Man and the World Presented by Veeraswamy Krishnaraj The destiny of man―Real nature
of man―Man in bondage―Death and reincarnation, THE DESTINY OF MAN 1. You see many stars in the sky at night, but not when the sun
rises, Can you therefore say that there are no stars in the heavens during the
day? O man, because you cannot find God in the days of your ignorance, say not
that there is no God, 2, He is born in vain who having attained the human birth, so difficult to get, does not attempt to realise God in this very life. 3. A man is rewarded according to his thoughts and motives. The Lord is like Kalpataru, the wish-yielding tree of heaven.
Everyone gets from Him whatever he seeks. A poor man's son, having received education
and become a judge of the High Court by hard work, is apt to think, ''Now I am
happy, I have reached the highest rung of the ladder, It is all right now. To
him the Lord says, ''Do thou remain so, But when the judge of the High Court retires
on pension and reviews his past, he understands that he wasted his life, and exclaims,
''Alas what real work have I done in this life!'' To him the Lord also says, ''Alas!
what hast thou done!'' 4. Man is born in this world with two tendencies―Vidya, the tendency to
pursue the path of liberation, and Avidya, the leaning towards worldliness and
bondage. At his birth, both these tendencies are, as it were, in equilibrium like
the two scales of a balance, The world soon places its enjoyments and pleasures in one scale, and the Spirit, its attractions
in the other. If the mind chooses the world, the scale of Avidya becomes heavy,
and man gravitates towards the earth; but if it chooses the Spirit, the scale
of Vidya becomes heavier and pulls him towards God. 5. Know the One, and you will know the all. Ciphers placed after the figure one
gets the value of hundreds and of thousands, but they become valueless if you
wipe out that figure. The many have value only because of the one. First
the One and then the many. First God, and then the Jivas and the Jagat (creatures
and the world). 6. First gain God, and then gain wealth; but do not try to do the contrary,
If, after acquiring spirituality, you lead a worldly life, you will never lose
your peace of mind. 7. Do you talk of social reform? Well, you may do so after realizing God.
Remember, the Rishis of old gave up the world in order to attain God, This is
the one thing needful. All other things shall be added to you, if indeed you care
to have them. First see God and then talk of lectures and social reforms. 8. A newcomer to a city should first secures a comfortable room for his rest
at night, and after keeping his luggage there, he may freely go about the city
for sightseeing. Otherwise he may have to suffer much in the darkness of night
to get a place for rest. Similarly, after securing his eternal resting place in
God, a new-comer to this world can fearlessly move about, doing his daily work.
Otherwise, when the dark and dreadful night of death comes over him, he will have
to encounter great difficulties and sufferings. 9. At the doors of large granaries are
placed traps containing fried rice (Moori) to catch mice. The mice, attracted
by the flavour of the fried rice, forget the more solid pleasure of tasting the rice inside the granary,
and fall into the trap. They are caught therein and killed. Just so is the case with the soul. It stands on the threshold
of Divine bliss, which is like millions of the highest worldly pleasures solidified
into one; but instead of striving for that bliss, it allows itself to be enticed
by the petty pleasures of the world and falls into the trap of Māyā,
the great illusion, and dies therein. 10. A Pandit: The Theosophists say that there
are, Mahatmas. They also say that there are different planes and spheres like
astral plane, Devayanic plane, solar sphere, lunar sphere, etc,, and that man's
subtle by can go to all these places. They say many other such things. Well, Sir,
what is your opinion on Theosophy? The Master: Bhakti alone
is supreme. Bhakti or devotion to God. Do they care for Bhakti? If they
do, that that is well, if they have God-realization their aim and goal, But
remember, to be engrossed in such trivial things as solar sphere, lunar sphere,
astral sphere, etc,, is not genuine search after God. One has to do Sadhanas (spiritual
practices) in order to get devotion to His lotus feet; one has to weep for Him
with the intense longing of the heart. The mind should be gathered up from the
different objects and concentrated exclusively on Him. He is not in the Vedas
or Vedanta or in any scripture. Nothing will be achieved unless one's heart yearns
for him. One has to pray to Him with intense devotion, and practice Sadhanas.
God cannot be realized so easily. Sadhanas are necessary. 11. Will all men see? No man will have to fast for the whole day; some get
their food at 9 a,m, some at noon, others at
2 p,m, and others again in the evening or at sunset. Similarly, one time or other,
in this very life or after many more lives, all will, and must, see God. 12. Little children play with dolls in the outer room Just as they like, without
any care or fear or restraint; but as soon as their mother comes in, they throw
aside their dolls and run to her crying, ''Mamma mamma,'' You too, O man, are
now playing in this material world, infatuated with the dolls of wealth, honour,
fame, etc,, and do not feel any fear or anxiety. If, however, you once see your
Divine Mother, you will not afterwards find pleasure in all these. Throwing them
all aside, you will run to Her. 13. There art pearls in the deep sea, but, you must hazard all perils to get
them. If you fail to get at them by a single dive, do not conclude that sea is
without them. Dive again and again, and you are sure to be rewarded in the end. So also in the quest for the Lord, if your first attempt
to see Him proves fruitless, do not lose heart. Persevere in the attempt, and you are sure to realize Him at last. 14. Meditate upon the Knowledge and the Bliss Eternal, and you will have bliss.
The Bliss is indeed eternal, only it is covered and obscured by ignorance, The
less your attachment to the sense-objects the more will be your love for
God, - 15. Mere possession of wealth does not make a man rich. The sign of a rich
man's house is that a light burns in each room. The poor cannot afford the oil;
therefore, they do not arrange for many lights. This temple of the body should not be kept in darkness; the lamp of Knowledge must be lighted in it. ''Light the lamp of Knowledge in your room,
and look at the face of the Mother, Divine.'' Everyone can attain Knowledge. There is the individualized self and there
is the higher Self. Every individual is connected with the higher Self. There
is a gas connection in every house, and gas can be had from the Gas Company. Only
apply to the proper authorities, and the supply will be arranged. Then you will
have gaslight in your room. 16. The digit one may be raised to a figure of any value by adding zeroes after
it; but if that one is omitted, zeroes by themselves have no value. Similarly
so long as the jiva (individual soul) does not cling to God, who is the One, he
has no value, for all things here get their value from their connection with God. So long as the Jiva clings to God, Who is
the value-giving figure behind the world, and does all his work for Him, he gains
more and more thereby; on the contrary, if he overlooks God and adds to his work
many grand achievements, all done for his own glorification, he will gain nothing
therefrom. 17. As a lamp does not burn without oil, so a man cannot live without God. 18. God is to man what a magnet is to iron. Why does He not then attract man? As iron thickly imbedded in mud is not moved
by the attraction of the magnet, so the soul thickly imbedded in Maya does not
feel the attraction of the Lord, when the mud is washed away with water, the iron is free to move. Even so, when, by the constant tears of prayer and repentance, the soul washes away the mud
of Maya that compels it to stick to the earth, it is soon attracted by the Lord
to Himself. 19. The union of the Jivatman
with the Paramatman is like the union of the hour and the minute hands of a watch once in every hour. They are interrelated
and interdependent, and though usually separate, they
may become united as often as favourable opportunities occur. 20. The soul enchained is man,
but when free from the chain (Maya), it is the Lord. 21. What is the relation between
the Jivatman and the Paramatman? As a current of water seems to be divided into
two when a plank of wood is placed against it edgewise, so the Indivisible
appears divided into to two, the Jivatman and the Paramatman, due to the limitation
of Māyā. 22, Water and a bubble on it are one and the same. The bubble has its birth
in the water, floats on it, and is ultimately resolved into it. So also the jivatman
and the Paramatman are one and the same, the difference between them being only
one of degree. For one is finite and limited while the other is infinite; one
is dependent while the other is independent. 23. The idea of an individual ego is just like enclosing a portion of the
water of the Ganges and calling the enclosed portion ones own Ganges. 24. As a piece of lead thrown into a basin
of mercury soon becomes an amalgam with it, so an individual soul loses its limited existence
when it falls into the ocean of Brahman. 25. God is the infinite Being, while Jiva is only a finite being. How then can the finite grasp the Infinite? It is like a doll
made of salt trying to fathom the depth of the ocean. In doing so the salt doll
is dissolved into the sea and lost. Similarly the Jiva, in trying to measure God
and know Him, loses its separateness and becomes one with Him. 26. The Lord Himself is playing in the form of man. He is the great juggler and
this phantasmagoria of Jiva and Jagat is His great jugglery, The Juggler alone
is true, the jugglery is false. 27. The human body is like a pot, and the mind,
the intellect and the senses are like water, rice and potato. When you place a
pot containing water, rice and potato on fire, they get heated, and if any one
touches them, his finger is burnt even though the heat does not really belong to the pot, or the water, or the potato, or the rice. Similarly it
is the power of, Brahman in man that causes the mind and the intellect and the
senses to perform their functions; and when that power ceases to act, these also
stop work. Man in Bondage 28. The true nature of the Jiva is eternal Existence-Knowledge-Bliss (Sat-Cit-Ananda). It is due to egotism that he is limited by so many Upadhis (limiting adjuncts),
and has forgotten his real nature. 29. The nature of the Jiva changes with the addition
of each Upadhi. When a man dresses like a fop, wearing the fine black-bordered muslin, the love songs of Nidhu Babu spring to his lips. A pair of
English boots inflates even a languid man with the delight of vanity; he
begins to whistle immediately, and if he has to ascend a flight of stairs, he
leaps up from one step to another like a Saheb. If a man holds a pen in his hand,
he will go on scratching carelessly on any paper he happens to get. 30. As the snake is separate from its slough, even so is the Spirit separate
from the body. 31. The Self is not attached to anything. Pleasure, pain, sinfulness, righteousness,
etc., can never affect the Self in any wav; but they can affect those who identify
themselves with the body, as smoke can blacken only the wall but not the space
enclosed within it. 32. The Vedantins say that the atman is completely
unattached. Sin or virtue, pain or pleasure cannot affect it; but they can inflict
sufferings on those who have attachment to the body. The smoke can soil
the walls, but can do nothing to the sky. 33. Men are of different natures according to the preponderance of Sattva, Rajas,
or Tamas in them. 34. Though all souls
are one and the same in their ultimate nature, they are of four classes according
to their respective conditions. They are Baddha or bound, Mumukshu or struggling
for liberation, Mukta or emancipated, and Nityamukta or ever-free. 35. A fisherman cast his net into the river and had a large haul. Some fish
lay in the net calm and motionless not exerting in the least to go out of it. Others struggled and jumped but could not extricate
themselves, while a third class of fish somehow managed to force their way out of the net. In the world men too are
thus of three kind―those who are bound and never strive to be free, those, who are bound but struggle for
freedom, and those who have already attained freedom. 36. There are three dolls―the first made of salt, the second made of
cloth, and the third of stone. If these dolls are immersed in water, the first
will become dissolved and lose its form, the second will absorb a large quantity
of water but retain its form, and the third will remain impervious to water. The
first doll represents the man who merges his self in the universal and all-pervading
Self, and becomes one with It; he is the liberated man. The second represents
the Bhakta or the true lover of God, who is full of Divine
bliss and knowledge. And the third represents the worldly man who will not admit
even a particle of true knowledge into his heart. Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna 37. Men are like pillow-cases. The colour of one may be red, that of another
blue, and that of a third black; but all contain the same cotton within. So it
is with man; one is beautiful, another is black, a third holy, and a fourth wicked;
but the Divine Being dwells in them all. 38. The outer layers of cakes are made of rice
flour, but inside they are stuffed with different ingredients. The cake is good
or bad according to the quality of its stuffing. So all human bodies are made
of one and the same material, yet men are different in quality according to the purity of their hearts. 39. A Brahmins son is no doubt a Brahmin by birth; but some of these born Brahmins grow up into great scholars, some become priests, others turn out cooks, and still others roll themselves in the dust before courtesans' doors. 40. It is true that God is even in the tiger; but we must not therefore go and face that animal. It is true that God dwells
even in the most wicked beings, but it is not proper that we should associate
with them. 41. The Deity Narayana (God) broods over the water,
but every kind of water is not fit for drinking. Similarly, though it is true
that God dwells in every place, yet every place is not fit to be visited by man.
One kind of water may be used for washing our feet. another for purposes of ablution,
and a third for drinking, while there are still others which are unfit even to
be touched. Similarly, there are different places, of which some may be approached
and others visited, while there are still others which should only be saluted
from a distance and bidden goodbye. 42. Beware of the following: the garrulous
man; the man who is not open-hearted; the man who makes a parade of his devotion
by sticking sacred Tulsi leaves on his ears; the woman who wears a long veil;
and the cold water of the stagnant pool overgrown with rank vegetation, which
is very injurious to health. Death and Reincarnation 43. Even at the time of death the bound souls speak of worldly matters
only. There is no use in visiting places of pilgrimage, or bathing in the holy Ganges, or counting beads; if there are worldly attachments in the heart, they are sure to manifest themselves at the dying moment. Hence bound souls indulge in random talks even at that time. A parrot may ordinarily sing the holy name of RadhaKrishna, but when it is attacked by a cat, it cries out 'Kang', 'Kang' ―its natural cry. 44. Man suffers so much simply for want of devotion to God. One should therefore
adopt such means as would help the thought of God to arise in the mind at the
last moment of one's life. The means is practice of devotion to God. If this is
done during one's life-time, the thought of God is sure to occur to one's mind
even at the last hour. 45. A man's rebirth is determined by what he has been thinking about just
before death. Devotional practices are therefore very necessary. If, by constant
practice, one's mind is free from all worldly ideas, then the thought of God,
which fills the mind in their place, will not leave it even at &e time of
death. 46. When an unbaked pot is broken, the potter can use the mud to make a new
one; but when a baked one is broken, he cannot do the same any longer. So when a person dies in a state of ignorance, he is born again; but when he becomes well-baked in the fire of true knowledge and dies a perfect man, he
is not born again. 47. A grain of boiled paddy does not sprout again when sown. Only unboiled
paddy sends forth the shoot. Similarly when one dies after becoming a Siddha, a perfect man, he has not to be born again, but an
Asiddha, an imperfect man, has to be born again and again until he becomes a Siddha. Chapter 2 Māyā [Maya as the Cosmic Power of
the Lord―Maya as the deluding power (Avidya)―Maya as the liberating power (Vidya) MAYA AS THE COSMIC POWER OF THE LORD 48. Maya is to Brahman what the snake in motion
is to the snake at rest. Force in action is Maya, force in potency is Brahman. 49. As the water of the ocean is now calm and
next agitated into waves, so are Brahman and Māyā. The ocean in the
tranquil state is Brahman, and in the turbulent state, Maya. 50. The relation of Brahman to Sakti is that of
fire to its burning property. 51. Siva and Sakti (Intelligence and Energy) are
both necessary for creation. With dry clay no potter can make a pot; water also
is necessary. Siva alone cannot create without the help of Sakti. 52. Desirous of seeing Maya I had one day a vision:
A small drop slowly expanded and formed itself into a girl; the girl became a woman
and gave birth to a child; and as soon as the child was born, she took it up and
swallowed it. In this way. many children were born to her and were devoured by
her. Then I knew that she was Maya. 53. The snake itself is not affected by
the poison in its fangs; but when it bites, the poison kills the creature bitten.
Likewise, Maya is in the Lord but does not affect Him, while the same Maya deludes
the whole world. MAYA AS THE DELUDING POWER (AVIDYA) 54. A certain Sadhu lived for sometime in a room in the temple of Dakshineswar.
He did not speak to anybody and spent his whole time in meditation on God. One day,
all of a sudden, a cloud darkened the sky, and shortly afterwards, a light wind
blew away the cloud. The holy man now came out of his room and began to laugh and dance. Upon this the
Master asked him, ''How is it that you, who spend your days so quietly in your
room, are dancing in joy and feeling so jolly today?'' The holy man replied, ''Such
is Maya that envelops this life! No trace of it was there before; but suddenly
it appears in the serene sky of Brahman, creating the whole universe, and is dispersed
by the breath of Brahman. 55. Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana went to the forest as exiles. Rama walked in front,
Sita in the middle, Lakshmana behind her. Lakshmana was very anxious to have always
a full view of Rama; but as Sita was in the middle, he could not have it. Then
he prayed to Sita to move aside a little; and as soon as she did so, Lakshmana's
wish was fulfilled, and he saw Rama. Such is the arrangement of Brahman, Maya and
Jiva in this world. So long as the illusion of Maya does not move aside. the creature
cannot see the Creator―man cannot see God. 56. A holy man used to look and smile at the chandelier prism day and night.
The reason for his doing so was that he saw various colours through the prism―red, yellow, blue, etc.
Knowing these colours to be false, he realized with a smile that the world also was equally false. 57. Hari, wearing the mask of a lion's head, looks indeed very terrible. He goes where his little sister is playing, and yells hideously. She is shocked and terrified, and shrieks out in pain to escape from the frightful creature. But when
Hari puts off the mask, the frightened girl at once recognizes her loving brother and runs up to him, exclaiming, ''Oh, it is my dear brother after all.'' Such is the case with all men. They are deluded and frightened, and made to do all sorts of things
by the inscrutable power of Maya or nescience, behind which Brahman hides Himself. But when the veil of Maya is removed
from the face of Brahman, one does not see in Him a terrible and uncompromising
Master, but one's own most beloved inner Self. 58. If God is omnipresent, why do we not see Him? Observing from the bank
of a pool thickly covered with scum and weeds, you will not see the water in it.
If you desire to see the water, remove the scum from the surface of the pond.
With eyes covered with the film of Māyā, you complain that you cannot
see God. If you wish to see Him, remove the film of Maya from your eyes. 59. As the cloud covers the sun, so Maya hides the Deity. When the cloud moves
away, the sun is seen again; when Maya is removed, God becomes manifest. 60. The mythical swan can separate milk from the water with which it is diluted,
and drink only the milk, leaving the water behind. Other birds cannot do this.
God is intimately mixed up
with Maya. Ordinary men cannot see Him apart from Maya. Only the Paramahamsa can
reject Maya and reach God in His purity. 61. If you can find out the nature
of Māyā, the universal illusion, it will leave you just as a thief
runs away when detected. MAYA AS THE LIBERATING POWER
(VIDYA) 62. In God there are both Vidya, Maya, and Avidya Maya. The Vidya Maya takes man towards God, whereas the Avidya Maya leads him astray.
Knowledge, devotion, dispassion, compassion―all these are expressions of Vidya Maya; only with their help can one reach
God. 63. It is Maya which reveals Brahman. Without Māyā,
who could have known Brahman? Without knowing Sakti, the manifested power of God,
there is no means of knowing Him. 64. It is only due to Maya that the attainment
of supreme knowledge and final beatitude becomes possible for us. Otherwise who
could even dream of all this? From Maya alone spring duality, a relativity; beyond
Māyā, there is neither the enjoyer nor the object of enjoyment. 65. The cat catches her kitten with her
teeth and they are not hurt; but when a mouse is so caught. it dies. Thus Maya
never kills the devotee, though it destroys others. CHAPTER III MAYA AS WOMAN AND GOLD 1 The bondage of sex―Sex end spiritual progress―How to conquer sex?
Riches and the spiritual aspirant THE BONDAGE OF SEX 66. What is Maya? It is
lust which forms an obstacle to spiritual progress. 67. Is it Maya or Meye (woman, sex) which has devoured everything? 68. Souls enmeshed in worldliness cannot resist the temptation of woman and
gold and direct their minds to God, even though these things bring upon them a
thousand humiliations. 69. Be careful, O householders! Put not too much confidence in women; they
establish their mastery over you very insidiously! 70. You cannot lie in a sooty room, and at the same time escape being somewhat
blackened in spite of all your caution. So also, if a man lives in the company
of women, some carnality however little, is bound to arise in him, even though he may be very circumspect and has his senses under control. Foot note: 1 In reading the sayings contained in this chapter and others, wherever reference
is made to Kamini-Kanchana, woman and gold, one must specially bear in mind that
the Master is propounding no cult of woman-hatred. The study of his sayings in their entirety, as well as a perusal of his Introduction
to this Volume, will show that his attitude towards womankind was one of profound respect bordering on worship. For he saw in them a symbol of the Divine Mother of the universe in a special sense. It was in this light that he himself viewed all women, and he wanted his devotees also to cultivate the same attitude. But at the same time he impressed on his disciples that when viewed with a sensual eye, woman was the greatest danger to the
spiritual aspirant. Of course, by 'woman' he meant 'sex or carnality'; but the great teacher that he was,
with deep insight into the workings of the human mind, he preferred to use the
concrete for the abstract, and always spoke of the bondage of 'woman' and not
of 'sex'. His motive must have been purely psychological; for speaking on the
same subject to his women devotees, he used to warn them against the dangers from
'man'. Since his teachings were all recorded by men devotees, we naturally
get warnings against dangers from woman only and not from man. Just as woman stands
for sex, gold stands for the acquisitive instinct, and is a concrete representation
of all the material things that men value and like to possess. The correct English
expression for it is 'wealth' or 'riches.' 71. If pitchers of ice-cold water and bottles of savory sauces are placed
near a man who is suffering from very high fever and is semi-delirious, do you
think that it is possible for him, thirsty and restless that he is, to resist
the temptation of drinking the water or tasting the sauces? Similarly the worldly
man who suffers from the high fever of lust, and is thirsty for sensual pleasures,
cannot resist temptations when he is placed between the charms of beauty on one side, and those of wealth on the other. He is sure to deviate from the path of devotion. 72. Once a Marwari gentleman approached Sri Ramakrishna and said, ''How is it, Sir, that I do not see God although I have renounced everything?'' The Master: Well, haven't you seen leather Jars for keeping oil? If one of them is emptied of its contents, still it retains something of the oil as well as its smell. In the same way there is still some worldliness left in you, and its odor
persists. 73. 'Woman and gold', remember, keep men immersed in worldliness and away
from God. It is strange that no one has anything but praise for his own wife,
be she good, bad or indifferent. 74. As the monkey sacrifices its life at the feet of the hunter, so does a
man at the feet of a beautiful woman. SEX AND SPIRITUAL PROGRESS 75. Those who wish to attain God or make progress in their devotional practices
should particularly guard themselves against the snares of lust and wealth. Otherwise they will never attain perfection. 76. Nityananda asked Sri Chaitanya, ''Why is it that all my teaching
of Divine love produces no tangible result on the minds of men?'' Sri Chaitanya replied, ''Because, due to their
association with women, they cannot retain the higher teachings. Listen, Brother
Nityananda, there is no salvation for the worldly-minded. 77. When does the indicator of a balance move
away from the pointed needle attached to the top? When one of the scales becomes
heavier than the other. Similarly, the mind runs away from God and gets unbalanced
when the pressure of woman and wealth is placed upon it. 78. If there is a small hole at the bottom of
a jar of water, the whole water will leak out. Similarly, if there is the smallest
tinge of worldliness in the aspirant, all his exertions will come to naught. 79. Try to gain absolute mastery over the sexual instinct. If one succeeds
in doing this, a physiological change is produced in the body by the development
of a hitherto rudimentary nerve known as Medha (the function of which is to transmute
the lower energies into the higher). The knowledge of the higher Self is gained
after the development of this Medha nerve. 80. The mind steeped in affection
for woman and gold is like the green betel-nut. So long as the betel-nut is green,
its kernel remains adhering to its shell, but when it dries up shell and nut are
separated, and the nut moves within, if shaken. So when the affection for woman
and gold dries up, the soul is perceived as quite different from the body. 81. When the mind is free from attachment to sense objects, it turns to God and is fixed on Him. The bound
soul becomes free in this way. That soul is bound which takes the path, leading
away from God. 82. When attachment for wealth and sex is wiped out from the mind, what else is left in the soul? Only the
bliss of Brahman. HOW TO CONQUER SEX? 83. As persons living in a house infested
with venomous snakes are always alert, so should men living in the world be always
vigilant against the allurement of lust and greed. 84. On coming across a snake usually we say, ''Mother Manasa please move away
showing your tail and hiding your head.'' So also it is wiser to hold aloof from
such influences as have a tendency to excite sensuality. It far better not to
come into contact with them than to gain experience by a fall. 85. A disciple once asked Sri Ramakrishna how
he was to conquer lust; for, though he was passing his days in religious contemplation,
evil thoughts were arising in his mind from time to time. To him the Master said:
''There was a man who had a pet dog. He used to caress it, carry it in about his
arms, play with it and kiss it. A wise man, seeing this foolish behavior of his,
warned him not to lavish such affection on a dog. For it was, after all, an irrational
brute, and might bite him one day. The owner took the warning to heart and putting away the dog from his arms, resolved never again to fondle or caress
it. But the animal could not at first understand the change in his master, and would run to him frequently, to be taken up and caressed. Beaten several times, the dog at last ceased to trouble his master any more. Such indeed is your condition.
The dog that you have been cherishing so long in your bosom will not easily leave
you, though you may wish to be rid of it. However, there is no harm in it. Do not caress the dog any more,
but give it a good beating whenever it approaches you to be fondled, and in course
of time you will be altogether free from its importunities.'' 86. Woman and gold have drowned the whole world in sin. woman is disarmed
when you view her as the manifestation of the Divine Mother. God cannot be seen
so long as ones passion for woman and gold is not extinguished. 87. Once a man attains God through intense Vairagya (freedom from worldly
passions), temptations of sex disappear, and he finds himself in no danger even
from his own wife. If there are two unequal magnets at an equal distance from
a piece of iron, which of them will draw it with greater force? Certainly the
larger one. Verily, God is the larger magnet. What can the smaller magnet, woman,
do against it? 88. Snakes are venomous reptiles. If you try to catch them, you are sure to be bitten. But to the man who has
learnt the art of snake-charming by the use of magnetized dust, it is not a very difficult affair to catch them. He can play even with seven of them twisted together and coiled round his neck. (Similarly a man of realization is immune from the dangers of worldly life.) 89. One day a Marwari gentleman went to Sri Ramakrishsa and asked him for permission to present him with
some thousands of rupees. But the Master
had nothing but a stern refusal for this well-meant offer. He said, I shall have,
nothing to do with your money; for if I accept it, my mind would always be dwelling
on it. The gentleman then proposed to invest the amount in the name of one of Sri
Ramakrishna's relatives to be used by him in the Master's service. To this the
Master replied, ''No, it would be double-dealing. Moreover, it would always be
in my mind that I am keeping my money with so-and-so'' But the Marwari still persisted in hi, proposal, quoting one of Ramakrishna's
sayings, 'If the mind is like oil, it will float even upon an ocean of woman and
gold.'' At this the Master retorted, ''That is true indeed, but if the oil floats on water for a considerable length
of time, it becomes putrefied. In the same way, even if
the mind were only to float over the ocean of woman and gold, the continuous contact
of the latter for a long period would surely tend to vitiate the mind and make
it give out an evil odor.'' RICHES AND THE SPIRITUAL
ASPIRANT 90. Referring to the fact that the pursuit of
wealth diverts an aspirant from the path of God, the Master, once said to a young
disciple, ''Like a man of the world you have accepted a paid appointment. But
you are working for your mother. Otherwise I should have said, 'For shame! For shame!' ''He repeated this several times and then said, ''Serve the Lord alone.'' 91. Referring to the degradation that service
undertaken for the sake of money brings about, the Master said to a young disciple, ''A change for the worse has come over his face. A dark shadowy film seems to have spread
over it. All this is due to office work. There are the accounts and hundred other matters to attend to. 92. Money is an Upadhi (a deceptive influence)
of a very strong nature. As soon as a man becomes rich, he is thoroughly changed.
A Brahmin who was very meek and humble used to come here (Dakshineswar) every
now and then. After some time he stopped his visits, and we knew nothing of what happened to him. One day we went to Konnagore
in a boat. As we were getting down from the boat, we saw him sitting, on the bank of the Ganges, where in
the fashion of big folk, he was enjoying the pure breeze of the river. On seeing
me, he accosted me in a patronizing tone with the words, ''Hallo, Thakkur! How
do you do now?'' At once I noticed the change in his tone and said to Hriday who
was with me, ''I tell you, Hriday, this man must have come by some riches. See
what a great change has come over him!'' And Hrida burst into laughter. 93. Money can fetch you bread alone. Do not consider it as your sole end and
aim. 94. There are some who boast of their wealth and power of their name and family
and high status in society; but all these are for a few days only. None of these
will follow them after death. 95. On two occasions the Lord smiles: First when the doctor comes to the bed-side
of a patient who is seriously taken ill and is about to die, and says to his mother,
''Why madam, there is no cause for anxiety at all. I take upon myself the responsibility
of saving your son's life.'' Next He smiles when two brothers, who are busy partitioning
their land, take a measuring tape, put it across the land and say, ''This side
is mine, that side is yours'' 96. There is nothing to be proud of in money. If you say you are rich, there are richer and richer men than you in comparison with whom you are a mere beggar. After dusk when the glow-worms make their appearance, they think, ''We are giving light to the world. But when the stars begin to twinkle, the
pride of the glow-worms is humbled. Now the stars begin to think, ''We are illuming
the universe.'' But after a while the moon ascends the sky and her silvery light
humiliates the stars and they pale away in sadness. Again. the moon grows proud
and thinks that by her light the world is lighted and bathed in beauty. But presently
the dawn proclaims the ascent of the sun on the eastern horizon. And where is
the moon now! If they who think themselves rich ponder over these facts of Nature, they
would never, never boast of their riches and power. 97. Water always flows out under a bridge but never stagnates; so money passes through the hands of the free, and is never hoarded by them. 98. He is truly a man to whom money is only a servant; make proper use of it. On the other hand those who do not how to make proper use of it, hardly deserve to be called men. BOOK 1 CHAPTER IV MAYA AS AHAMKARA OR EGOTISM1 Evils of egotism―The difficulty of conquering egotism― Ripe ego and unripe ego―How to conquer the ego―Ego in the man of realization EVILS OF EGOTISM 99. The sun can give heat and
light to the whole world, but he cannot do so when the clouds shut out his rays.
Similarly as long as egotism veils the heart, God cannot shine upon it. . 100. Egotism is like a cloud
which keeps God hidden from our sight. If it vanishes by the mercy of the Guru,
God is perceived in all His glory. For instance, you see in the picture that Sri
Ramachandra, Who is God, is only two or three steps ahead of Lakshmana (the Jiva),
but Sita (Maya), coming in between the two, prevents Lakshmana from
having a view of Rama. IAhamkara and Aham―These two words have been variously
translated here, accordingly to context, as egotism, the sense of 'I',
the 'I', the ego, the I-ness and so on. None of these is perhaps an
exact equivalent. Indian philosophy and system of spiritual discipline understand
by it the basic principle of individuation giving rise to the sense of 'I', the
concomitant feeling of separation from God and from other individual, and all
other psychical and physical development following from it. The aim of spiritual
life is to root out this prime source of all worldliness, and realize
the unity of all existence. 101. Q. Sir, why are we in bondage like this? Why do we not see God? A. Man's ego itself is Maya. It is the veil
that shuts out the Light. Verily, with the death of the 'I' aIl troubles cease.
If by the grace of the Lord a man once gains the knowledge that he is not the
doer, then he assuredly becomes a Jivanmukta, one freed in this very life,
and transcends all fear. Jivanmukta = One who attained liberation while alive
in body. 102. If I hold this cloth before me, you cannot see me anymore, though I am
still as near you as ever. So also though God is nearer to you than anything else,
because of the scree of egotism, you cannot see Him. 103. As long as there is egotism, neither Self-knowledge (Jnana) nor liberation
(Mukti) is possible; and there is no cessation of birth and death. 104. Rice, pulse, potatoes and other things put in cold water in an earthen
vessel can be touched with hand until they are heated on a fire. The same statement applies to the Jiva. This body
is the earthen vessel; wealth and learning, caste and lineage, power and position
are like rice, pulse and potatoes. Egotism is the heat. The Jiva is made hot (haughty)
by egotism. 105. Rain-water never stands on the high ground but runs down to the lowest
level. So also the mercy of God remains in the hearts the lowly, but drains off
from those of the vain and the proud. 106. Egotism is so injurious to man that as long as it is not eradicated there
is no salvation for him. Look at the young calf and the troubles that
come upon it through egotism. As soon as it is born, it cries, 'Hāmbā'―'I am'. The result of its egotism is that, when it
grows up, if it is an ox, it is yoked to the plough to drag carts full of heavy
load; if a cow, it is kept tied to its post and is sometimes even killed and eaten.
But still, in spite of all this punishment, the animal does not lose its egotism;
for drums that are made of its hide produce the same sound of 'Ham',
'l'. The creature does not learn humility until the cotton-carder makes bow-strings
out of its entrails; for it is then that the animals intestines sing out 'Tuhu'
―'Thou art'. The 'l' must go and give place to the 'Thou'; and this is not
achieved until man becomes spiritually awakened. 107. Freedom will come when your 'l-hood' (egotism)
vanishes and you yourself are merged in the Divinity. 108. When does a man attain salvation? Only when
his egotism dies. 109. Q. When shall I be free? A.
When that 'I' vanishes from you. 'I' and 'mine'―this
is ignorance; 'Thou' and 'Thine' ―that is true knowledge. The true
devotee always says, 'O Lord, Thou art the doer (Karta). Thou doest everything.
I am a mere instrument in Thy hands, I do whatever thou
makest me do. All this is Thy glory. This home and this family are thine, not
mine; I have only the right to serve as Thou ordainest.' The Difficulty of conquering
Egotism 110. The vanities of all others may gradually die out, but the vanity of a
saint regarding his sainthood is hard indeed to wear awav. 111. The cup in which garlic juice is kept retains the odor, though
washed several times. Egotism is such an obstinate aspect of ignorance that it
never disappears completely, however hard you may try to get rid of it. 112. The dyspeptic knows only too well that sour things are injurious to him,
but such is the force of association that the sight of them is enough to make
his mouth water. So, even if one tries hard to suppress the idea of 'l-ness' and
'mine-ness' yet when one begins to act, the 'unripe' ego asserts itself. 113. There are few who can attain Samadhi and get rid of the Aham―the feeling of 'I' within. Generally it does
not go. You may reason and discriminate without end, yet this 'I' comes back again
and again. Today you may cut down the Pepul tree, but tomorrow you will see it sprouting
again. Peepul tree = Ficus religiosa is a large dry season-deciduous or semi-evergreen tree up to 30 metres (98 ft) tall and with a
trunk diameter of up to 3 metres (9.8 ft). The leaves are cordate in shape with a distinctive extended drip tip; they are 1017 cm long and 812 cm broad, with
a 610 cm petiole. The fruits are small figs 11.5 cm in diameter, green ripening
to purple.Wikipedia. 114. Those who seek name and fame are, under a
delusion. They forget that everything is ordained by the Great Dispenser of all
things and that all is due to the Lord and the Lord alone. The wise man says always
'It is Thou'. O Lord. 'It is Thou'; but the ignorant and the deluded say, 'It
is I', 'it is I'. RIPE EGO
AND UNRIPE EGO 115. There are two types of egoes, one 'ripe'
and the other 'unripe'. ''Nothing is mine, whatever l see or feel, or hear, nay.
even this body itself is not mine; I am always eternal, free and all-knowing''―
such ideas arise from the 'ripe' ego. ''This is my house, this is my child, this
is my wife, this is my body''―thoughts of this kind are the manifestation
of the 'unripe' ego. 116. The ego that asserts I am the servant of God is characteristic of the
true devotee. It is the ego of Vidya (Knowledge), and is called 'the ripe' ego. 117. What is the mischievous 'I'? The 'I' which says, ''What! Don't they know
me? I have so much money! Who is so wealthy as I am? Who dares to surpass me?'' 118. The 'I' which makes a man worldly and attached to lust and wealth is
mischievous. The individual soul and the Universal Being are separated because this 'I' comes in between them. If a stick is placed on the surface of water, the water
will appear to be divided into two sections. The stick is the Aham―the 'I'.
Take that away, and the water becomes again undivided. HOW TO CONQUER THE EGO Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna 119. If one ponders over this word 'I', trying
to track it down, one sees that it is only a word which denotes egotism. But it
is extremely difficult to shake it off. So one must say, You wicked 'I' if you
will not go by any means, remain as the servant of God. The ego that feels itself
to be the servant of God is called the 'the ripe I'. 120. Sankaracharya had a disciple who had been serving him for a long time
but was not still given any instruction by him. Once, while seated alone, Sankara
heard the footsteps of someone coming behind. So he called out, ''Who, is there?''
The disciple answered, ''It is I.'' The Acharya thereupon said.
''If this 'I' is so dear to you, then either expand it to infinity (i.e. know
the universe as yourself) or renounce it altogether.'' 121. If you find that you cannot drive off this feeling of I, then let it remain as the 'servant I'. There is not much
to fear from the ego which is centered in the thought, ''I am the servant of God;
I am His devotee.'' Sweets cause dyspepsia, but not sugar candy which is an exception.
The servant 'I', the 'I'of a devotee, the 'I' of a child―each of these is
like a line drawn with a stick on the surface of water. I does not last long. 122. Just as sugar candy has no unwholesome effect like other sweets, so also
help 'ripe' ego which considers itself to be the servant or worshipper of God causes none of those evil consequences characteristic of the unripe ego. On the other hand it leads to God and
signifies that one has progressed in Bhakti Yoga or the path of devotion. 123. What is the nature of the
feelings and impulses of one who has the attitude of the 'servant I'? If his conviction
is true and sincere, then there remains only the forms, the appearance of his
former feelings and impulses. Even if the 'ego of the servant' or the ego of the
devotee remains, one who has realized God can hurt none. The whole sting of individuality
vanishes from him. The sword becomes gold by a touch of the philosopher's stone.
It retains its former shape, but can no longer hurt anyone. 124. If you feel proud, let it be in the thought that you are the servant
of God, the son sof God. Great men have the nature of children. They are always
children before Him; so they are free from pride, All their strength is of God, and not their own. It belongs to Him and comes from Him. 125. A person who is convinced that everything
is done by the will of God, feels himself to be a mere tool in His hands. He is
then free from all bondage even in this very life. ''Thou doest Thy work, Lord;
but man says, 'I do it.' 126. As long as one says. ''I know'' or 'I do
not know,'' one looks upon oneself as a person. My Divine Mother says: It is
only when I have effaced the whole of this Aham (I-ness) in you, that the Undifferentiated
Absolute (My impersonal aspect) can be realized in Samadhi. Till then there is
the 'I' in me and before me. 127. After a process of severe struggle with
one's lower nature and the assiduous practice of spiritual discipline
leading to Self-knowledge, one attains the state of Samdhi. Then the ego with
all its train vanishes. But it is very difficult to attain Samadhi; the ego is
very persistent. That is why we are born again and again in this world. 128. So long as one is not blessed with the vision
Divine, so long as the touch of the philosophers stone has, not transmuted the
base metal in one into gold, there will be the illusive feeling: 'I am the doer.'
And until this illusion ceases, there will persist the idea that gives the sense
of distinction between 'I have done this good work,' and 'I have done that bad
work.' Maya means this sense of distinction, and it is because of it that the
world continues. One reaches Him if one takes refuge in Vidya Maya―-that
aspect of Divine Power having the preponderance of Sattva―which leads one by the right path. He alone crosses the ocean
of Māyā, who comes face to face with God―realizes Him. A man is
truly free, even here in this embodied state, if he knows that God is the true
agent and he by himself is powerless to do anything. THE EGO OF THE MAN OF REALISATION 129. Will the sense of 'I' never die away completely? The petals of the lily
drop off in time, but they leave their mark behind. So the ego of man entirely
disappears (when he realizes God), but traces of its former existence remain; this. however does not produce any evil effect. 130. The truly wise man is he who has seen the Lord. He becomes like a child. The child no doubt, seems to have an individuality, a separateness, of its own.
But that individuality is a mere appearance, not a reality. The self of the child
is nothing like the self of the grown-up man. 131. Some great souls who have reached the seventh or the highest plane of
Samadhi and have thus become merged in God-consciousness, are pleased to come
down from that spiritual height for the good of mankind. They keep the ego of
Knowledge (the Aham of Vidya), which is the same as the higher Self. But this
ego is a mere appearance. It is like a line drawn across water. 132. As a piece of rope, when burnt, retains its form, but cannot serve to
bind, so is the ego which is burnt by the fire of supreme Knowledge. 133. A man dreams that someone is coming to cut him to pieces. Frightened,
he awakens with a groans and sees, that the door of his
room is closed from within and that no one is inside it. Even then, his heart
continues to beat fast for some minutes. So does our Abhimana, or sense of 'I',
leave behind it some momentum even when it has departed. 134. After the attainment of Samadhi some still retain the ego―the 'I'
of the servant or worshipper of God. Sankaracharya kept the ego of Vidya (knowledge)
for the teaching of others.) 135. Hanuman was blessed with the vision of God both with form and without
it (Sakara and Nirakara). But the retained the ego of a servant of God. Such was
also the case with Narada, Sanaka, Sananda and Sanatkumara. A devotee: Were Narada and others only Bhaktas, or were they Jnanis also? The Master: Narada and others had attained the highest Knowledge (Brahmajnana).
But still they went on like the murmuring water of the rivulet, talking and singing
the praise of God. This shows that they too kept this ego of Knowledge, a slight
trace of individuality, to mark their separate existence from the Deity, for
the purpose of teaching others the saving truths of religion. 136. Once the Master asked a disciple of his in a playful mood, ''Well, do
you notice in me any Abhimana (pride arising from the sense of 'I' )? Have I any
Abhimana ? The Disciple: Yes, Sir a little; but that little has been kept for the following
purposes: firstly for the preservation of the body: secondly, for the practice
of devotion to God; thirdly, for mixing with the company of
devotees; and fourthly, for giving instruction to others. At the same time, it
must be said that you have retained it only after a good deal of prayer. I mean, the natural state of your soul is capable of
being described only by the word Samadhi. Hence I say that the Abhimana or egoism
which you possess is the result of your prayer. The Master: Yes, but it has been retained not by me but by my Divine Mother.
It lies with my Divine Mother to grant the prayer. CHAPTER V BONDAGE OF BOOK-LEARNING Barrenness of mere book-learning―Vanity of disputation―The true end of learning BARRENNESS OF MERE BOOK-LEARNING 137. One day the late Keshab Chandra Sen came to Sri Ramakrishna in the temple
bf Dakshineswar and asked him, ''How is it that even learned people remain so profoundly
ignorant of things that truly matter in spiritual life, although they have read a whole library
of religious books?'' The Master replied, ''The kite and the vulture soar high up in the air, but all
the time their eyes remain fixed on charnel-houses in search of putrid carcasses;
similarly the minds of the so-called learned men are attached to the things of the world to lust and wealth, in spite
of their erudition in sacred lore and hence they cannot attain true Knowledge.
138. That knowledge which purifies the mind and heart alone is true Knowledge,
all else is only a negation of Knowledge. . 139. What is the use of mere book-learning? The Pandits may be familiar with plenty of sacred texts and couplets.
But what is the good of repeating them?
One must realize in one life the truths embodied in the scriptures. Mere reading will not bring Knowledge or salvation as long as
one is attached to the world, as long as one is fond of woman and gold. 140. Our so-called Pandits will talk big. They will talk of Brahman, of God,
of the Absolute, of Jnana Yoga, of philosophy of ontology, and the rest. But there
are very few who have realized what they talk about. The rest are dry and hard,
and good for nothing. 141. It is easy to utter 'sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni' with the mouth, but it is difficult to play them on an instrument. So it is
easy to talk on religion, but difficult to practice
it. 142. A parrot repeats by rote the holy name of
Radha-Krishna, but as son, as it is caught by a cat it screams 'kang, kang', betraying its natural
cry. Worldly wise men sometimes repeat the name of Hari (God) and perform various pious and charitable deeds with the hope of worldly gains, but when misfortune, sorrow, poverty and death overtake them, they forget Him and all such deeds. 143. Can love of God be acquired by reading holy
books? In the Hindu almanac it is mentioned that on a particular day there will
be twenty Adas (a unit of measure) of rain-water. But you will not be able to
squeeze out of the almanac a single drop! So also many good sayings are to be
found in holy books, but merely reading them will not make one religious. One must practice the virtues taught in
such books in order to acquire love of God. 144. In the kingdom of God, reason, intellect
and learning are of no avail. There, the dumb speak, the blind see, and the deaf
hear. 145. To explain God after merely reading the scriptures is like explaining
to a person the city of Benares after seeing it only in a map. 146. The intoxication of hemp is not to be had by repeating the word hemp
even a thousand times. Get some hemp, pound it with water into a solution and
drink it; you will then really get intoxicated. What is the use of crying aloud.
''O God, O God!'' Regularly practice devotion, and you will see God. 147. This knowledge of God comes not to the person who is proud of his learning
or wealth. You may say to such a person, ''There is a holy man in a certain place.
Do you like to see him.'' He is however, sure to put forward excuses and say that
he cannot go. He thinks he is too big a man to pay a visit to such a person. Such pride is born of ignorance. 148. Those who have read a little become puffed up with pride. I had a conversation
with a certain person on God. He said. ''Oh. I know all this.'' I said to him,
''Does one who had been to Delhi go about boasting of it? Does a gentleman ever
tell that he is a gentleman?'' 149. Grantha does not always mean a holy scripture, but often it comes to
mean a Granthi, or a knot. If a man does hot read it with an intense desire to know the Truth, and renouncing
all vanity, the mere reading of books only gives rise to pedantry, presumption,
egotism etc., which will be an encumbrance on his mind like so many knots. 150. Water is dried up at once if poured in a heap of ashes. Vanity is like
this heap of ashes. Prayer and contemplation produce
no effect upon the heart puffed up with vanity. VANITY OF DISPUTATION 151. Water poured into an empty vessel makes a bubbling noise, but when the
vessel is full, no sound is heard. Similarly,
the man who has not found God is full of vain disputation about His existence
and nature. But he who has seen Him, silently enjoys the bliss Divine. 152. Common men talk 'bagfuls' of religion but
do not act even a grain of it. The wise man speaks
little, even though his whole life is religion
expressed in action. 153. When a large number of guests
are invited to a feast, you first hear a tremendous noise produced by them; but
it continues only till they commence eating. When the dishes are served and the
guests fall to, three-fourths of the noise subside. Then comes the course of sweetmeats.
The more they are served, the more does the noise subside, and finally when the
turn comes for curds (the last course) only one sound is heard viz. 'soop-soop'.
The feast over, the next thing for the guests is to go to steep! The nearer you come to God, the less
you are disposed to questioning and reasoning. When you actually attain Him. when
you behold Him as the reality,―then all noise, all disputations come to
an end. Then is the time for sleep, i.e., for enjoyment which comes in
Samadhi, the ,state of communion with the Divine. 154. So long as the bee is outside the petals of
the flower and has not tasted the sweetness of the nectar within. it hovers round
humming; but when it gets into the flower. it drinks it noiselessly. So long as
a man disputes!lh(mt doctrines and dogmas:
he has not tasted the 155. One who has just taken to the study of a foreign
language, while talking constantly resorts to words belong- ing to that language in order to make a show of his attainments; but he who knows the language well seldom
uses it when speaking in his own mother tongue. Such
indeed is the ease with those who are well advanced in religion. 156. At a distance from the market, we hear only a loud buzzing noise; but entering the market, we hear it
no longer and perceive the bargains that are being carried on. Similarly, so long
as a person is far away from God, he cannot but be in the midst of the confusion of sophistry, vain argument and
discussion; but once he approaches God. all arguments and discussions cease, and he gains a clear and vivid perception of the mysteries of God. 157. Throw an unbaked cake of flour
into hot ghee, and it will make a sort of noise. But the more it is fed, the less
is the noise; and when it is fully fried the bubbling ceases altogether. So long
as a man has a little knowledge, he goes about talking and preaching; but when
the perfection resulting from true Knowledge is gained, he no more makes vain
display. 158. When the grace of the
Almighty descends on any one, he immediately understands his mistakes; knowing
this, you should not dispute. THE TRUE END OF THE LEARNING 159. Sacred books only point out the way to God. Once you have known the way,
what is the use of books? Then comes the time for the culture of the soul in solitary
communion with God. A person received a letter
from his village-home, asking him to send certain things to his kinsmen. When
he was going to order for them, he wanted to ascertain from the letter the articles
requisitioned. So he searched for the letter, which was then missing. At last, to his great delight, it was found out after a long search.
He took it up eagerly, and went through the contents, which ran as follows, ''Please send five seers of
sweetmeats, a hundred oranges and eight pieces of cloth.
Knowing the contents, he threw the letter aside and set about procuring the articles. How long then does one care for such a letter? So long as one does not know the contents. The contents being known once, the next step is to put forth the necessary effort to get the things desired. Similarly the sacred books
tell us only the way to God. i.e., of the means for the realisation of
God. That being once known, the next step is to work one's way to the goal. Realisation
is the goal. 160. Para-vidya. i.e., higher knowledge is that by which we know
God. All else, mere scriptures, philosophy, logic, or grammar as such only burden
and puzzle the mind. The Granthas (books) are sometimes Granthis (knots). They
are good only when they lead to the higher knowledge. . 161. Many think that knowledg4l of God. cannot
be attained except through the study of books. But higher than reading is hearing, and even higher
than hearing is seeing or realizing. The hearing of the truth from the lips of the preceptor makes a greater impression on the mind than the mere reading
of books; but seeing makes the greatest impression, Better than reading about
Benares is hearing about the place from the lips of one who has actually visited
it; but the best is to see Benares with one's own eyes. 162. Only two kinds of people can attain to self-knowledge: those who are not encumbered at all with learning, that is to say,
whose minds are not over-crowded with thoughts borrowed from others; and those
who, after studying all the scriptures and sciences have come to realize that they know
nothing. 163, People talk of errors and superstitions. and feel proud of their book-learning;
but the sincere devotee finds the loving Lord ever ready to lend him a helping hand. It matters not if he
had been walking along a wrong path for a time. The Lord knows what he wants and
in the end fulfils his hearts desires. 164. Two friends went into an orchard. One of them possessing much worldly
wisdom, immediately began to count the mango trees there and the number of mangoes
each tree bore, and to estimate what might be the approximate value of the whole
orchard. His companion went to the owner, made friendship with him, and then quietly
going to a tree, began, at his hosts desire to pluck the fruits and eat them.
Whom do you consider to be the wiser of the two? Eat mangoes. It wil1 satisfy
your hunger. What is the good of counting the trees and leaves and making calculations? The vain man of intellect busies himself uselessly
with finding out the why and wherefore of creation, while the humble man of wisdom
makes friends with the Creator and enjoys His gift of supreme bliss. 165. One ray of light from my Divine Mother, Who is verily the Goddess of
Wisdom, has power to cow down even the most learned of Pandits and make
him appear like an insignificant worm crawling on the earth. 166. Utter the word Gita in quick succession a number of times―Gi-ta-gi-ta-gi-tagi. It is then virtually pro- nounced as 'Tagi', 'Tagi,' which means one who has renounced the world for
the sake of God. Thus, in one word, the Gita teaches, ''Renounce the world-bound men. Renounce everything and
fix the mind on the Lord.'' 167. In the course of his pilgrimage through the southern parts of
India. Chaitanya Deva came across a certain devotee who was in tears all the while a pandit was reading from
the Gita. Now this devotee knew not even the alphabet. He could not follow a single
text of the Gita. On being asked why he shed tears, he replied. ''It is indeed
true that I do not know a word of the Gita. But all the white it was being read,
I could not help seeing with my inner eye the beautiful form of my Lord Sri Krishna
seated before Arjuna on a chariot in the field of Kurukshetra, and giving out
all those sublime thoughts embodied in the Gita. This it was that filled my eyes
with tears of joy and love.'' This man, who knew not letters, had the highest Knowledge, for he had pure
love for God and could realize Him. CHAPTER VI RELIGIOUS TEACHERS-FALSE AND TRUE Pitfalls of teachership―True teachers PITFALLS OF TEACHERSHIP 168. Do you, O preacher, carry the badge of authority?
The humblest servant of the king, authorized by him, is heard with awe and respect,
and can quell a riot by showing his badge; so must you, O preacher, first, obtain
your commission and inspiration from God Himself. So long as you do not have this
badge of Divine inspiration, you may preach all your life, but it will be mere
waste of breath. 169. None has patience or desire to dive deep into
Divine love. None cares for discrimination and dispassion for worldly things (Viveka
and Vairagya) or for devotional practices (Sadhana). On the other hand, all will
rush to lecture and to teach with only a bit of book-learning. Strange
indeed! To teach others is the most difficult of tasks. He alone can teach, who
gets a commission from God after having realized Him. Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna 170. What do you think of the man who is a good orator and preacher, but whose
spiritual powers are undeveloped? He is like the person who squanders another's
property entrusted to him. He can easily advise others, for it costs him
nothing since the ideas he expresses are not his own but borrowed. 171. A well-known speaker was lecturing once in a Harisabha (religious association).
In the coarse of his speech he said. ''The Lord is totally devoid of Rasa (sweetness);
we must make Him sweet by lending to Him the sweetness of our own nature. By Rasa
he meant love and other divine attributes. When I heard this,
I was reminded of the boy who said that his mother's brother had many horses,
and sought to convince his hearers by explaining that they occupied a whole cowshed.
Of course, the intelligent could at once see that cowsheds are not meant for horses,
that the youngster was telling a lie, and that he had no experience or knowledge
of horses. To say that God is devoid of Rasa was an absurdity, which proved that the
speaker was totally ignorant of what he was saying. He had never realized the
Supreme Being, Who is the very fountain of eternal love, wisdom and joy. 172. What is your opinion about the method employed
by present-day religious preachers ? It is like inviting a hundred persons to
a dinner with food enough only one. It is only pretending to be a great religious
teacher with a small stock of spiritual experience. 173. First install God in the temple of your heart;
first realize Him. Speeches, lecture, and the rest may be taken up after you have
seen God, not before. People talk glibly of God and Brahman, while they
are attached to the things of the world. What does all this amount to ?Mere blowing
of the conch (Sankha) for Divine Service without God to worship within the temple. 174. One day as I was going through Panchavati, I heard the frightful croaking of a frog. I guessed it
must have been caught by a snake. When after a long time I was returning that way. I again heard the same noise.
Peeping through the bushes, I saw a water snake with a frog in its mouth. It could neither swallow it, nor let it go, and there was no end to the agony of the frog. Then I thought, ''Well, had it been the victim
of a cobra, it would have been silenced forever after three croaks at the most (and then
there would have been no more suffering either for the frog or the snake). But here the snakes suffering
is almost equal to the frogs. So if an unenlightened man takes upon himself in his foolhardiness the responsibility of saving another, there
is no end to the misery of both. Neither does the ego of the disciple vanish,
nor are his worldly ties cut asunder. If the disciple comes under the influence of an unworthy teacher, he never gets liberation. But under a competent
teacher the egotism of the Jiva perishes with three croaks. 175. There was a professional preacher who could
rouse strong devotional feelings in the hearts of his hearers whenever he delivered
religious discourses; but personally he was not a man of character. Pained at the kind of life
he led, I asked him one day how it was that he moved so many hearts to devotion,
while he himself lived such an unworthy life. The man bowed and said. ''Yes, Sir,
the broom though a contemptible thing, removes the dust and dirt on the floor
and the street! Of course I could not answer him.I I This need not be taken as a contradiction of the main theme of this chapter.
For the effect which preaching of this type produces is temporary and unlike
the permanent change which the words of men of true spiritual realization produce
in their disciples. WHO IS A TRUE TEACHER? 176. He alone is the true teacher who is illumined by the light of true Knowledge. 177. As many people have merely heard of snow but not seen it, so many religious
preachers have only read in books about the attributes of God, but not realized
them for themselves. And as many others have seen snow but not tasted it, so many
religious teachers have obtained only a glimpse of Divine glory but have not understood
its real essence. Only he who has tasted the snow can say what it is like. Similarly, he alone can describe the attributes
of God, who has associated with Him in His different aspects in the relationship
of a servant, a friend and a lover, and has realized his oneness with Him in complete absorption in Him. 178. If one has the idea that one is a leader and
has formed a sect. one's ego is 'unripe.' But if one gets commission from God
after realizing Him, and preaches for the good of others, there is no harm. Sukadeva
had such a commission to reveal the Bhagavata to Parikshit. 179. When the jar is full, it does not make noise
any more. So the man of realization too does not talk much. But what then about Narada and others? Yes, Narada, Sukadeva and a few
others like them came down several steps after the attainment of Samadhi, and
out of mercy and love they taught mankind. 180. There are two classes of perfect men in the world―those who on
attaining Truth, become silent and enjoy it all by themselves without any thought
of others, and those who attain Truth, but finding no pleasure in keeping it to
themselves, cry out in a trumpet voice
to all―Come ye and enjoy the Truth with us. 181. Bees come of themselves to the full blown
flower when the breeze wafts its fragrance all around.
Ants come of themselves to the spot where
sweets are placed. No one need invite the bee
or the ant. So when a man becomes
pure and perfect, the sweet influence of his character spreads everywhere and all who seek the Truth are naturally drawn towards him. He need not go in search of an audience to listen to him. 182. Ants gather of themselves where the sweetmeats have fallen. Try to become sugar candy, i.e. have within
yourselves the sweetness of an enlightened spiritual consciousness. and the ants
(devotees) will come to you of themselves. If you preach without commission from
God. your preaching will be powerless, and none will listen to it. One must attain
God by devotion or by any other means, and then, if one receives His word, one
may teach and preach anywhere and everywhere. For only thus can one get power
and strength from Him, and only then can one rightly discharge the responsible
duties of a preacher. 183. When fire burns, the moths come, one knows not whence, and fall into
it. The fire never goes about inviting the moth. Such is the preaching of the
perfect. They do not go about inviting others, but hundreds and thousands
of their own accord go to them―one knows not whence seeking instruction
from them. 184. What is true preaching like? Instead of preaching to others, if one worships
God all the time, that is preaching enough. He who exerts himself to attain emancipation
from birth and death is the real preacher. To him who is free, hundreds of people
come from all sides anxious to be taught. When a rose blossoms, bees come from
all sides, uninvited. 185. When corn is measured out to a purchaser from the granary of a big merchant,
the man engaged in measuring out goes on unceasingly with his work, having a constant
supply of grain. A petty dealers store, on
the other hand, is soon exhausted. Similarly, it is God Himself Who unfailingly
inspires thoughts and sentiments in His devotees, and that is why they are never
lacking in what is new and wise. But the book-learned, like petty grocers. soon
find themselves short of thoughts and ideas. l86. Gas-light illumines different
parts of the city in varying degrees. But the life of the light, namely the gas,
comes from one common source. So the true religious teachers of all
climes and ages are like lamps through which is revealed the life of the Spirit
flowing constantly from the one source, the Almighty Lord. 187. Rain-water falling upon the roof of a house flows down to the ground
through spouts shaped grotesquely like a tiger's head. One gets the impression that the water comes from the tiger's
mouth, but in reality it descends from the sky. In the same way the holy teachings
that come from the mouths of godly men seem to be uttered by those men themselves,
while in reality they proceed from God. CHAPTER VII THE WORLDLY-MINDED AND THEIR WAYS· Characteristics of the worldly-minded-Fickle devotion of the worldly-minded-The worldly-minded and the spiritual practices CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WORLDLY-MINDED 188. Men are of two classes―men in name only (Manush) and the awakened
men (Man-hush). Those who thirst after God alone belong to the latter class: those
who are mad after woman and gold are all ordinary men―men in name only. 189. As one mask may be worn by various persons, so also various kinds of
creatures have donned the garb of humanity. Some are tearing wolves, others are
ferocious bears, and some again are cunning foxes or venomous snakes, though they
all look like men. 190. Just as it is the nature
of the sieve to reject the fine grains and to keep the coarse ones. so it is the
nature of evil souls to reject the god and retain the evil. Just the opposite
is the nature of the winnowing basket and of good souls. 191. There are people who
are so situated in life that naturally they have nothing in the world to attract
them, but would yet create for themselves some attachment and get themselves bound
by it. They neither want nor like to be free. A man who has no family to care
for, nor relatives to look after, generally takes a cat or a monkey or a dog or
a bird for a pet and fondles it, and thus 'slakes his thirst for milk with mere
whey.' Such is the snare that Maya's charm has set for humanity. 192. The new-born calf looks very lively and
gay. It runs and frisks about all day long, only stopping now and then to suck
the sweet milk from its dam.
But no sooner is the rope tied round its neck than it begins to pine away gradually,
and far from being merry, wears a dejected and sorrowful look, and gets emaciated. In the same way, so long as a boy has no concern with the affairs of the world,
he is quite merry and gay. But when he once gets himself locked in the world as
it were, with the strong bar of wedlock, and is harnessed with the responsibilities
of family life, all his joy vanishes. He wears a look of dejection, care and anxiety;
no more is there the glow of health on his cheeks, and deep wrinkles gradually
furrow his forehead. Blessed is he that remains a boy throughout his life, free
as the morning air fresh as a newly opened flower, and pure as a dew-drop. Dam = a female parent (used esp. of four-footed domestic animals). 193. As a little boy or girl can have no idea of
conjugal pleasure, even so a worldly man cannot at all comprehend the ecstasy
of Divine communion. 194. The worldly man cannot easily
resist the lure of woman and gold, and turn his mind to God, although he may be relentlessly buffeted
by the miseries and sufferings of life. 195. A worldly man is best known by his antipathy to whatever savors of religion.
Not only does he himself dislike to hear any hymn or sacred music or the chanting
of the holy name of God, but he dissuades
others from listening to them. He who scoffs at prayers, religious societies and
pious men, is indeed a true worldling. 196. Sometimes I see worldly-minded men coming
to me with pious devotees. These worldly men have no liking for religious conversations. So they become very impatient and restless while the others
are having long talks (about God and spirituality.
They find it very difficult even to sit still and hence whisper in their friends ears, ''When are you going? How long will you stay?'' Occasionally their friends would say, ''Wait a little. We are coming presently. Disgusted with their words, these worldly men would reply. ''Then you had better continue your talk. We
shall go now and wait for you in the boat (which was to take them back to Calcutta). 197. While talking with a worldly
man, one can see early how his heart is stuffed with all kinds of worldly thoughts
and desires, just as the crop of the pigeon is filled with grain. 198. The heart of a sinful man is like curly hair.
You will never succeed in straightening it, howsoever you may try. So also the
heart of the wicked cannot be easily made upright and pure. 199. The mendicant's calabash jug
(Kamandalu) may have been to the four Dhamas (the four places of pilgrimage which a Sadhu
is expected to visit), yet it remains as bitter as ever. Such is the nature of
worldly-minded men. calabash = the dried, hollowed-out
shell of any of these fruits (bitter gourds), used as a container or utensil. 200. The potter shapes various forms with unburnt clay, but he cannot work
the clay that has once been burnt. In the same way the heart that has been burnt
in the fire of worldly desires cannot be acted upon by any higher sentiment,
and is incapable of being moulded into any lovely form. 201. As water can never soak a piece of stone, so religious teachings can
produce no impression on a soul in bondage (Baddha-jiva). 202. As a nail cannot be driven into a stone but enters easily into the earth,
so the advice of the pious does not affect the soul of a worldly man while it goes deep into the heart of a believer. 203. As soft clay easily takes
an impression but not hard stone, so also Divine wisdom impresses itself on the
heart of a devotee, but not on a bound soul. 204. As the water under a bridge enters from one side and passes out at the
other, so religious advice given to the worldlings enters the mind through one
ear and goes out by the other without leaving any impression. 205. What is the characteristic of the worldly-minded man? He is like the
mongoose in the tamer's pot. The mongoose-tamer fixes a pot high up in a wall
to serve as a nest for the animal. He ties one end of a rope round
the neck of the mongoose while the other end is fastened to a weight. Coming out
of the pot, the mongoose goes down the wall and wanders about here and there,
but when frightened, runs back into the pot to hide
itself there. Unfortunately it cannot stay there long as the weight at the other
end of the rope drags it down from its comfortable home. Similarly, the worldly
man is often forced by the chastening influence of the sufferings and miseries
of life to soar high above the world and take refuge in God, but the dead weight
of the world with all its attraction soon pulls him down. 206. Seeing the gleaming water pass through
the valve of the bamboo trap placed in rice fields, small fish enter the trap
with great glee. But having once entered, they cannot come out. Similarly, foolish
men enter the meshes of the world, lured by its false glitter; but it is much
easier to enter than to escape; and they are caught like little fish and imprisoned
for good. 207. The fettered ones―the worldlings―are
never awakened. How sorrows assail them. how frauds deceive them, and how dangers
threaten them ! Yet they do not wake up even as the camel so fond of the prickly
bush and the nettle, does not cease browsing on them though they make its mouth
bleed. The man of the world suffers much yet in a few days he forgets everything.
Perhaps his wife has died or proved faithless; and lo he marries again, Or perhaps
his child has died, and he weeps; but in a short while everything has slipped
out of his memory. And the mother of the child, who has been so overwhelmed with
grief, is again looking to her toilet and wearing ornaments and jewel. Parent
are impoverished by their daughters marriage, and yet annually children are born
to them. And these men, though ruined by law-suits, will yet go
for litigation. They have not the wherewithal to provide well for their children.
yet they will beget more children every year. The worldling is sometimes like a snake that has caught hold of a mole which
it can neither swallow nor throw out. Possibly he has come to see that there is
nothing substantial in the world, that it is all skin and stone like sour-sop
(Amrah fruit), yet he cannot forget the world and set his heart on God. If you
remove him from worldly environment and place him in holy surroundings, he will
lose heart and pine away, even as a worm which lives and thrive on filth will
die if kept in a pot of rice. 208. None would keep milk in an earthen pot which has once been used for preparing curd lest the milk should get curdled. Nor can it be
safely used for cooking, because it may crack upon the fire. It is therefore almost useless. So also a good
and experienced Guru does not entrust valuable and exalted precepts to a worldly
man, for he is sure to misinterpret and misuse them for his own mean ends. Nor
will he ask him to do any useful work which may cost a little labour lest he should
think that the preceptor is taking undue advantage of him. 209. Man cannot renounce the world even if he wishes,
because he is thwarted by the Karmas that are bearing fruit in the present
birth and by the impressions of previous actions left on the mind (Prarabdha and
Samskara). Once a Yogi asked a king to sit down near him and meditate upon God.
To him the king replied, ''No Sir, that cannot be. If I remain near you, but still
the thirst for worldly enjoyment will be with me. If I remain in this forest. perhaps there will arise
a kingdom within it, as I am still destined to enjoy.'' FICKLE DEVOTION OF THE WORLDLY·MINDED 210. Worldly persons may perform many pious and charitable acts in the hope
of earthly rewards, but at the approach of misfortune, sorrow and poverty, their
piety and charity forsake them. They are like the parrot that repeats, 'Radha-Krishna, Radha-Krishna' the livelong day, but cries, 'Kang, Kang' when caught by a cat, forgetting the Divine name. Therefore, I say unto you, preaching religion
to such men will prove useless. In spite of all your sermons they are sure to
remain as worldly as ever. 211. A spring cushion is pressed down when one sits upon it but soon resumes its shape when the pressure is removed. So it
is with worldly men. They are full of religious sentiment as long as they hear religious talk, but as soon as they enter upon the routine
of their daily life they forget all those high and noble thoughts, and become impure as before. 212. Iron appears red-hot in the furnace, but
becomes black soon after it is taken out. In the same way worldly men are full
of religious emotion as long as they are in a temple or in the society of the
pious; but no sooner do they leave these associations, than the flood of devotion
in them subsides. 211. As the fly now sits on an unclean sore and next on offerings to God, so the
mind of the worldly man is at one time engaged in religious topics and at the next loses itself in the pleasures
of wealth and lust. 214. The heart of the worldly man is like the worm in a dung-hill. The worm
always lives in the dung and loves to live therein. If by chance someone takes
it out of that filthy habitation and put it on a lotus flower, it will soon die
of the fragrance of the flower. So the worldly man cannot live even for a moment
outside the dirty atmosphere of worldly thoughts and desires. 215. Do you know what worldly peoples idea of God is like? It is like the
children's prattle while they play among themselves. Sometimes they swear saying,
''By God, I say.'' They learn this from their elders when they hear them taking
an oath. Or at best, it is like the utterance of the dandy who with all his foppish airs goes to a garden in one of his
idle promenades, whistling and twirling his stick about, and picks up a flower
and exclaims ''O what a beautiful flower God has made! It is only a momentary
mood like the sprinkling of a drop of water on a bar of red-hot iron. So I say,
you must thirst for Him. You will have to take a deep plunge into the ocean. THE WORLDLY.MINDED AND SPIRITUAL PRACTICES 216. A husbandman was watering a sugar-cane field throughout the day. After
finishing his task he saw that not a drop of water had entered the field; all
the water had run underground through several big rat-holes. Such is the state
of the devotee who worships God, secretly cherishing ambitions and worldly desires
in his head (heart). Though he may be praying daily, he makes no progress, because his entire devotion
runs to waste through the rat-holes of these desires, and at the end of his lifelong
devotion, he remains the same as before. 217. Why does the mind become unsteady when engaged in contemplation? The
fly sits at times on the sweetmeats kept exposed for sale in the shop of the confectioner,
but when a scavenger passes by with a basketful of filth, the fly leaves the sweets
and at once settles on the filth. On the other hand, the bee in search of honey
sits only on flowers and never on filthy objects. Worldly men, like flies get
occasionally a momentary taste of the sweetness of Divine love, but their natural hankering after filth soon brings
them back to the dung-hill of worldliness. The great Paramahamsas are, however
always absorbed in the contemplation
and enjoyment of Divine love. 218. An evil spirit is exorcised by throwing charmed
mustard seeds on the possessed; but if the evil spirit has possessed the mustard
seeds themselves, how can they be of any use in exorcising it? If the mind with
which you contemplate the Deity is tainted with the vicious thoughts of the world,
how can you expect to do your religious devotions successfully with such a corrupt
instrument? 219. A wet match does not ignite, however hard
you may strike it; it only smokes. But a dry match lights at once even with the
slightest rubbing. The heart of the true devotee is like the dry match; the slightest
mention of the name of the Lord kindles the fire of love in his heart, while the
mind of the world1y man, soaked in lust and attachment for wealth resists all
warmth like the moistened match. Though God may be preached
to him several times, the fire of Divine love can never be kindled in him, 220. A worldly man may be endowed with as much intelligence and knowledge
as a jnani, may take as much pains and trouble as a Yogi, and may make as great
sacrifices as an ascetic; but all his exertions are in vain since his energies
are misdirected, and since he does all these
for the sake of worldly honour and
wealth and not for the sake of the Lord. 221. The soiled mirror never reflects the rays
of the sun; similarly those who are impure and unclean at
heart and are deluded by Maya never perceive the glory of the Lord. But the pure in heart see the Lord as the clear mirror reflects the sun. Therefore be pure. 222. When a certain quantity of pure milk is mixed with double the quantity of water, it requires a good deal of time and labour to condense it into Kshira (condensed milk). The
mind of a worldly man is largely diluted with the filthy water of evil and impure
thoughts, and he has to work long and hard to purify it and give it the proper
strength and consistency characteristic of a truly pious heart. 223. Q. Why is it that worldly men do not give up everything to find God? A. Can an actor coming on the stage throw off
his mask at once? Let worldly men play out their part and in time they will throw
off their false appearance. 224. The soul that is wholly world-bound is like the worm that lives for ever
in filth, and dies there and has no idea of anything batter. The soul whose
worldliness is of lesser intensity is, however, like the
fly that sits now on filth and now on sugar. The free soul alone is like the bee
that always drinks honey and tastes nothing else. 225. The worldly man is like the alligator. As the body of the alligator is
not pervious to the strokes of any weapon, and as it cannot be put to death except
by striking at the belly. so no matter how much good advice you give to the worldly
man and no matter how much self-disgust you arouse in him, he will never realize his situation fully unless
you wean him from the objects of his attachment. 226. Worldly men will not act up to your advice if you ask them to renounce
everything and devote themselves to the lotus-like feet of the Lord. Hence, after much deliberation as to how to attract such souls, Gour and Nitai1 hit upon a plan of alluring them, and said, ''Come, take the name of Hari, and you will have a nice soup of Magur fish and the caress of a young damsel.''
These two items tempted many to join them
and take the name of the Lord. When by and by they came
to have a little taste of the nectar of the holy name, they understood the hidden
meaning of Nitai's teaching. The soup of the Magur fish is nothing but the streams
of tears they shed in love of God. The earth is the young damsel, and to be caressed
by her, means to roll on earth in the rapture of Divine love. 1Lord Chaitanya and his companion Nityananda. |