Daily Messages - 2019

Messages from Swami Dayatmananda

01 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Musings on the Kalpataru Day Swami Budhananda

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Kalpataru"— as Rama Chandra Dutta saw and understood it

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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05 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

5 January 2019

(From M. the Apostle and The Evangelist)

It is 8.30 p.m. now.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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06 January 2019

6 January 6, 2019

(From M. The Apostle and the Evangelist)

It is Tuesday tomorrow. M. had gone to Panchanan Ghosh Lane to listen to the kathakata (narration of ancient stories accompanied with music etc.).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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07 January 2019

(From the Imitation of Christ)

Have a Humble Opinion of yourself

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

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

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

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

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

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08 January 2019

(From For Seekers of God)

Place: Belur Monastery. Time: Friday, August 2, 1929.

A brahmacharin saluted Mahapurushji, whereupon he remarked:

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

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

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

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

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

Saying this, he began singing this song:

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

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

Saying this he sang:

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

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

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

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09 January 2019

9 January 2019

Absorption Swami Brahmananda

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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10 January 2019

10 January 2019

Place: Belur Monastery Sunday, August 18, 1929

(Swami Shivananda)

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

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

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

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

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

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

(For Seekers of God)

11 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

From M. The Apostle and the Evangelist

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Antevasi: Where, in Dakshineswar?

M.: Yes, in Dakshineswar.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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12 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Premananda

Let the mouth be closed, and action speak.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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13 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

On Adversity

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

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

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

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

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14 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Swami Ramakrishnananda

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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15 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Where Many Live Together Friction May Occur—Patience and Forgiveness Necessary

Place: Belur Monastery

Time: Friday, July 26, 1929

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

In the course of conversation the Swami said:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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16 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Anguish / Anxiety / Anxious

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(From What The Disciples Said)

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17 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Argumentation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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18 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Direct Disciples

On Astrology

(Swami Saradananda)

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

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

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

Atheism

(Swami Ramakrishnananda)

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

Attachment

(Swami Brahmananda)

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

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

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

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

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19 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Direct Disciples

Swami Shivananda

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

Pray to the Lord! Talk to him!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Swami Premananda

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

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

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

Swami Turiyananda

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

20 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Direct Disciples

Attachment

Swami Trigunatitananda

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

Swami Adbhutananda

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

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

Swami Abhedananda

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

Swami Ramakrishnananda

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

Swami Saradananda

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

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

Swami Vijnanananda

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

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21 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Attitude

Swami Brahmananda

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

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

Swami Shivananda

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Swami Premananda

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

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

Swami Turiyananda

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

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

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

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

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

'I must realize God in this very life!'—that should be your attitude.

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22 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

From M. The Apostle and the Evangelist

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

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

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

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

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

Here is an episode:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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23 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

For Seekers of God

Place: Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Bombay

Time: January 28, 1927

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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24 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Disciples

Swami Adbhutananda

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

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

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

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

Swami Ramakrishnananda

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Swami Saradananda

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

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

Swami Akhandananda

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

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25 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

M. The Apostle and the Evangelist

M. is seated on a chair facing north. All meditate for some time. Thereafter, M. converses on spiritual matters.

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

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

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

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

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

Jagabandhu reads all the scenes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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26 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Direct Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna

Attraction

Swami Brahmananda

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

Austerity

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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27 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

The Conversations and Dialogues

Renunciation of Kama-Kanchana—God's Mercy Falls on Those Who Struggle for Realisation—Unconditional Mercy and Brahman Are One

Disciple: Shri Ramakrishna used to say, Swamiji, that a man cannot progress far towards religious realisation unless he first relinquishes lust and greed. If so, what will become of the householders? For their whole minds are set on these two things.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Disciple: But many of them are struggling for it.

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

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

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

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28 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

The Conversations and Dialogues

Disciple: But many of them are struggling (to overcome lust and gold) for it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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29 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Talks with Swami Vivekananda

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

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

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

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

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

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30 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

[Place: Baghbazar, Calcutta. Year: 1897]

Meanwhile Swamiji returned and asked the disciple, "Do the people in your part of the country know much of Sri Ramakrishna?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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31 January 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Talks with Swami Vivekananda

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

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

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

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

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

Swamiji: Yes and no.

Disciple: How is that?

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

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

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

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

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

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

01 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

1 February 2019

(Talks with Swami Vivekananda)

Disciple:—Sir, I can't understand this (Mystery of God's grace).

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

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

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

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

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

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02 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

2 February 2019

(Talks with Swami Vivekananda)

Swami Suddhananda asked, "What is the real nature of meditation, sir?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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03 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

3 February 2019

(Talks with Swami Vivekananda)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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04 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

4 February 2019

(Talks with Swami Vivekananda)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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05 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

5 February 2019

(Talks with Swami Vivekananda)

Do you now understand how Shabda is the source of creation?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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06 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

6 February 2019

The Passing away of Swami Brahmananda By Swami Siddheswarananda

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

Shri Ramakrishna Math Mylapore, Madras. 18.4.1922

My dear Father,

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

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

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

"Can you forcibly retain me?" Maharaj asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I remain.

Yours affectionately

Gopal

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07 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

7 February 2019

(Talks with Swami Vivekananda)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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08 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

8 February 2019

(Teachings of Swami Brahmananda)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Belur Math, December 1915

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

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

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

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09 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

9 February 2019

Sayings of Swami Trigunatitanandaji Maharaj

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Infinite are His forms and infinite His qualities.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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10 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

10 February 2019

Teachings of Swami Brahmanandaji Maharaj

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

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

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

11 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Spiritual Teachings of Swami Brahmananda

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

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

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

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

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

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12 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Spiritual Teachings of Swami Brahmananda

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

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

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

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

1 June 1913

How can love for God grow?

By Sadhana and prayer.

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

No, I mean, living in the family.

It is possible but very difficult.

When dispassion comes, should one renounce the world?

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

Who is a Guru?

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

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13 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Brahmananda

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

How to know him?

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

Varanasi, 3 February 1921

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

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

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

Belur Math 1918

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

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

'What is it that draws your mind away?' asked Sri Ramakrishna.

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

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

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

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

There is a verse:

Gururbrahma gururvishnuh

Gururdevo mahesvarah;

Gurureva param brahma

Tasmai Sri Gurave namah.

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

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

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14 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Brahmananda

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

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

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

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

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

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15 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Brahmananda

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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16 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Brahmananda

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What I wish to say to you is this—offer yourself heart and soul to God and let Him do with you as He pleases.

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17 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Brahmananda

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

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

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

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

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18 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Brahmananda

Maharaj was seated in the living room surrounded by many devotees. His eyes were half closed.

After some time he said:

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

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

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

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

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

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19 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji Maharaj

On Maya and Freedom

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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20 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji Maharaj

On Maya and Freedom

Maya helps man attain mukti

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The other day a monk explained it nicely:

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

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

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

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

And Maya helps man attain this Sayujya mukti too.

21 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

21 February 2019

TEACHINGS OF SWAMI ADBHUTANANDA

ADVICE TO A DEVOTEE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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22 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

22 February 2019

Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji

A devotee: "Maharaj, please tell us about the bliss of Brahman."

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

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

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

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

ON SURRENDER

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

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

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

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

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

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23 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

23 February 2019

Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji

FEELING FOR OTHERS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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24 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

24 February 2019

Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji

ON LUST

A devotee: "How can one overcome lust?"

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

ATTITUDE TOWARD WOMEN

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

ON RESTLESSNESS

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

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

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25 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

25 February 2019

Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji

DESIRES AND SENSE OBJECTS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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26 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

26 February 2019

(Teachings of Swami Vijnananandaji)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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27 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

27 February 2019

(Teachings of Swami Vijnananandaji)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

---

28 February 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

28 February 2019

(Teachings of Swami Vijnananandaji)

The greatest need is to concentrate on Him when we are dying.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Contentment in all circumstances is the mark of religious life.

1 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

From M. The Apostle and the Evangelist

The Birth Anniversary of Sri Guru Gobind Singh

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

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

Here is the song:

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

The stars shine like so many pearls.

The fragrant breeze from Mount Malaya is the incense,

The wind serves as the fly whisker,

The whole wood is lighted up.

How to perform Your arati,

The destroyer of the pain of rebirths?

The anahat sound is ringing like the flute,

The allured mind is daily thirsty

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

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

So that he may live in Thy Name.

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

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

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

The Youngman: One finds the same mood in Emerson.

M.: No, there it is somewhat different—that isn't so high bhava. Nanak saw nature as though it was absorbed in praying to the Lord with joined hands. While the former is imagination, the latter is actual vision.

---

M. (to the devotees): I remember another incident of Guru Nanak. Mardana was his close disciple. He was always with him; he was a Muslim.

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

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

He answered, 'A hen in Kabul.'

Mardana took that grain and immediately put that in his mouth. While he was devouring it, the grain instead of going into the stomach entered the nasal tube. Though he tried hard it did not come out. Then both of them reached Kabul on their way to Mecca and stayed in an inn. A hen was roaming about in the courtyard. Mardana then sneezed forcing the grain to come out. Like an arrow the hen came and swallowed it.

Guru Nanak laughed and said, 'Have faith. God has arranged everything in advance.'

One sees and hears so much and yet does not believe!

---

2 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji

On Overcoming Discouragement

A devotee: "Maharaj, is there any hope for liberation for worldly people like us? Please bless us that we can escape this whirlpool of Maya."

Latu Maharaj: "Why should you be so depressed? Do you think you understand everything about human life? Know that no life goes in vain in God's realm.

Once Brother Shashi gave a very apt illustration to someone like you. A man was out walking and came upon a canal. Seeing that he would have to jump over it in order to continue on his way, he took several strides backward to get a running start for his leap. As he ran forward and jumped over the canal, he covered not only the distance he had moved backward but also the canal itself. Now, can you tell me whether his going backward were helpful or harmful? A man might have to take backward steps in this present life, but he will undoubtedly run forward in the next.

"No life is ever lived in vain. Remember only one thing: Lead a God-centered life. Then the Lord will guide according to His will. He knows our past, present, and future. The wisest course is to surrender to him completely.

"Whether you hold onto the Lord's hand or not does not matter, he is always holding onto yours. There is no doubt about that. He will never abandon you. He is all-merciful."

---

3 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji

Forgiveness

A devotee did something wrong and was feeling very bad about it. When Latu Maharaj heard this, he called for the devotee to come and see him.

He told the devotee: "Look here, my son, just because you have made one or two mistakes, you should not give up your spiritual practices and brood over your lapses and feel hopeless. To make mistakes is human. Call on God. He will give you the strength to overcome weakness and destroy your delusion. He is the compassionate one. However great your sins might be, the current of his mercy will not be kept from you. How little is your sin, and yet you are so depressed! Just think of Ajamila and Valmiki.

Compared to their sins, yours are nothing. Do you know what Brother Vivekananda used to say? 'Don't worry about a little spot of ink on the body. It is nothing. If one bathes in God's infinite ocean of mercy, the stains of a thousand ink spots will be washed away.'

So I am telling you, do not grieve. Pray unceasingly. Your bad tendencies will go away in a short time."

Yet the devotee was so ashamed of his conduct that he could not raise his head. Seeing this, Latu Maharaj said: "Before he commits a sin, a man's conscience fills him with shame, yet he brushes it aside. But divine law is such that after the sin is committed, shame overwhelms him again, and he cannot raise his head in front of others."

Even these words could not shake the devotee free from his sense of guilt. Latu Maharaj continued: "What are you ashamed of my son? The Lord has seen everything you have done. You cannot hide anything from him. Since he knows all of it, why should you still be so melancholy? Instead, engage yourself in harder spiritual disciplines, keep the company of holy men, and come here now and then."

These words helped the devotee regain his mental strength. After this conversation with Latu Maharaj, he began to practice spiritual disciplines more vigorously.

---

4 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji

On Monastic Life

Latu Maharaj to a monk: "Never forget the goal of monastic life. Don't wear the gerua cloth [the ochre-coloured cloth of a monk] for outward show. The gerua cloth may bring you name and fame, but that will not help you realize God. Go into solitude and practice your spiritual disciplines with all your heart. Only then will you progress quickly. Avoid gossip and politics.

"Is it so easy to be a monk? A real monk longs for God, weeps for God. He does not think about himself and is not disturbed by physical discomfort. A real monk will not see faults in others, and he will have neither attachment nor aversion for anyone. He will be friendly with all.

A real monk must try to ease the sufferings of others, and if he does not have the means, he should encourage them with inspired words so that they can fight against life's odds. He does not hoard for the future and seeks nothing except God. A real monk is free from fear and is straightforward. His behaviour is simple, like a child's. Wherever he goes, he hears the call of God."

Cruelty and Compassion

A devotee: "Maharaj, where is compassion in this world? There seems to be only an unbroken chain of cruelty. The crow attacks the sparrow, the kite attacks the crow, man hunts the kite, and the tiger and the bear attack man."

"If you see cruelty around you," responded Latu Maharaj, "you will find cruelty in God. If you see compassion everywhere, you will witness his infinite compassion. It all depends on your own mind. Always remember that to the pure mind all things are pure."

On Miracles

A young man: "Maharaj, could you teach me something so that I will no longer suffer from poverty?"

Latu Maharaj: "You won't like what I tell you. You want the sort of trick that one uses to make gold out of a handful of dust; but I don't know that trick. I am a monk. I stay in this place and chant the name of the Lord. I can tell you something about God and spiritual life, but you won't be satisfied. You want miraculous powers. Are powers so easy to come by? Are you ready to exert yourself? If you can chant the Lord's name a hundred thousand times a day, then come and sit here."

After hearing these words, the young man hurried away.

---

5 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji

Sri Ramakrishna: An Exemplar

"Sri Ramakrishna embodies an ideal for everyone. He was an ideal householder, an ideal monk, an ideal guru, and an ideal disciple. Moreover, his life can serve as an example for all faiths and all sects. He is an ideal for the worshipers of Shakti, as he practiced and attained perfection in all the important Tantric sadhanas. He is an ideal for the Vaishnavites, for his devotion to Hari is unparalleled. He is also an ideal for the Shaivites, as he attained the vision of Lord Shiva too. He is an ideal for the devotees of Ramachandra, for he saw Rama and Sita. He is an ideal for the Vedantins as well, having experienced nirvikalpa samadhi, the culmination of the Vedantic sadhana, within three days. He is also an ideal for the Christians and Mohammedans, because he had the vision of Christ and also of the Prophet."

Sri Ramakrishna's Teaching on Suffering

A devotee: "Maharaj, why should a knower of Brahman like Sri Ramakrishna, who was almost always immersed in samadhi have suffered from such a terrible disease?"

Latu Maharaj: What do I know about that? I heard Master Mahashay [M.] say, 'It is because of the touch of impure people that he suffered so terribly.' Girish Babu used to say, 'It is his divine play—a way to relieve the sufferings of mankind.'

Ram Babu said: 'If the Master had not suffered from such a terrible disease, who could have recognized him? When one is in good health, one can easily fix the mind on God; but he is surely an avatar who can be continually in nirvikalpa samadhi, even when he is sick.'

Brother Loren said at that time: 'He wants to be served by us, so he has contracted this disease. Don't worry. Could we have such a priceless opportunity to serve him if he didn't have this disease? We must not miss this opportunity. Let us serve him in such a way that he will not have the heart to leave us.'

Brother Rakhal said, 'The Master is testing us.' Brother Sharat said, 'Although we may or may not understand it, a great mission is beginning through the Master's illness.' Brother Shashi said: 'Sweet Jesus allowed himself to be crucified for humanity's sake. Our Master, too is suffering excruciating pain in order to remove man's burden of sin.'

Balaram Babu once said to the Master: 'Sir, I am tired of hearing people's critical remarks about your illness. They say, "Your Master is suffering from disease!"' The Master answered, 'Listen, he who forbears, survives and becomes great.' Many people held different opinions about his illness. I don't remember them all.

"The Master used to say, 'Let the body and the disease take care of each other: O mind, be happy.' He felt no pain. I saw that he was floating in bliss. If he had really suffered, could he have given us such joy? He told us: 'Brahman is stainless. Though the three gunas [sattva, rajas, and tamas] are in Brahman, he is separate from them, as the air carries odors but still remains different from and untouched by them. Brahman is Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute. In Brahman there is no sorrow or pain, no disease or death, no decay or growth. I see everything within this [Sri Ramakrishna pointed to himself]. Brahman and the One who is within the heart are the same.'

Where is the suffering of one who, though sick, can maintain such a high level of spirituality? You people identify yourselves with the body, so when the body suffers you are frightened."

---

6 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Shivananda

Mahapurushji: 'Well, my child, ours is to serve others and purify our minds by service. As Swamiji said, "By doing good to others we do good to ourselves." The object of our service is to promote our own well-being by helping others. While carrying on works like this, one can examine oneself.

Whatever external trials and difficulties may come, you should carry on the work undisturbed. "For one's own salvation and for the good of the world"—this is your life's ideal. Your vision should be directed high. Just as your ideal is noble, so your heart should be big.

'At the back of these communal riots and dissensions I see the hand of the All-beneficent Mother. It is according to Her beneficent will that all this is taking place, and ultimately it will result in good. It will pave the way for unity among the Hindus and they will learn to organize themselves. They will then try to feel for one another. Unity, organization and fellow-feeling, these are very much needed these days.

Above everything else, the Hindus should organize and have unity among themselves. Will lethargy and narrowness of such a long duration come to an end unless there is pressure from outside?

Have faith that all this is happening because of the will of the Mother, and it will promote the well-being of the Hindus as a race. It will bring about a new awakening in the entire nation. The Hindus will prosper in every way because Sri Ramakrishna and Swamiji were born amongst them.'

---

7 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Shivananda

At about five o'clock in the afternoon Swami Vijayananda came from Calcutta. Entering Mahapurushji's room, he said: 'Maharaj, a gentleman has donated five hundred rupees for relief and promised to give more if necessary.'

Hearing this news Mahapurushji was very pleased. With folded hands he said, closing his eyes: 'Victory be to the Mother! Who can understand Her play? It is She who in one form is giving pain, and again it is She who in another form is arousing sympathy in people's hearts.'

"The Goddess who is present as compassion in every being, salutation to Her!" With one hand She is killing, with the other She is giving boons and bidding men "Be fearless!"

Swamiji used to say, "Mother Kali is a perfect manifestation of God."

Creation, preservation and dissolution—She is the doer of all these. On one side She is destroying with the sword; on the other side She is granting boons and bidding men "Be fearless!"

This is all the sport of God. In one form He is bringing pain to so many people, persecuting them with famine, sickness and grief; in another form, again, it is He who is inspiring people to remove the distress of humanity.

"Glory be to Thee! Glory be to Thee, Mother! Who will understand Thy ways?" So far no one has been able to understand the Mother, nor will anyone ever be able to. Since the dawn of creation no yogi or rishi has been able to comprehend Her. Infinite is the sport of the Mother.

Who, indeed, can know Thee unless Thou revealest Thyself? The Veda and Vedanta grope in the dark, failing to fathom Thee.

'That is why the Master used to say: "Mother, I don't want to know Thee. Who can know Thee? No one has ever known Thee, nor will anyone ever know Thee. Grant that I may not be deluded by Thy world-bewitching Maya and graciously give me pure devotion and faith at Thy lotus feet. (With folded hands) Mother, give us faith and devotion; endue us with faith and devotion."'

---

8 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

The Apostle and the Evangelist

M. (to Virinchi): Do we have an easy awakening? Just see, what a catastrophe has befallen Japan. Five lakhs of people have lost their lives outright. Why does He do these things? For our learning. How much does the worldly man sorrow for a son, but here so many persons have died together.

People do not accept God, so destruction takes place. How many times has it happened in Japan in the same manner! Even so, do people listen? Do they ever realize?

Adhar Sen was warned against riding a horse by Thakur, when for the first time he fell from the horse, but he did not listen. He fell a second time and died. Thakur said then: 'Mother does not say again and again.' At times she warns. Unless one wakes up, death is sure.

Calcutta, 5th September, 1923 A.D.

M. is seated with the bhaktas. The evening meditation followed by songs is over. M. is now reading out the picturesque account of the Lila of Thakur from the Kathamrita to the devotees.

M. reads:

Sri Ramakrishna, after the midday meals, is resting in the room with the bhaktas in Dakshineshwar. Then comes Gian Babu. He is an M.A., employed in the Government service. He is thinking whether to marry a second time or not, his first wife is dead.

Ramakrishna (seeing Gian): Hello, what a sudden awakening of jnana...! (Laughing) you being Jnana, how is it that you are ajnana (ignorant)? O, I understand, where there is jnana, there is also ajnana. Vasistha Deva, though such a jnani, also wept at the death of his son. You go beyond jnana and ajnana...

I saw (Pandit Shashadhar)—dogmatic, only dry intellectual knowledge he had... Only dry knowledge. It is like the fountain of fireworks, rising up with a sudden hiss, sparkling for a moment and dropping down in the twinkling of an eye.

M. (to the bhaktas): This is the fourth picture. The other three have gone before this. Thakur says, 'You being Jnana, how is it that you are ajnana?' That is, on marrying once you have seen that there is more pain in it than pleasure. You are sad at the passing away of your first wife, yet knowingly you are trying to enter it (household) again. That is why Thakur said this, suggesting indirectly that he should not marry again.

The mind which is to be given to His lotus feet will be spent on other matters. He is encouraging him, at the same time he is also exposing his defects. His encouragement was he has good samskaras, otherwise he could not have Thakur's darshan. So, he is saying: You are Jnana. And also 'ajnana'—meaning thereby that he is entering the household again by remarrying.

Samskaras are very powerful, dragging him. And bookish knowledge, intellectual knowledge is weak; this also he is telling referring to Shashadhar. The fountain of fireworks with a sudden hiss means that there is not much strength within. The flow of knowledge is not uniform.

Reason? This knowledge is derived from books. The knowledge which comes from God is that which He Himself supplies constantly. That's why it is not dry—unending. It is, as if it were, a long sparkling fountain—it does not hiss or die down—it does not go off the beat in talks or in behaviour. It is well-reinforced. That is why it is continuous jnana. This is called the state of a vijnani. It is attained after the supreme realization of Brahman. Chaitanya Deva and Thakur had this state.

---

9 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

M. The Apostle and the Evangelist

After a few moments, reading from the Bhagavata starts; Jagabandhu is reading:

Sri Krishna says to Arjuna: 'O son of Kunti, kill the wretched brahmin who murders sleeping innocent children at night. To pardon such a person is unlawful. He who knows the rules of war will never kill the dead-drunk, the incautious, those frenzied due to natural calamity, asleep, children, women, the unprepared, the surrendering, the mountless and the frightened enemy. Those who are cruel, wily, who by taking away the life of others fortify their own life—punishing them by death will be to their own benefit.

The reason: if wrongs are not checked by punishment or expiation, the downfall of the sinner continues. Therefore, kill this sinful murderer.'

M.: Formerly, all these rules of war were observed. Now it is not so. Even a hospital may be bombed. They are observed in a society which has God-realization as its ideal. Bharatvarsh is such a country. It has fallen and is rising again. It will rise very high. Thakur's advent is just for this reason.

---

10 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

M. The Apostle and the Evangelist

After a few moments, reading from the Bhagavata starts; Jagabandhu is reading:

Sri Krishna says to Arjuna: 'O son of Kunti, kill the wretched brahmin who murders sleeping innocent children at night. To pardon such a person is unlawful. He who knows the rules of war will never kill the drunk, the incautious, those frenzied due to natural calamity, asleep, children, women, the unprepared, the surrendering, the mountless and the frightened enemy. Those who are cruel, wily, who by taking away the life of others fortify their own life—punishing them by death will be to their own benefit. If wrongs are not checked by punishment or expiation, the downfall of the sinner continues. Therefore, kill this sinful murderer.'

M.: Formerly, all these rules of war were observed. Now it is not so. Even a hospital may be bombed. They are observed in a society which has God-realization as its ideal. Bharatvarsh is such a country. It has fallen and is rising again. It will rise very high. Thakur's advent is just for this very reason.

11 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

11 March 2019

(For Seekers of God)

JANMASHTAMI DAY—THE MASTER'S SPIRITUAL ECSTASIES.

Place: Belur Monastery. Time: Sunday, August 17, 1930.

It was Janmashtami day (the birthday of Sri Krishna). Since dawn Mahapurushji had been reciting at short intervals the many names of Sri Krishna. Often he repeated in a sweet voice: "Govinda! Govinda!" He would also chant hymns to Sri Krishna and sometimes he would sing his many names. Gradually the sadhus and brahmacharins of the Math came to see and salute the Swami.

Later, addressing Omkarananda, Mahapurushji said: "Today is a great day. Thousands of years ago, on this day, the Lord God came down to this earth as Sri Krishna for the good of the world. Even today millions of men and women draw inspiration and peace from his name. Devotees of the Lord are filled with spiritual fervour and joy on such a special day.

"We have seen how the Master would have an excess of samadhi on a day like this. In spite of his efforts, he would not be able to control his spiritual fervour. The natural trend of his mind was high. By sheer force he would bring his mind down to this earthly plane. For the good of the world the Mother would keep his mind on a lower level.

"Ah! What a sight it was! He would be so beside himself with spiritual emotion that he could hardly speak. How great was his love for God! Tears would roll down his cheeks in streams. We never saw anyone shedding such tears of love and devotion.

"In The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, here and there, we find brief descriptions of that love. Can it be described in any way? Only he who has seen it understands it. Spiritual emotion, samadhi and experiences of that kind were daily events with him.

"Master Mahashaya (M.) could not be present every day. He would visit the Master at Dakshineswar or elsewhere on Saturday, Sunday or some such holidays and he tried to keep a record of whatever happened in his presence."

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12 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

12 March 2019

(Teachings of Swami Brahmananda)

ABSORPTION.

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

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

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

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

As your mind becomes absorbed in meditation, a fountain of joy will spring up within you.

Learn to be absorbed in him. Activity is not the goal of life. Work without attachment is only a means to absorption in God.

At dead of night the mind becomes absorbed in God with very little effort.

The moment you become absorbed in the contemplation of God, you will experience unbounded joy. Days and nights will pass away in the blissful consciousness of God.

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

The mind is like a spoiled child always restless. Try repeatedly to steady it by fixing it on the Chosen Ideal, and at last you will become absorbed in him.

Meditation means a continuous flow of thought toward God. When meditation ripens, there comes absorption, and Samadhi is experienced.

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

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

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

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

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

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13 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

13 March 2019

(Teachings of Desert Fathers)

ABBOT PAMBO QUESTIONED ABBOT Anthony saying: "What ought I to do?"

And the elder replied: Have no confidence in your own virtuousness. Do not worry about a thing once it has been done. Control your tongue and your belly.

ABBOT JOSEPH of Thebes said: There are three kinds of men who find honour in the sight of God: First, those who, when they are ill and tempted, accept all these things with thanksgiving. The second, those who do all their works clean in the sight of God, in no way merely seeking to please men. The third, those who sit in subjection to the command of a spiritual father and renounce all their own desires.

A BROTHER asked one of the elders: "What good thing shall I do, and have life thereby?"

The old man replied: God alone knows what is good. However, I have heard it said that someone inquired of Father Abbot Nisteros the great, the friend of Abbot Anthony, asking: What good work shall I do, and that he replied: Not all works are alike. For Scripture says that Abraham was hospitable and God was with him. Elias loved solitary prayer, and God was with him. And David was humble, and God was with him. Therefore, whatever you see your soul to desire according to God, do that thing, and you shall keep your heart safe.

THEY said of Abbot Pambo that in the very hour when he departed this life he said to the holy men who stood by him: From the time I came to this place in the desert, and built me a cell, and dwelt here, I do not remember eating bread that was not earned by the work of my own hands, nor do I remember saying anything for which I was sorry even until this hour. And thus I go to the Lord as one who has not even made a beginning in the service of God.

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14 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

14 March 2019

SOME SAYINGS OF THE DESERT FATHERS

A BROTHER asked one of the elders: "How does fear of the Lord get into a man?"

And the elder said: If a man have humility and poverty, and judge not another, that is how fear of the Lord gets into him.

ONCE some brethren went out of the monastery to visit the hermits who lived in the desert. They came to one who received them with joy and seeing that they were tired, invited them to eat before the accustomed time and placed before them all the food he had available. But that night when they were all supposed to be sleeping the hermit heard the cenobites talking among themselves and saying: These hermits eat more than we do in the monastery.

Now at dawn the guests set out to see another hermit, and as they were starting out their host said: Greet him from me, and give him this message: Be careful not to water the vegetables.

When they reached the other hermitage they delivered this message. And the second hermit understood what was meant by the words. So he made the visitors sit down and weave baskets, and sitting with them he worked without interruption. And in the evening when the time came for lighting the lamp, he added a few extra psalms to the usual number, after which he said to them: We do not usually eat every day out here, but because you have come along it is fitting to have a little supper today, for a change.

Then he gave them some dry bread and salt, then added: Here's a special treat for you. Upon which he mixed them a little sauce of vinegar, salt and oil, and gave it to them.

After supper they got up again and started in on the psalms and kept on praying almost until dawn, at which the hermit said: Well, we can't finish all our usual prayers, for you are tired from your journey. You had better take a little rest.

And so when the first hour of the day came, they all wanted to leave this hermit, but he would not let them go. He kept saying: Stay with me a while. I cannot let you go so soon, charity demands that I keep you for two or three days.

But they, hearing this, waited until dark and then under cover of night they made off.

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15 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

15 March 2019

SOME SAYINGS OF THE DESERT FATHERS

AN ELDER said: Here is the monk's life-work: obedience, meditation, not judging others, not reviling, not complaining. For it is written: you who love the Lord, hate evil. So this is the monk's life: not to walk in agreement with an unjust man, nor to look with his eyes upon evil, nor to go about being curious, and neither to examine nor to listen to the business of others. Not to take anything with his hands, but rather to give to others. Not to be proud in his heart, nor to malign others in his thoughts. Not to fill his stomach, but in all things to behave with discretion. Behold, in all this you have the true monk.

AN ELDER said: Cut off from yourself rash confidence, and control your tongue and your belly, and abstain from wine. And if anyone speak to you about any matter do not argue with him. But if he speaks rightly, say: Yes. If he speaks wrongly say to him: You know what you are saying. But do not argue with him about the things he has said. Thus your mind will be at peace.

ABBOT ANTHONY said: Just as fish die if they remain on dry land so monks, remaining away from their cells, or dwelling with men of the world, lose their determination to persevere in solitary prayer. Therefore, just as the fish should go back to the sea, so we must return to our cells, lest remaining outside we forget to watch over ourselves interiorly.

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16 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

16 March 2019

SOME SAYINGS OF THE DESERT FATHERS

ABBOT ARSENIUS prayed to the Lord saying: Lord, lead me to salvation.

And a voice came to him saying: Arsenius, fly from men and you shall be saved. Again, embracing the monastic life, he prayed in the same words. And he heard a voice saying to him: Arsenius, fly, be silent, rest in prayer: these are the roots of non-sinning.

A CERTAIN brother went to Abbot Moses in Scete, and asked him for a good word. And the elder said to him: Go, sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.

AN ELDER saw a certain monk laughing and said to him: In the presence of the Lord of heaven and earth we must answer for our whole life.

IT WAS said of Abbot Agatho that for three years he carried a stone in his mouth until he learned to be silent.

ONE of the brethren questioned Abbot Isidore, the elder of Scete, saying: Why is it that the demons are so grievously afraid of you?

The elder replied: From the moment I became a monk I have striven to prevent anger rising to my lips.

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17 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

17 March 2019

SOME SAYINGS OF THE DESERT FATHERS

ABBOT MACARIUS said: If, wishing to correct another, you are moved to anger, you gratify your own passion. Do not lose yourself in order to save another.

ABBOT HYPERICHIUS said: It is better to eat meat and drink wine, than to slander and devour the flesh of your brother.

ONCE in Scete a bottle of wine from the new vintage was brought in, so that the brethren might have some, each in his goblet. One of the brethren came in and seeing that they had received wine, he ran and hid in the cellar. But the cellar caved in.

When they had heard the noise, they ran and found the brother lying half dead, and they began to rebuke him, saying: It serves you right, because of your vanity.

But the Abbot, giving him every care, said: Forgive my son, for he has done well. And as the Lord lives, this cellar shall not be built again in my time, so that the world may know that for the sake of a glass of wine a cellar collapsed in Scete.

A MONK ran into a party of handmaids of the Lord on a certain journey. Seeing them he left the road and gave them a wide berth.

But the Abbess said to him: If you were a perfect monk, you would not even have looked close enough to see that we were women.

A CERTAIN brother, renouncing the world, and giving the things he owned to the poor, kept a few things in his own possession. He came to Abbot Anthony.

When the elder heard about all this, he said to him: If you want to be a monk, go to that village and buy meat, and place it on your naked body and so return here.

And when the brother had done as he was told, dogs and birds of prey tore at his body.

When he returned to the elder, the latter asked if he had done as he was told. The brother showed him his lacerated body.

Then Abbot Anthony said: Those who renounce the world and want to retain possession of money are assailed and torn apart by devils just as you are.

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18 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

18 March 2019

SOME SAYINGS OF THE DESERT FATHERS

ABBOT ANASTASIUS had a book written on very fine parchment which was worth eighteen pence, and had in it both the Old and New Testaments in full.

Once a certain brother came to visit him, and seeing the book made off with it. So that day when Abbot Anastasius went to read his book, and found that it was gone, he realized that the brother had taken it. But he did not send after him to inquire about it for fear that the brother might add perjury to theft.

Well, the brother went down into the nearby city in order to sell the book. And the price he asked was sixteen pence.

The buyer said: Give me the book that I may find out whether it is worth that much. With that, the buyer took the book to the holy Anastasius and said: Father, take a look at this book, please, and tell me whether you think I ought to buy it for sixteen pence. Is it worth that much?

Abbot Anastasius said: Yes, it is a fine book, it is worth that much.

So the buyer went back to the brother and said: Here is your money. I showed the book to Abbot Anastasius and he said it is a fine book and is worth at least sixteen pence.

But the brother asked: Was that all he said? Did he make any other remarks?

No, said the buyer, he did not say another word.

Well, said the brother, I have changed my mind and I don't want to sell this book after all. Then he hastened to Abbot Anastasius and begged him with tears to take back his book.

But the Abbot would not accept it, saying: Go in peace, brother, I make you a present of it. But the brother said: If you do not take it back I shall never have any peace.

After that the brother dwelt with Abbot Anastasius for the rest of his life.

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19 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

19 March 2019

SOME SAYINGS OF THE DESERT FATHERS

ABBOT THEODORE of Pherme had three good books. And when he had come to Abbot Macarius he said to him: I have three books, and I profit by reading them. Also the brethren ask to borrow them, and they profit also. Now tell me, what ought I to do?

And the elder replied, saying: Those things that you do are good, but better than all else is to possess nothing.

When he had heard this, he went off and sold the above-mentioned books, and gave their price to the poor.

ABBOT AMMONAS said that he had spent fourteen years in Scete praying to God day and night to be delivered from anger.

ABBOT PASTOR said: The virtue of a monk is made manifest by temptations.

AN ELDER said: The reason why we do not get anywhere is that we do not know our limits, and we are not patient in carrying on the work we have begun. But without any labour at all we want to gain possession of virtue.

AN ELDER said: Just as a tree cannot bear fruit if it is often transplanted, so neither can a monk bear fruit if he frequently changes his abode.

A CERTAIN brother came, once, to Abbot Theodore of Pherme, and spent three days begging him to let him hear a word. The Abbot however did not answer him, and he went off sad.

So a disciple said to Abbot Theodore: Father, why did you not speak to him? Now he has gone off sad!

The elder replied: Believe me, I spoke no word to him because he is a trader in words, and seeks to glory in the words of another.

ANOTHER brother asked the same elder, Abbot Theodore, and began to question him and to inquire about things which he had never yet put into practice himself.

The elder said to him: As yet you have not found a ship, and you have not put your baggage aboard, and you have not started to cross the sea: can you talk as if you had already arrived in that city to which you planned to go? When you have put into practice the thing you are talking about, then speak from knowledge of the thing itself!

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20 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

20 March 2019

(Teachings of Swami Shivananda)

Mahapurushji: Is Dakshineswar just an ordinary place? God Himself incarnated for the good of the world, and it is there that He undertook hard austerities and spiritual practices such as the world had not seen before, and, maybe, will not see again. Dakshineswar is the epitome of all the holy places of the world; every particle of its dust is holy. It is a great place of pilgrimage for all aspirants of all sects, be they Hindus, Mohammedans, Christians, or again Shaivas, Saktas, or Vaishnavas. As for the other sacred places of the world, it is either that an aspirant has attained realization through a certain spiritual path in one, or that a realized person has cast off his body in another.

"But Dakshineswar has witnessed the spiritual practices undergone by God Himself. Who indeed can tell of the infinite spiritual moods that found expression there? In the course of time people will realize the greatness of the place; then they will be eager to get the very dust of that sacred spot. The intense spiritual atmosphere of the place can never be destroyed. From the day that I heard that the Mother was not being properly served and worshipped, I have been invoking Her here daily and offering worship mentally.

"To Her I say: 'Mother, have thy offerings here itself; accept our service instead.' I shall be saved from all worries when the temple services and worship are suitably arranged for.... In a way, Mathur Babu made a gift of the whole property to the Master, in all sincerity; but the Master did not accept it then.

"Now his work is spreading on all sides and in many ways. Hence it is necessary to preserve that place. Mother willing, all that will come under the Math."

21 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Shivananda

Mahapurushji: Whenever a religious organization fell, the root cause was the absence of spiritual practices, renunciation, austerity, and so forth. In this organization also, we have nothing to fear and it will all run smoothly so long as detachment and dispassion shine bright; and so long as each member of the organization believes that God-realization is the only goal of life and accordingly engages himself in spiritual practices and austerity.

Maharaj (Swami Brahmananda) used to depict the true outlook of a holy man with the help of a beautiful illustration. He used to say that a monk should think that he is living under a tree even while dwelling in a palace; and even when being supplied with the best food, he should remember that he is, after all, living on alms that is free from all impurity.

This means that the monk should remain detached under all circumstances and keep the attitude of austerity flaming within for ever. One need have no fear so long as the ideal remains unadulterated. It is only the inner consecration to ideal that counts. Besides, whatever you do, you do for God alone, and nothing for yourselves. So, work also becomes a spiritual practice for you. When one performs work as service to Him, one gets rid of the impurities of the mind; there can be no doubt about that. Of course, you have to undertake other forms of spiritual practice along with this.

'Troubles arise only when there is any slackness in spiritual practices. You have to do His work without any attachment. Know it for certain that if one goes on performing one's duties under the sincere faith that one is doing God's work, one can never suffer spiritually. God protects such a one for ever. But the fall comes as soon as egoism and attachment creep in.

The Master used to say that there should be no self-deception in the matter of sticking to the ideal. One need have no fear so long as one clings to the idea: "I am grateful that I am able to do His work, to serve Him through this." One should keep strict vigilance over one's mind, analysing it at every turn.

Whenever you notice that the course of your mind is altering even slightly, you should at once start praying to Him with all humility, and you should apply yourself more intensely to your spiritual practice. And even while working, one has to maintain a constant current of thought about Him.

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22 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna

How can the mind find joy in external beauty once it becomes absorbed in the feet of the Lord, the Beloved, the source of infinite beauty? Having once tasted of the joy of the infinite, earthly pleasures seem trifling.

I tell you, my son; you will get the highest joy from the Master's name itself; you will get everything from his name—be it spiritual ecstasy or God-absorption.

But everything takes its own time. It will not do to be restless. One has to get deeply absorbed in spiritual exercises; one must strengthen one's spiritual attitude in one's own mind. One may get a temporary enthusiasm by noticing somebody else's spiritual fervour; but then one must remember that all such men had to pass through hard struggle.

Call on Him with the utmost earnestness; repeat His name with all sincerity; and get absorbed in Him through and through. Then you will enjoy the bliss that belongs to one who is free even while in this body.

The real peace comes only when the mind becomes absorbed in Him, not earlier. This is not a thing to come all of a sudden; one has to persevere diligently.

Don't let your time pass idly, my son. You have to be fully absorbed in calling on him; it won't do to be half-hearted.

Gradually, by the repetition of His name and earnest prayers to Him the mind will become absorbed in Him.

Swami Shivananda

You must strive with all the might of your body, mind, and heart to love God, to be melted into his love, and to become absorbed in him.

In order to attain wisdom of God and liberation for one's own self, one need only to receive the sacred mantra from an illumined guru, and, with complete faith, become absorbed in the practice of japam and meditation.

In order to become stabilised in renunciation and dispassion one must try to become absorbed while repeating with single-minded devotion the name of God.

So long as there is the least desire the mind cannot be absorbed in God.

Swami Premananda

Meditation can be on divine forms as well as on Om. As one goes on meditating, the mind gets absorbed in Om. As one goes on repeating Om and reflecting on its meaning, the mind becomes steady, that is to say, it does not give up.

In Samadhi, absorption in God, there is complete destruction of the mind, but it must be the Nirvikalpa absolute Samadhi.

What is meditation but absorption in a subject?

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23 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Direct Disciples

Swami Adbhutananda

A thread with stray fibres cannot pass through the eye of a needle; similarly, a mind with desires cannot be absorbed in God.

Realization of God means that one becomes absorbed in him, transcending his attributes and powers. It is not an easy thing!

[To the question: "Is it possible to pour Sadhana into another person?"]

Yes. But not everyone can do that. He who has seen God and been absorbed in his bliss—he can.

Swami Saradananda

Perfect peace will not come until the mind is fully concentrated. You must dwell on God uninterruptedly and be absorbed in the contemplation of His true nature.

If you practice japa and meditation regularly, without break for some years, you will see for yourself what result comes to pass. Your mind will become pure and you will be absorbed in the thought of God. Then you will be reluctant to leave off meditation even for a single day. There will come an inner tranquillity which will fill your heart with joy.

Swami Brahmananda

Pain follows pleasure and every action brings its own reaction.

It is easy to do great deeds, the deeds that bring name and fame. But it is by his small, everyday actions that a man's character is known.

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

Be active, but keep the constant recollection of God.

Certainly it is easier to do a noble deed for the sake of name and fame. But by such deeds a man's real value cannot be measured. To know the real man, examine his daily actions; for it is his everyday actions which reveal his true character. A true karma-yogi will lose himself heart and soul in any undertaking, even though it is of a very menial kind. He is never motivated by the least desire for popular approval.

Truth is the pillar to which you must always hold while performing any action.

But of course there is the effect of Karma. If you do any wrong action, you must suffer from disquiet of mind and other consequences.

Swami Shivananda

Every man should do something good, that is, some selfless deed. By something good I mean activity done without any attachment. If you can help a poor man by giving him food, or educate a needy boy by providing his board and lodging according to your means, that will be sufficient. In cases that are beyond your means you can engage in such good deeds in cooperation with friends of yours. Many activities of this nature you will find close at hand. If you wish to do them, you can easily do so.

[To the question: "Can I continue to be pure and spiritual irrespective of my actions, good or bad?"]

Certainly not. Your good actions contribute to make you more and more spiritual, while the bad ones go to drag you down to samsara and prevent your freeing the soul from the bondage of birth and death: to obtain that freedom is and ought to be the one aim of your having taken birth as a human being.

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24 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Direct Disciples

Swami Premananda

Let the mouth be closed, and action speak.

Is a person worthy to be called a human being if he cannot give up selfishness, if he cannot give up his pleasures of the senses? To take the name of Sri Ramakrishna, and at the same time to be selfish! Is there any progress for such a hypocrite? Think wisely and firmly; and act accordingly.

Be completely desireless, but act.

Do not be swayed by words of praise or blame, or let your actions be influenced by the opinions of others.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Swami Turiyananda

Some people think that inaction in itself is the ideal. If it be so, why then, the wall also should be considered to have attained Samadhi. Should not one transcend all dualities? To maintain one's mental balance under all circumstances, to remain absolutely unmoved—that indeed is the goal!

Man has to his credit the actions of many previous births, which must work themselves out.

The highest conception is to think that everything is He. Failing that, it is best to think that He is the real agent behind all actions and He is causing us to act.

Yes, as a race you [English and Americans] are very materialistic, but I have met with exceptions. And activity is not bad. I like your energy, you are all up and doing. I see no idleness anywhere. Only that energy should be controlled. It should go inward also, activity in inactivity.

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25 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Divine Providence has given man the sense of free will and the principle of karma. It is left to man to do as he wishes. If he chooses to do actions which bring him less happiness and more misery, he alone is responsible, not God.

Every action brings a corresponding result. A man will get social merit through his philanthropic activities, but if his ego is involved in those activities, he will not get any spiritual merit. Even the result of a good action turns into a bondage if it is done with ego. None can escape the wheel of karma through self-motivated action. On the other hand, unselfish action destroys the bondages of action and brings liberation to man.

Real yearning for God is the result of associating with the holy, and a person gets the opportunity for holy company only as a result of many good actions.

Other acts do not count so much as a moment's love for the Lord.

[To the question: "Can a man ever do as he likes?"]

Sometimes he thinks he is doing as he likes, but in reality God is guiding all his movements. God is the only doer, nothing is done by man.

[Question: "Then what is the use of man's making any effort to be good or to realize God?"]

You cannot stop acting. Your very nature is to act. Can you remain perfectly quiet even for a moment? This body is born to act. Your hands, your feet, your eyes and ears have a natural tendency to action. As long as you must act, you will want to do that which will bring the most desirable results; so, as long as you act you will have to try to be good, to be virtuous, to be unselfish, in order to get the desirable results you are seeking, and since God is the most desirable result to be attained, you will have to strive to realize Him.

If you want to give up one bad habit you must develop the corresponding good habit, and this requires tremendous Rajas or activity on your part.

In this world we find some beautiful, some ugly; some high, some low; some happy, some miserable; some virtuous, some vicious; some kind, some cruel; some acquiring fame by good deeds, some looked down upon for being scavengers.

If one enquires into the root-causes of such diversities, it is found that past life actions are responsible for them. Our life is moulded by the powers of both divine grace and personal effort. The present life is in part the effect of actions done in past lives. Results of actions done in this life are partly experienced here and partly in the next as fate.

Wipe away the dust, arouse your ambition, stir up your activity and know that all power is latent in you. You are not limited.

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26 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Direct Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna

The goal of all paths is the same. Each path is equally powerful. But none should be undertaken to the exclusion of the others: knowledge must unite with devotion. And this unity must be expressed through action. Knowledge without love is dry. Love without service is pure sentimentalism.

When a person is in a vortex of activities, his mind remains below the transcendental plane where spiritual communion is possible.

Let activism come first, then will follow peacefulness; and lastly will come enlightenment.

Sadhana is our attempt to get to Him through every action. You have to do even small things in a perfect way.

Be active and at the same time sensible.

Dedicate your life to good work. God blesses all good action.

What the westerners call fate or destiny, we characterize as the result of our actions in previous births.

From Buddha's life and discourses, we find that action follows thought; as you think, so you act. As loving thoughts help in expanding the consciousness, so do anger, jealousy, and envy lead to its contraction.

If you, too, make proper use of your opportunities, you can also achieve great things. God is behind us always; always remember Him in everything you do. Every action leads to a certain result; you cannot afford to forget that.

These ceremonial functions are not child's play. All our actions have the ultimate aim of attaining spiritual enlightenment or God-realization. Whether you reach that goal through the path of selfless action or through spiritual austerities is of no consequence. But the goal of all action is to receive illumination.

It is useless for people to brag about their actions. It is only through His will that things are happening.

Secondly, whatever God wills is immediately done. We, also, should have the power to translate our wishes into action.

[In order to come nearer to God] you have to adhere to truth and have to be steadfast in this respect. The mind and the tongue must become one. And your action should be in harmony with your speech.

As you think, so you act.

All our actions have the ultimate aim of attaining spiritual enlightenment or God-realization. Whether your efforts in this direction are made through the path of selfless action or through spiritual austerities is of no consequence. But the goal of all efforts is to receive enlightenment.

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27 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Direct Disciples

Adversity

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

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

Nothing can bar the progress of what God intends to make successful. Unless one passes through the school of adversity, one cannot properly be called a man. We learn much from our troubles. You should not lose heart in adversity. Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas, prayed to Sri Krishna to beset her with adversities, since in adversity alone is He more frequently remembered!

Now regarding advice: in a general way we all believe in giving advice; but applying the advice to our daily lives is a very complex and puzzling affair. Indiscriminate advice never brings the desired result in many cases, it brings just the opposite result. So, we try to give advice only when we care about the person and when we think our words will carry some weight. In the case of someone who is stubborn and very near and dear to us and who, due to his lack of experience is in imminent danger of being harmed by an insincere person, we must take the risk of being disbelieved and misunderstood and offer advice and then leave the matter in the hands of the Lord.

The most important aim in spiritual life is the attainment of God's grace. The breeze of grace is always blowing; unfurl your sails. Give up worldly enjoyments and completely resign yourself to the Lord. You cannot love God and the world at the same time. If you want God, shun temporal pleasures. Ask yourself: 'What is it I want? Do I want this fleeting life of transient pleasures, or do I want the eternal bliss of everlasting life?'

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28 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Sayings of the Desert Fathers

ONCE a certain provincial judge heard of Abbot Moses and went off to Scete to see him. Someone told the elder that the visitor was coming and he rose up to fly into the marshes. But on the way he ran into the judge with his companions.

The judge asked him, saying: Tell us, elder, where is the cell of Abbot Moses?

The elder replied: What do you want with him? The man is a fool and a heretic!

The judge went on and came to the church of Scete and said to the clerics: I heard about this Abbot Moses and came out here to meet him. And an old man heading for Egypt ran into us, and we asked him where was the cell of Abbot Moses, and he said to us: What do you want with him? The man is a fool and a heretic!

But the clerics, hearing this, were saddened and said: What kind of old man was this, who said such things to you about the holy man?

They said: He was a very old elder with a long black robe.

Then the clerics said: Why, that was Abbot Moses himself. And because he did not want to be seen by you, therefore he said those things about himself. Greatly edified, the judge returned home.

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ABBOT POEMEN said: Unless the desire of gluttony had come into the soul, the mind of man would not have been enkindled by the temptations of the devil.

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A CERTAIN brother came to Abbot Silvanus at Mount Sinai, and seeing the hermits at work he exclaimed: Why do you work for the bread that perisheth? Mary has chosen the best part, namely to sit at the feet of the Lord without working.

Then the Abbot said to his disciple Zachary: Give the brother a book and let him read, and put him in an empty cell. At the ninth hour the brother who was reading began to look out to see if the Abbot was not going to call him to dinner, and sometime after the ninth hour he went himself to the Abbot and said:

Did the brethren not eat today, Father?

Oh yes, certainly, said the Abbot, they just had dinner. Well, said the brother, why did you not call me?

You are a spiritual man, said the elder, you don't need this food that perisheth. We have to work, but you have chosen the best part. You read all day, and can get along without food!

Hearing this the brother said: Forgive me, Father.

And the elder said: Martha is necessary to Mary, for it was because Martha worked that Mary was able to be praised.

---

29 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Desert Fathers

ONE of the brethren had sinned, and the priest told him to leave the community. So then Abbot Bessarion got up and walked out with him, saying: I too am a sinner!

---

A BROTHER in Scete happened to commit a fault, and the elders assembled, and sent for Abbot Moses to join them. He, however, did not want to come. The priest sent him a message, saying: Come, the community of the brethren is waiting for you.

So he arose and started off. And taking with him a very old basket full of holes, he filled it with sand, and carried it behind him.

The elders came out to meet him, and said: What is this, Father?

The elder replied: My sins are running out behind me, and I do not see them, and today I come to judge the sins of another!

They, hearing this, said nothing to the brother but pardoned him.

---

A CERTAIN brother inquired of Abbot Pastor, saying: What shall I do? I lose my nerve when I am sitting alone at prayer in my cell.

The elder said to him: Despise no one, condemn no one, rebuke no one, God will give you peace and your meditation will be undisturbed.

---

AN ELDER said: Do not judge a fornicator if you are chaste, for if you do, you too are violating the law as much as he is. For He who said thou shalt not fornicate also said thou shalt not judge.

---

ONE of the Fathers told a story of a certain elder who was in his cell busily at work and wearing a hairshirt when Abbot Ammonas came to him. When Abbot Ammonas saw him wearing a hair-shirt he said: That thing won't do you a bit of good.

The elder said: Three thoughts are troubling me. The first impels me to withdraw somewhere into the wilderness. The second, to seek a foreign land where no one knows me; The third, to wall myself into this cell and see no one and eat only every second day.

Abbot Ammonas said to him: None of these three will do you a bit of good. But rather sit in your cell, and eat a little every day, and have always in your heart the words which are read in the Gospel and thus you can be saved.

---

30 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Some Sayings of the Desert Fathers

ONE of the monks, called Serapion, sold his book of the Gospels and gave the money to those who were hungry, saying: I have sold the book which told me to sell all that I had and give to the poor.

---

ONE of the brethren had been insulted by another and he wanted to take revenge. He came to Abbot Sisois and told him what had taken place, saying: I am going to get even, Father. But the elder besought him to leave the affair in the hands of God. No, said the brother, I will not give up until I have made that fellow pay for what he said.

Then the elder stood up and began to pray in these terms: O God, Thou art no longer necessary to us, and we no longer need Thee to take care of us since, as this brother says, we both can and will avenge ourselves.

At this the brother promised to give up his idea of revenge.

---

ONE of the brothers asked Abbot Sisois: Supposing some robbers or savages attack me and try to kill me: if I can overcome them should I kill them myself?

The elder replied: Not at all. But commit yourself entirely to God. Any evil that comes to you, confess that it has happened to you because of your sins, for you must learn to attribute everything to the dispensation of God's wisdom.

---

THERE was once a great hermit in the mountains and he was attacked by robbers. But his cries aroused the other hermits in the neighbourhood, and they ran together and captured the robbers. These they sent under guard to the town and the judge put them in jail.

But then the brothers were very ashamed and sad because, on their account, the robbers had been turned over to the judge.

They went to Abbot Poemen and told him all about it.

And the elder wrote to the hermit saying: Remember who carried out the first betrayal, and you will learn the reason for the second. Unless you had first been betrayed by your own inward thoughts, you would never have ended by turning those men over to the judge.

The hermit, touched by these words, got up at once and went into the city and broke open the jail, letting out the robbers and freeing them from torture.

---

31 March 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Sayings of the Desert Fathers

IT WAS told of Abbot John the Dwarf that once he had said to his elder brother: I want to live in the same security as the angels have, doing no work, but serving God without intermission. And casting off everything he had on, he started out into the desert.

When a week had gone by he returned to his brother. And while he was knocking on the door, his brother called out before opening, and asked: Who are you?

He replied: I am John.

Then his brother answered and said: John has become an angel and is no longer among men. But John kept on knocking and said: It is I. Still the brother did not open, but kept him waiting.

Finally, opening the door, he said: If you are a man, you are going to have to start working again in order to live. But if you are an angel, why do you want to come into a cell?

So John did penance and said: Forgive me, brother, for I have sinned.

---

ABBOT PASTOR said: If you have a chest full of clothing, and leave it for a long time, the clothing will rot inside it. It is the same with the thoughts in our heart. If we do not carry them out by physical action, after a long while they will spoil and turn bad.

---

THE SAME Father said: If there are three monks living together, of whom one remains silent in prayer at all times, and another is ailing and gives thanks for it, and the third waits on them both with sincere good will, these three are equal, as if they were performing the same work.

---

HE SAID, again: Malice will never drive out malice. But if someone does evil to you, you should do good to him, so that by your good work you may destroy his malice.

---

AND HE also said: He who is quarrelsome is no monk: he who returns evil for evil is no monk: he who gets angry is no monk.

---

A BROTHER came to Abbot Pastor and said: Many distracting thoughts come into my mind, and I am in danger because of them.

Then the elder thrust him out into the open air and said: Open up the garments about your chest and catch the wind in them.

But he replied: This I cannot do. So the elder said to him: If you cannot catch the wind, neither can you prevent distracting thoughts from coming into your head. Your job is to say No to them.

---

ABBOT AMMONAS said: One man carries an axe all his life and never cuts down a tree. Another, who knows how to cut, gives a few swings and the tree is down. This axe, he said, is discretion.

1 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

M. The Apostle and the Evangelist

"The child drinks the mother's milk. So it lives. We also do the same. The Big Mother's milk (Jagadamba's) we are always drinking. Air, water, food—everything is Her milk. During the winter, She is Herself on the body, in the form of cotton and wool, protecting the body. That's also drinking Her milk."

M. sits down on the north side of the terrace. Overwhelmed with emotion he sings:

You are Tara. Though you have assumed the three gunas, You are even beyond the limitless. I know You, merciful Mother! You are the one to free me from all trials and tribulations. You live on sea, You live on land and you are at the root of the Beginning. You live in bodies, in all hearts, both with form and without form.

You are Sandhya, you are Gayatri. You are the nurse of the Universe, O Mother! You enable one to cross the ocean of the world, You, the Ever-Beloved of Shiva.

O Ma, the Controller of the hearts! You are ever awake within. Night and day I live in your lap. Why have you so much affection, love for this lowly child? You are, as though mad in Your Love.

Sometimes lovingly, sometimes with all Your force, You make me drink Your nectar and tell me sweet tales. How You love me! It cannot be calculated. Again and again You redeem me, You the Redeemer of the fallen!

Oh! I have found the secret now: Ma is mine and I Hers. I must walk the path of virtue, listen to You. Sucking at your breast I must be strong and brave, And sing joyfully, "Victory to You, Mother Eternal!"

---

2 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

M. The Apostle and the Evangelist

Ashwatthama was bound and brought before Draupadi.

Seeing his condition, Draupadi said, 'Free him at once... The guru's family to which all reverence is due, will be drowned in the ocean of sorrow—that would be wrong. I am crying, shedding incessant tears all the time at the shocking loss of my sons. Let not his mother Gautami also have to shed tears in the same way.'

M.: Just see. She lost five sons, so much sorrow for her, but even then she did not give up her duty. This is possible only in India. She has lost everything herself but she doesn't pay much heed to that, her object of attention is Gautami. Lest she should have to fall in this fire of grief, that was her only thought. This is what is called divine disposition.

What a heroism in spite of her being a woman. Where others' interest comes first and one's own interest later, there resides this divine disposition. In other words, the abode of God. When the opposite is the case it is animal disposition, human disposition. Sri Krishna was with them, you see.

That is why such a high ideal. Such a thing is rare in the world.

Hearing these great words of Draupadi, Sri Krishna said, 'Yes, the guru's son should not be killed.' A murderer can be killed but as the guru's son he cannot be.

Even so, to save both sides the guilty should be punished and yet his life saved. On Sri Krishna's advice, Arjuna, having pierced a hole in the jewel of his forehead, exiled Ashwatthama. May be the jewel was tied to his top tuft of hair that was cut. This is a death like insult. It is for this reason, I believe, that the people of the west (to the west of Bengal) don't let anybody touch the top tuft of hair.

---

3 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

M.: The Apostle and the Evangelist

Mary, the disciple of Jesus, was a prostitute. She was turned into a saint by his contact. After the crucifixion, she was the first to whom Jesus gave darshan. Mary had cried a potful of tears for God. God judges the mind. They who cry for Him, them He lifts into His lap. Genuine tears for Him are needed.

The War of Kurukshetra was over. Dhritarashtra, Kunti and the Pandavas are sitting together. Gandhari is smitten by grief. Sri Krishna consoling her, says, 'Devi, give up your grief. Death will carry away all, sooner or later. Engage your mind in the meditation of the Self.'

Thakur had said: 'One day, I saw in dhyan a Himalayan high tower of dead bodies, and I was sitting in the midst of them.' In other words, the whole world is a cremation ground! Everybody has the impress of death fixed on his face. So the tower of death. If somebody were to think on just this picture and perform japa, he would attain perfection. But who has the awakening?

Q: What is samadhi?

M.: In samadhi, the external-consciousness is lost—one becomes one with Ishwara. So, nobody can tell what one's internal state becomes then. Once a salt-doll had gone to measure the ocean, but got dissolved and itself became the ocean. So who would then come back to report?

The mind is uplifted completely from this external world of rupa-rasa (form and taste). He who reaches that state only knows what happens—it is not possible to make others understand that state fully. It is the state of being beyond mind and speech. Someone has seen the sea. He tries to explain it to another who has not seen it. Just as this attempt is incomplete and hazy so is that. Samadhi cannot be described correctly. It is not possible to explain it by words of mouth. After the samadhi, one feels a continuous flow of a particular ananda, a never ending joy lingers—and there is peace within.

'I am the Self of the Eternal Bliss'—this jnana, this realisation, never disappears. Only a man of samadhi lives alive and awakened in this mortal world. He lives in the world but is not of the world, he is a jivan-mukta.

(After a momentary silence) 'Various are the states of jnana. In a particular state, Thakur used to say: "The plants and trees, the fruits and flowers, the gardener and the entire garden, so to say, appear to be made of wax—all made of Satchidananda."

This state is called visishtadvaita—qualified nondualism.'

---

4 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

M.: The Apostle and the Evangelist

M. (to the devotees): There are three bodies within. The gross, the subtle and the causal. Thakur used to refer to the causal body as Bhagavati Tanu (the spiritual body). The food for the gross body is all this: eatables, drinks and so on; the subtle body comprises the mind and the intellect—which also need food.

And the causal body—its food is the effort to attain God. It also needs food.

A man chooses association according to what he is. Thakur cherished the desire to see some bhaktas sitting together and doing japa.

Noting that Latu had woken up late in the morning, Thakur reprimanded him one day and said that if he was not well he could get up, repeat the name of God for a while, after washing his hands and mouth, and lie down again.

"Wayward people could not stay with him. Those who stayed with him had always to engage themselves in some Godly pursuit such as japa etc."

Dharmapada Babu (to M.): Can one remain without meditation on God (which is the food for the causal body)?

M.: Where is the question here of what one can do or cannot, what one should do or should not? It is He who makes us do. Do people act after thinking? He makes us do, there is no way out. It's prakriti, one's nature—there's no question of 'should'—it does not arise at all.

Now M. sings some songs:

Blessed by Thy vision, when, O when, Lord Hari, the embodiment of Love, the wave of blissful knowledge will swell up in my heart? (When will that day dawn on me?)

When will the body be thrilled and the mind and soul enthralled, with tears of joy flowing down the two eyes (beholding Thy enchanting beauty)?

When shall I see in the depths of my heart (drowned deep in emotion) thy loving face aglow with purity and light divine? When shall I fulfill my heart's cherished desire and have Thy touch of embrace?

---

5 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Desert Fathers

ABBOT PALLADIUS said: The soul that wishes to live according to the will of Christ should either learn faithfully what it does not yet know, or teach openly what it does know. But if, when it can, it desires to do neither of these things, it is afflicted with madness. For the first step away from God is a distaste for learning, and lack of appetite for those things for which the soul hungers when it seeks God.

ONE of the elders said: If a man settles in a certain place and does not bring forth the fruit of that place, the place itself casts him out, as one who has not borne its fruit.

AN ELDER was asked: What does it mean, this word we read in the Bible, that the way is strait and narrow?

And the elder replied: This is the strait and narrow way: that a man should do violence to his judgments and cut off, for the love of God, the desires of his own will. This is what was written of the Apostles: Behold we have left all things and have followed Thee.

ONE of the elders said: It is not because evil thoughts come to us that we are condemned, but only because we make use of the evil thoughts. It can happen that from these thoughts we suffer shipwreck, but it can also happen that because of them we may be crowned.

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6 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Desert Fathers

A BROTHER inquired of Abbot Pastor saying: My soul suffers harm from living with the Spiritual Father that I have. What, then, do you command me to do? Shall I go on staying with him?

Now Abbot Pastor knew that the brother's soul would be harmed by this other Abbot, and he was surprised that he even asked whether he ought to go on staying with him. And he said to him: If you like, stay with him. The brother went off and remained with that Father. But he came back again, saying to Abbot Pastor: It is a great burden on my soul! And still Abbot Pastor did not tell him to leave the man. Finally the brother came back a third time and said: Believe me, I am through with him!

Then the elder said: See! now you are saved, go, and have no more to do with him.

And Abbot Pastor told the same brother: When a man sees that his soul is suffering harm, he has no need to ask advice about it. When it is a matter of secret thoughts, one asks advice, that the elders may test them. But when there are manifest sins there is no need to inquire—you just break off at once.

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7 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Desert Fathers

ANOTHER elder said: It happens that one man eats more and yet remains hungry, and another man eats less, and is satisfied. The greater reward belongs to the one who ate more and is still hungry than to him who ate less and is satisfied.

THERE was a certain brother who was praised by all the others in the presence of Abbot Anthony, but when the elder tested him he found that he could not bear to be insulted.

Then Abbot Anthony said: You, brother, are like a house with a big strong gate, that is freely entered by robbers through all the windows.

A CERTAIN brother came to Abbot Poemen and said: What ought I to do, Father? I am in great sadness.

The elder said to him: Never despise anybody, never condemn anybody, never speak evil of anyone, and the Lord will give you peace.

ONE of the brethren asked an elder, saying: Father, do the holy men always know when the power of God is in them?

And the elder replied: No, they do not always know it. For once a very great hermit had a disciple who did something wrong and the hermit said to him: Go and drop dead!

Instantly the disciple fell down dead and the hermit, overcome with terror, prayed to the Lord, saying: Lord Jesus Christ, I beg Thee to bring my disciple back to life and from now on I will be careful what I say. Then right away the disciple was restored to life.

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8 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Desert Fathers

ONE of the elders used to say: In the beginning when we got together we used to talk about something that was good for our souls, and we went up and up, and ascended even to heaven.

But now we get together and spend our time in criticizing everything, and we drag one another down into the abyss.

YET another elder said: If you see a young monk by his own will climbing up into heaven, take him by the foot and throw him to the ground, because what he is doing is not good for him.

ABBOT BESSARION, dying, said: The monk should be all eye, like the cherubim and seraphim.

ABBOT PASTOR said: Get away from any man who always argues every time he talks.

A CERTAIN elder said: Apply yourself to silence, have no vain thoughts, and be intent in your meditation, whether you sit at prayer, or whether you rise up to work in the fear of God. If you do these things, you will not have to fear the attacks of the evil ones.

ANOTHER of the elders said: When the eyes of an ox or mule are covered, then he goes round and round turning the mill wheel: but if his eyes are uncovered he will not go around in the circle of the mill wheel.

So too the devil if he manages to cover the eyes of a man, he can humiliate him in every sin. But if that man's eyes are not closed, he can easily escape from the devil.

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9 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Desert Fathers

CERTAIN brethren came from the Thebaid to buy linen, and they said to one another: This opportunity will enable us to see the Blessed Arsenius. But when they came to his cave, his disciple Daniel went in and told him of their wish.

Arsenius replied: Go, my son, receive them and do them honour. But permit me to look upon heaven, and let them go their way. My face, they shall not see.

THE holy Fathers came together and spoke of what would happen in the last generation, and one of them especially, called Squirion, said: We now fulfil the commandments of God.

Then the Fathers asked him: What about those who will come after us?

He replied: Perhaps half of them will keep the commandments of God and will seek the eternal God.

And the Fathers asked: Those who come after these, what shall they do?

He replied and said: The men of that generation will not have the works of God's commandments and will forget His precepts. At that time wickedness will overflow and the charity of many will grow cold. And there shall come upon them a terrible testing. Those who shall be found worthy in this testing will be better than we are and better than our fathers. They shall be happier and more perfectly proven in virtue.

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10 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

M. The Apostle and the Evangelist

M. sings:

Thou hast removed all my sorrows and charmed my mind with Thy vision. Having Thee, the woes of the seven worlds are forgotten.

M.: Vivekananda sang these songs at the Cossipore Garden after he heard Thakur say: "But I feel very clearly that there is the One within." Thakur had also said, "So long as there is 'I', the master-and-servant relationship is only good." Vivekananda was full of these feelings. Coming down he, therefore, sang these songs.

M. again sings a song:

O mind, you do not know how to farm. Fallow lies the rare field of man's life. Had you cultivated it well it would have yielded gold. Hedge it with the name of Kali; no harm would come to the harvest. The hedge of Goddess Kali with flowing hair is the stoutest of all, Death does not come near it. Now or a hundred years later, you have to forfeit this land. Concentrate, O mind! do your utmost to reap a rich harvest. Sow the seed your Guru has given you and irrigate it with the water of love. And if you cannot do it alone, O mind, take Ramprasad with you for help.

After singing this song, M. sits in silence for a long time. Now he resumes his talk.

M. (to the bhaktas): We are drinking milk from Her breast, through different channels, day and night. At the Goldighi, we saw birds taking bath in the water, one after the other. On seeing it, it came to my mind: Lo! for them also He has provided water beforehand.

(To Gadadhar) "One should, therefore, practise tapasya in solitude—and constantly pray to Thakur: 'Lord, reveal Thyself, reveal Thyself, reveal Thyself!'"

11 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

M. The Apostle and the Evangelist

"See Christ was crucified. Rama was drowned in the River Sarayu. Krishna cast off his body when an arrow from a fowler's bow hit him. According to one version Chaitanya Deva was drowned in the sea. Ramakrishna Deva suffered from cancer for a year.

"Why this suffering even in the case of an avatara? So that people may have hope and courage.

"Again, see Shankaracharya had anal fistula, the Buddha colic pain. The latter was very old. It was as if a cart with a broken wheel was being dragged along, its body being immobile.

'Why did such a thing happen to Thakur? So that, 'Seeing me, the bhaktas may have hope and courage.'

"The Buddha sent for Ananda and told him this: 'The cart is without one wheel. This body is pulling along like this.' "

M. is looking upwards. He sings this song: 'O Mother, seeing your strange antics, O Playful One, I am struck dumb.'

M. (to the bhaktas): Only to bring courage to man—lest one should forget Him in suffering—He who is the giver of the body.

Said Thakur: "Look, I am also suffering. It has to be so, as long as the body lasts."

"Chaitanya Deva was drowned in water. The first time, the fishermen picked him up. The second time, no news of him. This appears to be the most reliable version of his passing away."

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12 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji

On Overcoming Discouragement

A devotee: "Maharaj, is there any hope for liberation for worldly people like us? Please bless us that we can escape this whirlpool of Maya."

Latu Maharaj: "Why should you be so depressed? Do you think you understand everything about human life? Know that no life goes in vain in God's realm.

Once Brother Shashi gave a very apt illustration to someone like you: A man was out walking and came upon a canal. Seeing that he would have to jump over it in order to continue on his way, he took several strides backward to get a running start for his leap. As he ran forward and jumped over the canal, he covered not only the distance he had moved backward but also the canal itself.

Now, can you tell me whether his several steps backward were helpful or harmful? A man might have to take backward steps in this present life, but he will undoubtedly run forward in the next.

"No life is ever lived in vain. Remember only one thing: Lead a God-centered life. Then the Lord will guide you as he likes. He knows our past, present, and future. The wisest course is to surrender to him completely. Whether you hold onto the Lord's hand or not does not matter, he is always holding onto yours. There is no doubt about that. He will never abandon you. He is all-merciful."

Remorse and God's Forgiveness

A devotee did something wrong and was feeling very bad about it. When Latu Maharaj heard this, he called for the devotee to come see him.

He told the devotee: "Look here, my son, just because you have made one or two mistakes, you should not give up your spiritual practices and brood over your lapses and feel hopeless. To make mistakes is human. Call on God. He will give you the strength to overcome weakness and destroy your delusion. He is the compassionate one. However great your sins might be, the current of his mercy will not be kept from you. How little is your sin, and yet you are so depressed! Just think of Ajamila and Valmiki, compared to their sins, yours are nothing.

Do you know what Brother Vivekananda used to say? 'Don't worry about a little spot of ink on the body. It is nothing. If one bathes in God's infinite ocean of mercy, stains of a thousand inkspots will be washed away.' So I am telling you, do not grieve. Pray unceasingly. Your bad tendencies will go away in a short time."

Yet the devotee was so ashamed of his conduct that he could not raise his head.

Seeing this, Latu Maharaj said: "Before he commits a sin, a man's conscience fills him with shame, yet he brushes it aside. But the divine law is such that after the sin is committed, shame overwhelms him again, and he cannot raise his head in front of others."

Even these words could not shake the devotee free from his sense of guilt.

Latu Maharaj continued: "What are you ashamed of my son? The Lord has seen everything you have done. You cannot hide anything from him. Since he knows all of it, why should you still be so melancholy? Instead, engage yourself in harder spiritual disciplines, keep the company of holy men and come here now and then."

These words helped the devotee regain his mental strength. After this conversation with Latu Maharaj, he began to practice spiritual disciplines more vigorously.

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13 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji

On Monastic Life

Latu Maharaj to a monk: "Never forget the goal of monastic life. Don't wear the gerua cloth [the ochre-coloured cloth of a monk] for outward show. The gerua cloth may bring you name and fame, but that will not help you realize God. Go into solitude and practice your spiritual disciplines with all your heart. Only then will you progress quickly. Avoid gossip and politics.

"Is it so easy to be a monk? A real monk longs for God, weeps for God. He does not think about himself and is not disturbed by physical discomfort. A real monk will not see faults in others, and he will have neither attachment nor aversion for anyone. He should be friendly with all.

A real monk must try to ease the sufferings of others, and if he does not have the means, he should encourage them with inspired words so that they can fight against life's odds. He does not hoard for the future and seeks nothing except God. A real monk is free from fear and is straightforward. His behaviour is simple, like a child's. Wherever he goes, he hears the call of God."

Cruelty and Compassion

A devotee: "Maharaj, where is compassion in this world? There seems to be only an unbroken chain of cruelty. The crow attacks the sparrow, the kite attacks the crow, man hunts the kite, and the tiger and the bear attack man."

"If you see cruelty around you," responded Latu Maharaj, "you will find cruelty in God. If you see compassion everywhere, you will witness his infinite compassion. It all depends on your own mind. Always remember that to the pure mind all things are pure."

On Miracles

A young man: "Maharaj, could you teach me something so that I will no longer suffer from poverty?"

Latu Maharaj: "You won't like what I tell you. You want the sort of trick that one uses to make gold out of a handful of dust: but I don't know that trick. I am a monk. I stay in this place and chant the name of the Lord.

I can tell you something about God and spiritual life, but you won't be satisfied. You want miraculous powers. Are powers so easy to come by? Are you ready to exert yourself? If you can chant the Lord's name a hundred thousand times a day, then come and sit here."

After hearing these words, the young man hurried away.

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14 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji

Sri Ramakrishna: An Exemplar

"Sri Ramakrishna embodies an ideal for everyone. He was an ideal householder, an ideal monk, an ideal guru, and an ideal disciple. Moreover, his life can serve as an example for all faiths and all sects. He is an ideal for the worshipers of Shakti, as he practiced and attained perfection in all the important Tantric sadhanas.

He is an ideal for the Vaishnavites, for his devotion to Hari is unparalleled. He is also an ideal for the Shaivites, as he attained the vision of Lord Shiva too. He is an ideal for the devotees of Ramachandra, for he saw Rama and Sita. He is an ideal for the Vedantins as well, having experienced nirvikalpa samadhi, the culmination of the Vedantic sadhana, within three days.

He is also an ideal for the Christians and Mohammedans, because he had the vision of Christ and also of the Prophet."

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15 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji

Sri Ramakrishna's Teaching on Suffering

A devotee: "Maharaj, why should a knower of Brahman like Sri Ramakrishna, who was almost always immersed in samadhi, have suffered from such a terrible disease?"

Latu Maharaj: "What do I know about that? I heard Master Mahashay ['M.'] say, 'It is because of the touch of impure people that he suffered so terribly.'

Girish Babu used to say, 'It is his divine play, a way to relieve the sufferings of mankind.'

Ram Babu said: 'If the Master had not suffered from such a terrible disease, who could have recognized him? When one is in good health, one can easily fix the mind on God, but he is surely an avatar who can be continually in nirvikalpa samadhi, even when he is sick.'

"Brother Loren said at that time: 'He wants to be served by us, so he has contracted this disease. Don't worry. Could we have such a priceless opportunity to serve him if he didn't have this disease? We must not miss this opportunity. Let us serve him in such a way that he will not have the heart to leave us.'

Brother Rakhal said: 'The Master is testing us.'

Brother Sharat said, 'Although we may or may not understand it, a great mission is beginning through the Master's illness.'

Brother Shashi said: 'Sweet Jesus allowed himself to be crucified for humanity's sake. Our Master, too is suffering excruciating pain in order to remove man's burden of sin.'

"Balaram Babu once said to the Master: 'Sir, I am tired of hearing people's critical remarks about your illness. They say: "Your Master is suffering from disease!"'

The Master answered: 'Listen, he who forbears, survives and becomes great.'

Many people held different opinions about his illness. I don't remember them all.

"The Master used to say, 'Let the body and the disease take care of each other, O mind, you be happy.' He felt no pain. Hari Maharaj saw that he was floating in bliss. If he had really suffered, could he have given us such joy?

He told us: 'Brahman is stainless. Though the three gunas [sattva, rajas, and tamas] are in Brahman, he is separate from them, as the air carries odours but still remains different from and untouched by them. Brahman is Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute. In Brahman there is no sorrow or pain, no disease or death, no decay or growth. I see everything within this [Sri Ramakrishna pointed to himself]. Brahman and the One who is within the heart are the same.'

Where is the suffering of one who, though sick, can maintain such a high level of spirituality? You people identify yourselves with the body, so when the body suffers you are frightened."

---

16 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Desert Fathers

THE story is told that one of the elders lay dying in Scete, and the brethren surrounded his bed, dressed him in the shroud, and began to weep. But he opened his eyes and laughed. He laughed another time, and then a third time.

When the brethren saw this, they asked him, saying: Tell us, Father, why you are laughing while we weep?

He said to them: I laughed the first time because you fear death. I laughed the second time because you are not ready for death. And the third time I laughed because from labours I go to my rest. As soon as he had said this, he closed his eyes in death.

---

ABBOT LOT came to Abbot Joseph and said: Father, according as I am able, I keep my little rule, and my little fast, my prayer, meditation and contemplative silence; and according as I am able I strive to cleanse my heart of thoughts: now what more should I do?

The elder rose up in reply and stretched out his hands to heaven, and his fingers became like ten lamps of fire. He said: Why not be totally changed into fire?

---

THEY used to say of Abbot Sisois that unless he quickly lowered his hands and ceased from praying, his mind would be carried away into heaven. And whenever he happened to pray with another brother, he made haste to lower his hands lest his mind be carried away and he remain in another world.

---

ONE of the Fathers said: Just as it is impossible for a man to see his face in troubled water, so too the soul, unless it be cleansed of alien thoughts, cannot pray to God in contemplation.

---

A BROTHER came and stayed with a certain solitary and when he was leaving he said: Forgive me, Father, for I have broken in upon your Rule.

But the hermit replied, saying: My Rule is to receive you with hospitality and to let you go in peace.

---

A BROTHER said to Abbot Pastor: If I give one of my brothers a little bread or something of the sort, the demons spoil everything and it seems to me that I have acted only to please men.

The elder said to him: Even if your good work was done to please, we must still give to our brothers what they need. And he told him this story.

Two farmers lived in a village. One of them sowed his field and reaped only a small and wretched crop. The other neglected to sow anything at all, and so he reaped nothing. Now which of the two will survive, if there is a famine?

The brother replied: The first one, even though his crop is small and wretched.

The elder said to him: Let us also sow, even though our sowing is small and wretched, lest we die in the time of hunger.

---

17 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Memoirs of Swami Adbhutanandaji

'A woman devotee came one day and said to the Holy Mother: "I am very poor, I cannot afford always to bring something for the Master. Today I have prepared some sweets for him and brought it here. Will you kindly take them to him?"

Mother said, "He has already finished his lunch. He does not take anything after that. Why, my daughter, have you brought it so late?"

This set the lady weeping. Soon after the Master came there with unsteady steps, merged in bhava-samadhi, took the things from the devotee's hands, partook a little of it and gave the rest back to her. He then turned to me and said, "Henceforth, my boy, whatever things are brought for me should be taken first to Nahabathkhana, i.e. to Holy Mother and then distributed among the devotees."

A devotee asked, "Maharaj, why did the Master make such a rule?"

Latu Maharaj: Why? It is because during his illness all kinds of people used to come to him. Many of them were not pure, nor did they give presents without motives.

Once it happened like this. I gave something to him during his lunch. He at once cried out, "Whose is this thing? Uh! That fellow's—he is a miser to the marrow. He has sent this with the motive that his son be cured." Saying this he threw the thing out of his dish. Such turned out to be daily occurrences. He used to send all things to Holy Mother so that their bad effects could be obviated by her touch or look.

'Once it so happened that there was a swelling in his legs. He was still at Dakshineswar. Mahendra Kaviraj asked him to take lemons. Brother Yogen used to bring two fresh lemons everyday. The Master would take them daily.

But one day he could not take them. Yogen was astonished. On enquiry it was found that from that day the garden had been leased out to another man for a year. As the Master was given to truth he could not take the lemons that day, for the permission to take the fruits had been obtained not from the new lessee but from the old owner, who, after the leasing out, had no right over the fruits."

In this connection Latu Maharaj narrated another incident, which we give below:

'One day the Master saw a ripe mango fallen under a mango tree of the garden. He could not pick it up. He told one of us, "Hello! There is a mango there, why don't you pick it up and give it over to the manager?" The manager, however, did not take it, he asked the man who brought it to him to eat it.'

---

18 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji

On the Truth of Brahman

A Devotee: "Maharaj, the scriptures say that Brahman is seated in the heart of man. What does that mean?"

'Latu Maharaj: "It is just a figure of speech. Words cannot really encompass the truth of Brahman, although the scriptures have tried to describe it in that way. Brahman is everywhere. There is no in or out, high or low, east or west with him. He is one, inherent in everything. He is all-pervading, limitless, eternal. Various attempts have been made to describe Brahman, but what is beyond thought cannot really be expressed in language. He is in everything and, again, is beyond everything. Sri Ramakrishna used to say, Everything has been defiled by the lips of man except the truth of Brahman.'"

A Devotee: "Maharaj, you monks are inscrutable! Instead of making positive statements, you speak only in vague terms! Please tell us what you have understood of this truth."

Latu Maharaj: "You see, this realization cannot be expressed. One uses language to express an idea, but so far no adequate language has been discovered for talking about Brahman.

The Master used to say, 'My boys, I would like to tell you many things, but the Divine Mother presses my lips, as it were, and does not allow me to talk.'

"You speak thousands of words every day. Have you ever thought about where these words come from?"

The devotee: "They must come from the mind."

Latu Maharaj: "Can you say, then, from which part of the mind they come, and in what form? And then, where is the mind itself?"

The devotee, of course, could not reply.

A Devotee ventured: "There is a neural connection between the brain and the tongue, so the mind must be in the brain."

Latu Maharaj: "In what form?"

A Devotee: "As vibration."

Latu Maharaj: "Now tell me whether that vibration is continuous or whether it stops and starts."

Bihari Babu was surprised: "Maharaj, I haven't thought about it."

Latu Maharaj: "Then please think it over."

A Devotee: "Perhaps it stops and then starts again, exciting the nerves of the brain and bringing out the response."

Latu Maharaj: "If the vibration does stop, can you tell me what makes it start again, especially in the case where there is no external stimulus?"

A Devotee: "No, Maharaj, we really can't say."

Latu Maharaj: "So you see, you can express these things up to a point, but no further."

After some time both Bihari Babu and the other devotee saluted Latu Maharaj and took leave of him. As they were approaching their carriage, Bihari Babu said: "I have never heard such words before. This unlettered monk has thought over even such subtle things as these. It is really amazing! We are proud of our scholarship, but in reality he is more learned than we are."

---

19 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji

Maya and Freedom

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

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

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

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

When God takes away the sense of ego, the perception of duality, good and evil also disappears. So long as a man is subject to the law of karma, he is aware of good and evil. When, through God's grace, a man is released from the bonds of karma, the man's awareness of good and evil also goes: for good and evil are the fruits of karma. As you sow, so you will reap. It is the Lord who established this law of karma for the benefit of the world and mankind. Divine Providence has given man the sense of free will and the principle of karma. It is left to man to do as he wishes. If he chooses to do actions which bring him less happiness and more misery, he alone is responsible, not God."

---

20 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji

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

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

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

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

Latu Maharaj: "Yes, from one point of view they are the same, but there is another point of view, too. The Master used to say: The waves belong to the ocean, but no one can say that the ocean belongs to the waves. Similarly, Maya belongs to God, but Maya is not God. So you cannot say that being guided by Maya is the same as being guided by God. Nevertheless, the ultimate purpose of Maya's guidance is certainly to take the individual soul to God."

A Devotee: "But everybody says that Maya deludes the individual soul and leads him astray."

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

A Devotee: "What! Maya is working for God?"

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

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

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

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

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

21 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji

Removing the Covering of Ignorance

One day Shashadhar Ganguli, a teacher from Malda, asked Latu Maharaj, "Can the Atman be an object of knowledge?"

Latu Maharaj: "An object is something which cannot be known without the help of something else, but the Atman is self-revealing. So you cannot say the Atman is an object of knowledge."

The teacher: "Then why should we want to know the Atman?"

Latu Maharaj: "Because the Atman is our real nature."

The teacher: "If the Atman is our real nature, then why are we not aware of it?"

Latu Maharaj: "Listen, can anyone deviate from his real nature? If he does, it cannot be called his real nature: for it is changeable. Man's real nature is covered by a dense cloud of ignorance, and consequently he appears to be something different, but that does not mean he has deviated from his real nature."

The teacher: "I couldn't follow you. Would you please explain this a little more?"

Latu Maharaj: "All right. Suppose here is a brass pot covered with stains. Looking at it, one may think it is made of something other than brass, but that thought cannot change its nature; the brass pot still remains brass. It is like that."

The teacher: "But Maharaj, that analogy is not suitable here. The brass pot never thinks of itself as not being brass, but man thinks of himself as being something other than the Atman."

Latu Maharaj: "That is not so. Man also does not think that he is something else. He may say, 'my body,' 'my mind,' 'my intellect,' but he never says, 'I am the body,' or 'I am the mind.' He knows that what he calls 'his' is not the same as 'himself.' Man's I-consciousness is always there, he is not devoid of it, only he cannot express it. You can feel hungry or sleepy, but can you tell me who you really are?"

The teacher: "No, Maharaj. But I do feel hunger or fatigue."

Latu Maharaj: "That is what I mean. You are aware of your consciousness, but you are unable to express it."

The teacher: "Why can't I express it?"

Latu Maharaj: "Because your mind is so deeply covered with desires, doubts, and ignorance that your real nature is unable to express itself. Haven't you seen those polishing shops at Mechuabazar in Calcutta where they have glass jars filled with coloured liquids? The metal worker takes a tarnished brass pot and dips it into a jar, and instantly all the tarnish goes away and the pot starts to glitter. Then he dips it into another jar and it turns a golden colour.

Similarly, the cloudy stuff which has been covering our I-consciousness must first be washed away: then we shall see the brilliance of the inmost Self."

The teacher: "How can we wash it away, Maharaj?"

Latu Maharaj: "Dip your mind in the jar of the Lord's name, and all the unclean stuff will be washed away. Then dip it in the jar of the Lord's grace. You will see how beautifully your real nature will shine forth. You will have to clean your mind first. There is no other way. If you want happiness in this world, think of yourself as pure gold and not as gold-plated. The idea of 'mine' produces misery, while the knowledge of the real 'I' [the higher Self] brings bliss. The knowledge of the Self removes ignorance, and this Self is the Atman, the real nature of man."

The teacher: "But the Atman is all-pervading while the 'I' [the lower self] is limited."

Latu Maharaj: "It does not matter. You have seen the jasmine flower; how small it is! On its tiny petal you may find a dewdrop in the morning, and in that dewdrop you can see the reflection of the infinite blue sky. Likewise, the 'I' may be limited, but by the grace of God it can catch the reflection of the infinite Atman."

The teacher: "How can we attain God's grace, Maharaj?"

Latu Maharaj: "Control lust and greed. Practice japam and be charitable. If you can do this, you will find the Lord showering his grace upon you."

---

22 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji

On Meditation

A devotee: "Maharaj, is there any difference between the meditation of a jnani [one following the path of knowledge] and that of a bhakta [one who follows the path of devotion]?"

Latu Maharaj: "Yes. A bhakta meditates on the name and form of the Lord, while a jnani meditates on the identity of the individual soul and Brahman. But whatever the object of meditation may be, eventually both aspirants will reach the same goal.

When meditation deepens, both the name and form of the Lord and also the knowledge of the identity of the individual soul and Brahman disappear. That is certain. At that time, only a current of experience which is indescribable remains.

One day the Master told us, intensified meditation brings the knowledge of Oneness."

A devotee: "What is meant by the knowledge of Oneness?"

Latu Maharaj: "Can it be expressed in words? When that knowledge dawns, body-consciousness disappears, the mind stops and even the intellect vanishes: only an uninterrupted Consciousness flows."

---

23 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji

The Mystery of Samadhi

Latu Maharaj: "Is samadhi merely a figure of speech? The human mind gets a little glimpse of God only after long and constant practice of concentration and meditation, and only then can one realize God's attributes and powers. Infinite are his attributes, and infinite are his powers! Who can transcend them?

One could spend millions of lives concentrating on just the glories of God, but what would he gain from it? He might comprehend God's glory and power, but that does not mean he has truly experienced him.

Realization of God means that one becomes absorbed in him, transcending his attributes and powers. It is not an easy thing! An aspirant can reach God only if, out of his mercy, God helps him to go beyond his attributes and powers.

It is God's grace alone that enables an aspirant to stop the waves of the mind and dissolve the intellect; otherwise who can stop the functioning of his mind and intellect by his own efforts? And know for certain that one attains samadhi only after the dissolution of his mind and intellect."

A devotee: "Maharaj, do you mean to say that an aspirant cannot attain samadhi through self-effort? We have heard that one attains samadhi by practicing concentration and meditation."

'Latu Maharaj: "What you have heard is true. The samadhi achieved through concentration and meditation is termed by Sri Ramakrishna chetan samadhi.' In this samadhi there is an interplay of ecstasy and power.

But the Master also used to speak of another kind of samadhi in which the mind dissolves and the ego disappears. I am telling you the truth, no one can attain that samadhi without divine grace."

A devotee: "Maharaj, people say practice brings siddhi (success)."

Latu Maharaj: "Yes, you may attain siddhi, but not real samadhi. An aspirant attains siddhi and prosperity through exertion and power, but he realizes God through samadhi. Nobody can express the experience of samadhi. One can hint at God's attributes in words or speak of his power, but God is not limited by these. Infinite are his glories and infinite are his powers! Who can limit God? All spiritual powers and supernatural powers together cannot reveal him.

God is in everything and again he is beyond everything. Just as you have many good qualities and you can do many things, so also you have many powers which you can either show or hide; but these do not reveal your real nature. Your real nature permeates through your qualities and powers, and again, it is beyond them.

An aspirant can have a glimpse of the glory and power of God, but this does not mean he can comprehend God fully. An aspirant realizes God only when God reveals himself to him."

---

24 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji

Spiritual Counsel

One evening Dr. De Mello, who had spent some time at the Advaita Ashrama at Mayavati, came to see Latu Maharaj. As he approached the Swami, he could hear him saying to himself, "God is formless and with form too."

Strangely enough, that had been the thought uppermost in Dr. De Mello's mind, and he asked, "If God is with form, then can one see him?"

Latu Maharaj: "Yes, by all means."

Dr. De Mello: "Maharaj, when I was at Mayavati I kept a picture of Jesus Christ on my desk and meditated on him. One day I saw that picture as a living form. All of a sudden that form vanished, and in its stead I saw Sri Ramakrishna.

Then that form also disappeared, giving place to Buddha. Was this a hallucination?"

Latu Maharaj: "Oh, no, no. It was not a hallucination. That is quite common. You are on the right track; continue on. One who has seen one great soul may see many others. Sri Ramakrishna used to see many divine forms."

Dr. De Mello: "Maharaj, I get confused sometimes. I do not know on whom I should meditate."

Latu Maharaj: "Whom do you love the most?"

Dr. De Mello: "I love Jesus Christ and Ramakrishna equally."

Latu Maharaj: "Whom have you loved all along?"

The doctor then told a little of the history of his family, which had been Christian for the four preceding generations.

Then Latu Maharaj advised him: "Meditate on Christ. Have faith in him and pray to him. You will reach your goal."

---

25 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Adbhutanandaji

On Preaching

"Can one preach religion simply by beating a drum? Is religion something external to us, something one person speaks about and another person accepts? Religion is realization, and one cannot realize the truth through noise and fanfare. The more a preacher shouts, the more people's minds turn outward; and unless the mind is turned inward, God-realization is not possible.

"Inevitably, if there is no substance inside, a man's words are empty and carry no conviction. There must be renunciation, dispassion, and genuine love for God, only then will people believe you. The Lord's will works in this peculiar way.

Look at Swami Vivekananda's life. After practicing hard spiritual disciplines he got the command from the Master to preach, and people have accepted what he said. With one lecture Swamiji became world-famous."

On the Guru

A devotee: "Is it absolutely necessary to have a guru in order to make spiritual progress?"

Latu Maharaj: "If you are in earnest about spiritual practices, you should have a teacher, a guru. You can accept the Lord himself as your guru, if you have that much faith in him. But it is better to have a great devotee of God as your guru. Do you know why? What do you do when you feel thirsty and are looking for water? Don't you go to the nearest place where water is available?"

A devotee: "Yes, Maharaj."

Latu Maharaj: "You surely don't go to the ocean which is far away. Isn't that so?"

A devotee: "Yes. If we can get water nearby, why should we go all the way to the ocean?"

Latu Maharaj: "So your question is answered. The human guru is like the water in the river near us, and the Lord is like the water in the ocean. When the thirst for God arises, one should go to a human guru who is near at hand, for he can satisfy your thirst very quickly."

On Cultivating Spiritual Qualities

A devotee: "Maharaj, what are the duties of a householder?"

Latu Maharaj: "If you want to live a happy, contented life, stop criticizing others. Do not find fault with others. It is better to pass the time sleeping than gossiping and criticizing. Keep away from places where you find such talk going on. Try to see the good qualities in others. This is the way to get rid of the habit of fault-finding. Evil qualities pollute the mind of a person who searches for the lapses and shortcomings of others.

"Feel others' sufferings as you feel your own. Take every opportunity to serve people, and do not injure anybody.

"Be grateful to all who help you. Be charitable to all, even to a person who abuses you. And do not run into debt, for debts bring worries.

"Try to be pure and discriminate between good and evil.

Do not perform any action which will prick your conscience. "Do not forget God. Chant his name in the morning and evening, and, if you can, try to meditate at night."

---

26 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Desert Fathers

SOME elders once came to Abbot Anthony, and there was with them also Abbot Joseph. Wishing to test them, Abbot Anthony brought the conversation around to the Holy Scriptures. And he began from the youngest to ask them the meaning of this or that text. Each one replied as best he could, but Abbot Anthony said to them: You have not got it yet.

After them all he asked Abbot Joseph: What about you? What do you say this text means?

Abbot Joseph replied: I know not! Then Abbot Anthony said: Truly Abbot Joseph alone has found the way, for he replies that he knows not.

---

JOHN of Thebes said: The monk must be before all else humble. This is the first commandment of the Lord who said: Blessed are the poor of spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

---

ONCE Abbot Macarius was on his way home to his cell from the marshes, carrying reeds, and he met the devil with a reaper's sickle in his path. The devil tried to get him with the sickle, and couldn't.

And he said: I suffer great violence from you, Macarius, because I cannot overcome you. For see, I do all the things that you do. You fast, and I eat nothing at all. You watch, and I never sleep. But there is one thing alone in which you overcome me.

Abbot Macarius said to him: What is that?

Your humility, the devil replied, and only because of it I cannot overcome you.

---

27 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Be Resigned to God—Nothing Can Be Accomplished Without His Grace

Place: Belur Monastery

Time: April 18, 1929

It was about five in the afternoon. A monk saluted Mahapurushji, who inquired, 'Well, do you have anything to ask?' He asked the monk this question, because the monk seldom came at this hour.

Monk: 'Yes, Maharaj, yesterday I went to see M. He spent much time telling us some of Sri Ramakrishna's teachings.'

Swami: 'Ah! he is a great devotee of the Master. You would not hear of anything but the Master from him.'

Monk: 'Maharaj, my mind is very much disturbed. I have not been able to do much spiritual practice. Time is passing fast. What will happen to me?'

Swami: 'My child, be resigned to God. Nothing can be accomplished without His grace. Can man realize Him by spiritual practice alone? If He reveals Himself out of compassion, then alone can one realize Him, otherwise not. Who is competent to reach Him? How long can a man pursue spiritual practice? Say, two hours, four hours or at the most eight hours. Not only that; it is the Lord who is responsible for the desire for spiritual practice. He is the Fountain of all forces! Unless He is gracious and gives us the strength, how can we pursue spiritual practice? That is why I am stressing that you should be resigned to God.

Fervently pray, "O Lord! Be merciful to me." Then alone will He be merciful. It is mercy alone that counts, mercy, mercy. Sri Ramakrishna used to say, "One should say 'Thou and Thine' and not 'I and mine.'" What can we do unless He graciously reveals Himself? Grace, grace is what is necessary. Be gracious to us, O Lord!'

Monk: 'Maharaj, I can hardly pray. My mind is so restless! I find it hard to concentrate at times.'

Swami: 'No, you will have to pray and pray very earnestly. Do not be depressed; do not be disheartened. Be in a happy mood and pray. He will give you everything, my child, everything you want. There is nothing He will withhold from you.

He will give you faith, renunciation, purity, discrimination, dispassion and all. Whatever He has He will give you. He embodied Himself as man because He wanted to give you all these virtues. That is why He has brought you here and given you shelter in His Order.

Do not think you are here as a result of your own efforts. Never for a moment cherish that idea! Out of compassion He has drawn you all here. He is the very Ocean of selfless compassion. My child, be resigned to Him. Everything will come in time. I say, you will have everything. He will fill you with devotion and faith.'

'You belong to the Master's fold. You have nothing to be afraid of.'

Saying this, the Swami started singing:

Stay by yourself, O mind!

Why wander here and there?

Look within in the inner chamber of your heart,

And you will find, right there, whatever you desire.

---

28 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

It Is Inner Seeing That Counts

Place: Belur Monastery

Time: Tuesday, April 30, 1929

In the afternoon Srijut Gangacharan Mukherjee, a lawyer from Monghyr, accompanied by his daughter and some devotees of his family, arrived at the monastery.

After saluting Swami Shivananda, Gangacharan Babu said: 'Your body seems to be in a very bad condition, Maharaj. It is much worse than when I saw you last year.'

Swami: 'Yes, my body is in a very bad condition. Every day it is getting worse. The body is subject to six changes. Now it is the time for the last. This is but natural. The nature of the body is like that. All bodies are bound to disintegrate someday.'

Gangacharan Babu: 'In every letter I have received from the monastery there has been news of your failing health. I had a great desire to see you, so I am here.'

Swami (smiling): 'Tell me, what is there in outward seeing? It is inward seeing that counts, and the Lord is within everyone. He is the source of everything in this universe.

"From Him are born energy, mind, all the senses, ether, air, fire, water and earth, which is the support of everything. He is the controller of everything. Through fear of Him the sun gives heat. Again, in Him will everything dissolve.

"From Him this world has come and to Him it will go back. He is the source of this universe. In Him it will dissolve.

"Again, in Him it is active. Birth and death are just a matter of course. Nobody can stop them. God alone is immutable and immortal, pure, enlightened and free by nature. To realize Him within is the ideal of life. Everything is accomplished when one realizes Him. After that it is immaterial whether the body lives or goes. He is ever present within us. He, the Soul of every being, the Heaven of immortality, is within everybody; one must realize that."

---

29 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Shraddha Ceremonies Are Unnecessary for Highly Developed Souls

Gangacharan Babu: 'Maharaj, I have a question in my mind. Does everyone have to be in a disembodied state after death?'

Swami: 'Not necessarily. Why should devotees of the Lord, who have genuine devotion, have to be in the disembodied state? They become one with God and obtain liberation.'

Gangacharan Babu: 'Then what is the meaning of 'Shraddha' and such other funeral rituals prescribed in the scriptures? Doesn't everyone have to perform those rituals annually or at other prescribed times?'

Swami: 'Yes, one has to. It is, of course, the general rule and everyone abides by it. But there are exceptions, as for example, in your wife's case you may perform these rituals, but there will be no harm done if you do not. She was unusually devoted. Her case was different. After her death I vividly saw her going to the abode of Shiva. You may rest assured that she has reached a highly spiritual state.'

Gangacharan Babu suddenly burst into tears and prostrated himself before Mahapurushji's feet, saying: 'Maharaj, please grant this prayer of mine. May I have faith and devotion at the lotus feet of the Mother and at the end of my life may I find refuge at Her feet!' Saying this, he started crying like a child.

Mahapurushji placed his hand on Gangacharan Babu's head and blessed him saying: 'My child, may you have that. Already you have faith and devotion and you will have more. I bless you very much. You will grow spiritually, my child. The Mother is very gracious to you.'

Gangacharan Babu: 'If you say so, it will surely come to pass. The Mother will certainly listen to you. You are my strength, my faith and my all.'

Swami: 'Of course the Mother will listen to me. She will listen to you also. She certainly listens to the person who prays to her sincerely. Grace! Grace! Nothing can be accomplished without Her grace. Glory be to the Lord! Glorified be our compassionate Master!'

---

30 April 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Both Happiness and Sorrow Are Impermanent—He Alone Is Permanent—In Him Is Peace—Hold Fast to Him

Gangacharan Babu's daughter saluted the Swami and begged for his blessings.

The Swami said in a very tender voice: 'May you live in peace, my daughter! Happiness is so rare in this world! Compared with pains and sorrows there is very little happiness.

But those who are devoted to God know some peace in this world. They are not disturbed by whatever pains or sorrows may come to them, because they know that everything comes from God. It is the same God who gives us happiness and again trials and difficulties. That is why they can patiently bear everything as a blessing from God. They are never elated by happiness, nor are they upset by sorrow. Just as happiness is impermanent and short-lived, so is sorrow. It comes and goes; for nothing in this world is permanent. The one abiding Reality and the only Abode of peace is God. Hold fast to Him, my daughter, then alone will you have peace in life.'

Shortly before dusk a woman devotee saluted the Swami and asked: 'Maharaj, how is your body?'

Swami: 'My daughter, my body is not well.'

Woman Devotee: 'You eat so little.'

Swami: 'Yes, I eat just a little rice and soup at noon and a little milk at night. More than that I cannot digest, and, besides, I do not have the inclination to eat this or that.

Eating is necessary for the sustenance of the body. Therefore I eat a little, so that my body will last for some time and I can think about God. I have no other desire except to think and meditate upon God. If I see the Lord in my heart I am happy.

This world is temporary; parents, brothers, friends and companions are all temporary. At death one will leave behind this world and it will remain as it is. Only the Lord, who is the Soul of our soul, exists at all times and will ever exist. He alone is eternal.'

1 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Woman Devotee: 'Maharaj, what will happen to us? Engrossed in Maya, we are so much attached to this world and cannot shake off this attachment. We have so much sorrow and yet we cannot rise above it.'

Swami: 'God alone is our goal: take refuge in Him. He is our all in all.

"Thou art our father and mother.

Thou art our friend and companion.

Thou art our knowledge and wealth.

Thou art our all in all, O Lord!"

He is father, mother, brother, friend, companion and all. Call upon Him earnestly. He will certainly be gracious. In this sorrowful world He alone is peace. The Master used to speak of the camel's habit of eating prickly grass. The happiness of a worldly man is just like that of a camel. Without the grace of God, my daughter, nothing can be accomplished.'

After remaining silent awhile the Swami continued: 'It is not an easy thing to realize the unreality of the world. One cannot have that realization without the grace of God. Cry to Him and pray and you will have His grace. He is right inside. You will realize Him the moment He lifts the veil of ignorance. It is grace and grace alone that we need. There is no other way.'

---

2 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Desert Fathers

ABBOT PASTOR was asked by a certain brother: How should I conduct myself in the place where I live?

The elder replied: Be as cautious as a stranger; wherever you may be, do not desire your word to have power before you, and you will have rest.

---

A man must breathe humility and the fear of God just as ceaselessly as he inhales and exhales the air.

---

ONE of the elders was asked what was humility, and he said: If you forgive a brother who has injured you before he himself asks pardon.

---

A BROTHER asked one of the elders: What is humility?

The elder answered him: To do good to those who do evil to you.

The brother asked: Supposing a man cannot go that far, what should he do?

The elder replied: Let him go away from them and keep his mouth shut.

---

TO ONE of the brethren appeared a devil, transformed into an angel of light, who said to him: 'I am the Angel Gabriel, and I have been sent to thee'.

But the brother said: Think again, you must have been sent to somebody else. I haven't done anything to deserve an angel. Immediately the devil ran away.

---

IT WAS said of one of the elders that he persevered in a fast of seventy weeks, eating only once a week. This elder asked God to reveal to him the meaning of a certain Scriptural text, and God would not reveal it to him.

So he said to himself: Look at all the work I have done without getting anywhere! I will go to one of the brothers and ask him. When he had gone out and closed the door and was starting on his way, an angel of the Lord was sent to him, saying: The seventy weeks you fasted did not bring you any closer to God, but now that you have humbled yourself and set out to ask your brother, I am sent to reveal the meaning of that text.

And opening to him the meaning which he sought, he went away.

---

3 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Desert Fathers

ONCE there was an elder in the lower parts of Egypt, and he was a very famous hermit, living all alone in a desert place. Satan brought it about that a woman of easy virtue said to some young men: What will you give me, and I will go out and knock down that hermit of yours. So they agreed on a certain sum they would give her.

And going out one evening she came to his cell pretending to have lost her way. She knocked at his door and he came out. Seeing her he was disturbed and said: How did you get out here?

She pretended to weep, and said: I have lost my way. So, being moved to pity, he let her in to the front room of his cell, and for his part he went on to the inner room and locked the door.

But the unfortunate woman cried out: Father, the wild animals will eat me out here. Once again the elder was disturbed and thought of the Judgment of God, and said: How did this dreadful thing ever happen to me?

And, opening his door, he let her in. And the devil began to shoot flaming arrows into his heart. But he said within himself: The ways of the enemy are darkness, and the Son of God is light. So he lit a lantern. But the temptation continued and he said to himself: Well, let's see whether you will be able to bear the flames of hell. And he put a finger into the flame. But though the flame burned him he did not feel it, so strong was the fire of lust in him. And he went on like that until morning, burning all his fingers.

The unfortunate woman, watching what he was doing, was so struck with terror that she almost turned into stone.

In the morning the two young men came to the hermit and said: Did a woman come here last night?

Yes, said the hermit, she is over there asleep. But they said: Father, she is dead! Then he, throwing back the cloak he had on, showed them his hands and said: Look what she did to me, that child of hell! she has cost me all my fingers.

And having told them all that had taken place he ended with: It is written thou shalt not render evil for evil. So he said a prayer and she revived.

She was converted, and lived chastely for the rest of her life.

---

4 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Desert Fathers

ABBOT PASTOR said that Abbot John the Dwarf had prayed to the Lord and the Lord had taken away all his passions, so that he became impassible.

And in this condition he went to one of the elders and said: You see before you a man who is completely at rest and has no more temptations.

The elder said: Go and pray to the Lord to command some struggle to be stirred up in you, for the soul is matured only in battles.

And when the temptations started up again he did not pray that the struggle be taken away from him, but only said: Lord, give me strength to go through the fight.

---

ONCE Abbot Macarius was travelling down from Scete to a place called Terenuthin, and he went to spend the night in a pyramid where the bodies of the pagans had been laid to rest years before. And he dragged out one of the mummies and put it under his head for a pillow. The devils, seeing his boldness, flew into a rage and decided to scare him.

And they began to call out from the other bodies, as if calling to a woman: Lady, come with us to the baths. And another demon, as if he were the ghost of a woman, cried out from the body the elder was using as a pillow: This stranger is holding me down and I can't come.

But the elder, far from being frightened, began to pummel the corpse, saying: Get up and go swimming if you are able. Hearing this the demons cried: You win! And they fled in confusion.

---

IT WAS told of Abbot Milido that when he lived in Persia with two disciples, the sons of the Emperor went out on a great hunt, spreading nets for forty miles around, determined to kill everything they caught in them. And the elder was found in the nets with his two disciples. And when they saw him all hairy (he was an awful sight!), they were amazed and asked him whether he were a man or some kind of spirit.

He replied: I am a man and a sinner and I came out here to weep for my sins and to adore the Son of the Living God.

To which they replied: There is no God but sun and water and fire. Adore these, and sacrifice to them.

Oh no, I will not, he said, these are creatures and you are mistaken. You should acknowledge the true God who made these things and everything else besides.

A condemned and crucified criminal is what you call a God! they said, mocking him.

He who was crucified destroyed death, said the elder, and Him I call the true God. So they took him and set him up like a target and shot arrows at him from different sides, and while they were doing this the elder said to them: Tomorrow in this very hour your mother will be childless.

They laughed at him, and started out the next day to continue hunting. And it happened that a stag got through the nets and they went after him on horseback, and coming towards the stag from opposite sides they let fly their arrows and struck one another in the heart and so died, according to the words of the elder.

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5 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Desert Fathers

ONCE some robbers came into the monastery and said to one of the elders: We have come to take away everything that is in your cell.

And he said: My sons, take all you want. So they took everything they could find in the cell and started off. But they left behind a little bag that was hidden in the cell.

The elder picked it up and followed after them, crying out: My sons, take this, you forgot it in the cell! Amazed at the patience of the elder, they brought everything back into his cell and did penance, saying: 'This one really is a man of God!'

---

THERE was an elder who had a well-tried novice living with him, and once, when he was annoyed, he drove the novice out of the cell. But the novice sat down outside and waited for the elder.

The elder, opening the door, found him there, and did penance before him, saying: 'You are my Father, because your patience and humility have overcome the weakness of my soul. Come back in; you can be the elder and the Father, I will be the youth and the novice: for by your good work you have surpassed my old age'.

---

A BROTHER asked one of the elders, saying: There are two brothers, of whom one remains praying in his cell, fasting six days at a time and doing a great deal of penance. The other one takes care of the sick. Which one's work is more pleasing to God?

The elder replied: If that brother who fasts six days at a time were to hang himself up by the nose, he could not equal the one who takes care of the sick.

---

ABBOT AGATHO frequently admonished his disciple, saying: Never acquire for yourself anything that you might hesitate to give to your brother if he asked you for it, for thus you would be found a transgressor of God's command. If anyone asks, give to him, and if anyone wants to borrow from you, do not turn away from him.

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6 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Desert Fathers

A CERTAIN brother asked of an elder, saying: If a brother owes me a little money, do you think I should ask him to pay me back?

The elder said to him: Ask him for it once only, and with humility. The brother said: Suppose I ask him once and he doesn't give me anything, what should I do?

Then the elder said: Don't ask him any more.

The brother said again: But what can I do, I cannot get rid of my anxieties about it, unless I go and ask him.

The elder said to him: Forget your anxieties. The important thing is not to sadden your brother, for you are a monk.

---

WHEN people came to buy from Abbot Agatho the things which he had made with the work of his hands, he sold to them in peace. His price for a sieve was a hundred pence, and for a basket two hundred and fifty. When they came to buy he told them the price, and took whatever they gave him, in silence, not even counting the coins.

For he said: What is the use of me arguing with them, and leading them perhaps into sin by perjuring themselves and then, perhaps, if I have some extra money, giving it to the brethren. God does not want alms of this kind from me and it does not please Him if, in order to make my offering, I lead someone into sin.

Then one of the brethren said to him: And how are you ever going to get a supply of bread for your cell?

To which he answered: What need have I, in my cell, of the bread of men?

---

7 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Desert Fathers

THERE was a certain elder who, if anyone maligned him, would go in person to offer him presents, if he lived nearby. And if he lived at a distance he would send presents by the hand of another.

---

ABBOT ANTHONY taught Abbot Ammonas, saying: You must advance yet further in the fear of God. And taking him out of the cell he showed him a stone, saying: Go and insult that stone, and beat it without ceasing. When this had been done, St. Anthony asked him if the stone had answered back.

No, said Ammonas.

Then Abbot Anthony said: You too must reach the point where you no longer take offence at anything.

---

ABBOT PASTOR said: Just as bees are driven out by smoke, and their honey is taken away from them, so a life of ease drives out the fear of the Lord from man's soul and takes away all his good works.

---

A CERTAIN Philosopher asked St. Anthony: Father, how can you be so happy when you are deprived of the consolation of books?

Anthony replied: My book, O philosopher, is the nature of created things, and any time I want to read the words of God, the book is before me.

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8 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Desert Fathers

ONCE a certain provincial judge came to see Abbot Simon, and the elder took the belt he had on and went up to the top of a date palm as though he were a workman picking dates.

But they, approaching, asked him: Where is the hermit who lives in this part of the desert?

To which he replied: There is no hermit around here. At this they all departed.

On another occasion a different judge came to see him, and his companions, running on ahead of the judge, said: Father, get ready. A judge who has heard about you is on his way out here to ask your blessing.

The elder said: You can be sure I will get ready. And covering himself with all his garments he took some bread and cheese in his hands and sat down in the entry to his cell and began to eat.

The judge and his retainers arrived and saw him eating and hailed him with contempt. Is this the hermit monk we heard so much about? they asked. They swung around immediately and headed back where they had come from.

---

ABBOT JOSEPH asked Abbot Pastor: Tell me how I can become a monk?

The elder replied: If you want to have rest here in this life and also in the next, in every conflict with another say: Who am I? I am nobody.

And judge no one.

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9 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Desert Fathers

ONCE Abbot Anthony was conversing with some brethren, and a hunter who was after game in the wilderness came upon them. He saw Abbot Anthony and the brothers enjoying themselves, and disapproved.

Abbot Anthony said: Put an arrow in your bow and shoot it. This he did. Now shoot another, said the elder. And another, and another.

The hunter said: If I bend my bow all the time it will break.

Abbot Anthony replied: So it is also in the work of God. If we push ourselves beyond measure, the brethren will soon collapse. It is right, therefore, from time to time, to relax their efforts.

---

ONE of the holy Fathers said to the monks who asked him about the reason for renunciation: My sons, it is right that we should hate all rest in this present life, and hate also pleasures of the body and the joys of the belly. Let us not seek honour from men: then Our Lord Jesus Christ will give us heavenly honours, rest in eternal life, and glorious joy with His angels.

---

ABBOT ZENO told us that once when he was on his way to Palestine he sat down under a tree, weary with journeying. Now he was right next to a field full of cucumbers. In his heart he thought to get up and help himself to the cucumbers, to repair his strength. For, he said, it would be no great thing to take a few of them.

But replying to himself in his thoughts, he said: When thieves are condemned by the judges they are given over to torture. So I ought to test myself and see if I can stand the torments which are suffered by robbers. And rising up at that very hour he stood in the hot sun for five days and roasted his body.

Then he said in his thoughts: I could not stand the torments, hence I ought not to steal, but to work with my hands according to the custom, and live on the fruit of my labour, as the Holy Scripture says: Because thou shalt eat of the work of thy hands, blessed shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. This, certainly, is what we sing every day in the sight of the Lord!

---

THE elders and all the monks dwelling in the desert of Scete came together in council and agreed that Father Isaac should be ordained priest to serve the Church in that solitary place, where at stated days and hours the monks living in the desert come together for worship.

But Abbot Isaac, hearing the decision that had been taken, fled to Egypt and hid himself in a field among the bushes, deeming himself unworthy of the honour of the priesthood.

A large number of the monks set out after him, to catch him. Now when they had stopped at evening in that same field to rest, weary with their journey (for it was now night), they turned loose the ass that carried their baggage, and let him eat grass. Now while the ass was feeding, he came to the place where Abbot Isaac was hiding.

And at daybreak, the monks, in search of the ass, came to the place where the old man had hidden himself. Marvelling at the dispensation of God, they seized him and were about to tie him up and take him prisoner and lead him away.

But the venerable elder did not allow them, saying: Now I can no longer oppose you since it is perhaps the will of God that I, though unworthy, should receive priestly orders.

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10 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Desert Fathers

THERE were two brother monks living together in a cell and their humility and patience was praised by many of the Fathers.

A certain holy man, hearing of this, wanted to test them and see if they possessed true and perfect humility. So he came to visit them. They received him with joy, and all together they said their prayers and their psalms, as usual. Then the visitor went outside the cell and saw their little garden, where they grew their vegetables.

Seizing his stick, he rushed in with all his might and began to destroy every plant in sight so that soon there was nothing left at all. Seeing him the two brothers said not one word. They did not even show sad or troubled faces. Coming back into the cell they finished their prayers for Vespers, and paid him honour, saying: Sir, if you like, we can get one cabbage that is left, and cook it and eat it, for now it is time to eat.

Then the elder fell down before them, saying: I give thanks to my God, for I see the Holy Spirit rests in you.

---

ONE of the brothers asked an elder saying: Would it be all right if I kept two pence in my possession, in case I should get sick.

The elder, seeing his thoughts and that he wanted to keep them, said: Keep them.

The brother, going back to his cell, began to wrestle with his own thoughts, saying: I wonder if the Father gave me his blessing or not.

Rising up, he went back to the Father, inquiring of him and saying: In God's name, tell me the truth, because I am all upset over these two pence.

The elder said to him: Since I saw your thoughts and your desire to keep them, I told you to keep them. But it is not good to keep more than we need for our body. Now these two pence are your hope. If they should be lost, would not God take care of you? Cast your care upon the Lord, then, for He will take care of us.

11 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Desert Fathers

THERE were two elders living together in a cell, and they had never had so much as one quarrel with one another. One therefore said to the other: Come on, let us have at least one quarrel, like other men. The other said: I don't know how to start a quarrel. The first said: I will take this brick and place it here between us. Then I will say: It is mine. After that you will say: It is mine. This is what leads to a dispute and a fight.

So then they placed the brick between them, one said: It is mine, and the other replied to the first: I do believe that it is mine. The first one said again: It is not yours, it is mine.

So the other answered: Well then, if it is yours, take it! Thus they did not manage after all to get into a quarrel.

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ABBOT MARK once said to Abbot Arsenius: It is good, is it not, to have nothing in your cell that just gives you pleasure. For example, once I knew a brother who had a little wildflower that came up in his cell, and he pulled it out by the roots.

Well, said Abbot Arsenius, that is all right. But each man should act according to his own spiritual way. And if one were not able to get along without the flower, he should plant it again.

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ONCE they asked Abbot Agatho: Which is greater: Bodily asceticism, or watchfulness over the interior man?

The elder said: A man is like a tree. His bodily works are like the leaves of the tree, but interior self-custody is like the fruits. Since, then, it is written that every tree not bearing good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire, we must take all care to bear this fruit, which is in the custody of the mind. But we also need leaves to cover and adorn us: and that means good works done with the aid of the body.

This Abbot Agatho was wise in understanding and tireless in his work and ready for everything. He applied himself energetically to manual labour, and was sparing in his food and clothing.

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THE same Abbot Agatho would say: Even if an angry man were to revive the dead, he would not be pleasing to God because of his anger.

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12 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of the Desert Fathers

THERE was a certain elder who had fasted valiantly for fifty years and he said: I have put out the flames of lust, and avarice and vainglory.

Abbot Abraham heard about it, and came to him asking: Did you really say that?

I did, he replied.

Then Abbot Abraham said: So you go into your cell, and there is a woman lying on your mat. Can you think that she is not a woman?

He said, No, but I fight my thoughts so that I don't touch that woman.

Then, said Abbot Abraham, you have not killed fornication. The passion is alive, but it is bound.

And now supposing you are on a journey and in the road among the stones and broken pottery you see some gold: can you think of it as if it were like the other stones?

No, he replied, but I resist my thoughts so that I do not pick it up.

Then Abbot Abraham said: You see, the passion is alive. But it is bound.

Then Abbot Abraham said again: You hear about two brothers, of whom one likes you and speaks well of you and the other hates you and speaks evil of you. They come to you: and do you receive them both alike?

No, he replied, but I am tormented inside, trying to be just as nice to the one who hates me as I am to the other.

Abbot Abraham said: The passions live, then. But in the saints they are only, to some extent, bound.

---

ONCE some of the elders came to Scete, and Abbot John the Dwarf was with them. And when they were dining, one of the priests, a very great old man, got up to give each one a little cup of water to drink, and no one would take it from him except John the Dwarf.

The others were surprised, and afterwards they asked him: How is it that you, the least of all, have presumed to accept the services of this great old man?

He replied: Well, when I get up to give people a drink of water, I am happy if they all take it; and for that reason on this occasion I took the drink, that he might be rewarded, and not feel sad because nobody accepted the cup from him. And at this all admired his discretion.

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Father, what it is to hate evil?

The Father said: That man hates evil who hates his own sins, and looks upon every brother as a saint, and loves him as a saint.

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13 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Shivananda

A young man came to the monastery and saluted the Swami, who inquired: 'Hello! how are you?'

Young man: 'My body is all right, Maharaj, but my mind is very restless. I do not have any peace of mind. I am very disturbed mentally.'

Swami: 'The fact that you have this restlessness of mind shows that the Mother is gracious to you. The earnestness to realize Her and the lack of peace because you have not been able to do so are symptoms of Her grace. As a result of good deeds performed in many incarnations and through the grace of God, one has this desire for liberation.

Now sincerely cry and pray: "Mother, reveal Thyself to me. I am weak, devoid of spiritual discipline and devotion! Be gracious and appear to me!" Do not pay heed to anything else and continue calling upon Her.

Whether the mind is concentrated or not, do not give up calling upon Her. Be steady and hold to the ideal even as a hereditary farmer. If you do that you will certainly receive Her grace. Therefore, I say, where would you be roaming about? Call upon the Mother staying at home. Right there the Mother will vouchsafe to you the realization of the unreality of the world and will snap your worldly ties.'

Young man: 'Sometimes I enjoy my meditation; at other times I cannot control the mind at all.'

Swami: 'That is how the mind behaves. It has a wavelike motion. Haven't you seen waves? Here comes a high wave followed by a deep hollow, and a wave comes again.

The fact that sometimes you lose control over your mind signifies that a big wave will come and you will have great peace. But genuine devotees will not lose their balance because of joy or be depressed by sorrow.

Everything depends upon the will of the Mother. Knowing that the Mother is ever merciful, continue to call upon Her. Let the Mother keep you in whatever state She pleases. In this way eventually you will have unmixed bliss and a full vision of the Mother! My boy, do not be disturbed under any circumstances. The Mother has been gracious to you and will be even more gracious, I assure you.

'Inwardly call upon the Mother. Is She outside yourself? Go to the shrine for a while and pay your respects to the Master. Then have your prasada.'

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14 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Shivananda

The Rules Framed by Swamiji for the Guidance of the Order

Place: Belur Monastery

Time: Monday, May 13, 1929

It was morning. Mahapurushji was seated in his room. Many sadhus of the monastery were present, and the conversation turned on various topics. For the last few days a class was being held late in the evening, attended by almost all the monastic members. The rules formulated by Swami Vivekananda for the guidance of the Order were being studied at this class. One by one the rules were read and discussed. Swamis Suddhananda, Virajananda, and others present answered questions on difficult points.

With regard to the class Mahapurushji said: 'To hold a class like this is very good. This is a monastery. Here worship, study, meditation, japa and things of that nature should continue all the time.'

A monk: 'Nowadays the rules for the guidance of the Order are being read.'

Swami: 'That is very good. The words of Swamiji are those of a seer, expressed aphoristically. How many ideas are contained in each of his utterances! Many new things will be brought to light by discussing these rules. The more discussions of this kind you have at the monastery the better.

'Everyone should direct his attention to the ideal of his life. Devotion to God, faith, love, sympathy, fellow-feeling, purity—all these one should strive after. We have renounced our hearth and home and joined the Order. What is the meaning of this? Why are we here, living this organized life in the Order? We should pray earnestly so that we grow in the spirit of renunciation.'

A monk was standing nearby. Addressing him Mahapurushji said, 'Well, do you attend this class?'

Monk: 'No, sir. After the day's hard work I feel extremely tired in the evening. That is why I cannot attend the class.'

Swami: 'No, it is good to listen to these discussions. Swamiji was a seer with distant vision. He knew what would happen in the future, and therefore formulated these rules for the guidance of the Order. The more we discuss his words and try to practise them in life, the better for us. We are monks and the realization of God is the whole object of our lives. This world is a dangerous place. Here it is very difficult to pursue the ideal in the midst of multifarious activities. Sometimes there is the danger of one's having lapses.

As the Master used to say: "Children's feet slip while walking along the high pathways across fields. The child who holds his father's hand may sometimes lose his balance and fall down. But the child whose hand is held by his father is not in danger of falling."

Similarly, we too are treading the narrow and crooked path of this world and there is great danger of our falling down. But there is no danger of our falling if the Master holds us by the hand. The Master is certainly holding us by the hand; otherwise who knows where and when we would have fallen?

One should therefore earnestly pray: "Lord, may you hold our hand! Weak as we are, we are in danger of having lapses at every step, but we shall be safe if you hold us by the hand." He is the life of our life dwelling within. Sincere prayer will certainly bring response from him. He is the prophet of this age, born as Sri Ramakrishna for the establishment of religion. He will certainly be gracious to us. He is already gracious; otherwise he would not have brought us here. "He, the Lord of the Universe, born as the prophet of this age"—these are Swamiji's very words.

He is the prophet of this age. It will certainly be for a person's good to take refuge in him in this age. Let us surrender ourselves to him and pray (with folded hands):

"Master, may we grow in renunciation and dispassion! Make us pure! May we grow in love and sympathy! May you hold us by the hand!"

'Calumny, gossip and things of that nature are very bad. They drag the mind down. As long as one can, one should practise meditation, worship and study; the rest of the time one should keep silent, thinking about God. It is a good practice. Organization has its necessity and usefulness. That is why Swamiji founded this Order and introduced works of service for self-purification.'

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15 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Shivananda

Devotion Is Essential

Place: Belur Monastery

Time: Thursday, May 9, 1929

A devotee wrote a letter begging for a pair of slippers used by Mahapurushji. It was his heart's desire to worship the slippers. Swami Shivananda remarked in that connection:

'Whether he worships the slippers or whatever else he may do, the most essential thing is devotion to God. God looks at one's sincerity. He dwells within every heart. Whatever is done with devotion pleases the Lord. Don't you see how people fashion images of Shiva with clay and worship them, thereby gaining in faith and devotion and attaining enlightenment and liberation?

Although it is only a clay image of Shiva, if it is worshipped with love and devotion, the Lord is pleased and accepts the worship. What is made of inert clay becomes conscious and living. The essence of everything is devotion.

Wherever there is devotion, know for certain that the grace of the Lord is there. External worship and things of that sort are just means to an end.'

The Anniversary of Buddha's Birth, The Thrice Blessed Day—Buddha's Renunciation—The Middle Path—Discussion of Buddhist Philosophy at the Cossipore Garden—Swamiji's Experience Under the Bodhi Tree

Place: Belur Monastery

Time: Thursday, May 23, 1929

It was the full moon day of the month of Vaishakha, the anniversary of the birth of Buddha. In the afternoon there was discussion on the life of Buddha. Several monks spoke.

The image of Buddha had been decorated with flowers, garlands and greens. Devotional songs were sung, followed by the reading of the biography of the Blessed One. The life and teaching of Buddha were discussed.

After supper Swami Omkarananda came to Mahapurushji's room and in the course of conversation remarked: 'It is a great day. Here at the monastery we have been observing it. In the afternoon we had lectures.'

Mahapurushji: 'Yes, it is indeed a great day, the thrice blessed day! Well, did you have that song? "For peace I seek; but where can peace be found? Whence have I come, and whither shall I go?"'

Swami Omkarananda: 'No, we didn't have that song because nobody knew it very well.'

Mahapurushji: 'That is an excellent song composed by Girish Babu.'

Saying this Mahapurushji sang the song.

Then he remarked: 'How beautifully Girish Babu worded it! He got the idea from the Lalitavistara which describes this feeling nicely. Buddha, then Prince Siddhartha, was making merry with his wife, Gopa, when some angels flying through space sang this song. Hearing it unexpectedly, Buddha was startled and an awakening came to him.

He said: "Who is singing that song? I know it very well. 'For peace I seek; but where can peace be found?' that is a song I have always known."

After hearing that song the trend of Buddha's mind suddenly changed. He could not give his heart to enjoyment any more, constantly remaining in a state of dispassion. King Shuddhodana, Buddha's father, coming to know of this, tried various means to divert Buddha's mind, and by placing many temptations before him hoped to draw his mind to the pleasures of the world. But Buddha being fully awakened, all efforts in this direction proved futile. Then one night he left the palace.

About the middle path also, Girish Babu composed a song containing ideas found in the Lalitavistara:

My lovely vina, strung with care

With many a strand,

The rarest melodies will yield

Beneath a master's hand;

Let it be but rightly tuned!

Not high nor low?

And from it in a hundred streams

Enchanting songs will flow.

But over-slack, the strings are dumb

And the music dies;

While overstretched, they snap in twain,

And away the music flies.

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16 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

For Seekers of God

'That was indeed a time. What renunciation, dispassion and austerity we had! When God comes to this world as a man, then flows a current of spirituality. Many are blessed by getting the light of knowledge; many attain emancipation.'

Swami Omkarananda: 'In the hills of Pareshnath as many as twenty-five monks attained illumination. Out of that number fifteen or sixteen were Jain monks, the rest Buddhists.'

Mahapurushji: 'At one time we too discussed Buddhist philosophy a great deal. That was long ago. At that time we, including Swamiji and others, were living with the Master at the garden house at Cossipore. Swamiji was well versed in Buddhism. We too read a little. We used to have hot arguments.

In those days we didn't believe in the existence of God. Some of the devotees felt very much hurt to note this tendency in us. Swamiji himself would not say much. He would egg me on. I would argue my point vigorously. Swamiji would listen quietly and enjoy the fun. Sometimes I would even say that it was harmful to have body-consciousness, for it would be a handicap in meditation. Even the thought of God would not allow the mind to be free from modifications. It was not that we only expressed ourselves that way; our meditations and experiences also were of that nature. We couldn't think otherwise in those days; we were so absorbed in those ideas.

Some devotees brought the matter to the notice of the Master who remarked: "What they say is also true. There is a stage in spiritual life when the seeker does not admit the existence of God."

This tendency of ours lasted quite long. Even after we moved to the monastery at Baranagore, after the death of the Master, these ideas continued. We were still atheistic.

One day the Master appeared to me and said: "Well, the Guru is all in all. There is no one higher than the Guru."

The moment I had that vision these ideas left me and did not return again. Sri Ramakrishna was a divine incarnation born to establish religion. Why should he allow a narrow or one-sided idea in us?'

---

17 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Shivananda

Swami Omkarananda: 'Didn't you once slip off to Bodh Gaya during the Master's lifetime without telling him anything about it?'

Mahapurushji: 'Yes, we went with Swamiji. There we sat for meditation under the Bodhi tree. We became quite absorbed in meditation. Suddenly Swamiji burst into tears in a state of spiritual ecstasy and embraced me. I was seated by his side. Later he came down to the normal plane and became absorbed in deep meditation again.

The next day, in the course of conversation, I asked Swamiji about this matter.

He replied: "I felt a deep pang in my heart. Everything here is as it was before. Here in Bodh Gaya we have Buddha's ideas in an intensified form. His renunciation, his dispassion, his great compassion and deep spirituality, all these are here; but where is he, the living embodiment of those ideas and ideals? I so keenly felt the absence of Lord Buddha that I couldn't control myself. That is why I burst into tears and embraced you." The few days that we spent in Bodh Gaya we were in a very blissful mood.'

'Yes, after illumination Buddha experienced so much joy that he walked up and down the whole night. He walked around in an ecstatic mood, enjoying the bliss of Self-realization.'

That night we had long discussions about Lord Buddha.

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18 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Swami Shivananda

When a devotee saluted the Swami and inquired about his health he remarked: 'My body is not at all well. How can it be well, my child? From now on the body will become feeble. That is the nature of the body. The body is subject to a sixfold change.'

Devotee: 'You can be well if you only will!'

Mahapurushji: 'No, my child, that cannot be. All bodies are bound to disintegrate some day. "To-day or after a century it will be confiscated", don't you know that? The body has its death; that is certain. This body of mine has lived a long time—seventy-six or seventy-seven years. How much longer can it live?

If the body dies, what is that to me? I am certainly not the body. The Master has been kind enough to reveal this to me. The body made of the five elements will go back to the five elements, and I myself will pass on to that divine realm, the abode of immortality, where there is neither old age nor death, neither happiness nor unhappiness.

The Master has been gracious enough to reveal that knowledge to me and he continues to give me more and more of it.'

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19 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

In an Organization Where Many Live Together Friction May Occur—Patience and Forgiveness Necessary

Place: Belur Monastery

Time: Friday, July 26, 1929

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

In the course of conversation the Swami remarked: 'How can you leave now? Let S. return; then perhaps you may go. And why do you want to go at all? Even here, after attending to your regular work, you will have plenty of time for spiritual practice. It is simply a matter of mental attitude. If the mind has a natural leaning towards God, one can make time and opportunity for spiritual practice. What is essential is earnestness. If you cannot carry on your spiritual practice here, you won't be able to do so anywhere.

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

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

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

Do not take it to heart, my child. You know, when pots that are together are moved, friction is inevitable. Do not take it seriously. Misunderstandings are bound to occur sometimes and they are straightened out eventually. It takes two hands to clap. Let him say whatever he wishes. Just endure it all quietly. That will prevent misunderstandings. You will have to be a little humble. You will have to sacrifice a little. You have dedicated your body, mind and soul to the Master's work. You have renounced everything for his sake. You will have to do this much also for his work. You should practise forbearance, you should sacrifice for his work. The Lord will bless you abundantly.'

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

Mahapurushji: 'Certainly you will be able to. You have my hearty blessings, my child. But you must pray to the Master sincerely, too. He will give you greater strength. You have come here renouncing everything for his sake. There is nothing that he will withhold from you. How will his work go on if you all do not live at peace in one place? Be patient for his sake, paying no attention to what people say, good or bad. You are all sadhus and have come here with the idea of improving yourselves. You do not have any other desire or wish in your life. You want him alone.

Temporary misunderstandings are inevitable when several work together. They aren't something to be blamed for; it is quite natural. Such misunderstandings come and go; they cannot touch your inner Self, because the main objective of your life is the realization of God. Such petty matters as attachment and aversion cannot deeply affect you. This is what we feel. The work that you are carrying on is being done in a spirit of service. This work is purifying your mind day by day. You have no selfish motive in your work. You should carry on your spiritual practices along with your works of service. Whenever you can, practise japa, meditate upon God and pray to Him sincerely.

The moment you have a feeling of weakness or of lacking in anything, tell the Master about it. If you pray very sincerely, you are bound to get a response. Repeat his name often. The repetition of his name will purify your body and mind, washing away all impurities. You have renounced everything in order to be sadhus. The realization of God is the aim of your life, my child. Your ideal is "to remain unaffected by praise or blame, to be silent and contented with a little". Balance in praise or blame, silence and being satisfied with whatever comes—this is the state at which you should aim. You should be absorbed in God. What does it matter to you what people say about you?'

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20 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Reminiscences of Swami Shivananda

The Greatness of Puri

"After arriving in Puri, I didn't go for the darshan of Jagannath. Maharaj noticed this and one day asked me, 'Well, brother Tarak, won't you go to see Lord Jagannath?'

'I will go soon,' I replied. Actually, the deity at the Jagannath temple is not very beautiful, and I had heard Swamiji often make fun of it. That is why I was not much inclined to visit the temple.

But I went to the temple one day, since Maharaj had asked me to. Lo! When I was standing in front of the altar, an extraordinary thing happened! Lord Jagannath graciously granted me the vision of His universal form. I was completely overwhelmed and sort of lost control over myself.

Somehow I was able to make pranams and come out of the temple. Returning to our place of residence, I lay down quietly on the bed. When I next met Maharaj, he asked me with a laugh about my visit to the Jagannath temple.

I was still intoxicated with the vision I had had. I said, 'It was a very blissful experience.' It was as if Maharaj had somehow come to know about the vision I had had. After that, I visited the temple many times. On my later visits to Puri, one of the first things I would do on reaching there was visit the temple.

Lord Jagannath is a highly awakened deity. I now understand why Maharaj visits Puri so often."

21 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Reminiscences of Swami Subodhananda (Khoka Maharaj)

Ganga Puja is celebrated at Belur Math every year. After worshipping the Ganga with flowers, etc., fruits and sweets are offered to it. These are thrown into the river from the steps of the ghat. Monastics stand in the river, close to the steps, waiting to catch the fruits and sweets! Among them would be present the child-like Khoka Maharaj.

Although he didn't know how to swim, he would stand in waist-deep water and eat the offerings right there like a young boy.

Together with two other brahmacharis, I too was standing and waiting in the Ganga that year. Khoka Maharaj also came and started to eat the offerings. Some of us dove underwater, caught hold of his legs, and tried to pull his feet out from under him. Helpless, he made a lunge at me and kept himself from falling into water by throwing his arms round my neck, giggling all the while. So, I had to walk up the steps carrying him in my arms.

Khoka Maharaj was so simple and unassuming that we considered him to be one of us. We would forget that he was a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna himself. He greatly sympathized with us and was loved dearly by all the monks. He did not want to receive anybody's service.

Once, while bathing in the Ganga, I saw him entering the water with a small bucket in his hand. When I asked him what was in the bucket, he laughed and said: "I have brought some clothes to wash, but will wait till you finish your bath." I quickly took the bucket away from him and washed his clothes.

He used to eat very little. His teeth had fallen out and since he didn't have any dentures, a little rice and dal would constitute his meal. He would do various types of work on his own and would feel intensely for people who were poor and distressed.

He would smoke tobacco in a hand-held bulbous hookah a few times a day. He smoked a little just before going to sleep also. Once, I had the opportunity to give him a massage every evening and arrange for his smoke.

One day, while I was massaging him, he said, "Shankar, today I will not smoke before going to sleep." Wondering if this was due to some lapse on my part, I requested him to tell me the reason for this. In reply he laughed and said: "You haven't done anything wrong.

Yesterday, the Master came in the dead of night. He sat on my bed and told me with some irritation, 'Khoka, you smell so much of tobacco that I am unable to sit near you.' Saying this, he went away. That is why I no longer want to smoke at night."

I was stunned to hear this. He was talking about the Master's vision as if it was a most ordinary thing! My hair stood on end and my tongue failed me. Thinking that it would be improper for me to sit on the cot on which the Master had sat, I immediately knelt down on the ground beside the bed and continued my massage. Khoka Maharaj grew very serious after telling about his vision of the Master. I mentally made pranams to the cot on which the Master had sat, and thinking about the Master's divine relationship with his disciples, slowly left the room.

Khoka Maharaj reduced his smoking after this, and gave it up completely when it was suspected that he had some disease of the lungs.

(From Divine Realm by Swami Apurvanandaji)

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22 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Reminiscences of Swami Subodhananda

During his stay in Vrindavan, Subodhananda circumambulated the playground of Krishna, a distance of 168 miles. He covered this long journey alone without any belongings.

One day a woman saw him, and inflamed by lust, attacked him from behind. Frightened, he prayed to the Master aloud for protection. Immediately, the woman fell on the ground, unconscious.

---

From Vrindavan, Subodhananda left for a pilgrimage in the Himalayas. He visited the holy shrines of Kedarnath and Badrinath. While he was practising austerities in Haridwar, the following incident occurred.

The Swami narrates: I had been suffering from fever for two months. I was so weak that I could not lift my water pot to pour water into my mouth. One night when I went near the water pot to quench my thirst, I fell down on the floor unconscious.

When I regained consciousness, my feelings were hurt and I cried:

"Master, I am suffering terribly. There is none to look after me. You didn't give me sufficient strength even to drink a glass of water by myself."

Thinking thus I fell asleep. Then I saw [in a dream or vision] the Master stroking my body with his hand, and he said: "Why are you anxious? Don't you see I am always near you? What do you want—attendants or money?"

I replied: "I don't want none of those things. I can't avoid disease as long as I have a body. May I never forget you: that is all I want. Be with me wherever I go."

Next day early in the morning I heard a voice from outside, "Maharaj, please open the door."

I got up and opened the door. A young monk told me: "Please tell me what you need. I shall beg food for you."

I said to him, "I don't want anything."

When I asked how he knew about me, he said that he had arrived there a couple of days earlier to perform a religious rite at the Brahmakunda. The previous night Mother Durga had appeared to him in a vision and said, "You will get more virtue by serving that sick monk in the cottage than by performing this religious rite."

So early in the morning the monk came to my cottage and realized that his vision was true. Tears trickled from my eyes. I controlled myself and asked the young monk to let me live alone.

On the same day another monk received fifty rupees by money order. He came to me and said: "You are suffering from fever. You need food and medicine. Please use this money."

I declined his offer. Early the next morning the young monk came again and told me that at night Mother Durga had exhorted him to serve me as before. Then I told him politely that I really didn't need any service and that perhaps Mother Durga had asked him to serve someone else. The young monk left.

Then I prayed to the Master: "Please don't tempt me anymore. I am glad that you have crushed my pique."

The young monk came also on the third day, but never again.

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23 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Reminiscences of Swami Subodhananda

When Subodhanandaji was practising austerities in Gaya he had a life-threatening experience which he later described:

"It was the month of August. I saw a person wade through the Phalgu River and reach the other side. It was waist-deep, so I also decided to cross. My companion knew how to swim, but I didn't.

Suddenly the river swelled with a strong current because of heavy rain. When I had crossed a certain distance, I suddenly found myself in throat-deep water.

I realized that there was very little chance of saving my life. So I said to my companion: 'I don't know where this current will take me. There is little chance for my life. Please convey my salutations to my brother disciples.'

Then I prayed to the Master, 'Please accept my last pranam.' As soon as I said that, I was completely submerged. I felt that someone held my hand and pulled me through that gushing stream to the other side of the river."

---

During his itinerant days, Subodhananda would sometimes sleep under a tree by the side of a road. The ground was his bed, and his arms were his pillow.

He described one night's experience while he was passing through Bihar or Uttar Pradesh:

"Once on my way I slept under a banyan tree at night. After a while I had a dream.

I saw an old woman telling me: 'Quick, get up. Because of you the snakes are unable to get out of their holes. Go forward a little, and you will find a police station. You can spend the night there.'

'Will they allow me to stay?' I asked her.

She said: 'Yes, they will allow you to sleep there. When you knock at their door, they will ask, "Who are you?" Say to them, "I am a mendicant."'

I awoke and according to the instructions of the old woman, I got shelter in the veranda of the police station. The next morning I went to check the ground under the banyan tree and found many holes. The local people told me that the place was infested with cobras."

Someone asked the swami, "Who was that woman?" After a brief silence, the swami replied, "It was the Divine Mother."

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24 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Reminiscences of Swami Subodhananda

In 1897 Subodhananda gave a lecture to the Young Men's Hindu Association in Madras on "Sannyasa and Brahmacharya," which was published in the November 1898 issue of Prabuddha Bharata.

Following are some excerpts:

Sannyasa is the renunciation of all selfish motives and desires. Before I explain what sannyasa is, I should speak to you about brahmacharya; for unless the latter is realized, no sannyasa or renunciation is possible.

The observance of brahmacharya requires strict regulation of one's diet, habits, and thoughts. Of all the injunctions prescribed for this stage, the greatest stress is laid by the scriptures upon the complete mastery of the sexual instinct. Nothing should be sensed or done by the aspirant that might directly or otherwise tend to arouse the animal in him or her. In this way one is directed to bring one's mind under full control. He who is not a slave to his senses and mind, but on the contrary has made them his slaves, is a true brahmacharin.

All the religions of the world preach this brahmacharya and sannyasa, both of which have one and the same end in view, namely, to lift the mind up from all sensual concerns towards God. When the mind reaches God it enjoys divine bliss.

Our Master used to say that if we wanted to pass a thread through the eye of a needle all the scattered fibres of the thread should be brought to a point and then alone could we make it go through the needle; otherwise, if the fibres were allowed to point in all directions they would prevent the thread from passing through the eye; similarly, if we want to lift our mind up towards God, we must bring it back from all external things and concentrate it on one point.

Our Master says that as rain water does not stand upon high ground but always seeks a lower level, similarly, those who are puffed up with vanity cannot retain any faith in God, for faith always seeks the hearts of the humble and the meek.

As long as there are quarrels among different individuals and sects, they do not rise up to realize the highest truth.

"My God is the true God, your God is false," is the talk of men groping in the darkness of ignorance.

When a man realizes God he cannot quarrel. But when he is distant from God, he is more or less given to quarrelling.

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25 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Reminiscences of Swami Subodhananda

Swamiji noticed that Subodhananda avoided women; he didn't even talk to them.

One day Swamiji said: "Khoka, women devotees come to hear about the Master; please talk to them. If you avoid them, where will they go? They are the manifestations of the Divine Mother. Treat them as your mother or daughter."

From then on, Subodhananda would associate with women and address them as "Mother."

When Vivekananda's Western women devotees came to Belur Math, he would send Subodhananda to look after them and supply their needs.

Once Subodhananda said to Swamiji: "Please excuse me. I can neither speak English properly nor can I understand their language."

Swamiji said: "You will not have to worry about that. When they tell you 'Thank you,' you say to them, 'I don't care.'"

However, when Subodhananda followed Swamiji's instruction, the women devotees were puzzled. They laughed when they discovered that it was Swamiji's mischief.

---

Once Subodhananda was going to Kolkata from Belur Math by steamer. On the way, a few young men from Bali started criticizing Vivekananda.

Subodhananda boldly told them: "Do you give any donation to Belur Math? If so, please stop it from today. What will you gain by criticizing Swamiji? Neither will your criticism make Swamiji's hands fall off, nor will your praise help him grow two more hands."

When he heard that those young men did not help Belur Math, the swami said: "Then why do you criticize unnecessarily? Can you appreciate the monks? You work like slaves under English officers and you are supposed to flatter them; if you make any mistake, they will kick you out with their boots."

A few days later, one of those young men came to Belur Math and apologized to Subodhananda: "Maharaj, the other day out of sheer ignorance, we did wrong. Your words came true. One of us was kicked out of the office by an English officer."

---

26 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Reminiscences of Swami Subodhananda

Subodhananda's love and respect for Swamiji was phenomenal. Once in Varanasi, Swami Raghavananda asked him: "Maharaj, who is greater—Trailinga Swami or Swamiji?" Subodhananda replied: "Trailinga Swami is the greatest among men, but Swamiji is Shiva Himself.

If anybody criticized Swamiji before the Master, he would say, 'Here the Lord Shiva has been criticized, please sprinkle a little Ganga water.'"

As a Guru, and Trips to East Bengal

Subodhananda's unassuming nature and plain clothing hid the fact that he was a great soul and a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna; but his renunciation and simple, joyful face attracted devotees. In the monastery he wore an ochre cloth, a T-shirt, and a pair of slippers. He washed his own clothes, and ate with the other monks on the floor of the dining room.

Subodhananda was reluctant to give spiritual instructions to devotees. If anybody approached him for initiation, he would say: "What do I know about initiation? I am a Khoka. You go to Swami Brahmananda or Holy Mother—they are highly spiritual."

Once Holy Mother said: "Why does Khoka not initiate people? As long as the Master's disciples are alive, let the people receive their grace."

He also received a command from the Master to instruct people. In 1915 Subodhananda began to initiate devotees.

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27 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Reminiscences of Swami Subodhananda

Once in later years some devotees from East Bengal came to Swami Shivananda, then the president of the Ramakrishna Order, and invited him to Dhaka. The swami was not well, so he asked Subodhananda to go instead.

Subodhananda replied: "Oh, no, I can't go there. There are many big rivers in East Bengal and I am afraid to cross them." Knowing his nature, Shivananda did not press him any further at that time.

However, on 7 May 1924, Subodhananda went to dedicate the Ramakrishna Temple at Sonargaon, Dhaka, at the behest of Shivananda.

"People of East Bengal," said Shivananda, "are greatly devoted to Sri Ramakrishna. Please initiate them."

Subodhananda obeyed and initiated many people, even children. After returning to Belur Math, he informed Shivananda that he had initiated one and all, including children.

Shivananda asked, "How will the children practise meditation and japa?"

He replied, "You ordered me to initiate everybody, so I deprived none."

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Subodhananda was extremely self-effacing and did not consider himself to be a guru. Once a woman disciple asked him: "Swami, I don't know the Gayatri mantra or ritual or chanting. People practise the Gayatri thrice a day. Could you teach me all those disciplines?"

Subodhananda said humbly: "Mother, I don't know all those things either. You see, I am a Khoka (Baby). I have given you what I have received from the Master, what I have known from my own experience, and what has kept me in a blissful state. Please control your mind and practise japa and meditation."

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28 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Reminiscences of Swami Subodhananda

After Vivekananda returned from the West in 1897, he founded the Ramakrishna Mission. He asked his brother-disciples to propagate practical Vedanta as taught by Sri Ramakrishna for the good of humanity. Swamiji wanted his brother-disciples to become accustomed to speaking in public, so he persuaded them to give weekly lectures by turn in the Alambazar Monastery.

When Subodhananda's turn came he tried in vain to be excused. The other monks thought that this was very funny and gathered eagerly in the hall to watch Khoka.

At last Subodhananda mounted the platform—miserable and unwilling—and opened his mouth to speak. But before he could say a word, the building began to vibrate and rock, and trees crashed down outside. This was the devastating earthquake of 12 June 1897. The meeting was dissolved.

Swamiji humorously said, "Well, Khoka, you have made an earth-shaking speech!" All laughed, including Subodhananda.

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Swamiji noticed that Subodhananda avoided women; he didn't even talk to them. One day Swamiji said: "Khoka, women devotees come to hear about the Master; please talk to them. If you avoid them, where will they go? They are the manifestations of the Divine Mother. Treat them as your mother or daughter."

From then on, Subodhananda would associate with women and address them as "Mother."

When Vivekananda's Western women devotees came to Belur Math, he would send Subodhananda to look after them and supply their needs.

Once Subodhananda said to Swamiji: "Please excuse me. I can neither speak English properly nor can I understand their language."

Swamiji said: "You will not have to worry about that. When they tell you 'Thank you,' you say to them, 'I don't care.'"

However, when Subodhananda followed Swamiji's instruction, the women devotees were puzzled. They laughed when they discovered that it was Swamiji's mischief.

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From his boyhood, Subodhananda loved to drink tea. One night at Belur Math, Vivekananda was meditating in his room; Brahmananda and Subodhananda were sleeping in the next room. When Swamiji finished his meditation, he woke up Subodhananda and asked if he would mind bringing him a pipe to smoke. Subodhananda did so, and Vivekananda was so pleased that he exclaimed impulsively, "Any boon you ask for shall be granted!"

"What could I possibly ask for?" said Subodhananda. "The Master gave us everything we need."

But Brahmananda said, "No, Khoka, ask for something."

So Subodhananda considered carefully and then said, "Grant me this—that I may never, for the rest of my life, miss my daily cup of tea."

Many years later, Subodhananda was asked whether this boon had really been granted. He answered that it had and that the tea had sometimes arrived without his expectation, just as he was about to go to sleep at night.

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29 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Spiritual Talks by Swami Saradananda

Disciple: "—instructs his disciples not to practise Japa without taking bath etc. Are such observances compulsory?"

Swami: "The Master came to make religion easy. People were being crushed under the weight of rules and regulations. To repeat the Lord's name and to worship Him no special time and place are necessary. In whatever condition one may be, one can take His name.

The Master never used to give too much importance to these external observances.

As to means, adopt whichever suits you best. If you like God with form, that will also lead you to the goal. If you like God without form, well and good; stick to it and you will progress. If you doubt His very existence, then better put the question to Him thus: 'I do not know whether Thou existeth or not, whether Thou art formless or with form. Do Thou make known to me Thy real nature.'

As to changing of clothes, taking bath, and other external observances, if you can observe them, well and good; if not, go on calling on Him without paying much attention to all these.

The Master once sang a song to me and told me, 'Assimilate any one of these ideas and you will reach the goal.' The song runs as follows:

'O Lord, Thou art my everything, the sole support of my life, the quintessence of reality. There is none else besides Thee in this world whom I can call as my own.

'Thou art happiness, peace, help, wealth, knowledge, intellect, and strength; Thou art the dwelling house and the pleasure garden; Thou art the friend and relative.

'Thou art this present life, the sole refuge; Thou art the life hereafter and the heaven; Thou art the injunction of the scriptures, the Guru full of blessings, and the store of infinite bliss.

'Thou art the way and the goal; Thou art the creator and preserver and the worshipped; Thou art the father that punishest Thy child, the loving mother and the storehouse of infinite bliss art Thou.'"

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30 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Saradananda

Disciple: "The Master used to say that Sraddha food is harmful to Bhakti. Why is it so?"

Swami: "The object of food is to build a strong body and a fine intellect. Unless the body and the mind are pure it is not possible to go through spiritual practices. It is the food offered to God that builds a pure body and mind.

The Sraddha food is offered to the manes and not to God and as a result instead of building a pure mind and body it affects people otherwise. Food builds the body and the mind and the nature of the food also affects them.

In Chaitanya's life we have a case where an ordinary man who happened to touch him in a state of ecstasy was also overpowered by religious emotions. He was prescribed to take Sraddha food to get over these emotions and as a matter of fact this food did put an end to that person's ecstatic moods."

Disciple: "Why is the time of an eclipse considered auspicious for the practice of Japa?"

Swami: "Man becomes thoughtful when such a natural phenomenon takes place. Eclipse brings about a great change in the sphere of nature. At such a juncture when nature passes from one condition to another, the mind becomes calm and so the time is favourable for the practice of Japa and meditation."

Disciple: "Have any realized God through mere work?"

Swami: "Through selfless work the mind gets purified. And when the mind becomes pure, there arise Knowledge and devotion in it. Knowledge is the very nature of the Self but being covered with ignorance it is not manifest. The object of selfless work is to remove this covering. As a matter of fact Knowledge dawns as soon as the mind becomes pure.

In the Mahabharata you have the story of the chaste lady who attained Knowledge through service to her husband and through other household duties. In the Gita also you find, 'By work alone Janaka and others attained perfection.' Not one but many attained perfection through work, for the text adds 'and others'.

Disciple: "Does work here mean Japa, meditation, etc.?"

Swami: "No. That meaning is given by the commentators. If it were so then Sri Krishna would have asked Arjuna to ring bells and wave lights before an image of God. Instead, he made him fight."

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31 May 2019

Jai Ramakrishna

Teachings of Swami Saradananda

Disciple: "Did Arjuna fight without any sense of ego, as an instrument in the hands of the Lord?"

Swami: "Certainly. If the ego persists even after the vision of the Universal Form, then of what use is the vision? Arjuna says, 'My delusion is destroyed and I have regained memory through Thy grace.'"

Disciple: "What is the meaning of the word 'memory' in that verse?"

Swami: "Arjuna had forgotten the teachings of the scriptures and of the Guru. All those principles, adhering to which Arjuna was progressing he had forgotten, overcome by delusion. Fear, love of relatives, and respect for his elders had created this delusion.

The Advaitists interpret 'memory' as 'the regaining of the consciousness of his real nature'. They too have given a very fine interpretation.

"When the Vaishnavas progress in their spiritual practice and reach the Advaita consciousness, they avoid it and try to keep permanently a relationship with the Lord. They consider that to become one with Him is an obstacle in their way and so the moment they get a scent of this consciousness they become alert to ward it off.

In fact to Santa-bhava, or the peaceful devotion, which is the culmination of Advaita Sadhana, they give the lowest place. They develop the emotional side and direct it towards the Lord—this they think to be the highest goal. From the highest pitch of emotion we have the Madhura-bhava or the sweet conjugal relationship with the Lord."

Disciple: "What is the meaning of the verse, 'Relinquishing all Dharmas take refuge in Me alone' etc.?"

Swami: "Here Dharma means ritualistic works, Japa, etc. Tilak interprets it as the Dharma spoken of in the Mahabharata, viz. service to parents, guests, etc. But this is not correct, for even through such service some attained Knowledge. His interpretation of the Gita is one-sided, for he wants to show that the object of the whole Gita is to establish the superiority of the path of work. The Gita praises highly self-effort (Purushakara). In this verse the Lord hints that this self-effort has a limit."