Khandana Bhava Bandhana Lecture 05 on 19 May 2019

So keep this always in mind - You won't be interested in a subject which will not give you joy. Either It gives you Joy Now, or you expect the joy to come in future. Every student - it is not a joy to study so hard. It is much more joyful to watch TV and all those things. But every good student knows, that my future, the foundation for my future happiness lies in these studies. The better I study the more chance my chance of Happiness.

So concentration doesn't come if you are not interested, concentration will not come. You will be interested in whatever gives you Joy. And whatever interests you, you will also have your memory fixed upon it.

I will give an example, I have given it lots of times before in the classes, but I will still give. A young man comes to me and says that I study so much, but I don't retain. Then I said to him, supposing one day he is walking in the street, and a nice girl from the other side of the road smiles  at him. Will he ever forget it in his life? He will not forget. Why? Because he is interested in girls. So this girl smiled. Probably nobody else smiled at him. Even if they are smiling, they might have closed their smile. So he keeps it in memory.

So if somebody says you are wonderful. We always remember, you know, that person loved me because ( why ) he always used to praise me. But this fellow he only criticises me every time. So, why do you remember the other person even after 50 years? You will remember that person. Why? Because he is inflating your ego.

So concentration, if you are interested automatically you will be concentrated. And joy will come. And God is the very embodiment of love. That is why मोचन अघदूषण जगभूषण चिद्घनकाय ( mocana aghadūṣaṇa jagabhūṣaṇa cidghanakāy )

What is Cit? Knowledge!

What is knowledge? What does knowledge bring? Love! Because without knowledge, how will you love something? At least to know that this is an object which will give me happiness, you must have that knowledge. This object will give me happiness.

It maybe even, mistaken knowledge. That’s what married life is. Before marriage every man and woman, they think that that's all, ‘You are my queen’. ‘You are my king’. Only after marriage, they will come to know what is what.

So five things, keep it in mind -

1. Interest,
2. Concentration,
3. Memory,
4. Joy and
5. love.

You can add some things. If you love somebody you don't feel like enjoying it alone. You see a mother shares whatever she prepares. First portion who will get? Only Children, not even husband, not even herself. Why? Because she loves her children. That is why God will not keep anything because we are all His children.

Here also, there is a view. That view is we may not think God is our mother or father. But God has the knowledge, ‘The whole world came out of whom? Out of me. Therefore, they are all My children’. In fact even to say they are my children is only from our limited perspective. Really we have to say, God says, they are Me -  I am them - this is the truth.

So चिर-उन्मद प्रेम-पाथार ( cira-unmada prema-pāthār )

Prema-pāthār - this is the nature of every Avatāra. Because who is an Avatāra? An Avatāra is none other than God. Therefore an Avatāra is none other than God only. Therefore whatever is God's nature, qualities, that will also be an Avatāra’s. Exactly the same.

( 05:12 mins )

What is the difference?

With name and form is Avatara. Without name and form is God.

Because, God cannot be with name and form. Why, even Avatāra doesn't have name and form. To to be able to be obtained by us, He appears to have a name and form.

So what happens if an object has name and form? That object can only be there. It cannot be anywhere else. See, you are sitting here. You have got a name and form. You can't be even one, one billionth of a millimeter somewhere else. You have to get up, the whole lot of you, and put yourself in the other place.

But Sri Rāmakrishna, He could be seen by some in East Pakistan ( Bangladesh ), by some in the west, by some in India - yet different places. He appears to people, to different people, at different places in different forms.

Another limitation of form is you can't change the form. But if God has got form, He also can't change. But what does He do? He appears to have a form. What form? How  does He appear? I’m revealing to you a wonderful Secret.

But I will give you an illustration. Here are, Imagine two tumblers. One is yellow colored. Another is orange colored. One is a straight forward bottle. Another is very beautiful, like a pot, like an ink-pot or whatever it is. Now you pour the water. Pour water into both. How does the water appear now? Exactly, the shape and colour of that particular container. You understand now.

Now I said God doesn't take name and form. But the name and form have been framed by the individual. My mind likes to think of God as a Rāma, as a Krishna, as a Kāli, as Saraswati Etc. It is like having a, shaping a container. And when the light of God enters into it, then how does that light of appear to me now?

You see, this I think this is a better example, you make four, five Gods. This is Rāma, this is Krishna, like that. Imagine, they're all made up of different coloured glasses. And from behind you Shine a Light.

Now, how does each form appear? But actually you are not seeing anything excepting light, but now the light has to appear to us through the medium of these containers. Now, you understand?

God cannot take name and form. There is no need. But when He enters into us, we have already made a particular form and so we are very happy. Rāma Bhakta is very happy to see Rāma. Krishna Bhakta is very happy to see Krishna. It is the same Rāma.

So what is the new idea you have learned today? God doesn't make an appearance. God cannot make an appearance. God is like light. But when that light enters into our hearts, the way we shape our heart through lot of Japa, meditation. We were thinking this form, this form - that is called Ishta Devatā.  And Our mind also becomes like that. Not only God's form.

I can even tell you, ‘I am a Hindu’, who formed that idea? I have formed. Supposing I am born to Hindu parents and I have been kidnapped or lent, you know, what is called adopted by a Muslim family. What would be my mind like? Muslim mind. And see what a contrast comes. A Muslim child is adopted by a Hindu  family, a Hindu child is adopted by a Muslim family. This so-called Hindu child now he becomes a Muslim child. He becomes very, what is called, fanatical, very cruel hearted and only one idea and nothing is greater than Islam. He will cherish, naturally he will cherish that idea.

( 10:28 mins )

And this is what we see now practically. If you go to Middle East countries, the would be rulers or the present leaders, they are brainwashing them. There are two purposes for this. They don't want, the rulers do not wish to do anything to their people. But they become… you see, you are enjoying so much. We need to enjoy like that, then they will… Don't, don't think like that, that now America is going to attack us.

That is why when a powerful political leader is becoming unpopular, one way of diverting the minds of the people is to create a war with somebody. Naturally war means all the people will get united. And now their side is diverted completely so… Meanwhile this fellow will do some gimmick and then - ‘I have been able to Teach Pakistan a lesson’. So much of suppression, oppression. We are all sheep. That is why Jesus Christ is called a shepherd.

We also see Śiva - पशूनां पतिं पापनाशं परेसम् ( Paśūnām patiṁ pāpanāśaṁ paresam ) -We are all Paśūs. He is Paśūpati. It is true. So this is how clever people are trying to divert our attention.

What I'm trying to tell you here - Prema-pāthār - that is the idea we are discussing here. God is an infinite ocean of Love. Why? Because there is no distinction. He will never make a distinction - This is me, this is somebody else. We are making distinctions - I'm a man, I'm a woman, I'm Young, I am old, I am a Hindu, I am a Muslim etc. etc. Naturally, for us It is a Herculean task, to love everybody.

But for a mother, suppose she has got five children of different ages, what about her love? She will love everybody equally or not? And does it, does her love become smaller because she is dividing it. Because if she has got another, just imagine, 50 children or 100 children, then all the hundred fellows will become what? She will love! Who am I referring to? Any bells ring? Gāndhāri. 101 actually, one girl. Her husband was Dhritarāṣṭra.

So God's nature is – Prema-pāthār - He is an ocean of love. Ocean because He knows everything is Me. I am everything. Sarvam Akhilam Brahma.

Yes, first I have to realise I am Brahman. After that I have to realize Sarvam khalvidam Brahma. Without that knowledge his Brahma jñāna will be incomplete.

That's why Totāpuri, He attained Aham Brahmāsmi, but Sarvam khalvidam Brahman, he had not attained. 11 months he had to sit under the so-called feet of Sri Rāmakrishna and ultimately, learn Sarvam khalvidam Brahman. The day he learnt it, his stay at Dakṣineśwar has come to an end. Then he had to go away.

So, भास्वर भाव-सागर चिर-उन्मद प्रेम-पाथार।

भक्तार्जन-युगल चरण तारण-भव-पार॥

( bhās­vara bhāva-sāgara cira-unmada prema-pāthār |

bhaktārjana-yugala caraṇa tāraṇa-bhava-pār || )

The next sentence is bhaktārjana-yugala caraṇa tāraṇa-bhava-pār ||

( 15:02 mins )

Bhaktārjana-yugala caraṇa - Indian mythology always emphasises feet to indicate that… otherwise you see I'm the head -that will be dangerous idea, it will go to the Head. And then it will create all sorts of problems. I am the at the feet. Also if you catch the head of anybody he might still  run away, but if you catch the feet the question of his running away usually doesn't arise.

Yeah, I told you I think last time. Radhā was a great painter. So She painted Sri Krishna's complete picture. The  moment the painting was complete, Sri Krishna jumped out of that painting and simply ran away. And He was looking back. ‘Now, What are you going to do?’ Radhā said ‘Go, I know how to catch you.’ Again, very soon ( practice makes perfection ),  immediately She painted, but this time without feet. ‘Now you try to run as much as possible’. He will not be able to run.

The idea is that such an Avatāra - who is a manifestation of God, available for human beings, and if we can catch hold of His feet, then all that we require He will fulfil.

I will give you some illustrations, may not be very elegant. You know, in places where water is not available, there will be a tank. So somebody with trucks they will bring the water and fill it up. But the tank will have a small pipe, with a closure. You  want water? Yes, that’s what you you do in the kitchen etc.

So who is an Avatāra? God is the tank, Avatāra is the tap. There is no use in trying to climb the tank, it is completely closed. This is the only way to get anything.

Sri Rāmakrishna used to say, much more elegant example - God is like the cow. But go on squeezing the horns, what will you get? Where should you squeeze? The udder! Even the calf knows it better than us. Straight it goes for it, because that is where the milk is coming from.

An Avatāra is like the udder you don't need anything else, but it has to be earned. Bhaktārjana To be earned by the devotees. How? What is the meaning of earning? Here is God in the form of the Avatāra  and He's ready to give. He is ready to give.

How much Sri Rāmakrishna used to suffer because nobody was coming to squeeze him. In the evening, He used to climb to the roof of the Kutir, He used to say, ‘O My children, where are you? Come I cannot live without you’. You see, why He was doing that?

So there is an illustration. Woman will be able to tell. When women give birth to a baby, and they produce milk, they want to feed the children, but the child is not able to take it. It seems the mother suffers. Is it a fact? Mother suffers. If the Child can drink wholeheartedly, then the mother is very happy.

An Avatāra  feels like that. ‘I am full of milk, but why are people not coming and taking it from Me?’ So People have to earn. 

Who will go to an Avatāra?  Who will worship an Avatāra? Only devotees will do that. Worldly people will not to do it. But actually worldly people also should do it.

You know why? Because there is an upanishadic statement -भूति कामो आत्मज्ञम यजेत ( Bhūti kamo ātmajnam yajet ) Bhūti kama - one who is desirous of worldly goods. Money etc. Ātmajnam -  One who has realized God. They should worship him, because whatever punya he earned he doesn't want.

( 20:13 mins )

So if somebody serves a great saint, somebody looks after, or somebody has devotion, then all the puniya will come to him. Because he had done a lot of punya. What punya? He has done so much of tapasyā. From  birth ( many births also ), He was refraining from Pāpa Kārya, and he was doing only Punya Karma. Until now that Punya Karma had come to his help, but now he has realized God.

It is like, how long do you carry water? Until you reach a huge River. Once you reach Gangā, do you need you to carry small bottles. You  will throw it away. So sometimes the bottle should be thrown out. So, on the way, those who have not reached the river they couldn't do it.

Actually, I'm deviating a little bit.   But you know those who climb mountains like Himalayas, Everest Etc. There are so many mountain climbers. They establish some base camps and there they literally bury some essential objects: food material, water, Patrol and burners and Oxygen everything.  why do they do that? When do they do that?

Something they bury there, when they're coming down, if they need these. But  if they don't need it, they won't take it along with them. They leave it there, because, some other climber something must have happened. So he goes there now. He's in desperately need. They  also leave some marks where to find it. So that those who are in need they can use. This is a tradition that has been coming from a long time.

So a person who has realized God, before realizing God you have to do lot of Su-Karma. And this Su-Karma in the form of Punya is waiting there. And they must have done some Pāpa Karma. So those who criticise, those who try to bring them down, One door will open and all the Pāpa Mota (bag of sins) will come to them. You take as much as you want. So can we take as much as we want? No! As much as we earn the capacity.If you have a small bottle, you can only take a small amount of water.

So by a lot of spiritual practice if a person is ready to receive, then when they approach the Avatāra, the Avatāra is ready, But you can take only as much as you can take. Now let us take some practical examples.

Sri Rāmakrishna was there at Dakshineswar. All the direct disciples, both monastic and lay, have come down there. How much Swāmi Vivekānanda could take, how much Swāmi Subhodānanda could take, how much Rāmchandra dutta could take, how much Girish Chandra Ghosh could take? 

Do you think that all had the capacity, same capacity, to receive? Was Sri Rāmakrishna  forbidding them ‘Don't take it’? No! Then who was forbidding? Themselves. Because  they have come with a small capacity.

In the Bible a beautiful parable is given by Jesus Christ. Once there was a wedding ceremony and there were a lot of brides. So they are supposed to receive the bridegroom. The bridegroom will come, at any time of the night, before the marriage takes place. So there were be 14 brides with lanterns. Seven of them, had filled up their lanterns with kerosene oil. Seven of them, little was there, ‘Okay, it is burning now, that is nothing’, so they went. And very soon their lamps were out because there was no oil, and they were sleepy.

Because the bridegroom doesn't announce when he is coming, suddenly he comes - like many events in our life also come like that. They don't announce and come. Does an accident announce ‘I am going to come at this time, So be ready for me’? Never it happens. No event happens like that.

( 25:18 mins )

So the bridegroom suddenly came and everybody hurriedly got up. These Seven Brides they had filled up and were ready. As soon as they came they lighted and they accompanied.

And there is a hall. As soon as everybody enters, it will be closed. The others ( brides ), they were desperately searching in darkness for oil to fill up their lamps. And by that time they could find the oil, fill up their lamps and come, the door is already closed. Beautiful Parable.

This is what? Everybody can take from Sri Rāmakrishna only what he is prepared, capable, of taking.

Some people, even though Sri Rāmakrishna, out of His Mercy had given, as you know, they could not hold it. Vaikuntha Nāth Sanyāl could not hold it. Rāmlāl Dādā could not hold it. Most people could not hold it. Only very few people could hold it.

What are we talkin about? Bhaktārjana-yugala caraṇa -

Yugala means 2 - two feet. So what do the feet represent? All the grace, all the kripā, all the power, all the knowledge, all the Bhakti is like the udder, symbolically. If anybody can surrender… Indians always use that word. So these are the two Lotus feet. Charaṇa Kamala. রামকৃষ্ণ চরণ সরোজে মজ রে মনমধূপ মোর ( Rāmakrishna charana saroje moj re manmadhup mor )

So always Lotus. Why  Lotus? Because that is a national flower of which country? Pakistan? India! Why? Because as soon as the sun rises the Lotus simply blooms. As soon as they Moon rises what blooms? Lily blooms.

So there is a very beautiful Sanskrit Shloka. I want to share it with you. I don't remember the Shloka in Sanskrit, but the meaning is this - a honey bee entered into a Lotus Flower, and Lotus Flower like other flowers is supposed to produce very tasty, honey - nectar. They call it nectar, not honey.

So it was busy. It was before Sunset it entered, it was very busy. And meanwhile the sun had set. Because as soon as the sun sets the Lotus simply closes its petals. And the honey bee was ensnared within the Lotus. Then it is thinking, ‘So what is there? Only one night I have to stay here. Morning will come, then the sun will rise, the lotus will bloom, then I will fly out’.

Then he says, ‘Hā, hanta hanta’ ( Alas, Alas )! What happened? Towards the early morning, before the sunrise, a huge elephant had entered and taken out the whole plant of this lotus and ब्रह्मार्पणं ब्रह्म हवि ( brahmārpaṇaṁ brahma havir )

What is this Shloka for? For people who think, ‘I have enough time to turn towards God. Now let me enjoy these things, after all I will be retiring. After retirement I will go on thinking about God’. That may not happen. What is this? Elephant? Yama Dharma Rāja will come, accidents can happen, disease can happen. Disease is worse than Yama Dharma Rāja. You know why? Yama Dharma Rāja, if He catches you there is a chance that you will be reborn soon. But this disease comes and goes on and on. If a serious disease comes, where do you think your mind will be? Only on the body, on the pain make no mistake about it.

( 30:03 mins )

Okay bhaktārjana-yugala caraṇa - what does that sentence really mean? Here is the Divine Lord and His Lotus feet are there for us to surrender ourselves. And surrendering means receiving. But to be able to receive we have to do lot of preparation. The capacity has to be increased, like as you exercise more you are able to lift more and more weight. Like that capacity will increase. The capacity to receive the grace of God has to increase and through spiritual disciplines, not through worldly disciplines.

So what is our job as Bhaktās? To increase the capacity. How much we can really receive. The giver is ready, but the receiver is not ready. There is a law - learn it from here today.

Wherever there is a receiver, there will be a giver. But  wherever there is a giver there need not to be a receiver. How much Sri Rāmakrishna suffered, Holy Mother suffered, because they are ready to give vast amounts, but people are not able to retain it .

Bhaktārjana-yugala caraṇa - Why should we take refuge at this Lotus feet of an Avatāra? Because They alone are capable of doing something which no one else is capable. What is that? तारण-भव-पार ( tāraṇa-bhava-pār  )

So Bhava - means Samsāra.  You know, what is samsāra? Samsāra is not what is outside. Samsāra is the ignorance which is holding us here. So we can be non-samsāri , we can be in samsāra, but not Samsāris this very second.

Sri Rāmakrishna was He outside the world or inside the world? Inside the world means inside the body and mind. Samsāra is not somewhere.  Your body, my body, your mind, my mind - this is samsara. Because we think this is me. That is Samsāra. So a person in Samsāra is called what? Samsāri. (Some Sorry) you want to be in samsāra and not to be sorry, is it possible? Samsāri.

Two types of Sāris are there. One lady suddenly came to me and said, ‘I have enrolled myself in a music class. I’m trying to learn music’. And after a few months she came, ‘How far has your music progressed?’ Sa, Ri ( sorry ) Mahārāj. Sa and Ri, beyond that it has not gone’. Only 2 notes.

Anyway, so what are we talking about? Tāraṇa-bhava-pār  - So what is the philosophy behind this?

There are different types of people. So those who are released – realized God, know I am the Ātman. Such  people are divided into four categories. Jīvan-Mukta, Achārya, Īśvar-Koti and Avatāra. Four. So  excepting the highest two… Īśvar-Koti can give liberation. He does not need your qualification. Simply if He says, ‘I bless you’, You are free.

That is what I am hoping. When I go to Vārānasi, what am I hoping for? ‘You don't need to do any sādhana. Just give up the body in Vārānasi. By My grace, I will just lift you up’. That's what Śiva is supposed to do. Anybody, even a pipde ( insect ), even an ant.

That's what Holy Mother was asked by Her attendant. One day Her attendant was talking with Holy Mother. In Vārānasi, this belief is there, you know, those who die in Vārānasi they will get Liberation. ( But I am giving you an information keep it in mind. Vārānasi is a huge city. Real Vārānasi is only eight kilometres circumference. Within that only you have to die. If you go one millimeter outside, you will be like anybody else ).

( 35:31 mins )

So he, the attendant, asked.. You see some ants are crawling. And there is no chance. They're migrating to Bombay or Bangalore. They are going to die there after few days. The attendant asked, ‘Will these also get?’ The Holy Mother said.. what did She say? Yes! Any… Because it is a Jīva, not just Manuṣya. Any Jīva will become Shiva by dying there. Is an ant a Jīva or not? Because anything living is Jīva. So you have to be careful. Sama-darśan you have to  practice because you are living there.

A lot of mosquitoes are biting you. So what do you do? Kill them. And then what happens to them? So you may be doing it in anger or annoyance, but what are you doing really? That's why the Vārānasi mosquitoes are very intelligent. They deliberately come and annoy you so that they can get Moksha immediately.

Why? So many people are migrating to Vārānasi, especially people who are suffering. I am suffering I am going to die. Let me go and die there. After going there, miraculously they are freed from all this and live a long time. And you can't bite the other fellow so that he can kill you. Mosquitoes are superior in that because they can be killed You can't simply poke somebody. He will beat you and make you worse. Anyway I am just making a joke.

So what does this Good Lord do? He alone is capable. Avatāras are capable of giving to many. ĪśVārānasi Kotis are capable of giving only to a few? Giving what? Liberation.

Īśvara Koti means one who comes along with an Avatāra, with every Avatāra. Every Incarnation will have some disciples. All disciples are not Īśvara Kotis. Only some 5, 6 will be Īśvara Kotis. Because Īśvara Kotis means whenever any Avatāra comes, they will come along with the Avatāra. They are called Īśvara Kotis. Koti means attendants. Īśvara Koti means Īśvarā‘s attendants who come along with the Avatāra. That is the meaning of it. Or Sri Rāmakrishna also called them Nitya Siddhas. Two names are there.

So bhaktārjana-yugala caraṇa tāraṇa-bhava-pār - There is no other way independently, without grace of God in the form of either Guru or an Avatāra to attain that highest Liberation - not possible.

But there is one Sulabhopāya - very easy method, somehow manage, pray to God, manage to go to Vārānasi. And  don't come out, because for one minute you come out for good air, you might die there. Never come out. Just die there. If you have that kind of grit, then you are absolutely wonderful.

So that is what Sri Rāmakrishna confirms, Holy mother confirms, scriptures confirm, every Hindu confirms it - Vārānasi. I don't know an other places. Some devotees, especially Vaishnavas for them which place? Brindāvan. Brindāvan is the place.

Then we are moving on to next verse. What is that?

जृम्भित-युग-ईश्वर जगदीश्वर योगसहाय ( jṛmbhita-yuga-īśvara jagadīśvara yogasahāy )

So first of all, I'll give you a brief introduction. Hindus have a very peculiar belief. I am saying belief, because you are not forced to believe it, but more or less every Hindu believes it. What is it? God is only one. He is the God for Christians, for Muslims, for everyone.

( 40:28 mins )

But this God manifests Himself in certain people like Sapta-Rishis, seven rishis. They are also called Manus. Manu means - time is divided into 7 Yugas. Every Yuga one, one Rishi takes charge of the world for that particular Yuga. One, one Rishi. They are all nothing but manifestations of God. And Sri Rāmakrishna  proved it by His having a vision of Swāmi Vivekānanda in the Sapta-Rishi mandala. He is proving, what Hindus already believe through the Purāṇas. Okay. So this time it looked as though it is Vishwamitra in the form of Swami Vivekānanda .

But the Important idea is, if the Avatāra comes from there… From which place? It is neither Parabrahma nor Samsāra. In between there is a no man’s Land. It is called Akhaṇḍa Rājya. Akhaṇḍa - and and in that Akhaṇḍa Rājya - seven Rishis, every time they are there, from the beginning of the Yuga -  Yuga Yugāntara. Every Yuga one of them takes charge for that particular Yuga. It is called Manvantara. Manvantara, it will be there.

So that is the idea expressed here. An Avatāra is a Manu who will be the ruler of this world. So what does he do? What does an Avatāra do?

परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् |

धर्मसं स्थापनार्थाय …. || ४:८ ||

paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśhāya cha duṣhkṛitām

dharma-sansthāpanārthāya….(Gita 4:8)

Three ideas -

1. For the destruction of the wicked.
2. For the protection of the good people, spiritual people.
3. And for the establishment of Dharma.

These are the three special missions of every Avatāra. So we will discuss a little about it.

jṛmbhita-yuga-īśvara jagadīśvara - Oh Lord. He jagadīś­vara, O Lord of the universe, You are the same. Every Yuga, You are the same, no change. But for this particular age You embody Yourself for the good of the world in a particular format.

What is the form? Don't take body. Take ideal form. Ideals! Which ideals will be most useful for this particular age. So that is why Bhāva-rājya - bhāsvara bhāva-sāgara.

So for this particular age… Why? You know, Sri Rāmakrishna says the currency which was valuable in the Mughal’s time is not valuable in British time. Nawabs time, Nawabs  currency is not useful in British time. British currency is not useful now. Now the whole now, it is becoming digital currency. PayPal, rupee pay, and Google Pay Google Pay, etc. etc. It is taking this form. They say in future nobody will carry money. And how will this pickpockets live? They also have to live. Now they will turn into digital pick pockets. They are also evolving. As we are evolving, they are also evolving.

So every Avatāra comes with a particular set of ideas and ideals which would be very practical very helpful for this particular age. He is called an Avatāra.

( 45:07 mins )

So jṛmbhita-yuga-īśvara:- jṛmbhita means one who has incarnated, manifested, apparently for this particular age. Sri Rāmakrishna’s ideals. What are the important ideals of Sri Rāmakrishna’s for this particular age? I can tell you a few.

First of all He says… what is it?

आत्मनो मोक्षार्थं जगत हिताय च ( ātmano mokṣāya jagat hitāya ca ) - We are All born.. each soul is potentially Divine. So what is the goal of life? To realize. This is common for every age. This is not different for every age. It is common.

But how to manifest it? So first of all the one thing He says is that Sarva Dharma samanvaya - all religions.. don't quarrel, waste your time and die. God has created so many people, so many countries, so many languages, so many fields of knowledge. Why not so many types of religion, so many Yogā’s also?

That is what will come here - Yogasahāy, it will come there. So this is Sarva Dharma samanvaya.

1. First is He awakens us saying you are not a human being you are potentially divine
2. Dharma-sansthāpana - and your goal is to manifest yourself, not somebody else. Yourself.

When are we most happy? The question comes now. When are we most happy? ( In Deep sleep, you're neither happy nor unhappy. It is a negative concept ) When, supposing, you are a budding musician, when you can become a wonderful musician, that is the highest point of happiness in your life. Is it not? You're a painter when you are able to paint the highest. Suppose you are interested in cooking, when you can produce a dish which everybody appreciates, then you feel… It is called fulfilment.

So, what He is telling is you just manifest -

• First the potentialities of your body.
• Next manifest the potentialities of your mind.
• And having developed them through them, Now you manifest your real divinity.

Take it as a pole vault, you know. Take it as a pole vault, body and mind, and to go beyond.

That is called jṛmbhita-yuga-īśvara - This is the second idea.

What is the third idea, which is very new for this particular age? This Swāmi Vivekānanda expressed - previously people used to think there is only one way to reach God, that is spirituality. Sri Rāmakrishna said No! You be a good housewife, you will reach the same goal. You be a good servant, you will reach the same goal, whatever. You're a scientist, You will reach the same goal. You are an artist, you will reach the same goal. But provided you don't direct all these things towards the world.

If you are a housewife, your housewife-ship should be directed towards pleasing God. Suppose there is a woman, she doesn't think her husband is God. Will she a manifest her Divinity? No.

See that story now? Bring that story now. What is the story? That housewife - Dharma vyādha samvāda - she said, ‘For me my husband is my God’, only because of that she developed all the powers. She could read what had happened in the forest. What happened to this man. Not only could she read him, she said, ‘You are traveling in the wrong path. This way is not going to take you to manifest your Divinity. You go to that Village, he will teach you.’

So is butchering a way to God realization? Yes, provided it is done as a service to God.

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So we will discuss this point and close today’s talk because so many wonderful ideas are there to be understood.

So somebody is there, he is a murderer, he is a killer. Is it a way for God realization? It is a way. What is the way? I will give you two examples.

If you are a soldier, what is your business in a war? To kill as many as possible. You get rewarded if you kill two. And if you get killed no reward. You don't say I'm a soldier. ‘I am a soldier, I am serving God. With that idea if you do your duty then that will take you to God.

So another example, you are not a soldier, you are an ordinary person. When you are studying ethics and morality, in textbooks, they will give you these examples. This is one of the examples. You are an ordinary person and one day you are going, and one fellow, he is a mad-cap or a wicked person. Whatever it is, he is about to kidnap somebody's Baby. He had already caught hold of the baby, you have a knife, or you have a gun, or stick whatever it is, and you can attack him. You attack him. If he still doesn't leave, there is only one way. What is the way? Kill him. If you kill him, are you going to be a killer, murderer? Or are you going to progress in spiritual life? What do you think?

But unnecessarily, there is no provocation, you go and just because you are in a good mood you go and shoot somebody, that is going to land you in which Swarga-Lokā? Jail Swarga-Lokā. First of all whom are they killing? Innocent people! They are not murderers, they are not mad-cap, they are not harmful people. Any madcap can produce any number of reasons to kill you. That is not what is…

I am remembering a small joke. You know Bernard Shaw’s Andracles & the Lion? Have you read about it?

A small Story. One day one fellow was walking in the forest. Before that what happened, one lion, it went and it landed itself in a thorny bush. One big thorn entered its paw. So it is unable to hunt. This fellow took pity, so he went and then pulled out that thorn and then he went on his own way. The lion did not attack him.

So after a few days, he was caught by the king. And because he was a Christian, and this lion was also caught, and this fellow was to be fed to that lion. The moment that lion came to this fellow, it recognised that fellow, ‘Arre this was the fellow who saved me’, so it started licking him. This was the story by Bernard Shaw.

Then somebody had written a beautiful cartoon, in three, four strips. So one lion, was sitting morose. A big thorn was sticking out. One - a fellow was going. Second one - the fellow came and took it out. Third - another lion also is watching this one. So there were a few bones. And that lion was happily Licking. So the other lion was looking accusingly, ‘How ungrateful you are. That person has removed you from the pain of the thorn, and you attacked and killed him’, that was the accusation. This lion, which killed the person who did good to him, was justifying it, ‘I thought that the person who did not want me to suffer from the pain of the thorn, also doesn't want me to suffer from Hunger’.

( 55:08 mins )

Jṛmbhita-yuga-īśvara -

1. We are talking about first of all God realization. Set this as the first goal in your life. Everything else is secondary. without Avatāra, we will be going… even now we are neglecting, even after He set them.
2. Second, Sarva Dharma Samanvaya.
3. Third, you must express your love through service. Śiva Jñāne Jīva Sevā.
4. Fourth, He said that any type of service, provided it is related to God… you don't need to serve temples and these things.

Many  stories are there. I'm not going to go into that that. You serve somebody looking upon that person as Śiva Himself. That is a path for you to manifest your divinity. And you will go.

Jṛmbhita-yuga-īśvara - Who incarnates? Jagadīśvara!

And what does he do? Yogasahāy. Yogā means - any endeavour that takes us to God it is called yogā. Don't only confine it to Karma-Yogā.

Pakva-Yogā..Have you heard about Pakva-Yogā? Pākā means cooking. Cooking  yogā. What is cooking Yogā? Suppose you find somebody, that person requires some soft food. So you cook for him and then you feed him, looking upon him as Śiva. That very thing will make you attain to God. Yogasahāy - anybody, who does it.

But I don't confine my Self with only that particular idea. You see, you want to be an artist? Pray to God and He will help you. You want to be a poet - Kālidasa, God will bestow His grace. You want to be a scientist He will help you. In any endeavour. You be sincere.  Only condition, one condition, only condition - What is it? Be absolutely sincere. If you are sincere, God will help you. That is why there is a beautiful English saying ‘God helps those who help themselves’. This is absolute truth.

Beautiful ideas. We will Discuss in our next class

( 58:02 mins )