Awake Mother

Sri Ramakrishna began his midday meal with the devotees. It was about one o'clock. A devotee sang in the courtyard below:  

                 Awake, Mother! Awake! How long Thou hast 

                                                                                 been asleep 

                 In the lotus of the Muladhara! 

                 Fulfil Thy secret function, Mother: 

                 Rise to the thousand-petalled lotus within the head, 

                 Where mighty Śiva has His dwelling; 

                 Swiftly pierce the six lotuses 

                  And take away my grief,

                                                  O Essence of Consciousness! 

Hearing the song, Sri Ramakrishna went into samādhi; his whole body became still, and his hand remained touching the plate of food. He could eat no more. After a long time his mind came down partially to the plane of the sense world, and he said, "I want to go downstairs." 

A devotee led him down very carefully. Still in an abstracted mood, he sat near the singer. The song had ended. 

The Master said to him very humbly, "Sir, I want to hear the chanting of the Mother's name again." 

The musician sang: 

           Awake, Mother! Awake! How long Thou hast 

                                                                               been asleep 

           In the lotus of the Muladhara! ... 

The Master again went into ecstasy.  

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 182 

                    (18 February 1883, At a Devotee’s house)

Constant Practice urged

Glories of the Divine Mother

The Master sang:
     Out of my deep affliction rescue me, O Redeemer!   
     Terrified by the threats of the King of Death am I! 
     Left to myself, I shall perish soon; 
      Save me, oh, save me now, I pray! 

     Mother of all the worlds! Thou, the Support of mankind!  
     Thou, the Bewitcher of all, the Mother of all that has life!  
     Vrindāvan's charming Radha art Thou, 
      Dearest playmate of Braja's Beloved. 

     Blissful comrade of Krishna, well-spring of Krishna's lila,  
     Child of Himālaya, best of the gopis, beloved of Govinda! 
     Sacred Ganga, Giver of moksha! 
      Śakti! The universe sings Thy praise. 

     Thou art the Spouse of Śiva, the Ever-blessed, the All;   
     Sometimes Thou takest form and sometimes art absolute.   
      Eternal Beloved of Mahādeva,  
      Who can fathom Thine infinite glories?

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 301 
                       (10 October 1883)

Weapons and Nail-knife

Faith

MASTER: "You were absolutely right when you said that through faith alone one achieves all." 

ISHAN: "But we are householders." 

MASTER: "What if you are? Through His grace even the impossible becomes possible. 
Ramprasad sang, 'This world is a mere framework of illusion.' Another man composed a song by way of reply: 
          This very world is a mansion of mirth; 
          Here I can eat, here drink and make merry. 
          Janaka's might was unsurpassed; 
          What did he lack of the world or the Spirit? 
          Holding to one as well as the other, 
          He drank his milk from a brimming cup! 

"One should first realize God through spiritual discipline in solitude, and then live in the world. Only then can one be a King Janaka. What can you achieve otherwise? 

"Further, take the case of Śiva. He has everything - Kartika, Ganesa, Lakshmi, and Sarasvati. Still, sometimes He dances in a state of divine fervour, chanting the name of Rāma, and sometimes He is absorbed in samādhi." 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 293 
                   (22 September 1883)

Pure Mind, Buddhi, Atman

Paths of Knowledge and Devotion

A NEIGHBOUR: "Revered sir, what are the doctrines of Vedanta?"
  
MASTER: "The Vedantist says, 'I am He.' Brahman is real and the world illusory. Even the 'I' is illusory. Only the Supreme Brahman exists. 
"But the 'I' cannot be got rid of. Therefore it is good to have the feeling, 'I am the servant of God, His son, His devotee.' 

"For the Kāli Yuga the path of bhakti is especially good. One can realize God through bhakti too. As long as one is conscious of the body, one is also conscious of objects. Form, taste, smell, sound, and touch-these are the objects. It is extremely difficult to get rid of the consciousness of objects. And one cannot realize 'I am He' as long as one is aware of objects. 

"The sannyasi is very little conscious of worldly objects. But the householder is always engrossed in them. Therefore it is good for him to feel, 'I am the servant of God.'"  

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 181 
                      (18 February 1883)

God's Name destroys Sin

NEIGHBOUR: "Sir, we are sinners. What will happen to us?" 

MASTER: "All the sins of the body flyaway if one chants the name of God and sings His glories. The birds of sin dwell in the tree of the body. Singing the name of God is like clapping your hands. As, at a clap of the hands, the birds in the tree flyaway, so do our sins disappear at the chanting of God's name and glories.

"Again, you find that the water of a reservoir dug in a meadow is evaporated by the heat of the sun. Likewise, the water of the reservoir of sin is dried up by the singing of the name and glories of God.  

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 181-82 
                      (18 February 1883)

Peace in the End

Hathayoga and Rajayoga

Brahmajnāna

Two ways of God-realization

A MARWARI DEVOTEE: "Sir, what is the way?" 

MASTER: "There are two ways. One is the path of discrimination, the other is that of love. 
Discrimination means to know the distinction between the Real and the unreal. God alone is the real and permanent Substance; all else is illusory and impermanent. The magician alone is real; his magic is illusory.
This is discrimination. 

"Discrimination and renunciation. Discrimination means to know the distinction between the Real and the unreal. Renunciation means to have dispassion for the things of the world. One cannot acquire them all of a sudden. 
They must be practised every day. … … 
…  

MARWARI  DEVOTEE:  "Revered  sir,  you  just  mentioned  two  paths.   What  is  the  other path?" 

MASTER: "The path of bhakti, or zealous love of God. Weep for God in solitude, with a restless soul, and ask Him to reveal Himself to you.  
                  'Cry to your Mother Syama with a real cry, O mind! 
                  And how can She hold Herself from you?' "  

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 179-80 
                        (1 January 1883)

All Exists because of God

Jnani becomes Silent

One Ray of God

He [God] is the Sun of Knowledge. One single ray of His has illumined the world with the light of knowledge. That is how we are able to see one another and acquire varied knowledge. 

One can see God only if He turns His light toward His own face.

The police sergeant goes his rounds in the dark of night with a lantern in his hand. No one sees his face; but with the help of that light the sergeant sees everybody's face, and others, too, can see one another. If you want to see the sergeant, however, you must pray to him: 'Sir, please turn the light on your own face. Let me see you.' 

In the same way  one  must  pray  to  God:  'O  Lord,  be  gracious  and  turn  the  light  of  knowledge  on Thyself, that I may see Thy face.'  

                        - Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 174 

                              (14 December 1882)

Path of Knowledge is Very Difficult

God's Grace is the Ultimate Help

You may try thousands of times, but nothing can be achieved without God's grace. One cannot see God without His grace.

Is it an easy thing to receive the grace of God? One must altogether renounce egotism; one cannot see God as long as one feels, 'I am the doer.' 
Suppose, in a family, a man has taken charge of the store-room; then if someone asks the master, 'Sir, will you yourself kindly give me something from the store-room?', the master says to him: 'There is already someone in the store-room. What can I do there?' 

God doesn't easily appear in the heart of a man who feels himself to be his own master. But God can be seen the moment His grace descends.  

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 174 
                   (14 December 1882)

Damp Match-Sticks

Jnanayoga

"One can attain the Knowledge of Brahman, too, by following the path of bhakti. 

God is all-powerful. He may give His devotee Brahmajnāna also, if He so wills. But the devotee generally doesn't seek the Knowledge of the Absolute. He would rather have the consciousness that God is the Master and he the servant, or that God is the Divine Mother and he the child." 

VIJAY: "But those who discriminate according to the Vedanta philosophy also realize Him in the end, don't they?" 

MASTER: "Yes, one may reach Him by following the path of discrimination too: that is called Jnanayoga. But it is an extremely difficult path."

  

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 171 

                      (14 December 1882)

Bhaktiyoga

The "ego of a devotee"

Purity of Heart

VIJAY: "How can one see God?"

MASTER: "One cannot see God without purity of heart. Through attachment to 'woman and
gold' the mind has become stained-covered with dirt, as it were.
A magnet cannot attract a needle if the needle is covered with mud. Wash away the mud and the magnet will draw it.
Likewise, the dirt of the mind can be washed away with the tears of our eyes. This stain is removed if one sheds tears of repentance and says, 'O God, I shall never again do such a thing.'

Thereupon God, who is like the magnet, draws to Himself the mind, which is like the needle. Then the devotee goes into samādhi and obtains the vision of God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 173-74
  (14 December 1882)

Ripe Bhakti

VIJAY: "Is bhakti alone sufficient for the attainment of God, for His vision?"

MASTER: "Yes, one can see God through bhakti alone. But it must be 'ripe' bhakti, prema-bhakti and raga-bhakti. When one has that bhakti, one loves God even as the mother loves the child, the child the mother, or the wife the husband.

"When one has such love and attachment for God, one doesn't feel the attraction of maya to wife, children, relatives, and friends. One retains only compassion for them. To such a man the world appears a strange land, a place where he has merely to perform his duties.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 173
  (14 December 1882)

Prema-bhakti

... it isn't any and every kind of bhakti that enables one to realize God. One cannot realize God without prema-bhakti. Another name for prema-bhakti is raga-bhakti. God cannot be realized without love and longing. Unless one has learnt to love God, one cannot realize Him.

There is another kind of bhakti, known as vaidhi-bhakti, according to which one must repeat the name of God a fixed number of times, fast, make pilgrimages, worship God with prescribed offerings, make so many sacrifices, and so forth and so on.
By continuing such practices a long time one gradually acquires raga-bhakti. God cannot be realized until one has raga-bhakti.

One must love God. In order to realize God one must be completely free from worldliness and direct all of one's mind to Him.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 172
  (14 December 1882)

'I want to Eat Sugar’

'I don't want to become sugar; I want to eat it.' I never feel like saying, 'I am Brahman.' I say,
'Thou art my Lord and I am Thy servant.'
It is better to make the mind go up and down between the fifth and sixth planes, like a boat racing between two points. I don't want to go beyond the sixth plane and keep my mind a long time in the seventh.

My desire is to sing the name and glories of God. It is very good to look on God as the Master and oneself as His servant. Further, you see, people speak of the waves as belonging to the Ganges; but no one says that the Ganges belongs to the waves.

 The feeling, 'I am He', is not wholesome. A man who entertains such an idea, while looking on his body as the Self, causes himself great harm. He cannot go forward in spiritual life; he drags himself down. He deceives himself as well as others. He cannot understand his own state of mind.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 172
  (14 December 1882)

Hatha-Yoga not for this Age

Those practices are not meant for this age. In this Kaliyuga people are short-lived and their
existence depends on food alone. Where is the time now to make the body strong by practicing hatha-yoga, and then to call on God through raja yoga?
If one wants to practice the techniques of hath-yoga, he should stay constantly with a perfect guru and follow strict rules regarding food and other activities, according to the guru’s instructions. Even the slightest deviation from those requirements causes serious health problems, and sometimes the aspirant can die.

So it is not necessary to practice hatha-yoga. Moreover it is for the sake of controlling the mind that one controls the breath by practicing pranayama and kumbhaka. One can have automatic control over the mind and breath through meditation on God and devotion.
In this Kaliyuga human beings are short-lived and weak, so out of compassion God made their path for Self-realization easy.

A person feels anguish and emptiness at the death of a spouse or child; if one has that kind of longing for God for twenty-four hours continuously, God will definitely reveal Himself.

- Sri Ramakrishna,
Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 229-30

The "Wicked I"

The 'I' that makes one a worldly person and attaches one to 'woman and gold' is the 'wicked I'. 

The intervention of this ego creates the difference between jiva and Ātman. Water appears to be divided into two parts if one puts a stick across it. But in reality there is only one water. It appears as two on account of the stick.

This 'I' is the stick. Remove the stick and there remains only one water as before. 

Now, what is this 'wicked I'?

 It is the ego that says: 'What? Don't they know me? I have so much money! Who is wealthier than I?' If a thief robs such a man of only ten rupees, first of all he wrings the money out of the thief, then he gives him a good beating. But the matter doesn't end there: the thief is handed over to the police and is eventually sent to jail. 

The 'wicked I' says: 'What? Doesn't the rogue know whom he has robbed? To steal my ten rupees! How dare he?' 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 170

  (14 December 1882)

Maya Creates Upadhis

The jiva is nothing but the embodiment of Satchidananda. But since maya, or ego, has created various upadhis, he has forgotten his real Self.

Each upadhi changes man's nature. If he wears a fine black-bordered cloth, you will at once find him humming Nidhu Babu's love-songs. Then playing-cards and a walking-stick follow. If even a sickly man puts on high boots, he begins to whistle and climbs the stairs like an Englishman, jumping from one step to another.
If a man but holds a pen in his hand, he scribbles on any paper he can get hold of-such is the power of the pen!

Money is also a great upadhi. The possession of money makes such a difference in a man! He is no longer the same person. A brahmin used to frequent the temple garden. Outwardly he was very modest. One day I went to Konnagar with Hriday. No sooner did we get off the boat than we noticed the brahmin seated on the bank of the Ganges. We thought he had been enjoying the fresh air. Looking at us, he said: 'Hello there, priest! How do you do?' I marked his tone and said to Hriday: 'The man must have got some money. That's why he talks that way.' Hriday laughed.

A frog had a rupee, which he kept in his hole. One day an elephant was going over the hole, and the frog, coming out in a fit of anger, raised his foot, as if to kick the elephant, and said, 'How dare you walk over my head?' Such is the pride that money begets!

One can get rid of the ego after the attainment of Knowledge. On attaining Knowledge one goes into samādhi, and the ego disappears. But it is very difficult to obtain such Knowledge.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 169
    (14 December 1882)

First Vision of Sita

One day at that time I was seated under the Panchavati. I was in a state of ordinary
consciousness, well aware of my surroundings.

All of a sudden a luminous female figure ofexquisite grace appeared before me. Her radiance lit up everything around her. I could see her, and at the same time I could see the trees and plants of the Panchavati, the Ganges, everything. I saw that she was human, for she had no marks of a divine being upon her, such
as a third eye.
But the sublime qualities reflected in her face – love, sorrow, compassion, and fortitude – are seldom to be seen even among goddesses.

Slowly she advanced towards me, from the direction of the north, all the while looking at me with gracious eyes. I was amazed. I was wondering who she might be when suddenly a monkey uttered a cry, fell at her feet, and rolled on the ground.
Then it came to me in a flash that she must be Sita, the daughter of King Janaka, who had suffered so greatly all her life, and whose whole life had been devoted to her husband, Rama.

Overcome by emotion, I cried out ‘Mother’ and was about to fall at her feet when she instantly passed into my body and became merged in it. Overwhelmed with joy and wonder, I fell unconscious on the ground. This was the first vision I ever had with my eyes wide open, and when I wasn’t meditating. It seems that it is because my first such vision was of Sita in her sorrowful aspect that I’ve had so much suffering in my life.

- Sri Ramakrishna,
  Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 228