel for a Guru to say this. He could have told that, 'You see, if you were a commonsensical Guru, very good, and I think you better join the Pandavas party and help them.' And Ekalavya would have gladly joined Pandavas army and helped them. Of course, the final outcome will come by Krishna's will. That is why he says, 'All these people long back, they are dead. You are only just an instrument. Whatever has to be done in the form of Kala, I have already decided what to do, what not to do.' So this is what is called true Guru Bhakti.

And then extend the same concept that we have discussed now towards what is called religion, religious cult. Islam is great. Hinduism is great. Judaism is great. Really, Jews believe Judaism is great because they never allow anybody to become Jews unless they are born Jews. Of course, nowadays they accept also. But the point is, even at the cost of death, they refused to change their religion. Had they adopted either Islam or Christianity, most of them would have been alive today. But such extermination, how many millions have been. Even now, anti-Semitism, hatred of the Jews because they are born to that religion. This is called anti-Semitism because they are called Semitic religions. This is the war, present war that is going on. Has no rationale at all excepting this one. What a marvelous thing it is. We have to think about it deeply.

So now, having discussed Guru cult, we have to distinguish it from Guru Bhakti. How do we know? Because if one's life is not transformed even after we proclaim that we have the greatest Bhakti to the Guru and we are not following one's Guru, then that shows we are Guru cultists, not Guru Bhaktas. That is why I cited the example of Ekalavya. And so whatever cult, scientific cult, religious cult, or what you call professional cults, doctor's cult, they will not allow anybody other than a doctor, lawyer's cult, etc. So many religions are cultish and fanatical. Needless to say, Guru cult is not only a great obstruction but a great danger to society. Our God alone is the real God, and every other religion is inferior and every other believer is Kafir. Kafir means a non-believer. And this is no better than Guru cult. We have to assiduously avoid it.

Now, a very important question. What is the proof? How do we prove that our Guru is great? How do you prove that the doctor you are visiting, the doctor whom you are consulting, the doctor who prescribes your diagnosis and prescribes your illness and prescribes proper medications, diet, exercise, etc.? How do you know that doctor is a really great doctor? Because you follow him. So the only way to prove that our Guru is truly great is by transforming our own life and becoming great. And other people look at us. 'Oh, this person is so great. How did he become great?' Then this is what happened, you know. Just as an example, there was a French writer who made Sri Ramakrishna and Vivekananda popular by writing two beautiful books, 'The Lives of Sri Ramakrishna' and 'Swami Vivekananda,' in marvelous poetic language, in the French language and even in English translation. Their very language has become what is called great guidance for others who want to write, who want to become good writers. So how do we know that when this Roma Rola, he came to know suddenly there was a great change in the Brahmo Samaj which was cultish, which was narrow-minded. Suddenly there was a change, especially that particular branch, especially that was formed and followed by Keshav Chandra Sen. And then he was astonished. How did this change come about? And he came to know it was through a great another person called Sri Ramakrishna. Who was Sri Ramakrishna? Who could bring about such a change in this Brahmo Samaj? So he collected materials and as a result, he has written. So if anybody looks at us, 'You are so happy, you are so creative, you are so unselfish, you are so great. How did you become so great?' 'Oh, I follow my Guru's instructions.' 'Oh, please introduce me to that Guru.' So we become instruments. Our Guru stands proved by our transformation, by our own character, not by anything else. The only proof we have become better people is progressing in spiritual life by following the instructions of our Guru.

Now some questions will come. How do we know we are transforming ourselves? That means we are not what we were. We have become much better people. We have transformed our life and we are progressing. This is called progress. By the way, any progress in secular or spiritual life follows the same methodology. Because if we direct the same methodology to worldly affairs, we improve. What is it? Purposefulness, willpower, the willingness to follow the disciplines, the willingness to avoid all that should be avoided. Choose any field you want and you can progress. One can progress. We can progress, but we have to follow the same thing.

How do we know we are transforming ourselves and progressing in spiritual life? This is a huge subject, but it's a very, very important subject. So what should we do? We should sit down and with a calm mind, practice a little bit of Pranayama. Let the mind quiet down. Then tell to the mind, 'Oh, mind, do not deceive me. Do not give me a facile answer which will satisfy me, which will inflate my ego. I want to know the truth.' This is what Holy Mother used to say, 'Stop finding fault with others, start finding fault with yourselves.' So we have to question ourselves.

These are some of the questions, and one of the first questions is—this is the question—am I truly a devotee of God? And by any chance, if the answer is yes, I am a devotee of God, most likely I am totally wrong. It is for God to certify, 'He is my devotee.' And did He do that anywhere? Yes. If you study the Bhagavad Gita at all, even if you have glimpsed or after this class or tonight, go to the twelfth chapter, and then He says, 'That human being is very dear to me,' means very close to me. Somebody criticizes, somebody praises. Whatever comes, this is the best thing that God has provided me. Like a mother, whatever she gives to the baby is the best, very best. Whatever be the situation, I accept it. Niketa means a dwelling place, actually, but here whatever status, state we are in, the mind is never agitated on any account. If anybody exhibits these characteristics, such a person is very dear to me because I can manifest in that mind very, very soon.

So if we say that truly I am a devotee of God, forget about it. A true devotee never says that I take credit for myself. He doesn't even say, 'O Lord, it is through your infinite grace.' The very desire, 'I want to become a devotee.' I have a human birth. I have the company of great people. These three will come only at the grace of God. So if anybody—we have to answer, not other people, you are a devotee. Normally, we say that. No, never say. Do you say, 'I am a devotee of God'? And if you say, 'I am a devotee,' most probably you are wrong. Why? We will discuss these points in our next class. May Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna."

<blockquote>Note: The lecture transcript was edited for grammar and punctuations using artificial intelligence, so it may contain inaccuracies. The summarization is provided for informational purposes only, and the original audio lecture should be referenced for complete accuracy. Viewers should use discretion when citing any summarized content edited by AI.</blockquote>
[[Category:Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna]]

Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 097 on 10-October-2023

2023-10-30T00:34:25Z

Kirandevaram: /* Full Transcript (Not Corrected) */

== Summary ==
The lecture revolves around Sri Ramakrishna's teachings on April 9, 1882 in Calcutta on why God created wicked people with sinful tendencies. It explores this question through the lens of holy company or satsang.

Holy company refers to associating with spiritually wise or advanced people. As per the saying, "you are the company you keep," we tend to become like those we associate with regularly. Satsang with saints, devotees and spiritual seekers transforms our nature from tamas or evil tendencies to sattva or purity. It awakens longing for God, devotion and the spiritual path. Through spiritual practice in holy company, we gain control over body and mind, developing dispassion and discrimination.

Cultivating holy company is essential to change inherent selfishness and ignorance. Without it, evil persists and suffering continues in the world. Even with selfishness, if everyone were holy, the baby would absorb those sattvic qualities. But amidst selfishness, the baby learns selfish ways for self-preservation. Limited selfishness only for peaceful living is acceptable.

The lecture examines the metaphor of holy company using the mango tree and its fruits as desires. The sense organs like the eyes are the tree loaded with fruits of sensory experience. Ignorance and temptation are the gatekeepers preventing enjoyments without payment. Even desire for God, japa or devotion can become greed. Pride in being God's devotee and jealousy of others' progress are also desires. Love confined to family is lust.

Sri Ramakrishna reminds that wicked people are necessary in the world just as the unruly tenants requiring a harsh administrator. He explains God's creation of evil using the Divine Mother's play requiring both good and evil to continue the game. If she embraced everyone, the play would cease. When tired of the game, she lifts the devotee into her lap. Sri Ramakrishna experienced this directly when he saw the boys torturing the grasshopper. He realized through holy company with the Divine Mother that he was everything - the grasshopper, the boys and the stick causing his own suffering. This ended in a deep samadhi.

Such holy company with the Divine Mother during his spiritual practices in Dakshineswar transformed Sri Ramakrishna from wicked to saintly. He conquered extreme lust, anger, greed and evil actions through holy company. It awakened direct realization of his identity with the Divine Mother by purifying his mind. When the neighbor asked about wicked people, Sri Ramakrishna could explain through his own experiences.

Evil exists for creating saints. The saint has no lust, anger or greed. But they were once great sinners who awakened and controlled the mind and senses. Bondage causes suffering. Liberation comes by realizing our identity with the Divine. Sri Ramakrishna said holy company with him would implant divine love and grow devotion. But association with wicked people sharing cynical, atheistic and problematic ideas can destroy spirituality.

Holy company provides living examples of teachings. Sri Ramakrishna could test the scriptural truths in his own life. Holy company cleans the mind's mirror to reflect divine light. Lust, anger, greed cannot co-exist with holy company. It uplifts, transforms and unifies the soul with cosmic oneness.

The lecture analyzes the idea that labeling nations as evil creates polarized conflicts. Our concepts of good versus evil depend on personal beliefs based on propaganda or affiliation. True wickedness requires daring to translate evil thoughts into actions. Social fears restrain our latent wickedness. We secretly applaud villains displaying our own suppressed tendencies.

Hinduism's approach reconciles evil's existence through holy company through some of the below ideas:

1) God alone creates and becomes everything. Multiplicity inevitably contains duality.

2) Good and evil transform continuously. Karmic fruits cause happiness or sorrow.

3) Maya's cosmic play appears real but isn't. We are mice in the cat's game.

4) Opposites are imperative to understand happiness.

5) Existence means suffering for Buddha. Escape samsara's cycle.

Holy company with the Divine Mother reveals that we alone create our suffering. God is the cosmic player and the played, beyond good-evil duality.

The lecture emphasizes holy company. Regular satsang uplifts through its living presence. Holy company provides the toolbox of teachings to realize God directly. It models the possibility of overcoming latent wickedness. It fills the mind with sattva, conquering lust, anger and greed. By its purifying influence, it creates saints out of sinners. It teaches the divine purpose behind the perplexing mix of good and evil. It transports consciousness from dualistic maya into unitive reality.

== Detailed Transcript ==
In our last class, we have been studying the very useful teachings of Sri Ramakrishna. What is the benefit of Holy Company? On Sunday, April 9, 1882, Sri Ramakrishna was seated with his devotees in the drawing room of Pranakrishna Mukherjee's house in Calcutta. It was between 1 and 2 o'clock in the afternoon. There is another benefit from Holy Company, and many benefits are there. One benefit is that by associating with holy people, we ourselves become holy. There is a beautiful saying in the English language: "We are what we eat. Tell me your friends, and I will tell you who you are. Tell me what type of books you read, and I will tell you what type of person you are." So, association tells us about ourselves because we like certain types of foods depending upon the type of guna we have. According to Vedanta, three types of gunas are there: Sattva guna, Rajoguna, and Tamoguna. Every other guna, that is the quality of a person, every samskara in the whole world, is only derivatives. They affect different manifestations of infinite combinations of these three: Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. What we call evil or evil people, etc., is only Tamoguna Pradhana. That's why Sri Ramakrishna says that both ways it works. If we deliberately, with awareness and a lot of willpower, effort, cultivate holy company, good company, devotee's company, scriptural company, then we slowly change our nature because every habit becomes a habit only with great repetition, and repetition, especially in good things, requires a tremendous amount of willpower. So, what is the first benefit? We become holy. What is the second benefit? We develop a tremendous amount of discrimination. We develop dispassion. We develop control over our body and mind. Finally, it begets longing for God. Holy company begets longing for spiritual life. Devotion will come to God. Sharanagati will come to God. These are some of the benefits.

Naturally, if we do not cultivate holy company, then what happens? What do we see in this world? We see a lot of suffering, a lot of what we call evil. Evil means suffering. Suppose evil is happiness, and evil can be happiness that we, normal people with very ordinary power of thinking, never suspect that we are mostly evil people according to Hinduism or Vedanta. Vedanta is a correct word for Hinduism actually. The word Hindu is a misnomer actually. We should be called Vedantins, Vedantikas, followers of Vedanta. What is Vedanta? Teachings of Vedas, that is called Vedanta. Whether it be Dvaita Vedanta of Madhvacharya, Visishta Advaita Vedanta of Ramanujacharya, or even Advaita of Shankaracharya, any school of philosophy, combined, goes by the common name Vedanta. Vedanta means the teachings of the Vedas. And Vedas need not be only Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharvana Veda. Every science, teachings can be a Veda. What is a Veda? That which gives us knowledge about Atheendriya Gnanam, that is, that which is beyond the sense organs, that is called Veda. Normal science gives us better knowledge, a better explanation about this world, which we are experiencing all the time. For that, we don't need Vedas. But we need to know the nature of the world, which we do not actually understand. So Vedas give us two types of knowledge: that which is obtained through the sense organs, but the nature of this world, similarly, whether there is life after death, Paraloka, other world, and Bhagavan, Ishwara. Because no amount of logic can prove to us there is a God, there is a life, and there are other worlds, which can never be experienced through our sense organs. That knowledge we should come. But we also have to be very clear, we are in the world, we are experiencing the world from birth to death. Then why should the scripture tell us? Because even while experiencing, we do not understand the nature of the world, that it is changeful, death can come at any time. Everybody is going to go through what is called dualities. Nobody will experience unmitigated one-sided happiness or wealth, etc. Life goes on changing. Life will not stop at a moment. Like a river, it goes on moving. That is why it is called Samsara. Always it is moving, changes, and it is dependent. It is dependent upon what? Our consciousness. If I am unconscious, I don't know about the world, much less I know about myself. I have to be awake, but I am not taking into consideration everything is changing. I become old, I don't want to accept, I try to cover myself with so many things, etc. The nature of the world and the nature of God, both knowledge we have to get only from the scripture. And every saint who realizes God or who has advanced in spiritual life also teaches exactly the same truth. That's why this holy company is very, very necessary. Now here comes a tremendous fact. So what is the fact? So here comes a neighbor on this April 9, 1882. It was a Sunday. It was 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Sri Ramakrishna was sitting in the drawing room of Pranakrishna Mukherjee's house in Calcutta, and some people were invited, and some people came themselves, knowing that a great Paramahamsa was coming, and as we discussed earlier, Yashachandra Sen was the main instrument through which people in Calcutta and outside Calcutta came to know about this great soul called Sri Ramakrishna. And in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna and also in the life of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna Leela Prasanga, which we are discussing in Kannada language, we have come to elaborate discussion about Yashachandra Sen, who was also inspired by the Divine Mother and endowed with some powers by the Divine Mother to assist in the Dharma Sthaapana of Sri Ramakrishna. So here is a neighbor asking, "Why has God created wicked people?" Earlier, we saw, "Why does a man have sinful tendencies?" And very interesting, if we really study it with the light of Swami Vivekananda's teaching, at one point, he says, "It is a standing liability to call man a born sinner. Man is a sinner, accepted. Man is not a born sinner, completely unacceptable. Why? Because by birth, each soul is potentially divine. But by our actions, we deviate. We forget, and because of what we call Maya, Avidya, Agnana, etc., we identify with the body-mind, and we go on doing mostly evil. Unselfish people are very rare. Only spiritual people are unselfish people. By the way, we have to understand a simple fact, that an unselfish person cannot be a worldly person, and a worldly person cannot be an unselfish person. What is the conclusion? Parishashika Nyaya. So only a spiritual person can become an unselfish person, and only an unselfish person can become a spiritual person. Selfishness and worldliness, unselfishness and spirituality must be clubbed together. So, why does a man have sinful tendencies? Is it from the very beginning? The short answer is no. A baby, for example, is a good example. It doesn't have sinful tendencies. But as the baby grows up, he sees all around, and if everybody is unselfish, the baby will never become selfish. The only way a baby can achieve some self-interest against these ever-worrying countries, nations, or it is in societies, individuals, is by becoming selfish. Even protecting oneself against evil people in a way that is also selfish. And we have to become selfish. There is no way we can escape from being selfish. But there is a limit. If selfishness is limited only to peaceful living, it is absolutely acceptable, and one must be selfish in that sense. Taittiriya Upanishad, many times I have brought up this, broached this subject. That even in Taittiriya Upanishad, the very first chapter, in the 11th Anuvaka, a blueprint for life is given, several commandments. Satyam. First, what is it? Satyam Bruhiyat. Only truthfulness has to be upheld. Satyam Vada Dharmamchara and practice righteousness. Swadhyayan Maa Pramadaha. If everybody is unselfish, if everybody doesn't have sinful tendencies, where is the need for this commandment that you have to speak truth, you have to practice. Dharma means actually unselfishness. What is unselfishness? That there are no other people. Everything is me. Putting oneself in the other person's shoes is called morality, and that is the root of unselfishness. But thinking, I am separate from everybody, and I want to look for my own interest, that is called immorality, actually. Do we have sinful tendencies? No. Only we don't know when it started. Janma Janmantara. Because there is no answer when was the first birth given and how did God create everybody with different tendencies. Ultimately, the responsibility can be attributed only to God. That is a very important point because devotees of God, they want to defend their God that God can only create good tendencies. He cannot create evil tendencies. This is not correct reasoning because when the whole world is created, and we see evil people, good people, and neutral people, we have to accept that somebody has created them like that. So Hinduism doesn't shrink, doesn't hesitate to tell, unlike some other religions who posit two Gods. One is the creator of evil, and one God who creates only good things. But that war between two Gods will never come to an end. So Hinduism frankly says it is God only who created. So, if a person with evil tendencies goes on repeating his evil tendencies, first of all, he will go on growing stronger, stronger, and still stronger. If a person has good tendencies, he will also grow. He becomes a better man, becomes the best man, good, good, or goodest man. Then, how does God create? So, the categorical answer is that God is not creating for somebody else. He is only playing a solitaire game against himself. That is called Leela. If we do not accept this grandest idea that everything is Maya. What is Maya? Appears to be real, not at all real. Another word, very commonly used word is called Mithya. Just like our dreams, we only create while experiencing a dream. Everything looks very, very real. But truly speaking, when we wake up, we understand it is all nothing but ideal dreaming. Neither good effects nor evil effects. There is no killer. There is no killed. Unable to understand this analogy, many people criticize Hinduism as a dreamy philosophy, unrealistic philosophy, impractical philosophy. But they don't understand, they don't study Hinduism. Hinduism has to be studied, not independently. You take up some books and then read the books. One is not going to understand. One has to go to a saint and then understand. Why he is there? So, Rama Krishna was such an incarnation of God. And even if people don't accept that he is an incarnation, they certainly accept that he was a realized soul. That one has to accept. Only from that standpoint, he knows the truth. Who is a God realized soul? He knows the truth. And so, every single teaching that came from Rama Krishna's mouth is a scripture for us. What you call Veda is nothing but the discoveries, the uncoverings of the Rishis only. Nothing else. It is not what we call human creation. It is not paurushaya. It is apaurushaya. In this background, why does a man have sinful tendencies? Because of selfishness. But we don't need to have sinful tendencies. How can we avoid? What is sinful tendency? Trying to obtain something by hook or crook, by deceitful means, by hurting, harming other people. That is how we develop sinful tendencies. But Vedanta or scriptures, Vedas, Upanishads, Gita, or Gospel tell us a different story. You have desires? Yes. You have infinite desires? Yes. There is a way not to fulfill one desire, but every single desire. How? You go to God, and every single desire, because God is infinite, infinite desires can be fulfilled by realizing what? That I am that infinite. I don't need to go anywhere. I am happiness. But that comes only at the end. So this play cannot go on without these sinful tendencies. But there are also people equally, maybe even more, with good tendencies, virtuous tendencies, that we forget. But another factor also, what we call a sinful person today, after some time, he alone becomes a saint. And what we now call a saint had a past in which he did a lot of sinful things. If God comes and tells a saint, "Look into your past, you have so many past lives," and says whether you were born as a completely devoted person from the very beginning, an innocent baby, or you did a lot of evil things, and a saint will be the first person to admit, "I have done even more than anybody had done, things which I should never have done."

But every sinful person is going to become a saint. That's what Swami Vivekananda says. Each soul is potentially divine. What does that mean? To become divine is unstoppable.

Now, the second question is, why has God created wicked people? And who are wicked people? This is where we need to connect with the earlier sentence. A person who has evil thoughts, and those evil thoughts are called sinful tendencies, evil tendencies. The person who says, 'I have these thoughts, I own this mind with these kinds of thoughts,' becomes a wicked person.

Actually, there is something very interesting as well. Most of us are very wicked people. We have so many wicked thoughts running through our minds. Only because of our cowardice, our fear of policemen. Suppose there are no police, and any government says, 'You can be as wicked as possible, and we will reward you according to the greatness of your wickedness.' Then, each one of us will be competing for the first prize. But we are frightened the police will catch us, put us in jail, and we have police fear, jail fear, and neighbor's fear, social fear. People will be looking down.

But what does social fear mean? I look down upon you, and you look down upon me. 'Why are you wearing this dress?' 'Because that is fashion.' 'Why do you say so?' 'My neighbor says so.' You ask that fellow, 'Do you say this is fashion?' 'Yes.' 'Why do you say so?' 'Because my neighbor, he is wearing the dress.' Nobody knows who has set that trend. So, we are all like that.

But you know what? It is very rare for a sinful person, a person with sinful tendencies, to become a truly sinful person, meaning actually doing a lot of evil actions. Translating those tendencies into actual deeds requires a tremendous amount of courage, self-faith, dare-devil-ness, which we often lack. That's why I have a sneaking suspicion that all of us admire the villains more than the heroes. Search your heart and you'll find the answer.

Yes.

Okay. Now, what are we talking about? Why are there wicked people? This is a question that troubles everybody, and it's a question that very few people have come to answer.

Now, I will give you the present conflict that is going on between Israel and Palestine, Hamas or Hezbollah or whatever it is. Now, here is the way to analyze it. Ask Hezbollah or Hamas people who are the evil people, and they will tell you every single Israeli is an evil person. You ask an Israeli person. Every Hamas person or Palestinian is evil. Not only that, they will also name other countries, etc. And I am afraid there are so many co-religionists who also support that event. Now, how do we know who is evil? One may be more evil or both are equally evil. Whatever it is, it is a fact that is taking place.

Now, what is my point? My point is we don't know who is really evil because we are so much swayed, brainwashed by reading the news, and what is the medium of this news? If we read a Congress newspaper, we have one view. And if we have a BJP newspaper, we have another view. My view is what newspaper I read; that is my view. So much of slavishness is going on.

But every religion, especially religion, because religion talks only about God, has to deal with this problem. Why is there evil? Why is there suffering? Because Srishti means suffering. So I have squeezed or summarized into five points how Indian philosophy, that is our Upanishads and our saints, give us the answer. They also thought about it, and we have to accept those things. There are five answers coming.

First of all, who created? Is it man's creation or God's creation? The ultimate answer is God only created both good and evil. The moment God created, as we read, study, listen to talks, in practically every Upanishad, God became the Brahma or Ishwara, Saguna Brahma, Hiranyagarbha, etc., or Divine Mother. The ultimate responsibility, authorship, creatorship goes only to God. Because if there were to be no world, there would be no. But the world itself means creation itself means multiplicity. Multiplicity means duality. Duality means good and evil, happiness and unhappiness, black and white, birth and death, are inevitable. So good and evil, it is only God who created, but only remember, He Himself has become.

Then second, how do we justify them? Can God be good or evil? Because only a good person can create good. He cannot create evil. "I will be good, but I will create evil." Such a thing is irrational, illogical, and unacceptable. So a wicked person can create goodness. That is also impossible. So God only created both good and evil. But there is a deeper truth. What is it? Good becomes evil, evil becomes good. There are no two absolutes. Good is separate, forever it is good. Evil is separate, forever it is evil. Such a thing doesn't exist. They are continuously changing, good into evil, evil into good. Good food, just now cooked, is good food. After some days, it becomes poisonous, evil food. Evil also becomes good. Poison, for example. Is poison only evil? No. Poison is the remedy for most of the virulent diseases. Poison is the greatest remedy. So good and evil are not absolutes. One thing is changing intermittently, all the time. So if it is too cold, it is evil. If it is too hot, that is also evil. So they are one and the same, changing their forms according to our karma phala.

And second, what is the Hinduism's answer, Vedantic answer? Life is a Leela. Leela means that which is appearing as though real, but really real. Ramakrishna mentions this so many times. From Nithya to Leela, Leela to Nithya. Before realization, this world of good and evil is very real. But even from a commonsensical point of view, they are completely changing, all the time changing. So, life is a Leela, creation is a Leela. That is what Shankaracharya, he doesn't use the word Leela, but he uses a very meaningful Sanskrit word Iva. Iva means as if. That means it is not real, but it appears to be real, like a cinema, like a drama, like a dream, etc. That is the second answer.

Third, we are not that advanced to understand. So, we have to understand what is this Leela? It is an English word that is not really applicable here. So, there is a popular phrase, cat and mouse play. But if we analyze deeply, who is the cat? God is the cat. Who is the mouse? We are all the mice. Not mouse, ear is also psychology. When I am suffering, I never think other people are suffering. I only think that I am the only person in the whole world who is going through this horrible suffering. Everybody is in a much better position. There is something to be explored. I am just giving you the hints. So, what is the third answer? Here, that is what comes. The concept of Dharma and Adharma. Whatever we have done in the past life, Punya and Papa, and that comes to us in this life as Prarabdha Karma. So, Prarabdha Karma means some people enjoy more and suffer less. Some people suffer more and enjoy less. And here also, something very interesting. When we are eating Rasagulla and thoroughly enjoying them, we never complain. Oh, why God has created this Karmaphala? Why did He make me so happy? We never question. We only question on one side. When we are suffering, we question. No, if we accept Karmaphala, we accept both. And not only that, there is something very deep. That is the fourth answer by Hinduism. By nature, one can never know what is happiness without the knowledge of the opposite. Several times we discussed this one. If we don't know what is white, we will not know what is black, or we will not know what is black if we don't know what is white. So we must have knowledge of both good and evil, happiness and unhappiness, birth and death, friend and enemy, loss and gain, victory and defeat. These are called dualities. That is, at the same time, we know both. Only in the background of this completion, that is knowing the opposite, can we really distinguish and say, this is not that and that is not this. Happiness is not unhappiness. Unhappiness is not happiness. And if we don't know that, we will not be able to distinguish it. And in deep sleep, that is what happens. We never have this dualistic experience. And therefore, what is the fourth one? By nature, if we always prefer or choose happiness, then we will never know what is happiness. It is like going to the sun and asking, what do you do at night? Do you sleep? So the sun will not be able to answer you. Why? Because he doesn't know what is called night. But at least you can go and ask him, what a beautiful light you are giving us. Light? What do you mean by light? Because if he doesn't know what is darkness, he cannot even know what is light. So you should never ask the sun, good morning, if you say, he will never be able to answer because from the viewpoint of the sun, there is no morning, afternoon, night, no darkness, no light, nothing is there. So this is the fourth answer. If we want to be saints, we must know what is sin. If we want to be happy, we must have experience, not only in knowing by reading books, but by going through and actually, happiness is coming out of unhappiness is happiness and coming out of happiness is called unhappiness. This is the fourth answer.

And then the last one, which I have, it is not only suffering of karma phala, existence itself is evil. Who says? Bhagavan Buddha. And what does he say? Life is full of suffering. Is life full of suffering? Did he suffer all the time? What was he talking about? He is not talking about the dualities called happiness and unhappiness, good and evil. He is talking about existence itself. The manifestation of existence, to be more precise. That is if there is birth, what we call in Vedanta, Shadurmi. That is Asthi Jayate Vardhate Viparinamate Apakshiyate Vinasyate. Sixfold change. That is there is birth, there is growth, there is old age, there is disease, there is suffering, and there is death. It is inevitable. And this is what Buddha calls. You may wish to be reborn again even if you are the luckiest person. That means suffering is minimized. It is impossible. In fact, without suffering, you can never enjoy. Several examples, several times I have given. The hungrier you are, the more you enjoy food. The thirstier you are, the more you enjoy, especially cool drinks. And the more tired you are, the more you enjoy rest. So, it is absolutely necessary for us to experience life in a positive light to come out of the negative light. But negative light also is indispensable, and therefore Buddha is telling, 'Don't wish for a happy life, however good it is. Don't wish for birth. Get out of birth. Get out of Shadurmi, and that is what he called Nirvana.'

So, during one of our president's talks, Swami Bhuteshanandji delivered a beautiful discourse. At that time, I was a Brahmachari, and he commenced speaking about the Gospel of Sri Rama Krishna. This is what he conveyed: When contemplating the existence of evil, we often wonder why the Divine Mother has created evil in the world. She could have easily avoided the creation of bondage. In response to this, Sri Rama Krishna, a master, said that if she didn't create both good and evil, akin to the granny's game of hide and seek, her play would cease to continue. For her play to persist, it necessitates the presence of both good and evil. If everyone is in her embrace, how can the game proceed? Nevertheless, if someone grows weary while participating, she extends her hand, intentionally allowing them to touch her, and removes them from the game because she loves each grandchild. The point here, as Swami Bhuteshanandji emphasized, is that while she may play, it comes at the cost of our lives, resembling a game of cat and mouse, as previously mentioned. It's akin to Aesop's fable where the frogs tell the boys, "It may be a game for you, but it's death for us." This teaching was expounded upon multiple times in the Gospel. So, those among us who claim that it means death to us, these are the words of Sri Rama Krishna. Now, tell me, sir, who are you? Are you anything other than her? If, at times, she plays with her eyes covered or open, does that amount to tormenting anyone? The master reiterated on numerous occasions that, "Oh Rama, you are the cause of your own suffering. Only the one who places themselves in bondage suffers. In the book 'Sri Rama Krishna, the Great Master,' Swami Shardaanandji provides a beautiful example. After dwelling continuously in Nirvikalpa Samadhi for six months, Sri Rama Krishna received a directive from the Divine Mother: 'Now, dwell in Bhavamukha.' This is a marvelous state where all Jivanmuktas live. It exists on the border between Nithya and Leela, allowing them to experience both. It's like a person sitting on the doorstep of a room, able to see both inside and outside. Similarly, a person in a Bhavamukha state, as commanded by Sri Rama Krishna, must remain in this world. In fact, this is what happens to every realized soul who is still living, also known as a Jivanmukta.

One day, Sri Rama Krishna ventured towards the Panchavati and encountered a grasshopper. In Telugu, it's called a Tuniga, and in its rear end, a small stick had been inserted. Young boys often engage in such activities in villages. They held onto both wings of the grasshopper and inserted the stick, making it move. Sri Rama Krishna recounted his initial reaction: "I was deeply pained at first, thinking about how much suffering this creature must endure. But then, I started laughing, realizing that, 'Oh Rama, you have become the grasshopper, the mischievous boy, and even the small stick. You yourself suggested the idea to the boy to insert the stick into the grasshopper's rear end, causing your own suffering.' With this realization, I entered a deep state of Samadhi, which lasted for a considerable time. Every experience and teaching of Sri Rama Krishna holds profound significance. In particular, his words, 'Oh Rama, you cause your own suffering,' are significant."

So, who is responsible for the suffering? A wicked person? Who is the wicked person? Rama. Who is suffering? A supposedly good, albeit weak person. I wouldn't say innocent, but rather weak, as their karma must have involved some wrongdoing. The philosophy of karma, while profound, can also be unsettling. If one were to tell people in Ukraine, Gaza, or Israel that they are the cause of their own suffering, it could lead to severe repercussions. Mahatma Gandhi once addressed the Jewish people, who were enduring significant suffering, stating that it was the Western powers that created the troubled and desolate place for them after World War II, out of selfish intentions. There were alternative locations, and even today, if the Americans had chosen to provide a single state for the Jewish people, they might have accepted it without much issue. However, deliberate and malevolent intentions drove the creation of that situation. What a world we live in. Still, one could argue that it is all the will of the Divine Mother. I won't delve too deeply into this, but both the philosophy of karma (Karma Siddhanta) and the philosophy of divine play (Leela Siddhanta) must be acceptable to every devotee of God. There isn't a definitive solution, as the only answer is that God is the creator. Yet, within that answer lies another unfathomable statement: who causes the trouble? God alone. Who suffers the trouble? God alone. There's no other way. This is what Sri Rama Krishna signifies.

Now, this discussion has covered why evil tendencies exist and who created them, and how Indian philosophy approaches this topic. Let's return to the actual Gospel. When asked about the origin of these evil tendencies, the Master explained that it is the will of God, part of His divine play. Within His Maya, both ignorance (avidya) and knowledge (vidya) coexist. Darkness, in this context, serves to emphasize the glory of light. Undoubtedly, anger, lust, and greed are considered evils. Why, then, did God create them? Sri Rama Krishna provides a beautiful answer: these negative tendencies exist to create saints. But what is a saint? A saint is one who is unacquainted with anger, lust, and greed. Such a saint does not exist in the three worlds. So, who is a saint? Initially, they were a sinner, prone to intense anger, overwhelming lust, and insatiable greed, as well as profoundly wicked actions. However, at some point, they awoke, conquered their senses, and realized the truth. What do we mean by senses? These senses are like sense organs. For example, the eye can be compared to a magnificent mango tree, laden with ripe Alphonso mangoes during the season. This vision creates desires, and when one approaches, an uneducated gatekeeper brandishes a large stick, preventing them from looking at the mangoes without payment. The entire situation of wanting to read more books, engage in more Japa, and think about God more fervently can also be considered a form of greed. To be proud of being a devotee of God and to experience intense jealousy when someone else progresses in their spiritual journey is another facet of these desires. Thus, everything, including love, has both positive and negative aspects. For example, loving only one's family or children is not love but is rather referred to as lust.

Sri Rama Krishna proceeds to emphasize that wicked people have their role and are necessary. For instance, when unruly tenants created chaos on an estate, the landlord had to send Golak Choudhury, who was known for his harsh and intimidating administration. The tenants trembled at the mere mention of his name. Ruffians and troublemakers, in other words, are essential in certain situations. To illustrate this, the author shares a personal experience from Bangalore. A family purchased a lovely house at a low price. However, a troublemaker learned of this and occupied the house, forcing the family to sell it to him. When a more significant troublemaker arrived, the family had no choice but to vacate the premises. The story serves to illustrate the necessity of such individuals.

May Sri Ramakrishna Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti Jai Rama Krishna<blockquote>Note: The lecture transcript was edited for grammar and punctuations using artificial intelligence, so it may contain inaccuracies. The summarization is provided for informational purposes only, and the original audio lecture should be referenced for complete accuracy. Viewers should use discretion when citing any summarized content edited by AI.</blockquote>
[[Category:Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna]]

Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 098 on 24-October-2023

2023-10-29T17:04:25Z

Kirandevaram: /* Full Transcript (Not Corrected) */

== Summary ==
The lecture explores the purpose and role of evil from a Hindu spiritual perspective, an apt topic for Vijayadashami marking the victory of good over evil.

According to Hinduism, the entire world is an illusion or divine play (leela) of Brahman, the Absolute Reality. Brahman manifests as both good and evil in the world as a pair of opposites that depend on each other. Without evil, one cannot understand good. Without suffering, one cannot appreciate happiness.

To illustrate this, the lecturer gives examples from Hindu mythology of how demons like Ravana play a necessary role in inspiring noble characters like Rama. The world functions through the interplay of such opposites at different levels. People also have a mix of good and evil tendencies that manifest according to their spiritual evolution. An evil person may become good after much suffering awakens their conscience.

No one can give us joy or sorrow - it is the result of our own karma or past actions. By facing adversity, one learns life's lessons and progresses spiritually. Even virtuous characters like the Pandavas had to undergo great suffering as a result of their karma, as illustrated in the Mahabharata.

Evil provides the necessary impetus for spiritual struggle. Swami Vivekananda said that misery can be a greater teacher than happiness. Historical figures all faced intense opposition, which helped strengthen their character. We often narrowly define evil as that which obstructs our selfish desires. Recognizing and overcoming the evil within through spiritual practice is the purpose of life, along with surrendering the ego and selfishness to God.

The lecturer shares examples of saints like Prahlad, Kabir and Ramakrishna who gracefully endured mistreatment, leading their tormentors to become devotees. This illustrates overcoming evil with understanding and inner spiritual strength.

According to Hindu karma theory, one must accept suffering when it comes as a result of past actions, and use it as an opportunity for learning. Blaming others as evil is counterproductive. Seeing the same divine essence in all leads to an attitude of love and forgiveness.

In conclusion, existence comprises both joy and sorrow. By overcoming wickedness with virtue, one can attain inner freedom. The purpose of creation is to help humans evolve from lower animalistic nature to higher divine nature. Vijayadashami marks one such reminder on the cosmic journey to realize one's spiritual potential and purpose.

In summary, the key points of the lecture about the purpose of evil and how to skillfully respond to it on the spiritual path. The central message is to embrace life's difficulties as motivation to move closer to the Divine by overcoming ego-centered tendencies.

== Detailed Transcript ==
On this sacred day, may the Divine Mother Durga grant us all viveka, vairagya, bhakti, and jnana to the brim. Sri Ramakrishna used to pray to the Divine Mother like this. He said to my Divine Mother, "I prayed only for pure love. I offered flowers at Her lotus feet and prayed to Her. Mother, here is Thy virtue, here is Thy vice. Take them both and grant me only pure love for Thee. Here is Thy knowledge, here is Thy ignorance. Take them both and grant me only pure love for Thee. Here is Thy purity, here is Thy impurity. Take them both, Mother, and grant me only pure love for Thee. Here is Thy dharma, here is Thy adharma. Take them both, Mother, and grant me only pure love for Thee. Let us also pray and surrender at Her lotus feet. There is no other way. I also wish you all a very happy time. Both Vijaya Dashami and Diwali as well. Now, coming back to our class. Sunday, April 9, 1882. The topic was, "Why are there wicked people in this world? Why has God created wicked people?" For that, Sri Ramakrishna is answering. And he was saying, "The landlord had to send Golak Chowdhury, who was a ruffian. He was such a harsh administrator that the tenants trembled at the very mention of his name." And Sri Ramakrishna was commenting, "Even wicked people are necessary. If there are only good people, then this world will not go on. The very name for Jagat is duality, Dwandwa. Because how do you know there is a good person? If we do not know who is an evil person, if we have no experience of evil, suffering, etc., then we will never recognize what is goodness. It is impossible. If there is other color, we can never know what it is. If there is one color, if there is no darkness, we cannot recognize light. If there are no other people, we will not know who we are really. Our self-identity is only in relation to everybody else. "I am the son of so-and-so. I am the brother of so-and-so. I am the wife or husband or relative or a friend or an enemy or a rich man, poor man, happy person, unhappy person." So that is why. These are a few examples Bhagavan Krishna tells us in the Bhagavad Gita. Sairam Krishna is illustrating that everything is necessary. Both good and evil are necessary. So he is telling there is need of everything. And to illustrate this, Sairam Krishna, he might have heard from wandering monks or he might have heard it being read because, you know, this Ramayana, Mahabharata, many versions are there. It is not only Valmiki Ramayana or Vyasa Mahabharata, though in every language practically. Simple example: in Avadhi language, Ramcharitmanas. Based upon the Valmiki Ramayana itself, Tulasidas has created another great Bhagavatam by the name Ramcharita Manasa. The biography of the life history of Rama and which he compared to a Manasa Sarovara, a lake Manasa, where there will be good, there will be jewels, there will be gems, there will be invaluable stones, pearls. But at the same time, there will be sharks, there will be whales, there will be piranhas, there will be all sorts of things. So this whole universe consists of both. Duality, that is opposite. If I do not know what is a female, I will never know that I am a male. So everything is necessary. But Sri Ramakrishna also replied, we saw earlier that why did God create wickedness, evil, so that human beings can conquer all the wickedness and then become saints. And it is a statement of deep significance. If there were to be no wickedness at all in this world, one can never become a saint. It is only because of evil, which we will see later on from Vivekananda's teachings, that if at all man has become a better man, a good man, it is only because of suffering, because of evil. Evil means suffering actually. So that is one view. There are other views. I will come to that very shortly. So this reply of Sri Ramakrishna was as a response. Some devotees, neighbors, why did God create wicked people? And Sri Ramakrishna is answering, there is need of everything. And he is telling a beautiful story. We do not know where he got it, because I have never come across this story anywhere. Once Sita said to her husband Rama, "It would be grand if every house in Ayodhya were a mansion. I find many houses old and dilapidated." But my dear, said Rama, "If all the houses were beautiful ones, what would the masons do?" (Laughter) "God has created all kinds of things. He has created good trees and poisonous plants and weeds as well. Among the animals, there are good, bad, and all kinds of creatures. Tigers, lions, snakes, and so on." Continuing, he said, "It is God alone who has become all this. But in certain places, for instance in a holy man, there is a greater manifestation than in others. You may say there are wicked men also. That is true. Even as there are tigers and lions. But one need not hug the tiger, God. One should keep away from him and salute him from a long distance. Take water, for instance. Some water may be drunk, some may be used for worship, some for bathing, and some only for washing dishes. Now, these teachings are of profound significance. What is the first thing? This whole world is nothing but Brahman. And is Brahman good or evil? No, Brahman is neither good nor evil. What Brahman is can never be told. Even great pundits, for example, like Ishwar Chandra Vidya Sagar, we are going to come to that episode later on. He once asked, "Has God given more power to some people than to others?" And Sri Ramakrishna replied, "If He had not given more power to you, why did we come to see you? Have you grown two horns?" And then he explained, "Brahman is manifesting as everything. A weak person, a strong person, as man, as woman, as a good man, evil person. Everything is necessary for the Leela to continue. But until we realize God, everything is real for us. So a good man is also real, but less real. Whereas an evil person is much more real because we are very alert when there are evil people around. Last class I have given you a beautiful illustration. Please go back. Now, what is the evilness? First of all, we cannot recognize what is one side if we don't know the other side. That is the very nature of the mind. The mind cannot function without both. Then only it can choose either this or that. Now coming back, if anybody wants to progress in spiritual life, what is it that this person has really to overcome or how does he progress in spiritual life? First of all, he must find out where he is stuck. Stuck means attached. Attachment means selfishness. Selfishness means a person is as evil, as wicked as anybody else. If, supposing, I tell you, each one of us are Ravanasuras. Each man is like a Ravanasura and each woman is like Tataki or Surpanaka, like that. So, where is the comparison? They are all Rakshasas, Rakshasis. What about our people? Our people are not like that. No. Had we any power, we also would have done the same thing. It is not because our evil quality is any less, but we don't have the power. Here we have to distinguish between goodness or evilness and power. These are very important insights for us to understand. That is, every person can be good or evil according to their tendencies, and tendencies are always changing. So, the same wicked person becomes a good person in the course of time after learning a lot of lessons. And how does he learn the lessons? After getting knocked about by everybody else after so many births. Nobody is going to one day get up and say, "Today onwards, I will become a great devotee of God." Only those people who have suffered more than enough, they will have the tendency, the urgency. We want to get out of this samsara. If you really analyze yourself, that we are not really turning towards God. We are not weeping like Sairam Krishna. "Oh, Mother, another day has passed, so still I have not seen God." We are only weeping that the other fellow had got more amount of happiness, and why you are having so much discrimination about him. So this is our usual tendency. Now what happens is, goodness is also a tendency. Evil also is a tendency. But what people try to not really understand is, if there is goodness, it will not keep quiet. It has to come out. If there is love, it has to come out. If there is hatred, it has to come out. If there is wickedness, it has to come out. Even in babies also we see that one. So one example is, there is something called sibling jealousy. Suppose a mother has given birth and the first baby is the apple of the mother's eye. But as soon as she has a second baby, her attention is more diverted towards the smallest one, just born one, because the baby needs more attention. But the other child cannot tolerate it. So he will go and sometimes deliberately put his finger in the eye of that baby and injure, harm, press, etc. So many cases have come to that. And brothers and sisters, they can become extremely jealous. Duryodhana was a case in point. He became terribly jealous, especially Bhima and Yudhishthira, etc. So jealousy. Nobody has any right to have anything except me. But you also don't work hard because everything takes hard work. Even if you want to become a politician, for example, you require a tremendous amount of wickedness, exhibition. You should not feel guilty that you have to kill the other fellow. By the way, all the modern politicians are Asuras, all the Rakshasas. Everywhere. Not only in India, but everywhere else. And ordinary people, they would like to be Asuras, but they are not allowed to become Asuras by these other Asuras. But if they get power by any chance, they will be even worse Asuras, means Rakshasas, than these people. So Nara, Nara Rupa, Rakshasa are everywhere there. We have to recognize them. In olden days, when we were children, we were accustomed to read these Sandamama stories. Rakshasas and Rakshasis will have very sharp teeth. And in the modern western world, they are called Varvalus. So don't think these are all stories. And also there is something very interesting. There is a book called Durga Saptashati. And this is the time when during these Navaratris, ending today, everyday people will be reading wherever there is a big puja, the whole of the Chandi, some people read out. Anyway, it consists of a little more than 700 shlokas. Some of them are not even shlokas, just even Rishi said that becomes counted as a shloka. So like that, more than 700. But in the end, at the very end, there is something the Divine Mother reveals. So I have killed Madhu and Kaitava, and Mahishasura, then Rattabheja, then Chanda and Munda, also Dhumralochana, etc. Then finally their leaders, Nishumbha and Shumbha. There must have been many. But in the end, the Divine Mother Herself was revealing to this Medha Rishi and to this King also, Suradha. What was He telling? These very Rakshasas will be reborn, not once, but many times. Just like Bhagavan Krishna promised, yada yada dharmasya glanihi sambhavami yuge yuge and these Rakshasas also declared yada yada dharmasya vriddhihi tada tada we also are reborn, we will try to pull it down. Once a devotee was asked, "Why do you behave so wickedly?" He said, "Swamiji, don't call me wicked. I am really a very good person." Then why are you behaving like this? "No, no, I am helping God." He said, "No, wherever there is adharma increase, then I will be reborn. So the more adharmic people like me, the quicker Ramakrishna will come once more. So different people help in different ways. What is our main point? We should never forget. A Rakshasa is not a special person. This particular guna called tamas dominated rajas, that is called Rakshasa guna. Because every Rakshasa, like Kumbhakarna, it is a great lesson we have to learn. He was also a Rakshasa. Vibhishana was also a Rakshasa. Ravanasura was also a Rakshasa. And by the way, I told you many times, when we are all babies, we are all Kumbhakarnas. Who is a Rakshasa or Asura? Beautiful definition is given. He who thinks his body is God, he is an Asura. Asushu Ramate iti Asuraha. So when we are children, we have to put on weight, we have to grow up. The only way is to eat and drink and sleep and drink and eat and drink and sleep and drink. And that is sometimes these children, they cry lustily. That is why in Sanskrit it is said the more they cry, the mother allows them to cry. Rodanam Balanam Rodanam Balam. The more they cry, the more they become hungry and the more they drink milk and then they become stronger. So that is their exercise. They also do their own exercise. So what is the point? When we are children, this is Kumbhakarna's quality. It is good when we are children, but not when we are grown up. And then we grow up. We become young men and women. What do we become? Each one of us exhibits Ravanasura's quality. So we are running after what Sri Ramakrishna used to call Kama and Kanchana. Each one of us. Rarely people renounce these things. And if they renounce also, not because they don't have desire, but they don't want the risks of married life. And as a householder, wise householder had said in Samsara, there is not even some-sara (sara=value). So, we are all Ravanasuras running after Kama and Kanchana. And after getting a lot of blows, then we come to that point where we become Vibhishanas. Previously, what were we? Vibhishanas. Now what are we? Vibhishanas. Vigatha, Vibhishana, Yasya. Why? Because the Karma Siddhanta. If we are wicked, then we reap our own Karma Phala. So this is how the whole world is going on. But ultimately, Tamoguna is overcome by Rajoguna. Rajoguna is overcome by Satvaguna. Satvaguna is overcome, completely destroyed by God Realization. Because all three are robbers only. And I also mentioned, Kumbhakarna represents Tamoguna. And Ravanasura represents Rajoguna. And Vibhishana represents Satvaguna.

So, what is the point Ramakrishna is trying to make? This whole world is a Leelasthana. It is Mithya in Advaitic language. That means, what? It appears to be absolutely real, but it is not at all real. Like any drama, any cinema, it is like that. So, we have to be extremely careful in understanding wickedness. It is very important because how do we become great or spiritual? By completely overcoming and dominating our Tamoguna qualities, then Rajoguna qualities, slowly and gradually increasing progress in Satvaguna is called progress in spiritual life. Because progress in Guna, especially in higher Guna, means progress towards betterment. A good person becomes a better person, a better person becomes the best person, and thus we go on. But since persons are very ephemeral, they may die at any time, and along with that, the Gunas also will go away. So, finally, life is a journey. In this journey, we always travel from Asura to a normal human being, then a devotee, then a saint, and then go beyond Samsara.

So, if we do not actually face the obstacle called wickedness, evilness, how do we know what is the nature of the world? If the world never gives us any suffering but only goes on giving pleasure, even small pleasure, I don't think anybody wants to go to God. It is only the greatest existential threats which are called Shadurmi. The beautiful point is every stage, every Urmi has got its own good side and bad side also. Urmi means a wave. So, birth is a wave. By birth itself, we see so many people born in poor villages, poor families, and even sometimes without limbs. So, artistic people, so many things are there. As the person grows up, slowly a person has to go on. As a beautiful poet said, a baby is there lying. The mosquitoes, the flies, other insects, or even sometimes scorpions, they crawl into the crib of the baby and go on stinging. The fellow can only cry because he doesn't even know. Even if he sees also, he has no power to act. Even we don't have the power, what to speak of a baby. When a mosquito comes so nicely, it comes, you know, musically he wants to put you to sleep, and then what to speak of a baby. Then helplessly the parents have to care. So many parents do not care, how many varieties we get. If you analyze truly, sit down and think deeply, you understand how fortunate most of us were, but in spite of our good fortune, our very existence itself is a great threat that creates a terrible amount of anxiety. That is why one of the existential philosophers, Sartre, he said, "There is only one freedom: freedom to commit suicide. Everything else doesn't work at all."

So, then he becomes a boy. Then slowly, you have to go to school. What a misery! First day of school, who wants to go to school? But parents force for his own good, and whole life is a school, actually. And then he grows up and then he thinks, "I will get a job, and I will get married." And then the cinemas will stop after marriage, saying "Shubham," because they know better than anybody else. So, the whole life is like that. And then old age comes, then disease comes, decay comes, death comes. In what way death comes, we don't know. So, every stage, some of us are swimming in delusion that if youth is the best time of the years, it is also the worst. Everything must be looked upon. You look, open your eyes and observe what is happening in this world. Sri Ramakrishna was one of the greatest observers like that.

Anyway, what is the point? The point is this: what is called suffering is inevitable, and that is called evil. And if somebody is giving suffering, that person we call it, he is a Rakshasa, he is a wicked person, he is a demon, etc. But the important point all of us have to remember is this: can somebody really give us either happiness or suffering? This is one of the biggest questions, and Hinduism categorically tells us no, it is not possible. This is called Karma Siddhanta, which means, simply, if we behave well, the result will come. Only Hinduism doesn't tell us one thing, and without understanding that thing, it is impossible to understand the Karma Siddhanta. We all know that every action has its own reaction. What is that reaction? That is called Karma Phala. Every action ends up with a reaction that is called Karma Phala. And this Karma Phala depends upon the Karma, good and evil. So that we know. You put your hand in hot water or plunge another hand into freezing ice, you will get the result immediately. Then you sow a marigold seed or a mango seed. You sow a marigold seed, in two days you can see the result. A mango, it may take ten years nearly to attain somewhat what is called a mature state. With every plant, it is like that. You have to wait for some time to get the Karma Phala. But sometimes the Karma Phala may come next birth or after 500 births. There was a South American person called Edgar Cayce. He became very popular in the 19th century, and he was a propagator of this Karma Siddhanta. People came to know that he can help them overcome these problems. They used to approach him sometimes. Sometimes he used to say, if you are at a long distance, you send just some object belonging to you, some cloth, etc. And the moment he touches that cloth, he claims that he could see the past lives of those people to whom that dress belongs. Then he used to say a very peculiar thing, which is accepted by Hinduism. "5000 years before, you did this evil thing, wicked thing, and the result of it is you are suffering now. Is there a remedy? Yes, there is a remedy. This choo-choo mantra is not going to help you. If you have done wicked things, now do equally good things. So, wickedness can only be remedied by good things. And some people had faith in him, and they did practice, and they got some good results also. And this is exactly what Hinduism is also telling. Life is meant to learn lessons. If we have done something wrong, then we have to pay the result in the form of the result. If we have done a good thing also, it will come. But what Hinduism doesn't tell us, but we come to know about it later on, is that there is no concept of time when the Karma Phala comes into actual result. It may be very soon in this life or it may be after 5000 births. Only God knows when to bring out this particular Karma Phala. So, the Pandavas also had to suffer. Now, we have to learn two lessons. What is one lesson? There are two types of sufferings. Existential suffering associated with existence itself, birth, growth, old age, disease, decay, and death. That is inevitable. Saint or sage or sinner, good person or evil person, everybody has to go through that without any exception. The second type is totally dependent upon what we do, how we lead our life. When both these are combined, you can see what happens.

So, I was thinking a lot last week. We are also thinking there is a terrible war going on between two countries. A very interesting fact about this war is both of them, that is the Muslims as well as the Jews, they are all cousin brothers like Pandavas and Kauravas. They belong to the same branch. In fact, Jews, Christians, and Muslims, they belong to the same tribe, earlier tribe, Semitic religions they call it. So, they all believe in God but they want to kill each other. So, the Jews had to suffer. Now, what is my point? My point is, is this because of the wickedness of some people, particularly leaders of some particular countries? How do I understand it in the light of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda and Holy Mother's words? This is what I understood. I will share with you very briefly, but you take it and think over it, and whatever you want to do, you do with it.

First of all, I am a strong believer in the Karma Siddhanta. I am what I am because of my own past karma and also because of my present karma. Now, I have to experience the result of my own karma. There is no doubt about it. Now, if we accept this view, then the war is inevitable, just like Kurukshetra war was inevitable. How do we know? Krishna, several times I spoke about this subject. We have to understand it deeply from within ourselves. We all talk through one mouth that Bhagavan Krishna is God Himself. He is all-powerful. There is nothing that is impossible for Him. He Himself went as an ambassador of peace to Duryodhana. Now, many people questioned. Even Gandhari also questioned at the end, "Krishna, I know who you are. Could you not have prevented this war?" That was one of the questions. Second question was, "Could you not have at least failed? I had 100 children. Could you not have spared at least one son so that I can get some consolation out of it?" No, you have to kill all the 100 people. So, you will understand when your own people are.

And then He invites, without telling her, invites her to curse. Because of her pativratya, she had the power to curse. Just as my children died, and then your children, all your Yadu Vamsa will also destroy from within yourself. No external enemy was necessary. And later on, events turned out to be true. And then you know what? After hearing this curse of Gandhari, Krishna smiled and said, "That is why I have come to you. Because this is exactly what I want to happen. And instead of my cursing, which I could not, so the curse had come from you, I will see that it is fulfilled." So that was also what is called the intention of God.

Now, in the 11th chapter He says, "You could not have prevented. Nobody could have prevented this war because I have killed them." In what form? In the form of time. A profound statement. In the form of Kaala. That means whether there was war or not, Bhishma will not survive. Prana will not survive. What about Duryodhana, Dushasana? They will not survive. What about Abhimanyu? They will not survive. What about the five children of Pandavas? They will also not survive because nobody can survive in time. Everybody is born in time. Everybody remains for some time in time. And everybody dies in course of time only. There is no exception to it. That is what we need to understand. But within this, there is what is called, there is Ayu. Ayu means each person will die a particular time. When Duryodhana died so early, Bhishma did not die. He had the power for six months. He waited until the Uttarayana had come. So, he could have easily died. But he waited for that time. See, the old man had died earlier to that. Almost like his grandchildren, Duryodhana, so many of the Pandavas, the sons of Pandavas. Ultimately, how many people remained? Eight or nine people only remained from both the sides. Everybody was destroyed. Now, whose will is that? It is God's will. But everybody will die. Where will they die? In this particular case, in that Kurukshetra war. How will they die? Fighting with each other. Have all of them died very pleasantly? Some of them died very quickly. For example, Bhima Sena puts his fist on anybody's head. So, before the person could understand what is happening, such a happy death will be there. Whereas, Duryodhana had his thighs broken. He had to suffer a lot. So, not only the time of death, what type of enjoyment he will have, a person will have. That is called Bhoga. So, Jati, Ayu, Bhoga. These are the resultants of what we call Purva Janma Karma Phala.

Now, why did I rake this subject? Because I wanted to apply. We always have to see what happened, how people behaved in the past was something. How people are going to behave in the future, we have no knowledge. But how we, each one of us, have to deal with, that is what we have to see. Even that great soul, Mahatma Gandhi, had to be shot dead. And he uttered Rama's name. "Rama, Rama" like that, he passed away. We don't know whether death will come with God's name on our lips or we will be cursing somebody and dying. That all depends upon our Samskara or habit that we develop. Now, the point is, some people suffered, some people suffered less, some people suffered more, but death is inevitable. Some people suffered more or less is our Karma Phala. Everybody had to die. It is what we call, Buddha called, existential suffering. Needs. What Vedanta calls, Shadurmi.

Now, the whole topic came about because of wickedness. What is wickedness? Non-worldliness is wickedness; that is one definition. Some people not only think badly but also act very badly. Do you think that a pickpocket, who only takes a few annas of hard-earned money from a beggar or a village vegetable seller, is any different from someone who receives billions of dollars in aid and then prepares a bomb, putting it on somebody's head, becoming the killer of thousands of people? Qualitatively, is there any difference? Absolutely not. We have to say that such people are much more wicked. Why? Because if this pickpocket had that power, he would have done exactly what Hitler did or what many other wicked people did. So, this wickedness teaches us certain facts. First of all, existence itself is a combination of good and evil, and nobody can separate them because separation means death. There would be no samsara at all. Secondly, if there were no suffering, and wickedness means suffering, if there were no suffering, nobody would ever struggle to get out of samsara. Nobody would ever turn their face toward God. This is why one of the Sankhya schools of philosophy, which starts with "Tapatraya Abhigatat Ignasa," says that suffering is absolutely necessary, and extreme suffering is necessary. The United Nations concept was born after the Second World War. So, what is the first thing? That existence itself is a combination of good and evil. What is the second thing? This combination of good and evil manifests in every individual in different ways and degrees. Third, without suffering, without wickedness, nobody is going to evolve or progress in life. Because if anybody doesn't go through suffering, they will remain stagnant. And then, the fourth point we have to learn is, what lessons are we learning? Through this, it is evil that teaches us lessons. That is what Swami Vivekananda tells us, which I will quote from shortly, and several other examples I will mention in today's talk without going too much into them. Without night, there cannot be day. Without tiredness, we cannot enjoy sleep. Without hunger, we cannot enjoy our food. Without cold and heat, we cannot truly enjoy our dress, etc., or undress, etc. Everything is there. We have to learn, we have to accept, and then say, "How can I use this existential nature to overcome this limited existence?" That is the ultimate purpose of creation itself. From the highest point of view, it is all just a leela. And Sri Ramakrishna used to say, "Who are you? You are also Brahman, but you have forgotten." So, Sri Ramakrishna said that God has created a tiger God, and he did not say a lion God, a wolf God, a hyena God, etc. God has become everything. It is an existential fact. It is very important. Supposing there are no tigers, no lions, in other words, no animals will kill deer, etc. Do you know what happens? Can you think of what happens? Their population will grow so much that there will be nobody left. And then, finally, they themselves will die because the earth can only sustain so much. There must be balance. There must be a balance of each species, and every other species also balances. This is a great lesson biologists have learned. In Yellowstone National Park, in America, there is a place called Yellowstone, and this is one of the greatest lessons. Now, what is the point of all this talk? Evil people are very necessary, and those evil people are not separate from us. We ourselves are wicked people. We have done something wrong. If we believe in the karma siddhanta, then if an evil person is causing me suffering, it is the result of my own past karma coming to me at this particular point, and it is inevitable. But we have to face it, accept it, learn our lesson, and evolve further. That is the most important point. Ramakrishna has given a beautiful example. Why did God create wicked people? So that people can become saints. The most marvelous reply is that evilness is not outside; evil is within us. We focus all the time on whatever hampers our selfishness, and we choose to call it evil. We cannot tolerate even a small bit of it, but our selfishness grows and grows, and what is the purpose of life? To become less and less and less. That is the meaning of if somebody asks you for a blessing. That means you have to say, "Be less." Blessing means what? Let your Ahamkara become less and less until you surrender yourself totally to God. That is very important. Now, some examples I told you about Swami Vivekananda, such a great soul. He never meant any harm to anybody. He never spoke any untruth in his whole life, and he never suffered from something called Asuya, which is jealousy. This is what Swami Vivekananda himself said. I may have any other bad quality, but I never had this demon called Asuya, jealousy. Never. The scorpion called Asuya, but then he went only to preach the best things in life to the West, especially America, and then people became immediately jealous, including Christian missionaries and some Indians like Pratap Chandra Majumdar. His name will remain as a reminder that, despite having come into contact with Ramakrishna many times, whereas Keshav Chandra Sen also came into contact with Ramakrishna many times, Keshav Chandra Sen continued to improve and progress in spiritual life. Pratap Chandra Majumdar went to America, gained some name and fame, and became jealous as soon as the sun rose. The glow worm fades away. He could not tolerate it. The worst thing a person can do is slander other people without any basis. There are so many varieties of murder, and the worst murder is slandering a person. Many devotees and even monks engage in this, full of jealousy. This is worse than practically killing a person. And here is a beautiful quotation from Swami Vivekananda's talks with his disciple: A disciple asks, "Did not the bigoted Christians oppose you, Swami Vivekananda?" Yes, they did. When people began to honor me, the Christian priests were after me. They spread many slanders about me by publishing them in the newspapers. Many asked me to contradict these slanders, but I never took the slightest notice of them. It is my firm conviction that no great work is accomplished in this world by low cunning. So without paying any heed to these wild slanders, I used to work steadily at my mission. The upshot I used to find was that often my slanderers, feeling repentant afterward, would surrender to me and offer apologies by themselves, contradicting the slanders in the papers. Sometimes it so happened that, upon learning that I had been invited to a certain house, somebody would communicate those slanders to my host, who, upon hearing them, would leave home, locking his door. When I went there to attend the invitation, I found it was unaccepted and nobody was there. Again, a few days afterward, they themselves learned the truth and felt sorry for their previous conduct, coming to offer themselves as disciples. Swami Vivekananda continues: The fact is, my son, this whole world is full of mean ways of worldliness. But men of real moral courage and discrimination are never deceived by these. Let the world say what it chooses. I shall tread the path of duty. Know this to be a line of action for a hero. Otherwise, if one has to attend day and night to what this man says or that man writes, no great work is ever achieved in this world. And then Swami Vivekananda says, "Good and evil have an equal share in molding character. In some instances, misery is a greater teacher than happiness. In studying these great characters the world has produced, it would be found that it was misery that taught more than happiness. It was poverty that taught more than wealth. It was blows that brought out their inner fire." I will stop with quotations from Swamiji. Now, what I want to add to what I have read is absolutely true. Take any great character, even in the Western world, be it Abraham Lincoln or great scientists, great inventors, they all encountered a tremendous amount of jealousy, opposition, and sometimes even murder. Even the church, in those days, ignorant of people, were so blind. How many people they burnt? Bruno was burnt. Galileo was housebound until he could not come out. But today, the world recognizes them and also recognizes the wickedness of the church and the wickedness of some of these fanatical religions is indescribable. Just now, you have seen a few days back, what hatred in the name of God, in the name of religion. If anybody follows true religion, the first transformation should be that hatred slowly becomes less and unselfishness should grow, love should grow. That was what Jesus Christ taught: "Love thy neighbor as thyself." For those teachings, he himself was crucified. By whom? His own people, the rabbis, the priests. Who gave so much trouble to Ramakrishna? It was only the fellow priests who could not tolerate. So that nobody became anything great. Everybody has to go through this. I promised you some examples which I might deal with in our next class. But here are some of the examples: Sri Ramakrishna was slandered and kicked by the family priest of Madhura Nath Vishwas, mistaking that Sri Ramakrishna had a very special mantra and used it to bring Madhura Babu under control. But that fool did not have the wisdom to understand that anybody who wants to control somebody else must have a purpose. Here, there was no purpose. Sri Ramakrishna rejected all offers of Madhura Babu for land, sex enjoyment, or honor. Everything he rejected, as though it were spit. Then we know how Swami Vivekananda was slandered, and because of this, so many people who could have come closer to him never did during his lifetime. Only a very few people did. Then there is a story about Kabir Das. There are many incidents, but one of the incidents is that he was in Varanasi, and he used to take a bath in the Ganges every day. One day, as he was going to the river, a fanatical Muslim, who was supposed to have brought him up, spat upon him. Kabir Das did not say anything immediately. He went back, took another bath, came out, and was spat upon again. This event repeated 100 times, and then the man was astonished. Probably he was fortunate that it was his Guru Dakshina, and he became converted and became a disciple of Kabir Das. Even that was a fortunate incident. Then we have all heard about Prahlada. His own father, not anyone else, tortured his own son to the extent possible. He tried to kill him and gave him poison. He asked his servants to pierce him with Trishula, Shula, cut him with swords, put him in the fire, put him in the water, and tried to trample him under elephants. So much suffering he had to go through. Until the death of Hiranyakashyapu, who finally, exasperated, asked him, "Where is the Narayana you have so much faith in?" Hiranyakashyapu said, "Is he in this pillar?" Prahlada replied, "He is the pillar, he is outside the pillar, he is inside the pillar." Hiranyakashyapu broke the pillar, which is nothing but pure egotism, Ahamkara. So long as there is Ahamkara, we can't see God. That is the story. What about the parents of Krishna himself, Devaki and Vasudeva? From the moment they got married, the Akashvani came to create further problems. They could have been happy for at least eight years, but instead, they were told that the eighth child of Devaki's sister would be their killer. This put them in jail, and they suffered greatly. All their children were killed, except Krishna and his yoga maya. Then there's the story of Bhagavan Krishna himself. From birth, he had to be transferred, and how many Asuras came? Potana, Shakatasura, Kalasura, Dhenukasura, Kamsa, etc. for nearly so many years. Just imagine that. Then the story of the Pandavas must be a great lesson for all of us. Then there's the story of Draupadi. She was insulted so badly in front of everyone. Just recollect and see that these are indescribable sufferings, but they all became great because of overcoming this evilness, all because of suffering. Otherwise, nobody would remember them today. Let's stop here. Again, I wish you all a very happy Vijayadashami. Om Jananem Sharadam Devem Ramakrishnam Jagat Gurum Pada Padmetayoh Sritva Pranamami Mohor Moho. May Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna.

<blockquote>Note: The lecture transcript was edited for grammar and punctuations using artificial intelligence, so it may contain inaccuracies. The summarization is provided for informational purposes only, and the original audio lecture should be referenced for complete accuracy. Viewers should use discretion when citing any summarized content edited by AI.</blockquote>
[[Category:Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna]]

Purusha Suktam Lecture 21 on 12-October-2023

2023-10-15T19:40:27Z

Kirandevaram: Editing grammar and summarization

== Summary ==
Purusha Suktam, an ancient Vedic hymn describes the nature of Brahman, the Supreme Reality. In our recent classes, we have been analyzing the 21st verse, also called the 3rd Rig, from the viewpoint of Uttara Narayana. This verse says: "The Lord of Beings, that is what we call Ishwara, pervades all things. He is not subject to birth, yet He is born in several forms. The wise know His real essence well. Knowing it, they attain the exalted state of Marichi and other Prajapatis, desiring to become Lords of Creation."

What does this mean? This verse conveys the idea of Pravesha-sruti or "having created, He entered." That is, having imagined or projected this world, Brahman has entered into all living beings. But how does Brahman do this? It is not real, but only an illusion or dream. Brahman appears to have become everything, though in truth nothing has any independent reality apart from Brahman. From the absolute viewpoint, there is no such thing as inert matter. Everything that exists has consciousness. The ignorant divide creation into living and nonliving, but wherever there is existence or being (sat), there is bound to be consciousness (chit) and bliss (ananda). Those who have realized this truth are called the wise or realized souls (dheeras). They know that everything is Brahman. "I am Brahman" means "I am everything."

This is expressed beautifully in the declarations of the sage Vamadeva: "I was Manu and the sun." The 21st verse conveys that after projecting this world, Brahman has entered into it, becoming both the subject and objects. But in truth, nothing has really happened. All is just a dream or illusion in Brahman. The wise sages, having attained enlightenment, wish to become like the Prajapatis or Lords of Creation, not for any selfish motive but out of compassion to guide the world.

The 22nd verse continues the theme of Brahman as the creator and maintainer of the universe. It says: "Salutation to that splendid Supreme Lord who shines everywhere for the sake of the gods, who became the priest of the gods and who was also born before the gods." This again refers to Saguna Brahman, or Ishwara, who manifests as the creator Brahma. Just as a mother nurtures her newborn infant, Brahman sustains the creation that has emerged from Him. For each entity or Devata, He grants the knowledge, power and faculties to fulfill their duties. He is the inner guru guiding all beings. He was existing before creation as Hiranyagarbha, and remains eternal and unchanged, beyond time, through all the cycles of creation and dissolution.

The 23rd verse says that the gods, having received this supreme knowledge from Brahman and attaining enlightenment, declare that "He who realizes Brahman in this manner becomes one with all." For such a person, the entire universe comes under their control. This does not mean control in the egoistic sense, but the erasure of all subject-object duality. The realized sage perceives no difference between himself and others, or between controller and controlled. He becomes one with all of existence. Devoid of all desires, he attains absolute fulfillment and liberation.

The essence is that only Brahman exists, nothing else. One who truly knows this becomes Brahman. The Purusha Suktam continues to describe through many verses the all-pervading Vishwarupa or universal form of Brahman. It conveys that everything we perceive is a manifestation of the Divine, and that ultimate reality is non-dual Brahman, beyond all names and forms. Chanting this hymn with faith and devotion leads to self-knowledge, liberation, and the realization "I am Brahman." It takes us on the journey from creation to dissolution and back to unity with the Divine.

The Purusha Suktam is a profound hymn that reveals the nature of Brahman and of our own Self. Contemplating its verses fills the mind with the loftiest Vedantic wisdom. Even chanting the mantras invokes immense blessings. Anyone who studies this hymn with sincerity gains spiritual insight to guide them toward the direct experience of the eternal truth - that the Divine alone exists, pervading all forms. Through the Purusha Suktam, the Rishis transmit their enlightened vision to uplift humankind.

== Detailed Transcript ==
We are studying the Purusha Suktam. In our last classes, we have been discussing the 21st or 3rd Rick from the Uttara Narayana point of view. What is it? PRAJAPATISHCHARATI GANBHEYANTAHA AJAYA MANO BAHUDA VIJAYATE TASYADHIRAH PARIJANANTIHUNIM BARICHI NAMPADAM ICHCHANTI VEDASAHA.

The Lord of Beings, that is what we call Ishwara, pervades all things. He is not subject to birth, and yet He is born in several forms. The wise well know His real essence. And knowing it, wish for and obtain the exalted state of Marichi and the other Prajapatis. And wish to become the Lords of Creation. So what does it mean? This is called Praveshashruti. Having created, He entered. That is, having imagined, He has become this world. He has entered all the Jivas. That is, He is manifesting both as the subject and also objects. But how does He do it? It's not real. It is only seemingly as we do in our dream. AJAY MANAH BAHUDAH VIJAYATE. That which is worthless, He appears to have become everything. And He appears to be moving inside everybody. In fact, from the ultimate point of view, there is nothing called inert. Can anybody believing in the scriptures dare to say that there is no soul in the stone, in a cray or anything in this world? It is only the ignorant minds which divide creation as living and non-living with consciousness or inert. But wherever there is existence, Sat, there is bound to be Chit as well as Ananda. And this knowledge, there are some people who have complete faith in it. They have realized it. They are called Dheeras. And Tasya Mahima, that Brahman's glory, these Dheeras, realized souls, Parijanandi, that is, they know it absolutely well as what that Brahman is the Yoni, is the Kharana, Moola Kharana of this entire universe. From Him, Srishti is coming and Srishti is continuing and it goes back. And what do they do? They also wish to be like the Rishis, like Saptarshis, called like Marichi, etc., Padam, Ikshanti, Vedasaha. So there were supposed to be nine Prajapatis, like Bhrigu, Pulasthiya, Pulaha, Kratu, Angirasa, Marichi, Daksha, Atri, and Vasishta. We are familiar with Saptarshis. Here, Navarishis are mentioned. They are called Prajapatis. Prajapati means Manus. That is to say, in a very particular Yuga, like our Chief Ministers or Prime Ministers, so they have this position for some time. They rule. How? Not like our Ministers who are pure politicians. They don't care for anybody's good as you can open your eyes and see everywhere. But they are all realized souls. They know this whole universe is none other than Me. Atma Gnanam means I am everything. Not only I am Brahman, Brahman is everything. I am Brahman, therefore I am everything. Aham Sarvam. That is what we have seen in the Aitareya Upanishad. This Rishi Vamadeva declared, I am everybody. Some people, a few people desire, we also want to become like Marichis so that we can do good. These are called Bodhisattvas. So that is the 21st trick. Now we enter into the 22nd. Okay, Bhagawan has created this universe, but who is maintaining it? So the creative aspect was described earlier. Now the maintenance aspect is being said in this 22nd etc. Yo Devebhyah Atapati Yo Devanam Purohitah Purvoyo Devebhyo Jatah Namo Ruchaya Brahmaye. Salutation to that splendid Supreme Lord who shines everywhere for the sake of the Devas, who became the priest of the Devas and who was also born before the Devas.

Earlier we have seen Ajayamanaha, he who has no birth. Here it is said, who was born. What does it mean? When we are discussing in the 21st rick, Ajayamanaha means Supreme Reality, Brahman. And once the creation starts, that same Nirguna, Nirakara, Nishkriya, Brahman becomes Saguna Brahma, Sakara, Saguna, Sakriya, which is called in Puranic lore, Brahma, the creator. So this creator Narayana is the Supreme Reality, but Brahma is the Saguna Brahma. We are talking about that Saguna Brahma. If a mother gives birth to babies, it is her responsibility, but we should not even use that word responsibility or duty, because there is a natural love, very natural bond, and the mother automatically hugs the baby. You must have seen plenty of pictures. As soon as the baby comes out of the womb of the mother, immediately it is washed by the nurses and immediately handed over to the mother for suckling. This is also the process of bonding. The baby has acute sense of smell at that stage and the mother also at that stage has an acute smell of the baby. So both of them recognize, "This is me, this is me." The mother knows, "This is my baby, but this is me." And the baby also does not know, "I am a baby, I am different from mother." So they become one, as it were. That is called bonding. And so he who created or manifested himself, he must also maintain himself and, of course, we have the third aspect, he must also withdraw into himself. Srishti, sthiti, inaashanam, shakti-bhute, sanatani. So every activity requires energy. That is why Shri Ramakrishna says, "When I think of Brahman as creator, maintainer, etc., I prefer to call him as Shakti. Shakti means energy. Without energy, it is impossible to do any activity. So now, first in the earlier rick, the Srishti aspect has been given. In this, the sthiti aspect, the maintenance. So what does that Lord do? Like the mother, not only circles the baby, sees that the baby can sleep properly, keeps an eye on the baby all the time, protects the baby all the time. So creative aspect was described earlier. Now the maintenance aspect is being discussed in this 22nd verse.

What is the Lord doing? So Vidyaranya He gives this meaning. That Brahman, for the sake of their recognition that we are Devatas, these are our duties, and this is how we have to discharge our duties, and this is how we have to discharge our duties through their hearts. Each Devata, Surya, for example, has to shine. Chandra, for example, shines in a different way. And Indra must protect the world in the form of rains, etc. So Varuna. So Kubera. And Ashwini Kumaras. What are all these people? The scientists, etc. The knowledge that comes, they are the Devatas. Simply knowledge of God in the form of Devatas. We may not connect it, but if there is any meritorious country where most people are meritorious, they will get a ruler, call him king or prime minister or president or whatever you want, and they do it for the welfare of the country. That knowledge, that love, that feeling in the form of understanding, also the power to do it. It all belongs to God. That is indicated here. Devatva Siddhaye. For the Devatas to be Devata so that they can be effective as a Devata, that in their hearts, this Divine Lord Pravishya, having entered, Avirbhauti, manifest in what form? Chaitanya Roopena, Chid Roopena, Gnana Roopena, and Yo Devebhyaha Atapati. That is, for all the Devatas, He gives them that power, that light, that knowledge. Yo Devanam Urohitaha. As I mentioned, God himself is the leader for all of us for the Devatas. And Purvayo Devebhyaha Jataha. He who was, He who is, He who will be without any change as Kalatita, beyond time. He is that Brahman. So Jataha means what? He who was is and will be without any change. And He is also mentioned in our other Vedic passages, Hiranyagarbha Samavartata Agre. Agre means before creation. He was known as Hiranyagarbha. Here Hiranyagarbha means a universal mind or all the minds collected together is Hiranyagarbha. But here we have to take it as Saguna Brahma as Ishwara. And then we have seen in the Bhagavad Gita Bhagavan Krishna gives the same idea, especially in the 10th and 11th chapters. So here are a few quotations just to bolster how to understand Purvoyo Devebhyaha Jataha. Maharshaya Saptapurve Chatvaro Manavas Tatha Madbhava Manasa Jataha Eshamlokai Mahaprajaha Bhagavan Krishna is telling. There he is not Bhagavan Krishna. He is Parabrahma.

The seven great sages, the four Manus, and from whom all these creatures have been born, and they are all born from my mind as Brahma. And then he also says, "Aham Sarvasya Prabhavo." I am the generator of everybody. "Mattah Sarvam Pravartate." Everything comes out from me. "Itimattva." Having known thus, "Budhaha," wise people, "Bhavasa Mannithaha," endowed with tremendous devotion, "Mam Bhajante." They go on worshipping me. And Arjuna also in the 11th chapter after beholding Vishwaroopa Darshana, "The whole Purusha Supta is what?" Vishwaroopa Darshana. "My son, you don't have, you don't exist. I don't exist. Nobody else exists. Separate from God, everything is the manifestation of God. That is called Vishnu. Vishnu means He who is manifesting as everything. He is called Vishnu. That is why in the Vishnu Sahasranama, He is manifesting as Vishwam and the whole Purusha Supta."

You can cite a commentary on that one word, Vishwam. Arjuna, having seen Bhagawan through His grace, that you do not exist, only I exist. So your resisting "I don't want to fight" will not really work because I decided that things will go on. This is also part of the sthiti. Maintaining the world. If something is deceased, like a surgeon, it has to be cut off. So that is what has happened. That is what is happening. That is what is going to happen in the future also. If there is birth, there is maintenance. Part of that maintenance is destroying the evil. So that is why He says that "Sambhavami Yuge Yuge." And then to protect the sadhus and destroy the evil people. "Sambhavami Yuge Yuge." Both are part of the maintenance, and Arjuna understood. "What is He telling? Pitaasilokasya Characharasya. You are the origin. You are the father of this entire world, consisting of Chara and Achara, moving and immovable. "Tvam Asya Pujyascha Guruhu Gariyan." You are the only one who needs to be adored, worshipped. Ignatia has to be done. You are the Guru. That is what we have seen. "Yo Devebhyaha Atapati Yo Purohitah Devebhyaha." That is what Arjuna is again in his own words, is telling. "You are the greatest Guru. You are the only Guru. There is nobody who is equivalent to you, greater than you in all this creation. That's why, Incomparable Splendor. And then he also says, "O Mahatma, you are the great soul, Brahman. Why should they not salute you? Why? You are. Earlier, you have given birth to what we call Brahma, the creator. "Adhikarta. You are the progenitor of Brahma. "Asat Tat Paramyat." Beyond form, with form, without form, beyond both form and formlessness. As Ramakrishna says, "Everything is you. And again, you are the Adi Deva, means Brahman. Purushaha, Purana, eternal, unchanging. "Swamasya Vishwasya Param Nidhanam." And because of you, this whole universe is manifesting. "Vedyas." You know everything. "Vedyancha Param." You are the supreme goal to be known. That I do not exist, only you exist. That knowledge is called Sharanagati. "Tvayatatam Vishwam Anantaroopa." You are only manifesting, spreading in the form of this whole Vishwam. Vishwam. Vishnu. Vashatkara. Bhuta. Bhavya. Bhavat. Prabhu. And then you are Vayu. You are Yamaha. You are Agnihi. You are Varunaha. You are Shashankaha. You are Prajapati. You are Prakita Mahasya. My infinite salutations to you. And my salutations to you again and again and again. Because of which, because of whom, we are all able to be. How you are manifesting in the form of Vayu, wind, Yamaha, because without Yamaha, it is impossible to have a new dress. Agnihi, Varunaha, Shashankaha, Prajapati, Prakita Mahasya. In the form of Pancha, what is called Bhutas, etc. So, what is the meaning of this 22nd brick? That you are the person. Not only you created, not only you entered into them. You entered into them also in the form of Buddhi. You are the leader. You are in the form of saints and sages and Gurus. You only come in the form of the Guru, and you are maintaining this whole world, and your power only in the form of the Sun, the Moon, the Pancha Bhutas, etc. Without whom, we cannot survive even for a single second. So salutations to that. Namo Ruchaya Brahmaye. Then, this Devata, whom was he addressing? Presumably, all the Devatas, and then the Devatas, because God himself, Brahma himself, was passing this knowledge in the form of Guru Sishya Sampradaya. So if Ramakrishna tells to any one of his disciples or to anyone of his devotees, "May your consciousness be awakened," immediately it will be awakened. We have seen that, we have read about it, we have heard talks about it on 1st January 1886. So that is exactly what is being reflected here. If my body is there, it is because of you. Because of the Pancha Sthula, Pancha Bhutas. If my mind is there, my inner organ is there because of what is called Sukshma Pancha Bhutas. So the subtle five elements, and if I became aware of my mind as well as the body, because you are maintaining manifesting in the form of Chidabhasa, a reflection of the consciousness, otherwise we become unconscious. That is why we say, we don't say often, but we mean that if I know, it means I am aware, I know because of that knowledge. That is continued in this 23rd Rigveda mantra. Now, until now, until the 22nd Vishwaroopa of the Parabrahman that was being explicitly described for the sake of all of us, so that we should never become egotistic, but we have to say, "I exist because of God's existence. I know because of God's Chit, and I am happy because of God's Anandaswaroopa, Sat Chit Anandaswaroopa. Now, there are these Devas who heard this teaching from Brahman himself, Brahma himself. Brahman manifesting as Brahma, the creator. Brahma is the Adi Guru. Sampradaya Karta. He taught it to his Manasa Putras and to his disciples, to get a clear indication in the Mundaka Upanishad. And then, through Guru Sishya Sampradaya, so that Sishya became Guru, taught it to his disciples, those disciples who were taught, they became Gurus, and passed on that knowledge unbroken. It is coming. Sometimes it seems to be broken. How do we know? In the 4th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, "Maha Kaalai Neha," through a long period of time, this knowledge had become covered up, and again, for bringing out that knowledge and making it available to everybody in simple language, according to the changed circumstances, Bhagavan reincarnates himself. That is called Dharma Sthapana. So that is what, in this Yuga, Bhagavan has incarnated many times. He incarnated this time. He got the name Ramakrishna. That means he who was Rama, he who was Krishna. Now he is manifesting in the form of Ramakrishna. Ramakrishna declared this many times. Krishna also declared, but people don't take notice. When he met the Rishis, he told, "I am going to incarnate myself. You all reincarnate yourself as Gopis, as the greatest devotees, and I will through you propagate the Sampradaya, Bhakti, Bhakti Sampradaya." The whole Bhagavatam is nothing but the propagation of Bhakti Sampradaya. That idea is Guru Shishya Parampara. So that is why very important to salute the Guru Parampara, and I mentioned it just for your remembrance. See, that Bhagavan as Narayana, and he gave it to Yasa, who gave it to Shukadeva, who gave it to Gaudapada, who gave it to Govindacharya, who gave it to Shankaracharya, and through tradition it came to Totapuri. He gave it to Ramakrishna. Ramakrishna gave it to his disciples, and his disciples gave it to all of us. This, we have to remember. All this Guru Sampradaya. Why? Because that reminds us we are not ordinary people. We belong to the lineage of Rishis, Munis. From Vivekananda, when he was lecturing in the UK, he mentioned a funny thing here. Every one of you is very proud that you belong to some robber baron. That is, ancestors were all robbers. Indirectly, I don't think that you went and robbed Africa and then India, all the Asian and half of the world, and you have nothing there yourself. So, anyway, this is the history of India, history of UK, etc. Now, coming back, what is it? This Guru Sishya Sampradaya. Many people got enlightened, and these Devas also got enlightened, and then they declared. Having become enlightened through this system of Guru Parampara, in their turn, after their realization, they declared. What did they declare? He who realizes Brahman in the form that we have been teaching from the very beginning of this Purusha Suktam, Sahasra Sheersha Purusha, etc. He who realizes that is he who follows our footsteps as our Sishyas, as we followed the footsteps of our Gurus, as our Gurus followed the footsteps of their Gurus, whoever knows it, for such a person, the whole world comes under their control. That means they have become God himself. Every person who realizes, he realizes Aham Brahmasmi, I am Brahman. And such a person, nobody, no creature can be separate from him. Why? Because Atman is everything. Whether the other person knows or not, that everything is, I am Brahman. Brahman is everything. So, I am everything. This is called Sarvam Kalvidam Brahma. What is the meaning of this? That we have received the supreme spiritual knowledge from our Gurus, and who is the Adi Guru? That Bhagwan himself. And we realized God, and we know everything is me. That is everything is Brahman. That when a person says, when a realized soul says, like Vamadeva Rishi, that I know everything, I am everything. So, Aham Annam, Aham Annam, I am the creator, I am the creator. I am the object, I am the subject. Besides me, nothing else exists. So, whoever realizes that, there will be nothing stranger here. We have to understand. Vashay means under their control, but what does that Vashay means really, under their control? When you say, I am the controller, and something is the controlled, there is a duality. I am the stronger one, and that which I control is the weaker one. No, this is a dictator's idea. We should never bring this ignorant idea. What it means is that, I am the subject, I am the object, I am the controller, I am the controlled. There is absolutely no difference. And then, what happens for such a person? They become Satya Kamaha, Satya Sankalpaha. See, very interesting psychology is involved here. If somebody says, I want something to be controlled by me, somebody to be controlled by me, that means he has a desire, and he did not have what he desired. He expects that desire to be fulfilled through that somebody, be it servant, be it a wife, be it a child, be it a parent, or be it an enemy. So, my desire will be fulfilled. But one who doesn't have any desire in him, the dualistic buddhi will not be there at all. That is the meaning of realization of God. He becomes God. He becomes everything. He knows, "I am everything." He knows nothing is separate from me. And therefore, there is no desire, there is no desirer, there is no desired object, there is no controller, there is no controlled. But for our understanding, the scripture tells us that the whole world, to such a person, all the Devas bring all the desired objects. A realized soul doesn't have the distinction, "I am subject, and everything is an object." It is pure Advaita realization, and he is swimming in the ocean of Brahmananda. And a person who is swimming there, there is no object in this world which can add to that Brahmananda. So, simply, this rik is meaning that Bhagwan alone exists. Nothing else exists. And if one can know it, one becomes supremely fulfilled. Paramapurushartha mukti will come. That's what is meant here. That is in the commencement of creation, before creation, after the pralaya, the Devas, while giving out for the benefit of the world, the true nature of the knowledge which is the essence of the supreme lord, thus addressed Brahman, "Oh Lord, you are the essence of all. You who know, you not only your real nature, all of us, that is our nature, and all the Devas come under your control." Simply put together to summarize this 23rd rik, what it means is that a person who realizes God, all idea of differentiation, all division, dichotomy between subject and object disappears, and he doesn't even have mind, he doesn't even think, "I am swimming in the ocean of bliss." No, even that is not there. He becomes bliss, he knows it. And what he knows it, we never know about it. That is why all the Upanishads, especially Gata Upanishad, goes on telling, "Na tatra suryo bhati, na chandra tarakam, ne ma vidyato bhanti kutoya magnih, tam eva bhantam anubhati sarvam, tasa tarvam idam vibhati." So there, the sun doesn't shine, the moon doesn't shine, the stars do not shine, the lightning do not flash, nor any earthly fire, because he shining, everything else reflects that shining only. What does it mean?

The existing - everything exists, and He is everything. We do not exist. This is called Sharanagati, which means, "I do not exist; only you exist. Both of us do not exist; no duality is there." That is what Arjuna says, and Krishna says in the Vibhuti Yoga (Chapter 10). "I am everything; everything is my manifestation." That is what is meant. And whoever realizes Brahman, then the whole universe, he becomes the universe. All his desires are completely fulfilled. That is summarized in one beautiful mantra. This is Vidyaranya's commentary. He who knows - knows "Aham Brahmasmi," that "I am Brahman." What happens as a result? He becomes all; this means the entire creation. So, from the creation point of view, as if this realized soul is ruling everything in the form of the creator. Really speaking, a realized soul doesn't say, "God doesn't say I am the ruler." It is only we who are in this ignorant state that say, "I am small; you are big, so the big rules the small; you are ruling me." This is the summary of this 23rd Rig, that everything is you; there is nothing else other than you. Then we proceed to the 24th. It is also again describing the Vishwaroopa form of God. O Lord, Hari and Lakshmi are your two consorts. Day and night are the sides of your body, and the stars are also your body. The Ashwini Kumars are your mouth. Grant us knowledge of the self, which we desire, and everything else. This is, you know, Bhagavan. Bhaga means splendor. So six qualities are mentioned there like Lakshmi, like Vidya, like Yashas, like Vairagya. Like, so all these powers, six powers, because creation means the creator. The creator must have that power. Without that power, he cannot create, he cannot maintain, he cannot take them back. So this is in the form of perhaps, as we said, Uttar Narayana is added later on. Six rings are added later on. In South India, they are all together. Now, added 25. So the 25th one is an addition actually to this Uttar Narayana also. Hari, Lakshmi, you know, Bhagavan Narayana, suppose, Sri Devi, and Bhu Devi. Instead of Bhu Devi here, Hari Devi. What is it? He is the lord of all wealth, whether it is physical wealth, intellectual wealth, or whatever type of wealth. Everything belongs to him. Hari means modesty, Lakshmi means power, where power and modesty, modesty and power are together. And the splendor of the divine Lord, there everything good will come. This Hari is also called some places Saraswati. That is Vidya. That is why we say, where there is Saraswati, there is no wealth. Where there is Lakshmi, Saraswati is absent. But nowadays, he who has got knowledge, he becomes Lakshmivantaha. If modesty should be there, then only power and modesty can go together, because what is money? Money is nothing but power, money is security, etc. So coming down a little bit, for people like us, O Narayana. So you are Hari, you are Lakshmi. Both of them are your consorts, means your powers. And then Ahurathre, day and night, you are existing in the form of the day. You are existing in the form of the night, and in the form of the day, you are existing as the sun. And in the form of the night, Nakshatrani, roopam, all the stars are nothing but your form. Ashwinavyatam, and your mouth is nothing but representing Ashwini Kumars. But it is only just to indicate a few epithets. So that, as we started this Purusha Suktam, everything is the divine Lord only, and nothing else is there. So with this, practically, Purusha Sukta is over. But there is a Prarthana. What is that Prarthana? Having made us understand this great Rishi who ever created this Rik, because every Rik must have a creator through whom that Rik had come out as a result of his Sadhana, and that is here. It is called Purusha Suktam. Istam, Manishana, Amum, Manishana, Sarvam, Manishana. What does that mean? And then, grant us Sat. That is Asatoma Sadgamaya. Amum, Manishana. Grant us Chit. That is Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya. Sarvam, Manishana. Grant us that Ananda. That means, may I, through your grace, become Sat Chit Ananda. And chanting of this Purusha Suktam, tremendous Saranagati and Bhakti, singular chanting, should give us self-knowledge. When a person has self-knowledge, he will become Sat. He will become Chit. He will become Ananda. Make us Chit Ananda. That is expressed in other forms: Asatoma Sadgamaya, Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya, Mrityorma Amrutangamaya. We want self-knowledge. But so long as we are in this earth, as human beings, as Sadhakas, we have bodies. We have minds. So let the body be healthy and strong. Let all the limbs function. And let us praise: Bhadram Kanne Bhi Shunyama Devaha, Bhadram Pashyama Akshabhir Yatra Sthirai Rangaihi. Tustu Vagam Sastanu Bhi. Beautiful expressions, prayers. So, we also wish, not only Paraloka Phala, which is Moksha. We also wish Dharma, Artha, Kama. This is called Yeholoka Phala. In other words, please grant us the Chaturveda Purushartha, Dharma, Artha, Kama, so that we can do successful Sadhana. And out of the infinite grace, grant us also self-knowledge, which is called Moksha, which is called Aham Brahmasmi. Ithignanam. That is why, as I mentioned earlier, in many places, almost all the Devatas have got what we call four hands. Even Mother Kali, four hands. That is called one is called Abhaya, Vara. And on the second hand, it is called the two hands are there, Laya, Srishti, Sthiti, Laya. But somebody comments also, "Why the Lord has four arms?" It is called Varadaraja, "He who grants Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha." For all that, he requires four hands. What is the essence of this Purusha Suktam? That is a marvelous Suktam. Even chanting itself will produce tremendous results. And he who chants it regularly with complete Shraddha, he will get Ihaloka Phala, Paraloka Phala. That means he will get Dharma, Artha, and Kama. And in the end, he will also get Mukti, Moksha. That is the real Phala that we are chanting, surrender to God, prayer to Him, leading the life as He guided us, as He is manifesting in our Buddhi. We must obey. And His Buddhi is manifest in the form of the scriptures. That is why we have similar prayers, etc. So it is a prayer for making our journey from Srishti, through Sthiti, to Laya. Here, Laya means to become one with the Divine Lord forever, never to have any birth again.

Now, I will give you a summary of this entire Purusha Suktam in six points. Nothing here is different from that of God. That means everything is a manifestation of God, and it is that Nirguna Brahma that is manifesting first as Saguna Brahma and as this whole universe. So, the second point, whatever you see here, whatever you hear, whatever you touch, whatever you experience, whatever everything we do is Brahman. In every experience, there is the vision of Brahman, and every teaching takes us to that Brahman. Third point, if all that here is Brahman, the question "Who am I?" I am also that Brahman. In this particular Nama Rupa. Fourth, this world, which appears in all kinds of ways, is merely a fiction, only a myth. Then, when we realize, when we become one, this Nama Rupa Guna disappears completely, and that which appears and disappears is called Mithya. And that Mithya is called Myth. You just word notice the spelling: Myth, M-Y-T-H. And Joseph Campbell has given a beautiful explanation of this Myth. But for our purpose here, Myth means only a temporary appearance, nothing permanent. If we really analyze it, it will take us to the inside, to the cause. Karya is Myth. Karana is also a Myth. Finally, but the final thing from our point of view is Parabrahman. This is the fourth point. Fifth, if all that exists is Brahman, there is nothing that is not Him, and He is perfect. He is Purnam. And the sixth point is Swaroopatah. I am perfect because I am Brahman. I have no choice. If I am Brahman, I cannot become a Brahman. I am eternal, unliberated. This is the essence of Purusha Suktam, Medha Suktam, Sri Suktam, etc.

So, Om. We offer our prayers to the God from whom all auspicious things come to us. For those who perform the Yagna, let us pray that the Yagna may be completed without any hindrance. May the Gods bring auspiciousness to all of us. Let the Gods bring auspiciousness to all mankind. Let the trees grow vigorously. Let the two-legged and four-legged creatures living with us be all happy and evolve and reach God. Om. Peace. Peace. Peace be unto all. Now, our next class will be Devi Suktam. Why did I choose Devi Suktam? Because Durga Puja is coming. Part of the recitation of the Durga Suktam, and it ends actually with Devi Suktam. So, briefly, we will explore it from next Thursday onwards. Om. Tachchaiyora Vrinimahe. Gataiyagnaya. Gataiyagnapataye. Daivye Swasthirastunaha. Swasthirumanushepyaha. Urdham Jigatubheshajam. Shanno Tuddhipade Sanchatushpade. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti. Harihi Om. Tat Sat. Om. Jananim Shardam Devim. Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum. PAdapadmetayo Sritva. Pranamami Mohor Moho. May Sr Ramakrishna Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna.

<blockquote>Note: The lecture transcript was edited for grammar and punctuations using artificial intelligence, so it may contain inaccuracies. The summarization is provided for informational purposes only, and the original audio lecture should be referenced for complete accuracy. Viewers should use discretion when citing any summarized content edited by AI.</blockquote>
[[Category:Purusha Suktam]]

Purusha Suktam Lecture 20 on 05-October-2023

2023-10-15T16:56:49Z

Kirandevaram: Grammar and Summarization

== Summary ==
In our previous discussion, we were talking about the 21st mantra of the Purusha Suktam, which discusses why a person should purely desire God or God realization, known as Mukti. We are all Brahman, the one absolute reality, which is known by different names like Virat Purusha, Prajapati, Hiranyagarbha, Ishwara, Saguna Brahman and Brahman. The word Purusha in this hymn refers to Brahman, and it means "He who is spreading everywhere", or the one absolute existence.

Sri Ramakrishna gave a beautiful explanation about the difference between Nirguna Brahman and Saguna Brahman. We actually do not know or experience either, it is just our speculation and ideas about them. Those who have truly become Brahman will know the actual truth. When we think of creation, sustenance and dissolution, that active aspect is called Shakti or Saguna Brahman. But Nirguna Brahman refers to the absolute reality beyond the mind and thinking. In deep sleep, when the mind is inactive, these differences dissolve. The differences between Advaita and Vishishtadvaita philosophies are quarrels from speculation, not direct experience.

Here, Prajapati means the creator or lord of creatures, which can refer to either Nirguna or Saguna Brahman. A key perspective is that Brahman does not actually create, rather He becomes everything. As the Upanishads say, He enters every living being as the inner Self. Shankaracharya gave a brilliant explanation that Brahman Himself manifests as the entire world through this act of "entering". Though Advaita philosophy has its limits, this perspective is very insightful.

The purified souls, called Dheerahas, realize Brahman as the material cause behind all manifestation. They seek to become one with their creator. The Rishis of old also attained this direct realization of oneness with Brahman. According to the Puranas, after the initial creation, God becomes the Rishis like Marichi and continues the evolutionary manifestation through them. There are two types of realized souls - those who silently attain mukti and those who also try to share their knowledge to uplift others. True masters like Sri Ramakrishna were of the latter kind. Each soul has the potential for this state, but very few bodies and minds are ready instruments for complete God realization.

In the 22nd mantra, salutations are offered to Brahman who existed before creation and who shines as the essence of all beings. Though the first manifestation was the Devas, the sentient powers of nature, Brahman is the source of their light or consciousness. The word Deva also refers to the senses, which reveal knowledge and awareness. Brahman dwells within all creatures, sustaining them through the power of consciousness. He guides the inner faculties to perceive what is helpful or harmful. For the enlightened, He is the inner guru leading to truth. Even the gods submit to this wisdom; demons who disobey it invite their own destruction. We must also let go of the ego and surrender completely to Brahman's guidance to attain moksha.

This principle was exhibited in the story of Bali, who recognized God in the dwarf Vamana and offered his entire kingdom. His guru, Shukracharya, advised against this saying it was a trick. But Bali saw it as an opportunity to surrender his body, mind and identity to dissolve in God. Such willing renunciation and submission to the divine will is the meaning of his name. We too must offer the three steps - admitting ignorance, knowing God is all-wise and fully surrendering to Him. Then He will surely bestow liberation.

The mantra says Brahman manifests as all beings, enters them as awareness and guides them from within as the supreme Guru. We pray through Gayatri mantra for that inner light to awaken and lead us. The Gita story also shows that given the choice between bhakti and power, the wise choose pure devotion, knowing it will bring God's grace and victory. Though creation appears real, it is an appearance of the one Brahman projected through Maya. By taking refuge in that eternal absolute reality, we can transcend the limitations of ego and attain mukti. May the lives of masters like Ramakrishna inspire us on this journey.

== Detailed Transcript ==
In our last class, we were discussing the third mantra if we count from the Uttara Narayana. If we count it as part of the whole series, then it's the 21st mantra; otherwise, it's the third mantra. But nowadays, this Uttara Narayana has been accepted as part of the Purusha Suktam. So, this is only academic information, but in practice, everybody chants all these 24 mantras. So, we are discussing Rig Veda 21. What does it mean? Why should a person purely desire God or God Realization? Another word for that is Mukti. Why? Because it is really that we are all Brahman. Virat Purusha, Prajapati, Hiranyagarbha, Ishwara, Saguna Brahma, Brahman. These are all Purusha in this particular Purusha Suktam. Purusha Suktam is a praise, a hymn for Brahman. Purusha means Brahman. The etymological meaning of Purusha is "He who is spreading everywhere," meaning "He who alone is." That is the meaning of Purusha. He is also, it is the secondary meaning of it is "Puraha." Puraha means every human body and mind is like a house, and Bhagawan is like the house owner. "Navadvare Pure Dehi Naiva Kurvan Na Karayan."

So, in our last class, we have already discussed some important points. But we will briefly recollect before finding out the other meanings. "Prajapati Charati Garbhe Antah Ajaya Mano Bahudha Vijayate. Tasya Dheeraha Parijananti Yonim Marichainam Padam Ikshanti Vedasaha."

Here, Prajapati means a creator. Creator means Saguna Brahma or we can also take it as the Nirguna Brahma. But what is the difference? Nirguna Brahma doesn't do anything. Ramakrishna had given a beautiful explanation of this. What is the difference between Nirguna Brahma and Saguna Brahma? Remember, this definition is not applicable because we don't know. We know neither Saguna Brahma nor Nirguna Brahma. It is all thoughts in our mind, our ideas about Saguna Brahma and Nirguna Brahma. And then, forgetting this fact that it is our speculation, we go on quarreling. The quarrel between Advaitins and Advaitins, purely ignoring this fact. Only he who has become Brahman knows the real truth. But Ramakrishna is there to resolve all conflicts. What does he say? He says, when you think of creation, sustenance, and recycling, I call him Shakti, Saguna Brahma. But when I think of without activity, what does that mean? Without activity means not the activity of the Brahman, but the no activity of the mind. And a mind without activity is no mind, Amanaha. What Gaudapada calls Amaneebhava. And when my mind is not functioning, a simple small example is Sushupti, then thinking doesn't arise. Then there is no thinking. Then whether God is Saguna, Nirguna, with Guna, without Guna, with auspicious gunas, or without auspicious gunas. That problem itself becomes resolved. No thinking.

So a person who realizes "I am Brahman," even that is an expression in the mind. Then, for such a person, that state or our indication is called Nirguna. But when we see the world, we cannot help thinking of the birth or the beginning, sustenance, and the end, or the non-manifestation, manifestation, and again non-manifestation. We cannot help. So this quarrel is totally unnecessary. Here Prajapati means a lord of creatures. That means creator. That means you can call him Saguna Brahma, Nirguna Brahma, Shruti, whatever you want. But here is a beautiful expression. He is not creating. He himself has become everything. Antah Garbhe Charati. What does it mean? So Sakala Praninam, Sarva Jeevanam, Antah Pravishyam, Antah Garbhe Antah Charati. This is called Pravesha Bhashya. In my last class, I mentioned Shankaracharya gives a very brilliant commentary on it. Though we may not agree with a few points of Shankaracharya, such as Manamargam is the only path for God Realization. But his explanation, it is what I call inescapable. Without that, we can never understand anything. So that Brahman himself has created. Himself is moving everywhere. A question of entering. There is a Garbha. Garbha here means every creature. It is not Sthri Garbha. It is not a woman's womb. But it is within everybody. Within every body-mind complex. Not only body-mind complex. Even in those which we call them inner. Those who do not have awareness, consciousness, stones, etc. Even they are also Devatas only for us. That is the beauty of Upasana. According to Hinduism, the whole universe, including living as well as non-living, or what is inner, is nothing but made up of Pancha Devatas. And all Pancha Devatas are living Gods or God himself, Atman himself. Atmana Aakasha Sambhutaha, Aakasha Vayu, Vayu Ragni, Agne Raapaha, Adhya Prithivi, Prithivyai Oshadaiyaha, Oshadi Bhiyo Annam, Annath Rasam, and from Rasam all the beings are being born, being sustained, and go back into that essence. So this is the understanding we have. God himself is manifesting, that is the correct word, just as we manifest ourselves in the dream state. And that is being explained, Ajaya Mano Bahudha Vijayate. Ajaya Mano means the worthless self, but worthless self means non-manifesting self. With some word like that, like non-manifestation, we cannot argue, is it one, is it many, Ekaha, Nityaha, Ajaha, Anadihi. Unmanifest means that which doesn't come under the purview of our intellect, of our mind, and to speculate whether it is one or many, that is impossible. Very interesting topic. In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, there is something called Muni Kanda or Agni Valkya Kanda, and there Agni Valkya had to confront nearly nine Brahmanas, including a lady called Gargi, and the last one was called Shakaliya. And then the Shakaliya puts a lot of questions, and he thought he knows more than Agni Valkya. Agni Valkya not only answers everything, and then at the end, he says that, "Oh, Shakaliya, you are asking about things which you never understand, you don't have the brains. In other words, you are an idiot. And so, anybody who is so egotistic, I know, without knowing, that your head will fall. And immediately, that fellow's head is fallen. Now, let us not take it literally, that means, you don't have any head. That means, whatever I am going to talk, you will not understand. Further, when Shakaliya had no more questions to ask, because even to ask questions, one requires a lot of head, a lot of brain, the right type of questions. So, when Shakaliya stopped, and he was scratching his head, then Agni Valkya himself says, "Now, I will ask you some questions, try to answer." And this is where he asks, "What is the Parabrahman?" Not in these words, I am only summarizing them. He asked, "What is the Parabrahman?" And of course, Shakaliya never knew about it, and none of them knew, excepting Gargi understood a little bit. How do we know? Because Gargi, having been completely satisfactorily answered by Agni Valkya, she turns to the other Brahmanas and said, "On behalf of all of you, I have asked the question, and there is none of you who can defeat." So, she declares wisely that, "I am the wisest of you, because on behalf of you, I have asked all the questions, and he had defeated me, as it were, by proving that he knows better than me, and none of you are not equal to me. How do you know is the question? Because you could not put a question like me. In fact, she says two questions. If anybody cannot put questions like somebody, that means their knowledge is far inferior to that person's knowledge. So she says, "You don't need to ask. You don't need to waste your breath and waste my time, Agni Valkya's time, your time. Let him take away all the cows. None of you can defeat." But this fellow Shakaliya, he was the last person. He doesn't listen, because if he was not having a head, he would not have asked the questions if he had any intelligence. But he thought he understood. Then Agni Valkya, having answered, which how much he understood, God alone knows. Then Agni Valkya puts a question for which Shakaliya had no answer. And since you asked, this is called Ati Prashna, asking for the sake of argument without understanding. Your head will fall. That means beyond your head, or sometimes, while trying to think about it, you must have got heated, and that heated, whatever little brain was there, must have melted away. Anyway, so there is something called Pravesha Shruti, and that is what says, "Really, there is no creation at all." The whole burden of this Mandukya Karika, especially in the third chapter, and then brought out logically in the fourth chapter, called Alatha Shanti Prakaranam. The whole burden is Ajati Vada. That is, Brahman cannot become creation. That idea has been taken or these are all interchangeable, whether Purusha Supta got it from Mandukya, or Mandukya got it from here. We don't know. The ultimate truth is exactly the same, cannot be different. Ajaya Mano Bahuda Vijayate. Ajaya Manaha. One who can never be born is called Ajati Vada. Bahuda Vijayate. He is appearing as this infinite type of the world, cosmos that we are experiencing. But let us not mistake, because this manifestation, just like our dream, that is the multiplicity, is called Samsara, because it creates three types of bondages. Time-wise limitation, space-wise limitation, and object-wise limitation. Any limitation is a bondage. So that is why we are dissatisfied. Whatever we get, for the moment it may be satisfying. Later on, it won't be satisfying. But there are some people who woke up or they have reached the culmination of their evolutionary progress, and they understood the solution to this problem of limitation can be got only by getting out of these limitations. That means getting out of the mind. Remember the body, where three types of bodies are there. That is the gross body, subtle body, causal body. And when we get out of these three bodies, what remains is the ultimate truth. And there are some people, and all of us, each soul is potentially divine. And so, Tasyadheeraha Parijananti Yonim. Yonim means the causeless cause, that cause which appears to have become manifesting in as so many effects appearing only. That is called Vivartavada. Parijananti. They went, "Oh, what did they know?" Dheeraha Parijananti. They became knowledgeable. They realized. What did they realize? Whom did they realize? Tasyadheeraha. That means this entire universe is Yonim. That is who is appearing as this entire manifesting world, and they found out it is none other than Atman, none other than Brahman. And that understanding, that realization entitles them to be called Dheeraha. Dheeraha means those who understood rightly. Realized souls are called Dheeraha. And then what happens? Marichinam padam ichchanti vedasaha. So, very beautiful explanation. Vedasaha means creator. Who is the creator? Brahman. Really, is he the creator? No. He only appears to be the creator. Really, he cannot create. Creation means change. Creation means dependence. Creation means limitation. So, Brahman can never fall into the category of limitation. So, that creator from the viewpoint of the created, only he is the creator. When there is no mind, then there is no creation. There is no creator. And all these beautiful philosophical ideas have been put in logical formats as realism, as idealism, etc. In simple words, Advaitam as Vishishtadvaitam as Advaitam. But there are some people they realize. Say, for our example, Ramana Maharshi, Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, a direct disciple of Ramakrishna, etc. These are called Dheeraha. What do they do? So, we want to achieve complete identity, oneness with his creator. That is called padam ichchanti vedasaha padam ichchanti. They desire to become one with Brahman. The whole Purusha Suktam is, "Please grant us oneness, unity or mukti with you." And who are they? Marichi Naam. That is to say, there were Rishis, exalted type of people. In that respect, the commentators give us a very beautiful word. So what does it mean? That means, you see, what is this Marichi Naam? That means, Marichi, etc. Now, there is a Puranic account creation given in the Manusmruti. At first, there was nothing but darkness, and the self-existent Lord then manifested himself and dispelled the darkness. He first created the waters and placed a seed in them, which developed into a golden egg called Hiranyagarbha. From this egg, the Lord himself came out as Brahma, a progenitor of all worlds. He then divided the egg into two parts and with them created heaven and earth. He then created Marichi and other Prajapatis, his mind-borne sons, who completed the work of creation. This is the Puranic account of who are the Marichi, etc. So what happened? That after creation, Bhagawan himself has become the Marichis, and in the form of the Marichis, that is Brahma's manasa putras, he continued this further evolution, manifestation as Nama, Rupa, Karma, etc. This is called Shruti, and then he himself started sporting with himself, as we start sporting with ourselves in our dreams. So there are two types of realized souls, about which I briefly talked in my last class. What are they? Some people achieve mukti, and Shri Ram Krishna gives a beautiful analogy. There are some people, and secretly, they eat very sweet mangoes, and then pipe their mouths completely, so that others will not come to know. But other people are there. "Aha, such a sweet mango, perhaps others never tasted it. Let me share with them." And he also created a beautiful parable. Four friends once were walking, and then suddenly, they came across an enclosure. Sounds of joy, music were coming from within. They did not know what it was, and then they tried to find out. They wanted to find out. One after the other, they climbed, promising to look into and inform, and they were so much overcome, what was happening inside. They just jumped. What is that enclosure? It is beyond Maya. And what is inside that? Brahman. So what did they say? They attained oneness with Brahman. And then what did they do? They never wanted to come. One after the other, three people did, promising to come back and inform, but never did. The fourth man, beautiful Shri Ram Krishna was a very creative type of writer or storyteller. He went up, he looked into, and 99% of his mind wanted to jump in, but he remembered, "I promised. Other people do not know. And it is entrance fee." There is no entrance fee at all. So let me inform other people, and they are coming to this enclosure with the entrance fee, that's all. So everywhere there are so many free shows, but one has to take the trouble to reach that place. So this fourth person came down. Who is that fourth person? Rishwara Kotis, like Shri Ram Krishna, like Swami Vivekananda, like Acharya Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya, Madhvacharya. How do we know? Shankaracharya, his very preaching is to divert people's attention. There is something called a Vastu. There is only one Vastu, and that is Brahman, that is God. How do we know about Ramanujacharya? There was an incident. We all know it if you have been hearing my talks. He was initiated into Astakshari Mantra, Om Namo Narayanaya. And then he decided, he was instructed by his Guru. It is a secret name. You should never reveal it to anybody. And Ramanuja asked, "What happens if I reveal it? You will go to hell, but the other person will go to Vaikuntha." Vaikuntha means Mukti, according to Vaishnavas. And immediately he came out from his Guru's presence, ran to the temple tower and called everybody. He must be having a very powerful voice, and he said, "You utter this mantra, you will all go to Vaikuntha." Because he had tremendous faith in Guru's words. See, we have to meditate upon these talks. If Ramanuja did not believe, what will he do? By hearing this name, people do not have faith. So if he doubted his Guru, definitely he would not go to Vaikuntha, and others also will not go. But he had complete faith in Guru's words. That is called Shraddha. Guru Shastra Vaakyeshu Sathya Buddhi Avadharana. And then he went and then proclaimed the mantra, and his Guru became angry, because he was a narrow-minded person, or his Buddhi did not expand so much for the sake of the other people. Chupi chupi chupi chupi means secretly, secretly. No. So Shri Ramakrishna's folded Hriday, "I will dance among a thousand naked women. What is that to you?" That means, "I don't want to hide my teachings." These are joyous proclamations. And that is why the title of Shri Ramakrishna's teaching, "Conversations," is called Gospel. According to English version, Gospel means Bible. And what is the meaning of Gospel? Good news. Good news about what? About the kingdom of heaven. Anybody who follows Jesus Christ, imitates his life, his teachings, he is sure to reach the kingdom of heaven. And that is the Shraddha. That is what Ramanuja Acharya. Every Acharya, he has a tremendous faith. His philosophy may be, we may not agree, but for millions of people, every Acharya has got millions of followers. So we don't quarrel about their views about philosophy, called philosophy. No. But the sadhana is exactly the same.

You have to get out of limitation, and what makes limitation is called egotism. That egotism has to be transcended, and then only one gets mukti. Freedom from egotism is called mukti. There, nobody differs. Everybody, every religion talks about the same thing or God's will. Inshallah or Sharanagati or God's will, Father's will. Everything is exactly the same. So that is what is being said here. Now there are the second type of people. They are called Bodhisattvas. We don't call them in Hinduism, Bodhisattva. We call them Avataras, Ishwarakotis, Acharyas, those who wish to share their knowledge with everybody else. So because they know that there is nobody who is not God. Everybody, each soul is potentially divine. That is why, say Swami Vivekananda had taken so much trouble, and he suffered so much, so many insults. Even his life was also at stake. But he wanted to share his knowledge with everybody and so he was daring to face all these troubles, etc. So this is what we are talking about. And a few people will be like the second type of people called Bodhisattvas. In fact, all of us will become Bodhisattvas only. We may appear to be selfish because now we are selfish. But once we approach nearer to God, selfishness just disappears like darkness disappears when we are nearer to light. So when we approach God and like a powerful magnet, He simply draws us helplessly. We have to become one with Him. At that stage, we will have not our initial individual time-space bound mind but God's mind. And God's mind says everybody is a God. So helplessly we become. But what happens is every instrument, that is every body, every mind is not fitted to take in this what is called motor race, auto race. Only a few bodies, formula, parts only are prepared, are ready, are fit. So there will be a few people, by God's will, their bodies and minds are used by God Himself. They are called Jivanmukthas. So we also might become Jivanmukthas if God thinks our bodies and minds are prepared for that. Now you must have heard about one of the disciples of Sri Ramakrishna called Swami Sivananda, Mahapurush Maharaj. He was not considered as an Ishwara Koti. Sri Ramakrishna never mentioned his name. Only six, five monks and then one householder called Poornachandra Ghosh. Sri Ramakrishna said these are my Ishwara Kotis. But later on Swami Sivananda said I prayed earnestly to Sri Ramakrishna. I also want to become. Whenever you come, he also would like to come. He became like this Bodhisattva. And Sri Ramakrishna had accepted him. Why? I have my own doubts about it. But I am sharing it with you. You should not share it with anybody. Because Sri Ramakrishna asked Swami Vivekananda. He is a chief hope disciple. So you will have to teach. He said I will not teach. You will have to go to the West. I will not go to the Western countries. He doubted also. But he was forcefully taken. And he learnt his lesson. Next time when Sri Ramakrishna goes to Saptarsha Loka and then embraces and you should come. He would say you find out some other Rishi. Because I am not fit to come with you. So Sri Ramakrishna, a very wise person you know, he thought at least now I have one spare instrument, battery. So if this fellow does not want to come then Mahapurush Maharaj will come. So it is a rare phenomena. We everybody want to become a Bodhisattva. But everybody and mind may not be fit for it. So they will attain Videha Mukti. But only a few people's body and mind will be chosen to practice Jeevan Mukti. These are some of the thoughts I wanted to share with you from the last class. Now we will move on to the 22nd or the 4th mantra. Yo Devebhyah Atapati Yo Deva Naam Purohithah Purvo Yo Devebhyo Jataha Namo Richaya Brahmaye. Again, very meaningful, even beautiful Sanskrit mantra. What does it mean? Salutation to that resplendent Supreme Lord who shines everywhere on account of the Devas, who became the priest of the Devas, and who was born before the Devas. So there are four important points here. Yo Devebhyah Atapati. But I will first come in this way. Yo Devebhyah Purvaha Jataha. The Yo means that Brahman. Purvaha, before the creation, before the act of creation itself, before the creation of the world itself. Devebhyah, who were the first creation? Devatas. Remember? Rishis, Devas, and Sadhyas in this Purusha Suktam. So Devebhyah Jataha. So he was born. Born means not born. Otherwise, the doubt will come that was he the first person who was born? Then who created him? So he must have come from some other cause? No. Jataha means he who was before the creation, who alone was. And this idea, this particular idea that only Brahman existed. In so many Upanishads, it has been mentioned. So before anything else, only Sat was there before creation. Sadeva, Saumya, Idam, Agra. Means Agre, Asid. Even though Upanishad tells us. But there is in the Veda itself a beautiful Suktam like Purusha Suktam, Sri Suktam, Narayana Suktam, etc. There is a Suktam called Nasadiya Suktam. Na Asadiya Suktam. That is as if there was a pure darkness, darkness enveloped by darkness. That is why a very apt name. Swami Vivekananda was very fond of it. Suktam is there. That means what? We cannot even think about it. What was before? Because thinking itself is the greatest barrier. We can know, we can become one, but we cannot think. That is why they said Namo Namo Prabhu Vakyamana Atithaha. So that idea, same idea is coming here. Yo, Devebhyaha Poorvaha Jata. He who was alone was before even the creation of the Devas. After the Devas were created, the first creation was Devas, and then He commanded them in this very Purusha Suktam we have seen, if you still remember. And then now you perform Yagna. I would be the Yagna Prasho, and from me, that means I will manifest myself as this entire world. That is the idea. This is the first idea. And then the second idea is Namo Richaya Brahmaaya. Richa means the splendor, tremendous splendor. Salutations to that being, Brahma, that is, who is the alone existing being who is shining. Rich means to shine. The word Richi, we know. That is very enjoyable. That means who was in the form of Sat, Chit, and Ananda. Brahmaaya, salutations to that resplendent Supreme Lord. Brahmaaya, Supreme Lord. Richaya, resplendent. What is that resplendent? Chit, Chaitanya, Prakasha Rupena. This is what He is telling that He created the Devas. That is what is mentioned as we discussed it even before the creation of the Devas. What is the meaning of Deva? The word Deva comes from the root Deu. Deu means to shine. Shining means what? They are manifestations of consciousness. So as if they were manifested. As if like the sparks from the fire. As if like the rays of the sun. The sun is different, and the rays are different. The sun is who is giving the light. When we are able to experience that light and understand it as light, that is called Kirana. Kirana means grace, and we become enlightened as it were. So salutations to that Brahman who is manifesting as this world. Both at the same time, He is indescribable, unmanifest reality, and He is also experienced in the form of subject, object, reality. And we experience through only one faculty, that is called awareness, that is called consciousness. But in our normal day-to-day language, simply it is called knowledge. That is why you see a tree, the knowledge is there. That is a tree is in the form of what is called Chitta Vrutti or called knowledge. Everything is a knowledge. I see it knowledge. I hear it knowledge, etc. And I like it knowledge. I don't like it knowledge. And this is pleasant is knowledge. This is not pleasant is knowledge. I want it again is knowledge. I don't want it again is knowledge. Everything is nothing but knowledge. Salutations to that manifestation of knowledge to which knowledge is the very embodiment, which is called Brahman. And then says, then what happens after creation? He himself is endowing with everybody. Yo Devebhyah Aatapati. Again, the same meaning. Tapati. Tapa means to shine. Tapa means to produce heat. So we say one of the epithets of the Sun, S-U-N, Sun is called Tapanaha. He who burns. He who creates heat. He is called Tapanaha. And interestingly, say about the Moon. Moon also burns. But Moon doesn't burn the body. Moon burns the mind. That is why Chanda Re Chanda. Do not heat burn me out. Already I am suffering. That means do not make me suffer from the separation from my beloved. This is the Moon burns in one way, and the Sun burns in another way. So Devebhyah. Devebhyah means all the Devas. Only Devas? No. Not only Devas. The Devas called Adhishtatra Devatas. They became the entire world. They divided themselves as subject, object, and the instruments which unite subject with object, object with subject. It is called Adhyatmika, Adhibhautika, and Adhidaivika. And who is manifesting? Only that Brahman. That Prachaya. Prachaha, Brahmaaha. He is only manifesting this in the form of the Devas. Not only that. The word Deva is also synonymously used with our Indriya, sense organs. The eyes, the ears, the nostrils, the tongue, and the skin. Because what we get through these five sense organs are sense organs of knowledge, senses of knowledge, is knowledge. That knowledge is called shining. So He who gives that awareness, knowledge, chit to everybody, to the entire universe, is that Brahman. Not only that. Yo Devanam Purohitaha. He who has become the main priest for all the Devas. That we can also again interpret it as we interpreted the first half of the line, first line. Just now. So what does it mean Devanam? It means for all the Devas, Adhishtatra Devatas, presiding Devas, He guides them. Do this, do this. That means He controls them and He guides them. That is the first meaning. What is the second meaning? In fact, He only guides. Oh, I, there seems to be something nice, look at it. Oh, I, see something dangerous is there, look at it. So one for escaping from danger, another for enjoying something. Whatever we do, only two positive, two experiences resulting in two judgmental values, Sukha and Dukha. And how do we do this function? Because God is guiding us in the form of knowledge. This is desirable, this is not desirable. And then, according to Puranic view, Purohita means the person who leads us, the leader. That means the buddhi, the understanding capacity. So in pujas, etc., we give a Purohita. You come and do puja. Why? Because we don't know how to do puja. Purohita is specialized in it. So He leads us. And then along with them sometimes, along with Him, we can also chant. For example, after finishing puja, Jai Sri Guru Maharaj Ji ki Jai. And we also join. And every day in the Shri Ramakrishna Ashramas, in devotees' houses, Khandana, Komarimritam, Sarvamangala and Prakrutim Paramam, somebody leads. So we all follow. That leader is called Purohita. He who moves in the front and shows us that you follow me, I will take you to the best happiness, to the best place, means best experience or how to bring out your own happiness, etc. He is called a Purohita. But Puranic Kali, the gods have their own Guru. Guru is called Purohita. He who knows everything is a Purohita. So who is that? Brihaspati. Briha means what? He knows everything. Pati means master of everything. So since he is a master, for any problem that arises, even gods have problems, you know. So they have got jealousy, they have got desires and they have got various other problems. That means what? Every created being has a problem. Creation means problem. So if there is a problem, there must be a solution and that he who gives us the solution, only problem is that we don't want to follow that real solution. We think we know better and we land into more problems. We multiply our problems by following the wrong guidance which is often our own mind. So Brihaspati, even for the what is called Asuras, demons, they also have got one. He was called Sukracharya. Look, as an example I am telling you how one can lead. Naturally these demons are evil people and evil people will have more evil guidance. How do we know?

This story of Bali Chakravarti tells us a very significant story. Bali Chakravarti was the grandson of Prahlada, who was one of the greatest devotees of Bhagwan Narayana. Naturally, he, who is born into such a family, cannot help but be a great bhakta. So, Bali Chakravarti was a great bhakta, but he was a bhakta of Shiva, just like Prahlada's father was a great bhakta, whose bhakta was Shiva's bhakta. Here, Ravanasura was a great bhakta of Shiva, and here also Prahlada was a bhakta of Narayana, and Bali Chakravarti was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. Who tells us? Purana tells us.

Now, what happened is very interesting. God had come to bestow his grace. God never comes to suppress, oppress, create trouble, and throw somebody into the pathala, naraka. According to Puranic lore, Puranic stories have to be interpreted. Can God really throw a person down? Impossible because he is everywhere. Even if we go to pathala, there also God alone is there. In fact, if we go to pathala, we are more likely quickly to realize God than if we go to Brahma Loka. We don't feel like coming out of it.

So, God has come to bestow his greatest grace upon Bali Chakravarti, and he comes in the form of a dwarf. It's a very symbolic story. What is a dwarf? If we go to beg somebody, we become a dwarf, and the giver becomes taller. That is the idea. Even God, if he is asking for something, then he will become smaller, and he is prepared to become smaller. He comes to Bali Chakravarti, saying, "Just give me three feet of land."

Now, why am I telling this story? Because of how the gurus misguide. So, he came, and then Bali Chakravarti knew it, and the guru Shukracharya was the first fellow. "Oh, this trickster called Vishnu had come in the form of this ugly-looking dwarf Brahmachari, and whenever Vishnu comes, trouble is going to be brewing, definitely." Whenever Narada visits any place, and then everybody gets frightened. "What disaster is going to happen?" Narada is known to be the forerunner, what is called the informer of disaster. So, this Shukracharya is telling this fellow Vishnu has come, don't give anything. This is called misleading. That is the point we wanted to tell. That is why he became the guru of Asuras, demons only.

But then, what was Bali's? "Aho bhagyam, what a great good fortune. Everybody goes to God to beg, but here God himself is coming to me to beg. I will not lose this opportunity." So immediately, whatever you want, I will give. "I just want three feet, and what are the three feet?" Symbolically interpreted, that you donate to me three, and where do you dwell, my dear sir? You dwell in the gross body, you dwell in the subtle body, and you dwell in the causal body. This is called Jeevatma. "But you are my greatest devotee. I want you to dwell in me. I want to give you Mukti." And then this symbolism, Bali Chakravarti. Bali means what? "I am going to sacrifice my identity with body, mind, and my causal body. And if these three are not there, what remains? Paramatma alone remains."

This understanding and willingly surrendering oneself to God are called Bali. Bali means Karnagathi, in other words. And that is what his guru advised. "Don't give him anything." That means, keep your ego. What type of advice was that? But Bali Chakravarti immediately says, "I offer everything. There is nothing. If I offer myself, everything I possess belongs to the person to whom I am offering. This is called Bali. That is why a very apt name, Bali Chakravarti. He was the emperor of self-sacrifice, Karnagathi. And we also have to become Bali Chakravartis when we want Moksha. Simply telling through the mouth that I want Mukti is not going to happen. We are not able to give up anything."

So what are we discussing? Yodhevanam Urohitaha, and he who is guiding, and God always guides as Antaryami. But are we ready to listen to him? Like Bali Chakravarti, there are three steps. What are those three steps? First, "I am an ignoramus. I don't know anything." Second step, "There is somebody who knows everything." That is the second step. "Who knows? Only God knows everything. I don't know anything." Third step, "I completely, I sacrifice. I surrender myself to God, and God is going to do whatever he wants to do." These are the three steps. Only when we take these three steps, God will give us command and give us Mukti. There is no doubt about it.

So, this 22nd rick is telling, "He who makes, creates all the Devatas, he who creates every Jeeva, he who creates the living and non-living, and he who makes them manifest." And then, not only he creates, he enters into it. Earlier, we have seen. He enters, or the teaching of the Vedas or Upanishads of God entering. That means he enters in the form of knowledge. In the form of Uddi. And that is what we ought to pray. That is what we pray if people know about the Gayatri Mantra. That word Prachodayat means complete Sharanagati. "I surrender. I don't know how to guide myself. You sit in this body and mind, and you drive this chariot called the body and mind, and everything will be absolutely fine." That is the symbolism of Bhagavad Gita. That is Krishna. If you drive my chariot, then victory is sure to come.

Just let us look into it. The very first thing, the story goes in the Mahabharata that Arjuna and Duryodhana. What did they come? Because when the war is inevitable, both of them come to Krishna, hoping that he will help them. That was the custom. And Duryodhana and Arjuna came. And Shri Krishna pretended he was asleep. He was never asleep. He will not be asleep. And then he asked first. He said he claims, "I have seen Arjuna first, and he is younger. He should get the boon first." And then Duryodhana's heart sank. But he asks, "What does he ask?" Krishna told him. Krishna told him clearly that "I have two things. What belongs to me and me. If you take me, I will not fight, but I will only guide you. But if you accept my army, then my army is invincible because it is a divine army. I will give it to them. So, Arjuna, what do you want?" A worldly person like Duryodhana will want only what belongs to you. Aishwarya. It could be Jnana. It can be what is called Padavi. It is Padav. Marichyanam, Padam, Ikshanti, Vedasaha. Just now we have seen. Or it can be name and fame. Anything worldly. Vibhuti of Bhagawan. That is what worldly people want.

What does the spiritual people want? A person asks, "I want you." Because he is much more clever. Because if you come, the whole world will come. Arjuna said, "I don't want what belongs to you. Because he was a spiritual person." How do I know he is a spiritual person? Because he says, Krishna himself says in the Vibhuti Yoga, "I myself manifested, manifesting in the form of Arjuna among the Pandavas." That is why he gave the Gita teaching only to Arjuna. So, Arjuna was a fit person. How do I know? Because Arjuna, he said, "I don't want what belongs to you. I want you." And Duryodhana's heart leapt up in joy. That, "What do I do with this useless Krishna who will not even fight?" He understood by real fighting is done only by physical means. And Krishna's words are coming very true now. Who is going to be ruling the world today or tomorrow? He who has got knowledge. Not who has got military power, prowess. It is only IT technology, AI, artificial intelligence. He is going to be the master of the world, and that is what is going to shape the world until Kalikala comes to an end.

So, what we have to connect the dots here is that it is that Purohitaha. So, you become my guide. You walk before me, and I will follow your footsteps. And you, who are you? You are that Brahman who was there before creation, who is there without changing even now. That means the creation is seeming, is appearance, it is not real. My salutations to you from the east, from the west, from the south, from the north, from above, from below. Who says? Chandogya Upanishad. He says, "Brahman is everything. There is nothing besides Brahman. My salutations to you. You become my guide. Diyo Yonah Prachodayat, and that Diyo Yonah Prachodayat I think is expounded in this 22nd mantra so beautifully. We will talk about it in our next class. Om Jananem Sharadam Devem Ramakrishnam Jagat Puram Pada Padme Dayos Ritva Pranamami Mohan Moho May Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna."<blockquote>Note: The lecture transcript was edited for grammar and punctuations using artificial intelligence, so it may contain inaccuracies. The summarization is provided for informational purposes only, and the original audio lecture should be referenced for complete accuracy. Viewers should use discretion when citing any summarized content edited by AI.</blockquote>
[[Category:Purusha Suktam]]

Purusha Suktam Lecture 19 on 28-September-2023

2023-10-09T00:39:18Z

Kirandevaram: /* Summary */ redone

== Summary ==
We are enjoying studying the Purusha Suktam. In our previous classes, we covered the second verse, which is the 18th or 20th verse if counting the appendix. This verse is called Uttara Narayana and summarize the main teachings of the Purusha Suktam, which properly ends at verse 18. Studying scriptures repeatedly reinforces their teachings, making them sink deeper into our minds through a process called Shastra Sangatya. Scriptures are not like ordinary books; they help purify our minds and implant spiritual ideas when studied sincerely.

Let me give an example from the 16th verse, which is repeated in the 20th verse:

"I have realized that Supreme Reality who is glorious, as bright as the sun and who is beyond all darkness. Whosoever knows Him in this way becomes liberated here and now while still living."

This was a mantra Swami Vivekananda used to initiate thousands of disciples. When a devotee asked how he initiated so many, Swami smiled and explained that initiation is not merely whispering a mantra into someone's ear. True initiation sparks enthusiasm for spiritual life and turns someone onto the path. Simply sharing this mantra in lectures awakened many people's dormant spirituality. Like Ramanujacharya, who loudly pronounced the mantra his guru forbade him from sharing to help liberate others, Swamiji freely gave spiritual wisdom to uplift humanity. This exemplifies the Bodhisattva ideal - refusing enlightenment until all beings are freed.

The essence of the Bhagavad Gita is contained in the final verse, known as the Charama Shloka. It explains that all yogas lead to surrendering to the Divine. Any finite being, no matter how spiritually accomplished, cannot become infinite through their own effort. We are already the infinite Brahman, obscured by divine ignorance that only God's grace can remove. Scriptures have immense power when studied repeatedly. One mantra can be enough.

When Hindus meet, we say "Namaste," which actually means "I bow to the divine in you." We are saluting our shared divine essence. In the Mahabharata, a two-letter word binds us to samsara while a three-letter word liberates. On Ekadashi, the mind becomes pure enough to glimpse that divinity. Scriptural study helps us remember our divine nature.

I told this story because the Purusha Suktam explains how the infinite Brahman manifests as the world. After creation, Prajapati enters every being as existence, consciousness and bliss. In living beings, these qualities manifest more tangibly. The body-mind complex allows the expression of the underlying divinity.

Babies exemplify this well. A baby is a jiva, with a body and mind that change and grow. But the potential for realizing its divine nature is always there. Unchanging Brahman seems to take birth in ever-changing forms. Realized beings see through the illusion of this appearance. They realize their eternal oneness with Brahman and are unfazed by their body's inevitable impermanence.

Some poetic lines summarize this teaching. The infinite Brahman appears to manifest in diverse forms, though truly unborn. Discerning seekers realize every being's source is Brahman. They seek liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth. Brahman then guides them to realize their divine essence. Though ever-present, Brahman especially manifests in our spiritual awareness. Sincere seekers can directly experience their eternal oneness with the Divine everywhere, but mystical vision unfolds most readily in the purified mind and heart.

Two types of enlightened beings exist. Some remain merged in Brahman after realizing it. Others, known as Bodhisattvas, voluntarily return to human birth to uplift others. Their compassion dominates over the urge for liberation. They exemplify selfless service, like Buddha offering his life to save a lamb. Without this impulse already present, it does not suddenly arise post-enlightenment. Scriptures guide qualified seekers to realize God directly. This confirms intellectual knowledge, allowing them to be liberated Jivanmuktas, or sages free while living. Their destiny is to guide others.

True initiation sparks yearning for the Divine. Scriptural study repetition reinforces these seeds of wisdom. One mantra can uplift and liberate. Seemingly ordinary acts like saying "Namaste" recognize our shared divinity. The Purusha Suktam reveals Brahman manifesting as all forms. Though taking on limiting adjuncts like bodies and minds, every being's essence is divine. Creation is Brahman's play. Some awakened beings remain immersed in God forever. Others, the Bodhisattvas, voluntarily return to uplift humanity. Their compassion dominates over any urge for personal liberation. They exemplify selflessness and love in action.

== Detailed Transcript ==
We are enjoying the Purusha Suktam. In our last classes, we have seen the second rick if we count it after 18th or 20th rick if we count it as a separate appendix. This is called Uttara Narayana. Purusha Suktam really ends with the 18th rick. But six more were added to it, giving a sort of summary, which is not bad because the more we study, the better we understand, and every scripture has got tremendous power. This is called Satsangatya, Scriptural Sangatya, Shastra Sangatya. The more we study, they are not like ordinary books. They help us to become purer to drive these spiritual ideas and ideals deeper into our minds.

Just as a sample, in the 16th rick and again it is repeated here in the second rick:

VEDA HAME TAM PURUSHAM MAHANTAM

ADITYA VARNAM TAMASAHA PARASTAT

TAMEVAM VIDWAN AMRUTAIHA BHAVATE

NANYA PANTHA VIDYATE AYANAYA

I have realized that Supreme Reality who is glorious, as bright as the sun and who is beyond all darkness. Whosoever knows Him in this way, He is liberated here and now even while living. This was a mantra with which Swami Vivekananda had initiated thousands of people. A very interesting episode in the life of Swamiji. What happened after Swamiji returned from America, he was having a talk with one of his disciples, Sharad Chandra Chakravarthy, and this Chakravarthy asked Swamiji, how many people did you initiate? He said, there is no counting. I have initiated thousands and thousands of people, and the disciple was surprised. So many people were eager, when did you sit and initiate? Swamiji smiled and said, do you think that making a person sit by my side and uttering the mantra secretly alone is the type of initiation that is only done by very few people?

But let us recollect the story of Ramanujacharya. He was initiated into the Astakshari mantra. You remember? Om Namo Narayanaya. And then the Guru told him, you should never ever give it to anybody. And if you ask me, why did he tell? Because if Ramanujacharya starts initiating, he will not get one more disciple there afterwards. Because Ramanujacharya was one of the most charming, what is called magnetic personalities. Even today, we don't remember his Guru. But millions of Vaishnavas remember Ramanujacharya and Madhvacharya. They were all divinely endowed with the divine power, about which we are going to discuss somewhat in the future of this Purusha Suktam.

Now, this Ramanujacharya asked, what happens if I tell it to somebody? Guru said that whoever hears it, he will get mukti, but you yourself will go to hell. Immediately, he said, let us not take it literally. He ran to the top of the temple and started calling. He must have had a powerful voice. And hundreds of people have gathered, said I am going to give you a mantra. Just by hearing it, my Guru told me that you will all go to Vaikuntha. And he uttered this mantra, which he received a short time ago. The Guru heard about it, became extremely angry and annoyed. He asked, why did you do it? Then Ramanujacharya was supposed to have replied, Sir, if I go to hell, I am the only person who will go to hell. But by my uttering this Maha Mantra, if thousands of people can go to Vaikuntha, I will do it not only once, but I will do it thousands of times. This is what Swami Vivekananda exactly repeated verbatim. If I can help even a dog in the street, I am ready to take birth thousands of times. The words are different, but the content is exactly the same. Such people are called Bodhisattvas. They are not happy with their own liberation. But I will come to that point. These scriptures, so many things are there. I will give another illustration.

The entire essence of the Bhagavad Gita lies in the last shloka. That is very well known as Charama Shloka. Charama means the last. But in the Bhagavad Gita, it was not the last. The last was Yatra Yogeshwara Krishna Yatra Partho Dhanur Dharaha Tatra Sreer Vijayo Bhutir Dhruva Neetir Materu Mama. But this is considered with this Bhagavad Gita teaching comes to an end. What is that shloka? Sarva Dharman Parityajya Mamey Kam Sharanam Vraja Aham Tva Sarva Papey Bhiyo Mokshayi Shyami Mahasuchaha. So that is the essence. Ultimately, every yoga makes us fit to surrender ourselves to the divine feet. And that is the only way because any finite being with any amount of finite means can never become the infinite. But our scripture assures us there is absolutely no need to become because according to Advaita, we are already that. Only we need to get rid of the ignorance and ignorance belongs to God. It is a divine ignorance. So only God's grace can destroy this Ajnanam and that is what He said Aham Tva Sarva Papey Bhiyo All sorts of ignorances. Why? Because man commits a sin not deliberately but because of ignorance. This is a tremendous psychological fact we have to realize. Just imagine a person like Hitler who was ready to kill millions of people. Do you think he did it with full understanding? If he only knows all those people are none other but my own self and as a result of it, I am going to be born thousands of times and I am going to suffer endlessly, unimaginably, incomparably. Do you think anybody will do it? Even the most sinful person does a sin only because of Ajnana. Now he may think I am doing it deliberately but thinking I am doing deliberately as we do when I am eating, I think I am doing it by my own decision. When I am talking, when I am sleeping, we think but after God realization we come to know that really speaking we do not exist. He is like a chess player. He is moving all of us. Really speaking, we have no freedom at all. No freedom at all.

So some of these choices to mantras, they are all called mantras. Why are they called mantras? Because there is an etymological meaning of mantra. That is by repeating that which saves us. So by studying, by listening, by addressing each other, they have no delight excepting talking about me, thinking about me, remembering me, meditating upon me, worshipping me, singing about me. Every action of theirs is only so that they can enjoy me in various ways. So that is even just if we can give this wonderful mantra to somebody even while giving a talk etc. like Ramanuja, like Swami Vivekananda, then that also becomes initiation. After all, what is initiation? Making the other person enthusiastic about progress in spiritual life, turning a person's life. That is called initiation. If that change does not take place, it is not an initiation. It is mere verbal expression. That's all. So coming back to the subject, what happened? Swami Vivekananda, how many times he uttered this particular mantra, this 16th or 20th? Vedaham etam purusham mahantam. A little bit different is there from the Shweta Shwetra Upanishad. Shunvantu vishwe amrutasya putrah. Each one of us is an amruta putrah. Aye dhamani divyanithastu. Even those who are living in higher worlds called swargaloka etc. because living in swargaloka is like staying in a costly hotel. Nothing more than that. But they are ignorant. Perhaps more ignorant than even most of us because they also commit sins. In the Puranas, it is graphically described how many times Indra had come down and then did what even a decent human being will not do. So even hearing this, it is an initiation because by hearing Swamiji, thousands of people got light in their lives. What to do when they did not know what to do? They came to know what to do, how to do about it. That much introduction I wanted to give. So any number of repetitions are absolutely fine. That's why there is a Brahma Sutra which tells beautifully avrutti rasakrut upadesha achya. It has been commanded to us. Avrutti means repeat. Japa is repeat. Remember God again and again and again until it becomes a habit. Until we never forget God, then japa becomes a continuous dhyana. So repeating the scriptures. That is why some people say, oh whatever you told us in the last class in the Upanishad, that is the same. We are hearing it. So really one Upanishad is enough. Even one Upanishad is not necessary. One particular mantra or one particular word that is more than sufficient. I'll give a small beautiful example. When we meet, Hindus meet each other, we say namaha. That means I salute you, I salute you. While folding our hands and bending our head a little, say namaste, namaha. This is considered as a salutation. Actually it is not a salutation. So in the Mahabharata, there is a beautiful explanation. There are two words. One word consists of two letters. Another word consists of three letters. The word which is having two letters that is going to bind us and take us deeper into samsara. It starts with Navami and becomes more clean on Dashami and absolutely clean on Ekadashi. So they take a boat and they take some pots, go to the mid river and that day, the water will be the purest we can get. And then Swami Brahmanandji himself went. He himself was carrying a pot of water for worship in Sri Ramakrishna. He was coming through that Mutt building. One can go to the Ganges. So he went and he was coming. At that time, before that time, Swamiji and others were talking and the topic turned to Brahman. And slowly, Swamiji was getting absorbed. He was talking and then as soon as Swami Premananda, he just entered into the end of the building. From there, he could clearly hear Swamiji's excited voice. He was coming near and Swamiji entered into the highest state and he started shouting, Brahman, where do you want to see Brahman? Where are you searching for Brahman? Here, here, here is Brahman. And he fell silent. Swami Premananda, he went into Samadhi with the full Ganges pot on his shoulders. All the direct disciples, they went into Samadhi. The devotees, they could not enter into Samadhi, but their minds were lifted to a very great height. 15 minutes passed nearly and then Swamiji's mind came down. He saw everything, he understood, said, all right, now you can go. As soon as these words came out of Swamiji's mouth, Swami Premananda's mind came down. So he went to the shrine room, which was at that time in the building. If you have seen Ellore Mutt, there is a room where Mahapurushji's photo and some of his belongings are kept. That is by the side of the old shrine of Sri Ramakrishna, where so many marvelous things have taken place.

Swami Vivekananda initiated many devotees into Mantra and Brahmacharya, and into Sanyasa, among other things, in that room. Remember, the new temple at Belur Mutt was completed much later, only in 1938, just before the passing of Swami Vignanandaji Maharaj. This demonstrates the profound impact of these great individuals. Where is Brahman? Here is Brahman. This means that they saw Brahman everywhere. If someone like Swami Vivekananda could perceive Brahman, what about Vishnu? Sarvam Vishnumayam Jagat. Sarvam Shivamayam Jagat. In the eyes of Shiva, there is no distinction between astika (believers) and nastika (non-believers). He himself manifests with Nama Rupa (name and form) everywhere. However, he resolved to create a place where everyone could attain mukti (liberation) through death, ending the cycle of rebirth. Of course, this is a matter of faith. We cannot navigate life without faith in the scriptures. Sri Ramakrishna confirmed it through his visions, and Swami Vivekananda and every direct disciple affirmed it. This is why Swami Turiyanandaji and Swami Advaitanandaji decided to go to Varanasi. Why did they go? If they didn't, do you think they would not attain mukti? No, because in the Narada Bhakti Sutras, it is mentioned that when a person attains God realization, they feel the urge to go on pilgrimage. Why do they do this? Previously, they went on pilgrimages to gain spiritual benefits, but after realization, they feel compelled to contribute and uplift others with their presence. As I have mentioned before, there is a belief that Varanasi will never be without at least three to four jivanmuktas (liberated souls) and thousands of dedicated practitioners engaged in sincere sadhana (spiritual practices). These individuals do not come to advertise themselves as great sadhakas. In the eyes of Shiva, everyone is a manifestation of Shiva. Thus, distinctions such as high, low, valuable, or worthless are irrelevant. We need to comprehend this perspective.

Now, why did this topic come up? Because Prajapati, the same as Shiva, Vishnu, Brahman, Hirat Purusha, and Hiranyagarbha, created the world, as we have discussed. The entire Purusha Sukta explains how Purusha transformed into the world.

The second part is a repetition, summarizing what we discussed earlier. So, what does Prajapati do after creation? He enters into every living being. In what form? In what we refer to as inert objects like stones, where there is no Prana (life force), he manifests only as Asti (existence). Bhati (knowledge) and Priya (bliss) are present but not manifest. However, in every living being, Sat (existence), Chit (knowledge), and Ananda (bliss) are manifested. This is what the first part of the first half of the sentence, comprising two lines, conveys. In the first quarter, Prajapati refers to Brahman himself, who enters into creation. This has significant implications, which I would like to discuss. First, let me complete the word meanings. The second part of the first line is crucial. One infinite being, who can never be born, appears as if born in billions of creatures, both living and non-living. This means that creation is nothing but Brahman. The body is Brahman, the mind is Brahman, and the Jiva (individual soul) is none other than Brahman. We are discussing Jiva Roopena Sarvasya Antah Garbhe Prajapati Charati. Prajapati moves within his Garbha (womb), not in the sense of a woman becoming pregnant, but in the sense of nourishing a baby. Just as within each of us, the potential for divinity is always present and never absent. Ajaya Manaha (God is beyond birth), whereas Jaya Manaha (that which can be born) refers to limited things that can move and change shape. A baby is essentially a Jiva with body and mind, and both body and mind are subject to change. Just like two particles coming together, they mix and eventually become cells, growing into a fetus, developing physical characteristics based on the genetic makeup of the parents. Ajaya Manaha, in contrast to limited things, remains unchanged. Limited things move from place to place and change form.

A baby is nothing but a Jiva with a body and mind. The body and mind are changeful; therefore, they can start just like two atoms, two particles. They mix, meet, and slowly we call them cells, and they start growing. They become two, one from the father and one from the mother, only one cell from each. They join together, and then they start splitting, becoming multi-celled, and slowly the fetus is formed. Then it develops peculiarities like the color of the skin, hair, the shape of the nose, eyes, and ears because the body takes the form of the parents. So that is how Ajaya Manaha Bahudaha Vijayate; so the baby is born. Tasya Dheeraha Parijananti Yonim.

But there are people who, after millions of births, become highly evolved human beings, not merely human beings whom we call Brahmanas. What happens? That Yonim, and these people, they are called Dheeras. Dhe means buddhi, and buddhi means the capacity to understand rightly. They become Dheeras, and their understanding is absolutely right. They are full of Sattva Guna. As soon as that comes, they want Pariksha Lokan Karma Chito Brahmanaha. So Brahmanas, as Brihadaranyaka Upanishad puts it so beautifully, having examined our state of Samsara, they say we've had enough of it; we don't want anything. So Uthaya, they get up. That means like Yajnavalkya, they take to another type of life. First, they become Vanaprasthis, then they attain to Sanyasa Ashrama. So Satheeraha, such people alone deserve the name Dheeraha. But if somebody is, so many people are named Dheeran. Dheeran means just like Karnataka, they call the owner of the land Buddhi. Buddhi means intelligence in front. When they go a little bit further, they call him Buddhi Hina. Buddhi La, like that they call him. Parijananti, they realize. What did they realize? Where did the plant come from? Where did the mosquito come from? Where did the living and non-living, everything come from? Yonim. Yonim means the original cause from which everything has become manifest. What is that? Brahman. What is this Yoni? Brahma. In Bhagavad Gita also, Brahma is the Yoni, and I am the Purusha who enlivens, gives my seed. That means through Brahma, I am manifesting myself as this entire world.

So these people realize that each soul is potentially divine, and with that realization, they do Sadhana. They realize, they go to a Guru. The Guru tells them Tattvamasi, a practice, and then they confirm it, Aham Brahmasmi, and they don't stop there. Sarvam Kalvidam Brahma. The fourth part of this, the fourth half of the second line, tells us something marvelous. Marichina, Sachi, Dheeras, what do they do? Marichinam Padam Ikshanti Vedasaha. Vedasaha means Brahma. What does Brahma do? He not only creates but is also a protector: Srishti, Sthithi, Inasha. So this Brahma, if the same being is creating, he goes by the name of Brahma. If he is protecting, he goes by the name Vishnu. And if he is recycling, he is not the Lord of death. He is a recycler. That means he gives a new dress like every parent gives a new dress to a baby whose dress has become old or holy. Vedasaha, what do they want? Marichinam Padam Ikshanti. Some of them, some of the realized souls, desire this. What do they desire? May we become like these Rishis, like Saptarishis, like Marichi. Marichi, Atri, etc. I will come to that. These were great souls. After realization, what did they do? They did not want to merge in Brahma. What was their desire? Well, we have realized God. We know what tremendous joy and fulfillment there is. Most people on Earth are ignorant of this fact. So let us go and do good to the world. In Buddhist literature, these are called Bodhisattvas, reflecting the same idea. They became Buddhas. After becoming Buddhas, enlightened people, awakened people, what do they do? They want to do good to the world. So they don't want to become merged. Even Buddha did not want to merge. After realization, it is said in Buddhist literature that after Mahaparinirvana, he went on dancing around the Bodhi tree for nearly 14 days. Then Brahma appeared and said, "Don't give up the body. I know you are thinking of merging in Brahman, but you will have to tell about your realization and help people who are struggling on this Earth." Buddha seems to have replied, "But who wants my teaching?" Then Brahma said, "It is true. Most people don't want it, but a few people are there. They are like blind people, unable to find the right way. But when they come to hear your teaching, then they are going to get a light. For them, you have to preach." Buddha accepted it and lived for nearly 80 years. It is a marvelous story. The very story of Buddha is so inspiring that Swami Vivekananda used to say he was the greatest Karma Yogin. He was ready to give up his life even to save one little lamb. Many of you may recollect that story.

Buddha was once wandering, and he saw thousands of goats, including small kids, happily munching on a little grass. Buddha was shocked. "Where are you taking all these?" "Oh, don't you know? Our King is performing a great Yajna, and these goats will be sacrificed, thousands and thousands." Buddha's heart melted in pity. He asked, "What kind of worship is that? Does God really require all these things?" "What will you gain?" "Oh, if I can sacrifice one kid, I will get so much Punya." Buddha said, "If a kid can give you so much merit by sacrificing me, you will get a thousand times more. So you let this kid go, and you take me. I am prepared to sacrifice my life." This is called the Bodhisattva ideal. Swami Vivekananda looks like Buddha; look at him in his meditation pose and put a Buddha's image. Most of the Buddha's images are in a meditative posture. Even the facial features resemble Buddha because it is the same soul. There is no separate Buddha, separate Saptarshi, etc. They are the same Bodhisattvas. There are two types of Sadhakas. One type of Sadhaka is more than satisfied if they can achieve God realization and obtain Mukti, and then they will never come back. But there are others who say, "We are not happy with merely attaining it ourselves. There are billions of people who are suffering. So let us live, even suffer." These are called Jeevan Muktas. They voluntarily undergo a lot of suffering. Just imagine how much suffering Sai Ram Krishna had to go through with that throat cancer. The heart-rending scenes that we get through M's description of what happened during the last days. Just a few things Swami Prabhanandaji had collected and published in the last days of Sai Ram Krishna. But there are even more volumes that have not been published. It should have formed an extension of the Gospel of Sai Ram Krishna that we know. But the fifth volume, proof-ready to go to press, was done by M, and two days later he passed away. Mahapurusha Maharaj was still alive at that time, and still, so many volumes which he noted down. How many marvelous things were noted down. None of us know about it. This is a very sad story, but it is Sai Ram Krishna's will. Nothing can be done. Holy Mother confirmed it and said, "When M had doubt about what he was doing, trying to transcribe all these short notes," Holy Mother had said, "Baba, at one time He kept all these things with you, and now the time has come by His... He wants them to come out. You are doing the right thing, and they are none other than Sai Ram Krishna's words." That is why M had said that he had never added a single word to what he remembered. His power of memory was tremendous. For 15 years, he was writing a diary, and he used to write useless things. When it was the time, he questioned himself, "Why am I writing this?" "What is the need for me to do this?" And then he understood. When he met Sai Ram Krishna, the whole purpose became clear. He was specially chosen, like Vedavyasa had chosen Ganesha for writing his Mahabharata, etc. So M was specially brought for that.

Next time when Sri Ram Krishna comes, he will bring not only a stenographer but also a choreographer with all these latest AI-aided videograph technology, etc. That is what is going to happen next time, hopefully. I don't know. Hopefully, we will not be there by that time, especially those who are living in Varanasi. So these great souls, having realized Brahman, have become Brahman Gnanis. As I said, there are two types of people. Some people are satisfied with their own Mukti, but some people want to help others. That means the dominating thought, the Samskara of helping others did not come after realization. These people were leading that kind of life even before that because this impulse doesn't come suddenly. Only when this impulse becomes too much, a wholehearted prayer comes, "O Lord, you have been gracious enough to give us this knowledge, but let me serve you." Many times, these are called Ishwara Kotis, these are called Saptarshis, and this business of the Saptarshis, they live in a state where it is said funnily, they are neither free nor bound. What does it mean? It means voluntarily they are bound, and every time one of these Rishis will come down, and that is called a Manvantara. As if one Rishi dominates the world and guides the world according to the Divine Will. Their will is never separate from God's Will. So that unborn Brahman, that infinite Brahman, has as if become an infinite number of finite things, as if Ajaya Manaha Kauda Vijayate.

I will discuss this further because I told you this is a most marvelous Rig. Now what is it? Is it really God born? We are also questioning the same thing in the Aitareya Upanishad. Can the infinite ever become finite? Can the limitless, can the Poorna ever become a Poorna? This has been beautifully expressed in that Shanti Mantra: "Poornamadaha Poornamidham." Whenever we recite Ishavasya Upanishad or Brihadaranyika Upanishad, we have to chant that particular peace mantra: "Poornamadaha Poornamidham Poornat Poornamudakshate Poornasya Poornamadaya Poornam eva avasishyate." That Brahman is infinite, and this world is also infinite. How come this infinite world is only a manifestation of that original Brahman who is infinite? Even though the infinite has been taken out of the infinite, the infinite remains ever infinite: "Poornam eva avasishyate."

Prajapati Charatigarbhe Antaha. Everything in this world, living as well as non-living, is none other than Brahman and Prajapati. But in living beings, He works like Chidabhasa and is called Jivatma. To make it further clear, Ajaya Manaha Bahudha Vijayate. Because the truth is He can never be born as if He is born. That's what Shankaracharya starts his Gita Bhashyam: "Jayate eva." An incarnation as if. As if He is born. Now, this is what is called having created, Bhagawan enters into these bodies and minds, that is the body-mind complex. And afterward, will be known as Jiva. It is called Pravesha Shruti. Especially in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, it is called Shruti, which means Upanishadic teaching. What is that Upanishadic teaching? It is called Pravesha Shruti. Pravesha Shruti means entering. It is being said as if Prajapati Antah Garbhe Charati. As if He enters into every being having created them. First, created how a person builds a house and lives outside until the house is complete and equipped, everything is ready to be lived in, and then, auspiciously, he fixes, perhaps inviting some Swamis or even PM Modi himself if you pay enough money. This man ceremoniously enters into that house. Is it like that? Because the infinite, where is the place He is not? So that He can enter. Entering is possible only when somebody is not there, where it is empty, where I am not. Then only I can enter, you can enter, anybody can enter. But Brahman is everywhere. Where is the question of entering? What is the meaning of Pravesha then? Shankaracharya gives a huge commentary, one of the most brilliant commentaries in the world. But he himself summarizes it. Do you know what he says? Shri Ram Krishna summarizes this. A zamindar has a big house and a huge estate. He can be found anywhere, he can go hundreds of miles on a horse carriage, in a car, a big landlord owning hundreds of acres, especially in the west nowadays. Thousands of acres are managed with a few tractors and modern agricultural machines. But this zamindar will be everywhere, but most of the time he is found in a drawing room, which is called a visitor's room where anyone who wants to have some business with him, whether it is taking something or giving something, etc., they will have to meet him there. It is called a meeting room. So he can be anywhere, but he will mostly be found in that meeting room. This is what Shankaracharya wants to convey to us. Bhagawan is available in each one of us. Where do you want to see God? You go to Kashi. I am inside you. He is there inside the heart. What does it mean? It doesn't mean physically He is entering it. This is a place to realize God. Our buddhi will be able to realize, think about God, meditate upon God, try to understand, pray, do puja, worship, etc. We have to do it under that particular location. It is a location-less location called Hridaya Kohara. That is why Jyotira Jyoti Ujjvala Hridi Kandara Tumi Tama Bhanjana Haar. Practically every day, all the devotees of Sri Ramakrishna sing this song. This is an available place where Bhagawan will be much more present, much more available. That is the meaning of entrance. This is called Pravesha Shruti. I wish I could talk about it more elaborately, but maybe on some other occasion, I will talk about it in a more elaborate way. But for today, this is the meaning: even though that birthless being is manifesting with various names and forms, for that to understand, Shruti itself gives an example. Suppose you are in a room with a hundred mirrors in a big hall, and you are standing in the middle of the hall; you will see a hundred reflections of yourself. So every Jivatma is a reflection. That is why he is aptly named as Chit Abhasa. Abhasa means reflection. If there is a sun and a mirror, and the sunlight falls on the mirror, and if you put it at a particular angle and direct it towards a darkened room, the sunlight directly cannot enter, but it can give that same sunlight effect through the help of the mirror. I believe in Japan, where the sun is a small place, they have multi-storied buildings because the land is very small, but they have found a way that when the daytime comes, sunlight can be reflected into every single room, however many floors it may be, with the clever arrangement of mirrors. One mirror reflects the sun into the other mirror, and it goes to one room, and another mirror reflects it into another room. Every single room in that building is lit up directly from the sunlight. So every Jivatma is none other than Paramatma but in the form of Abhasa. Then the question comes, what is the mirror? The mirror is the mind. There are other points we will talk about, but here, what I wanted to tell is that the root cause of this entire universe is that Paramatma, and some people, they have realized it through Shravana, Manana, and Nidhidhyasana, and such people are well-equipped. They have become Adhikaris. Such people are called Dheeraha. What do they do? Parijananti. They have realized it. Parijananti means completely knowing. They know it completely without the least bit of any defect. What do they know? Yoni. Yoni means that uncaused cause, Parabrahman. They know it very well. As I mentioned, there are two types of people. Some people know Brahman and become one with Brahman, and they don't want to be alive, and after 21 days, their bodies fall off like dried leaves. But there are some people, few people, they are called Bodhisattvas, and they want to do good to the world, but that tendency, that desire did not come after realization, but they were kind people. Here also, if you open your eyes, you can see everywhere that among people whom we know, anybody knows, there are people who are of a helpful nature, a little bit unselfish. They want others also to enjoy, and this is mostly manifest even though selfishly in parents. They want to give the best thing to their children, but that quality of that mother's love, father's love, that is being helped here. What do they want? Marichinam padam ichchanti vedasaha. Vedasaha means that creators, having created, let me, I am like a mother, I created. Let me look after all these people and let me do good as long as possible. These are called Bodhisattvas. There are a few people who desire. So what do they desire? Let me be like Marichi, etc. Rishis so that I can do good as long as God permits me. This is the meaning of it. Some people, having known that unborn Brahman, some people become liberated, other people after liberation want to help other people. So they intensely desire, pray, "Lord, permit us to help other human beings." Such people are avataras, ishwarakotis, acharyas, etc. and there are other meanings also. We will talk about it in our next class.

<blockquote>Note: The lecture transcript was edited for grammar and punctuations using artificial intelligence, so it may contain inaccuracies. The summarization is provided for informational purposes only, and the original audio lecture should be referenced for complete accuracy. Viewers should use discretion when citing any summarized content edited by AI.</blockquote>
[[Category:Purusha Suktam]]

Purusha Suktam Lecture 19 on 28-September-2023

2023-10-09T00:34:04Z

Kirandevaram: Added Summary and Detailed Transcript AI corrected.

== Summary ==
The talk centers around the meaning and significance of the second verse of the Purusha Suktam appendix, which reiterates key ideas from the main portion of the hymn.

The verse begins by stating that the unborn Lord manifests in all living beings, appearing to take birth in countless forms. This conveys the notion that all of creation is an expression of Brahman. The body, mind, and individual self are all Brahman.

The teacher provides background about the tradition of initiation by great spiritual masters like Swami Vivekananda and Ramanujacharya. They would initiate thousands into mantras and spiritual practices, transforming lives by instilling devotion. The repetition of sacred words has the power to uplift consciousness.

The teacher reflects on verses from the Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads that capture the essence of these texts, like the Mahavakya "Tat Tvam Asi" meaning "You are that." Simply repeating "Brahman is here" induced samadhi in Ramakrishna's disciples, showing the potency of such words. Scriptural study repetitively plants sacred ideas in the mind.

Diving deeper into the verse, the teacher examines the contrast between the unborn, eternal Brahman (Ajaya) and manifest creation (Vijaya) that appears to be born. Living beings have both mutable and immutable aspects. The body and mind undergo change and are instruments for the reflection of the changeless Atman.

When highly evolved souls called Dheeras realize Brahman as the uncaused cause behind all manifestation, they seek to uplift others selflessly like Bodhisattvas. Some remain merged in Brahman while others like Saptarishis reincarnate to guide humanity. Their will aligns with Divine Will.

The teacher shares stories about Buddha's compassion, underscoring the Bodhisattva ideal of postponing one's own liberation to serve the world. Vivekananda embodied this ethos, as did Ramakrishna who voluntarily underwent suffering to teach humanity. Liberated beings feel drawn to places like Varanasi that energize spiritual transformation.

Expanding on the meaning of God's "entry" into creatures, the teacher explains that this implies the eternal availability of God's presence within, especially in the sanctum of the heart. This does not mean physical entry, since Brahman is already everywhere. But the heart is the inner chamber where we can tune into God.

Through metaphors like reflections in myriad mirrors, the teacher conveys that living beings are like mirrors reflecting the one Brahman. The mind is the reflecting medium that allows the formless Absolute to be apprehended with name and form.

In summary, the Upanishadic verse reiterates that the unborn Lord appears to manifest in myriad forms through a divine play of concealment and revelation. Some realized souls remain absorbed in Brahman, while enlightened beings like the Saptarishis incarnate again and again to selflessly uplift humanity through their compassion. All of existence is an expression of the one Brahman, and living beings are reflections of this eternal reality. The Divine is ever-accessible within our own hearts as the inner witness. Through these profound teachings, the verse synthesizes key Upanishadic concepts.

The teacher shares eloquent examples and stories to provide insight into the mystical ideas expressed in compact form in the ancient verse. By elaborating on the esoteric concepts, the talk helps reveal the deeper philosophical meaning and contemporary relevance of the profound metaphysical truths encoded in the sacred Purusha Suktam.

== Detailed Transcript ==
We are enjoying the Purusha Suktam. In our last classes, we have seen the second rick if we count it after 18th or 20th rick if we count it as a separate appendix. This is called Uttara Narayana. Purusha Suktam really ends with the 18th rick. But six more were added to it, giving a sort of summary, which is not bad because the more we study, the better we understand, and every scripture has got tremendous power. This is called Satsangatya, Scriptural Sangatya, Shastra Sangatya. The more we study, they are not like ordinary books. They help us to become purer to drive these spiritual ideas and ideals deeper into our minds.

Just as a sample, in the 16th rick and again it is repeated here in the second rick:

VEDA HAME TAM PURUSHAM MAHANTAM

ADITYA VARNAM TAMASAHA PARASTAT

TAMEVAM VIDWAN AMRUTAIHA BHAVATE

NANYA PANTHA VIDYATE AYANAYA

I have realized that Supreme Reality who is glorious, as bright as the sun and who is beyond all darkness. Whosoever knows Him in this way, He is liberated here and now even while living. This was a mantra with which Swami Vivekananda had initiated thousands of people. A very interesting episode in the life of Swamiji. What happened after Swamiji returned from America, he was having a talk with one of his disciples, Sharad Chandra Chakravarthy, and this Chakravarthy asked Swamiji, how many people did you initiate? He said, there is no counting. I have initiated thousands and thousands of people, and the disciple was surprised. So many people were eager, when did you sit and initiate? Swamiji smiled and said, do you think that making a person sit by my side and uttering the mantra secretly alone is the type of initiation that is only done by very few people?

But let us recollect the story of Ramanujacharya. He was initiated into the Astakshari mantra. You remember? Om Namo Narayanaya. And then the Guru told him, you should never ever give it to anybody. And if you ask me, why did he tell? Because if Ramanujacharya starts initiating, he will not get one more disciple there afterwards. Because Ramanujacharya was one of the most charming, what is called magnetic personalities. Even today, we don't remember his Guru. But millions of Vaishnavas remember Ramanujacharya and Madhvacharya. They were all divinely endowed with the divine power, about which we are going to discuss somewhat in the future of this Purusha Suktam.

Now, this Ramanujacharya asked, what happens if I tell it to somebody? Guru said that whoever hears it, he will get mukti, but you yourself will go to hell. Immediately, he said, let us not take it literally. He ran to the top of the temple and started calling. He must have had a powerful voice. And hundreds of people have gathered, said I am going to give you a mantra. Just by hearing it, my Guru told me that you will all go to Vaikuntha. And he uttered this mantra, which he received a short time ago. The Guru heard about it, became extremely angry and annoyed. He asked, why did you do it? Then Ramanujacharya was supposed to have replied, Sir, if I go to hell, I am the only person who will go to hell. But by my uttering this Maha Mantra, if thousands of people can go to Vaikuntha, I will do it not only once, but I will do it thousands of times. This is what Swami Vivekananda exactly repeated verbatim. If I can help even a dog in the street, I am ready to take birth thousands of times. The words are different, but the content is exactly the same. Such people are called Bodhisattvas. They are not happy with their own liberation. But I will come to that point. These scriptures, so many things are there. I will give another illustration.

The entire essence of the Bhagavad Gita lies in the last shloka. That is very well known as Charama Shloka. Charama means the last. But in the Bhagavad Gita, it was not the last. The last was Yatra Yogeshwara Krishna Yatra Partho Dhanur Dharaha Tatra Sreer Vijayo Bhutir Dhruva Neetir Materu Mama. But this is considered with this Bhagavad Gita teaching comes to an end. What is that shloka? Sarva Dharman Parityajya Mamey Kam Sharanam Vraja Aham Tva Sarva Papey Bhiyo Mokshayi Shyami Mahasuchaha. So that is the essence. Ultimately, every yoga makes us fit to surrender ourselves to the divine feet. And that is the only way because any finite being with any amount of finite means can never become the infinite. But our scripture assures us there is absolutely no need to become because according to Advaita, we are already that. Only we need to get rid of the ignorance and ignorance belongs to God. It is a divine ignorance. So only God's grace can destroy this Ajnanam and that is what He said Aham Tva Sarva Papey Bhiyo All sorts of ignorances. Why? Because man commits a sin not deliberately but because of ignorance. This is a tremendous psychological fact we have to realize. Just imagine a person like Hitler who was ready to kill millions of people. Do you think he did it with full understanding? If he only knows all those people are none other but my own self and as a result of it, I am going to be born thousands of times and I am going to suffer endlessly, unimaginably, incomparably. Do you think anybody will do it? Even the most sinful person does a sin only because of Ajnana. Now he may think I am doing it deliberately but thinking I am doing deliberately as we do when I am eating, I think I am doing it by my own decision. When I am talking, when I am sleeping, we think but after God realization we come to know that really speaking we do not exist. He is like a chess player. He is moving all of us. Really speaking, we have no freedom at all. No freedom at all.

So some of these choices to mantras, they are all called mantras. Why are they called mantras? Because there is an etymological meaning of mantra. That is by repeating that which saves us. So by studying, by listening, by addressing each other, they have no delight excepting talking about me, thinking about me, remembering me, meditating upon me, worshipping me, singing about me. Every action of theirs is only so that they can enjoy me in various ways. So that is even just if we can give this wonderful mantra to somebody even while giving a talk etc. like Ramanuja, like Swami Vivekananda, then that also becomes initiation. After all, what is initiation? Making the other person enthusiastic about progress in spiritual life, turning a person's life. That is called initiation. If that change does not take place, it is not an initiation. It is mere verbal expression. That's all. So coming back to the subject, what happened? Swami Vivekananda, how many times he uttered this particular mantra, this 16th or 20th? Vedaham etam purusham mahantam. A little bit different is there from the Shweta Shwetra Upanishad. Shunvantu vishwe amrutasya putrah. Each one of us is an amruta putrah. Aye dhamani divyanithastu. Even those who are living in higher worlds called swargaloka etc. because living in swargaloka is like staying in a costly hotel. Nothing more than that. But they are ignorant. Perhaps more ignorant than even most of us because they also commit sins. In the Puranas, it is graphically described how many times Indra had come down and then did what even a decent human being will not do. So even hearing this, it is an initiation because by hearing Swamiji, thousands of people got light in their lives. What to do when they did not know what to do? They came to know what to do, how to do about it. That much introduction I wanted to give. So any number of repetitions are absolutely fine. That's why there is a Brahma Sutra which tells beautifully avrutti rasakrut upadesha achya. It has been commanded to us. Avrutti means repeat. Japa is repeat. Remember God again and again and again until it becomes a habit. Until we never forget God, then japa becomes a continuous dhyana. So repeating the scriptures. That is why some people say, oh whatever you told us in the last class in the Upanishad, that is the same. We are hearing it. So really one Upanishad is enough. Even one Upanishad is not necessary. One particular mantra or one particular word that is more than sufficient. I'll give a small beautiful example. When we meet, Hindus meet each other, we say namaha. That means I salute you, I salute you. While folding our hands and bending our head a little, say namaste, namaha. This is considered as a salutation. Actually it is not a salutation. So in the Mahabharata, there is a beautiful explanation. There are two words. One word consists of two letters. Another word consists of three letters. The word which is having two letters that is going to bind us and take us deeper into samsara. It starts with Navami and becomes more clean on Dashami and absolutely clean on Ekadashi. So they take a boat and they take some pots, go to the mid river and that day, the water will be the purest we can get. And then Swami Brahmanandji himself went. He himself was carrying a pot of water for worship in Sri Ramakrishna. He was coming through that Mutt building. One can go to the Ganges. So he went and he was coming. At that time, before that time, Swamiji and others were talking and the topic turned to Brahman. And slowly, Swamiji was getting absorbed. He was talking and then as soon as Swami Premananda, he just entered into the end of the building. From there, he could clearly hear Swamiji's excited voice. He was coming near and Swamiji entered into the highest state and he started shouting, Brahman, where do you want to see Brahman? Where are you searching for Brahman? Here, here, here is Brahman. And he fell silent. Swami Premananda, he went into Samadhi with the full Ganges pot on his shoulders. All the direct disciples, they went into Samadhi. The devotees, they could not enter into Samadhi, but their minds were lifted to a very great height. 15 minutes passed nearly and then Swamiji's mind came down. He saw everything, he understood, said, all right, now you can go. As soon as these words came out of Swamiji's mouth, Swami Premananda's mind came down. So he went to the shrine room, which was at that time in the building. If you have seen Ellore Mutt, there is a room where Mahapurushji's photo and some of his belongings are kept. That is by the side of the old shrine of Sri Ramakrishna, where so many marvelous things have taken place.

Swami Vivekananda initiated many devotees into Mantra and Brahmacharya, and into Sanyasa, among other things, in that room. Remember, the new temple at Belur Mutt was completed much later, only in 1938, just before the passing of Swami Vignanandaji Maharaj. This demonstrates the profound impact of these great individuals. Where is Brahman? Here is Brahman. This means that they saw Brahman everywhere. If someone like Swami Vivekananda could perceive Brahman, what about Vishnu? Sarvam Vishnumayam Jagat. Sarvam Shivamayam Jagat. In the eyes of Shiva, there is no distinction between astika (believers) and nastika (non-believers). He himself manifests with Nama Rupa (name and form) everywhere. However, he resolved to create a place where everyone could attain mukti (liberation) through death, ending the cycle of rebirth. Of course, this is a matter of faith. We cannot navigate life without faith in the scriptures. Sri Ramakrishna confirmed it through his visions, and Swami Vivekananda and every direct disciple affirmed it. This is why Swami Turiyanandaji and Swami Advaitanandaji decided to go to Varanasi. Why did they go? If they didn't, do you think they would not attain mukti? No, because in the Narada Bhakti Sutras, it is mentioned that when a person attains God realization, they feel the urge to go on pilgrimage. Why do they do this? Previously, they went on pilgrimages to gain spiritual benefits, but after realization, they feel compelled to contribute and uplift others with their presence. As I have mentioned before, there is a belief that Varanasi will never be without at least three to four jivanmuktas (liberated souls) and thousands of dedicated practitioners engaged in sincere sadhana (spiritual practices). These individuals do not come to advertise themselves as great sadhakas. In the eyes of Shiva, everyone is a manifestation of Shiva. Thus, distinctions such as high, low, valuable, or worthless are irrelevant. We need to comprehend this perspective.

Now, why did this topic come up? Because Prajapati, the same as Shiva, Vishnu, Brahman, Hirat Purusha, and Hiranyagarbha, created the world, as we have discussed. The entire Purusha Sukta explains how Purusha transformed into the world.

The second part is a repetition, summarizing what we discussed earlier. So, what does Prajapati do after creation? He enters into every living being. In what form? In what we refer to as inert objects like stones, where there is no Prana (life force), he manifests only as Asti (existence). Bhati (knowledge) and Priya (bliss) are present but not manifest. However, in every living being, Sat (existence), Chit (knowledge), and Ananda (bliss) are manifested. This is what the first part of the first half of the sentence, comprising two lines, conveys. In the first quarter, Prajapati refers to Brahman himself, who enters into creation. This has significant implications, which I would like to discuss. First, let me complete the word meanings. The second part of the first line is crucial. One infinite being, who can never be born, appears as if born in billions of creatures, both living and non-living. This means that creation is nothing but Brahman. The body is Brahman, the mind is Brahman, and the Jiva (individual soul) is none other than Brahman. We are discussing Jiva Roopena Sarvasya Antah Garbhe Prajapati Charati. Prajapati moves within his Garbha (womb), not in the sense of a woman becoming pregnant, but in the sense of nourishing a baby. Just as within each of us, the potential for divinity is always present and never absent. Ajaya Manaha (God is beyond birth), whereas Jaya Manaha (that which can be born) refers to limited things that can move and change shape. A baby is essentially a Jiva with body and mind, and both body and mind are subject to change. Just like two particles coming together, they mix and eventually become cells, growing into a fetus, developing physical characteristics based on the genetic makeup of the parents. Ajaya Manaha, in contrast to limited things, remains unchanged. Limited things move from place to place and change form.

A baby is nothing but a Jiva with a body and mind. The body and mind are changeful; therefore, they can start just like two atoms, two particles. They mix, meet, and slowly we call them cells, and they start growing. They become two, one from the father and one from the mother, only one cell from each. They join together, and then they start splitting, becoming multi-celled, and slowly the fetus is formed. Then it develops peculiarities like the color of the skin, hair, the shape of the nose, eyes, and ears because the body takes the form of the parents. So that is how Ajaya Manaha Bahudaha Vijayate; so the baby is born. Tasya Dheeraha Parijananti Yonim.

But there are people who, after millions of births, become highly evolved human beings, not merely human beings whom we call Brahmanas. What happens? That Yonim, and these people, they are called Dheeras. Dhe means buddhi, and buddhi means the capacity to understand rightly. They become Dheeras, and their understanding is absolutely right. They are full of Sattva Guna. As soon as that comes, they want Pariksha Lokan Karma Chito Brahmanaha. So Brahmanas, as Brihadaranyaka Upanishad puts it so beautifully, having examined our state of Samsara, they say we've had enough of it; we don't want anything. So Uthaya, they get up. That means like Yajnavalkya, they take to another type of life. First, they become Vanaprasthis, then they attain to Sanyasa Ashrama. So Satheeraha, such people alone deserve the name Dheeraha. But if somebody is, so many people are named Dheeran. Dheeran means just like Karnataka, they call the owner of the land Buddhi. Buddhi means intelligence in front. When they go a little bit further, they call him Buddhi Hina. Buddhi La, like that they call him. Parijananti, they realize. What did they realize? Where did the plant come from? Where did the mosquito come from? Where did the living and non-living, everything come from? Yonim. Yonim means the original cause from which everything has become manifest. What is that? Brahman. What is this Yoni? Brahma. In Bhagavad Gita also, Brahma is the Yoni, and I am the Purusha who enlivens, gives my seed. That means through Brahma, I am manifesting myself as this entire world.

So these people realize that each soul is potentially divine, and with that realization, they do Sadhana. They realize, they go to a Guru. The Guru tells them Tattvamasi, a practice, and then they confirm it, Aham Brahmasmi, and they don't stop there. Sarvam Kalvidam Brahma. The fourth part of this, the fourth half of the second line, tells us something marvelous. Marichina, Sachi, Dheeras, what do they do? Marichinam Padam Ikshanti Vedasaha. Vedasaha means Brahma. What does Brahma do? He not only creates but is also a protector: Srishti, Sthithi, Inasha. So this Brahma, if the same being is creating, he goes by the name of Brahma. If he is protecting, he goes by the name Vishnu. And if he is recycling, he is not the Lord of death. He is a recycler. That means he gives a new dress like every parent gives a new dress to a baby whose dress has become old or holy. Vedasaha, what do they want? Marichinam Padam Ikshanti. Some of them, some of the realized souls, desire this. What do they desire? May we become like these Rishis, like Saptarishis, like Marichi. Marichi, Atri, etc. I will come to that. These were great souls. After realization, what did they do? They did not want to merge in Brahma. What was their desire? Well, we have realized God. We know what tremendous joy and fulfillment there is. Most people on Earth are ignorant of this fact. So let us go and do good to the world. In Buddhist literature, these are called Bodhisattvas, reflecting the same idea. They became Buddhas. After becoming Buddhas, enlightened people, awakened people, what do they do? They want to do good to the world. So they don't want to become merged. Even Buddha did not want to merge. After realization, it is said in Buddhist literature that after Mahaparinirvana, he went on dancing around the Bodhi tree for nearly 14 days. Then Brahma appeared and said, "Don't give up the body. I know you are thinking of merging in Brahman, but you will have to tell about your realization and help people who are struggling on this Earth." Buddha seems to have replied, "But who wants my teaching?" Then Brahma said, "It is true. Most people don't want it, but a few people are there. They are like blind people, unable to find the right way. But when they come to hear your teaching, then they are going to get a light. For them, you have to preach." Buddha accepted it and lived for nearly 80 years. It is a marvelous story. The very story of Buddha is so inspiring that Swami Vivekananda used to say he was the greatest Karma Yogin. He was ready to give up his life even to save one little lamb. Many of you may recollect that story.

Buddha was once wandering, and he saw thousands of goats, including small kids, happily munching on a little grass. Buddha was shocked. "Where are you taking all these?" "Oh, don't you know? Our King is performing a great Yajna, and these goats will be sacrificed, thousands and thousands." Buddha's heart melted in pity. He asked, "What kind of worship is that? Does God really require all these things?" "What will you gain?" "Oh, if I can sacrifice one kid, I will get so much Punya." Buddha said, "If a kid can give you so much merit by sacrificing me, you will get a thousand times more. So you let this kid go, and you take me. I am prepared to sacrifice my life." This is called the Bodhisattva ideal. Swami Vivekananda looks like Buddha; look at him in his meditation pose and put a Buddha's image. Most of the Buddha's images are in a meditative posture. Even the facial features resemble Buddha because it is the same soul. There is no separate Buddha, separate Saptarshi, etc. They are the same Bodhisattvas. There are two types of Sadhakas. One type of Sadhaka is more than satisfied if they can achieve God realization and obtain Mukti, and then they will never come back. But there are others who say, "We are not happy with merely attaining it ourselves. There are billions of people who are suffering. So let us live, even suffer." These are called Jeevan Muktas. They voluntarily undergo a lot of suffering. Just imagine how much suffering Sai Ram Krishna had to go through with that throat cancer. The heart-rending scenes that we get through M's description of what happened during the last days. Just a few things Swami Prabhanandaji had collected and published in the last days of Sai Ram Krishna. But there are even more volumes that have not been published. It should have formed an extension of the Gospel of Sai Ram Krishna that we know. But the fifth volume, proof-ready to go to press, was done by M, and two days later he passed away. Mahapurusha Maharaj was still alive at that time, and still, so many volumes which he noted down. How many marvelous things were noted down. None of us know about it. This is a very sad story, but it is Sai Ram Krishna's will. Nothing can be done. Holy Mother confirmed it and said, "When M had doubt about what he was doing, trying to transcribe all these short notes," Holy Mother had said, "Baba, at one time He kept all these things with you, and now the time has come by His... He wants them to come out. You are doing the right thing, and they are none other than Sai Ram Krishna's words." That is why M had said that he had never added a single word to what he remembered. His power of memory was tremendous. For 15 years, he was writing a diary, and he used to write useless things. When it was the time, he questioned himself, "Why am I writing this?" "What is the need for me to do this?" And then he understood. When he met Sai Ram Krishna, the whole purpose became clear. He was specially chosen, like Vedavyasa had chosen Ganesha for writing his Mahabharata, etc. So M was specially brought for that.

Next time when Sri Ram Krishna comes, he will bring not only a stenographer but also a choreographer with all these latest AI-aided videograph technology, etc. That is what is going to happen next time, hopefully. I don't know. Hopefully, we will not be there by that time, especially those who are living in Varanasi. So these great souls, having realized Brahman, have become Brahman Gnanis. As I said, there are two types of people. Some people are satisfied with their own Mukti, but some people want to help others. That means the dominating thought, the Samskara of helping others did not come after realization. These people were leading that kind of life even before that because this impulse doesn't come suddenly. Only when this impulse becomes too much, a wholehearted prayer comes, "O Lord, you have been gracious enough to give us this knowledge, but let me serve you." Many times, these are called Ishwara Kotis, these are called Saptarshis, and this business of the Saptarshis, they live in a state where it is said funnily, they are neither free nor bound. What does it mean? It means voluntarily they are bound, and every time one of these Rishis will come down, and that is called a Manvantara. As if one Rishi dominates the world and guides the world according to the Divine Will. Their will is never separate from God's Will. So that unborn Brahman, that infinite Brahman, has as if become an infinite number of finite things, as if Ajaya Manaha Kauda Vijayate.

I will discuss this further because I told you this is a most marvelous Rig. Now what is it? Is it really God born? We are also questioning the same thing in the Aitareya Upanishad. Can the infinite ever become finite? Can the limitless, can the Poorna ever become a Poorna? This has been beautifully expressed in that Shanti Mantra: "Poornamadaha Poornamidham." Whenever we recite Ishavasya Upanishad or Brihadaranyika Upanishad, we have to chant that particular peace mantra: "Poornamadaha Poornamidham Poornat Poornamudakshate Poornasya Poornamadaya Poornam eva avasishyate." That Brahman is infinite, and this world is also infinite. How come this infinite world is only a manifestation of that original Brahman who is infinite? Even though the infinite has been taken out of the infinite, the infinite remains ever infinite: "Poornam eva avasishyate."

Prajapati Charatigarbhe Antaha. Everything in this world, living as well as non-living, is none other than Brahman and Prajapati. But in living beings, He works like Chidabhasa and is called Jivatma. To make it further clear, Ajaya Manaha Bahudha Vijayate. Because the truth is He can never be born as if He is born. That's what Shankaracharya starts his Gita Bhashyam: "Jayate eva." An incarnation as if. As if He is born. Now, this is what is called having created, Bhagawan enters into these bodies and minds, that is the body-mind complex. And afterward, will be known as Jiva. It is called Pravesha Shruti. Especially in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, it is called Shruti, which means Upanishadic teaching. What is that Upanishadic teaching? It is called Pravesha Shruti. Pravesha Shruti means entering. It is being said as if Prajapati Antah Garbhe Charati. As if He enters into every being having created them. First, created how a person builds a house and lives outside until the house is complete and equipped, everything is ready to be lived in, and then, auspiciously, he fixes, perhaps inviting some Swamis or even PM Modi himself if you pay enough money. This man ceremoniously enters into that house. Is it like that? Because the infinite, where is the place He is not? So that He can enter. Entering is possible only when somebody is not there, where it is empty, where I am not. Then only I can enter, you can enter, anybody can enter. But Brahman is everywhere. Where is the question of entering? What is the meaning of Pravesha then? Shankaracharya gives a huge commentary, one of the most brilliant commentaries in the world. But he himself summarizes it. Do you know what he says? Shri Ram Krishna summarizes this. A zamindar has a big house and a huge estate. He can be found anywhere, he can go hundreds of miles on a horse carriage, in a car, a big landlord owning hundreds of acres, especially in the west nowadays. Thousands of acres are managed with a few tractors and modern agricultural machines. But this zamindar will be everywhere, but most of the time he is found in a drawing room, which is called a visitor's room where anyone who wants to have some business with him, whether it is taking something or giving something, etc., they will have to meet him there. It is called a meeting room. So he can be anywhere, but he will mostly be found in that meeting room. This is what Shankaracharya wants to convey to us. Bhagawan is available in each one of us. Where do you want to see God? You go to Kashi. I am inside you. He is there inside the heart. What does it mean? It doesn't mean physically He is entering it. This is a place to realize God. Our buddhi will be able to realize, think about God, meditate upon God, try to understand, pray, do puja, worship, etc. We have to do it under that particular location. It is a location-less location called Hridaya Kohara. That is why Jyotira Jyoti Ujjvala Hridi Kandara Tumi Tama Bhanjana Haar. Practically every day, all the devotees of Sri Ramakrishna sing this song. This is an available place where Bhagawan will be much more present, much more available. That is the meaning of entrance. This is called Pravesha Shruti. I wish I could talk about it more elaborately, but maybe on some other occasion, I will talk about it in a more elaborate way. But for today, this is the meaning: even though that birthless being is manifesting with various names and forms, for that to understand, Shruti itself gives an example. Suppose you are in a room with a hundred mirrors in a big hall, and you are standing in the middle of the hall; you will see a hundred reflections of yourself. So every Jivatma is a reflection. That is why he is aptly named as Chit Abhasa. Abhasa means reflection. If there is a sun and a mirror, and the sunlight falls on the mirror, and if you put it at a particular angle and direct it towards a darkened room, the sunlight directly cannot enter, but it can give that same sunlight effect through the help of the mirror. I believe in Japan, where the sun is a small place, they have multi-storied buildings because the land is very small, but they have found a way that when the daytime comes, sunlight can be reflected into every single room, however many floors it may be, with the clever arrangement of mirrors. One mirror reflects the sun into the other mirror, and it goes to one room, and another mirror reflects it into another room. Every single room in that building is lit up directly from the sunlight. So every Jivatma is none other than Paramatma but in the form of Abhasa. Then the question comes, what is the mirror? The mirror is the mind. There are other points we will talk about, but here, what I wanted to tell is that the root cause of this entire universe is that Paramatma, and some people, they have realized it through Shravana, Manana, and Nidhidhyasana, and such people are well-equipped. They have become Adhikaris. Such people are called Dheeraha. What do they do? Parijananti. They have realized it. Parijananti means completely knowing. They know it completely without the least bit of any defect. What do they know? Yoni. Yoni means that uncaused cause, Parabrahman. They know it very well. As I mentioned, there are two types of people. Some people know Brahman and become one with Brahman, and they don't want to be alive, and after 21 days, their bodies fall off like dried leaves. But there are some people, few people, they are called Bodhisattvas, and they want to do good to the world, but that tendency, that desire did not come after realization, but they were kind people. Here also, if you open your eyes, you can see everywhere that among people whom we know, anybody knows, there are people who are of a helpful nature, a little bit unselfish. They want others also to enjoy, and this is mostly manifest even though selfishly in parents. They want to give the best thing to their children, but that quality of that mother's love, father's love, that is being helped here. What do they want? Marichinam padam ichchanti vedasaha. Vedasaha means that creators, having created, let me, I am like a mother, I created. Let me look after all these people and let me do good as long as possible. These are called Bodhisattvas. There are a few people who desire. So what do they desire? Let me be like Marichi, etc. Rishis so that I can do good as long as God permits me. This is the meaning of it. Some people, having known that unborn Brahman, some people become liberated, other people after liberation want to help other people. So they intensely desire, pray, "Lord, permit us to help other human beings." Such people are avataras, ishwarakotis, acharyas, etc. and there are other meanings also. We will talk about it in our next class.

<blockquote>Note: The lecture transcript was edited for grammar and punctuations using artificial intelligence, so it may contain inaccuracies. The summarization is provided for informational purposes only, and the original audio lecture should be referenced for complete accuracy. Viewers should use discretion when citing any summarized content edited by AI.</blockquote>
[[Category:Purusha Suktam]]

Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 096 on 26-September-2023

2023-10-09T00:26:49Z

Kirandevaram: /* Detailed Transcript */ Note updated

== Summary ==
The lecture begins on a conversation between Sri Ramakrishna and his devotees about the benefit of holy company. Sri Ramakrishna explains that being in the company of holy people, gurus, scriptures etc. helps one cultivate discrimination between the real and the unreal. He gives the example of a woman husking rice - even though she is talking and doing multiple tasks, her primary focus remains on the pestle so her hands don't get injured. Similarly, being in holy company helps focus the mind on God and spiritual truths.

A neighbor then asks why God creates people with sinful tendencies. Sri Ramakrishna explains that God has created both good and bad people as part of His divine play. He says sinful actions bring their own results, just like chewing chili will burn your tongue. He gives the example of his devotee Madhur, who lived an uncontrolled life and suffered from diseases before his early death. Sri Ramakrishna says passions like lust, anger and greed should be conquered. He points out that even someone with intense desire like Hanuman trembled with fear when he thought Sitā might be harmed by the fire he had set in Lanka.

The lecture then returns to the question of why God created wicked people and evil. Sri Ramakrishna answers that the person is divine but qualities like wickedness are part of God's māyā. He explains there is darkness and ignorance as well as light and knowledge in this world. Anger, lust and greed are evils but they are needed to create saints who conquer them. Lust perpetuates creation but can be transformed into divine love for God. Wicked people have a role to play in God's creation, just as an unruly estate needed a harsh manager to control the tenants.

Sri Ramakrishna goes on to explain that a person's tendencies come from past actions and samskaras developed over many lifetimes. But God has also given man the power of discrimination and free will to choose how to act. So each person is responsible for their own sins, not God. Spiritual practice helps overcome sinful tendencies by developing virtuous samskaras. With God's grace, even a wicked person can become a saint by conquering their negative passions.

The lecture concludes by explaining that the root desire underlying all karma is the longing to rediscover one's own divine nature, which has been forgotten. The mind's restlessness is truly a search for God. All worldly desires are expressions of the basic urge to experience infinite and unbroken bliss, which only comes from realizing one's eternal identity with Brahman. Attachment to sense objects is really attachment to the happiness they provoke. When this desire is directed toward God, it transforms into sublime love and devotion.

So in summary, the passage emphasizes practicing discrimination, conquering negative tendencies through spiritual discipline, recognizing the divine essence in all people, and transforming worldly desires into selfless love of God as the path to saintliness, even for those with wicked natures. Evil and ignorance have their place in God's creation but the human goal is to transcend them by realizing the Atman is Brahman.

== Detailed Transcript ==

Sunday, April 9, 1882. Sri Ramakrishna was seated with his devotees in the drawing room of Pranakrishna Mukherjee's house in Calcutta. It was between one and two o'clock in the afternoon. The topic was: What is the benefit of holy company? Sri Ramakrishna's first commandment is, "God Realization is the only goal of life." But what is the way? So the second commandment is: always cultivate holy company. And this is what Sri Ramakrishna was emphasizing and would be emphasizing again and again. So what do we get? What is the benefit we get from holy company? Sri Ramakrishna used to give many examples observed from village life in those days. Nowadays, when we try to find out by reading those examples, sometimes we find it challenging because living in cities, we rarely get such sights that were an everyday, common affair in every village. For example, how careful one has to be while living in this world. Sri Ramakrishna gives examples from those days when practically every household used to husk their grain. They would cultivate or buy and bring the rice with husk, paddy, and then husk it themselves. I used to see in my village that practically everybody had a need for many things, like masala powder, chili powder, husking grains, etc. So, there would be a woman who had the business of selling and also husking and selling. She would continuously be engaged in husking the paddy. Sometimes, even in those days, they had invented some mechanical things. So, previously, somebody, a second person, used to put one big iron rod, but later on, they made it a bit more mechanical. Sri Ramakrishna observed it and he is telling all of us how careful this woman is. 99% of her mind is on her hand because she has to continuously shift the paddy from one side to the other side. And every time, if this iron rod falls upon her hands, then injury will occur, severe injury will occur, and she won't be able to do it. But at the same time, she is talking with the customers, bargaining with them, and scolding somebody. "You have not given for the last few times. You have been promising. Now you must give, and you owe me so much." Everything is in her head. So, she is doing all of this, and at the same time, maybe she has a baby, and she is suckling the baby, multitasking. But all the time, most of her mind is on her hand, lest a pestle can come and injure her. What a marvelous example we are seeing here. Like this, many kinds of examples are there. Then, somebody told him that there was a popular saying also, that when a wasp stings a small insect, this is called "Kirta Bhramara Nyaya." Then, it is so painful for the worm that the worm itself will turn into a butterfly. So, immediately, Sri Ramakrishna finds out, this is not a scientific fact, but if we casually observe it, then we can see that there is something there, and it is strung, and then it becomes immobile, and after some time, many butterflies will come out, baby wasps will come out, etc. So, what is it? By continuously being in holy company, one must become holy. There is no choice, and that is what we are seeing in our day-to-day life. I will give you only one example. There are so many newspapers and news channels nowadays, and because of the presentation, because of the beauty of the person who is presenting, some kind of magnetic attraction, we are likely to be addicted to see one particular channel and then go on listening to that person. After some time, we lose all power of discrimination. Even the capacity to inquire is lost. Is it a fact? Is it true? Or is it her own honest interpretation? Or is it a twisted interpretation? She has got some selfishness, some motive. Then my party should appear in a better light, etc. And people go on thinking, "This is what is called Parama Veda, this is gospel truth," as they call it. And then our opinions, our hatreds, our friendships, our admiration, this is how we are caught. In the household also, this is how we are caught. "This is my son." If only we knew what this fellow's son has done in the past life to us, or what we did to that son in the past life. Why is he born? So something we have done wrong. And then when we come back, now karma phala has to be exhausted. So maybe that person whom we have tortured has now taken birth in our own family because something very peculiar happens. If somebody is torturing us from the neighborhood, we can protest, we can quarrel, we can beat. But if our own children are torturing us, now our tongues are completely tied because of what we call attachment. And at the same time, a person will be torturing us. How many ways, how many billions of people are suffering? Either one way or the other. Especially so many young people are addicted to drinks, to drugs. In my own life, I have seen so many. Our own devotees, children, they have no devotion. They are addicted to something very bad. Now the agony that the parents go through, it must be due to karma phala only. So this is what Sri Ramakrishna is telling. What does holy company do? We become holy. Just as in the company of a wasp, an insect is turned into a wasp. That is one type of example. Then by the company of people, all the time, how much we are influenced. If somebody whom we love goes on telling, many times what happens is even at the beginning, we may have discrimination. Later on, while going on reading or listening, etc., we take it for granted that the person is telling the truth, and we come to believe that is the truth. So much after going on eating every day, even bitter things, we develop an attachment, a taste. That is what Sri Ramakrishna wants to tell. It helps one cultivate discrimination between the real and the unreal. In the past also, we have seen what is discrimination. One of the very first qualities a person has to acquire in order to progress in life, secular or spiritual, worldly or spiritual life, is called discrimination. What is discrimination? What is desirable? What is not desirable? What is not only not desirable, but what is most harmful? That sense of separating one from the other is the very first step, the first condition to be happy in this world. Even if we want to be healthy, we have to find out. This kind of lifestyle is not good for us. This type of food is not good for us. This quantity is more than enough for me, etc. So, the discrimination between the real and the unreal. What is real? Sri Ramakrishna said many times, "God alone is real. Everything else is unreal." Now, what does Sri Ramakrishna mean by real and unreal? Whatever we are experiencing in this world is very real. Why? How do we know what is real? There must be a definition. Supposing somebody shows you a plastic cobra. And then you can see clearly, it looks like a cobra. And it may even move and hiss and unfurl its hood through some mechanism. But we know it doesn't have life. It doesn't have poison. It becomes a wonderful plaything. In our childhood, we used to play with a kind of plastic or rubber material. So, it has a string. And when we try to pull that string, this snake-like thing, it wriggles and moves. So, that is a great fun for us. "I am the master of the snake. I am not frightened of the snake," etc. So, when we come to know that this is a plastic snake, we are not frightened. We don't react. But when we see any snake, it may be a water snake. It is not at all poisonous. There are so many snakes which are not poisonous at all. But we don't know the discrimination, poisonous or not. Many creatures get frightened. Even animals get frightened. By experience, even though they might not have experience, somehow from their parents, they get this instinctual fear. But when we see a real snake, automatically we react. So, our reaction tells us what we consider to be real. Because we will never react to something what we think we know as unreal. So, do we know anything about God? No. Do we know anything about the world? Sadly, the answer is no. We see the world. We are in the world. We are the world. Our body is the world. Our mind is the world. Every day, we are either happy (that is the world) or unhappy (that is the world). But we think it is real. What does the scripture say? "God alone is real, and this world is unreal." That is to say, transitory or temporary. As soon as a man finds his mind wandering away to the unreal, he should apply discrimination. The moment an elephant stretches out its trunk to eat a plantain tree in a neighbor's garden, it gets a blow from the iron goad of the driver. Very funny example, because if anybody has cows, sometimes cows, sometimes buffaloes, what do we do? The moment any cow stretches out its mouth to eat plantain or any fruit from the neighbor's garden, we just look away. But if the same cow stretches to do the same thing in our garden, we give it a blow. This is ungentlemanly behavior. This is what is being said here. Sri Ramakrishna is telling the opposite. A good man never allows anything to be done, any unjustified act to be done to others because the person is highly truthful. And Sri Ramakrishna is also connecting. A person who is not truthful can never be practicing discrimination. It is impossible. So this is one of the benefits of holy company. And Sri Ramakrishna used to tell, holy company specially means company of one's own Guru. And Sri Ramakrishna had observed many times. In the olden times, there will be what we call a carpenter who teaches his own children or somebody who is from the neighbor. And an Ayurvedic physician, he will be passing his secrets to his family or sometimes to some others also. So there was a person who can trade in threads. And the threads are counted 38, 39, 40, 41. The distinction between them is extremely subtle. So Sri Ramakrishna used to give that example that after living many, many years, a person acquires that power. This is the 40 number thread. This is 41 number thread. Similarly, a person wants to learn Ayurvedic medicine and he becomes a novice under somebody. And then the master teaches him how to feel the pulse. The pulse of phlegm, pulse of Kapha, Vata, Pitta, everything is totally different because there are, there were, especially expert Ayurvedic physicians by just taking the pulse, they can, it is said, even predict whether the patient is going to recover or not. So continuous, constant, holy company is necessary as we discussed many times. Holy company doesn't mean only a person. It could be a book. It could be a talk like our Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. It could be a holy place. It could be any incident in life, especially tragic incidents in life. They are the greatest holy company and tragedies happen everywhere. That should remind us that this is common. If I am in Samsara, this is going to happen all the time. And now comes the second most important point. This question practically every day rises up in our mind. What is the subject? Explanation of evil. Why is this? Rarely people ask about God. Only a few times they ask. But they also have doubt about God because if God is real, why should there be evil in this world? Not understanding the very nature of this world, it consists of duality: heat and cold, good and evil, victory and defeat, respect and humiliation, victory and defeat, life and death. Everything comes only, male and female in pair and absence of the knowledge of one will be absence of the knowledge of the other also. If we don't know what is cold, we will never know what is called heat also. So here is a neighbor asking, and why do we ask? When do we remember God?

There is a popular saying: "Sankata Kaale Venkata Ramana." So many times, we have to ask the question, "How come that I am happy? What brought me this happiness?" That should be the real question because we should be humble enough to say, "I did not deserve it, but I got it, so somebody must be very kind to me." But at least, if not that, we should ask both times. But usually, we ask the question, "Why am I suffering? Nobody asks the question, "Why am I so happy? What right does God have to make me so happy?" Except perhaps people like Kunti Devi. She says, "O Lord, you always surround us with problems, hardship, suffering. Why?" Because we remember God only at times of suffering.

So here is the question, why does a man have sinful tendencies? A useless type of question, really speaking. Why does this fellow have a habit of reading books? Why is he reading? Why does he have the habit of? What do you mean by habit? Habit means what? A person goes on doing, repeating the same thing again and again and again; that becomes a habit. So, a tendency is what we call in Vedanta Samskaras. Whether they are good Samskaras or evil Samskaras, Samskara is something which we develop through repeated experience. That is why South Indians like South Indian food. Why do they like it? Because they have been repeating that experience ever since they were in the womb of the mother. I don't know if a mother eats Masala Vada whether the child also gets a little bit of taste of it and gets addicted. Probably not. But whatever we are habituated to from childhood seems to be what gives us pleasure, actually. So many points, many times I had discussed; you have to do a lot of Mananam also. I know you do Shravanam, but whether you are doing Mananam, that is a point we have to also keep in mind.

So, we are there with sinful tendencies. The simple answer is the man had assiduously, consciously, and cultivated them through many, many lifetimes—stealing, telling lies, cheating others, etc.

So, Sri Ram Krishna is replying, in God's creation, there are all sorts of things. He has created bad men as well as good men. This is the greatness of Vedanta. Hinduism, Hindu Dharma, at first glance, reading it may not appear to be anything strange. God created everybody. But if you go to other religions, they ask, "Who created evil? Saturn created." But they don't ask further questions. "Who created Saturn?" Because there cannot be two Gods. One is the creator of good, and another is the creator of evil. According to Hinduism, everything, whether it is a good person, a bad person, whether they are Gods or demons (Devas, Asuras, Rakshasas, Chinese President, Hitler, and so many other people you see in the newspapers), distorts our opinion. Most of the people in the West, especially leaders, they are... When we were children, we used to read Chandra Mama stories—Rakshasas come, kidnap people, and sometimes eat them up, sometimes imprison them, etc. So these are the people; really great, good political leader is rarely available. Perhaps once in a while, like Abraham Lincoln, maybe available like Mahatma Gandhi may be available, but rarely. But what happens? There are some people who have got this, what is called propaganda machines, like newspapers, and these people are the masters, and they twist everybody's mind. We are democratic people; we are very good people; we want justice; we don't want inequality. What is happening in their own backyard, they completely neglect? Democracy is going on all the time, practically all over the world, but if any country is trying to do its best to bring about true democracy, then everybody becomes its enemies, probably out of jealousy. When I am not able to do this, how are you able to do this?

Anyway, who created good people? Only God. Who creates evil people? Only God. Now the wonderful thing is we have to distinguish between person and quality. A person is not quality; quality is not a person, but they come together. For example, there is a beautiful saying that every sinner is a future saint, and every saint was a sinner in the past, something like that. So, nobody has ever fallen from the sky either as a saint or as a sinner. Very, very important for all of us to understand this. So who created God? But as we have been discussing in Aitareya Upanishad and other Upanishads, what is this creation? It is not I or you or anybody; God only is manifesting as each one of us. We, as separated from God, as distinguished from God, we do not have any existence at all. But such is the Mahamaya, as if God has forgotten and thinking himself as a human being. "I am separate from God." So, it is God only who has created a good man as well as a bad man. Now, that is where the doubts come. Let me read a little bit.

It is He who gives us good tendencies, and it is He again who gives us evil tendencies. Another doubt will come, and that doubt is being expressed by the same person who put that first question, "Why does a man have sinful tendencies?" And he should have put the question, "Why does a man have good tendencies, meritorious tendencies, punya samskaras?" So the neighbor is asking, "In that case, we are not responsible for our sinful actions, are we?" He is telling, "If God has planted in us, then I am helplessly being carried, influenced, acting, as Duryodhana had said." Very interesting case. We all know Mahabharata and Kurukshetra. It was over 18th day; Duryodhana was lying with his thighs broken, and somebody went and asked him, "Oh prince, you are a very intelligent person. I know, super intelligent. You knew even before if I continue like this, inevitably, inevitably, there would be a war, and in that war, I am going to be destroyed. You knew it, did you not?" Of course, the way I am presenting is not the Mahabharata, but this is what has happened. And then Duryodhana seemed to have replied, "Yes, I knew it." Then why did you not stop? Because you are courting your own destruction. And Duryodhana was supposed to reply, whether he replied or somebody is putting those words in his mouth is not important. Important thing is it is a tremendous lesson for all of us. He said, "I know what is right, what is Dharma. I have no inclination to put it into practice (Janami Adharma). Similarly, I know what is Adharma. I have no willpower to resist." Then he adds, as if somebody is sitting in the heart of my heart and making me do, even though I am helplessly witnessing that this is all happening. That is not true, a great word of wisdom. But what good does it do? Because God also has given some freedom to us to act. Not only he gave us the power of discrimination, he also gave us the power either to go along with it or not to go along with it, that is called willpower. And we can develop that willpower. And if we don't do, we are going to either enjoy or suffer because if we do something good, the inevitable result will be Sukham. Punya gives Sukham, and Papa gives unhappiness. In fact, many times I told you we go to the extent of defining what is Punyam and Papam. Punyam doesn't give, Papam doesn't give. Punyam is the ability to squeeze happiness even under the most unfortunate circumstances. Papam is the marvelous felicity to squeeze unhappiness from even the best circumstances. A person is lying on a water bed and not getting sleep at all. So who gives us these evil tendencies then? God is responsible.

So Ramakrishna's beautiful reply: sin begets its own result; this is again God's law. Won't you burn your tongue if you chew a chili? In his youth, Madhur led a rather fast life, so he suffered from various diseases before his death. Very interesting case. Those who studied the life of Sri Ramakrishna know Madhur Babu looked upon Sri Ramakrishna as his own chosen deity, Mother Kali. This is a contradiction which is so difficult for us to understand. At the same time, he was addicted to women. Not only that, he used to take his Ishta Devata also along with him to the prostitute's house. "Baba, I have got some urgent work to finish; you wait," and then he would go into the house. After half an hour or 45 minutes, he would come back and say, "My work is done; let us go." That means, what? Even the very presence of the Ishta Devata doesn't prevent because of what? Evil tendencies, sinful tendencies, strong negative samskaras are so very difficult but not impossible. That is why in the 6th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna says that it is very, very difficult to control this mind, as difficult as catching hold of the air. And then Bhagavan Krishna also sympathizes, and then he agrees with Arjuna, and he says, "Yes, you are absolutely right. It is very true." But there is something called Abhyasa and Vairagya. " abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa cha gṛihyate " It is possible because, as my mother used to tell, if you have rolled multicolored thread into a ball and you want to get one particular colored thread, now you will have to unroll everything. So, evil tendencies have to be overcome by good tendencies. That's why it takes time. So this is what Ramakrishna is trying to tell, that God has created, no doubt, but God also has given you the power of discrimination. And he doesn't mean that that power should be kept in a box and worshipped; it is not supposed to be rusty; you are supposed to use it, discrimination, that is very important. So, that is what he is trying to tell. One may not realize this in youth. I have looked into the hearth in the kitchen of the Kali temple, and logs are being burnt. At first, the wet wood burns rather well; it doesn't seem then that it contains much moisture. But when the wood is sufficiently burnt, all the moisture runs back to one end; at last, water squirts from the fuel and puts out the fire. So one should be careful about anger, passion, and greed and many other things. But this is very, very interesting, Ramakrishna's word, exact translation from the Bhagavad Gita. Kama, Krodha, and Lobha, that is what exactly Ramakrishna is expressing; anger is Krodha, and Lobha means greed.

Take, for instance, the case of Hanuman. Ramakrishna always quotes with examples. Take the case of Hanuman, Shri Rama sent Hanuman in search of Sita. So, he went there, he saw in Sri Lanka, and then he consoled Sita, said, "Mother, I have got tremendous hunger, after all, crossing fourteen kilometers, flying, and fighting with so many Rakshasas, Rakshasis, it was a really set-breaking work, so I am very hungry." And she went on prolonging the conversation. Instead of asking whether you have eaten or not, at last, then he asked permission, "Can I eat some fruits from here?" She probably did not understand, a small monkey, a few fruits will do. And then he grew to his enormous length and started breaking and swallowing and eating everything. And then there was a fight, and then Ravana's son, Indrajith, he conquered Indra, he pleased Brahma through Tapasya, even Rakshasas do Tapasya. Tapasya means extraordinary concentration of something. And he obtained even Brahmastra. Brahmasastra cannot bind me. But because it is Brahmastra belonging to Brahma, so it will just bind you for a moment, touches, binds you, then it becomes powerless. Then Hanuman was carried, and then he insulted Ravana by creating his own Simhasana by his tail and then abused him in so many ways, and unwarranted advice he gave to Ravana. And then Ravana commanded, "Kill this fellow," and Vibhishana said, "No, no, he is only a representative of China, so you should not kill him. So you should burn his tail." Ravana thought that monkey's tail is the biggest tail, so burn it, and there will be no more monkeys. There will be... What happens when a monkey's tail is burned? He will turn into a monk, and when a monk grows a big tail, he becomes a monkey. So, then they put a lot of cloth, oil, and then he was delightfully, Agni Devata was his greatest benefactor. He says, "Don't worry, nothing happens. Even one hair of your body will not burn." So he started jumping from house to house, but he had tremendous discrimination. He observed Vibhishana, and to his house, he did not put, but to all the neighboring houses, he put them on fire. "Now it passes my poor brain. If all the houses around are burning, how can this one house in the middle escape?" Even today, I can't solve that enigma.

Anyway, then the whole Lanka started burning. In the middle of the Lanka, there was a garden, and in that garden, Sita was there. Suddenly, Hanuman remembered. "Now, Sita will also be burned," and he started burning. His heart started burning. That was what Sri Ramakrishna is referring. At last, he remembered that Sita was living in the Ashoka grove. Then he began to tremble lest the fire should injure her. Lest you may be curious, I am going to complete it. Then he discriminated himself. You see, "I am a monkey, I am a servant of Rama. Agni is not burning me, so that same Agni will never burn Mother Sita because Agni Devata knows who is Rama, who is the boss, and who is the real boss." So he consoled himself. Of course, to make doubly sure that his faith is right before going, coming out of Sri Lanka, so he went to Sita Devi, and then he also takes leave of her. But this is a beautiful example; anger is very bad.

Then the question which we raised: why God has created not only sinful tendencies but tendencies. Tendencies mean what? A tendency is a guna. I mentioned earlier. Very important to understand. A wicked man can become a saint, but a saint will not become a wicked person. If at all a saint misbehaves, then it is because of some strength, some Purva Janma Samskara. But very soon he will come out. But a wicked man will go on evolving. But it is just for us to... If it is any consolation that nobody has become a saint in a day, Purva Janmas like any one of us, every saint has gone through the same problem, but through sadhana, life after life, he has become a saint. Now, we will also become the same saints; there is no doubt about it. And this listening to the gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is one of the best means.

So, a wonderful question, especially nowadays. If you go on listening to the news, we see everywhere wickedness seems to be growing: killing, looting, cheating, scams, trying to grab other people's properties, enslaving other people through whatever means, internet or artificial intelligence, everything seems to be happening now. So, whom did God create? "Wicked people? what we want to understand is wickedness, and wicked people; they are not the same. The person is divine; each soul is potentially divine, and we have a body and mind. Our identity with the body and mind will never be bodies; we will never be minds forever, even in our same conditions, at the same times. I am not the body; I am not the mind at all. So wickedness is a bad quality, whether I would say it is a combination of many bad qualities, because evil qualities come together in a company, and good qualities also come in a gang. So, a wicked person doesn't have only one wicked quality.

One fellow was asked, 'Do you have any bad habits?' and that fellow answered, 'No, I don't have bad habits.' Really? Are you a saint? 'I am not a saint, if you have to say. Occasionally, I chew betel nut.' So that is okay; it is absolutely fine. Do you chew it every day? 'No, no, no, only occasionally.' And what is the occasion? 'Whenever I smoke a cigarette, then I eat betel, this tamal paku, oh, betel leaf.' Then do you have cigarettes? 'No, no, no, whenever I drink a little, then only I have this cigarette.' Oh, do you drink? 'No, no, no, only when I steal something and get some money, then only, like that, all evil qualities come together.' So what is the point I am making? That person and qualities are totally separate; they are separable. And spiritual practice means taking out first of all the bad qualities, acquiring divine or spiritual qualities, and in the course of time, even giving up those good qualities because good qualities bind us, gunas bind us. So this is how we have to grow.

Sri Ramakrishna's answer to this, 'Why has God created wicked people?' Part of the question, 'Why is there evil?' Evil is there because evil quality cannot be separate from an evil person. Quality and person must always be together; that is His will, His play in His maya. There exists avidya as well as vidya; darkness is needed too; it reveals all the more the glory of light. There is no doubt anger, lust, and greed are evils; why then has God created them? In order to create saints, this is the resounding answer.

All these things, it is, how do we know a person is a saint? Because a person is a saint only if he has conquered kama, krodha, loha, moha, mada, matsarya. And then not only that, these very qualities, they become the most positive qualities. We must be angry if something is not allowing us to move towards God. Lust, what is lust? 'I want only God, nothing else.' And what is greed? 'That I will never be satisfied, however much devotion I get or thinking of God, I will never be able to satisfy.' And then say, 'Enough is enough; I want more, I want more, pratikshanam varthamanam; I want to be completely mesmerized only by God.' And then, 'I want to be proud, I am a child of God; I am a devotee of God.' Shankaracharya has kept the ego of knowledge. Narada kept the ego of bhakti, 'I am a servant of God.' Hanuman kept the ego, 'I am a servant of God; I will not serve anybody like that.' So this is how a man becomes a saint, by conquering the senses. Is there anything impossible for a man who has subdued his passions, to even realize God through His grace?

Again, see how His whole play of creation is perpetuated through lust. Is lust only negative? No, it has a very positive quality. If there were to be no lust, there would be no world at all. The whole world will come to an end. And a very interesting story, Bhagwan Narayana created Brahma, commanded him to continue with the creation, and Brahma created four manasa putras: Sanaka, etc., and commanded them to propagate, to expand this samsara. And being manasa putras of Brahma, Brahma Sattvika Sampannas, and they became discriminative and said, 'Our father wants to trap us; let us run away.' They ran away, became monks, never returned. Then Brahma created man and woman, and now the Srishti went on merrily.

So, if there were to be no lust, then there would be no creation at all. But the same lust can also be turned. What is lust? An intense desire to create oneself or to recreate oneself. There are three births of a man. The first birth is in the man in the form of seed, the second birth is the woman, and then, after coming out of the mother's womb also, the third birth will be actually going back. So this very lust, when it is turned to God, it is called Prema. In Bengali, there is a beautiful saying that says, 'That is called Kama; if the desire is for one's own satisfaction of one's own body and mind, selfishness, it is called Kama, lust. But if the same lust is, 'I want to please only Bhagwan Krishna, like Gopis, every Gopi is a Gopi only because they don't want their own happiness; they want only Krishna's happiness.' So this is called Prema. Kama and Prema differ only in the direction. Kama makes us very fit to enter into the spiritual path. This is a very strange thing; a fellow who doesn't have Kama is never going to be a spiritual person; take it from me.

Once a disciple asked Swami Brahmananda, 'I am suffering from this Kama; will you not be able to remove it?' Swami Brahmananda said, 'I will definitely be able to remove it, but my son, know this is the truth: if I remove your desire, then your very desire to live itself will disappear. There is so much psychology; it is because of Kama we are happy; it is because of Kama we are so enthusiastic; it is because of Kama life becomes worth living. It is because of Kama. Ultimately, when this Kama becomes Agni Kama Agni, then nothing in this world can satisfy us. At that time, God gives us that power of understanding; it is only God alone that we are really after. In fact, we are after only God; we are not after any object.

Today's class, I will close with an explanation of this thing, but let me first complete a little bit. A man becomes a saint by conquering the senses. Is there anything impossible for a man who has subdued his passions, to even realize God through His grace? Again, see how His whole play of creation is perpetuated through lust. Wicked people are needed too. At one time, the tenants of an estate became unruly; a landlord had to send one Golak Choudhury, who was a ruffian, a goonda; he was such a harsh administrator that the tenants trembled at the very mention of his name.

This subject about wicked people will be coming in the next class. We will discuss what I wanted to discuss is this: karma has got a tremendous role in our life; it is only because of desire. But everything is perpetuating. Now, most people, most of us, we think that it is this karma which is diverting our mind, which is binding us. But actually, do you know what is karma? It is the desire. What is that desire? Only one desire: 'I have lost; I have forgotten myself; I want to know myself.' This is the only desire, the root cause of everything in this world. How come the mind is restless? One of our swamis, Ashokanandaji, he gave a beautiful talk. The mind is restless only for God. But to be very brief, this is the explanation. You ask a person, 'What is it you are seeking?' 'I want to eat a sweet, for example.' 'Why do you want to eat sweet?' 'Are you after the sweet?' If he is a discriminating person, he will say, 'No, I am not after sweet; I am after the happiness that I am after because I can get happiness by eating the sweet. If the sweet doesn't give happiness, I will not even look at it; it will be abhorrent to me.' So we have only that Ananda.

What type of Ananda? Unbroken Ananda and infinite Ananda; it should be infinite; it should be unbroken, unbroken means eternal. And if we have to be happy, then we have to be alive eternally, and if we have to be eternally happy, we have to know that I am eternity, I am Paramatma. Then Paramatma's happiness, Brahma, by knowing Brahman, what does one become? Brahma Gnanena Brahma Eva Bhavati, Brahma with Brahma Eva Bhavati. This is the real truth. We will explore it in our next class.

Om Jananim Shardam Devi Ramakrishnam Jagat Gurum Pada Padmetayo Shritva Pranamami Mohur Moho. May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna."

<blockquote>Note: The lecture transcript was edited for grammar and punctuations using artificial intelligence, so it may contain inaccuracies. The summarization is provided for informational purposes only, and the original audio lecture should be referenced for complete accuracy. Viewers should use discretion when citing any summarized content edited by AI.</blockquote>
[[Category:Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna]]

Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Lecture 096 on 26-September-2023

2023-10-01T13:33:55Z

Kirandevaram: AI generated summary and editing.

== Summary ==
The lecture begins on a conversation between Sri Ramakrishna and his devotees about the benefit of holy company. Sri Ramakrishna explains that being in the company of holy people, gurus, scriptures etc. helps one cultivate discrimination between the real and the unreal. He gives the example of a woman husking rice - even though she is talking and doing multiple tasks, her primary focus remains on the pestle so her hands don't get injured. Similarly, being in holy company helps focus the mind on God and spiritual truths.

A neighbor then asks why God creates people with sinful tendencies. Sri Ramakrishna explains that God has created both good and bad people as part of His divine play. He says sinful actions bring their own results, just like chewing chili will burn your tongue. He gives the example of his devotee Madhur, who lived an uncontrolled life and suffered from diseases before his early death. Sri Ramakrishna says passions like lust, anger and greed should be conquered. He points out that even someone with intense desire like Hanuman trembled with fear when he thought Sitā might be harmed by the fire he had set in Lanka.

The lecture then returns to the question of why God created wicked people and evil. Sri Ramakrishna answers that the person is divine but qualities like wickedness are part of God's māyā. He explains there is darkness and ignorance as well as light and knowledge in this world. Anger, lust and greed are evils but they are needed to create saints who conquer them. Lust perpetuates creation but can be transformed into divine love for God. Wicked people have a role to play in God's creation, just as an unruly estate needed a harsh manager to control the tenants.

Sri Ramakrishna goes on to explain that a person's tendencies come from past actions and samskaras developed over many lifetimes. But God has also given man the power of discrimination and free will to choose how to act. So each person is responsible for their own sins, not God. Spiritual practice helps overcome sinful tendencies by developing virtuous samskaras. With God's grace, even a wicked person can become a saint by conquering their negative passions.

The lecture concludes by explaining that the root desire underlying all karma is the longing to rediscover one's own divine nature, which has been forgotten. The mind's restlessness is truly a search for God. All worldly desires are expressions of the basic urge to experience infinite and unbroken bliss, which only comes from realizing one's eternal identity with Brahman. Attachment to sense objects is really attachment to the happiness they provoke. When this desire is directed toward God, it transforms into sublime love and devotion.

So in summary, the passage emphasizes practicing discrimination, conquering negative tendencies through spiritual discipline, recognizing the divine essence in all people, and transforming worldly desires into selfless love of God as the path to saintliness, even for those with wicked natures. Evil and ignorance have their place in God's creation but the human goal is to transcend them by realizing the Atman is Brahman.

== Detailed Transcript ==

Sunday, April 9, 1882. Sri Ramakrishna was seated with his devotees in the drawing room of Pranakrishna Mukherjee's house in Calcutta. It was between one and two o'clock in the afternoon. The topic was: What is the benefit of holy company? Sri Ramakrishna's first commandment is, "God Realization is the only goal of life." But what is the way? So the second commandment is: always cultivate holy company. And this is what Sri Ramakrishna was emphasizing and would be emphasizing again and again. So what do we get? What is the benefit we get from holy company? Sri Ramakrishna used to give many examples observed from village life in those days. Nowadays, when we try to find out by reading those examples, sometimes we find it challenging because living in cities, we rarely get such sights that were an everyday, common affair in every village. For example, how careful one has to be while living in this world. Sri Ramakrishna gives examples from those days when practically every household used to husk their grain. They would cultivate or buy and bring the rice with husk, paddy, and then husk it themselves. I used to see in my village that practically everybody had a need for many things, like masala powder, chili powder, husking grains, etc. So, there would be a woman who had the business of selling and also husking and selling. She would continuously be engaged in husking the paddy. Sometimes, even in those days, they had invented some mechanical things. So, previously, somebody, a second person, used to put one big iron rod, but later on, they made it a bit more mechanical. Sri Ramakrishna observed it and he is telling all of us how careful this woman is. 99% of her mind is on her hand because she has to continuously shift the paddy from one side to the other side. And every time, if this iron rod falls upon her hands, then injury will occur, severe injury will occur, and she won't be able to do it. But at the same time, she is talking with the customers, bargaining with them, and scolding somebody. "You have not given for the last few times. You have been promising. Now you must give, and you owe me so much." Everything is in her head. So, she is doing all of this, and at the same time, maybe she has a baby, and she is suckling the baby, multitasking. But all the time, most of her mind is on her hand, lest a pestle can come and injure her. What a marvelous example we are seeing here. Like this, many kinds of examples are there. Then, somebody told him that there was a popular saying also, that when a wasp stings a small insect, this is called "Kirta Bhramara Nyaya." Then, it is so painful for the worm that the worm itself will turn into a butterfly. So, immediately, Sri Ramakrishna finds out, this is not a scientific fact, but if we casually observe it, then we can see that there is something there, and it is strung, and then it becomes immobile, and after some time, many butterflies will come out, baby wasps will come out, etc. So, what is it? By continuously being in holy company, one must become holy. There is no choice, and that is what we are seeing in our day-to-day life. I will give you only one example. There are so many newspapers and news channels nowadays, and because of the presentation, because of the beauty of the person who is presenting, some kind of magnetic attraction, we are likely to be addicted to see one particular channel and then go on listening to that person. After some time, we lose all power of discrimination. Even the capacity to inquire is lost. Is it a fact? Is it true? Or is it her own honest interpretation? Or is it a twisted interpretation? She has got some selfishness, some motive. Then my party should appear in a better light, etc. And people go on thinking, "This is what is called Parama Veda, this is gospel truth," as they call it. And then our opinions, our hatreds, our friendships, our admiration, this is how we are caught. In the household also, this is how we are caught. "This is my son." If only we knew what this fellow's son has done in the past life to us, or what we did to that son in the past life. Why is he born? So something we have done wrong. And then when we come back, now karma phala has to be exhausted. So maybe that person whom we have tortured has now taken birth in our own family because something very peculiar happens. If somebody is torturing us from the neighborhood, we can protest, we can quarrel, we can beat. But if our own children are torturing us, now our tongues are completely tied because of what we call attachment. And at the same time, a person will be torturing us. How many ways, how many billions of people are suffering? Either one way or the other. Especially so many young people are addicted to drinks, to drugs. In my own life, I have seen so many. Our own devotees, children, they have no devotion. They are addicted to something very bad. Now the agony that the parents go through, it must be due to karma phala only. So this is what Sri Ramakrishna is telling. What does holy company do? We become holy. Just as in the company of a wasp, an insect is turned into a wasp. That is one type of example. Then by the company of people, all the time, how much we are influenced. If somebody whom we love goes on telling, many times what happens is even at the beginning, we may have discrimination. Later on, while going on reading or listening, etc., we take it for granted that the person is telling the truth, and we come to believe that is the truth. So much after going on eating every day, even bitter things, we develop an attachment, a taste. That is what Sri Ramakrishna wants to tell. It helps one cultivate discrimination between the real and the unreal. In the past also, we have seen what is discrimination. One of the very first qualities a person has to acquire in order to progress in life, secular or spiritual, worldly or spiritual life, is called discrimination. What is discrimination? What is desirable? What is not desirable? What is not only not desirable, but what is most harmful? That sense of separating one from the other is the very first step, the first condition to be happy in this world. Even if we want to be healthy, we have to find out. This kind of lifestyle is not good for us. This type of food is not good for us. This quantity is more than enough for me, etc. So, the discrimination between the real and the unreal. What is real? Sri Ramakrishna said many times, "God alone is real. Everything else is unreal." Now, what does Sri Ramakrishna mean by real and unreal? Whatever we are experiencing in this world is very real. Why? How do we know what is real? There must be a definition. Supposing somebody shows you a plastic cobra. And then you can see clearly, it looks like a cobra. And it may even move and hiss and unfurl its hood through some mechanism. But we know it doesn't have life. It doesn't have poison. It becomes a wonderful plaything. In our childhood, we used to play with a kind of plastic or rubber material. So, it has a string. And when we try to pull that string, this snake-like thing, it wriggles and moves. So, that is a great fun for us. "I am the master of the snake. I am not frightened of the snake," etc. So, when we come to know that this is a plastic snake, we are not frightened. We don't react. But when we see any snake, it may be a water snake. It is not at all poisonous. There are so many snakes which are not poisonous at all. But we don't know the discrimination, poisonous or not. Many creatures get frightened. Even animals get frightened. By experience, even though they might not have experience, somehow from their parents, they get this instinctual fear. But when we see a real snake, automatically we react. So, our reaction tells us what we consider to be real. Because we will never react to something what we think we know as unreal. So, do we know anything about God? No. Do we know anything about the world? Sadly, the answer is no. We see the world. We are in the world. We are the world. Our body is the world. Our mind is the world. Every day, we are either happy (that is the world) or unhappy (that is the world). But we think it is real. What does the scripture say? "God alone is real, and this world is unreal." That is to say, transitory or temporary. As soon as a man finds his mind wandering away to the unreal, he should apply discrimination. The moment an elephant stretches out its trunk to eat a plantain tree in a neighbor's garden, it gets a blow from the iron goad of the driver. Very funny example, because if anybody has cows, sometimes cows, sometimes buffaloes, what do we do? The moment any cow stretches out its mouth to eat plantain or any fruit from the neighbor's garden, we just look away. But if the same cow stretches to do the same thing in our garden, we give it a blow. This is ungentlemanly behavior. This is what is being said here. Sri Ramakrishna is telling the opposite. A good man never allows anything to be done, any unjustified act to be done to others because the person is highly truthful. And Sri Ramakrishna is also connecting. A person who is not truthful can never be practicing discrimination. It is impossible. So this is one of the benefits of holy company. And Sri Ramakrishna used to tell, holy company specially means company of one's own Guru. And Sri Ramakrishna had observed many times. In the olden times, there will be what we call a carpenter who teaches his own children or somebody who is from the neighbor. And an Ayurvedic physician, he will be passing his secrets to his family or sometimes to some others also. So there was a person who can trade in threads. And the threads are counted 38, 39, 40, 41. The distinction between them is extremely subtle. So Sri Ramakrishna used to give that example that after living many, many years, a person acquires that power. This is the 40 number thread. This is 41 number thread. Similarly, a person wants to learn Ayurvedic medicine and he becomes a novice under somebody. And then the master teaches him how to feel the pulse. The pulse of phlegm, pulse of Kapha, Vata, Pitta, everything is totally different because there are, there were, especially expert Ayurvedic physicians by just taking the pulse, they can, it is said, even predict whether the patient is going to recover or not. So continuous, constant, holy company is necessary as we discussed many times. Holy company doesn't mean only a person. It could be a book. It could be a talk like our Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. It could be a holy place. It could be any incident in life, especially tragic incidents in life. They are the greatest holy company and tragedies happen everywhere. That should remind us that this is common. If I am in Samsara, this is going to happen all the time. And now comes the second most important point. This question practically every day rises up in our mind. What is the subject? Explanation of evil. Why is this? Rarely people ask about God. Only a few times they ask. But they also have doubt about God because if God is real, why should there be evil in this world? Not understanding the very nature of this world, it consists of duality: heat and cold, good and evil, victory and defeat, respect and humiliation, victory and defeat, life and death. Everything comes only, male and female in pair and absence of the knowledge of one will be absence of the knowledge of the other also. If we don't know what is cold, we will never know what is called heat also. So here is a neighbor asking, and why do we ask? When do we remember God?

There is a popular saying: "Sankata Kaale Venkata Ramana." So many times, we have to ask the question, "How come that I am happy? What brought me this happiness?" That should be the real question because we should be humble enough to say, "I did not deserve it, but I got it, so somebody must be very kind to me." But at least, if not that, we should ask both times. But usually, we ask the question, "Why am I suffering? Nobody asks the question, "Why am I so happy? What right does God have to make me so happy?" Except perhaps people like Kunti Devi. She says, "O Lord, you always surround us with problems, hardship, suffering. Why?" Because we remember God only at times of suffering.

So here is the question, why does a man have sinful tendencies? A useless type of question, really speaking. Why does this fellow have a habit of reading books? Why is he reading? Why does he have the habit of? What do you mean by habit? Habit means what? A person goes on doing, repeating the same thing again and again and again; that becomes a habit. So, a tendency is what we call in Vedanta Samskaras. Whether they are good Samskaras or evil Samskaras, Samskara is something which we develop through repeated experience. That is why South Indians like South Indian food. Why do they like it? Because they have been repeating that experience ever since they were in the womb of the mother. I don't know if a mother eats Masala Vada whether the child also gets a little bit of taste of it and gets addicted. Probably not. But whatever we are habituated to from childhood seems to be what gives us pleasure, actually. So many points, many times I had discussed; you have to do a lot of Mananam also. I know you do Shravanam, but whether you are doing Mananam, that is a point we have to also keep in mind.

So, we are there with sinful tendencies. The simple answer is the man had assiduously, consciously, and cultivated them through many, many lifetimes—stealing, telling lies, cheating others, etc.

So, Sri Ram Krishna is replying, in God's creation, there are all sorts of things. He has created bad men as well as good men. This is the greatness of Vedanta. Hinduism, Hindu Dharma, at first glance, reading it may not appear to be anything strange. God created everybody. But if you go to other religions, they ask, "Who created evil? Saturn created." But they don't ask further questions. "Who created Saturn?" Because there cannot be two Gods. One is the creator of good, and another is the creator of evil. According to Hinduism, everything, whether it is a good person, a bad person, whether they are Gods or demons (Devas, Asuras, Rakshasas, Chinese President, Hitler, and so many other people you see in the newspapers), distorts our opinion. Most of the people in the West, especially leaders, they are... When we were children, we used to read Chandra Mama stories—Rakshasas come, kidnap people, and sometimes eat them up, sometimes imprison them, etc. So these are the people; really great, good political leader is rarely available. Perhaps once in a while, like Abraham Lincoln, maybe available like Mahatma Gandhi may be available, but rarely. But what happens? There are some people who have got this, what is called propaganda machines, like newspapers, and these people are the masters, and they twist everybody's mind. We are democratic people; we are very good people; we want justice; we don't want inequality. What is happening in their own backyard, they completely neglect? Democracy is going on all the time, practically all over the world, but if any country is trying to do its best to bring about true democracy, then everybody becomes its enemies, probably out of jealousy. When I am not able to do this, how are you able to do this?

Anyway, who created good people? Only God. Who creates evil people? Only God. Now the wonderful thing is we have to distinguish between person and quality. A person is not quality; quality is not a person, but they come together. For example, there is a beautiful saying that every sinner is a future saint, and every saint was a sinner in the past, something like that. So, nobody has ever fallen from the sky either as a saint or as a sinner. Very, very important for all of us to understand this. So who created God? But as we have been discussing in Aitareya Upanishad and other Upanishads, what is this creation? It is not I or you or anybody; God only is manifesting as each one of us. We, as separated from God, as distinguished from God, we do not have any existence at all. But such is the Mahamaya, as if God has forgotten and thinking himself as a human being. "I am separate from God." So, it is God only who has created a good man as well as a bad man. Now, that is where the doubts come. Let me read a little bit.

It is He who gives us good tendencies, and it is He again who gives us evil tendencies. Another doubt will come, and that doubt is being expressed by the same person who put that first question, "Why does a man have sinful tendencies?" And he should have put the question, "Why does a man have good tendencies, meritorious tendencies, punya samskaras?" So the neighbor is asking, "In that case, we are not responsible for our sinful actions, are we?" He is telling, "If God has planted in us, then I am helplessly being carried, influenced, acting, as Duryodhana had said." Very interesting case. We all know Mahabharata and Kurukshetra. It was over 18th day; Duryodhana was lying with his thighs broken, and somebody went and asked him, "Oh prince, you are a very intelligent person. I know, super intelligent. You knew even before if I continue like this, inevitably, inevitably, there would be a war, and in that war, I am going to be destroyed. You knew it, did you not?" Of course, the way I am presenting is not the Mahabharata, but this is what has happened. And then Duryodhana seemed to have replied, "Yes, I knew it." Then why did you not stop? Because you are courting your own destruction. And Duryodhana was supposed to reply, whether he replied or somebody is putting those words in his mouth is not important. Important thing is it is a tremendous lesson for all of us. He said, "I know what is right, what is Dharma. I have no inclination to put it into practice (Janami Adharma). Similarly, I know what is Adharma. I have no willpower to resist." Then he adds, as if somebody is sitting in the heart of my heart and making me do, even though I am helplessly witnessing that this is all happening. That is not true, a great word of wisdom. But what good does it do? Because God also has given some freedom to us to act. Not only he gave us the power of discrimination, he also gave us the power either to go along with it or not to go along with it, that is called willpower. And we can develop that willpower. And if we don't do, we are going to either enjoy or suffer because if we do something good, the inevitable result will be Sukham. Punya gives Sukham, and Papa gives unhappiness. In fact, many times I told you we go to the extent of defining what is Punyam and Papam. Punyam doesn't give, Papam doesn't give. Punyam is the ability to squeeze happiness even under the most unfortunate circumstances. Papam is the marvelous felicity to squeeze unhappiness from even the best circumstances. A person is lying on a water bed and not getting sleep at all. So who gives us these evil tendencies then? God is responsible.

So Ramakrishna's beautiful reply: sin begets its own result; this is again God's law. Won't you burn your tongue if you chew a chili? In his youth, Madhur led a rather fast life, so he suffered from various diseases before his death. Very interesting case. Those who studied the life of Sri Ramakrishna know Madhur Babu looked upon Sri Ramakrishna as his own chosen deity, Mother Kali. This is a contradiction which is so difficult for us to understand. At the same time, he was addicted to women. Not only that, he used to take his Ishta Devata also along with him to the prostitute's house. "Baba, I have got some urgent work to finish; you wait," and then he would go into the house. After half an hour or 45 minutes, he would come back and say, "My work is done; let us go." That means, what? Even the very presence of the Ishta Devata doesn't prevent because of what? Evil tendencies, sinful tendencies, strong negative samskaras are so very difficult but not impossible. That is why in the 6th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna says that it is very, very difficult to control this mind, as difficult as catching hold of the air. And then Bhagavan Krishna also sympathizes, and then he agrees with Arjuna, and he says, "Yes, you are absolutely right. It is very true." But there is something called Abhyasa and Vairagya. " abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa cha gṛihyate " It is possible because, as my mother used to tell, if you have rolled multicolored thread into a ball and you want to get one particular colored thread, now you will have to unroll everything. So, evil tendencies have to be overcome by good tendencies. That's why it takes time. So this is what Ramakrishna is trying to tell, that God has created, no doubt, but God also has given you the power of discrimination. And he doesn't mean that that power should be kept in a box and worshipped; it is not supposed to be rusty; you are supposed to use it, discrimination, that is very important. So, that is what he is trying to tell. One may not realize this in youth. I have looked into the hearth in the kitchen of the Kali temple, and logs are being burnt. At first, the wet wood burns rather well; it doesn't seem then that it contains much moisture. But when the wood is sufficiently burnt, all the moisture runs back to one end; at last, water squirts from the fuel and puts out the fire. So one should be careful about anger, passion, and greed and many other things. But this is very, very interesting, Ramakrishna's word, exact translation from the Bhagavad Gita. Kama, Krodha, and Lobha, that is what exactly Ramakrishna is expressing; anger is Krodha, and Lobha means greed.

Take, for instance, the case of Hanuman. Ramakrishna always quotes with examples. Take the case of Hanuman, Shri Rama sent Hanuman in search of Sita. So, he went there, he saw in Sri Lanka, and then he consoled Sita, said, "Mother, I have got tremendous hunger, after all, crossing fourteen kilometers, flying, and fighting with so many Rakshasas, Rakshasis, it was a really set-breaking work, so I am very hungry." And she went on prolonging the conversation. Instead of asking whether you have eaten or not, at last, then he asked permission, "Can I eat some fruits from here?" She probably did not understand, a small monkey, a few fruits will do. And then he grew to his enormous length and started breaking and swallowing and eating everything. And then there was a fight, and then Ravana's son, Indrajith, he conquered Indra, he pleased Brahma through Tapasya, even Rakshasas do Tapasya. Tapasya means extraordinary concentration of something. And he obtained even Brahmastra. Brahmasastra cannot bind me. But because it is Brahmastra belonging to Brahma, so it will just bind you for a moment, touches, binds you, then it becomes powerless. Then Hanuman was carried, and then he insulted Ravana by creating his own Simhasana by his tail and then abused him in so many ways, and unwarranted advice he gave to Ravana. And then Ravana commanded, "Kill this fellow," and Vibhishana said, "No, no, he is only a representative of China, so you should not kill him. So you should burn his tail." Ravana thought that monkey's tail is the biggest tail, so burn it, and there will be no more monkeys. There will be... What happens when a monkey's tail is burned? He will turn into a monk, and when a monk grows a big tail, he becomes a monkey. So, then they put a lot of cloth, oil, and then he was delightfully, Agni Devata was his greatest benefactor. He says, "Don't worry, nothing happens. Even one hair of your body will not burn." So he started jumping from house to house, but he had tremendous discrimination. He observed Vibhishana, and to his house, he did not put, but to all the neighboring houses, he put them on fire. "Now it passes my poor brain. If all the houses around are burning, how can this one house in the middle escape?" Even today, I can't solve that enigma.

Anyway, then the whole Lanka started burning. In the middle of the Lanka, there was a garden, and in that garden, Sita was there. Suddenly, Hanuman remembered. "Now, Sita will also be burned," and he started burning. His heart started burning. That was what Sri Ramakrishna is referring. At last, he remembered that Sita was living in the Ashoka grove. Then he began to tremble lest the fire should injure her. Lest you may be curious, I am going to complete it. Then he discriminated himself. You see, "I am a monkey, I am a servant of Rama. Agni is not burning me, so that same Agni will never burn Mother Sita because Agni Devata knows who is Rama, who is the boss, and who is the real boss." So he consoled himself. Of course, to make doubly sure that his faith is right before going, coming out of Sri Lanka, so he went to Sita Devi, and then he also takes leave of her. But this is a beautiful example; anger is very bad.

Then the question which we raised: why God has created not only sinful tendencies but tendencies. Tendencies mean what? A tendency is a guna. I mentioned earlier. Very important to understand. A wicked man can become a saint, but a saint will not become a wicked person. If at all a saint misbehaves, then it is because of some strength, some Purva Janma Samskara. But very soon he will come out. But a wicked man will go on evolving. But it is just for us to... If it is any consolation that nobody has become a saint in a day, Purva Janmas like any one of us, every saint has gone through the same problem, but through sadhana, life after life, he has become a saint. Now, we will also become the same saints; there is no doubt about it. And this listening to the gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is one of the best means.

So, a wonderful question, especially nowadays. If you go on listening to the news, we see everywhere wickedness seems to be growing: killing, looting, cheating, scams, trying to grab other people's properties, enslaving other people through whatever means, internet or artificial intelligence, everything seems to be happening now. So, whom did God create? "Wicked people? what we want to understand is wickedness, and wicked people; they are not the same. The person is divine; each soul is potentially divine, and we have a body and mind. Our identity with the body and mind will never be bodies; we will never be minds forever, even in our same conditions, at the same times. I am not the body; I am not the mind at all. So wickedness is a bad quality, whether I would say it is a combination of many bad qualities, because evil qualities come together in a company, and good qualities also come in a gang. So, a wicked person doesn't have only one wicked quality.

One fellow was asked, 'Do you have any bad habits?' and that fellow answered, 'No, I don't have bad habits.' Really? Are you a saint? 'I am not a saint, if you have to say. Occasionally, I chew betel nut.' So that is okay; it is absolutely fine. Do you chew it every day? 'No, no, no, only occasionally.' And what is the occasion? 'Whenever I smoke a cigarette, then I eat betel, this tamal paku, oh, betel leaf.' Then do you have cigarettes? 'No, no, no, whenever I drink a little, then only I have this cigarette.' Oh, do you drink? 'No, no, no, only when I steal something and get some money, then only, like that, all evil qualities come together.' So what is the point I am making? That person and qualities are totally separate; they are separable. And spiritual practice means taking out first of all the bad qualities, acquiring divine or spiritual qualities, and in the course of time, even giving up those good qualities because good qualities bind us, gunas bind us. So this is how we have to grow.

Sri Ramakrishna's answer to this, 'Why has God created wicked people?' Part of the question, 'Why is there evil?' Evil is there because evil quality cannot be separate from an evil person. Quality and person must always be together; that is His will, His play in His maya. There exists avidya as well as vidya; darkness is needed too; it reveals all the more the glory of light. There is no doubt anger, lust, and greed are evils; why then has God created them? In order to create saints, this is the resounding answer.

All these things, it is, how do we know a person is a saint? Because a person is a saint only if he has conquered kama, krodha, loha, moha, mada, matsarya. And then not only that, these very qualities, they become the most positive qualities. We must be angry if something is not allowing us to move towards God. Lust, what is lust? 'I want only God, nothing else.' And what is greed? 'That I will never be satisfied, however much devotion I get or thinking of God, I will never be able to satisfy.' And then say, 'Enough is enough; I want more, I want more, pratikshanam varthamanam; I want to be completely mesmerized only by God.' And then, 'I want to be proud, I am a child of God; I am a devotee of God.' Shankaracharya has kept the ego of knowledge. Narada kept the ego of bhakti, 'I am a servant of God.' Hanuman kept the ego, 'I am a servant of God; I will not serve anybody like that.' So this is how a man becomes a saint, by conquering the senses. Is there anything impossible for a man who has subdued his passions, to even realize God through His grace?

Again, see how His whole play of creation is perpetuated through lust. Is lust only negative? No, it has a very positive quality. If there were to be no lust, there would be no world at all. The whole world will come to an end. And a very interesting story, Bhagwan Narayana created Brahma, commanded him to continue with the creation, and Brahma created four manasa putras: Sanaka, etc., and commanded them to propagate, to expand this samsara. And being manasa putras of Brahma, Brahma Sattvika Sampannas, and they became discriminative and said, 'Our father wants to trap us; let us run away.' They ran away, became monks, never returned. Then Brahma created man and woman, and now the Srishti went on merrily.

So, if there were to be no lust, then there would be no creation at all. But the same lust can also be turned. What is lust? An intense desire to create oneself or to recreate oneself. There are three births of a man. The first birth is in the man in the form of seed, the second birth is the woman, and then, after coming out of the mother's womb also, the third birth will be actually going back. So this very lust, when it is turned to God, it is called Prema. In Bengali, there is a beautiful saying that says, 'That is called Kama; if the desire is for one's own satisfaction of one's own body and mind, selfishness, it is called Kama, lust. But if the same lust is, 'I want to please only Bhagwan Krishna, like Gopis, every Gopi is a Gopi only because they don't want their own happiness; they want only Krishna's happiness.' So this is called Prema. Kama and Prema differ only in the direction. Kama makes us very fit to enter into the spiritual path. This is a very strange thing; a fellow who doesn't have Kama is never going to be a spiritual person; take it from me.

Once a disciple asked Swami Brahmananda, 'I am suffering from this Kama; will you not be able to remove it?' Swami Brahmananda said, 'I will definitely be able to remove it, but my son, know this is the truth: if I remove your desire, then your very desire to live itself will disappear. There is so much psychology; it is because of Kama we are happy; it is because of Kama we are so enthusiastic; it is because of Kama life becomes worth living. It is because of Kama. Ultimately, when this Kama becomes Agni Kama Agni, then nothing in this world can satisfy us. At that time, God gives us that power of understanding; it is only God alone that we are really after. In fact, we are after only God; we are not after any object.

Today's class, I will close with an explanation of this thing, but let me first complete a little bit. A man becomes a saint by conquering the senses. Is there anything impossible for a man who has subdued his passions, to even realize God through His grace? Again, see how His whole play of creation is perpetuated through lust. Wicked people are needed too. At one time, the tenants of an estate became unruly; a landlord had to send one Golak Choudhury, who was a ruffian, a goonda; he was such a harsh administrator that the tenants trembled at the very mention of his name.

This subject about wicked people will be coming in the next class. We will discuss what I wanted to discuss is this: karma has got a tremendous role in our life; it is only because of desire. But everything is perpetuating. Now, most people, most of us, we think that it is this karma which is diverting our mind, which is binding us. But actually, do you know what is karma? It is the desire. What is that desire? Only one desire: 'I have lost; I have forgotten myself; I want to know myself.' This is the only desire, the root cause of everything in this world. How come the mind is restless? One of our swamis, Ashokanandaji, he gave a beautiful talk. The mind is restless only for God. But to be very brief, this is the explanation. You ask a person, 'What is it you are seeking?' 'I want to eat a sweet, for example.' 'Why do you want to eat sweet?' 'Are you after the sweet?' If he is a discriminating person, he will say, 'No, I am not after sweet; I am after the happiness that I am after because I can get happiness by eating the sweet. If the sweet doesn't give happiness, I will not even look at it; it will be abhorrent to me.' So we have only that Ananda.

What type of Ananda? Unbroken Ananda and infinite Ananda; it should be infinite; it should be unbroken, unbroken means eternal. And if we have to be happy, then we have to be alive eternally, and if we have to be eternally happy, we have to know that I am eternity, I am Paramatma. Then Paramatma's happiness, Brahma, by knowing Brahman, what does one become? Brahma Gnanena Brahma Eva Bhavati, Brahma with Brahma Eva Bhavati. This is the real truth. We will explore it in our next class.

Om Jananim Shardam Devi Ramakrishnam Jagat Gurum Pada Padmetayo Shritva Pranamami Mohur Moho. May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna."

<blockquote>Note: This content has been generated using artificial intelligence, so it may contain inaccuracies. The summarization is provided for informational purposes only, and the [https://srisaradadevi.com/gospel-of-sri-ramakrishna/ original audio lecture] should be referenced for complete accuracy. Viewers should use discretion when citing any summarized content produced by AI.</blockquote>
[[Category:Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna]]